Parker Posey, who has long been a celebrated icon in film and television, is back in the spotlight after an interview on The Today Show in which she discussed her role as Victoria Ratliff on The White Lotus and the internet is loving it. In the segment, Posey, known for her eccentric and captivating characters, revealed her playful side by sharing a few of her favorite wordsSource

The vernal equinox on March 20 wasnt just a shift in seasons; it was a cosmic call for the queer community to embrace a new era of vibrant self-expression. Marking the official start of spring and the fiery Aries season, this astrological turning point promises a surge of dynamic energy and a fresh start. With equal parts day and night, the equinox symbolizes balance and new beginningsSource

Student protesters gather inside their encampment on the Columbia University campus, April 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)2025-03-21T21:35:32Z NEW YORK (AP) Columbia University agreed Friday to put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline, acquiescing to an extraordinary ultimatum by the Trump administration to implement those and other changes or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding.As part of the sweeping reforms, the university will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand intellectual diversity by staffing up its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to a letter published Friday by the interim president, Katrina Armstrong.The announcement drew immediate condemnation from some faculty and free speech groups, who accused the university of caving to President Donald Trumps largely unprecedented intrusion upon the schools academic freedom.Columbias capitulation endangers academic freedom and campus expression nationwide, Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over the universitys handling of protests against Israels military campaign in Gaza. As a precondition to restoring those funds along with billions more in future grants federal officials last week demanded the university immediately enact nine separate reforms to its academic and security policies. In her response Friday, Armstrong indicated Columbia would implement nearly all of them. She agreed to reform the colleges long-standing disciplinary process and bar protests inside academic buildings. Students will not be permitted to wear face masks on campus for the purposes of concealing ones identity. An exception would be made for people wearing them for health reasons. The university will also appoint a new senior provost to review the leadership and curriculum of several international studies departments to ensure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced. The appointment appeared to be a concession to the Trump administrations most contentious demand: that the university places its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under academic receivership for a minimum of five years.Its an escalation of a kind that is unheard of, Joan Scott, a historian and member of the academic freedom committee of the American Association of University Professors, said of the call for receivership last week. Even during the McCarthy period in the United States, this was not done.The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Columbia University of letting antisemitism go unchecked at protests against Israel that began at the university last spring and quickly spread to other campuses. In her letter, Armstrong wrote that the way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with. We have challenges, yes, but they do not define us.While Trump has made Columbia the most visible target of his crackdown on higher education, he has put other universities on notice that they will face cuts if they do not embrace his agenda. Last week, his administration announced investigations into 52 universities for their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A new witch-themed thriller, Forbidden Fruits, has been officially acquired by IFC Films and Shudder for distribution in the U.S. and Canada, Deadline reported Tuesday morning. The film, which is currently in production, promises to be a captivating exploration of sisterhood, power, and the dark side of femininity. Starring Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra ShippSource

The Voice of America building, Monday, June 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)2025-03-22T00:38:34Z A lawsuit filed late Friday accuses the Trump administration of unlawfully shutting down the Voice of America and asks a federal court to restore the outlet that for decades has supplied news about the United States to nations around the world including many that lack a free press of their own.The case, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, was brought by Voice of America reporters, Reporters Without Borders and a handful of unions against the U.S. Agency for Global Media and Kari Lake, the failed Arizona candidate who is President Trumps representative there.In many parts of the world, a crucial source of objective news is gone, and only censored state-sponsored news media is left to fill the void, the lawsuit said.Lake has described the broadcast agency as a giant rot that needs to be stripped down and rebuilt.Voice of America dates to World War II as a source of objective news, often beamed into authoritarian countries. Funded by Congress, it is protected by a charter that guarantees its product pass muster for journalistic rigor. Suit accuses the administration of taking a chainsaw approachThe lawsuit charges that the Trump administration has effectively shut it down unlawfully in the past week. Republicans have complained that the news source is infected by left-wing propaganda, a contention its operators say isnt backed up factually.The second Trump administration has taken a chainsaw to the agency as a whole in an attempt to shutter it completely, the lawsuit said. There was no immediate response Friday to a request for comment from the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and a handful of sister networks. In an interview with Newsmax earlier this week, Lake described Voice of America as like having a rotten fish and trying to find a portion that you can eat.In a post on X, she said the Agency for Global Media is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer a national security risk for the nation and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule.Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders in the United States, said his organization was compelled to act to protect Voice of America and the broader press freedom community. There are other media-related actions, tooAt VOAs sister operation, Radio Free Asia, unpaid furloughs took effect on Friday for roughly 240 people in the operations Washington office, or 75% of the staff members, spokesman Rohit Mahajan said. Radio Free Asia has also moved to cancel freelance contracts with people who helped the agency gather news overseas.Radio Free Asia also expects to file a lawsuit to keep congressionally-appropriated funding flowing, Mahajan said.Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty filed suit on Tuesday, asking the U.S. District Court in Washington to compel the U.S. Agency for Global Media to make its next payment. RFE/RL currently broadcasts in 23 countries across Europe and Asia, in 27 different languages.In its lawsuit, the organizations called the denial of funding unprecedented and said it has already forced operations to be significantly scaled back. Without its congressionally appropriated funds, RFE/RL will also be forced to stop the vast majority of its journalistic work and will be at risk of ceasing to exist as an organization, they argued.___David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak during a tour, Monday, March 17, 2025, in Kodiak, Alaska. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-03-21T23:45:45Z MIAMI (AP) The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it will revoke legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, setting them up for potential deportation in about a month. The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the United States since October 2022. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they will lose their legal status on April 24, or 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register.The new policy impacts people who are already in the U.S. and who came under the humanitarian parole program. It follows an earlier Trump administration decision to end what it called the broad abuse of the humanitarian parole, a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where theres war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S. During his campaign President Donald Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S. and to stay. DHS said parolees without a lawful basis to stay in the U.S. must depart before their parole termination date.Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, DHS said. Before the new order, the beneficiaries of the program could stay in the U.S. until their parole expires, although the administration had stopped processing their applications for asylum, visas and other requests that might allow them to remain longer. The administration decision has already been challenged in federal courts.A group of American citizens and immigrants sued the Trump administration for ending humanitarian parole and are seeking to reinstate the programs for the four nationalities. Lawyers and activists raised their voices to denounce the governments decision.Fridays action is going to cause needless chaos and heartbreak for families and communities across the country, said Karen Tumlin, founder and director of Justice Action Center, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit at the end of February. She called it reckless, cruel and counterproductive. The Biden administration allowed up to 30,000 people a month from the four countries to come to the United States for two years with eligibility to work. It persuaded Mexico to take back the same number from those countries because the U.S. could deport few, if any, to their homes.Cuba generally accepted about one deportation flight a month, while Venezuela and Nicaragua refused to take any. All three are U.S. adversaries.Haiti accepted many deportation flights, especially after a surge of migrants from the Caribbean country in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. But Haiti has been in constant turmoil, hampering U.S. efforts.Since late 2022, more than half a million people have come to the U.S. under the policy, also known as CHNV. It was a part of the Biden administrations approach to encourage people to come through new legal channels while cracking down on those who crossed the border illegally.- AP editor Elliot Spagat and writer Tim Sullivan contributed to this report. GISELA SALOMON Salomon is a Miami-based reporter who covers Latin America and immigration affairs for The Associated Press.Salomon es una periodista que desde Miami cubre asuntos latinoamericanos y de inmigracion. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - FILE - Eyad Abu Jazar holds the body of a child he believes to be his nephew, who was killed in Israeli army airstrikes, at Nasser Hospital morgue in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh, File)2025-03-22T04:30:57Z CAIRO (AP) When the first explosions in Gaza this week started around 1:30 a.m., a visiting British doctor went to the balcony of a hospital in Khan Younis and watched the streaks of missiles light up the night before pounding the city. A Palestinian surgeon next to him gasped, Oh no. Oh no.After two months of ceasefire, the horror of Israeli bombardment was back. The veteran surgeon told the visiting doctor, Sakib Rokafiya, theyd better head to the emergency ward.Torn bodies soon streamed in, carried by ambulances, donkey carts or in the arms of terrified relatives. What stunned doctors was the number of children.Just child after child, young patient after young patient, Rokafiya said. The vast, vast majority were women, children, the elderly.This was the start of a chaotic 24 hours at Nasser Hospital, the largest hospital in southern Gaza. Israel shattered the ceasefire in place since mid-January with a surprise barrage that began early Tuesday and was meant to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages and accepting changes in the truces terms. It turned into one of the deadliest days in the 17-month war. The aerial attacks killed 409 people across Gaza, including 173 children and 88 women, and hundreds more were wounded, according to the territorys Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate between militants and civilians. More than 300 casualties flooded into Nasser Hospital. Like other medical facilities around Gaza, it had been damaged by Israeli raids and strikes throughout the war, leaving it without key equipment. It was also running short on antibiotics and other essentials. On March 2, when the first, six-week phase of the ceasefire technically expired, Israel blocked entry of medicine, food and other supplies to Gaza. TriageNasser Hospitals emergency ward filled with wounded, in a scene described to The Associated Press by Rokafiya and Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American pediatrician both volunteers with the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians. Wounded came from a tent camp sheltering displaced that missiles set ablaze and from homes struck in Khan Younis and Rafah, further south. One nurse was trying to resuscitate a boy sprawled on the floor with shrapnel in his heart. A young man with most of his arm gone sat nearby, shivering. A barefoot boy carried in his younger brother, around 4 years old, whose foot had been blown off. Blood was everywhere on the floor, with bits of bone and tissue.I was overwhelmed, running from corner to corner, trying to find out who to prioritize, who to send to the operating room, who to declare a case thats not salvageable, said Haj-Hassan.Its a very difficult decision, and we had to make it multiple times, she said in a voice message.Wounds could be easy to miss. One little girl seemed OK it just hurt a bit when she breathed, she told Haj-Hassan -- but when they undressed her they determined she was bleeding into her lungs. Looking through the curly hair of another girl, Haj-Hassan discovered she had shrapnel in her brain. Two or three wounded at a time were squeezed onto gurneys and sped off to surgery, Rokafiya said.He scrawled notes on slips of paper or directly on the patients skin this one to surgery, this one for a scan. He wrote names when he could, but many kids were brought in by strangers, their parents dead, wounded or lost in the mayhem. So he often wrote, UNKNOWN.In the operating roomDr. Feroze Sidhwa, an American trauma surgeon from California with the medical charity MedGlobal, rushed immediately to the area where the hospital put the worst-off patients still deemed possible to save.But the very first little girl he saw -- 3 or 4 years old -- was too far gone. Her face was mangled by shrapnel. She was technically still alive, Sidhwa said, but with so many other casualties there was nothing we could do.He told the girls father she was going to die. Sidhwa went on to do some 15 operations, one after another.Khaled Alserr, a Palestinian surgeon, and an Irish volunteer surgeon were doing the same. There was a 29-year-old woman whose pelvis was smashed, the webbing of veins around the bones was bleeding heavily. They did what they could in surgery, but she died 10 hours later in the intensive care unit. There was a 6-year-old boy with two holes in his heart, two in his colon and three more in his stomach, Sidhwa said. They repaired the holes and restarted his heart after he went into cardiac arrest.He, too, died hours later.They died because the ICU simply does not have the capacity to care for them, Sidhwa said.Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatric and obstetrics department, said that was in part because the ICU lacks strong antibiotics. Sidhwa recalled how he was at Boston Medical Center when the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing happened, killing three people and sending some 260 wounded to area hospitals.Boston Medical couldnt handle this influx of cases seen at Nasser Hospital, he said. The staffRokafiya marveled at how the hospital staff took care of each other under duress. Workers circulated with water to give sips to doctors and nurses. Cleaners whisked away the bloody clothes, blankets, tissues and medical debris accumulating on the floors.At the same time, some staff had their own family members killed in the strikes. Alserr, the Palestinian surgeon, had to go to the morgue to identify the bodies of his wifes father and brother.The only thing I saw was like a packet of meat and bones, melted and fractured, he said in a voice message, without giving details on the circumstances their deaths. Another staffer lost his wife and kids. An anesthesiologist -- whose mother and 21 other relatives were killed earlier in the war -- later learned his father, his brother and a cousin were killed, Haj-Hassan said.AftermathAround 85 people died at Nasser Hospital on Tuesday, including around 40 children from ages 1 to 17, al-Farra said.Strikes continued throughout the week, killing several dozen more people. At least six prominent Hamas figures were among those killed Tuesday. Israel says it will keep targeting Hamas, demanding it release more hostages, even though Israel has ignored ceasefire requirements for it to first negotiate a long-term end to the war. Israel says it does not target civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths because it operates among the population.With Tuesdays bombardment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also secured the return to his government of a right-wing party that had demanded a resumption of the war, solidifying his coalition ahead of a crucial budget vote that could have brought him down.Haj-Hassan keeps checking in on children in Nassers ICU. The girl with shrapnel in her brain still cant move her right side. Her mother came to see her, limping from her own wounds, and told Haj-Hassan that the little girls sisters had been killed.I cannot process or comprehend the scale of mass killing and massacre of families in their sleep that we are seeing here, Haj-Hassan said. This cant be the world were living in.___AP correspondents Julia Frankel in Jerusalem, Fatma Khaled in Cairo, and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut 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 LEE KEATH Keath is the chief editor for feature stories in the Middle East for The Associated Press. He has reported from Cairo since 2005. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-03-21T21:12:29Z NEW YORK (AP) When a White House adviser in the first Trump administration told TV viewers to Go buy Ivanka stuff, top government lawyers sprang into action, telling her she had violated ethics rules and warning her not to do it again.Government ethics experts have varying opinions on whether the 2017 criticism of Kellyanne Conway went far enough, but many agree such violations now might not even draw an official rebuke.A week after President Donald Trump turned the White House lawn into a Tesla infomercial for Elon Musks cars, a second sales pitch by a U.S. official occurred, this time for Tesla stock.It will never be this cheap, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday. Buy Tesla. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, March 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Government ethics experts say Lutnick broke a 1989 law prohibiting federal employees from using public office for private gain, later detailed to include a ban on endorsements. Although presidents are generally exempt from government ethics rules, most federal employees are not and are often punished for violations, including rebukes like the one Conway got.As of Friday, no public action had been taken against Lutnick and it was unclear whether he would suffer a similar fate. Theyre not even thinking of ethics, said Trump critic and former Republican White House ethics czar Richard Painter of administration officials. Painter has equally low expectations of that other possible brake to future violations public opinion: I dont know if people care. In his first term, Trump opened his hotel near the Oval Office to foreign ambassadors and lobbyists in what many legal scholars argued was a violation of a constitutional ban against presidents receiving payments or gifts that could distort public policy for private gain. His company launched a new hotel chain called America Idea in hopes of cashing in on his celebrity. Trump even once proposed holding a G-7 meeting of world leaders at his then-struggling Doral golf resort. A Tesla vechile is seen near a charging station, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Woodstock, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) A Tesla vechile is seen near a charging station, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Woodstock, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The Buy Ivanka rebukeBut the reaction to Conways Ivanka stuff comment suggested certain lines couldnt be crossed.Within days of Conways TV comments, the head of the federal ethics agency, the Office of Government Ethics, wrote a letter to the White House saying Trumps adviser may have broken the law and urging a probe. A White House lawyer then met with Conway to remind her of the law and reported to the ethics office that she had assured him she would abide by it in future. But this time, there is no head of the Office of Government Ethics. He was fired by Trump. Ditto for the inspector generals of various agencies who would head any investigation.What is likely to happen now? I really dont know, said Kedric Payne, chief lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center, a non-profit watchdog that sent a letter to the government ethics office on Friday calling for an investigation. We no longer have the head of the Office of Government Ethics to push the Commerce Department to make sure the secretary acknowledges the law.Payne said Lutnicks comment on TV may seem like a small transgression but it could snowball into a bigger problem if not punished. It starts with one TV appearance, but can develop into multiple officials asking people to support companies and products, Payne said. If there are no consequences, you get into a danger zone of a corruption.Trump critics point to other signs that Trump is careless with the law and ethical norms, citing his pardons for Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, a decision to allow his Trump Organization to strike business deals abroad and his attack on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act banning U.S. company bribes abroad to win business. Protesters outside a Tesla Service Center on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans express their issues with Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Friday, March 14, 2025. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) Protesters outside a Tesla Service Center on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans express their issues with Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on Friday, March 14, 2025. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Jelly beans and airlinesWhen it comes endorsing products, presidents used to be far more circumspect. Their comments were mostly quick asides expressing opinions of taste, such as when Harry Truman called Pillsbury flour the finest or John F. Kennedy said United Airlines was reliable. Ronald Reagan famously enthused about his jelly beans habit, remarking that they were the perfect snack.Trump had five Teslas lined up in the White House driveway last week as he praised Musks company. Then he slipped into a red Model S he had targeted for personal purchase, exclaiming, Wow. Thats beautiful.Presidents are allowed to have personal opinions on products they like and dislike, said ethics lawyer Kathleen Clark, referring to the Truman through Reagan examples. But what Trump did was transform the White House into a set for advertising the products of a private company.Its the difference between holding an extravaganza and holding an opinion. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk listens as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk listens as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Calls for Musk investigationIn the aftermath of the Tesla White House event, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and three other senators wrote a letter to the Office of Government Ethics saying that, while presidents are exempt from ethics law banning endorsements, Elon Musk isnt and calling for an investigation.A spokeswoman from Warrens office said the government ethics office had not yet responded about what it planned to do about the White House Tesla endorsement. The Office of Government Ethics itself said it would not comment on either the Warren letter or Lutnicks TV appearance.The Commerce Department did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment. Asked whether Lutnick would be reprimanded or an investigation opened, White House spokesman Kush Desai defended Lutnick, lauding his immensely successful private sector career and his critical role on President Trumps trade and economic team.Former White House ethics chief Painter says Democrats have also played loose with the ethics law. He is harshly critical of the Clinton charity, the Clinton Foundation, which was taking donations from foreign governments when Hillary Clinton was the countrys chief diplomat as secretary of state. Painter also blasts former President Joe Biden for not removing his name from a University of Pennsylvania research institute when he was in office even though it appeared to be helping draw donations overseas. But Painter says the slide from caring about ethics laws and norms to defiance has hit a new low.Theres been a deterioration in ethics, he said. What Biden did wasnt good, but this is worse. BERNARD CONDON Condon is an Associated Press investigative reporter covering breaking news. He has written about the Maui fire, the Afghanistan withdrawal, gun laws, Chinese loans in Africa and Trumps business. twitter facebook mailto

In this May 12, 2017 file photo, Pope Francis holds his bag and waves as he embarks his flight to Monte Real, Portugal, from Rome's International airport of Leonardo Da Vinci, in Fiumicino, Italy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)2025-03-22T04:33:30Z VATICAN CITY (AP) During his first foreign trip in 2013, Pope Francis made headlines when he carried his own black leather briefcase as he boarded the Alitalia charter bound for Brazil, since popes never carry bags and until the 1970s were themselves carried on thrones. Asked what was in the bag, Francis joked that it wasnt the nuclear codes. But he seemed baffled that something as normal as an airplane passenger carrying a briefcase could create such a fuss.I have always taken a bag with me when travelling its normal, he told his first news conference as pope. We must get used to being normal. The normality of life.Over 12 years, Francis has sought that kind of normality for the papacy with his informal style and disdain for pomp while ensuring that he still wields the awesome power held by Christs vicar on Earth and Europes last absolute monarch. The way Francis has managed his five-week hospitalization for pneumonia has followed that same playbook: He has allowed the public to follow the very normal ups and downs of an 88-year-old man battling a complex lung infection through spare but regular medical bulletins, while also continuing to run the 1.3-billion strong Catholic Church. Francis has stayed in control, remotelyIn between respiratory crises, prayer and physiotherapy, Francis has appointed over a dozen bishops, approved a handful of new saints, authorized a three-year extension of his signature reform process and sent off messages public and private. Vatican cardinals have stood in for him at events requiring his presence.Thats not as easy a balancing act as it sounds, since there are few positions of power that are both as absolute as the papacy and, during times of illness, as seemingly fragile: According to the churchs canon law, the pope possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the church. He answers to no one but God, and there is no appeal of his decisions. And while popes arent subject to re-election campaigns or no-confidence votes, they essentially owe their jobs to the 120 men who elected them. While those same cardinals swear obedience to the pope, they will ultimately choose his successor from within their own ranks. Its no surprise then that talk of conclaves, papal contenders and challenges facing a future pope has been a constant buzz in Rome ever since Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital Feb. 14.Francis is well aware that anytime he has gone into the hospital, the plotting has begun for electing the next pope, contributing to a certain lame duck status. Some wanted me dead, he said after his 2021 hospitalization, when he learned that secret meetings had already been held to plan the conclave. He knows as well that even before his current hospitalization, an anonymous cardinal had circulated a seven-point memo listing priorities for the next pope to correct the confusion, division and conflict sowed by Francis. But hes not shy about showing weaknessAnd yet Francis has never been shy about showing his weaknesses, age or infirmities in ways that seem unthinkable for public figures for whom any sign of fragility can threaten their authority and undermine their agenda. Within months of being elected, for example, Francis reached out to an Argentine doctor and journalist, Dr. Nelson Castro, and suggested he write a book about the health of popes, himself included.My hypothesis is that he wanted first of all to show himself as a human being, Castro said in an interview. We tend to see popes like saints, but the way he talked about his diseases showed me, Im like you and me, being exposed to diseases.Francis had read and appreciated Castros earlier book, The Sickness of Power, about the ailments that have afflicted Argentinas leaders and how power itself had afflicted them. He invited Castro to research and write about past popes and his own case in a similar light. The Health of Popes was published in 2021. Castro said what struck him most was that Francis disclosed not only his physical ailments, but his mental health challenges too: Francis revealed that he had gone to a psychiatrist when he was the Jesuit provincial during Argentinas military dictatorship in the 1970s to help him cope with fear and anxiety.Pope Francis is a man of power, Castro said. Only a man of power, feeling quite sure of himself, would dare to talk about his diseases so openly. The balance of strength in weakness is very JesuitFor the Rev. John Cecero, who was Jesuit provincial for the northeast United States from 2014-2020, Francis willingness to show his weaknesses while exercising supreme authority is consistent with his Jesuit training and the biblical teaching of St. Paul that when I am weak, then I am strong.A chief virtue on the part of everyone in the practice of Jesuit authority is humility, Cecero said in an interview. On the part of the individual Jesuit (that means) thinking beyond my own self-interest to the common good. I know its something that drives Francis: that you have that same humility, he said.And yet Francis critics often complain that hes authoritarian, that he takes decisions in a vacuum and without regard to the law, and wields power like a Dictator Pope, the title of a book written by a traditionalist critic early in Francis papacy. Many recite the joke about the way Jesuit superiors exercise power, which is supposed to be a process of joint discernment between the superior and the underling but, the joke goes, it can be anything but: I discern, you discern, we discern I decide.Those same conservative critics, of course, have been keenly watching Francis hospitalization and wondering if the end of his papacy is near. Even if he is absent, and even if he has to cut back his public activities going forward, Francis is very much still in power and leading the church, said Kurt Martens, a canon lawyer at Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.Were used to seeing a pope who is everywhere all the time, he said. But dont forget that in the past, not that long ago, popes would show up only rarely.He may be absent, but hes still in controlFrancis disappearance from public view has led some to doubt the authenticity of the first, and so far only photograph of Francis released by the Vatican since his hospitalization. It was shot from behind and showed Francis at prayer in his private hospital chapel, his face hidden.Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops conference, said the photo was not only real but showed Francis controlling the image that he wants the faithful to have of the papacy and his illness. Francis wants viewers to focus not on the spectacle of a sick pope, but on what should actually matter more to a Catholic anyway.If we cannot see his face ... what we must look at is precisely what he himself is facing: the altar and the crucifix, Avvenire wrote.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman tells a story to the audience at the Sports Illustrated Legacy Awards, Oct. 1, 2015, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)2025-03-22T02:34:21Z George Foreman, the fearsome heavyweight who lost the Rumble in the Jungle to Muhammad Ali before his inspiring second act as a 45-year-old champion and a successful businessman, died Friday night. He was 76.Foremans family announced his death on social media, not saying how or where he died.A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose, his family wrote. A humanitarian, an Olympian and two-time heavyweight champion of the world, he was deeply respected. A force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name for his family.A native Texan, Foreman began his boxing career as an Olympic gold medalist who inspired fear as he climbed to the peak of the heavyweight division by stopping Joe Frazier in 1973. His formidable aura evaporated only a year later when Ali pulled off one of the most audacious victories in boxing history in Zaire, baiting and taunting Foreman into losing his belt in one of the greatest fights ever staged. Foreman left the sport a few years later, but returned after a 10-year absence and a self-described religious awakening.The 45-year-old then pulled off one of the most spectacular knockouts in boxing history in 1994, flooring Michael Moorer 19 years his junior with one perfect combination to claim Moorers two heavyweight belts. Foremans transformation into an inspirational figure was complete, and he fought only four more times before moving onto his next career as a genial businessman, pitchman and occasional actor.He was best known as the face of the George Foreman Grill, which launched in the same year as his victory over Moorer. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and made him much wealthier than his sport ever did. George was a great friend to not only myself, but to my entire family, Top Rank president Bob Arum said. Weve lost a family member and are absolutely devastated.In the first chapter of his boxing career, Foreman was nothing like the smiling grandfather who hawked his grills on television to great success.Foreman dabbled in petty crime while growing up in Houstons Fifth Ward, but changed his life through boxing. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 1968 and won gold in Mexico City as a teenager, stopping a 29-year-old opponent in a star-making performance.Foreman rose to the pinnacle of the pro game over the next five years, but was also perceived as an aloof, unfriendly athlete, both through his demeanor and through the skewed racial lenses of the time. He stopped Frazier in an upset in Jamaica in January 1973 to win the belt, with his knockout inspiring Howard Cosells iconic call: Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!Foreman defended his belt against Ken Norton before accepting the fight with Ali in the now-immortal bout staged in Africa by promoter Don King. Ali put on a tactical masterclass against Foreman, showing off the rope-a-dope strategy that frustrated and infuriated the champion. Foreman was eventually knocked down for the first time in his career, and the fight was stopped in the eighth round. Foreman told the BBC in 2014 that he took the fight almost out of charity to Ali, who he suspected to be broke.I said I was going to go out there and kill him, and people said, Please, dont say youre going to kill Muhammad, Foreman said. So I said, OK, Ill just beat him down to the ground. Thats how easy I thought the fight would be.Exhausted and disillusioned, Foreman stopped fighting in 1977 and largely spent the next decade preaching and working with kids in Houston after his religious awakening. He returned to boxing in 1987 in his late 30s with a plan to defy time through frequent ring appearances, and he racked up a lengthy series of victories before losing to Evander Holyfield in a surprisingly competitive title fight in 1991.Three years later, Foreman got in the ring with Moorer in Las Vegas, more for his celebrity than for his perceived ability to beat Moorer. The champion appeared to win the first nine rounds rather comfortably, with Foreman unable to land his slower punches. But Foreman came alive in the 10th, hurting Moorer before slipping in the short right hand that sent Moorer to the canvas in spectacular fashion. Foreman quit the ring for good in 1997, although he occasionally discussed a comeback. He settled into a life as a boxing analyst for HBO and as a pitchman for the grills that grew his fame and fortune. He briefly starred in a sitcom called George in the 1990s, and he even appeared on the reality singing competition The Masked Singer in 2022. A biographical movie based on his life was released in 2023.Foreman had 12 children, including five sons who are all famously named George Edward Foreman.Legendary boxing champion, life-changing preacher, husband, father, grand- and great-grandfather and the best friend you could have, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman wrote on social media. His memory is now eternal, may Big George rest in peace.___AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing GREG BEACHAM Beacham is a sports writer in California. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A bicycle lane along Market Street in Philadelphia, on June 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-03-22T04:04:15Z CHICAGO (AP) Hundreds of bicycle advocates were at an annual summit this month in Washington, D.C., when their cellphones lit up over breakfast with an urgent email warning that President Donald Trumps transportation department had just halted federal grant funding for bike lanes.As the administration targets green energy projects championed by former President Joe Biden that boosted transit, recreational trails and bicycle infrastructure, several states are banding together to advance those priorities on their own.California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania joined forces for a national organizing effort dubbed the Clean Rides Network. The group gained momentum in various statehouses this year on environmentally friendly transportation projects it contends the federal government has abandoned. These are changes we need to make anyway, but theyre more urgent than ever, said Justin Balik, senior state program director for the environmental advocacy group Evergreen Action and one of the organizers of the Clean Rides Network. Ive been calling the state departments of transportation the next frontier of climate advocacy. Trading highway expansion for busesAlthough Colorado wasnt among the seven charter members of the Clean Rides Network, a policy enacted there set the framework for one of its most ambitious goals.In 2021, Gov. Jared Polis committed to a dramatic reduction in Colorados greenhouse gas emissions and employed a novel approach to accelerate the timeline. Whenever the states transportation department commits money to a large-scale project that increases vehicle traffic such as a new highway, it must also pursue a corresponding project to offset the environmental harms. Two major highway expansion projects were canceled because of the policy, said Matt Frommer of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. The group advocated for the change. Colorado used the savings to expand an intercity bus service that has soared in popularity for urban residents and tourists traveling to ski resorts.Polis vision lined up with the multimodal transportation aims under the $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed that year. In the final months of Bidens administration, the city of Denver won a $150 million federal grant to build a rapid transit bus line along one of its busiest corridors. Frommer, a transportation and land use policy manager, said there are fears that states will now have to pursue projects like that on their own.If your state cares about climate change, you need to take the reins and step up and direct your transportation funds to projects that are going to reduce emissions, Frommer said. We may not be able to rely on the federal government to put that policy in place or to really help you in many ways. Colorados approach moves eastMinnesota followed Colorados lead and adopted a similar rule to offset greenhouse emissions. Other states that are part of the network are pushing proposals this session.The Maryland House recently passed its version of the Colorado law, and Senate sponsor Shelly Hettleman said shes cautiously optimistic it will win final passage before lawmakers adjourn.In trying to persuade her colleagues, Hettleman has focused less on the environmental benefits than what she sees as economic ones. A study commissioned by the Colorado transportation department projected up to $40 billion in savings through improved air quality, road safety and reduced traffic congestion, among other things.Lawmakers in the Clean Rides states of Illinois and Massachusetts have advanced similar proposals, but theyve encountered resistance from some business leaders and advocates for road construction.This is another ill-advised piece of legislation, not based upon science, that will defer needed improvements to our crumbling transportation infrastructure in Illinois, said Mike Sturino, president and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. Commuters will have to wait for improvements to our existing interstate system, as this bill would delay addressing unsafe conditions on our roads and bridges. Is there any interest from red states?Although most of the state leaders who have pushed alternative transportation options have been Democrats, the Clean Rides Network said more conservative states have shown interest in some of the topics, too.Just as Colorados anticipated cost savings helped spur legislation in Maryland, economic concerns continue to be foremost in the minds of residents, with some studies showing that transportation ranks second to housing in consumer costs.Forget about the cost of eggs. Its never been more expensive to drive a car, said Miguel Moravec with the nonprofit climate think tank RMI, which created a calculator to help states project the money they could save through policies that reduce emissions. Virginia employs a scale that scores potential transportation projects based on factors such as safety, congestion relief, and environmental impacts.Utah launched an ambitious transit plan for the rapidly growing state, while Montana implemented land use and zoning reforms that made cities more walkable.Muhammed Patel, senior transportation advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago, said states are at least rethinking some of their policy priorities.We do live luckily in a country where states have authority over their own transportation systems, Patel said. Theres flexibility innately built in.

Travellers arrives at Terminal 5 as Heathrow Airport slowly resumes flights after a fire cut power to Europe's busiest airport in London, Saturday, March 22, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)2025-03-22T08:12:20Z LONDON (AP) London Heathrow Airport said it was fully operational on Saturday, after an almost daylong closure sparked by an electrical substation fire. But airlines warned that severe disruption will last for days as they scramble to relocate planes and crews and get travelers to their destinations.Inconvenienced passengers, angry airlines and concerned politicians sought answers about how one seemingly accidental fire could shut down Europes busiest air hub.We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to todays schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers traveling through the airport, Heathrow said in a statement. Passengers traveling today should check with their airline for the latest information regarding their flight.British Airways, Heathrows biggest airline, said it expects to operate about 85% of its scheduled flights at the airport on Saturday. More than 1,300 flights were canceled and some 200,000 people stranded Friday after an overnight fire at a substation 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away from the airport cut power to Heathrow, and to more than 60,000 properties. Residents in west London described hearing a large explosion and then seeing a fireball and clouds of smoke when the blaze ripped through the substation. The fire was brought under control after seven hours, but the airport was shut for almost 18. A handful of flights took off and landed late Friday. Police said they do not consider the fire suspicious, and the London Fire Brigade said its investigation would focus on the electrical distribution equipment at the substation.Still, the huge impact of the fire left authorities facing criticism that Britains creaking infrastructure is ill-prepared to deal with disasters or attacks.Heathrow is one of the worlds busiest airports for international travel, and saw 83.9 million passengers last year. Passengers on about 120 flights were in the air when the closure was announced found themselves landing in different cities, and even different countries.Fridays disruption was one of the most serious since the 2010 eruption of Icelands Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and shut Europes airspace for days.Mark Doherty and his wife were halfway across the Atlantic when the inflight map showed their flight from New Yorks John F. Kennedy Airport to Heathrow was turning around.I was like, youre joking, Doherty said before the pilot told passengers they were heading back to New York.Doherty called the situation typical England got no back-up plan for something happens like this. Theres no contingency plan. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto

Police officers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian drone strike in a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)2025-03-22T08:20:30Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing three people and wounded 12, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, despite agreeing to a limited ceasefire.Zaporizhzhia was hit by 12 drones, police said. Regional head Ivan Fedorov said that residential buildings, cars and communal buildings were set on fire in the Friday night attack. Photos showing emergency services scouring the rubble for survivors. Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle Wednesday to a limited ceasefire after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with the countries leaders, though it remains to be seen what possible targets would be off limits to attack.The three sides appeared to hold starkly different views about what the deal covered. While the White House said energy and infrastructure would be part of the agreement, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would also like railways and ports to be protected. The dead in Zaporizhzhia included three members of one family. The bodies of the daughter and father were pulled out from under the rubble while doctors unsuccessfully fought for the mothers life for more than 10 hours, Fedorov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired a total of 179 drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Saturday. It said 100 were intercepted and another 63 lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Officials in the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions also reported fires breaking out due to the falling debris from intercepted drones.Russias Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down 47 Ukrainian drones. Zelenskyy told reporters after Wednesdays call with Trump that Ukraine and U.S. negotiators will discuss technical details related to the partial ceasefire during a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday. Russian negotiators are also set to hold separate talks with U.S. officials there. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is open to a full, 30-day ceasefire that Trump has proposed, saying: We will not be against any format, any steps toward unconditional ceasefire.Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraines military mobilization demands rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.___Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A man, a Turkish flag draped on his back, stands in front of anti riot police officers during clashes in a rally against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)2025-03-22T08:36:11Z ISTANBUL (AP) Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu appeared before police for questioning on terror-related charges on Saturday, a day after his interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition.Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on social media that 343 suspects had been detained in protests in major cities on Friday night, adding There will be no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the peoples peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation. The cities listed included Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, anakkale, Eskiehir, Konya and Edirne.The mayor, who is a popular opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish militants. Dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained. Many view the arrest as a politically driven attempt to remove a popular opposition figure and key challenger to Erdogan in the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkeys courts operate independently. On Friday, police questioned Imamoglu for four hours over the corruption accusations, during which he denied all of the charges, Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media reported. He was expected to be transferred to a courthouse later on Saturday for questioning by prosecutors and to face possible charges. His arrest has ignited protests that have steadily increased in intensity.On Friday, police in Istanbul used pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets to push back hundreds of protesters who tried to break through a barricade in front of the citys historic aqueduct while hurling flares, stones and other objects at officers. Police also dispersed groups that had rallied outside of the city hall for a third night running, after the opposition Republican Peoples Party leader, Ozgur Ozel, delivered a speech in support of the mayor. Simultaneously, police broke up demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, as well as in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, resorting to forceful measures at times, according to television images. Thousands marched in several other cities calling on the government to resign.Earlier, Erdogan said the government would not tolerate street protests and accused the opposition party of links to corruption and terror organizations. Authorities in Ankara and Izmir meanwhile, announced a five-day ban on demonstrations, following a similar measure imposed earlier in Istanbul.An anti-corruption operation in Istanbul is being used as an excuse to stir unrest in our streets. I want it to be known that we will not allow a handful of opportunists to bring unrest to Turkey just to protect their plundering schemes, Erdogan said. Imamoglus arrest came just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition Republican Peoples Partys presidential candidate in a primary on Sunday. Ozel has said that the primary, where around 1.5 million delegates can vote, will go ahead as planned.The opposition party has also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday through improvised ballot boxes to be set up across Turkey to show solidarity with Imamoglu.In a message posted on his social media account Saturday, Imamoglu described his arrest as a coup and accused the government of exploiting the judiciary and worsening the countrys troubled economy.With your support, we will first defeat this coup, and then we will send packing those who caused this, he wrote on the social media platform X.

Sudan army soldiers celebrate after they took over the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo)2025-03-22T10:45:36Z CAIRO (AP) Sudans military on Saturday consolidated its grip on the capital, retaking more key government buildings a day after it gained control of the Republican Palace from a notorious paramilitary group.Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesperson for the Sudanese military, said troops expelled the Rapid Support Forces from the headquarters of the National Intelligence Service and Corinthia Hotel in central Khartoum.The military also retook the headquarters of the Central Bank of Sudan and other government and educational buildings in the area, Abdullah said. Hundreds of RSF fighters were killed while trying to flee the capital city, he said.There was no immediate comment from the RSF.The military on Friday retook the Republican Palace, the prewar seat of the government, in a major symbolic victory for the Sudanese military in its nearly two years of war against the RSF. A drone attack on the palace Friday believed to have been launched by the RSF killed two journalists and a driver with Sudanese state television, according to the ministry of information. Lt. Col. Hassan Ibrahim, from the militarys media office, was also killed in the attack, the military said. At the start of the war in April 2023, the RSF took over multiple government and military buildings in the capital including the Republican Palace, the headquarters of the state television and the besieged militarys headquarters, known as the General Command. It also occupied peoples houses and turned it into bases for their attacks against troops. In recent months, the military took the lead in the fighting. It reclaimed much of Khartoum and its sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North, along with other cities elsewhere in the country. In late January, troops lifted the RSF siege on the General Command, paving the way to retake the palace less than two months later. The military is now likely to try to retake the Khartoum International Airport, only some 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the palace, which has been held by the RSF since the start of the war. Videos posted on social media Saturday purportedly showed soldiers on a road leading to the airport.The war wrecked the capital, and other urban cities across the country. It has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country. Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll.The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups. SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto

The portico of the main house at Oak Hill is seen from the garden in Aldie, Va., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-03-22T11:00:43Z ALDIE, Va. (AP) The room where President James Monroe crafted part of his famed doctrine exudes a quiet, stately atmosphere.Inside the enclosed west porch a few footsteps away, a quarried-stone floor marked by fossilized dinosaur tracks glimmers in the sunlight. Just around the corner, a portico built by enslaved African Americans looks out over rolling foothills stretching into the misty northern Virginia horizon, a captivating view untarnished by monied property developments bellying up nearby.Its an early morning at Oak Hill, where centuries of history are deeply rooted in Monroes Loudoun County estate. Its the last home of a presidential Founding Father still in private hands, according to conservation experts. That is, maybe, until now.The DeLashmutt family, which has owned Oak Hill in the community of Aldie since 1948, hopes to convert its sprawling 1,240 acres (502 hectares) into a state park. A bill to that effect unanimously passed the House of Delegates last month but failed in the Senate. The DeLashmutts, along with a nonprofit corporation, The Conservation Fund, hope Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will revive the multimillion-dollar project by including it in his proposed amendment to the budget bill ahead of the General Assemblys veto session. The governor has until Monday to submit his revisions.Weve taken good care of it, family matriarch Gayle DeLashmutt said, gazing up at trees in the garden during a recent tour of the grounds. And I think its time to let somebody else do it. A long history of family ownershipThe DeLashmutt family, which is unrelated to the Monroes, is part of a long line of Virginians who have lived in Oak Hill. Other Founding Fathers homes in the state Thomas Jeffersons Monticello, George Washingtons Mount Vernon and Monroes Highland estate are owned by educational and historical institutions that open the estates doors to the public.The residence at Oak Hill has a complex heritage: At the top of a split staircase leading to the entrance sits a gifted bell from the decommissioned USS Oak Hill. Inside, elegant parlors feature fireplace mantelpieces made of decadent marble, a gift from Monroes longtime friend, the Marquis de LaFayette, to thank first lady Elizabeth Kortright Monroe for saving his wife from the guillotine. On an interior windowpane, a young man with the last name of Fairfax, a family that previously owned the house, scratched his name and the date of his graduation from the Virginia Military Institute.Gayle DeLashmutts daughter, India DeLashmutt, grew up on the estate, charging about on go-carts and sledding down steep hills in the same place that Monroe hosted first lady Dolley Madison more than 100 years earlier. Her father used to tell her stories about finding arrowheads in Little River, a tributary that streams through the property. Theres just this span of time, and this place can really represent it, she said. Histories of enslaved residents and Indigenous generationsThe estate also embodies the histories of the enslaved African Americans who built and cared for the property. There is George Williams, an enslaved carpenter who constructed the main house in Oak Hill, according to independent researcher Emily Stanfill. And Natus Berryman, who lived at Oak Hill before being forced to move to the South, said Lori Kimball, another researcher. Opening the estate to the public full time would allow people to learn more about their stories, Kimball said. Donna Bohanan, chair of the Black History Committee at a Loudon County genealogical library, said it would also educate the public about the Indigenous people and tenant farmers who lived on and worked the land. I advocate for not just focusing on the great men of history or military history because that leaves out a lot, Bohanan said. By telling our more inclusive stories, we can start to see the connections between all of us as members of the human race. Uncertain commitment from Virginia Loudoun County has allocated $22 million toward the roughly $52 million needed to support the project, while The Conservation Fund and other groups have raised another nearly $25 million. The family is selling the property for $20 million. The Conservation Fund says the state wont have to pay a dime toward the project.The legislation for such an acquisition, backed by Democratic Del. Alfonso Lopez, passed unanimously in the Virginia House last month but stalled in the state Senate. During the final days of the session, Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas told reporters that she thought the bill was an excellent idea but expressed concern about long-term commitments from the state, even if it has no upfront financial obligation.Thats a lot of park for somebody to take care of, she said. Those are the kinds of things you have to consider when youre working on these budgets.Youngkin said Wednesday he was initially resistant to the project because he was not sure the business plan was fully fleshed out. But he said he felt less uneasy after touring the estate with Republican Del. Geary Higgins, whose district includes Oak Hill.We had a good visit, and Im still trying to decide what we do, Youngkin said. No promises, but Im open-minded. ___Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. OLIVIA DIAZ Diaz covers Virginia politics with the Associated Press. twitter mailto

A National Weather Service weather balloon sits ready for launch in the Upper Air Inflation Building at the National Weather Service, April 27, 2006, in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Chris Greenberg, File)2025-03-22T12:42:26Z WASHINGTON (AP) With massive job cuts, the National Weather Service is eliminating or reducing vital weather balloon launches in eight northern locations, which meteorologists and former agency leaders said will degrade the accuracy of forecasts just as severe weather season kicks in.The normally twice-daily launches of weather balloons in about 100 locations provide information that forecasters and computer models use to figure out what the weather will be and how dangerous it can get, so cutting back is a mistake, said eight different scientists, meteorologists and former top officials at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the weather services parent agency. The balloons soar 100,000 feet in the air with sensors called radiosondes hanging about 20 feet below them that measure temperature, dew point, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction. The thing about weather balloons is that they give you information you cant get any other way, said D. James Baker, a former NOAA chief during the Clinton administration. He had to cut spending in the agency during his tenure but he said he refused to cut observations such as weather balloons. Its an absolutely essential piece of the forecasting system. University of Oklahoma environment professor Renee McPherson said, This frankly is just dangerous.Bad, Ryan Maue, who was NOAAs chief scientist at the end of President Donald Trumps first term, wrote in an email. We should not degrade our weather system by skipping balloon launches. Not only is this embarrassing for NOAA, the cessation of weather balloon launches will worsen Americas weather forecasts. Launches will be eliminated in Omaha, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota, due to a lack of Weather Forecast Office (WFO) staffing, the weather service said in a notice issued late Thursday. It also is cutting from twice daily to once daily launches i n Aberdeen, South Dakota; Grand Junction, Colorado; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Gaylord, Michigan; North Platte, Nebraska and Riverton, Wyoming. The Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency fired hundreds, likely more than 1,000, NOAA workers earlier this year. The government then sent out letters telling probationary employees let go that they will get paid, but should not report to work.Earlier this month, the agency had announced weather balloon cuts in Albany, New York and Gray, Maine, and in late February, it ended launches in Kotzebue, Alaska. That makes 11 announced sites with reduced or eliminated balloon observations, or about one out of nine launch locations which include part of the Pacific and Caribbean.Among regularly reporting weather stations, NOAA had averaged about only one outage of balloon launches a day from 2021 to 2024, according to an Associated Press analysis of launch data.Meteorologists Jeff Masters and Tomer Burg calculate that 14 of 83 U.S. balloon sites, or 17%, are doing partial or no launches. That includes two stations that arent launching because of a helium shortage and a third that is hindered because of coastal erosion. The more data we can feed into our weather models, the more accurate our forecasts, but I cant speculate on the extent of future impacts, weather service spokesperson Susan Buchanan said in an email.University at Albany meteorology professor Kristen Corbosiero looked at the map of launches Friday and said wow, that is an empty area ... Thats not great.Corbosiero works in the building where the Albany weather service used to go to the roof to launch twice-daily weather balloons. Its now down to one at night, which she said it is worrisome heading into severe weather season.For those of us east of the Rocky Mountains, this is probably the worst time of year, said Oklahomas McPherson. Its the time of year that we have some of our largest tornado outbreaks, especially as we move into April and May.Former National Weather Service Director Elbert Joe Friday said the weather balloons get the detailed lower atmospheric level of temperature and humidity that can determine whether the atmosphere is going to be hot enough to set off severe storms and how intense they might be. Satellites do a good job getting a big picture and ground measurements and radar show whats happening on the ground, but the weather balloons provide the key middle part of the forecasting puzzle the atmosphere where so much weather brews, several meteorologists said. All of the 10 announced reductions are in the northern part of the United States. Thats about where the jet stream which is a river of air that moves weather systems across the globe is this time of year, so not having as many observations is especially problematic, McPherson and Corbosiero said.Weather balloons are also vital for helping forecast when and where it will rain, said Baker and another former NOAA chief, Rick Spinrad. The weather agency has been launching balloons regularly since the 1930s. During World War II, weather balloon launches in the Arctic helped America win the air battle over Europe with better forecasts for planes, former weather chief Friday said. It takes 90 minutes to an hour to fill a weather balloon with helium or hydrogen, get it fitted with a sensor, then ready it for launch making sure the radiosonde doesnt drag on the ground, said Friday, who recalled launching a balloon in Nome, Alaska with 30 mph winds and windchill of about 30 degrees below zero.Meteorologists then track the data for a couple hours before the balloon falls back to the ground for a total of about four of five hours work for one person, Friday said. Its kind of fun to do, Friday said on Friday.-Data journalist Mary Katherine Wildeman contributed from Hartford, Connecticut.___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. SETH BORENSTEIN Borenstein is an Associated Press science writer, covering climate change, disasters, physics and other science topics. He is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

Elodie McCarran, 3, peaks out from a curtain as mother Lauren votes in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)2025-03-22T11:59:09Z CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A voter in Milford, New Hampshire, missed out on approving the towns $19 million operating budget, electing a cemetery trustee and buying a new dump truck. In Durham, an 18-year-old high school student did not get a say in who should serve on the school board or whether $125,000 should go toward replacing artificial turf on athletic fields.Neither was able to participate in recent town elections in New Hampshire thanks to a new state law requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. Their experiences, recounted by town clerks, could prove instructive for the rest of the country as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act advances in Congress and more than a dozen states consider similar legislation.Everything that conservatives tried to downplay, New Hampshire told us exactly what would happen on a national scale under the SAVE Act, said Greta Bedekovics, a former policy adviser for Senate Democrats who is now with the Center for American Progress. Married women with changed names face extra hurdlesVoting rights groups are particularly concerned that married women who have changed their names will encounter trouble when trying to register because their birth certificates list their maiden names.That is exactly what happened to Brooke Yonge, a 45-year-old hairstylist who showed up at her polling place in Derry last week determined to show her support for public education.She was turned away initially because she did not have proof of citizenship. When she returned with her birth certificate, that still was not enough because the name on the document did not match the one on her drivers license. Back home she went to fetch her marriage license to prove she had changed her name.Third trip around the sun and here we are, said Yonge, who called the registration requirements reasonable despite the hassle. If I did a little research, I probably would have known that is what I needed. New Hampshire is among the 20 states that allow voters to register on the day of an election. According to the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights, at least 56 people who tried to register statewide the day of the March 11 town elections were turned away, though it is unknown how many of them later completed the process.Derrys town clerk, Tina Guilford, wonders how it will go during a November general election, when turnout is much higher.Its just heartbreaking to me to see people turn around and think, I hope they come back, she said.At least one person who tried to register in Milford on Tuesday did not return, said Joan Dargie, the town clerk. Neither did an older woman who tried to register at Town Hall before the election. The first of the womans three marriages was in Florida in the 1970s and that license was long gone, Dargie said.Sometimes people are like, I didnt save any paperwork for that. I wanted to forget all that, Dargie said. Its disenfranchising women. Whats happening at the national levelThe U.S. House passed legislation last year to require proof of citizenship for voter registration, but it stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition. With Republicans now in full control of Congress, the House is expected to take up the issue again soon.Before the 2024 election, Donald Trump falsely claimed that noncitizens might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. In fact, research and reviews of state cases have shown voting by noncitizens to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to subvert an election.Republicans argue that even small numbers of noncitizens voting undermines public confidence.New Hampshires new law also has had broad support. About 8 in 10 New Hampshire voters in the 2024 election favored requiring people in their state to show a passport, birth certificate or other evidence of U.S. citizenship when they register to vote, according to AP VoteCast, including about 6 in 10 who were strongly in favor. The vast majority of Trump voters were in support of the requirement, but so were more than half of voters for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the race against Republican Trump. During the recent town hall elections, Michael Appleton had to return home to get his birth certificate and provide proof of a name change before he could register and vote. Even so, he wasnt critical of the new law.Its inconvenient for me personally in this moment, but I dont think its an unreasonable thing to ask, he said.Republican state Rep. Bob Lynn, who sponsored New Hampshires law, does not believe there is rampant voter fraud in the state. He also does not believe the new citizenship requirements are unduly burdensome.It seems to me that voting is pretty important, and its not unreasonable to say to people, look, youre going to have to give a little bit of forethought to what you need in order to vote, said Lynn, a former chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Other states also are taking actionNew Hampshire is one of eight states with laws that require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, and similar legislation is pending in 17 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.The experience has at times been fraught in some states that have enacted a proof-of-citizenship requirement.In Arizona, a recent state audit found that problems with the way data was handled had affected the tracking and verification of citizenship. It came after officials had identified some 200,000 voters who were thought to have provided citizenship, but had not. A proof of citizenship requirement was in effect for three years in Kansas before it was overturned through legal challenges. The states own expert estimated that almost all the roughly 30,000 people who were prevented from registering to vote during the time it was in effect were U.S. citizens who had been eligible to vote.In Texas, where Republicans control both houses of the Legislature, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would in some ways expand on the proposed federal SAVE Act. It would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and compel state and local election officials to verify the citizenship status of everyone who is already registered.If a persons citizenship cannot be verified, that person would be notified and allowed to vote in only congressional elections.Further changes possible in New HampshireEven as New Hampshires law faces legal challenges, state lawmakers are considering further changes.The state House gave preliminary approval last week to a bill that would create vouchers to cover the cost for indigent voters of obtaining a birth certificate, though opponents said asking voters to declare themselves poor would be demeaning. It also would instruct the secretary of state to make reasonable efforts to verify citizenship if someone is unable to provide documentation. Critics noted the office has access only to birth certificates issued in New Hampshire.If youre going to pass a bill, make sure that it can withstand litigation and make sure that it offers real solutions. This bill does neither, Democratic Rep. Connie Lane said.In Durham, where voting takes place in the towns high school, students enrolled in civics classes traditionally watch the process. They got an extra lesson during the recent town hall elections. A student who was old enough to vote wanted to register but did not have the documents to prove citizenship, according to Rachel Deane, the town clerk.The supervisors of the voter checklist are wonderful in Durham, and they walked the student through the process and encouraged them to come back, she said.Deane said she believes the student never did return.___Casey reported from Derry, New Hampshire, and Cassidy from Atlanta. Associated Press Polling Director Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto

Welcome back to the Abstract!You are all in for a treat this week. Scientists have opened up a new book of genomes and discovered a swashbuckling saga for the ages written inside. I dont even want to say anything more to spoil it. Im excited for you!Then, microplastics are in the air you breathe, the food you eat, and the grey neural matter you are using to read this sentence. But there is some hope on the horizon as humans have enlisted an unlikely hero (and occasional villain) to combat our plastic apocalypse.Next, scientists shed new light on the weird gap in our memories during the earliest years of life. I dont remember the rest. Last, does Arya Stark feel the Bern? Is Rey Palpatine coconut-pilled? Can anyone be coconut-pilled in the year 2025? I present a story about the political affiliations of fictional characters because that is much more palatable than confronting the political affiliations of real people.The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Iguana Version)Scarpetta, Simon et al. Iguanas rafted more than 8,000 km from North America to Fiji. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Step aside, Odysseus. Theres a new epic in town about ocean voyagers braving impossible odds, charting unknown waters, and venturing to distant shores. And this time, the heroes arent warriors or gods. Theyre freakin iguanas.Thats right: Scientists have presented compelling evidence that Fijian iguanas (Brachylophus) are descendents of intrepid mariners that rafted across an astonishing 5,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean to reach their current idyllic homeland.By analyzing the genomes of iguanas around the world, the team discovered that the closest relatives of Fijian iguanas are North American desert iguanas (Dipsosaurus). This revelation suggests that, sometime within the past 34 million years, a common ancestor of both families was washed out to sea, probably from the coast of California or Mexico, on muddy mats of sticks and trees. The journey would have taken months, but enough of these iguanadventurers survived to colonize the Fijian archipelago.Iguanas are large-bodied herbivores that are well-known overwater dispersers, including species that colonized the Caribbean and the Galpagos islands, said researchers led by Simon Scarpetta of the University of San Francisco. However, the origin of Fijian iguanas had not been comprehensively tested."Our analyses strongly support the oceanic dispersal of Brachylophus from North America to Fiji, which is the greatest known oceanic dispersal event in the history of terrestrial vertebrates.Possible routes from North American to Fiji, with the most likely color-coded blue. Image: Simon Scarpetta and Jim McGuireWell, its the greatest ocean passage for terrestrial vertebrates besides all the human ones (sorry to pull rank, iguanas). But when humans go out to sea, it is generally intentional and involves a sturdy vessel and prepared provisions. These iguanas might have just been hanging out in a beachside tree one day when a bad storm hit, launching them into an accidental cross-oceanic cruise that changed the course of their lineage forever.So how did these lizards get their sea legs? Like, actually, what the heck? Months adrift on a tangle of wood and dirt? The answer, in short, is that iguanas are tenacious little thrillseekers that like to look death in the eye and laugh.Herbivorous iguanids forgo food for months at a time during brumationa form of reptile hibernationand extant Dipsosaurus brumate from OctoberMarch, said the study. However, floating vegetation mats are a known substrate for oceanic dispersal, so iguanas rafting from North America to Fiji could have had a food source during their journey.Additionally, some iguanas have other traits that may augment their capacity to survive overwater dispersal, including resistance to heat and dehydration, the researchers added. For example, Dipsosaurus have the highest voluntary thermal maximum temperature among lizards and largely inhabit areas without permanent freshwater.In other words, these seafaring lizards are hardy as hell. They could have either fasted as they rafted across one fifth of planet Earth, or perhaps subsisted on rations from an onboard mess hall.Either way, the reptiles stayed the course and were rewarded with an island paradise. Iguanas arent exactly known for their emotional expression, but I still cant help imagining their reaction to landing on terra firma after months of riding the waves. Surely, it was one small step for an iguana; one giant leap for iguana-kind.Boss Battle: E. Coli Versus PlasticChae, Tong Un et al. Biosynthesis of poly(ester amide)s in engineered Escherichia coli. Nature Chemical Biology.You may have seen a recent study that estimated that the average human brain contains enough microplastics to form a whole spoon if combined (about seven grams). Talk about neural plasticity! Ha ha ha.Okay, Ill stop. Because its not that funny. Nobody wants the equivalent of a plastic spoon in their brain. Its frankly ridiculous that weve let it get to the point where we all have plastic spoons in our brains. But petroleum-based plastic is just so convenient, which is why we make upwards of 400 trillion metric tons of it per year. This outflow, which will not biodegrade for centuries or longer, contaminates every conceivable corner of Earth (including your noggin) and is a big contributor to climate change.Who will save us from this self-inflicted body horror? Enter: Escherichia coli, better known by its stage name: E. coli. This microbe has a long rap sheet because it produces hazardous strains that contaminate our food, triggering product recalls and risking public health. Yes, this is bad, and nobody wants to contract the many maladies (some fatal) linked to E. coli.But E. coli contains multitudes. Most strains are totally harmless and the bacterium is a model organism that has been a goldmine for multiple fields. Now, scientists are enlisting the notorious microbe to help achieve the dream of engineering polyester amides (PEAs), which are a class of biodegradable polymers that deteriorate quickly compared to petroleum-based plastics.E. coli cultures. Image: HansNIn other words, this plastic replacement would not lodge any more utensils or assorted cookware into the brains of future generations (sorry, the spoon in your head is there to stay, and will indeed outlive your mortal form).To demonstrate the capability for sustainable PEA production, we engineered E. coli strains to produce proof-of-concept PEAs from glucose, a renewable resource derived from biomass, said researchers led by Tong Un Chae of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).This bacterial platform for the biobased production of various PEAsoffers several advantages over current chemical synthesis methods, the team said. Most importantly, it enables the sustainable production of PEAs, which is increasingly crucial as the climate crisis escalates.This study is just one of thousands of different efforts aimed at switching out petroleum plastics for biodegradable versions. Its hard to predict whether any of them will provide a scalable commercial option in the near-term, but it always lifts my spirits to see progress on this frontespecially when it gives E. coli a redemption arc. An occasionally deadly bacteria versus an indestructible symbol of human avarice? LET THEM FIGHT.The Gated Neighborhood on Memory LaneYates, Tristan et al. Hippocampal encoding of memories in human infants. Science.Lets stay on the subject of human brainsspecifically those without spoons. The only brains that meet this criteria are those of babies and toddlers, who havent had enough time to accumulate mental cutlery.This week, scientists investigated the fascinating mystery of infantile amnesia, which describes the strange recollective void in our lives as infants. Its not clear why most people cant remember experiences during this formative time, especially given that baby brains are super-powered learning machines in practically every other way.To shed light on this enigma, scientists examined the brains of infants aged from four months to two years old in magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines. The goal was to see whether the hippocampus, a brain critical for memory, could encode memories, called engrams, at these young ages.By giving the young participants visual tests, the team documented fleeting engrams in the hippocampus starting at about one year of age. This discovery suggests infantile amnesia is caused by an inability to retrieve early memories later in life, rather than an inability to make and store them in the first place.Two of the studys authors during the fMRI experiment. Image: 160/90The results hint that the capacity to encode individual memories comes online during infancy, said researchers led by Tristan Yates of Columbia University. Our findings are consistent with recent studies in rodents showing that memory engrams formed during infancycan persist into adulthood but remain inaccessible at retrieval without direct stimulation or reminders.It turns out that there might be lots of those early memories still filed away somewhere in our heads, but they are behind walls, or locks, or other mental barriers. Theres something weirdly haunting about the concept of our baby memories floating aroundnot fully lost, but forever out of reach. What formative treasures are hidden in our neural folds?Then again, considering that I spent much of my early years eating dirt and getting stung by bees, maybe its best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Photo by Joseph StraussSubscribe nowAs a toddler, Daisy Morningstar often reached for her mothers clothes to play dress-up and loved anything bright and sparkly, like many other little girls do. But Daisy wasnt born into a society expecting this behavior from her. Assigned male at birth, Daisy was 3 years old when she expressed to her parents, Eli and Joanna, that she preferred to go by a girls name and wear feminine clothes.Eli and Joanna arent sure how their daughter, now 4, picked her new name, but they suspect she was inspired by Princess Daisy, one of her favorite characters in Mario Kart.While many parents wouldnt embrace their childs desire to present as transgender at such a young age, Eli and Joanna, who are both trans, have a personal understanding of the importance of respecting gender identity.Photo by Joseph StraussIf somebody is expressing something to you clearly and consistently, especially as a parent, you have two choices: Either you try to beat it out of them, or [you] accept them where they are, says Joanna, a 34-year-old who works in tech in Brooklyn, who remembers suppressing feelings of gender dysphoria as early as 8 years old.But can a preschooler really have that level of understanding when it comes to their gender identity? While some may be skeptical, Dr. Michele Hutchison, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of New Mexico, who has treated around 600 transgender youth, says shes seen patients like Daisy before. I'd say a good 30% of my patients are very solid about their gender by the time they can speak, Dr. Hutchison, who started treating trans kids in Arkansas in 2017, told Uncloseted Media.And a 2008 study that reviewed 110 responses from trans adults in the United Kingdom found that a majority of participants recalled first becoming aware they were trans around age 8. Roughly a third of respondents36 peoplesay they were aware by age 6. And 11 respondents said they knew by age 4.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused journalism.Daisy hanging out at her Brooklyn home. Photo by Joseph StraussSince Daisy chose her new name and told her parents she is a she-person, Eli and Joanna have allowed her to grow her bright blonde hair shoulder-length. Both Daisy and her 6-year-old sister, Sophia, who is cisgender, often wear dresses inspired by Elsa, their favorite character in Frozen. Joanna and Eli asked Daisys school to refer to her as Daisy and to use she/her pronouns, to which her teachers obliged with no issue.To some, these changes may seem drastic. But Joanna and Eli say theyve made a big difference to their childs wellbeing. Before Daisy presented as a girl, Jonna described her daughter as withdrawn and somber.She'd get angry. She would start viciously misgendering her sister; she would misgender me. And youre like, What's going on? Joanna recalls. Since changing her name, hair and clothes, Daisys behavioral issues have dramatically improved.In addition, Daisys teacherwho was originally worried about Daisy being held back from advancing a grade because she was so quiettold Joanna and Eli that she has become more talkative in class. After, she wasn't worried about that anymore, Eli told Uncloseted Media.Eli, Sophia, Joanna and Daisy. Photo by Joseph StraussTo Joanna and Eli, embracing Sophias cisgender identity is no different than supporting Daisy. Contrary to folks who may suggest Eli and Joanna are pressuring their child to adopt a trans identity, they feel they are granting both of their children the agency to live authentically. Its obvious that the kids aren't being pushed around by us. They know what they want to do, and the only question is whether they know it's an option, says Joanna.Given Eli and Joanna didnt begin transitioning until adulthood, they acutely understand the damage that would be done to Daisy if they rejected her gender identity. Eli says his earliest understanding of being transgender came in the first grade when he preferred to wear boys bathing suits during swimming lessons.Eli was raised by his aunt and uncle, a trans man, until age 8, after which he moved in with his mother and her partner. Though Eli had a trans role model in his childhood, it didnt make his coming out experience any easier. He remembers expressing feelings of gender dysphoria around age 5 or 6 and how it stressed out his uncle. Eli attributed his uncles stress to the same rhetoric we see now about transgender people of, You're going to convince them to join your lifestyle.Photo by Joseph StraussIn the current political climate, trans kids are under attack and their parents face accusationsthat arent supported by evidenceof pedophilia, grooming and indoctrination.President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at limiting trans youths access to gender-affirming care. In addition, Trump has repeatedly and falsely suggested schools were indoctrinating students into becoming transgender and performing gender reassignment surgeries without parental consent. In October, Trump told a crowd of 20,000 at Madison Square Garden, We will get transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.[Joanna] is deeply scared to be a visibly trans woman out with children, Eli told Uncloseted Media. Because of what is said about us, the groomer rhetoric, I don't think she's wrong to be scared. Though Eli embraces Daisys gender identity, he isnt immune to the power of transphobic narratives. Looking back, he says, [My aunt and uncle may have] felt some anxiety about their kids being queer because it could reflect badly on them. So, when Daisy asserted that she is a girl, I certainly felt some of that come up for me.Eli takes solace in having seen his older daughter express a female gender identity before Daisy had. It helps a lot that we had Sophia first because of the absolute sameness of their starting to express their genders, and that gender being girl. I have less uncertainty and more clarity [with Daisy]. That is what self-expression looks like.According to Dr. Hutchison, Elis anxiety over Daisys gender identity is common in queer parents of trans children. I have had genderqueer and gender non-conforming parents who are not excited about the fact that their children are gender non-conforming because they themselves had to walk a difficult pathway. They don't want difficulty for their children. They want life to be easier for their child than it was for them, says Dr. Hutchison.Eli is inherently aware of the difficulties Daisy would face if she had parents who werent affirming. He remembers experiencing intense gender dysphoria himself and feeling trapped in a body against his will. "I didn't hit puberty until I was 11, 12, but there was this feeling of like I could stop this and [my mother] is just making me do it.Joanna, who grew up in a charismatic, Evangelical family, had no trans or queer role models growing up. The first time she can remember anything LGBTQ-related being discussed was on a drive with her father. He announce[d] that homosexuality is a problem. The quote I remember was, I'm not saying that it is, but you at least have to consider the possibility that HIV is punishment for sodomites. This was the environment that I grew up in, she says.In an email, Joannas dad told Uncloseted Media: I dont remember saying anything like this and certainly do not believe it now and never have Joanna and I do not speak regularly anymore, which saddens me greatly.After going through experiences of suppressing their trans identities, Eli and Joanna feel its critical that Daisy feels heard.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism.They reject a worldview in which being trans is cause for fear and are instead focused on Daisys well-being. It's my job to figure out how we get from where we are to where she wants to be in a way [that] is respectful and doesn't lock her into anything early. We're not crazy people, says Joanna. We're not doing anything that you couldn't reverse.For now, any physical intervention that Daisy may want in the future wouldnt be a consideration for many years, until Daisy is closer to puberty. Joannas emphasis on giving her youngest daughter room to grow and change is an important part of Daisys story. On a recent trip to the Brooklyn Childrens Museum for a pajama party night, Daisy sat with her father while decorating a plastic construction helmet with alphabet stickers, spelling out her name. But in addition to writing Daisy, she also chose to spell her birth name.For the remainder of the party, Daisy ran around in pink pajamas and matching sneakers, wearing a helmet labeled Isaac on one side and Daisy on the other. Daisy's been pretty genderfluid lately and sometimes prefers to present as a boy, other times as a girl, says Eli.Elis method of gently asking Daisy what she wants is the approach Dr. Hutchison suggests to parents of genderqueer children. I like to use the word affirming, which just means if the child comes to me and says, I'm a boy, you say, That's great. What would you like to wear today? What name do you want to go by? Give that child space to see who they are, she says.Philip Graham, professor emeritus of Child Psychiatry at University College London, is slightly more cautious. He suggests gentle discouragement to dress in the opposite sex to the one assigned at birth. I would just say, I'm not sure that's right, and see where you go from there, he told Uncloseted Media.If a child remains consistent in their gender identity by age 9 or 10, You've got a difficult decision to make with a trans child [about] whether you're going to embark on puberty blockers or not, Graham says.Though Graham and Dr. Hutchison suggest slightly different initial approaches to a child expressing a trans identity, their views converge on the matter of a childs agency.We have a somewhat inflated idea of the importance that parents have. Children are their own people; they make decisions, says Graham.Both Graham and Dr. Hutchison also agree on the importance of moving slowly and thoughtfully when it comes to healthcare for transgender youth. As somebody who works with children, we don't do any of this quickly. We take our time. We're very conscientious, we're very conservative, and we want to make sure we got it right, says Dr. Hutchison.Eli and Joanna are taking Daisys gender fluidity one day at a time. In the last few months, Daisy has often asked to be referred to with he/him and they/them pronouns andin many instanceshas asked to be called Isaac. There are times when she insists that her full name is Daisy Tulip Mac and Cheese. [4]-year-olds are silly, uninformed humans. [But] they're still humans. They still know what they want, says Joanna.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Hannah Jones, accompanied by her spouse, Steve Cook, pose for a portrait at home near Philadelphia, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-03-22T13:00:06Z Hannah Jones credits paid medical leave with helping her survive an aggressive form of breast cancer.Her employer provided time off for chemotherapy treatments and to recover from surgery. Most importantly: Jones didnt have to delay care for work, something doctors warned against. I am cancer-free because I followed the treatment plan, the 35-year-old said. I am an example of how paid (medical leave) makes a huge difference in the life and survival of a cancer patient.More states are passing or considering laws that require employers to offer leave like this. Advocates say these laws can reduce financial stress and make workers more productive. But some measures also stress employers, and the patchwork nature of different state laws can create frustration. What are the different types of leave?Paid family and medical leave allows workers time off to undergo a treatment or care for a family member or a new child. Separately, more states and cities also are requiring paid sick time, which helps people deal with shorter-term illnesses like the flu. Nineteen states plus Washington, D.C., have laws requiring paid sick time, as do 17 cities and four counties, according to the non-profit National Partnership for Women and Families. Many employers also offer paid sick time without a government mandate. Laws requiring longer-term paid family and medical leave are less common. Thirteen states and D.C. require some version of it, according to the National Partnership. Details of these laws can vary by state. Some, for example, allow employers to provide only partial pay for certain types of leave. Some states or municipalities also have laws requiring specific types of paid time off. New York recently enacted a paid leave law for prenatal medical checkups. Some laws also give people time off to care for themselves or a family member dealing with domestic violence or sexual assault. There is no federal law requiring paid leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees only unpaid time off. It also doesnt apply to a large chunk of the workforce, including employees of small businesses that are exempt.This makes the U.S. a major outlier globally, according to Aleta Sprague of UCLAs World Policy Analysis Center. She said that 95% of countries provide some kind of paid leave for personal health. And in most countries that are our economic peers, its a substantial amount of leave, she said.What are the arguments for paid time off?Advocates say providing paid sick time can reduce the spread of disease. It also can improve production by cutting down on presenteeism, or people showing up for work sick and unable to focus on their jobs, said Jessica Mason, a senior policy analyst with the National Partnership.Paid leave for longer-term illnesses can help people focus on care and recovery. Jones said she was able to take every Friday off for weeks during treatment to get chemotherapy. That gave her the weekend to be a couch zombie and recover before returning to work.Paid leave also helped Jones and her husband stay afloat financially. They faced around $14,000 in medical bills even with insurance.We might have had to cash out our 401(k)s, she said. We might have had to sell our house if I hadnt had that paycheck continue. What are the drawbacks?Skye Nevada has cancelled plans to hire about 30 or 40 temporary employees for her Anchorage, Alaska, catering company and seasonal restaurant, The Bridge Co. She says she cant afford her states new paid sick leave law.Nevada said that when someone calls in sick, she would have to pay that person and their replacement, who would likely get overtime.To expect small businesses to just absorb this cost is crazy, Nevada said, adding that the business will only host private events instead of opening to the public this summer during tourist season.Small businesses often dont have a separate human resources department to track compliance with mandated leave policies, noted Beth Milito of the National Federation for Independent Business.The paperwork is time, and time is money to a small business owner, she said. Experts say the patchwork nature of the laws can be an additional hassle for multi-state employers. It affects patients too.Jones, who is helping the nonprofit Children First advocate for a Pennsylvania family leave law, had paid leave through her New York-based employer.But her husbands Pennsylvania company didnt offer it. That left the suburban Philadelphia resident cobbling together help from family members during treatment after her husband used his vacation time and had to return to work. Where do things go from here?Sprague doesnt see a federal law requiring paid leave happening anytime soon. But momentum is building in the states.Voters in Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska approved paid sick leave laws in November.At least seven states are considering paid family and medical leave laws this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.Mason says interest in paid leave has been building since the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic really brought to the forefront of everyones mind how important paid sick leave is, she said.____The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. TOM MURPHY Murphy covers how people and businesses navigate the U.S. health care system. He is a member of APs Health and Science team. mailto

A man uses a cell phone in New Orleans on Aug. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)2025-03-22T13:15:28Z In the corners of social media dominated by wellness content, influencers recommend an assortment of treatments and products to support weight loss, fight exhaustion or promote other desired health outcomes. Some of the endorsed approaches may be helpful. Many play into fads with scant evidence to back up enthusiasts claims, medical experts say. Some influencers encourage their followers to avoid specific food items, such as seed oils, while others advocate going all in on certain foods, such as the meat-heavy carnivore diet. There are video pitches for berberine, a chemical compound thats been touted online as natures Ozempic, and for non-medical IV vitamin therapy, which businesses popularly known as drip bars market as cures for hangovers or fatigue. To be sure, alternative health practices and cures that lacked the medical establishments backing were a part of popular culture long before the internet age. But the plethora of advice shared online has both prompted calls for safeguards and found a measure of mainstream acceptance. The new U.S. health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had his Instagram account suspended in 2021 for posting misinformation about vaccine safety and COVID-19, but many of the ideas he champions have a widespread following. Critics of Dr. Mehmet Oz accused him of sometimes making misleading assertions on the talk show he used to host; Oz now is President Donald Trumps nominee to lead the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. A Netflix series released last month explored the story of Belle Gibson, a popular Australian wellness influencer who amassed a following talking about curing her terminal brain cancer with a healthy lifestyle and alternative medicine. In 2015, Gibson admitted to lying about having a cancer diagnosis. Australias federal court later fined her for failing to donate money she said would go to charity through sales of her cookbook and app. With personal wellness remaining a hot topic, here are some tips health experts have for evaluating the material you see online: Be cautious when an influencer promotes products Most influencers have or want business relationships with companies that allow them to earn income by promoting products. The arrangements dont necessarily mean content creators dont believe in what theyre marketing, but they do have a vested interest in publicizing products that may or may not work. Creators can get paid for pictures or videos that hype up a product and also earn commissions on sales through features such as affiliate links. Experts note its therefore better to proceed with caution when someone inspires you to hit the buy button, whether its for natural supplements, teas with purported weight loss benefits or any other wellness products that show up in your social media feed.Research published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed a sizable amount of Instagram and TikTok posts that discussed five popular medical tests mostly came from account holders with some form of financial interest in promoting the screenings. After analyzing roughly 980 posts on the two platforms, researchers said most of the posts they found were misleading and failed to mention important harms, including overdiagnosis resulting from health people having full-body MRIs or tests to detect early signs of cancer, evaluate microorganisms in the gut or measure hormone levels. Promoting dietary supplements has been a particularly lucrative exercise for many influencers, said Timothy Caulfield, a health policy and law professor at the University of Alberta. He views the supplements industry as the backbone of health misinformation aimed at consumers and designed to fuel billions of dollars in revenue. Its gotten to the point where if someone is selling a supplement, its a red flag, he said. I dont think it was always like that, but it certainly is now. Check for expertiseIn general, consumers should take all bold claims with a degree of skepticism, said Cedric Bryant, chief executive officer at the nonprofit American Council on Exercise. The goal of creators is to increase engagement with their content, and some influencers may be tempted to make unproven assertions to draw in more viewers.If its too good to be true, it probably is, Bryant said. Some health and wellness influencers have medical training, but many do not. Before taking health tips from someone on social media, its a good idea to make sure they have the proper expertise or at least able to share the data that led them to recommend certain products or lifestyle choices. In the fitness area, Bryant recommends checking to see if a creator holds certification from an accreditation organization and then confirming the information through the U.S. Registry of Exercise Professionals database. The American Medical Association and The American Board of Medical Specialties maintain searchable databases for medical doctors, which may help verify the qualifications of creators who share their legal names and general locations. States also operate databases that allow users to check if someone is licensed to practice medicine or has been disciplined for misconduct. If an influencer holding the appropriate credentials pushes certain products, consumers still may want to consider if a brand partnership or other factors are shaping their recommendations. Federal Trade Commission guidelines that reflected the agencys interpretation of federal law directed influencers featuring specific products or services to prominently disclose any endorsements. Yet sponsorships and potential conflicts of interest are not always revealed. In 2023, the year the guidelines were issued, the FTC issued warnings to a dozen online influencers for failing to adequately disclose paid social media posts that promoted sugar-containing products and aspartame, a sweetener found in diet soda, ice cream and other foods. Some of the influencers were registered dieticians. Compare to the prevailing medical consensus If a creator cites studies to support health and diet claims, its best to check and see if what theyre saying aligns with the latest evidence-based medical consensus. Just because somebody has an M.D. after their name doesnt make them entirely trustworthy, said Elias Aboujaoude, a psychiatrist and Stanford University professor who studies the intersection of psychology and technology. Aboujaoude suggests double-checking health claims with traditionally reputable sources, such as major academic institutions or government health agencies. He also advised looking at studies cited by creators and assessing whether theyve been published in reputable journals and subjected to peer review. In some cases, it might be too soon to know if promising results should be trusted or not, said Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. For example, a study might show the benefits of a specific type of herb. But that doesnt necessarily mean the findings have been replicated in other research, a requirement for treatment methods to be considered proven effective, she said. HALELUYA HADERO Hadero covers online shopping and technology with a focus on Amazon, TikTok and internet culture for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford are seen before a debate Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)2025-03-22T12:24:00Z MILWAUKEE (AP) As the candidates for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat squared off in a recent debate before early voting, one issue came up first and dominated at the start.Lets talk about abortion rights, the moderator said.The winner of the April 1 election could hold the power to determine the fate of any future litigation over abortion because the outcome of the race for a vacancy on the states highest court will decide whether liberals or conservatives hold a majority.Abortion has become a central plank of the platform for the Democratic-backed candidate, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, in part because of its effect on voter turnout, although to a lesser extent than during a heated 2023 state Supreme Court race that flipped the court to a liberal majority. Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general, is the Republican-supported candidate. Abortion of course remains a top issue, said Charles Franklin, a Marquette University political scientist. But we havent seen either candidate be as outspoken on hot-button issues as we saw in 2023.Democrats are hoping voters will be motivated by the potential revival of an abortion ban from 1849, which criminalizes the willful killing of an unborn quick child. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to reactivate the 175-year-old ban. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a separate lawsuit in February asking the court to rule on whether a constitutional right to abortion exists in the state. The 19th century law was enacted just a year after Wisconsin became a state, when lead mining and the lumber industry formed the bedrock of the states economy as white settlers rushed into areas left vacant by forced removals of Native American tribes.It also was a time when combinations of herbs stimulating uterine contractions were the most common abortion method, said Kimberly Reilly, a history and gender studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. During this time, there were no women in statehouses, Reilly said. When a woman got married, she lost her legal identity. Her husband became her legal representative. She couldnt own property in her name. She couldnt make a contract.This is the latest instance of long-dormant restrictions influencing current abortion policies after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, which had granted a federal right to abortion.The revival of an 1864 Arizona abortion law, enacted when Arizona was a territory, sparked a national outcry last year. Century-old abortion restrictions passed by all-male legislatures during periods when women could not vote and scientific knowledge of pregnancy and abortion were limited have also influenced post-Roe abortion policies in Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.Those laws tend to be more severe. They often do not include exceptions for rape and incest, call for the imprisonment of providers and ban the procedure in the first few weeks of pregnancy. Some have since been repealed, while others are being challenged in court. During the state Supreme Court debate March 12, Crawford declined to weigh in directly on the 1849 abortion case but promoted her experience representing Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and making sure that women could make their own choices about their bodies and their health care. In an ad released Wednesday, she accused Schimel of not trusting women to make their own healthcare decisions.Schimel calls himself pro-life and has previously supported leaving Wisconsins 1849 abortion ban on the books. He dodged questions about abortion during the debate, saying he believes the issue should be left up to voters, although Wisconsin does not have a citizen-led ballot initiative process, which voters in several other states have used to protect abortion rights.Anthony Chergosky, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political scientist, said Schimel has been borrowing from the Republican playbook of avoiding the issue of abortion by leaving the question to voters in individual states. The message has still gotten across to many Democratic voters, who cited abortion as a top issue while waiting in line for early voting this past week.Jane Delzer, a 75-year-old liberal voter in Waukesha, said a womans right to choose is my biggest motivator. Im deeply worried about what Schimel may do on abortion.June Behrens, a 79-year-old retired teacher, spoke about a loved ones abortion experience: Everyone makes their own choice and has their own journey in life, and they deserve that right.Republican voters primarily cited immigration and the economy as their top issues, essentially the same ones that helped propel Republican Donald Trumps win over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris last November in the presidential election. But others said they also wanted conservative social views reflected on the court. Lewis Titus, a 72-year-old volunteer for the city of Eau Claire, said restricting abortion was his top issue in the Supreme Court race: I believe that Brad Schimel is the one to carry that on.While its one of the key issues this year, abortion played a much larger role two years ago, when a race for Wisconsins highest court demonstrated how expensive and nationalized state Supreme Court races have become.This years campaigns have focused primarily on criminal sentencing and attempting to paint one another as soft on crime, said Howard Schweber, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor emeritus.Crawford also has tried to make the race a referendum on Trump after his first months in office and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is running Trumps massive federal cost-cutting initiative and has funded two groups that have together spent more than $10 million to promote Schimel.Two years ago, abortion was a hugely mobilizing issue, and we saw that clearly in the lead-up to the election, Schweber said. Were seeing some of this but not to the same extent, which really makes no sense. The issues and stakes are exactly the same.The decision to elevate other issues might be the result of anxiety among Democrats that abortion may not resonate as deeply as they once believed after significant election losses in November, despite Harris using abortion as a pillar of her campaign, several Wisconsin politics experts said.Charles Franklin, a Marquette University political scientist, said he believes abortion will motivate Democrats, but the issue may not rank high in the priorities of independent voters, who he says will be central to the races outcome.In the early days after Roe v. Wade was overturned, it was still a very hot issue for voters, he said. But as states have codified their abortion laws, the issue doesnt seem to motivate voters to the same extent. In the fall, many Democrats believed abortion was still this magic silver bullet and would win them the presidential and Senate races. But the outcomes didnt seem to support that.___Associated Press video journalist Mark Vancleave in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.___The Associated Pressreceives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)2025-03-22T04:32:49Z ROME (AP) The Trevi Fountain, arguably the worlds most famous, has graced screens for decades, from Fellinis La Dolce Vita to Netflixs Emily in Paris. Each year, millions of visitors push through Romes narrow streets to gaze at the towering Titan god flanked by falls cascading into a turquoise pool.Yet, they never get to venture behind Oceanus back to see what produces the sublime play of water in the baroque masterpiece. A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, opens the door of Romes Trevi Fountains old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, opens the door of Romes Trevi Fountains old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Wooden doors on an adjacent street lead to the maneuvering chambers that control the fountains water supply, coming from the Aqua Virgo an ancient Roman aqueduct 16 kilometers (10 miles) away. Two electric pumps recycle 126 liters (33 gallons) of water per second while Romes water management company, ACEA, carefully monitors the flow around the clock.This precise amount is crucial for the movement of water through the statues; a little more or less, and it wouldnt work, said Davide DAlonzo, ACEAs manager for the area. The modern maneuvering chamber features metal tanks and lighted panels. In the original, arched chamber, water audibly rushes through a thick pipe and there is a functional, 18th-century hydrometer to gauge the fountains water level. A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, walks in Romes Trevi fountains new water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, walks in Romes Trevi fountains new water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, operates on a dashboard of Romes Trevi Fountains new water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, operates on a dashboard of Romes Trevi Fountains new water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A worker of Rome's main water and energy company, ACEA, walks in Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A worker of Rome's main water and energy company, ACEA, walks in Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A view of Rome's Trevi Fountain's old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A large, rudimentary spreadsheet on the wall displays the names of rich Roman families whose homes received water from the chamber long ago; when they fell behind on their payments, their supply was cut off. The chambers grated windows grant views out over the fountain and its many visitors all of whom are oblivious to its hidden waterworks. They toss coins over their shoulders into the water, a hopeful gesture based on a legend that it guarantees their return to the eternal city. A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, opens a window of Romes Trevi Fountains old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) A worker of Romes main water and energy company, ACEA, opens a window of Romes Trevi Fountains old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More TRISHA THOMAS Thomas covers events throughout Southern Europe, Italy, and the Vatican for The Associated Press based in Rome. twitter instagram mailto

Wrestlers compete in the NCAA wrestling championships, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-03-22T12:45:52Z BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) President Donald Trump plans to attend the NCAA wrestling championships for the second time in three years, the latest example of how he has mostly limited travel early in his new term to trips built around sports events.Trump is expected to be at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday night as Penn State looks to close out its fourth straight mens team title. The Republican president spent Friday night as his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, about 70 miles northeast of Philadelphia, on what was his first visit there of his second term.Were going to the big fight. The reason Im going is in Philadelphia. They have the NCAA, world, wrestling for college. And Ive always supported the wrestlers, Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday evening. I want to support them. These are the great college wrestlers from the various schools. In the two-plus months since returning to the White House, Trump attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans and the Daytona 500 in Florida, where his motorcade drove a portion of the track. While president-elect he went to a UFC fight in New York. Thats more travel for sports than for policy announcements or official duties, though a long January swing took Trump to tour damage from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and wildfires in Los Angeles. He then gave a speech and visited the floor of Las Vegas Circa Resort & Casino before heading to Doral, Florida, to address a House Republican policy conference. Trump has long built his public and political persona around sporting events, and relishes turning up at live events to hear cheers from the crowd, even if some in attendance boo him. He also has signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports an action which he points to frequently to fire up his core supporters. The president has used most Saturdays and Sundays to play golf at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, though he also sometimes remained in Washington to give weekend speeches.Trump was a candidate when he went to the 2023 NCAA wrestling championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Crime scene technicians look over the Young Park parking lot after a mass shooting overnight, Saturday, March 22, 2025 in Las Cruces, N.M. (Justin Garcia/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)2025-03-22T13:30:20Z LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) At least three people were killed and 14 others were injured in a mass shooting at a park in the desert city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, police said Saturday.Police were asking Saturday for bystanders to share videos and other tips as they continued to seek a suspect or suspects in the attack, which occurred at about 10 p.m. on Friday in the citys Young Park, a music and recreation venue.Gunshot victims were sent to all three local hospitals, as well as to University Medical Center of El Paso, the regional trauma center, according to police and hospital officials. Six patients arrived at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces by ambulance and private car, said marketing and communications director Andrew Cummins, and five of those have been transported to El Paso. In a post to Instagram on Saturday, Las Cruces City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo put numbers to the tragedy. Part of me wanted to write that this is something you never really think this is going to happen in your city, but that actually feels deeply untrue, she wrote. Honestly now days a tragedy like this feels like a nightmare just waiting to come true at any possible moment, yet also always praying and hoping it never will. Las Cruces sits on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert along the Rio Grande River in southern New Mexico, about 41 miles (66 kilometers) north of the U.S.-Mexican border. The Las Cruces Police Department said police and fire personnel who arrived at the park in response to reports of gunfire are being assisted in their investigation by New Mexico State Police, the Dona Ana County Sheriffs Office, the FBI and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The department was still on scene Saturday and the area around the park was closed to traffic, according to local media reports.

Volunteer Adrian Bucnick spends time with a dog at the Metro Animal Care and Control facility Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)2025-03-22T13:05:01Z NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) For over a decade, Adrian Budnick has taken adoption photos of the dogs at Nashvilles county animal shelter, but it wasnt until the COVID pandemic that an idea came to her.As one of only a few people allowed to visit in-person, she could take videos of dogs, inventing humorous nicknames and capturing their individual personalities, for an audience of potential adopters. First came her TikToks playing the persona of Anita Walker, a fast-talking, cowboy boot-wearing purveyor of certified pre-owned pets. Then she struck gold with the Whats this then? series short videos featuring goofy dog names that drew in viewers and boosted adoptions. Imaginative dog names made the videos go viralIt was kind of just on a whim, Budnick said. We had this Im assuming it was like a poodle-doodle situation, and he was really big and lanky.People often assume the shelter doesnt have fluffy dogs, so Budnick adopted what she calls her Karen voice slightly bored and complaining when she looked into the camera to say: The shelter only has pit bulls.And then I held up this giant curly dog with legs and the tongue hanging out. And I was like, Whats this then? She called it a Himalayan fur goblin.The video exploded over night, Budnick said. So much so that she went back the next day to make another one because Im like, I cant let this go.Since then she has promoted the adoption of such imaginative dog breeds as the Teacup werewolf and the Speckled freckled cuddle calf. Then theres the French baguette long lady and the Creamsicle push-up pup. The shelter does get its share of pit bull mixes. A December video featuring several of them in festive costumes with Budnick singing I Want a Pitt-o-potomous for Christmas has been viewed more than 5 million times. Adoptions got a boostWhile it is gratifying to gain visibility, Budnick said, the real payoff is in the adoptions. Data provided by the shelter shows dog adoptions increased by just over 25% between 2021 and 2024. Well get calls from all over. And its not just local here to Tennessee even, said Metro Animal Care and Control Director Ashley Harrington. Weve had an adopter from Canada. Weve had ones from states all over. She said people often call asking about a specific, made-up dog breed from one of the videos. Its been pretty great, and its been fun for our staff.The popularity of Budnicks videos have also led to donations of both money and supplies. Letters to the shelter referencing her videos are taped to a wall in the volunteer room.Still, like many other shelters in the South, its overcrowded. Budnick has one thing to say about that situation: Spay and neuter, spay and neuter, spay and neuter.Returning to photography for the love of dogsBudnick started taking photos as a kid. While on camping trips, shed take nature pictures with a 35 mm Canon AE-1. In high school she took photography classes and learned to make her own prints in a darkroom. But eventually she stopped taking pictures. That changed when she adopted a dog. When I got Ruby, my 13-year-old, she was five weeks old, and I started taking pictures of her, she said. A few months later, Budnick adopted Rubys sister, and a few months after that she began as a volunteer photographer at the shelter. So really, my dogs got me back into it. With her photos and videos, Budnick fights against the stigma that the shelter is a sad place with dogs no one would want. In many of the videos, she holds even the large dogs in her arms and gets her face licked. You see them running around in the videos when theyre in playgroup, and you see them cuddling, and you see their goofy smiles when Im holding them, and it just really showcases them, she said. Budnicks success has been noticed. She loves it when other shelters copy her ideas, or even lip sync over her videos while showing their own dogs, but shes not interested in taking on more work. She has a regular job in addition to volunteering for the shelter between 7-10 hours each week, but she doesnt mind the long hours.Im just having fun, she said. I absolutely love dogs. I think theyre the best thing on earth. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

From left, Yael and Adi Alexander, parents of Eden Alexander, who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, listen to Liz Hirsh Naftali, great aunt of Abigail More Edan, as families and victims of the Hamas attacks meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 29. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-03-22T16:59:29Z TEL AVIV (AP) Unlike many families who blame Israels government for not getting their loved ones released from captivity in Gaza, Adi Alexander is hesitant to point fingers. Pragmatic and measured, the father of the last living American being held hostage by Hamas just wants his son to come home.I dont want to get into who came first, the egg or the chicken, Alexander told The Associated Press on Friday from his New Jersey home. Still, with the once-promising ceasefire giving way to renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas, he wonders whether Israel can secure his sons freedom and is more hopeful about the U.S.'s chances to do it.Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the U.S., is one of 59 hostages still in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead. Last week, Hamas said it would release Edan and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to the stalled ceasefire agreement. Days later, though, Israel launched rockets across Gaza, breaking the two-month-old deal and killing hundreds of Palestinians. The hostilities show no signs of abating, with Israel vowing Friday to advance deeper into Gaza until Hamas releases the remaining hostages. The return to fighting has inflamed the debate in Israel over the fate of those held captive. Netanyahu has come under mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis. But he also faces demands from his hard-line allies not to accept any deal that falls short of Hamas destruction. A fathers hopeAdi Alexander said he thinks Netanyahu wants to bring everybody home, but on his own terms. He questions Netanyahus plans whereas he believes U.S. President Donald Trumps message is clear: Hes focused on bringing the hostages home. Alexander said hes counting on the U.S. to bridge the large gap between Israel and Hamas. His message to Trump about his administrations efforts to free his son and the others: Just keep this job going.Many families of the hostages say Trump has done more for them than Netanyahu, crediting the president with the ceasefire. In December, before taking office, Trump demanded the hostages immediate release, saying if they werent freed before he was sworn in for his second term there would be hell to pay. Phase one of the deal began weeks later, and saw the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The ceasefire was supposed to remain in place as long as talks on the second phase continued, but Netanyahu balked at entering substantive negotiations.Instead, he tried to force Hamas to accept a new ceasefire plan put forth by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. That plan would have required Hamas to release half its remaining hostages the militant groups main bargaining chip in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce.Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the original ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. The US engages directly with HamasAs a soldier, Edan would have been released during the deals second phase. But Hamas announced this month that it would release Edan after the White House said it had engaged in ongoing talks and discussions with the group separate from the main negotiations. It is the first known direct engagement between Hamas and the U.S. since the State Department designated it a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. Adi Alexander said Adam Boehler, whos helping spearhead the Trump administrations efforts to free the hostages, led those separate talks because phase two was stalled. But he said he didnt believe Hamas claim that it would release his son because it came out of left field and wasnt being considered as part of the discussions between the group and Boehler. The anxious father said he speaks with Witkoff and Boehler almost daily and understands the negotiations are ongoing despite the resumption of fighting.A native of Tenafly, a New Jersey suburb of New York City, Edan moved to Israel in 2022 after high school and enlisted in the military. He was abducted from his base during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, when Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 others hostage. The grueling waitSince Edans abduction, theres been little news about him. Hamas released a video of him over Thanksgiving weekend in November. His family said it was difficult to watch as he cried and pleaded for help, but it was a relief to see he was alive. Freed hostages have given the family more news, according to his father. Some said Edan had lost a lot of weight. Others said hed been an advocate for fellow hostages, standing up for kidnapped Thai workers and telling their captors that the workers werent Israeli and should be freed. Although he knows the resumption of fighting means it will take more time to get his son back, Adi Alexander said he thinks both sides had became too comfortable with the ceasefire and that this was one reason phase two never began. He wants the war to end, and hopes the fighting will be limited and targeted and push everyone back to the table. Somebody, I think had to shake this tree to create chaos, and chaos creates opportunities, he said. The only objective is to get back to the bargaining table to get those people out. SAM MEDNICK Mednick is the AP correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. Mednick formerly covered West & Central Africa and South Sudan. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Maj. Lisa Jaster, center, the first Army Reserve female to graduate the Army's Ranger School, stands in formation with other Rangers during an Army Ranger school graduation ceremony, Oct. 16, 2015, in Fort Benning, Ga. (AP Photo/Branden Camp, File)2025-03-22T17:10:04Z WASHINGTON (AP) Every day over the past few weeks, the Pentagon has faced questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from Defense Department websites and social media pages after it purged online content that promoted women or minorities.In response, the department has scrambled to restore a handful of those posts as their removals have come to light. While the pages of some well-known veterans, including baseball and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson, are now back up on Pentagon websites, officials warn that many posts tagged for removal in error may be gone forever. The restoration process has been so hit or miss that even groups that the administration has said are protected, like the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military pilots who served in a segregated World War II unit, still have deleted pages that as of Saturday had not been restored. This past week chief, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video that mistaken removals will be quickly rectified. History is not DEI, he said, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion. But due to the enormous size of the military and the wide range of commands, units and bases, there has been an array of interpretations of what to remove and how as part of the Pentagon directive to delete online content that promotes DEI. Officials from across the military services said they have asked for additional guidance from the Pentagon on what should be restored, but have yet to receive any. The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations, said, for example, they were waiting for guidance on whether military firsts count as history that can be restored. The first female Army Reserve graduate of Ranger School, Maj. Lisa Jaster, or the first female fighter pilot, Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, both had their stories deleted. Some officials said their understanding was it did not matter whether it was a historic first. If the first was based on what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth found to be a disqualifying characteristic, such as gender or race, it had to go, they said. One Army team has taken a very deliberate approach. According to the officials, the team took down several major historical heritage sites that had many postings about women and various ethnic or racial groups. They are now going through them all and plan to rework and repost as much as possible on a new website focused on Army heroes. The process, the officials said, could take months.Overall, tens of thousands of online posts that randomly mention dozens of key words, including gay, bias and female have been deleted. Officials warn that the bulk of those images are gone for good. Even as complaints roll in, officials will be careful about restoring things unless senior leaders approve.The officials described the behind-the-scenes process as challenging, frustrating and emotionally draining. Workers going through years of posts to take down mentions of historic accomplishments by women or minorities were at times reduced to tears or lashed out in anger at commanders directing the duty, the officials said. Others were forced to pull down stories they were proud of and had worked on themselves. They were often confused about the parameters for removal once a key word was found, and they erred on the side of removal, according to the officials.Not complying fully with the order was seen as dangerous because it could put senior military service leaders at risk of being fired or disciplined if an errant post celebrating diversity was left up and found. Officials said the department relied in large part on a blind approach using artificial intelligence computer commands to search for dozens of those key words in online department, military and command websites. If a story or photo depicted or included one of the terms, the computer program then added DEI into the web address of the content, which flagged it and led to its removal. Purging posts from X, Facebook and other social media sites is more complicated and time intensive. An AI command would not work as well on those sites.So military service members and civilians have evaluated social media posts by hand, working late into the night and on weekends to pore over their units social media pages, cataloging and deleting references going back years. Because some civilians were not allowed to work on weekends, military troops had to be called in to replace them, as the officials described it. The Defense Department is publicly insisting that mistakes will be corrected.As an example, the Pentagon on Wednesday restored some pages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans. That step came days after tribes condemned the removal. Department officials said the Navajo Code Talker material was erroneously erased, The previous week, pages honoring a Black Medal of Honor winner and Japanese American service members were also restored. The restorations represent a shift from early, adamant denials that any deletion of things such as the Enola Gay or prominent service members was happening at all. At least two images of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, are still missing.This is fake news and anyone with a pulse knows it! the Defense Departments new Rapid Response social media account asserted March 7. We are NOT removing images of the Enola Gay or any other pictures that honor the legacy of our warfighters.Over time, the Pentagon has shifted its public response as more examples of deleted pages came to light.On Thursday, Parnell acknowledged in a video posted online that: Because of the realities of AI tools and other software, some important content was incorrectly pulled off line to be reviewed. We want to be very, very clear: History is not DEI. When content is either mistakenly removed, or if its maliciously removed, we continue to work quickly to restore it.But others have seen the widespread erasure of history. Most female aviator stories and photographs are disappearingincluding from the archives. From the WASPs to fighter pilots, @AFThunderbirds to @BlueAngels theyve erased us, Carey Lohrenz, one of the Navys first female F-14 Tomcat pilots, posted to X. Its an across the board devastating loss of history and information. Among the webpages removed include one about the Women Air Service Pilots, or WASPs, the female World War II pilots who were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military, and the Air Force Thunderbirds.Parnell, Hegseth and others have vigorously defended the sweeping purge despite the flaws.I think the president and the secretary have been very clear on this that anybody that says in the Department of Defense that diversity is our strength is, is frankly, incorrect, Parnell said during a Pentagon media briefing. Our shared purpose and unity are our strength. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto

Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States deplane at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez, File)2025-03-22T18:20:42Z CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela will once again accept repatriation flights from the United States carrying its deported nationals after reaching an agreement with the U.S., a Venezuelan official said on social media Saturday.Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro suspended flights on March 8, after the U.S. Treasury Department announced the withdrawal of Chevrons license to export Venezuelan oil.We have agreed with the U.S. government to resume the repatriation of Venezuelan migrants with an initial flight tomorrow, Sunday, said Jorge Rodrguez, president of Venezuelas Assembly and Maduros chief negotiator with the U.S.Venezuela accepted the deal to guarantee the the return of our compatriots to their nation with the safeguard of their Human Rights, Rodrguez said.In his statement, Rodrguez referred to the deportation by Donald Trumps government of some 250 Venezuelans to a high-security prison in El Salvador. Migrating is not a crime and we will not rest until we achieve the return of all those who require it and until we rescue our brothers kidnapped in El Salvador, Rodrguez said. Trump alleged the deportees were members of the Tren de Aragua gang. He labeled the Tren de Aragua an invading force on March 15 when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a little-used authority from 1798 that allows the president to deport any non-citizen during wartime. A federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations, but flights were in the air when the ruling came down. Tren de Aragua, which the U.S. Department of State designated a foreign terrorist organization, originated in a prison in the South American country. Members accompanied an exodus of millions of Venezuelans, the overwhelming majority of whom were seeking better living conditions after their nations economy came undone last decade.Trumps administration has not provided evidence that the deportees are members of Tren de Aragua or that they committed any crime in the U.S. Maduros government has mostly refused the entry of immigrants deported from the U.S. Those deportations have sharply picked up since Trump took office on Jan. 20.In recent weeks, some 350 people were deported to Venezuela, including some 180 who spent up to 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.The Trump administration said that the Venezuelans sent to Guantanamo are members of Tren de Aragua, but offered little evidence to back this up.

Participants in a mass for the jubilar pilgrims from Naples wait for the start of the celebration under pouring rain in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)2025-03-22T16:07:39Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis will be released from the hospital on Sunday, after 38 days battling a life-threatening case of pneumonia in both lungs, his doctors said.Gemelli medical director Dr. Sergio Alfieri said Saturday that Francis will require at least two months of rest and rehabilitation as he continues recovering back at the Vatican.Francis was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened. He later developed a life-threatening case of pneumonia.Pope Francis doctors provided their first in-person update on the pontiffs condition in a month, in a sign that he has made good and steady progress in his battle against double pneumonia.The Saturday evening briefing is the first since Feb. 21, a week after the 88-year-old Francis was brought to Gemelli hospital. He subsequently experienced several respiratory crises that landed him in critical condition, though he has since stabilized. In another development, the Vatican announced that Francis would appear on Sunday morning to bless faithful from his 10th floor suite at the hospital. While Francis released an audio message on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him March 16, Sundays blessing will be the first live appearance since Francis was admitted on Feb. 14 for what has become the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.The Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease, is prone to respiratory problems in winter and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted after a bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.The most serious setbacks began on Feb. 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring he use a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises in the following days, which required doctors manually aspirate the mucus, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids. At no point did he lose consciousness, and doctors reported he was alert and cooperative.Over the past two weeks, he has stabilized and registered slight improvements, the Vatican press office has reported. He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night, and is cutting back his reliance on high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (AP Photo)2025-03-23T05:51:48Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israeli strikes across the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight into Sunday, including a senior Hamas political leader and several women and children, as the military ordered people to evacuate from part of the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.The military said it would soon operate against militants in the already heavily destroyed Tel Sultan area of Rafah. Israel launched a major offensive in the southern city last May, when it captured a strategic corridor along the border with Egypt and the Rafah crossing.The military ordered people to evacuate on foot along a single route to the Mawasi area, a sprawling area of squalid tent camps with few public services. It was not immediately clear if the evacuation order signaled a renewed ground operation.Remaining in camps, tents, or houses in Tel al-Sultan or walking on any other route endangers your lives and the lives of your family members, military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee said in a statement. Hamas said that Salah Bardawil, a member of its political bureau and of the Palestinian parliament, was killed in a strike in Mawasi that also killed his wife. Bardawil was a well-known member of the groups political wing who gave media interviews over the years.Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are allied with Hamas, meanwhile launched another missile at Israel, setting off air raid sirens. The Israeli military said the projectile was intercepted, and there were no reports of casualties or damage. At least 2 families among those killed in southern GazaTwo hospitals in southern Gaza said they had received 17 bodies from strikes overnight, including several women and children. The toll did not include the Hamas official and his wife.The European Hospital said the dead included five children and their parents killed in a strike in Khan Younis. Another family two girls and their parents were killed in a separate strike on the southern city. The Kuwaiti Hospital said it received the bodies of a woman and child killed in another strike. The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said Israeli forces were preventing its ambulances from responding to strikes in Rafah and that several of its medics had been wounded.There was no immediate comment from the military.Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last week when it launched a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians across the territory. The Houthis resumed their attacks on Israel, portraying them as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians, despite recent U.S. strikes targeting the Yemeni rebels.Ceasefire in tatters after Israeli strikesThe ceasefire that took hold in January paused 15 months of heavy fighting ignited by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel.Twenty-five Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remains of their homes, and there was a surge in humanitarian aid.The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the next phase of the truce, in which Hamas was to release the remaining 59 hostages 35 of whom are believed to be dead in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Those talks never began, and Israel backed out of the ceasefire agreement after Hamas refused Israeli and U.S.-backed proposals to release more hostages ahead of any talks on a lasting truce.Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the captives have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals, while Israeli forces rescued eight alive and recovered dozens of bodies.Israels offensive has killed at least 49,747 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its records. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and at its height had displaced around 90% of the population. Israel sealed off the territory of 2 million Palestinians from food, fuel, medicine and other supplies earlier this month to pressure Hamas to change the ceasefire agreement. ___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

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in near Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)2025-03-23T06:13:23Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) At least three people were killed, including a five-year-old child, after Russia launched a barrage of drones targeting Kyiv overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services. The attack on the Ukrainian capital came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect U.S.-mediated talks on Monday to discuss a pause in long-range attacks targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure. The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia a day ahead of the indirect talks, Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is planning to send technical teams to discuss the details of the partial ceasefire. Russia launched 147 drones across Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 97 and 25 others didnt reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The attacks also struck Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and Donetsk regions. Extended sounds of explosions were heard in the early hours of the night as the air raid blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defenses, fell on residential buildings. Ukraines Kyiv City Military Administration said three people were killed and 10 others were injured. Two residential buildings in the district of Dnipro caught fire due to falling drone debris, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko. A fire broke out on the top floors of a 9-storey building, killing one woman, the State Emergency Service said. In the district of Podil, a fire broke out on the 20th floor of a 25-storey building. In Holosiivskyi, fires broke out in a warehouse and office building, killing one person, according to the State Emergency Service. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Riot police use pepper spray to clear a protester during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)2025-03-23T07:18:05Z ISTANBUL (AP) A court formally arrested the mayor of Istanbul and key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday and ordered him jailed pending the outcome of a trial on corruption charges.Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained following a raid on his residence earlier this week, sparking the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade. It also deepened concerns over democracy and rule of law in Turkey.His imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major contender from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkeys courts operate independently.The formal arrest came as his opposition Republican Peoples Party, or CHP, began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Imamoglu as its presidential candidate despite the arrest. The party has also set up symbolic ballot boxes nationwide called solidarity boxes to allow people who are not party members to express their support to the mayor. Honestly, we are embarrassed in the name of our legal system, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, a fellow member of Imamoglus CHP, told reporters, criticizing the lack of confidentiality in the proceedings.We learned from television pundits about the allegations that even lawyers did not have access to, showing how politically motivated this whole ordeal has been, he said. The Council of Europe, a Europe-wide body that focuses on promoting human rights and democracy slammed the decision to imprison the mayor.We deplore the decision to place Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu in detention, and demand his immediate release, said Marc Cools who heads the groupings congress of local authorities.Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and an author of a biography of Erdogan, said with Imamoglus arrest, Erdogan was taking an extreme measure against his key opponent. Erdogan is determined to do whatever it takes to end Imamoglus career, he said. (Imamoglu) beats Erdogan in every imaginable presidential poll.Cagaptay said the international environment where the European Union appears keen to maintain Turkeys favor amid security threats from Russia, and the United States is unconcerned by other countries internal affairs allows Erdogan to proceed without fear of international scrutiny.The EU is compliant and the United States is facing inwards, Cagaptay said.Before his detention, Imamoglu had already faced multiple criminal cases that could result in prison sentences and a political ban. He was also appealing a 2022 conviction for insulting members of Turkeys Supreme Electoral Council.Earlier in the week, a university nullified his diploma, citing alleged irregularities in his transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus some 30 years ago. The decision effectively bars him from running for president, since the position requires candidates to be university graduates. Imamoglu had vowed to challenge the decision. Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkeys largest city in March 2019, in a major blow to Erdogan and the presidents Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. Erdogans party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won.The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which the CHP made significant gains against Erdogans governing party. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

From left, head physician of Vatican's Health and Hygiene Office, Luigi Carbone, and Surgeon Sergio Alfieri, speak to journalists, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in the entrance hall of Rome's Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where Pope Francis is being treated for bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)2025-03-23T08:11:36Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis is making his first public appearance in five weeks before being discharged Sunday from the hospital where he survived a severe case of pneumonia that twice threatened his life and raised the prospect of a papal resignation or funeral.The 88-year-old pontiff plans to offer a Sunday blessing from the 10th-floor papal suite at Romes Gemelli hospital. After saying goodbye to hospital staff, he is to return to the Vatican to begin at least two months of rest, rehabilitation and convalescence during which time doctors have said he should refrain from meeting in big groups or exerting himself.But Francis personal doctor, Dr. Luigi Carbone, told a hastily arranged press conference Saturday evening that the pope eventually should be able to resume all his normal activities as long as he maintains the slow and steady progress he has registered to date.His return home, after the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy and the second-longest in recent papal history, brought tangible relief to the Vatican and Catholic faithful who have been anxiously following 38 days of medical ups and downs and wondering if Francis would make it. Pope is happy to go homeNo special arrangements have been made at the Domus Santa Marta, the Vatican hotel next to St. Peters Basilica where Francis lives in a two-room suite on the second floor. Francis will have access to supplemental oxygen and 24-hour medical care as needed, though Carbone said he hoped Francis would progressively need less and less assistance breathing as his lungs recover.While the pneumonia infection has been successfully treated, Francis will continue to take oral medication for quite some time to treat the fungal infection in his lungs and continue his respiratory and physical physiotherapy.For three or four days hes been asking when he can go home, so hes very happy, Carbone said. Two life-threatening crisesThe Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened. Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.The most serious setbacks began on Feb. 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring the use of a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises a few days later, which required doctors to manually aspirate copious amounts of mucus from his lungs, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.He was never intubated and at no point lost consciousness. Doctors reported he always remained alert and cooperative, though they say he has probably lost a bit of weight given a natural loss of appetite. Im still alive!Dr. Sergio Alfieri, who coordinated Francis medical team, stressed that not all patients who develop such a severe case of double pneumonia survive, much less are released from the hospital. He said Francis life was at risk twice, during the two acute respiratory crises, and that the pope at the time understandably lost his typical good sense of humor.When he was in really bad shape, it was difficult that he was in good spirits, Alfieri said. But one morning we went to listen to his lungs and we asked him how he was doing. When he replied, Im still alive we knew he was OK and had gotten his good humor back.Alfieri confirmed that Francis was still having trouble speaking due to the damage to his lungs and respiratory muscles. But he said such problems were normal, especially in elderly patients, and that his voice was making good progress coming back. He predicted it would eventually return to normal. Over the past two weeks, Francis has stabilized and registered slight improvements. He no longer needs to wear the ventilation mask at night and is cutting back his reliance on high flows of supplemental oxygen during the day. No confirmed appointments for nowThe Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, declined to confirm any upcoming events, including a scheduled audience on April 8 with King Charles III or Francis participation in Easter services at the end of the month. But Carbone said he hoped Francis might be well enough to travel to Turkey at the end of May to participate in an important ecumenical anniversary.Francis is also returning to the Vatican in the throes of a Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration scheduled to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome this year. The pope has already missed several Jubilee audiences and will presumably miss several more, but Vatican officials say his absence hasnt significantly impacted the numbers of expected pilgrims arriving. Francis released an audio message thanking people for their prayers on March 6 and the Vatican distributed a photo of him on March 16. But Sundays blessing marks the first live appearance since Francis was admitted.Only St. John Paul II recorded a longer hospitalization in 1981 when he spent 55 days at Gemelli for minor surgery and treatment of an infection.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FILE- In this May 22, 2011 file photo, emergency personnel walk through a severely damaged neighborhood after a tornado hit Joplin, Mo. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2025-03-23T04:05:08Z The horror of the Joplin tornado is the subject of a new documentary film, released nearly 14 years after the twister struck Missouri with cataclysmic force, ripping into a hospital, destroying neighborhoods and killing around 160. You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing, Kerry Sachetta, then the Joplin High School principal, told The Associated Press on the evening of May 22, 2011, after the school was destroyed. Thats really what it looked like, Sachetta said.As he spoke on that dreadful night, fires from gas leaks burned across town. The EF-5 twister, then the single deadliest in six decades, packed winds of 200 mph (320 kph). At times, it was nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide. Left in its wake was a hellscape of cars crushed like soda cans and shaken residents roaming streets in search of missing family members. About 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed.The Twister: Caught in the Storm was released last week by Netflix following a recent spate of deadly storms that have unleashed tornadoes, blinding dust storms and wildfires. Hospital became a disaster zoneSome of the most startling damage in Joplin was at St. Johns Regional Medical Center, where staff had only moments to hustle patients into the hallway before the 367-bed hospital was knocked off its foundation. Flying debris blew out windows and disabled the hospitals exposed generators, causing ventilators to stop working. The winds also scattered X-rays and medical records around 75 miles (121 kilometers) away. Five patients and one visitor died in the immediate aftermath. And other patients later died of injuries they suffered in the storm.On the morning after the storm, Dr. Jim Riscoe told the AP that some members of his emergency room staff showed up after the tornado with injuries of their own but worked through the night anyway.Its a testimony to the human spirit, Riscoe said, comparing the scene to a nuclear disaster. Cars had been thrown like playing cards. Power lines were sparking. I couldnt believe it.The building was so badly damaged it had to be razed the following year. Recent grads and nursing home residents among the deadThe deaths from the storm were so numerous that a makeshift morgue was set up next to a football stadium in Joplin. Hundreds of others were injured in the city of 53,000. Among the dead was 18-year-old Will Norton who was headed home from his high school graduation when he was sucked out of his familys SUV through the sunroof. His father desperately held on to his legs. Nortons body was found five days later in a nearby pond.In the following years, his family kept his room as it was: an open pack of chewing gum, his trademark mismatched socks, his computer and the green screen that helped earn him a YouTube following for his travel chronicles.Its a little comfort to go in there, go back in time and remember how it was, his father, Mark Norton, said close to the five-year anniversary.Around a dozen died in a single nursing home after the tornado tossed four vehicles, including a full-size van, into the building. Those who survived were scattered to nursing homes in four states, their records and medications blown away. Widespread phone outages then complicated efforts to locate the residents, some of whom had dementia.Officials still disgree about the final death toll. The federal storm center says 158 died while local officials count the deaths of three additional people, including a person struck by lightning after the tornado blew through the city. Schools were devastated but persistedThe tornado forced school officials to end the spring term nine days early. Six school buildings were destroyed, including the high school. Seven other buildings were badly damaged.The district scrambled to rebuild with federal funds, donations, insurance money and a $62 million bond, cobbling together a hodgepodge of temporary locations while construction was underway. Seniors and juniors took classes in a converted big-box store in a shopping mall, while freshmen and sophomores went to school in a building across town. Then-President Barack Obama was the commencement speaker during the high schools 2012 commencement and then-Vice President Joe Biden attended the 2014 dedication of the new high school, calling the community the heart and soul of America.The dedication included two live eagles, the schools mascot. During the first home football game after the tornado, a single eagle flew over the football field and became a symbol signifying that the students, like the bird who returns to the same nesting spot each year, would come home again.

101-year-old Col. James H. Harvey III, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, sits for a portrait in Aurora, Colo., Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)2025-03-23T04:44:27Z AURORA, Colo. (AP) With members of a trailblazing Black Air Force unit passing away at advanced ages, efforts to remain true to their memory carry on despite sometimes confusing orders from President Donald Trump as he purges federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Col. James H. Harvey III, 101, is among the last few airmen and support crew who proved that a Black unit the 332nd Fighter Group of the Tuskegee Airmen could fight as well as any other in World War II and the years after. He went on to become the first Black jet fighter pilot in Korean airspace during the Korean War, and a decorated one after 126 missions. He was one of four Tuskegee Airmen who won the first U.S. Air Force Gunnery Meet in 1949, a forerunner of todays U.S. Navy Top Gun school. They said we didnt have any ability to operate aircraft or operate heavy machinery. We were inferior to the white man. We were nothing, Harvey said. So we showed them. Shortly after Trumps January inauguration, the Air Force removed new recruit training courses that included videos of the Tuskegee Airmen. The removal drew bipartisan outrage and the White Houses ire over what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as malicious implementation of Trumps executive order. The Air Force quickly reversed course.Announcing the reversal, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said in a statement that the initial removal was because the service, like other agencies, had to move swiftly to comply with Trumps executive order with no equivocation, no slow-rolling, no foot-dragging. The videos were shown to troops as part of DEI courses taken during basic military training. Some photos of Tuskegee Airmen were also among tens of thousands of images in a Pentagon database flagged for removal.I thought there was progress in that area, but evidently there isnt, said Harvey, who blamed Trump for contributing to what he sees as worsening prejudice in the U.S. Ill tell him to his face. No problem, he said. Ill tell him, Youre a racist, and see what he has to say about that. What can they do to me? Just kill me, thats all.The Tuskegee Airmen unit was established in 1941 as the 99th Pursuit Squadron based at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The 99th became the 332nd Fighter Group, which by wars end destroyed or damaged more than 400 enemy aircraft in North Africa and Europe during the war and sank a German destroyer in action.Of the 992 Tuskegee Airmen trained as pilots starting in 1942, 335 were deployed, 66 were killed in action and 32 who were shot down became war prisoners.In 1949, two months after the airmens gunnery meet victory in the propeller-driven class, the U.S. Air Force integrated Black and white troops and the Tuskegee Airmen were absorbed into other units.It took the Air Force almost half a century to recognize 332nds last achievement: Its success in aerial bombing and shooting proficiency in the gunnery meet at what is now Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. For decades, the winners were listed as unknown and their trophy was missing.We won them all, Harvey said. We werent supposed to win anything because of the color of our skin.Harvey trained during World War II but was not deployed to combat before the war ended. In Korea, he flew the F-80 Shooting Star jet fighter and earned medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross.He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1965 and received an honorary promotion to colonel in 2023. Trump in 2020 promoted another of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Charles McGee, to brigadier general. McGee died in 2022 at age 102.Harvey still regards the Air Force Gunnery Meet as his biggest accomplishment, one the Air Force finally recognized in 1993.Their missing trophy was found in a museum storeroom not long after.We were good, and they couldnt take it away from us, Harvey said. We were good. And Ill repeat it until I die.

Acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, speaks during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir, File)2025-03-23T05:46:00Z The U.S. has lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistans former Western-backed government, officials in Kabul said Sunday.Sirajuddin Haqqani, who acknowledged planning a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed six people, including U.S. citizen Thor David Hesla, no longer appears on the State Departments Rewards for Justice website. The FBI website on Sunday still featured a wanted poster for him.Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the U.S. government had revoked the bounties placed on Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani.These three individuals are two brothers and one paternal cousin, Qani told The Associated Press.The Haqqani network grew into one of the deadliest arms of the Taliban after the U.S.-led 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. The group employed roadside bombs, suicide bombings and other attacks, including on the Indian and U.S. embassies, the Afghan presidency, and other major targets. They also have been linked to extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activity. A Foreign Ministry official, Zakir Jalaly, said the Talibans release of U.S. prisoner George Glezmann on Friday and the removal of bounties showed both sides were moving beyond the effects of the wartime phase and taking constructive steps to pave the way for progress in bilateral relations.The recent developments in Afghanistan-U.S. relations are a good example of the pragmatic and realistic engagement between the two governments, said Jalaly. Taliban see the opening in breaking out of isolationAnother official, Shafi Azam, hailed the development as the beginning of normalization, also citing the Talibans announcement they were in control of Afghanistans embassy in Norway. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, China has been the most prominent country to accept one of their diplomats. Other countries have accepted de facto Taliban representatives, like Qatar, which has been a key mediator between the U.S. and the Taliban. U.S. envoys have also met the Taliban. The Taliban rule, especially bans affecting women and girls, has triggered widespread condemnation and deepened their international isolation.Haqqani has previously spoken out against the Talibans decision-making process, authoritarianism and alienation of the Afghan population. He has been under U.N. sanctions since 2007, because of his involvement with the network founded by his father, Jalaluddin. But the global body has allowed him to travel in the past 12 months, including to the United Arab Emirates to meet the countrys leadership and to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. Those were his first trips abroad since the Taliban takeover.Ibraheem Bahiss, a senior analyst with International Crisis Groups Asia program, said the removal of the bounties was a win for Taliban officials wanting to do business with the international community. The U.S. was showing it could reward those who made compromises within their own remit, even if these compromises didnt translate to national policy, he said. The international community had made demands of the Taliban, specifically lifting restrictions on women and girls, but offered nothing in return, said Bahiss. Scrapping bounties was a sign that small diplomatic overtures were possible.While recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan might not immediately be on the horizon, the Taliban viewed normalization as enough progress given their existing diplomatic inroads in the region, according to Bahiss.For the Taliban, the removal of sanctions is more important than (official) recognition. Sanctions bite. They inhibit your ability to do business, to travel. Thats why they would celebrate this as a victory. The transactional nature of this diplomacy suits both the Taliban and Trump.His partial rehabilitation on the international stage is in contrast to the status of the reclusive Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who could face arrest by the International Criminal Court for his persecution of women. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Marianne de Reynier Nevsky, the cultural mediation manager in Neuchatel, left, and town council member Julie Courcier Delafontaine chat about a new "museum prescription" program outside the Ethnographic Museum of Neuchatel in Neuchatel, Switzerland, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jamey Keaton)2025-03-23T05:30:11Z NEUCHATEL, Switzerland (AP) The worlds woes got you down? Feeling burnout at work? Need a little something extra to fight illness or prep for surgery? The Swiss town of Neuchtel is offering its residents a novel medical option: Expose yourself to art and get a doctors note to do it for free. Under a new two-year pilot project, local and regional authorities are covering the costs of museum prescriptions issued by doctors who believe their patients could benefit from visits to any of the towns four museums as part of their treatment.The project is based on a 2019 World Health Organization report that found the arts can boost mental health, reduce the impact of trauma and lower the risk of cognitive decline, frailty and premature mortality, among other upsides. Art can help relax the mind as a sort of preventative medicine and visits to museums require getting up and out of the house with physical activity like walking and standing for long periods. Neuchatel council member Julie Courcier Delafontaine said the COVID crisis also played a role in the programs genesis. With the closure of cultural sites (during coronavirus lockdowns), people realized just how much we need them to feel better. She said so far some 500 prescriptions have been distributed to doctors around town and the program costs very little. Ten thousand Swiss francs (about $11,300) have been budgeted for it. If successful, local officials could expand the program to other artistic activities like theater or dance, Courcier Delafontaine said. The Swiss national health care system doesnt cover culture as a means of therapy, but she hopes it might one day, if the results are positive enough.Marianne de Reynier Nevsky, the cultural mediation manager in the town of 46,000 who helped devise the program, said it built on a similar idea rolled out at the Fine Arts Museum in Montreal, Canada, in 2019. She said many types of patients could benefit.It could be a person with depression, a person who has trouble walking, a person with a chronic illness, she said near a display of a feather headdress from Papua New Guinea at the Ethnographic Museum of Neuchatel, a converted former villa that overlooks Late Neuchatel.Part of the idea is to get recalcitrant patients out of the house and walking more.Dr. Marc-Olivier Sauvain, head of surgery at the Neuchatel Hospital Network, said he had already prescribed museum visits to two patients to help them get in better shape before a planned operation.He said a wider rollout is planned once a control group is set up. For his practice, the focus will be on patients who admit that theyve lost the habit of going out. He wants them to get moving.Its wishful thinking to think that telling them to go walk or go for a stroll to improve their fitness level before surgery will work, Sauvain said on a video call Saturday, wearing blue scrubs. I think that these patients will fully benefit from museum prescriptions. Well give them a chance to get physical and intellectual exercise. And as a doctor, its really nice to prescribe museum visits rather than medicines or tests that patients dont enjoy, he added. To tell them Its a medical order that instructs you to go visit one of our nice city museums.Some museum-goers see the upsides too.I think its a great idea, said Carla Fragniere Filliger, a poet and retired teacher, during a visit to the ethnography museum. There should be prescriptions for all the museums in the world! JAMEY KEATEN Keaten is the chief Associated Press reporter in Geneva. He previously was posted in Paris and has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, North Africa and across Europe. twitter

2025-03-23T04:26:28Z Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolinas governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire.The North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8:20 p.m. Saturday for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina about 80 miles (128.7 kilometers) west of Charlotte.Visibility in area will be reduced and roads/evacuation routes can become blocked; if you do not leave now, you could be trapped, injured, or killed, a social media post by the agency warned residents of specific roads.The public safety department said a shelter had been established in Columbus, North Carolina.The North Carolina Forest Services online wildire public viewer indicated three active fires in Polk County, with the two largest spanning between 1,100 and 1,240 acres (445 and 502 hectares). Two other fires were active in nearby Burke and Madison counties, with a third wildfire burning in Stokes County on the northern border with Virginia. In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Saturday as part of an effort to stop a blaze in Pickens County called the Table Rock Fire that started the previous day in an area within the Blue Ridge Mountains. As this wildfire continues to spread, the State of Emergency allows us to mobilize resources quickly and ensure our firefighters have the support they need to protect lives and property, McMaster said in a statement that reinforced a statewide outdoor burning ban issued Friday by the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Local fire officials called for voluntary evacuations Saturday of some residents near Table Rock Mountain, the forestry commission said in a social media post.The Pickens County Sheriffs Office posted an update late Saturday saying crews had ceased operations and would resume Sunday morning with ground personnel and machinery and assistance from helicopters and air tankers. The fire was about 110 acres (44.5 hectares) and the public was asked to avoid state Highway 11. North Carolinas western region already had been hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. Among the extensive damage, flooding washed away more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) of eastbound lanes on Interstate 40 leading to eastern Tennessee and remained partially closed to traffic until March. The hurricane damaged or impacted 5,000 miles (8,046 kilometers) of state-maintained roads and damaged 7,000 private roads, bridges and culverts in North Carolina.

Wearing Inuit facial tattoos, Shaman mother and daughter, Therecie Sanimuinaq Pedersen, left, and Aviaja Rakel Sanimuinaq, pose for a portrait at Aviajas studio where she performs Inuit ancestral spiritual healing in Nuuk, Greenland, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)2025-03-23T12:02:23Z NUUK, Greenland (AP) Sitting on the pelt of a polar bear hunted by her family, Aviaja Rakel Sanimuinaq says shes proud to be part of a movement of Greenlanders reclaiming their Inuit traditions and spirituality.The shaman, who has Inuit facial tattoos, works with spiritual healing practices to help people connect with their ancestors and heal generational trauma. A sign outside her studio in the Greenland capital of Nuuk conveys her role: Ancient knowledge in a modern world.In recent years, Greenlanders like her have been embracing pre-Christian Inuit traditions, including drum dancing and Inuit tattoos. For some, its a way to proudly reclaim their ancestral roots. Its also a way to reject the legacy of European Christian missionaries who colonized Greenland in the 18th century and suppressed their traditions, labeling them as pagan. The sacredness of Christianity is still sacred in my eyes. But so is Buddhism, so is Hinduism, and so is my work, Sanimuinaq said in her studio, surrounded by skulls of seals, raven feathers and medicinal herbs. They help the angakkoq, or shaman, communicate with silam aappaa or the other world the spiritual world. Thats where I stand that the arising of our culture, and us as a people, is also to get the equality within our culture, to acknowledge that our culture is legit; that it has to have a space here. The Inuit have survived and thrived for generations in one of the most remote, vast and rugged places on Earth, hunting for seals, whales and polar bears. Their traditional religion is animist. Inuit believe that every animal and bird, every stone and every piece of earth, the rain and the snow all have a spirit and a right to be respected, authors Gill and Alistair Campbell write in their travel book, Greenland.About 90% of the 57,000 Greenlanders identify as Inuit and the vast majority belong to the Lutheran Church. A Danish missionary brought that branch of Christianity to the worlds largest island more than 300 years ago. Greenland is now a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and Greenlanders increasingly favor getting full independence a crucial issue in a recent parliamentary election.Some sayGreenlands independence movement received a boostafter U.S. President Donald Trump pushed their Arctic homeland into the spotlight by threatening to take it over.We dont have to walk silenced anymore, Sanimuinaq said. Thats the change we see that the voice we get out in the world has been forbidden even within our country. Now that were opening, we have more freedom.The spiritual and social value of Tunniit the traditional Inuit tattoosThe suppression of Inuit drums and facial tattoos were part of a broader effort to Christianize and assimilate Inuit into the European way of life, said Asta Mnsted, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. She researches Inuit oral history and its connections to Greenlands archaeology.Drum songs and drum duels were central to Inuit spiritual and social life, but the missionaries viewed them as pagan practices and superstitions that needed to be replaced with Christian hymns and prayers, she said. Drums were confiscated or destroyed in order to break the connection to the pre-Christian beliefs. In some parts of Greenland, though, the drum songs and knowledge of drum-making were preserved without the churchs knowledge. Tattoos were also linked to Inuit cosmology and rites, but missionaries labeled them as pagan and especially viewed the facial tattoos as a defilement of Gods creation, said Mnsted. They promoted the European ideal, where the human body should remain unmarked.Tunniit, the traditional Inuit tattoos, were etched by poking sod from soapstone lamps onto the skin with a needle or by dragging a sod-covered sinew thread underneath the skin. Women generally got tattoos as they experienced menstruation and childbirth, viewing them as protection against illness and malevolent spirits, Mnsted said.But resistance to Inuit tattoos deterred many Greenlanders across generations from getting them; some who had tattoos hid them, fearing repercussions. Growing up, Therecie Sanimuinaq Pedersen recalled how her grandmother covered her facial tattoos in soot because she didnt want to be alienated from her community.Therecie only got the tattoos that now cover her face the way she remembered her grandmothers after her daughter, Aviaja, got them in recent years.The tattoos I have goes from mother to daughter for thousands of years, Therecie said in Greenlandic, translated by her daughter. I have the same as my grandmother thats my heritage. These days, when shes out on Nuuks streets and encounters others displaying Inuit tattoos, she feels encouraged, especially when she sees them on young Greenlanders. When I see them, its like we have a connection, she said. Without knowing them, and them knowing me, we say hi. Some come, give a hug, and say thank you. Inuit drum for conflict resolution and restoring pride in ancestral traditionFor the Inuit, the qilaat played a crucial role in conflict resolution through drum duels. The drum, Mnsted said, had three main functions: for entertainment and socializing, as a tool for the shamanduring their seances, and as part of a pre-colonial juridical system. In the drum duels, opponents used songs, insults, and exaggerated body movements to argue their case before the community, which would stand in a circle ar ound them, Mnsted said. She said the crowds collective laughter often determined the winner without the need for a formal ruling. While some duels helped ease tensions, others ended in public humiliation, sometimes forcing the losing party to leave the community and become a qivittoq a person living in nature outside of society. This exile could be tantamount to a death sentence in the frigid Arctic environment.Greenland was a colony under Denmarks crown until 1953, when it became a province in the Scandinavian country. In 1979, the island was granted home rule, and 30 years ago became a self-governing entity. But Denmark retains control over foreign and defense affairs.The former colonial ruler is accused of committing abuses against Greenlands Inuit, including removing children from their families in the 1950s with the excuse of integrating them into Danish society and fitting women with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 1970s allegedly to limit population growth.Some Greenlanders believe the recent global attention on their mineral-rich country and a unified call for independence from Denmark has allowed them to speak more openly about abuses committed by their former colonial ruler. Some have grown closer to their rich pre-Christian Indigenous culture.Our culture is very spiritual ... I want to bring that back, said Naja Parnuuna, an award-winning singer-songwriter.I want to be in that wave with my fellow young people I feel like weve been looked down for so long, and we really havent had a voice for a long time.Growing up, she said she felt that it was cooler to be a Dane, or to speak Danish, and was ashamed to be Greenlandic and follow Inuit traditions. Maybe not embarrassing, she said, but it was taboo or weird to do the drums or be Inuk.Her father, Markus Olsen, is a former Lutheran pastor who was dismissed from his church position in 2022 after he allowed drum dancing during a National Day service at the Nuuk Cathedral. He knew that was risky but did it because he believes the quilaat, the Inuit traditional drum, needs to be reinstated into its valued position in religious services and other aspects of Greenlandic life.Olsen, who wears a collar with a small qilaat and a crucifix, takes inspiration from the Latin American Liberation Theology movement, which holds that the teachings of Jesus require followers to fight for economic and social justice. He also takes inspiration from the Rastafari legend Bob Marley, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights activist Malcolm X.Parnuuna feels inspired by her father. She began to embrace her roots through her music, which encourages Greenlanders to value their Inuit culture and history. The more I practiced my art, singing and writing songs, I began to realize how important it is to accept my roots, to have more self-respect, to have higher self-esteem and in that way have a healthier way of living and a more positive view of the world, she said.Its important to bring that back, so that we can love ourselves again.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. LUIS ANDRES HENAO Henao is a multimedia reporter on the APs Global Religion team. He focuses on features and has reported for the AP from Alaska, Antarctica and the Amazon. twitter instagram mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-03-23T11:37:24Z Three European allies provided millions of dollars that the United States was supposed to spend for low-income countries. Then the Trump administration and Elon Musks government-cutters arrived.Government officials from Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands told The Associated Press that a combined $15 million they contributed for joint development work overseas has been parked at the U.S. Agency for International Development for months.After the Republican administration and Musks Department of Government Efficiency cut USAIDs funding and the bulk of its programs, the Europeans asked whether their money would be funneled to projects as expected or refunded.They have gotten no response.Its a concern for us, especially as we want our partner organizations to be compensated for the work they have put into the programs, said Julia Lindholm, a spokeswoman for the Swedish governments international development agency. The true total may be larger. Other foreign governments also had money entrusted with USAID for distribution in a range of joint development projects at the time President Donald Trump ordered the funding freeze on Jan. 20, according to an official directly familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The worries point to the extent to which the new administrations abrupt cutoff of foreign assistance and canceling of contracts for humanitarian and development work are raising questions about Washingtons financial reliability. They also show further strain between allies as Trump revamps American foreign policy. The State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to questions asking how many foreign governments had money for joint development programs going unspent and unrefunded in the USAID funding freeze, how much money that was in total, and whether the administration was doing anything about it. Concerns from American alliesSweden, Norway and the Netherlands had been partnering with USAID on a project called Water and Energy for Food, or WE4F. It helps farmers and others in poorer countries develop innovative ways to grow more food without straining water supplies or depending on climate-damaging forms of energy.Most importantly, Lindholm said by email, the U.S. failure so far to disburse or refund allies donations is harming 6 million of the poorest and most vulnerable farmers in the world who are dependent on the technologies for their food production and food security.Other administration actions already have alarmed traditional partners. Trump has said he would not necessarily follow the mutual-defense pact underlying the NATO security agreement, he has advanced some of Russias talking points and demands in its invasion of Ukraine and has imposed tariffs on Canada, the European Union and others. America as a reliable financial partnerNow, doubts about the U.S. as a reliable business partner have emerged in lawsuits over the administrations abrupt cancellation of what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said were 83% of USAID contracts, forcing partner organizations to lay off workers and driving some out of business. In a brief supporting a lawsuit from federal workers, former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and William Perry, former CIA Director Michael Hayden and more than a dozen other former senior U.S. officials said the administrations mass canceling of thousands of USAID contracts was flouting U.S. financial regulations and destroying the United States credibility as a reliable partner.Canceling the contracts sends a message that this administration does not feel bound by those regulations regulations on which every business that works with the United States relies, the former officials said.In another case, lawyers for nonprofits and businesses seeking payment from USAID told a judge that because of the financial chaos surrounding the agencys dismantling, banks have stopped what used to be routine financing for USAID partners based on their contracts with the U.S. agency. Since the Cold War, the national security argument for development programs has been that making poorer countries more prosperous and stable lessens refugee flows and conflicts.Trump and Musk call foreign assistance through USAID in particular a fraud and scam. Administration officials are looking at focusing U.S. development efforts much more narrowly on combating Chinas influence abroad and boosting U.S. trade and business opportunities. Seeking money back from the Trump administrationGrowing steadily more alarmed by the administrations foreign aid moves, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands initially sent USAID emails inquiring about the money they had parked in USAID accounts.Frustrated at getting no response, two of them warned in the government-to-government emails that they were looking at talking to local media about their missing money, according to the official directly familiar with the matter.Under court order, the administration has started making good on some $2 billion USAID already owed when Trump ordered the freeze in USAID and State Department foreign assistance on Inauguration Day.But forced leaves and firings have yanked most officials and workers at USAIDs headquarters off the job. That includes many who oversaw development programs and would be involved in tracking down numbers and calculating any refunds for the foreign governments.Swedens development agency told the AP that it estimates it has $12 million total, including $5.1 million for WE4F, sitting in USAID accounts money going unspent for people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and unrefunded by the administration.Lindholm, the spokesperson for Swedens development agency, called the WE4F program extraordinarily impactful, with measurable benefits for farmers and others many times greater than the programs initial targets.The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation told the AP that it has received no information about the fate of a $1.4 million funding tranche for WE4F since Trump began dissolving USAID.The Dutch Foreign Ministry said it reached out to the U.S. aid agency on how much of the $1.6 million it had given most recently for WE4F had yet to be disbursed by USAID and should be refunded, but that it had not yet gotten any response.Donor partners are now exploring other opportunities to continue to run the WE4F programme to ensure a responsible completion, Lindholm said by email. ___Knickmeyer reported from Washington, Keaten from Geneva, Corder from The Hague, Netherlands, and Gera from Warsaw, Poland. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter JAMEY KEATEN Keaten is the chief Associated Press reporter in Geneva. He previously was posted in Paris and has reported from Afghanistan, the Middle East, North Africa and across Europe. twitter

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., arrives to speak during a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour event at Arizona State University, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)2025-03-23T11:47:35Z DENVER (AP) Bernie Sanders stepped onto a stage in downtown Denver, surrounded by tens of thousands of cheering supporters in what he described as the biggest rally he had ever addressed. The Vermont senator put his hand on the shoulder of the woman who had introduced him, a signal for her to stay on stage.She has become an inspiration to millions of young people, Sanders said of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recounting her biography from a girl who helped her mother clean houses and later became a bartender before emerging as political insurgent who ousted a powerful New York Democrat in a U.S. House primary. The crowd began a chant of her well-known moniker: AOC! AOC!In a leaderless Democratic Party out of power in Washington, Ocasio-Cortez has a message and a connection with a segment of liberals feeling disenchanted with both parties. Now, in her fourth term, the 35-year-old congresswoman is working to broaden her appeal beyond her progressive, anti-establishment roots. Hitting the road last week with Sanders for his Fighting Oligarchy rallies, she is addressing people who disagree with her and reframing the divide in the Democratic Party not as progressive versus moderate, but as those going after Republican President Donald Trump and those being more cautious. No matter who you voted for in the past, no matter if you know all the right words to say, no matter your race, religion, gender identity or status, Ocasio-Cortez said to thousands in a rally at Arizona State University. No matter even if you disagree with me on a few things. If you are willing to fight for someone you dont know, you are welcome here. Her instinct to brawl is well-matched to the restlessness of the Democratic base, much of which sees top party officials like New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as not confrontational enough.Were lacking leadership right now, and we really just need someone to take the reins and tell us what to do, said Kristen Hanson, a 41-year-old small business owner from Phoenix, whose search for a call to action brought her to see Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. Im not in politics, but I would be very happy to follow a leader who I believe in. But that instinct also irritates some elected Democrats. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, whose profile is also rising after her November victory in a state Trump won, was challenged recently by a constituent to more aggressively confront Trump like Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who is becoming one of her partys key messengers.Slotkin said she had to be more than just an activist and noted that those lawmakers represent heavily Democratic areas.All of those things require me to be more than just an AOC, she said. I cant do what she does because we live in a purple state and Im a pragmatist. AOC tours with SandersSanders, one of the few political leaders with the resources to plan large rallies and the appeal to pack them, has stepped into the Democratic leadership vacuum with appearances across the country. Ocasio-Cortez joined him this past week for five events in Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. In Denver, the crowd was so immense that people climbed onto statues and sat on the broad steps of buildings across the street to watch. In Tempe, Arizona, outside Phoenix, thousands of people who could not get inside the arena crowded a plaza outside or watched from a parking garage.In speeches lasting about 25 minutes, Ocasio-Cortez blended the denunciations of economic inequality that have been central to her brand with an offering that we are not powerless in this moment.About two-thirds of Democrats have a favorable opinion of Ocasio-Cortez and just 5% view her unfavorably, according to Gallup polling from January. But the broader public is more divided. Among all adults, about 4 in 10 had a negative view of Ocasio-Cortez while about 3 in 10 had a positive view.In her home state, about 4 in 10 New York voters in the November election viewed her favorably while about the same share had an unfavorable opinion, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the 2024 electorate. Ocasio-Cortez confronted head-on the perception that she is a radical by being magnanimous toward other Democratic factions. She did not walk away from her progressive views but signaled openness to disagreement, saying her movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests, but rather solidarity with the working class. At each stop, she spoke supportively of local Democrats in Congress, even those who do not align with her ideologically.We need more people like them with the courage to brawl for the working class, she said in Arizona, praising colleagues who voted against a Republican spending bill. She did poke at former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected as a Democrat in 2018 but infuriated progressives for working with Republicans and blocking Democratic priorities such as raising the minimum wage. Sinema became an independent but declined to run for a second term.One thing I love about Arizonans is that you all have shown that if a U.S. senator isnt fighting hard enough for you, youre not afraid to replace her with one who will, Ocasio-Cortez said. The budget fight creates enduring Democratic angerThe decision by 10 Senate Democrats, led by party leader Schumer, to allow a Republican-led spending bill to advance infuriated the Democratic base, which saw it as capitulation to Trump. (Slotkin, the Michigan senator, voted against advancing the bill.)Schumer argued the spending bill was terrible but a government shutdown had the measure not passed would have given Trump the power to make even more cuts as his administration slashes agencies and hundreds of thousands of federal jobs. House Democrats disagreed with him in a rare show of public dissent and several liberal groups are pushing Schumer to resign.Ocasio-Cortez gave voice to that anger in her speeches. Her plea for a Democratic Party that fights harder for us drew the biggest applause of her speeches in Denver and Tempe. Dane Burgos, 28, snapped a selfie with Ocasio-Cortez as she left the Denver rally. I was mainly here for Bernie, because hes the OG, but AOC its clear shes the heir apparent, Burgos said.Armando Valdez, a two-time Sanders voter and Navy veteran who gets his medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, is especially alarmed at the Trump administrations proposed cuts.He feels like he knows Sanders well, but is eager to hear what Ocasio-Cortez has to say.Sanders is, too. Just not as a solo act yet.The 83-year-old has said hes not running for president a third time. But asked after his Tempe rally whether he sees any promising leaders rising up, he did not give his support to Ocasio-Cortez or anyone else.There are dozens and dozens of really strong progressives out there who are I think going to be the future political leaders of our country, Sanders told reporters. ___Cooper reported from Tempe, Arizona. Associated Press writers Linley Sanders in Washington and Isabella Volmert in Flint, Michigan, contributed to this report. JONATHAN J. COOPER Cooper writes about national politics from Arizona and beyond for The Associated Press. Now based in Phoenix, he previously covered politics in Oregon and California. twitter mailto

In this photo made with a slow shutter speed, the White House podium is seen before a briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, March 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-03-23T13:12:37Z NEW YORK (AP) During the first Trump administration, the biggest concern for many journalists was labels. Would they, or their news outlet, be called fake news or an enemy of the people by a president and his supporters?They now face a more assertive President Donald Trump. In two months, a blitz of action by the nations new administration Trump, chapter two has journalists on their heels.Lawsuits. A newly aggressive Federal Communications Commission. An effort to control the press corps that covers the president, prompting legal action by The Associated Press. A gutted Voice of America. Public data stripped from websites. And attacks, amplified anew.Its very clear whats happening. The Trump administration is on a campaign to do everything it can to diminish and obstruct journalism in the United States, said Bill Grueskin, a journalism professor at Columbia University. Its really nothing like we saw in 2017, he said. Not that there werent efforts to discredit the press, and not that there werent things that the press did to discredit themselves. Trump supporters say an overdue course correction is in orderSupporters of the president suggest that an overdue correction is in order to reflect new ways that Americans get information and to counter overreach by reporters. Polls have revealed continued public dissatisfaction with journalists something that has been bedeviling the industry for years. Tension between presidents and the Fourth Estate is nothing new an unsurprising clash between desires to control a message and to ask probing, sometimes impertinent questions. Despite the atmosphere, the Republican president talks to reporters much more often than many predecessors, including Democrat Joe Biden, who rarely gave interviews. An early signal that times had changed came when the White House invited newcomers to press briefings, including podcasters and friendly media outlets. The AP was blocked from covering pool events in a dispute over Trumps renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, setting off a flurry of First Amendment concerns among press advocates and leading the administration to assert that the White House, not the press, should determine who questions him. Two months before the administration took office, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who served under Republican President George W. Bush, had urged that changes be made.Its time to bring that (briefing) room in line with how readers and viewers consume the news in 2025, Fleischer said in an interview. They dont get their news from The Washington Post, The New York Times and the three networks anymore. They get their news from a myriad of sources.In practice, some newcomers have refreshingly tried to shed light on issues important to conservatives, instead of hostile attempts to play gotcha by the mainstream media, Fleischer said. There were also softballs, like when the Ruthless podcast asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt if reporters who questioned border policy were out of touch. The conservative Real Americas Voice network tried to knock Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy off stride by asking why he wasnt wearing a suit in the Oval Office.While the White House Correspondents Association has protested the APs treatment and efforts to upend tradition, it has been largely toothless. For more extensive discussions, the president and his team generally favor interviews with outlets that speak to his supporters, like Fox News. The Trump teams rapid response efforts to fight the fake mediaThe White House has also established a Rapid Response 47 account on X to disseminate its views and attack journalists or stories it objects to. The feeds stated goals are supporting the president and holding the Fake Media accountable.Leavitt, 27, hasnt hesitated to go toe to toe with reporters, often with a smile, and Tik-Tok collects some of those moments. We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, and we will not accept that, she said at her first press briefing. It stood in contrast to Trumps 2017 press secretary, Sean Spicer, who got into an angry confrontation with the press about the size of the presidents inauguration crowd on his first day in the White House, and never truly recovered from it. Showing the spread of the administrations disciplined approach, the Defense Department also has a rapid response account that says it fights fake news. The Pentagon has evicted several news organizations from long-held office space, leading some reporters to worry about access to fast, reliable information during a military crisis.Strategically, he likes to use the press as a pawn it is one of the institutions that he can demonize to make himself look good, said Ron Fournier, a former Washington bureau chief for the AP.Trump has active lawsuits going against news outlets that displease him, such as CBS News for the way 60 Minutes edited an interview with 2024 election opponent, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, or The Des Moines Register, for what turned out to be an inaccurate pre-election poll of Iowa voters.The new FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, has signaled an activist stance, with investigations open against CBS for the 60 Minutes case, ABC News for how it fact-checked the Trump-Harris debate and NBC on whether it violated federal equal time provisions by bringing Harris onto Saturday Night Live. Even with all the change, many newsrooms are confronting the challengeFleischer welcomes a newly aggressive attitude toward the press. He believes many journalists were more activists than reporters during Trumps first term. He wondered why journalists were not more aggressive in determining whether Bidens advancing age made him fit for the presidency.I think that the press is either in denial, or they acknowledge that they have lost the trust of the people but they wont change or do anything about it, he said. They just dont know how to do their jobs any differently.Press advocates worry about the intimidation factor of lawsuits and investigations, particularly on smaller newsrooms. What stories will go unreported simply because its not worth the potential hassle? It has a very corrosive effect over time, Grueskin said.Worth watching, too, is a disconnect between newsrooms and the people who own them. Both the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post backed off endorsements of Harris last fall at the behest of the their owners, and Post owner Jeff Bezos attended Trumps inauguration. When the Post announced a reorganization earlier this month, Leavitt took a shot: It appears that the mainstream media, including the Post, is finally learning that having disdain for more than half the country who supports this president does not help you sell newspapers.Many newsrooms are notably not backing down from the challenge of covering the administration. 60 Minutes has done several hard-hitting reports, the Atlantic has added staff and Wired is digging in to cover Elon Musks cost-cutting.For their own industry, much of the news is grim. The future of Voice of America is in doubt, eliminating jobs and, its supporters fear, reducing the nations influence overseas. Cost-cutters are eyeing government subscriptions for news outlets, eliminating an income source. On a broader scale, there are worries about attacks on journalists legal protections against libel lawsuits.Theyre pulling at every thread they can find, no matter how tenuous, to try and undermine credible news organizations, Grueskin said.It is well organized. It is coming from multiple directions. And it has been only two months.___Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report. ___David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Actor Gerard Depardieu addresses the media during the press conference for the film 'Saint Amour' at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt, File)2025-03-23T14:40:10Z PARIS (AP) Grard Depardieu wont just be facing two women who accuse him of sexual assault when he walks into a Paris courtroom on Monday. The renowned actor will also be confronting a nation long criticized for failing to address sexual violence particularly when committed by its most powerful figures.Depardieu, 76, one of Frances biggest screen stars, is accused of assaulting a set dresser and an assistant director during the 2021 filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters). While more than 20 women have publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, this is the first time one of those cases has gone to trial.It is also the most prominent post- #MeToo -era case in France, testing whether a country famed for its culture of seduction is prepared to hold its cultural titans accountable.Prosecutors say Depardieu trapped one of the women with his legs before groping her waist and breasts in front of witnesses. In an interview with investigative outlet Mediapart, the 54-year-old set dresser said Depardieu shouted on set that he couldnt even get it up because of the heat, then told her: Come and touch my big parasol. Ill stick it in your (nether regions). She said he then grabbed her forcefully and had to be pulled away by bodyguards. A second woman, a 34-year-old assistant director, alleged she was groped both on set and in the street. The plaintiffs identities have not been disclosed to protect alleged victims of sexual violence.Depardieu has denied all allegations. In an open letter published in Le Figaro in Oct. 2023, he wrote: Never, but never, have I abused a woman. To think that I have hurt someone or made them feel uncomfortable is intolerable to me. He added, I have only ever been guilty of being too loving, too generous, or of having a temperament that is too strong.His lawyer, Jrmie Assous, called the case baseless and said Depardieu who recently underwent a quadruple bypass and has diabetes will attend the two-day trial, reportedly with breaks scheduled to accommodate his health condition. A culture slow to confront abuseFrance has often been ambivalent even resistant toward the #MeToo movement. While Hollywood saw powerful men fall swiftly and publicly, the French film industry was slower to respond. Some dismissed #MeToo as an American export incompatible with French values, citing concerns over free expression and what they viewed as an erosion of flirtation culture.Roman Polanski, convicted in the United States of unlawful sex with a minor and accused by several other women, continues to live and work in France with near-total impunity. Despite international outcry, he remains a decorated figure in French cinema. His 2020 Csar Award for Best Director for An Officer and a Spy prompted several women, including actress Adle Haenel, to walk out of the ceremony in protest. Yet the industry offered little institutional pushback, highlighting a deep-rooted reluctance to confront abuse when it involves revered cultural figures.In February, director Christophe Ruggia was convicted of sexually abusing Haenel when she was underage. The actress, who had already quit the film industry in protest, has become one of the countrys most prominent voices on abuse. Judith Godrche, an actor and filmmaker, has also emerged as a leading figure. In February 2024, in a televised testimony, she addressed a French parliamentary commission, accusing directors Benot Jacquot and Jacques Doillon of sexually exploiting her as a teenager allegations both men deny. This is not about desire or love, she told lawmakers. It is about power. It is about a system that enables silence.That same commission has called major actors and producers including Jean Dujardin to testify. Several reportedly requested that their appearances be held behind closed doors. Witnesses and whispersAnouk Grinberg, a respected actor who appeared in Les Volets Verts, has publicly supported the plaintiffs. She described Depardieus behavior as vulgar and disturbing, saying she felt a sense of shame on set.At the time of the alleged 2021 assaults, Depardieu was already under formal investigation for rape. In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2023, prosecutors requested it go to trial.Depardieus off-screen controversies have long made headlines, from drunk driving to urinating in the aisle of a plane. But a 2023 France Tlvisions documentary, La Chute de lOgre (The Fall of the Ogre), reignited debate about his impunity. It showed footage of the actor during a 2018 trip to North Korea, making sexually inappropriate remarks to a female interpreter and appearing to sexualize a young girl riding a horse.For decades, behavior like this was dismissed as part of his larger-than-life persona. Today, that legacy is under direct challenge. Resistance in a country famed for seductionGodrche, who told lawmakers she was 14 when Jacquot first exploited her, has called for reforms to Frances statute of limitations on child sex crimes and new protections for minors in the arts. Her testimony alongside those of other survivors has brought rare political attention to a culture of silence that many say pervades French cinema.Still, resistance remains.In 2018, actor Catherine Deneuve and more than 100 prominent French women signed an open letter in Le Monde defending what they called a freedom to bother. The letter argued that flirtation should not be conflated with harassment and warned against American-style puritanism.

Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a press conference following the First Ministers Meeting at the National War Museum on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-03-23T12:56:48Z TORONTO (AP) New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent kicked off their election campaigns Sunday against the backdrop of a trade war and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.Carney announced there will be a five-week election campaign before the vote on April 28.The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war. Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state and he acknowledged Friday that he has upended Canadian politics.Trumps almost daily attacks on Canadas sovereignty have infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in Canadian nationalism that has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared a trade war. Carney has said the government in a time of crisis needs a strong and clear mandate. The next election will be one of the most consequential in our lifetimes, he posted on social media overnight. The election campaign for 343 seats or districts in the House of Commons will last 37 days. While other parties are running, the Liberals and the Conservatives are the only two that have a chance to form government. The party that commands a majority in Parliament, either alone or with the support of another party, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister. Carney replaced Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January, but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader on March 9 following a leadership race by the governing party. The opposition Conservatives hoped to make the election about Trudeau, whose popularity declined as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But after decades of bilateral stability, the vote is now expected to focus on who is best equipped to deal with Trump. Trump put 25% tariffs on Canadas steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products as well as all of Americas trading partners on April 2.Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservatives, is Carneys main challenger. The party and Poilievre were heading for a huge victory in Canadas federal election this year until Trumps near-daily trade and annexation threats derailed them.Poilievre said he will stand up to Trump but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative ally, said in an interview Poilievre would be very much in sync with the new direction in America. I will insist the president recognizes the independence and sovereignty of Canada. I will insist he stops tariffing our nation, Poilievre said as he launched his campaign. Poilievre said he doesnt respect the treatment that he has meted out to our country.I know a lot of people are worried, angry and anxious. And with good reason as a result of the presidents unacceptable threats against our country, he said. You are worried about your job and the sovereignty of our nation. And you are angry at the feeling of betrayal that these unacceptable words and tariffs have made us all experience. I share your anger and I share the worry about our future. Carney still hasnt had a phone call with Trump and that might not happen now until after the election. Trump mocked Trudeau by calling him governor, but he has not yet mentioned Carneys name.Carney, 60, was the head of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 financial crisis. In 2013, he became the first noncitizen of the United Kingdom to run the Bank of England helping to manage the impact of Brexit.Poilievre, 45, for years the partys go-to attack dog, is a career politician and firebrand populist who says he will put Canada first. He vows to defund Canadas public broadcaster and he wont allow media onboard his campaign buses and planes.

This image provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows Segway Max G30LP KickScooter that is being recalled along with Segways Ninebot Max G30P, due to a fall hazard that has resulted in user injuries ranging from bruises to broken bones. . (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP)2025-03-23T16:20:26Z NEW YORK (AP) Segway is recalling about 220,000 of its scooters sold across the U.S. due to a fall hazard that has resulted in user injuries ranging from bruises to broken bones.According to a notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the folding mechanism in Segways Ninebot Max G30P and Max G30LP KickScooters can fail during use causing the handlebars or stem of the scooters to fold.That can result in serious injuries, the Commission warns. Thursdays recall notice notes that Segway has received 68 reports of folding mechanism failures with 20 injuries that include abrasions, bruises, lacerations and broken bones.Consumers in possession of these now-recalled scooters are urged to stop using them immediately and contact Segway to request a free maintenance kit. This kit includes tools and step-by-step instructions to inspect and adjust the scooters locking mechanism as needed, Segway says. Over time, depending on riding conditions, the folding mechanism may require periodic checks and tightening, California-based Segway writes on its website. No returns or replacements are involved. According to the CPSC, the Segway scooters involved in this recall were manufactured in China and Malaysia and sold at retailers across the U.S. like Best Buy, Costco, Walmart, Target and Sams Club, as well as online at Segway.com and Amazon.com, between January 2020 and February 2025. Sale prices ranged from $600 to $1,000.

In this image made from a video released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)2025-03-23T17:37:30Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israel again is fighting a war on multiple fronts, but a battle is also brewing inside the country.Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined anti-government protests in recent days. A former Supreme Court chief justice has warned of civil war. And experts are saying a constitutional crisis could be on the horizon if the Israeli government moves ahead with plans to fire top legal and security officials.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week he was firing Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, citing a crisis of confidence sparked by the failures to prevent Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Netanyahus government has also launched a process to dismiss the attorney general, accusing her of obstructing its agenda.The moves come as the Shin Bet is investigating a possible infiltration of Netanyahus office by an Arab country and as Netanyahu is on trial for corruption.They are setting up a showdown between Netanyahu and the judiciary that is deepening divisions in Israel and could set off upheaval at a time when Israel is bogged down by war. Tensions between the government and state institutionsNetanyahus government launched a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary in early 2023, a process that touched off mass protests.Critics said the overhaul would undermine the countrys delicate system of checks and balances by granting too much power to Netanyahu. He and his governing coalition argued the judiciary had become overly interventionist and was blocking its legislative agenda.Opponents also criticized Netanyahu for promoting the changes while on trial for corruption. They say a strong and independent judiciary is a necessary safeguard against authoritarian rule.Hamas Oct. 7 attacks, which sparked the war in Gaza, paused the overhaul. But it opened up new divisions in the country over who shouldered blame for not preventing the deadliest day in Israels history. Netanyahu has sidestepped accepting responsibility, seeking instead to point a finger at the heads of the military and the Shin Bet. He has long blamed the deep state for wanting to topple his rule.In a surprise announcement last week, Netanyahu said he was dismissing Bar, sparking mass protests by critics who said the move would undermine Israels independent state institutions and was meant as punishment for the Shin Bets investigation into Netanyahus office, or to derail it entirely.The step helped usher the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir back into Netanyahus government, bolstering the Israeli leaders rule ahead of a key budget vote. Ben-Gvir had resigned weeks earlier to protest a temporary ceasefire, and his return to office came hours after the resumption of the war in Gaza.Bar himself said he had planned to leave his post in due time, including after he wrapped up the sensitive investigations into whether the Gulf state of Qatar which has close ties with Hamas had hired Netanyahu advisers to launch an influence campaign in Israel. Netanyahu has suggested, with little evidence, that the probe was a result of collusion between Bar and the attorney general as a way to thwart the domestic security chiefs dismissal.Netanyahus government on Sunday voted to remove Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, beginning a process that could take weeks. Disobeying the Supreme Court could bring chaosIn a country with no official constitution and just one house of parliament that is controlled by Netanyahus coalition, Israels Supreme Court has long served as an important check on government decisions.The decision to dismiss Bar already has been challenged at the court, which issued an injunction that froze the move until further hearings. In the coming weeks, the court will be expected to rule on whether the dismissal was legal and whether there was a conflict of interest in light of the Qatar investigation.With the attorney general, the government passed a largely symbolic decision Sunday calling for her dismissal. A committee, which is expected to be stacked with Netanyahus allies, will hear the governments and Baharav-Miaras positions before issuing a recommendation. Only then will Netanyahus government make its final decision on her fate. If the committee goes ahead with her dismissal, it will likely face a challenge in the Supreme Court. Once again, it is expected to decide whether Netanyahu has a conflict of interest because he is firing the official who serves as the head of the public prosecutions office that is trying him for corruption.It is unclear whether the government would accept a decision it does not like.The dangerous scenario is if they dont accept the ruling, said Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank. That would prompt a crisis over which authoritys rule should be followed the courts or the governments -- and could lead to chaos, he said. Fears are mounting over internal strifeThose fears have grown since the dismissals were set in motion. In a series of media interviews this weekend, 88-year-old Aharon Barak, Israels preeminent legal mind, aired his concerns over the eruption of a potential civil war. He also joined nearly 20 former Supreme Court judges in a letter Sunday saying that firing the attorney general threatens the rule of law.Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for a tax revolt if the government disobeys the ruling. The leader of the countrys top labor union said ignoring a court ruling was a red line, suggesting he might launch general strikes in response.The warnings have been eerily similar to 2023, when the legal overhaul was announced. Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in sustained protests.General strikes were called and reservists threatened to not report for military service if the overhaul went ahead. Military service is compulsory for most Jews at the age of 18, but the army relies heavily on older reserve units, especially during wartime. Such internal strife was seen by some analysts as a factor in the timing of Hamas attack. That upheaval could be just a precursor.Disobeying the courts is an illegal act, wrote commentator Nadav Eyal in the Yediot Ahronot daily. The result could be widespread civil disobedience, the type of which the government will not survive. TIA GOLDENBERG Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. She previously reported on East and West Africa from Nairobi. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site