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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

While the rash of executive orders targeting LGBTQ people signed by President Trump in his first month in office is unprecedented, and reprehensible, the fact remains: the orders are not law. And thanks to the skill and fast work of LGBTQ and ally legal groups, multiple orders have already been blocked in federal court and [...]The post Order in the Courts: LGBTQ Legal Groups Move Against Discriminatory Executive Actions first appeared on GLAAD.

Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBTQ-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend. 1.) Out actresses Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat have been cast in Neons The Wrong Girls, a new film from queer screenwriter Dylan Meyer (Stewarts fiancee). The film [...]The post The GLAAD Wrap: New movies with Kristen Stewart, Alia Shawkat, and Janelle Monae, The Last of Us Season 2 premiere date, Cynthia Erivo to host the Tonys, and more! first appeared on GLAAD.

Margaret Cho will always be her unapologetic self.The bisexual comedian has had audiences laughing for decades with her witty sense of humor and jaw dropping one-liners.Back in December, Cho made headlines by saying she's 'holding space' for Luigi Mangione the suspected assasin of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare."We're holding space for those eyebrows, that body, the abs," Cho said. See on Instagram While her comments matched her signature sense of comedy, many people didn't find her statement to be funny and English broadcaster Piers Morgan even called her comments 'sickening.' However, Cho is totally unbothered by Morgan's dig and even finds his insult to be complimentary."I live and die to be called sickening! That's a high compliment. Piers is always getting pissed off for no reason. I've so had it with Ms. Morgan. Piers, you are not sickening. Who cares about her?"Cho's resilience is very much needed during these trying times as continued attacks are being made against the LGBTQ+ community across the United States."Every day, there's something to be more angry about. The way that we can make sense of it is to come together and be grateful that we have each other. In a sense, we have overcome much worse, so people don't need to lose hope." See on Instagram The actress is bringing the laughs on her Live & Livid Tour this spring at cities that can really use queer visibility. As the title suggests, Cho is addressing all of the chaos happening around the world by making quite a few jokes about it."Why is Elon Musk president? Who eected her? Not cool. Also, you can't spell felon without Elon. I'm talking about them a lot. Also, our man Luigi... he puts the rizz in terrorist! He's so fine."As if comedy weren't enough, Cho also just dropped her first album in eight years, Lucky Gift, which she considers to be the best music she's ever put out in her career."I made a record that's very gay pop. It's summer bangers. It's romantic and it's music for the gays. We need our gay divas to solve the world. All of the gay divas are coming together and we're just going to take over."Fans can keep up with Margaret Cho by following her on Instagram. To see the full interview, check out the video at the top of the page.

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

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

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

Your Lovable Trans Auntie is our go-to advice column for lifes biggest (and messiest) questionslove, work, identity, and everything in between. With a signature blend of warmth, wit, and just the right amount of sass, Auntie offers readers a uniquely trans perspective thats as affirming as it is entertaining. Whether dishing out heartfelt wisdom, practical advice, or a little tough love, Auntie is here to remind everyone that theyre never alone on this journey.Got a crush but dont know how to tell them youre trans? Wondering how to deal with that coworker who still forgets your pronouns? Trying to navigate family drama, dating dilemmas, or just figuring out who you are? Aunties got you. Submit your questions to voices@equalpride.com.Why does it feel like some of our own lock us out of the house?The recent murder of Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old trans man, has been a weight on my heart. The Minnesotan traveled to Canandaigua in Upstate New York, a town mere 34 minutes from me, hoping to connect with someone. For many, the age of the internet and social media has allowed marginalized individuals to find friendship or romance. But instead of seeing the connection he desired, Sam faced a horror beyond words: tortured and murdered.ABC News covered an official police statement indicating there's no current proof this was a hate crime. Moreover, their statement read, "Sam and his assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense."But by disclosing this, we must address an issue many try to avoid: Trans individuals face transphobia within the community we helped shape.What is transphobia?Sometimes, it's nice to believe our community is warm and welcoming, from queer venues to pride parades. But the truth? There's a trap door, and too many trans folks have fallen through it. The internalized transphobia sneaks in, and it's coming through the cracks of our fractured society.Merriam-Webster defines transphobia as a "discrimination against, aversion to, or fear of transgender people." It doesn't take long to find a content creator proudly "informing" us that trans adults are an abomination or a television personality arguing how trans youths don't fully understand themselves and, thus, are not deserving of care. The re-election of Trump has only fueled the fractures, with some queer individuals celebrating his victory despite the dangers trans folks face. And let's not forget those within the community who see the administration's attempts at erasing trans existence yet say or do nothing.Are you choosing to be silent or being silenced?Being queer doesn't automatically make someone a safe space. I've been in rooms where "LGBTQ+" felt more like a hierarchy than a collective experience: The 'L' and 'G' show up in full force, with usually the 'G' taking precedence before all, at times belittling or ignoring the 'T' like an unread text.But this isn't new. Pride started because of trans women like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera throwing bricks against oppression, despite some suggestions. But once the movement started getting camera time, trans folksespecially Black and Brown trans folksgot edited out of the frame. In the '70s, some groups slammed the door on them, ignoring and demeaning our existence or flatly turning their heads because a trans person wasn't "palatable" to their taste. TERF energy has been brewing like bad coffee long before J.K. Rowling shot out tweets.And now? That same exclusion dances into bars, community centers, social circles, and dating apps, where transphobia wears a rainbow-like camouflage.What does transphobia look like in the LGBTQ+ community?Transphobia in our community often masquerades as sass or silence. It comes in the form of a gay guy who only respects you if you're "passable," the bar that's inclusive until you're in the bathroom, and the side-eye when a trans person dares to be visible, loud, and proud. And then there's the old classic misgendering. It's the verbal equivalent of scuffing a new pair of shoes.You know better.Transphobia isn't just about being shady at brunch or happy hour. It's about the violence that blooms from seeds planted inside our community. Trans people face higher rates of homelessness, violence, and murderoften at the hands of those we know as family, as lovers, or those who share our own queer identity. Black and Brown trans bodies are the most vulnerable within an already vulnerable group. The Human Rights Campaign recorded at least 32 murders of trans and gender-expansive individuals in 2024. 78% of them were victims of color, and 56% were Black trans women. Too often, these stories don't make headlines.They barely make hashtags.But Sam Nordquist's story did. It hit hard because it wasn't just a headline but a mirror held up to our collective community. And the reflection? It's not so pretty. So, my loves, how do we heal? How do we fix this? How do we protect our trans siblings from a world that feels like a background, especially when the dirt is under our own feet?We have to start by cleaning the damn house.Clock yourself before you wreck yourself: Bias isn't cute. Unpack it.Call it out, even if it's awkward: When your friends make a "joke" about us that's a little sus, then, sis, say something. Silence isn't neutral; it's an RSVP to the problem.Pass the mic, not just the vibes: Hire trans people. Book trans performers. Buy from trans-owned businesses. And don't treat us like a last-minute thought to join the party: make sure we're on the list, too.Pronouns are free. Use them: Nothing says "I care" like using someone's correct pronouns without making a scene. And if you don't want to slip up, please don't hesitate to ask. Some may careothers may notbut it shows you're an affirming (read: accepting) person to be around.Know your history: Trump and his gang may spend their time scrubbing trans folks from websites, but never forget the role trans icons have played in our ongoing quest for liberation. Pick up a book, visit your neighborhood LGBTQ+ organization, and learn more about the strength and resilience of your trans forebears.A final love note from AuntieWhen I heard about Sam, I thought about his family. His mother described him to The Minnesota Star Tribune as the kind of person who'd "give you the shirt of his back." If Sam could be that generous, why can't we learn to be generous with our love, empathy, and protection? Because family isn't about matching identities; it's about matching energy. And the energy we need right now is full-hearted and loud in defense of our trans siblings.If Pride started with a riot, I wonder what it takes to start a community reunion. Not just for Sam. Not just for those we've lost. But for every trans person who deserves more than survival but love.And isn't that what family's for?Rest in peace, Sam and all our trans siblings who have been victims of hate. The world did not grant them peace, but we must ensure a better one for those who come after us.xx,Your Lovable Trans Auntie

2025-02-21T18:19:58Z NEW YORK (AP) A federal judge on Friday adjourned the corruption trial for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and appointed counsel to advise him on how to handle the Justice Departments controversial request to drop charges against the Democrat.The ruling by Judge Dale E. Ho will delay by at least a couple weeks when he will decide whether to grant the request to dismiss the case against the embattled mayor of the countrys largest city.At a hearing Wednesday, Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove cited an executive order by President Donald Trump outlining his criminal justice priorities as he defended the request to drop charges.Adams confirmed at the hearing that he accepted that charges could later be reinstated, a feature of the request to dismiss charges that has led critics to suggest that the mayor would be required to carry out Trumps plans to round up New Yorkers who are in the country illegally if he wanted to remain free from prosecution. The request is virtually unreviewable in this courtroom, Bove argued at the hearing.Adams was indicted in September and accused of accepting more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from a Turkish official and business leaders seeking to buy influence while he was Brooklyn borough president. He faces multiple challengers in Junes Democratic primary. To assist him in deciding whether to dismiss the charges as Bove requested, the judge said in his order Friday that he has appointed Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general and acting U.S. attorney general, as amicus curiae to present arguments on the governments request to throw out the charges. Ho said he wanted all parties and Clement to address the legal standard for dismissing charges, whether a court may consider materials beyond the motion itself and under what circumstances additional procedural steps and further inquiry would be necessary. He also said he wants to know under what circumstances, dismissal can occur without the ability to reinstate charges or with the ability to reinstate charges.He said briefs should be filed by March 7 and, if necessary, oral arguments can occur on March 14.Adams will not be required to attend future hearings, he said.Boves initial request last week to then-interim U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon to drop charges against Adams was rejected and she resigned.Another prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, told Bove in a resignation letter that it would take a fool or a coward to meet Boves demand, but it was never going to be me.In all, seven prosecutors, including five high-ranking prosecutors at the Justice Department in Washington, had resigned last week before Bove made the request himself, along with two other prosecutors from Washington, to drop the case.On Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wont immediately use her authority to remove Adams from office over concerns that such a move could result in disruption and chaos and would ultimately be undemocratic.

