President-elect Donald Trump dances with The Village People at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-20T05:11:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) Carrie Underwood might not be Beyonc or Garth Brooks in the celebrity superstar ecosystem. But the singers participation in President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration is nevertheless a sign of the changing tides, where mainstream entertainers, from Nelly to The Village People are more publicly and more enthusiastically associating with the new administration.Eight years ago, Trump reportedly struggled to enlist stars to be part of the swearing-in and the various glitzy balls that follow. The concurrent protest marches around the nation had more famous entertainers than the swearing-in, which stood in stark contrast to someone like Barack Obama, whose second inaugural ceremony had performances from Beyonc, James Taylor and Kelly Clarkson and a series of starry onlookers.There were always some celebrity Trump supporters, like Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Jon Voight, Rosanne Barr, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone and Dennis Rodman, to name a few. But Trumps victory this time around was decisive and while Hollywood may always skew largely liberal, the slate of names participating in his inauguration weekend events has improved. Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, The Village People and Lee Greenwood all performed at a MAGA style rally Sunday. Those performing at inaugural balls include the rapper Nelly, country music band Rascal Flatts, country singer Jason Aldean and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw. The people who are coming out and participating directly are still a small subset of the entire universe of what we call celebrity, said Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. But were seeing a lot more celebrities who are coming out and supporting Trump. There may not be that distinct division that we saw before. Even some who have publicly criticized Trump in the past seem to have changed course. One of the highest-profile examples is the rapper Snoop Dogg, who in a 2017 music video pretended to shoot a Trump lookalike, and then this weekend performed at a pre-Inaugural event called The Crypto Ball. When a social media user posted a video of his performance, his name quickly became a trending topic on social media with a fair amount of disbelief and outrage. There may still be a tinge of stigma, however. Thompson pointed to the statement from The Village People, in which they offered a justification for their involvement, which he likened to an apologia.Also, Thompson said, the idea of being featured in a big national civic ritual perhaps can transcend political identity.The participation of people like Underwood is not going to change anyones mind about Trump, Thompson said. It could, however, change minds about the artist. On social media, some declared they were going to delete Underwoods songs from their playlists.Where Trump once emphasized the otherness of a Hollywood that largely shunned him, hes now turned his attention back to the entertainment capital as a project to be saved. He named Stallone, Voight and Mel Gibson as his chosen ambassadors for the mission. Thompson said it sounds like an Onion headline or something on Saturday Night Live. That, or a logline for the latest installment in the Expendables franchise. Following the election, celebrity detractors have also been quieter than in 2017, when nationwide marches brought out the likes of Cher, Madonna, Katy Perry, Alicia Keys and Janelle Monae. The Peoples March in D.C. on Saturday did not boast about any celebrity participants. At the Golden Globe Awards in early January, Trumps name was not mentioned on stage - a stark contrast to 2017, when Meryl Streep used her lifetime achievement award speech to decry the president-elect before his first term began.Theyve gone through these processes, and it turned out that none of it ever made any bit of difference, Thompson said. All of this celebrity talking against Trump and all of the celebrities going for (Joe) Biden and speaking about the future of democracy not only didnt make any difference toward the outcome of the election, but one could argue that it actually meant that things moved in the other direction. On Friday night in D.C., the nonpartisan nonprofit The Creative Coalition brought together some actors to raise money for and celebrate organizations that support military service members and their families.Im a big fan of things that are nonpartisan, nonpolitical, said comedian Jeff Ross. I talk smack for a living and Im a big believer in free speech. The military protects my right.The entertainers stayed largely focused on the event at hand, not the incoming administration, although they did express concern about funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.The NEA has always been in peril, regardless of what administration comes in. But it feels like the incoming administration will probably be more aggressive in cutting down funding for the arts, said actor Steven Weber. They dont realize that its an essential component not only in our education, but in the life blood of this culture. One Monday event will have a bit of celebrity counterprogramming the Concert for America, not as protest but as fundraiser for wildfire relief which will be held simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles and livestreamed to the world. Participants include Jon Cryer, Lisa Joyner, Conan OBrien, Julie Bowen, Adam Scott, Wayne Brady and Rosie Perez. In addition to performances and comedy, it will also highlight organizations dedicated to protecting human rights.Producers Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson started the event in 2017, also held on Inauguration Day, to raise money for organizations and non-profits they thought would need help over the next four years.Its not only to give people a call to action, but also to give them hope, inspiration and to feel connected, Jackson said.They didnt have trouble recruiting entertainers to participate, Jackson said. The only ones who declined did so because they were working.I dont see it as a counter effort, Rudetsky said. I see it as a way to get rid of the annoying rhetoric and the hate thats based on nothing. Its about unity. LINDSEY BAHR Bahr has been a film writer and critic for The Associated Press since 2014. twitter instagram mailto

Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)2025-01-20T08:21:25Z WASHINGTON (AP) The price of bitcoin surged to over $109,000 early Monday, just hours ahead of President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration, as a pumped up cryptocurrency industry bets hell take action son after returning to the White House. Once a skeptic who said a few years ago that bitcoin seems like a scam, Trump has embraced digital currencies with a converts zeal. Hes launched a new cryptocurrency venture and vowed on the campaign trail to take steps early in his presidency to make the U.S. into the crypto capital of the world. His promises including creating a U.S. crypto stockpile, enacting industry-friendly regulation and event appointing a crypto czar for his administration.Youre going to be very happy with me, Trump told crypto-enthusiasts at a bitcoin conference last summer.Bitcoin is the worlds most popular cryptocurrency and was created in 2009 as a kind of electronic cash uncontrolled by banks or governments. It and newer forms of cryptocurrencies have moved from the financial fringes to the mainstream in wild fits and starts. The highly volatile nature of cryptocurrencies as well as their use by criminals, scammers and rogue nations, has attracted plenty of critics, who say the digital currencies have limited utility and often are just Ponzi schemes. But crypto has so far defied naysayers and survived multiple prolonged price drops in its short lifespan. Wealthy players in the crypto industry, which felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, spent heavily to help Trump win last Novembers election. Bitcoin has surged in price since Trumps victory, topping $100,000 for the first time last month before briefly sliding down to about $90,000. On Friday, it rose about 5%. It jumped more than $9,000 early Monday, according to CoinDesk. Two years ago, bitcoin was trading at about $20,000. Trumps picks for key cabinet and regulatory positions are stocked with crypto supporters, including his choice to lead the Treasury and Commerce departments and the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Key industry players held a first ever Crypto Ball on Friday to celebrate the first crypto president. The event was sold out, with tickets costing several thousand dollars. Heres a look at some detailed action Trump might take in the early days of his administration:CRYPTO COUNCILAs a candidate Trump promised that he would create a special advisory council to provide guidance on creating clear and straightforward regulations on crypto within the first 100 days of his presidency.Details about the council and its membership are still unclear, but after winning Novembers election, Trump named tech executive and venture capitalist David Sacks to be the administrations crypto czar. Trump also announced in late December that former North Carolina congressional candidate Bo Hines will be the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets. At last years bitcoin conference, Trump told crypto supporters that new regulations will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry. Trumps pick to lead the SEC, Paul Atkins, has been a strong advocate for cryptocurrencies. Crypto investors and companies chafed as what they said was a hostile Biden administration that went overboard in unfair enforcement actions and accounting policies that have stifled innovation in the industry particularly at the hands of outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.As far as general expectations from the Trump Administration, I think one of the best things to bet on is a tone change at the SEC, said Peter Van Valkenburgh, the executive director of the advocacy group Coin Center. Gensler, who is set to leave as Trump takes office, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that hes proud of his offices actions to police the crypto industry, which he said is rife with bad actors. STRATEGIC BITCOIN RESERVETrump also promised that as president hell ensure the U.S. government stockpiles bitcoin, much like it already does with gold. At the bitcoin conference earlier this summer, Trump said it the U.S. government would keep, rather than auction off, the billions of dollars in bitcoin it has seized through law enforcement actions.Crypto advocates have posted a draft executive order online that would establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as a permanent national asset to be administered by the Treasury Department through its Exchange Stabilization Fund. The draft order calls for the Treasury Department to eventually hold at least $21 billion in bitcoin.Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming has proposed legislation mandating the U.S. government stockpile bitcoin, which advocates said would help diversify government holdings and hedge against financial risks. Critics say bitcoins volatility make it a poor choice as a reserve asset. Creating such a stockpile would also be a giant step in the direction of bitcoin becoming normalized, becoming legitimatized in the eyes of people who dont yet see it as legitimate, said Zack Shapiro, an attorney who is head of policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. ROSS ULBRICHTAt the bitcoin conference earlier this year, Trump received loud cheers when he reiterated a promise to commute the life sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of the drug-selling website Silk Road that used crypto for payments.Ulbrichts case has energized some crypto advocates and Libertarian activists, who believe government investigators overreached in building their case against Silk Road. ALAN SUDERMAN Suderman is an Associated Press investigative reporter interested in national security, cybersecurity and other related topics. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump tours a section of the border wall in San Luis, Ariz., June 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-01-19T14:58:13Z Follow live updates on President-elect Donald Trumps return to Washington WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump has promised sweeping actions in his second administration.The president-elect has outlined a wide-ranging agenda that blends traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation and cultural issues with a more populist bent on trade and a shift in Americas international role. Trumps agenda also would scale back federal government efforts on civil rights and expand presidential powers.A look at what Trump has proposed: ImmigrationBuild the wall! from his 2016 campaign has become creating the largest mass deportation program in history. Trump has called for using the National Guard and empowering domestic police forces in the effort.Still, Trump has offered few details of what the program would look like and how he would ensure that it targeted only people in the United States illegally.He has pitched ideological screening for would-be entrants and ending birthright citizenship, which almost certainly would require a constitutional change. He has said he would reinstitute first-term practices such as the remain in Mexico policy, as well as limiting migrants on public health grounds and severely limiting or banning entrants from certain majority-Muslim nations.Altogether, the approach would not just crack down on illegal migration, but curtail immigration overall. AbortionTrump played down abortion as a second-term priority, even as he took credit for the Supreme Court ending a womans federal right to terminate a pregnancy and returning abortion regulation to state governments.At Trumps insistence, the GOP platform, for the first time in decades, did not call for a national ban on abortion. Trump maintains that overturning Roe v. Wade is enough on the federal level. Trump said in October that he would veto a federal abortion ban if legislation reached his desk a statement he made only after avoiding a firm position in his September debate against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Anti-abortion activists march outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Anti-abortion activists march outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the annual March for Life in Washington, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More It is unclear if his administration will aggressively defend against legal challenges seeking to restrict access to abortion pills, including mifepristone, as the Biden administration has.Anti-abortion advocates continue to wage legal battles over the Food and Drug Administrations approval of the drug as well as the agencys relaxed prescribing restrictions.Trump is also unlikely to enforce Bidens guidance that hospitals must provide abortions for women who are in medical emergencies, even in states with bans.TaxesTrumps tax policies broadly tilt toward corporations and wealthier Americans. Thats mostly due to his promise to extend his 2017 tax overhaul, with a few notable changes that include lowering the corporate income tax rate to 15% from the current 21%.That also involves rolling back Democratic President Joe Bidens income tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and scrapping Inflation Reduction Act levies that finance energy measures intended to combat climate change. The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Those policies notwithstanding, Trump has put more emphasis on new proposals aimed at working- and middle-class Americans: exempting earned tips, Social Security wages and overtime wages from income taxes. Its noteworthy, however, that his proposal on tips, depending on how Congress might write it, could give a backdoor tax break to top wage earners by allowing them to reclassify some of their pay as tip income. That prospect, at its most extreme, could see hedge-fund managers or top-flight attorneys taking advantage of a policy that Trump frames as being designed for restaurant servers, bartenders and other service workers.Tariffs and tradeTrumps posture on international trade is to distrust world markets as harmful to American interests. He proposes tariffs of 10% to 20% on foreign goods and in some speeches has mentioned even higher percentages. A jockey truck passes a stack of 40-foot China Shipping containers, July 5, 2018, at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File) A jockey truck passes a stack of 40-foot China Shipping containers, July 5, 2018, at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More He promises to reinstitute an August 2020 executive order requiring that the federal government buy essential medications only from U.S. companies. He pledges to block purchases of any vital infrastructure in the U.S. by Chinese buyers. DEI, LGBTQ and civil rightsTrump has called for rolling back societal emphasis on diversity and legal protections for LGBTQ citizens. He has also called for ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government institutions, using federal funding as leverage. Transgenders rights supporters rally outside of the Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Transgenders rights supporters rally outside of the Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More On transgender rights, Trump promises generally to end boys in girls sports, a practice he insists, without evidence, is widespread. But his policies go well beyond standard applause lines from his rally speeches.Among other ideas, Trump would roll back the Biden administrations policy of extending Title IX civil rights protections to transgender students, and he would ask Congress to require that only two genders can be recognized at birth. Regulation, federal bureaucracy and presidential powerTrump seeks to reduce the role of federal bureaucrats and to cut regulations across economic sectors. He frames all regulatory cuts as an economic magic wand. He pledges precipitous drops in household utility bills by removing obstacles to fossil fuel production, including opening all federal lands for exploration even though U.S. energy production is already at record highs.Trump promises to unleash housing construction by cutting regulations though most construction rules come from state and local government. He also says he would end frivolous litigation from the environmental extremists.The approach would in many ways strengthen executive branch influence. That power would come more directly from the White House. He would make it easier to fire federal workers by classifying thousands of them as being outside civil service protections. That could weaken the governments power to enforce statutes and rules by reducing the number of employees engaging in the work and, potentially, impose a chilling effect on those who remain.Trump also claims that presidents have exclusive power to control federal spending even after Congress has appropriated money. He argues that lawmakers budget actions set a ceiling on spending but not a floor meaning the presidents constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws includes discretion on whether to spend the money. This interpretation could set up a court battle with Congress.As a candidate, he also suggested that the Federal Reserve, an independent entity that sets interest rates, should be subject to more presidential power. Any such move would represent a momentous change to how the U.S. economic and monetary systems work. EducationThe Department of Education would be targeted for elimination in a second Trump administration. That does not mean that Trump wants Washington out of classrooms. He still proposes, among other maneuvers, using federal funding as leverage to pressure K-12 school systems to abolish tenure and adopt merit pay for teachers and scrap diversity programs at all levels of education.He calls for pulling federal funding for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children. The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In higher education, Trump proposes taking over accreditation processes for colleges, a move he describes as his secret weapon against the Marxist Maniacs and lunatics he says control higher education. Trump takes aim at higher education endowments, saying he will collect billions and billions of dollars from schools via taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments at schools that do not comply with his edicts. That almost certainly would end up in protracted legal fights.As in other policy areas, Trump isnt actually proposing limiting federal power in higher education but strengthening it. He calls for redirecting the confiscated endowment money into an online American Academy offering college credentials to all Americans without a tuition charge. It will be strictly non-political, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed none of thats going to be allowed, Trump said on Nov. 1, 2023.Social Security, Medicare and MedicaidTrump insists he would protect Social Security and Medicare, popular programs geared toward older Americans and among the biggest pieces of the federal spending pie each year. There are questions about how his proposal not to tax tips and overtime wages might affect Social Security and Medicare. If such plans eventually involved only income taxes, the entitlement programs would not be affected. Exempting those wages from payroll taxes would reduce the funding stream for Social Security and Medicare outlays. Trump has talked little about Medicaid during this campaign, but his first administration reshaped the program by allowing states to introduce work requirements for recipients. Affordable Care Act and health careAs he has since 2015, Trump calls for repealing the Affordable Care Act and its subsidized health insurance marketplaces. In September, he insisted he had the concepts of a plan. In the latter stages of the campaign, Trump played up his alliance with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines and of pesticides used in U.S. agriculture. Trump repeatedly told rally crowds that he would put Kennedy in charge of making America healthy again. Trump has picked Kennedy to be his health secretary. Climate and energyTrump, who claims falsely that climate change is a hoax, blasts Biden-era spending on cleaner energy designed to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels.He proposes an energy policy and transportation infrastructure spending anchored to fossil fuels: roads, bridges and combustion-engine vehicles. Drill, baby, drill! was a regular chant at Trump rallies. Attendees listen as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Alro Steel, Aug. 29, 2024, in Potterville, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Attendees listen as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at Alro Steel, Aug. 29, 2024, in Potterville, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Trump says he does not oppose electric vehicles but promises to end all Biden incentives to encourage EV market development. Trump also pledges to roll back Biden-era fuel efficiency standards.Workers rightsTrump and Vice President-elect JD Vance framed their ticket as favoring Americas workers. But Trump could make it harder for workers to unionize. In discussing auto workers, Trump focused almost exclusively on Bidens push toward electric vehicles. When he mentioned unions, it was often to lump the union bosses and CEOs together as complicit in this disastrous electric car scheme.In an Oct. 23, 2023, statement, Trump said of the United Auto Workers, Im telling you, you shouldnt pay those dues.National defense and Americas role in the worldTrumps rhetoric and policy approach in world affairs is more isolationist diplomatically, non-interventionist militarily and protectionist economically than the U.S. has been since World War II. The details are more complicated. President Donald Trump speaks during the NATO summit, Dec. 4, 2019, in Watford, England. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File) President Donald Trump speaks during the NATO summit, Dec. 4, 2019, in Watford, England. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More He pledges expansion of the military, promises to protect Pentagon spending from austerity efforts and proposes a new missile defense shield an old idea from the Reagan era during the Cold War. Trump insists he can end Russias war in Ukraine without explaining how. He summarizes his approach through another Reagan phrase: peace through strength. But he remains critical of NATO and top U.S. military brass. I dont consider them leaders, Trump said of Pentagon officials that Americans see on television. He repeatedly praised authoritarians such as Hungarys Viktor Orban and Russias Vladimir Putin.___ Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this report. BILL BARROW Bill Barrow covers U.S. politics. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, as Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative, left, meets with U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)2025-01-20T06:03:11Z TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) Chinas vice president held meetings with the U.S. vice president-elect and U.S. business leaders, including Elon Musk, in Washington on the eve of Donald Trumps inauguration, as the two major powers tackle ongoing tensions over trade and technology.Han Zheng, who serves as an envoy for Chinese President Xi Jinping at the inauguration, discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability with J.D. Vance, according to the Trump transition team.Han stressed the extensive common interests and enormous space of cooperation the United States and China share in economic and trade relations despite some disagreements and frictions, according to a readout of his meeting with Vance issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday.Trump has threatened to impose tariffs and other measures against China in his second term, while also hinting at ways in which the two rival powers could cooperate on issues such as regional conflicts and curbing the export of substances used in the production of fentanyl. In an unorthodox move, Trump last month invited Xi to his inauguration. No head of state has previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration, according to State Department historical records. While Xi will not personally attend the event, he and Trump held a phone call on Friday during which they discussed trade, fentanyl and TikTok. The Chinese social media app restored service to users in the U.S. on Sunday, just hours after it went dark in response to a federal ban, which Trump said he would pause by executive order on Monday. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday praised TikToks role in promoting employment in the U.S.We hope the U.S. will listen to rational voices and provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for market entities from all countries operating in the U.S., said ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. Han also met with Musk and other top U.S. business executives, including representatives of the U.S.-China Business Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.The Chinese vice president reiterated promises for an improved business environment for foreign firms in China and expressed hopes that U.S. companies will continue expanding investment in the country.Musk, whose company Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai, posted on his platform X after the meeting that he has long opposed the TikTok ban because it goes against freedom of speech.That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced, he wrote. Something needs to change.X is banned in China alongside other major U.S. social media and news apps and websites, including YouTube, Google, Facebook and many major U.S. media.___Associated Press video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report. SIMINA MISTREANU Mistreanu is a Greater China reporter for The Associated Press, based in Taipei, Taiwan. She has reported on China since 2015. twitter mailto

