Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi speaks during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)2025-02-23T09:41:21Z KINSHASA, Congo (AP) Congos president says he is going to launch a unity government, as violence spreads across the countrys east and pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.On Saturday, in some of his first statements since Rwandan-backed rebels captured major cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi, told a meeting of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels.I lost the battle and not the war. I must reach out to everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national unity, said Tshisekedi. He didnt give more details on what that would entail or when it would happen.M23 rebels the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control and influence in eastern Congo have swept through the region seizing key cities, killing some 3,000 people. In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congos main city Goma and seized the second largest city, Bukavu. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congos capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away. Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. M23 says its fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one. Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwandas involvement.On Saturday, Tshisekedi paid tribute to soldiers who were killed and vowed to prop up the army.

Photos by Canva. Design by Sam Donndelinger.Subscribe nowOn a summer afternoon in August 2021, Athena Schaffner scrolled the Chipotle menu as she rode the New York City C train.When the train dipped into a tunnel, a man with baggy sweatpants and a disposable facemask stood up from the orange plastic seats and peered at the subway signs above Schaffner, a lesbian college student who was 20 at the time. As he loomed over Schaffners short, spiky hair, she got nervous and looked up. Before she could blink, the man punched her squarely in the forehead. What? he screamed. You don't want to sleep with me?After the subway creaked to a stop, the doors opened and the man ran off. Schaffner sat frozen, her head pulsing.She looked at the other passengers for help. A woman stood with her earbuds in and her eyes focused on her phone. A man shifted his weight, holding on to the subway pole. No one made eye contact. No one said a word.I felt alone, Schaffner told Uncloseted Media.The New York City subway can feel like the belly of the beast when it comes to violence. In the last few months, a man nearly died after being pushed on the tracks in Chelsea, and a woman was killed after being lit on fire on a train in Brooklyn.While the New York City Police Department (NYPD) says overall transit crime has decreased by 36.4% since last year, assaults, harassment and murder have increased since 2021.Polls show that fear of crime is still the main reason people are hesitant to ride the subway. Only half of those who ride feel safe.For LGBTQ and queer-presenting people, the subway is even more dangerous. In recent years, attacks against the LGBTQ community have surged, according to the FBIs annual crime report. More than one-in-five hate crimes are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias, an increase of 53% from last year. In the subway, trans women have been harassed, lost their legs after being pushed in front of the tracks, been sexually assaulted and been called slurs.This fear is prompting scholars, activists and victims to ask: What role should bystanders play in intervening in this public violence?Photo by Emperor of NYC.The Bystander Dilemma: Should You Step In?While the MTA declined to comment for this article, they directed Uncloseted Media to their hate crimes guidelines, where they instruct bystanders to report subway incidents and to only intervene if you think that it is safe. They also add, Dont try to handle it on your own. The situation could escalate.Given some stops span up to 3.5 miles where doors are shut for over five minutes, situations can escalate quickly. When victims have no escape, waiting for authorities may be unrealistic. And research shows that with the right tools, intervention may be more effective at keeping people safe than staying silent.When bystanders intervene, 79% of victims of sexual harassment in public spaces say the situation improved, according to a 2019 survey. Another study, led by the United Kingdom's Center for Research on Violence Against Women, found a greater than 50% reduction in sexual violence at schools that received bystander training.Still, people in the U.S. only intervene 15% of the time.It all goes back to some basic psychological principles of the bystander effect, says Annelise Mennicke, the associate director of research at the University of North Carolina Violence Prevention Center. If there's a group of people, there's a diffusion of responsibility, and people feel unsure. Everybody looks at each other and says, It's not my job to do it. Well, whose job is it?Mennicke says lack of intervention creates a domino effect and makes standing by feel normal.Although we all imagine ourselves heroes, the fact is that many people refrain from helping in real life, especially when we are aware that other people are present at the scene, according to social neuroscientist Ruud Hortensius research findings from a 2018 report in Current Directions in Psychological Science.Subscribe for accountability journalism.Uncloseted Media interviewed six New Yorkers outside the citys F train. When asked about their own likelihood to intervene, one of the top reasons they provided for not stepping in is that they didnt want to risk their own safety.You dont know the scenario, says Matt Birnholtz, a 26-year-old computer coder in Brooklyn. You dont want to put yourself in harms way. If youre the only one who intervenes, youre putting yourself in a situation you dont understand and thats scary.There are reasons to be more afraid to intervene in America, a country with the most firearms per capita in the world: 120.5 guns among 100 residents.Theres a lot of barriers to intervention related to fear of being wrong, fear of harming yourself or putting yourself in danger, fear of somebody getting mad at you. Bystander intervention training can help with all of those, says Mennicke.Amelia Prochaska, a bystander intervention facilitator, says that Western culture teaches us not to intervene. We're socialized to ignore things or to stay in our lane, she says. Were taught to be more independent and less involved in our communities, which [conditions] us to be less reliant on each other.She says that if a stranger is being harassed and you dont view them as part of your community, its hard to step in. Were not thinking about what's at stake for that person, she says.Savannah Lynn, an assistant director for Diversity Inclusion at New York University School of Law, agrees. Intervening is just not done, she says. Everybody ignores the situation. And that's understandable. But there are situations where intervention is necessary, and it changes the trajectory.These incidents often start with verbal harassment or catcallingwhich disproportionately affect queer people and women.Photo by Canva. How Harassment Turns into ViolenceIn August 2023, a 22-year-old trans woman was waiting for the J train in Brooklyn when a man approached her, catcalled her, and made a sexually suggestive gesture. According to Brooklyn prosecutors, he then grabbed her butt and, when she confronted him verbally, he threatened her and called her a faggot.After they entered the train, he hit her repeatedly, threw her to the floor and beat her until bystanders pulled him off. She ended up with a broken nose, and the man was charged with a hate crime.Prochaska says its critical that bystanders intervene sooner when they see the beginnings of harassment. Kissy noises, grunts, and unwelcome conversations contribute to the culture of disrespect, she says. If we don't intervene here, then it can escalate to identity-based harassment. This is where we usually see slurs, hate, and physical violence.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused journalism.Mennicke says that perpetrators are often testing the waters by starting with verbal harassment. In the case of the woman and the man on the platform, she believes the witnesses on the platform had already committed to not intervening.By moving off the subway platform and onto the train, new people were involved and saw the severity of the situation without the slow escalation, she says. I wouldn't be surprised if [it was] the new people who intervened because they suddenly saw a brand-new situation and couldnt rationalize it to themselves.Who Gets Help? The Role of Identity in Bystander InterventionWe tend to help people we perceive as less socially distant from ourselves or have more in common with us, says Brenden Lance, director of the Hate Crime Research and Policy Institute at Florida State University.Lance says political animus toward the LGBTQ community is creating a climate that makes the public less willing to help. People perceive themselves as different from [trans and queer people]. Legislation is just making that more concrete.Something as superficial as a t-shirt can influence whether a bystander will step in. A 2013 study found that football fans were more likely to verbally or physically intervene in an escalating incident of harassment when the victim was wearing the same jersey as the team they supported.Any level of connection can increase your likelihood of helping, Proschaska says.Alisa Nudar, a 17-year-old queer student, says she was so relieved when someone her age stepped in to help when she was being harassed.Nudar remembers waiting for the train in Queens when she noticed a man getting closer to her.Hey Sweetheart, he whispered. How you doing?She shifted her weight, unsure whether to leave or respond and afraid the situation might become violent. My first thought was, Will he follow me home? Nudar told Uncloseted Media.Suddenly, a woman her age approached and gently asked about her day. Nudar pretended to know her, and they boarded the train.I felt like I wasn't alone, Nudar says. [A stranger] saying something, even something small, broke the situation and made me feel like I wasn't crazy because someone else noticed it.This method of intervention is called Distract, according to Proschaska.Photo by Emperor of NYC.What Can You Do? Safe Ways to InterveneProschaska recommends methods of intervention that focus on supporting the person who's experiencing the harassment rather than engaging with the perpetrator. In addition to Distract, techniques include Delegate, Document, Delay and Direct.The 5-Ds, according to Right to Be, a bystander intervention training group, focus on de-escalation. Only one of them involves engagement with the perpetrator.Say you're on the train, and someone's getting yelled at. You can go and stand between them with headphones on, says Proschaska, referring to Distract. You're creating physical distance [and] starting to diffuse the tension. You dont even have to say anything.If that doesnt feel safe, Prochaska says you can reach out to the person next to you and ask for their assistance. Delegate really asks you to consider your positionality in terms of power, privilege, vulnerability, and safety, she says. We're often waiting for someone else to say something without directly asking them to.If theres no way to delegate or distract, taking video can help provide evidence if the situation does get out of hand.Keith Lynch, who worked for the NYPD for eight years, says people should report harassment on the subway. Not everyone is in a position to physically intervene, he says. But you can always report it.While there are emergency alert buttons on trains, phones in stations, and security cameras in trains, the NYPD does not have clear guidelines on what people should do if they see an incident on the subway. Uncloseted Media requested interviews with the NYPD multiple times and sent them a list of questions for comment. They declined an interview and did not respond to our questions.Without a clear message from the police when it comes to bystander intervention, Proschaska says citizens on the subway have a duty to step in to help their fellow New Yorkers.When we start intervening, it helps us all, she says. Part of the power of giving people tools and plans for what to do if they see disrespect is acknowledging that it's happening. The idea that it's just the way it is is something to directly oppose. I believe that we deserve better than harassment, and we deserve peoples help.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

President Donald Trump arrives at the White House after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-02-23T12:45:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps fifth week in office included a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward Russia, firing the countrys senior military officer, sitting for a chummy interview alongside bureaucracy-buster Elon Musk and seeking greater authority over independent regulatory agencies. Trump also said inflation is back, but said his short time back in the White House meant he had nothing to do with prices remaining high. That deflection can only work for so long, unless the economic outlook changes. Consumer sentiment suggests that isnt happening. A look at where things stand after the first month of Trumps second term: Russian policy shiftTrump dispatched top foreign policy advisers to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian officials that were aimed at ending Moscows war against Ukraine. Those meetings did not include Ukrainian or European officials, a matter that has increased tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump.For much of the time since Russia invaded in February 2022, the United States, under the Democratic Biden administration, held to the basic tenet of nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. The new Republican administration has dispensed with that notion as Trump has accelerated his push to find an endgame to the war. Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made disinformation space. Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely suggested that Ukraine started the war, though on Friday he acknowledged that Moscow had attacked its neighbor. Trump has said he hopes to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon preparations are underway, a Kremlin official said Saturday and has said the war has cost too many, in lives lost and U.S. money spent equipping Ukraine.Im not trying to make Putin nicer or better, Trump said during a Fox News Radio interview. Im just telling you the fact that war should have never happened if Trump had been reelected president in 2020.Trumps comments have alarmed European leaders and could make for some awkward moments when French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visit the White House in the week ahead. Pentagon shakeup as DOGE remains undaunted In an extraordinary move, Trump fired Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The dismissal of the history-making fighter pilot and respected officer was part of a push to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity in the ranks.In an online post announcing the move, the president called Brown, only the second Black general to serve in that post, a fine gentleman and an outstanding leader. But his ouster sent shockwaves through the Pentagon and was part of a larger wave of dismissals at the Defense Department.Meanwhile, federal firings continued to accumulate as Musks Department of Government Efficiency team pursued more spending cuts. On Saturday, Musk gave hundreds of thousands of federal workers a deadline of Monday at 11:59 p.m. EST to explain what they accomplished over the past week. In an X post, he said failure to respond to an email going out to employees with that request will be taken as a resignation. DOGE had some wins in court and posted a savings tracker meant to show taxpayer money being recovered by canceled contracts and other cuts. The amounts listed were sometimes misattributed or erroneous, however, and the totals often didnt add up. Trump nonetheless floated the idea of returning as much as 20% of any savings produced by DOGE to taxpayers. Musk suggested $5,000 rebate checks might be in the offing, even though generating that much money might require cuts to big-ticket government items such as Social Security. Trump and Musk gushed with mutual admiration during a joint, nationally televised interview. Musk also used an appearance at conference of conservatives to wave around a chainsaw meant highlight his leading role in cost-cutting efforts. Yet the White House suggested in a court filing that Musk wasnt heading DOGE, a notion undercut by Trump himself, who said he had put a man named Elon Musk in charge. On Saturday, the president posted on his social media site, ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. Americans arent feeling great about the economy Trump signed an executive order seeking to give the White House control of independent regulatory agencies created by Congress, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. He and his aides say the economy is ready to roar. But the public is increasingly pessimistic. Trumps constant tariff threats, mass federal layoffs and broader uncertainty about spending cuts and taxes have spooked many consumers.The University of Michigan said its consumer index in February dropped roughly 10% on a monthly basis. Predictably, Republicans feel better about the economy than Democrats. But even Republicans index reading of 86.7 points was lower than it was in June 2016 when Democrat Barack Obama was president, and Trump built momentum for his election win on economic discontent. In recent days, Walmarts stock has fallen nearly 10% as its latest earnings report suggested slower growth ahead due to possible tariffs.Theres clearly something thats still nagging consumers, economist Ryan Cummings said in an email. Whether thats elevated price levels, uncertainty surrounding policy, or consumers projecting their feelings about the direction of the country (and world) onto the economy itself.Its hard to tell what will pique the presidents interest nextHes already suggested invading Panama and Greenland, making Canada the 51st state and reinventing Gaza as a Riviera resort. But theres more.Last week, the president ordered his administration to take a closer look at Fort Knox, the United States Bullion Depository, to make sure the gold is there. That directive came after Musk posted about the site, which has stored precious metal bullion reserves for the U.S. since 1937, potentially having been emptied of gold. Trump also mused about the federal government taking back control of the nations capital, which would reverse more than 50 years of home rule in the District of Columbia. And he renewed his ideas about the U.S. sending humans to Mars, suggesting that task could fall to Musks rocket company, SpaceX.Trumps agenda begins advancing in CongressThe president has long advocating for one big, beautiful bill allowing Congress to address his budget priorities, from funding for the U.S.-Mexico border to extending tax cuts approved during his first term.But there are signs he may be wavering.As long as we get to the same point, you know, two bills, Trump told Fox News Radio. I guess you could make the case you could do three. You could do 10.That came after Senate Republicans made the first tangible progress on Trumps funding goals, advancing a budget blueprint that would provide $342 billion for border security and defense. Its an approach that would leave the presidents prized tax cuts to be dealt with later.House Republicans, however, arent onboard. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is trying to generate support for a more ambitious plan that would also extend the tax cuts. But doing so would increase federal deficits by more than $4.5 trillion over the next decade. Trumps desire to add new tax breaks by exempting tips, Social Security benefits and overtime from income taxes only boosts the price tag.Thats creating a difficult balancing act. Johnson has almost no votes to spare with a narrow 218-215 majority for Republicans in the House. Budget hawks back the more than $2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years that are in the blueprint. But lawmakers from more divided congressional districts worry their constituents will be harmed in the tradeoff. First-term Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania posted on X that if a bill is put in front of him that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it. If the House plan falters, then pressure will build to give Trump an early win and take up the Senate approach.___Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani and Kevin Freking contributed to this report. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, looks towards Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., as he answers questions from reporter after arriving at the Pentagon, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)2025-02-23T15:30:03Z WASHINGTON (AP) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is defending President Donald Trump s firing of the nations senior military officer and a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon, insisting that they werent unusual despite accusations that the new administration is injecting politics into the military.Nothing about this is unprecedented, Hegseth told Fox News Sunday about Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. being dismissed Friday night as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The president deserves to pick his key national security advisory team.Hegseth said there are lots of presidents who made changes citing former commanders in chief from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama who the defense secretary said fired or dismissed hundreds of military officials. Months into his first term, Obama relieved Army Gen. David McKiernan as the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, making him the first wartime commander to be dismissed since Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Trump, however, vowed while running for his second term to eradicate woke ideologies from the military and moving swiftly to dismiss so many top leaders means keeping a campaign promise. Brown was just the second Black general to serve as chairman. His 16 months in the post were consumed with the war in Ukraine and the expanded conflict in the Middle East. Trump nominated retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Razin Caine to be the next chairman. Hegseth said Fridays dismissals affected six three- and four-star generals and were a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take. He called Brown honorable but said he is not the right man for the moment. Of Caine, he said that Trump respects leaders who untie the hands of war fighters in a very dangerous world.Retired Gen. George Casey, commander of U.S. and multinational forces in Iraq from 2004 to 2007 under Republican President George W. Bush, called the firings extremely destabilizing. He also noted that the Trump administration can change Pentagon policy without changing personnel, but added, that what happened is within the presidents prerogative. Thats his prerogative, Casey told ABCs This Week. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. Still, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee told ABC that the firings were completely unjustified and that apparently, what Trump and Hegseth are trying to do is to politicize the Department of Defense. Hegseth was also asked on Fox News about officials potentially compiling lists of more defense officials they plan to fire. He said there was no list but suggested that more dismissals could indeed be coming. We have a very keen eye towards military leadership and their willingness to follow lawful order, Hegseth said. Joe Biden gave lawful orders. A lot of them are really bad and that things like COVID vaccine mandates eroded the military ideologically President Trump has given another set of lawful orders and they will be followed, the defense secretary said. If theyre not followed then those officers will find the door. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Elon Musk arrives to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-23T17:33:34Z NEW YORK (AP) Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI and State Department, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musks demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week or risk losing their jobs.That resistance has intensified a pervasive sense of chaos and confusion, while highlighting a potential power struggle among President Donald Trumps allies, that is affecting federal employees across the country as a new workweek is about to begin.Musks team sent an email to hundreds of thousands of federal employees on Saturday giving them roughly 48 hours to report five specific things they had accomplished last week. In a separate message on X, Musk said any employee who failed to respond by the deadline set in the email as 11:59 p.m. EST Monday would lose their job.Democrats and even some Republicans were critical of Musks unusual directive, which came just hours after Trump encouraged him on social media to get more aggressive in reducing the size of the government through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Assessing Musks threat for noncompliance, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said, I dont know how thats necessarily feasible. Obviously, a lot of federal employees are under union contract. It is unclear what legal basis the Trump administration would have for dismissing tens of thousands of workers for refusing to heed Musks latest demand, though the email did not include the threat about workers losing their jobs. Labor unions have threatened lawsuits, while several agency leaders, including Trump appointees, encouraged their workers not to cooperate.Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, an outspoken Trump ally, instructed bureau employees to ignore Musks request, at least for now.The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures, Patel wrote in an email confirmed by The Associated Press. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses. Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who has been nominated for the job by the Republican president, sent his staff a message Sunday that may cause more confusion. Martin noted that he himself responded to the request for last weeks accomplishments.Let me clarify: We will comply with this OPM request whether by replying or deciding not to reply, Martin wrote in the email obtained by the AP, referring to the Office of Personnel Management Please make a good faith effort to reply and list your activities (or not, as you prefer), and I will, as I mentioned, have your back regarding any confusion, Martin continued. We can do this. The night before, Martin had instructed staff to comply with Musks order. DOGE and Elon are doing great work. Historic. We are happy to participate, Martin wrote at that time.Officials at the State Department, where Marco Rubio is Trumps secretary of state, were more direct. Tibor Nagy, acting undersecretary for management, told employees in an email that department leadership would respond on behalf of workers.No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command, Nagy wrote, according to an email obtained by the AP.Thousands of government employees have already been forced out of the federal workforce either by being fired or through a deferred resignation offer during the first month of Trumps second term as the White House and DOGE dismiss new and career workers and tell agency leaders to plan for large-scale reductions in force.There is no official figure available for the total firings or layoffs so far, but the AP has tallied hundreds of thousands of workers who are being affected. Many work outside of Washington, and the cuts include thousands at the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, as well as the IRS and the National Park Service, among others. Musk on Sunday called his latest request a very basic pulse check.The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all! Musk wrote on X. In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud.He has provided no evidence of such fraud. Separately, Musk and Trump have falsely claimed in recent days that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments.Meanwhile, thousands of other employees are preparing to leave the federal workforce this coming week, including probationary civilian workers at the Pentagon and contractors at the U.S. Agency for International Development who received no-name form letters of termination over the weekend. The USAID move escalates a monthlong administration assault on the international humanitarian agency that has frozen its funding, closed its Washington headquarters and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide. A judge who temporarily blocked the freeze on foreign assistance said the administration had kept withholding the aid and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide. But another judge cleared the way for the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job.The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving it, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York described Trump as a chaos agent who is trying to distract Americans from his failure to address their economic concerns and lower inflation.Hes unleashing chaos on the American people, Jeffries said Sunday.Lawlor appeared on ABCs This Week and Jeffries was on CNNs State of the Union.___Associated Press writers Byron Tau, Ellen Knickmeyer and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers media questions during his press conference, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-02-23T13:48:56Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday he would be ready to give up the presidency if doing so would achieve a lasting peace for his country under the security umbrella of the NATO military alliance. Speaking at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, If to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, Im ready. Responding to a journalists question on whether hed trade his office for peace, Zelenskyy said, I can trade it for NATO.His comment appeared to be aimed at recent suggestions by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that elections should be held in Ukraine despite Ukrainian legislation prohibiting them during martial law.Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia launched 267 strike drones into Ukraine overnight on Saturday, more than in any other single attack of the war. Ukraines air force said 138 drones had been shot down over 13 Ukrainian regions, with 119 more lost en route to their targets.Three ballistic missiles had also been fired, the air force said. One person was killed in the city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the city military administration. The attack came as leaders in Kyiv and across Europe are seeking to navigate rapid changes in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, who in a matter of days has upended years of firm support for Ukraine, leading to fears that he would join with Moscow to force a settlement to the war without involving Ukraine and its European backers. Ukraine fears Trumps policy shift toward PutinTrumps engagement with Russian officials and his agreement to reopen diplomatic ties and economic cooperation with Moscow marked a dramatic about-face in U.S. policy. Zelenskyy has expressed fears that Trump pushing a quick resolution would result in lost territory for Ukraine and vulnerability to future Russian aggression, though U.S. officials have asserted that the Ukrainian leader would be involved if and when peace talks actually start.Trump, however, prompted alarm and anger in Ukraine when this week he suggested that Kyiv had started the war, and that Zelenskyy was acting as a dictator by not holding elections, despite Ukrainian legislation prohibiting them during martial law. Russias deputy foreign minister on Saturday said preparations were underway for a Trump-Putin meeting, a further sign that the Russian leaders isolation, at least for the Trump administration, was beginning to thaw. In this photo provided by Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade press service, an aerial view shows the partially occupied ruined town of Toretsk, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP) In this photo provided by Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade press service, an aerial view shows the partially occupied ruined town of Toretsk, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Reacting to the latest Russian attacks, however, Andrii Sybiha, Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the overnight attack demonstrates that avoiding calling Russia an aggressor does not change the fact that it is one. No one should trust Putins words. Look at his actions instead, Sybiha said in a statement on social media. Ukraine continuing dialogue with U.S. over mineral deal Ukrainian officials on Sunday discussed a deal that would allow the U.S. to access Ukrainian rare earth minerals, a proposal Trumps administration is pushing for but that Zelenskyy earlier declined to accept because it lacked specific security guarantees. At the forum in Kyiv where Zelenskyy made the offer to give up his presidency in return for peace and NATO membership, his chief of staff Andrii Yermak said the government was considering investment opportunities both with the U.S and European countries which includes minerals, their development and extraction.Yermak left the forum early along with Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko for what he said were talks with U.S. representatives on a potential deal. He said Ukraines mineral resources represent a very important element that can work in the general structure of security guarantees military guarantees and others. In this photo provided by Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier passes by in partially occupied Toretsk, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP) In this photo provided by Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade press service, a Ukrainian soldier passes by in partially occupied Toretsk, the site of heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraines 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Yermak pushed back on the notion that Ukraine had rejected U.S. proposals but said any agreement must meet the national interests of Ukraine, and undoubtedly, must be interesting to our partners.Before leaving the forum, Svyrydenko said there are $350 billion worth of minerals on Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia. This calculation, however, is partly based on geological maps dating back to 1940s and 1960s, she said, adding: We have to conduct geological exploration and confirm the deposits we have on paper. Meanwhile, Putin in a special televised message Sunday praised Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine for defending their native land, the national interests and the future of Russia.Putin used his speech, on Russias Defender of the Fatherland Day, to pledge greater social support for military personnel and new weapons and equipment for Russian forces.Today, as the world is changing impetuously, our strategic course for strengthening and developing the Armed Forces remains unchanged, he said, adding that Russia would continue to develop its armed forces as the essential part of Russias security that guarantees its sovereign present and future. European leaders prepare for talks with Trump The U.K. on Sunday said it would announce new sanctions on Russia Monday, its biggest package since the early days of the war. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the measures would be aimed at eroding (Russias) military machine and reducing revenues fueling the fires of destruction in Ukraine.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron will make tag-team visits to Washington this week as Europe attempts to persuade Trump not to abandon Ukraine in pursuit of a peace deal. Starmer told a Labour Party gathering in Scotland on Sunday: There can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine must have a long-term secure future.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine JUSTIN SPIKE Spike is an Associated Press reporter based in Budapest, Hungary. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