In this image provided by Beth Hill, Warren Hill poses for a photo at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in Alaska July 15, 2018. (Beth Hill via AP)2025-02-21T17:00:44Z ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Warren Hill spent more than two decades working at the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, which spans 4 million acres of coastline, forests, lakes and glaciers in Alaska.Last summer, he was promoted to serve as maintenance supervisor, in addition to his roles as carpenter and mechanic. But because Hill was starting a new role, he was on probationary status when President Donald Trump s administration began firing thousands and thousands of federal workers who had less civil service protection.Im furious, he said. I am just a few years away from retirement, not to mention all my benefits disappeared in a flash.Probationary employees are generally younger, with less than a year or two on the job. However, the classification can also apply to workers with much more experience who were placed on probation when they transferred between agencies or moved into a different position. Now many have been swept up in layoffs championed by Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who is advising Trump. A lot of them, including Hill, were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were often terminated in cursory letters that described their services as no longer needed or accused them of poor performance even in cases where they had received positive reviews for their work. They have no idea how many lives they are destroying and the negative economic impact they are having in our community and all the others like ours, Hill said. The total number and experience level of probationary employees who have been fired isnt clear. The layoffs have taken place across many agencies, including Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Education, Energy, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Park Service. Roughly 2,000 employees were cut from the U.S. Forest Service, and another 7,000 people are expected to be let go at the Internal Revenue Service. Unions for federal workers filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop and reverse the layoffs, accusing the administration of the indiscriminate firing of thousands of patriotic public servants across the country.The Trump administration has defended its handling of probationary employees, which is part of a sweeping effort to downsize the federal government.The probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment, said McLaurine Pinover, a spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management.Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, brushed off concerns about employees being falsely accused of lackluster work.Ive never seen a person who was laid off for poor performance say that they were performing poorly, he told reporters on Thursday.Trumps allies have long considered civil service protections to be an impediment to achieving his agenda, and theres been talk about reclassifying employees to make them easier to fire. For now, administration officials have tried to push out as many as possible, either by giving them financial incentives to quit or laying off those on probationary status. Probationary periods are an essential tool for agencies to assess employee performance and manage staffing levels, read a memo distributed on Inauguration Day. Employees on probationary periods can be terminated during that period without triggering appeal rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board.Federal agencies were given four days to draw up lists of all probationary employees. Some of them were working as civilians after long careers in the military.Terri Wollenberg said she spent more than three decades in the U.S. Army and Navy before retiring and going to work at the Cedar Rapids Veterans Center in Iowa, where she remained in probationary status. She met clients at the door, confirmed schedules and assisted the centers counselors. But last Friday, Wollenberg said her director let me know that I was done.I didnt even know I was on a list that could possibly be considered, but it appears that any one of us could be on that list, she said. Theres no one left to do her job, Wollenberg said during a press conference organized by Iowa Democrats. Were not here to get rich, she said. Were here to work for the citizens of the United States. Kayleigh McCarthy was among the probationary U.S. Forest Service employees fired last week, allegedly for performance issues.She had been hired as a seasonal employee at the Anan Wildlife Observatory in Alaska, but she was upgraded to a permanent position within the last year. She monitored and recorded black and brown bear behavior in the Tongass National Forest, and sometimes she would stop tourists on hiking trails to give the animals the right of way. A lot of times, mama bears especially black bears are walking across with their cubs, McCarthy said. McCarthy had spent her summers living on a float house and became entrenched in the community, where she met her boyfriend. Her situation began to unravel on Sunday, when her supervisor reached out.She had to call me and told me that I had been terminated and that it was supposedly because of performance, even though she told me that my performance had always been exemplary, McCarthy said.It says on the termination letter that its because of performance, when in fact I only have exemplary performance, and so it doesnt seem that theres just cause for these firings, she said.McCarthy plans to appeal her firing. But once she finishes her graduate degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, shell likely need to leave the state to find a new job. I am angry, and I am upset and I am heartbroken, she said. -Writer Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska. Megerian reported from Washington. MARK THIESSEN Thiessen is an Associated Press all-formats reporter based in Anchorage, Alaska. He covers Alaska Native issues and other general assignments. twitter mailto CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto

Euphoria actress and Hollywood star Hunter Schafer shared her "harsh reality check" after her new passport changed her gender marker to "M." The transgender actor shared an 8-and-a-half-minute video talking about the experience to social media on Friday."On the first day of Trump's presidency, he signed an executive order to declare only two genders recognized by the state, male and female, assigned at birth," Schafer says. "As a result of this, the Bureau of Consular Affairs has frozen passport applications requesting gender marking changes or renewals" that defer from the applicant's gender assigned at birth.While she initially thought, "I'll believe it when I see it," Schafer had a rude awakening when she picked up her new passport and was shocked to see "M" instead of "F" for her gender, the first time that's happened since her teenage years. "I'm not making this post to fear-monger, or to create drama, or receive consolation, I don't need it," she said. "But I do think it's worth posting to sort of note the reality of the situation and that it's happening. I was shocked. I just didn't think it was actually going to happen."She goes on to share that the bag with her old passport was stolen in Barcelona recently, so she was forced to order a new one. And despite having her gender markers changed on her various identifications for about a decade, Schafer never updated her gender on her birth certificate, cueing the marker's reversion. "It's not just talk," she said. "This is real. And it's happening. No one, no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever, is excluded. This is real."But resistance is always an option. "I don't give a f*ck that they put an 'M' on my passport," Schafer added. "It doesn't change really anything about me or my transness. However, it does make life a little harder. I'm pretty sure it's gonna come along with having to out myself to border patrol agents and that whole gig much more often than I would like to or is really necessary."Schafer concluded her video with an uplifting message for the transgender community. "Trans people are beautiful. We are never going to stop existing. We are never going to stop being trans. A letter on a passport can't change that and f*ck this administration." (@) Schafer uploaded the video to her TikTok story, but it was quickly removed. Links to the video read, "Page not available." It's unclear if Schafer removed it herself, or if it was taken down by TikTok.As of this writing, links to Schafer's TikTok page have led to various error messages until her page re-appears with only three uploaded videos.

Steve Bannon speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-21T19:38:44Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Six weeks after devastating wildfires, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ousted the citys fire chief amid a public rift over preparations for the fires and finger-pointing between the chief and City Hall.Bass says in a statement she is removing Chief Kristin Crowley immediatelyBass says 1,000 firefighters could have been on duty the morning the fires broke out but were instead sent home on Chief Crowleys watch.