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama wears a t-shirt in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. as he warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)2025-01-20T11:00:08Z NANTERRE, France (AP) Officially, Indiana will be the home team on the scoreboard when it plays San Antonio in Paris on Thursday.The Pacers know better. They will not be feeling right at home.Its going to be a big crowd against us, honestly, Indiana guard Andrew Nembhard said.Hes not wrong, for one 7-foot-4 reason. The upcoming NBA Paris Games Indiana vs. San Antonio on Thursday and Saturday, the Pacers being the designated home team for the first matchup and the Spurs getting that distinction for the second game are essentially going to be a weeklong celebration of Frances own Victor Wembanyama, San Antonios reigning NBA rookie of the year who likely will be an All-Star this season for the first time.In other words, welcome to Wemby Week in Paris.The teams arrived in Paris on Monday, with practices and other events scheduled throughout the week and then the games toward the end. The Spurs were coming straight from the airport to a light workout in Nanterre the place where Wembanyama started his pro career in the French league as a 15-year-old. There have been single games in Paris in each of the last two seasons Chicago-Detroit in 2023, Brooklyn-Cleveland last year but this season, its a two-game trip and Wembanyama is surely one of the reasons for that. Ticket demand was off the charts. The games sold out in a day. Some tickets remain as part of packages; for example, a game ticket for Thursday, including a chance to grab a picture with the Larry OBrien Trophy, will set you back $730. Flight not included, of course. Then again, not everyone in attendance will have bought their tickets. Wembanyama arranged a treasure hunt for 10 tickets; there were QR codes hidden in five cities Paris, Lyon, Lille, Marseille and Bordeaux and he encouraged fans to start hunting.I couldnt come back to the capital without giving you the opportunity to come see me play, he wrote on social media. The Spurs are a global brand with deep ties to France that pre-date Wembanyamas arrival in San Antonio. Tony Parker and Boris Diaw helped the Spurs establish that relationship with France during their years in Spurs colors, and now the interest can be marked in plenty of ways off the court as well. Last week, the Spurs announced a series of events for this week in collaboration with Paris-Saint Germain, one of the worlds most-followed soccer teams.We have a long history with France for obvious reasons in many ways. So, its just another milestone or opportunity, I think, to probably strengthen that bond or connection, Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said. Very cool for Vic. Obviously, he just got done in the Olympics as well.France played host to the Paris Games last summer and Wembanyama helped his home nation get to the gold-medal game against the U.S. He was spectacular in the final, scoring 26 points. It wasnt enough, not with Stephen Curry leading the way with 24 for the Americans capped by a barrage of four 3-pointers in the final couple of minutes to clinch the gold. Wembanyama settled for silver that night. The games this week are in the same arena as the Olympic final was. He was asked earlier this season how often he thinks about this trip and getting to play in Paris again.All the time, he said.Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was on that U.S. Olympic team. He knows what that arena felt like and can envision what itll be like for Wembanyamas return this week.The game has never seen anybody like him, Haliburton said.The Spurs played in Miami on Sunday and lost, then stuck around for a few hours to have some dinner and get their body clocks right for the 8-hour flight from South Florida to France. The Pacers were heading to do some sightseeing after landing Monday, including the Eiffel Tower.All that good stuff, Pacers center Myles Turner said in a video released by the team.Paris has been waiting. And Wemby will be welcomed back like a conquering hero.I think any time anybody gets to play (or) perform back home, especially when thats not something you do consistently or regularly, its a pretty cool opportunity, Johnson said. Im sure therell be people at the game that havent seen him play in a long time or typically maybe never have. You know, hometown kids get to see you maybe theyve never been to an NBA game. So, I know theres a lot of things, not to speak for him, that Im sure hes looking forward to and that are unique in a very, very cool way for him to connect.___AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto

A powerful AI tool can predict with high accuracy the location of photos based on features inside the image itselfsuch as vegetation, architecture, and the distance between buildingsin seconds, with the company now marketing the tool to law enforcement officers and government agencies.Called GeoSpy, made by a firm called Graylark Technologies out of Boston, the tool has also been used for months by members of the public, with many making videos marveling at the technology, and some asking for help with stalking specific women. The companys founder has aggressively pushed back against such requests, and GeoSpy closed off public access to the tool after 404 Media contacted him for comment.Based on 404 Medias own tests and conversations with other people who have used it and investors, GeoSpy could radically change what information can be learned from photos posted online, and by whom. Law enforcement officers with very little necessary training, private threat intelligence companies, and stalkers could, and in some cases already are, using this technology. Dedicated open source intelligence (OSINT) professionals can of course do this too, but the training and skillset necessary can take years to build up. GeoSpy allows essentially anyone to do it.We are working on something for LE [law enforcement] but its , Daniel Heinen, the founder of Graylark and GeoSpy, wrote in a message to the GeoSpy community Discord in July.Do you know anything else about GeoSpy? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.GeoSpy has been trained on millions of images from around the world, according to marketing material available online. From that, the tool is able to recognize distinct geographical markers such as architectural styles, soil characteristics, and their spatial relationships. That marketing material says GeoSpy has strong coverage in the United States, but that it also maintains global capabilities for location identification.404 Media created a free account on GeoSpy earlier this month. One of 404 Medias tests was an image of a man harassing a woman in a Waymo. GeoSpy correctly geolocated the photo. The Soma Park Inn sign is visible in the video, which is located in San Francisco. The architecture of the buildings and the street signs also point to San Francisco, the result read.In another test, GeoSpy identified the location as likely being in New York City. The target image was the grainy CCTV footage of the moment the United Healthcare assassin murdered company CEO Brian Thompson.A screenshot of GeoSpy.The image appears to be from a security camera or traffic camera in New York City. The vehicle and street layout are consistent with the citys urban environment, the result read.In another of 404 Medias tests, GeoSpy analyzed a recent photo from the Los Angeles fires. The system returned a result south of Los Angeles, so was inaccurate, but still provided some context: The image shows a large plume of smoke rising from a fire in the distance, with the ocean and a beach in the foreground, it starts. The buildings visible in the background appear to be hotels and other coastal developments, suggesting a coastal location in Southern California. The specific style of the buildings, combined with the shape of the coastline, points to Huntington Beach as the likely location.GeoSpy runs an associated Discord server where Heinen gives updates on the product and chats with its users. In there, he has uploaded other examples of GeoSpy in action.The photo shows a narrow street with cobblestones and brick buildings, which is typical of the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston, one screenshot Heinen posted to Discord says. In another example included in a YouTube video posted last year, Heinen uses a photo of some trees near a road. GeoSpy narrows that area down to Boston too, based on the sort of vegetation in the photo. The system wasnt fully accurate, but it goes from the entire world down to a few kilometer search area, Heinen says in the video.In that same YouTube video, Heinen explained that his team was building a tool that can automatically extract information from scraped photos, and particularly profile pictures. But all of these photos had their metadata removed; when you upload an image to many social media sites they strip the files original metadata, which ordinarily could include GPS coordinates or other useful information.Heinen says the team came across a research study which instead talked about finding the location of photos based on features inside the image itself. The team then built GeoSpy as a demo to show based on this research, look what we can do, Heinen says. He adds the team didnt think that many people would use it, but interest grew from all over the world. In a May Discord message, Heinen says he quit his day job as an AI research engineer to work on GeoSpy fulltime.Heinen says people have used GeoSpy as part of fraud detection for apartment listings that werent in the claimed city, to police investigating child abuse material. One example in the video geolocates a protest to within a few blocks in Mexico City. 0:00 /0:24 1 A promotional video from the GeoSpy website. Another use case Heinen mentions is a security team scouring the internet for threats against an office. Heinen says the team could set up a geofence around a particular location and pull up any results included in that area. He also brings up winning wars by being able to predict the movement of tanks by geolocating photos of them.Christopher Ahlberg, the CEO of threat intelligence company RecordedFuture, previously tweeted that RecordedFuture has invested into GeoSpy. I love what they do, Ahlberg told 404 Media in an email. It's still super super early. We're a customerwe love it. Extremely cool tech. We ingest lots of imagery from all kinds of places, so for our customers the ability to geolocate that (think warzone imagery in Ukraine) is super helpful. Best image analysis people on planet.Graylark has also received investment from AI Grant, a startup incubator whose heads include former Github CEO Nat Friedman. Friedman did not respond to a request for comment.On Thursday, investigative software Maltego integrated with GeoSpy, meaning users can search images directly in Maltego.A section of the GeoSpy website advertising to government agencies.Geolocating photos based on open source clues such as buildings in the background, shadows, and other minute details has long been a known technique in the open source intelligence community. But Geospy providing this service to law enforcement at scale could present a serious threat to the public, Cooper Quintin, security researcher and senior public interest technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told 404 Media.It's one thing if police are using this against a photo that is a piece of evidence in an investigation of a serious crime. It's totally different to use it en masse to build a geolocation database or to gather intelligence on people not engaged in suspected criminal activity. And if the results from Geospy are inaccurate I'm concerned this could lead to wasted time for law enforcement, fear and confusion for civilians, and wrongful arrests based on faulty information, he added. It is no longer enough to remove EXIF metadata from your photos to hide their location, and this should serve as a reminder for people who are at heightened risk that they need to start including geolocation and services such as GeoSpy in their threat model.GeoSpy has not received much media attention, but it has become something of a sensation on YouTube. Multiple content creators have tested out the tool, and some try to feed it harder and harder challenges. In one, a GeoGuesser player, a game in which people rapidly try to find the location of Google Street View images manually, tries out GeoSpy on difficult to locate photos, such as ones looking at from a road towards a generic looking field. This means the player, or the AI, cant rely on road signs which can often reveal what country a photo was taken in. In that test, GeoSpy correctly located the photo to South Africa. Heinen then often posts these videos to the GeoSpy Discord.A screenshot of a message posted by Daniel Heinen in the GeoSpy Discord.Some members of the Discord have made dubious requests to each other, asking for help finding where their friend works or the location of specific YouTubers homes. Often these requests are shut down by other members, and called out as stalking.Why do you want to find some girls house, one Discord member said to another who asked for help locating one.That push back includes Heinen. When one user wrote I have interview for private investigator job. I might get paid to stalk people soon, Heinen replied Bro. Wtf.Not in my server, he wrote.When one user asked if GeoSpy could add imagery for the inside of vehicles or hotel rooms, or the ability to upload their own data, Heinen said GeoSpy had the ability, but that it came with potential problems. When asked what those might be, Heinen replied Stalking. Mostly that.A day after 404 Media contacted Heinen for comment, GeoSpy shut off access to the free, publicly accessible version of the tool. Now users have to request access, which is available exclusively to qualified law enforcement agencies, enterprise users and government entities, its website now reads. Heinen did not respond to the requests for comment.That law enforcement-version of GeoSpy is more powerful than what was publicly available, according to Heinens Discord posts. Geospy.ai is a demo, he wrote in September. The real work is the law enforcement models.

Passengers depart the Caltrain Norcal MLK Celebration Train in San Francisco on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (Benjamin Fanjoy/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)2025-01-15T06:12:59Z The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic I Have a Dream speech in 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He chose that location in part to honor President Abraham Lincoln as a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today. Now, millions of people honor King in the same way. On the third Monday of January close to Kings Jan. 15 birthday federal, state and local governments, institutions and various industries recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For some, the holiday is just that time off from work or school. But, Kings family and others carrying on his legacy of equality, justice and non-violent protest want Americans to remember that this holiday is really about helping others. While it is now a time-honored tradition, the establishment of the holiday had a prolonged, difficult path to acceptance. How the idea for MLK day began The idea to establish a national holiday for the civil rights icon arose as the nation was plunged into grief. U.S. Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, one of the longest-serving members of Congress known for his liberal stance on civil rights, proposed legislation to recognize King four days after his assassination outside a motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.Supporters knew it would not be easy. King, who was 39 years old at the time, was a polarizing figure to half the country even before his death, said Lerone Martin, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Polls conducted by the Washington Post and the New York Times indicated most Americans did not trust King or thought he was too radical because of his speeches on poverty, housing and against the Vietnam War. People say that King is moving too fast after 1965 and basically Hey, you got the Voting Rights bill done. Thats enough, Martin said.The Congressional Black Caucus, founded by Conyers, tried to bring the legislation up for a vote for the next 15 years. Among the Republican rebuttals public holidays dont apply to private citizens, King was a communist or King was a womanizer. In the meantime, his widow, Coretta Scott King, kept lobbying for it. Musician Stevie Wonder even released a song, Happy Birthday, to rally support. So, what changed?By the 1980s, the social and cultural climate in the U.S. had shifted and the public was reflecting on racial progress, Martin said. Most Americans now were also regretting the Vietnam War. Supporters, meanwhile, were still calling for federal holiday status.In 1983, about 20 years after Kings I Have a Dream speech, legislation for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday of January cleared Congress and President Ronald Reagan signed it. States held back as activists stepped upReagans signing did not lead other Republicans to follow. It would be 17 more years until all 50 states observed it. Most of the foot-dragging came from the South except for Arizona. Then in 1987, Gov. Evan Mecham rescinded his predecessors executive order enacting a state holiday in Arizona.He said Black people dont need a holiday. Yall need jobs, recalled Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr., senior pastor at First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix. That started the war.Stewart launched a group to lead people of all colors and all persuasions, faiths and parties in protest marches. Entertainers including Wonder canceled Arizona events. Companies moved conventions. The tipping point was the loss of hosting the Super Bowl. In 1992, Arizona became the first state where voter initiative reinstated the King holiday.Supporters took a victory lap the next MLK Day with a packed arena concert attended by Wonder and other artists. Even Rosa Parks was there. Stewart remembers speaking to the crowd.What I said there and it still applies today weve won the holiday but the holiday is a symbol of liberty and justice for all and we must move from symbol to substance, he said. South Carolina was the final holdout until 2000. But, it was without the backing of the civil rights groups because it also allowed for a Confederate Memorial Day. A day on, not a day off Martin Luther King Jr. Days reach has only grown in its 42 years.Its the only federal holiday where you take a day on, not a day off. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law Congressman John Lewis and Sen. Harris Woffords legislation making it a National Day of Service. Just about every major city and suburb has some revelry the weekend before, including parades, street festivals and concerts. The various service projects run the gamut community clean-up, packing food boxes, donating blood. AmeriCorps, the federal agency that deploys volunteers to serve communities around the nation, has distributed $1.5 million in grants to 200 nonprofits, faith-based groups and other organizations for projects. CEO Michael Smith estimates there have been hundreds of projects involving hundreds of thousands of people for MLK day in recent years. Engagement seems to be expanding. You know, any given day I see another project that has nothing to do with us, said Smith, who has served in President Joe Bidens administration. Whats so important about the King holiday is not only the service thats going to happen, but how it creates a spark for people to think about how maybe theyre going to serve all year long.Thats something Kings daughter, the Rev. Bernice King and CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, desires as well. She wishes people would do more than quote King, which we love to do. They need to do good work and commit daily to embrace the spirit of nonviolence.Martin also thinks its important to learn about the man himself. He finds excitement in seeing people read or hear about the Nobel Peace Prize winner. But, nothing compares to taking in Kings own writings such as his 1963 Letter from the Birmingham Jail, he added.We can arm ourselves with his ideals, Martin said. We can continue to have a conversation with him not just on one day but actually throughout the year. TERRY TANG Tang reports on race and ethnicity issues, including Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, for The Associated Press. She is based in Phoenix and previously covered breaking news in the Southwest. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this photo released by the Israeli Army, Emily Damari, right, and her mother Mandy use a smart phone near kibbutz Reim, southern Israel after Emily was released from captivity by Hamas militants in Gaza, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (Israeli Army via AP)2025-01-20T08:28:55Z One of the Israeli hostages freed on the first day of the Gaza ceasefire said Monday in her first comments since being released that she has returned to life.Emily Damari, 28, was one of three hostages freed Sunday after spending 471 days in captivity. Officials at a hospital that received them said their condition was stable.In an Instagram story, which was shared by Israeli media, Damari thanked her family and the large protest movement that coalesced to advocate for the release of the hostages. Thank you thank you thank you Im the happiest in the world, she said.Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, returned from captivity with a bandage on one hand and authorities said she had lost two fingers during Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. As she arrived to a hospital on Sunday she waved at a crowd that had gathered and footage later showed her joyfully reuniting with her family. Her mother, Mandy Damari, said in a statement later Monday that Damari was doing much better than any of us could ever have anticipated.The three Israeli hostages left Hamas captivity on Sunday and returned to Israel, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners walked free from Israeli jail, leaving both Israelis and Palestinians torn between celebration and trepidation as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold. ___Heres the latest: Lebanese man confesses to passing information to Israel BEIRUT Judicial and security officials in Beirut say a Lebanese man has confessed on giving information to Israel about the Hezbollah group in return for money and has been referred to the countrys prosecutors.The three judicial and three security officials said Monday that the man, who is from the border village of Beit Lif, crossed into Israel recently where he gave information about Hezbollah posts and some members in the area before returning to Lebanon. He entered and left Israel with the help of an Israeli drone that led him into the way from where he crossed the border. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about security matters to the media, said the man received $2,500 as well as a laptop and a cellphone to communicate with them.The officials said that Lebanese military intelligence agents had been monitoring his moves before detaining and questioning him, when he confessed. The officials said prosecutors will question him further and will decide on whether to file charges against him or not.Israel and Hezbollah fought a 14-month war until a U.S.-brokered 60-day ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27.Israeli soldier killed in the West BankJERUSALEM The Israeli military says a soldier was killed and another was seriously wounded in the West Bank. The military declined to provide further details. Israeli media reported Monday that the soldiers vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in the northern West Bank overnight.Israel has been battling Palestinian militants in the northern part of the occupied West Bank for years. The violence escalated after Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there.The deadly blast came hours after a long-awaited ceasefire took hold in Gaza. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want an independent state encompassing all three territories. Turkey reopens consulate in AleppoANKARA, Turkey Turkey reopened its consulate in Syrias largest city, Aleppo, raising its flag at the building for the first time in 12 years, Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency reported.The opening on Monday comes weeks after the Turkish Embassy resumed its operations in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Dec. 14.Turkey had closed down its diplomatic missions in Syria in 2012 due to security concerns amid the civil war, during which Turkey supported forces opposed to the government of former President Bashar Assad. Prior to the Syria conflict, Aleppo, located some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Turkish border, was an important center for trade between Turkey and Syria. Yemens Houthis say theyll limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridorDUBAI, United Arab Emirates Yemens Houthi rebels have signaled they will limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships as a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold.The Houthis made the announcement in an email sent to shippers and others on Sunday. The Houthis separately planned a military statement on Monday, likely about the decision.The Houthis, through their Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, made the announcement by saying it was stopping sanctions on the other vessels it has previously targeted since it started attacks in November 2023.The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023, after Hamas surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Freed Palestinian medical student says her joy is limitedBEITUNIA, West Bank Baraa Al-Fuqha, 22, hugged her family as she stepped off the white Red Cross bus and into the sea of cheering Palestinians welcoming the 90 Palestinians freed by Israel early Monday.A medical student at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem before her arrest, she had spent around six months in Damon Prison. She said she was held under administrative detention a policy of indefinite imprisonment without formal charge or trial that Israel almost exclusively uses against Palestinians. Israel says that the cases of Palestinians released as part of the exchange with Hamas for Israeli hostages all relate to state security charges.Al-Fuqha said her conditions in Israeli prison were terrible, her access to food and water limited.It was like, when we tried to hold our heads high, the guards would do their best to hold us down, she said.But now, reunited with her family, al-Fuqha displayed a sense of relief and defiance.Thank God, I am here with my family, Im satisfied, she said. But my joy is limited, because so many among us Palestinians are being tortured and abused. Our people in Gaza are suffering. God willing, we will work to free them, too.That reflected a wider feeling in the crowd, with many saying this release offered a small, if fleeting, moment of joy, tempered by the 15 months of death and destruction in Gaza.UN says more than 630 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza StripJERUSALEM United Nations humanitarian officials say that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the besieged Gaza Strip, in implementation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.In a post on social media platform X, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs said that over 630 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.There is no time to lose, Fletcher wrote. After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.The Gaza ceasefire deal, which began Sunday with an initial phase lasting six weeks, calls for the entry into Gaza of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief daily. Over the course of the deals first stage, 33 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza will also be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.Aid workers have been scrambling to address Gazas dire humanitarian needs after 15 months of devastating war and tough Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries and the movement of convoys within Gaza. Lawlessness and looting by armed gangs has also been a major obstacle to aid distribution.Before this latest Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza was under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that allowed the entry of some 500 trucks a day carrying commercial supplies and humanitarian aid.Hamas says delay in release of Palestinian prisoners the result of a conflict over list of namesJERUSALEM Hamas office of prisoner affairs has issued a statement saying the delay in Israels release of Palestinian prisoners was the result of a last-minute conflict over the names on the list.Seven hours after three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian crowds gathered outside Israels Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah were still waiting for the release of 90 Palestinians.The Hamas statement said: During the process of checking the names of the prisoners being released from Ofer prison, there was found to be one female prisoner missing.Hamas said that its officials were in communication with mediators and the Red Cross in hopes of pressuring Israel to adhere to the agreed-upon list of prisoners. It said that the issue was being resolved and it expected the buses of the released prisoners to soon depart.The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the delay. Israeli military fires projectiles and moves journalists awaiting release of Palestinian prisonersThe Israeli military has been firing projectiles and moving journalists waiting to cover the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire that began Sunday. Thats according to AP video, which showed smoke trailing from objects landing nearby.The release of the 90 prisoners will take place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Nearly seven hours have passed since the first three hostages were released from Gaza shortly after the ceasefire began.It is now approaching 1 a.m. local time. Israels military has warned Palestinians against public celebration.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during opening statements during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Nov. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-01-20T12:13:18Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential revenge by the incoming Trump administration. The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense, Biden said in a statement. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country. Its customary for a president to grant clemency at the end of his term, but those acts of mercy are usually offered to everyday Americans who have been convicted of crimes. But Biden has used the power in the broadest and most untested way possible: to pardon those who have not even been investigated yet. And with the acceptance comes a tacit admission of guilt or wrongdoing, even though those who have been pardoned have not been formally accused of any crimes. These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing, Biden said, adding that Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and in fact have done the right thing and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances. Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health for nearly 40 years and was Bidens chief medical adviser until his retirement in 2022. He helped coordinate the nations response to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised the ire of Trump when he refused to back Trumps unfounded claims. He has become a target of intense hatred and vitriol from people on the right, who blame him for mask mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights, even as tens of thousands of Americans were dying. Mark Milley is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and called Trump a fascist and detailed Trumps conduct around the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.Biden is also extending pardons to members and staff of the Jan. 6 committee, including former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both Republicans, as well as the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the committee.Biden, an institutionalist, has promised a smooth transition to the next administration, inviting Trump to the White House and saying that the nation will be OK, even as he warned during his farewell address of a growing oligarchy. He has spent years warning that Trumps ascension to the presidency again would be a threat to democracy. His decision to break with political norms with the preemptive pardons was brought on by those concerns. Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued; he announced on Friday he would commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. He previously announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. In his first term, Trump presided over an unprecedented spate of executions, 13, in a protracted timeline during the coronavirus pandemic. COLLEEN LONG Long covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a focus on domestic policy including immigration, law enforcement and legal affairs. ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