An electronic display at the New Delhi international airport shows that an American Airlines flight AA292 from New York was diverted to Rome, instead of its scheduled arrival at New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)2025-02-23T16:44:03Z ROME (AP) An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely in Rome on Sunday after it was diverted due to a security issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA did not elaborate on what the security issue was, but said it was reported by crew aboard American Airlines Flight 292. American Airlines did not return multiple messages seeking comment.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.ROME (AP) An American Airlines flight en route from New York to New Delhi turned around over the Caspian Sea on Sunday and landed in Rome, a spokesman with the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport said.The spokesman, Francesco Garibaldi did not give the reason for the change in flight plans. He said security checks would be performed as soon as the 199 passengers on board, plus the crew, leave the plane. An Associated Press reporter filmed two fighter jets flying over the airport shortly before the unscheduled landing. Fire trucks were visible on the landing strip on one side of the plane after it landed. The airport continue to operate normally, the spokesman said. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Elon Musk 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)2025-02-23T18:40:12Z OXON HILL, Md. (AP) At an annual gathering of conservative activists, the signature red Make America Great Again hats popularized by President Donald Trump were interspersed with a noticeable number of the black Dark MAGA hats made popular by Elon Musk.It was just one sign of Musks emerging influence and how the worlds wealthiest man who once backed Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden has become a conservative power center in his own right due to his connections to Trump.He is an authentic and unique individual. I am glad he is on the team, said Whitney Mason, a 62-year-old real estate agent who was traveling from Seattle.Musk was an unexpected guest of honor at the Conservative Political Action Conference, with his appearance announced hours before he took the stage wielding a chainsaw. The prop, and his comments, left little subtlety about his role or his influence, days after the Trump administration claimed in court that Musk was not in charge of his signature Department of Government Efficiency. Speakers at CPAC frequently brought up DOGE, playfully named after a meme coin with the face of a Shiba Inu dog popularized by Musk in 2021. They variously referred to him as a white knight, a hero of free speech, and according to one of his harshest critics, Steve Bannon, Superman. What Elon and the team are doing is what Congress has not had the ability to do, House Speaker Mike Johnson told the crowd of conservatives. They have cracked the code theyre inside the belly of the beast of the bureaucracy, and the algorithms are crawling through. The Trump administration, under Musks advice, has fired thousands of federal workers without warning. It gave employees an option to resign and gutted agencies without congressional approval. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who bought Twitter in 2022, has pledged to identify areas to cut costs and streamline services and save trillions of taxpayer dollars, with directives that spark confusion and have prompted demonstrations across agencies. As Trump spoke at CPAC on Saturday, Musk announced federal workers would get an email to explain what they accomplished over the last week, saying failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. Elon is doing a great job, Trump said in his speech on Saturday. We love Elon, dont we? Hes a character.Critics have said that Musk could stand to benefit from his close relationship with Trump as there are a number of federal investigations and safety programs created through federal agency orders that are hitting Teslas plans to create fleets of robo-taxis and self-driving cars. Musks SpaceX also has major contracts with the Pentagon, NASA and intelligence agencies. Colin McEvers, a 19-year old who voted for Trump, admires Vice President JD Vance and praised Musks business acumen, said he was concerned about Musks growing power in the federal government and the decline of regulations that were protecting workers from big corporations.I like the basic principle of making government more efficient and cutting back on costs, said McEvers, a political science student at Salisbury University. Do I think that there could be a lot of self-interest involved with him, with the richest man in the world playing a very large role in government in reducing these regulations, which could very well end up profiting his businesses? I definitely think thats probably a very large part of it too. The Trump administration has not yet declared any actions that could benefit Tesla or Musks other companies. Musks positions on issues like H-1B visas for high-skilled immigrant workers have made him a target of popular MAGA figures such as Bannon, who once served as Trumps chief strategist and hosts the influential War Room podcast. Musk was born in South Africa and was once on an H-1B visa. Bannon has previously cast the worlds richest man as a parasitic illegal immigrant and an oligarch, who will abandon Trump when he deems him no longer useful. Bannon didnt criticize Musk at CPAC and instead faced scrutiny for making a straight-arm gesture on stage that critics on the right and left compared to a Nazi-style salute. Bannon said he was giving the crowd a wave. A few miles away, at a Washington hotel near the White House, more than a thousand anti-Trump activists and thought leaders gathered at the Principles First Summit and laughed repeatedly as another billionaire, Mark Cuban, charged that Trump was overselling and Musks actions so far were not helping people who voted for the Republican president.Elon is going to make his job a thousand times harder, Cuban said using expletives to accuse Musk of not caring.Trump on Saturday posted on Truth Social that he WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. During his speech, Trump trivialized complaints that Musk does not have an official role in his government despite his strong influence on decisions during his first month in office.People said well, what official position does he have? I say patriot, Trump said.___Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Bill Barrow in Washington contributed to this report. ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Gomez Licon writes about national politics for The Associated Press. She is based in Florida. twitter mailto

Leah Fauth gets a hug after leaving flowers in front of the West York Police Department after a police officer was killed responding to a shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-02-23T17:03:44Z YORK, Pa. (AP) Workers at a Pennsylvania hospital who were injured during a shooting that left the gunman and a police officer dead were reported medically stable Sunday as the hospital remained closed to visitors, according to the hospital. Investigators were still piecing together what happened a day after a man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties headed straight to the intensive care unit at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead.A doctor, a nurse, a custodian and two other police officers were shot and wounded in the attack at the central Pennsylvania hospital on Saturday, authorities said. A fourth hospital staffer was injured in a fall.UPMC officials said injured staff members were progressing in their recovery but visitors would not be allowed for the time being as the hospital beefed up medical campus security. We know that families and visitors are vital to helping patients heal, and we are working toward making visitation possible again, the hospital said in a statement. Authorities have said little about the shooters motive. York County District Attorney Tim Barker said while the investigation is in its early stages, it appears the shooter had previous contact with the hospitals ICU earlier in the week for a medical purpose involving another individual and he intentionally targeted the workers there. Gunfire erupted after officers went to engage the shooter, whom authorities identified as 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz. He was holding at gunpoint a female staff member who had her hands bound with zip ties when police opened fire, authorities said. The officer who died was identified as Andrew Duarte of the West York Borough Police Department. Duarte was a law enforcement veteran who joined the department in 2022 after five years with the Denver Police Department, according to his LinkedIn profile. He described receiving a hero award in 2021 from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his work in impaired driving enforcement for the state of Colorado. Officer Duartes bravery and commitment to upholding the law are a testament to the selflessness shown daily by those who have dedicated themselves to protecting and serving, Pennsylvania State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement.Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who ordered flags be flown half-staff to honor Duarte, said he met Saturday evening with Duartes parents and fellow officers who were wounded. The two wounded officers, from Northern York County Regional and Springettsbury Township police departments, were reported in stable condition. Their willingness to run toward danger helped save the lives of others, Shapiro said on the social platform X. Im grateful to them and all law enforcement who answered the call today in York.UPMC Memorial is a five-story, 104-bed hospital that opened in 2019 in York, a city of about 40,000 people.The shooting is part of a wave of gun violence in recent years that has swept through U.S. hospitals and medical centers, which have struggled to adapt to the growing threats. Such attacks have helped make health care one of the nations most violent fields, with workers suffering more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cast members, from left, Yura Borisov, Mikey Madison and Mark Eydelshteyn, cast members in "Anora," pose together at the premiere of the film, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/ Chris Pizzello, File)2025-02-23T05:00:28Z The 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night should offer the final clue in an unusually unpredictable Oscar race.The other major awards including the BAFTAs, the Producers Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes have all had their say. But actors make up the largest piece of the film academy pie, so their picks often correspond strongly with Academy Award winners.After wins from the PGA and the DGA and last night, the Independent Spirit Awards Sean Bakers Anora is seen as the favorite to win best picture in a weeks time at the Oscars. But Edward Bergers Conclave won last weekend at the BAFTAs, the latest wrench in an award season full of them. Thats included the unlikely rise and precipitous fall of another top contender, Emilia Prez. So there are plenty of questions heading into the SAG Awards, hosted by Kristen Bell from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Can Wicked make a late push and win the guilds top award, best ensemble? Can Adrien Brody hold off Timothe Chalamet for best actor? Can Mikey Madison keep the momentum and win best actress over Demi Moore? How to watch the SAG AwardsThe 31st SAG Awards will be streamed live by Netflix beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. An official pre-show will start an hour earlier, also on Netflix. Last years show, the first to air on the streaming platform, drew an audience of 1.8 million, roughly on par with earlier SAG ceremonies broadcast by TNT and TBS. Whos nominated by SAG?Wicked comes in the leading film nominee, with five nods, while Shgun heads the TV categories. Jon M. Chus hit musical hasnt yet had a major awards win, but the Screen Actors Guild has often favored populist contenders. Also up for best ensemble are Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave and A Complete Unknown. The best actor and best actress categories should be nail biters. While Brody (The Brutalist) has won a string of awards, Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) could easily pull off the upset. Best actress could go to either Moore (The Substance) or Madison (Anora). In the supporting categories, Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Zoe Saldana (Emilia Prez) are the favorites. In addition to the competitive categories, Jane Fonda will be given the SAG Life Achievement Award.How the ceremony plans to address the Los Angeles wildfiresThe devastating wildfires that began in early January forced the guild to cancel its in-person nominations announcement and instead issue a press release. The guild has launched a disaster relief fund for SAG-AFTRA members affected by the fires. Producers have said the show will honor those affected. JAKE COYLE Coyle has been a film critic and covered the movie industry for The Associated Press since 2013. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto

A street sign with names of U.S. government agencies housed at the Ronald Reagan Building, including the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID headquarters in Washington, is pictured with one building occupant taped, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-23T21:25:43Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration said Sunday that it is eliminating 2,000 posts at the U.S. Agency for International Development and placing all but a fraction of others worldwide on leave.It comes after a federal judge allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas to keep his temporary stay on the governments plan in a lawsuit from employees.The notices were sent to USAID workers and viewed by The Associated Press.As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally, the notices say. The move escalates a monthlong administration assault on the agency that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance. President Donald Trump and his chief cost-cutter, Elon Musk, contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda. The notices of firings and leaves come on top of hundreds of USAID contractors receiving no-name form letters of termination over the weekend, according to copies that AP viewed. The blanket nature of the notification letters to USAID contractors, excluding the names or positions of those receiving it, could make it difficult for the dismissed workers to get unemployment benefits, workers noted.A different judge in a second lawsuit tied to the dismantling of USAID has temporarily blocked the freeze on foreign assistance and said this past week that the administration had kept withholding the aid and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter

Antioch College student Ahri Morales-Yoon is photographed, Thursday, Feb.13, 2025, on the campus of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)2025-02-23T05:03:29Z For some famously progressive colleges in Ohio, a new state law designed to keep transgender women from using womens restrooms at schools is bringing a moment of soul-searching for students, alumni and administrators.Its one of many such laws adopted around the country, with the stated intent of protecting female students. The Ohio law which applies fully to private colleges, unlike the others allows individual institutions to decide how they will obey and enforce the measure. But navigating the law has become a challenge, especially at colleges like Antioch and Oberlin, campuses built on a bedrock of idealism and protest where many see the law as part of a wider attack on transgender students.For some, the idea of complying at all runs counter to the long-held value of being gender-inclusive. At the same time, colleges across the country are sorting the impact of the Trump administrations crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including a threat to cut federal funding for schools that reject its interpretation of civil rights laws. Oberlin has published policies saying the school will comply with the law taking effect Tuesday and is offering counseling and a chance for students to ask to move out of their dorms. Antioch has not announced a detailed plan. Ahri Morales-Yoon, a first-year student at Antioch College who is nonbinary, said the laws impact will go beyond bathroom access.It will cause a lot of fear and uncertainty, they said. Its in the back of your head that this law is hanging over us. Colleges see effort to undercut support for transgender studentsJane Fernandes has been president of Antioch College since 2021. In that time, she said, she hasnt fielded a single complaint about anyones presence in a restroom.The school, about an hours drive west of Columbus, was founded in 1850. Horace Mann, the education reformer, abolitionist and former member of Congress became its first president. The school shuttered in 2008 amid financial struggles but relaunched three years later. Nearly 90% of the schools 120 students identify as LGBTQ+ and about 1 in 6 say they are transgender. We will do everything we can to make it possible for transgender students to be very supported and safe here, said Fernandes, who has spoken out repeatedly against the law.Shelby Chestnut, the executive director of the Transgender Law Center, who is an Antioch graduate and chair of the schools board of trustees, said the law is an effort to deter colleges from supporting students.This is an outright attack on student safety, they said in an interview.The law calls for colleges in Ohio to designate all multioccupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms and showers for the exclusive use of males or females, based on sex at birth.Ten other states already enforce bathroom laws. But none of those apply broadly at private colleges and universities.The point was that were treating our students equally across the board in Ohio, said Republican state Rep. Beth Lear, one of the measures sponsors. The bathroom laws are part of a wave of anti-transgender policies. Most GOP-controlled states, including Ohio, have banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and passed laws to keep transgender women from competing in womens sports.Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders targeting transgender and nonbinary people on several fronts, an abrupt change from President Joe Bidens efforts to include them explicitly in civil rights protections. External pressure leads to internal campus strifeSince its founding in 1833, Oberlin College and Conservatory, outside Cleveland, has broken down social barriers, including being among the first colleges to admit women and Black students. The college was on the cover of Life magazine in 1970 when it offered co-ed dorms.By the 1990s, dorm residents were voting on bathroom policies, and they often made facilities open to any gender.The bathroom law has sparked angst on campus and among some alumni, who see the administrations intention to comply with the law as an abdication of values by the school of nearly 3,000 students. The college said in a campus-wide note that following the law does not diminish our support for every member of our diverse community. But its not that simple to everyone.It goes against the whole idea of Oberlin, English professor DeSales Harrison said, to refrain from making a decisive argument about what seems true and good in the world. Some have called for Oberlin to take a more forceful stand. Kathryn Troup Denney, who graduated in 1995, is a Massachusetts-based musical theatre director who wrote a production about transgender people. Like several alumni on message boards, she said her alma mater should not comply with the state law, even if it means risking government funding.When the law is deliberately causing discriminating against one particular population of people, Denney said, thats when good people can rise up and say, No, this law is not fair, it is not equitable, and it is not safe.Oberlin officials declined interview requests. Signs are changing, but its not clear restroom use willWhen students returned to Oberlin for the spring semester, there were new signs designating multi-person bathrooms as being for either men or women. Many dorm bathrooms previously had signs designating them as open to everyone, people of just one gender or just one occupant. Students could change the signs. In academic and other buildings, instead of designating a gender, some signs described whether a bathroom had stalls or urinals.Some of the new signs have been removed, apparently as acts of protests, and the administration has been replacing them.But at both Antioch and Oberlin, its not clear that who uses which restroom will change.Natalie DuFour, Oberlins student body president, noted the law does not require anyone to check who is using the bathrooms. Students, in theory, have the freedom to use whatever they want, she said.Antiochs Fernandes has signaled the same thing: Were not going to monitor whos going in which bathroom. GEOFF MULVIHILL Mulvihill covers topics on the agendas of state governments across the country. He has focused on abortion, gender issues and opioid litigation. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Conservative commentator Dan Bongino speaks at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md., March 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-02-24T02:34:35Z WASHINGTON (AP) Dan Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who has penned best-selling books, ran unsuccessfully for office and gained fame as a conservative pundit with TV shows and a popular podcast, has been chosen to serve as FBI deputy director.President Donald Trump announced the appointment Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as a man of incredible love and passion for our Country. He called the announcement great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice.The selection places two staunch Trump allies atop the nations premier federal law enforcement agency at a time when Democrats are concerned that the president could seek to target his adversaries. Bongino would serve under Kash Patel, who was sworn in as FBI director at the White House on Friday and who has signaled his intent to reshape the bureau, including by relocating hundreds of employees from its Washington headquarters and placing greater emphasis on the FBIs traditional crime-fighting duties. The deputy director serves as the FBIs second-in-command and is traditionally a career agent responsible for the bureaus day-to-day law enforcement operations. Bongino, 49, served on the presidential details for then-Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, before becoming a popular right-wing figure. He became one of the leading personalities in the Make America Great Again political movement to spread false information about the 2020 election. For a few years following Rush Limbaughs death in 2021, he was chosen for a radio show on the same time slot of the famous commentator.Bongino worked for the New York Police Department from 1997 through 1999, before joining the Secret Service. He began doing commentary on Fox News more than a decade ago, and had a Saturday night show with the network from 2021 to 2023. He is now a host of The Dan Bongino Show, one of the most popular podcasts, according to Spotify. Bongino ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland in 2012 and for congressional seats in 2014 and 2016 in Maryland and Florida, after moving in 2015. He lost the three races.During an interview last fall, Bongino asked Trump to commit to forming a commission to reform the Secret Service, calling it a failed agency and criticizing it for the two assassination attempts last year.That guy should have been nowhere near you, Bongino said about the man who authorities say camped outside Trumps golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, before he was spotted with a rifle.During the same interview, Trump praised the Secret Service agent who saw the rifles barrel coming out of a bush.___Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report. ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Gomez Licon writes about national politics for The Associated Press. She is based in Florida. twitter mailto 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

Jane Fonda was honored with the prestigious SAG Life Achievement Award at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, February 23, during a star-studded ceremony hosted by Kristen Bell at Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall. The 87-year-old actress-activist, who has spent decades both gracing the screen and fighting for social change, was recognized for her exceptional career andSource

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers media questions during his press conference, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-02-24T02:20:10Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.S. has pressured Ukraine to withdraw its European-backed U.N. resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine in favor of an American proposal that does not mention Moscows invasion, a U.S. official and a European diplomat said Sunday.But Ukraine refused to pull its draft resolution, and the U.N. General Assembly will vote on it Monday, the third anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine, two European diplomats said.The 193-nation General Assembly then is expected to vote on the U.S. draft resolution, according to the diplomats and the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because private negotiations are still ongoing.The Trump administration is also seeking a vote on its proposal in the more powerful U.N. Security Council. China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, scheduled a vote on the U.S. resolution for Monday afternoon. The dueling resolutions the first since the invasion highlight the tension between the U.S., Ukraine and European countries in the five weeks since President Donald Trump took office and has opened talks with Russia after years of isolation in a bid to end the war. European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary negotiations between the U.S. and Russia last week. The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body on Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has been paralyzed by Russias veto power. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, and its votes are closely watched as a barometer of world opinion. However, its resolutions are not legally binding, unlike those adopted by the Security Council.Since Russian forces crossed Ukraines border on Feb. 24, 2022, the assembly has adopted half a dozen resolutions condemning the war and demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops. The assembly votes have shown strong global opposition to Russias conflict, and the votes on the rival resolutions Monday will be closely watched to see if that support has waned and to assess support for Trumps effort to bring a speedy end to the war.One European diplomat said there has been intense lobbying and arm-twisting on the rival resolutions. The U.S. official said the U.S. is trying to get Ukraine and the Europeans to back down on their draft. It comes as Trump plans to host French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday in Washington.The United States believes this is the moment to commit to ending the war. This is our opportunity to build real momentum toward peace, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement late Friday.He said that while challenges may arise, the goal of lasting peace remains achievable and that the resolution would affirm that this conflict is awful, that the U.N. can help end it, and that peace is possible.The Ukraine resolution, co-sponsored by the 27-nation European Union, refers to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and recalls the need to implement all previous assembly resolutions adopted in response to the aggression against Ukraine. It singles out the General Assemblys demand that Russia immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and its demand to immediately halt all hostilities. And it calls for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine.The very brief U.S. draft resolution acknowledges the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict and implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia. It never mentions Moscows invasion.Russias U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters last week that the U.S. resolution was a good move.Russia also suggested an amendment, seeking to add the phrase including by addressing its root causes so the final line of the U.S. resolution reads, implores a swift end to the conflict, including by addressing its root causes, and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.___Lee reported from Washington.

FILE -A poster "Thank you Gisele" is pictured, Dec. 14, 2024 in Avignon, southern France, near the courthouse where the Mazan rape trial is taking place. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard), File)2025-02-24T05:13:34Z VANNES, France (AP) A former surgeon is set to stand trial in France on Monday for the alleged rape or sexual abuse of 299 victims, most of them children who were his patients, in what investigators and his own notebooks describe as a pattern of violence spanning over three decades.Jol Le Scouarnec, now 74, will face hundreds of victims during a four-month trial in Vannes, Brittany. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, on top of 15 years he has been serving after being found guilty in 2020 of rape and sexual assault of children.He does not deny the allegations, though says he doesnt remember everything. Some survivors have no memory of the assaults, having been unconscious at the time.Le Scouarnecs trial comes as activists are pushing to lift taboos that have long surrounded sexual abuse in France. The most prominent case was that of Gisle Plicot, who was drugged and raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of other men who were convicted and sentenced in December to prison terms ranging from three to 20 years. Child protection and womens rights groups and medical community associations have called for a rally on Monday in front of the courthouse where Le Scouarnec will be tried. The case began in 2017, when a 6-year-old neighbor said Le Scouarnec had touched her over the fence separating their properties.A subsequent search of his home uncovered more than 300,000 photos, 650 pedophilic, zoophilic and scatological video files, as well as notebooks where he described himself as a pedophile and detailed his actions, according to investigation documents. In 2020, Le Scouarnec was convicted of rape and sexual assault of four children, including two nieces, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He had admitted to child abuse dating to 1985-1986, but some cases could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired. The Vannes trial will examine alleged rapes and other abuses committed between 1989 and 2014 against 158 men and 141 women who were aged 11 on average at the time.The doctor sexually abused both boys and girls when they were alone in their hospital rooms, according to investigation documents.I didnt really remember the operation. I remembered the post-operation, a surgeon who was quite mean, one of the victims, Amlie Lvque, recalled of her time in the hospital when she was 9 years old in 1991. I cried a lot.Years later, she described feeling overwhelmed when she learned that her name appeared in Le Scouarnecs notebooks. That was the beginning of the answers to a lifetime of questions, and then it was the beginning of the descent into hell, she told public broadcaster France 3. I felt like I had lost control of everything. I wasnt crazy, but now I had to face the truth of what had happened.I fell into a deep depression. ... My family tried to help, but I felt completely alone.The Associated Press does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified or decide to tell their stories publicly. Le Scouarnecs lawyer, Thibaut Kurzawa, told Sud-Ouest newspaper his client will answer the judges questions as he decided to face up to reality.Le Scouarnec had already been convicted in 2005 for possessing and importing child sexual abuse material and sentenced to four months of suspended prison time. Despite that conviction, he was appointed as a hospital practitioner the following year. Some child protection groups joined the proceedings as civil parties, saying they hope to toughen the legal framework to prevent such abuse.___Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon, France. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Leah Fauth places flowers in front of the West York Police Department after a police officer was killed responding to a shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-02-24T05:01:13Z A man who took hostages in a Pennsylvania hospital during a shooting that killed a police officer and wounded five other people highlights the rising violence against U.S. healthcare workers and the challenge of protecting them.Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, carried a pistol and zip ties into the intensive care unit at UPMC Memorial Hospital in southern Pennsylvanias York County and took staff members hostage Saturday before he was killed in a shootout with police, officials said. The attack also left a doctor, nurse, custodian and two other officers wounded.Officers opened fire as Archangel-Ortiz held at gunpoint a female staff member whose hands had been zip-tied, police said.The man apparently intentionally targeted the hospital after he was in contact with the intensive care unit earlier in the week for medical care involving someone else, according to the York County district attorney. Such violence at hospitals is on the rise, often in emergency departments but also maternity wards and intensive care units, hospital security consultant Dick Sem said.Many people are more confrontational, quicker to become angry, quicker to become threatening, Sem said. I interview thousands of nurses and hear all the time about how theyre being abused every day. Archangel-Ortizs motives remained unclear but nurses report increasing harassment from the public, especially following the coronavirus pandemic, said Sem, former director of security and crisis management for Waste Management and vice president at Pinkerton/Securitas. In hospital attacks, unlike random mass shootings elsewhere, the shooter is often targeting somebody, sometimes resentful about the care given a relative who died, Sem noted. It tends to be someone whos mad at somebody, Sem said. It might be a domestic violence situation or employees, ex-employees. Theres all kinds of variables. At WellSpan Health, a nearby hospital where some of the victims were taken, Megan Foltz said she has been worried about violence since she began working as a nurse nearly 20 years ago.In the critical care environment, of course theres going to be heightened emotions. People are losing loved ones. There can be gang violence, domestic violence. Inebriated individuals, Foltz said.Besides the fear of being hurt themselves, nurses fear leaving their patients unguarded. If you step away from a bedside to run, to hide, to keep safe, youre leaving your patient vulnerable, she said.Healthcare and social assistance employees suffered almost three-quarters of nonfatal attacks on workers in the private sector in 2021 and 2022 for a rate more than five times the national average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Other recent attacks on U.S. healthcare workers include: Last year, a man shot two corrections officers in the ambulance bay of an Idaho hospital while freeing a white supremacist gang member before he could be returned to prison. They were caught less than two days later. In 2023, a gunman killed a security guard and wounded a hospital worker in a Portland, Oregon, hospitals maternity unit before being killed by police in a confrontation elsewhere. Also in 2023, a man opened fire in a medical center waiting room in Atlanta, killing one woman and wounding four. In 2022, a gunman killed his surgeon and three other people at a Tulsa, Oklahoma, medical office because he blamed the doctor for his continuing pain after an operation. Later that year, a man killed two workers at a Dallas hospital while there to watch his childs birth.The shooting is part of a wave of gun violence in recent years that has swept through U.S. hospitals and medical centers, which have struggled to adapt to the growing threats.With rising violence, more hospitals are using metal detectors and screening visitors for threats at hospital entrances including emergency departments.Many hospital workers say after an attack that they never expected to be targeted. Sem said training can be critical in helping medical staff identify those who might become violent. More than half of these incidents Im aware of showed some early warning signs from early indicators that this person is problematic. Theyre threatening, theyre angry. And so that needs to be reported. That needs to be managed, he said.If nobody reports it, then you dont know until the gun appears.___Associated Press writer Chris Weber contributed to this report from Los Angeles. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, right, greets his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani in Makati city, Philippines on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)2025-02-24T05:57:54Z MANILA, Philippines (AP) Japan and the Philippines agreed Monday to further deepen their defense collaboration and talk about protecting shared military information in the face of mutual alarm over Chinas increasing aggressive actions in the region.Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, forged the agreements in a meeting in Manila where their concern over Chinas actions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea was high in the agenda.Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, and the three have been among the most vocal critics of Chinas assertive actions in the region, including in the contested waters.At the opening of his meeting with Nakatani, Teodoro said the Philippines was looking forward to boosting defense relations with Japan against unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative. Nakatani said after the meeting that he agreed with Teodoro to strengthen operational cooperation, including joint and multinational defense trainings, port calls and information-sharing. We also agreed to commence discussion between defense authorities on military information protection mechanism, Nakatani said.The Philippines signed an agreement with the United States, its longtime treaty ally, last year to better secure the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons to allow the sale of such weaponry by the U.S. to the Philippines. Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Teodoro signed the legally binding General Security of Military Information Agreement in Manila at a time when the U.S. and the Philippines were boosting their defense and military engagements, including large-scale joint combat drills, largely in response to Chinas increasingly aggressive actions in Asia. Nakatani said that he and Teodoro firmly concurred that the security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe and that it is necessary for the two countries as strategic partners to further enhance defense cooperation and collaboration in order to maintain peace and stability in Indo-Pacific.Japan has had a longstanding territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea. Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy ships, meanwhile, have been involved in a series of increasingly hostile confrontations in the South China Sea in the last two years.Also high in the agenda of Nakatani and Teodoro, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press, was the expansion of bilateral cooperation, especially in the context of the Reciprocal Access Agreement.Last year, Japan and the Philippines signed the agreement allowing the deployment of Japanese and Philippine forces for joint military and combat drills in each others territory. The Philippine Senate has ratified the agreement, and its expected ratification by Japans legislature would allow the agreement to take effect.The agreement with the Philippines, which includes live-fire drills, is the first to be forged by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar accords with Australia in 2022 and with Britain in 2023. Japan has taken steps to boost its security and defensive firepower, including a counterstrike capability that breaks from the countrys postwar principle of focusing only on self-defense. Its doubling defense spending in a five-year period to 2027 to bolster its military power.Many of Japans Asian neighbors, including the Philippines, came under Japanese aggression until its defeat in World War II, and Tokyos efforts to strengthen its military role and spending could be a sensitive issue.Japan and the Philippines, however, have steadily deepened defense and security ties largely due to concerns over Chinese aggression in the region.___Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila contributed to this report. JIM GOMEZ Gomez is The AP Chief Correspondent in the Philippines. twitter mailto