Is it getting in here, or is it just us?A recent Reddit thread on r/ActualLesbians asked what sex acts lesbians have on their bucket lists, and the responses are so spicy we may spontaneously combust!Today, someone on Reddit asked, No judgment zone: Whats on your sex bucket list? Perhaps because of the anonymity of the platform, lesbians have come out of the woodwork to reveal their steamiest fantasy that they are just dying to act out, but not before the original poster let their own fantasy slip. Do you have any specific fantasies or scenarios that live in your head? Ill go first - I wanna go down on her while shes laying on top of a grand piano, OP wrote. And if youre thinking all the fantasies are vanilla or basic, youd be dead wrong. With answers that include being drowned by a muscle mommy, vampire sex, spit roasting, and ejaculating dildos, youll be weak in the knees and flooding your basement.So get comfy and turn a fan on trust us, youll want one because these responses from spicy Sapphics are too hot to handle!Responses have been edited for length and clarity.The view from the top is oh so good!"So so many. But my GF and I are both tops and would love to have a threesome with someone and exclusively focus all our attention on them. And for me being in a 24/7 D/s Dynamic with someone (other than my GF) as a sub sounds really fun. And an orgy sounds really fun too. Now that I think of it generally fucking other people, but my GF and I want to open our relationship anyway so hey." TheWitchesAssistance"I want to finger a sub in a drive-in theatre just edging her the entire movie, then take her home and ruin her. And then on the other side of the things I want to be railed into my bed with one of those fake ejaculation strapons to satisfy my breeding kink." Apart-Dare18 "Power play/light humiliation/edging with a very sexy bottom. Shed be on all fours with her panties down, somehow propped at the perfect height for me to easily reach her privates. Id be watching TV or eating my dinner, but she has to be a good girl and stay that way, not participate in my activities. Id be absentmindedly playing with her p---y while doing these things, enough to keep her constantly on edge and wanting more, but definitely not enough to get her offTill I finally get bored of whatever Im doing and go all in and tear her soul apart with the best orgasm ever. Then we cuddle and I kiss her and give her all the love the next day, she wants to be my fidget toy again." ParadoxicallySweetBeing a bottom is pretty great, too"Getting railed by multiple tops for hours on end. Idk if that is bucket list material, bc it'll likely never happen." vonGustrow "I like to be dom and be in control. But what a desire to be with a butch, ideally a muscle mommy, who dominates me by treating me like her toy and drowning me in her w-t p---y." chileanSapphic "Mine is to be spit roasted by at least two dommes (or 'batteried:' penetrated from behind while giving someone else. In one end and out the other, like a battery." Zarohk "2 (maybe 1) person who would just want to pleasure me. I am in the middle one with a strap from behind. The other one could have one as well or not, but they play rough with me. They glide their hands over my body and sink their teeth into me while I can only moan." Lichttod"I have a fantasy of being fully bound on top of a table, arms behind my back, legs frog-tied and splayed open, completely exposing everything for my Domme to play with as much as she wants, however she wants, unable to stop anything." ShamrockHeartThere can never be too many women in the room"I wanna be surrounded by women, full orgy, toys, restraints, lube, the works." Express_Second8800"Spectators watch as I go down on a pretty Puzzleheaded-Ad-8684"I would love to be tied up in a table, blindfolded, with people watching while a pretty and sexy girl does what she wants to me while I obey her every command and she calls me a good girl for doing so." TRU35TR1K3R "To be tied up and be free use for a lot of women. I just want a woman to tie me up in her basement for the weekend and share me with her friends. Is that too much to ask for? This is what happens when you read f/f marvel fics on ao3." FamiliarAir5925 "I ummm... Never got to have sleepovers as a kid, being trans and all. And then I see cute stuff of sleepovers with a bunch of girls that get kinda raunchy and I'm like... I need it. I mean it's basically an orgy with extra steps but y'know. The pretense is cute." FaeChangelingStrap ons for the win"Being strapped by a friend/penetrated with one of those sex machines while my partner sits on my face and constantly teases me and edges me until I'm begging for release." SweatyFLMan1130"Attending a sapphics-only play party (specifically the scene from Virginie Despentes' 'Apocalypse Baby'). Strapping a woman from behind while she is bent over a dining table/kitchen sink/balcony ufff. Fingering a lover in public, under a table/ clothes. Having stand-up sex in a literal closet." sapphickink"Getting strapped by Queen Latifah." olskoolsisExperimenting with kinks"I wanna be sandwiched between two people. It just seems too hot, all the skin to skin contact. That, and fursuits. The idea of being 'anonymous" like that is very appealing."' auxiliary1 "Basically long term chastity / keyholder dynamic. Independently of the role.... I'd love to have 2 subs to compete for a chance of a release... I'd love to tease/edge a girl until she cries then cuddle her to sleep with no hope of a release. That and much more things that I'm only starting to discover.... God I'm a freak.... And I have been discovering my (kink) self for less than a year now.... Kinda scared of what I will find down the road." Cailloux_Dujardin"Chastity, but like warm and friendly teasing chastity. not some of the cruel stuff I see on here (though I support you girls that are into that!!). Collar maybe???? I'd love to learn how to pole dance with her at some point when I'm more fit. Some sort of gambling scenario (strip poker? gambling bedroom privileges? idk)." Throwaway551344"Kink warning. Sharing a steamy shower where my upper half is bound up in rope. Arms behind my back and rope on skin. She has control and puts me on my knees, standing over me. Pulls my face in and I try to make her fall by eating her out." thumbkeiListen, we warned you this was hot. Also, you're welcome.

The world needs some good Juju right now!Jujubee has been cracking up fans of RuPaul's Drag Race since her debut all the way back on season two.Since then, the hilarious queen has competed on nearly every franchise in the Drag Race universe including All Stars 1, All Stars 5, UK vs. the World, Queen of the Universe, and starred on Drag U.Now, the star is back on TV screens as a contestant on the brand new OUTtv show Drag House Rules. Jujubee is joined by other famous Drag Race alum including Manila Luzon, Tammie Brown, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Laganja Estranja, and more."If you think you've seen crazy in any other drag reality competition show, you have not. When you put this many queens together in one house, there's going to be chaos. It goes off rails. I find myself wanting to go home from the first moment I step into the house," Jujubee tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Although the cast is comprised of many big personalities, Jujubee says fans should gear up for more shenanigans from the one and only Tammie Brown."I'm really excited for the entire world to see Tammie Brown. Tammie is such a star and I've always known this about her. She says the most poignant things that mean so much, yet also mean nothing at all. Did she just drop some knowledge or did she just read me?"Brown is just the cherry on top when it comes to juicy content in store on Drag House Rules. Every possible manic situation that could happen on this show is basically guaranteed."People get poisoned. People hook up. People get violent. People break the rules. It's basically a total circus and everyone's a clown but me. I'm just the bearded lady. I only shave once."It wouldn't be a surprise if Jujubee makes it to the end on Drag House Rules. Her track record on Drag Race is very impressive as she's come in third place four separate times. However, she's making the argument that she technically came in second place on All Stars 5."Miz Cracker and I argue about this a lot. Maybe I got second place on All Stars 5. I just wish Ru was like, 'Jujubee, you get second place and Miz Cracker, you're third.' She knocked us off at the same time! Maybe we can go alphabetically."Drag House Rules is streaming now on OUTtv. To see the full interview with Jujubee, check out the video at the top of the page.

