This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss learning from civilizations past and learning to drive.JASON: I mentioned this on a podcast a few weeks ago, but I have been falling asleep lately to the Ancient Americas YouTube channel. Made by a guy in the midwest named Pete, Ancient Americas makes 30-minute to hour-long videos about indigenous American civilizations: The Mayans, the Incans, the Aztecs, the Nazca, sure. But also the Calusa, the Toltecs, the Tarascans, the Marajoara, the Cahokia, and lots of other civilizations / peoples / cities / ruins that I had never heard of and never learned about in school.I didnt have any specific interest in thisAncient Americas started autoplaying one night at 3 AM when I couldnt sleep, and Petes monotone voice put me back to sleep very quickly. I started listening more often, and it has quickly become my go-to thing to fall asleep to. Pete says he is not an archaeologist or an anthropologist, but each of his videos is insanely well researched, and he includes a Google Doc bibliography with each one. His recent video about the Mayan Collapse sources 10 books and academic papers, and includes 16 pages of single-spaced image credits and licenses. I have seen Pete go on the channels of historians and archaeologists with PhDs and more than hold his own. In short, he is the real deal.

Nature, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01071-6Decision comes amidst mass layoffs plus, administration instructs US biomedical agency to study regret after transgender people transition.

Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2) motions during the first half of an Elite Eight round NCAA college basketball tournament game against the Alabama, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-04-04T17:01:18Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were days away from clinching a spot in the Final Four, and the Blue Devils freshman star was planning ahead.It wasnt about anything on the court, though. It was to be ready the next time teammates Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba broke out water guns at the cold tubs.Im definitely ordering one as well, Flagg said with a grin, a nod to the fact that hes still just being a kid.Maybe so, but the the 18-year-olds game has been far more advanced than his age from the opening tip of his college debut. Scoring. Rebounding. Setting up teammates as a playmaker, then aiding them as a defender. He did it all amid high expectations as the potential No. 1 overall NBA draft prospect, the driving force with a relentless competitive edge and mature focus for a team now two wins from a national championship. It is why Flagg was named The Associated Press mens college basketball national player of the year on Friday, becoming only the fourth freshman to win the award in its 64-year history.The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, won a two-man race with Auburn star Johni Broome. Both players were unanimous first-team AP All-Americans with teams at the Final Four, and they were the only two to receive player-of-the-year votes, Flagging 41 of the 61. Flagg joins Dukes Zion Williamson (2019), Kentuckys Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas star Kevin Durant (2007) as freshman winners. Each went either No. 1 or No. 2 overall in the NBA draft a few months later. Flagg is the eighth Duke player to win the award, most of any program.He plays so hard, hes competitive, a great teammate, Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the Blue Devils home finale, and obviously his ability is special. High standard, high expectationsFlagg was just 17 when he arrived at Duke after reclassifying to graduate early from high school. Yet he has exceeded all hype as the nations top-ranked recruit, with Flagg leading Duke in scoring (18.9 points per game), rebounding (7.5), assists (4.2) and steals (1.4) while ranking second in blocks (1.3) entering Saturdays national semifinal against Houston.I hold myself to a high standard, high expectations, Flagg told the AP. Just because I know how much work Ive put in and how many hours Ive spent grinding and putting that work in. ... Its those expectations of just trusting what you do and just doing it to the highest level. And he repeatedly did that.He scored an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman-record 42 points against Notre Dame. There was his highlight-reel transition dunk against Pittsburgh. The big game to help the Blue Devils beat Broomes Tigers, along with going for 30 points in an NCAA Sweet 16 win against Arizona that Scheyer called one of the best tournament performances Ive ever coached or been a part of.Cohesive play is the hallmark of this Blue Devils team, the only one ranked in KenPoms top five for both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. It has offered ways for Flagg to improve in his first and possibly lone college season as he learned the level of the details required to thrive. It was ensuring he got in for pre-practice recovery sessions. Or listening when graduate transfer Mason Gillis and junior Tyrese Proctor pushed the importance of sleep, prompting Flagg to nix a high-school habit of late-night phone scrolling. As far as outside expectations, I couldnt really care less, Flagg said. For me, its more about following the expectations of my teammates, my coaches, my family. Everybodys human so Im going to make mistakes. Im not going to be at my best all the time. But thats what having great teammates and great coaches does for you. They just always have my back and are always there for me.Support within reachHis mother, Kelly, almost envies how her son handles that.I think he sees it but he really doesnt let it bother him, she told the AP. And I wish I was more like that. Hes so comfortable with who he is, and hes always been that way. Thats why he doesnt get rattled easily, because he believes in himself and it doesnt really matter to him what other people think. Thats a special ability to be able to drown out the noise when the noise can be overwhelming at times for somebody like him. Im really proud of him for being able to do that.She and husband Ralph have kept a close eye on how hes been doing after moving to North Carolina for this year while Ace, Coopers twin brother, completes his final season of high school basketball in Greensboro, an hour away. Flagg said it helped to have family close, including when he visited for a few days around Christmas and got multiple days in the gym with his father and brothers.When you are able to step back and just take a break, it can be really good to just get your mind clear and kind of refocus, he said. It showed up on the court, notably as he elevated his scoring (20.1 points, up from 16.9), assists (4.5, up from 3.7), shooting percentage (51%, up from 43.8%) and 3-point percentage (.434, up from 27.1) after Jan. 1.Indeed, Flagg seems wired for big moments when the stakes rise, something his mother has seen going back to his childhood. There was his hatred of losing from early on, such as demanding to keep playing after losing in a driveway game of H-O-R-S-E with Kelly who played in college at Maine or a board game like Trouble.He always wanted to be first to do anything even when it seemed a bit much, such as the family working with eldest brother Hunter to ride a bike without training wheels only to have the then-3 Cooper announce I can do it, Momma and back it up.When it came to basketball, he tested his parents nerves by constantly dribbling on the hardwood floors at home. But success came quickly, too, with whispers soon spreading around Maine about the prodigy playing up several grade levels.When he was younger, if somebody stole the ball from him or he turned it over or got fouled or did something (wrong), we would say it was a 50/50 shot whether he was going to pick up a crazy foul or he was going to do something spectacular, Kelly said. And as hes gotten older, it was more the chances of something really good was about to happen.Savoring this momentFlagg noted multiple times how much he has enjoyed Duke. He has talked about making connections and fitting in with other students he called elite in their own respects.Thats offered a respite from the spotlight, even as hes featured in ads and commercials as a leading-man star for college basketball with players permitted to profit from their athletic fame. He is now used to requests for autographs and selfies, shrugging that there could be worse problems to have.Flagg has avoided saying he is making the expected jump to the NBA after the season. For now, there are more pressing things to deal with, from the Final Four to ordering that water gun.I have to, Flagg insisted. What am I going to do? Im going to be unarmed?___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AARON BEARD Beard covers sports in North Carolina for The Associated Press with an emphasis on college basketball. His coverage includes ACC sports and the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes. twitter mailto

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, a Dragon capsule carrying four space tourists prepares to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on Friday, April 4, 2025. (SpaceX via AP)2025-04-04T16:21:26Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Four space tourists who orbited the north and south poles returned to Earth on Friday, splashing down in the Pacific to end their privately funded polar tour.Bitcoin investor Chun Wang chartered a SpaceX flight for himself and three others in a Dragon capsule that was outfitted with a domed window that provided 360-degree views of the polar caps and everything in between. Wang declined to say how much he paid for the 3 1/2-day trip. The quartet, who rocketed from NASAs Kennedy Space Center on Monday night, returned off the Southern California coast. It was the first human spaceflight to circle the globe above the poles and the first Pacific splashdown for a space crew in 50 years. The Chinese-born Wang, now a citizen of Malta, invited Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge and Australian polar guide Eric Philips, all of whom shared stunning vistas during their voyage. It is so epic because it is another kind of desert, so it just goes on and on and on all the way, Rogge said in a video posted by Wang on X while gazing down from orbit. Mikkelsen packed the capsule with camera equipment and spent much of her time behind the lens.All four suffered from space motion sickness after reaching orbit, according to Wang. But by the time they woke up on day two, they felt fine and cranked open the window cover right above the South Pole, he said via X. Besides documenting the poles from 270 miles (430 kilometers) up, Wang and his crew took the first medical X-rays in space as part of a test and conducted two dozen other science experiments. They named their trip Fram2 after the Norwegian sailing ship that carried explorers to the poles more than a century ago. A bit of the original ships wooden deck accompanied the crew to space.SpaceX said its decision to switch splashdown sites from Florida beginning with this flight was based on safety. The company said Pacific splashdowns will ensure that any surviving pieces of the trunk jettisoned near flights end falls into the ocean.The last people to return from space to the Pacific were the three NASA astronauts assigned to the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Nature, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01073-4Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

This combo of filer photos show from left, St. John's coach Rick Pitino, left, and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, the The Associated Press coaches of the year in men's college basketball. (AP Photo/File)2025-04-04T16:02:30Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. Bruce Pearl has turned Auburn into a basketball school and may have his best team yet. Rick Pitino has done what he does best at St. Johns, ushering in a quick turnaround.Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press mens college basketball coach of the year award.Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting released Friday from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisvilles Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Dukes Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three and Drakes Ben McCollum and UC San Diegos Eric Olen each got one vote.Pitino is the first St. Johns coach to be named AP coach of the year and the sixth in Big East Conference history. Marquettes Shaka Smart won the award two years ago. When Pitino was hired in 2023, the Red Storm had been mired in mediocrity. St. Johns hadnt been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and the March Madness trips had been sporadic since the late 1990s.Pitino led the Red Storm to 20 wins his first season and back into into national prominence this year. St. Johns won the Big East regular-season title by going 18-2 and took its first Big East Conference Tournament title since 2000. The Red Storm matched a school record with 31 wins marks set in the 1980s under Lou Carnesecca and had their highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in in 34 years by reaching No. 5 in the final regular-season poll. St. Johns was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and opened with a win over Omaha before losing to Arkansas in the second round. Pitinos quick success follows a pattern he set in previous stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona. He is the first coach to lead six different programs to the NCAA Tournament.I have been blessed for a long period of time fifty-plus years of coaching, Pitino said. Its going to stop, so why not have a blast? Why not get the most out of it? Laugh, have fun, get great experiences. Pearl has certainly been doing that since taking over at Auburn in 2015. The Tigers had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and Pearl got them back into the bracket by his fourth season. Auburn took a huge leap the following year, earning the programs first trip to the Final Four in 2019.The Tigers have been close to unstoppable this season.Led by All-American Johni Broome, Auburn spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 this season, earned the SEC regular-season title and has won a school-record 32 games. The Tigers were the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and bulled their way through the bracket, beating Michigan State 70-64 to reach the Final Four for the second time.Pearl joins Cliff Ellis in 1999 as the only Auburn coaches to win AP coach of the year honors. He is first SEC coach to win the award since Kentuckys John Calipari 10 years ago.You want to be on a great team, youve got to make sacrifices, Pearl said. Youve got to share and youve got to hold each other accountable. I think thats a big part of what this locker room is all about. This is a team of faith.With a national coach of the year just like St. Johns.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Federal Reserve in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-04-04T15:31:56Z ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) The Trump administrations expansive new tariffs will likely lead to higher inflation and slower growth, and the Federal Reserve will focus on keeping price increases temporary, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Friday. Powell said that the tariffs, and their impacts on the economy and inflation, are significantly larger than expected. He also said that the import taxes are highly likely to lead to at least a temporary rise in inflation, but added that it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent. Our obligation is to ... make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem, Powell said in remarks being delivered in Arlington, Virginia. Powells focus on inflation suggests that the Fed will likely keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at about 4.3% in the coming months. That is likely to disappoint Wall Street investors, who now expect five interest rate cuts this year, a number that has increased since President Donald Trump announced the tariffs Wednesday. Trump, separately, urged Powell to cut rates, citing lower inflation and energy prices. This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates, Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!Economists forecast that the tariffs will weaken the economy, possibly threaten hiring, and push up prices. In that scenario, the Fed could cut rates to bolster the economy, or it could keep rates unchanged or even hike them to combat inflation. Powells comments suggest the Fed will mostly focus on inflation. Powell emphasized that the full impact of the tariffs on the economy arent yet clear, and the Fed will likely stay on the sidelines until it has more clarity about the economy. It is just too soon to say what the appropriate ... response will be, Powell said. Powells remarks come two days after Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs that have upended the global economy, prompted retaliatory moves by China, and sent stock prices in the U.S. and overseas plunging. Weaker growth and higher prices are a tricky combination for the Fed. Typically the central bank would reduce its key interest rate to lower borrowing costs and spur the economy in the event of slower growth, while it would raise rates or keep them elevated to slow spending and combat inflation. The Fed is in a tough spot with inflation set to accelerate and the economy poised to slow, said Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. Powell said the economy and hiring remain solid, for now, but he noted that consumers and businesses have become more pessimistic about the outlook.He also said inflation has fallen sharply from its peak in 2022, but said that recently progress toward the central banks 2% target has slowed.Some positive news arrived Friday when the government reported that hiring accelerated in March, with 228,000 jobs added, though the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, from 4.1%. Yet those figures measure hiring in mid-March, before the scope of the duties became clear. The tariffs have also raised uncertainty about how the economy will fare in the coming months, which could limit businesses willingess to invest and hire. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01056-5Arrests of scholars by US President Donald Trumps administration prompts lawsuit alleging free-speech violations.

Jonathan Wright, 39, holds up the T-shirt he was given when he first went to MacLaren Children's Center in El Monte as an 8-year-old during a news conference in Los Angeles, June 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Christopher Weber, File)2025-04-04T19:06:26Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles County has reached a $4 billion agreement to settle nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities since 1959, officials said Friday.The agreement, which still needs approval from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, would be the largest of its kind and have long-lasting financial effects for the county, officials said.On behalf of the County, I apologize wholeheartedly to everyone who was harmed by these reprehensible acts, Fesia Davenport, the countys chief executive, said in a statement.The agreement would settle lawsuits filed by thousands of people who alleged they were mistreated and sexually abused in foster care and juvenile detention facilities in Los Angeles County. The plaintiffs were able to sue because of a California law that took effect in 2020 and suspended the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse victims to bring cases for three years. Many of the claims involved the MacLaren Childrens Center, which was closed in 2003. The facility, which was intended to be a safe space for children awaiting placement in foster homes, opened in 1961 and was overseen by probation officials until it was placed under the countys Department of Children and Family Services in 1976. One man said he was sexually abused by a physician at the facility when he was 8 years old, while another said he was assaulted by a male staff member in a bathroom when he was 5. Children were routinely placed in solitary confinement, drugged and restrained in chairs at the facility, according to court papers filed by plaintiffs. It is bittersweet for the survivors, because nothing is ever going to take away what was done to them, and how badly their lives were altered and how much they have suffered, said Adam Slater, one of the plaintiffs attorneys. However, the settlement hopefully gives them some measure of justice and provides them with some measure of closure. The agreement by Los Angeles County would surpass the Boy Scouts of Americas 2022 settlement for $2.6 billion with more than 80,000 men who said they were molested as children by Scout leaders and others. At the time, that was considered the largest aggregate sexual abuse settlement in U.S. history.Last year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $800 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse, bringing the total payout to more than $1.5 billion.Disclosure of the massive tentative payout comes at a time when the nations largest county home to about 10 million residents is facing a tightening bind of financial obligations on its $49 billion annual budget. County officials fear hundreds of millions of dollars for public services could vanish in Trump administration cutbacks, while the county has seen additional costs from Januarys historic wildfires as it also deals with an ongoing homeless crisis.Davenport recently said the county is facing a large amount of uncertainty with its budget some agencies are largely funded by federal dollars. The proposed agreement includes creating a countywide hotline for reporting child sexual abuse allegations against county employees and developing a system to expedite investigations, county officials said.By balancing justice for the victims with a commitment to reform, this resolution ensures both acknowledgment of past wrongs and a pathway to a safer, more accountable future, Patrick McNicholas, one of the plaintiffs attorneys, said in a statement. The countys claims board will consider the proposed settlement Monday. If approved, it would be considered by the Board of Supervisors on April 29.___Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California. Associated Press writer Olga R. Rodrguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Don Herneisen, a 77-year-old retired school counselor from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, spoke in Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, while visiting family in the area. (AP Photo/Heather Hollingsworth)2025-04-04T22:15:42Z KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) When retired school counselor Don Herneisen meets up with friends each week for breakfast at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the conversation often turns to the economy. With financial markets in turmoil as President Donald Trump unveiled his latest tariffs this week, the popularity of that topic is unlikely to change anytime soon.Theres political uncertainty, theres economic uncertainty, and if youre retired, you dont much like uncertainty at this point, said Herneisen, 77, as he and his wife made a stop at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday while visiting family. Stock markets worldwide careened even lower Friday after China matched Trumps big raise in tariffs in an escalating trade war. The sweeping new tariffs, on top of previous levies and retaliation worldwide, are also expected to increase prices for everyday items. Herneisen, who lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and his wife, Cathy Herneisen, a 74-year-old retired Verizon worker, are living on a mix of pension, Social Security and an individual retirement account, or IRA. He said that for now they arent cutting back, but his wife clarified that even holding steady means cutting back. Prices are higher, but I am still spending the same amount of money, she said. I am sticking with the grocery budget, and that means that Im cutting back on prepared food, so Im buying the products themselves so it is hurting people who run a small business that sell their pre-made food. They live in a Republican-leaning area of the swing state but neither voted for Trump, who has said Americans may feel some pain because of tariffs, but that the long-term goals, including getting more manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., are worth it. Chad NeSmith, a portfolio manager at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, Florida, just outside of Fort Lauderdale, said that theyd been fielding calls from clients for the last couple of days and the calls were increasing on Friday. Fear is really picking up, especially since we have the retaliatory tariff from China, he said.NeSmith said most clients just had general questions, checking up on what they should be doing with their portfolios. Were taking it on a call-by-call basis, he said.NeSmith said retirees generally have a little bit less risk in their portfolios and bonds have been performing well in the volatility.The overall theme that were really getting at is you really have to be aware of your risk tolerance and your financial plan, and you needed to do that going into this so that way you can ride through this volatility that were seeing right now, he said.Colleen Power, a 57-year-old payroll specialist from Kansas City, Missouri, is hopeful the market will recover before she retires.We have our things situated in a way that we will probably survive, she said. Now, in general, yes, I am definitely worried for the country. But I mean, on a personal level, I dont have a whole lot of stress about that at the moment. But Power, a Democrat, finds the situation frustrating nonetheless. None of this is in any way surprising on any level, in any way, and all I can do is do the best I can in my local area and hope for the best, she said. Paul Brahim, an advisor at Wealth Enhancement Group in Pittsburgh, said, Uncertainty is frightening, not knowing is scary and people are asking the same question all the time: Am I going to be OK?He said that for a recent retiree who hasnt started taking Social Security yet and is living off the cash flow from assets, watching that value decline in just a few days is frightening.But, he said, if they have prepared well, there should be reserves in place. We should have cash in reserve that we can use while we allow that portfolio to heal, he said. Brahim, president of the Financial Planning Association, a membership organization for certified financial planners, said most of his clients have broadly diversified portfolios and, looking back over the last year, theyve had positive returns. Its good to just put it into perspective, that helps with the fear, he said. I think its important that we take a breath and that we pause through uncertainty before we make adjustments to our portfolio, he said. Let the dust settle.___Stengle contributed to this story from Dallas.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-04-04T04:02:53Z GREENBELT, Md. (AP) A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to arrange for the return of a Maryland man to the United States after he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison, while a U.S. government attorney was at a loss to explain what happened.The ruling rejected the White Houses claim that it lacks the power to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, because he is no longer in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has corrected deportation errors in previous years, according to Abrego Garcias attorney and legal experts. This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (CASA via AP) This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (CASA via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The government filed an appeal immediately after the decision, while Trump administration officials repeated assertions that Abrego Garcia is a dangerous gang member and that U.S. courts have no control over the matter. We are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement following the ruling by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis.ICE expelled the 29-year-old Abrego Garcia last month despite an immigration judges 2019 ruling that shielded him from deportation to El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs. His mistaken deportation, described by the White House as an administrative error, has outraged many and raised concerns about expelling noncitizens who were granted permission to be in the U.S. The record reflects that Abrego Garcia was apprehended in Maryland without legal basis ... and without further process or legal justification was removed to El Salvador, Xinis wrote in her order. Before she issued the ruling, Xinis described the deportation as an illegal act and pressed Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni for answers, many of which he didnt have. Reuveni conceded to Xinis that Abrego Garcia should not have been removed from the U.S. and shouldnt have been sent to El Salvador. He couldnt tell the judge upon what authority he was arrested in Maryland. Im also frustrated that I have no answers for you for a lot of these questions, he said.The judge also questioned why Abrego Garcia was sent to the prison in El Salvador, which observers say is rife with human rights abuses.Why is he there, of all places? asked Xinis, who was nominated by President Barack Obama.I dont know, Reuveni replied. That information has not been given to me. Reuveni had asked the judge for more time 24 hours for the government to possibly broker Abrego Garcias return. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, right, stands with supporters during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, right, stands with supporters during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Abrego Garcias attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the judge he was dismayed that the government had done nothing to get his client back, even after admitting its errors. Plenty of tweets. Plenty of White House press conferences. But no actual steps taken with the government of El Salvador to make it right, he said.Sandoval-Moshenberg said the governments response to its error was essentially to say, Weve tried nothing, and were all out of options.This is not something thats outside of the governments power, he said, noting that the U.S. routinely extradites gang leaders, drug traffickers and other imprisoned people from other countries.In legal briefs, Sandoval-Moshenberg asked the court to remove Abrego Garcia from the torture prison and return him to the custody of the United States. The White House has cast Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member and doubled down on that claim after Fridays hearing. Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, stated that the U.S. has intelligence reports that he is involved in human trafficking. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASAs Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP) In this undated photo provided by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, a man identified by Jennifer Vasquez Sura as her husband, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador. (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More McLaughlin did not comment on whether the administration would comply with the judges order or when and where Abrego Garcia might be returned to the U.S. But she said that he would be locked up and off Americas streets. MS-13 gang members murder, rape, and maim for sport, she said. Its shameful that the mainstream media chooses to do the bidding of these vicious gangs while ignoring their victims.Abrego Garcias attorneys have countered that there is no evidence he was in MS-13. The allegation is based on a confidential informants claim in 2019 that Abrego Garcia was a member of a chapter in New York, where he has never lived.Abrego Garcia had a permit from DHS to legally work in the U.S., his attorney said. He served as a sheet metal apprentice and was pursuing his journeyman license. This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP) This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Murray Osorio PLLC via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More He fled El Salvador around 2011 because he and his family were facing threats by local gangs. In 2019, a U.S. immigration judge granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador. He was released and ICE did not appeal the decision or try to deport him to another country. Abrego Garcia later married Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen. The couple are parents to their son and her two children from a previous relationship.The judges ruling on Friday came shortly after Vasquez Sura joined dozens of supporters at a rally in the city of Hyattsville to urge her husbands immediate return.Vasquez Sura, who hasnt spoken to her husband since his deportation, urged her supporters to keep fighting for him and all the Kilmars out there whose stories are still waiting to be heard.To all the wives, mothers, children who also face this cruel separation, I stand with you in this bond of pain, she said during the rally at a community center. Its a journey that no one ever should ever have to suffer, a nightmare that feels endless.___Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Rebecca Santana and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

An entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Md., is seen Jan. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)2025-04-05T00:07:45Z WASHINGTON (AP) Books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelous famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, were among the nearly 400 volumes removed from the U.S. Naval Academys library this week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths office ordered the school to get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.The Navy late Friday provided the list of 391 books that have been taken out of its library. The move marks another step in the Trump administrations far-reaching effort to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings and curriculum at schools. In addition to Angelous award-winning tome, the list includes Memorializing the Holocaust, which deals with Holocaust memorials; Half American, about African Americans in World War II; A Respectable Woman, about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York; and Pursuing Trayvon Martin, about the 2012 shooting of the Black 17-year-old in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling. Other books clearly deal with subjects that have been stridently targeted by the Trump administration, including gender identity, sexuality and transgender issues. A wide array of books on race and gender were targeted, dealing with such topics as African American women poets, entertainers who wore blackface and the treatment of women in Islamic countries. Also on the list were historical books on racism, the Ku Klux Klan and the treatment of women, gender and race in art and literature. In a statement, the Navy said officials went through the Nimitz Library catalog, using keyword searches, to identify books that required further review. About 900 books were identified in the search.Departmental officials then closely examined the preliminary list to determine which books required removal, said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, Navy spokesman. Nearly 400 books were removed from Nimitz Library to comply with directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President. The books were removed shortly before Hegseth arrived Tuesday for a visit to the academy, which had already been planned and was not connected to the library purge, officials said.The Pentagon has said the academies are fully committed to executing and implementing President Trumps Executive Orders.The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, had not been included in President Donald Trumps executive order in January that banned DEI instruction, programs or curriculum in kindergarten through 12th grade schools that receive federal funding. That is because the academies are colleges.Pentagon leaders, however, turned their attention to the Naval Academy last week when a media report noted that the school had not removed books promoting DEI. A U.S. official said the academy was told late last week to conduct the review and removal. It isnt clear if the order was directed by Hegseth or someone else on his staff. A West Point official confirmed earlier this week that the school had completed a review of its curriculum and was prepared to review library content if directed by the Army. The Air Force and Naval academies had also done curriculum reviews as had been required.An Air Force Academy official said the school continually reviews its curriculum, coursework and other materials to ensure it all complies with executive orders and Defense Department policies. Last week, Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, the Air Force Academy superintendent, told Congress that the school was in the middle of its course review, but there was no mention of books.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss academy policies.Hegseth has aggressively pushed the department to erase DEI programs and online content, but the campaign has been met with questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto

Donna Cooper holds up a dosage of Wegovy, a drug used for weight loss, at her home in Front Royal, Va., on Friday, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)2025-04-04T22:27:54Z President Donald Trumps administration has decided not to cover expensive, high-demand obesity treatments under the federal governments Medicare program.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Friday that it would not cover the medications under Medicares Part D prescription drug coverage. Medicare covers health care expenses mainly for people age 65 and older.Trumps predecessor, Joe Biden, proposed a rule in late November after Trump won re-election that would have extended coverage of drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy. The rule was not expected to be finalized until Trump took office.Trump returned to office in January. The Senate confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Thursday. CMS did not offer an explanation Friday for its decision, and federal spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trumps Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been an outspoken opponent of the injectable drugs, which have exploded in popularity due to the potentially life-changing weight loss that some patients experience. Polls show Americans favor having Medicaid and Medicare cover the costs. But many insurers, employers and other bill payers have been reluctant to pay for the drugs, which can be used by a wide swath of the population and can cost hundreds of dollars a month. Bidens proposal was expensive: It would have included coverage for all state- and federally funded Medicaid programs for people with low incomes, costing taxpayers as much as $35 billion over next decade. Proponents of the coverage have argued that treating obesity can actually reduce longer-term costs by cutting down on heart attacks and other expensive health complications that can arise from the disease. The benefits consultant Mercer has said that 44% of U.S. companies with 500 or more employees covered obesity drugs last year. Medicare does pay for drugs like Wegovy for patients who have heart disease and need to reduce their risk of future heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems. The federal program also covers versions of the drugs that treat diabetes.More than a dozen state Medicaid programs already cover the drugs for obesity. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. 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

Director Paul Schrader poses for a portrait for the film 'Oh, Canada', at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)2025-04-05T00:33:14Z NEW YORK (AP) Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver and director of American Gigolo, has been accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting his former personal assistant, firing her when she wouldnt acquiesce to advances and reneging on a settlement that was meant to keep the allegations confidential.The former assistant, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, sued the filmmaker and his production company on Thursday. She is seeking a judges order to enforce the agreement after Schrader said he couldnt go through with it. The terms, including a monetary payment, were not disclosed.This is an open-and-shut settlement enforcement matter, Does lawyer, Gregory Chiarello, wrote in court papers accompanying the breach of contract claim.Schraders lawyer, Philip J. Kessler, deemed the lawsuit desperate, opportunistic and frivolous and said many of the allegations in it are false or materially misleading. We absolutely deny that there was ever a sexual relationship of any kind between Mr. Schrader and his former assistant, and we deny that Mr. Schrader ever made an attempt to have a sexual relationship of any kind with his former assistant, Kessler said. The lawsuit, filed in a New York court, laid bare allegations that the confidential settlement between Doe, 26, and Schrader, 78, had been intended to keep under wraps.They include her claim that the filmmaker trapped her in his hotel room, grabbed her arms and kissed her against her will last year while they were promoting his latest film, Oh, Canada, at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Two days later, the lawsuit said, Schrader called Doe repeatedly and sent her angry text messages claiming he was dying and couldnt pack his bags. When Doe arrived to help, the lawsuit said, Schrader exposed his genitals to her as he opened his hotel room door wearing nothing but an open bathrobe. Doe alleges Schrader fired her last September after she again rejected his advances. Soon after, the lawsuit said, he sent her an email expressing fear that hed become a Harvey Weinstein in her mind. Weinstein, the movie mogul turned #MeToo villain, was convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and is awaiting an April 15 retrial in his New York rape case.According to the lawsuit, Schrader agreed to the settlement on Feb. 5 but changed his mind after an illness and soul searching. Schrader conveyed through his lawyers last month that he could not live with the settlement, the lawsuit said. Kessler disputed that.The agreement that theyre trying to enforce against Mr. Schrader, in plain English, required both parties to sign it before it became legally effective, Kessler said. Mr. Schrader declined to sign it. Its frankly as simple as that.Doe worked for Schrader from 2021 until 2024, according to the lawsuit. During that time, Kessler said, she posted on social media about how much she loved her job and referred to Schrader as an extraordinary mentor and my man.Schrader rose to fame through his collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, beginning with Taxi Driver in 1976. Robert De Niros iconic line, You talkin to me, is seared into the lexicon and ranked among the American Film Institutes all-time greatest movie quotes. Schrader co-wrote Scorseses 1980 boxing drama Raging Bull, also starring De Niro, and authored his 1988 religious epic The Last Temptation of Christ and his 1999 paramedic drama Bringing Out the Dead.Hes also directed 23 of his own films, highlighted by 1980s American Gigolo, which he also wrote. He received his only Academy Award nomination for writing First Reformed, a 2017 thriller about a small-town minister that he also directed.Schrader told The Associated Press last year that he made Oh, Canada the film that Doe said brought them to Cannes as he reconciled his own mortality after a string of hospitalizations for long COVID.In 2016, Schrader told The Hollywood Reporter police visited him after he ranted on Facebook about Donald Trumps then-looming presidency. Schrader wrote Trumps election was a call to violence and said people should be willing to take arms. In 2023, he trashed the Oscars as scrambling to be woke with diversity efforts and more international voters. And in 2021, in the wake of #MeToo, he decried so-called cancel culture, telling Deadline it was so infectious, its like the Delta virus.If your friend says, Theyre saying these terrible things about me that arent true, youre afraid to come to their defense, because you might catch that virus too, Schrader told the entertainment news outlet. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto

Bryant Kagay, part owner of Kagay farms in Amity, Missouri, works on equipment to get ready for planting his crops this year while worrying about the effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)2025-04-04T22:52:27Z OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Heading into this year, most U.S. farmers were hoping to break even or maybe record a small profit if they could find a way to limit their sky-high costs. But now they are faced with losing the biggest export market for many of their crops after China retaliated against President Donald Trumps tariffs.Theres just not any margin for error in the current farm economy, said Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, who serves as president of the American Soybean Association.Soybean and sorghum farmers have particular reason to worry because at least half of those crops are exported and China has long been the biggest buyer. China has also bought a lot of American corn, beef, chicken and other crops as part of spending $24.65 billion on U.S. agricultural products last year. Now with China slapping 34% tariffs on all American products Friday on top of other tariffs it imposed earlier this year all of those products will be significantly more expensive in China Crop prices, much like the stock market, dropped after Trump announced his tariffs earlier this week. Tim Dufault, whose farm is in northwest Minnesota only about 80 miles south of Canada, said in a good year soybean farmers might make $50 to $75 an acre. But this isnt a good year because crop prices arent high enough to cover soaring costs, and the price drop in the past two days cost them about $25 an acre, he said. Dufault said he is worried that these new tariffs might put many farmers out of business, including the young farmers he rented his land to heading into this year as he retired because they likely wont make anything in 2025. I just I hope to God they can stay in business, said Dufault, who is active with the Farmers for Free Trade group that pushes for open markets.One of the biggest long-term concerns is that American farmers and ranchers will lose market share as China turns to Brazil and other countries to buy the soybeans, beef, chicken and other crops it consumes. China will buy lots of sorghum because it is distilled into the drink baijiu that is as popular there as whiskey is in the United States, but they will get it from other countries. Farmers endured Trumps previous trade war with China during his first term. But this time, Trumps tariffs extend around the globe, so China likely wont be the last country to retaliate with tariffs of its own. Could farmers get government aid? The only way most farmers survived Trumps last trade war was with tens of billions of government aid payments, but its not clear if he will do that this time. He gave them more than $22 billion in aid payments in 2019 and nearly $46 billion in 2020, though that year also included aid related to the COVID pandemic.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News this week that right now she doesnt believe massive aid payments will be necessary, although she wont know that for several months. But if it is, then this president has always said and he is resolute in his commitment to our farmers and our ranchers and our great rural communities in America, so we will well make sure were ready if in fact that is necessary, she said. But none of us like that, said farmer Andy Hineman, who is vice president of the Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association. We dont want to live on government handouts. Wed rather sell the crops we grow.But farmer Bryant Kagay, part owner of Kagay farms in Amity, Missouri, said he doesnt have a lot of faith that these tariffs the way they are laid out today will stick around long term.He also doesnt like the idea of getting aid from the government. I really hate that seems to be the solution that, well, well just pay farmers some just off-the-cuff payment to help offset this, Kagay said. I think a federal government thats vastly overspending today, like this is not the way to solve that problem.The hope for farmers is that Trumps tariffs will lead to negotiations with other countries that will lower tariffs and other trade barriers.Thats the type of positive development that we can do thats good for everybody involved, and thats what we need to look for, Ragland said. Instead of beating each other up with higher and higher tariffs its just like punching each other in the face. Were not going to gain anything from it. Its just going to cause us to hurt. That would be my encouragement to the administration, is to look for opportunities and get some great deals done proactively.___Associated Press writer Nick Ingram contributed to this report from Missouri. JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and has been attending Buffetts Woodstock for Capitalists annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 19 years. twitter mailto

Prisoners look out from their cell as the Costa Rica Justice and Peace minister tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)2025-04-04T19:48:33Z TECOLUCA, El Salvador (AP) Costa Ricas security minister toured El Salvadors maximum-security gang prison on Friday as part of his review of the measures that El Salvador has taken to reduce violence caused by powerful street gangs during a now three-year offensive under a state of emergency.Costa Rica Justice and Peace Minister Gerald Campos Valverde said he was visiting on orders of President Rodrigo Chaves to see the good practices of the Salvadoran people with the goal of combating crime and to returning rights to all citizens.In November, Costa Rica bestowed its highest diplomatic honor on El Salvador President Nayib Bukele for his success in lowering levels of violence during his three-year campaign against powerful street gangs.El Salvador has lived under a state of emergency that suspends fundamental rights like access to a lawyer. Some 84,000 people have been arrested, accused of gang ties. Homicides have plummeted in El Salvador and the improved security has fueled Bukeles popularity.El Salvadors rescue from those nefarious claws is also helping the peace in our region, Chaves said when he presented Bukele with the recognition last year. The fight against organized crime in any part of Central America is welcome. The reach and influence and bad example of the gangs must be reduced. Campos came away impressed by the gang prison Bukele built at the start of the state of emergency where Campos said he saw fundamental rights being respected. The prisons director Belarmino Garca showed Campos one of the cells holding about 70 inmates. The prison director instructed the inmates to remove their shirts to show their tattooed torsos and asked some to identify their gang affiliation to show that members of rival gangs were sharing the same cell.After his tour, Campos said that Costa Rica would not continue allowing criminals to be arrest by police only to see them quickly freed by the judicial system. We are going to take all of the good practices back to Costa Rica to give Costa Ricans a place of peace and tranquility, he said.El Salvador Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said earlier Friday that El Salvador was pleased to share its experience with Costa Rica, a country that until recently had been a reference for peace, but now struggles with bloodshed like El Salvador once had.This is not a question of copy and paste, but rather of learning what we have done and implementing in each country what precisely can be done to rescue thousands of Costa Ricans, thousands of Salvadorans and imprisoning hundreds, Villatoro said.El Salvadors new gang prison, where inmates are held in large cells and never allowed outside, has gained more attention in recent weeks after the U.S. government sent nearly 300 migrants, including more than 200 Venezuelans, it accused of having gang ties to be held there.Costa Rica continues to struggle with historically high homicide numbers.In 2023, Costa Rica set a homicide record with 907, down somewhat in 2024 to 880. So far this year, the country is on nearly the same homicide pace as last year, according to government data. Unlike Bukele, Chaves does not hold a majority in Congress and has not remade Costa Ricas courts to remove opposition.Costa Rica long applauded for a robust ecotourism industry, environmental conservation and relative peace has been wracked by violence in recent years, largely attributed to drug trafficking. Costa Rica has become a key way station for cocaine exports to Europe and the United States.___Associated Press writer Javier Cordoba in San Jose, Costa Rica contributed to this report.