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa arrive at a train station on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)2025-02-24T06:32:17Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A dozen leaders from Europe and Canada arrived in Ukraines capital by train Monday morning to mark the third anniversary of Russias invasion.The visitors were greeted at the station by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the presidents chief of staff Andrii Yermak. Among them were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.In a post on X, von der Leyen wrote that Europe was in Kyiv because Ukraine is in Europe.In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. Its Europes destiny, she wrote.The guests, also including European Council President Antonio Costa as well as the prime ministers of Northern European countries and Spain, were set to attend events dedicated to the anniversary and discuss supporting Ukraine amid a recent U.S. policy shift under President Donald Trump. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Friedrich Merz, right, member of the German Christian Democratic Party, arrives for a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)2025-02-24T06:53:54Z BERLIN (AP) Friedrich Merz is on course to become the post-World War II Germanys 10th chancellor, the culmination of a yearslong political career that was once sidelined by his partys iconic leader. The 69-year-old head of the center-right Union bloc, which won the countrys national election with 28.6% of the votes, has by far the best chance of forming a new government. The most likely outcome appeared to be a coalition with the Social Democrats, which have led an unpopular coalition since 2021 with two other parties. Merz has vowed to make European unity his top priority in the face of challenges coming from Russia and the new Trump administration. The top job has been late in coming for Merz, a lawyer by profession, who saw his ascent derailed by former Chancellor Angela Merkel in the early 2000s and even turned his back on active politics for several years. Despite his political experience, he is heading to the chancellery without previously having served in government. The rivalry with MerkelMerkel has described Merz as a brilliant speaker and complimented his desire for leadership, though she acknowledged this was a problem in their relationship.We are almost the same age ... We grew up completely differently, which was more of an opportunity than an obstacle, she wrote in her memoir Freedom.But there was one problem, right from the start: We both wanted to be the boss, she said.Merkel moved to consolidate her grip on Germanys center-right after the Union narrowly lost a national election in 2002. She pushed Merz aside as leader of its parliamentary group, taking the job herself in addition to the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union party she already held. She went on to lead Germany from 2005 to 2021. A break from politicsMerz turned his back on active politics for several years after leaving the parliament in 2009. He practiced law and headed the supervisory board of investment manager BlackRocks German branch. During that break, he often travelled for business to the United States and China, though he never lived outside Germany.Friedrich Merz is perhaps the most international chancellor Germany has had since the war if he becomes chancellor, said Volker Resing, who wrote the recently published biography Friedrich Merz: his path to power.Merz relies on personal initiative, on the freedom of the individual, on creativity and motivation. And only secondarily on the state, Resing said.Political comebackMerz launched his political comeback after Merkel stepped down as CDU leader in 2018 and announced that she wouldnt seek a fifth term of chancellor. However, he was narrowly defeated by centrist candidates more in Merkels mold in party leadership votes in 2018 and early 2021.Merz persisted and was elected party leader in the third attempt, after the center-rights defeat by current Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Germanys 2021 election. Merz cemented his power by also becoming the leader of the Unions parliamentary group.According to Resing, Merzs way of doing politics is not to avoid confrontation at all costs. Instead, he maintains a perspective that a certain amount of provocation can set off a real debate and perhaps a real development in motion. During the election campaign, Merz has vowed to make Germanys ailing economy strong again and curb irregular migration. With President Donald Trump back in the White House and tensions rising over how to resolve the war in Ukraine, Merz, who has long supported a strong transatlantic relationship, said after his victory that his top priority is to unify Europe in the face of challenges coming from the United States and Russia.I have no illusions at all about what is happening from America, he told supporters. We are under such massive pressure ... my absolute priority now is really to create unity in Europe. Flirting with the far right?Merz put toughening Germanys immigration laws at the forefront of the election campaign after a migrant killed two people in a knife attack in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg last month.He brought a nonbinding motion before the parliament, calling for many more migrants to be turned back at Germanys borders. The motion was narrowly approved thanks to votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party. That prompted his opponents to accuse Merz of breaking a taboo in allegedly working with the AfD, and a public rebuke from Merkel. Critics pointed to the episode as an illustration of what they say is Merzs tendency to impulsiveness.Since then, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to protest against both Merz motion and also the rise of the far right. Merz has insisted he did nothing wrong and never worked with AfD, and also repeatedly vowed to never work with the party if he becomes chancellor. Roots in rural GermanyMerz represents his rural region in Germanys parliament an area where people are rather down-to-earth, perhaps a little reserved, Resing said. Thats what shaped him: rural life.As a politician, Merz has always championed conservative values and stressed the importance of family. He met his wife Charlotte, who is now a judge, while he was studying law. The couple has three adult children.Merz joined the CDU in 1972 and was elected to the European Parliament in 1989. He first joined the German parliament in 1994.In the pilots seatA pilot openly passionate about his hobby, Merz sometimes flies his own small plane from his home in the Sauerland region in western Germany to Berlin early on Monday mornings. He has stuck to flying, despite the long hours imposed by his job as opposition leader and occasional criticism that he is indulging in a rich mans hobby.When you talk to him about flying, his eyes light up, Resing said. He says that when youre above the clouds, thats freedom. KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Grieshaber is a Berlin-based reporter covering Germany and Austria for The Associated Press. She covers general news as well as migration, populism and religion. mailto

People pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)2025-02-24T07:33:28Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis was resting Monday morning after a quiet night, on the 10th day of his hospitalization for a complex lung infection that has provoked the early stages of kidney failure, the Vatican said.The one-line statement didnt say if Francis, 88, had woken up. The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting, it said.Late Sunday, doctors reported that blood tests showed early kidney failure that was nevertheless under control. They said Francis remained in critical condition but that he hadnt experienced any further respiratory crises since Saturday. He was receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen and, on Sunday, was alert, responsive and attended Mass. They said his prognosis was guarded.Doctors have said Francis condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. They have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. To date there has been no reference to any onset of sepsis in the medical updates provided by the Vatican, including on Sunday. Monday marks Francis 10th day in the hospital, making this equal to the longest hospitalization of his papacy. He spent 10 days at Romes Gemelli hospital in 2021 after he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon removed.In New York on Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan acknowledged what church leaders in Rome werent saying publicly: that the Catholic faithful were united at the bedside of a dying father. As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death, Dolan said in his homily from the pulpit of St. Patricks Cathedral, though he later told reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would bounce back.Doctors have said Francis condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. His condition has revived speculation about what might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, and whether he might resign.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Sergio Castellitto, from left, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini, and Ralph Fiennes, winners of the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture for "Conclave," pose in the press room during the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)2025-02-24T07:30:25Z LOS ANGELES (AP) As the cast of Conclave descended steps leading to backstage at the Shrine Auditorium, they got a fresh round of applause from staff and crew at the Screen Actors Guild Awards to go with the big ovation theyd gotten moments earlier from the ballroom crowd. The esteemed group of Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow had enough collective gravitas on their own, but Harrison Ford, who had just presented them the best ensemble award, the nights big prize, also walked among them. He was among the generations of stars, including the nights other big winners and nominees, to congratulate the elite performers from the papal potboiler as they made their way through the behind-the-scenes winners obligations at the SAG Awards, with an Associated Press reporter in tow. A photographer asked the Conclave winners to stop and pose, and shouted Get in there Mr. Ford! Ford, not wanting to horn in, walked backwards up the steps back on to the stage. SAG staffers tried to lead the group to their next stop, but they had to wait. I have to go get my purse! Rossellini said, and returned to the ballroom. Lithgow went back in too to get his wife. A whirlwind of stars congratulate Conclave castA gleeful Jamie Lee Curtis descended on the two before they left and gave congrats and kisses to each.Fiennes walked ahead alone for a moment, and happened on Ariana Grande, whose cast of Wicked had been up against Conclave for best ensemble.Yay, congratulations! she told Fiennes. I was really happy for you guys I was screaming! She then introduced him to her date, Broadways Spongebob SquarePants actor Ethan Slater. Next came a station, normally a bar, where the actual SAG statuettes are handed out. (The ones they accept on stage are just props.)Jane Fonda, the nights winner of the guilds Lifetime Achievement Award, walked up.Are you guys just hanging out at the bar? she said. Im waiting for you, Jane Fonda! Fiennes replied. Fiennes pulled her aside and quietly praised the call-to-arms political speech she made during the show.You nailed it, he said, adding that she expressed what no one is saying.Rossellini reappeared, gave a big hug to Fonda, and introduced her to the fourth Conclave cast member in attendance, Sergio Castellitto, who played the vaping Cardinal Tedesco in the film. He was the conservative, Rossellini said.I was the villain! Castellitto added.Enter newly-minted winner Timothe ChalametTimothe Chalamet, winner of best male actor for A Complete Unknown, then showed up to get his statue.Wheres Timothe? Fiennes shouted.Hey Ralph, hows it going, I was hoping Id see you guys! Chalamet said.The wins for Conclave and Chalamet threw a wrench into expectations for the Oscars that are just a week away, with Chalamet, Fiennes and Rossellini all nominees. The presumed Oscar frontrunner, Anora, was shut out.Lithgow returned to the group, and when Chalamet saw him he shouted, Hey John, not bad eh?A photographer asked Lithgow to pose with his award, and he held up fingers to indicate this was his third.I dont want to boast, but.., he said with a shrug to the AP reporter. A rush of photos and time to get familiar with their SAG statuetteThe group moved along and signed show posters, then made their way to the area where winners pose for press photos.Actors always say awards are heavy when they get them, but by all accounts the SAG statue truly is. Kieran Culkin made the heft the subject of half his acceptance speech for best supporting male actor.While he waited for the photo session, the 62-year-old Fiennes did some presses with his award with each arm.The 79-year-old Lithgow held his over his head with one arm as the photos were snapped.His wife of more than 40 years, UCLA business professor Mary Yeager, found a bench nearby to sit down after the long night.The group then stood for virtual questions from reporters at a news conference, and made their way into the official after-party, where they got their statuettes engraved.Before leaving with Yeager, Lithgow posed with a group of firefighters who had taken on the recent Los Angeles wildfires and had been the evenings special guests, getting a standing ovation when they were introduced before the show. Inside the SAG Awards ballroomThe firefighters spent much of the night getting similar photos.During the first break in the telecast, they headed straight past Ford and Jeff Goldblum, who were standing and chatting, to the table where Grande sat with the Wicked cast, perhaps looking to impress their children with the photos.They later made their way to Ford, who wanted to talk with them for a while before taking a picture.With only actors as nominees, the SAG Awards crowd has a high famous-to-not famous ratio, and behind the scenes its easy to see things like best female actor winner Demi Moore talking to best male actor nominee Adrien Brody as they walk toward the restrooms. Both are also up for Oscars. The SAG Awards are also a union meeting, and this group, who went on a historic strike in 2023, were asked through fliers at place settings, a video that played during a break, and a pre-telecast plea from their leader to support their striking colleagues who work on video games.Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, also spoke of the need for legislation putting strict limits on the use of artificial intelligence to create actors performances.As I look out at our guests I see some of the most deep-faked people in the world, he said. ANDREW DALTON Dalton covers entertainment for The Associated Press, with an emphasis on crime, courts and obituaries. He has worked for the AP for 20 years and is based in Los Angeles. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey, center, and other boxers train in a school compound in the Jamestown district in Accra, Ghana, Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)2025-02-24T05:56:32Z ACCRA, Ghana (AP) When Abigail Kwartekaa Quartey decided as a teenager to become a professional boxer an unusual choice for a young woman in a working-class neighborhood of Ghanas capital of Accra her family begged her to stop training.Boxing is the pride of Jamestown, which is based around the fishing industry and also known for being home to many boxing stars. But like most sports in Ghana, boxing has often been seen as for men only, and women are discouraged from taking part.But Quartey persisted. And last year, at age 27, she became Ghanas first female world boxing champion and the first woman to travel the world as a member of the West African nations national team.My aunts and siblings didnt like it when I started boxing. They would come here to beg my coach not to let me become a boxer, she said at the Jamestown neighborhoods Black Panthers Gym where Quartey has been training since her teenage years.But when last November Quartey defeated British boxer Sangeeta Birdi in Jamestowns main boxing area, winning the WIBF World Super Bantamweight title, crowds of friends and supporters from the neighborhood celebrated wildly, seemingly forgetting about the prejudice against female boxers. Triumph after challengesGhanaian media pronounced her win history, but Quartey is quick to point out that she is by no means the first female boxer in Ghana.There were women in boxing before I ventured into boxing, she said. But they werent allowed to travel outside the country, she added.Quarteys long road to this spectacular victory highlights the many challenges that female athletes in African countries face in their careers.Quartey grew up in Jamestown and, as a teenager, sold rice with her aunt to help the family make ends meet. The only people who supported her boxing dream were her brother, a fellow boxer, and her coach.In 2017, she stopped boxing and started selling lottery tickets to earn money. It took a lot of convincing from her coach to get her back into the ring in 2021. She could not afford a manager, and feared she would not make it without one.In Ghana, she said, female boxers do not receive much support and it is difficult to keep training. Big deal for everyoneSarah Lotus Asare, a boxing coach and the project lead for the Girls Box Tournament, said Quarteys world title meant a lot for all boxers in Ghana.Even for the male boxers, when they fight with non-Africans, its very difficult for them to win, because they have a lot more facilities and equipment than we do, she said.Quarteys title is a big deal for her, the gym, the community, Ghana, Africa and the world at large, said her coach, Ebenezer Coach Killer Adjei, as he watched her train during an afternoon session at the Black Panthers Gym.Follow meBut for Quartey, what counts the most is the impact on young women from her neighborhood.She wants more women to become professional athletes.I am a world title holder and that confirms that what a man can do, a woman can also do, she said.Training next to her was 18-year-old Perpetual Okaijah, who said her family had also tried to dissuade her from going to the gym, arguing that it was for men only. But she has kept on coming anyway.I look up to Abigail because shes a very tough girl, she said. She inspires me, shows me the right thing. ___For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse___The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Friedrich Merz, front right, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), gestures while addressing supporters at the party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national election. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)2025-02-23T20:46:52Z BERLIN (AP) German opposition leader Friedrich Merzs conservatives have won a lackluster victory in a national election Sunday, projections show.Alternative for Germany nearly doubled its support, the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II. Friedrich Merz, right, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Markus Soeder, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), shake hands at the CDU party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP) Friedrich Merz, right, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Markus Soeder, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), shake hands at the CDU party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Merz said he was aware of the dimension of the task he faces to make a governing coalition and said that it will not be easy.Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat for his center-left Social Democrats. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz waves after first projections are announced during the election party at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz waves after first projections are announced during the election party at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The election was dominated by worries about the years-long stagnation of Europes biggest economy, pressure to curb migration and growing uncertainty over Europes alliance with the United States. Leader of far right AfD Alice Weidel waves a German flag at the AfD party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national election. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) Leader of far right AfD Alice Weidel waves a German flag at the AfD party headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national election. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), speaks during the election party at the partys headquarters in Berlin Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Soeren Stache/DPA via AP, Pool) Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), speaks during the election party at the partys headquarters in Berlin Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Soeren Stache/DPA via AP, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People watch first prjections at a pub in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national election. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) People watch first prjections at a pub in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after the German national election. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More From left, Amira Mohamed Ali, co-leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), Jan van Aken, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and member of the Greens, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Markus Soeder, leader of the German Christian Social Union, (CSU), Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) and Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), attend a tv discussion after the national election in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Stefanie Loos/Pool Photo via AP) From left, Amira Mohamed Ali, co-leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), Jan van Aken, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and member of the Greens, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Markus Soeder, leader of the German Christian Social Union, (CSU), Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) and Christian Lindner, leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), attend a tv discussion after the national election in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Stefanie Loos/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Exterior view of the Reichstag building, home of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Exterior view of the Reichstag building, home of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and the top candidate Robert Habeck attend the election party of the Greens (Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen) in Berlin Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.(Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and the top candidate Robert Habeck attend the election party of the Greens (Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen) in Berlin Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.(Fabian Sommer/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People react after first projections are announced during the election party at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) People react after first projections are announced during the election party at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The Willy Brandt sculpture can be seen next to a screen with the election forecasts at the headquarters of the German Social Democratic party (SPD) in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the national election. (Hannes P Albert/dpa via AP) The Willy Brandt sculpture can be seen next to a screen with the election forecasts at the headquarters of the German Social Democratic party (SPD) in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the national election. (Hannes P Albert/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More From left, Ines Schwerdtner, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), top candidate Heidi Reichinnek and Jan van Aken, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke) react during the partys election party in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP) From left, Ines Schwerdtner, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), top candidate Heidi Reichinnek and Jan van Aken, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke) react during the partys election party in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) speaks during the partys election party in Berlin, Germany, Subday, Feb 23, 2025. Slogan reads: Sahra Wagenknecht Party Chairwoman (Jens Buettner/dpa via AP) Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) speaks during the partys election party in Berlin, Germany, Subday, Feb 23, 2025. Slogan reads: Sahra Wagenknecht Party Chairwoman (Jens Buettner/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Volunteers prepare postal votes during the German national election in Munich, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Volunteers prepare postal votes during the German national election in Munich, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Gesa Schoenwolff, right, casts her vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2025, during the German national election. (AP Photo/Philipp-Moritz Jenne) Gesa Schoenwolff, right, casts her vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 23, 2025, during the German national election. (AP Photo/Philipp-Moritz Jenne) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More German Chancellor Olaf Scholz casts his vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the German national election. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz casts his vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the German national election. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), casts his vote at a polling station Arnsberg-Niedereimer, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the national election. (Oliver Berg/dpa via AP) Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), casts his vote at a polling station Arnsberg-Niedereimer, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the national election. (Oliver Berg/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Resident casts a vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the German national election. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Resident casts a vote at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, during the German national election. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, jogs in the early morning accompanied by a bodyguard in Potsdam, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, jogs in the early morning accompanied by a bodyguard in Potsdam, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The Brandenburg Gate and the town hall tower, bottom right, are pictured in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) The Brandenburg Gate and the town hall tower, bottom right, are pictured in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More

Elon Musk, left, receives a chainsaw from Argentina's President Javier Milei as they arrive 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)2025-02-24T05:13:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) Confusion and chaos loom as hundreds of thousands of federal employees begin their workweek on Monday facing a deadline from President Donald Trumps cost-cutting chief, Elon Musk, to explain their recent accomplishments or risk losing their jobs. Musks unusual demand has faced resistance from several key U.S. agencies led by the presidents loyalists including the FBI, State Department, Homeland Security and the Pentagon which instructed their employees over the weekend not to comply. Lawmakers in both parties said that Musks mandate may be illegal, while unions are threatening to sue.Trump over the weekend called for Musk to be more aggressive in his cost-cutting crusade through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and posted a meme on social media mocking federal employees who cried about Trump and Elon. Musks team sent an email to hundreds of thousands of federal employees on Saturday giving them roughly 48 hours to report five specific things they had accomplished last week. In a separate message on X, Musk said any employee who failed to respond by the deadline set in the email as 11:59 p.m. EST Monday would lose their job. Mass confusion followed on the eve of the deadline as some agencies resisted the order, others encouraged their workers to comply, and still others offered conflicting guidance. One message on Sunday morning from the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., instructed its roughly 80,000 employees to comply. That was shortly after the acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, had instructed some not to. And by Sunday evening, agency leadership issued new instructions that employees should pause activities related to the request until noon on Monday.Ill be candid with you. Having put in over 70 hours of work last week advancing Administrations priorities, I was personally insulted to receive the below email, Keveney said in an email viewed by The Associated Press that acknowledged a broad sense of uncertainty and stress within the agency. Keveney laid out security concerns and pointed out some of the work done by the agencys employees may be protected by attorney-client privilege: I have received no assurances that there are appropriate protections in place to safeguard responses to this email.Democrats and even some Republicans, including Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, were critical of Musks ultimatum.If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, its like, please put a dose of compassion in this, Curtis, whose state has 33,000 federal employees, said on CBS Face the Nation. These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages. ... Its a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well.Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, an outspoken Trump ally, instructed employees to ignore Musks request, at least for now.The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures, Patel wrote in an email confirmed by the AP. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses. Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, sent his staff a message Sunday that may have caused more confusion.Let me clarify: We will comply with this OPM request whether by replying or deciding not to reply, Martin wrote in the email obtained by the AP, referring to the Office of Personnel Management.Please make a good faith effort to reply and list your activities (or not, as you prefer), and I will, as I mentioned, have your back regarding any confusion, Martin continued. We can do this. Officials at the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security were more consistent.Tibor Nagy, acting undersecretary of state for management, told employees in an email that department leadership would respond on behalf of workers. No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command, Nagy wrote in an email. Pentagon leadership instructed employees to pause any response to Musks team, according to an email from Jules Hurst, the deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The Homeland Security Department, meanwhile, told employees that no reporting action from you is needed at this time and that agency managers would respond, according to an email from R.D. Alles, deputy undersecretary for management.Thousands of government employees have already been forced out of the federal workforce either by being fired or through a deferred resignation offer during the first month of Trumps second term. There is no official figure available for the total firings or layoffs so far, but the AP has tallied hundreds of thousands of workers who are being affected. Many work outside of Washington. Musk on Sunday called his latest request a very basic pulse check.The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all! Musk wrote on X. In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud.He has provided no evidence of such fraud. Separately, Musk and Trump have falsely claimed in recent days that tens of millions of dead people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security payments.Meanwhile, thousands of other employees are preparing to leave the federal workforce this coming week, including probationary civilian workers at the Pentagon and all but a fraction of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers through cuts or leave.___Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Byron Tau, Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Perrone and Tara Copp in Washington and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report. 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 AMANDA SEITZ Seitz is an Associated Press reporter covering federal health care policy. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

Protesters against the Dakota Access oil pipeline congregate, Nov. 21, 2016, on a long-closed bridge on a state highway near Cannon Ball., N.D. near their camp in southern North Dakota. (AP Photo/James MacPherson, File)2025-02-24T05:06:09Z MANDAN, N.D. (AP) A Texas pipeline companys lawsuit accusing Greenpeace of defamation, disruptions and attacks during protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline goes to trial in North Dakota on Monday, in a case the environmental advocacy organization says threatens free speech rights and its very future.The lawsuit stems from the protests in 2016 and 2017 over the oil pipelines planned Missouri River crossing, upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribes reservation. The tribe has long argued that the pipeline threatens its water supply. Of the thousands of people who protested the project, hundreds were arrested.Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access allege trespass, nuisance, defamation and other offenses by Netherlands-based Greenpeace International and its American branch, Greenpeace USA. The lawsuit also names the groups funding arm, Greenpeace Fund Inc.The jury trial in state court in Mandan, North Dakota, is scheduled to last five weeks. What are details of the case?Dallas-based Energy Transfer alleges Greenpeace tried to delay construction of the pipeline, defamed the companies behind it, and coordinated trespassing, vandalism and violence by pipeline protesters. The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in damages.The Dakota Access Pipeline was completed and has been transporting oil since June 2017.Greenpeace International said it shouldnt be named in the lawsuit because it is distinct from the two U.S.-based Greenpeace entities, operates outside the U.S., and its employees were never in North Dakota or involved with the protests. Greenpeace USA said the plaintiffs have failed to back up their claims in the years since the protests.Earlier in February, a judge denied motions by Greenpeace to throw out or limit parts of the case. What is Greenpeaces position?Representatives of the environmental organization founded over 50 years ago said the company just wants to silence oil industry critics.This trial is a critical test of the future of the First Amendment, both freedom of speech and peaceful protest, under the Trump administration and beyond, Greenpeace USA Interim Executive Director Sushma Raman told reporters. A bad ruling in this case could put our rights and freedoms in jeopardy for all of us, whether we are journalists, protesters or anyone who wants to engage in public debate.Greenpeace USA helped support nonviolent, direct-action training on safety and de-escalation at the protests, Senior Legal Adviser Deepa Padmanabha said.Energy Transfer is arguing that anyone engaged in a training at a protest should be held responsible for the actions of every person at that protest, Padmanabha said. So its pretty easy to see how, if successful, this kind of tactic could have a serious chilling effect on anyone who might consider participating in a protest.Earlier in February, Greenpeace International filed an anti-intimidation suit in the District Court of Amsterdam against Energy Transfer, saying the company acted wrongfully and should pay costs and damages resulting from its meritless litigation. What does Energy Transfer say?An Energy Transfer spokesperson said the lawsuit is about Greenpeace not following the law.It is not about free speech as they are trying to claim. We support the rights of all Americans to express their opinions and lawfully protest. However, when it is not done in accordance with our laws, we have a legal system to deal with that, Energy Transfer spokeswoman Vicki Granado said in a statement.The company filed a similar case in federal court in 2017, which a judge dismissed in 2019. Soon after, Energy Transfer filed the state court lawsuit now headed to trial.Energy Transfer launched in 1996 with 20 employees and 200 miles (320 kilometers) of natural gas pipelines. Today the 11,000-employee company owns and operates over 125,000 miles (200,000 kilometers) of pipelines and related facilities. JACK DURA Dura covers the North Dakota state government for The Associated Press. He is based in Bismarck, North Dakota. twitter mailto

This undated photo shows Mitch Flanigan petting two now-retired sled dogs at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Flanagan in December 2024 accepted a full-time ranger position working with the sled dog team, but was a probationary worker fired by the U.S. government Feb. 14, 2025. (Mitch Flanigan via AP)2025-02-24T11:00:07Z NEW YORK (AP) HIRING: Park ranger. SEEKING: Nuclear submarine engineer. WANTED: Sled dog musher.If they seem unlikely postings, they probably are. But a laid-off federal worker can dream.Axed from jobs not easily found outside government, thousands of federal workers caught in President Donald Trumps cost-cutting efforts now face a difficult search for work.If youre doing, say, vegetation sampling and prescribed fire as your main work, there arent many jobs, says Eric Anderson, 48, of Chicago, who was fired Feb. 14 from his job as a biological science technician at Indiana Dunes National Park.All the years of work Anderson put in the masters degree, the urban forestry classes, the wildfire deployments seemed to disappear in a single email dismissing him. Hes hoping theres a chance hes called back, but if he isnt, hes not sure what hell do next. He was so consumed with his firing that he broke a molar from grinding his teeth. But he knows hes caught in something larger than himself, as the new administration unfurls its chaotic cost-cutting agenda. This is someone coming in and tossing a hand grenade and seeing what will happen, he says. The federal job cuts are the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tearing through agencies looking for suspected waste. No official tally of firings has been released, but the list stretches into the thousands and to nearly every part of the country. More than 80% of the federal governments 2.4-million-person civilian workforce is based outside of the Washington area. Cathy Nguyen, 51, of Honolulu, was laid off last month from her job at USAID, where she helped manage the PEPFAR program, which combats HIV/AIDS.Her firing not only brought the turmoil of finding new health insurance, halting saving for retirement and her kids college education, and trimming spending for things like the family subscription to Disney Plus it also has forced her to reconsider her career goals. PEPFAR is a landmark effort that stretches across dozens of countries and is credited with saving some 26 million lives. Nothing rivals it. So where does a former PEPFAR worker go?Its requiring me to rethink how I want to spend my professional life, Nguyen says.As specialized as Nguyens work has been, Mitch Flanigan may have her beat.Flanigan, 40, was assigned to the sled dog kennels at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska until he was fired Feb. 14. It never brought a huge paycheck, but where else could he get to work as a dog musher against such a breathtaking panorama?He has appealed his firing with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.I still kind of want to fight for the job that I lost, he says. Im not really making much money, its just fun and its a unique thing to be a part of.A November report from the Federal Salary Council, which advises on government pay, found that federal salaries were one-fourth lower than those in the private sector. A Congressional Budget Office report released last year found pay disparities depended on workers education. Federal workers with a high school diploma or less outearned their private-sector counterparts with 17% higher wages, the CBO found. That edge disappeared among better-educated workers. Workers with bachelors degrees had wages 10% lower than the private sector and those with professional degrees or doctorates earned 29% less. Federal benefits were vastly better than the private sector for the lowest-educated workers, the CBO found, and about even for the highest-educated workers.Many laid off from federal positions were drawn by stability, benefits and, more than anything, the opportunity to do work they might not be able to do anywhere else. Now, everyone from diplomats to public health workers are flooding the job market looking for suitable positions.Gracie Lynne, a 32-year-old fellow at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who lives in Eugene, Oregon, took a pay cut when she started her job four years ago. Her parents lost their home during the Great Recession, which led to their divorce, years of financial angst, and Lynnes own interest in financial regulation. She found herself following the nascent CFPBs rulemaking and poring over 1,000-page bills on bank regulations. She wrote her masters thesis on the bureau. She couldnt pass up the job.This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she told herself.Plus, she thought, the benefits would come in handy when her and her husband decided to start a family. Now, six months pregnant, she finds herself jobless and scrambling to get insured.She isnt sure where shell land, or if shell find many employers rushing to hire someone about to become a mother. But she feels more committed than ever to the work she did. I feel even more compelled to stay in the public sector after this experience, she says, noting the good work protecting consumers she was every day, to stay in the fight.Luke Tobin, a 24-year-old forestry technician who worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Idahos Nez Perce National Forest, who was fired from his job Feb. 14, finds the accusations of waste by Musk and others laughable. He sees extreme understaffing and threadbare budgets.He earned about $19 an hour and was furloughed for about half of the year but still relished a job that had him backpacking in remote areas for days at a time.Scrambling to find a replacement job, hes put in dozens of applications. He has pursued openings on tree farms, at tree-trimming companies and at nurseries, but so far, has only heard back from two employers on two minimum-wage jobs: one as an Amazon delivery person and the other as a line cook at a fried chicken restaurant.I need a job, he says, any job.___Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.___Matt Sedensky can be reached at [emailprotected] and https://x.com/sedensky. MATT SEDENSKY Sedensky is a national writer for The Associated Press. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Friedrich Merz, left, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stand next to Secretary General Carsten Linnemann, right, after he receives flowers at the CDU's headquarters, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)2025-02-24T11:41:56Z BERLIN (AP) Germany faces its second change of leader in fewer than four years after the head of the center-right opposition, Friedrich Merz, won Sundays election, which saw a surge for a far-right party and a stinging defeat for outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.After the collapse of Scholzs three-party government in November, its now up to Merz to restore stability to the European Unions most populous country and traditional political heavyweight, which also has the continents biggest economy.Merz faces a difficult task. But it could have been worseMerz has one realistic option to form a government: a coalition with Scholzs Social Democrats. His Union bloc and its center-left rival have a combined 328 seats in the 630-seat parliament.He says he hopes to do the deal by Easter. Thats a challenging timeframe: The possible partners will have to reconcile contrasting proposals for revitalizing the economy, which has shrunk for the past two years, and for curbing irregular migration an issue that Merz pushed hard during the campaign. That will likely require diplomacy and a readiness to compromise that often werent evident in recent weeks. Its still a much easier task than it might have been. For hours on Sunday night, it looked likely that Merz would need to add a second center-left partner, the environmentalist Greens, to put together a parliamentary majority.Germanys traditional heavyweights erode furtherThe Union and Social Democrats were post-World War II Germanys heavyweights. But their support has been eroding for at least two decades as the political landscape has become more fragmented. Their combined showing Sunday was their weakest since the postwar federal republic was founded in 1949.The Social Democrats had their worst postwar showing with just 16.4% of the vote. The Union had its second-worst with 28.5%. This is only the second time that the winning party polled less than 30%; the first was in 2021. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after first projections are announced during the election party at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after first projections are announced during the election party at the Social Democratic Party (SPD) headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Geographical divide: The far right leads in the east The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD, emerged as the strongest party across the countrys formerly communist and less prosperous east. That cemented its primacy in a region that has long been its stronghold, and where it won its first state election last year. Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), arrives for a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, the day after the national election. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), arrives for a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, the day after the national election. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Other parties were stronger in only a few eastern constituencies outside Berlin. In western Germany, which accounts for most of the countrys population, AfD trailed Merzs Union and sometimes other parties too but still polled strongly on its way to 20.8% of the nationwide vote, the highest postwar score for a far-right party.Young voters lead a hard-left revivalWhile AfD made the biggest gains, the Left Party made the most unexpected. The party appeared headed for electoral oblivion at the start of the campaign but pulled off a resounding comeback to take 8.8% of the vote.The Left Party appealed to young voters with very liberal positions on social and migration issues and a tax-the-rich policy, backed up by a savvy social media campaign. It benefited from polarization during the campaign after a motion that Merz put to parliament calling for many more migrants to be turned back at the border passed thanks to votes from AfD. Merzs conservatives have long refused to work with the Left Party, so there was no prospect of it putting him in the chancellery. From left, Ines Schwerdtner, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), top candidate Heidi Reichinnek and Jan van Aken, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke) react during the partys election party in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP) From left, Ines Schwerdtner, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke), top candidate Heidi Reichinnek and Jan van Aken, co-leader of the Left Party (Die Linke) react during the partys election party in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Ukraine can still expect German supportMerz has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine as it fends off Russias invasion. He wrote on social network X Monday that more than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength. He added that for a fair peace, the country that is under attack must be part of peace negotiations.Germany became Ukraines second-biggest weapons supplier after the United States under Scholz. Merz has at times criticized the outgoing government for doing too little, notably calling for Germany to supply Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Kyiv. Scholz refused to do that.Merz, like Scholz, has been tightlipped so far on whether Germany might contribute to a possible peacekeeping force, suggesting that the discussion is premature. Where Scholz went wrongScholz pulled off a narrow come-from-behind victory in 2021 after presenting himself as the safest pair of hands available.But his governments agenda was quickly upended by the Ukraine war and the ensuing energy and inflation crises. His coalition became notorious over time for infighting and poor communication. Scholz has suggested recently that he maybe should have ended it sooner than he did.Scholz sought another unlikely comeback. But too many voters, and even some in his own party, had cooled on the unpopular chancellor.

Paul Mack poses for a portrait in Redwood City, Calif., Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)2025-02-24T14:34:23Z Supplies of high-demand obesity treatments are improving, but that doesnt mean its easier to get them.Many employers and insurers are scaling back coverage of Wegovy and Zepbound and a key government program, Medicare, doesnt cover the drugs for obesity. Meanwhile, some big employers are adding coverage, but their commitment isnt guaranteed.Treatment prices that can top hundreds of dollars monthly even after discounts make it hard for many people to afford these drugs on their own. That can make the life-changing weight loss that patients seek dependent on the coverage they have and how long it lasts.Coverage complications are not unusual in the U.S. health care system. But the challenge is magnified for these obesity treatments because a wide swath of the population could be eligible to take them, and patients have to stay on the drugs to keep the weight off. There are a lot of people right now who want access to the medication and cant get it, said Katherine Hempstead, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior policy adviser. Coverage varies depending on who pays the billPaul Mack dropped about 70 pounds after he started taking Wegovy. The Redwood City, California, resident said food noise constant thoughts of eating faded, and he was able to have a heart procedure.The treatment was covered by Californias Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. Then the 50-year-old security guard got a raise. He no longer qualified for Medi-Cal and lost coverage of the drug for several months starting last summer.He regained two pants sizes.I couldnt control the eating, he said. All the noise came back.Coverage of these drugs remains patchy more than a year after Zepbound entered the market to challenge Wegovy. The benefits consultant Mercer says 44% of U.S. companies with 500 or more employees covered obesity drugs last year. Its even more common with bigger employers.More than a dozen government-funded Medicaid programs for people with low incomes also cover obesity treatments. But few insurers cover the drugs on individual insurance marketplaces. And some plans restrict their coverage with things like requests for prior authorization or pre-approval.The lack of Medicare coverage remains a concern as well, especially for people who retire and move to the government-funded program from employer-sponsored coverage.Patients come to us terrified about switching to Medicare and losing coverage, said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and cofounder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. We start talking about backup plans a year before they transition.Cost and uncertain payoff loom as concerns payer concernsPhiladelphia-area insurer Independence Blue Cross dropped coverage of the drugs solely for weight loss for some customers starting this year. Company officials say the insurer worried about premium hikes it would have to impose on all customers if it continued.Cost also was a factor in decisions by West Virginia and North Carolina officials to end similar programs that provided coverage for state employees.These concerns make Vanderbilt University researcher Stacie Dusetzina wonder how long employers who have added coverage will keep it, now that the drugs are no longer in short supply. Thats probably going to spike spending, said Dusetzina, a health policy professor who studies drug costs.Drugmakers tout the savings these drugs can provide by improving patient health and warding off future serious medical conditions like heart attacks or strokes.But health care experts note that there are no guarantees that the employer or insurer who covers the drug will eventually reap those benefits because people may change jobs or insurers.Will coverage ever become consistent?Theres no clear path toward widespread coverage of these drugs for obesity, even as polls show Americans favor having Medicaid and Medicare cover the costs.Leaders at Zepbound maker Eli Lilly have seen coverage grow steadily for their drug, and theyre optimistic that will continue. Former President Joe Bidens administration proposed a rule that would allow for Medicare and broader Medicaid coverage. Its fate remains uncertain in President Donald Trumps administration. A bill calling for Medicare coverage has been floating around Congress for years. But it isnt scheduled for a vote.Drugmakers are currently testing several additional obesity treatments. Such potential competition could reduce prices and prompt more coverage.Patchy coverage complicates treatment plansDr. Amy Rothberg says the lack of consistent coverage leaves her conflicted about writing prescriptions because shes not sure how long patients will be able to take the drug.We know from the studies that people go off these medications, they regain their weight, said Rothberg, director of the University of Michigans weight-management program. I dont want to do harm.Some insurers require diet and exercise changes for the patient before they will cover a weight-loss medication. Those changes should happen in conjunction with starting the medicine, said Dr. Lydia Alexander, president of the Obesity Medicine Association. Shes also seen requirements for a body mass index of 40 or more, which equates to severe obesity, before coverage can start.Were saying that obesity is a disease, but were not treating it like a disease, she said.____ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. TOM MURPHY Murphy covers how people and businesses navigate the U.S. health care system. He is a member of APs Health and Science team. mailto