President Donald Trump throws pens used to sign executive orders to the crowd during an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-02-21T20:29:39Z AP AUDIO: Details about Trumps executive orders around DEI are causing confusion On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, AP correspondent Haya Panjwani speaks with deputy global business editor Pia Sarkar and reporter Alexandra Olson. WASHINGTON (AP) HAYA PANJWANI, host: In front of a large crowd in Washington, Donald Trump, shortly after being sworn into office for his second presidential term, signed a slew of executive orders. Those orders were what he calls Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity and Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.That executive order prompted companies around the United States to roll back their own diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. But the details of Trumps order and what its actually implementing are still murky.Im Haya Panjwani. On this episode of The Story Behind the AP Story, we speak with deputy global business editor Pia Sarkar and reporter Alexandra Olson.Firstly, Alexandra, what is DEI or diversity, equity and inclusion?ALEXANDRA OLSON, reporter: Its not a specific policy. It is an idea that you want to make your workplace or your school or any number of institutions inclusive and diverse and welcoming to a diverse population. I think companies over time have evolved to become more deliberate in these efforts. Some of the first waves of what people think of as modern-day DEI initiatives started in the wake of the civil rights movement. Part of the Civil Rights Act is ensuring that your workplace is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate. Some of the policies that companies had to institute involved compliance with those laws. And over time, you saw some prominent companies also institute an employment resource group for black employees or LGBTQ employees. Some of these companies started these groups in the 80s, even. PANJWANI: The Trump administrations executive order moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave and eventually laid off. Some businesses reacted. OLSON: Businesses have been rolling back their DEI initiatives or at least evaluating their DEI practices for many months now in response to conservative-led lawsuits that target some of these policies that they claim are discriminatory. But this review has taken on more urgency in response to the election of President Trump, and even more recently, his executive orders aimed at ending DEI-related policies both in the federal and private sectors. PIA SARKAR, editor: And businesses are also rolling back DEI initiatives. PANJWANI: Thats Pia Sarkar, deputy global business editor. You saw a lot more of them starting to join the movement of sorts. First, it started off with a handful of companies like Tractor Supply and John Deere. They were kind of smaller companies, but still name brands. But then suddenly you started to see much bigger companies also jumping in, including Walmart and McDonalds. And those are much bigger employers. And their rollback of some of these policies are much more impactful and may influence even bar companies to do the same.OLSON: Trumps executive orders were both very aggressive and at the same time not specific about what constitutes what the government is calling illegal or discriminatory. The orders did lay out the intention to harness the enforcement power of the federal government of the day against these policies. And thats what has gotten a lot of peoples attention. For example, the executive order threatens to impose financial sanctions on federal contractors deemed to have illegal DEI programs under new contracts. Federal contractors have to have a clause stating that they do not engage in discriminatory DEI programs. If they are found to be in violation of that, they could be subject to massive damages under the 1863 False Claims Act. PANJWANI: Whats being rolled back at companies varies.OLSON: Very few companies have gotten rid of everything that falls under their DEI buckets. What theyre trying to do is figure out which DEI practices or programs or policies could eventually be deemed illegal by a court responding to a lawsuit or by the federal government under these new Trump executive orders. One practice that has been prominently challenged is tying executive compensation to promoting diversity. What the argument is from the conservative side is that this kind of practice can pressure hiring managers to make decisions on who to hire and who to promote and who even to let go based on race. So its important to note that it is illegal under Title VII of the civil rights law to take race into account in hiring or promotion decisions. And prominent companies that have long promoted their DEI efforts say they do not do that.SARKAR: And some of the other DEI practices that are worth noting are a little bit more open-ended. If a company was sponsoring a pride event, for instance, some have pulled back on how much sponsorship theyre going to give. Some of those events, I think, Walmart, for instance, said that it was not going to renew its equity racial center that it set up in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd. And that was a five-year commitment, and it is not renewing it. PANJWANI: Consumers are reacting differently than they have in the past.SARKAR: So some are reacting to the rollback of the initiative initiatives a little bit more, at least from what I could see, in a more muted way than some of the protests that you saw, like, after George Floyd there was a huge demand for these kind of programs in 2020 and afterwards, in terms of people boycotting these companies because theyre rolling back the initiatives, you dont see as much of that. There was a boycott that had been planned against, I believe, Target. There was a lot of pressure on social media, specifically from conservative activist Robby Starbuck, going after companies that were promoting DEI. And so that had raised a lot of social media backlash and calls for boycotts. Those boycotts never seem to have taken place, but the companies reacted to the threat of a boycott, in some cases by rolling back their DEI initiatives. And those rollbacks of the DEI initiatives havent really led to more boycotts.It seems like because so many companies have gone in this direction, it almost is starting to feel like its becoming more the norm than the exception. Youre only hearing about the companies that are rolling back their DEI policies, right? Were not hearing from companies who are keeping them in place except for Apple and Costco and Microsoft. But there could be a lot more that just arent saying anything at all.PANJWANI: Now what exactly is the confusion?OLSON: The confusion is what is illegal. What is illegal discrimination or preference? The trouble is that DEI can constitute such a wide range, a wide range of programs, that nobody is quite sure whether their policies and practices and programs that theyve had in place in some cases for many years, in some cases maybe even decades. Whether these are in fact illegal or not. Theres been a few hints of, of backlash or of people protesting that some of this anti-gay effort has gone too far.So we saw that, for example, when some government institutions or museums decided to stop celebrating Black History Month or Holocaust Remembrance Day. Theres some indication that the government is trying to clarify that that is not what theyre after. That speaks to the confusion, because these executive orders are so wide-ranging that nobody knows exactly what they are trying to target and what they are not. But it also speaks to a certain sensitivity that the anti-drag campaign might also go too far.I think theres also a danger for these companies. They want to make sure that they dont go so far as to dismantle policies that are geared towards ensuring that they comply with anti-discrimination laws.SARKAR: And I think there is also some caution around letting this issue go up to the Supreme Court, considering that its a conservative Supreme Court right now in terms of whether or not there will be the pendulum swing back.It is worth noting that a lot of these companies that are rolling back their DEI programs are also making it a point to say, we still care about these issues. Were not pulling back completely. So it kind of feels like they want to keep one foot in the door still. And I dont know if thats because the pendulum might swing back. So kind of playing it both ways might be the best way to approach it right now, just in case it does go the other way.But right now, it doesnt look like thats going to happen in the foreseeable future.PANJWANI: This has been The Story Behind the AP Story. For more information on APs DEI coverage, visit APNews.com.

Voletta Wallace poses for a portrait on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)2025-02-21T18:12:59Z NEW YORK (AP) Voletta Wallace, the dedicated mother of the late great rapper The Notorious B.I.G. and protector of his legacy, died Friday morning. She was 78.Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac confirmed her death Friday to The Associated Press, saying she died at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, after a stint on hospice care. She died of natural causes.A representative for the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The Notorious B.I.G., one of the raps greatest performers, was shot to death at age 24 in Los Angeles in 1997. The case remains unsolved. He was survived by his wife, the musician and actress Faith Evans, and his two children, Christopher Jordan Wallace and Tyanna Dream Wallace.Wallace was a dedicated keeper of the legacy of her son, born Christopher Wallace. When he first emerged on the scene as one of raps most distinctive talents with songs that expertly detailed street life in Brooklyn, she labeled his music noise. Since his death, his gift took on a new meaning for her. She told AP in 2017, 20 years after his death, I remembered my son said, Dont listen to my music. And I never listened to his music. I heard it on the radio and it sounded good, because it was clean. But I said, You know what, I have to. I have to listen to that music. And thats what I did.I cried so much that day just listening to the music. I remember I sat, I stood. I rested my head on the stereo and I just cried like a baby. And that was therapy for me. And I said, Oh my God that was a talented young man to put those words together. He had a beautiful voice. I love his voice, she continued. Wallace launched the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation following her sons death, an organization that provides educational resources for children. In 2003, she honored mothers of other musicians who died untimely deaths Aaliyah, Lisa Left Eye Lopes, Tupac Shakur, Jam Master Jay, Big Pun, Big L and Freaky Tah at B.I.G. Night Out, a benefit for the foundation. It is our way of saying, Keep your head up, Wallace told AP at the time. Its the foundations way just to let these parents know that we love them.She also took legal action on behalf of her son. In 2004, she dropped a wrongful-death lawsuit against a former suspect in the rap stars slaying Amir Muhammad, aka Harry Billups. The 2002 lawsuit also named the city of Los Angeles and Muhammads former college roommate, David A. Mack, a Los Angeles policeman. It accused Mack of hiring Muhammad to shoot the hip-hop artist and police of failing to investigate properly after a fellow officer came under suspicion.In 2021, Wallace worked as an executive producer on the Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, and told AP about her role in the public eye. They never knew me. The public never knew me. I was thrust into this environment, I should say, after he passed away, because Im a very private person. Extremely private, she said. What he was doing out there, maybe I should have known. But honestly, I didnt. And to this day, there are people who are saying, Oh, she knew. (whispers) But I never knew. Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 debut album for Bad Boy Records, Ready to Die, has sold over six million units as of 2018, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and included the hits Big Poppa and Juicy. His sophomore album, Life After Death, released two weeks after his death, sold more than 11 million units. It launched multiple hits, including the timeless No. 1 hits Mo Money Mo Problems and Hypnotize. In 1997, Wallace accepted the MTV Video Music Award for best rap video for Hypnotize on behalf of her son. ___Associated Press journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton contributed to this report. MARIA SHERMAN Maria Sherman is the music reporter at The Associated Press. She is based in New York City. twitter instagram mailto

Welcome to our weekly roundup of political issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community. A week after references to transgender and queer people were removed from the National Park Services Stonewall Monument page, now a groundbreaking 2016 LGBTQ+ study has also been removed. San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the San Francisco Community Health Centerjoin six other nonprofits in filing a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. A new bill in Ohio could make pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrating much more challenging. Ferndale Pride in Michigan has cut ties with a healthcare sponsor over its halting of gender-affirming care for LGBTQ+ youth. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a webpage called Protecting Women and Children, which includes sections titled Keeping Men Out of Womens Sports and Sex-Based Definitions. If there is a political story you think we should highlight, email us at newsisout@localmedia.org. The post The OutLook: LGBTQ+ politics & policy: February 21, 2025 appeared first on News Is Out.

GLAAD is headed to Austin for South by Southwest (SXSW)! The Austin-based conference and festival of tech, culture, music and film & TV is set to for March 7-15 and GLAAD has set a couple of panels in their programming. Alex Schmider, Senior Director of Entertainment & Transgender Inclusion will moderate the panel titled The [...]The post SXSW 2025: GLAAD Sets Critics Panel and Pipeline Problem Conversation; Transgender Film Center To Be Honored first appeared on GLAAD.

If Stranger by the Lake haunted you in the best way, then prepare yourself for director Alain Guiraudies latest exploration of queer desire in Misericordia.In this film, Guiraudie trades cruising in the beachside woods for exploring dangerous desires in a small town in rural France. It follows Jrmie (Flix Kysyl) who returns to his small town in the wake of the death of his former boss and mentor. Rather than leave, the out-of-worker baker extends his stay for far too long, insinuating himself in his former bosss family. Soon he becomes the object of desire, of, well, kind of everyone, and according to the synopsis, becomes tangled into a web of violent criminal behavior and erotic physical desire. He lives with his boss's widow, becomes the object of her sons jealousy, and strikes up a friendship with the local priest. It's a complicated story and once that is personal to the director. At the age of 60 well, Im not quite 60, but nearly Id like to say that this film was sort of made on the strength of what I would call teenage fantasies, Guiraudie told IndieWire via translator. Well, the idea of falling in love with the mother of ones best friend or the father of ones best friend. You have this whole image of desire and eroticism as it is linked to religion based from childhood or teenagehood.The film opens in select theaters from Sideshow and Janus Films on March 21, but in the meantime, you can watch the trailer below.

