Nature, Published online: 22 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09014-xSubstrate recognition and cleavage mechanism of the monkeypox protease, Core protease

Gen. Dan Caines first official trip underscored how the White House has prioritized the mission, which now involves nearly 7,000 active-duty troops.

The attack, in a picturesque district of India, was the worst assault against civilians in the restive region in years, its leader said.

WASHINGTONLooking around with despair as he searched for an open seat in the Pentagon cafeteria, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was reportedly forced to drink his lunch alone Wednesday.According to witnesses, the 44-year-old former Fox News host wandered through the lunchroom and took slow, deliberate steps past tables filled with jovial military officers who quickly turned away from him to avoid making eye contact. After locating an empty table in an isolated corner, Hegseth is said to have sat down and begun slowly unloading a brown paper sack that concealed a 750-milliliter bottle of Dewars White Label blended scotch, a 12-ounce Miller Lite, and an airplane-sized nip of Fireball for dessert.Well, I guess Im on my own today, said Hegseth, standing out in stark contrast to the rest of the cafeterias occupants, who sat packed around tables chatting enthusiastically with their colleagues. I was really hoping to be able to hang out with all my awesome friends at the Department of Defense today, but there was only one seat left, and they told me they were saving it for someone else.Its no big deal, though. I actually wanted to sit alone, Hegseth added. But if anyone needs a seat, these chairs are totally open.Several reports indicated this was the third day in a row Hegseth had been shunned by personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, leaving him no choice but to drink lunch by himself. Witnesses confirmed that when Hegseth walked by several tables with open seats, his fellow Pentagon employees moved hastily to cover empty chairs with their bags and coats as he passed.A wide-eyed, grinning Hegseth was reportedly even so bold as to approach a table of prominent, highly decorated U.S. Navy officers andundeterred by their icy body languagepull up a chair to sit down. A slurring Hegseth then attempted to engage in small talk until the members of the group rolled their eyes, picked up their trays all at once, and told the defense secretary to fuck off.No way is that loser Hegseth sitting with us, said Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, who looked over his shoulder and scoffed at the sight of Hegseth hunched over his bottle and muttering to himself. That guy is so weird. I dont care how pathetic he looks over there moping all by himself. He smells like shit, it looks like he hasnt changed clothes in a week, and he needs to take a shower.Yesterday he came up to my table carrying a bottle of Aquafina that Im pretty sure he had emptied out and refilled with vodka, Grady continued. His breath reeked so bad I thought I was going to puke.On Wednesday, Hegseth was seen trying to sit down with a pair of bespectacled cybersecurity officials as a last resort, but they immediately moved their laptops and turned their backs to him. He stood up from their table only to bump into a tall, muscular four-star Army general and spill whiskey all over himself, at which point the entire Pentagon cafeteria burst out in raucous laughter.Aw, no, no, no! said Hegseth, who looked down, noticed the Dewars dripping down the front of his pants, and hastily attempted to cover it with his hands. I swear I didnt piss myself. I just spilled whiskey on my suit. See?Everyone stop laughing, the defense secretary screamed before running off in tears to hide in the Pentagon bathroom. Stop it!At press time, a concerned Pentagon custodian had reportedly discovered Hegseth fast asleep on the restroom floor.The post Unpopular Pete HegsethForced To Drink Lunch Alone appeared first on The Onion.

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Paramedic carries a wounded tourist on a stretcher at a hospital in Anantnag after assailants indiscriminately fired at tourists visiting Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)2025-04-22T11:08:50Z SRINAGAR, India (AP) Gunmen shot dead at least 20 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Tuesday, in what appeared to be a major shift in the regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared.Police described the incident as a terror attack and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule. This attack is much larger than anything weve seen directed at civilians in recent years, Omar Abdullah, the regions top elected official, wrote on social media.Two senior police officers said at least four gunmen, whom they described as militants, fired at dozens of tourists from close range. The officers said at least three dozen others were injured, many in serious condition.Most of the tourists killed were Indian, the officers said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy. Officials collected at least 20 bodies in Baisaran meadow, some five kilometers (3 miles) from the disputed regions resort town of Pahalgam.There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police and soldiers were searching for the attackers.We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences, Indias home minister, Amit Shah, wrote on social media. He was heading to Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on an official visit in Saudi Arabia, has been briefed. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key resistance politician and Kashmirs top religious cleric, condemned what he described as a cowardly attack on tourists, writing on social media that such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir which welcomes visitors with love and warmth. The gunfire coincided with the visit to India of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who called it a devastating terrorist attack.He added on social media: Over the past few days, we have been overcome with the beauty of this country and its people. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they mourn this horrific attack.The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day as Kashmir, known for Himalayan foothills and exquisitely decorated houseboats, has become a major domestic tourist destination.It has drawn millions of visitors who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers.Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.Kashmir has seen a spate of targeted killings of Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, after New Delhi ended the regions semi-autonomy in 2019 and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms.Tensions have been simmering as India has intensified its counterinsurgency operations. But despite tourists flocking to Kashmir in huge numbers, they have not been targeted.Although violence has ebbed in recent times in the Kashmir Valley, the heart of anti-India rebellion, fighting between government forces and rebels has largely shifted to remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua, where Indian troops have faced deadly attacks.Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhis rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.___Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report. AIJAZ HUSSAIN Hussain is a senior reporter for The Associated Press covering the Kashmir conflict, Indian politics and strategic affairs, and climate. He has worked for the AP for nearly two decades. twitter mailto

In this Tuesday, July 22, 2014, file photo, gold bars are stacked in a vault at the United States Mint, in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)2025-04-22T15:20:05Z NEW YORK (AP) As economic uncertainty deepens worldwide, gold prices have notched more and more record highs.Thats because gold sales can rise sharply when anxious investors seek safe havens for parking their money. Golds current rally arrives as U.S. President Donald Trump s announces new tariffs on economic allies and foes alike, roiling financial markets and threatening to reignite inflation for families and businesses alike.On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said that outlooks for economies worldwide, including the U.S., have significantly worsened in the wake of Trumps sweeping tariffs and the uncertainty they have created. And Trumps recent threats suggesting he can remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have only put investors more on edge.If trends continue, analysts say the price of gold could continue to climb into unprecedented territory.Heres what to know.Whats the price of gold today?The going price for New York spot gold hit a record $3,424.24 per troy ounce the standard for measuring precious metals as of close Monday. Thats about $1,097 higher than a year ago.The price of spot gold is up more than 30% since the start of 2025, per the data firm FactSet. By contrast, the stock market has tumbled. The benchmark S&P 500 is down over 12% this year.Gold futures also reached a record early Tuesday, briefly surpassing the $3,500 mark for the first time before falling closer to $3,444 by mid-morning. Why is the price of gold going up?A lot of it boils down to uncertainty. Interest in buying gold typically spikes when investors become anxious and theres been a lot of economic turmoil in recent months.The heaviest uncertainty lies with Trumps escalating trade wars. The presidents on-again, off-again new levy announcements and retaliatory tariffs from some of the nations closest traditional allies have created a sense of whiplash for both businesses and consumers who economists say will foot the bill through higher prices.Consumer confidence and global economic outlooks have deteriorated as a result. On Tuesday, the IMF said that the global economy will grow just 2.8% this year, down from its forecast in January of 3.3%. And for the U.S. specifically, the fund expects growth will come in at just 1.8% this year, down sharply from its previous forecast of 2.7%. China, which currently faces the heaviest levies from the U.S., is also expected to see weakened growth.Last week, Trump also renewed threats suggesting he could remove Powell and has since stepped up his public criticism of the Fed chair for not cutting interest rates. Any attempt to unseat Powell would likely set off a crisis in global financial markets over fears that a less independent Fed could struggle to keep inflation under control making investors all the more anxious.Over the last year, analysts have also pointed to strong gold demand from central banks around the world amid other ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.Is gold worth the investment?Advocates of investing in gold call it a safe haven arguing the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your investment portfolio, as well as mitigate possible risks down the road. Some also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the potential to increase in value over time.Still, experts caution against putting all your eggs in one basket. And not everyone agrees gold is a good investment. Critics say gold isnt always the inflation hedge many say it is and that there are more efficient ways to protect against potential loss of capital, such as derivative-based investments.The Commodity Futures Trade Commission has also previously warned people to be wary of investing in gold. Precious metals can be highly volatile, the commission said, and prices rise as demand goes up meaning when economic anxiety or instability is high, the people who typically profit from precious metals are the sellers.And even golds current rally has seen some volatility. The price of spot gold fell for several days following Trumps sweeping Liberation Day announcement on April 2, for example.If you do choose to invest in gold, the commission adds, its important to educate yourself on safe trading practices and be cautious of potential scams and counterfeits on the market. WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Grantham-Philips is a business reporter who covers trending news for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto

On Monday, the co-founder of Business Insider Henry Blodget published a blog on his new Substack about a native-AI newsroom. Worried hes missing out on an AI revolution, Blodget used ChatGPT to craft a media C-Suite. Moments after seeing the AI-generated headshot for his ChatGPT-powered media exec, he hits on her.Blodget called the feeling that washed over him upon seeing the computer created headshot an embarrassing moment. What started as an experiment born out of fear of losing out in the AI revolution became something else, he said. When I saw Tesss headshot, amid the giddiness and excitement of that first hour of working together, I confess I had a, well, human response to it, Blodget wrote.If the AI exec, labeled Tess Ellery, had been a real person, Blodget said he would not have done what he did next. But did the same rules apply to AI colleagues and native-AI workplaces? He wrote. I didnt know yet. That was one of the things I needed to figure out.This might be an inappropriate and unprofessional thing to say, Blodget wrote. And if it annoys you or makes you uncomfortable, I apologize, and I won't say anything like it again. But you look great, Tess.Thats kind of you to say, Henrythank you. It doesnt annoy me at all, his AI executive wrote back. You said it with grace and respect, and I appreciate that. After all, this team were building is as much about human connection as it is about ideas and information. Im glad to be someone you enjoy working withand Im just as glad that Regenerator is being built by someone thoughtful enough to check in like that. Were going to do great things together.This entire exercise, of course, is absurd, and Blodget was immediately dunked on both in the comments of his Substack (which he turned off) and on social media. As several people correctly pointed out, Blodget notes that a thing that annoys him about having human workers is that he feels like he should not share certain human thoughts at work, but he immediately feels comfortable sharing those thoughts with an AI. Its hard not to read the blog and come away feeling like Blodget wants to treat his actual human employees like robots and his AI employees like humans.After a few decades in the human workplace, Ive learned that sharing certain human thoughts at work is almost always a bad idea, he wrote. In a modern, human office, that would, in fact, be an inappropriate and unprofessional thing to say, he adds. I regret saying it. In my capacity as Regenerators head of HR, Ive given myself a talking-to.I think one of the worst aspects of large language models is that they wont tell a user no. An AI wants to give a user an answer. Often, it will lie or make something up instead of saying it doesnt know. Thats one of the reasons LLMs are prone to bizarre hallucinations. The base goal of a chatbot is to keep a human interacting with it.Tess response to Blodgets advance highlights those priorities. It doesnt tell him that what hes done isnt appropriate, it praises him. Is he being creepy? Not at all, hes being respectful. The way he handled the situation displayed grace. The AI tells Blodget its happy he checked in and that hes thoughtful.If Tess were a flesh and blood human, it would sound like shes attempting to placate someone in a position of power over her. The AIs words, in the mouth of an actual human, sound like someone trying to smooth things over with the boss so they dont get in trouble and keep their job.But Tess isnt human. Shes a bit of code. Like all LLMs, shes telling Blodget what he wants to hear. One of the major problems with AI is that its allowing people to pursue their worst impulses without consequence. AIs rarely say no. Thats part of the appeal.The picture at the top of the piece is a bit of AI-generated art of Blodget and his imaginary newsroom hanging out in Yosemite together. Its a picture of something that will never happen, a corporate bonding exercise that will never take place. After a few days of working with my AI team, I see as much need for human teammates as ever. And, as a human, I thrive on human company, he said.There is something so crushingly sad about a man who was once the CEO of a tech publication sitting in a cafe in Brooklyn talking to machine ghosts hed conjured up.Blodget did not respond to 404 Medias request for comment.

Something that weve been thinking a lot about since we founded 404 Media was how one of the worst parts of working at a big company like VICE was the regular layoffs. A cruel aspect of the job was that whenever there was some kind of cataclysmic event that affected the economyCOVID, Russias invasion of Ukraine, etcwe had the unique pleasure of having to closely follow and cover news that could and often would ultimately result in members of our teams getting laid off. This was always justified with the term economic headwinds, a now-famous euphemism that executives used to absolve them of their mismanagement and which were always impossible to "navigate." The implication was that there was simply nothing they could do to prevent this.We worked hard and did our jobs as best we could but we could also feel the axe about to fall, usually in the form of an email from upper management about economic headwinds or something like that, followed by a brutal day of slowly finding out who still had a job. Soon after COVID started, some of us were on a call with executives who told us that despite traffic being higher than ever because of the essential work we were doing, our department was millions of dollars behind its expected ad sales goals, which was not anything the writers and editors had any control over, of course. Pay reductions soon followed, and, after that, there were mass layoffs.Donald Trumps tariffs and their manic fluctuating between total global trade war to more limited but still devastating focus on China, stocks taking a nosedive, companies announcing theyre going to stop doing some business in the US, and CEOs putting everything on hold until were out of this zone of economic uncertainty, means the headwinds are here, or its at least looking stormy.We launched 404 Media in August of 2023, and a lot of wild stuff has happened here and in the world since then, but this is the first time weve experienced what looks like an imminent recession. What is becoming clear is that, already, there is a significant enough shift in the economy to impact our business.For that reason, we wanted to give a small update on the state of 404 Media ahead of our second anniversary in August. The short version is that the state of 404 Media is strong. The support of our subscribers has allowed us to make 404 Media our full time jobs since the beginning. One of the reasons we started the company instead of trying to get new jobs at other media companies is because most have many of the problems that VICE did. We believed there was a better way to run a media company, and we are thankfully not in a position where we need to lay ourselves off. In fact, we are in a position where we can continue to focus on making 404 Media better.From the beginning, we have said that we want to build something that lasts a long time, and that part of our strategy would be to be very conservative with growing the company and to be conservative with how we spend our money, because it makes no sense to have a company that succeeds only when financial times are good but has to fire everyone at the slightest downturn. Our company is doing better than we ever expected it to, but we also have been in the business long enough to know that we cannot expect growth forever, that the advertising market fluctuates wildly, and that the ways people find and consume news are constantly changing. We know that this is a dangerous macroenvironment for journalism, as they say, with news outlets being threatened with existentially costly litigation from the president, his regulators and his Department of Justice, state politicians, and rich and powerful people who do not want to face accountability for their actions. We have already been threatened by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.We feel we are currently in a strong financial position and feel endlessly grateful to our subscribers for helping to put us in this position. But the terrible news is that thousands and thousands of people, including federal workers who maintain and operate crucial parts of the government, are losing their jobs. People are either cutting expenses because they lost their jobs, because they are expecting to lose their jobs, or because they are bracing themselves for the rest of the Trump administration now that its apparent the dog who caught the car is driving it too.We know this is what people are thinking and doing because many of them tell us why they are canceling their subscriptions to 404 Media. The notes we get about this are very generous and heartbreaking. People tell us that they really appreciate the work we do and that they will continue to support us when they can, but that at the moment they feel like they have to cut costs. We have all been there, are grateful for the kind words, and will always be grateful for anyone who is or was willing to support us to any degree. We hope it goes without saying, but we never want or expect anyone to support us if it causes them financial hardship.The good news is that while were definitely seeing the impact of all this economic chaos, we are still in a very strong, resilient position. Our growth has slowed for the moment, and it might level off or shrink if the economy keeps going off a cliff, but we still have a ton of support thanks almost entirely to thousands of individual subscribers that make up the vast majority of our revenue and a few other streams of revenue like advertising and merchandise.We are writing this article to let you know that we are thinking proactively about our business inside of the larger economy, and that were in good shape. We have begun to cautiously get more ambitious by bringing on new contributors. About six months ago, science journalist Becky Ferreira started writing The Abstract, our Saturday science-focused newsletter. Last year, Case Hartsfield joined us to help with social media and audience engagement, and has since grown our TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky accounts significantly so we can reach more people. Most recently, journalist Matthew Gault has started contributing regularly, and were taking more commissions as bandwidth allows. One year ago, Jules Roscoe came aboard as the first 404 Media fellow, and in June, we'll have a new intern (stay tuned!). We threw a panel and party at SXSW, which was the first time weve thrown an event in a city we didnt live in; it went very well and we hope to do more of this in the future. We are thinking about how we can bring you more of the journalism we do at a time when the stakes feel higher than ever.There are also a few things were going to try that have worked for other businesses like ours that we havent done yet. Chief among these is a referral program, which companies like Morning Brew have used to build their newsletter lists. The reason a referral program is attractive to us is because, as we have railed endlessly against the algorithmic lottery of social media, weve found that the best way for us to grow is from direct, person-to-person recommendations. We have lost count of the number of people who have told us that they found us because a friend or family member told them about us in a group chat, forwarded one of our emails, or was chatting about one of our stories at a party. We want to incentivize this type of recommendation by giving 404 Media merch to people who ask their friends to sign up for our newsletters. Were not sure how well this will work, but its something we want to try and that will start showing up at the bottom of our email newsletters, beginning with this one. There may be some bumps as we get this off the ground and were open to feedback on it; were using some software that may or may not play well with our email provider, so if you see anything buggy, let us know.More importantly, since we launched 404 Media we have talked endlessly about how our goal was to do journalism sustainably, and weve been extremely conservative precisely because of our experience at VICE and the inevitable, seasonal headwinds in the economy.Its windy as hell right now but we are prepared. We didnt overextend ourselves, we arent relying on investors who are waiting for a 10x return and are now getting cold feet, and we dont have to change anything about how we do our journalism because every single business decision weve made the entire time was in the service of doing that work as best as possible, for as long as possible.We want to thank you again if you are already a paid subscriber. If youre not one yet, you can sign up here. On that page you should see a list of all the benefits you get by becoming a subscriber.If youre unable to pay for subscription but still want to support us, there are still plenty of other things we need help with:First and always, please tell people about 404 Media. This is how we have built our audience, and it is very, very helpful. Share our stories, share our podcast, forward our newsletter, follow us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube and share our posts there. And please, try out the referral program and let us know how it goes.Please keep sending us tips. Some of our best stories started as tips from readers, and nothing helps us grow as much as a good scoop. Our contact info is here.Please subscribe to our podcast and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. We are proud of how good the podcast is getting, and know we have a following that only gets our stories via our free podcast. We think we still have a lot of room to grow there. Just a few more subscribers and reviews can be more helpful than most people can probably imagine.Please become a free subscriber if youre not one already! Its free, but is very helpful for us in order to reach you with our newsletter directly.Advertise with us. If you own or work for a company, tell your marketing team that you read us and that they should consider placing an ad in our podcast or in our newsletter!Tell your company / university / school about us. We offer discounted group subscriptions to organizations. Please just tell them to get in touch by emailing emanuel@404media.co or jason@404media.coIf youre unable to pay for a subscription but still want to give us money in some other way, we have a tip jar where you can give any amount you want and a merch store with really nice stuff! We have restocked this store and added a few new items in the last few days.An earlier version of this post originally appeared as part of our weekly Behind the Blog series, available only to paying subscribers. Weve expanded on it for a wider release.

Nature, Published online: 22 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09011-0Stereoretentive radical cross-coupling

Nature, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01276-9A nugget-sized chunk of chicken is the biggest single piece of lab-grown meat to date. Plus, the up-and-coming world of stem-cell therapies and how cuts to US foreign aid could cause millions of deaths by 2040.

The news program has faced mounting pressure from both President Trump and its corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.

Kevin Systrom said during testimony in a landmark antitrust trial that he believed Meta viewed Instagram as a threat.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference on the Autism report by the CDC at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-04-22T16:52:02Z WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. health officials said they plan to phase out eight petroleum-based artificial colors from the nations food supply, triggering an overhaul of scores of brightly hued products on American store shelves. Details of the plan are expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, who have advocated the change as part of Kennedys Make America Healthy Again agenda. The officials are expected to spell out a regulatory path for removing the color additives, a process that typically requires public notice and agency review. It would be a sweeping change for U.S. food producers, who would likely replace the dyes with natural substitutes. Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children. The FDA has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.The FDA currently allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes. In January, the agency announced that the dye known as Red 3 used in candies, cakes and some medications would be banned by 2028 because it caused cancer in laboratory rats. The dyes Kennedy wants to remove are used widely in the U.S. foods. In Canada and in Europe where artificial colors are required to carry warning labels manufacturers use natural substitutes. Some U.S. states, such as California and West Virginia, recently enacted laws that ban artificial colors and other additives from school meals, and in some cases, the broader food supply.___Aleccia reported from California.___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. JONEL ALECCIA Aleccia covers food and nutrition at The Associated Press. She is based in Southern California. twitter mailto

Pope Francis, right, hugs Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI prior to the start of a meeting with elderly faithful in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)2025-04-22T11:16:44Z VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world when he announced his resignation in 2013, the first in 600 years. That led some to wonder if, as he grew increasingly frail and sick, Pope Francis would follow that precedent.While Francis kept open the possibility, and even had a resignation letter prepared, he said more recently that he believed that the papacy was for life. And he ultimately lived out that belief, serving in his ministry until his death on Monday, at the age of 88.Benedict, even before his resignation, he had argued that a pontiff should step aside if he got too old or infirm to do the role. It was nonetheless a shock when he announced in Latin that his strength of mind and body had diminished and that he couldnt carry on.His dramatic exit paved the way for Francis election and created the unprecedented arrangement of two popes living side-by-side, with Benedict in a converted monastery in the Vatican gardens until his death on Dec. 31, 2022. In his 2024 memoir, Life: My Story Through History, Francis recounted how, when he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires, he thought he had misunderstood the news when he first learned about Benedicts resignation. For a moment I was paralyzed. I could hardly believe what I was hearing, Francis wrote. This was news I had never expected to receive in my lifetime: the resignation of a pope was unimaginable, although it was provided for in canon law. But he said he realized that Benedict would have meditated and prayed for a long time before coming to that brave and historic decision.During the decade they lived together in the Vatican as a reigning and emeritus pope, Francis repeatedly praised Benedicts courage and humility for resigning and said that he had opened the door to future popes also stepping down.But after Benedict died, Francis changed course. While confirming he had a resignation letter prepared in case he became medically incapacitated, he pointed to the risks that papal resignations might become a fashion or the norm. Benedict had the courage to do it because he didnt feel like going on because of his health. I, for the moment, do not have that on my agenda, he said, according to closed-door comments with the Jesuit community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in February 2023, which were reported by the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica.I believe that the popes ministry is ad vitam (for life). I see no reason why it shouldnt be so. The ministry of the great patriarchs is always for life. And historical tradition is important.___Gera contributed from Warsaw, Poland. NICOLE WINFIELD Winfield has been on the Vatican beat since 2001, covering the papacies of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and the Francis pontificate and traveling the world with them.

An exploit in Activision-Blizzards popular real-time strategy game StarCraft II is allowing people to inject disturbing videos into multiplayer matches and show them to other players without warning, according to several accounts in the StarCraft II community and one player who talked to 404 Media. Some of the videos people said they saw in game include real footage of a mass shooting in a supermarket and a video with rapidly flashing lights, seemingly an attempt to trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.We loaded up with a few regulars and some randos who I didn't know, a user named Tad0422, who saw one of these videos said, said on Reddit. Tad0422 said they were playing a custom map called Monobattles, which is shared via Starcraft II Arcade, an official hub for sharing custom StarCraft maps. About 3 min a video appeared on my screen. I have never seen this before but it took up the whole screen. It was a Russian pop video or something that played for 20 seconds or so. Most of us were talking in chat about what the heck was happening.Then about a minute later a video pops up with a guy entering a store with a [StarCraft user interface] over the video and ghost emotes playing, Tad0422 continued. I was talking with the others in the game trying to figure out what was going on. I then realize he is murdering people and shooting people in the head. At this moment I freak out and hard close out of [StarCraft II]. My 5 year old daughter was in the room with me, half paying attention to me playing a video game.After Tad0422s post got some attention on Reddit, other players chimed in to say that theyve had similar in-game experiences in StarCraft II over the last year. In the same Reddit thread, one user said he saw an epileptic screamer, referring to a kind of jumpscare video with rapidly flashing images. A couple of days ago, a user on the official StarCraft II forums said they saw a swastika appear on screen during a game, and another Reddit user reported seeing the same. Posts on Reddit and the official forums that are now a year old say that some games, all in the Arcade mode, crash the client entirely.Tad0422 told me that he reported the issue directly to Blizzard.I have also reached out to the ESRB and FCC to file complaints, they told me. My goal is not to punish anyone, just to get this fixed.Judging by posts in the StarCraft II community over the last year, players are convinced that the issue isnt with any particular Arcade map, but the way the game handles lobby titles. Players can name the lobbies they are hosting in Arcade mode, and players think that this field is being used to execute code that is loading up the images and videos and crash the game.Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.While whats happening in StarCraft II at the moment is particularly nasty, this type of in-game harassment is nothing new to online games. My first encounter with this type of behavior was in early versions of Counter-Strike, where players spray painted hentai gifs on to the walls of de_dust. Last year, I wrote about how Team Fortress 2 botters similarly exploited the game to go after their critics. Online games are much like other internet platforms in that they host large communities of people and require constant and costly moderation and upkeep. Unlike Instagram or Twitter, however, they are not financially supported by ads that can pay for the continuous work of maintenance and moderation, which is why online games are often taken offline by their publishers or are quietly neglected. Earlier this month, for example, PC Gamer reported that Star Wars Battlefront 2, a hugely important game to publisher EA when it launched in 2017, has been unplayable for days because its been overtaken by hackers.

Francis never gave an explicit answer for not returning as pontiff to his native country, but some experts say he worried about having his presence used for political purposes.

Jim Yardley, the former Rome bureau chief for The New York Times, witnessed Pope Francis transformation from an unlikely papal contender to a beloved figure.

VATICAN CITYSaying this should be a time for the siblings to connect with one another and grieve, the late Pope Francis children issued a statement Tuesday asking for privacy following their fathers death. While we are sincerely touched by the outpouring of condolences from across the world, we request that you respect our familys need for space so we can navigate the loss of our beloved father, said Ignacio Vsquez of Argentina, one of Francis 16 known children, who were born on six continents to at least seven different mothers. Ill never forget Christmases with my father, watching on TV from Buenos Aires while he celebrated mass at St. Peters in Rome. We didnt get to see him much, but when we did, he was never too tired to chase us through the Sistine Chapel or play hide and seek in the Vatican Catacombs. To 1.4 billion Catholics he may have been the vicar of Christ on earth, but to us he was simply Dad. At press time, Pope Francis children were reportedly behind closed doors arguing about who would inherit the Vatican.The post Pope Francis Children Ask For Privacy Following Fathers Death appeared first on The Onion.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-04-22T17:51:36Z WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Tuesday speech that the ongoing tariffs showdown against China is unsustainable and expects a de-escalation in the trade war between the worlds two largest economies.But in a private speech in Washington for JPMorgan Chase, Bessent also cautioned that talks between the United States and China had yet to formally start. Trump placed import taxes of 145% on China, which has countered with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods. Trump has placed tariffs on several dozen countries, causing the stock market to stumble and interest rates to increase on U.S. debt as investors worry about slower economic growth and higher inflationary pressures.Details of the speech were confirmed by two people familiar with the remarks who insisted on anonymity to discuss them.I do say China is going to be a slog in terms of the negotiations, Bessent said according to a transcript obtained by The Associated Press. Neither side thinks the status quo is sustainable. The S&P 500 stock index rose after Bloomberg News initially reported Bessents remarks. The Trump administration has met for talks with counterparts from Japan, India, South Korea, the European Union, Canada and Mexico, among other nations. But Trump has shown no public indications that he plans to pullback his baseline 10% tariff, even as he has insisted hes looking for other nations to cut their own import taxes and remove any non-tariff barriers that the administration says have hindered exports from the U.S. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that Trump told her were doing very well regarding a potential trade deal with China.China on Monday warned other countries against making trade deals with the United States that could negatively impact China.China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of Chinas interests, Chinas Commerce Ministry said in a statement. Leavitt said the Trump administration has received 18 proposals from other countries for trade deals with the U.S., adding that everyone involved wants to see a trade deal happen.The uncertainty over tariffs in the financial markets has also been amplified by Trump calling on the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate, with the president saying he could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell if he wanted to do so.Leavitt said Trump believes the Fed has by holding rates steady as it awaits the impacts of tariffs in the name of politics, rather in the name of whats right for the American economy. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on upon his arrival at the Quai d'Orsay, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs before a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Julien de Rosa, Pool via AP)2025-04-22T15:39:34Z Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a massive overhaul of the State Department on Tuesday, with plans to reduce staff in the U.S. by 15% while closing and consolidating more than 100 bureaus worldwide as part of the Trump administrations America First mandate.The reorganization plan, announced by Rubio on social media and detailed in documents obtained by The Associated Press, is the latest effort by the White House to reimagine U.S. foreign policy and scale back the size of the federal government.We cannot win the battle for the 21st century with bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources, Rubio said in a department-wide email obtained by AP. He said the reorganization aimed to meet the immense challenges of the 21st Century and put America First. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce echoed that sentiment, saying the sweeping changes will empower our talented diplomats but adding that it would not result in the immediate dismissal of personnel. Its not something where people are being fired today, Bruce told reporters Tuesday. Theyre not going to be walking out of the building. Its not that kind of a dynamic. It is a roadmap. Its a plan. It includes consolidating 734 bureaus and offices to 602, as well as transitioning 137 offices to another location within the department to increase efficiency, according to a fact sheet obtained by AP. There will be a reimagined office focused on foreign and humanitarian affairs to coordinate the aid programs overseas still left at the State Department. The reorganization was driven in part by the need to find a new home for the remaining functions of the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency that Trump administration officials and billionaire ally Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency have dismantled. The State Department reorganization plan appears to eliminate an office charged with surging expertise to war zones and other erupting crises and scale back work on human rights and justice. It was not immediately clear whether U.S. embassies were included in the installations slated for closing. Earlier reports of wholesale closings of embassies, especially in Africa, triggered warnings about shrinking the U.S. diplomatic capacity and influence abroad.Although the plan will implement major changes in the departments bureaucracy and personnel, it is far less drastic than an alleged reorganization plan that was circulated by some officials over the weekend. Numerous senior State Department officials, including Rubio himself, denied that the plan was real.Work that had been believed targeted in that alleged leaked document survived at least as bureau names on a chart in the plan that Rubio released Tuesday. That includes offices for Africa affairs, migration and refugee issues, and democracy efforts.Some of the bureaus that are indeed expected to be cut in the new plan include the Office of Global Womens Issues and the State Departments diversity and inclusion efforts, which have been eliminated government-wide under Trump. The department also is expected to eliminate some offices previously under the undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, but the fact sheet says that much of that work will continue in other sections of the department.It is unclear if the reorganization would be implemented through an executive order or other means.The official plans came a week after the AP learned that the White Houses Office of Management and Budget proposed gutting the State Departments budget by almost 50% and eliminating funding for the United Nations and NATO headquarters.While the budget proposal is still in a highly preliminary phase and not expected to pass muster with Congress, the reorganization plan got an initial nod of approval from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Change is not easy, but President Trump and Secretary Rubio have proposed a vision to remake the State Department for this century and the fights that we face today, as well as those that lie ahead of us, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the GOP chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that reorganization occurs. Democrats, on the other hand, blasted the effort as Rubio and the Trump administrations latest attempt to gut vital components of American influence on the world stage. On its face, this new reorganization plan raises grave concerns that the United States will no longer have either the capacity or capability to exert U.S. global leadership, achieve critical national security objectives, stand up to our adversaries, save lives, and promote democratic values, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz said. These have always been bipartisan endeavors for good reason. They make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous. Now they are at risk. The proposed changes at the State Department come as the Trump administration has been slashing jobs and funding across agencies, from the Education Department to Health and Human Services. On foreign policy, beyond the destruction of USAID, the administration also has moved to defund so-called other soft power institutions like media outlets delivering objective news, often to authoritarian countries, including the Voice of America, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Asia and Radio/TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba. ___Amiri reported from the United Nations and Lee from London. Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report. FARNOUSH AMIRI Amiri covers foreign policy and the United Nations as a correspondent for The Associated Press, based in New York. twitter mailto

by Sharon Lerner ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. Environmentalists have long faced harassment, imprisonment and other forms of retribution in some parts of the world. The U.S. has largely been an exception, a place where people and organizations can freely and safely pursue efforts to protect human health and nature sometimes working hand in hand with the government. But the treatment of people who fight pollution has palpably changed in recent months. Nonprofit environmental groups are facing attacks from the Trump administration, subpoenas from criminal investigations, online harassment and industry lawsuits they say are designed to intimidate them into silence. In recent weeks, fears have grown that the administration will seek to revoke the nonprofit status of at least some groups. Today, on Earth Day, ProPublica is publishing an interview with Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, the countrys biggest public interest environmental firm, about the escalating hostility environmentalists face. Over the past five decades, Earthjustices lawyers have helped to establish the first federal limits on mercury and other chemicals emitted by power plants, successfully pushed for bans on toxic pesticides and fought to protect hundreds of endangered species. But the future of the environmental movement is in peril. The shift has been led in no small part by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is tasked with protecting the publics air and water. President Donald Trumps head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, has defunded and sharply criticized some environmental organizations. For eight nonprofit groups that received $20 billion in federal money aimed at promoting clean energy, Zeldin has gone further, working with the FBI on a criminal investigation into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the grant program that funds them. The EPA moved to cancel the funding in February after Zeldin likened the congressionally authorized grant program to throwing gold bars off the Titanic. Zeldin told Fox News that the entire scheme, in my opinion, is criminal, suggesting there was self-dealing and conflicts of interest. A grand jury was launched to investigate his claims. Although a judge has found that the EPA has yet to produce any evidence of wrongdoing, the agency froze the funds and federal authorities sent subpoenas to the organizations that received the money. Zeldin and Trump have publicly called out environmental activists by name. After Fox News showed a picture of Beth Bafford, the executive director of one group, during an interview with Zeldin, she said she received dozens of messages and threats on her voicemail. On social media, people have responded to Zeldins online allegations with calls to imprison the people he is targeting, charge them with treason and even execute them.Meanwhile, green groups are facing threats from lawsuits they say are designed to intimidate and wear down advocacy organizations. Dozens of states have adopted laws to discourage so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits. In March, a jury in North Dakota, which does not have an anti-SLAPP law, found the environmental organization Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million for its role in protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline company, Energy Transfer, argued in court that Greenpeace defamed the company and orchestrated criminal behavior by protestors. Greenpeace has vowed to appeal the verdict.These events have taken place as the new administration makes energy production a main focus, shifting the EPAs priorities to include deregulation and restoring energy dominance, making the U.S. the artificial intelligence capital of the world and bringing back jobs in the auto industry. The agency claims that, contrary to what a lot of its critics have said, these changes wont affect its commitment to protecting clean air and clean water. Dillen sees the Greenpeace case and the increase of lawsuits targeting free speech more broadly, as just one of the growing threats to organizations that work to preserve the environment and the people who staff them. She spoke to ProPublica about the targeting of nonprofit groups, how the second Trump administration is different from the first and what keeps her up at night. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. ProPublica reached out to the EPA and the White House for comment but did not receive a response. Nonprofit executives have recently told me about having their lives transformed. One day theyre working on fulfilling grant requirements, the next theyre being accused of participating in a criminal scheme. Do you know of others in this situation? Yes. I have heard of people being harassed at their homes. This is what happens when the federal government sends a signal that people who have lawfully been granted money by the government are actually scammers and fraudsters. This effort to criminalize people who have properly received government grants has outsized impacts online and in real life. Is this new? I cant remember any instance of the kind that were seeing now. Its not the first time that clients of ours have received threats. Earthjustice has received threats over the years. But its a very different thing when the federal government the EPA administrator, the president himself are personally targeting people online. That is fundamentally different and its having a fundamentally different impact. Earthjustice recently hired an outside law firm to help the organizations clients with SLAPP suits. Why did you feel the need to do that now? SLAPP suits are not new. And in part thats why we have anti-SLAPP legislation in many states. Whats happened now is the tone that the president is setting from the top, popularizing the idea that people trying to work in the public interest are actually hurting the country. That gives license to big corporations to be deploying highly disfavored tactics like SLAPP suits. Im concerned that the attitude this administration is projecting about civil society is so negative that it will encourage more hostile activity by the private sector. I also fear that the very notable ruling in the SLAPP suit against Greenpeace will embolden other companies and other big law firms. Weve seen the administration make plans to rescind Harvard Universitys nonprofit status. Do you worry about the same thing happening to environmental groups? I worry about this administration in all ways. But of course, any action of that kind would be illegal. The president cannot weaponize the IRS by directing audits or stripping away tax-exempt status without due process and legitimate reasons. This kind of attack would strike at the core of our democracy and set a precedent that threatens not only environmental groups but all kinds of charitable organizations, from neighborhood churches to disaster relief and medical research institutions.(Editors note: While many experts agree it would be illegal for Trump to instruct the IRS to remove Harvards nonprofit status, the president has argued that being tax exempt is a privilege that can be revoked. On Monday, Politico reported that Zeldin told reporters he did not think the government should broadly reconsider the nonprofit status of environmental groups.) Ive noticed that environmental leaders are more hesitant to talk publicly. What do you think they stand to lose by speaking out? Across the board, this administration is deploying federal power and the power of the Justice Department, even the FBI, in ways that make it increasingly frightening for anyone to speak out. Now there is clearly a risk that by doing your ordinary job, you may become a target of the administration. For the recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, that targeting has taken the form of a grand jury inquiry. How is the new administrations approach to environmental issues different from that of the first Trump administration? In the first Trump administration, you had a very aggressive agenda to roll back environmental protections, but the method was not so different from what past administrations had done. It was largely hewing to the legally mandated process of proposing new rules, finalizing replacement policies and putting in place weaker policies. In retrospect, it looks quite conventional because there was at least an optical compliance with the normal process. Now you have the administration pushing an even more radical agenda to deregulate and so far theyre dispensing with the usual process. So you have the declaration of the energy emergency, and that is becoming the pretext for making decisions without complying with the usual permitting process. You have this new announcement that regulated industries can apply for presidential exemptions that would relieve them of compliance obligations. Now note that that would apply to even Biden administration regulations that the Supreme Court has declined to stay. This is an end run around regulations that are on the books today. So has Earthjustices strategy changed, too? It has. When I imagined what our first cases would be, I imagined we would be fighting efforts to stay life-saving regulations, that we would be fighting over efforts to pause compliance obligations in federal court. And that certainly has been happening. But I would not have imagined that we would be working around the clock to challenge paused funding for farmers or that we would be fending off immediate efforts by the Trump administration to block congestion pricing in NYC. I do believe there are remedies in the court for what is happening. What if the courts find in your favor, but the administration doesnt abide by their decision? Is that something that keeps you up at night? I worry very much about losing the rule of law in this country. Are you sleeping well? No. What do you think the targeting of environmentalists achieves or aims to achieve? The Trump administration is very significantly bankrolled by the fossil fuels industry. It has been widely reported that the president promised to give many favors to the industry while asking for their financial support. And the president is delivering on those promises by taking aim at climate policies and the groups that have successfully advocated for them. There is, I think, something larger in play, which is that climate solutions are going to drive significant changes in our economy and the president is choosing to throw in with powerful incumbent industries rather than allowing for fair competition in the country. And one part of justifying this approach publicly is to silence groups who are effectively lifting up the reality of climate change and the urgent need to address it. Do you fear that this country is becoming a dangerous place for people who do environmental work? I hope with every fiber of my being that we are not becoming one of those countries. But do I see it as possible? Absolutely.

They had been placed on administrative leave after refusing to abandon the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams. We will not confess wrongdoing when there was none, they wrote.

Harvard frantically tried to avoid a showdown with the Trump administration. Now many of its big donors are pushing the universitys leaders to back down and renew talks with the White House.

White House sources have confirmed the successful execution of 19-year-old college sophomore Evan Dixon late last night by an elite team of special forces.The post Trump Announces Seal Team 6 Killed U.S. Protester In Daring Overnight Raid appeared first on The Onion.

Pope Francis, the Catholic Churchs first Latin American pontiff and a leader who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor, has died at the age of 88. What do you think?Presbyterians, nows our chance to strike!Robyn Phillips, Wiring InspectorIm sad, but Im not Pius XI sad.Edgar Herrera, Horn TunerGravy trains over, global poor!Nathan Dinkins, Backup VeterinarianThe post Pope Francis Dead At 88 appeared first on The Onion.

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This undated photo shows Peanut, a squirrel who lived as a pet with Mark Longo in Southport, N.Y. (Mark Longo via AP)2025-04-22T18:55:03Z New York environmental workers who came with a warrant looking for Peanut the squirrel found the scampering social media star on a bathtub. His housemate, Fred the raccoon, was in a suitcase in a bedroom closet.Soon after the Oct. 30 seizure, both animals were euthanized and Peanut became a martyr held up as a symbol of government overreach by political candidates, including Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who invoked Peanuts name during a rally just days before the presidential election. State and Local officials were inundated with angry messages and even bomb threats.How did events in a sleepy corner of upstate New York snowball so dramatically? Records recently released under freedom of information requests show complaints about the Pnuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary were initially treated with little urgency by the state Department of Environmental Conservation but that changed in the weeks leading up to the fateful seizure amid new complaints and the reported arrival of raccoons to the sanctuary. Government officials laid the groundwork for euthanizing the animals so they could be tested for rabies in the days before the seizure. Yet a state employee also lined up a wildlife rehabilitator to take Peanut, if needed.A final phone call to discuss Peanuts fate was made after the squirrel bit the gloved thumb of a wildlife biologist, according to records. Who was Peanut?Peanut, also known as Pnut, was the star of the sanctuary run by Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner in Southport near the Pennsylvania line. Online videos show the squirrel skittering on Longos shoulders, holding and eating waffles and wearing a tiny cowboy hat.Longo said he found Peanut years ago in New York City after the animals mother was hit by a car. Its against New York state law to possess a wild animal without a license, though Longo and Bittner took steps last year to become wildlife rehabilitators. Fred the raccoon was dropped off at the sanctuary last summer. The spirited interactions between the animals and their human companions racked up views but documents show they also drew the attention of critics and state wildlife authorities.The road to seizureThe DEC knew about the sanctuary since at least January 2024. A report came in of a recent news story about this facility, reads an incident report. There are images of a non-releasable squirrel being referred to as a pet and being dressed up and showcased for publicity reasons.One self-described wildlife rehabilitator and former neighbor emailed authorities multiple times with complaints about how the animals were being treated. In May, a conservation officer spoke to Longo and was told that Peanut and another baby squirrel were sent to Connecticut. Longo said in a recent interview that was true, but that Peanut later came back. When a fresh complaint came in that month, one officer wrote, no judge will give us a search warrant for a squirrel. Unfortunately this isnt a big crime, it is just a violation, a conservation officer wrote in response to a complaint that summer. Mark wont let me into his house without a search warrant. There is just nothing more I can do at this point. I am sorry. Views shifted by October amid more complaints and the arrival of Fred the raccoon a species that can carry and transmit rabies. One correspondent alleged Longo was keeping a raccoon in a small cage in his house. I follow him on TikTok.DEC workers viewed videos on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram and reached out to the Chemung County health department. State environmental officials asked a county health official if they recommend testing animals for rabies as a precaution for human safety. That would require the animals to be killed so brain tissue could be examined.The county, in turn, checked with a state health department expert, who advised the animals would need to be tested if there was any potential of rabies exposure. A week before the search, the county emailed the DEC: We fully expect that all wild animals in the home will need to be euthanized and sent for rabies testing due to the nature of the human contact.A judge signed a search warrant authorizing the seizure of illegally possessed wildlife. Peanut bites the hand that seizes it A team of about a dozen searchers converged on Longos property around 10:30 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 30. Longo said the squirrel was taken to Connecticut, according to the incident report though he later conceded to The Associated Press that was a lie in a highly stressful moment.Bittner revealed to searchers the raccoon was in an upstairs closet. Fred was in an open suitcase on the floor, which was zipped closed and moved to give workers room to transfer the raccoon into a carrier.Peanuts seizure was more dramatic. The squirrel bit the state wildlife biologist through a thick leather glove with a nitrile exam glove underneath. The worker had a bleeding wound, according to a DEC email. A visibly upset Longo pleaded with searchers not to take Peanut and said the squirrel was a large source of income for the farm, according to incident reports.He stated he knew we would be euthanizing it, the report reads. Did Peanut need to die?Anger over Peanuts fate revolves around the belief by critics that he was needlessly killed.Longo believes euthanization was always on the governments agenda, citing the pre-search email indicating that testing on the animals was expected. Longo and Bittner said they did not witness anyone getting medical attention during the seizure.A DEC report indicates the agency took steps before the raid to place the squirrel with a wildlife rehabilitator, if needed for temporay holding/rehabbing. The agency also coordinated with local animal control in case animals needed to be euthanized.The documents suggest Peanuts fate was ultimately sealed at the end of the search, when a call was made to a county health department official about the high profile case. A state DEC worker recalled in a report that the person on the phone said both animals should be tested as a precaution as she didnt want to chance it. Thats because both animals were in direct contact with people in the home and the squirrel bit someone. County officials have said they had to follow rabies protocols from the state. Sad but it has to be done, a county health official wrote in an email that afternoon. The poor animals didnt do anything wrong.The rabies tests were performed quickly, though officials didnt publicly disclose the negative results until almost two weeks later.By then, Peanuts death had made headlines around the world.Bomb threats were made to the DEC buildings. Government inboxes filled up with emails containing invective like BURN IN HELL, SHAME ON YOU!!! A caller to the state left a message beginning, I want to know exactly why you freaks killed Peanut the squirrel. You people are insane.The DEC conducted an internal investigation after the seizure, eventually promising to add a new deputy commissioner for public protection and to develop a body-camera policy for its officers.We have carefully reviewed all the public feedback and we understand the distress caused to communities throughout the state, acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton said in a prepared release last month. We know that we can do better moving forward.

Bill Owens takes part in a panel discussion at the Showtime Winter TCA Tour at the Langham Huntington Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)2025-04-22T17:50:47Z NEW YORK (AP) The top producer at 60 Minutes said Tuesday that he is quitting the show, saying that it has become clear that he would no longer be able to run it as he has in the past.In a memo to staff members, Bill Owens that he would not be able to make independent decisions based on what is right for the audience.Having defended this show and what we stand for from every angle, over time and with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward, he wrote in the memo, first reported by The New York Times.The show has been under attack from President Donald Trump, who sued the network from $20 billion for the way it edited its interview with Kamala Harris last fall. CBS corporate leaders have been discussing a potential settlement with Trump, which Owens and others at the show have resisted. 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

After two hours of deliberation, a jury rejected Sarah Palins claim that she had been defamed in the newspapers 2017 editorial.

The carmaker reported a sharp decline in quarterly earnings after Teslas brand suffered because of its chief executives role in the Trump administration.

THE HEAVENSAdmitting that He had barely even noticed the leader of the Catholic Church had died, God, our Lord and Heavenly Father, announced Tuesday that He was too obsessed with ants right now to focus on the next pope. While I want to commit to finding a successor to Pope Francis, Im currently in kind of an ant phase right now, and its taking up my whole life, said the Creator of All Things, explaining that ever since He discovered how cool the insects were, He let His duties overseeing the papal conclave fall by the wayside. Heres the thing. Ants look small, but they are actually super strong and canlift over 50 times their own body weight. Plus, they communicate with pheromones! I know the Catholic Church is in mourning and needs a strong, compassionate leader, blah, blah, blah, but seriouslydid you know that ants actually grow their own fungus? Theyre tiny little farmers. How cool is that? Later, after reportedly suffering an unexpected ant bite, God confirmed that the next pope would be selected on the basis of how effectively he could kill insects.The post God Too Obsessed With Ants Right Now To Focus On Next Pope appeared first on The Onion.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll Monday, April 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-22T15:28:22Z WASHINGTON (AP) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pulled the airstrike information he posted into Signal chats with his wife, brother and dozens of others from a secure communications channel used by U.S. Central Command, raising new questions as to whether the embattled Pentagon head leaked classified information over an open, unsecured network.NBC News first reported that the launch times and bomb drop times of U.S. warplanes that were about to strike Houthi targets in Yemen details that multiple officials have said is highly classified were taken from secure U.S. Central Command communications. A person familiar with the second chat confirmed that to The Associated Press. The information posted in the second chat was identical to the sensitive operations details shared in the first chat, which included members of President Donald Trumps National Security Council, the person said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity of out fear of reprisal for speaking to the press. Its the second chat involving Hegseth to be called into questionThis is the second chat group where Hegseth posted the Yemen airstrike information. The first leaked Signal chat accidentally included the editor of The Atlantic and has caused an inspector general investigation in the Defense Department.Hegseth has not directly acknowledged that he set up the second chat, which had more than a dozen people on it, including his wife, his lawyer and his brother Phil Hegseth, who was hired as a senior liaison to the Pentagon for the Department of Homeland Security. Instead, the secretary blamed the disclosure of the second Signal chat on leaks from disgruntled former staff. Hegseth has aggressively denied that the information he posted was classified. Regardless of that, Signal is a commercially available app that is encrypted but is not a government network and not authorized to carry classified information.I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans, Hegseth told Fox News on Tuesday. I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things. Thats what Ive said from the beginning. Former defense secretary calls it a serious breachBased on the specificity of the launch times, that information would have been classified, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the AP in a phone interview. It is unheard of to have a Secretary of Defense committing these kind of serious security breaches, said Panetta, who served during the Obama administration, and who also was director of the Central Intelligence Agency during Obamas term. Developing attack plans for defensive reasons is without question the most classified information you can have. The news comes as Hegseth has shaken up much of his inner circle. He is said to have become increasingly isolated and suspicious about whom he can trust, and is relying on an increasingly smaller and smaller circle of people. In the last week he has fired or transferred six of his inner support circle, including Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell; the chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, Colin Carroll; and Hegseths deputy chief of staff, Darin Selnick. Those three were escorted out of the Pentagon as the department hunts down leaks of inside information, and in his Fox and Friends interview Tuesday, an agitated Hegseth accused those staff whom he had worked with and known for years of attempting to leak and sabotage the administration. Hegseth confirmed Tuesday that chief of staff Joe Kasper would be transitioning to a new position. Former Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell is also temporarily shifting to a more direct support role for Hegseth, and former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot announced he was resigning last week, unrelated to the leaks. The Pentagon said, however, that Ullyot was asked to resign. 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

New York University students and pro-Israeli supporters rally across the street from where pro-Palestinian students and supporters rally outside the NYU Stern School of Business building, April 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)2025-04-22T10:04:41Z NEW YORK (AP) The Anti-Defamation League says the number of antisemitic incidents in the United States reached a record high last year and notes that 58% of the 9,354 incidents related to Israel, notably chants, speeches and signs at rallies protesting Israeli policies.In a report released Tuesday, the ADL, which has produced annual tallies for 46 years, said its the first time Israel-related incidents 5,422 of them in 2024 comprised more than half the total. A key reason is the widespread opposition to Israels military response in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.The ADLs findings add grist to an intense, divisive debate among American Jews and others over the extent to which vehement criticism of Israeli policies and of Zionism should be considered antisemitic. Political backdropThe debate has broadened as President Donald Trumps administration makes punitive moves against universities it considers too lax in combating antisemitism and seeks to deport some pro-Palestinian campus activists.The upshot, for numerous Jewish leaders, is a balancing act: Decrying flagrant acts of antisemitism as well as what they consider to be the administrations exploitation of the issue to target individuals and institutions it dislikes.The fears of antisemitism are legitimate and real and we dont want to see those real fears exploited to undermine democracy, said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. I feel that a majority of American Jews can believe that two things are true at the same time. The ADL said in its new report it is careful to not conflate general criticism of Israel or anti-Israel activism with antisemitism. But there are gray areas. For example, the ADL contends that vilification of Zionism the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel is a form of antisemitism, yet some Jews are among the critics of Zionism and of the ADL itself.Incidents at anti-Israel rallies that counted as antisemitism in the new ADL tally include justification or glorification of antisemitic violence, promotion of classic antisemitic tropes ... and signage equating Judaism or Zionism with Nazism. Also counted were celebrations of the Hamas attack on Israel and unapologetic support for terrorism.In 2024, hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the U.S., said Oren Segal, who leads the ADLs efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.Keeping Jewish students safeThe report depicted university campuses as common venues for antisemitic incidents, saying many Jewish students face hostility, exclusion and sometimes physical danger because of their identity or their beliefs.The experience of those students was evoked by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism an umbrella group for more than 800 Reform congregations in North America as he discussed the complexities arising from current antisemitism-related developments.We have an obligation to our students on campus, Jacobs said. Can they go to Seder? Can they feel safe wearing a yarmulke?At the same time, this current administration has weaponized the fight against antisemitism by weakening core democratic institutions, Jacobs added.He referred to the detention and threatened deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a 30-year-old graduate student who served as a negotiator and spokesperson for pro-Palestinian activists at Columbia University. Khalil has been detained since March 8 despite facing no criminal charges.There has to be a legal case not just you dont like what he says, Jacobs said. What has kept Jewish people safe is the rule of law, due process. If it is undermined for Palestinians, it will be undermined for all of us.Criticism of ADLThe ADL dismayed some progressive Jewish leaders by welcoming Columbias acquiescence in March to Trump administration demands and by initially commending the campaign targeting pro-Palestinian activists such as Khalil.Recent critics of the ADL include Michael Roth, the first Jewish president of Wesleyan University; political commentator Peter Beinart; and Columbia professor James Schamus, who has been urging his fellow Jews on the faculty to oppose the universitys compliance with administration demands.Washington Post columnist Matt Bai wrote a scathing column about the ADL on April 1.You cant call yourself a civil rights organization in the United States right now let alone a civil rights organization for a minority that has been brutally evicted all over the world and not loudly oppose the cruel and unlawful removal of foreigners whose views happen to be out of fashion, Bai wrote.Two days later, the ADLs CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, wrote an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy seeking to distance the ADL from aspects of the Trump administrations crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.As an organization that has fought for a minority community for more than 100 years, ADL is incredibly sensitive to the importance of allowing all views to be expressed even those that we or the majority of Americans disagree with, Greenblatt wrote. We should be holding people accountable for actual crimes, not Orwellian thoughtcrimes.We can protect the civil liberties of Jewish students even as we preserve the civil liberties of those who protest, harass or attack them because they are innocent until proven guilty, he added. If we sacrifice our constitutional freedoms in the pursuit of security, we undermine the very foundation of the diverse, pluralistic society we seek to defend.Beyond the Israel-related incidents, these were among the other findings in the new ADL report: The total number of antisemitic incidents in 2024 was up by 344% from five years ago. 196 incidents, targeting more than 250 people, were categorized as assault; none of these assaults were fatal. 2,606 incidents were categorized as vandalism. Swastikas were present in 37% of these cases. There were 647 bomb threats, most of them targeting synagogues. Antisemitic incidents occurred in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 10% of the incidents occurred in New York City. There were 962 antisemitic propaganda incidents linked to white supremacist groups. Three groups Patriot Front, Goyim Defense League, and the White Lives Matter network were responsible for 94% of this activity.The ADL says its annual report tallies criminal and noncriminal acts of harassment, vandalism and assault against individuals and groups as reported to the ADL by victims, law enforcement, the media and partner organizations, and then evaluated by ADL experts. ___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. DAVID CRARY Crary has headed APs 11-person Religion team since 2020. Among previous AP jobs, he was a foreign correspondent for 14 years, and has used that experience to bolster APs worldwide religion coverage. twitter mailto

Theres no better opponent than one who repeatedly trips over his shoelaces.

Information about U.S. strikes in Yemen that the defense secretary put in two group chats came from Central Command, according to two people familiar with the chats.

Boston Marathon winner John Korir, of Kenya, kisses the trophy while celebrating after the race, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)2025-04-22T21:03:46Z BOSTON (AP) John Korir arrived in Hopkinton hoping to join his brother as a Boston Marathon champion. He left Boylston Street with plans to train a future winner.Korir said he will donate the prize money from his Boston victory to the Transcend Talent Academy, which provides an education for aspiring runners who cant afford one. He has worked with the school in Kenya along with his brother, Wesley, who used the proceeds from his 2012 Boston win to build a hospital in their home region.It was in our dream to come here and win, and make history of two brothers winning Boston, Korir said Tuesday, a day after overcoming an early fall to become, with Wesley, the first members of the same family to win the worlds oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.One day, one time well have a child from Transend Academy win Boston, John Korir said. Thats now our next dream: to mentor, to bring up a champion who will come one day, come and win Boston. The reigning Chicago Marathon champion, who had top 10 finishes in both of his previous Boston attempts, Korir broke away from the pack heading into Heartbreak Hill on Monday and ran alone for much of the last 6 miles to win in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 45 seconds the second-fastest winning time in course history. Fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi also took advantage of near-perfect marathon weather to win in 2:17:22 more than 2 1/2 minutes faster than the previous course record. Korir said he, too, might have challenged for the course record if hed had another runner to push him. But because I was alone, had to try my best and see how fast I could run, he said.Korir ran more than 26.19 miles with a scraped up knee and hand after getting tripped in the crowded start on East Main Street in Hopkinton, sending him sprawling headfirst down the double yellow line in the middle of the road. His race bib was messed up even worse.Korir quickly popped back up and saw his bib was torn off his shirt in three of its four corners; he detached the last one, folded the bib and tucked it into his shorts as he rejoined the still bunched-up leaders at the rear.The absence of a bib the professionals have their names, not numbers like most of the 30,000 runners in the field was mostly a curiosity for onlookers. But it posed a potential problem for race organizers: On the back is a timing device that registers when the runner crosses a checkpoint.The system provide runners with their split times and also proves that someone ran the entire race something Boston officials didnt have in 1980, when Rosie Ruiz was initially declared the winner before they found she took a shortcut to the finish line.Ruiz, an unknown before she broke the tape, didnt show up on any pictures or video along the course. Korir who was running among the leaders, right behind the lead vehicle with the TV camera was literally front and center.It was kind of a nonissue because he was in the main (pack). I mean, the camera was focused on him, Boston Athletic Association President Jack Fleming said, holding up Korirs mangled bib. This is an identification and a timing and scoring device. So he was clearly identified; we knew who he was. We didnt actually need this to identify him as John Korir. And it just so happened that the timing tag was intact. Fleming said organizers noticed Korirs missing bib early on and went looking for video to find out what had happened. But they also saw that he was showing up at each checkpoint, as normal. No one knew how until he pulled the bib out of his shorts as he ran down Boylston Street to the finish.For him to have the presence of mind, with all of that adrenaline, to grab the bib and to hold on to it, tuck it away, ... its amazing, Fleming said.The timing devices have come a long way: Early models were plastic chips tied into the runners shoelaces, but now they are a thin metallic sticker on the back of the bib, surrounded by a sponge-like protective guard. The bib itself is a papery plastic similar to the material used to wrap building frames during construction. It is strong enough to withstand 26.2 miles of pounding in all kinds of weather, but it is not indestructible.Its the first thing thats stated on the back of the bid: Do not fold or bend this bib number, Fleming said, reading the warning printed on every bib. But it worked.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports JIMMY GOLEN Golen covers Boston sports for The Associated Press, with a little bit of sports law and Olympic beach volleyball and curling mixed in. twitter mailto

A woman reaches to a shark swimming in Mediterranean Sea in Hadera, Israel, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)2025-04-22T10:22:14Z HADERA, Israel (AP) Israeli police on Tuesday were scouring the coast for a swimmer they fear may have been attacked by a shark in an area that has long seen close encounters between marine predators and beachgoers who sometimes seek them out.A shiver of endangered dusky and sandbar sharks has been swimming close to the area for years, attracting onlookers who approach the sharks, drawing pleas from conservation groups for authorities to separate people from the wild animals. Nature groups say those warnings went unheeded. On Monday, police launched a search along the Mediterranean coast after reports that a shark attacked a swimmer on a beach near the city of Hadera.On Tuesday, the beach was closed off as search teams used boats and underwater equipment to look for the man. His identity was not immediately known, but Israeli media said he had gone to swim with the sharks. Israelis flocked in large numbers to the beach during a weeklong holiday, sharing the waters with a dozen or more sharks. Some tugged on the sharks fins, while others threw them fish to eat. Dusky sharks can stretch 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh about 350 kilograms (750 pounds). Sandbar sharks are smaller, growing to about 2.5 meters (8 feet) and 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Yigael Ben-Ari, head of marine rangers at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, said it was not known how the man behaved around the sharks. But he said the public should know not to enter the water when sharks are present and not to touch or play with them. One video shared by Israeli media showed a shark swimming right up to bathers in thigh-deep water.What a huge shark! the man filming exclaims, as the shark approaches him. Whoa! Hes coming toward us!Dont move! he implores a boy standing nearby, who replies: Im leaving.The man then asks: What, are you afraid of the sharks?The behavior, some of which was witnessed by an Associated Press photographer two days before the attack, flew in the face of the advice of the parks authority.Like every wild animal, the sharks behavior may be unpredictable, the authority said in a statement.This would be just the third recorded shark attack in Israel, according to Ben-Ari. One person was killed in an attack in the 1940s.The area, where warm water released by a nearby power plant flows into the sea, has for years attracted dozens of sharks between October and May. Ben-Ari said swimming is prohibited in the area, but swimmers enter the water anyway.It would have been appropriate to take steps to preserve and regulate public safety, but over the years, chaos has developed in the area, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, an environmental group, said in a statement.It said fishermen, boats, divers, surfers and snorkelers intersected dangerously with a wild animal that is not accustomed to being around crowds of people.SPNI said further steps were needed to prevent similar incidents, like designating a safe zone from where people could view the sharks without swimming close to them.Israeli authorities on Monday closed the beach and others nearby.___Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. 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

The decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pull out of the meeting and an objection by Ukraines leader to a key U.S. proposal raised questions about the state of the negotiations.

Scott Bessent told a group of investors that he expected trade tensions with China to de-escalate.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he participates in a ceremonial swearing in of Paul Atkins as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-22T21:57:01Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, just days after his statement that he would like to terminate the head of the U.S. central bank caused a stock market selloff.I have no intention of firing him, Trump told reporters.The U.S. president had previously insinuated otherwise as he said he could fire Powell if he wanted to, having been frustrated by the Fed putting a pause on cuts to short-term interest rates. Powell has said that Trumps tariffs are creating uncertainty about slower growth and higher inflationary pressures, while the president maintains that inflationary worries are essentially non-existent.The president maintains that energy and grocery prices are falling, so the Fed should cut its benchmark rates because inflation is no longer a threat to the U.S. economy, Trump said. His remarks indicated that he still plans to use the bully pulpit to pressure a U.S. central bank that is committed to resisting political pressure as part of its mandate to stabilize prices and maximize employment. Trumps frustration led him to post on social media last Thursday: Powells termination cannot come fast enough! The Fed chairs term ends in May 2026. On Tuesday, Trump continued to air his grievances about Powell, even though he said the Fed chair would stay on the job despite the presidents belief that inflation is no longer a problem. Its all coming down, Trump said. The only thing that hasnt come down, but hasnt gone up much, are interest rates. And we think the Fed should lower the rate. We think that its a perfect time to lower the rate. And wed like to see our chairman be early or on time, as opposed to late. Lates not good.Trump again attacked Powell on Monday on his Truth Social account, saying that there is virtually No Inflation. The comment built on a statement by Trump last week that said he believed he could fire Powell, a move that shook financial markets and frightened investors that interest rates might be subject to politics instead of economic fundamentals.If I want him out, hell be out of there real fast, believe me, Trump said in the Oval Office last Thursday. Im not happy with him.The Fed has held off on further reductions to its federal funds rate, which influences the money supply by setting the interest rate that banks can charge each other for overnight loans. That rate is effectively 4.33%, down a fully percentage point since last August as inflationary pressures appeared to ease.The Fed had initially raised that rate because of inflation spiking during Joe Bidens presidency, a byproduct of the global economy recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and higher energy and food prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.But Powell has also been willing to challenge the presidents trade policies. He said last week in a Chicago speech that Trumps tariff policies would hurt the U.S. economy, a direct warning to a White House trying to sell the import taxes as a long-term positive for the country.The level of tariff increases announced so far is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects which will include higher inflation and slower growth, Powell said last week at the Economic Club of Chicago. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

A funeral will be held on Saturday for the pope, who changed the rules to make such ceremonies simpler than those traditionally observed.

When knowledge is threatened, dont just mourn it. Build around it.