Like some (many? most? all?) authors I sometimes check how my book is doing on Amazon and other booksellers. Recently while doing that, I came across another listing on the online retailer: SUMMARY OF JOSEPH COXS DARK WIRE, referring to the book I spent years researching, investigating, and writing. It cost $4.99.Curious whether this product was an AI-generated rip-off of my work, I bought a copy. Flicking through the digital pages, the summary, rather expectedly, condensed each of my chapters into a few page overview. Details I had gone to incredible lengths to get, including flying around the world to meet criminals face-to-face, or sneaking into a law enforcement conference, or slowly building trust with understandably scared sources was plopped into this new book with little context on how they got there or why they mattered.For example, here is the original opening of my book, about a drug trafficker called Owen Hanson:In the early morning of September 9, 2015, Owen Hanson opened his Louis Vuitton bag and stuffed it with bundles of cash and three cell phones. The money was for gambling during the round of golf he was scheduled to have that day with a business associate.Then the version in the purchased summary:On September 9, 2015, Owen Hanson was scheduled to play a round of golf with a business associate.It then continues laying out Hansons rise and fall. Or really, just the fall. It leaves out much of the narrative detail.A screenshot of the book summary.Obviously summary books are not new. Students everywhere have relied on CliffsNotes or other study guides and summaries to get through classes. But AI potentially gives low level publishers, or grifters, a way to churn out summaries and list them for sale.Its hard to ultimately tell if this summary was AI-generated. I showed a screenshot of the summary contents to the rest of 404 Media. Emanuel pointed to the other summaries listed by the publisher, called Slingshot Books. Pages and pages of book summaries with generic orange covers.Amazon removed a mass of Slingshots books, including the summary of my own, after I contacted the company for comment. On Tuesday the publisher only had one product listed: an audiobook summary of Michael Newtons Journey of Souls. Summaries are a common type of low quality, seemingly AI-generated type of book that is common on many platforms that offer ebooks. After a 404 Media investigation into AI-generated books on Hoopla, a service that provides ebooks to public libraries, Hoopla announced that it would remove summaries from its service entirely in order to reduce the number of low quality books, with the exception of HMH Books, the publisher of CliffNotes.Do you know anything else about slop publishers? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Tim Gillman, an Amazon spokesperson, told me in an email We limit the publication of summary books that are about other titles in our store, and the title you brought to our attention is no longer available for purchase. We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale, and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not. We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed, and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines. We continue to enhance our protections against non-compliant content, and our process and guidelines will keep evolving as we see changes in AI-driven publishing.Hachette, the publisher for my book, did not respond to a request for comment. Slingshot was not reachable for comment.I also found what looks like the same summary from Slingshot on Apple Books. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.As for how I feel about all this: on one hand, its nice that a company, publisher, person, entity, or whatever considers my book interesting enough (or, I guess, potentially worth the time) to summarize. It would be great if CliffNotes itself made a summary of the book, and used its expertise to communicate some of the more complicated points of the text to a presumably new audience. But thats not really what seems to be going on with Slingshot, at least judging by the quality of the summary itself and the boilerplate covers each book has. It looks and feels much more like quickly churning something out that can be sold to some sucker on Amazon for five bucks. I spent countless hours reading every encrypted message from drug traffickers I could get a hold of. I eventually walked through the very rooms where the FBI read millions of intercepted messages, and pushed the FBI on what really happened during the operation, including a young man being murdered by users of the FBIs own encrypted messaging app. And a ton of other work that I almost cannot remember, it was all consuming. Now someone is going to cheapen that work by selling it for pennies?404 Media previously reported how AI-generated books about mushroom foraging were on Amazon. At the time, experts were concerned that the books could end up killing someone due to the false information they contained.

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)2025-02-23T21:26:17Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps real-time confrontation with Maines governor over transgender athletes captured the conundrum many Democratic governors are facing in the Republicans second term.Gov. Janet Mills vow that she would see Trump in court over his threat to withhold money from the state if it didnt comply with his executive order delighted Democrats who want more strident pushback. But the dust-up that played out in the open Friday as Trump hosted governors at the White House ticked off a president known to retaliate against people he considers enemies. Hours after the spat, the federal Department of Education announced it was initiating an investigation into the Maine Department of Education over the inclusion of trans athletes. Trump doesnt want them playing in girls and womens sports; Maine law bars discrimination based on gender identity. Any time a public interaction like that takes place, its coming from a person whos grounded in their values, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in an interview Sunday. I love Janet Mills and I appreciate her for standing up. I also know that theres always a cost that comes with that. The Democrats who lead the nations most populous states were in Washington for a meeting of the National Governors Association, where they tried to strike a balance between their states needs and their feelings about Trump. Whitmer, known for clashing with Trump during his first term over the federal COVID-19 response, campaigned vigorously against him in 2024 on behalf of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Whitmer said she sat next to Trump at a White House dinner on Saturday night.I was the only Democrat at the table. I was a little surprised. I think everyone in the room was a little surprised, to be honest, she said. But I took the opportunity to talk a little bit about tariffs. Michigan and other states could be significantly affected by some of the presidents early proposals. For example, Michigan expects nearly 42% of its budget to come from federal funds and relies heavily on trade with Canada, which now faces potential Trump-imposed trade penalties.A federal judge is considering a request to block the administration from freezing trillions of dollars in grants and loans, a move that could severely impact states. At the same time, Trumps key ally, Elon Musk, is pushing to shrink the federal government, with likely ripples nationwide. About 80% of the roughly 2 million people in the federal workforce live outside metro Washington, dispersed across the country.Im very worried that people are going to make make decisions without a real understanding of what the ramifications are going to be for the American public, Whitmer said. Musk, she said, is dangerous.At discussion panels and news conferences at the meetings, state leaders struck a conciliatory tone.We always hope that people can disagree in a way that elevates the discourse and tries to come to a common solution, said Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, the associations chair, when asked about the Trump-Mills exchange. I dont think that disagreement was necessarily a model of that, he said. Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., met with Trump for more than an hour on Friday afternoon to discuss Manhattans congestion tolling. Trump ordered a halt to the program, a key Hochul priority, and declared in a social media post: Long live the king!Asked about the meeting, Hochul told CBS Face the Nation that it was adversarial and said New Yorkers need to know Im willing to take the fight wherever I have to.Were not going to sit idly by and let our rights be attacked, she said. Well work with you when theres common ground, no doubt about it, lets build great projects and infrastructure. Theres areas where were going to work with you on immigration and getting the violent criminals off our streets. We do not dispute that, but dont think that you can just come in and bully us around and not expect a reaction from governors. Whitmer said she had a chance to speak with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in addition to Trump.Ive got to put the peoples interests before my own interests, before my partisan interest. I got a job to do, said Whitmer, considered a top-tier potential candidate for the 2028 Democratic nomination for president. So even if its uncomfortable, even if, you know, its all the all the things you would assume, on a personal level, thats second to my job as governor.Hundreds of miles from Washington, another 2028 contender took a different direction. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, in his State of the State address on Wednesday, compared the Trump administration to the Nazi movement and criticized members of his own party, declaring, Going along to get along does not work. Pritzkers response resonated with some key voters.We didnt elect Democrats to become collaborators with our oppressors, said Lori Goldman, founder of Fems for Dems, a Michigan-based group focused on voter turnout.We are beyond angry and we are organizing against Democrats that sell us out, she said. JOEY CAPPELLETTI Cappelletti covers politics and state government for The Associated Press in Michigan. He is based in Lansing. twitter mailto

Emil Bove, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, sits Manhattan criminal court during Trump's sentencing in the hush money case in New York, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP, file)2025-02-24T13:27:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) A group of Manhattan criminal defense attorneys was so concerned about prosecutor Emil Boves professionalism that they banded together to send an email to his bosses. One lawyer complained in the 2018 email that Bove was completely reckless and out of control in how he handled his cases. Another, upset about Boves rudeness and power plays, said he needed adult supervision. A third, a top federal public defender in the city, said he cannot be bothered to treat lesser mortals with respect or empathy.Bove, then a hard-charging prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, was hardly chastened by the complaints.Instead, he printed the email and pinned it on a cork board in his office for others to see, according to a person who worked with Bove. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to candidly discuss a former colleague, said Bove considered the email to be a badge of honor. Boves near decade as a prosecutor a time in which he tackled high-profile cases amid complaints about his polarizing behavior provides clues as to how he views his current role as President Donald Trumps chief enforcer at the Justice Department. In just a month as the departments acting No. 2 official, the little-known Bove has plowed through norms and niceties, whether scolding FBI leadership for insubordination in refusing his request to hand over the names of agents who investigated the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol or forcing out attorneys who worked those cases. Earlier this month, he pressured former colleagues to drop charges against New York Citys mayor for reasons unrelated to the strength of the case, upending decades of Justice Department norms. The moves have spurred intense criticism from legal scholars and former prosecutors. They worry that Bove, who represented Trump in federal and state criminal prosecutions, is settling scores for the president, not impartially running the Justice Department. Brushing aside such concerns, Bove has sought to aggressively implement Trumps agenda in a way that is not at all surprising to many who knew him when he was litigating drug and terrorism cases. In my experience litigating against him, what he enjoyedmost as a prosecutor was wielding power the single worst possible trait for a public servant, said Christine Chung, a former federal prosecutor who as a defense attorney has squared off against Bove. But people wont speak against him publicly because hes also vindictive, as he is now making abundantly clear. The Justice Department declined to comment in response to an AP request to interview Bove along with a detailed list of questions about his past conduct. Hes doing the job that Trump got elected to do, said Christopher Kise, who got to know Bove when they worked together on Trumps legal defense team. You have to let folks know youre serious about taking control. The process can sometimes get messy but if youre going to bake a cake, youve got to break some eggs. Kise added he was surprised by the portrayal of Bove by former colleagues as a villain bent on enforcing Trumps agenda at any cost. Hes exceptionally intelligent, Kise said, and respectful of differing viewpoints.Turmoil at the Justice DepartmentAs acting deputy attorney general, Bove has been instrumental in leading the effort to reshape the FBI and Justice Department, moving to identify agents involved in investigations of the Capitol riot and making clear to prosecutors his expectation that they follow his orders. On Feb. 14, for instance, he convened a call with prosecutors in the Justice Departments public integrity section and gave them an hour to pick two people to file the motion to dismiss charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, even though other prosecutors had already resigned over the directive to toss the case.Particularly startling was his order for the FBI to turn over a list of thousands of agents who participated in Jan. 6 investigations, a request seen by some in the bureau as a precursor to a purge. The scrutiny of career FBI agents is highly unusual given that rank-and-file agents do not select their cases.The attack on the Capitol left more than 100 police officers injured as the angry mob of Trump supporters some armed with poles, bats and bear spray overwhelmed law enforcement, shattered windows and sent lawmakers and aides running into hiding. Trump has spent the better part of four years downplaying the seriousness of the attack and blaming federal authorities for cracking down too harshly on his supporters. Bove has embraced that view. In a letter ousting more than a half-dozen top FBI executives on Jan. 31, Bove wrote that officials needed to clean house because the FBI had actively participated in what the president appropriately described as a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people. His actions, particularly his aggressive attacks on the FBI, have left former colleagues befuddled. Its so not like the Emil that I knew, said Chris OLeary, a retired FBI agent who served as a counterterrorism supervisor in New York City and knew Bove as an effective prosecutor and a good partner. OLeary noted that Bove was actively involved in Jan. 6-related investigations in the New York area and never indicated any concerns about the way the inquiries were handled.OLeary added: Its almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.It is not clear how much longer Bove will serve in the role of acting deputy attorney general. Trump has nominated Todd Blanche, another one of his attorneys and a former federal prosecutor, for that post. If Blanche is confirmed by the Senate as is expected Bove will become Blanches top adviser, serving as the principal associate deputy attorney general. It is among the most powerful jobs in the Justice Department.Star ProsecutorFrom his college days as captain of the lacrosse team at the University at Albany, Bove stood out for his sharp intellect and grueling work ethic, according to interviews with those who know him. The law runs in Boves family. His father was a prosecutor in New York state. After graduating from Georgetown University law school, Bove clerked for two federal judges appointed by President George W. Bush, a Republican. He then spent nine years at the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan where he specialized in prosecuting drug kingpins and alleged terrorists. He spearheaded the indictment of Venezuelas president, Nicols Maduro, on drug trafficking charges as well as the brother of Honduras president. And he successfully prosecuted a Hezbollah operative who plotted attacks in New York.In bringing such cases, however, Bove irked fellow prosecutors and defense attorneys. The AP spoke with 11 defense attorneys who raised questions about Boves aggressive tactics and behavior. A former Justice Department colleague recalled Bove trying to bigfoot other districts to take over high-profile cases. And a defense attorney said he watched in shock as Bove yelled at his client, a drug trafficker from Latin America, who didnt give him the answers he wanted even though he was cooperating with the U.S. government in a major narcotics investigation. Most of the attorneys spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation for speaking out. The complaints culminated in March 2018. Thats when the head of the federal public defenders office in Manhattan collected criticism about Bove from eight defense attorneys. He compiled the critiques and forwarded the insights in an email to two top officials in the U.S. Attorneys Office, according to people familiar with the missive who werent authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Hes a real, recurrent problem, and hes not representing the office in the way that I think you would want it represented, David Patton, the public defender at the time, wrote in the email, which was reviewed by The Associated Press. Patton did not respond to a request for an interview.About 18 months after the email was sent, Bove was promoted to be co-chief of the offices national security and international narcotics unit. In that role, he oversaw the indictment of Maduro, who was accused of heading a cartel of high-ranking security officials that were trying to flood the U.S. with cocaine. Maduro who in January was sworn in for a third term remains the target of a $15 million U.S. bounty. He has dismissed the criminal case as part of an ongoing attempt by Washington to remove him from office. Prosecutorial misconductBy 2020, a team of prosecutors Bove led was fending off allegations of having engaged in what a judge described as prosecutorial misconduct. The actions came in the prosecution of an Iranian banker accused of violating U.S. sanctions. At trial, attorneys for Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad alleged prosecutors had failed to hand over evidence they considered beneficial to their client.U.S. District Court Judge Alison Nathan pushed prosecutors for answers. Bove, as a supervisor of the unit, was involved in trying to blunt the fallout, according to hundreds of pages of emails and text messages between prosecutors Nathan ordered released in 2021 at the request of the AP over Boves objections.In a Sunday night text exchange with his co-chief after being admonished by Nathan in court, Bove acknowledged his prosecutors had told a flat lie to the judge. He also vowed to smash the Iranian defendant, made a lewd comment about one of his attorneys and jokingly told a colleague that we will get cocaine for you so she could pull an all-nighter to repair some of the damage. While Nathan did not find Boves team had intentionally withheld documents, the judge nevertheless determined there had been prosecutorial misconduct. She found that prosecutors had engaged in a deliberate attempt to obscure the truth and sought to bury a potentially exculpatory document. The judge tossed the conviction and dismissed the charges. She asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation of the prosecutors. It is unclear if any such probe was ever opened.Bove left the government in late 2021 and became a defense attorney. By 2023, he had joined Trumps legal team. ___Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/ JOSHUA GOODMAN Goodman is a Miami-based investigative reporter who writes about the intersection of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and politics in Latin America. He previously spent two decades reporting from South America. twitter mailto JIM MUSTIAN Mustian is an Associated Press investigative reporter for breaking news. twitter mailto 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

An AI-generated video of President Donald Trump sucking on Elon Musks feet, overlaid with the text LONG LIVE THE REAL KING, played on TV screens at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in Washington, D.C., multiple journalists are reporting on social media.Journalist Marisa Kabas posted the video on Bluesky, writing, this video played on loop for ~5 mins on screens throughout the building, per agency source. Building staff couldnt figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs.This morning at Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HQ in DC as mandatory return to office began, this video played on loop for ~5 mins on screens throughout the building, per agency source.Building staff couldnt figure out how to turn it off so sent people to every floor to unplug TVs. Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) 2025-02-24T14:51:30.171ZThe Washington Post also obtained a recording of the televisions.Last week, Trump called himself a king in a social media post. CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED, Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social. LONG LIVE THE KING!And the official White House X account, Instagram, and Facebook quoted the post with an accompanying AI-generated image of Trump on a fake Time Magazine cover, wearing a crown with the text LONG LIVE THE KING.The video comes as Musks Department of Government Efficiency enacts widespread, cruelly-handled layoffs of civil servants across the federal government. The Trump administration is proposing to cut half of federal workers at HUD, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The cuts would target employees who support disaster recovery, rental subsidies, discrimination investigations and first-time homebuyers, the AP reported, and would affect more than a dozen programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with more than 4,000 positions to be cut as detailed in the documents.Russell Vought, Trump's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a speech in 2023 that he wants to traumatize federal workers. We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected, he said. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that all federal employees must report "what they got done last week" or resign. Federal employees received a three-line email telling them to share "approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager. Directors at several agencies, including the FBI, told employees to ignore the email.

Right to repair legislation has now been introduced in all 50 states, a milestone that, despite not all passing, shows the power of the grassroots political movement. Thursday, Wisconsin became the final state in the country to introduce a right to repair bill.So far, right to repair laws have been passed in Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Oregon. Another 20 states are formally considering right to repair bills during this current legislative session. The rest have previously introduced bills that have not passed; so far we have seen that many states take several years to move a given right to repair bill through the legislative process.Right to repair laws are designed to make it easier for consumers to fix their electronics, farmers to fix their agricultural equipment, for hospitals to fix their medical devices, and so on. Most right to repair legislation requires companies to sell repair parts to the general public, to make repair manuals available, and bans the use of technological protection measures (which are called software locks) that are designed to restrict repair only to authorized repair technicians.I have been following the right to repair movement for a decade, and, in the early days, a small group of consumer rights advocates worked in a couple states to get legislation introduced.Many of those bills were killed quickly by big tech lobbyists, who were successful at scaring lawmakers into believing that right to repair would make devices less safe or would be a boon for hackers. Over time, those same consumer rights advocates have been successful in convincing the general public that you should be able to fix the things you buy. The movement was endorsed by the Biden White House and Bidens Federal Trade Commission, millions of consumers, and an increasing number of state legislators. The movement has gotten companies like Apple, Google, and John Deere to change their policies, inching toward a world where repair is more easily accessible."Now that Wisconsin filed their first Right to Repair legislation, weve completed the sweep of getting bills filed in all 50 states. Our legislative map no longer has any blanks, said Gay Gordon-Byrne, Executive Director at Repair.org, which has been advocating for the legislation. This proves that Right to Repair is needed everywhereand we are well on our way towards making that happen."Americans are fed up with all the ways in which manufacturers of everything from toasters to tractors frustrate or block repairs, and lawmakers are hearing that frustration and taking action, said Nathan Proctor, right to repair director for consumer rights group PIRG.iFixits Kyle Wiens, meanwhile, said covering the entire map is a tipping point for the movement: Weve gone from a handful of passionate advocates to a nationwide call for repair autonomy. People are fed up with disposable products and locked-down devices. Repair is the future, and this moment proves it.

Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo Judith Suminwa talks to journalists during a press conference organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU), at a side event of the High-Level Segment of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)2025-02-24T13:43:33Z KINSHASA, Congo (AP) More than 7,000 people have died this year as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured unprecedented amounts of territory in mineral-rich eastern Congo, Congos prime minister said Monday, as the European Union announced it would review an agreement with Rwanda on critical raw materials.Judith Suminwa Tuluka told the U.N. Human Rights Council that the security and humanitarian situation in the region has reached alarming levels.The conflict has accelerated in recent weeks, with the rebels taking the key city of Goma in January and Bukavu, another provincial capital, this month. M23 is the most potent of the many armed groups vying for a foothold in Congos east, which has trillions of dollars of mostly untapped mineral wealth crucial to the worlds technology.Pressure grew on Rwanda. The European Unions top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called Congos territorial integrity non-negotiable and said EU defense consultations with Rwanda have been suspended they cooperate on missions in Mozambique and elsewhere and their memorandum of understanding regarding critical raw materials will be under review. The EU and Rwanda a year ago signed the memorandum of understanding to nurture sustainable and resilient value chains for critical raw materials, noting that Rwanda produces tin, tungsten, gold and niobium, and has potential for lithium and rare earth elements. The EU announcement comes as the government of Congo, far richer in minerals, has accused Rwanda of looting its resources, and after the United States last week urged an immediate cessation of sourcing of minerals from areas controlled by M23. There was no immediate comment from Rwanda on what could be a blow to its economy.The U.N. has warned that the fighting poses a wider threat to the region, which has seen decades of simmering conflict that has displaced millions. The M23 has spoken of unseating the government of Congolese President Flix Tshisekedi in distant Kinshasa, which has long had a tenuous grip on the east. The rebels are attempting to gain more ground despite calls for a ceasefire, bolstered by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, a short drive from Goma.M23 leaders have vowed to cleanse cities of alleged bad governance and insecurity. They now threaten the city of Uriva, where gunfire was reported over the weekend.M23 says its fighting to protect ethnic Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one.Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwandas involvement.Witnesses in Goma have asserted that the M23s intelligence branch is searching for former Congolese soldiers and criminals but some people are misidentified. They asserted that 11 young people were killed Sunday while waiting for a weightlifting class in the city after being misidentified as thieves.___McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Singer Roberta Flack poses for a portrait in New York on Oct. 10, 2018. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP, File)2025-02-24T15:24:30Z NEW YORK (AP) Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose intimate vocal and musical style made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long after, died Monday. She was 88.She died at home surrounded by her family, publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement. Flack announced in 2022 she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease, and could no longer sing, Little known before her early 30s, Flack became an overnight star after Clint Eastwood used The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face as the soundtrack for one of cinemas more memorable and explicit love scenes, between the actor and Donna Mills in his 1971 film Play Misty for Me. The hushed, hymn-like ballad, with Flacks graceful soprano afloat on a bed of soft strings and piano, topped the Billboard pop chart in 1972 and received a Grammy for record of the year. The record label wanted to have it re-recorded with a faster tempo, but he said he wanted it exactly as it was, Flack told The Associated Press in 2018. With the song as a theme song for his movie, it gained a lot of popularity and then took off. In 1973, she matched both achievements with Killing Me Softly With His Song, becoming the first artist to win consecutive Grammys for best record.She was a classically trained pianist discovered in the late 1960s by jazz musician Les McCann, who later wrote that her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion Ive ever known. Versatile enough to summon the up-tempo gospel passion of Aretha Franklin, Flack often favored a more reflective and measured approach. For Flacks many admirers, she was a sophisticated and bold new presence in the music world and in the social and civil rights movements of the time, her friends including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis, whom Flack visited in prison while Davis faced charges for which she was acquitted for murder and kidnapping. Flack sang at the funeral of Jackie Robinson, major league baseballs first Black player, and was among the many guest performers on the feminist childrens entertainment project created by Marlo Thomas, Free to Be ... You and Me. Roberta Cleopatra Flack, the daughter of musicians, was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and raised in Arlington, Virginia. A gospel fan as a child, she was so talented a piano player that at age 15 she received a full scholarship to Howard, the historically Black university.Flacks other hits from the 1970s included the cozy Feel Like Makin Love and two duets with her close friend and former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway, Where Is the Love and The Closer I Get to You a partnership that ended in tragedy. In 1979, she and Hathaway were working on an album of duets when he suffered a breakdown during recording and later that night fell to his death from his hotel room in Manhattan.We were deeply connected creatively, Flack told Vibe in 2022, upon the 50th anniversary of the million-selling Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway album. He could play anything, sing anything. Our musical synergy was unlike (anything) Id had before or since. She never matched her first run of success, although she did have a hit in the 1980s with the Peabo Bryson duet Tonight, I Celebrate My Love and in the 1990s with the Maxi Priest duet Set the Night to Music. In the mid-90s, Flack received new attention after the Fugees recorded a Grammy-winning cover of Killing Me Softly, which she eventually performed on stage with the hip-hop group.Overall, she won five Grammys (three for Killing Me Softly), was nominated eight other times and was given a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020, with John Legend and Ariana Grande among those praising her.I love that connection to other artists because we understand music, we live music, its our language, Flack told songwriteruniverse.com in 2020. Through music we understand what we are thinking and feeling. No matter what challenge life presents, I am at home with my piano, on a stage, with my band, in the studio, listening to music. I can find my way when I hear music. In 2022, Beyonc placed Flack, Franklin and Diana Ross among others in a special pantheon of heroines name-checked in the Grammy-nominated Queens Remix of Break My Soul.Flack was briefly married to Stephen Novosel, an interracial relationship that led to tension with each of their families, and earlier had a son, the singer and keyboardist Bernard Wright. For years, she lived in Manhattans Dakota apartment building, on the same floor as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who became a close friend and provided liner notes for a Flack album of Beatles covers, Let It Be Roberta. She also devoted extensive time to the Roberta Flack School of Music, based in New York and attended mostly by students between ages 6 to 14. Flack had taught music in D.C.-area junior high schools for several years in her 20s, while performing after hours in clubs. She sometimes backed other singers, but her own shows at Washingtons renowned Mr. Henrys attracted such celebrity patrons as Burt Bacharach, Ramsey Lewis and Johnny Mathis. The clubs owner, Henry Yaffe, converted an apartment directly above into a private studio, the Roberta Flack Room.I wanted to be successful, a serious all-round musician, she told The Telegraph in 2015. I listened to a lot of Aretha, the Drifters, trying to do some of that myself, playing, teaching.Flack was signed to Atlantic Records and her debut album, First Take, a blend of gospel, soul, flamenco and jazz, came out in 1969. One track was a love song by the English folk artist Ewan MacColl: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, written in 1957 for his future wife, singer Peggy Seeger. Flack not only knew of the ballad, but used it while working with a glee club during her years as an educator.I was teaching at Banneker Junior High in Washington, D.C. It was part of the city where kids werent that privileged, but they were privileged enough to have music education. I really wanted them to read music. First, Id get their attention. (Flack starts singing a Supremes hit) Stop, in the name of love. Then I could teach them! she told the Tampa Bay Times in 2012.You have to do all sorts of things when youre dealing with kids in the inner-city, she said. I knew theyd like the part where (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face) goes The first time ever I kissed your mouth. Ooh, Kissed your mouth! Once the kids got past the giggles, we were good.

When faced with questions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, detractors often respond with demands forevidenceorcomplaintsaboutcost.Husbands Chad Topaz and Jude Higdon spend their time trying to find answers to those questions on top of their other jobs as math professor, university administrator, and parents to a son and two dogs.It started when Topaz, a mathematician, found himself as one of the only people in justice spaces able to quantify some of the issues facing marginalized communities. When community members pointed out that all the artists in the new wing of a local museum were white, Topaz thenresearchedthe diversity of artists at major museums. The study found that in 18 major U.S. museums, artists are 85% white and 87% male. On top of that research, Topaz determined more diversity existed in regions, time periods, and even museum permanent collections than was being displayed. Youre taking a bad problem and making it worse through your curatorial decisions and practice, says Topaz.As it turned out, it also meant that Topaz was sometimes one of a few mathematicians with a concern for justice. When a colleague pointed out that there was only one woman on a 50-person mathematics editorial boardone of the highest professional achievements for an academicTopaz set out to figure out if that was the exception or the trend. He looked at435 journals, and it was indeed the trend.These experiences were transformative. My activism and sense of justice and my quantitative skills could be brought together, said Topaz.But finding projects was another story. Higdon, the administrator who Topaz praises as an organizational genius, was able to channel some of Topazs math-justice energy into collaborations with community partners. Im not afraid of tech nerds [and] mathematicians, said Higdon, looking affectionately at his husband, I know how to speak their language enough, but I also know how to build an organization and how to connect that work with other folks.So, following the success of early projects, the two co-founded the non-profit research institute QSIDE in 2017, which uses data science to promote justice. Citing Ida B. Wellss famous quote, the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them, Topaz says they believe that data science can be a potent form of that light of truth.My activism and sense of justice and my quantitative skills could be brought together.Chad TopazSince then, theteamwhich has grown beyond Higdon and Topazhaspublishedmore than 15 peer-reviewed research articles, in addition to writing white papers and creating data tools.One of their biggest projects bucks up against some of the biggest arguments against any work concerned with diversity, equity, and inclusion: that its too expensive. At least in one case, they have the numbers to prove otherwise.QSIDEworks withcommunity partners who make programs to lower incarceration rates. People of color aremore likelyto be incarcerated. Community partners make programs for youth to disrupt these cycles of incarceration and poverty, says Higdon.Regardless of how effective the programs are, state governments often opt not to fund them because of their cost. That cost analysis fails to acknowledge broader economic benefits from the programsand losses from incarceration.Dr. Jude Higdon, Ed.D., QSIDE COO. Photo: QSIDEWeve built this econometric model that models out whats the true cost of incarceration versus the cost of a program that can be used by community-based organizations, says Higdon.Topaz is also the author of a forthcoming book on the intersection of data and criminal justice, titledCounting on Justice. It explores the numbers behind inequality in the U.S. criminal justice system.In the recent weeks, Higdon, Topaz, and QSIDE have been hit by the wave of anti-science and anti-DEI actions washing over the nation.Higdon said that QSIDE lost a major corporate funder out of the blue, despite being assured they were set for renewal two days prior. Is this because we have DEI in our name? Higdon asked the grant manager, and he kind of hemmed and hawed about it, before saying no, but Higdon was not convinced.Topaz, a career academic, has been watching the cuts to scientific agencies with horror. As a member of an advisory subcommittee at the National Science Foundation, Topaz had a mechanism to lodge an official complaint against the cuts, but the rest of the group balked, citing unspecific rules. When the group didnt budge, Topazpublicly resigned.The director of the NSF is complying with illegal executive orders and not complying with stays that judges have put on those illegal actions, Topaz said, It seems to me like now is exactly the time we should be speaking out about these cuts.Topaz said the idea that any of these actions will promote better science or a meritocracy is a lie. [It] is essentially segregation and keeping a vast pool of talent away from opportunities so that those opportunities can belong to white men. I wont even use the word meritocracy to describe what theyre doing because that is a lie.With the widespreadcutsto science funding, especiallyscience concerned with DEI, the team is dedicated to doing the work. We can weather this storm in a way that organizations that have a bigger infrastructure are not, Higdon said. We can stick to our principles despite the headwinds that were facing right now.At every point in the interview, Topaz and Higdon emphasized that while they are excited about the power of math and data, they dont view their contributions as more important than others. Each project has partners from boots on the ground, community members or community-based organizations that can represent the voices of affected people, alongside any other subject-matter experts they may need.We dont think our technical skills are better in any way, said Higdon. They have superpowers. We have superpowers. Together, we have a Justice League.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post The queercouple fightingfor DEI with math appeared first on News Is Out.

Celebrating its 4oth ceremony, the Film Independent Spirit Awards took place on February 22 in Santa Monica, Calif. with Saturday Nigh Livealum Aidy Bryant hosting for the second time. The Spirit Awards celebrated the past year in film and TV, supporting the work of independent artists. After strikes, socio-political strife, and the L.A. wildfires, the [...]The post Film Independent Spirit Awards 2025: LGBTQ Winners Include Baby Reindeer, My Old Ass, Among Others first appeared on GLAAD.

The Department of Homeland Security logo is seen during a news conference in Washington, Feb. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)2025-02-24T18:18:48Z GREENBELT, Md. (AP) A federal judge on Monday blocked immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations in houses of worship for Quakers and a handful of other religious groups.U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang found that the Trump administration policy could violate their religious freedom and should be blocked while a lawsuit challenging it plays out. The preliminary injunction from the Maryland-based judge only applies to the plaintiffs, which also include a Georgia-based network of Baptist churches and a Sikh temple in California.They sued after the Trump administration threw out Department of Homeland Security policies limiting where migrant arrests could happen as President Donald Trump seeks to make good on campaign promises to carry out mass deportations.The policy change said field agents using common sense and discretion can conduct immigration enforcement operations at houses of worship without a supervisors approval. Plaintiffs attorneys argue that the new DHS directive departs from the governments 30-year-old policy against staging immigration enforcement operations in protected areas, or sensitive locations. Five Quaker congregations from Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia sued DHS and its secretary, Kristi Noem, on Jan. 27, less than a week after the new policy was announced. Many immigrants are afraid to attend religious services while the government enforces the new rule, lawyers for the congregations said in a court filing. Its a fear that people are experiencing across the county, plaintiffs attorney Bradley Girard told the judge during a February hearing. People are not showing up, and the plaintiffs are suffering as a result.Government lawyers claim the plaintiffs are asking the court to interfere with law-enforcement activities based on mere speculation.Plaintiffs have provided no evidence indicating that any of their religious organizations have been targeted, Justice Department attorney Kristina Wolfe told the judge, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. More than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans have also filed a similar but separate lawsuit in Washington, D.C.Plaintiffs in the Maryland case are represented by the Democracy Forward Foundation, whose lawyers asked the judge to block DHS enforcement of the policy on a nationwide basis.DHSs new policy gives it the authority to enter any house of worship across the country, no matter its religious beliefs, the attorneys wrote.Government lawyers say immigration enforcement activities have been allowed in sensitive places, including houses of worship, for decades. The only change in the policy is that a supervisors approval is no longer mandatory, they added.__This story has been updated to reflect that a separate but similar lawsuit was filed in Washington, D.C., not Washington state. 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

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's new director of the FBI, reacts as Alexis Wilkins watches during Patel's 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)2025-02-24T17:35:31Z WASHINGTON (AP) New FBI Director Kash Patel was sworn in Monday as acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, taking the helm of two separate and sprawling Justice Department agencies, according to a person familiar with the matter. Patel was sworn in at ATF headquarters just days after he became director of the FBI, said the person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. Its not immediately clear if President Donald Trump intends to nominate Patel for the ATF post, or what the administrations plans are for the agency that has long been the target of Republicans. Justice Department and White House officials didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. With about 5,500 employees, the ATF is responsible for enforcing the nations laws around firearms, explosives and arson. Among other things, its in charge of licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations. Democrats raised alarm at Patels nomination for FBI director over his lack of management experience compared to past directors and because of a vast catalog of incendiary past statements, which include calling investigators who scrutinized Trump government gangsters. The move to install Patel as ATF director follows Attorney General Pam Bondis firing of the bureaus top lawyer last week. Bondi said Friday in a Fox News interview that she fired chief counsel Pamela Hicks because the agency was targeting gun owners. Hicks, who spent more than 20 years as a Justice Department lawyer, said in a social media post that being ATF chief counsel was the highest honor of her career. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

Fabin Chirez, a gay painter from Mexico, has ignited a firestorm of controversy in Mexico City over his latest exhibition, La Venida del Seor (The Coming of the Lord).Hosted at the Antigua Academia de San Carlos and affiliated with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the collection of nine paintings blends religious imagery with homoerotic themes, a fusion that has sparked intense backlash from religious groups and conservative figures.See on InstagramThe Mexican Association of Christian Lawyers (AAC) has formally filed a complaint against Chirez with the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED), arguing that the exhibition violates Article 24 of the Mexican Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom. The complaint has been digitally signed by over 9,000 people, citing the use of religious symbols in what they claim are offensive and blasphemous contexts. (@) At the heart of the exhibition is the titular painting, La Venida del Seor, which depicts two altar boys licking a Paschal candle, with melting wax evoking ejaculatory symbolism. (@) Other works portray nuns and priests in suggestive poses, with allusions to sexual acts intertwined with religious iconography.See on InstagramChirez, known for his subversive and LGBTQ-inclusive depictions, sees his work as a necessary confrontation of societal taboos.Its an exercise in which I make a comparison between religious ecstasy and sexual ecstasy, two things that would appear to be opposites but actually have more in common, he told Hyperallergic.Protests erupted outside the exhibition on February 14, when Catholic demonstrators organized a sit-in and held an open-air mass, demanding the removal of the artwork. A more disruptive protest followed on February 19, when members of UNAMs Catholic community entered the gallery, wrapped caution tape around the paintings, and staged what they called a symbolic closure of the show. (@) The protesters, wearing shirts emblazoned with No ofendas mi fe en nombre del arte (Dont offend my faith in the name of art), accused Chirez of inciting Christianophobia and promoting anti-Catholic sentiment.Chirez remains unfazed by the controversy. Responding on social media, he acknowledged the complaint against him with a brief statement: I have been denounced. See on InstagramIn his interview with Hyperallergic, he pointed to what he sees as a double standard in the outrage. I think there are other issues we should be protesting against, such as the churchs abuse of power and sexual abuses within the church, he said.UNAM has implemented security measures in response to the protests but has not indicated any plans to shut down the exhibition before its scheduled closing on March 7. Chirez views this as a positive stance. See on InstagramIts important that we reconsider our strategies to confront any violence that we might face, especially by seeking community and trying to connect with people in real life who might think differently from us and exist in other contexts, he said.The protests and legal complaints surrounding La Venida del Seor underscore the ongoing tensions between artistic expression and religious belief in Mexico. While some view the exhibition as a necessary challenge to traditional narratives, others see it as an outright provocation. See on InstagramAs Chirezs work continues to stir debate, the broader question remains about where the line should be drawn between free expression and respect for religious sensitivities.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, looks on as his wife Casey DeSantis speaks at a campaign event in Bluffton, S.C., June 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)2025-02-24T19:33:01Z TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approaches the end of his second term in office, hes talking up one potential heir to succeed him in 2026: his wife, Casey DeSantis. And hes taking a shot at President Donald Trump s pick to be the next governor. Questioned by reporters in Tampa on Monday, DeSantis touted his wife as a staunch conservative who would build on his legacy and argued that the states first lady could pull in even more voters than he did. DeSantis won a dominant reelection victory in 2022 with a nearly 20-point margin.Shes somebody that has, I think, the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles, DeSantis said of his wife. Anything weve accomplished, shed be able to take to the next level.The comments came days after the president threw his support behind U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who has been a prominent surrogate for Trump on the campaign trail and cable news. Weve achieved victories in Florida, DeSantis said Monday. A guy like Byron, he just hasnt been a part of any of the victories that weve had here over the left over these last years. DeSantis comments create a potential faceoff between the Republican governor and the president who soundly defeated him last year for the Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis, who is term-limited, may run for president again in 2028 and has worked to rebuild his relationship with Trump. The aspirations of the states first lady have long been the subject of Tallahassee parlor talk. That chatter has grown louder in recent weeks as tensions have bubbled between the governor and Trumps allies in the Florida Legislature.Byron Donalds would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida and, should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement, Trump wrote Thursday on social media. RUN, BYRON, RUN! Donalds office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference last week after Trumps post and told the audience to stay tuned about his future plans.Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, another staunch Trump ally, criticized DeSantis comments in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Man it hurts me to see this, Gaetz said. Governor DeSantis, dont you remember when you, (Donalds) and I were working collaboratively to get you elected in 2018? We literally were your debate prep team.___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. KATE PAYNE Payne writes about state government and education and is based in Tallahassee, FL. She is a Report for America corps member. twitter mailto

NBC news anchor Lester Holt speaks at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton, April 27, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)2025-02-24T17:38:11Z NEW YORK (AP) NBCs veteran Lester Holt will step down as anchor of the networks flagship Nightly News broadcast.Holt, who has been been the face of Nightly News for a decade, will remain at NBC. In a note to staff Monday, he said he would be expanding his work on NBCs Dateline, taking on a full-time role.The transition is expected to take place early this summer. No firm date or successor for NBC Nightly News has been named yet.After 10 years, 17 if you include my years on the weekends, the time has come for me to step away from my role as anchor of Nightly News, Holt wrote on Monday, while thanking colleagues. A smile comes to my face when I think that with Nightly News, and Dateline, I have now anchored two of the most successful and iconic television news programs in broadcast history.Janelle Rodriguez, executive vice president of NBC News Programming, applauded Holts legacy at Nightly News and reiterated that the anchor will stay at NBC for years to come. Quite simply, Lester is the beating heart of this news organization, Rodriguez wrote.Holt joined NBC back in 2000. He became the permanent anchor of Nightly News in June 2015 after anchoring weekend editions for eight years and has been the principal anchor of Dateline since September 2011, per NBC.

Cynthia Erivo and Lena Waithe have allegedly been quietly dating for years, and their latest appearance at the NAACP Image Awards over the weekend has once again sparked conversation especially after engagement rumors initially popped up a few weeks ago. The two arrived together at the February 22 NAACP event, where Erivo was nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Wicked.Their outing follows weeks of speculation about their relationship status after Erivo was spotted wearing a diamond ring at the 2025 Grammys, where the two of them briefly met up. Though it was later confirmed not to be an engagement ring, it reignited rumors surrounding their notoriously private romance.Despite never publicly confirming (or, really, denying) their relationship, Erivo and Waithe have been closely linked since at least 2020, though they initially met at the Met Gala in 2018.Waithe recalled in an interview with Variety that she had been a fan of Erivos work in The Color Purple long before they connected in person, where they had been vibing ever since they met. (@) Erivo echoed the sentiment on one of the rare photos on her Instagram feed of the two of them together, where she referred to Waithe as perfection.See on InstagramOver the next few years, the two were frequently spotted at various events, including the BET Awards, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Golden Globes. Although theyre mostly only spotted at these events, their growing closeness also coincided with Waithes split from ex-wife Alana Mayo, whose divorce was finalized in 2021.Though they keep their personal lives out of the spotlight, their unwavering support for each other is evident. Waithe was present at the Wicked premiere in 2024, seen holding Erivos gown at the Tony Awards and seated beside her at the 2025 Golden Globes and Grammys.Meanwhile, Erivo has expressed admiration for Waithe and has celebrated her birthday with a heartfelt social media post.See on InstagramWhile fans continue to speculate about their relationship, Erivo and Waithe remain committed to keeping things low-key. Their NAACP Awards appearance was just the latest example of their quiet but constant presence in each others livesno public declarations necessary.While we respect their privacy, we have to say, we're also totally supportive of this relationship.I mean, could you literally ask for a cuter couple to represent strong Black queer women?!We may never know the full extent of their relationship or their love together, but we hope they keep us guessing.And we hope they keep showing up to support each other every step of the way. Perhaps we'll get a more telling answer about the "not an engagement" ring when Erivo undoubtedly finishes her EGOT collection at the upcoming 2025 Oscars.

UK LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall is undergoing an organization-wide consultation that could lead to significant staff cuts. The decision comes in the wake of changes to US foreign aid policies under the Donald Trump administration, which have affected several global LGBTQ+ organizations, including Stonewall. A spokesperson for Stonewall confirmed to PinkNews that they cannot yet provide an exact figureSource

People walk amidst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-02-24T20:00:29Z The first phase of the ceasefire that paused 15 months of brutal warfare between Israel and Hamas militants is set to end on Saturday and its unclear what comes next.The two sides were supposed to start negotiating a second phase weeks ago in which Hamas would release all the remaining hostages from its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the war, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.But those negotiations have not begun there have only been preparatory talks and the first phase has been jolted by one dispute after another.Hamas has freed all 25 living hostages included in the first six-week phase ending on March 1 in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. It has also released the bodies of four captives and is expected to turn over four more, though its unclear if that will happen Thursday as planned. That leaves it with more than 60 captives, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Israel has meanwhile delayed the release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be freed last weekend over the treatment of the captives, who were paraded before crowds. Israel is reportedly seeking an extension of the first phase to secure the freedom of more captives. But Hamas says it wont negotiate anything until the prisoners whose release was delayed are freed.Negotiations over Phase 2 will be even more contentious. Phase 2 was always the biggest challengeThe second phase was always going to be the most difficult because it would likely force Israel to choose between its two main war goals the safe return of the hostages and the annihilation of their captors.Hamas, though weakened, remains in power with no internal challengers. In exchange for the remaining living hostages its main bargaining chip it is demanding a lasting ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces. A third phase would see the exchange of remains and the start of Gazas daunting reconstruction process, which is expected to take years and cost billions of dollars. Steve Witkoff, the Trump administrations Mideast envoy, is returning to the region this week. In an interview with CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, he said he will aim for an extension of Phase 1 to buy time for negotiating the second phase.But Egypt, which has served as a key mediator, has refused to discuss an extension of Phase 1 until negotiations over Phase 2 begin, according to two Egyptian officials who were not authorized to brief reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.One official familiar with the negotiations said the mere launch of Phase 2 talks would keep the truce intact, according to the language of the deal. That would mean a continued halt in fighting and aid flowing into Gaza, though there would be no further hostage releases beyond what has already been negotiated, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed diplomatic contacts.Hamas has previously said it is open to a short extension to complete talks on Phase 2, but that was before Israel held up the release of the prisoners. One of the Egyptian officials said Egypt is also demanding Israel complete its withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor, on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, before moving on to the next phase. The agreement calls for that withdrawal to begin this weekend and be completed within eight days.Netanyahu has not publicly stated what he will do this weekend. He is under heavy pressure from hard-line coalition partners to resume the war against Hamas. But after images showed freed hostages returning home in poor condition, he also faces heavy public pressure to bring the remaining hostages home.Witkoff said Netanyahu is committed to bringing back all the hostages but has set a red line that Hamas cannot be involved in governing Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has also ruled out any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by Hamas main rival, Fatah.Hamas has said it is willing to hand over control of Gaza to other Palestinians. But the militant group, which does not accept Israels existence, would still be deeply entrenched in Gaza. And it says it wont lay down its arms unless Israel ends its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands captured in the 1967 Mideast war that Palestinians want for a future state.Hamas has also dismissed Israels suggestion that its Gaza leadership go into exile.Phase 1 is unfinished and has further embittered both sidesThe first phase of the ceasefire has yet to be completed and has only deepened the bitter mistrust on both sides.Israelis were shocked to see the captives some of whom were emaciated paraded before crowds upon their release, with some forced to smile, wave, deliver statements and, in one case, kiss a masked militant on the head. After returning to Israel, hostages said they were held under harsh conditions. Last Thursday, Hamas displayed coffins holding what it said were the remains of Shiri Bibas and her two small children, who it said were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel said a forensic investigation showed the two children were killed by their captors. The third body turned out to be someone else. Hamas then released another body that was confirmed to be the mother.On Saturday, Hamas filmed two hostages who were forced to watch the release of others, turning to a camera and begging to be released, in yet another public spectacle that infuriated Israel. That appears to have prompted Israel to postpone the release of the prisoners.Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire by killing dozens of people who the army said had approached its forces or entered unauthorized areas. It also accused Israel of dragging its feet on the entry of mobile homes and equipment for clearing rubble, which entered late last week, and of beating and abusing Palestinian prisoners prior to their release.Israel has also launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank that has displaced some 40,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. Israel says it is cracking down on militants who threaten its citizens, while Palestinians see it as trying to further cement its decades-long rule.Mixed signals from TrumpU.S. President Donald Trump took credit for the ceasefire, which Witkoff helped push across the finish line after a year of negotiations led by the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar.But Trump has since sent mixed signals about the deal.Earlier this month, he set a firm deadline for Hamas to release all the hostages, warning all hell is going to break out if it didnt. But he said it was ultimately up to Israel, and the deadline came and went.Trump sowed further confusion by proposing that Gazas population of some 2 million Palestinians be relocated to other countries and for the U.S. to take over the territory and develop it. Netanyahu welcomed the idea, which was universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, including close U.S. allies. Human rights groups said it could violate international law.Trump stood by the plan in a Fox News interview over the weekend but said hes not forcing it.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto

The Supreme Court at sunset in Washington, Feb. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)2025-02-24T15:43:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a pair of cases from abortion opponents who say laws limiting anti-abortion demonstrations near clinics violate their First Amendment rights. The majority did not explain their reasoning for turning down the appeals, as is typical, but two conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, disagreed.The cities said the laws were passed to address disturbing behavior from protesters outside of health care clinics. But anti-abortion activists said the measures violate free-speech rights and should be on their deathbed after the justices overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion. One case comes from Carbondale, Illinois, which is located near the states southern border and passed an ordinance after becoming a destination for patients from nearby states with abortion bans. The measure was quickly challenged in court, and has never been enforced. The city argued the appeal should be tossed because the ordinance was repealed shortly before abortion opponents went to the Supreme Court. The other case is from New Jersey, where activist Jeryl Turco says she has approached women in Englewood for years to try to convince them not to have abortions. She says an 8-foot demonstration-free zone the city passed in 2014 in response to an aggressive group of protesters also wrongly kept her from approaching women. Englewood argues that Turco has still been able to share her message outside of the immediate area near clinic entrances. Lower courts have ultimately upheld the ordinance, finding it isnt a major First Amendment burden. Both challengers pointed out that the high court struck down a Massachusetts law creating 35-foot demonstration free buffer zones around clinic doors in 2014. They say the Illinois and New Jersey laws should meet the same fate. But cities say their rules are in line with a different Supreme Court decision from 2000, when the high court allowed a Colorado law to stand. It barred people from getting within 8 feet of others without permission in a 100-foot bubble zone around clinics. Thomas said that case, known as Hill v. Colorado, was wrongly decided. In a dissent from the decision to decline the Illinois case, he said that the court wrongly treated it differently than other First Amendment cases because abortion was involved. Hill has been seriously undermined, if not completely eroded, and our refusal to provide clarity is an abdication of our judicial duty, he wrote. 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

Workers around the federal government are scrambling to figure out how and if they should respond to an all-government email sent Saturday at the behest of Elon Musk asking them to list five things they did at work within the last week. During the confusion caused by Musks email, workers at the Treasury Department received an email from a former Heritage Foundation staffer who is not the Treasury Secretary from an email address that billed itself as being from Secretary of the Treasury. How and whether to respond to the What did you do last week email has itself resulted in much discussion and confusion, and efforts to clarify any confusion have resulted in additional confusion as well as worries about sharing classified or otherwise private information. FBI employees were told by new FBI director Kash Patel not to respond to the email, so were members of the military. Musk tweeted Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.The Treasury Department email, seen by 404 Media and currently being discussed widely on Reddit, came from an email address with the name *Secretary of the Treasury but signed by John W. York, who is not the Secretary of the Treasury and who previously worked for the Heritage Foundation, the architects of Project 2025. The current Secretary of Treasury is Scott Bessent, not York. Treasury workers seem to not know who York is or why he is sending emails from an email address previously used by past Secretaries of Treasury.It was used in the past rarely: wishing Treasury employees a Merry Christmas or noting there is a return to office mandate, one source told 404 Media about the email address Yorks email came from. In the past, the emails included the title of the sender (Sec of Treasury, for example) and more often than not a picture of said person. Like when Steven Mnuchin sent emails ordering the evacuation of the buildings in 2020, they had his face on the email. No such embellishments this go round.Do you know anything else about what's happening with the 'What did you do last week' email? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at jason.404. Otherwise, send me an email at jason@404media.co.In the email, York tells workers that they must respond to the What did you do last week email: Given the voluminous and extremely important work that Treasury staff perform [sic] on a daily basis, we expect that compliance will not be difficult or time consuming.Your responses should be descriptive enough to show the significance of the work you performed; however, the descriptions should not reveal confidential, privileged, otherwise non-public, pre-decisional or deliberative aspects of that work, given that these responses will be sent outside Treasury, he wrote. If you have any questions about how to respond, please consult with your manager.Sources at the Treasury Department told 404 Media that they have not previously received any emails from John W. York, that they are not sure what his job is or whether he actually works for the Treasury Department, and that giving descriptive, substantial rundowns of their work tasks without giving non-public or sensitive information is not an easy task.John York had no title associated with his signature line (unusual as ALL Fed service employees are proud to put their title, Dept, etc in the sig line as a default), one source told 404 Media. Employees at the Treasury Department have been doing research on York to attempt to figure out who he is. York worked for the Heritage Foundation before joining the Office of Personnel Management towards the end of Trumps first term. His LinkedIn says he has worked as a Strategic Human Capital Lead at Accenture since March 2021. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether he is now a Treasury Department employee.Top comments on a Reddit post discussing this email are Who the fuck is John W. York? and Schrodinger's phishing email. you're fired if you respond. you're fired if you dont.Other federal employees tell 404 Media that they have been receiving similar clarification emails from agency heads about how and whether to respond, and have been getting follow up emails from their supervisors about what to say if the things they work on are classified. The majority of these emails, which 404 Media is not sharing specifics on because they were in many cases sent to small teams of people, are begging employees to respond to the What did you do last week emails while threading the needle of sharing specifics but not sharing private or confidential information.

Out WWE Champion Daria Berenatoshocked fans when she announced she had fought her last match in the ring. Berenato AKA Sonya Deville, made history in 2015 when she became the first openly queer female wrestler in the WWE. Now, ten years later, shes ready to start her next chapter. Berenato joined GLAADs Anthony Allen Ramos [...]The post WATCH: Daria Berenato Talks WWE Departure and Starting her Next Chapter: There is a place for our community to thrive in wrestling, just like there is in any other place. first appeared on GLAAD.