President Donald Trump speaks at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Pool via AP)2025-02-21T21:22:22Z The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists.The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.The AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech in this case refusing to change its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, as President Donald Trump did last month with an executive order.The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government, the AP said in its lawsuit, which names White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.This targeted attack on the APs editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment, the news agency said. This court should remedy it immediately. In stopping the AP from attending press events at the White House and Mar-a-Lago, or flying on Air Force One in the agencys customary spot, the Trump team directly cited the APs decision not to fully follow the presidents renaming.Were going to keep them out until such time as they agree that its the Gulf of America, Trump said Tuesday. This week, about 40 news organizations signed onto a letter organized by the White House Correspondents Association, urging the White House to reverse its policy against the AP. READ the full lawsuit. DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Steve Bannon speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-21T19:15:28Z OXON HILL, Md. (AP) Steve Bannon was accused of making a Nazi salute as he concluded a speech at a conservative gathering where President Donald Trump is slated to speak this weekend, but Bannon said Friday the gesture was merely a wave.Bannon, who once served as Trumps chief strategist and helped lead his 2016 Republican campaign, was onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington on Thursday evening when he extended his right arm in the air, his palm flat, after imploring the crowd to Fight! Fight! Fight! a reference to what Trump shouted after an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, during last years campaign.The gesture drew immediate backlash due to its similarities with the right-arm salute linked in history to the Nazis and their allies.Steve Bannons long and disturbing history of stoking antisemitism and hate, threatening violence, and empowering extremists is well known and well documented by ADL and others, the Anti-Defamation League, an antisemitism and human rights watchdog, wrote on X in response. We are not surprised, but are concerned about the normalization of this behavior. Meanwhile, French far-right National Rally president Jordan Bardella said he had cancelled his scheduled speech at CPAC on Friday in reaction to what he described as a gesture referring to Nazi ideology. While I was not present in the room, one of the speakers allowed himself, out of provocation, a gesture referring to Nazi ideology. As a consequence, I made the immediate decision to cancel my speech, Bardella said in a written statement. Bannon, speaking to a French journalist from Le Point news magazine on Friday, said the gesture was not a Nazi salute but was a wave like I did all the time.I do it at the end of all of my speeches to thank the crowd, Bannon said.Bannon, whose War Room podcast is extremely popular on the right, also blasted Bardella for his decision to cancel, calling him unworthy to lead France. Hes a boy, not a man, Bannon said, according to video posted by correspondent Claire Meynial.He echoed those comments later Friday, telling The Associated Press that, If he canceled because I waved to the crowd like I did at the Front National seven years ago ... hes not a man and he will never be the leader of France.Online, some far-right users suggested Bannon had made the gesture purposely to trigger liberals and the media, while others distanced themselves. Nick Fuentes, a far-right influencer and Trump ally who uses his platform to share his antisemitic views, said in a livestream that Bannons salute was getting a little uncomfortable even for me.Bannons gesture came at the end of a speech in which he repeated lies about the 2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and continued to press for Trump to serve a third term, something the Constitution explicitly bars.The future of America is MAGA. And the future of MAGA is Donald J. Trump, he said. We want Trump in 28! Bannon is not the only person in Trumps orbit whose gestures have come under scrutiny.Trump adviser Elon Musk drew criticism last month after he slapped his hand on his chest and then extended his arm out in a speech at Capital One Arena celebrating Trumps inauguration. But extremist monitors and experts said it was unclear what Musk was trying to convey to the crowd.Musk, made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, the ADL concluded.Musk also pushed back. Frankly, they need better dirty tricks, he posted on X several hours after he left the stage. The everyone is Hitler attack is sooo tired.Marshall Lerner, a Jewish conservative who attended CPAC but had not seen Bannons appearance or gesture, said he was bothered by how some critics look to link Trumps Make America Great Again movement with Nazism and mentioned the criticism of Musk.Its like saying if the Nazis got up in the morning and they ate breakfast and Trump got up in the morning and ate breakfast, he is doing things that the Nazis are doing, Lerner said. Thats silly. Thats ridiculous. That doesnt make any sense. CPAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bannons gesture.This years gathering, held in Oxon Hill, Maryland, has drawn a whos who of conservative leaders and Trump administration officials, including numerous Cabinet members. Vice President JD Vance addressed the convention earlier Thursday.___ Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report. JILL COLVIN Colvin is an Associated Press national political reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in New York. mailto ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Gomez Licon writes about national politics for The Associated Press. She is based in Florida. twitter mailto

Former congressman Matt Gaetzs response to actor Alan Ritchsons scathing takedown of him has MAGA melting down and the rest of the internet congratulating the Reacher star. In a recent interview with GQ, Ritchson slammed the right-wing politician who he went to school with and who has been accused of paying a 17-year-old girl for sex, among other crimes.That motherfer. We are adversaries, Ritchson said. It's shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebodyknowing everything we know about him and the promises that he's made behind closed doors about pardoning certain criminalshe's just not a good dude! (@) Ritchson, who GQ described as if your sweetest childhood friend got jacked and made it big in Hollywood, said that Gaetz almost makes him want to run for office himself.There's part of me that wants to get into politics to outdo somebody like him for good, and there's part of me that's like, I'm not duplicitous enough to succeed in politics, he said. There are certain people that do a good job of staying true to who they are, but they're ineffective. I think Bernie Sanders is a hero. But it's like, what has he accomplished?After Ritchsons quotes about the Florida politician went viral online, Gaetz took to X (formerly Twitter) to hit back. While MAGA supporters predictably cheered on Gaetz the rest of the internet seemed to be rooting for Ritchson.In a series of posts, Gaetz wrote that he was a year ahead of Ritchson at the Florida high school they both attended and that the two men werent adversaries but claimed that Hollywood apparently changes people!In a follow-up post, Gaetz continued his insults, Spoiler alert: We were not adversaries. Hes just trying to get Hollywood attention (but not just with the steroids). In both posts, Gaetz brought up Ritchsons family, writing that he knew his older brother and mother and went to his fathers retirement party. I remember the time his mom (who is wonderful) wouldnt let me read the Ken Starr Report in 1998 in the NHS computer lab because.(you know), he posted. (@) This isnt the first time Ritchson has spoken candidly about his dislike of Republican politicians. Back in April 2024, he opened up about his faith and why he thinks Donald Trumps brand of politics is antithetical to what Jesus was calling us to be and do in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter."Trump is a rapist and a con man, and yet the entire Christian church seems to be treat him like he's their poster child and it's unreal. I don't understand it, he said.While MAGA has been calling Ritchson delusional and an unhinged Hollywierd cultist" for his remarks, the rest of the internet was busy talking about how much they would pay to watch Ritchson snap pedo Gaetz in half and that Matt Gaetz getting called a pedophile and a loser on the debate stage by Walking Refrigerator Alan Ritchson would make it worth it to have an actor run for office. Keep scrolling to see the funniest reactions to Ritchsons scathing takedown of Gaetz! (@) "Alan 'reacher' ritchson could snap Matt 'pedo' Gaetz in half & I would pay to see that." (@) "Tell us how you really feel." (@) "I would vote for Alan Ritchson. Always wanted to have a president who is fully yoked, hates Nazis and pedophiles, and calls Matt Gaetz a motherfucker. 10/10 political candidate. No notes." (@) "look. look. i know okay. i know we don't like actors doing politics because that's how we got in this mess in the first place. BUT. matt gaetz getting called a pedophile and a loser on the debate stage by Walking Refrigerator Alan Ritchson may be worth it" (@) "Alan Ritchson vs Matt Gaetz" (@) "A jacked up Alan Ritchson running for president and talking shit about Matt Gaetz would clear 400 electoral votes" (@) "Jack Reacher calling pedo Matt Gaetz a motherfucker gives me all the feels." (@) "lol, the mothers and daughters probably agree" (@) "I would actually pay money to watch Alan Ritchson to beat up Matt Gaetz." (@) "Ive been a huge Alan Ritchson fan since his portrayal of Thad Castle. My fandom has only grown as he gets more prominent roles and continues publicly eviscerating people like Matt Gaetz. Play on, playa." (@) "Alan Ritchson and Dave Bautista are like the opposite of toxic masculinity." (@) "Many MAGA guys hate Alan Ritchson because he is all of their masculine fantasies, is a devout christian who runs his own faith based youtube channel, is married with children and successful, and basically stone cold proof you can do all those things and still be broadly liked lol" (@) "MAGA minds are melting over Reacher actor Alan Ritchsons scathing comments about Trump in an interview in The Hollywood Reporter: 'Trump is a rap*s.t and a con man, and yet the entire Christian church seems to treat him like hes their poster child and its unreal. I dont understand it.' (@) "Alan Ritchson's the kind of guy you're leery about possibly having right-wing beliefs, but he keeps surprising you in the best ways."alan

Pedro Pascal has once again left the internet flustered after a lil joke with a NSFW edge.The Mandalorian star was among the many famous faces present for SNL 50: The Anniversary Special last weekend, where he appeared in several skits alongside past and present cast members. He had also previously hosted an episode of the show back in 2023, which came up during his on-camera red carpet interview with Leslie Jones."I feel like the intense structure of it helps with the panic, the pressure, because theres such a ritual and ceremony to everything," he said. "You dont have time to think about anything else, and theyre literally pulling you from every single direction. Like, literally, physically grabbing you."Jones agreed, noting that her assignment during her tenure at the long-running sketch comedy show was "to tell the host: 'Submit. Submit. Just submit. Because itll be much easier."She kept going, only to stop abruptly when she realized Pascal had quietly chimed in with a response of his own."Im into submission," he quipped.And in that moment, Jones served as a stand-in for the squadron of chronically online Pascal fansflustered and needing a moment to compose herself."But I am," he added, laughing. (@) The interaction was initially reported in print via E! News, but once the clip finally social media... the internet did its thing. (@) "Not Pedro being the Babygirl instead of the father figure" (@) "leslie jones is so real her brain just short circuited" (@) 'im into submission' PEDRO PASCAL WHEN I FIND YOU" (@) "they on tiktok trying to convince themselves that pedro saying hes into submission means that hes the dom like ladies did we watch the same clip" (@) 'im into submission' he says with confidence and then gets all shy, giggly and starts blushing as if he didnt just cause a mass explosion of chemical reactions in my body. my poor fangirl heart cant take it anymore"SNL 50: The Anniversary Special is currently streaming on Peacock... or you can simply keep this clip on repeat for two and a half hours. The choice is yours.

Hunter Schafer just took to the internet to let everyone know the harsh reality that she is facing after changing her passport. The Euphoria actress shared an 8-and-a-half-minute video talking about how she now has an M placed on her passport and how discouraging the situation is. On the first day of Trumps presidency, he signed an executive order to declare only two genders recognizedSource

People drive past billboards with a picture of the late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hashem Safieddine displayed on Beirut airport highway, Lebanon, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)2025-02-21T18:53:54Z BEIRUT (AP) Nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike, thousands of supporters of the longtime leader of Lebanons militant Hezbollah group have flown into Beirut for Hassan Nasrallahs funeral on Sunday.Nasrallah was killed on Sept. 27 when Israels air force dropped more than 80 bombs on Hezbollahs main operations room in southern Beirut. It was the biggest and most consequential of Israels targeted killings in years. The death of Nasrallah, one of the Iran-backed Shiite groups founders and Hezbollahs leader of more than 30 years, was a huge blow to the group he had transformed into a potent force in the Middle East. Hezbollah, which the U.S. and some of its allies has designated a terrorist organization, has suffered significant losses in the latest war with Israel, including the killing of several of its most senior military and political figures. His cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb a few days later, will be laid to rest in his hometown in southern Lebanon. The two had temporarily been buried in secret locations. Hezbollah earlier this month announced plans for their official funerals. Crowds are expected to gather on Sunday at Beiruts main sports stadium for a funeral ceremony before Nasrallahs interment. Flights from Iraq, where Hezbollah has a huge following among Iraqi Shiites, have been full for days on end. According to an Iraqi transportation ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the flights, up to 6,000 people have flown to Beirut over the past days. Among those who arrived from overseas was also American commentator Jackson Hinkle, who regularly spreads false information on social media, especially in support of Russia and its war on Ukraine.I am honored to be attending the funeral, Hinkle posted on the social media platform X after arriving this week in Beirut. Hinkle posted a photo of himself visiting a war-wrecked southern Lebanese border village, waving a Hezbollah flag. Nasrallah, idolized by his supporters and with large followings among the Shiites and the Islamic world, also held the title of sayyid, an honorific meant to signify the Shiite clerics lineage dating back to the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.However, Lebanese authorities have revoked permission for a passenger plane from Iran, leaving dozens who had wanted to attend the funeral stranded in Tehran and triggering protests by Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon. The ban came after the Israeli army accused Iran of smuggling cash to Hezbollah by way of civilian flights, leading some in Lebanon to allege that their government had caved in the face of a threat from Israel. Some of those who were expected to fly in from Iran were now coming to Lebanon via Iraq. Also, members of Iran-backed groups in the region also were traveling to Beirut to attend Nasrallahs funeral. Kazim al-Fartousi, spokesman for the Iran-backed Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada group in Iraq, arrived on Friday. He said Nasrallah was the father, commander and the book that we read every day to learn about freedom. U.S. Republican Rep. Joe Wilson criticized Lebanese politicians who were planning to attend the funeral. Any Lebanese politician who attends the funeral of the murderous terrorist Hasan Nasrallah is standing with the Iranian Regime, Wilson said on X.___Associated Press writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

People drive past billboards with a picture of the late Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hashem Safieddine displayed on Beirut airport highway, Lebanon, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)2025-02-21T18:49:10Z LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Police say three people were shot and killed at a motor vehicle office in Louisville on Friday.Louisville Metro Police Department Maj. Donald Boeckman told reporters officers were called to the office around noon and found one person dead and two others wounded. The two wounded were taken to the hospital where they died.He said theres no ongoing threat to the public.The shooting happened at a state Driver Licensing Office on the southern outskirts of Louisville.Boeckman said the victims were a man and two women and the suspect or suspects left in a vehicle. Boeckman did not have a description of the vehicle and said investigators were still reviewing surveillance video.Its absolutely a tragedy and Im surprised there wasnt more people injured, Boeckman said.

Agatha All Along fans who have continued clinging to hope that a season two still may be in the cards might have been onto something after all.Morale was low after Patti LuPone, who starred in the first season of the wickedly queer Marvel/Disney+ show, revealed last month that she didnt think there would be a return to the Witches Road."[Jac Schaeffer] said, 'I dont do second seasons,'" LuPone recalled the creator saying during production. "She said, 'They wanted me to do a second season of WandaVision and I didnt.' She said, 'Theres too much to write,' so she does one-offs."The Broadway legends words alone werent enough to hammer nails into Agatha Harknesss coffin just yet. But the number of canonical MCU shows that currently have more than a single season on Disney+ stands at just one Loki leaving fans already concerned theyre in for an uphill battle.But now, a new hope has arisen.Head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel, Brad Winterbaum, recently told Entertainment Weekly that the possibility of more Agatha All Along is absolutely still on the table."I think its 'linear series potential,'" he said. "A show like Agatha, to me, is concept based. Yes, a second season for sure is something that we would want to do, but lets not rush it. Lets get the right idea and then make it." (@) Potentially waiting years between seasons is not, historically, what has made television flourish. But it is certainly turning into something to which modern streaming audiences are being forced to acclimate. And anything MCU admittedly has a leg up on other series that follow this frustrating path, since they continuously release various movies and series that have occasional overlap in characters, keeping the memories of them fresh in fans minds assuming said fans subscribe to the MCU as a whole, anyway.At any rate, there was already a fair amount of confidence that Kathryn Hahn would reprise her role as Agatha somewhere within the MCU. However, AAA fans more often appear to be itching for the vibe and focus of her particular series rather than just the character itself. And they definitely want more of Agathas love/hate relationship with Rio (Aubrey Plaza), something that seems less likely to be satisfactorily explored elsewhere in the MCU, considering how often queer romance is left on the cutting room floor in Marvel movies. (@) So well keep waiting for the glorious return of Agatha Harkness in her titular series and at least now we have renewed confirmation that the wait may not be in vain.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's new director of the FBI, is pictured during his ceremonial swearing-in, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in the Indian Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-02-21T23:08:00Z WASHINGTON (AP) Kash Patel was sworn in Friday as the FBI director, calling the opportunity to lead the nations premier federal law enforcement agency the greatest honor of his life.Patel was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday by a 51-49 margin, with two Republican lawmakers, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, breaking party ranks and voting against him.I think hell go down as the best ever at that position, President Donald Trump told reporters Friday ahead of the White House swearing-in, which was conducted by Attorney General Pam Bondi and attended by Republican supporters in Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. Trump added that the agents love this guy.Patel will inherit an FBI gripped by turmoil as the Justice Department over the past month has forced out a group of senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual demand for the names of thousands of agents who participated in investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Democrats had sounded the alarm about the appointment, saying they fear Patel will operate as a loyalist for Trump and abuse the FBIs law enforcement powers to go after the presidents adversaries. Theyve cited past comments such as his suggestion before he was nominated that he would come after anti-Trump conspirators in the government and media. Patel sought to assuage those concerns at his confirmation hearing last month, saying he intended to follow the Constitution and had no interest in pursuing retribution, though he also said at his swearing-in Friday that reporters had written fake, malicious, slanderous and defamatory stories about him. Republicans angry over what they see as law enforcement bias against conservatives during the Democratic Biden administration, as well as criminal investigations into Trump, have rallied behind Patel as the right person for the job. Patel has spoken of his desire to implement major changes at the FBI, including a reduced footprint in Washington and a renewed emphasis on the bureaus traditional crime-fighting duties rather than the intelligence-gathering work that has come to define its mandate over the past two decades as national security threats have proliferated.He said Friday that the FBIs national security mission was equally as important as its efforts to fight violent crime and drug overdoses.Anyone that wishes to do harm to our way of life and our citizens, here and abroad, will face the full wrath of the DOJ and FBI, Patel said. If you seek to hide in any corner of this country or planet, we will put on the worlds largest manhunt and we will find you and we will decide your end-state.A former Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor, Patel was selected in November to replace Christopher Wray, who was picked by Trump in 2017 and who resigned at the conclusion of the Biden administration to make way for his chosen successor. Wray infuriated Trump throughout his tenure, including after FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in August 2022 for classified documents in one of two federal investigations that resulted in indictments against Trump that were dismissed after his election win. FBI directors are given 10-year terms as a way to insulate them from political influence and keep them from becoming beholden to a particular president or administration. But Trump fired the FBI director he inherited, James Comey, after Comey had spent over three years on the job and replaced Wray after more than seven years in the position. 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 WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

The New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-02-21T03:59:54Z NEW YORK (AP) U.S. stocks fell sharply Friday after reports showed that worries among consumers and businesses about President Donald Trumps policies may be hitting the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 sank 1.7% for its worst day in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 748 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.2%.The losses accelerated through the day following several weaker-than-expected reports on the economy. One suggested U.S. business activity is close to stalling, with growth slowing to a 17-month low. The preliminary report from S&P Global said activity unexpectedly shrank for U.S. services businesses, and many in the survey reported slumping optimism because of worries about Washington. Companies report widespread concerns about the impact of federal government policies, ranging from spending cuts to tariffs and geopolitical developments, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Sales are reportedly being hit by the uncertainty caused by the changing political landscape, and prices are rising amid tariff-related price hikes from suppliers. A separate report said U.S. consumers are also preparing for higher inflation, in part because of potential tariffs that could raise prices for all kinds of imports. Theyre broadly expecting prices to be 4.3% higher 12 months from now, which is a big jump from their forecast of 3.3% inflation last month, according to a survey by the University of Michigan. That fits with preliminary data in the survey earlier this month. Among U.S. households, though, a divide is evident underneath the surface. Expectations for inflation are rising for political independents and Democrats, while falling slightly for Republicans. A third economic report, meanwhile, said sales of previously occupied homes were weaker last month than economists expected. Relatively high mortgage rates, along with expensive prices for homes, have been hurting sales. To be sure, the U.S. stock market is still up for the young year so far and is not far from its all-time high set earlier this week. Virtually no one on Wall Street is forecasting a recession anytime soon. But Fridays reports raise concerns about whats been a remarkably resilient economy, and the losses on Wall Street were widespread. Stocks of the smallest companies, whose profits can be more closely tied to the strength of the U.S. economy than big multinational rivals, fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index of small stocks dropped a market-leading 2.9%.Within the big companies of the S&P 500 index, 3 out of every 4 stocks fell. Everything from Big Tech stocks that have been bid up amid the artificial-intelligence frenzy to airlines to metals companies dropped. Nvidia sank 4.1%. United Airlines lost 6.4%, and Newmont Mining fell 5.7%. Akamai Technologies had the sharpest drop in the S&P 500, even though the cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It lost a fifth of its value and fell 21.7% as investors focused instead on its forecasts for revenue and other financial measures this upcoming year, which fell short of analysts expectations. On the winning side of Wall Street was Celsius Holdings, which sells better-for-you energy drinks. It leaped 27.8% after saying it agreed to buy Alani Nu, a beverage company that focuses on female customers. Analysts called the purchase price, $1.65 billion net of tax effects, reasonable and said the deal should quickly add to profits for Celsius, which also reported its latest quarterly results. Other winners included stocks of companies that can provide steadier profits regardless of the U.S. economys strength. Water utility American Water Works rose 3.1%, for example.All told, the S&P 500 fell 104.39 points to 6,013.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 748.63 to 43,428.02, and the Nasdaq composite sank 438.36 points to 19,524.01.Before Fridays sharp drop, the S&P 500 had been heading for a week of almost zero movement. Helping to lift stocks had been a steady parade of better-than-expected profit reports. That helped offset worries about stubbornly high inflation, which could prevent the Federal Reserve from delivering more relief for the economy and financial markets through lower interest rates. The Fed has been holding its main interest rate steady after sharply cutting it through the end of last year. At their last policy meeting in January, Fed officials suggested they may stay on hold for a while given worries about how Trumps proposed tariffs and mass deportations of migrants, along with other factors, could push upward on inflation.While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also encourage spending that puts upward pressure on inflation. Treasury yields fell in the bond market following Fridays weaker-than-expected economic reports. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.42 % from 4.51% late Thursday.In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe after rising across much of Asia. Hong Kongs Hang Seng jumped 4% for one of the worlds largest moves,, boosted by a surge for e-commerce firm Alibaba, which reported stronger profit for the end of last year than expected. It also talked up its artificial-intelligence developments. ___AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Orville Peck has been busy promoting his latest album Stampede and preparing for his Broadway debut in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. But in a recent Instagram Q&A, the enigmatic country singer opened up about his journey in music, his upcoming stage role, and shared some personal insights that fans were curious about. The questions ranged from his marketing strategies for his debut album PonySource

A recent study from the Williams Institute sheds light on the challenges faced by transgender individuals when using restrooms that align with their gender identity. The study found that transgender people are more likely to face harassment or be denied access when using facilities that correspond to their gender assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. The research, part of the 2022 U.Source

The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-02-21T23:16:07Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily kept on the job the head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, in its first word on the many legal fights over President Donald Trumps second-term agenda.The justices said in an unsigned order that Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, could remain in his job at least until Wednesday. Thats when a lower-court order temporarily protecting him expires.With a bare majority of five justices, the high court neither granted nor rejected the administrations plea to immediately remove him. Instead, the court held the request in abeyance, noting that the order expires in just a few days. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson has scheduled a Wednesday hearing over whether to extend her order keeping Dellinger in his post. The justices could return to the case depending on what she decides. Conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito sided with the administration, doubting whether courts have the authority to restore to office someone the president has fired. Acknowledging that some presidentially appointed officials have contested their removal, Gorsuch wrote that those officials have generally sought remedies like backpay, not injunctive relief like reinstatement. Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have rejected the administrations request. The conservative-dominated court has previously taken a robust view of presidential power, including in last years decision that gave presidents immunity from prosecution for actions they take in office.The Justice Department employed sweeping language in urging the court to allow the termination of the head of an obscure federal agency with limited power. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in court papers that the lower court had crossed a constitutional red line by blocking Dellingers firing and stopping Trump from shaping the agenda of an executive-branch agency in the new administrations critical first days. The Office of Special Counsel is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. Its leader may be removed by the president only for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.Dellinger was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term in 2024.I am glad to be able to continue my work as an independent government watchdog and whistleblower advocate, Dellinger said in a statement. I am grateful to the judges and justices who have concluded that I should be allowed to remain on the job while the courts decide whether my office can retain a measure of independence from direct partisan and political control.Harris said the court should use this case to lay down a marker and check federal judges who in the last few weeks alone have halted dozens of presidential actions (or even perceived actions) that encroached on Trumps presidential powers. The court already has pared back a 1935 ruling, known as Humphreys Executor, that protected presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed leaders of independent agencies from arbitrary firings.Conservative justices have called into question limits on the presidents ability to remove the agency heads. In 2020, for instance, the court by a 5-4 vote upheld Trumps first-term firing of the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court that the Presidents removal power is the rule, not the exception. But in that same opinion, Roberts drew distinctions that suggested the court could take a different view of efforts to remove the whistleblower watchdog. In any event, the OSC exercises only limited jurisdiction to enforce certain rules governing Federal Government employers and employees. It does not bind private parties at all or wield regulatory authority comparable to the CFPB, Roberts wrote.The new administration already has indicated it would seek to entirely overturn the Humphreys Executor decision, which held that President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not arbitrarily fire a Federal Trade Commission member. Trump has taken aim at people who are on the multimember boards that run an alphabet soup of federal agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit System Review Board.Like Dellinger, they were confirmed to specific terms in office and the federal laws under which the agencies operate protect them from arbitrary firings. Lower courts have so far blocked some of those firings.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)2025-02-21T22:49:29Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Defense Department said Friday that its cutting 5,400 probationary workers starting next week and will put a hiring freeze in place.It comes after staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, were at the Pentagon earlier in the week and received lists of such employees, U.S. officials said. They said those lists did not include uniformed military personnel, who are exempt. Probationary employees are generally those on the job for less than a year and who have yet to gain civil service protection.We anticipate reducing the Departments civilian workforce by 5-8% to produce efficiencies and refocus the Department on the Presidents priorities and restoring readiness in the force, Darin Selnick, who is acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement.President Donald Trumps administration is firing thousands of federal workers who have fewer civil service protections. For example, roughly 2,000 employees were cut from the U.S. Forest Service, and an 7,000 people are expected to be let go at the Internal Revenue Service. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has supported cuts, posting on X last week that the Pentagon needs to cut the fat (HQ) and grow the muscle (warfighters.) The Defense Department is the largest government agency, with the Government Accountability Office finding in 2023 that it had more than 700,000 full-time civilian workers.Hegseth also has directed the military services to identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year to redirect those savings to fund Trumps priorities. It represents about 8% of the militarys budget.

People protest during a rally outside the Treasury Department in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-02-22T00:46:56Z NEW YORK (AP) A federal judge in Manhattan on Friday extended a ban on Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency accessing sensitive Treasury Department information, but rejected broader restrictions sought by 19 Democratic state attorneys general who sued over the issue.Judge Jeannette A. Vargas issued a preliminary injunction but said she may lift the ban which she initially put in place earlier this month if the Treasury Department certifies by March 24 that DOGE members have received required cybersecurity training.Vargas said DOGEs efforts to modernize Treasury payment systems were not undercut by the delay, which she said was meant to ensure the security of sensitive personal data for millions of Americans.Without addressing these issues, the potential consequences of a cybersecurity breach could be catastrophic, Vargas wrote in a 64-page ruling. The attorneys general had sought to ban Musks DOGE team from developing automated or manual processes to halt payments flowing through the Treasury Departments payment systems.Vargas said that rather than broad and sweeping relief she opted for a narrowly tailored remedy to address concerns that private banking data could become exposed in a data breach.___ RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-22T00:22:03Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Friday largely blocked sweeping executive orders from President Donald Trump that seek to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from terminating or changing federal contracts they consider equity-related.Abelson found that the orders likely carry constitutional violations, including against free-speech rights. Trump signed an order his first day in office directing federal agencies to terminate all equity-related grants or contracts. He signed a follow-up order requiring federal contractors to certify that they dont promote DEI.The White House didnt immediately return a message seeking comment. The plaintiffs including the city of Baltimore and higher education groups sued the Trump administration earlier this month, arguing the executive orders are unconstitutional and a blatant overreach of presidential authority. They also allege the directives have a chilling effect on free speech. The Trump administration has argued that the president was targeting only DEI programs that violate federal civil rights laws. Whats happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements, attorney Aleshadye Getachew said during a nearly three-hour hearing Wednesday. Abelson, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, agreed with the plaintiffs that the executive orders discourage businesses, organizations and public entities from openly supporting diversity, equity and inclusion. The harm arises from the issuance of it as a public, vague, threatening executive order, he said during a hearing this week.Abelsons order does allow for the attorney general to investigate and prepare a report on DEI practices, but blocks enforcement. Efforts to increase diversity have been under attack for years by Republicans who contend the measures threaten merit-based hiring, promotion and educational opportunities for white people. However, supporters say the programs help institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations while addressing the lasting impacts of systemic racism.Their purpose was to foster equitable environments in businesses and schools, especially for historically marginalized communities. Although researchers say DEI initiatives date back to the 1960s, more were launched and expanded in 2020 during increased calls for racial justice. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued in their complaint that Trumps efforts to abruptly end such programs will cause widespread harm, not least because of the vague language in his executive orders. Ordinary citizens bear the brunt, they wrote. Plaintiffs and their members receive federal funds to support educators, academics, students, workers, and communities across the country. As federal agencies make arbitrary decisions about whether grants are equity-related, Plaintiffs are left in limbo.The plaintiffs include the city of Baltimore, which receives federal funds for public safety, housing, the environment, infrastructure and more, according to the complaint. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who won reelection last year, has championed efforts to increase opportunities for the citys most vulnerable residents, including people of color. Scott became the subject of racist attacks online last year as some commenters labeled him a DEI mayor, and he recently coined the phrase Definitely Earned It to highlight the accomplishments of Black figures throughout history.In addition to the mayor and the Baltimore City Council, the plaintiffs include the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which represents restaurant workers across the country.Their attorneys claim the groups are already suffering the effects of the executive orders as Trump encroaches on the powers of Congress and seeks to suppress views he doesnt agree with.But the President simply does not wield that power, they wrote in the complaint. And contrary to his suggestions otherwise, his power is not limitless. 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

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown speaks during a press briefing, April 26, 2024, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)2025-02-22T00:40:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, sidelining a history-making fighter pilot and respected officer as part of a campaign to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks.The ouster of Brown, only the second Black general to serve as chairman, is sure to send shock waves through the Pentagon. His 16 months in the job had been consumed with the war in Ukraine and the expanded conflict in the Middle East.I want to thank General Charles CQ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country, including as our current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader, and I wish a great future for him and his family, Trump posted on social media.Trump says he is nominating Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Razin Caine to be the next chairman. Caine is a career F-16 pilot who served on active duty and in the National Guard, and had most recently served as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA, according to his official military biography. Caines military service includes combat roles in Iraq, special operations postings and positions inside some of the Pentagons most classified special access programs. However, it does not include key assignments that were identified in law as prerequisites for the job, with an exemption for the president to waive them if necessary in times of national interest. The 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act states that to be qualified, a chairman must have served previously as either the vice chairman, as a combatant commander or a service chief but that requirement could be waived if the president determines such action is necessary in the national interest. The role of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs was established in 1949 as an adviser to the president and secretary of defense, as a way to filter all of the views of the service chiefs and more readily provide that information to the White House without the president having to reach out to each individual military branch, according to an Atlantic Council briefing written by retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro. The role has no actual command authority. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a statement praising both Caine and Brown, announced the firings of two additional senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Jim Slife.Brown had spent Friday at the U.S.-Mexico border, assessing the militarys rapid buildup of forces to meet Trumps executive order on countering illegal immigration.Trump acted despite support for Brown among key members of Congress and a seemingly friendly meeting with him in mid-December, when the two were seated next to each other for a time at the Army-Navy football game. Brown had been meeting regularly with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who took over the top Pentagon job just four weeks ago.But Browns future was called into question during the Senate Armed Services Committees confirmation hearing for Hegseth last month. Asked if he would fire Brown, Hegseth responded bluntly, Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given. Hegseth has embraced Trumps effort to end programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the ranks and fire those who reflect those values.Hegseth had previously taken aim at Brown. First of all, you gotta fire, you know, you gotta fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs, he said flatly in a podcast in November. And in one of his books, he questioned whether Brown got the job because he was Black.Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? Well never know, but always doubt which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesnt really much matter, Hegseth wrote.As he walked into the Pentagon on his first day as defense chief on Jan. 27, however, Hegseth was asked directly if he planned to fire Brown. Im standing with him right now, said Hegseth, patting Brown on the back as they headed into the building. Look forward to working with him.In his second term, Trump has asserted his executive authority in a much stronger way and removed most carryover officials from President Joe Bidens term, even though in typical transitions, many of those positions are meant to carry over independently from one administration to the next.Just prior to his Senate confirmation vote in June 2020 to become chief of the Air Force, Brown gained some attention when he spoke out on the police killing of George Floyd the month before. While he knew it was risky, he said, discussions with his wife and sons about the killing convinced him he needed to say something. As protests roiled the nation, Brown posted a video message to the Air Force titled, Heres What Im Thinking About. He described the pressures that came with being one of the few Black men in his unit. He recalled pushing himself to perform error-free as a pilot and officer his whole life, but still facing bias. He said hed been questioned about his credentials, even when he wore the same flight suit and wings as every other pilot.As chairman, he pushed the same campaign he had when leading the Air Force that the Pentagon must accelerate its ability to change or it would lose future wars.Prior to leading the Air Force, Brown had served as the top air power leader in the Indo-Pacific. He had repeatedly warned that U.S. warplanes had to change the way they would fight, by moving them from large, vulnerable bases and shifting to a format where drone swarms and small dispersed units would be able to independently counter threats from the thousands of islands throughout the Pacific. Im thinking about my mentors, and how I rarely had a mentor that looked like me, Brown said in the video. Im thinking about how my nomination provides some hope, but also comes with a heavy burden I cant fix centuries of racism in our country, nor can I fix decades of discrimination that may have impacted members of our Air Force.Brown was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 98-0. Not long afterward, his name began to surface as the likely successor to Gen. Mark Milley, who was set to retire as chairman.Browns path to the chairmanship was troubled he was among the more than 260 senior military officers whose nominations were stalled for months by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. Tuberville caused ire in the Senate and organizational juggling in the Pentagon when he blocked the confirmations in protest over a department policy that paid for travel when a service member had to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. But when the Senate vote was finally taken in September 2023, Brown easily was confirmed by a vote of 89-8.It had been 30 years since Colin Powell became the first Black chairman, serving from 1989 to 1993. But while African Americans made up 17.2% of the 1.3 million active-duty service members, only 9% of officers were Black, according to a 2021 Defense Department report.Browns service as chairman made history in that this was the first time that both the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Joint Chiefs chairman were Black. 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 LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto