Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00944-0Good ideas and impactful tools dont just come from rich, Western nations, says Aleksandra Lazi, a social scientist in Serbia.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01146-4US global dominance in science was no accident, but a product of a far-seeing partnership between public and private sectors to boost innovation and economic growth.

Today, we’re diving into the real-world impact of misinformation on social media, particularly Facebook. How did a made-up story lead someone to bring a gun into a pizza shop? What really fueled the Capitol riot? We explore the thin line between lies online and violence offline. It’s tempting to scroll past a conspiracy theory or laugh off a wild comment section. But...

This image provided by Blue Origin shows, first row, seated, from left: Lauren Sanchez and Kerianne Flynn and standing in back from left: Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry, Gayle King and Aisha Bowe in West Texas. (Blue Origin via AP)2025-04-14T13:32:03Z Jeff Bezos Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before or lucky and well-connected can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned some 65 miles (105 kilometers) up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness.Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others along for the 10-minute, fully automated flight, packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and CBS Mornings co-host King.Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who started her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence. Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry in Venice. It was the 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company, founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon. Bezos strapped in for Blue Origins first space tourist flight in 2021 and accompanied the latest crew to the pad. The celebrity launch was the nations first spaceflight where women filled each seat. The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was back in 1963. Thats when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched by herself, becoming the first woman in space. Tereshkova spent three days off the planet. Even after the latest launch, women represent barely 15% of the more than 700 people who have traveled into space. Sanchez said she deliberately chose women to launch with her, each of them eager to inspire both the young and old to dream big, and even commissioned special flight suits. Its an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around, Perry told The Associated Press last week.The launch brought out VIPs to West Texas including Oprah Winfrey and several women who previously have flown on private flights. Winfrey, a close friend of King, wiped away tears when the capsule reached space and the passengers were heard marveling at the moon and shouting with joy. This wasnt the first Blue Origin launch with marquee names.Star Trek actor William Shatner caught a lift to space with Blue Origin in 2021 at age 90, soon after Bezos inaugural trip. He was followed by former New York Giants defensive end and TV host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom the rocket is named. Two aviation pioneers who missed out on space when they were younger Wally Funk and Ed Dwight also rocketed away at ages 82 and 90, respectively. Most of Blue Origins passengers 58 counting the latest launch have been business or science types, TV hosts or YouTubers. Ticket prices are not disclosed.The Russian Space Agency also has launched its share of space tourists, beginning with a California financier in 2001. Two decades later, a Russian actress filmed aboard the International Space Station. Elon Musks SpaceX also sells multi-day trips to private customers. SpaceXs first client to fly, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman already has launched twice and performed the first private spacewalk. Hes now set to become NASAs next administrator if confirmed by the Senate.Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang just returned from the first spaceflight to carry people over the north and south poles. Wang picked up the whole SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for an undisclosed sum.In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few, Wang said via X last week. ___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. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

An AI startup promises to call your elderly parents for you if you dont have time, or simply dont want to, and we tested out the service.Called inTouch, the service uses an AI generated voice so your parent receives a phone call in which they can talk to the AI about, for example, how their day is going, their hobbies, and how theyre feeling. An AI-generated summary of the conversation is then sent to the child or whoever setup the account, and includes a visual indicator of their state of mind, such as bad mood or neutral mood.Obviously, the idea of having an AI call your lonely relative because you cant or dont feel like it is dystopian, insulting, and especially non-human, even more so than other AI-based creations. The creator, though, says it can provide a way to keep in touch with relatives and make sure theyre safe.Busy life? You cant call your parent every daybut we can, inTouchs website says. It is full of images of elderly people, some on the phone, with claims that the service can support mental fitness (We help keep your loved ones mind sharpevery single day); nurture emotional wellbeing (inTouch brings moments of joy and companionship into your loved ones' daily routine, helping them feel understood and supported); and strengthening family connections by providing a way for the elderly to share and preserve family stories across generations, keeping memories alive and strengthening the bonds that make your family unique.inTouch Call 10:00/80.32653061224491I made a trial account on inTouch to test out the service. It usually costs $29.90 a month. At first, the site asked who I wanted inTouch to call regularly, with options including my parent, grandparent, a relative with dementia, or myself. For the first call it asked me what topics I might suggest to get the conversation going. I said my imaginary grandparent named Patrick liked video games like Mario but hates Sonic, and that he loved to ride his motorcycle but he cant do that anymore.Before the initial call the service suggests explaining the calls to whoever is going to receive them.inTouch calls are a new experience for your relative, a disclaimer says. Explaining the value of the calls is key to their success. We suggest saying something like: Mom, I've subscribed you to a service called inTouch. They will call you every day between 9 AM and 12 PM to check that you're fine and have a little chat with you if you'd like. It's important that you answer their calls so I can also know that you're safe.Image: Screenshots from inTouch's website.The person setting the service up downloads an app that lets them receive the summaries and tweak notifications, such as if the AI notices the grandparent is in a low mood, if several calls are missed, or if it detects a new topic to discuss. The grandparent can also ask the AI to send a message to this app.inTouch Call 20:00/68.440816326530611I tried out a few calls with inTouch and it does appear to work as advertised. As in, the calls went through to a test phone, the AI engaged somewhat with the topics I gave it, and the app delivered summaries of the conversation. But I have no idea if it would actually be helpful to an elderly person and personally I would obviously be insulted if my child or grandchild outsourced talking to me to a bot.So I asked my mum.I think the speed of speech is too fast and business-like. The parent would have to be quite mentally alert to answer the questions. It sounds from the clips like talking to an automated company cold call, she said.inTouch Call 30:00/77.374693877551021Hongtu Chen, co-director of the Social Technology for Global Aging Research Initiative at the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, told me in an email the service and others bring up all sorts of ethical, social, and psychological dimensions of human interactions. Human conversations within families are filled with shared memories, inside jokes, emotional nuance, and contextual understanding built over decades. These features are not easily captured by AI, even with advanced personalization, he said. Thus, attempts to substitute AI for real human interaction in such settings may come across as hollow or inauthentic, and in some cases, even alienating.In general, while AI tools may offer supplemental support for older adults, their use must be approached with humility, honesty, and a deep understanding of the symbolic power of human presence in caregiving relationships. Technology may speakbut it cannot yet care in the way that human relationships can, Chen said.inTouch Call 40:00/77.374693877551021Vassili Le Moigne, the CEO and founder of inTouch, said that Chens sentiments on AI for the elderly lined up with his vision for the service. I created inTouch as a personal project to help me care for my aging mother (88) and aunt as I lived far away from them, he wrote in an email. I needed the reassurance my mother was safe even on days when I couldn't call her, I wanted her to know I was still in touch with her even if I didn't call her. I don't want to replace calls and visits from the family, never, these are the best (I fly to see her every 2 weeks), I want to complement them.We refused to customize the voice to that of a family member because we thought this wouldn't be right, he added. Instead, the voice is more generic and isnt impersonating the family member.We will never replace a human touch, we can't stop the body from failing, we are merely trying to make sure older adults stay in control and get to work on their legacy a bit longer alongside their family member, he wrote.Ultimately what is most important is how the person receiving the call feels. I would feel terrible and that they are not bothered about phoning me themselves, my mum said.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00943-1As I watch US researchers respond to threats against science, Im reminded of when scientists in Brazil navigated a similar storm.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00858-xHow did the United Kingdoms formal departure from the European Union in January 2020 affect scientists who had moved there from mainland Europe?

This is a locator map for Yemen with its capital, Sanaa. (AP Photo)2025-04-14T02:25:23Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Suspected U.S. airstrikes around Yemens rebel-held capital killed at least seven people and wounded 29 overnight, the Houthis said Monday as they also claimed shooting down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone.Since its start nearly a month ago, the intense campaign of U.S. airstrikes under President Donald Trump targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters related to the Israel-Hamas war has killed over 120 people, according to casualty figures released Monday by the Houthis Health Ministry. Footage aired by the Houthis al-Masirah satellite news channel showed firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being sparked by the airstrikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the rebels claimed was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital. The Associated Press could not independently verify what was struck. The U.S. militarys Central Command, which oversees American military operations, did not acknowledge the strikes. That follows a pattern for the command, which now has authorization from the White House to conduct strikes at will in the campaign that began March 15. The American military also hasnt been providing any information on targets hit. The White House has said over 200 strikes have been conducted so far. Houthis claim another American drone shot downThe Houthis separately claimed Sunday night they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemens Hajjah governorate, which sits to the northwest of the country on the Red Sea on the countrys border with Saudi Arabia.Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, described the downing in a prerecorded video message as the fourth in two weeks by the rebels. Saree said the rebels targeted the drone with a locally manufactured missile. The Houthis have surface-to-air missiles such as the Iranian missile known as the 358 capable of downing aircraft. Iran denies arming the rebels, though Tehran-manufactured weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in sea shipments heading to Yemen for the Shiite Houthi rebels despite a United Nations arms embargo.General Atomics Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes over 40,000 feet (12,100 meters) and remain in the air for over 30 hours. They have been flown by both the U.S. military and the CIA for years over Afghanistan, Iraq and now Yemen.Central Command said it was aware of reports of the drone being shot down but did not elaborate. US strikes come as part of monthlong intense campaignAn AP review has found the new U.S. operation against the Houthis under President Donald Trump appears more extensive than that under former 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 U.S. campaign shows no signs of stopping, as the Trump administration has also linked its airstrikes on the Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.What were doing with the Houthis and what were doing in the region, weve shown a capability to go far, to go deep and to go big, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday on Fox News. We dont want to do that. But if we have to, we will to prevent a nuclear bomb in Irans hands.Hegseth added: We know Iran ... is taking a look at whats happening to the Houthis and realizing they dont want any part of it. 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

The New York Stock Exchange is seen in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)2025-04-14T04:39:34Z NEW YORK (AP) Stocks are rallying worldwide Monday after President Donald Trump relaxed some of his tariffs, for now at least. The S&P 500 was 1.5% higher in early trading. Its coming off a chaotic week where it careened through historic swings as financial markets struggled to catch up with Trumps moves on tariffs, which investors fear could lead to a recession if not reduced. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 441 points, or 1.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2% higher.Apple, Nvidia and other big technology companies led the way on Wall Street after Trump said he was exempting smartphones, computers and some other electronics from some of his stiff tariffs, which could ultimately more than double prices for U.S. customers of many goods coming from China. Such an exemption should help U.S. importers, which would not have to choose between passing on the higher costs to their customers or taking a hit to their own profits. Apple climbed 5.3%, Nvidia rose 2.3% Dell Technologies jumped 5.9%.Stock markets in other countries likewise bounced following the cooldown in Trumps trade war with China, the worlds second-largest economy. Indexes climbed 2.4% in France, 2.7% in Germany, 1.2% in Japan and 1% in South Korea. But the relief may prove fleeting. Trumps tariff rollout broadly has been full of fits and starts, and officials in his administration said this most recent exemption on electronics is only temporary. Chinas commerce ministry nevertheless welcomed the change in a Sunday statement as a small step even as it called for the U.S. to completely cancel the rest of its tariffs. Chinas leader Xi Jinping on Monday said no one wins in a trade war as he kicked off a diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia, hoping to present China as a force for stability in contrast with Trumps frenetic moves on tariffs. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs rose 2.7% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than expected. It joined other big banks in doing so, such as JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Perhaps more encouragingly for Wall Street, the bond market was also showing signals of increasing calm. Treasury yields eased a bit following their sudden and scary rise last week, which seemed to rattle not only investors but also Trump himself.Treasury yields usually drop when fear is high in the market because U.S. government bonds have historically been seen as some of the worlds safest investments, if not the safest. But last week, yields rose unusually sharply for Treasury bonds. The value of the U.S. dollar also fell against other currencies in another move suggesting investors may no longer see the United States as the best place to keep their cash during moments of stress.Trump noted the moves in the bond market, which showed investors were getting a little queasy, when he announced a 90-day pause on many of his tariffs last week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased back to 4.40%. It had jumped to 4.48% on Friday from 4.01% the week before. In China, stock indexes rose 2.4% in Hong Kong and 0.8% in Shanghai after the government reported that Chinas exports surged 12.4% in March from a year earlier in a last-minute flurry of activity as companies rushed to beat increases in U.S. tariffs imposed by Trump.___AP Writers Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01181-1Plans are taking off to use an unconventional technique to accelerate particles in a future collider.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01148-2Digging in overlooked regions has opened up a world of discovery for palaeontologist David Lovelace.

2025-04-14T15:27:42Z BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) Hungarys parliament has passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities.Legal scholars and critics call Mondays decision another step toward authoritarianism as the populist government continues to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ communities.The amendment passed along party lines, with 140 votes for and 21 against. It was proposed by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, whom critics have accused of employing increasingly autocratic tactics during his 15-year rule.Ahead of the vote, opposition politicians and other protesters attempted to blockade the entrance to a parliament parking garage to prevent ruling party lawmakers from entering. Police physically removed the demonstrators who had used zip ties to bind themselves together. The amendment codifies a ban on public LGBTQ+ events including the popular Pride event that draws thousands annually to the capital, Budapest.It declares that childrens rights to moral, physical and spiritual development supersede any other fundamental right other than the right to life, including that to peacefully assemble. The new amendment also allows for Hungarians who hold dual citizenship in a non-European Economic Area country to have their citizenship suspended if they are deemed to pose a threat to public order, public security or national security.The amendment is the 15th to Hungarys constitution since Orbns party unilaterally authored and approved the document in 2011.

A sign for a BYD vehicle factory is displayed in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)2025-04-14T13:32:53Z CAMACARI, Brazil (AP) When Chinese automaker BYD Co. announced plans to build a massive factory in the hardscrabble city of Camacari, in Brazils northeastern Bahia state, locals saw a new beginning. After years of economic stagnation following Ford Motor Co.'s exit from the region in 2021, there was hope that the global leader in electric vehicles would bring back well-paying jobs and a brighter future.The timing seemed right. Brazil, the worlds sixth-largest auto market, is seeing a surge in EV salesand BYD is leading the charge. For Camacari, the deal promised to fill the economic vacuum left by the American company, which had once been the citys largest employer.Then plans went off track. Employees work at a BYD vehicle factory under construction in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Employees work at a BYD vehicle factory under construction in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Security guards control access to the BYD vehicle factory being built in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Security guards control access to the BYD vehicle factory being built in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Employees work at a BYD vehicle factory being built in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Employees work at a BYD vehicle factory being built in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A December raid led by Brazilian authorities rescued 163 Chinese nationals said to be working in slavery-like conditions at the site. A video from the Labor Prosecutors Office showed dormitories with beds lacking mattresses and makeshift cooking facilities. The company postponed plans to begin its first production line in March and has not established a new timeline, spreading fears among Camacari workers. When BYD announced it was coming here, it sparked a lot of hope in us, said Luizmar Santana Pereira, a metalworker and former Ford employee, who has been working as a taxi driver. Weve been waiting for this job opportunity, but so far, we havent seen it. Luizmar Santana Pereira, a former Ford employee who registered for a job with BYD, attends an interview with The Associated Press, in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Luizmar Santana Pereira, a former Ford employee who registered for a job with BYD, attends an interview with The Associated Press, in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More After the raid, a spokesperson based at BYDs China headquarters denied wrongdoing, saying in a post on the Weibo social media site that the accusations were an attempt at smearing Chinese brands and China. The post also blamed foreign forces for the allegation and criticized media reports. In a statement disseminated in Brazil, the carmaker adopted a more conciliatory tone. The company said it does not tolerate disrespect for Brazilian law and human dignity and rescinded the contract with Chinese construction company Jinjiang, which had brought the workers. In Brazil, ample room for BYD to grow BYD vehicle factory is under construction in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) BYD vehicle factory is under construction in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More EVs are spreading fast in Brazil, Latin Americas most populous nation. Sales jumped 85% in 2024, reaching over 170,000 units, including fully electric and hybrid vehicles, according to the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles. That accounted for about 7% of new car sales in the country.The growth is spearheaded by BYD. Seven out of 10 EVs sold in the country are from the brand, which also leads hybrid sales. In major cities such as Sao Paulo and Brasilia, imported BYD cars and dealerships have become a common sight. In Brazils capital, its the best-selling brand, whether EV or gas-powered.Another Chinese EV maker, GWM, also recently announced plans to open a factory in Brazil after acquiring a shuttered Mercedes-Benz facility in the industrialized state of Sao Paulo.BYDs inroads in Brazil are in tandem with the companys global growth. The worlds leading EV company logged a record $107 billion in revenue in 2024 as its sales of electric and hybrid vehicles jumped 40%, surpassing American rival Tesla. This year, plans include the inauguration of its first car factory in Europe, currently under construction in Hungary. Brazils policies are driving EV sales and production, according to Adalberto Maluf, national secretary of Urban Environment and Environmental Quality. A person walks near a sign for Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) A person walks near a sign for Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In an interview with The Associated Press in Brasilia, Maluf cited incentives enacted in 2024 that favor electric motors, tax reductions for lower-emission cars and a new air quality program with nationwide monitoring and pollution reduction goals.Brazil is the one of the top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases, contributing around 3% of global emissions, according to nonprofit Climate Watch. However, pollution from energy does not play a big role, as about half of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation, mostly in the Amazon, followed by agriculture. About 85% of the countrys electricity comes from renewable sources.For Maluf, who worked for almost nine years at BYD Brazil, the country is attractive to Chinese electric car makers for reasons ranging from the size of its market to the presence of several auto parts suppliers and the strong political relationship between the two countries.Brazilians have no geopolitical issues with China. If you ask, Are you against China? most people wont have a strong opinion about it, he said. In the U.S., however, they do, because its part of the presidents rhetoric, he added, referring to President Donald Trumps frequent comments about China ripping off America on trade. Its unclear what is next for BYD factory Signs are displayed for dealerships for BYD and Ford in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Signs are displayed for dealerships for BYD and Ford in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Since the raid, BYD has not allowed press visits inside its Camacari premises, citing concerns about trade secrets. Its unclear if BYD is still on track to turn the former Ford site into its largest plant outside China by the end of 2026. When AP journalists visited in March for several days, they saw only a few construction workers at the large site. And one day, while standing on the street adjoining the premises, three BYD guards, one who kept his hand on his gun, incorrectly accused the journalists of flying a drone inside factory boundaries and demanded to see identification. Minutes later, security guards on motorcycles approached, honking and ordering the journalists to stop filming workers. BYD said its security guards acted appropriately and declined to answer other questions about its operations in Brazil.While the future of the factory is unclear, the raid and the presence of Chinese workers have gotten the attention of labor unions. A car attendant wears a vest from the Chinese construction company Jinjiang, in the parking lot of the Municipal Market in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) A car attendant wears a vest from the Chinese construction company Jinjiang, in the parking lot of the Municipal Market in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A BYD vehicle, left, passes a sign indicating Henry Ford Avenue, on the access road to the industrial complex where the BYD factory is being built, in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) A BYD vehicle, left, passes a sign indicating Henry Ford Avenue, on the access road to the industrial complex where the BYD factory is being built, in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The Metalworkers Union will not tolerate Chinese workers on the production line. If that happens even in the beginning of the production, we will call for a work stoppage, Jlio Bonfim, the union president, told AP. Bonfim added that there were no objections with BYD employing Chinese technicians and managers, but the factory floor must employ only Brazilians. It was unclear if BYD had agreed to that. Despite the raid and seemingly slow pace of construction, in the Camacari region the shift from Ford to BYD is increasingly visible. A three-decades-old dealership for the American brand named Indiana, in tribute to the U.S. state, now shares space with a BYD reseller, Mandarim. A local hotel started distributing instructions specifically to Chinese guests, asking them not to hang washed clothes in common areas. And a state lawmaker introduced a bill to rename the citys Henry Ford Avenue, where the plant is located, to BYD Avenue. A vehicle says Build your dreams as it sits in a BYD car dealership, opened in the same building as a Ford dealership in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) A vehicle says Build your dreams as it sits in a BYD car dealership, opened in the same building as a Ford dealership in Camacari, Bahia state, Brazil, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01214-9A prototype wearable system uses machine-learning to guide users around obstacles.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08982-4Prdm16-dependent antigen-presenting cells induce tolerance to gut antigens

President Donald Trump greets El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-14T04:11:17Z Lee esta historia en espaol WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump s top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said Monday that they had no basis for the small Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. Trump administration officials emphasized that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that U.S. has no say in his future. And Bukele, who has been a vital partner for the Trump administration in its deportation efforts, said of course Im not going to release him back to U.S. soil.The question is preposterous, Bukele said. I dont have the power to return him to the United States. Should El Salvador want to return Abrego Garcia, the U.S. would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More But she added: He was illegally in our country. The meeting came as El Salvador has been a critical linchpin of the U.S. administrations mass deportation operation.Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes and placed them inside the countrys notorious maximum-security gang prison just outside of the capital, San Salvador. It is also holding Abrego Garcia, who has not been returned to the U.S., despite court orders to do so. That has made Bukele, who remains extremely popular in El Salvador due in part to the crackdown on the countrys powerful street gangs, a vital ally for the Trump administration, which has offered little evidence for its claims that the Venezuelan immigrants were in fact gang members, nor has it released names of those deported. Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his administration Asked whether he has any concerns about the prison there where deportees are being held, Trump told reporters early Sunday that Bukele was doing a fantastic job. Hes taking care of a lot of problems that we have that we really wouldnt be able to take care of from cost standpoint, Trump said. And hes doing really, hes been amazing. We have some very bad people in that prison. People that should have never been allowed into our country.Since Secretary of State Marco Rubios visit in February, Bukele whose government has arrested more than 84,000 people as part of his three-year crackdown on gangs has made it clear hes ready to help the Trump administration with its deportation ambitions. 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., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file) 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., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Bukele struck a deal under which the U.S. will pay about $6 million for El Salvador to imprison the Venezuelan immigrants for a year. When a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to turn around a flight carrying the immigrants already en route to El Salvador, Bukele wrote on social media: Oopsie ... too late. Though other judges had ruled against the Trump administration, this month the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to use the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport the immigrants. The justices did insist that the immigrants get a court hearing before being removed from the U.S. Over the weekend, 10 more people who the administration claims are members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs arrived in El Salvador, Rubio said Sunday.Weve also found cooperation in other countries that are willing to take some of these people, some very dangerous criminals, Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Bukele, Rubio added, has really been a good friend to the United States in that regard. These are some of the worst people youll ever encounter.Trump has said openly that he would also favor El Salvador taking American citizens who have committed violent crimes, although he added, Id only do according to the law. It is unclear how lawful U.S. citizens could be deported elsewhere. Leavitt said such citizens would be heinous, violent criminals who have broken our nations laws repeatedly.Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has called for the administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation to his native country over fears of gang persecution. Leavitt said the administrations job is to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return, but Trump indicated later Friday that he would return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. if the high courts justices said to bring him back. I have great respect for the Supreme Court, Trump told reporters traveling on Air Force One. Government lawyers indicated in a legal filing Saturday that Abrego Garcia remains in El Salvador but did not detail what, if any, steps the administration is taking to return him to the U.S. In its required daily status update on Sunday, the government essentially stated that it had nothing to add beyond Saturdays filing. While Bukeles crackdown on gangs has popular support, the country has lived under a state of emergency that suspends some basic rights for three years. He built the massive prison, located just outside San Salvador in the town of Tecoluca, to hold those accused of gang affiliation under his crackdown. Part of his offer to receive the Venezuelans there was that the U.S. also send back some Salvadoran gang leaders. In February, his ambassador to the U.S., Milena Mayorga, said on a radio program that having gang leaders face justice in El Salvador was an issue of honor.Bukele could also seek relief from the 10% tariff recently imposed by Trump, using the argument that it weakens the economy Bukele is trying to bolster.Csar Ros, director of the El Salvador Immigrant Agenda Association, said its crucial that (the visit) isnt limited to diplomatic gestures, but rather translates to concrete actions that benefit Salvadorans abroad and at home.Populists who have successfully crafted their images through media, Bukele and Trump hail from different generations but display similar tendencies in how they relate to the press, political opposition and justice systems in their respective countries.Bukele came to power in the middle of Trumps first term and had a straightforward relationship with the U.S. leader. Trump was most concerned with immigration and, under Bukele, the number of Salvadorans heading for the U.S. border declined. Bukeles relationship with the U.S. grew more complicated at the start of the Biden administration, which was openly critical of some of his antidemocratic actions. Trump has also shown some irritation with Bukele in the past, accusing El Salvador of lowering its crime rate by sending people to the U.S.Hes just, were working with our people that are causing problems and crime, Trump said of Bukele at a campaign rally last year. Hes not working with them. Hes dumping them in the United States and their crime rate, their murder rate, is down 72%. Just before Bukeles arrival in Washington, the State Department updated its travel advisory for El Salvador to Level 1, which is for countries that are considered the safest to visit for U.S. citizens. The advisory notes that gang activity, and the accompanying murders and other violent crimes, has declined in the past three years.___Alemn reported from San Salvador, El Salvador. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed reporting. SEUNG MIN KIM Seung Min is a White House reporter. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 11 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01213-wA fossilized jawbone discovered more than 20 years ago belonged to a Denisovan. Plus, the states hit hardest by NIH cuts in charts and an acoustics lab inside an abandoned nuclear plant.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates answers a question from media during news conference at CTU headquarters in Chicago, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)2025-04-14T15:17:33Z CHICAGO (AP) For the first time in over a decade, Chicagos public school teachers have a new contract without a strike or threat of a walkout. The four-year agreement includes pay hikes, hiring more teachers and class size limits.While negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and the district didnt escalate this time, there was unprecedented turmoil surrounding the unusual yearlong talks. The drama included the school superintendents firing, the entire board resigning and historic elections that tested the unions power.Now, Chicago faces uncertainty with Trump administration education cuts and looming questions about how the nations fourth-largest school district will pay for the contract. The turmoilWhile all parties are celebrating the agreement now, theres been no shortage of turbulence.Perhaps the main reason negotiations didnt devolve into a strike, as was the case in 2019 and 2012, was union ally Mayor Brandon Johnson. A former teacher and CTU organizer, the union helped elect him in 2023.He spent months trying to oust Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, an appointee of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in a public spat. All of that chaos and turmoil there clearly dragged down the bargaining and probably shut it down for a fair amount of time, said Robert Bruno, a University of Illinois professor of labor and employment relations.Johnson wanted a $300 million high-interest loan to cover the new contract and a pension payment, which Martinez and the board rejected as fiscally irresponsible. In October, the board resigned in protest. The next month, the city held its first school elections. The transitional board a mix of union-backed candidates, charter school supporters and independents includes mayoral appointees until its fully elected in 2027.In December, the board moved to fire Martinez, though hell remain until June. At one point, Martinez accused new members of meeting privately with the union and won a judges restraining order. The talksThe union started contract talks last year with more than 700 requests, a record for the almost 30,000-member union.Union leaders say their goal is always equality in the segregated city. Roughly 70% of the 325,000 students in the district are low-income and more than 80% are Black or Latino. But district officials said those lofty requests would have cost over $10 billion. The districts annual budget is roughly $10 billion.The new agreements price tag is about $1.5 billion.We stayed true to our values, Martinez said after the deal was announced. We succeeded in keeping the best interest of our students always at the center.Both sides touted transparency. For the first time, some bargaining sessions were publicly livestreamed.It was also the first time in nearly about decades the union was allowed to bargain on issues like class size. In 1995, a Republican-led Illinois legislature passed a law limiting collective bargaining rights largely to pay and benefits. Democratic leaders changed that in 2021. CTU President Stacy Davis Gates celebrated the contract as a win that protects students, particularly those who are vulnerable under Donald Trumps presidency.Its big, its complex and it is certainly a step in the right direction, she said.Johnson also took a victory lap, trumpeting his union ties.When I was running for office, they said it would be a liability, he told reporters recently. But it sounds like to me that no other mayor could have brought Chicago Public Schools, the Board of Education, the mayors office and the CTU together to the table to make sure that our children get exactly what they deserve, which is a fully funded, well-rounded education.The dealUnder the deal, teachers will get 4% retroactive raises as the contract expired last year. Then theyll get 4% or 5% raises each year after.Starting next year, the median teacher pay will be $98,000. By the contracts end in 2028, the average teacher will earn around $110,000, according to the district. The district, which employs roughly 7,000 teachers, will hire 800 more, and nearly 100 additional librarians. Teachers will get an extra 10 minutes of daily prep time, for 70 minutes total. Also, class sizes will be limited by grade level. For instance, kindergarten will have the smallest and be capped at 25 students.Union leaders announced Monday that 97% of members who voted approved the deal. Davis Gates called it overwhelmingly historic levels of support for a contract that built on previous years work, including strikes. The futureExperts say what happened in Chicago could give other unions momentum. Los Angeles teachers, who are currently negotiating, noted CTU in a recent newsletter.Organizing is how we resist political agendas to dismantle our public schools and public services. And we can Win Our Future in Los Angeles, just like our union siblings in Chicago, the United Teachers Los Angeles newsletter read.Still, serious funding questions remain.The district has a roughly $500 million annual deficit and a pending $175 million pension reimbursement to the city. The district is also about to enter contract negotiations with the principals union.Martinez said the first year of the contract is covered, but theres uncertainty after that.Where the two sides agree is that the talks took too long.As Trump took office, union organizers said there was more gravity to their work, even as both sides in the Democratic stronghold are aligned on issues including immigrant rights.We had a sense of urgency, we had a sense of responsibility, Davis Gates said. The district shared the responsibility, but not the urgency.School officials accused the union of taking their time.We should have had this contract months ago, Martinez said.

A dead man is removed from the rubble of the Manoun family's house after it was targeted by an Israeli army strike in Jabalia al-Balad, Gaza City, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-04-14T17:23:01Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) A Hamas official said Monday that the Palestinian militant group is sending a delegation to the Gulf state of Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in Gaza, as the territorys Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day.The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas free eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. But the Hamas official said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as part of any new deal.The talks in Qatar are meant to take place later this week or next, the official said.The Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media. Officials from Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment.Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight weeks before Israel resumed the war last month. The initial ceasefire agreement was meant to bring the sides toward negotiating an end to the war, something Israel has resisted doing because it wants to defeat Hamas first. Hundreds have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsedSince the ceasefire fell apart last month, Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza and forces have also seized swaths of the coastal enclave in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal more aligned with Israels terms. On Monday, the United Nations humanitarian office warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely to be the worst since Israel launched its retaliation to Hamas attacks 18 months ago, pointing to the Israeli ban on all supplies entering the Gaza Strip since March 2.U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters: No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in.The war started when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, during an Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and took 250 people captive. Many were freed in ceasefire deals and 59 remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to still be alive. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israels retaliatory offensive, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead have been women and children.The Health Ministry said Monday that 38 bodies were brought to hospitals across the territory over the past 24 hours. It said more than 1,600 people had been killed since the ceasefire collapsed. The Red Cross says Israel has detained a Palestinian medicAlso Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that a Palestinian medic was detained during an Israeli military operation in which troops killed 15 first responders in the Gaza Strip. It was the first confirmation of the medics whereabouts since the March 23 attack in southern Gaza.A statement from the Red Cross said it has not been granted access to visit him and did not say how it had received confirmation of his detention. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.The Israeli military initially said troops had opened fire on vehicles that raised suspicion because they were traveling without lights on. It later backtracked after cellphone video emerged showing clearly marked ambulances traveling with their sirens flashing before the shooting.The military also said it killed nine militants traveling in the ambulances, without providing evidence. It named one of the militants, but the name did not match those of any of the paramedics, and no other bodies are known to have been recovered.The military says it is investigating further.___Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto

In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Mass., March 25, 2025. (AP Photo)2025-04-14T18:46:37Z A federal judge in Vermont who is considering whether he has jurisdiction over the case of a Turkish Tufts University student detained by immigration officials in Louisiana raised the possibility Monday of having her brought back to his court for a hearing. U.S. District Judge William Sessions took under advisement arguments over Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, a doctoral student taken by immigration officials as she walked along a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville on March 25. After being taken to New Hampshire and then Vermont, she was put on a plane the next day and moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Ozturks lawyers are challenging the legal authority for ICEs detention. They are asking that she be immediately released from custody, or in the alternative, be returned to Vermont for further proceedings. A lawyer for the Justice Department said her case should be dismissed, saying the immigration court has jurisdiction. But Ozturks lawyers, who initially didnt know where she was for hours and first petitioned for her release in Massachusetts, argued for her to be released from detention whil her immigration case continues. Lawyers for Ozturk in the immigration proceeding asked Monday that she be released on bond, her legal team in Vermont said. Sessions brought up the idea of a hearing in his court in May if he were to assume jurisdiction over her petition. Why not do that at the same time that the removal proceedings continue on? he said. Lawyers on both sides said they would need to consult further to provide details on the amount of time needed for such a hearing. Ozturk is among several people with ties to American universities whose visas were revoked or have been stopped from entering the U.S. after they were accused of attending demonstrations or publicly expressed support for Palestinians. On Friday, a Louisiana immigration judge ruled that the U.S. can deport Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil based on the federal governments argument that he poses a national security risk. Ozturk was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily, last year criticizing the universitys response to student activists demanding that Tufts acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, disclose its investments and divest from companies with ties to Israel.Ozturks lawyers say her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. Ultimately, unfortunately, the heart of whats happening is that she is stuck in detention for an op-ed, her immigration attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, said outside the federal building in Burlington after Mondays hearing. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said last month, without providing evidence, that investigations found that Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. A State Department memorandum showed that Ozturks student visa was revoked on March 21 following an assessment that she had been involved in associations that may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization including co-authoring an op-ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus. The Washington Post reported Sunday that another memorandum, written by an office within the State Department before Ozturk was detained, determined that there was no evidence showing that she took part in antisemitic activities or made public statements supporting a terrorist organization. Ozturks lawyers said Monday that the memorandum has not been supplied to them. A message seeking comment from the department on the report was emailed Monday afternoon.

This image provided by Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office shows video camera footage of the police encounter with Christian Glass on June 10, 2022, in Silver Plume, Colo. Former Colorado sheriffs deputy Andrew Buen was convicted in the shooting death of Glass, who was in distress and called 911 for help. (Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)2025-04-14T04:09:26Z DENVER (AP) A former Colorado sheriffs deputy convicted of killing a 22-year-old man in distress who called 911 for help was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, the maximum sentence, by a judge who said the shooting was about power.Andrew Buen was convicted in February of criminally negligent homicide in the 2022 death of Christian Glass, which drew national attention and prompted calls to reform how authorities respond to people with mental health problems.Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused orders to get out of his SUV near Silver Plume, a small, former mining town along Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver.His parents and the agencies involved reached a $19 million settlement that included crisis intervention training for officers responding to people in distress. Judge Catherine Cheroutes said Buens sentence needed to address both the loss of Glass and the damage done to the community by the shooting. I think this was about power. It wasnt a mistake. It was about, you need to listen to me because Im in charge, she said. She said she believed Buens family and supporters that he was a shirt-off-your-back kind of guy but said he acted differently when he put on a uniform and had a gun. Buen, wearing an orange jail uniform, apologized to the Glass family, dabbing his eyes with a tissue with his handcuffed hands as he spoke at a podium. Glasss family had questioned whether any remorse Buen might show would be sincere. Buen, his voice shaking, said they had every right to feel the way they do. He said his actions had escalated the standoff and told the judge he wasnt owed anything.There are a million things I should have done better that night, he said before he was sentenced. Sally Glass told Cheroutes that Buen had acted like a bully toward her son, a creative and gentle artist who was born in his fathers native New Zealand. He met evil that night and there was no compassion, she said.Simon Glass said his familys grief was compounded at first by authorities initially describing his son as the aggressor in the standoff, which the sheriffs office later apologized for. He said he struggles with anxiety and has trouble referring to his son in the past tense, but takes comfort that his sons name has been cleared, in part because of body camera footage.Katie Glass said she and her mother try to always drive below the speed limit to avoid being pulled over by the police. She said she regrets watching the body camera footage showing her older brothers final moments. He died terrified, in pain and all alone. That is what hurts me the most, she said. Buen, a former deputy in Clear Creek County, was convicted after a second trial. Nearly a year ago, another jury convicted him of a misdemeanor for recklessly putting other officers in danger by opening fire. However, jurors could not agree on a murder charge or a charge of official misconduct. With the support of Glass family, prosecutors decided to try Buen again on a second-degree murder charge. Jurors also had the option of convicting him of the less serious charge of criminally negligent homicide.The defense argued that Glass had a knife and Buen was legally justified in shooting him to protect a fellow officer.After his SUV got stuck, Glass told a 911 dispatcher he was being followed. He also made other statements suggesting he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional and experiencing a mental health crisis, according to Buens indictment.When Buen and other officers arrived, Glass refused to get out. Video recorded by officers body cameras showed him making heart shapes with his hands to the officers.The officers fired bean bag rounds and shocked Glass with a Taser, but that failed to make him exit the car. He then took a knife he had offered to surrender at the beginning of the encounter and flung it out a rear window, which had been broken by a bean bag, toward an officer, according to the indictment. At that point Buen fired five times at him.Lord, hear me, Lord, hear me, Glass was heard saying moments before he was shot. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pauses during a news conference at the governor's official residence discussing the alleged arson that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover, Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)2025-04-14T17:40:36Z Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro angrily called for an end to rising political violence just hours after a man broke into the governors mansion and set it on fire, forcing Shapiro and his family to flee into the night.It was the latest in a string of partisan political attacks in the United States.This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. And I dont give a damn if its coming from one particular side or the other, Shapiro said. It has to stop.While police have not said what might have motivated the attack early Sunday, court documents say the suspect admitted he hated Shapiro and was plotting to beat him with a hammer.The attacker basically wasnt a fan of anybody, President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. And certainly, a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.Heres a look at other outbursts of political violence around the country in recent years: Elon Musks Tesla properties set ablazeIn recent months, Elon Musks electric vehicle company has become a target since President Donald Trump put Musk in charge of slashing government spending. Cybertrucks have been torched, and bullets and Molotov cocktails have been aimed at Tesla showrooms. Trump assassination attempts At a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July, Trump was grazed on the ear by one of a hail of bullets fired by a gunman, fatally shooting one Trump supporter and badly wounding two others, before police killed him. Then in September, a man with a rifle apparently plotted to kill Trump but was discovered in some shrubbery near the presidents golf course in Florida and arrested by Secret Service agents. New Mexico Republican headquarters torchedIn March, a fire damaged the entryway to the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters and was being being investigated as arson. Incendiary materials were found on the scene and spray paint on the side of the building read ICE=KKK, an apparent reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has ramped up deportation efforts against people living in the country illegally. Democratic National Committee office shot upA volley of BB pellets and gunshots were fired at the glass front door and a window of a Democratic National Committee office in Arizona on three separate occasions last fall. Authorities said a man later arrested had more than 120 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home.Nancy Pelosis husband attacked at homeThen-House Speaker Nancy Pelosis husband was bludgeoned with a hammer by a man who broke into their San Francisco home in 2022. The man later admitted during trial testimony that he planned to hold the speaker hostage and that his plan was to end what he viewed as government corruption.Candidate for Louisville mayor targetedCurrent Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, a Democrat, was the target of a shooting attempt at his campaign headquarters on Feb. 14, 2022 but was uninjured, although a bullet grazed the sweater he was wearing. The man who shot him was later convicted and sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison.Capitol stormed on Jan. 6, 2021Extremist groups carried out an unprecedented assault on the nations democracy by storming the U.S. Capitol to protest the 2020 presidential election results and Trumps defeat. After winning back the White House, Trump issued a sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the Capitol riot. Plot to kidnap Michigans governorAnti-government extremists were arrested in 2020 in what authorities said was a plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home and start a civil war. Two men portrayed as the leaders were convicted of conspiracy two years later. Shooting at Republican baseball practice An attacker opened fire with a rifle on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game in 2017 in northern Virginia, critically wounding U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Authorities said the shooter, who was killed by police, was fueled by rage against Trump and GOP legislators. JOHN SEEWER Seewer covers state and national news for The Associated Press and is based in Toledo, Ohio. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A member of the U.S. Army 212 Infantry 2nd Brigade stands next to the US-Mexico border as part of Joint Task Force Southern Border Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)2025-04-14T19:41:53Z WASHINGTON (AP) A long sliver of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border that President Donald Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, which could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.The transfer of that border zone to military control and making it part of an Army installation is an attempt by the Trump administration to get around a federal law that prohibits U.S. troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil. But if the troops are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function. However, at least one presidential powers expert said the move is likely to be challenged in the courts. The officials said the issue is still under review in the Pentagon, but even as any legal review goes on, the administrations intent is to have troops detain migrants at the border. The corridor, known as the Roosevelt Reservation, is a 60-foot-wide federal buffer zone that ribbons along the border from New Mexico to California, except where it encounters tribal or privately owned land. It had been run by the Interior Department until Trump directed control be transferred to the Defense Department in a presidential memo released Friday night. For the next 45 days, the Defense Department will test taking control of a section of the Roosevelt Reservation in New Mexico, east of Fort Huachuca, which is an Army installation in Arizona, one of the U.S. officials said. During that period, the Army will put up additional fencing and signs warning people not to trespass. People not authorized to be in that area could be arrested by the Armys security forces, the officials said, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. Any migrants in the country illegally who are detained by military personnel on those lands would be turned over to local civilian law enforcement agencies, the officials said. It was not clear if the added land would require the military to deploy additional forces to the border. There are about 7,100 active duty troops under federal control currently assigned to the border and about 4,600 National Guard troops under state control. Troops are prohibited from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act. An exception known as the military purpose doctrine allows it in some cases but would not apply here and would likely be challenged in the courts, said Elizabeth Goitein, an expert on presidential emergency powers at the Brennan Center for Justice.Thats because even though troops would be on land designated as an Army installation, they would have to prove that their primary mission there was not to conduct border security and law enforcement and the whole point of Trumps order transferring the Roosevelt Reservation to the militarys control is to secure the border, she said.The military purpose doctrine only applies if the law enforcement aspect is incidental, Goitein said. Does this (area) have a military purpose that has nothing to do with enforcing customs and security at the border?-Rebecca Santana contributed from Washington. TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto 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

President Donald Trump waits to greet El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele at the White House, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-04-14T17:51:03Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that he might temporarily exempt the auto industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector, to give carmakers time to adjust their supply chains.Im looking at something to help some of the car companies with it, Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office. The Republican president said automakers needed time to relocate production from Canada, Mexico and other places, And they need a little bit of time because theyre going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time. So Im talking about things like that.The statement hinted at yet another round of reversals on tariffs as Trumps onslaught of import taxes has panicked financial markets and raised deep concerns from Wall Street economists about a possible recession. When Trump announced the 25% auto tariffs on March 27, he described them as permanent. His hard lines on trade have become increasingly blurred as he has sought to limit the possible economic and political blowback from his policies. Last week, after a bond market sell-off pushed up interest rates on U.S. debt, Trump announced that for 90 days his broader tariffs against dozens of countries would instead be set at a baseline 10% to give time for negotiations. At the same time, Trump increased the import taxes on China to 145%, only to temporarily exempt electronics from some of those tariffs by having those goods charged at a 20% rate. I dont change my mind, but Im flexible, Trump said Monday.Trumps flexibility has also fueled a sense of uncertainty and confusion about his intentions and end goals. The S&P 500 stock index was up slightly in Monday afternoon trading, but its still down nearly 9% this year. Interest rates on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were also elevated at roughly 4.4%.Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for the Northern Trust global financial firm, said the whiplash had been so great that he might have to get fitted for a neck brace. Tannenbaum warned in an analysis: Damage to consumer, business, and market confidence may already be irreversible.The U.S. president also said that he spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook and helped him recently. Many Apple products, including its popular iPhone, are assembled in China.The Trump administration has suggested that its tariffs had isolated China as the U.S. engaged in talks with other countries. But China is also seeking to build tighter relationships in Asia with nations stung by Trumps tariffs. Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, on Monday met in Hanoi with Vietnams Communist Party General Secretary To Lam with the message that no one wins in trade wars.Asked about the meeting, Trump suggested the two nations were conspiring to do economic harm to the U.S. by trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

This image taken from a video provided by Christopher Helali shows Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University, being detained at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester, Vt., on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Christopher Helali via AP)2025-04-14T20:40:42Z A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalizing his U.S. citizenship, his attorneys said.Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who has held a green card since 2015, was detained at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyers said. The attorneys said they do not know where he is. They filed a petition in federal court seeking an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country.The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian. His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional, attorney Luna Droubi said in an email. According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a masters degree program there in the fall. The petition describes him as a committed Buddhist who believes in non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion. As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israels military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. and graduate student who recently was detained by ICE. Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trumps promised crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza. On Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Khalil can be deported as a national security risk. Christopher Helali, a friend of Mahdawi who lives near him in Vermont, was present outside the immigration office when Mahdawi was detained and recorded a video of Mahdawi being led away by authorities. In the video, which Helali released on social media Monday, Mahdawi is shown giving a peace sign with his hands and being led away to a car.Helali described Mahdawi as a peaceful demonstrator who has worked to foster dialogue about the struggle of Palestinians in his homeland. Helali said he and Mahdawi were aware that Mahdawi could be detained today and that his friend went forward with the appointment anyway.And rightfully so, he was nervous for what was going on around him. But he was very much resolute in coming to this interview and coming today because he didnt do anything wrong and was a law-abiding citizen, or soon-to-be citizen, Helali said.Vermonts congressional delegation issued a statement condemning Mahdawis arrest, saying that instead of taking one of the final steps in his citizenship process, he was handcuffed by armed officers with their faces covered. This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention, said the statement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint. PATRICK WHITTLE Whittle is an Associated Press reporter based in Portland, Maine. He focuses on the environment and oceans. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01217-6Leaked budget documents indicate which research programmes are at risk of being defunded in 2026.

Hundreds of demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common during a rally at the historic park in Cambridge, Mass., Saturday, April 12, 2025, calling on Harvard University to resist what organizers described as attempts by President Trump to influence the institution. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via AP, File)2025-04-14T19:35:20Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his administration BOSTON (AP) The federal government says its freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University, since the institution said Monday it wont comply with the Trump administrations demands to limit activism on campus.In a letter to Harvard Friday, the administration called for broad government and leadership reforms, a requirement that Harvard institute what it calls merit-based admissions and hiring policies as well as conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity. The demands, which are an update from an earlier letter, also call for a ban on face masks which appeared to target pro-Palestinian protesters. They also pressure the university to stop recognizing or funding any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment. A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag, at an encampment of students protesting against the war in Gaza, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag, at an encampment of students protesting against the war in Gaza, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Harvard President Alan Garber, in a letter to the Harvard community Monday, said the demands violated the universitys First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the governments authority under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Garber wrote, adding that the university had taken extensive reforms to address antisemitism. These ends will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate, he wrote. The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.The demands of Harvard are part of a broader push of using taxpayer dollars to pressure major academic institutions to comply with President Donald Trumps political agenda and to influence campus policy. The administration has also argued that universities allowed what it considered to be antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israels war in Gaza; the schools deny it. Students protesting against the war in Gaza, and passersby walking through Harvard Yard, are seen at an encampment at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) Students protesting against the war in Gaza, and passersby walking through Harvard Yard, are seen at an encampment at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Harvard is one of several Ivy League schools targeted in a pressure campaign by the administration, which also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton to force compliance with its agenda. Harvards demand letter is similar to the one that prompted changes at Columbia University under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts.The demands from the Trump administration prompted a group of alumni to write to university leaders calling for it to legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance.Harvard stood up today for the integrity, values, and freedoms that serve as the foundation of higher education, said Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni behind the letter. Harvard reminded the world that learning, innovation and transformative growth will not yield to bullying and authoritarian whims. It also sparked a protest over the weekend from members of the Harvard community and from residents of Cambridge and a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts.In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration has failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it starts cutting funds, and giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress.These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech, plaintiffs wrote. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto

UConn's Paige Bueckers, right, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)2025-04-14T14:22:35Z Follow live updates on the 2025 WNBA Draft NEW YORK (AP) Paige Bueckers is headed to Dallas as the first pick Monday night in the WNBA draft. The versatile UConn star is the latest Huskies standout to go No. 1, joining former greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.Dallas Im so excited, a new city, a new start, Bueckers said. A fresh start, so lets get it.Bueckers has had a whirlwind week since helping UConn win its 12th national championship on April 6. She has split her time between New York and Connecticut doing morning and nighttime talk shows. On Sunday, she took part in the Huskies championship parade.Her UConn teammates, who have meant so much to her, and coach Geno Auriemma were in attendance at the draft, which was held at The Shed in New York with hundreds of fans in attendance. Bueckers choked up when talking about her former Huskies teammates. They mean everything to me. They helped me get through highs and lows, Bueckers said. Seattle quickly followed Dallas selection by taking 19-year-old French star Dominique Malonga with the No. 2 pick. The 6-foot-6 Malonga was part of the silver medal winning French Olympic basketball team. The Washington Mystics, with a new coach and general manager, then took Notre Dames Sonia Citron with the third pick, and Southern Cals Kiki Iriafen with No. 4. The expansion Golden State Valkyries made Juste Jocyte of Lithuania with the first draft choice in franchise history. The first round features 12 picks, with 13 in each of the final two rounds.Six teams dont have picks in the opening round as New York, Indiana, Minnesota, Phoenix and Atlanta traded away their picks. Las Vegas forfeited its pick following an investigation by the league in 2023 that found the franchise violated league rules regarding impermissible player benefits and workplace policies.___AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

In this photo taken from video, a helicopter falls from the sky into the Hudson River , Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (Bruce Wall via AP)2025-04-15T01:10:55Z NEW YORK (AP) Federal aviation regulators issued an emergency order Monday grounding the helicopter tour company involved in a deadly New York crash after learning it had fired its operations director minutes after he had agreed to suspend flights during the investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration said it suspected the firing was retaliation for a safety decision.The FAA is taking this action in part because after the companys director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired, acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau said on X. New York Helicopter Tours sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and plunged into the Hudson River Thursday, killing five tourists from Spain and the pilot.Rocheleau said the agency also began a comprehensive review of the companys operations. The review is designed to determine whether an operator complies with regulations and effectively manages safety, and identifies hazards and risks.The victims included passengers Agustin Escobar, 49, his wife, Merc Camprub Montal, 39, and their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10. The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who received his commercial pilots license in 2023.

Cody Balmer is escorted from court after his preliminary arraignment on Monday, April 14, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)2025-04-15T04:02:54Z HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Investigators worked Tuesday to uncover the motive behind an arson fire over the weekend at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros mansion, the latest act of political violence in the U.S.They dug into Cody Balmers background after, authorities say, he scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and set fire to the Pennsylvania governors mansion.Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg was denied bail Monday as he faced charges including attempted homicide, terrorism and arson. He did not enter a plea to the charges.He had told police he planned to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after breaking into the building, according to court documents. A motive for the attack, including whether it had anything to do with Shapiros politics or religious beliefs, wasnt immediately clear. Balmers mother told The Associated Press on Monday that she had made calls in recent days about his mental health issues, but nobody would help. Christie Balmer said her son was not taking his medicine.However, in court, Balmer politely told a judge he did not suffer from any mental illness. The fire caused significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests, including other relatives, to evacuate the building early Sunday. The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers, and the damage could be in the millions of dollars, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said. Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover in the same room Saturday night along with members of Harrisburgs Jewish community. They were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2 a.m. Sunday. They fled and firefighters extinguished the fire, officials said. No one was injured.Balmer had walked an hour from his home to the governors residence, and during a police interview admitted to harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro, according to a police affidavit that did not expand on that point. Afterward, he returned home, where police said they later found clothing he wore at the time and a small sledgehammer. Balmer turned himself in at state police headquarters after confessing to his former partner and asking her to call police, which she did, the affidavit said. Authorities did not say whether he has a lawyer. Balmer, who said he was an unemployed welder with no income or savings, had been due in court later this week in an assault case in which he was accused of punching two relatives and stepping on a childs already broken leg in 2023. In court Monday, he told the judge he did not have any drug or alcohol problems, but acknowledged missing a few court dates in the past.Hours after the fire, an emotional Shapiro, who is viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, said the intruder could not deter him from doing his job or observing his faith. I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night, Shapiro said Sunday. I refuse to let anyone who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love. Balmer, who is registered as an unaffiliated voter, appeared to have carefully planned the attack, police said. He was inside the residence for about a minute before he escaped and was later arrested in the area, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.He hopped over a nearly 7-foot-high (2-meter-high) iron security fence surrounding the property, eluded officers who became aware of the breach and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on fire, authorities said. He used beer bottles filled with gasoline to make Molotov cocktails, documents say.Balmer has faced criminal charges over the past decade including simple assault, theft and forgery, according to online court records. He also had financial problems in recent years, including a lender filing for foreclosure on a modest Harrisburg house he owned in 2022 over missed mortgage payments, court records show. A deed transfer shows Balmer sold the house for $60,000 last September to settle the debt. He is the father of at least three children, with two women filing court complaints seeking child custody agreements in 2012 and 2023.The fire badly damaged the large room that is often used for entertaining crowds and for art displays. Large west- and south-facing windows were missing their glass panes and shattered glass littered pathways. A charred piano, tables, walls, metal buffet serving dishes and more could be seen through broken windows and fire-blackened doors.___Associated Press reporters Michael Biesecker and Michelle Price in Washington and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia contributed to this report.___Follow Marc Levy on X at: https://x.com/timelywriter. MARK SCOLFORO Scolforo is an Associated Press reporter in the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. twitter mailto MARC LEVY Levy covers politics and state government in Pennsylvania for The Associated Press. He is based in Harrisburg. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Abortion-rights activists rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)2025-04-15T04:03:58Z Fewer people crossed state lines to obtain abortions in 2024 than a year earlier, a new survey has found.The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, estimates in a report released Tuesday that the overall number of clinician-provided abortions in states where its legal rose by less than 1% from 2023 to 2024.But the number of people crossing state lines for abortions dropped by about 9%.The report, based on a monthly survey of providers, is the latest look at how the abortion landscape in the U.S. has evolved since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022 in a ruling that eliminated a national constitutional right to abortion and opened the door to state bans and restrictions. The total number of abortions continued to riseGuttmacher estimates there were 1.04 million abortions in 2024, up about 1% from its total the previous year.Multiple studies have found that the total number of abortions in the U.S. has risen since Dobbs, despite some states implementing bans.Twelve states currently enforce abortion bans with limited exceptions at all stages of pregnancy. Four more have bans that kick in after about six weeks, which is before many women know theyre pregnant. Guttmachers tally does not capture self-managed abortions such as people obtaining abortion pills from community networks, foreign pharmacies or through telehealth from medical providers in states that have laws intended to protect those who send pills into places with bans. Theres a court battle over the constitutionality of such laws. But another survey found that the number of telehealth pills being sent into states with bans has been growing and accounted for about 1 in 10 abortions in the U.S. by the summer of 2024. Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist at Guttmacher, said even though the number of abortions is up, its likely some people who would like to end their pregnancies are not able to.We know that some people are accessing abortion through telehealth, he said. And we know its not an option for everybody. Travel for abortions declinedThe number of people crossing state lines for abortions dropped to about 155,000 from nearly 170,000.The year-to-year impact varies by state. For instance, about 1 in 8 abortions in Florida in the first half of 2023 were provided to people coming from out of state. By the second half of 2024 when a ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy took effect only about 1 in 50 were for people from another state.More people traveled to states including Virginia and New York after the Florida law took hold.A drop in people traveling to Minnesota could be linked to abortions being offered again in clinics in Wisconsin.Most abortions in Kansas are provided to people from elsewhere and the number grew as clinic capacity expanded. Obstacles under bans affect some women more than othersA working paper released in March provided different insight into the impact of the bans.It found that birth rates rose from 2020 to 2023 in counties farther from abortion clinics. Rates rose faster for Black and Hispanic women, those with lower education levels, and people who are unmarried.The takeaway is that distance still matters, said Caitlin Myers, a Middlebury College economic professor and one of the authors of the working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. It really wasnt obvious that that would be the case.These bans are more than just policies; these are direct attacks on bodily autonomy, said Regina Davis Moss, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Womens Reproductive Justice Agenda. The bans also exacerbate the huge disparities in maternal mortality for Black women in the U.S, she said. Black women died around the time of childbirth at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women in 2023.Were going to be faced with increasing numbers of births, which is going to increase the maternal mortality rate, the infant mortality rate and inequities in care, she said. Its very upsetting and sad.Bree Wallace, director of case management at the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund in Florida, which helps with the logistics and costs of abortions, said people who consider getting an abortion dont always know their options. Many people dont know their choices or think that its just not possible to go out of state, she said. A lot of people hear ban or six-week ban in their state and thats it.___Associated Press science writer Laura Ungar contributed from Louisville, Kentucky. GEOFF MULVIHILL Mulvihill covers topics on the agendas of state governments across the country. He has focused on abortion, gender issues and opioid litigation. twitter mailto

Sudan's military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan center, is greeted by troops as he arrives at the Republican Palace, recently recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, in Khartoum, Sudan, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo, File)2025-04-14T22:30:41Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) More than 300 civilians were killed in two days of intense fighting in Sudans conflict-wracked Darfur region, the U.N. humanitarian agency reported Monday, as the African countrys brutal civil war nears the two-year mark. The attacks launched by Sudans notorious paramilitary group on two famine-hit camps for displaced people in North Darfur and its nearby capital on Friday and Saturday were initially reported to have left more than 100 dead, including 20 children and nine aid workers, according to a U.N. official.But the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, reported the much higher death toll Monday, citing local sources that were not identified. The Associated Press could not independently verify the numbers due to the conditions and communications on the ground.Sudan plunged into conflict on April 15, 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including the vast western Darfur region. Since then, at least 24,000 people have been tallied as being killed, according to the United Nations, though activists say the number is far higher. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF, carried out the recent attacks after the Sudanese military late last month regained control over Khartoum, a major symbolic victory in the war. The war has created the worlds largest humanitarian crisis and worst displacement crisis, and it has led to Sudan becoming the only country in the world experiencing famine. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said OCHA has received reports of mass casualties and large-scale displacement following the recent fighting in and around the Zamzam and Abu Shorouk displacement camps, as well as North Darfurs capital, El Fasher, the only capital in Darfur that the RSF doesnt control. North Darfur is one of five states in the Darfur region. Preliminary figures from local sources indicate that more than 300 civilians have been killed, including 10 humanitarian personnel from the NGO Relief International who lost their lives while operating one of the last functioning health centers in Zamzam camp, Dujarric said.The escalation in the fighting came ahead of a conference in London to spotlight the wars anniversary on Tuesday organized by Britain, the European Union, Germany and France, where more than 20 foreign ministers are expected along with representatives of global organizations.Dujarric said the United Nations wants the conference to see Sudans neighbors and the international community move in unity of purpose towards peace instead of fueling the conflict.Also Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council has scheduled emergency closed consultations on Sudan.The U.N. migration agency said Monday the RSF attacks in Zamzam camp have displaced between 60,000 to 80,000 families in the past two days. The majority of the families remain within El Fasher, which is under military control but has been besieged by the RSF for over a year. Mamadou Dian Balde, the U.N. refugee offices regional director, said in a video press conference with U.N. correspondents that massive violations of human rights have forced almost 13 million Sudanese to flee their homes, including 4 million who fled to other countries. Most fled to Sudans immediate neighbors, but more than 200,000 have gone to Libya and about 70,000 to Uganda, he said.Balde said the U.N. refugee agencys appeal for $1.8 billion to help the millions of refugees and their host nations is only 10% funded. He warned that if it doesnt get more money, people will move toward southern Africa, east Africa, the Gulf countries and Europe.We really hope that tomorrows event in London will also show greater support for the Sudanese brothers and sisters who have been displaced, Balde said.___Associated Press reporter Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo.

A Sudanese evacuee carries her son as they leave the USNS Brunswick at Jeddah Port, Saudi Arabia, May 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)2025-04-15T05:03:18Z CAIRO (AP) As Sudan marks two years of civil war on Tuesday, atrocities and famine are only mounting in what the U.N. says is the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.Last month, the Sudanese military secured a major victory by recapturing the capital of Khartoum from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. But that has only moved the war into a new phase that could end up with a de facto partition of the country.On Friday and Saturday, RSF fighters and their allies rampaged in two refugee camps in the western Darfur region, killing at least 300 people. The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, have both been stricken with famine, and aid workers cannot reach them because of the fighting.Half the population of 50 million faces hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and says it could spread, putting millions in danger of starvation. This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long, said Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid group still working in the Zamzam camp. Nine of its workers were killed in the RSF attack. He said the world needs to press for a ceasefire. Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance, he said. Humanity must prevail.Here is what is happening as the war enters its third year: Carving up SudanThe war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country.It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSFs commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudans movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power.The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women.The militarys recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing.But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and center.The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition, said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Universit di Trieste in Italy.Donelli said its possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other.Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue, said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker.The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and lacks political legitimacy within the country, said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University.But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said.Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSFs resilience and ability to strike back, said Srinivasan, author of When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans. Famine is deepeningHundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicenter of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region.Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves.We have no choice, she said in a recent phone interview. We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope.Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province.The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan because aid workers cannot reach them.The situation is very dire, said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan.Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the countrys population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. The needs everywhere are hugeIn other areas, the militarys capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years.Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry.The economy has been decimated, with a 40% drop in GDP, according to the United Nations Development Program, UNDP. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20% of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said.At the same time, U.N. agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3% of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading, she said.About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the U.N. migration agency.Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food.Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoums sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement.The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted.It was a dream, he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person. ___Associated Press Writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report. SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto

Reinforcement Syrian security forces deploy in the outskirts of Latakia, Syria, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Albam, File)2025-04-15T05:16:16Z BEIRUT (AP) A month after a wave of revenge attacks left hundreds of Alawite civilians dead, members of the Syrian religious minority are still living in fear, with dozens killed in smaller attacks since the start of April.The Muslim minority group was seen as a privileged minority under the rule of the Alawite Assad family, but since Bashar Assad s government fell late last year members have feared revenge from the countrys Sunni majority. The new government promised to protect minority groups, but when a group of Assad loyalists attacked security forces near the coastal city of Latakia last month, it sparked a counteroffensive that took a brutal toll on the coastal regions largely Alawite population.Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that more than 1,700 people, most of them civilians, were killed in March. While no official figures have been released by the government, other human rights groups have given similar estimates. It was the worst violence since an insurgency led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham overthrew Assad last December. Militias target Alawites Rights groups reported widespread revenge killings as militants from Syrias Sunni majority targeted Alawites, regardless of whether they were involved in the insurgency. Several people told me that when these militia members entered their home, in addition to asking if they were Alawite or Sunni, they blamed them for what happened to them under the former Assad government, said Diana Semaan, Amnesty Internationals Syria researcher who investigated dozens of killings that took place in Baniyas and spoke to eyewitnesses and survivors. While there has not been another outbreak of violence on the same scale, Alawites continue to report incidents of harassment, shakedowns and sometimes worse.An Alawite who lives in the Latakia area said there are still regular attacks targeting Alawites, most of whom had nothing to do with the Assad government or security forces. Everyone from the regime or close to it fled a long time ago, he told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his life. He said a 20-year-old factory worker who was the breadwinner of his family was shot by guards at a local checkpoint, even though he had not served in the army under Assad. He would pass the checkpoints on his motorcycle every day. He and the guards would even greet each other, he said. Attacks spread along the coastAttacks on Alawites spread from Latakia into the nearby province of Tartus, with some later hitting the major city of Homs inland.Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Observatory, said 42 people have died in sectarian killings since the Muslim feast of Eid el-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan on March 30. The killings, did not stop but now they are individual acts, Abdurrahman said.Mohammed Saleh, an activist from the central city of Homs who spent 17 years imprisoned during the rule of Bashar Assad and his father because of his opposition to the government, said victims of the attacks included Alawites who opposed Assads rule. Saleh said 18 people he knew personally who had previously been detained by Assads forces were killed in last months attacks. Saleh said he is worried that Syria is turning from one dictatorship to another.What we want is to have serious national army and security agencies whose job is to protect everyone and that they include everyone and not be made up of one sect or one religion, Saleh said. There cannot be a state for everyone when security agencies belong to one sect.One high school in the city of Baniyas in Tartus province, posted a list on Facebook of almost 80 teachers, students and relatives and alumni who were killed in attacks over the past month.A video widely shared on social media showed the bodies of two young men with their mother standing by them, as the person filming scolded her and said her sons deserved to die because they were Alawite.Tens of thousands of Alawites flee to LebanonAlawites and other Syrians from coastal areas are fleeing into Lebanon through unofficial border crossings, some carrying babies and helping tired elderly people and pregnant women as they cross over a river dividing the two countries.Some 30,000 Alawite Syrians have fled to Lebanon over the past month, the United Nations refugee agency says, scattered in some 30 towns and villages in northern Lebanon. While there is little assistance for them in Lebanon, many dont feel safe enough to go back. Attacks test the interim governments promisesOngoing attacks have been a major letdown for Syrians who hoped that Assads sudden fall would spell an end to violence against the countrys many religious and ethnic groups after over a decade a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The new government has promised to create an inclusive state that holds perpetrators of crimes to account, and interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has vowed to hold the perpetrators of recent attacks to justice and set up a committee to investigate the attacks. A few arrests have been reported, and the committee has said it is continuing its investigation in the coastal province, though they have not yet disclosed their findings. Right groups say the interim government faces a test.What happens now is extremely important because it will literally set the path towards justice. Were no longer talking about addressing past violations and holding those perpetrators accountable, which is already a huge endeavor, said Amnesty Internationals Semaan. Now were looking at how the government at how it will set paths towards justice for the violations that it (has) committed. KAREEM CHEHAYEB Chehayeb is an Associated Press reporter in Beirut. twitter instagram mailto

This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (AP Photo)2025-04-15T07:40:29Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people, a spokesman for the hospital said.The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. The wounded were all patients and medics, and two of the patients were in critical condition after the strike, said Saber Mohammed, a hospital spokesman.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.The military has struck hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting the territorys health system. On Sunday, Israel struck the last major hospital providing critical care in northern Gaza after ordering an evacuation. A patient died during the evacuation, and the strike severely damaged the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings, according to Al-Ahli Hospital. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, condemned the strike.Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center within the facility, without providing evidence. Hamas denied the allegations.The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed over 51,000 people, according to an updated toll released by Gazas Health Ministry on Tuesday. That includes more than 1,600 people killed since Israel ended a ceasefire and resumed its offensive last month to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the agreement. The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up more than half of the dead. The offensive has destroyed much of the territory and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians.___Magdy reported from Cairo.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This photograph released by the U.S. Navy shows a MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter hovering over the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier while operating in the Middle East on April 12, 2025. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan Jordan/U.S. Navy via AP)2025-04-15T07:45:25Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A second U.S. aircraft carrier is operating in Mideast waters ahead of the next round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program, satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press showed. The operation of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group in the Arabian Sea comes as suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded parts of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overnight into Tuesday. American officials repeatedly have linked the U.S. monthlong campaign against the Houthis under President Donald Trump as a means to pressure Iran in the negotiations. Questions remain over where the weekend talks between the countries will be held after officials initially identified Rome as hosting the negotiations, only for Iran to insist early Tuesday they would return to Oman. American officials so far havent said where the talks will be held. The stakes of the negotiations couldnt be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Irans nuclear program if a deal isnt reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who represented America in last weekends talks in Oman, separately signaled that the Trump administration may be looking at terms of the 2015 nuclear deal that the president unilaterally withdrew from in 2018 as a basis for these negotiations. He described the talks last weekend as positive, constructive, compelling. This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization, Witkoff told Fox News on Monday night. That includes missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there. And it includes the trigger for a bomb.He added: Were here to see if we can solve this situation diplomatically and with dialogue. Vinson joins Truman as second US aircraft carrier in MideastSatellite photos taken Monday by the European Unions Copernicus program showed the Vinson, which is based out of San Diego, California, operating northeast of Socotra, an island off Yemen that sits near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. The Vinson is accompanied by the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the USS Sterett and the USS William P. Lawrence.The U.S. ordered the Vinson to the Mideast to back up the USS Harry S. Truman, which has been launching airstrikes against the Houthis since the American campaign started March 15. Footage released by the Navy showed the Vinson preparing ordinance and launching F-35 and F/A-18 fighter jets off its deck in recent days. The U.S. Navys Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which oversees the Mideast, declined to discuss details of the Vinsons operations. Witkoff suggests 3.67% uranium enrichment for Iran Meanwhile, Witkoff offered for the first time a specific enrichment level hed like to see for Irans nuclear program. Today, Tehran enriches uranium to up to 60% a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. They do not need to enrich past 3.67%, Witkoff told Fox News. In some circumstances, theyre at 60%, in other circumstances, 20%. That cannot be.And you do not need to run, as they claim, a civil nuclear program where youre enriching past 3.67%. So this is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization.The 2015 nuclear deal Iran agreed to with world powers under President Barack Obama saw Tehran agree to drastically reduce its stockpile of uranium and only enrich up to 3.67% enough for its nuclear power plant at Bushehr. Iran in exchange received access to frozen funds around the world, and sanctions were lifted on its crucial oil industry and other sectors. Irans Javan newspaper, which is believed to be close to its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, suggested in an editorial Tuesday that Tehran would be open to reducing its enrichment. Something that we have done before, why should we not carry it again and reach a deal? the editorial asked. This is not called a withdrawal by Islamic Republic from its ideals anywhere in the world.When Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, however, he pointed at Irans ballistic missile stockpile as one reason to leave the deal. Witkoff said any deal with Iran would have to include missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there and it includes the trigger for a bomb.Iran relies on its ballistic missiles as a hedge against regional nations armed with advanced fighter jets and other American weaponry. Getting it to abandon its missile program likely will be difficult in negotiations.___Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.___Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/ 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 RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01124-wSome studies have received hundreds of thousands of citations, Natures updated analysis shows.

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01125-9A Nature analysis reveals the 25 highest-cited papers published this century and explores why they are breaking records.

by Amy Yurkanin ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. When Max Rykov started reading a Jan. 24 letter sent to the leaders of the countrys 10 refugee resettlement agencies, he found the wording vague but ominous. The agencies were ordered to stop all work funded by the Department of State and not incur any new costs.At first, he wondered if the order from the Trump administration was only targeting refugee work in other countries. Rykov, then the director of development and communications at a refugee resettlement partner in Nashville, began texting colleagues at other agencies. What does it mean? he asked. By Monday, three days after the memo, it became clear. The Nashville International Center for Empowerment, along with similar nonprofits across the country, would not have access to the money the government had promised to refugees for their first three months in the United States. That day, NICE laid off 12 of its 56 resettlement staff members and scrambled to free up funds to pay for the basic needs of nearly 170 people dependent on the frozen grants. Max Rykov arrived in the U.S. as a child and went on to become the director of development and communications at the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, which helps refugees resettle. (Arielle Weenonia Gray for ProPublica) Rykov knew exactly what was at stake, and that delivered an additional dose of dread. Born in the former USSR, he and his family arrived in the U.S. as refugees in 1993, fleeing the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economic devastation and discrimination against Soviet Jews. He was 4 years old, and it was bewildering. Though his family was part of one of the largest waves of refugee resettlement in U.S. history, they ended up in a place with few Russian immigrants.Life in Birmingham, Alabama, a post-industrial city shaped by the Civil Rights movement and white flight, revolved around Saturday college football games and Sunday church. Rykov said his family felt barren in the U.S. away from their culture. Birminghams Jewish community was small and the Russian population tiny.But a local Jewish organization sponsored the Rykovs and paired them with a friendship family. The group rented them an apartment and furnished it. Then the organization helped Rykovs parents find work. And Birminghams Jewish community banded together to fund scholarships for Rykov and other Soviet refugee children to attend a private Jewish school, where Rykov felt less isolated. He went on to attend the University of Alabama and overcame his feeling of otherness. After graduation, he found purpose in bringing people together through his work organizing cultural events, including arts festivals and an adult spelling bee, doing social media outreach for the Birmingham mayor and, in 2021, finding a dream job at a Nashville nonprofit devoted to the very efforts that he believes helped define him. When Rykov heard that President Donald Trumps second administration had ordered cuts to the refugee program, his thoughts raced to the Venezuelan refugee family his organization was assisting, an older woman in poor health, her daughter who cared for her and the daughters two children, one not yet kindergarten age. None of them spoke English, and there was no plan for how they would cover the rent, which was due in four days. This is a promise that we made to these people that we have reneged on, he said. Is that really whats happening? Yeah, thats exactly whats happening.As the realization of what lay ahead set in, Rykov started to cry. Over the next two months, the Trump administration carried out and defended its destabilizing cuts to the refugee program. The moves brought wave after wave of uncertainty and chaos to the lives of refugees and those who work to help resettle them. One of the largest nonprofit agencies that carry out this work, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, laid off a third of its staff in February and said Monday that it would end all of its refugee efforts with the federal government. A Jewish resettlement organization, HIAS, cut 40% of its staff. As the groups fight legal battles to recoup the millions of dollars the government owes them, some have been forced to close resettlement offices entirely.The Nashville International Center for Empowerment is still struggling to keep its own afloat. Although NICE staff members had anticipated some cuts to refugee programs under Trump, they said they were caught off guard when reimbursements for money already spent failed to appear and by the dwindling opportunities to seek recourse.After a judge ordered the Trump administration to restart refugee admissions, the administration responded by canceling contracts with existing resettlement agencies and announcing plans to find new partners. And the administration has indicated it will remain resistant, refusing to spend millions appropriated by Congress for refugees.Many have lost faith and trust in the American system because of this, said Wooksoo Kim, director of the Immigrant and Refugee Research Institute at the University of Buffalo. For many refugees, it may start to feel like its no different from where they came from. In court documents, lawyers for the Department of Justice argued the U.S. does not have the capacity to support large numbers of refugees.The President lawfully exercised his authority to suspend the admission of refugees pending a determination that further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States, the motion said. In Nashville, that anxiety has been playing out week after week in tear-filled offices and in apartment complexes teeming with families who fled war and oppression. Rykov couldnt help but feel overwhelmed by the extreme shift in attitudes about immigrants in just a few years. In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, his familys dormant fears about Russia were reawakened but they felt a surge of pride for the U.S. when it stepped up to help Ukraine and welcome its refugees. Months after the invasion, Ukrainian athletes came to Birmingham for the World Games, which is similar to the Olympics. When they entered the stadium waving the Ukrainian flag, the crowd gave them a standing ovation. His parents, whod never felt quite at home in the U.S., loudly joined in the U-S-A chant that followed.But now, three years later, was all of America now ready to abandon refugees? Rykov was starting to see the signs, but he refused to believe it and instead recommitted himself to the work.He and his colleagues reached out to every donor in their network and called an online meeting with local churches who might be able to help with rent payments, food, job searches and transportation. Agencies would struggle without the help of the churches. And churches dont have the resources, training or bandwidth to carry out the work of the agencies. But Rykov knew that for the time being, hed need more help than ever from church volunteers.Without your intervention here, this is gonna be a humanitarian disaster in Nashville, he told them in the online meeting held about a week after the cuts. And in every community, obviously, but we were focusing on ours. Were not gonna be in a position to help in the same way much longer, and this is a stark reality that were facing.Then he went on the local news, warning that this immediate funding freeze puts those recently arrived refugees really at risk of homelessness. The responses on social media reflected the hate and intolerance that had polluted the national conversation about immigration.The common theme was, Refugees? Do you mean illegal invaders? Rykov recalled. People are so completely misinformed, clearly not reading the article or watching the story, and its very disappointing to see that. And I guess its sad too that I expect it. One Month After the Cuts No Time to Screw Around In late February, church volunteer Abdul Makembe and a program manager from NICE squeezed into the cramped apartment of a family of five from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both Makembe and NICE had been working with the family for months, but with the loss of funding, NICE could no longer offer support and had asked Makembe to be more involved. Abdul Makembe, who immigrated from Tanzania, volunteers to help African families settle in the U.S. (Arielle Weenonia Gray for ProPublica) A native of Tanzania, Makembe moved to Tennessee in the late 1970s. After working in infectious disease research and nonprofit management, which involved several trips to Africa, he retired in 2015 and began volunteering to help newly arrived African families. Rykov came to know him as a fixture of the refugee community, always eager to help.In the apartment, Makembe perched on the edge of a couch and Mungaga Akilimali sat across from him on the floor. So, the situation has improved a little bit? Makembe asked.The Congolese man ran his hands over his head.The situation, so far, not yet, Akilimali said. Im just trying to apply and reapply and reapply, but so far nothing.Akilimali and his family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo more than 10 years ago. Since 1996, soldiers and militias have killed 6 million people there and committed atrocities against countless civilians. War, political instability and widespread poverty have displaced millions of others. Akilimali and his wife settled for a time in South Africa, where they encountered xenophobia and anti-immigrant violence. Immigrants and refugees have become political scapegoats there, spawning a rash of attacks and even murders. His wife, Bulonza Chishamara, nearly died there in 2018 after an ambush by an anti-immigrant mob.Doctors gave her eight units of blood and Chishamara spent days paralyzed in a hospital bed, Akilimali said. She still walks with a limp.The family had rejoiced when they got approved for refugee resettlement in 2024 in Tennessee. Their new life in Nashville began with promise. Akilimali, who speaks fluent English and trained as a mechanic, got a drivers license and a job at Nissan.However, he lost the job before his probationary period ended due to layoffs, and he hasnt been able to find another one. NICE used to have a robust staff of employment specialists. But the cuts forced the organization to reassign them.That left fewer resources for people like Akilimali, who had been in the U.S. longer than the three months during which new refugees were eligible for state department aid but who still needed help finding work. For Rykov, the work of spreading awareness about the cuts and raising funds to offset them intensified throughout February. He and others working with refugees across the country were hoping that the courts might force the administration to release the federal money that if they could keep things afloat in the short term, relief would come. Then, on Feb. 25, a federal judge in Washington ruled in favor of the agencies. He ordered the administration to restore payments and restart refugee admissions.The relief was short-lived. A day later, the administration canceled contracts with resettlement agencies, and lawyers for the administration have appealed the order. Their argument: The gutted refugee agencies no longer have capacity to restart resettlement, making it impossible to comply with court orders. Rykov said some of the diminished number of remaining staff members began to look for new jobs.After that, Rykov and his team kicked into emergency mode. They worked long hours making phone calls and arranging meetings with potential volunteers and donors.It was a cocktail of emotions, he said. The generosity of donors and volunteers filled him with gratitude. But he couldnt escape the sense of foreboding that consumed the office, where many desks sat empty and remaining employees voiced deepening concerns about the fates of their clients.Rykov likened the urgent energy at NICE to the aftermath of a natural disaster. Theres no time to screw around.At the same time, staffers worried about the cratering budget and the future of the organization. And it was hard not to notice how much the mood in Tennessee and around the country was shifting. In an order suspending refugee admissions, Trump described immigrants as a burden who have inundated American towns and cities.NICE had always felt protected, powered by an idealistic and diverse staff who chose to work in refugee resettlement despite the long hours and low pay. The cuts and the discourse eroded that sense of safety, Rykov said.In February, a tech company offered him a job in Birmingham. It was a chance to be closer to his parents and back in the city where hed come of age a reminder of an era that felt kinder than the current one. He took the job.Working at NICE, its the best job I ever had and the most meaningful job I ever had, he said.Rykov packed up a few things from NICE. A Ukrainian flag lapel pin. A signed photograph of him and his coworkers. In his Birmingham apartment, he placed the picture on a bookshelf next to one of him and his parents at his high school graduation.By the time he left, NICEs refugee resettlement team was down to 30 employees; it had been 56 before the cuts. For its part, NICE has vowed to carry on. The organization has paired 24 families with volunteer mentors since the funding cuts.Church volunteers, who were accustomed to helping furnish and decorate apartments for new arrivals, now had to help prevent evictions. They had to track down documents and help complete paperwork lost in the confusion of the nonprofits layoffs. And the group of mostly retired professionals now had to assist with the daunting task of finding unskilled jobs for refugees who didnt speak much English. Two Months After the Cuts One Volunteer, Many People in Need On a mid-March morning, Makembe woke at 6 a.m. to begin tackling his volunteer work for NICE. Despite the long hours he clocks volunteering, the 74-year-old has kept his energy level and his spirits up. As he left the garage apartment he shares with his wife in a rough north Nashville neighborhood, he made sure to double-check the locks. On this day, he was working not with the Akilimali family but with a family of four who recently arrived from Africa. The child needs to see a specialist at the Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt.It was Vanderbilt that brought Makembe to Nashville decades ago, for his masters degree in economic planning. He followed that with a doctorate in health policy and research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the years that followed, he made repeated trips back to Tanzania to do research on malaria and parasitic infections.All that took a toll on Makembes marriage, and he and his first wife divorced when his two children were very young. They are now grown and successful. His son is an accountant and his daughter recently finished law school and works at a firm in New York. That leaves him more time to spend with refugees.But the volunteer work does bring some financial stress. He is trying to save $5,000 to apply for a green card for his wife, which is tough. Because he spent much of his career working outside the U.S., Makembe receives less than $1,000 a month from Social Security. He drives a 2004 Toyota that was donated to his church to aid the congregations work with refugees, but he pays out of pocket for gas and car insurance. The costs can add up. Its not uncommon for him to burn a quarter tank of gas a day when he is volunteering.Makembes church, Woodmont Hills Church, is a significant contributor to the citys refugee resettlement work an ethos shared by its current congregants but that has led to the loss of members over the years. Though it had a congregation nearing 3,000 members in the late 90s, attendance shrank as the churchs ideology grew more progressive and Tennessees grew more conservative. Its now down to 800 members. Yet the church remained steadfast in its commitment to helping refugees. Its leaders invited NICE to hold classes in its empty meeting rooms and made space to house a Swahili church and a Baptist church formed by refugees from Myanmar. And when NICE lost funding, Woodmont Hills members donated their time and money. Makembe has helped dozens of refugees over the years but was particularly worried for the family he had to take to the Childrens Hospital that March morning, serving as both driver and translator. They arrived right before Trump cut off funding, and they had struggled to get medical care for their 5-year-olds persistent seizures. A doctor at a local clinic had prescribed antiseizure medication, but it didnt work, and the child experienced episodes where his muscles tensed and froze for minutes at a time.Nashville has world-class medical facilities, but NICE no longer had staff available to help the family understand and navigate that care, leaving them frustrated. It took months for the family to get in to see a specialist. During the long wait, Makembe said, the boys father began to lose hope. His sons seizures had become longer and more frequent. Makembe stepped in to help them get a referral from a doctor at the local clinic.The childs father had to miss the doctors appointment that March morning so that he could go to an interview at a company that packages computer parts. Both he and his wife had been searching for jobs and striking out. Makembe has tried to help but has run into barriers. He does not have the same connections with labor agencies that NICE staffers did. Makembe said he wants to get the child enrolled in a special school for the fall and find a wheelchair so his mom wont have to carry him.And thats just this family. Makembe said new refugees have been waiting for months to get job interviews. When he visits the five families he mentors, their neighbors approach him asking for help. Many of their requests are for the assistance NICE and other refugee agencies once offered.Im very much worried, he said. I mean, they have no idea of what to do.

Sales rep promote projectors at the 137th Canton Fair in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)2025-04-15T05:55:14Z BANGKOK (AP) The Trump administration has taken its next steps toward imposing more tariffs on key imports, launching investigations into imports of computer chips, chip making equipment and pharmaceuticals. The Department of Commerce posted notices about the probes late Monday on the Federal Register, seeking public comment within three weeks. It had not formally announced them earlier. Although President Donald Trump paused most of his biggest tariff hikes last week for 90 days, apart from those for imports from China, he has said he still plans tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips. The Commerce Department said it is investigating how imports of computer chips, equipment to make them and products that contain them which include many daily necessities such as cars, refrigerators, smart phones and other items affect national security. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 permits the president to order tariffs for the sake of national security. The probe includes assessing the potential for U.S. domestic production of computer chips to meet U.S. demand and the role of foreign manufacturing and assembly, testing and packaging in meeting those needs. Among other aspects of the entire computer chip supply chain, the government intends to also study the risks of having computer chip production concentrated in other places and the impact on U.S. competitiveness from foreign government subsidies, foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overcapacity. After Trump said electronics would not be included in what his administration calls reciprocal tariffs of up to 50% on some nations, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained in an interview on ABC News that pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and autos will be handled with sector specific tariffs.And those are not available for negotiation, Lutnick said. They are just going to be part of making sure we reshore the core national security items that need to be made in this country. We need to make medicine in this country, he said. We need to make semiconductors. The investigation into pharmaceutical imports includes ingredients used to make such drugs and touches on many of the same aspects of relying on imports to make them. Asked about his plans for more tariffs on pharmaceuticals, Trump said Monday, Yeah, were going to be doing that. He said it would be in the not too distant future.Were doing it because we want to make our own drugs, he said. More than 70% of the materials, or active pharmaceutical ingredients, used to make medicines made in the United States are produced in other countries, with India, the European Union and China leading suppliers. The U.S. produces about a fifth of all pharmaceuticals made worldwide, but consumes about 45%, far more than any other country. The U.S. also is a major producer of semiconductors, but only in some areas. It relies heavily on imports from Taiwan and South Korea for certain kinds of advanced chips. In particular, Taiwan dominates advanced logic chip production at 92% of all fabrication capacity according to the International Trade Administration, with South Korea making 8%. Products like laptops, smartphones and the components needed to make them accounted for nearly $174 billion in U.S. imports from China last year. The administrations plans suggest that such electronics will still be taxed by previous (non-reciprocal) tariffs and potentially under additional, sector-specific levies.Although major computer chip makers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. are investing heavily in U.S. manufacturing facilities, partly due to incentives put in place during former President Joe Bidens time in office, the costly process of changing entire supply chains would take years. Separately, the Commerce Department said Monday that it was withdrawing from a 2019 agreement that had suspended an antidumping investigation into imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico, effective in 90 days. It said the current arrangement failed to protect U.S. growers from unfairly priced imports of tomatoes. Most tomatoes from Mexico will be subject to a 20.91% tariff, it said. ELAINE KURTENBACH Based in Bangkok, Kurtenbach is the APs business editor for Asia, helping to improve and expand our coverage of regional economies, climate change and the transition toward carbon-free energy. She has been covering economic, social, environmental and political trends in China, Japan and Southeast Asia throughout her career. twitter mailto

Men and women rescued from scam compounds in Myanmar sit inside a camp belonging to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in Kyaukhat, Myanmar on April 13, 2025, after their escape attempt to discuss their options for getting home. (AP Photo)2025-04-15T09:32:19Z BANGKOK (AP) They walked out of the compound in Myanmar not knowing where they would go. Though they were aiming for the river that separated them from Thailand and freedom, they didnt know if they would make it across. A group of more than 270 some men and women, who were rescued from forced labor in scam compounds two months ago but remain in detention in Myanmar, attempted a mass escape Sunday out of fear that they may end up being sent back to prison-like compounds where they face beatings, torture and potentially even death.We will kill ourselves instead of going back to them, said one woman, who has been waiting to go home to Ethiopia for more than two months. She came to Myanmar for what she thought was a job in customer service more than a year ago, only to realize she had been trafficked. She was forced to work in online scams targeting people across the world. Facing pressure from China, Thailand and Myanmars governments launched a massive operation in February in which they released thousands of trafficked people from scam compounds, working with the ethnic armed groups that rule Myanmars border areas. Some 7,200 overwhelmingly from China have returned home, according to Thailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but around 1,700 are still stuck in Myanmar, many detained in locked compounds not much different to those they were released from. That includes this group of 270, most from Ethiopia and other African countries, who attempted to escape after a meeting in which guards suggested they could be returned to scam compounds. Their attempt underscores the ongoing humanitarian situation left by one of the biggest releases of forced laborers in modern history. Multiple members of the group described the escape attempt to The Associated Press by telephone. All asked not to be identified out of fear of retribution from the armed groups holding them. The delay in assistance has caused severe physical and psychological suffering, said Jay Kritiya in a statement, the coordinator of the Civil Society Network for Victim Assistance in Human Trafficking, an alliance of groups, who assists people who had been trafficked into scam compounds. Working in the scam compounds means a minimum 12 to 16-hour days of in front of computers where they are forced to contact targets from around the world online and manipulate them into handing over money. Survivors said if they dont meet targets, they are beaten or physically punished in other ways. Most of the 1,700 people still in Myanmar are being held in army camps or repurposed scam compounds controlled by the Kayin Border Guard Force, an ethnic militia that rules this part of Myanmar.But the most desperate were a group of 270 held by a neighboring ethnic militia group called the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army, which rules an area south of the Border Guard Force. Non-profit organizations based at the border have been fundraising to help get these men and women home, but as the wait dragged on their embassies told some of them that they were not on Myanmars official list of people waiting for repatriation. That could stop them from being sent home even if they had plane tickets. In recent weeks, people from the group said, they saw visitors who appeared to be from the compounds come to talk to the DKBA militia soldiers. After one of these meetings, the DKBA soldiers came to the detained people and offered them a chance to go back to the compounds. They told them: Whoever wants to go back to work, can go back easily, said one man. There will not be punishment. There will be (a) salary.The men and women grew scared, and on Sunday, they took things into their own hands. They all packed up their suitcases and decided to head for the compounds exit. We are tired and we want to go, said one man. Theres no proper food. We are sleeping on the floor.They walked out slowly in a loose group, pulling all their personal belongings with them. Although they made it out the compound, they were met by soldiers with guns on the street, according to three people who tried to leave and videos of the confrontation viewed by the AP. Eventually, one of the soldiers said they were open to discussion, and the group agreed to turn back. Kritiya, the activist, said that the DKBA had agreed to send the men and women to Myawaddy, which is under the control of the Kayin Border Guard Force, where they could then be taken to Thailand and then their home countries. The DKBA could not be reached for comment. Thailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday it was aware of the escape attempt and the men and womens names were being added to the official repatriation list. Amy Miller, Southeast Asia director at Acts of Mercy International, said her group, alongside an airline and partner groups, had raised enough money for the 270-plus group to go home. Ethiopia said it had repatriated 130 citizens from an earlier batch and further rounds will begin in the next 10 days, Ambassador Nebiat Getachew, spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.For now, the men and women are waiting. Its really, really hard to trust, said one man. Youre not 100% sure it will happen.___AP writer Samuel Getachew contributed to this report from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. HUIZHONG WU Wu covers Chinese culture, society, and politics for The Associated Press, as well as the countrys growing overseas influence from Bangkok. She was previously based in Taiwan and China. twitter

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01141-9Resource constraints hobble analyses of how digital technologies affect mental health, and take a huge toll on the scientists working to make the online world safer.

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01126-8An analysis for Nature reveals the studies that appear most in the reference lists of current publications.

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01147-3A graduate student from southeast Asia, now based in a European country and missing her homeland, agonizes over her next career move.

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01203-yDiscussions of technologies societal impacts are still too limited

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01201-0Africa CDC must become financially independent

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01204-xEnsuring that conferences are inclusive requires diverse organizers

Nature, Published online: 15 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01209-6Four people with liver failure will be connected to an external organ from genetically modified pigs.

Nature, Published online: 14 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01222-9Scientific bodies, academics and state attorneys have filed five lawsuits against the US National Institutes of Health, with more likely to follow. Plus, physicists have a new estimate for the maximum mass of a neutrino and a planet was spotted falling into its host star.

Boni Speer, left, and her daughter, Tracy Balhan, hold a photo of Bill Speer, Tracys father, in Aurora, Ill., on Friday, March 14, 2025. (Benjamin Thorp/WFYI Public Media via AP)2025-04-15T11:00:39Z AURORA, Ill. (AP) At her mothers home in Illinois, Tracy Balhan flips through photos of her dad, Bill Speer. In one picture, hes smiling in front of a bucket of sweating beers and wearing a blue T-shirt that reads, Pops. The man. The myth. The legend.Balhans father died last year after struggling with dementia. During one episode late in his life, he became so agitated that he tried to exit a moving car. Balhan recalls her dad larger than life, steady and loving yelling at the top of his lungs.His geriatric psychiatrist recommended she take him to the emergency room at Endeavor Healths Edward Hospital in the Chicago suburb of Naperville because of its connection to an inpatient behavioral care unit. She hoped it would help get him a quick referral.But Speer spent 12 hours in the emergency room at one point restrained by staff waiting for a psych evaluation. Balhan didnt know it then, but her dads experience at the hospital is so common it has a name: ER boarding. AP AUDIO: As dementia rates increase, experts warn hospital emergency rooms are underprepared If you or your loved one is 65 or older and you go to the ER, youre more likely to wait hours or even days before you get a hospital bed and receive specialized care. Thats especially true for dementia patients. In collaboration with The Associated Press, Side Effects Public Medias Ben Thorp reports that experts say things will only get worse as the U.S. prepares for a silver tsunami of aging baby boomers and spiking rates of dementia. One in six visits to the emergency department in 2022 that resulted in hospital admission had a wait of four or more hours, according to an Associated Press and Side Effects Public Media data analysis. Fifty percent of the patients who were boarded for any length of time were 65 and older, the analysis showed. Some people who arent in the middle of a life-threatening emergency might even wait weeks, health care experts said. ER boarding is a symptom of the U.S. health care systems struggles, including shrinking points of entry for patients seeking care outside of ERs and hospitals prioritizing beds for procedures insurance companies often pay more for. Experts also warn the boarding issue will worsen as the number of people 65 and older in the U.S. with dementia grows in the coming decades. Hospital bed capacity in the U.S. may not keep up. Between 2003 and 2023, the number of staffed hospital beds was static, even as emergency department visits shot up 30% to 40% over that same period. Number of hospital beds at issueFor older people with dementia, boarding can be especially dangerous, Chicago-based geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Shafi Siddiqui said. One research letter published in June 2024 in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at more than 200,000 patients and found long ER stays could be linked to a higher risk of dementia patients developing delirium a temporary state of mental confusion and sometimes hallucinations. People need to be enraged about (boarding), said Dr. Vicki Norton, president-elect of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine.National emergency physician groups have lobbied for years to keep boarding under control. While theyve made some progress, nothing substantial has changed, despite concerns that it leads to worse patient outcomes.Dr. Alison Haddock, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said thats because boarding is a failing of the entire health care system that manifests in the ER, so solving it demands a systemic approach.Federal and state policy decisions made nearly 40 years ago limited the number of hospital beds, said Arjun Venkatesh, who studies emergency medicine at Yale. People are now living longer, he said, resulting in more complicated illnesses. In 2003, there were 965,000 staffed hospital beds compared to 913,000 in 2023, according to the American Hospital Association. And another JAMA research letter published in February shows there are 16% fewer staffed beds in the U.S. post-pandemic. The ones available may be prioritized for scheduled care patients who need non-urgent procedures, like cancer care or orthopedic surgeries. Insurance companies pay hospitals more for those surgeries, Haddock said, so hospitals arent likely to move patients into those beds even as emergency rooms fill up.Where can people go?Though long stays in the emergency department are common, there isnt good data that tracks the extremes, emergency medicine experts said. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently ended a requirement that hospitals track the median wait times in their emergency departments. An advisory group that develops quality measures for CMS recommended that the agency try to more accurately capture long emergency department stays. That measure has recently been submitted to CMS, which can choose to adopt it. Patients families worry that long emergency room stays may make things worse for their loved ones, forcing some to search for limited alternatives to turn for support and care.Nancy Fregeau lives in Kankakee, Illinois, with her husband Michael Reeman, who has dementia.Last year, she said he visited the Riverside Medical Center emergency department several times, often staying more than four hours and in one case more than 10, before finally getting access to a behavioral care bed. Riverside declined to comment on Reemans case. During long waits, Fregeau doesnt know what reassurance she can offer her husband. Its hard enough for anyone to be in the ER but I cannot imagine someone with dementia being in there, she said. He just kept saying When am I going? Whats happening?Since November, Reeman has been going to the MCA Senior Adult Day Center in Kankakee. Fregeau said Reeman treats the day center like its his job, offering to vacuum and clean, but comes home happier after having time around other people and away from the house.In Illinois, there are fewer adult day centers than there are counties, and other resources for people with dementia are shrinking, too. A report from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living found that 1,000 nursing homes in the U.S. closed between 2015 and 2022. At least 15 behavioral health centers, which are facilities that specialize in treating mental health issues, closed in 2023. With fewer places for patients to go after being discharged, hospital beds are being used for longer, exacerbating the boarding problem. Its becoming more difficult to get a specialty hospital bed, especially when patients dementia causes aggression. That was the case for Balhans father, who became increasingly agitated during his ER stay. Hospital staff told Balhan the behavioral care unit wasnt taking dementia patients, so Speer was stuck in the ER for 24 hours until they found a behavioral health facility, separate from the health system, that would take him.While the hospital couldnt comment on Speers specific situation, Endeavor Health spokesperson Spencer Walrath said its behavioral care unit typically admits geriatric psychiatry patients, including those with dementia, but it depends on factors like bed availability and the patients specific medical needs.Balhan feels that the U.S. health care system failed to treat her dad as a human being.It didnt feel to me like he was being treated with any dignity as a person, she said. If anything could change, that would be the change that I would want to see.___AP data journalist Kasturi Pananjady contributed to this report.___This story is a collaboration between Side Effects Public Media, a health reporting collaboration of NPR member stations across the Midwest, and The Associated Press. 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.