Protesters carry signs and chant slogans in protest to the policies of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk across from the Federal Building in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)2025-04-05T04:14:33Z WASHINGTON (AP) Opponents of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk plan to rally across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the administrations actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.More than 1,200 Hands Off! demonstrations have been planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and fair-elections activists. The protests are planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.The White House did not return an email message seeking comment about the protests. Trump has promoted his policies as being in the best interest of the U.S.Protesters are assailing the Trump administrations moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut federal funding for health programs. Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump or Musk multiple times since the new administration took power. But the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Womens March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trumps first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyds killing in 2020.Organizers say they hope Saturdays demonstrations will be the largest since Trump returned to office in January. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)2025-04-05T04:52:45Z HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) Another round of torrential rain and flash flooding was expected to hit Saturday in parts of the South and Midwest already heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that in some cases spawned deadly tornadoes. Floodwaters cover the entryway to the Weather Stone subdivision off Russellville Road in Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Grace McDowell/Daily News via AP) Floodwaters cover the entryway to the Weather Stone subdivision off Russellville Road in Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Grace McDowell/Daily News via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Round after round of heavy rains have pounded the central U.S., leading to rapidly rising waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies Friday night in Missouri, Texas and Arkansas. Meanwhile, many communities were still reeling from tornadoes that destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed at least seven people earlier this week. In Frankfort, Kentucky, floodwaters swept a 9-year-old boy away while he was walking to a school bus stop Friday morning, Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media. Officials said Gabriel Andrews body was found about a half-mile from where he went missing.The downtown area of Hopkinsville, Kentucky a city of 31,000 residents 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Nashville was submerged Friday. A dozen people were rescued from homes, and dozens of pets were moved away from rising water, a fire official said.Tony Kirves and some friends used sandbags and a vacuum to try to hold back rising waters that covered the basement and seeped into the ground floor of his photography business in Hopkinsville. Downtown was like a lake, he said. Were holding ground, he said. Were trying to maintain and keep it out the best we can. Marquetta Wheeler, right, with Samaria Williams and Jemaria Shaw walk through flood waters as they leave their home on Marietta Drive in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Marquetta Wheeler, right, with Samaria Williams and Jemaria Shaw walk through flood waters as they leave their home on Marietta Drive in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Drew's on the River Sports Bar and Grill manager, Carrie Haines, right, Frank left, and Steve Schmidt son of owner Ron Schmidt, center load furnature on to trailer in the rain as the Ohio River rises, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Drew's on the River Sports Bar and Grill manager, Carrie Haines, right, Frank left, and Steve Schmidt son of owner Ron Schmidt, center load furnature on to trailer in the rain as the Ohio River rises, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The Green River floods in Casey County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) The Green River floods in Casey County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Flood waters rise around homes on Bell Street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Flood waters rise around homes on Bell Street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Flash flood threat looms over many states Flash flood emergencies were issued Friday night in at least seven cities in Missouri, Texas and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service. One was in Van Buren, Missouri, where there were at least 15 water rescues amid heavy rainfall and a rapidly rising Current River, said Justin Gibbs, weather service meteorologist. Another was in Texarkana, Texas, where the flooded streets resulted in several people having to be rescued from their vehicles, according to the citys police department. If you dont have darn good reason for being out (like one that involves a visit to the emergency room), please stay home and off the roads!! the police department said on social media.Heavy rains were expected to continue in parts of Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky and elsewhere Saturday and could produce dangerous flash floods. The weather service said 45 river locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads and other critical infrastructure possible. City of Owensboro workers put sandbags to protect the fountains in preparation for flooding of the Ohio River in Smothers Park in Owensboro, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP) City of Owensboro workers put sandbags to protect the fountains in preparation for flooding of the Ohio River in Smothers Park in Owensboro, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Alan Warren/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Floodwaters cover Kentucky Route 39 in Lincoln County, Ky., on Friday, April 4, 2025. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Cars sit in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Cars sit in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Brandon Sanderson, left, Josh Brashears set up sandbags after flooding in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Brandon Sanderson, left, Josh Brashears set up sandbags after flooding in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Signs at Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., stand in flooded waters on Friday, April 4, 2025, after excessive rainfall Thursday into Friday drenched southcentral Kentucky with more than four and a half inches of rain. (Grace McDowell /Daily News via AP) Signs at Basil Griffin Park in Bowling Green, Ky., stand in flooded waters on Friday, April 4, 2025, after excessive rainfall Thursday into Friday drenched southcentral Kentucky with more than four and a half inches of rain. (Grace McDowell /Daily News via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In Christian County, Kentucky, which includes Hopkinsville, 6 to 10 inches (15.2 to 25.4 centimeters) fell since Wednesday evening, the NWS said Friday afternoon. The rain caused the Little River to surge over its banks, and 4 to 8 inches (10.2 to 20.3 centimeters) more could fall by Sunday, it said. Hundreds of Kentucky roads were impassable Friday because of floodwaters, downed trees or mud and rock slides, and the number of closures were likely to increase with more rain Saturday, Beshear said. Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural Kentucky where water can rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding in the eastern part of the state.Extreme flooding across a corridor that includes Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis which have major cargo hubs could also lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.Swollen rivers and tributaries also swamped some parts in Ohio on Friday, and Gov. Mike DeWine said about 70 roads were closed. The southern half of the state was expected to see moderate flooding, which has not happened in four years, he added.Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf. At least 318 tornado warnings have been issued by the NWS since this weeks outbreak began Wednesday.The outburst comes at a time when nearly half of NWS forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates after Trump administration job cuts twice that of just a decade ago. Tornadoes leave a path of damage, and more could be comingAt least two reports of observed tornadoes were noted Friday evening in Missouri and Arkansas, according to the NWS.TAKE COVER NOW! the weather service said on X in response to the one on the ground around the small Missouri town of Advance.Earlier in the week, seven people were killed in the initial wave of storms that spawned powerful tornadoes on Wednesday and early Thursday in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana. Workers clear landslide debris, caused by heavy rains overnight, from Mary Ingles Highway, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Newport, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Workers clear landslide debris, caused by heavy rains overnight, from Mary Ingles Highway, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Newport, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A person rides a bike in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) A person rides a bike in a flooded street in Hopkinsville, Ky., Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said entire neighborhoods in the hard-hit town of Selmer were completely wiped out, after it was hit by a tornado with winds estimated by the NWS of up to 160 mph (257 kph). Advance warning of storms likely saved lives as hundreds of people sheltered at a courthouse, the governor said.In neighboring Arkansas, a tornado near Blytheville lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin. The states emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.Mississippis governor said at least 60 homes were damaged. And in far western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, according to the emergency management office in Ballard County.___Schreiner reported from Shelbyville, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Obed Lamy in Hopkinsville; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A man looks at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)2025-04-05T05:04:14Z ASSISI, Italy (AP) With the upcoming canonization of its first millennial saint, the Catholic Church has turned to police in Italy to investigate the online sale of some purported relics of Carlo Acutis, who already has been drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to his shrine. Rev. Cristopher Pujol prays at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Rev. Cristopher Pujol prays at the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Since the early days of the faith, many Catholics have prayed for intercession to saints relics usually small parts of their body or clothing that are authenticated by ecclesiastical authorities and preserved in churches. But their sale is strictly forbidden.Its not just despicable, but its also a sin, said the Rev. Enzo Fortunato, who leads the Vaticans World Childrens Day committee and has a tiny fragment of Acutis hair in a chapel by his office for veneration by visiting youth. Every kind of commerce over faith is a sin.An anonymous seller had put up for online auction some supposedly authenticated locks of Acutis hair that were fetching upward of 2,000 euros ($2,200 US), according to the Diocese of Assisi, before being taken down. Last month, Bishop Domenico Sorrentino asked authorities to confiscate the items and added that if fraudulent, the sale would constitute a great offense to religious belief. Young boys pray in front of the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Young boys pray in front of the heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Photos of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Photos of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Acutis was precocious in developing and sharing his faithAcutis died of leukemia in 2006, when he was only 15 but had already developed a precocious faith life centered on devotion to the Eucharist which for Catholics holds the real presence of Christ. Savvy with technology, he had created an online exhibit about eucharistic miracles through the centuries.He will formally be declared a saint at a Mass in front of the Vaticans St. Peters Basilica on April 27. Over the past year, about 1 million pilgrims have flocked to the central Italian town of Assisi, where his body wearing sneakers, jeans, and a sweatshirt lies in a shrine in a church dedicated to a key moment in the life of medieval hometown saint, St. Francis. Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A hair relic of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown to the Associated Press during an interview in Rome, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) A hair relic of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown to the Associated Press during an interview in Rome, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Acutis body was exhumed during the more-than-decade-long canonization process and treated so it could be preserved for public showing, including by removing certain organs. His face, which looks as if he were asleep, was reconstructed with a silicone mask, Sorrentino said. Acutis heart has been preserved at a dedicated altar in another Assisi church; it will be taken to Rome for the canonization Mass.The relics are little, little fragments of the body, to say that that body is blessed, and it explains to us the closeness of God, Sorrentino said.Handling of relics is a painstaking task for the churchThere are different classes of relics the most important are major body parts, such as the heart. Sorrentino gave Acutis pericardium the membrane enclosing the heart to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2022 for the duration of its multi-year Eucharistic Revival.The bishop in charge of the saints body works with requests from other bishops around the world to give or lend relics always for free to be exhibited for veneration at parishes and other churches. People pray in front of the body of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) People pray in front of the body of Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, in the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More We give this to communities, to parishes, to priests using the relics for the cult in their parish, Sorrentino said. Its not something magic. Its not something that works automatically, it works through faith.The practice of gathering relics dates to the earliest days of the church, when many faithful Christians died as martyrs in religious persecutions. Witnesses to the killings would collect blood or fragments of clothing to memorialize their sacrifice and to pray for the saints intercession, Fortunato said.In Acutis case, the first miracle in his canonization process was the healing of a boy in Brazil after a prayer service invoking his intercession with the presence of a relic, he added.For clergy and pilgrims who have been visiting Acutis shrine in Assisi this week, the relics take second place to the example of faith and the power of assisting with prayer that saints provide.I would never buy one, said Amelia Simone, an 18-year-old from Chicago who has been studying in Rome and credits Acutis for help smoothing out tricky visa paperwork. I think the intercession aspect is very cool, but I dont think Id ever want to own a first-class relic. It just would feel a bit weird to me. Two clergy leading a Holy Year pilgrimage to Italy from the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, said it was a great tragedy that online relic sales were happening. The heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) The heart relic of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020 is shown at the San Rufino Cathedral in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Souvenirs of Carlo Acutis, the 15-year-old Italian boy who died in 2006 of leukemia and beatified in 2020, are displayed in a shop in Assisi, Italy, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More We continue to pray for peoples conversion, said the Rev. Christopher Pujol.Bishop Larry Kulick added that relics are very reverent and very solemn for us as Catholics. And they are not only inspirational for us, but they are really ... opportunities to help us to pray.And so its unfortunate that such a thing would happen, because thats really a misuse of the relics and actually a disrespect to him and to his memory, he added. Some mixed views on this sainthood processAlready, the uncommon devotion and attention that Acutis canonization process has generated has been met with some skepticism. In hundreds of social media comments to a recent Associated Press article about the phenomenon, some called his sainthood a marketing ploy by the church to lure more young people back into the pews. Many others and those making pilgrimage to Assisi praised Acutis for his devotion and were glad hes become a role model for members of his generation.Its a joy for me to have encountered Carlo Acutis body, and especially to ask for his intercession for the transformation and the conversion of many youth, said Juana de Dios Euceda, a missionary nun from Honduras.___DellOrto reported from Miami.___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.

UConn center Jana El Alfy (8) and UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) react during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)2025-04-05T03:38:18Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness. Get the AP Top 25 womens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd didnt even need much help from superstar Paige Bueckers to propel UConn into the national title game, leading the Huskies to a remarkably easy 85-51 victory over UCLA on Friday night in the Final Four of the womens NCAA Tournament.Strong finished with 22 points and Fudd scored all of her 19 points in the first half for the second-seeded Huskies, who are one win away from their 12th national championship and first since the team won four straight from 2013-16, led by Breanna Stewart. The eight-year title drought is the longest for the Huskies since they won their first in 1995.We arent worried about the past. Every single day you walk into the gym and live up to the standard of playing UConn basketball, Bueckers said. Not comparing yourself to other teams and players before. We want to fill their shoes and make them proud. Wear the jersey with pride. UConn will face defending champion South Carolina on Sunday for the title after the Gamecocks beat Texas 74-57 earlier Friday night. Its a rematch of the 2022 championship game, which the Gamecocks won 64-49. The teams met in February and UConn shocked South Carolina with a 29-point road victory. Theyve played basketball at an exceptionally high level when you think about the Final Fours theyve been too and the consistency in their program, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. The ability to win national championships multiple times and (they) are in a position to win back-to-back ones. Bueckers, the likely top pick in the WNBA draft on April 14, finished with 16 points after topping 30 in each of the previous three games for the Huskies (36-3).If Paige had 16 last year, we wouldnt have made it to the Final Four, Auriemma said. If she had the game she had today the previous year, it would be almost impossible for us to win. All-America center Lauren Betts scored 26 points for top overall seed UCLA (34-3).UConn got off to a hot start with Strong and Fudd leading the way. Even when shots looked off, they found their way in. Fudd, one of the best shooters in the country whose career at UConn has been interrupted by multiple injuries, banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, prompting Auriemma to throw his arms in the air and smile.Its just so much fun to watch her play with joy and be at this stage, Bueckers said of Fudd. You see all the ups and downs, the bad days, the good days and to be at this spot where its the light at the end of the tunnel and for her to perform and be at this stage, it means everything to us.The Huskies led 23-13 at the end of the first quarter. They continued the onslaught behind Fudd to open a 42-22 advantage at the break. Bueckers had the play of the half with a touch pass in the air to Kaitlyn Chen for a layup late in the second quarter.UCLA never threated in the second half as the 6-foot-7 Betts had little help. UConn ended up breaking its own record for margin of victory in the Final Four or national title game the Huskies won the 2013 championship by 33 points over Louisville. UCLAs run endsThe Bruins fell short in their first appearance in the NCAA Final Four. UCLA won a national title in 1978 in the pre-NCAA era of womens basketball. The Bruins were looking to become the first team from the Big Ten, a conference they joined this season, to win a championship since Purdue did it in 1999.UCLA cruised through its best regular season, earning the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 for the first time and holding the spot for 14 weeks.The Bruins only lost twice this year before Friday, both to JuJu Watkins and USC. UCLA got a measure of revenge by beating USC to win the Big Ten Tournament in its first year in the league after the dismantling of the Pac-12. The Bruins set a program record for wins in a season and won 23 consecutive games, including 22 in a row by double digits. Weve obviously gone to new heights this year, but we got to let the pain of this hopefully teach us to go to new heights next year, UCLA coach Cori Close said. Learn from this and be better the next time. (Its) really unusual to be in this position at the Final Four and have zero seniors in your locker room and have an opportunity to come back stronger, more connected, learning from this experience and be better the next time.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Rob Blackwell stands next to an EV he started leasing right before U.S. President Donald Trump announced expansive new import tariffs, in Richmond, Va., on April 3, 2025. (Maia Curtis via AP)2025-04-05T04:10:39Z John Gutierrez had been thinking about buying a new laptop for the past year. The Austin, Texas, resident needed a computer with faster processing and increased storage for his photography work and had his sights set on a product from a Taiwanese brand.Then President Donald Trump announced expansive new import tariffs Wednesday, including a 32% tax on imports from Taiwan. That same day, Gutierrez ordered the laptop, with a base price of $2,400, from a retailer in New York specializing in photo and video gear.I thought Id bite the bullet, buy it now, and then that way Ill have the latest technology on my laptop and dont have to worry about the tariffs, he said.Gutierrez was among the U.S. consumers rushing to buy big-ticket items before the tariffs take effect. Economists say the tariffs are expected to increase prices for everyday items, warning of potentially weakened U.S. economic growth. The White House hopes the tariffs prod countries to open their economies to more American exports, leading to negotiations that could reduce tariffs, or that companies increase their production in the U.S. to avoid higher import taxes. Rob Blackwell and his wife needed a new car that could handle long drives from Arlington, Virginia, to their sons college. Their current electric vehicle is older with a limited range, and it will soon be used by his daughter, who is on the verge of getting her drivers license. I have been telling my wife that for some time we were going to need to do it, he said, and I was watching to see what the president did with tariffs.Blackwell wanted another EV, but said leasing made more economic sense because the technology is ever-changing. He had his eye on the new General Motors Optiq; its an American car but made in Mexico, which could be subject to tariffs on supply chains that might increase the cost. After hearing that tariffs would be announced, they made plans the weekend before to lease the car. He said the dealership honored the agreement they worked out before the tariffs were finalized. And although he said the salespeople were a pleasure to deal with, Blackwell sensed a shift in their stance.They know what we know, which is suddenly it flips from a buyers market to a sellers market very quickly, Blackwell said, adding that he is happy with his choice. It was just a simple rational decision, he said. If this is what the governments going to do, I need to get my act together.Lee Wochner, CEO of the Burbank, California-based Counterintuity marketing and strategy firm, also needed a new vehicle. He wanted a more presentable car for business meetings, but kept putting it off because of his busy work schedule.On March 27, a Thursday, he told his firms car broker: Ed, I need a car pronto and its got to happen by Sunday.The broker gave him some car and pricing options and he leased an Audi Q3, which was delivered Sunday to his house by a nearby dealership.A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation showed how much he saved by leasing before the tariffs were implemented. If he had waited, Wochner said, it would have cost about another $4,300. One of the things my car broker said was that deals that were already written, some of the dealerships were ripping them up already and renegotiating them because they were afraid that they werent going to be able to get enough new inventory at a price anybody would buy, he said.He believes prices will continue to increase because the U.S. has lost the trust of the international trade market.If you need a new car, if you can get that pre-tariff deal still, you should go get it, he said, because who knows what next Wednesday might be like. CLAIRE RUSH Rush is an Associated Press reporter covering Oregon state government and general news in the Pacific Northwest more broadly. twitter mailto MARK THIESSEN Thiessen is an Associated Press all-formats reporter based in Anchorage, Alaska. He covers Alaska Native issues and other general assignments. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Retired coal miner Stanley "Goose" Stewart holds a helmet he wore inside the Upper Big Branch mine when it blew up on April 5, 2010, killing 29 men, as he stands for a portrait at his home in Orgas, W.Va., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/John Raby)2025-04-05T04:07:04Z CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Retired coal miner Stanley Goose Stewart questions whether its safe for anyone to work in the industry right now.The Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, has been targeting federal agencies for spending cuts. That includes terminating leases for three dozen offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the agency responsible for enforcing mine safety laws. The proposals for MSHA are idiotic, Stewart said, and would give coal companies the green light to do as they please.Safety laws and their enforcement played a significant role before and after the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia blew up 15 years ago Saturday, killing 29 of Stewarts co-workers.Stewart was there that day but soon stepped away for good, focusing on his love for hunting, fishing and tending to his chickens and his garden when the weather warms. Coal mining in West Virginia, meanwhile, spent the ensuing years in a political fight that Republicans largely won. As a 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was slammed for saying that her plans to shift away from carbon-based fuels like coal would put miners out of business. Trump vowed to save the industry, and while mining jobs have not made a comeback, coal states like West Virginia have become reliable Republican strongholds. Advocates for the mining industry argue that state government is up to the task of keeping mines safe, although some lawmakers in West Virginias Republican majority have used the existence of federal inspectors as justification for curtailing the state inspectors enforcement power. They also point to the dwindling number of mining fatalities and mines in general. Republican Tom Clark, a West Virginia state lawmaker and a former MSHA inspector and supervisor who worked in one West Virginia office slated for closure, said he expected it to shutter years ago. Eight MSHA employees currently work in the Summersville office, Clark said, less than a third of the workforce that existed there about 10 years ago. Clark said he doesnt have any concerns for miners, as long as those inspectors are transferred to other coalfield-based offices. Clark, who worked on MSHAs Upper Big Branch investigation, said he supports the Trump administrations efforts to streamline government and stimulate the economy. Its going to take time and theres going to be some pain for all the American people, I think, he said. But if we can hang in there and battle through, we all may be better off. I hope so.Clark said the federal government should not cut down on inspectors and said black lung benefits need to be funded. He said the government should use money theyre saving to make sure those programs have what they need. Funding shouldnt be a consideration for keeping people healthy, he said. It really shouldnt. But Stewart, the former miner, said the MSHA office closures will impact safety.I wouldnt recommend anybody get in the mining industry right now because of whats going on with Trump and Musk, he said. Stewart said hes never supported Trump and never would, but he struggles to explain the loyalty of many West Virginians, including coal miners, to the president. He said Trump had never done anything to help them.I cant wrap my brain around why they cant see what a con man he is. I just hope someday theyll wake up. It may already be too late.What does MSHA do?Congress created MSHA within the Department of Labor in 1978, in part because state inspectors were seen as too close to the industry to force coal companies to take the sometimes costly steps necessary to protect miners. MSHA is required to inspect each underground mine quarterly and each surface mine twice a year. MSHA inspectors are supposed to check every working section of a mine. They examine electrical and ventilation systems that protect miners from deadly black lung disease, inspect impoundment dams and new roof bolts, and make sure mining equipment is safe, said Jack Spadaro, a longtime mine safety investigator and environmental specialist who worked for MSHA. Mining fatalities over the past four decades have dropped significantly, in large part because of the dramatic decline in coal production. But the proposed DOGE cuts would require MSHA inspectors to travel farther to get to a mine, and Spadaro said that could lead to less thorough inspections. Its a stupid proposal made by stupid people who obviously have no concept or no knowledge about mine safety, Spadaro said. Robert Cash, a 55-year-old mine roof bolt operator from Foster, West Virginia, said miners feel in the dark about how closing offices will impact safety. Its just a big scare around here, he said. If we have a disaster and they closed down an MSHA office close to us, now whats the response time to get someone out there to start the investigation? Hurricane forceStewart was inside Upper Big Branch when it exploded on April 5, 2010, with a blast he described as hurricane force winds. Before reaching the surface, he tried to revive some of his fallen co-workers, then covered their bodies with blankets.Investigations determined that worn and broken cutting equipment created a spark that ignited coal dust and methane gas. After the disaster, MSHA sent inspection teams to conduct impact inspections at mines with a history of repeated problems, many of them underground operations in West Virginia and Kentucky, which have nearly half of the nations coal mines. Under the second Trump administration, the impact inspections have stopped. Joe Main, MSHAs chief during the Obama administration, said on Musks social media site X that weakened MSHA enforcement staffing contributed to the Upper Big Branch disaster and that the proposed DOGE cuts can risk miners lives in an agency already short staffed. Some 34 MSHA offices in 19 states have been targeted for closure. Hundreds of federal occupational health employees doing mining-related work and research were laid off this past week as part of cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you take away all those protections, youre kind of making the workers disposable, said Dr. Carl Werntz, a West Virginia physician who conducts black lung examinations. Thats terribly concerning.Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said no federal agency has reached out to confirm that seven MSHA offices are closing there. My concern is that what Elon Musk is trying to do is break government, not fix it, Beshear said.Recipe for disasterConflicts within the coal industry go back over a century. The West Virginia Mine Wars involved a long-running dispute between coal companies and miners fed up with deadly work and poor wages and living conditions. When union organizers showed up, the companies retaliated. Membership in the United Mine Workers union peaked in 1946, then plummeted as government support waned and the industry waged an all-out war on union mines. Today, a majority of U.S. coal mines are nonunion and the UMW is a shell of the powerful safety advocate it once was.UMW President Cecil Roberts said workers safety will be left solely in the hands of employers in the absence of protections from the union and the federal government.History has shown us time and time again that doing so is a recipe for disaster, especially in the mining industry, he said. ___Associated Press writer Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

A Bhutan medical volunteer attends to a patient at their make-shift tent after last week's earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo)2025-04-05T04:05:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) Day after day, Chinese rescue teams haul children and elderly people from collapsed buildings as cameras beam the thanks of grateful survivors around the world. Russian medical teams show off field hospitals erected in a flash to tend the wounded.Notably absent from the aftermath of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in the poor Southeast Asian nation Myanmar: the uniquely skilled, well-equipped and swift search-and-rescue teams and disaster-response crews from the United States.At least 15 Asian and Western government rescue teams have landed crews reaching hundreds of workers in size, alongside initial pledges of financial aid reaching tens of millions of dollars, as the death toll of the March 28 quake tops 3,000, Myanmars government says. Cameras showed Vietnams team on arrival, marching square-shouldered to the rescue behind their countrys flag. While Myanmars military junta and civil war have posed challenges, the U.S. government has worked with local partners there previously to successfully provide aid for decades, including after deadly storms in 2008 and 2023, aid officials say. The American government dwarfs other nations rescue capacity in experience, capacity and heavy machinery able to pull people alive from rubble. But in Myanmar after the most recent quake, the U.S. has distinguished itself for having no known presence on the ground beyond a three-member assessment team sent days after the quake. We all worried what would be the human impact of President Donald Trumps dismantling of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, said Lia Lindsey, a senior humanitarian policy adviser for Oxfam, which scrambled to provide tents, blankets and other aid to quake survivors.Now, Lindsey said, were seeing it in real time. Were seeing it in increased suffering and increased death. A retreat from decades of American policy may be fueling the absenceThe United States, the worlds largest economy, long saw its strategic interests and alliances served by its standing as the worlds top humanitarian donor. Myanmars quake is as close to a no-show as the nation has had in recent memory at a major, accessible natural disaster. Current and former senior private and government officials say the Myanmar disaster points to some of the results for people in need on the ground, and for U.S. standing in the world of the Trump administrations retreat from decades of U.S. policy. That approach held that Washington needs both the hard power of a strong military and the soft power of a robust aid and development program to deter enemies, win and keep friends and steer events.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Europe for a NATO gathering, rejected a suggestion that the administration was ceding influence abroad by canceling thousands of its aid and development contracts, including for disasters. He told reporters that those complaining were the aid groups, which he accused of profiting off past U.S. aid.We will do the best we can, Rubio said Friday. But we also have other needs we have to balance that against. Were not walking away. He pointed to a lot of other rich countries in the world. They should all be pitching in and do their part.Leading Senate Democrats wrote Rubio this week, urging him to scale up U.S. disaster aid to Myanmar and fast. Separately, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke of watching a news broadcast of the disaster showing Chinese government teams at work. It hurt my heart to see where, instead of a USAID ... team leading the response, there was a team from the PRC that was being celebrated for having saved some people in the rubble, Coons said.The 2 1/2-month-old Trump administration, through Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency teams, has frozen USAID funding, terminated thousands of contracts and is firing all but a handful of its staff globally. It accuses the agency of waste and of advancing liberal causes. The Myanmar quake is the first major natural disaster since that work started.The Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers say they will reassemble a reduced slate of aid and development programs under the State Department, fitting their narrower interpretation of work that serves U.S. strategic and economic interests. The first announcement of help came days laterDays after the Myanmar quake, the U.S. made its first announcement of help: It was sending a three-member assessment team of non-specialist advisers from a regional USAID office in Bangkok, Thailand. Coincidentally, like hundreds of other USAID staffers around the world, the three had received layoff notices from the Trump administration on March 28 within hours of the quake, current and former USAID officials confirmed.The administration also promised $2 million in aid, and announced another $7 million Friday. But theres a much larger number at play. That $9 million total is dwarfed by the roughly $2 billion in payments for previously rendered services and goods that the Trump administration has owed nonprofit humanitarian groups and other contractors and government and nongovernment foreign partners, aid officials say. The Trump administration abruptly shut down USAID and State foreign assistance payments including for work already done on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.Combined with abruptly terminated aid contracts and the freeze on the USAID and State aid and development payments, the U.S. back debt is forcing larger aid operations and businesses to scale back their services to people in need and to slash staff. Some smaller organizations were driven out of business. That was even before the Myanmar quake.Under court order, the administration is slowly making good on those back payments.In the meantime, nonprofit groups are having to draw on reserve funds they would normally use for sudden unplanned disasters like the Myanmar quake to pay the bills that the U.S. should have paid, said Lindsey, the Oxfam official.Asked about the burden that the non-government organizations another name for aid groups say USAIDs unpaid back bills are placing on their work, the State Department said in an email, The U.S. government cannot comment on how NGOs manage their financing.Typically, the United States itself would have provided $10 million to $20 million in the initial phase of response to a disaster like the Myanmar quake, with more later for long-term aid and rebuilding, said Sarah Charles, who ran disaster response and overall humanitarian affairs at USAID in the Biden administration. We have a long history in Burma, Charles said, adding, Its an environment that the U.S. government has been operating in over the last many decades.Normally, the United States also would have had 20 to 25 specialized disaster workers on the ground in as few as 24 hours, Charles said. That number would have jumped to 200 or more if USAID had flown in urban rescue teams from California and Virginia. They deploy as self-contained units, with dog handlers and the capacity to feed and provide clean water to the teams, Charles said.The Trump administration preserved contracts for the California and Virginia rescue teams under pressure from lawmakers. But the contracts for their transport are believed among the thousands of USAID contracts that the administration canceled. That left the U.S. no quick way to move search-and-rescue crews when disaster struck, Charles said.Britain has pledged $13 million in aid and said it will match up to $5 million in private donations, and China and others have promised financial aid. At least 15 countries sent in dozens or hundreds of rescuers or aid workers, including Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, according to Myanmar officials.China shares a border and close ties with Myanmar. Chinese rescuers had their first success Sunday, fewer than 48 hours after the quake, when they joined hands with local people to pull an elderly man from a badly damaged hospital in the capital city of Naypyitaw. By Wednesday, Chinese rescuers had pulled out nine survivors, including a pregnant woman and a child. In Mandalay, Chinese rescuers saved a 52-year-old man who trapped for nearly 125 hours.-Rising reported from Bangkok. Matthew Lee and Didi Tang contributed from Washington and Jill Lawless from London.- ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter DAVID RISING Rising covers regional Asia-Pacific stories for The Associated Press. He has worked around the world, including covering the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, and was based for nearly 20 years in Berlin before moving to Bangkok. twitter mailto

Rescue workers work on a site after Russian rocket strike on residential neighbourhood killing civilians including children, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, April 4, 2025. (Na Chasi media via AP)2025-04-05T09:20:48Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) The death toll from a Russian missile strike in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has risen to 18, including nine children, regional governor Serhii Lysak said Saturday.A further 61 people were injured in Fridays attack, ranging from a 3-month-old baby to elderly residents. Forty remain hospitalized, including two children in critical condition and 17 in serious condition.There can never be forgiveness for this, said Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the citys defense council. Eternal memory to the victims.Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The missile struck an area right next to residential buildings hitting a playground and ordinary streets, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.Local authorities said the strike damaged about 20 apartment buildings, more than 30 vehicles, an educational building and a restaurant. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday that it had carried out a high-precision missile strike with a high explosive warhead on a restaurant where a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors was taking place. Russian military claimed that the strike killed 85 military personnel and foreign officers and destroyed 20 vehicles. The militarys claims could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian General Staff rejected the claims.A later drone strike on Kryvyi Rih killed one woman and wounded seven other people. Zelenskyy blamed the daily strikes on Russias unwillingness to end the war: Every missile, every drone strike proves Russia wants only war, he said, urging Ukraines allies to increase pressure on Moscow and bolster Ukraines air defenses.The United States, Europe, and the rest of the world have enough power to make Russia abandon terror and war, he said. Russian forces launched 92 drones into Ukraine overnight, with 51 shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian air force wrote on social media Saturday. A further 31 decoy drones also failed to reach their targets, it said. Elsewhere, one person died Saturday in the Russian-occupied town of Horlivka in Ukraines Donetsk region due to shelling, Moscow-installed Gov. Denis Pushilin said. Security officials told Russian state news channels that they had destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones over the Donetsk region overnight, marking the first time that the occupied territory had been targeted by such long-range strikes.

FILE -A street money exchanger poses for a photo without showing his face as he counts Iranian banknotes at a commercial district in downtown Tehran, Iran, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)2025-04-05T10:14:14Z TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Irans rial currency traded Saturday at a record low against the U.S. dollar as the country returned to work after a long holiday. The rial had plunged to over 1 million rials during the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as currency shops closed and only informal trading took place on the streets, creating additional pressure on the market. But as traders resumed work Saturday, the rate fell even further to 1,043,000 to the dollar, signaling the new low appeared here to stay. On Ferdowsi Street in Irans capital, Tehran, the heart of the countrys money exchanges, some traders even switched off their electronic signs showing the going rate as uncertainty loomed over how much further the rial could drop.

President Donald Trump departs after signing an executive order at an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-04-05T11:58:02Z WASHINGTON (AP) Not even 24 hours after his party lost a key Wisconsin race and underperformed in Florida, President Donald Trump followed the playbook that has defined his political career: He doubled down.Trumps move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners marks an all-in bet by the Republican that his once-fringe economic vision will pay off for Americans. It was the realization of his four decades of advocacy for a protectionist foreign policy and the belief that free trade was forcing the United States into decline as its economy shifted from manufacturing to services.The tariff announcement was the latest and perhaps boldest manifestation of Trumps second-term freedom to lead with his instincts after feeling his first turn in the Oval Office was restrained by aides who did not share his worldview. How it shakes out will be a defining judgment on his presidency. The early reviews have been worrisome. Financial markets had their worst week since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign trade partners retaliated and economists warned that the import taxes may boost inflation and potentially send the U.S. into a recession. Its now Republican lawmakers who are fretting about their partys future while Democrats feel newly buoyant over what they see as Trumps overreach. Democratic activists planned to participate in rallies across the country Saturday in what was shaping up as the largest demonstrations since Trump returned to office in January. The winds are changing, said Rahna Epting, who leads MoveOn, one of many organizing groups. Trump is unbowed. He has promised that the taxes on imports will bring about a domestic manufacturing renaissance and help fund an extension of his 2017 tax cuts. He insisted on Thursday as the Dow Jones fell by 1,600 points that things were going very well and the economy would boom, then spent Friday at the golf course as the index plunged 2,200 more points. In his first term, Trumps tariff threats brought world leaders to his door to cut deals. This time, his actions so far have led to steep retaliation from China and promises from European allies to push back.Even some Trump supporters are having their doubts. Frank Amoroso, a 78-year-old resident of Dewitt, Michigan, said he is concerned about short-term rising interest rates and inflation, although he believes the tariffs will be good for the country in the long run.Amoroso, a retired automotive engineer who voted for Trump, said he would give the presidents second-term performance a C-plus or B-minus. I think hes doing things too fast, he said. But hopefully things will get done in a prudent way, and the economy will survive a little downfall.Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., in a telephone town hall with constituents on Thursday night, expressed reservations about the broad nature of the tariffs.Hill, who represents a district that includes Little Rock, said he does not back tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He said the administration should instead focus on renegotiating a U.S. trade agreement with its two neighbors. I dont support across-the-board tariffs as a general matter, and so I dont support those, and I will be urging changes there because I dont think they will end up raising a bunch of revenue thats been asserted, Hill said. I wish I thought they did, but personally I dont think they will. But I do support trade diplomacy.Still, much of Trumps Make America Great Again coalition remains publicly supportive.Doug Deason, a prominent Texas-based Republican donor, said he loves the presidents tariff plan, even if it causes some economic disruption. He told us during the election there would be pain for every American to get this ship turned around, Deason said. It is hard to watch our portfolios deteriorate so much, but we get it. We hope he holds course.As Trump struggles with the economy, Democrats are beginning to emerge from the cloud of doom that has consumed their party ever since their election drubbing in November. They scored a decisive victory in Wisconsins high-profile state Supreme Court election on Tuesday, even after Elon Musk and his affiliated groups poured more than $20 million into the contest. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker then breathed new life into the Democratic resistance by delivering a record 25-hour-long speech on the Senate floor that centered on a call for his party to find its resolve.Booker told The Associated Press afterward that a significant political shift has begun even as his party tries to learn from its mistakes in the 2024 presidential election.I think youre seeing a lot more energy, a lot more determination, a lot more feeling like weve got to fight, Booker said. You cant sit back any more. You cant sit on the sidelines. Theres a larger, growing movement. Booker, a 2020 presidential candidate, acknowledged he is not ruling out a 2028 run, although he said he is focused on his 2026 Senate reelection for now.There is broad agreement among Democrats and even some Republicans, privately at least that what Trump has unleashed on the global economy could help accelerate the Democratic comeback.Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive resistance group known as Indivisible, has been critical of Democratic officials response in recent weeks to Trumps leadership. But on Friday, he was somewhat giddy about the political consequences for Trumps GOP after the tariffs announcement.Raising prices across the board for your constituents is not popular, Levin said. Its the kind of thing that can lead to a 1932-style total generational wipe out of a party.___Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Isabella Volmert in Dewitt, Michigan, contributed to this report. ZEKE MILLER Miller leads coverage of the president and the presidency for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this Sept. 11, 2001 photo, firefighters work beneath destroyed mullions, the vertical struts which once faced the outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, after a terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)2025-04-05T12:00:06Z NEW YORK (AP) Government staffing cuts have gutted a small U.S. health agency that aims to protect workers drawing rebukes from firefighters, coal miners, medical equipment manufacturers and a range of others.The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a Cincinnati-based agency that is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is losing about 850 of its approximately 1,000 employees, according to estimates from a union and affected employees. Among those ousted were its director, Dr. John Howard, who had been in the job through three previous presidential administrations.The layoffs are stalling and perhaps ending many programs, including a firefighter cancer registry and a lab that is key to certifying respirators for many industries. The cuts are a very pointed attack on workers in this country, said Micah Niemeier-Walsh, vice president of the union local representing NIOSH employees in Cincinnati. Unions that represent miners, nurses, flight attendants and other professions have criticized the cuts, saying it will slow the identification and prevention of workplace dangers. Rallies in Cincinnati and other cities drew not only fired CDC employees but also members of unions representing teachers, postal workers and bricklayers, Niemeier-Walsh said. NIOSH doctors review and certify that 9/11 first responders who developed chronic illnesses could qualify for care under the federal governments World Trade Center Health Program, noted Andrew Ansbro, president of a union that represents New York City firefighters.Dismantling NIOSH dishonors the memory of our fallen brothers and sisters and abandons those still battling 9/11-related illnesses, Ansbro said in a statement. Agency investigates workplace hazardsNIOSH was created under a 1970 law signed by President Richard Nixon. It started operations the following year and grew to have offices and labs in eight cities, including Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; Spokane, Washington; and Morgantown, West Virginia.In the more than 50 years since, it has done pioneering research on indoor air quality in office buildings, workplace violence and occupational exposures to bloodborne infections. NIOSH investigators identified a new lung disease in workers at factories that made microwave popcorn, and helped assess what went wrong during the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster. It was recently involved in the CDCs response to measles, advising on measures to stop spread within hospitals. Some of its best-known work is related to mining. It trains and certifies doctors in how to test for black lung disease, and the agency conducts its own mobile screenings of miners. For years, NIOSH owned an experimental mine in Pennsylvania and two years ago announced it was developing a replacement research facility near Mace, West Virginia, that would feature tunnels and other mine structures.Its research and recommendations have served as the foundation for Department of Labor rules for worker protection, including one issued last year for coal miners that cuts by half the permissible exposures to poisonous silica dust. Studies have concluded NIOSH research helps the nation save millions of dollars each year in avoided workers compensation and other costs.Any stoppage to this type of research and recommendations can impact all segments of the workforce, said Tessa Bonney, who teaches about occupational health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Impact of deep staff cuts are unclear NIOSH was swept up in the massive upheaval at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that includes about 10,000 layoffs, an anticipated reorganization and proposed budget cuts.Nonunionized NIOSH workers mainly supervisors were told to clean out their desks immediately. Bargaining unit employees got layoff notices, and were told their terminations would happen later this year.Right now we are trying to figure out chain of command, Niemeier-Walsh said.An HHS spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said whats left of NIOSH will be moved into a newly created agency to be called the Administration for a Healthy America. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that 20% of the people laid off from federal health agencies might be reinstated as the agency tries to correct mistakes, but the department has not detailed which parts of NIOSH were reduced or eliminated, and which will remain open.Whats known about the cuts made so far was pieced together by employees affected by the layoffs and the union that represents them. They say almost every NIOSH program faced steep cuts or outright elimination. A firefighter cancer registry website went down Tuesday because there were no IT people left to staff the system, Niemeier-Walsh said. And at least some of the hundreds of mice and rats at a NIOSH lab in Morgantown likely will have to be destroyed because the layoffs put an abrupt, mid-experiment end to inhalation research there, said Cathy Tinney-Zara, a public health analyst who is president of the union local representing employees there.Million of dollars of research, decades of research, is going down the drain, Tinney-Zara said. Industry concerned about certification labSome of the outcry from unions and industry has centered on the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, a NIOSH office that tests and certifies fitted masks that protect workers from inhaling airborne dangers. (The N95 masks that became popular during the COVID-19 outbreak are named for a NIOSH standard.)Closing the lab gives a competitive advantage to companies in China and other countries that send products to the U.S. without meeting the stringent quality standards that come with certification, said Eric Axel, executive director of the American Medical Manufacturers Association.This decision effectively rewards foreign manufacturers who have not made the same investments in quality and safety while punishing American companies that have built their reputations on producing reliable, high-quality protective equipment, Axel said in a statement.The cuts are really devastating, said Rebecca Shelton, director of policy for the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, a Kentucky-based organization that provides legal help to ill coal miners.Here in central Appalachia, everybody knows somebody with black lung disease, she said.It appears NIOSH programs for coal miners are being eliminated, raising questions about who will monitor for new cases and spot trends, Shelton said.NIOSH staff routinely visited mines and rural communities to offer free screenings and speak at public meetings about black lung disease and other workplace health issues.These are not out-of-touch federal workers. They are very well connected with their communities, she said.Many NIOSH workers come from families that have worked in occupational health for generations. Niemeier-Walshs grandfather was an agency toxicologist for 30 years.It was normal dinnertime conversation in our family to talk about how you can use the power of science to protect workers, she said.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

2025-04-05T13:05:59Z BANGKOK (AP) The death toll from last weeks massive earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 3,354, state media said on Saturday, as U.N. agencies and foreign aid donors continued to ramp up their emergency relief efforts.The 7.7 magnitude quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.It also worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the countrys civil war that has internally displaced more than 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need, according to the United Nations.Myanmars second most powerful quake in historyThe military governments leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, has said the earthquake was the second most powerful in the countrys recorded history after a magnitude 8 quake east of Mandalay in May 1912.A report in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Saturday said that the death toll from the March 28 disaster has reached 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 missing. It also said rescuers had saved 653 survivors trapped under the debris. A country torn by warMyanmars military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking armed resistance that is now believed by analysts to control more territory than the army.Members of the U.N. Security Council recognized the need to strengthen rescue, relief and recovery efforts and to scale up immediate and rapid humanitarian assistance in response to the requests to help the people of Myanmar, supported by the international community, its president, Jrme Bonnafont of France, said in a press statement on Friday.In an apparent reference to the fighting in Myanmar and concerns its military government would block or delay aid to areas under the control of resistance forces, the statement said the councils members affirmed the importance of a safe and conducive environment to ensure the timely and effective delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to all those in need, without disruption or discrimination. Aid sparks an unusual diplomatic flurryMaj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the military government, told media on Saturday, as he arrived back from a regional summit held in Bangkok, that prime ministers and officials from attending countries, including India and Thailand, pledged to provide necessary assistance for relief efforts and rehabilitation in quake-hit areas.Everyone helped Myanmar that suffered from the earthquake. Everyone sympathized. Everyone understood. Everyone was willing to help. It can be seen everyone working together practically, Zaw Min Tun said.He said that 18 countries were providing assistance to affected areas, and more than 60 aircraft had flown in to transport rescuers and relief supplies.The U.K. allocated a further 10 million (about $12.8 million) to the ongoing humanitarian response, its embassy in Yangon said in a statement Saturday, bringing its total to up to 25 million (about $32 million) in aid. There has been an unusual flurry of diplomatic activity in the past few days around Myanmar, usually reluctant to engage with much of the world community.Min Aung Hlaing and senior members of his government are shunned and sanctioned by many Western countries for their 2021 takeover and human rights abuses. His visit to the meeting in the Thai capital Bangkok was his first to a country other than his governments main backers China, Russia and Russian ally Belarus since he attended another regional meeting in Indonesia in 2021. Back in Myanmar on Saturday, Min Aung Hlaing received Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, and Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa for discussions about relief assistance from fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and cooperation in health care in quake-affected areas.Although reports of diplomatic activity focus on earthquake relief, there is awareness that the crisis in Myanmar cannot end until the war there stops, and the countrys neighbors have been leading efforts to find a path for peace, even though neither the military nor its foes have shown any serious effort to negotiate. A fragile temporary ceasefire However, the military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared temporary ceasefires on Wednesday in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.The U.N.s Human Rights Office on Friday accused the military of continuing attacks, claiming there were more than 60 attacks after the earthquake, including 16 since the ceasefire. The oppositions shadow National Unity Government, which leads resistance to army rule, accused Saturday the military of carrying out 63 airstrikes and artillery attacks since the earthquake, resulting in the deaths of 68 civilians, including one child and 15 women. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One after speaking with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, April 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-04-05T12:47:30Z WASHINGTON (AP) The political battle lines are drawn for a debate in Washington and beyond over a Republican budget plan thats a cornerstone of President Donald Trumps domestic agenda.With the plans approval by the GOP-controlled Senate in a vote that ended early Saturday, Republicans hope to leverage their position of power in Washington to enact as much as $7 trillion in tax breaks, boost border security for mass deportations and cut government funding and do so without one single Democratic vote, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Senate Budget Committee chairman.Democrats, as the minority party, were unable to halt the budget plan. But during the late-night session, they offered a preview of the political attacks likely coming not just during the lead-up to the final vote this summer, but through the 2026 campaign. We may not have the votes to stop them all by ourselves, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told The Associated Press, but we can use what the Republicans are trying to do with this tax bill to ignite a fire all across this country.Heres a look at what happened and what comes next: Tariffs shadow the debateTrumps tariffs hung over the budget debate, interjecting economic uncertainty in ways unimaginable just days before senators prepared to vote.Seizing on the moment, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York put forward an amendment to showcase that unease: He called for an end to those recently announced import taxes, which could result in higher prices for household goods, while keeping tariffs on China, Russia, Iran and other U.S. adversaries. President Trumps tariff tax is one of the dumbest things hes ever done as president, and thats saying something, Schumer said.He repeatedly pointed out that remote islands, including one inhabited by penguins, were hit with tariffs, but not President Vladimir Putins Russia. Penguins not Putin, Schumer said.The amendment failed. The slogan lives on.Votes to preserve Medicaid, Social Security draw some Republican supportDemocrats say Republicans pose grave threats to the nations safety net programs as they hunt for cost-savings to help offset the lost revenues from the tax breaks, and as Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency slashes through the federal government.Among the more than two dozen amendments offered during the debate were several to protect Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, Head Start child care, Meals on Wheels for older adults, and others. Several Republicans joined Democrats in voting to preserve those programs, including Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, opposed the entire package in a warning against steep Medicaid cuts. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who offered an amendment to save Social Securitys phone service, said Musk and DOGE are revving up their chainsaw to come after it.They say, Get online, Grandma, Markey said, scoffing at the notion of older people not being able to pick up the telephone. Democrats assail tax cuts as helping the wealthyCentral to the Republican budget and Trumps domestic policy agenda is the effort to preserve the tax breaks approved in 2017 during his first term.While many of the income tax breaks are popular, including the child tax credit or bolstered standard deduction, Democrats argue that much of the benefit flows to the well-off.Democrats piled on a series of amendments trying to prohibit tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, only to be denied by Republicans.Its a standoff thats expected to carry on through the debate, and the campaign season ahead.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-La., shifted the conversation to what Republicans see for them as a more politically favorable direction, focused on federal spending.Weve heard a lot about, you know, massive tax cuts for billionaires, he said as the evening dragged on. But the one thing you dont hear a lot about is the run up in federal spending. Debt worries linger and pose challenges for GOP leadersThe nations debt load, now $36 trillion, continues to climb.At least one Republican deficit hawk, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, said no more. What is it: Are we cutting spending or are we adding to the debt? Paul said during debate, before ultimately voting against the bill.He argued the budget plan would add $5 trillion to the debt over 10 years, echoing an assessment from the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. You scratch your head and say, whats up here?But for Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the impact of the tariffs was a factor in his decision to vote for the budget resolution, despite his concerns that the tax breaks would add to the federal deficit.Cassidy said he did not want to cast a vote that could increase uncertainty in the economy.This vote isnt taking place in a vacuum, he said. LEAH ASKARINAM Askarinam covers U.S. elections for The Associated Press, working alongside the Decision Desk and explanatory team. mailto

Welcome back to the Abstract!This week has been a lot. This year has been a lot. THIS MILLENIUM HAS BEEN A LOT. Thats why theres only good news in the column this week. We deserve it.Normally, Im not a big fan of putting artificial stuff in our brains (see: plastic spoons). But Ill make an exception for a new neural implant that has allowed a woman to regain the ability to speak nearly 20 years after suffering a debilitating stroke. Its an encouraging story about the profound human triumphs that scientists can deliver, assuming you dont fire them all for no discernible reason.Then, bats! Were back on the bat beat, baby. Its not my fault, they just keep doing interesting things. Then, these sunflowers dont need sperm to reproduce. Will this create a male sunflower loneliness epidemic? Last, time to retire to the fjords. See you there.After 18 Years of Silence, a Woman SpeaksLittlejohn, Kaylo and Cho, Cheol Jun et al. A streaming brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis to restore naturalistic communication. Nature Neuroscience.In 2005, a 30-year-old woman who was otherwise in good health suddenly reeled from dizziness and found herself unable to speak. She had suffered a pontine stroke, which obstructs blood flow to the pons region of the brainstem, leaving her unable to verbally communicate beyond a few sounds.But over the past several years, this woman, now in her late 40s, has been able to speak again with the help of a neuroprosthesis device that can translate thoughts into speech in real time, similar to transcription software.An implant in the womans brain records neural activity and streams it into a synthesized audio unit that is based on a recording of her voice before her stroke. This brain-computer interface is an improvement over past iterations because there is no appreciable delay between thoughts and speech for the woman, who is identified by her first name Ann.Natural spoken communication happens instantaneously, said researchers led by Kaylo Littlejohn and Cheol Jun Cho of the University of California, Berkeley. Speech delays longer than a few seconds can disrupt the natural flow of conversation. This makes it difficult for individuals with paralysis to participate in meaningful dialogue, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and frustration.We developed a streaming speech neuroprosthesis that seamlessly converts short windows of neural activity to audible sound without waiting for an entire sentence to be attempted, the team continued. Speaking seamlessly with real-time, low-latency communication at will is integral to our sense of identity and belonging, which is severely decreased in individuals with anarthria.The study includes a few videos of Ann reading sentences on a screen, which are then converted into speech through the neuroprosthesis. The speech is still slow and halting, and the authors outline future improvements in the study, but the device is nonetheless a major step toward technologies that can restore speech.In addition to the ingenious work from the team, Ann deserves mad props for devoting so much of her time and mental energy to refining the device.Welcome to the Cocktail Party NightmareGoldshtein, Aya and Mazar, Omer et al. Onboard recordings reveal how bats maneuver under severe acoustic interference. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Speaking of speech, time to check in with the ultimate chatterers: Bats. This week, were all invited to the Cocktail Party Nightmare, which is the actual term for the tremendous nightly challenge bats face as they careen from their cave roosts while maneuvering under severe acoustic interference and trying to avoid collisions, according to a new study.Basically, as thousands of bats fly together into the night, they produce a cacophony of echolocating chatter that should, in theory, overload their sensory acoustic band. Yet bats seem to be able to seamlessly navigate through this acoustic maelstrom with very few collisions. How to solve this riddle? Mic the bats, of course!Wefitted some of the bats with onboard microphones, enabling us to record the auditory scene from the individual bats point of view, said scientists co-led by Aya Goldshtein of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Omer Mazar of Tel Aviv University. These unique dataenabled us to examine how bats move collectively at such high densities while relying on echolocation.The experiment, which was conducted on greater mouse-tailed bats in Israels Hula Valley, revealed that bats adjust their echolocation frequencies as they leave the cave, when they are most closely clustered, so that they can focus on avoiding crashes with their near-neighbors. Once they are out in the open, they quickly disperse to more peaceful sonic environments.We found that the bats gradually increased their spread as they flew farther from their cave while still maintaining a group structure over several kilometers, the team said. This movement strategy allowed the bats to rapidly reduce group density and, consequently, to decrease conspecific sensory masking and almost nullify collision risk.In other words, the next time youre at a Cocktail Party Nightmare, mind your echo etiquette.Sisters are Doing it for Themselves (Sunflower Edition)Lv, Jian and Liang, Dawei et al. Haploid facultative parthenogenesis in sunflower sexual reproduction. Nature.Step aside, Jesus Christ: Theres a new virgin birth in town. Scientists this week reported the surprise discovery that sunflower seeds can be developed without fertilization, a process known as parthenogenesis.Many animals and plantsand perhaps, Mothers of Godreproduce through this ladies-only form of reproduction, in which females asexually produce viable embryos from only their eggs.But scientists who were tinkering with emasculated sunflowerswhich is, yes, a great band name, but also a common form of pollination controlhave now reported that they just kind of accidentally did an immaculate conception.We serendipitously discovered that emasculated sunflowers spontaneously form parthenogenic haploid seed, said researchers co-led by Jian Lv and Dawei Liang of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Molecular Breeding in China. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a crop species exhibiting facultative parthenogenesis as a rare and likely unselected back-up pathway to failed fertilization.The discovery could have big implications for this important crop. Sexual reproduction is pretty time intensive (relatable!) so the unexpected discovery that sunflowers can pop out seeds without pollination could optimize the growing multi-billion dollar industry for sunflowers.You Can Afjord to Miss ThisGehman, Alyssa-Lois Madden et al. Fjord oceanographic dynamics provide refuge for critically endangered Pycnopodia helianthoides. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.Time to end on a moment of zen. And what better place to find serenity than the fjords of coastal British Columbia?You dont have to take my word for it; just ask the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), a species that has been so stressed in recent years that it has literally been tearing itself to pieces. This grotesque affliction, known as sea star wasting disease, has devastated many sea star populations around the world, but P. helianthoides is among the hardest hit, losing more than 90 percent of its Pacific Coast population.I know, I know, I promised some zen! There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for this species, as scientists have observed populations recovering in fjord refuges along the BC coast. Sea stars in these havens are not necessarily less exposed to the disease, but the conditions in fjords, which are regularly fed with freshwater flows, may give the animals a better chance to recover from infection.P. helianthoides in fjord habitats appear to be responding differently to SSWD than those in other habitats and regions, said researchers led by Alyssa-Lois Madden Gehman of the Hakai Institute. The contrast between the interaction between salinity and temperature on biomass density within the fjords and outer islands suggests that these habitats could be a refuge from disease.We suggest that the unique oceanographic conditions within the fjords, specifically through the increase in freshwater input during snowmelt, known as the freshet, could be keeping P. helianthoides in conditions that optimize host health and/or limit disease progression and transmission, the team said.Honestly, the compulsion to tear ones own body limb-from-limb due to environmental stress seems dangerously relatable. But if sea stars can find some sanctuary from their hellish plight, maybe theres hope for the rest of us.Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Prisoners look out of their cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-05T11:13:58Z It was just a few sentences in a meandering, hourlong presidential speech on a Friday afternoon.Along with talk about falling egg prices and a vow to expel corrupt forces from the U.S. government, President Donald Trump noted that hundreds of members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had been arrested.Youll be reading a lot of stories tomorrow about what weve done with them, he said at the Justice Department on March 14. These are tough people and bad people and were getting them out of our country.Youll be very impressed, he added.Trump was previewing drama to come that would involve clandestine flights to another continent, a notorious prison, innocents among criminals and a dramatic confrontation between his assertions of presidential power and a federal judge who Trump said had overreached.The presidents invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify deporting more than 130 Venezuelan men, some of them gang members and others who claim to have been in the United States legally and were seemingly expelled because of their ordinary tattoos, played out over a frenetic 24 hours. By the time Trump had spoken, hundreds of detained immigrants had been quietly shuttled from across the U.S. to South Texas. Planes had been chartered to take them to their ultimate destination, El Salvador, under a deal with President Nayib Bukele, who proudly calls himself worlds coolest dictator. The men were herded into a maximum security mega prison in El Salvador, where officials quickly made a show of the new inmates having their heads shaved, then standing shoulder to shoulder in cells so crowded that some prisoners do not have beds. But soon, stories began to surface that the scene was not quite as it appeared. Some of them men had long insisted they had no gang ties, and their families had produced documents showing they had no criminal records. Ive been doing this for a long time, and Ive seen some pretty weird stuff, said Texas attorney John Dutton, who represented a man who disappeared into the Salvadoran prison. But to do this in the middle of the night, to send people to another country, and straight to a prison when they havent been convicted of a crime?It makes no sense.Trump fulfilled a long-standing pledge on migrantsIt made sense in the White House.Trump has been promising for years that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act to combat illegal immigration. He repeatedly insisted, falsely, that the U.S. was facing an invasion of criminal immigrants.Tren de Aragua became the face of that threat, and the first target of that law in decades.Crafted during the presidency of John Adams, the law gives the president broad powers to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. It has been used just three times: during the War of 1812 and the two world wars.The Trump administration had begun edging closer to calling the criminal migrant issue a war, most notably by designating eight Latin American criminal groups, including Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations.The administration was telegraphing its logical next move. Immigration lawyers prepared to fight back. Government flights signal deportations to El SalvadorThe flights began arriving in the small South Texas city on March 12. Using jets chartered by a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the ICE Air flights landed in Harlingen from Dallas, Phoenix, El Paso, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. At least three came from Alexandria, Louisiana, a hub for that states network of immigration detention centers.But it wasnt until Saturday, March 15, that it became clear to a retired financial executive in Ohio that something unusual was happening. Two flights, Tom Cartwright noticed, were scheduled from Harlingen to El Salvador.Deportations are fairly rare on Saturdays, as are deportation flights from Harlingen to El Salvador, said Cartwright, a flight data analyst for the advocacy group Witness at the Border, whose social media feeds are closely watched in immigration circles.All that came together and said to me: Theres something weird here.Court documents later showed that for at least the previous week, Venezuelan men in immigration detention centers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and elsewhere were being moved by bus and plane toward ICEs El Valle Detention Facility, a 40-minute drive from the Harlingen airport. A makeup artist is caught up in the mass deportationsOne of those men was a makeup artist who said he fled Venezuela last summer after his boss at a state-run news channel publicly slapped him.In a country where political repression and open homophobia are both part of life, its hard to be a gay man who does not support President Nicols Maduro. Walking and traveling by bus and taxi through Central America and Mexico, Andry Jos Hernndez Romero hoped to find a new life in the U.S. He used a U.S. Customs and Border Protection phone app to arrange an appointment at a U.S. border crossing in San Diego. Thats where he was asked about his tattoos, and where his trouble started. U.S. immigration authorities use a series of gang identifiers to help them spot members of Tren de Aragua. Some are obvious, such as trafficking drugs with known Tren members.Some identifiers are more surprising: Chicago Bulls jerseys, high-end urban street wear, and tattoos of clocks, stars or crowns, according to government instructional material filed in court by the American Civil Liberties Union.Tattoos were key to marking many deported men as Tren members, according to documents and lawyers.Romero, who is in his early 20s, has a crown tattooed on each wrist. One is next to the word Mom. The other next to Dad. The crowns, according to his lawyer, also pay homage to his hometowns Christmastime Three Kings festival, and to his work in beauty pageants, where crowns are common.Romero, who insists he has no ties to Tren, was taken into ICE custody and transferred to a California detention center.And then, around March 7, he was suddenly moved to a facility in Laredo, Texas, a three-hour bus ride from the Harlingen airport.The order from the president is to deport them allFriday, March 14, was supposed to be quiet for Javier Maldonado.I had come in to work late, like 10 in the morning, said Maldonado, a Texas immigration lawyer based in San Antonio. I was having my coffee, and thought I was going to do admin work and catch up on emails and phone calls.He was wrong.The Alien Enemies Act was hours away from being invoked, and more than a day from being announced, but word was starting to filter out from a group of Venezuelan men held at El Valle Detention Center, near Harlingen. Around 3 a.m., roughly 100 had been roused from sleep by guards and told they were being deported. Some were told they would be flown to Mexico, some to Venezuela. Many were told nothing.Ten hours later, the men were back in their bunks. The flight had been canceled, they were told, and they would leave soon.But a few men contacted relatives or lawyers.Within hours, an informal legal network was frantically at work, from a lawyer in Brooklyn to a law school professor in Los Angeles to a University of Florida law student interning with an El Paso immigrant advocacy firm. All were working with Texas lawyers like Maldonado who would file petitions in federal court.Its a small circle, relatively, of lawyers that do this sort of work, he said.Even people who cross illegally into the U.S. have rights. Some of the men the lawyers were defending have Temporary Protected Status, a legal classification that shields roughly 350,000 Venezuelans from deportation. Communication between lawyers and detainees was often chaotic. Messages sometimes were relayed through relatives in Venezuela.But guards, said one man, had made something clear.The order from the president is to deport them all.Trump invokes the Alien Enemies ActTrump was aboard Air Force One that Friday when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act en route to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Tren de Aragua, his proclamation said, was attempting an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States.Publicly, though, the administration said nothing.Still, word was spreading about the planned flights to El Salvador. A Texas lawyer had filmed a bus leaving the El Valle facility under police escort, apparently heading to the airport.While Trumps use of the law had not yet been announced, two legal advocacy groups, the ACLU and Democracy Forward, felt they had to file preemptively.We couldnt take a chance that nothing was going to happen, said Lee Gelernt of the ACLU, the lead attorney.They spent hours drafting a petition on behalf of five detained Venezuelans who feared being falsely labeled members of Tren and deported. They crafted legal arguments until they felt time was running out.Finally, they filed the petition with the U.S. District Court in Washington, seeking to halt all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.It was 2:16 a.m. Saturday.Prisoners moved to airport as judge issues temporary restraining order? Later that day, after Judge James E. Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order in response to the ACLU lawsuit and scheduled a 5 p.m. hearing, things in Texas began to move faster.Guards gathered prisoners at the El Valle detention center, ordering them onto buses for the airport at about 3:30 p.m.The flights carried a total of 261 deportees, the White House later said, including 137 Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act, 101 under other immigration regulations, and 23 El Salvadoran members of the gang MS-13.About 4 p.m. the White House posted Trumps proclamation.Trump administration ignores judges order to turn planes backRoughly an hour later Boasberg opened his hearing over Zoom.First, apologies for my attire, he began, dressed in a blue sweater. I went away for the weekend and brought with me neither a robe nor tie nor appropriate shirt.Things quickly grew more serious. Boasberg asked whether the government planned to deport anyone under the new proclamation in the next 24 or 48 hours. The ACLU warned that deportation planes were about to take off. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign said he was unsure of the flight details.Boasberg called a recess so Ensign could get more information. When Ensign came back empty-handed, the judge issued a new order to stop the deportations being carried out under the centuries-old law.He noted specifically that any planes in the air needed to come back.This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately, he told Ensign.It was about 6:45 p.m.By then, two ICE Air planes were heading across the Gulf of Mexico and toward Central America. Neither turned around.The airliners stopped in Honduras before making the short final flight to El Salvador.Fear swept the plane when the doors opened and the prisoners realized where they were. Many knew the reputation of El Salvadors prisons.Everyone was scared, a Nicaraguan woman accidently put on a flight said in a legal declaration after returning to the U.S. Some people had to forcibly be removed from the plane.What followed was soon set to music by the El Salvadoran government, which released videos of shackled men struggling to walk as officers forced down their heads and marched them to the immense Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT prison. The next morning, Bukele, El Salvadors president, tweeted a New York Post headline saying Boasberg had ordered the planes turned around.Oopsie Too late, Bukele wrote, adding a laughing/crying emoji.The Trump administration is now urging the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. Boasberg soon could rule on whether there are grounds to find anyone in contempt of court for defying his court order.As for Romero, the makeup artist, hes somewhere in CECOT.

A woman checks social media on her phone in Barcelona Spain on March 25, 2025. (Albert Stumm via AP)2025-04-05T04:03:37Z Liking a co-workers photo on social media. Sending them direct messages. Checking in on Slack more often than before.Progressively interacting in this way with someone outside your relationship may be no big deal to you. To your significant other, however, it may be microcheating, which some people consider a form of infidelity because it can involve building a bond one heart emoji at a time.Although pushing the boundaries of whats allowed in a relationship is not a new concept, the issue has become even more common with the rise of remote work, said William Schroeder, a therapist and owner of Just Mind Counseling centers in Austin, Texas.People are having more digital relationships so it kind of creates more space for that, Schroeder said. In this work-from-home environment, it can happen even easier because its real low risk. What is microcheating?Microcheating, a term popularized by Australian psychologist Melanie Schilling, could be anything short of a physical or emotional relationship if it involves a behavior you cant talk about openly with a partner.Besides furtive social media chatting, it also could mean lingering too long at the water cooler to talk to a co-worker, sharing personal details of your own relationship, or dressing up if you know youll see someone.Weve just put a newer label on it, said Abby Medcalf, a psychologist in Berkeley, California, and host of the Relationships Made Easy podcast.But Medcalf noted that with most of her patients in recent years, microcheating involves texting or messages on social media. And it can be a slippery slope. Whats the big deal? As relationship norms evolve and terms like polyamory come out of the shadows, liking or commenting on a photo may seem fairly innocuous. Many couples dont care, Medcalf said, but people who do shouldnt feel bad for it.There isnt a right and wrong in relationships, she said. It comes down to preferences.Even if a specific action has not been discussed and forbidden, trouble arises when it takes away energy from your primary relationship, she said.Its cheating if your partner doesnt like it, or doesnt know about it, or wouldnt like it if they knew about it, she said.She advised resisting the urge to snoop, which is a sign there is a lack of trust in the relationship. All you want to know is, how is your partner treating you? she said. Do you feel No. 1?How should couples handle it?Schroeder said every relationship has boundaries, some of which may have been discussed and others that are implied. These days, the gray area is bigger than ever.Particularly if a couple met on a dating app, its important to discuss whether to disable it and be exclusive, he said. Then define what exclusive means, such as not dating other people, continuing conversations through an app or pursuing others on social media.The best time to bring it up is long before a problem arises, even if its difficult to know when or how, he said. He equated having this talk with driving.If you think that you have a full tank of gas, youre not going to start thinking, When should we stop to get gas? he said. A change in behavior if your significant other seems to be more secretive with their phone, for instance, or checks social media more often could a sign of an issue, he said. But try not to be accusatory. Rather, mention you have noticed they are more engaged with their phone and that it worries you because youre not sure what it means.Having that kind of curiosity is a much better place to have a conversation, Schroeder said.He said microcheating happens for many reasons, but often its because people are simply looking for that spark they feel from a new relationship. Some patients who engage in secretive behavior never cross further lines, but Schroeder said noticing if you yourself are doing it can be instructive.Also, it doesnt necessarily mean the end of a relationship. It can be this crisis to rebuild, he said. Sometimes when these little microcheating examples come up, it can be really helpful to understand, Alright, why is this coming up for me?EDITORS NOTE: Albert Stumm writes about wellness, food and travel. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Former NHL player Wayne Gretzky, left, shaking hands with Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin, right, during a press conference after an NHL hockey game in which Ovechkin tied Gretzky's NHL career goals record of 894th goals, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-04-05T10:00:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) Alex Ovechkin cracked a Bud Light and casually took a sip as nearby fans chanted, Ovi! Ovi! He was soon joined by Wayne Gretzky to put the two greatest goal-scorers in NHL history side by side.At this moment, they are tied at 894 goals apiece after Ovechkin scored twice Friday night to match Gretzkys total that many thought no one would ever approach. When Ovechkin was asked his feeling about breaking the record, the Great One had a great retort.Well hold on a second he hasnt done it yet, Gretzky said. Can you give me 24 more hours?Gretzky gets at least that. Ovechkins next chance to pass Gretzky comes Sunday in a matinee at the New York Islanders. All eyes will be on the 39-year-old Russian superstar, who soaked in the moment of celebrating No. 894 in front of Washington Capitals fans who have cheered him on for his two decades in the league and with Gretzky, his mother, wife and children in attendance. As reflective as Ovechkin was about getting there, he instantly went back to his standard answer when asked about when he might break the record. Its game by game; its shift by shift, Ovechkin said. You never know whats gonna happen. We just gonna to continue to enjoy it and continue to do our best because we still have six games left before playoffs and our mind right now is get ready for the playoffs and play the right way in the playoffs. The playoffs are six games away, but the Capitals first want to make sure Ovechkin gets the record all to himself. Theres a reason we try to get it to him: The guys got 41 goals, said center Dylan Strome, who set up Ovechkins 893rd goal four minutes into the game against Chicago. Its incredible.If Ovechkin is unable to score Sunday at the Islanders, the Capitals next play back at home Thursday night against division-rival Carolina. But everyone around the team would like to get this over with as soon as possible, something Gretzky knows from his own pursuit of Gordie Howes then-record of 801 in the spring of 1994. People dont realize this because I went through what Alex is going through its hard on your teammates, too, Gretzky said. Its joyful and its exciting, but they feel the pressure and the stress and they have to answer all the questions, also.After Ovechkin tied Gretzky, they were more than happy to answer the questions. They could feel the anticipation building toward Ovechkin the 2018 playoff MVP in leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship doing something else special.I think the last few games you could sense it a little bit, but obviously on home ice within something extremely doable for the guy, it felt different the whole night, said longtime teammate John Carlson, who passed the puck to Ovechkin for No. 894. From warmups, from the drop of the puck, some guys are larger than life in that regard and it just seems like only a few people are capable of it. It seemed inevitable.Inevitable until he breaks it, as well. As Gretzky got up to leave the postgame festivities, he hugged Ovechkin and waved and said, See you guys on Sunday.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl STEPHEN WHYNO Whyno has covered the NHL, Washington Capitals, the NFLs Washington Commanders and horse racing for The Associated Press since 2016. twitter facebook

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks after he took over the certificate of Honorary Citizen of the University (Civis Universitatis Honoris Causa) from Rector of the Ludovika University of Public Service at the university in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)2025-04-05T16:12:04Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israel says troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor to pressure the Hamas militant group and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.Netanyahu said it would be a second Philadelphi corridor, referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May. Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages, Netanyahu said Wednesday.

President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-04-05T15:57:44Z PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in what would be their second White House sit-down since Trumps return to office.The visit, confirmed by a White House official Saturday, comes as Israel is setting up a new security corridor across Gaza to pressure Hamas and Netanyahus defense minister has said Israel would seize large areas of the territory and add them to its so-called security zones. Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in Gaza on Friday, a day after attacks killed at least 100 Palestinians. Hundreds more have died in the past two weeks as Israel has stepped up operations intended to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages it took during its attack on Israel in October 2023. Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the hostages, disarms and leaves the territory. Israel ended a ceasefire in March and has imposed a halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid. The leaders are expected to focus on the latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza and new U.S. tariffs announced by Trump against Israel and other countries. Trumps first invitation of his second term to a foreign leader went to Netanyahu, and their Feb. 4 meeting was meant to focus on Israels war with Hamas and the next steps as a ceasefire deal took hold. At a joint news conference, Trump made the surprise proposal that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the territory and he suggested that the United States take ownership in redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East. Palestinians objected to leaving their homeland, and Arab nations and rights groups sharply criticized the idea.Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire with a surprise bombardment in Gaza after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the ceasefire. The White House supported the move. Israel also again cut off all supplies to the territory. That February meeting gave Netanyahu a chance to remind the world of the Trump administrations support for Israel, defend the conduct of the war and distract from political pressures back home.Those pressures have only grown as Israelis protest both the lack of a deal to bring remaining hostages home from Gaza and Netanyahus moves to fire the head of the countrys domestic security agency and its attorney general. He also faces calls to accept responsibility for his role in failing to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war.In a statement, relatives of hostages held in Gaza pleaded with Trump to please use all your power to pressure Netanyahu to end this war and bring our hostages back now.Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza. The U.S. is not a member of the court.Trump, meanwhile, says the first foreign trip of his second administration will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and possibly the United Arab Emirates and other places. The trip could come as soon as May. Trump has said he wants to reward Saudi Arabia for its investment in the U.S. and that all three Gulf countries would be making commitments to creating jobs in the U.S. during his trip. ___Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem and Cara Anna contributed to this report. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony reacts after hitting a three-point shot during the first half of the NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016 in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)2025-04-05T16:19:54Z Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, not once but twice. And LeBron James and Chris Paul are part of the group thats headed to the Hall as well, even before their playing careers end.Anthony and Howard were announced Saturday as members of the Class of 2025, as was the 2008 U.S. Olympic mens basketball team that they played on dubbed the Redeem Team, the one that captured gold at the Beijing Games and started a still-going run of five consecutive Olympic titles and counting for USA Basketballs mens program.Also selected for enshrinement: WNBA greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Bulls coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto

Containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles ,Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)2025-04-05T10:45:13Z U.S. President Donald Trumps big raise in tariffs has triggered an escalating trade war and sent global markets plummeting.The S&P 500 fell 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tax on all U.S. imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to Trumps new tariffs. Trump has doubled down on his commitment to tariffs, maintaining that his new levies will bring trillions of dollars of investment to the U.S. while also criticizing other countries retaliatory measures.Heres the latest: Elon Musk says he hopes for zero tariffs with Europe somedayBillionaire Elon Musk told Italy League leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday that he hoped in the future the U.S. and Europe could create a very close, stronger partnership and reach a zero-tariff zone.Musk spoke to Salvini in a video conference during the Leagues congress in Florence. Salvini is the leader of the far-right, anti-migrant League party and vice premier of the Italian conservative government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni.He said that, ideally, there will be a zero-tariff zone in the future with a free trade zone between Europe and North America.Musk, an adviser to President Donald Trump who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. British and French leaders discuss fallout from Trumps tariffsPrime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Saturday that a trade war was in no ones interest as they discussed the fallout from the sweeping tariffs announced earlier this week by President Donald Trump.Starmer and Macron discussed the global economic and security impact of the tariffs, particularly in Southeast Asia, Starmers office said in a statement released after a phone call between the two leaders.They agreed that a trade war was in nobodys interests, but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments, the statement said. The leaders also discussed efforts to build a coalition of countries willing to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and provide peacekeeping forces in the event a ceasefire is reached.Following discussions between military planners in Ukraine this week, they discussed the good progress that has been made on the Coalition of the Willing, the statement said.Some of Trumps new tariffs have taken effectThe baseline 10% levy announced by Trump this week kicked in at 12:01 a.m. Saturday ET (0401 GMT), triggering customs agents collections at ports of entry across the U.S.Countries targeted by Trump for higher tariffs are due to go in effect on Wednesday. Those include assessments as high as 50% for Lesotho, 49% for Cambodia and 47% for Madagascar.In an all-caps social media post Saturday, Trump insisted: THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN.Public reaction hasnt been so confident, with stock markets slumping since the tariff announcement.China spokesman takes a jab at Trump administration Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun posted on his Facebook page a screen saving showing the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all declining by more than 5% on Friday, with the commentary, The market has spoken.The trade and tariff war started by the U.S. against the world is unprovoked and unjustified, Guo wrote. Now is the time for the U.S. to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation. China lashes out at US over tariffs, calling it a weapon to seek private interestsChina on Saturday night heaped more criticism on the U.S. tariffs, saying they had seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, seriously violated the rules of the World Trade Organization, seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely impacted the stability of the global economic order.The U.S. uses tariffs as a weapon to exert extreme pressure and seek private interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying, said the statement, attributed to the Chinese government and carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.The Chinese people believe in treating others with sincerity and taking trust as the basis. We do not provoke trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. Pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with China. China has and will continue to take firm measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, the statement said.It said China would continue to promote high-level opening-up rather than closing its economy with even higher tariffs.Economic globalization is the inevitable path for the development of human society, it said. The world needs justice, not tyranny! Jaguar and Land Rover pause shipments to USThe British maker of Jaguar and Land Rover cars is pausing shipments to the U.S. as it works to mitigate the impact of a 25% tax on vehicle imports imposed by the Trump administration.Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, one of Britains biggest carmakers, said Saturday that the pause would take place this month.The USA is an important market for JLRs luxury brands, the company said in a statement. As we work to address the new trading terms with out business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid-to-longer term plans.The U.K. automotive industry is expected to be hard hit by the new tariffs, which come at a time when British carmakers are struggling with declining demand at home and the need to retool their plants for the transition to electric vehicles.Trump says China has been hit harder by tariffsPresident Donald Trump on Saturday morning posted on his Truth Social media site that China has been negatively impacted by tariffs much harder than the USA, not even close.Newly announced U.S. tariffs on nations around the world, including 34% tariffs on China, have sent stock markets reeling for days. China has vowed to match the rate that Trump imposed.On Saturday Trump was at his golf course in Jupiter, Florida. Its his first time visiting the club since his second term started. Spotted in his motorcade, in his signature red MAGA hat and white polo shirt, Trump was reading a tabloid article about Chinas response to U.S. tariffs.They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly, Trump said on Truth Social. We have been the dumb and helpless whipping post, but not any longer.Italys economy minister cautions against retaliatory tariffsItalian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned that imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States would be damaging for both Italy and Europe.Speaking at a business forum in Cernobbio, near Milan, Giorgetti said Saturday that Italy is working for a de-escalation with the U.S. following Trumps announcement of a general tariff of 20% on European Union countries.We should avoid launching a policy of counter-tariffs that could be damaging for everyone and especially for us, Giorgetti said. Our message is that we need to avoid pushing the panic button. We are following a pragmatic and rational approach.Giorgetti proposed the EU allow member states to raise spending by relaxing the blocs fiscal rules. Italy has a very limited budget leeway, as the government forecast its giant debt rising through 2026 to almost 138% of GDP. The Italian public debt means reduced budget room for our country, a constraint that must be taken into account in any decisions we make, Giorgetti said, also referring to EU plans to increase defense spending.Taiwan will provide support for industries hit by tariffs Taiwans says it will provide a $2.65 billion fund to aid industries most affected by U.S. tariffs. Taiwan has a trade surplus with the U.S., but much of it comes from Taiwanese industries trying to fulfill the U.S. demand for Taiwans information technology products. Officials say Taiwan plans to negotiate with the U.S. on how the new tariff rate of 32% was determined and try to get a better deal.Premier Cho Jung-tai has been charged with working closely with industries that are impacted and to communicate the public about their plans to stabilize the economy. Cho said Friday that electronics and information technology, steel and metal, machinery, auto parts, construction materials and home appliances will feel significant impacts.In the agricultural field, moth orchids, edamame and such fish as tilapia, common dolphinfish and bass will be hit the hardest, he said. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 05 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01038-7Advances recognized by sciences most lucrative awards include Large Hadron Collider experiments and groundbreaking weight-loss treatments.

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) pointing upwards after scoring his 894th goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, April 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-04-04T23:27:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) Alex Ovechkin skated over to his son Sergei at the glass. He bowed to Wayne Gretzky standing in a suite. He blew kisses to his wife, mother and family on the other side of the arena.In signature dramatic fashion, Ovechkin scored the 894th goal of his career and second of the game to tie Gretzkys NHL record and set off a wild celebration among his Washington Capitals teammates on the ice and in the stands of the only building he has called home for the past two decades. Im still a little shaking and still cant believe it, Ovechkin said with Gretzky sitting beside him after Washingtons 5-3 win over Chicago on Friday night. Its history. Its great for the game. Its great to do it here. Its special.Another special moment awaits if and when Ovechkin scores his 895th goal to break one of hockeys records that looked unbreakable. But the chance to celebrate at home with Capitals players past and present and match Gretzky made it a moment Ovechkin will never forget. Neither will Gretzky, who along with Ovechkin is the leagues co-leading goal-scorer for the time being. I can live with that for 24 more hours, Gretzky said. I can still say Im tied for the most.0vechkin scored No. 894 from his spot in the left faceoff circle on the power play on a pass from longtime teammate John Carlson with 13:47 left in the third period. The goal his 41st of the season and record-setting 136th game-winner to break a tie with Jaromir Jagr caused teammates to spill off the bench and mob Ovechkin in the corner of the rink. We kind of looked at each other just and said, Screw it, Im going, winger Tom Wilson said. It was just so cool to be a part of it as a group.Ovechkins goal song, Shake, Rattle & Roll by Big Joe Turner, blared from the speakers, and mascot Slapshot flipped the counter in one corner from 893 to 894 as fans rose to their feet and stayed there to applaud the accomplishment. The 39-year-old who has spent his entire career with Washington skated circles around center ice to implore for more, in between his emotional moments paying tribute to Gretzky and his family. That was awesome, said center Dylan Strome, who set up Ovechkins 893rd goal. Like, youre left speechless and they still got to play the game and try to find him for one more.Amazingly, Ovechkin almost got another one. He had chances in the final 10 minutes and either missed the net or was denied by Spencer Knight, one of a record 182 different goaltenders he has scored on during his career.I just guess Im glad he didnt get the last one, Knight said. But, yeah, its cool to see, its great for the sport.One way Ovechkin refused to get No. 895 was into an empty net. He told coach Spencer Carbery and others he wanted no part of passing Gretzky like that.He wants to break the record with a goaltender in the crease, which I appreciate, Carbery said. He told me that on the bench, and I just wanted to confirm that he didnt want to go out. And its hard for us as coaches because I just wanted to make sure in that moment: hat trick, at home. And he didnt want to go out and score on an empty net to break the record. We have six games left, and he wants to break the record and have that moment where hes shooting the puck past a goalie. Afterward, Blackhawks players stayed on the ice to do a handshake line with Ovechkin, who gets his next chance to break the record Sunday at the New York Islanders.Obviously very classy by the Hawks organization what they did tonight for O and its as good as it gets, Wilson said. We have more to look forward to hopefully, but this was an incredible night.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl STEPHEN WHYNO Whyno has covered the NHL, Washington Capitals, the NFLs Washington Commanders and horse racing for The Associated Press since 2016. twitter facebook

This frame grab from a video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, taken with a phone by one of the 15 Palestinians medics killed, shows Red Crescent emergency vehicles, their lights and sirens flashing and their logos clearly visible, seconds before they came under a barrage of gunfire from Israeli army soldiers in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, early Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Palestinian Red Crescent Society via AP)2025-04-05T14:45:57Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) Phone video from one of 15 Palestinian medics killed by Israeli forces last month appears to contradict Israeli claims that the medics vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire on them in southern Gaza.The footage shows the Red Crescent and Civil Defense teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicles lights flashing, logos visible, as they pulled up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier. The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward the stricken ambulance.Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire, which goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses. The owner of the phone can be heard praying. This frame grab from a video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, taken with a phone by one of the 15 Palestinians medics killed, shows Red Crescent emergency vehicles, their lights and sirens flashing and their logos clearly visible, seconds before they came under a barrage of gunfire from Israeli army soldiers in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, early Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Palestinian Red Crescent Society via AP) This frame grab from a video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, taken with a phone by one of the 15 Palestinians medics killed, shows Red Crescent emergency vehicles, their lights and sirens flashing and their logos clearly visible, seconds before they came under a barrage of gunfire from Israeli army soldiers in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, early Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Palestinian Red Crescent Society via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose, mother, to help people, he cries, his voice weak.Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a U.N. staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by Israeli troops conducting operations in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Troops then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. U.N. and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the bodies. The Palestinian Red Crescent Societys vice president, Marwan Jilani, said the phone with the footage was found in the pocket of one of its slain staffers. The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations distributed the video to the U.N. Security Council. The Associated Press obtained the video from a U.N. diplomat on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public. One paramedic who survived, Munzer Abed, confirmed the veracity of the video to the AP. Two block-shaped concrete structures visible in the video are also seen in a U.N. video released Sunday showing the recovery of the bodies from the site a sign they are in the same location.Asked about the video, the Israeli military said Saturday that the incident was under thorough examination. One medic remains missingThe Israeli military earlier said it opened fire on the vehicles because they were advancing suspiciously on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals.The initial account of the vehicles not having emergency lights on was mistaken, an Israeli military official told journalists Saturday evening. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.The head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Younes Al-Khatib, called for an independent investigation. We dont trust any of the army investigations, he told a briefing at the U.N. on Friday.One medic, Assaad al-Nassasra, is still missing, the Red Crescent says. Abed said he saw al-Nassasra being led away blindfolded by Israeli troops. Al-Khatib said the organization has asked the military where it is holding the staffer.Al-Khatib said the slain men had been targeted at close range and that a forensic autopsy report would be released soon. This frame grab from a video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, taken with a phone by one of the 15 Palestinians medics killed, shows Red Crescent emergency vehicles, their lights and sirens flashing and their logos clearly visible, seconds before they came under a barrage of gunfire from Israeli army soldiers in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, early Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Palestinian Red Crescent Society via AP) This frame grab from a video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, taken with a phone by one of the 15 Palestinians medics killed, shows Red Crescent emergency vehicles, their lights and sirens flashing and their logos clearly visible, seconds before they came under a barrage of gunfire from Israeli army soldiers in Tel al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, early Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Palestinian Red Crescent Society via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Israel has accused Hamas of moving and hiding its fighters inside ambulances and emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, arguing that justifies strikes on them. Medical personnel largely deny the accusations.Israeli strikes have killed more than 150 emergency responders from the Red Crescent and Civil Defense, most of them while on duty, as well as over 1,000 health workers, according to the U.N. The Israeli military rarely investigates such incidents.Ambulances under a barrage of Israeli fireAmbulances started heading to Tel al-Sultan at around 3:50 a.m. on March 23, responding to reports of wounded, Jilani said. The first ambulance returned safely with at least one casualty, he said. But, he said, subsequent ambulances came under fire.His hands trembling, Abed told the AP on Saturday that as his ambulance entered the area, its siren lights were on. All of a sudden, I am telling you, there was direct shooting at us, so intense that the vehicle ground to a stop, he said.A 10-year veteran of the Red Crescent, Abed said he was sitting in the back seat and ducked to the floor. He said he could hear nothing from his two colleagues in the front seat the only others in the vehicle. They appear to have been killed instantly. Israeli troops, some with night goggles, dragged Abed out of the ambulance and onto the ground, he said. They made him strip to his underwear, beat him all over his body with their rifle butts, then tied his hands behind his back, he said.They interrogated him, asking him about his paramedic training and how many people were in the ambulance with him, he said. One soldier pressed the muzzle of his automatic rifle into his neck. Another pressed his knife blade into Abeds palm, almost cutting it, until a third soldier pulled them away and warned Abed, Theyre crazy.Abed said he witnessed them opening fire on the next vehicles to arrive. Soldiers forced him onto his stomach and pressed a gun into his back, he said, and amid the shooting in the darkness, so he could only see two Civil Defense vehicles. Video shows medics terror The phone video shows a rescue convoy of Red Crescent and Civil Defense vehicles that was sent out after contact was lost with the stricken ambulance. Taken from the dashboard of one vehicle, it shows several ambulances and a fire truck moving down a road through a barren area in the darkness. The emergency lights on their roofs are flashing the entire way.They arrive at an ambulance on the side of the road and stop next to it, their lights still flashing. No Israeli troops are visible.Lord, let them be OK, a man in the car says. Then he cries out, Theyre tossed around on the ground! apparently referring to bodies. Three men in orange Civil Defense clothing can be seen getting out of the vehicles and walking toward the stopped ambulance.A shot rings out and one of the men appears to fall. Gunfire erupts.The man holding the phone appears to scramble out of the car and onto the ground, but the screen goes black, though the audio continues. The gunfire goes on for nearly five and a half minutes, with long, heavy barrages followed by silences punctuated by individual shots and shouts and screams.Throughout, the man with the phone says over and over, There is no God but God and Muhammad is Gods prophet the profession of faith that Muslims say when they fear they are about to die. Near the end of the six-minute, 40-second video, voices can be heard shouting in Hebrew. The Jews are coming, the man said, referring to Israeli soldiers, before the video cuts off.The Israeli military official asserted there was no mistreatment, and said he didnt know why the vehicles had been buried. He had no information about the medic who remained missing.Israel claims they found militants afterward The Israeli military says that after the shooting, troops determined they had killed a Hamas figure named Mohammed Amin Shobaki and eight other militants. However, none of the 15 slain medics has that name, and no other bodies are known to have been found at the site.The military has not said what happened to Shobakis body or released the names of the other alleged militants. The Israeli military official said Israel was working to bring evidence that Hamas operatives were killed.Jonathan Whittall, interim head in Gaza of the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA, dismissed allegations that the slain medics were Hamas militants, saying staff had worked with the same medics previously in evacuating patients from hospitals and other tasks.These are paramedic crews that I personally have met before, he said. They were buried in their uniforms with their gloves on. They were ready to save lives.___Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; Keath from Cairo. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Sarah El Deeb in Cairo, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Areej Hazboun contributed to this report.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war LEE KEATH Keath is the chief editor for feature stories in the Middle East for The Associated Press. He has reported from Cairo since 2005. twitter mailto

A Yemeni girl visits the graves of Houthis during Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)2025-04-06T04:18:19Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Suspected U.S. airstrikes killed at least two people overnight in a stronghold of Yemens Houthi rebels, the group said Sunday, as a bombing video posted by U.S. President Donald Trump suggested casualties in the campaign may be higher than the rebels acknowledge. The strikes in Saada killed two people and wounded four others, with footage aired by the Houthis al-Masirah satellite news channel showing a strike collapsing what appeared to be a two-story building. The Iranian-backed Houthis aired no footage from inside the building, which they described as a solar power shop. The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under Trump targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war has killed at least 69 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis. However, the Houthis have not acknowledged any casualties from their security and military leadership something challenged after an online video posted by Trump. Trump bombing footage suggests rebel leaders targetedEarly Saturday, Trump posted what appeared to be black-and-white video from a drone of a group of several dozen people gathered in a circle. An explosion detonates during the 25-second video, with a massive crater left in its wake. These Houthis gathered for instructions on an attack, Trump claimed, without offering a location for the attack or any other details about the strike. Oops, there will be no attack by these Houthis! They will never sink our ships again!The U.S. militarys Central Command, which oversees Americas Mideast military operations, has not published the video, nor offered any specific details about the strikes it has conducted since March 15. The White House has said there have been over 200 strikes so far targeting the Houthis. The rebel-controlled SABA news agency in Yemen, citing an anonymous source, described the bombing as targeting a social Eid visit in Hodeida governorate. Muslims across the world just celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival at the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. SABA had published images of other commanders meeting fighters during the holiday, though not any high-level Houthi officials. Those present at that gathering had no connection to the operations carried out by the (Houthis), which are implementing the decision to ban navigation on ships linked to the American and Israeli enemy, the SABA report said, adding that the attack killed and wounded dozens.However, the Houthis previously have not acknowledged any strike on Hodeida during that time with such a high casualty count. The SABA report also did not describe those killed as civilians, suggesting those killed had ties to the rebels security or military forces. Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert of the Basha Report risk advisory firm, cited social media condolence notices suggesting a colonel overseeing police stations for the Houthis in Hodeida had been killed in the strike Trump highlighted alongside his two brothers. The strikes have expanded significantly, hitting multiple goveronates simultaneously, alongside telecommunications infrastructure, command nodes, properties tied to senior Houthi leadership and previously untouched tunnel networks in mountainous areas, al-Basha told The Associated Press. Weve also seen direct targeting of Houthi force gatherings, indicating a more aggressive and evolving shift in the targeting strategy, al-Basha said. Intense US bombings began nearly a month ago An AP review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former U.S. President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.The new campaign of airstrikes started after the rebels threatened to begin targeting Israeli ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The rebels have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success. The attacks greatly raised the profile of the Houthis, who faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers in Yemen amid a decadelong stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab worlds poorest nation.The campaign shows no signs of stopping as the Trump administration repeatedly has linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto

Liusiena Zinovkina, 32, sits in her room in Berlin, Germany, March 19, 2025. She fled to Germany from Ukraine, where her husband was arrested by invading Russian forces in May 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)2025-04-06T04:10:50Z When she heard her front door open almost two years ago, Kostiantyn Zinovkins mother thought her son had returned home because he forgot something. Instead, men in balaclavas burst into the apartment in Melitopol, a southern Ukrainian city occupied by Russian forces.They said Zinovkin was detained for a minor infraction and would be released soon. They used his key to enter, said his wife, Liusiena, and searched the flat so thoroughly that they tore it apart into molecules.But Zinovkin wasnt released. Weeks after his May 2023 arrest, the Russians told his mother he was plotting a terrorist attack. Hes now standing trial on charges his family calls absurd.Zinovkin is one of thousands of civilians in Russian captivity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists their release, along with prisoners of war, will be an important step toward ending the 3-year-old war. So far, it hasnt appeared high on the agenda in U.S. talks with Moscow and Kyiv.While politicians discuss natural resources, possible territorial concessions, geopolitical interests and even Zelenskyys suit in the Oval Office, theyre not talking about people, said Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Thousands heldIn January, the center and other Ukrainian and Russian rights groups launched People First, a campaign that says any peace settlement must prioritize the release of everyone they say are captives, including Russians jailed for protesting the war, as well as Ukrainian children who were illegally deported.You cant achieve sustainable peace without taking into account the human dimension, Matviichuk told The Associated Press.Its unknown how many Ukrainian civilians are in custody, both in occupied regions and in Russia. Ukraines human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has estimated over 20,000.Matviichuk says her group received over 4,000 requests to help civilian detainees. She notes its against international law to detain noncombatants in war.Oleg Orlov, co-founder of the Russian rights group Memorial, says advocates know at least 1,672 Ukrainian civilians are in Moscows custody.Theres a larger number of them that we dont know about, added Orlov, whose organization won the Nobel alongside Matviichuks group and is involved in People First.Detained without chargesMany are detained for months without charges and dont know why theyre being held, Orlov said.Russian soldiers detained Mykyta Shkriabin, then 19, in Ukraines Kharkiv region in March 2022. He left the basement where his family was sheltering from fighting to get supplies and never returned.Shkriabin was detained even though he wasnt charged with a crime, said his lawyer, Leonid Solovyov. In 2023, the authorities began referring to him as a POW, a status Solovyov seeks to contest since the student wasnt a combatant.Shkriabins mother, Tetiana, told AP last month she still doesnt know where her son is held. In three years, shes received two letters from him saying hes doing well and that she shouldnt worry.Shes hoping for a prisoner exchange, a repatriation, or something, Shkriabina said. Without hope, how does one hang in there? Terrorism, treason and espionageOthers face charges that their relatives say are fabricated.After being seized in Melitopol, Zinovkin was jailed for over two years and charged with seven offenses, including plotting a terrorist attack, assembling weapons and high treason, his wife Liusiena Zinovkina told AP, describing the charges as absurd.While vocally pro-Ukrainian and against Russias occupation, her husband couldnt plot to bomb anyone and had no weapons skills, she said.Especially nonsensical is the treason charge, she said, because Russian law stipulates that only its citizens can be charged with that crime, and Zinovkin has never held Russian citizenship, unless it was forced upon him in jail. A conviction could bring life in prison.Ukrainian civilian Serhii Tsyhipa, 63, was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison after he disappeared in March 2022 while walking his dog in Nova Kakhovka, in the partially occupied Kherson region, said his wife, Olena. The dog also vanished. Tsyhipa, a journalist, was wearing a jacket with a large red cross sewn on it. Both he and his wife, Olena, had those jackets, she told AP, because they volunteered to distribute food and other essentials when Russian troops invaded. Serhii Tsyhipa protested the occupation, and Olena believes that led to his arrest.He was held for months in Crimea and finally charged with espionage in December 2022. Almost a year later, in October 2023, Tsyhipa was convicted and sentenced in a trial that lasted only three hearings.He appealed, but his sentence was upheld. But the Russian authorities must understand that we are fighting that we are doing everything possible to bring him home, she said. Mykhailo Savva of the Expert Council of the Center for Civil Liberties said rights advocates know of 307 Ukrainian civilians convicted in Russia on criminal charges usually espionage or treason, if the person held a Russian passport, but also terrorism and extremism.He said that in Ukraines occupied territories, Russians see activists, community leaders and journalists as the greatest threat. Winning release for those already serving sentences would be an uphill battle, advocates say.Held in harsh conditionsRelatives must piece together scraps of information about prison conditions.Zinovkina said she has received letters from her husband who told her of problems with his sight, teeth and back. Former prisoners also told her of cramped, cold basement cells in a jail in Rostov, where hes being held.She believes her husband was pressured to sign a confession. A man who met him in jail told her Kostiantyn confessed to everything they wanted him to, so the worst is over for him.Orlov said Ukrainian POWs and civilians are known to be held in harsh conditions, where allegations of abuse and torture are common.The Kremlin tested those methods during the two wars it waged in Chechnya in the 1990s and 2000s, well before invading Ukraine, said Orlov, who recently went to Ukraine to document Russias human rights violations and saw the pattern repeated from the North Caucasus conflicts.Essentially, a misanthropic system has been created, and everyone who falls into it ends up in hell, added Matviichuk, the Ukrainian human rights worker. A recent report by the U.N. Human Rights Council said Russia committed enforced disappearances and torture as crimes against humanity, part of a systematic attack against the civilian population and pursuant to a coordinated state policy.It said Russia detained large numbers of civilians, jailed them in occupied Ukraine or deported them to Russia, and systematically used torture against certain categories of detainees to extract information, coerce, and intimidate.Russias Defense Ministry, the Federal Penitentiary Service and the Federal Security Service did not respond to requests for comment. Tempering hope with patienceAs the U.S. talks about a ceasefire, relatives continue to press for the captives release. Liusiena Zinovkina says she hasnt abandoned hope as her husband, now 33, stands trial but is tempering her expectations.I see that its not as simple as the American president thought. Its not that easy to come to an agreement with Russia, she said, reminding herself to be patient. It will happen, but not tomorrow.Olena Tsyhipa said every minute counts for her husband, whose health has deteriorated.My belief in his return is unwavering, she said. We just have to wait.___Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn contributed. DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto HANNA ARHIROVA Arhirova is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine. She is based in Kyiv. twitter instagram mailto

Vuthy Tha, a Cambodian reporter at Radio Free Asia who spent 7 years in a Thai refugee camp before arriving in the United States, poses for a portrait, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the RFA office in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)2025-04-06T04:09:51Z WASHINGTON (AP) After hiding in Thailand for seven years, two Cambodian journalists arrived in the United States last year on work visas, aiming to keep providing people in their Southeast Asian homeland with objective, factual news through Radio Free Asia.But Vuthy Tha and Hour Hum now say their jobs and legal status in the U.S. are at risk after President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order gutting the government-run U.S. Agency for Global Media. The agency funds Radio Free Asia and other outlets tasked with delivering uncensored information to parts of the world under authoritarian rule and often without a free press of their own. Hour Hum, a Cambodian reporter at Radio Free Asia who spent 7 years in a Thai refugee camp before arriving in the United States, poses for a portrait, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the RFA office in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) Hour Hum, a Cambodian reporter at Radio Free Asia who spent 7 years in a Thai refugee camp before arriving in the United States, poses for a portrait, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the RFA office in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More It fell out of sky, Vuthy, a single father of two small children, said through a translator about the Trump administrations decision, which he says threatens to upend his life.I am very regretful that our listeners cannot receive the accurate news, Hour said, also through a translator.Both men said theyre worried about providing for their families and being allowed to stay in the U.S. They say its impossible to return to Cambodia, a single-party state hostile to independent media where they fear being persecuted for their journalistic work. The administration has been dismantling or slashing the size of federal agencies, leading tens of thousands of government workers and contractors to be fired or put on leave. But the targeting of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, whose decades-old networks aim to extend American influence abroad, means journalists who have defied authoritarian regimes to help fulfill a U.S. mission of delivering pro-democracy programming could be deported and face harassment and persecution in their homelands. Eleven journalists associated with the U.S.-funded media outlets are behind bars overseas, including RFAs Shin Daewe, who is serving 15 years in Myanmar on a charge of supporting terrorism. At least 84 U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, journalists in the United States on work visas could face deportation, including at least 23 at serious risk of being immediately arrested upon arrival and potentially imprisoned, according to the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders and a coalition of 36 human rights organizations.It is outrageous that these journalists, who risk their lives to expose the extent of repression in their home countries, might be completely abandoned, said Thibaut Bruttin, director general of Reporters Without Borders.The U.S. Congress must take responsibility for protecting these reporters and all USAGM-funded outlets, funded by Congress itself, Bruttin said. This responsibility is not just moral it stems from the United States commitment to defending the principles of democracy and press freedom.The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee did not respond to requests for comment. The White House did not comment. The State Department said it is coordinating with USAGM on imprisoned journalists and that it condemns unjust detentions of journalists for exercising their freedom of expression. Journalists sue over Trumps orderA number of journalists for Voice of America, a news service also overseen by USAGM, have sued in a federal court. That includes two unnamed foreign journalists on temporary visas. If deported, one could risk imprisonment for 10 years for his work for VOA, and the other, a member of a persecuted minority in his home country, could be in physical danger, the lawsuit said. The court has temporarily halted contract terminations, preventing the visa holders from being forced to leave for now. The receptionist desk sits empty at Radio Free Asia, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) The receptionist desk sits empty at Radio Free Asia, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Both RFA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, another USAGM-funded media outlet, also have sued seeking restoration of funding.Trumps cuts come after the U.S. last year helped free Alsu Kurmasheva a dual U.S.-Russian citizen and journalist with RFE/RL in a high-profile prisoner swap that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. In February, the Trump administration announced the release of Andrey Kuznechyk, a Belarusian journalist with RFE/RLs Belarus service. The network still has four journalists jailed one each in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia and Russia-occupied Crimea.Voice of America has a contributor jailed in Myanmar and another in Vietnam, said Jessica Jerreat, VOAs press freedom editor.In Vietnam, four RFA reporters are in jail and another is under house arrest, according to Tamara Bralo, the outlets head of journalist security. She said shes concerned that American support in seeking their release could diminish if RFA folds.Vietnam consistently ranks near the bottom in the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, which says about 40 journalists are held in Vietnams prisons where mistreatment is widespread. Reporters fear being sent backKhoa Lai, a Vietnamese journalist who joined RFA in Washington on a work visa only days before Trump took office, said returning to Vietnam is risky for him. I could face prosecution or be in prison, said Lai, who produces video stories on freedom of speech, freedom of religion and political corruption for RFAs Vietnamese service. I dont know for sure, but it wont be good. Both Vuthy and Hour began working for RFA in Cambodia but had to leave in 2017 when Cambodias top court dissolved the main opposition CNRP party, authorities arrested their colleagues and RFA closed its office. In neighboring Thailand as refugees, both continued to report for RFA, but with their identities hidden. They still risked getting sent back to Cambodia until RFA brought them to the U.S. on work visas last year. They have reported on issues ranging from politics, corruption and human rights to climate change and environment.Cambodias autocratic former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who ruled his country for nearly four decades and passed power to his son Hun Manet, praised Trump in a Facebook post for having the courage to lead the world to combat fake news by cutting funding to USAGM.Vuthy says hes still hopeful that RFA might survive, adding that it is fighting for its existence.___Associated Press writers Kanis Leung in Hong Kong, Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Elsie Chen in Washington contributed to this report. DIDI TANG Tang joined the AP Washington bureau in 2023 after spending 11 years in Beijing as a China correspondent. 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Houston's L.J. Cryer (4) celebrates with teammates after Houston beat Duke in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-04-06T03:59:09Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Sorry guys, Phi Slama Jamma is already taken. How bout something simple, like Comeback Kids. National champs might be a possibility, too.Houstons no-room-to-breathe defense wiped away a 14-point deficit over the final eight minutes, erased Cooper Flagg and Dukes title hopes and brought the Cougars within a win of a championship of their own Saturday night with a 70-67 stunner over the Blue Devils.Led by Joseph Tuglers four blocks and an amoeba-like defense that smothers everything, Houston held Duke to a grand total of one field goal over the last 10 1/2 minutes. The 67 points were Dukes second-lowest output of its now-ended season. The Blue Devils second-to-last attempt during their contest-ending 1-for-9 stretch was a step-back jumper in the paint by Flagg that JWan Roberts disrupted. The last was a desperation heave by Tyrese Proctor that caught nothing at the buzzer and sent Flagg and company shuffling off in shock. We just had to keep that belief and keep the faith, said LJ Cryer, who won a title with Baylor in 2021 and led the Cougars in this one with 26 points. This is the programs first trip to the final since 1984 which marked the official close of the Phi Slama Jamma era, a fun-and-gun dunkfest that never won the title despite the efforts of Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, who was at the Alamodome for this one. Lots has changed since then. One constant: Defense wins championship. Houston has allowed the fewest points this season and even against Duke, with Flagg, Kon Knueppel (16 points) and a roster with five or six NBA prospects, it made things impossible down the stretch.Got to give them a lot of credit for what they do every single night they play, Flagg said. We could have been a little bit more sharp down the stretch executing some things. At the end of the day, you got to give them a lot of credit, as well. It was Roberts two free throws with 19.6 seconds left that gave the Cougars their first lead since 6-5. Cryer made two more to push the advantage to three. That matched Houstons biggest lead of the night.The Cougars (35-4), who have never won a title, will play Florida on Monday night for the championship.Floridas 79-73 win over Auburn in the early game was a free-flowing bundle of fun. This one wouldve looked perfect on a cracked blacktop and a court with chain-link nets. Neither team cracked 40% shooting.Thats just how Houston likes it. It closed the game on a 9-0 run over the final 33 seconds, and though Flagg, the AP Player of the Year, finished with 27 points, he did it on 8-for-19 shooting and never got a good look after his 3 at the 3:02 mark put the Blue Devils (35-4) up by nine.Knowing going into that game that he was the player of the year, that he brought his team to the Final Four, we knew it would be challenging, Roberts said. Trailing 64-55, things looked dire for the Cougars. But they were just getting started.A team that prides itself on getting three stops in a row calling the third one the kill stop strung together two stretches like that, broken up only by Flaggs 3. Duke settled for a measly three free throws over the final 3 minutes. One came when Tugler got a technical for batting the ball from Sion James hands as he was trying to throw an inbounds pass.That didnt make things any better for the Blue Devils.On the possession following the technical, Tugler rejected Knueppel, then Emanuel Sharp (16 points) made a 3 to cut the deficit to three.Mylik Wilson stole the next inbounds pass and missed a game-tying 3, but Tugler tipped it in to cut the deficit to one.Proctor missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 20 seconds left to set the stage for the Roberts free throws.Dukes slow walk off the court came through a phalanx of Houston fans who waved goodbye to Flagg, who will likely be off to the NBA as the first pick in the draft. Houston held Duke to 37.5% shooting in the second half; that was nearly 20% lower than its first four games of the tournament, which included a blowout over the nations best offense, Alabama, in the Elite Eight. We held that team to 67 points, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, marveling at what theyd done.The Cougars finished with six steals and six blocked shots, and a bunch more altered by Roberts and Tugler, who might be the best shot blockers to wear that Cougars uniform since Olajuwon himself. There are no stats, however, for the heart Houston showed after the countrys best player had all but buried them with 8 minutes to go. Cooper was not going to beat us by himself, Sampson said. Even when we were down 14, these guys will tell you what I was talking about in the huddle was, Just hang in there, hang in there.Big win for AIThe huge comeback also netted a $1 million win for artificial intelligence. An AI disruptor bet a professional gambler that his program could do a better March Madness bracket, and it all came down to the Duke-Houston game. Even if the Houston loses in the final, the AI bracket will get more points in the contest and the disruptor, Alan Levy, will pocket the million. ___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)2025-04-06T05:33:53Z TEL AVIV (AP) Starvation was likely the leading cause of death for a Palestinian teenager who died in an Israeli prison, according to an Israeli doctor who observed the autopsy.Seventeen-year-old Walid Ahmad, who had been held for six months without being charged, suffered from extreme malnutrition, and also showed signs of inflammation of the colon and scabies, said a report written by Dr. Daniel Solomon, who watched the autopsy, conducted by Israeli experts, at the request of the boys family.The Associated Press obtained a copy of Solomons report from the family. It did not conclude a cause of death, but said Ahmad was in a state of extreme weight loss and muscle wasting. It also noted that Ahmad had complained to the prison of inadequate food since at least December, citing reports from the prison medical clinic. Ahmad died last month after collapsing in Megiddo Prison and striking his head, Palestinian officials said, citing eyewitness accounts from other prisoners. Israels prison service said a team was appointed to investigate Ahmads death and its findings would be sent to the authorized authorities. Ahmad is the youngest Palestinian prisoner to die in an Israeli prison since the start of the Gaza war, according to Physicians for Human Rights Israel, which has documented Palestinian prisoner deaths. He was taken into custody from his home in the occupied West Bank during a pre-dawn raid in September for allegedly throwing stones at soldiers, his family said. The autopsy was conducted on March 27 at Israels Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, which has not released a report of its findings and did not respond to requests for comment. The Ahmad familys lawyer, Nadia Daqqa, confirmed Solomon, a gastrointestinal surgeon, was granted permission to observe the autopsy by an Israeli civil court. Widespread abuse in Israeli prisons, rights groups say Rights groups have documented widespread abuse in Israeli detention facilities holding thousands of Palestinians who were rounded up after Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Authority says Israel is holding the bodies of 72 Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails, including 61 who died since the beginning of the war. Israel often holds on to bodies of dead Palestinians, citing security grounds or for political leverage.Conditions in Israeli prisons have worsened since the start of the war, former detainees have told the AP. They described beatings, severe overcrowding, insufficient medical care, scabies outbreaks and poor sanitary conditions.Megiddo Prison, a maximum security facility where many Palestinian detainees, including teens, are held without charge, is regarded as one of the harshest, said Naji Abbas, head of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel.Israels prison service said it operates according to the law and all prisoners are given basic rights. Ahmads lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, said Israeli authorities denied his requests to visit his client in prison, but three prisoners held there told him Ahmad suffered from severe diarrhea, vomiting, headaches and dizziness before he died. They suspected it was caused by dirty water, as well as cheese and yogurt prison guards brought in the morning and that sat out all day while detainees were fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the lawyer said. Malnourished and frailAccording to Dr. Solomons report the autopsy showed that Ahmed likely suffered from inflammation of the large intestine, a condition known as colitis that can cause frequent diarrhea and can in some cases contribute to death.But medical experts said colitis usually doesnt cause death in young patients and was likely exacerbated by severe malnutrition. He suffered from starvation that led to severe malnutrition and in combination with untreated colitis that caused dehydration and electrolyte levels disturbances in his blood which can cause heart rate abnormalities and death, said Dr. Lina Qasem Hassan, the head of the board for Physicians for Human Rights Israel who reviewed the report at the request of the AP. She said the findings indicated medical neglect, exacerbated by Ahmads inability to fight disease or infection because of how malnourished and frail he was.Dr. Arne Stray-Pedersen, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of Oslo in Norway who was not involved in the autopsy, said the report suggests there was a period of prolonged malnutrition and sickness lasting at least a few weeks or months. Based on the report, I interpret the underlying cause of death to be emaciation-wasting, he said.Scabies rashes were also noted on his legs and genital area, the report said. There was also air between his lungs that expanded into his neck and back, it said, which can cause infection. Air can come from small tears in the lungs, which can occur from severe vomiting or coughing, it said. Ahmads family said he was a healthy high schooler who enjoyed playing soccer before he was taken into custody. His father, Khalid Ahmad, said his son sat through four brief court hearings by videoconference, and he noticed at one of them, in February, that his son appeared to be in poor health.The family hasnt yet received a death certificate from Israel, the elder Ahmad said Friday, and are hoping Dr. Solomons report will help bring his sons body home.We will demand our sons body for burial, he said What is happening in Israeli prisons is a real tragedy, as there is no value for life.____AP reporter Jalal Bwaitel contributed from Ramallah, West Bank. SAM MEDNICK Mednick is the AP correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. Mednick formerly covered West & Central Africa and South Sudan. twitter

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)2025-04-06T08:48:22Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) One person was killed Sunday as Russian air strikes hit the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, while the death toll from Fridays deadly attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih continued to rise. The Kyiv victim was found close to the strikes epicenter of the attack in the citys Darnytskyi district, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. A further three people were injured in the strike, which saw fires break out in several nonresidential areas, damaging cars and buildings.In a statement on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the intensifying Russian attacks showed that there is still insufficient international pressure on Moscow. He said Russia has launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones and more than 30 missiles at Ukraine in the past week alone.These attacks are (Russian President Vladimir) Putins response to all international diplomatic efforts. Each of our partners the United States, all of Europe, the entire world has seen that Russia intends to continue the war and the killing, Zelenskyy said. That is why there can be no easing of pressure. All efforts must be aimed at guaranteeing security and bringing peace closer. Meanwhile, officials said that the death toll from Fridays attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rih had continued to grow, with 19 dead including many children and a further 75 wounded. Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryvyi Rihs military administration, declared three days of mourning for the attack, starting on April 7. He said that there was pain in the hearts of millions of people.Together we will stand. And no matter how difficult it is, we will win, he said. The enemy will be punished for every Ukrainian and for every mothers tear.Local authorities said the Kryvyi Rih strike damaged 44 apartment buildings and 23 private houses. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday that it had carried out a high-precision missile strike with a high explosive warhead on a restaurant where a meeting with unit commanders and Western instructors was taking place.Russian military claimed that the strike killed 85 military personnel and foreign officers and destroyed 20 vehicles. The militarys claims could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian General Staff rejected the claims.Elsewhere, Russian troops fired 23 missiles and 109 strike and decoy drones across Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said Sunday. Thirteen missiles and 40 drones were shot down, while 53 decoy drones were jammed and did not reach their destinations, it said.Russias Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones, including eight over the Rostov region and two over the Kursk region.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Cambodian garment workers look at clothes displayed for sale during a lunch break on a sidewalk at Ang Tako village, outside Phnom Penh Cambodia, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)2025-04-06T04:21:59Z NEW YORK (AP) Sending children back to school in new sneakers, jeans and T-shirts is likely to cost U.S. families significantly more this fall if the bespoke tariffs President Donald Trump put on leading exporters take effect as planned, American industry groups warn. About 97% of the clothes and shoes purchased in the U.S. are imported, predominantly from Asia, the American Apparel & Footwear Association said, citing its most recent data. Walmart, Gap Inc., Lululemon and Nike are a few of the companies that have a majority of their clothing made in Asian countries.Those same garment-making hubs took a big hit under the presidents plan to punish individual countries for trade imbalances. For all Chinese goods, that meant tariffs of at least 54%. He set the import tax rates for Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia at 46% and 49%, and products from Bangladesh and Indonesia at 37% and 32%. Working with foreign factories has kept labor costs down for U.S. companies in the fashion trade, but neither they nor their overseas suppliers are likely to absorb new costs that high. India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also got slapped with high tariffs so arent immediate sourcing alternatives. If these tariffs are allowed to persist, ultimately its going to make its way to the consumer, said Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Another trade group, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, provided estimates of the price increases that could be in store for shoes, noting 99% of the pairs sold in the U.S. are imports. Work boots made in China that now retail for $77 would go up to $115, while customers would pay $220 for running shoes made in Vietnam currently priced at $155, the group said. FDRA President Matt Priest predicted lower-income families and the places they shop would feel the impact most. He said a pair of Chinese-made childrens shoes that cost $26 today will likely carry a $41 price tag by the back-to-school shopping season, according to his groups calculations. Preparing for a moving targetThe tariffs on the top producers of not only finished fashion but many of the materials used to make footwear and apparel shocked U.S. retailers and brands. Before Trumps first term, U.S. companies had started to diversify away from China in response to trade tensions as well as human rights and environmental concerns. They accelerated the pace when he ordered tariffs on Chinese goods in 2018, shifting more production to other countries in Asia. Lululemon said in its latest annual filing that 40% of its sportswear last year was manufactured in Vietnam, 17% in Cambodia, 11% in Sri Lanka, 11% in Indonesia and 7% in Bangladesh.Nike, Levi-Strauss, Ralph Lauren, Gap. Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch and VF Corporation, which owns Vans, The North Face and Timberland, also reported a greatly reduced reliance on garment-makers and suppliers in China. Shoe brand Steve Madden said in November it would reduce imports from China by as much as 45% this year due to Trumps campaign pledge to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese products. The brand said it already had spent several years developing a factory network in Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil. Industry experts say reviving the American garment industry would be hugely expensive and take years if it were feasible. The number of people working in apparel manufacturing in January 2015 stood at 139,000 and had dwindled to 85,000 by January of this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sri Lanka employs four times as many despite having a population less than one-seventh the size of the U.S.Along with lacking a skilled and willing workforce, the U.S. does not have domestic sources for the more than 70 materials that go into making a typical shoe, the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America said in written comments to Trumps trade representative.Shoe companies would need to find or set up factories to make cotton laces, eyelets, textile uppers and other components to make finished footwear in the U.S. on a large scale, the group wrote. These materials simply do not exist here, and many of these materials have never existed in the U.S, the organization said. Price increases may come as a shockThe expected barrage of apparel price increases would follow three decades of stability. Clothes cost U.S. consumers essentially the same in 2024 as they did in 1994, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Economists and industry analysts have attributed the trend to free trade agreements, offshoring to foreign countries where workers are paid much less and heated competition for shoppers among discount retailers and fast-fashion brands like H&M, Zara and Forever 21.But customers unaccustomed to inflation in the apparel sector and coming off several years of steep rise in the costs of groceries and housing may be extra sensitive to any big jumps in clothing prices. Priest, of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, said he has observed shoppers pulling back on buying shoes since Trumps return to the White House. Theyre nervous, he said. Theyve obviously been playing the long game as it relates to inflation for a number of years now. And they just dont have the endurance to absorb higher prices, particularly as theyre inflicted by the U.S. government. Winners and losers in a garment trade warAccording to a report by British bank Barclays published Friday, the winners in the tariff wars are retailers that have at least one of these attributes: big negotiating power with their suppliers, a strong brand name and limited sourcing in Asia. In clothing and footwear, that includes off-price retailers Burlington, Ross Stores Inc. and TJX Companies, which operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, as well as Ralph Lauren and Dicks Sporting Goods, according to the report.The companies in for a tougher time are those with limited negotiating power, limited pricing power and high product exposure in Asia, a list including Gap Inc., Urban Outfitters and American Eagle Outfitters, according to the report. Secondhand clothing resale site ThredUp cheered a related action Trump took with his latest round of tariffs: eliminating a widely used tax exemption that has allowed millions of low-cost goods most of them originating in China to enter the U.S. every day duty-free. This policy change will increase the cost of cheaply produced, disposable clothing imported from China, directly impacting the business model that fuels overproduction and environmental degradation, ThredUp said.Several industry analysts and economists said they think tariffs will end up being a consumer sales tax that widens the yawning gap between Americas wealthiest residents and those in the middle and lower end of the income spectrum. So where will the U.S. be buying its apparel now that the tariff rates on Bangladesh, Vietnam and China are astronomical? Mary E. Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said of the schedule set to take effect Wednesday. Will the new Golden Age involve knitting our own knickers as well as snapping together our cellphones? ANNE DINNOCENZIO DInnocenzio writes about retail, trends, the consumer economy and hourly workers for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Elon Musk speaks at a town hall holding a check Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)2025-04-06T12:05:55Z TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The race for control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court drew $100 million in campaign spending, attack ads and the attention of President Donald Trump and close ally Elon Musk.While its spending set a record for a U.S. judicial contest, the race that ended Tuesday was the apex of a trend building for years as state Supreme Court races across the country have gotten increasingly costly and vitriolic. The partisan tone of the Wisconsin race and the amount of money it drew from outside interest groups raise questions about whether elections are the best way to fill seats for bodies that are supposed to be nonpartisan and ultimately decide the fate of state laws and citizen ballot initiatives.The politicized nature of the contests was illustrated starkly on Friday when a Republican-majority appellate panel in North Carolina sided with a Republican state Supreme Court challenger who is seeking to throw out thousands of ballots from last Novembers election. These races have become priorities for both major parties because state high courts have been playing pivotal roles in deciding rules around redistricting, abortion and voting rights while also settling disputes over election outcomes. Some states shifted toward electing justices to bring the process out into the sunlight, to disempower powerful political actors from getting themselves or allies on the bench, or to provide some level of public accountability, said Douglas Keith, senior counsel for the Brennan Centers judiciary program. But with these modern judicial elections, these highly politicized races are not really serving any of those goals. Not every state puts its Supreme Court seats up for a statewide vote. Some use appointment processes that allow candidates to avoid public campaigning and the influence of political donors. Keith said a merit-based selection process can result in Supreme Courts that are not as predictable along political lines. Seven states use partisan elections to select their Supreme Court justices while 14, including Wisconsin, use nonpartisan elections. Meanwhile, nine task governors with appointing justices, two use legislative appointments, four have hybrid models and 14 use a merit selection process that often involves nonpartisan nominating commissions.Kansas is one of the states with an appointment process, a system that has been in place for six decades and has been largely nonpartisan. Bristling at some of the courts rulings in recent years, Republicans in the state now want to change that and move toward a system in which justices have to stand for election.Opponents say Republicans goal is clear in a GOP-leaning state: remaking the court in a more conservative image.When a vacancy on the seven-member court now occurs, applicants for the seat are screened by a nine-member commission. Five are lawyers elected by other lawyers and four are nonlawyers appointed by the governor. The commission names three finalists and the governor currently a Democrat chooses one. The Republican-supermajority Legislature placed a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution on the ballot for the states August 2026 primary election, rejecting arguments that the current system of filling vacancies on the state Supreme Court is notable for its lack of partisan politics and promotes judicial independence.Backers of the proposal have criticized the states top court for years over rulings protecting abortion rights and forcing higher spending on public schools. They argue that the court is too liberal and is out of step with voters, even though Kansas voters opted to protect abortion rights in 2022, just months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.Republicans also say that in making Supreme Court candidates run for election, any politics in the process would be visible instead of a black box.It is an elitist system, and that elitist system was designed by lawyers, Kansas attorney general, Republican Kris Kobach, said of the current system. It is obviously controlled by lawyers. Critics of the Kansas proposal pointed to Wisconsin and the tens of millions of dollars spent on state Supreme Court races in recent years. They say thats just what Kansas should expect to see if voters approve the change next year.With the current system, they say a candidates experience and likely judicial temperament are the most important factors, rather than a candidates skills at campaigning, raising money or creating television ads.There is a reason that goes beyond giving the people a voice. Theres a political reason to change the court, Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University in Topeka, said of Republicans proposal.Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said he wasnt concerned about Wisconsin-style campaigning for high court seats if the amendment passes. He said opponents were trying to take a one-off and make it something its not. In Oklahoma, the Republican-led Legislature for several years has considered legislation seeking to change its current appointment system for appellate court justices to having them run for election. Some Republicans have brought up the issue in Alaska in recent years, though the efforts have not advanced.In North Carolina and Ohio, Republican-dominated legislatures in recent years have added party labels to the ballot in what many legal experts say is an attempt to benefit conservative judicial candidates and construct a court that aligned more with the legislatures policy goals.North Carolina has been caught up in an ongoing legal saga over a close, highly politicized state Supreme Court race. The Republican candidate, Jefferson Griffin, has challenged more than 65,000 ballots cast in last falls election. On Friday, the Republican majority on a North Carolina appellate panel sided with Griffin, who was 734 votes behind Associate Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat who is likely to appeal.Pennsylvania is bracing for a Wisconsin-style election in the fall. Its another presidential battleground where the state Supreme Court could be called upon to decide election disputes during next years midterms or the 2028 presidential election. Three Democratic justices are running to retain their seats and face a yes-or- no vote for additional 10-year terms.The recently concluded Wisconsin election offers warning signs of what may come in November in Pennsylvania when Democrats 5-2 majority on the court will be on the line, said Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Allentown.Spending exceeded $22 million in Pennsylvanias 2023 Supreme Court contest.It would be silly not to anticipate that in this current environment in a key state like Pennsylvania, Borick said. It is going to be intensified.Making term limits longer and eliminating judicial reelections could be a useful reform because a lot of the influence of money comes from the pressure to get reelected, said Michael Kang, a Northwestern School of Law professor and author of Free to Judge: The Power of Campaign Money in Judicial Elections.There is no perfect system, Kang said. But there are things that can be done to improve.___Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.___The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about the APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. JOHN HANNA Hanna covers politics and state government in Kansas for The Associated Press. Hes worked for the AP in Topeka since 1986. twitter mailto

Palestinians pray over the bodies of some of the 15 people, including 5 children and 5 women, killed in two Israeli army strikes during their funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-04-06T11:20:13Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 15 people, including 10 women and children, overnight and into Sunday, according to local health officials.Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground war last month. It has carried out out waves of strikes and seized territory in order to pressure the militants to accept a new deal for a truce and hostage release. It has also blocked the import of food, fuel and humanitarian aid.The latest strikes hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still being held in Gaza 24 of whom are believed to be alive after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.Israels offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says another 115,338 people have been wounded. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. ___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, the Democratic nominee for Mississippi governor, gives a news conference, June 22, 2023, at a locally owned clothing store in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)2025-04-06T04:18:50Z About 45 years have passed since a U.S. state last eliminated its income tax on wages and salaries. But with recent actions in Mississippi and Kentucky, two states now are on a path to do so, if their economies keep growing. The push to zero out the income tax is perhaps the most aggressive example of a tax-cutting trend that swept across states as they rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic with surging revenues and historic surpluses. But it comes during a time of greater uncertainty for states, as they wait to see whether President Donald Trumps cost cutting and tariffs lead to a reduction in federal funding for states and a downturn in the overall economy. Some fiscal analysts also warn the repeal of income taxes could leave states reliant on other levies, such as sales taxes, that disproportionately affect the poor. Which governments charge income tax?The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to levy income taxes. It was ratified by states in 1913. Since then, most states have adopted their own income taxes.Eight states currently charge no personal income tax: Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming. A ninth state, Washington, charges no personal income tax on wages and salaries but does tax certain capital gains income over $270,000.When Alaska repealed its personal income tax in 1980, it did so because state coffers were overflowing with billions of dollars in oil money. Though income tax eliminations have been proposed elsewhere, they have not been successful. Its a lot easier to go without an individual income tax if youve never levied one, said Katherine Loughead, a senior analyst and research manager at the nonprofit Tax Foundation. But once you become dependent on that revenue, it is a lot more difficult to phase out or eliminate that tax. What is Mississippi doing? Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves recently signed a law gradually reducing the states income tax rate from 4% to 3% by 2030 and setting state revenue growth benchmarks that could trigger additional incremental cuts until the tax is eliminated. The law also reduces the sales tax on groceries and raises the gasoline tax. If cash reserves are fully funded and revenue triggers are met each year, Mississippis income tax could be gone by 2040. Supporters of an income tax repeal hope it will attract both businesses and residents, elevating the states economy to the likes of Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Their theory is that when people pay less in income taxes, they will have more money to spend, thus boosting sales tax collections. The tax repeal puts us in a rare class of elite, competitive states, Reeves said in a statement. He added, Mississippi has the potential to be a magnet for opportunity, for investment, for talent - and for families looking to build a better life.Mississippi is among the most impoverished states and relies heavily on federal funding. Democratic lawmakers warned the state could face a financial crises if cuts in federal funding come at the same time as state income tax reductions. The income tax provides a huge percentage of what the state brings in to fund things like schools and health care and services that everybody relies on, said Neva Butkus, senior analyst at the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. What has Kentucky done? A 2022 Kentucky law reduced the states income tax rate and set a series of revenue-based triggers that could gradually lower the tax to zero. But unlike in Mississippi, the triggers arent automatic. Rather, the Kentucky General Assembly must approve each additional decrease in the tax rate. That has led to a series of tax-cutting measures, including two new laws this year. One implements the next tax rate reduction from 4% to 3.5% starting in 2026. The second makes it easier to continue cutting the tax rate in the future by allowing smaller incremental reductions if revenue growth isnt sufficient to trigger a 0.5 percentage point reduction.Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed the legislation for next years tax cut but let the other measure passed by the Republican-led legislature become law without his signature. Beshear called it a bait-and-switch bill, contending lawmakers had assured the guardrails for income tax reductions would remain in place while pushing for the 2026 tax cut, then later in the session altered the triggers for future years. What actions have other states taken?New Hampshire and Tennessee already did not tax income from wages and salaries, but both states had taxed certain types of income. In 2021, Tennessee ended an income tax on interest from bonds and stock dividends that had been levied since 1929. New Hampshire halted its tax on interest and dividends at the start of this year. Some other states also are pushing to repeal income taxes The Oklahoma House passed legislation in March that would gradually cut the personal income tax rate to zero if revenue growth benchmarks are met. That bill now is in the Senate. New Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, also wants to phase out the income tax. The House and Senate have advanced legislation that would take an incremental step by exempting capital gains income from taxes. DAVID A. LIEB Lieb covers issues and trends in state governments across the U.S. Hes reported about government and politics for The Associated Press for 30 years. twitter mailto