Garland High School senior Saron Lias carries a poster of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while marching in the 36th annual MLK Day Parade in Garland, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)2025-01-20T16:24:37Z ATLANTA (AP) A massive 70-member choir belted out Hallelujah to open a Martin Luther King Jr. Day service Monday at his former congregation in Atlanta, followed by a stern message from his youngest daughter warning against anti-woke rhetoric.The service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta was among the most prominent commemorations of King planned across the country Monday. It also included seven people at the front of the stage holding large signs proclaiming JUSTICE FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY.We are living in a time when anti-woke rhetoric has become a weapon to divide us and distract us from the real issues of injustice, Kings daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, said. To be woke is to be aware of oppression and commitment to justice.Participants at the annual service rose to their feet as she warned those who would strip away their civil rights: We will not go back! she said. Ebenezer is where King was baptized as a child and ordained at 19 years old. He became the congregations co-pastor in 1960 alongside his father, Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. He remained in that role until his death, and his funeral was held at the church. The church is now part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park & Preservation District. The MLK holiday was half of the nations double-duty Monday: the inauguration of Donald Trump, who heads back to the White House, creating mixed feelings on Kings day for civil rights leaders who have opposed Trumps rhetoric and stances on race and civil rights. It marks the third time in the nearly 40 years since the federal King holiday became law that it coincides with a presidential inauguration. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also were sworn in for their second terms on the holiday.There was a heavy security presence outside the church, where more than two dozen police officers from across metro Atlanta stood guard with all-terrain vehicles, police motorcycles and suburban utility vehicles. Streets in the immediate vicinity of the historic church were blocked to vehicle traffic. King was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, while standing on the balcony of the old Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. The civil rights leader had been in the city to support a sanitation workers strike. The motel has been turned into the National Civil Rights Museum, which is providing free admission and offering extended hours to visitors on Monday.Also on the schedule at the museum are musical performances, food and blood donation drives, and a livestreamed presentation that will explore Kings leadership and his relevance to present day social justice movements.Meanwhile in New Orleans, unusually cold temperatures and an expected winter storm spurred officials to cancel an event they had planned Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. New Orleans residents woke up to below freezing temperatures as a blast from the Arctic moved into the region, and a winter storm warning was issued for Tuesday, when forecasters say 3 to 6 inches of snow and sleet is possible along with some icing. JEFF MARTIN Martin covers breaking news in the southeastern U.S. for The Associated Press. He is based in Atlanta. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a farewell ceremony for Attorney General Merrick Garland at the Department of Justice, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-01-20T16:39:58Z WASHINGTON (AP) Paul Abbate, who as the FBIs longtime deputy director had been expected to replace Director Christopher Wray on an acting basis, is retiring from the bureau, according to an email he sent to senior executives and obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.Its unclear who will run the FBI as confirmation proceedings are underway for President-elect Donald Trumps pick for the director, Kash Patel. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto

Attendees cheer as President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)2025-01-20T17:53:43Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trumps second inaugural address featured similar themes to his first: a sweeping indictment of the country he inherits and grand promises to fix its problems.Eight years ago, Trump described American carnage and promised to end it immediately. On Monday, he declared that the countrys decline will end immediately, ushering in the golden age of America.Trump added a long list of policies that sounded more like a State of the Union speech than an Inauguration Day speech. But the broad themes were fundamentally Trumpian, setting himself up as a national savior.Breaking tradition, the Republican president delivered his remarks from inside the Capitol Rotunda due to the bitter cold outside. He spoke to several hundred elected officials and pro-Trump VIPs, tech titan Elon Musk among them. Here are some takeaways from the speech: A promise of an American golden ageFrom the start, Trumps speech tracked his campaign rally approach: big promises of national success due to his leadership, with plenty of sweeping indictments of the status quo.The golden age of America begins right now, Trump said after ticking through the requisite nods to former presidents and other dignitaries. He added several more hyperbolic but nebulous promises: The start of a thrilling new era. A nation greater, stronger and far more exceptional than ever before. Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced, he continued. Our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free. The underlying presumption, of course, is that Trump is inheriting what he called throughout the 2024 campaign a failed nation.He vowed to fulfill campaign promises to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, boost domestic oil production and impose tariffs to enrich our citizens. Trump calls Americas past leadership corruptTrump described Americas leadership over the last four years as incompetent and corrupt, echoing some of the darker rhetoric he promoted on a daily basis as a presidential candidate on the campaign trail.He did not call out his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, or any other Democrats by name, but there was no question about whom he was talking.We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad, Trump charged.He said the current government protects dangerous immigrants instead of law-abiding citizens, protects foreign borders at the expense of American borders and can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency.And, as he often does, Trump cast him self as uniquely positioned to fix it all.All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly, he said.As of Monday, Republicans control all three branches of the federal government. A perceived triumph over dark forcesEven before Trump began to speak, a religious and political ally, the Rev. Franklin Graham, touched on one of the new presidents most common themes how hes been persecuted by unnamed evil forces.Graham talked of Trumps enemies and the darkness of the last four years for Trump personally.When Trump spoke, he tied attempts to prosecute him for trying to overturn his election loss to Biden into his allegations of weaponization of the Justice Department. He then linked them to the attempt to assassinate him in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one, that I can tell you. Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and, indeed, to take my life, Trump said.The shooter was an apparently disturbed local 20-year-old man who had no documented ties to the Biden administration, the federal government or any other opponents Trump has criticized.Trump then used striking language to explain how he survived. I was saved by God to make America great again, Trump said to applause.Lying about wildfiresTrumps lament about the state of the nation included disbelief that the fires around Los Angeles were still burning without a token defense.Thats false. Firefighters have been battling the blazes since they erupted and have made significant progress. The Eaton fire is 87% contained, and the Palisades fire 59% contained, according to CalFire. A peacemaker and a conquerorTrump has vowed to stop foreign wars and celebrated his role in helping implement a ceasefire in Gaza. A peacemaker and a unifier, thats what I want to be, Trump said.Moments later he was vowing to regain the Panama Canal from Panama. Were taking it back! Trump declared, having previously declined to rule out using military force.He pledged to pursue policy that expands our territory and to put U.S. astronauts on Mars a promise undoubtedly popular with Musk, a major Trump supporter who has long pursued the same goal.That cuts to the heart of one of the many contradictions in Trumps movement. The new president revels in a confrontational, macho approach that revved up his support among young men. His political career has been built on seeking conflict and tearing down rivals. Yet Trump has also positioned himself as someone wholl end conflicts and usher in peace. A range of reactions behind TrumpThe Rotunda crowd was heavily tilted in Trumps favor, most of those in attendance clapping and even roaring during his speech. But one prominent seating section former presidents, first ladies and vice presidents was largely muted.After Trump repeated his vow to take over the Panama Canal, complete with the false claim that China runs the intercontinental channel, Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, among others, sat stone-faced, as did former President Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who lost to Trump in 2016, turned to her left, musing something in former President George W. Bushs direction. Bush, who famously joked about the weirdness of Trumps first inaugural address, was smirking.Less than two weeks ago, Trump was largely ignored at former President Jimmy Carters funeral. Trump chatted with former President Barack Obama, but the rest of the former presidents and their wives bypassed him without a greeting.A different scene indoorsInaugural speeches are traditionally delivered on the National Mall in front of tens of thousands of cheering supporters, many of them average voters from across America, who traveled great distance to witness history in person.Not this one.Trump delivered his speech in front of a crowd estimated at only around 600 in the Capitol Rotunda, which was limited to members of Congress, Cabinet nominees, Trumps family, business leaders and political VIPs. In fact, a collection of tech titans, led by Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, were positioned in front of Cabinet members in some cases. And while the business leaders were allowed to bring their spouses, members of Congress were not. Thousands of his supporters watched a broadcast of the swearing-in at Capitol One Arena instead. Its noteworthy that four years ago, violent Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol Rotunda as members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence feared for their lives. Pence attended Monday, though his wife, former second lady Karen Pence, did not. ___Riccardi reported from Denver, and Barrow reported from Atlanta. BILL BARROW Bill Barrow covers U.S. politics. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, control the crowd as Red Cross vehicles manoeuvre to collect Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)2025-01-20T16:46:40Z As a ceasefire brought calm to Gazas ruined cities, Hamas was quick to emerge from hiding.The militant group has not only survived 15 months of war with Israel among the deadliest and most destructive in recent memory but it remains firmly in control of the coastal territory that now resembles an apocalyptic wasteland. With a surge of humanitarian aid promised as part of the ceasefire deal, the Hamas-run government said Monday that it will coordinate distribution to the desperate people of Gaza.For all the military might Israel deployed in Gaza, it failed to remove Hamas from power, one of its central war aims. That could make a return to fighting more likely, but the results might be the same.There was an element of theater in Sundays handover of three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, when dozens of masked Hamas fighters wearing green headbands and military fatigues paraded in front of cameras and held back a crowd of hundreds who surrounded the vehicles. The scenes elsewhere in Gaza were even more remarkable: Thousands of Hamas-run police in uniform re-emerged, making their presence known even in the most heavily destroyed areas. The police have been here the whole time, but they were not wearing their uniforms to avoid being targeted by Israel, said Mohammed Abed, a father of three who returned to his home in Gaza City more than seven months after fleeing the area. They were among the displaced people in the tents. Thats why there were no thefts, he said.Other residents said the police had maintained offices in hospitals and other locations throughout the war, where people could report crimes. Israel has repeatedly blamed Hamas for the heavy civilian death toll and damage to infrastructure because the groups fighters and security forces embed themselves in residential neighborhoods, schools and hospitals. A deeply rooted movementOpinion polls consistently show that only a minority of Palestinians support Hamas. But the Islamic militant group which does not accept Israels existence is deeply rooted in Palestinian society, with an armed wing, a political party, media and charities that date back to its founding in the late 1980s.For decades, Hamas functioned as a well-organized insurgency, able to launch hit-and-run attacks on Israeli forces and suicide bombings in Israel itself. Many of its top leaders have been killed and quickly replaced. It won a landslide victory in 2006 parliamentary elections, and the following year it seized Gaza from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in a week of street battles.Hamas then established a fully-fledged government, with ministries, police and a civilian bureaucracy. Its security forces quickly brought Gazas powerful families into line and crushed rival armed groups. They also silenced dissent and violently dispersed occasional protests.Hamas remained in power through four previous wars with Israel. With help from Iran it steadily enhanced its capabilities, extended the range of its rockets and built deeper and longer tunnels to hide from Israeli airstrikes. By Oct. 7, 2023, it had an army of tens of thousands in organized battalions.In the surprise incursion that triggered the war, its fighters attacked southern Israel by air, land and sea, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hamas-led militants abducted 250 others. A war like no otherIn response, Israel launched an air and ground war that has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and has reduced entire neighborhoods to fields of rubble. Some 90% of Gazas population has been displaced, often multiple times.Nearly every day of the war, the Israeli military announced that it had killed dozens of fighters, or taken out a midlevel commander, or dismantled a tunnel complex or obliterated a weapons factory. Israeli forces killed Hamas top leader, Yahya Sinwar, and most of his lieutenants. But the exiled leadership is mostly intact and Mohammed Sinwar, his brother, has reportedly assumed a bigger role in Gaza. The military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters roughly half of Hamas estimated prewar ranks though it has not provided evidence. What Israel said were carefully targeted strikes frequently killed women and children and in some cases wiped out entire extended families. The military blamed civilian casualties on Hamas. But survivors of the bombardment, crammed into tents after their homes were flattened, were a pool of potential recruits.Earlier this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a prepared speech that Hamas had recruited nearly as many fighters as it lost during the war.Michael Milshtein, an Israeli expert on Palestinian affairs and former military intelligence officer, said Hamas no longer has the ability to launch an Oct. 7-style attack but has returned to its insurgent roots, using creative tactics like harvesting unexploded Israeli ordnance for homemade bombs. Hamas is a chameleon. It changed its colors according to the circumstances, he said.The war is ending with a strong perception of success for Hamas, he added. The enlistment capabilities will be crazy. They wont be able to handle it.Israel ensures there is no alternativePalestinian critics of Hamas have long said there is no military solution to the Mideast conflict, which predates the birth of the militant group by several decades. They argue that Palestinians would be more likely to break with Hamas if they had an alternative path to ending Israels decades-long occupation, which has further entrenched itself during the war.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is opposed to Palestinian statehood, has ensured they do not.He has rebuffed proposals from the United States and friendly Arab countries for a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern both Gaza and parts of the occupied West Bank ahead of eventual statehood. Instead, he has vowed to maintain open-ended security control over both territories.Avi Issacharoff, a veteran Israeli journalist and co-creator of the Netflix hit Fauda said Netanyahus refusal to plan for the day after was the biggest debacle of this war. Israel is waking up from a nightmare into the very same nightmare, he wrote in Israels Yediot Ahronot newspaper. Hamas is going to remain in power and will continue to build more tunnels and recruit more men, without the emergence of any local alternative.Netanyahu has threatened to resume the war after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire if Israels goals are not met, while Hamas has said it will not release dozens of remaining captives without a lasting truce and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.Theres no reason to think another military campaign would bring about a different result.In early October, Israeli forces sealed off the northern towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya, barring nearly all humanitarian aid, forcing thousands to flee and destroying nearly every structure in their path, including schools and shelters, according to witnesses who fled.The army had carried out major operations in all three places previously, only to see militants regroup. At least 15 Israeli soldiers have died in northern Gaza this month alone.When residents returned to Jabaliya on Sunday, they found a sprawling scene of devastation with only a few tilted shells of buildings in a sea of gray rubble.Dozens of Hamas police kept watch over their return.___Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, left, and Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman pose with the trophy after a news conference ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. The game between Ohio State and Notre Dame will be played on Monday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)2025-01-20T17:06:23Z ATLANTA (AP) The curtain comes down Monday night on the longest, strangest college football season anyone has ever seen. About the only thing that feels normal about it are the teams playing for the title: Ohio State and Notre Dame.Two of the countrys most storied programs are set to meet in a title game that wraps up the sports first 12-team playoff. The Jan. 20 finish is seven days later than the previous latest finish in history.This marks Game No. 16 for both teams a practically unheard of number for a sport that for decades wrapped things up after 11 or 12 games on or around New Years Day.I feel like weve been in the postseason since Week 3, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said.In most seasons, Week 3 would have marked the end of any championship hopes for the Fighting Irish, whose head coach, Marcus Freeman, could become the first African American coach to capture college footballs top prize. That was the week after Freeman & Co. lost to small, little-known Northern Illinois. Had the playoff still been a four-team affair, as it had the previous 10 years, it was hard to see any path to a title with that kind of loss on the resume. Now that 12 teams are in the mix a product of years of back-room machinations primed by billions in TV money, some of which will soon go to the players themselves things have changed. Notre Dame isnt the only team grateful for that. Ohio States 13-10 loss to rival Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend not only had the feel of a season wrecker, but had people calling for the job of Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.It was Days fourth straight loss to the Wolverines, and this one came with Ohio State as a 20-point favorite and apparently cruising toward a shot at the Big Ten title. After the loss, about the only way the coach could save his job, or so the narrative went, was to win the national title. And here we are.There are some great stories about what was said behind closed doors, some of the challenges that were raised after the Michigan game, Day said. But the only way those stories get told is if a banner gets raised.Inside the numbersA few things to watch for in the game:Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is a dual threat. He has passed for 19 touchdowns and rushed for 16. Ohio States top-ranked defense in both points and yards allowed might have to bring an extra defender close to the line to account for Leonards possibilities. ... Notre Dames defense has forced 32 turnovers this season and scored a nation-best 151 points off of them. Winning that battle again figures to be key to the Irishs chances of pulling off an upset. ... Ohio States biggest playmaker, receiver Jeremiah Smith, got bottled up in the semifinals. He made one catch for three yards against Texas. Notre Dames defense has lost five starters to season-ending injuries. To win, the replacements will have to figure out a way to keep Smith quiet again.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

President Donald Trump speaks from Emancipation Hall as House Speaker Mike Johnson, from left, his wife Kelly Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and his wife Jennifer Scalise, listen after the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Jasper Colt/Pool Photo via AP)2025-01-20T19:44:43Z In his first address after being sworn in on Monday, President Donald Trump repeated several false and misleading statements that he made during his campaign. They included claims about immigration, the economy, electric vehicles and the Panama Canal. Heres a look at the facts. Trump repeats unfounded claim about immigrantsCLAIM: Trump, a Republican, said that the U.S. government fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.THE FACTS: There is no evidence other countries are sending their criminals or mentally ill across the border.Trump frequently brought up this claim during his most recent campaign. Inflation did not reach record highs under BidenCLAIM: I will direct all members of my Cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices.THE FACTS: Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Democrat Joe Bidens presidency from a low of 0.1% in May 2020. The most recent data shows that as of December it had fallen to 2.9%.Other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14% rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve. The average price of basic consumer goods has seen major spikes in recent years. For example, a dozen large eggs went from a low of $1.33 in August 2020 to $4.82 in January 2023. They decreased in price to $2.07 in September 2023 but are currently on the rise again, at $4.15 as of December, partly attributable to a lingering outbreak of bird flu coinciding with high demand during the holiday baking season. A gallon of whole milk rose to a high of $4.22 in November 2022, up from $2.25 at the start of Bidens term. As of December, it was at $4.10.Gasoline fell as low as $1.77 a gallon under Trump. But that price dip happened during coronavirus pandemic lockdowns when few people were driving. The low prices were due to a global health crisis, not Trumps policies.Under Biden, gasoline rose to a high of $5.06 in June 2022. It has since been on a downward trend, at $3.15 as of December. Promise of an External Revenue Service to collect tariffsCLAIM: Promising to establish an External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues, Trump said, It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources.THE FACTS: Nearly all economists point out that American consumers will pay at least part, if not most, of the cost of the tariffs. Some exporters overseas may accept lower profits to offset some of the cost of the duties, and the dollar will likely rise in value compared with the currencies of the countries facing tariffs, which could also offset some of the impact.But the tariffs wont have the desired impact of spurring more production in the U.S. unless they make foreign-made products more expensive for U.S. consumers.In addition, many of Trumps supporters, and even some of his appointees, argue that he intends to use tariffs primarily as a bargaining tool to extract concessions from other countries. Yet if an External Revenue Service is established, it certainly suggests Trump is expecting to impose and collect many duties. Calls for revocation of EV mandate that doesnt existCLAIM: We will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving the auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers.THE FACTS: Its misleading to claim that such a mandate exists. In April 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency announced strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles. The agency says these limits could be met if 67% of new-vehicle sales are electric by 2032.And yet, the new rule would not require automakers to boost electric vehicle sales directly. It sets emissions limits and allows automakers to choose how to meet them.In 2019, Kamala Harris co-sponsored a bill as a U.S. senator called the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that would have required 100% of new passenger vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2040. The bill, which stalled in committee, did not ban ownership of vehicles that produce emissions. China does not operate the Panama Canal CLAIM: Discussing his desire for the U.S. to take back the Panama Canal: American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy. And, above all, China is operating the Panama Canal.THE FACTS: Officials in Panama have denied Trumps claims that China is operating the canal and that the U.S. is being overcharged. Ricaurte Vsquez, administrator of the canal, said in an interview with The Associated Press that theres no discrimination in the fees.The price rules are uniform for absolutely all those who transit the canal and clearly defined, he said.He also said China was not operating the canal. He noted Chinese companies operating in the ports on either end of the canal were part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997. He added that U.S. and Taiwanese companies are operating other ports along the canal as well. Vsquez stressed that the canal cant give special treatment to U.S.-flagged ships because of a neutrality treaty. He said requests for exceptions are routinely rejected, because the process is clear and there mustnt be arbitrary variations. The only exception in the neutrality treaty is for American warships, which receive expedited passage.Trump, complaining about rising charges for ships transiting the canal, has refused to rule out the use of military force to seize control of the canal.The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat.___Associated Press writers Melissa Golden in New York and Chris Rugaber in Washington contributed this report. ___Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

American Indian activist Leonard Peltier speaks during an interview at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., April 29, 1999. (Joe Ledford/The Kansas City Star via AP, File)2025-01-20T16:46:49Z Follow live updates on President-elect Donald Trumps return to Washington WASHINGTON (AP) Just moments before leaving office, President Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. Peltier was denied parole as recently as July and wasnt eligible for parole again until 2026. He was serving life in prison for the killings during a standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He will transition to home confinement, Biden said in a statement. Biden issued a record number of individual pardons and commutations. He announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, and he issued a broad pardon to his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Chauncey Peltier, who was 10 when his father was locked up, was shocked and thrilled. It means my dad finally gets to go home, Peltier said. One of the biggest rights violation cases in history and one of the longest-held political prisoners in the United States. And he gets to go home finally. Man, I cant explain how I feel. Peltiers tribe, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, has a home ready for him on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, his son said. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Emery Nelson said Peltier remained incarcerated Monday at USP Coleman, a high-security prison in Florida. Outgoing Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet member, posted on X that the commutation signifies a measure of justice that has long evaded so many Native Americans for so many decades. I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family. I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country.The fight for Peltiers freedom is entangled with the Indigenous rights movements. Nearly half a century later, his name remains a rallying cry. Peltier was active in the American Indian Movement, which has grappled with police brutality and discrimination against Native Americans since the 1960s.The movement grabbed headlines in 1973 when it took over the village of Wounded Knee on Pine Ridge the Oglala Lakota Nations reservation leading to a 71-day standoff with federal agents. On June 26, 1975, agents went to Pine Ridge to serve arrest warrants amid battles over Native treaty rights and self-determination.After being injured in a shootout, agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were shot in the head at close range, the FBI said. AIM member Joseph Stuntz was also killed. Two other movement members and Peltiers co-defendants, Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted in the killings of Coler and Williams.After fleeing to Canada, Peltier was extradited to the United States and convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1977, despite defense claims of falsified evidence.Bidens action Monday follows decades of lobbying and protests by Native American leaders and others who maintain Peltier was wrongfully convicted. Amnesty International has long considered him a political prisoner. Advocates for his release have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, actor and director Robert Redford, and musicians Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Jackson Browne. Law enforcement officers, former FBI agents, their families and prosecutors strongly opposed a pardon or any reduction in Peltiers sentence. Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama rejected Peltiers clemency requests, and he was denied parole in 1993, 2009 and 2024.The No Parole Peltier Association, led by former FBI agents, issued a statement condemning the action. There is little doubt that the President failed to understand the details of the line-of-duty killings of FBI Agents Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams, the group said in a statement. Certainly, the President did not see the dreadful crime scene photograph.Former FBI Director Christopher Wray never wavered from his opposition to Peltiers release. In a private letter sent to Biden earlier this month and obtained by The Associated Press, Wray reiterated his position that Peltier is a remorseless killer and said he hoped the president wasnt considering a pardon or commutation. Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law, Wray wrote.Peltiers supporters pushed Biden to act because Peltier is 80 and has health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart trouble and an aortic aneurysm discovered in 2016, according to his lawyers.Peltiers attorney, Kevin Sharp, celebrated Peltiers commutation and insisted there was never any evidence that proved Peltier was guilty.It recognizes the injustice of what happened in Mr. Peltiers case, Sharp, a former federal judge, said. And it sends a signal to Native Americans in Indian country that their concerns -- what has happened to them and their treatment -- isnt going to be ignored. Its a step toward reconciliation and healing. ___Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas, and Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Jack Dura, in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed. COLLEEN LONG Long covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a focus on domestic policy including immigration, law enforcement and legal affairs. ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto JOHN HANNA Hanna covers politics and state government in Kansas for The Associated Press. Hes worked for the AP in Topeka since 1986. twitter mailto STEVE KARNOWSKI Karnowski covers politics and government from Minnesota for The Associated Press. He also covers the ongoing fallout from the murder of George Floyd, courts and the environment, among other topics. twitter mailto

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson watches during warmups before an NFL football divisional playoff game against the Washington Commanders, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)2025-01-20T21:31:41Z Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has agreed to become the Chicago Bears head coach, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Monday.The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the contract was being finalized.Johnson spent three years as Detroits offensive coordinator under Dan Campbell and was widely considered the top head coaching candidate on the market. The Lions earned the top seed in the NFC at 15-2 before getting stunned by Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders in a divisional playoff game on Saturday. Detroit led the league in points per game and finished second in yards passing and total yards per game during the regular season.The Bears fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29 and replaced him on an interim basis with Thomas Brown. Chicago finished last in the NFC North at 5-12 and lost 10 in a row before closing the season with a win at Green Bay.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL ANDREW SELIGMAN Seligman covers Chicago sports for The Associated Press. He has been with the AP since 2005. twitter mailto ROB MAADDI Maaddi is senior NFL writer for The Associated Press. Hes covered the league for 24 years, including the first two decades as the Eagles beat writer. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Joe Biden arrives for the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)2025-01-20T16:53:33Z Follow live updates on President-elect Donald Trumps return to Washington WASHINGTON (AP) Minutes before leaving the presidency, Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses, saying Monday that his family had been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end, he said as his presidential term was ending. The family pardons were the surprise finale in a series of unprecedented presidential actions by the Democrat, who has been known as an intuitionalist during his half-century in politics. Biden also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and allies who have been targeted by Republican President Donald Trump. He was sworn in Monday. It was a remarkable use of Bidens presidential power: None of the above has been charged with any crime, and the move was designed to guard against possible retribution by Trump. Trump, during his campaign, repeatedly suggested he would seek to use the Justice Department to exact retribution against his perceived political foes. His pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing last week that the department would not prosecute anyone for political purposes. But she refused to rule out potential investigations into Trump adversaries, including the special counsel who brought two federal criminal cases against Trump that have since been abandoned. Last month, Biden pardoned his son Hunter for tax and gun crimes, despite his previous pledges not to do so. Biden issued blanket pardons for his brother James and his wife, Sara; his sister, Valerie, and her husband, John Owens; and his brother Francis.The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense, he said in a statement. The pardons came just before noon. Biden was already at the Capitol to see Trump inaugurated.House Republicans in June sent a letter to the Justice Department recommending the prosecution of Hunter and James Biden, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of a Republican impeachment inquiry. James Bidens lawyer at the time called it a baseless partisan action. James Bidens business dealings were heavily scrutinized by Republicans as part of their failed impeachment inquiry. Republicans pointed to a series of payments that they claimed showed the president benefited from his brothers work.House Democrats defended the transaction, pointing to bank records they say indicate James Biden was repaying a loan provided by his brother Joe, who had wire transferred $200,000 to him about six weeks earlier. The money changed hands while Joe Biden was a private citizen.In a voluntary interview as part of the impeachment inquiry, James Biden said his brother never had any involvement in the business dealings of other members of his family. Other presidents have pardoned family members, but those were for specific criminal convictions.Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after he had served his sentence roughly a decade earlier. In the final weeks of his first term, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner, as well as multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto COLLEEN LONG Long covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a focus on domestic policy including immigration, law enforcement and legal affairs. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

This photo taken by Pacific Palisades resident Darrin Hurwitz shows the Palisades Fire as it approaches homes in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Darrin Hurwitz via AP)2025-01-20T22:13:46Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Windy and dry conditions returned to Southern California on Monday, raising the risk of new wildfires sparking as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area that started in similar weather nearly two weeks ago.Gusts could peak at 70 mph (113 kph) along the coast and 100 mph (160 kph) in the mountains and foothills during extreme fire weather that is expected to last through Tuesday.The National Weather Service issued a warning of a particularly dangerous situation for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties from Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning due to low humidity and damaging Santa Ana winds.The conditions are ripe for explosive fire growth should a fire start, said Andrew Rorke, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.Rorke said a small amount of rain in the weekend forecast was a hopeful sign, though he pointed out more gusty winds would return to the area on Thursday. Authorities urged people not to mow their lawns to prevent sparking a fire, nor start any fires that could get out of control. They also asked residents to review their evacuation plans and ready emergency kits and be on the lookout for any new blazes and report them quickly. David Acuna, a spokesman with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the biggest concerns are the Palisades and Eaton Fires breaking their containment lines and a new blaze starting. Dont do things to start another fire so we can focus on the mitigation of the current fires, Acuna said.The low humidity, bone-dry vegetation and strong Santa Ana winds come as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area, the Palisades and Eaton fires, which have destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out during fierce winds on Jan. 7. The Palisades fire was 59% contained on Monday and the Eaton fire 87% contained, according to fire officials. More evacuation orders were lifted Monday for Pacific Palisades and authorities said only residents would be allowed to get back in after showing proof of residency at a checkpoint. Over the weekend, two men impersonating firefighters attempted to enter an evacuation zone for the Palisades Fire, according to the Los Angeles County sheriffs department.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Monday the city was prepared for any possible new fires and warned the strong winds could disperse ash from existing fire zones across Southern California. She urged Angelenos to visit lacity.gov to learn about ways to protect themselves from toxic air during Santa Ana winds.Cal Fire and local fire departments have positioned fire engines, water-dropping aircraft and hand crews across the region to enable a quick response should a new fire break out, Acuna said.Acuna said Cal Fire had extra fire crews in Kern and Riverside counties.Los Angeles fire officials said the department has all available engines ready and that 30 of them had been positioned in fire risk areas. The agency also ordered the outgoing shift of about 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty to staff the extra engines.The pre-deployment is very, very thoughtful and strategic, Crowley said. On Monday afternoon, Los Angeles fire crews quickly put out a a small brush fire that broke out south of Griffith Observatory.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken bids farewell to diplomats and staff at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-01-20T18:55:29Z WASHINGTON (AP) A large number of senior career diplomats who served in politically appointed top leadership positions at the State Department have left their posts at the demand of the incoming Trump administration, which plans to install its own people in those positions, according to current and outgoing U.S. officials.Personnel changes in the senior ranks of the department, like those at all federal agencies, are not uncommon after a presidential election, and career officials serving in those roles are required, just as non-career political appointees, to submit letters of resignation before an incoming administration takes office. In the past, some of those resignations have not been accepted, allowing career officials to remain in their posts at least temporarily until the new president can nominate his team. That offers some degree of continuity in the day-to-day running of the bureaucracy. Among the career officials to be reassigned are acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass, who until Trump took office was serving as the No. 3 U.S. diplomat, and all of the other under secretaries of state in charge of management and policy portfolios, as well as all assistant secretaries of state, who deal with regional issues, according to three current and former officials familiar with the personnel changes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel changes that have not been publicly announced. Unless President Donald Trump moves quickly to nominate people for those positions, the jobs will be filled in many cases by the outgoing officials current subordinates, who are career diplomats often with years of experience under both Republican and Democratic administrations. And, despite the changes, the career diplomats will continue to occupy senior roles in the State Department hierarchy, although it was not immediately clear how many.The outgoing officials were not fired, but were rather told last week, in some cases on Friday, that their pro forma resignations had been accepted. They will remain employees of the State Department as foreign service officers unless they decide to retire or otherwise leave government.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman speaks during a news conference ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Atlanta. The game between Ohio State and Notre Dame will be played on Monday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)2025-01-20T14:45:34Z ATLANTA (AP) Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman felt more comfortable talking about the national championship his players have a chance to win Monday night than the history attached to it if they pull it off.Still, its hard to ignore the connections between Freemans fate he is trying to become the first African American coach to capture a college title at the highest level in Americas favorite sport and all thats happening in the U.S. on the day of the big game.Monday, Jan. 20 is national-title day but also the day the United States celebrates Martin Luther King Jr., and inaugurates Donald Trump to his second term as president. King devoted his life to fighting for inclusion and equality, and today diversity initiatives are increasingly under scrutiny on college campuses.The timing of Marcus Freeman and Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a powerful symbol that should be viewed with cautious optimism, said Joseph Cooper, the director of the Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport at UMass. And with the incoming administration and their professed commitment to undo DEI policies, it reflects the peril and the long journey we still have to go, beyond just breaking barriers with pioneers. That Freemans potential breakthrough comes more than 40 years after a Black basketball coach first did the same, and that it comes against a backdrop of a mediocre minority hiring record that has shadowed college sports for decades, is a sign of how far those sports still have to go.Todays Black coach is the 70s Black quarterback, Rod Broadway, who coached at historically Black universities Grambling State and North Carolina A&T, said about the once-rare sight of an African American playing the sports most important position. Recent trends makes path for Black coaches unclearThere has been a backlash against affirmative action and the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that reached a crescendo in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyds murder in 2020.Since then, the Supreme Court has struck down affirmative action in college and university admissions process; Florida has gotten rid of funding for public universities to use for DEI programs; laws governing transgender sports have proliferated across the states.Against this backdrop comes football, and the questions of whether it is a reflection of society, a change agent for it or neither.Heading into this years postseason, Black men occupied 11.9% of the head-coaching positions at college footballs highest level. That was nearly 7% less than in the NFL, where the Rooney Rule was adopted in 2003, requiring teams to interview minority candidates for open spots.There is no such rule in college sports, beyond an initiative in the West Coast Conference, which does not play football.Freeman, whose father is African American and whose mother is South Korean, was thoughtful 11 days ago when asked about the historic nature of his victory in the semifinals, where he was going against Penn State and coach James Franklin, who also is Black.It is an honor, and I hope all coaches, minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesnt matter, great people continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this, Freeman said. Freeman knows his success goes beyond footballThe coachs most trenchant statement about race and his role in opening up opportunities came not during Notre Dames current playoff run but rather in 2021, when he was hired.I want to be a demonstration of what someone can do, and the level they can do it at, if they are given the OPPORTUNITY, he said. Because thats what is needed: opportunity.Yet, 41 years after Georgetowns John Thompson became the first Black coach to win basketballs national title and 26 years after Carolyn Peck at Purdue first did it on the womens side, those opportunities in football are relatively few and far between.One of the watchdogs over minority hiring in American sports gave colleges a C on its last annual report card.It was inevitable that a Black coach would reach a football title game, said Richard Lapchick, the founder of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at UCF. But the inevitability took a lot longer than I think most people wouldve guessed a long time ago. HBCU coach wonders if theres momentum behind Freemans momentNow retired and living in South Carolina, Broadway has been filled with mixed feelings while watching this play out from afar.He told a story of being asked to interview for the open head-coaching position at a major university in the early 2010s. Broadway said he came down an escalator at the airport en route to the interview and saw TV cameras covering his every move.He recalled his unshakable belief that the cameras had been sent there solely to document that the school was interviewing a Black candidate, not that it was taking that interview seriously.As God as my witness, I started to make the U-turn and go up the other escalator, he said. It was the most (expletive) interview Id ever done in my life. His take on the realities of Black coaches landing big jobs in college football havent changed all that much since then.He says he remains discouraged by the lack of a thriving pipeline for young Black coaches.And just as no one knows whether Freemans ascent marks a point in time or a sign of progress, Broadway has the same question about the recent rise of Deion Sanders and the hires of Black former NFL players Michael Vick (Norfolk State) and DeSean Jackson (Delaware State). Are they opening doors, or just filling vacant spots?I know there are a lot of African American coaches who, if they had the opportunity, theyd be in the game, Broadway said. But there are some brilliant coaches who just dont get their opportunities.___This story has been corrected. A previous version included an erroneous reference to Freeman as the first Black head coach at Notre Dame.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

From left, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., talk to reporters about the Laken Riley Act, a bill to detain unauthorized immigrants who have been accused of certain crimes, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was killed last year by a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-01-20T23:37:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) Fresh off President Donald Trumps inauguration, the Senate on Monday passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes, the first measure he likely will sign into law and giving more weight to his plans to deport millions of migrants.Trump has made a broad crackdown on illegal immigration his top priority, and Congress, with Republicans in control and some Democrats willing to go along, is showing it is ready to follow suit. Passage of the Laken Riley Act named after a Georgia nursing student whose murder by a Venezuelan man last year became a rallying cry for Trumps White House campaign was a sign of how Congress has shifted sharply right on border security and immigration.We dont want criminals coming into our country, Trump told supporters at the Capitol, adding he looked forward to holding a bill signing within a week or so. Trump is already ending many of former President Joe Bidens border and immigration programs, turning the United States away from the Democrats attempts at more humane immigration policies at a time when record numbers of people were sometimes arriving at the border with Mexico. Swift action on immigration policy was proof of how Democrats were no longer resisting some strict enforcement proposals. If you come into this country illegally and you commit a crime, you should not be free to roam the streets of this nation, said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who helped push the bill through the Senate. The bill cleared a key procedural vote in the Senate last week with support from 10 Democrats, and similar legislation gained support from 48 House Democrats earlier this month.The Republican-controlled House passed its version of the bill, but will still need to take up changes made in the Senate. The legislation would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of crimes such as shoplifting, as well as offenses that injure or kill someone, and would grant states new legal standing to challenge federal immigration decisions, including by immigration judges. Critics of the bill say that provision will open the door for Republican state attorneys general to wage a legal battle against federal immigration decisions, injecting even more uncertainty and partisanship into immigration policy.Deporting millions of migrants or enforcing the Laken Riley Act will largely depend on Congress ability to allocate $100 billion. Republicans are debating how to approve that money through a process known as budget reconciliation that will allow them to squeeze it through Congress purely on party-line votes.That wont be easy in the House, where Republicans hold the majority by just a few seats.Currently, the Laken Riley Act has no funding attached to it, but Democrats on the Appropriations Committee estimate the bill would cost $83 billion over the next three years, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has estimated it would need to nearly triple the number of detention beds and conduct more than 80 removal flights per week to implement the requirements, according to the memo. Thats a lot of money to spend on a bill that is going to cause chaos, punish legal immigrants, and undermine due process in America all while drawing resources away from true threats, said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a floor speech last week. STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Cars are backed up at the US-Canada border in Stanstead, Quebec, after a shooting involving a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Coventry, Vt., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Chloe Jones)2025-01-20T22:37:20Z COVENTRY, Vt. (AP) A U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed Monday in northern Vermont south of the Canadian border, authorities said.The Department of Homeland Securitys U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that the agent was killed in the line of duty, although it did not provide details.Vermont State Police said the shooting happened Monday afternoon on Interstate 91 in Coventry, about 20 miles (32 km) from the Canadian border. State police officers were assisting federal authorities including the FBI and Homeland Security.A portion of the highway was closed in both directions for about two hours afterward. The northbound lane reopened just after 5 p.m. Coventry is close to the U.S. Customs and Border Protections Newport Station, part of the Swanton Sector, which encompasses Vermont and parts of New York and New Hampshire. The area includes 295 miles (475 kilometers) of international boundary with Canada.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a nominee for Secretary of State, attends the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)2025-01-20T22:41:22Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Senate quickly confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day.Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of Trumps nominees and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, is expected later in the week.Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened. Its often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new presidents team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trumps first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Bidens choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day. With Trumps return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider Cabinet choices are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle. Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, saying he expected voting to begin imminently on Trumps nominees. Democrats have calculated its better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. Theyre holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.Rubio, he said, is an example of a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly.Senate committees have been holding lengthy confirmation hearings on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced Rubios nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, advanced the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe.Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nations top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on Chinas rise. During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio warned of the consequences of Americas unbalanced relationship with China. While he echoes Trumps anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.Rubio is likely to win bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats. He would take over for outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Bidens policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination. The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance drops the GOP majority to 52 until his successor arrives. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees. Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.

President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-21T00:57:15Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Monday said he was pardoning about 1,500 of his supporters who have been charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, using his sweeping clemency powers on his first day back in office to dismantle the largest investigation and prosecution in Justice Department history.The pardons were expected after Trumps yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack that left more than 100 police officers injured and threatened the peaceful transfer of power. Yet the scope of the clemency still comes as a massive blow to the Justice Departments effort to hold participants accountable over what has been described as one of the darkest days in American history.Trump also commuted the prison sentences of leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump is also directing the attorney general to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending cases against Jan. 6 defendants. Trump had suggested in the weeks leading up to his return to the White House that he was going to look at the Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. Vice President JD Vance had said just days ago that people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot obviously should not be pardoned. Casting the rioters as patriots and hostages, Trump has claimed they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department that also charged him with federal crimes in two cases he contends were politically motivated. The pardons come weeks after Trumps own Jan. 6 case was dismissed because of the Justice Departments policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Had Trump lost the 2024 election, he may have ultimately stood trial in the same federal courthouse within view of the Capitol where Jan. 6 cases have been playing out over the last four years. More than 1,200 people have been convicted in the riot, including approximately 250 people convicted of assault charges.Hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants who didnt engage in any of the violence and destruction were charged with misdemeanor trespassing offenses, and many of those served little to no time behind bars. But the violence that day has been documented extensively through videos, testimony and other evidence showing rioters some armed with poles, bats and bear spray swarming the Capitol, quickly overrunning overwhelmed police, shattering windows and sending lawmakers and aides running into hiding. Police were dragged into the crowd and beaten. One officer screamed in pain as he was crushed in a doorframe, and another suffered a heart attack after a rioter pressed a stun gun against his neck and repeatedly shocked him. Officers have described in testimony fearing for their lives as members of the mob hurled insults and obscenities at them. Of the more than 1,500 people charged, about 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant. At least 1,020 had pleaded guilty to crimes as of Jan. 1.More than 1,000 rioters have already been sentenced, with over 700 receiving at least some time behind bars. The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention or fines. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

JD Vance is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as Usha Vance holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)2025-01-20T23:43:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) A presidents inaugural address is typically a choreographed spectacle. A makeshift grandstand is erected next to the Capitol, hundreds of thousands of people line the National Mall and the images and words of the day endure for generations.This time was different. Forced inside to the Capitol Rotunda by frigid temperatures, Donald Trump was sworn for a second term as president in an intimate setting for a man who has always favored the largest one possible.The days pomp and unusual circumstances made for a lot of close-up encounters between political combatants, some awkward, some not. It also made for a pecking-order configuration for attendees top-level guests in the Rotunda and several hundred other VIPs watching from another room at the Capitol, as well as thousands of Trump supporters at a local arena outside the grounds of Congress.Associated Press reporters, photographers and videographers were in all those rooms, as part of a pool arrangement typically used to cover proceedings in confined spaces. Such arrangements give a selection of news organizations access to events on condition they provide material to others. IN THE ROTUNDAOn Monday, the center of the action was in the gleaming, circular space of statues and history.The tableau bore little resemblance to what would have been on the outside. Seated closely behind Trump in prime seats was a tight clutch of some of the richest people in the world, tech titans all, including Trumps adviser Elon Musk, with a combined net worth near $1 trillion. They had better seats than the men and women Trump has tabbed for his Cabinet. The living former presidents, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama all upheld the tradition of witnessing the peaceful transfer of power. Obamas wife, Michelle, did not. Nor did former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Among the less exclusive club of former vice presidents, Dan Quayle and Mike Pence were present. Dick Cheney did not attend, and neither did Pences wife, Karen. Members who prosecuted two impeachment cases against Trump were in the room, as were others who served as Trumps defenders. So was a glowering Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Supreme Court justices, Trumps Cabinet choices and a sampling of world leaders also got to be there in person. Musks mother, Maye Musk, got a better seat than most lawmakers. And TikTok CEO Shou Chew was seated on the platform next to intelligence chief nominee Tulsi Gabbard, despite the national security concerns that prompted Congress to pass a law banning the Chinese-owned app or forcing its sale.Before the program began, the soft hum of conversation filled the Rotunda, the white noise of political niceties.Though Republicans were quick to get to their feet and Democrats did not, it was a strikingly cordial string of events in a place and at a time of such ferocious division. When Lee Greenwood sang God Bless the U.S.A, former Speaker John Boehner wept.Democrats who had a better vantage point offered to take photos of the president for their Republican colleagues. Family dynamics were at work, too. Perhaps most remarkable was how much Trumps son, Barron, had grown since his fathers first inaugural in 2017 he is now easily the tallest member of the family.His mother, Melania, set off a fashion discussion with her broad-brimmed hat that nearly concealed her eyes. Ivanka Trump, the presidents daughter, wore a small beret on the side. John Fetterman, the do-it-my-way Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, arrived in a Carhartt sweatshirt and cargo shorts.For all of the genuine and forced comity of the day, there were reminders of the ragged anger that swept the Capitol when rioters overran it four years ago, inspired by Trumps lies about a stolen election, and tried to stop Joe Biden from taking office.Trump entered the Rotunda near the tunnel where rioters had engaged in some of the most brutal fighting with police as they broke into the Capitol. On Monday, the domed landmark was in its usual gleaming state. Most in attendance respected the etiquette instructions placed on each chair in advance. Stand or sit quietly with your hands crossed or at your sides, it said, to respect ceremonial protocols that may or may not represent your associations or beliefs.___IN EMANCIPATION HALLWith such tight confines, the spacious Capitol Visitor Centers Emancipation Hall was the next best place to be.There, cowboy hats and fur-lined caps dotted the hall as foreign dignitaries, governors and political boosters watched on large screens. They broke into laughter at scenes of former President George W. Bushs playful facial contortions.Trump visited after the swearing in, bringing people to their feet.Youre a younger, far more beautiful audience than I just spoke to, Trump told those who had been relegated to this overflow seating. Several sports celebrities attended the event, among them race car driver Danica Patrick, mixed martial arts rights Conor McGregor and Jake Paul and the boxer Evander Holyfield.Trump launched into a winding speech reminiscent of his campaign appearances. As the speech wore on, enthusiasm waned. People shifted on their feet and turned to talk to companions. As he concluded after nearly a half hour, he told the crowd he was really only supposed to tell them, Thank you for being here. Bye bye.The new president added, I gave you the A-plus treatment.___THE INAUGURAL LUNCHAt the inaugural luncheon head table, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, as chair of the congressional inaugural committee, engaged Trump in an animated conversation for most of the meal. Eventually Vice President JD Vance joined in, and Melania Trump occasionally as well.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat next to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who left early. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sat between Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his wife, Kimberly, at a table where Barron Trump held forth at length.Among those at another table: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi and Donald Trump Jr.They feasted on Chesapeake crab cakes, ribeye steak and Minnesota Apple Ice Box Terrine with sour cream ice cream and salted caramel.___Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report. FARNOUSH AMIRI Amiri covers Congress for The Associated Press, with a focus on foreign policy and congressional investigations. She previously covered politics for AP as a statehouse reporter based in Columbus, Ohio. twitter mailto STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Colombian migrant Margelis Tinoco, 48, cries after her CBP One appointment was canceled at the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on the border with the U.S., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, the inauguration day of U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)2025-01-21T00:13:24Z TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments finally to legally enter the United States.Now outside a series of north Mexico border crossings where mazes of concrete barriers and thick fencing eventually spill into the United States, hope and excitement evaporated into despair and disbelief moments after President Donald Trump took office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app that worked as recently as that morning would no longer be used to admit migrants after facilitating entry for nearly 1 million people since January 2023.Tens of thousands of appointments that were scheduled into February were canceled, applicants were told. That was it. There was no way to appeal, and no one to talk to. Migrants with CBP One application appointments to apply for asylum in the United States look on after their appointments were declared not valid on the application Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico, shortly after President Donald Trump was sworn-in. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Migrants with CBP One application appointments to apply for asylum in the United States look on after their appointments were declared not valid on the application Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico, shortly after President Donald Trump was sworn-in. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In Tijuana, where 400 people were admitted daily on the app at a border crossing with San Diego, Maria Mercado had to work up the courage to check her phone. Tears ran down her cheeks after she finally looked. Her familys appointment was for 1 p.m., four hours too late.We dont know what we are going to do, she said, standing with her family within view of the United States.She left Colombia decades ago after it was overrun by drug cartel violence, heading to Ecuador. When cartels besieged her new homeland, the family fled again, in June, this time to Mexico, hoping to reach the U.S. Im not asking the world for anything only God. Im asking God to please let us get in, she said.Immigrants around her hugged or cried quietly. Many stared ahead blankly, not knowing what do. A nearby sign urged people to get the CBP One app. This will facilitate your processing, it said. CBP One has been wildly popular, especially with Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Mexicans. Now, they were stranded at the U.S. border or deeper in Mexico. Melanie Mendoza of Venezuela, gets emotional as she sees that her 1pm appointment was canceled on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, as she and her family wait at the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday, Jan. 20. 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Melanie Mendoza of Venezuela, gets emotional as she sees that her 1pm appointment was canceled on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, as she and her family wait at the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday, Jan. 20. 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Jairol Polo, 38, tried getting an appointment for six months from Mexico City before snagging one for Wednesday in Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. The Cuban man flew Monday from Mexicos capital to learn at the Matamoros-Brownsville border crossing that his appointment was canceled. Imagine how we feel, he said dejectedly while smoking a cigarette.People with morning appointments got through on schedule. Andrum Roman, a 28-year-old Venezuelan, was in the last group to cross the border with the CBP One in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. We are a little safer now because we are here, he said just before handing over his documents to U.S. authorities. But you still dont know whats going to happen, he said.Another Venezuelan, Rober Caruzi, entered El Paso right behind him. I reached the border twice and I was returned twice, but I didnt lose hope, he said. By afternoon, the app was down.CBP One is effectively a lottery system that give appointments to 1,450 people a day at one of eight border crossings. People enter the U.S. on immigration parole, a presidential authority that former President Joe Biden used more than any other president since it was introduced in 1952. Its demise follows Trumps campaign promises, and will please its critics, who see it as an overly generous magnet attracting people to Mexicos border with the United States.Despite a glitchy launch in January 2023, it quickly became a critical piece of the Biden administrations border strategy to expand legal pathways while cracking down on asylum for people who enter illegally. Supporters say it brought order amid the tumult of illegal crossings. Marcela Medina and her husband Enrique Corea of Venezuela react to seeing that their appointment was canceled on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, as they wait near the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday, Jan. 20. 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Marcela Medina and her husband Enrique Corea of Venezuela react to seeing that their appointment was canceled on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, as they wait near the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday, Jan. 20. 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Many migrant shelters in Mexico are now occupied largely by people who tapped their phones daily hoping for an appointment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says about 280,000 people try daily for the 1,450 slots.The demise of CBP One will be coupled with the return of Remain in Mexico, a remnant of Trumps first term that forced about 70,000 asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court. Matthew Hudak, who retired last year as deputy chief of the Border Patrol, said the demise of CBP One could encourage people to cross illegally. To be effective, it must be coupled with something like Remain in Mexico, he said.The message with CBP One being shut down is basically, Hey were not going to allow you to show up; the doors are not going to be open. For that to be meaningful, there has to be some level of consequence if you bypass any lawful means and youre doing it illegally, he said.News of CBP Ones abrupt end shocked migrants across Mexico.Juan Andrs Rincn Ramos, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, cried with joy in early January when he got an asylum appointment through CBP One after months of trying. It was a lurch of hope after five years living in Peru and seven months in Mexico struggling to reach the U.S., where his brother lives in Pittsburgh. In the makeshift Mexico City migrant camp where he lives, the fantasy of a life he dreamed for himself evaporated when he got the notification that his appointment had been canceled.It was a moment of hope, but it didnt last, he said. Everyone trusted in the American dream, but we were all wrong.___Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Valerie Gonzalez in Matamoros, Mexico, and Martin Silva in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, contributed.

From left, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and former President Barack Obama, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP)2025-01-21T05:04:08Z All the living former presidents were there and the outgoing president amicably greeted his successor, who gave a speech about the countrys bright future and who left to the blare of a brass band.At first glance, President Donald Trumpssecond inauguration seemed like a continuation of the countrys nearly 250-year-long tradition of peaceful transfers of power, essential to its democracy. And there was much to celebrate: Trump won a free and fair election last fall, and his supporters hope he will be able to fix problems at the border, end the war in Ukraine and get inflation under control.Still, on Monday, the warning signs were clear.Due to frigid temperatures, Trumps swearing-in was held in the Capitol Rotunda, where rioters seeking to keep him in power the last time roamed during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Trump walked into the space from the hall leading to the buildings west front tunnel, where some of the worst hand-to-hand combat between Trump supporters and police occurred that day. After giving a speech pledging that never again would the government persecute political opponents, Trump then gave a second, impromptu address to a crowd of supporters. The president lamented that his inaugural address had been sanitized, said he would shortly pardon the Jan. 6 rioters and fumed at last-minute preemptive pardons issued by outgoing President Joe Biden to the members of the congressional committee that investigated the attack. I did have a couple of things to say that were extremely controversial, Trump told the crowd in the Capitols Emancipation Hall. It was the same space that had filled with rows of National Guard troops sleeping on the hard floors for weeks in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack. Hours later, Trump followed through on a campaign promise to pardon those involved in the attack some 1,500 of his supporters, including ones who had assaulted police officers. That came after an extraordinary pardon issued by Biden announced by the White House as he greeted Trump at the inaugural ceremony for several members of Bidens extended family. The 11th hour Biden pardons were a response to Trumps continual threats to carry out a campaign of retribution against his political opponents. The head-spinning developments of Trumps first day back in power suggested there will be no lack of controversy during his second term.Even after regaining the highest office in the land, Trump continued to lie about his 2020 election loss. He didnt mention it in his formal address, but in his impromptu, second speech, Trump falsely contended it was only due to voter fraud and that if votes were counted accurately he would win California, a state he lost by more than 3.2 million votes.The celebration of the peaceful transfer of power kicked off just before noon Monday with both Trump and Biden present. That was a stark difference from last time, when Trump didnt attend the event to hand over power to Biden.Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar kicked off the speeches because she chairs the joint congressional inaugural committee. She pronounced that the theme was our enduring democracy. It was a fairly anodyne line and in other circumstances would be a fairly routine speech, but had a stark implication given the setting. Klobuchar spoke about how in other countries the festivities might be in a presidential palace, but the United States holds them at the peoples house, the Capitol complex. She concluded by recognizing the firefighters battling blazes in Southern California.Our democracys strength and grit must match theirs, Klobuchar said.The day began with a reminder of the unprecedented dynamic that Trumps return has created. Biden preemptively pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Gen. Mark Milley a vocal Trump critic whom the new president has suggested should be executed and the congressional Jan. 6 committee members, staff and officers who provided them testimony.Among them was former Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the few Republicans to challenge Trump and who had been targeted for prosecution by her former Republican colleagues in the U.S. House. During his second speech, Trump again dug at Cheney, calling her a crying lunatic. These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing, Biden said about his blanket pardons. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and in fact have done the right thing and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who lost consciousness and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, was one of the officers who received a last-minute Biden pardon because he testified before the Jan. 6 committee. Fanone said he learned about the pardon from a Washington Post reporter who called him Monday morning.I havent digested it, he later told The Associated Press. I just cant believe that this is my country.___Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

Kristina Foss holds onto her daughter Kayleigh as they plow through snow at the bottom of the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)2025-01-21T05:10:13Z Millions of people across the northern Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for a rare winter storm thats expected to scatter heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze. The National Weather Service forecast between 3 and 7 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) of snow and sleet for parts of southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans, heading into Tuesday. In Texas, both Houston airports announced flight operations would be suspended starting Tuesday in expectation of hazardous conditions from the severe winter weather taking aim at a huge swath of the South. Residents from Texas to north Florida were rushing to insulate pipes, check heating systems and stock up on emergency supplies.Elsewhere, the East Coast endured a thick blanket of snow while people from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine shivered in bitterly cold temperatures from the frigid arctic air mass that sent temperatures plunging well below normal Monday. Dangerously cold wind chills were expected to persist through Tuesday morning. Around 40 million people, primarily across the southern U.S. from Texas to Florida, were under some type of weather hazard, including more than 21 million under a winter storm warning, said meteorologist Marc Chenard with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland. He added about 170 million people from the Rockies to points eastward were under either an extreme warning or a cold weather advisory. Lakesha Reed, manager of Beaucoup Eats catering in New Orleans, had plans to fly out Tuesday to cook for a Mardi Gras-style event in the nations capital, but flights were canceled amid extreme cold. The 47-year-old New Orleans native said it was in the 30s early Monday afternoon in her port city, where near-freezing temperatures are rare. We can barely drive in the rain, she said. Last year, we wore shorts for Mardi Gras. The online tracker FlightAware reported nearly 600 flight cancellations by Monday evening within the U.S. or entering or leaving the country, along with nearly 6,500 delays. More than 1,700 such cancellations also were posted for Tuesday.Winter storm warnings extended from Texas to Florida on Monday, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain expected around the region into Wednesday. Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared Monday night across at least a dozen counties in New York as heavy lake-effect snow was expected around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie through Wednesday with 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) possible along with extreme cold temperatures. Snow on the Gulf CoastAhead of the storm, governors in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, declared states of emergency and many school systems canceled classes Tuesday. The storm was expected to impact Texas starting Monday evening, spread eastward through Wednesday morning with heavy snow expected along and to the north of the Interstate 10 corridor with sleet and freezing rain in south Texas and southeast Georgia and northern Florida.Forecasters warned the sub-freezing morning lows could threaten sensitive vegetation and exposed plumbing in areas unaccustomed to bitter cold.Across Louisiana, officials urged residents to stay home and not go sightseeing during the storm, warning any road ice could make travel dangerous. Warming centers were being readied as towns sought to get homeless people off the streets. The weather service warned power outages were possible in areas of significant snow and ice accumulation.Meanwhile, shoppers packed supermarkets, stocking up. Things were really nuts with everyone shopping and trying to get supplies in the past couple days, and most people were looking for the same stuff because they want to make something that will warm your blood, maybe a gumbo, William Jordan in New Orleans said Monday. Return of the Arctic blastMuch of the Eastern Seaboard is enduring some of the coldest temperatures this winter. The cold weather promoted Donald Trump to take the oath as president Monday from inside the Capitol Rotunda, upending months of meticulous planning for a massive outdoor inauguration with crowds sprawling down the National Mall. The last time an inaugural ceremony was held indoors was Ronald Reagans in 1985. Elsewhere, an area from the Rockies into the Northern Plains will see colder than normal weather over several days. Wind chills between minus 40 degrees (minus 40 C) to minus 55 degrees (minus 48 C) were expected through Tuesday morning across parts of the Northern Plains and as far east as parts of Illinois, with below zero wind chills affecting a broad swath of the country from Southern Plains east.The weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region. The wind chill in Chicago overnight Monday was expected to be around minus 22 (minus 30 C). Like earlier this month, this latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped about the North Pole.In Texas, Jonathan LeBron, plumbing manager at Nicks Plumbing & Air Conditioning in the Houston area, said the company began fielding calls Monday from homeowners worried about frozen pipes. There is a little bit of panic, LeBron said. I think theyre pretty aware of whats going on. The last freeze was three or four years ago. They want us to go out there and make sure things are insulated accordingly.Houstons low temperature on Tuesday will be about 18 (minus 8 C), according to the National Weather Service, or low enough for water to freeze in pipes, expand and then cause the pipes to burst. Several inches of snow were also possible.Santa Ana winds expected to return to Southern California In Southern California, where blazes have killed at least 27 people and burned thousands of homes, dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds remained a concern. ___Julie Walker contributed to this report from New York. She can be reached at https://x.com/jwalkreporter. Dave Collins contributed from Hartford, Connecticut. Bruce Shipkowski contributed from Toms River, New Jersey. Corey Williams contributed from Detroit.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order as he attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-20T16:19:14Z Follow live updates on President-elect Donald Trumps return to Washington WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1.With his opening rounds of memoranda and executive orders, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Bidens actions, began his immigration crackdown, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords and sought to keep TikTok open in the U.S., among other actions. He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Heres a look at some of Trumps initial actions and upcoming plans:Pardons in the Jan. 6 US Capitol attack As he promised repeatedly during the 2024 campaign, the president issued pardons late Monday for about 1,500 people convicted or criminally charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as Congress convened to certify Bidens 2020 victory over Trump. Separately, Trump ordered an end to federal cases against political opponents of the Biden administration meaning Trump supporters. He said Monday that he would end weaponization of federal law enforcement but his actions seemed targeted only to help his backers. The economy and TikTokIn a made-for-TV display at Capital One Arena on Monday evening, Trump signed a largely symbolic memorandum that he described as directing every federal agency to combat consumer inflation. By repealing Biden actions and adding his own orders, Trump is easing regulatory burdens on oil and natural gas production, something he promises will bring down costs of all consumer goods. Trump is specifically targeting Alaska for expanded fossil fuel production. On trade, the president said he expects to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1, but declined to flesh out his plans for taxing Chinese imports.Trump also signed an order intended to pause Congress TikTok ban for 75 days, a period in which the president says he will seek a U.S. buyer in a deal that can protect national security interests while leaving the popular social media platform open to Americans. America First As he did during his first administration, Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization. He also ordered a comprehensive review of U.S. foreign aid spending. Both moves fit into his more isolationist America First approach to international affairs. In more symbolic moves, Trump planned to sign an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, making it the Gulf of America. The highest mountain in North America, now known as Denali, will revert back to Mount McKinley, its name until President Barack Obama changed it. And Trump signed an order that flags must be at full height at every future Inauguration Day. The order came because former President Jimmy Carters death had prompted flags to be at half-staff. Trump demanded they be moved up Monday. Another Trump order calls for promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture. Immigration and national securityTrump reversed several immigration orders from Bidens presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats or were stopped at the border. It returns the government to Trumps first-term policy that everyone in the country illegally is a priority for deportation. The president declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and he plans to send U.S. troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum. Trump is trying end birthright citizenship. Its unclear, though, whether his order will survive inevitable legal challenges, since birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. He temporarily suspended the U.S. Refugee Admission Program, pending a review to assess the programs public safety and national security implications. Hes also pledged to restart a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait over the border in Mexico, but officials didnt say whether Mexico would accept migrants again. And Trump is ending the CBP One app, a Biden-era border app that gave legal entry to nearly 1 million migrants. Meanwhile, on national security, the president revoked any active security clearances from a long list of his perceived enemies, including former director of national intelligence James Clapper, Leon Panetta, a former director of the CIA and defense secretary, and his own former national security adviser, John Bolton. Climate and energyAs expected, Trump signed documents he said will formally withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreements. He made the same move during his first term but Biden reversed it.Additionally, Trump declared an energy emergency as he promised to drill, baby, drill, and said he will eliminate what he calls Bidens electric vehicle mandate. Overhauling federal bureaucracyTrump has halted federal government hiring, excepting the military and other parts of government that went unnamed. He added a freeze on new federal regulations while he builds out his second administration.He formally empowered the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is being led by Elon Musk, the worlds richest man. Ostensibly an effort to streamline government, DOGE is not an official agency. But Trump appears poised to give Musk wide latitude to recommend cuts in government programs and spending. Diversity, equity and inclusion and transgender rights Trump is rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government. Both are major shifts for the federal policy and are in line with Trumps campaign trail promises. One order declares that the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female. And theyre to be defined based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm, rather than on their chromosomes, according to details of the upcoming order. Under the order, federal prisons and shelters for migrants and rape victims would be segregated by sex as defined by the order. And federal taxpayer money could not be used to fund transition services.A separate order halts DEI programs, directing the White House to identify and end them within the government. ___Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat and Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report. COLLEEN LONG Long covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a focus on domestic policy including immigration, law enforcement and legal affairs. BILL BARROW Bill Barrow covers U.S. politics. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto JILL COLVIN Colvin is an Associated Press national political reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in New York. mailto

President Donald Trump with his wife first lady Melanie Trump, as well as his sons Barron Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, left, and daughter Tiffany Trump, right, after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Shawn Thew/Pool photo via AP)2025-01-21T00:20:55Z The crowded dais in the Capitol Rotunda on Inauguration Day featured four of the worlds five wealthiest men, five U.S. presidents, tech titans and business moguls, and two foreign leaders with prime spots.President Donald Trump welcomed a mix of traditional, unprecedented and unorthodox guests from Supreme Court justices to the vice president of China, and the head of TikTok, an app U.S. authorities have flagged as a national security risk, next to the person Trump has chosen to lead the intelligence community. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Scattered throughout were the presidents family members and other familiar faces in Trumps orbit. Lawmakers mostly sat in front of Trump, watching the new president take the oath of office.Heres who was up on the dais and who they sat next to. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 1. Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok was seated next to Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to be the director of national intelligence. Trump intervened this weekend in an attempt to halt a ban on TikTok, which is seen as a potential national security threat. The president has credited the social network with helping him win last years election, but the platform faces a ban if the China-based parent company does not find a Washington-approved buyer. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 2. Joe Rogan, who is among the worlds most popular podcasters, sat down for a three-hour interview with Trump in the last stretch of the campaign and ultimately endorsed him a day before Election Day. Trump has expressed gratitude to him. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 3. A cadre of billionaires and tech titans sat on the same row. They included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the worlds richest man. They were seated behind Trumps wife, Melania, and children, but ahead of several of his Cabinet nominees. Musk, who has grown closer to Trump since the election, was the one sitting closest to Trump. Bernard Arnault, CEO of French magnate LVMH, the biggest seller of luxury goods in the world whose brands include Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, was on the opposite side of the dais. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 4. Barron Trump is Trumps youngest son. He has been credited by the president for his campaigns online outreach, saying he introduced him to internet personalities he had never heard of before. Barron Trump is now 18 and a freshman New York University business student, but he will have a bedroom in the White House. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 5. Kai Trump, one of Trumps granddaughters, is a social media influencer and avid golfer. Kai Trump is only 17 but has become more popular over the past year, stepping up on stage at the Republican National Convention and briefly speaking at a rally over the weekend. She is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr., who has helped his father with some of his picks and is seen as an enforcer of loyalty in his orbit. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 6. Miriam Adelson and John Paulson were among the largest donors to the Trump campaign and got prime seating for the ceremony next to incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Paulson, a billionaire investor, was the host of a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser that set a single-event record, adding $50.5 million to the campaign last April. Adelson is the co-owner of the NBAs Dallas Mavericks and widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. She is a major supporter of Trump and, with Zuckerberg, was hosting another inaugural event on Monday. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 7. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, outgoing President Joe Biden were given prime seats as well. All their wives, except for former first lady Michelle Obama, were also seated there. Michelle Obama had previously announced he would be skipping the swearing-in ceremony. She gave no reason. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More 8. In an unprecedented move, Trump invited foreign leaders to the inauguration, and they also got coveted seats for the ceremony. Argentina President Javier Milei was seated next to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. They were also next to Chinas Vice President Han Zheng, whom President Xi Jinping sent to represent him. The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, was also nearby. ______ Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Didi Tang contributed to this report from Washington. ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Gomez Licon writes about national politics for The Associated Press. She is based in Florida. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump with his wife first lady Melanie Trump, as well as his sons Barron Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, left, and daughter Tiffany Trump, right, after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Shawn Thew/Pool photo via AP)2025-01-20T19:54:53Z Dignitaries from across Washington and around the world crammed into the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday to watch power transfer peacefully from Democratic former President Joe Biden to his Republican successor, Donald Trump.It was one of the rare occasions that bring together American leaders past and present in a choreographed display of tradition and bipartisanship. Photographers from The Associated Press and other news organizations captured moments throughout the day, some historic, others entertaining. President-elect Donald Trump talks with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Usha Vance before a service at St. Johns Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President-elect Donald Trump talks with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Usha Vance before a service at St. Johns Church, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The images are especially notable this year given the ferocious animosity between the teams coming and going. The photos capture Biden, who framed his presidency as a bridge away from Trumps first term, partaking in the traditions of the office as he handed power back to the man hes dubbed a threat to democracy. They capture Vice President Kamala Harris together with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the running mates who defeated her in November following a bitter campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris, center right, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, center left, pose with Vice President-elect JD Vance, right, and his wife Usha Vance, left, upon arriving at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Vice President Kamala Harris, center right, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, center left, pose with Vice President-elect JD Vance, right, and his wife Usha Vance, left, upon arriving at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More They show the billionaires whove made their way into Trumps inner circle, a stark contrast to his first inauguration, when most of the nations elite shunned the disruptive leader. And they capture some lighthearted moments as well, including former President George W. Bush winking and Trump attempting to kiss his wife, first lady Melania Trump, but being blocked by the brim of her hat. President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump are greeted by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, upon their arrival at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump are greeted by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, upon their arrival at the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More From left, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and former President Barack Obama, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) From left, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and former President Barack Obama, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Guests arrive arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Guests arrive arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Argentina's President Javier Milei, center, speaks with former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, right, before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) Argentina's President Javier Milei, center, speaks with former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, right, before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Han Zheng, left, Vice President of the People's Republic of China, attends the 60th Presidential Inauguration of President Donald Trump, in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Shawn Thew/Pool photo via AP) Han Zheng, left, Vice President of the People's Republic of China, attends the 60th Presidential Inauguration of President Donald Trump, in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Shawn Thew/Pool photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sits before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP) TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sits before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Open AI CEO Sam Altman, center, speaks with boxer Jake Paul and wrestler Logan Paul in Emancipation Hall at the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Al Drago/Pool Photo via AP) Open AI CEO Sam Altman, center, speaks with boxer Jake Paul and wrestler Logan Paul in Emancipation Hall at the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Al Drago/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President-elect Donald Trump kisses Melania Trump before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool photo via AP) President-elect Donald Trump kisses Melania Trump before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance arrive at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance arrive at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office as he is sworn in as president during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office as he is sworn in as president during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump, left, points to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) President Donald Trump, left, points to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump, center, holds the hand of his wife Melania Trump, right, as their son Barron Trump, center, and Vice President JD Vance, look on after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool) President Donald Trump, center, holds the hand of his wife Melania Trump, right, as their son Barron Trump, center, and Vice President JD Vance, look on after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Supporters of President Donald Trump bow their heads during the invocation while watching inauguration ceremonies taking place at the U.S. Capitol on screens at Capitol One Arena in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Supporters of President Donald Trump bow their heads during the invocation while watching inauguration ceremonies taking place at the U.S. Capitol on screens at Capitol One Arena in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Protestors rally on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Protestors rally on Inauguration Day, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More First lady Melania Trump, from second right, and President Donald Trump walk walk as former President Joe Biden salutes after boarding a Marine helicopter en route to Joint Base Andrews after the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Jack Gruber/Pool Photo via AP) First lady Melania Trump, from second right, and President Donald Trump walk walk as former President Joe Biden salutes after boarding a Marine helicopter en route to Joint Base Andrews after the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (Jack Gruber/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Elon Musk arrives on stage to speak at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Elon Musk arrives on stage to speak at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More From left, Larua Trump, Eric Trump, Elon Musk, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr., stand together following the 60th Presidential Inauguration for President Donald Trump, in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Shawn Thew/Pool photo via AP) From left, Larua Trump, Eric Trump, Elon Musk, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr., stand together following the 60th Presidential Inauguration for President Donald Trump, in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Shawn Thew/Pool photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Barron Trump gestures as he arrives at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Barron Trump gestures as he arrives at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) President Donald Trump speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump throws pens used to sign executive orders to the crowd during an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) President Donald Trump throws pens used to sign executive orders to the crowd during an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump holds up an executive order commuting sentences for people convicted of Jan. 6 offenses in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Guests mingle during the Liberty Ball during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Guests mingle during the Liberty Ball during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Jason Aldean performs at the Liberty Ball during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Jason Aldean performs at the Liberty Ball during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump dance at the Commander in Chief Ball, part of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump dance at the Commander in Chief Ball, part of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump, left, dances with first lady Melania Trump at the Commander in Chief Ball, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump, left, dances with first lady Melania Trump at the Commander in Chief Ball, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump, right, with first lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance, left, with his wife Usha Vance, dance at the Commander in Chief Ball, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump, right, with first lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance, left, with his wife Usha Vance, dance at the Commander in Chief Ball, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump, left, holds a sabre after using it to cut a cake as first lady Melania Trump, right, watches at the Commander in Chief Ball, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump, left, holds a sabre after using it to cut a cake as first lady Melania Trump, right, watches at the Commander in Chief Ball, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Liberty Ball during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) President Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the Liberty Ball during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)2025-01-21T05:16:24Z PANAMA CITY (AP) U.S. President Donald Trumps insistence Monday that he wants to have the Panama Canal back under U.S. control fed nationalist sentiment and worry in Panama, home to the critical trade route and a country familiar with U.S. military intervention.American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, Trump said Monday.In the streets of the capital, some Panamanians saw Trumps remarks as a way of applying pressure on Panama for something else he wants: better control of migration through the Darien Gap. Others recalled the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama with concern.Panama President Jos Ral Mulino responded forcefully Monday, as he did after Trumps initial statement last month that the U.S. should consider repossessing the canal, saying the canal belongs to his country of 4 million and will remain Panamas territory. Luis Barrera, a 52-year-old cab driver, said Panama had fought hard to get the canal back and has expanded it since taking control. I really feel uncomfortable because its like when youre big and you take a candy from a little kid, Barrera said.At a rally in Phoenix in December, Trump said he might try to get the canal back after it was foolishly ceded to Panama. He complained that shippers were overcharged and that China had taken control of the key shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Earlier this month, Trump wouldnt rule out using military force to take it back.The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. The canal is a point of pride for Panamanians. On Dec. 31, they celebrated the 25th anniversary of the handover, and days later they commemorated the deaths of 21 Panamanians who died at the hands of the U.S. military decades earlier.On Jan. 9, 1964, students protested in the then-U.S. controlled canal zone over not being allowed to fly Panamas flag at a secondary school there. The protests expanded to general opposition to the U.S. presence in Panama and U.S. troops got involved. A group of protesters this year burned an effigy of Trump.The canals administrator, Ricaurte Vsquez, said this month that China is not in control of the canal and that all nations are treated equally under a neutrality treaty.He said Chinese companies operating in the ports on either end of the canal were part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997. He added that U.S. and Taiwanese companies operate other ports along the canal as well.Omayra Avendao, who works in real estate, said Trumps threat should be taken seriously. We should be worried, she said. We dont have an army and hes said he would use force.On Dec. 20, 1989, the U.S. military invaded Panama to remove dictator Manuel Noriega. Some 27,000 troops were tasked by then-President George H.W. Bush with capturing Noriega, protecting the lives of Americans living in Panama and restoring democracy to the country that a decade later would take over control of the Panama Canal.Avendao said she was 11 years old the last time the U.S. invaded her country and hoped Panamas current government would seek international support to head off Trumps designs on the canal.I remember the disaster that it was, she said.

This family photo shows Ryan Corbett holding rabbits with his daughter Miriam and son Caleb in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2020. (Anna Corbett via AP)2025-01-21T05:39:41Z ISLAMABAD (AP) Afghanistans Taliban government announced on Tuesday the release of two Americans in a prisoner exchange. The Talibans Foreign Ministry in Kabul did not name the two U.S. citizens, but said they were exchanged for Khan Muhammad, who was arrested in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar two decades ago and has been serving a life sentence in a California prison.The family of Ryan Corbett, one of the Americans in the exchange, said Tuesday their hearts were filled with overwhelming gratitude for sustaining his life and bringing him back home after what had been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives.Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government, was abducted by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.The Afghan Foreign Ministry said the prisoner exchange was the result of long and fruitful negotiations with the U.S. and was a good example of solving problems through dialogue. The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries, the statement said.

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-21T05:05:31Z MEXICO CITY (AP) President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday saying the United States would designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in a move that could push a militarized agenda for the border and Latin America.The order highlighted Mexican drug cartels and other Latin American criminal groups like Venezuela gang Tren de Aragua and Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which it said threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.The order did not list the groups by name, but said Cabinet secretaries would recommend groups for designation as terrorist organizations in the next 14 days. It was among a slew of orders Trump signed Monday to kick off his administration.The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs, the order read. It was unclear what the impact could be for fighting the cartels, but there was concern it could be another way to make it more difficult for people from the countries where those groups operate to access the U.S. In came in addition to measures including the declaration of an emergency on the U.S. southern border, a promise to slap 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 and ending the use of the CBP One app, which allowed migrants to apply for asylum appointments before reaching the border. Trump has also promised to carry out mass deportations and threatened military intervention in Mexico to fight cartels, something sharply rejected by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Many have voiced concern the terrorist designation could provide the U.S. justification to take military action against cartels. Vanda Felbab-Brown, an organized crime expert for the Brookings Institution, said the order could have huge implications from trade to migrants.As cartels have gained a firm grip on control of the lucrative migrant smuggling trade in recent years, its virtually impossible for migrants and asylum seekers to pass through Mexico and other Latin American countries without paying some sort of fee to cartels.The moment they do, she said, it could disqualify them from seeking asylum.Trump can essentially prevent the vast majority of undocumented migrants trying to cross the U.S. border from getting asylum, she said.Mike Vigil, a former head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations foreign operations, said he expected any terrorism designation to have very little impact on day-to-day operations against cartels because many of the same anti-terrorism powers American authorities would be granted, they already employ in counter-narcotics efforts.Its already been done. This is nothing new, Vigil said. Its all political theater and tossing a piece of stale salami to his base. He said logistically the order would likely allow the U.S. to seize assets of groups in the U.S., sanction U.S. citizens that do business with terrorist organizations and block members of those groups from entering the U.S.Its not going to allow the U.S. to send troops into Mexico like so many people think simply because people forget that Mexico is a sovereign country and it would be an act of war, he said.The move comes as cartel violence has intensified in northern Mexican states after the kidnapping and detention of kingpin Ismael El Mayo Zambada sparked an all-out war between rival factions of the Sinaloa cartel. Gunmen continue to leave mutilated bodies scattered across the state and kidnap people even from hospitals.Its part of a larger shifting dynamic in cartel warfare in the Latin American nation. Years ago, a handful of criminal organizations headed by a few key capos, controlled large parts of Mexico. Now, many more factions have violently fought for power, as theyve become more agile and harder to pin down. Theyve used more sophisticated tools like bomb-dropping drones, improvised explosive devices and rigged armored vehicles, and have expanded into migrant trafficking and the avocado trade. Meanwhile, thousands of Mexican citizens have gotten caught in the crossfire, having been slain or gone missing.Some relatives of cartel victims in violence-torn areas of Mexico hoped that designating the cartels as terrorist organizations could help their quest for justice. Adrin LeBarn, whose daughter was killed in a 2019 massacre in northern Mexico, said he hoped it could raise visibility for victims of violence in Mexico, one of the most violent countries in the world that is not actively at war.LeBarn, who has called the massacre a terrorist attack, said the designation could pressure authorities to bring justice to victims of violence. An investigation into terrorism is justice not only for us, but also for every town and corner of the country where a family has been destroyed and terror is sown in its wake, he wrote on a post on the social media platform X. ___Associated Press reporter Mara Verza contributed to this report from Mexico City. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump signs an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-21T05:16:31Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump used one of the flurry of executive actions that he issued on his first day back in the White House to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization for the second time in less than five years a move many scientists fear could roll back decades-long gains made in fighting infectious diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Experts have also cautioned that withdrawing from the organization could weaken the worlds defenses against dangerous new outbreaks capable of triggering pandemics.Heres a look at what Trumps decision means:What happened?During the first Oval Office appearance of his second term, Trump signed an executive order detailing how the withdrawal process might begin. Ooh, Trump exclaimed as he was handed the action to sign. Thats a big one!His move calls for pausing the future transfer of U.S. government funds to the organization, recalling and reassigning federal personnel and contractors working with the WHO and calls on officials to identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the organization. This isnt the first time Trump has tried to sever ties with WHO. In July 2020, several months after WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic and as cases surged globally, Trumps administration officially notified U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the U.S. was planning to pull out of WHO, suspending funding to the agency. President Joe Biden reversed Trumps decision on his first day in office in January 2021 only to have Trump essentially revive it on his first day back at the White House. Dr. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of the advocacy group Resolve to Save Lives, said Trumps move makes Americans and the world less safe.Withdrawing from WHO not only cuts crucial funding from the agency, but it also surrenders our role as a global health leader and silences Americas voice in critical decisions affecting global health security, Frieden said in a statement. Real reform requires engagement, not abandonment. We cannot make WHO more effective by walking away from it. This decision weakens Americas influence and increases the risk of a deadly pandemic. What is WHO and does this really matter?It is the U.N.s specialized health agency and is mandated to coordinate the worlds response to global health threats, including outbreaks of mpox, Ebola and polio. It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries, helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and treatments and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer.A U.S. withdrawal from WHO would make the world far less healthy and safe, said Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law at Georgetown University. He said in an email that losing American resources would devastate WHOs global surveillance and epidemic response efforts. It would make it more likely that we could see novel diseases spinning out of control, crossing borders, and potentially sparking a pandemic, he said. Can Trump really withdraw the US from WHO?Yes, as long as he gets the approval of Congress and the U.S. meets its financial obligations to WHO for the current fiscal year. The U.S. joined WHO via a 1948 joint resolution passed by both chambers of Congress, which has subsequently been supported by all administrations. The resolution requires the U.S. to provide a one-year notice period should it decide to leave WHO. What does this mean for WHO?Its extremely bad. The U.S. has historically been among WHOs biggest donors, providing the U.N. health agency not only with hundreds of millions of dollars, but also hundreds of staffers with specialized public health expertise. In the last decade, the U.S. has given WHO about $160 million to $815 million every year. WHOs yearly budget is about $2 billion to $3 billion. Losing U.S. funding could cripple numerous global health initiatives, including the effort to eradicate polio, maternal and child health programs, and research to identify new viral threats. Numerous American agencies that work with WHO would also suffer, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Leaving WHO would exclude the U.S. from WHO-coordinated initiatives, like determining the yearly composition of flu vaccines and missions to countries battling dangerous epidemics. American scientists would also lose quick access to critical genetic databases run by WHO, which could stall attempts to produce vaccines and medicines. Why is Trump withdrawing the US from WHO?At a September campaign rally, Trump said he would take on the corruption at WHO and other public health institutions that he said were dominated by corporate power and China. Trump has also said that the U.S. contributed far more to WHO than China did and complained that China totally controls the U.N. health agency. And now, they want to give control over our whole country to them, which would be a terrible mistake, he said.WHO typically issues advice to its member countries about how to handle health crises, but the agency has no authority to compel countries to act. In 2020, Trump alleged WHO was colluding with China to hide the extent of the coronavirus spread in the early days of the pandemic. An AP investigation in June 2020 found that China withheld crucial details about the virus shortly after it emerged, frustrating WHOs efforts to assess its potential for danger and stop its spread.What has WHO said?We really believe in cooperation ... and from our side, we are ready to work together, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a December news conference. Tedros said the relationship between WHO and the U.S. has actually been a good model of partnership, saying he believed American leaders understand the U.S. cannot be safe from health threats unless the entire world is safe. He noted that when Ebola struck a war-torn part of Congo in 2018, no American first responders were involved. It was WHO and partners who help(ed) the (Congolese) government ... to contain that outbreak.___Cheng reported from London. ___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. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew sits before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)2025-01-21T00:20:07Z President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to keep TikTok operating for 75 days, a relief to the social media platforms users even as national security questions persist.TikToks China-based parent ByteDance was supposed to find a U.S. buyer or be banned on Jan. 19. Trumps order could give ByteDance more time to find a buyer.I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok, Trump said. Shou Zi Chew, TikToks CEO, attended Trumps inauguration earlier in the day, seated with American tech heavyweights.Trump has amassed nearly 15 million followers on TikTok since he joined last year, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. Yet its 170 million U.S. users could not access TikTok for more than 12 hours between Saturday night and Sunday morning.The platform went offline before the ban approved by Congress and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court took effect Sunday. After Trump promised he would pause the ban Monday, TikTok restored access for existing users. Google and Apple, however, still have not reinstated TikTok to their app stores.Business leaders, lawmakers, legal scholars, and influencers who make money on TikTok are watching to see how Trump tries to resolve a thicket of regulatory, legal, financial and geopolitical issues with his signature. How did the TikTok ban come about?TikToks app allows users to create and watch short-form videos, and broke new ground by operating with an algorithm that fed viewers recommendations based on their viewing habits. But concerns about its potential to serve as a tool for Beijing to manipulate and spy on Americans pre-date Trumps first presidency. In 2020, Trump issued executive orders banning dealings with ByteDance and the owners of the Chinese messaging app WeChat. Courts ended up blocking the orders, but less than a year ago Congress overwhelmingly passed a law citing national security concerns to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sold it to an approved buyer. The law, which went into force Sunday, allows for fines of up to $5,000 per U.S. TikTok user against major mobile app stores like the ones operated by Apple and Google and internet hosting services like Oracle if they continued to distribute TikTok to U.S. users beyond the deadline for ByteDances divestment. Trump on Sunday said he had asked TikToks U.S. service providers to continue supporting the platform and app while he prepared to sign an executive order to stop the ban for now. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order, Trump posted on Truth Social, his social networking site. The law that Congress passed and now-former President Joe Biden signed in April allowed for a 90-day extension if there had been progress toward a sale before the statutes effective date. Less certain is whether that provision can be applied retroactively, according to Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell Universitys Tech Policy Institute.Executive orders cannot override existing laws, Kreps said. Its not clear that the new president has that authority to issue the 90-day extension of a law thats already gone into effect. What difference might the sale of TikTok make?Kreps also doubts the conditions for a delay exist at this point without so much as even a potential buyer being named to prove that a sale was moving along.But Alan Rozenshtein, a University of Minnesota law professor, has written that the law also empowers the president to decide what constitutes a qualified divestiture suggesting Trump could have discretion to say whether or when ByteDance meets the terms of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.Although ByteDance spent months repeating it wasnt interested in selling, Beijing on Monday also signaled a possible easing on Chinas stance on TikTok to allow it to be divested from its Chinese parent company. Chinas vice president held meetings with Vice President JD Vance and Tesla tech titan Elon Musk on Sunday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, said Monday that business operations and acquisitions should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles. If it involves Chinese companies, Chinas laws and regulations should be observed, Mao said. Until now, it was widely believed that Beijing would not allow the sale of TikTok, which had come to embody Chinas defiance in the face of U.S. robbery. However, TikTok was among several issues brought up in a phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump on Friday, though details were not available. Trump on Monday said he is looking to have the U.S. government broker a deal for 50% control of TikTok, adding that every rich person has called him about acquiring the social media platform.I think the U.S. should be entitled to get half of TikTok and, congratulations, TikTok has a good partner and that would be worth, you know, could be $500 billion, Trump said. The numbers are crazy, but its worthless without a U.S. buyer. Who or what can enforce the ban?The Justice Department is generally tasked with enforcing the laws of the federal government. Trumps executive order instructs the U.S. attorney general not to take any action to enforce the TikTok ban for 75 days to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.Such a move might itself be subject to legal scrutiny but would buy time for TikTok.Trumps efforts to save TikTok may put him at odds with some of the House members and senators who voted for the law, which received broad bipartisan support. House Speaker Mike Johnson called ByteDances ownership a very dangerous thing, and said he expected a full sale to happen. I think we will enforce the law, Johnson told NBC News Meet the Press on Sunday.Legislators now stand to look a little bit silly if the ban doesnt last, Kreps said. (The case) becomes about the separations of powers, and checks and balances, that we dont have a king who decides what happens with the law, Kreps said. Enforcement isnt only up to the executive branch.What are other potential legal obstacles? Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, in a message posted on X, listed a number of state and federal agencies, and private entities, that might be willing to go to court to get the ban enforced. Any company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs, Cotton noted. Despite the intense scrutiny and potential costs involved, the machinations over TikTok are in some ways just business as usual for the tech companies involved, according to Gus Hurwitz, a legal scholar with the International Center for Law and Economics. The fines that were talking about are civil penalties and companies risk civil penalties all the time, Hurwitz said. Still, the hard business calculus of complying with a law in limbo or risk defying a president who holds lucrative federal contracts over those companies could come into focus if shareholders sue.Oracle, for example, has a part of the Pentagons $9 billion contract to build its cloud computing network.This actually could be the right business decision to make, Hurwitz said. Thats not necessarily a breach of duty to shareholders.Which companies are deciding whether to trust Trumps assurances? Theres been lots of questions about how companies such as Oracle and Akamai Technologies are powering TikToks servers to stay online, while others such as Apple and Google have made the app unavailable for new users to download.None of the companies have responded to requests for comment. Oracle in 2020 announced it had a 12.5% stake in TikTok Global after securing its business as the apps cloud technology provider.Meanwhile, as of Monday night, a search for TikTok on Apples app store directs to an online statement that reads in part: Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates, while Googles app store notes downloads for TikTok are paused due to current US legal requirements. ___Ho reported from Seattle. Maya Sweedler, Didi Tang and Josh Boak in Washington contributed reporting. SALLY HO Ho is an investigative and business news reporter for The Associated Press. Shes filed public records requests in all 50 U.S. states and covered a range of major world events. twitter mailto

2025-01-21T10:32:30Z RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Palestinians in Gaza are confronting an apocalyptic landscape of devastation after a ceasefire paused more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.Across the tiny coastal enclave, where built-up refugee camps are interspersed between cities, drone footage captured by The Associated Press shows mounds of rubble stretching as far as the eye can see remnants of the longest and deadliest war between Israel and Hamas in their blood-ridden history.As you can see, it became a ghost town, said Hussein Barakat, 38, whose home in the southern city of Rafah was flattened. There is nothing, he said, as he sat drinking coffee on a brown armchair perched on the rubble of his three-story home, in a surreal scene.Critics say Israel has waged a campaign of scorched earth to destroy the fabric of life in Gaza, accusations that are being considered in two global courts, including the crime of genocide. Israel denies those charges and says its military has been fighting a complex battle in dense urban areas and that it tries to avoid causing undue harm to civilians and their infrastructure. Military experts say the reality is complicated. For a campaign of this duration, which is a years worth of fighting in a heavily urban environment where you have an adversary that is hiding in amongst that environment, then you would expect an extremely high level of damage, said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think-tank. Savill said that it was difficult to draw a broad conclusion about the nature of Israels campaign. To do so, he said, would require each strike and operation to be assessed to determine whether they adhered to the laws of armed conflict and whether all were proportional, but he did not think the scorched earth description was accurate. International rights groups. including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, view the vast destruction as part of a broader pattern of extermination and genocide directed at Palestinians in Gaza, a charge Israel denies. The groups dispute Israels stance that the destruction was a result of military activity.Human Rights Watch, in a November report accusing Israel of crimes against humanity, said the destruction is so substantial that it indicates the intention to permanently displace many people.From a fierce air campaign during the first weeks of the war, to a ground invasion that sent thousands of troops in on tanks, the Israeli response to a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, has ground down much of the civilian infrastructure of the Gaza Strip, displacing 90% of its population. The brilliant color of pre-war life has faded into a monotone cement gray that dominates the territory. It could take decades, if not more, to rebuild.Airstrikes throughout the war toppled buildings and other structures said to be housing militants. But the destruction intensified with the ground forces, who fought Hamas fighters in close combat in dense areas. If militants were seen firing from an apartment building near a troop maneuver, forces might take the entire building down to thwart the threat. Tank tracks chewed up paved roads, leaving dusty stretches of earth in their wake. The militarys engineering corps was tasked with using bulldozers to clear routes, downing buildings seen as threats, and blowing up Hamas underground tunnel network.Experts say the operations to neutralize tunnels were extremely destructive to surface infrastructure. For example, if a 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) long tunnel was blown up by Israeli forces, it would not spare homes or buildings above, said Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli army intelligence officer.If (the tunnel) passes under an urban area, it all gets destroyed, he said. Theres no other way to destroy a tunnel. Cemeteries, schools, hospitals and more were targeted and destroyed, he said, because Hamas was using these for military purposes. Secondary blasts from Hamas explosives inside these buildings could worsen the damage. The way Israel has repeatedly returned to areas it said were under its control, only to have militants overrun it again, has exacerbated the destruction, Savill said. Thats evident especially in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a new campaign in early October that almost obliterated Jabaliya, a built up, urban refugee camp. Jabaliya is home to the descendants of Palestinians who fled, or were forced to flee, during the war that led to Israels creation in 1948. Milshtein said Israels dismantling of the tunnel network is also to blame for the destruction there.But the destruction was not only caused from strikes on targets. Israel also carved out a buffer zone about a kilometer inside Gaza from its border with Israel, as well as within the Netzarim corridor that bisects north Gaza from the south, and along the Philadelphi Corridor, a stretch of land along Gazas border with Egypt. Vast swaths in these areas were leveled. Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general, said the buffer zones were an operational necessity meant to carve out secure plots of land for Israeli forces. He denied Israel had cleared civilian areas indiscriminately.The destruction, like the civilian death toll in Gaza, has raised accusations that Israel committed war crimes, which it denies. The decisions the military made in choosing what to topple, and why, are an important factor in that debate.The second militants move into a building and start using it to fire on you, you start making a calculation about whether or not you can strike, Savill said. Downing the building, he said, still needs to be necessary.___Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. 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

Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa Cohen Biden follow President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden as they walk to Marine One for departure from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-01-21T05:22:52Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump says his administration will move to suspend the security clearances of the more than four dozen former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop saga bore the hallmarks of a Russian information operation.The action is an early indication of Trumps determination to exact retribution on perceived adversaries and is the latest point of tension between Trump and an intelligence community of which he has been openly disdainful. The sweeping move, announced via executive order Monday, also sets up a potential court challenge from ex-officials seeking to maintain access to sensitive government information.The president has a lot of authority when it comes to security clearances. The problem the White House will run into is, if they depart from their existing procedures, they could set up a judicial appeal for these 51 people and it will probably be a class-action suit since theyre all in alike or similar circumstances, said Dan Meyer, a Washington lawyer who specializes in the security clearance and background check process. The executive order targets the clearances of 50 people in all, including the 49 surviving signatories. The list includes prominent officials like James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama and John Brennan, Obamas former CIA director. Also targeted is John Bolton, who was fired as Trumps national security adviser during his first term and later wrote a book whose publication the White House sought to block on grounds that it disclosed national security information. It was not clear how many of the former officials still maintain security clearances. Mark Zaid, a lawyer who represents eight people who signed the letter, said Trumps action served as a public policy message to his right-wing base even if the practical impact may not be significant for those who no longer have or need a clearance. He said he would sue the administration on behalf of any client who wanted to challenge the order. Theres nothing in this that shows me, regardless of presidential authority, that this action is not subject to existing law and policy that mandates procedural and substantive due process, Zaid said.At issue is an October 2020 letter signed by former intelligence officials who raised alarms about the provenance of emails reported by The New York Post to have come from a laptop that President Joe Bidens son, Hunter, had dropped off at a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repair shop. The newspaper said it had obtained a hard drive of the laptop from longtime Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, and the communications that it published related to Hunter Bidens business dealings in Ukraine.The signatories of the letter wrote that they didnt know whether the emails were authentic or not but that their emergence has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.But Trumps director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe also his current pick to lead the CIA contradicted that assessment by saying there was no intelligence to support the idea that Russia had anything to do with Hunter Bidens laptop. The FBI, which was conducting its own criminal investigations into the younger Biden, seemed to back up Ratcliffes statement by telling Congress in a letter it had nothing to add to what he had said. Hunter Biden was subsequently convicted of both tax and gun charges, but was pardoned last month by his father.Though courts are historically reluctant to weigh in on disputes involving security clearances, the unilateral suspension by Trump is a departure from standard protocol in which individual executive branch agencies would be tasked with creating an investigation into a persons fitness for a clearance or whether it should be revoked.Throughout his first presidency, Trump fumed about an intelligence community that he believed had been politicized against him, repeatedly citing the investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign. In August 2018, he announced that he had revoked the clearance of Brennan, who led the CIA at the time the Russia inquiry began and became a prominent critic of Trump. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto

A Palestinian stands beside a torched car in the aftermath of an attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Jinsafut, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)2025-01-21T12:44:40Z RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Israels top general has resigned, citing the security failures that allowed Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the most prominent Israeli official to resign over the attack. He announced his resignation Tuesday, just days into a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.Israel launched a large military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least six people and wounded 35.Israel announced a significant and broad military operation against Palestinian militants in the city. Jenin has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gunbattles with militants in recent years, even before Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in Gaza.The latest operation came just days into a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza that is supposed to last for six weeks and see 33 militant-held hostages released in return for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Three hostages and 90 prisoners were released on Sunday, when it took effect. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek an independent state encompassing all three territories. The ceasefire does not apply to the West Bank, which has seen a surge of violence since the start of the war. Israeli troops have carried out near-daily raids that often ignite gunbattles. There has also been a rise in attacks on Palestinians by Jewish extremists including a rampage in two Palestinian villages overnight Monday as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.Hamas condemned the Israeli operation in Jenin, calling on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to step up their own attacks.The smaller and more radical Islamic Jihad militant group also condemned the operation, saying it reflected Israels failure to achieve its goals in Gaza. It said it was also a desperate attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to save his governing coalition. Netanyahu has faced criticism from his far-right allies over the ceasefire, which required Israeli troops to pull back from populated areas in Gaza and envisions the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including militants convicted of involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis.The ceasefire has already seen Hamas return to the streets, showing that it remains in firm control of the territory despite 15 months of war that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread devastation.One of his erstwhile partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, quit the government the day the ceasefire went into effect, weakening the coalition but still leaving Netanyahu with a parliamentary majority. Another, far-right leader, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has threatened to bolt if Israel does not resume the war after the first phase of the ceasefire ends in six weeks.The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. More than 90 captives are still being held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.Israels military campaign has killed over 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities but do not say how many of the dead were fighters. ___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Novak Djokovic, right, of Serbia is congratulated by Carlos Alcaraz of Spain following their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)2025-01-21T14:00:05Z MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Novak Djokovic refused to let anything stop his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam trophy in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Not a problem with his left leg. Not an early deficit. And not the kid across the net, Carlos Alcaraz, who was making things difficult and eyeing his own bit of history.Djokovic overcame it all, just as he has so often along the way to so many triumphs, moving into the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the 12th time with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz in a scintillating showdown Tuesday night between a pair of stars born 16 years apart and at opposite ends of their careers.I just wish that this match today was the final, Djokovic said. One of the most epic matches Ive played on this court. On any court.The action was non-stop, the shot-making brilliant, even as the encounter stretched on for more than 3 1/2 hours and nearly to 1 a.m. never more so, perhaps, than when Alcaraz saved a break point in the fourth set. The 33-stroke exchange was the longest of the evening, and when it ended with Djokovic sailing a forehand long, the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena went wild. Djokovic reached for his bothersome leg and yelled toward his entourage; Alcaraz, his chest heaving, leaned on a towel box and grinned. Turned out that only delayed the final result. With his wife, son and daughter cheering in the stands Dad joked about the late hour afterward the No. 7-seeded Djokovic prevailed thanks to the sort of remarkable returning and no-mistakes-made groundstrokes against Alcaraz that Big Three rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dealt with for years. Djokovic enjoyed some of his own best efforts in the latter stages, pointing to his ear or blowing kisses or spreading his arms while puffing out his chest. There was the forehand winner on a 22-stroke point that earned the break for a 5-3 lead in the third set. There was that sets last point, which included a back-to-the-net sprint to chase down a lob. Alcaraz wasnt shy, either, shouting Vamos! and pumping his fists after one particularly booming forehand in the fourth set. When the match ended, Djokovic yelled toward his teams box, before giving his coach, Andy Murray, a hug. Then Djokovic applauded for No. 3 seed Alcaraz as he left the court.Im sure we are going to see a lot of him, Djokovic said. Maybe not as much as I would like. On Friday, Djokovics 50th major semifinal will come against No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, a two-time runner-up at majors who beat No. 12 Tommy Paul 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1. The other mens quarterfinals are Wednesday: No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 8 Alex de Minaur, and No. 21 Ben Shelton against unseeded Lorenzo Sonego.This was the eighth Djokovic vs. Alcaraz meeting, but the first at the Australian Open and the first that wasnt in the semifinal or final. Zverev called it a clash of generations between two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racket.Hard to find the hyperbole. At 37, Djokovic is undoubtedly past his prime, yes, but no man has won more Australian Open championships than his 10 or more Grand Slam singles titles than his 24. At 21, Alcaraz is unlikely yet to have reached his peak, yes, but no man ever had reached No. 1 in the rankings as a teen until he did or collected major trophies on three different surfaces by his age.Alcaraz hasnt been shy about hoping to complete a career Grand Slam by adding a victory in Australia to the two he owns from Wimbledon beating Djokovic in the finals in 2023 and 2024 and the one apiece from the U.S. Open and French Open. Djokovic made getting an Olympic gold medal for Serbia his priority in 2024 and succeeded at the Paris Games last August beating Alcaraz in the final and otherwise cares mainly about the majors.Djokovic had something else on his mind lately: He was angry about insulting on-air remarks made by an Australian TV commentator, and refused to speak to the host countrys official tournament broadcaster on Sunday. Djokovic got the apologies he sought from the channel and its employee on Monday, and made it known he was ready to focus on facing Alcaraz. But at 4-all, Djokovic grabbed at his thigh and crouched down after stretching for a shot. He finished that game but lost it, before taking a medical timeout. When play resumed, his left thigh was taped, and Alcaraz served out that set. Anyone who thought Djokovic might go gently into the night is not familiar with his game. He began attacking Alcarazs serves relentlessly and, soon, the second set was his. If I lost that second set, I dont know if I would continue playing, Djokovic said, crediting medicine from the tournament doctor with helping him feel better. There was nary an empty blue seat in the stadium, and fans repeatedly cried out between points, drawing a stern, Enough. Thank you, from chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore. While the ball was in play, though, it got quite quiet, the hush pierced only by the squawks of seagulls flying overhead or the squeaks of sneakers or the Aaahs and Ooohs of impressed ticket-holders during electric exchanges.Djokovic and Alcaraz showed off their skills as the temperature dipped below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius) and wind gusted at 30 mph (nearly 50 kph), rippling Djokovics blue shirt (although not Alcarazs tighter-fitting sleeveless number). Both tracked down shots they had no business getting to. Both went from defense to offense and conjured up winners out of nowhere. Both did much more, too, whether Alcarazs well-disguised drop shots or Djokovics marvelous returns, including two winners that closed the second set.But it was Djokovic who was better on this memorable night.___Howard Fendrich has been the APs tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis HOWARD FENDRICH Fendrich is an Associated Press national writer based in Washington, D.C. He reports on tennis and other sports. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This family photo shows Ryan Corbett holding rabbits with his daughter Miriam and son Caleb in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2020. (Anna Corbett via AP)2025-01-21T05:33:27Z ANKARA, Turkey (AP) A fire broke out at a hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, killing at least at least 10 people and hospitalizing another 32 with injuries, officials said.The fire broke out overnight at the restaurant of a hotel in the resort of Kartalkaya in Bolu province, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.Two of the victims died after jumping out of the building in a panic, Gov. Abdulaziz Aydin told the state-run Anadolu Agency.There were 234 guests staying at the hotel, Aydin said.Television images showed the roof and top floors of the hotel on fire. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.Aydins office said 30 fire trucks and 28 ambulances were sent to the site.

An issue with Cloudflare allows an attacker to find which Cloudflare data center a messaging app used to cache an image, meaning an attacker can obtain the approximate location of Signal, Discord, Twitter/X, and likely other chat app users. In some cases an attacker only needs to send an image across the app, with the target not clicking it, to obtain their location.Although the obtained location data is very coarsein some of 404 Medias tests it showed what city or state someone was in but did not provide more accurate information than thatthe news shows the importance for some at-risk users to protect not just their message contents, but their network activity as well.It's more of an oversight in the way the mobile application works than a vulnerability in the actual code but regardless, I thought it should be fixed, daniel, an independent security researcher who reported the issue to Cloudflare, told 404 Media in an email. daniel said Cloudflare has since fixed the specific issue his custom-made tool was using.The issue centers around Cloudflares Content Delivery Network, or CDN. A CDN is a system that caches content across a mass of distributed servers, then delivers content to a user based on their location. So, if a user was in San Francisco, Cloudflares CDN would use the part of their CDN nearest to the user to speed up delivery of that content. Cloudflare says it has data centers in 330 cities across more than 120 countries. Many apps then use Cloudflares CDN to help deliver content to users.This creates a side effect of a third-party potentially being able to learn which part of Cloudflares CDN was used when sending an image, and from that infer a users location. This huge network of data centers introduces a huge flaw, daniel writes in a summary of his findings shared with 404 Media. Cloudflare partitions cache through data centers, and because of this bad actors can very easily correlate caches and triangulate user locations. Each of Cloudflare's data center locations has its own local cache storage to serve content faster so it's possible to check each datacenter to see where content was cached. Those data centers in 330 cities become ways to potentially track somebody, albeit with broad strokes of hundreds of miles.To do the attack, daniel would send the target an image through the messaging app. He would then use Burp suite, the popular web application security tool, to grab the URL of the uploaded image. Then, he would use a tool he made called Cloudflare Teleport to send a request to every Cloudflare data center to see which data center cached the request. These queries would return the results HIT or MISS. With a hit, he now knows which data center the target was likely closest too, revealing their potential location.404 Media asked daniel to demonstrate the issue by learning the location of multiple Signal users with their consent. In one case, daniel sent a user an image. Soon after, daniel sent a link to a Google Maps page showing the city the user was likely in. In some cases, the attack requires the target to open the chat conversation; in others, a push notification may load the image so there is no need for the victim to open the app. daniel said they also tested the issue on Discord, which can deliver the image through a friend request, and his write-up also mentions Twitter/X.It is widely understood that when someone visits a website or uses an app, the administrators of that site or app will probably see the visitors IP address. This is simply part of how the internet works. But it is probably less understood that in some cases a third-party attacker could potentially learn similar information about another user.Many users of messaging apps will not need to be concerned about this. But people who try to protect their physical location, even to the level of a country or city such as an activist, may need to, especially those who try to maintain anonymity. A virtual private network (VPN) might protect people from this particular issue, but VPNs introduce their own security issues, and the VPN industry is full of snakeoil merchants.daniel said they reported the issue to Cloudflare, Signal, and Discord. Jackie Dutton, senior manager for public relations, cybersecurity and threat intel, at Cloudflare told 404 Media in an email the company had fixed the issue.As summarized in the researcher's note, this exploit was disclosed through our bug bounty program. We have resolved the issue, she wrote. We believe bug bounties are a vital part of every security teams toolbox.Do you know about any other interesting privacy issues? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Discord provided a statement from Kevin Hanaford, head of security at Discord. We are aware of this incident and determined it to be a general issue with a service provider. We reported this issue to the service provider as soon as we were made aware of it, and they are in the process of implementing a fix, he said.404 Media first asked Signal for comment in early December. The organization did not provide a statement in time for publication, but daniel shared their response to his bug report.What you're describing (observing cache hits and misses) is a generic property of how Content Distribution Networks function. Signal's use of CDNs is neither unique nor alarming, and also doesn't impact Signal's end-to-end encryption. CDNs are utilized by every popular application and website on the internet, and they are essential for high-performance and reliability while serving a global audience, Signals security team wrote.There is already a large body of existing work that explores this topic in detail, but if someone needs to completely obscure their network location (especially at a level as coarse and imprecise as the example that appears in your video) a VPN is absolutely necessary. That functionality falls outside of Signal's scope. Signal protects the privacy of your messages and calls, but it has never attempted to fully replicate the set of network-layer anonymity features that projects like Wireguard, Tor, and other open-source VPN software can provide, it added.Twitter/X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.At the time of writing, daniels Cloudflare Teleport tool is inaccessible because Cloudflare fixed the bug it was exploiting, daniel said. He said he can still broadly do the same sort of attack, but its a little harder now. Instead of using his tool, he uses a VPN to route his traffic to different locations and then send requests to Cloudflares data centers, he said.It's not as efficient to do as through the previous method but it still works, he said.

Ohio State celebrates after their win against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)2025-01-21T15:08:38Z Ohio State was No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 college football poll of the season Tuesday after beating Notre Dame for its first national championship since 2014.The Buckeyes (14-2) received every first-place vote following their mostly dominant run through the College Football Playoff. The Irish (14-2) finished No. 2 for their highest end-of-season ranking since 1993.Oregon (13-1), which had been No. 1 in eight straight polls entering the playoff, lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal and finished No. 3. The Ducks previous high final ranking was No. 2 in 2014.Texas (13-3) and Penn State (13-3), which both reached the semifinals, rounded out the top five. The Longhorns finished in the top five for a second straight year for the first time since 2008-09. The Nittany Lions ended in the top five for the first time since 2005. Its the first time the Big Ten has had three teams in the final top five.No. 6 Georgia (13-3) was the highest-ranked team that didnt make the 12-team playoff. The Bulldogs were followed by Arizona State (11-3), Boise State (12-2), Tennessee (10-3) and Indiana (11-2). No. 11 Mississippi (10-3), which closed with an impressive Gator Bowl win over Duke, and No. 13 BYU (11-2), which routed Colorado in the Alamo Bowl, were ranked ahead of two playoff teams from the ACC, SMU and Clemson.SMU (11-3) moved up one spot to No. 12, ahead of No. 14 Clemson (10-4), even though it lost to the Tigers in the ACC championship game and by four touchdowns to Penn State in the first round of the playoff. The Mustangs final ranking was their highest since they were eighth in 1984. Clemson, which lost to Texas in the first round, has been ranked in the final poll every year since 2011. Alabama took the biggest fall, six spots to No. 17. The Crimson Tide dropped two of their last three under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer, including a 19-13 bowl loss to Michigan. The Tide come out of the season with their lowest ranking since Gene Stallings 1995 team was No. 21. Ohio State had its lowest ranking of the season, at No. 7, following its 13-10 loss to 21-point-underdog Michigan on Nov. 30. The Buckeyes went into the playoff No. 6 and played their best ball of the season, beating Tennessee 42-17, Oregon 41-21, Texas 28-14 and Notre Dame 34-23 in the championship game in Atlanta on Tuesday night.The Buckeyes won their sixth AP national championship. They also won in 1942, 1954, 1968, 2002 and 2014.Poll pointsOhio States five-spot promotion to No. 1 matched the biggest in the final poll. Mississippi and No. 16 Illinois (10-3) also jumped five spots.The Southeastern Conferences seven teams in the final Top 25 are the most since 2013.Big 12 champion Arizona State (11-3) has its highest final ranking since the 1996 Rose Bowl team was No. 4.Mountain West champion Boise State finished in the top 10 for the first time since 2011. No. 23 UNLV (11-3), which matched its school record for wins, is ranked at the end of the season for the first time.No teams that were ranked in the previous poll Dec. 8 were voted out of the Top 25. Conference callSEC 7 (Nos. 4, 6, 9, 11, 17, 19, 22)Big Ten 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 5, 10, 16).ACC 4 (Nos. 12, 14, 18, 20).Big 12 4 (Nos. 7, 13, 15, 25).AAC 2 (Nos. 21, 24).Mountain West 2 (Nos. 8, 23).Independent 1 (No. 2).___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football ERIC OLSON Olson is an Associated Press sports writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He covers Nebraska, Creighton, the Big Ten and national college sports issues. twitter mailto

Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, many Facebook users started to report that the social network automatically made them follow Trumps Facebook page. Ive seen several threads on this issue on Reddit, social media, and people I know personally have also asked me why Facebook made them follow Trump.While Metas CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made it very clear that he and his company are making changes to endear Meta to the Republican president, there is a much less nefarious explanation for why people suddenly saw Facebook posts from Trump even though they dont remember following him. When reached for comment, Facebook Communications Director Andy Stone directed me to his posts on Threads which points out how government social media accounts work and change with the current administration.The POTUS and White House Facebook pages are owned by the sitting administration. When Trump was sworn into office, those pages started sharing his official portrait, images of him signing a flurry of executive orders, and other images from the inauguration. An archive of the POTUS Facebook page from January 24, 2021, shows that the then incoming Biden administration also held on to all the followers from the first Trump administration. And an archive of the White House Facebook page shows that in both the 2017 and 2021 transitions, the pages posts were wiped and archived, but its follower count was not. Users who followed those pages during the Biden administration may not know that this is how those official pages are managed, and were surprised to see posts from Trump in their feeds all of a sudden.Ive also seen some people claim that Facebook made them follow other Trump-related Facebook pages, like Melanias Trumps or the GOPs pages, but was not able to confirm that happened. Facebooks Stone told me that the company has seen no evidence of this happening or reason that it would happen.Fear and confusion about social media companies leaning further to the right as soon as Trump took office reached beyond Facebook yesterday, and are understandable given that some errors are impacting Democrats but not Republicans. On Instagram, for example, users found that Instagram was hiding results for the search term Democrats. At the time of writing, when I searched for Democrats Instagram said it couldnt find any matching results. When I searched for Republicans Instagram had no issue and surfaced many posts. Meta told the BBC in a statement that its aware of an error affecting hashtags across the political spectrum and we are working quickly to resolve it.As weve reported in recent weeks, its obvious that Meta has decided to endear itself to Trump and conservatives, making specific policy changes around how users can talk about gender and immigrants in a way that panders to Trump and his supporters. There are many reasons Meta would pander to the most powerful politician in the world, especially since Zuckerberg has explicitly said he hopes Trump will protect his company from European regulators. However, forcing millions of users to follow Trump does not seem especially beneficial to anyone, and could easily be explained by the fact that many of these users already followed official administration accounts, or just the fact that Facebook is a gigantic platform that is rife with errors.

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, June 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-01-21T16:05:26Z WASHINGTON (AP) Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes have been released from prison after their lengthy sentences for seditious conspiracy convictions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were wiped away by a sweeping order from President Donald Trump benefitting more than 1,500 defendants.Rhodes and Tarrio were two of the highest-profile Jan. 6 defendants and received some of the harshest punishments in what became the largest investigation in Justice Department history. Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, was serving an 18-year prison sentence and Tarrio, of Miami, was serving a 22-year sentence after they were convicted of orchestrating plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump, a Republican, lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.Their attorneys confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday they had been released hours after Trump pardoned, commuted the sentences of or ordered the dismissal of cases against all the 1,500-plus people who were charged with federal crimes in the riot. Trumps action paved the way for the release from prison of extremist group leaders convicted in major conspiracy cases, as well people convicted of violent attacks on law enforcement. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto