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Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:02:18+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Vladimir Putin",
"Russia",
"Ukraine",
"Dmitry Peskov",
"Russia government",
"Prisoner exchange",
"Russia-Ukraine war",
"Ukraine government",
"Volodymyr Zelenskyy",
"Russia Ukraine war",
"Politics"
] | # No new direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks scheduled, Kremlin says
By The Associated Press
May 22nd, 2025, 12:02 PM
---
Russia and Ukraine have scheduled no further direct talks on ending their more than three-year war, the Kremlin said Thursday, almost a week after the first face-to-face engagement between their delegations since 2022, and days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced they would start ceasefire negotiations "immediately."
"There is no concrete agreement about the next meetings," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "They are yet to be agreed upon."
During two hours of talks in Istanbul last Friday, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, in what would be their biggest such swap. Apart from that step, the meeting delivered no significant breakthrough.
Several months of intensified U.S. and European pressure on the two sides to accept a ceasefire and negotiate a settlement have yielded little progress. Meanwhile, Russia is readying a summer offensive to capture more Ukrainian land, Ukrainian government and military analysts say.
## Putin's proposals
Putin said earlier this week that Moscow would "propose and is ready to work with" Ukraine on a "memorandum" outlining the framework for "a possible future peace treaty." Putin has effectively rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has accepted. He has linked the possibility to a halt in Ukraine's mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms shipments to Kyiv as part of a comprehensive settlement.
The major prisoner swap is a "quite laborious process" that "requires some time," Peskov said.
But he added: "The work is continuing at a quick pace, everybody is interested in doing it quickly."
Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax that Moscow had provided to Kyiv a list of prisoners it wants released in the swap. "We have not yet received a counter list from Kyiv. We are waiting," he told Interfax.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that preparations are underway for the potential prisoner exchange, which he described as "perhaps the only real result" of the talks in Turkey.
Peskov disputed a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal that Trump told European leaders after his phone call with Putin on Monday that the Russian leader wasn't interested in talks because he thinks that Russia is winning.
"We know what Trump told Putin, we don't know what Trump told the Europeans. We know President Trump's official statement," Peskov said. "What we know contrasts with what was written in the article you mentioned."
## Russian capital targeted by drones for the second night
Apart from the continuing war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, which has killed tens of thousands of troops on both sides, the warring parties have been firing dozens of long-range drones at each other's territory almost daily.
Russia's Defense Ministry said that it had shot down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 35 over the Moscow region. It was the second straight night that Kyiv's forces have targeted the Russian capital.
More than 160 flights were delayed across three of Moscow's four main airports, the city's transport prosecutor said, as officials grounded planes citing concerns for passenger safety.
The attack prompted some regions to turn off mobile internet signals, including the Oryol region southwest of Moscow, which was targeted heavily on Wednesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that air defenses downed 485 Ukrainian drones over several regions and the Black Sea between late Tuesday and early Thursday, including 63 over the Moscow region, in one of the biggest spates of drone attacks.
It was not possible to verify the numbers.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 128 drones at Ukraine overnight.
Among the targets were Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, damaging an industrial facility, power lines, and several private homes, regional governor Serhii Lysak said on Telegram.
In Kyiv, debris from a Russian drone fell onto the grounds of a school in the capital's Darnytskyi district, according to the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko. No injuries were reported.
___
Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:32:35+00:00 | [
"Israel",
"War and unrest",
"Gaza Strip",
"Israel government",
"Gaza",
"United Nations",
"Humanitarian crises",
"Celiac disease",
"Health care costs",
"Foreign aid",
"Food and beverage manufacturing",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars",
"Health",
"Aerospace and defense industry",
"Pain management",
"Ahmed al-Farrah",
"Children",
"Nestor Owomuhangi",
"Famine",
"Tess Ingram"
] | # Mothers and their babies face starvation in Gaza
By Mohammed Jahjouh, Wafaa Shurafa, Sarah El Deeb, and Sam Mednick
May 22nd, 2025, 12:32 PM
---
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Grabbing her daughter's feeble arm, Asmaa al-Arja pulls a shirt over the 2-year-old's protruding ribs and swollen belly. The child lies on a hospital bed, heaving, then wails uncontrollably, throwing her arms around her own shoulders as if to console herself.
This isn't the first time Mayar has been in a Gaza hospital battling malnutrition, yet this 17-day stint is the longest. She has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that means she can't eat gluten and requires special food. But there's little left for her to eat in the embattled enclave after 19 months of war and Israel's punishing blockade, and she can't digest what's available.
"She needs diapers, soy milk and she needs special food. This is not available because of border closures. If it's available, it is expensive, I can't afford it," her mother said as she sat next to Mayar at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Mayar is among the more than 9,000 children who have been treated for malnutrition this year, according to the U.N. children's agency, and food security experts say tens of thousands of cases are expected in the coming year.
Experts also warn the territory could plunge into famine if Israel doesn't stop its military campaign and fully lift its blockade — but the World Health Organization said last week that people are already starving.
"Everywhere you look, people are hungry. ... They point their fingers to their mouths showing that (they) need something to eat," said Nestor Owomuhangi, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund for the Palestinian territories. "The worst has already arrived in Gaza."
## Israel eases blockade but little aid reaches Palestinians
For more than two months, Israel has banned all food, medicine and other goods from entering the territory that is home to some 2 million Palestinians, as it carries out waves of airstrikes and ground operations. Palestinians in Gaza rely almost entirely on outside aid to survive because Israel's offensive has destroyed almost all the territory's food production capabilities.
After weeks of insisting Gaza had enough food, Israel relented in the face of international pressure and began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into the territory this week — including some carrying baby food.
"Children are already dying from malnutrition and there are more babies in Gaza now who will be in mortal danger if they don't get fast access to the nutrition supplies needed to save their lives," said Tess Ingram of the U.N. children's agency.
But U.N. agencies say the amount is woefully insufficient, compared to around 600 trucks a day that entered during a recent ceasefire and that are necessary to meet basic needs. And they have struggled to retrieve the aid and distribute it, blaming complicated Israeli military procedures and the breakdown of law and order inside the territory.
On Wednesday, a U.N. official said more than a dozen trucks arrived at warehouses in central Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. That appeared to be the first aid to actually reach a distribution point since the blockade was lifted.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, without providing evidence, and plans to roll out a new aid distribution system within days. U.N. agencies and aid groups say the new system would fall far short of mounting needs, force much of the population to flee again in order to be closer to distribution sites, and violate humanitarian principles by forcing people to move to receive the aid rather than delivering it based on need to where people live.
On top of not being able to find or afford the food that Mayar needs, her mother said chronic diarrhea linked to celiac disease has kept the child in and out of hospital all year. The toddler — whose two pigtails are brittle, a sign of malnutrition — weighs 7 kilograms (15 pounds), according to doctors. That's about half what healthy girl her age should.
But it's getting harder to help her as supplies like baby formula are disappearing, say health staff.
Hospitals are hanging by a thread, dealing with mass casualties from Israeli strikes. Packed hospital feeding centers are overwhelmed with patients.
"We have nothing at Nasser Hospital," said Dr. Ahmed al-Farrah, who said his emergency center for malnourished children is at full capacity. Supplies are running out, people are living off scraps, and the situation is catastrophic for babies and pregnant women, he said.
## Everything watered down to make it last
In the feeding center of the hospital, malnourished mothers console their hungry children — some so frail their spines jut out of their skin, their legs swollen from lack food.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises, has warned that there could be some 71,000 cases of malnourished children between now and March. In addition, nearly 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming months.
Mai Namleh and her 18-month-old son, who live in a tent, are both malnourished. She wanted to wean him off of breastmilk because she barely has any, but she has so little else to give him.
She gives him heavily watered-down formula to ration it, and sometimes offers him starch to quiet his hunger screams. "I try to pass it for milk to stop him screaming," she said of the formula.
An aid group gave her around 30 packets of nutritional supplements, but they ran out in two days as she shared them with family and friends, she said.
In another tent, Nouf al-Arja says she paid a fortune for a hard-to-find kilogram (about 2 pounds) of red lentils. The family cooks it with a lot of water so it lasts, unsure what they will eat next. The mother of four has lost 23 kilograms (50 pounds) and struggles to focus, saying she constantly feels dizzy.
Both she and her 3-year-old daughter are malnourished, doctors said. She's worried her baby boy, born four months earlier and massively underweight, will suffer the same fate as she struggles to breastfeed.
"I keep looking for (infant food) .... so I can feed him. There is nothing," she said.
___
El Deeb reported from Beirut and Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel.
___
Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 00:52:12+00:00 | [
"Panama",
"Saul Mendez",
"Carlos Javier Surez Cornejo",
"Panama City",
"Jos Ral Mulino",
"Labor unions",
"Jaime Caballero",
"Asylum",
"Minimum wage",
"Protests and demonstrations"
] | # Leader of powerful Panamanian union scales embassy wall, requests asylum from Bolivia
May 22nd, 2025, 12:52 AM
---
PANAMA CITY (AP) — A leader of Panama's most powerful union, a driving force for weeks of street protests against social security reforms, climbed an embassy wall and requested political asylum from Bolivia on Wednesday.
Hours later, Panamanian prosecutors announced that arrest orders had been issued in relation to a three-year investigation into the national construction workers union that he led. Prosecutors did not name the targets of the investigation.
Panama's Foreign Relations Ministry confirmed that Saúl Méndez, the union's secretary general, had requested asylum.
Bolivia's business attache in Panama, Carlos Javier Suárez Cornejo, said Méndez was given temporary protection while they evaluated his case.
A day earlier, the government of President José Raúl Mulino announced that the union's legal status had been canceled because it did not have necessary internal controls, among them to prevent money laundering.
Another of the union's leaders, Jaime Caballero, was arrested a week earlier for alleged money laundering.
The union has been a central force in a month of street protests that sometimes blocked major highways. The demands have included scrapping reforms to Panama's social security system and opposition to a security agreement giving U.S. soldiers and contractors access to some facilities in Panama.
Marches continued Wednesday, but roadblocks that had snarled traffic were gone.
Mulino has said the reforms were necessary to keep the social security system solvent and denied that the agreement with the United States infringes on Panama's sovereignty. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 12:20:23+00:00 | [
"Books and literature",
"Nobel Prizes",
"Lifestyle",
"Libya",
"Entertainment",
"Gloria Steinem"
] | # Gloria Steinem and Leymah Gbowee, activists and close friends, are working on a picture book
By Hillel Italie
May 21st, 2025, 12:20 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — Two giants of the women's rights movement, Gloria Steinem and Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee, have teamed up for a picture book with the mission of inspiring young people to change the world.
"Rise, Girl, Rise: Our Sister-Friend Journey. Together for All" will be published next February, Scholastic Inc. announced Wednesday. Illustrated by Kah Yangni, it draws upon the close bond between Steinem and Gbowee, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Libya.
"I am so proud to collaborate with my longtime friend and sister activist Leymah Gbowee," Steinem said in a statement. "'Rise, Girl, Rise' is for anyone who cares deeply about being part of a promising future."
Gbowee said in a statement that "Gloria Steinem and I have traveled many roads together, physically, and through our individual actions. This special book is our gift to the trailblazers of tomorrow, who are finding power and joy in their friendships today." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 16:42:23+00:00 | [
"Fires",
"South Korea",
"Federal Aviation Administration",
"Business",
"Florida",
"David Wroth",
"Southwest Airlines Co."
] | # Southwest Airlines will require chargers be kept out while in use because of battery fire concerns
By Josh Funk
May 20th, 2025, 04:42 PM
---
Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt.
Southwest announced the new policy that will go into effect May 28 and said passengers may have already seen notifications about the rule when using the airline's app. While Southwest is the first U.S. airline to restrict the use of portable chargers like this, several Asian airlines have taken action earlier this year after a devastating fire aboard an Air Busan plane waiting to take off from an airport in South Korea in January.
There is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on planes because the number of incidents continues to grow yearly, and devices powered by those batteries are ubiquitous. There have already been 19 incidents involving these batteries this year, following last year's record high of 89, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics.
The incidents have more than doubled since the pandemic-era low of 39 in 2020, and have climbed annually.
Some research suggests that portable chargers might be the second-leading cause of battery fires on planes, only behind electronic cigarettes.
Compared to the roughly 180,000 flights U.S. airlines operate each week, the number of incidents is still relatively small and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere. However, this is a growing concern for the airlines.
"It's definitely a serious risk," said David Wroth, who studies the risks for UL Standards & Engagement and works with 37 airlines and battery manufacturers to minimize them. At least a couple of airlines UL is working with are reevaluating the risks associated with rechargeable batteries, so additional rule changes could be coming.
## What has happened before?
In the Korean airline fire in January, all 176 people aboard the plane had to be evacuated because the blaze burned through the plane's roof. The cause of that fire hasn't been officially determined, but several airlines and Korean regulators took action against portable chargers afterward.
Korean airlines won't allow the chargers to be stored in overhead bins anymore; they must either be packed in a plastic bag or have their ports covered with insulating tape to keep them from touching metal.
In addition, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways both prohibit the use or charging of portable power banks at all during flights.
Last summer, a smoking laptop in a passenger's bag led to the evacuation of a plane awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport. In 2023, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery caught fire in an overhead bin.
## Why make this change?
Southwest said that requiring these chargers to be kept out in the open when they are being used will help because "in the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, quick access is critical and keeping power banks in plain sight allow for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard."
Experts have long recommended keeping rechargeable devices in reach during flights so they can be monitored for any signs of problems like becoming too hot to touch or starting to bulge or smoke. But the airlines have to rely on educating consumers and encouraging them to take precautions.
"Ultimately, it comes down to a lot of personal responsibility that we as passengers have to take," Wroth said.
Southwest will allow the chargers to be stored inside carry-on bags when they aren't in use. But a spokeswoman said the airline is just alerting customers about the policy before their flight and asking for their compliance. Wroth said that approach is probably best.
"We have enough problems with unruly passengers already. And having cabin crew confront somebody over bringing something on board is not likely to be a good situation as well," Wroth said.
## What do the existing rules say?
The Transportation Security Administration has long prohibited e-cigarettes and chargers and power banks with lithium-ion batteries in checked bags, but allows them in carry-on bags. The rule exists precisely because fires in the cargo hold might be harder to detect and extinguish.
The FAA recommends passengers keep cell phones and other devices nearby on planes so they can access them quickly. The agency said flight crews are trained to recognize and respond to lithium battery fires. Passengers should notify the flight crew immediately if their lithium battery or device is overheating, expanding, smoking or burning.
## How common is this problem?
The latest research from UL Standards & Engagement said that data from 2024 suggests that portable chargers were to blame in 19% of the incidents, though that was only slightly ahead of the number of cell phone incidents. E-cigarettes accounted for 28% of the problems.
Nearly one-third of all passengers carried portable chargers on flights last year.
More than one-quarter of passengers surveyed last year said they put vaping cigarettes and portable chargers in checked bags. That is against federal rules, but Wroth said it might be as much an issue of them not understanding the dangers as much as it is passengers trying to hide the devices.
UL Standards & Engagement, part of a safety-science company once known as Underwriters Laboratories, said it based its findings on data from 37 passenger and cargo airlines, including nine of the 10 leading U.S. passenger carriers. It is just getting ready to release this year's report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 18:00:57+00:00 | [
"Medical research",
"Science",
"Lifestyle",
"Health"
] | # Markers in blood and urine may reveal how much ultraprocessed food we are eating
By Jonel Aleccia
May 20th, 2025, 06:00 PM
---
Molecules in blood and urine may reveal how much energy a person consumes from ultraprocessed foods, a key step to understanding the impact of the products that make up nearly 60% of the American diet, a new study finds.
It's the first time that scientists have identified biological markers that can indicate higher or lower intake of the foods, which are linked to a host of health problems, said Erikka Loftfield, a National Cancer Institute researcher who led the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine.
"It can potentially give us some clues as to what the underlying biology might be between an ultraprocessed food association and a health outcome," Loftfield said.
Ultraprocessed foods – sugary cereals, sodas, chips, frozen pizzas and more – are products created through industrial processes with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives not found in home kitchens. They're ubiquitous in the U.S. and elsewhere, but studying their health impacts is hard because it's difficult to accurately track what people eat.
Typical nutrition studies rely on recall: asking people what they ate during a certain period. But such reports are notoriously unreliable because people don't remember everything they ate, or they record it inaccurately.
"There's a need for both a more objective measure and potentially also a more accurate measure," Loftfield explained.
To create the new scores, Loftfield and her colleagues examined data from an existing study of more than 1,000 older U.S. adults who were AARP members. More than 700 of them had provided blood and urine samples, as well as detailed dietary recall reports, collected over a year.
The scientists found that hundreds of metabolites – products of digestion and other processes – corresponded to the percentage of energy a person consumes from ultraprocessed foods. From those, they devised a score of 28 blood markers and up to 33 urine markers that reliably predicted ultraprocessed food intake in people consuming typical diets.
"We found this signature that was sort of predictive of this dietary pattern that's high in ultraprocessed food and not just a specific food item here and there," she said.
A few of the markers, notably two amino acids and a carbohydrate, showed up at least 60 times out of 100 testing iterations. One marker showed a potential link between a diet high in ultraprocessed foods and type 2 diabetes, the study found.
To confirm the findings, Loftfield measured the scoring tool with participants in a carefully controlled 2019 National Institutes of Health study of ultraprocessed foods.
In that study, 20 adults went to live for a month at an NIH center. They received diets of ultraprocessed and unprocessed foods matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber and macronutrients for two weeks each and were told to eat as much as they liked.
Loftfield's team found that they could use the metabolite scores to tell when the individual participants were eating a lot of ultraprocessed foods and when they weren't eating those foods.
The results suggested the markers were "valid at the individual level," Loftfield said.
It's still early research, but identifying blood and urine markers to predict ultraprocessed foods consumption is "a major scientific advance," said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, who was not involved in the study.
"With more research, these metabolic signatures can begin to untangle the biologic pathways and harms of UPF and also differences in health effects of specific UPF food groups, processing methods and additives," he said.
Loftfield said she hopes to apply the tool to existing studies where blood and urine samples are available to track, for instance, the effect of consuming ultraprocessed foods on cancer risk.
At a time when support for government research is being cut, funding remains uncertain.
"There's a lot of interest across the board — scientifically, public interest, political interest — in the question of: Does ultraprocessed food impact health and, if so, how?" she said. "How can we fund the studies that need to be done to answer these questions in a timely way?"
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 22:17:33+00:00 | [
"Prostate cancer",
"Joe Biden",
"Donald Trump",
"Mens health",
"Health",
"Politics"
] | # Biden's office says his 'last known' prostate cancer screening was in 2014
By Jonathan J. Cooper
May 20th, 2025, 10:17 PM
---
Former President Joe Biden's "last known" prostate cancer screening was in 2014, and he had never been diagnosed with the disease before last week, his office said Tuesday.
Biden's aides released the new details about his diagnosis amid intense scrutiny of Biden's health during his presidency and skepticism that the disease could have progressed to an advanced stage without being detected.
Although Biden's cancer can possibly be controlled with treatment, it has spread to his bones and is no longer curable.
The brief statement from Biden's office did not disclose the results of his 2014 PSA blood test. PSA stands for prostate-specific antigen.
"President Biden's last known PSA was in 2014. Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer," the statement said in its entirety.
Biden's cancer was announced on Sunday, prompting a wave of sympathy but also suggestions from some of his critics, including his successor Donald Trump, that the former president and his aides covered up the disease while he was in the White House given the severity of the cancer when it was announced. Tuesday's statement appeared aimed at tamping down that speculation.
Asked about Biden during an appearance at the White House, Trump said, "it takes a long time to get to that situation" and that he was "surprised that the public wasn't notified a long time ago."
"It's a very sad situation and I feel very badly about it," Trump said.
A memo from the White House physician released following Trump's annual physical exam in April listed a normal PSA. Biden's White House doctor did not include PSA results in the health summaries he released.
Screening with PSA blood tests can lead to unnecessary treatment with side effects that affect quality of life, and guidelines recommend against prostate cancer screening for men 70 and older. Biden is 82.
When caught early, prostate cancer is highly survivable, but it is also the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. About one in eight men will be diagnosed over their lifetime with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 19:25:24+00:00 | [
"Liam g",
"London",
"Hezbollah",
"Northern Ireland",
"Classical music",
"United Kingdom government",
"Music videos",
"Language",
"Liam OHanna",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Entertainment",
"Movies",
"Music",
"Terrorism",
"Hamas"
] | # Member of Irish rap trio Kneecap charged with a terror offense in the UK
May 21st, 2025, 07:25 PM
---
LONDON (AP) — British police on Wednesday charged a member of Irish hip-hop group Kneecap with a terrorism offense for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert.
The Metropolitan Police force said Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, was charged under the Terrorism Act with displaying a flag in support a proscribed organization. The alleged offense happened at the Kentish Town Forum, a London venue, on Nov. 21, 2024.
The force said the musician — whose stage name is Mo Chara, and whom police referred to by the English spelling of his name, Liam O'Hanna — is due in court on June 18.
Earlier this month, police said Kneecap was being investigated by counterterror detectives after videos emerged allegedly showing the band shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" and calling on people to kill lawmakers.
After the police investigation was announced, Kneecap said it had "never supported Hamas or Hezbollah," and accused "establishment figures" of taking comments out of context to "manufacture moral hysteria."
The Belfast trio has been praised for invigorating the Irish-language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, where the status of the language remains a contested political issue in a society still split between British unionist and Irish nationalist communities.
It has also been criticized for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references and for political statements.
Police said they are still investigating footage from another Kneecap concert in November 2023.
Several Kneecap gigs have been canceled as a result of the controversy, and some British lawmakers have called on organizers of next month's Glastonbury Festival to scrap a planned performance.
Kneecap was not well known outside Northern Ireland before the release of a raucous feature film loosely based on the band's origins and fueled by a heavy mix of drugs, sex, violence, politics and humor.
The group's members played themselves in "Kneecap," which won an audience award when it was screened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It was shortlisted for best foreign-language picture and best original song at this year's Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 21:40:09+00:00 | [
"Memphis",
"Martin Luther King Jr.",
"Strikes",
"Fires",
"Gina Sweat",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Religion",
"Labor",
"Robert Walker",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] | # Fire at historic Black church in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say
By Adrian Sainz
May 21st, 2025, 09:40 PM
---
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A fire that severely damaged a historic Black church that served as the headquarters for a 1968 sanitation workers' strike, which brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, was intentionally set, investigators said Wednesday.
The fire at Clayborn Temple, which was undergoing a yearslong renovation, was set in the interior of the church, the Memphis Fire Department said in a statement. Investigators are searching for a person suspected of being involved with the blaze.
Flames engulfed the downtown church in the early hours of April 28. Later that day Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said the inside of the building was a total loss but there was still hope that some of the facade could be salvaged.
The fire department said May 14 that the building had been stabilized and investigators would use specialized equipment to study the fire's cause.
"Clayborn Temple is sacred ground — home to generations of struggle, resilience and creativity," Anasa Troutman, executive director of Historic Clayborn Temple, said Wednesday. "This act of violence is painful, but it will not break our spirit."
Located just south of the iconic Beale Street, Clayborn Temple was built in 1892 as the Second Presbyterian Church and originally served an all-white congregation. In 1949 the building was sold to an African Methodist Episcopal congregation and given its current name.
Before the fire it was in the midst of a $25 million restoration project that aims to preserve the architectural and historical integrity of the Romanesque revival church, including the revival of a 3,000-pipe grand organ. The project also seeks to help revitalize the neighborhood with a museum, cultural programing and community outreach.
King was drawn to Memphis in 1968 to support some 1,300 predominantly Black sanitation workers who went on strike to protest inhumane treatment. Two workers had been crushed in a garbage compactor in 1964, but the faulty equipment had not been replaced.
On Feb. 1 of that year, two more men, Echol Cole, 36, and Robert Walker, 30, were crushed in a garbage truck compactor. The two were contract workers, so they did not qualify for worker's compensation, and had no life insurance.
Workers then went on strike seeking to unionize and fighting for higher pay and safer working conditions. City officials declared the stoppage illegal and arrested scores of strikers and protesters.
Clayborn Temple hosted nightly meetings during the strike, and the movement's iconic "I AM A MAN" posters were made in its basement. The temple was also a staging point for marches to City Hall, including one on March 28, 1968, that was led by King and turned violent when police and protesters clashed on Beale Street. One person was killed.
When marchers retreated to the temple, police fired tear gas inside and people broke some of the stained-glass windows to escape. King promised to lead a second, peaceful march in Memphis, but he was shot by a sniper while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4.
After King was assassinated and the strike ended with the workers securing a pay raise, the church's influence waned. It fell into disrepair and was vacant for years before the renovation effort, which took off in 2017 thanks to a $400,000 grant from the National Park Service.
Clayborn Temple was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. A memorial to the sanitation workers, named "I AM A MAN Plaza," opened on church grounds in 2018.
About $8 million had been spent on the renovations before the fire, and the exterior had been fully restored, Troutman said.
She said in a recent interview that two chimneys had to be demolished before investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could safely work on the property, but the church organ had been removed before the fire.
As the fire was burning, she said, people went to the "I AM A MAN" memorial and stood at a wall where the names of the striking sanitation workers are listed.
"I watched that wall turn into the Wailing Wall, because people were literally getting out of their cars, walking up to that wall and wailing, staring at the building on fire," she said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 17:23:09+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Reggie B. Walton",
"Human rights",
"September 11 attacks",
"Lawsuits",
"Privacy",
"Civil rights",
"Politics",
"Government policy",
"Douglas Dreier",
"Counterterrorism",
"Edward Felten",
"Legal proceedings",
"Harrison Fields"
] | # Federal judge blocks Trump's firing of two Democratic members of privacy oversight board
By Rebecca Boone
May 21st, 2025, 05:23 PM
---
A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's firing of two Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
The ruling Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ends the lawsuit brought by two of the three fired board members in February.
The five-member board is an independent watchdog agency housed within the executive branch. Congress created the agency after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and tasked the board members with making sure the federal government's counterterrorism policies are balanced against privacy and civil liberties.
"The Constitution gives President Trump the power to remove personnel who exercise his executive authority," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue."
Walton said in the written ruling that allowing at-will removal of board members by the president would make the board "beholden to the very authority it is supposed to oversee on behalf of Congress and the American people."
"To hold otherwise would be to bless the President's obvious attempt to exercise power beyond that granted to him by the Constitution and shield the Executive Branch's counterterrorism actions from independent oversight, public scrutiny, and bipartisan congressional insight regarding those actions," Walton wrote.
The judge said that even though the statute creating the board didn't include any specific protections from at-will removal for board members, the basic structure and function of the board showed that Congress intended to restrict the President's power to fire board members.
Former board members Travis LeBlanc and Edward Felten sued in February, asking the judge to find that board members can't be fired without cause. Otherwise, they said, members would fear that criticizing the executive branch would lead to their dismissal, effectively rendering the agency unable to give candid, independent advice to Congress.
The third Democratic board member removed by Trump had just two days left in her six-year term and did not sue. Another board seat was already vacant, leaving just one Republican-appointed member on the board.
That's well short of the quorum required for the agency to perform any significant activities, including the duties mandated by Congress like an in-the-works report on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, LeBlanc and Felten said in the lawsuit.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Dreier told the judge in court documents that other congressionally-created independent boards do have special protections from removal written into statute. He said the judge should not add a protection that Congress declined to grant, suggesting that would be akin to stepping into a legislative role.
___ |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 14:42:18+00:00 | [
"Mining accidents",
"China",
"Business"
] | # 3 coal mine workers killed in China after water rushes in
May 20th, 2025, 02:42 PM
---
BEIJING (AP) — Water rushed into a coal mine in northwestern China's Gansu province, leaving three workers dead, official state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.
There were 133 people working in the mine when the flooding happened on Monday evening at a depth of about 610 meters (2,000 feet).
The report didn't provide any details on how the three victims died, but said that the bodies were found 18 hours after the flooding happened. The other 130 workers were evacuated to safety within an hour of the flooding at the Jingmei Energy Co. mine in Gansu, a major coal-producing region.
China has been working to improve mine safety to prevent disasters, which happen frequently. A coal mine explosion killed 11 people in Shanxi in August 2023, a coal mine fire in southern Guizhou province killed 16 people in September, and a coal mine cart ran off the tracks in northeastern Heilongjiang province killed 12 people in December 2023.
A fire at a coal mining company building killed 26 people and injured dozens of others in Shanxi in 2023. The blaze wasn't in the mine itself. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 13:21:12+00:00 | [
"Iran",
"Tehran",
"Iran government",
"Mohammad Reza Pahlavi",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars"
] | # A look at major nuclear sites in Iran
By Jon Gambrell
May 22nd, 2025, 01:21 PM
---
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has multiple major sites associated with its rapidly advancing nuclear program, now the subject of several rounds of negotiations with the United States.
The sites across the country, including one in the heart of Tehran, the capital, show the breadth and history of the program. One in particular, Iran's Natanz enrichment site, has been targeted several times in suspected sabotage attacks by Israel amid tensions between the two Mideast rivals.
Here's a look at some of those major Iranian sites and their importance in Tehran's program.
## Natanz enrichment facility
Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site. Part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential airstrikes. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or "Pickaxe Mountain," which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate sabotage attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility.
## Fordo enrichment facility
Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big a facility as Natanz. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, although Iran only informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the U.S. and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence.
## Bushehr nuclear power plant
Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency.
## Arak heavy water reactor
The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns.
## Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center
The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program.
## Tehran Research Reactor
The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic program. The U.S. actually provided Iran the reactor in 1967 as part of America's "Atoms for Peace" program during the Cold War. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns. ___
The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/ |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 15:44:49+00:00 | [
"New York City",
"Islam",
"New York",
"Asad Dandias Muslim Harlem",
"New York City Wire",
"Religion",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Kathryn Lloyd",
"Associated Press",
"Malcolm Shabazz",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] | # New York Narratives tour centers Muslim experiences, history in the city
By Fiona Andre
May 21st, 2025, 03:44 PM
---
NEW YORK (RNS) — Participants are often surprised when Asad Dandia's Muslim Harlem tour stops at JC Barbershop in Spanish Harlem — only until he explains it was the headquarters of the country's first Puerto Rican Muslim organization, the AlianzaIslámica (the Islamic Alliance).
A photo of the 1990s storefront in hand, Dandia lectures a tour group on a Saturday in April about the history of Latino Muslims in New York City.
"I've stopped there so many times, I know clients and barbers probably wonder what I'm doing," he said.
Dandia founded his walking-tour company, New York Narratives, in 2023 to help tourists discover the city's Muslim history. He highlights traces of the earliest Muslim New Yorkers and locations important to the approximately 750,000 Muslims who currently call the city home. The tours have since expanded to show experiences of other religious minorities and cultural histories, such as a tour through the "Jewish Lower East Side," and others focused on social movements and working-class New Yorkers.
___
This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story.
___
A museum educator for the Museum of the City of New York with a background in Islamic studies, Dandia draws from both his professional interests and personal experience as a Pakistani American who grew up in southern Brooklyn. He shows a side of New York many aren't familiar with, referring to it as "my New York."
"I try to demonstrate how Muslims are deeply interconnected and intertwined with the histories of New York City," Dandia said in an interview before the tour.
On the company's flagship Muslim Harlem tour, Dandia covers five different communities that settled in the neighborhood, highlighting American Muslims' diversity.
The group first stopped at the Islamic Cultural Center on the Upper East Side, the city's first mosque built for that purpose, as earlier mosques were created in homes or apartments. In Spanish Harlem, Dandia touched on the history of Hispanic Muslims and Bengali immigrants. After a stop at a Somali restaurant — the only one in the city, Dandia said — for chicken suqaar and bits of East African history, the group headed to central Harlem. In Little Senegal, Dandia delved into the history of West African immigrants and their kinship with Harlem's African American residents. The tour, which ended early on that April day, usually ends in front of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz in central Harlem, where Malcolm X once preached.
The itinerary covers various Muslim sects, from the Nation of Islam to Sufism. It places a "great emphasis on Islam in Harlem as a lived religion," according to the New York Narratives website.
He came up with the idea of creating tours focused on New York's religious minorities after noticing few walking tours reflecting the city's immigrant communities, where Dandia grew up. Since he launched the company, Dandia has broadened tour offerings to cover Ottoman Empire diplomats who settled on Manhattan's Lower West Side and highlight Harlem's cultural relevance for Black Muslims.
"There was a tremendous gap in how public historians and tour guides talk about New York City's communities," he said. "I just saw that some stories were not being told that I felt needed to be told."
Through his tours, Dandia hopes to demystify the history of Muslim New York by highlighting the community's contributions to the city. Muslim presence in New York, he said, dates back 400 years and has added to the "city's tapestry and its culture."
"Muslims are a central part of New York," he said. "We are your doctors, your pharmacists, we are your cab drivers. We're making your halal food right at the food carts, and we're involved in social justice movements. We're educators."
When developing a new tour, he relies on historians, history books, local faith leaders, activists, and community historians as integral sources, he said.
"They share with me their knowledge and what they know, and I turn it into a compelling story with their consent and with their support," he said, adding he also pulls from old newspapers and other written archives to craft his itineraries.
Since 2023, he has taken hundreds of university students and professors on tours, as well as nonprofit staff, eager to learn more about the communities they serve.
The opportunity to talk about Muslim New Yorkers' experiences without focusing on Islamophobia feels refreshing, he said.
"I can talk about cultural traditions, theologies, urban religion, and all of that really fun stuff," he said.
In 2013, Dandia was among plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the New York Police Department for its decade-long surveillance of Muslims. The suit resulted in a change in the NYPD's policies, barring it from opening investigations on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity.
Dandia also helped curate the "City of Faith" exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York in 2022, which documented religious profiling that South Asian Americans faced post-9/11.
Still, on the tours, Dandia often addresses how Muslim New Yorkers navigate anti-Muslim biases and the impact the post-9/11 Islamophobia peak had on the community.
Recently, he started developing a tour in conjunction with the Tenement Museum, which covers immigration in New York from the late 19th century to the 1970s, to explore Muslim history on the Lower East Side and Buddhist and Taoist communities in the area.
"Asad's outlook on history and working with community members and sort of unearthing untold stories felt so aligned with the way the Tenement Museum shares stories of immigrant and migrant communities," said Kathryn Lloyd, vice president of programs and interpretations at the museum.
Their joint tour, still in the planning phase, is part of the museum's "Lived Religion" project, which looks at religious practices of Lower East Side communities. The project, funded by a Lilly Endowment grant, will help the museum document the experience of Muslim immigrants, Lloyd said. Though the museum currently documents the lives of a German Jewish immigrant family, an African American family, and families from Puerto Rico, China, and Italy, the museum had no section on a Muslim family.
"They're a community that often doesn't get talked about as much, so we're excited to kind of elevate both the past and present Muslim communities on the Lower East Side," Lloyd said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 02:09:06+00:00 | [
"Erik Menendez",
"California",
"Lyle Menendez",
"Legal proceedings",
"Shootings",
"Kitty Menendez",
"Law and order",
"Scott Wyckoff"
] | # Parole hearing for Menendez brothers delayed until August
By Jaimie Ding
May 21st, 2025, 02:09 AM
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik and Lyle Menendez's hearing in front of the California state parole board has been pushed back to August, their attorneys said Tuesday.
The delay comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom withdrew his request for the parole board to evaluate the brothers for clemency as they seek their freedom after 35 years behind bars for killing their parents.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. They were 18 and 21 at the time.
A Los Angeles judge opened the door to freedom last week by giving the brothers a new sentence of 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole under California law because they were under the age of 26 when they committed their crimes.
They initially had a clemency hearing scheduled in June, but it has since been converted to a parole suitability hearing and pushed back to Aug. 21 and 22, their lawyers said.
Scott Wyckoff, executive officer of the California Board of Parole Hearings, said in an email to attorneys on both sides that Gov. Newsom withdrew the request for a clemency investigation last Thursday in light of the judge's resentencing decision.
The governor's office declined to comment on the decision but noted that the clemency application was still considered active.
The brothers' cousin, Anamaria Baralt, said in a video posted on her TikTok that the change would benefit the brothers, given that many people are not granted parole at their first hearing.
"This is not a bad thing," Baralt said. "Most people prepare for parole for like a year ... the more time that they can have to prepare, the better." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 16:31:05+00:00 | [
"Natalie Portman",
"John Krasinski",
"Guy Ritchie",
"Movies",
"Vienna",
"Entertainment",
"Bangkok"
] | # Natalie Portman and John Krasinski embark on a globe-trotting adventure in 'Fountain of Youth'
By Lindsey Bahr
May 21st, 2025, 04:31 PM
---
The spirit of Indiana Jones is baked into the essence of the new movie "Fountain of Youth."
This lighthearted, globe-trotting heist from Guy Ritchie, debuting on Apple TV+ on Friday, stars Natalie Portman and John Krasinski as estranged siblings attempting to piece together historical facts in hopes of finding the mythical spring. The quest takes them to far-flung places from Vienna to the pyramids, as they try to evade capture by the authorities and a shadowy operation intent on stopping the search.
"I've been looking to watch this movie for years," Krasinski said in an interview with The Associated Press. "This is the movie I pretended to be in when I was a kid. This is what got me into the business."
The film also stars Domnhall Gleeson as the wealthy businessman funding the operation and Eiza González as one of the protectors of the Fountain of Youth.
" Guy Ritchie gets to work with some of the best cast in the world," said González, who has now worked with him three times. "The biggest gift Guy has given me, besides the privilege of working with him, is working with them."
Gleeson, a newcomer to the world of Ritchie, was pretty sure that it was going to be as enjoyable as it looked. And he got a vote of confidence from his director.
"Guy basically said, if you're not having fun, then this is not going to work and so the idea is to turn up and have fun," Gleeson said.
## Something for the whole family
There were a lot of things about "Fountain of Youth" that piqued Portman's interest. The chance to work with Ritchie, Krasinski, and the rest of the cast, as well as the travel, but it also felt like something she could share with her own son and daughter.
"It's so rare to get to make a movie that has this scale and this scope of adventure that you can watch with your kids," Portman said. "I'm always looking for something that I can enjoy with my children."
Her character, Charlotte, is an art historian who had an adventuresome childhood with her explorer father and brother Luke (Krasinski) but has since settled for a more stable life. We meet her amid a contentious divorce and custody battle over her 12-year-old son, and she's not exactly pleased when Luke steals a piece of art from her gallery and attempts to recruit her for the bigger mission. But soon, she's in scuba gear hunting down a lost Rembrandt in the wreckage of the RMS Lusitania.
"I think that something we search for as adults is how to regain that youthful spirit, how to hold onto that youthful energy and freedom and wildness, even when having to move into some adult responsibilities," said Portman, who, like her character is recently divorced. "Maybe that can make you a better parent to have a little bit of that glint in your eye."
She and Krasinski, working together for the first time, fell into the sibling dynamics easily.
"These movies sort of live and die with the relationships," Krasinski said. "The sibling thing really only works if you're having genuine fun with the person and it can come off screen. And I laughed with her every single day. She's so funny."
## A historic shoot at the pyramids
Globe-trotting films aren't just travelogues for the audience, but their own sort of adventure for the cast and crew. This production earned their miles, skipping between the streets of Bangkok and Liverpool, the Austrian National Library in Vienna and Cairo to film at the great pyramids — where "Fountain of Youth" became the first film of this scale to be granted the privilege to shoot action sequences there.
"It was really a pinch me kind of moment to be like, oh, those are the pyramids and we're just hanging out here and walking into them and filming in them," Portman said.
The big first was landing a Boeing Chinook CH47 helicopter in front of the Giza Plateau, and blowing up a jeep, all while the site remained open to tourists.
"With any luck, we didn't blow it for Hollywood going back there for somebody else," Krasinski said. "But if we did, at least we got to do it."
Most of the big action moments "inside" the pyramids were saved for the safety of sets constructed at London's Leavesden Studio, where they also built the wreckage of the Lusitania in a water tank so big that it took two weeks to fill.
## An epic made for the small screen
"Fountain of Youth" might seem like the type of movie that would be a natural fit for the big screen: A big budget, global adventure with major stars and sweeping vistas. While Krasinski champions movie theaters — at the time of the interview, he had a ticket to see "Sinners" on IMAX the next day — he's also not feeling bittersweet that this one won't be playing at the multiplex. They all came into "Fountain of Youth" knowing that it was a streaming-first endeavor.
"This was always going to be a streaming movie, so I didn't really think about it in terms of ... Would people want to see it in theaters because it was just one of those things," Krasinski said. "And I think that's the new reality. There are definitely movies that are being made for streaming, and there are movies being made for theatrical."
He added: "It all depends on what the filmmaker's intent was, what the studio's intent and I think as long as those rules are laid out clearly in the beginning, I'm down for either one."
___
For more coverage of films, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/movies |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 18:17:30+00:00 | [
"Europe",
"Donald Trump",
"European Union",
"United States government",
"United States",
"Eurocopa 2024",
"Language",
"Government policy",
"Entertainment",
"Kaja Kallas",
"Journalism",
"Politics",
"Democracy",
"Business"
] | # EU will provide emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat after US cuts
May 20th, 2025, 06:17 PM
---
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union agreed Tuesday to provide emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat after the Trump administration stopped grants to the pro-democracy media outlet, accusing it of promoting a news agenda with a liberal bias.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty started broadcasting during the Cold War. Its programs are aired in 27 languages in 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Its lawyers have been fighting the administration in court.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's foreign ministers had agreed to a 5.5-million-euro ($6.2 million) contract to "support the vital work of Radio Free Europe." The "short-term emergency funding" is a "safety net" for independent journalism, she said.
Kallas said the EU would not be able to fill the organization's funding gap around the world, but that it can help the broadcaster to "work and function in those countries that are in our neighborhood and that are very much dependent on news coming from outside."
She said that she hoped the 27 EU member countries would also provide more funds to help Radio Free Europe longer term. Kallas said the bloc has been looking for "strategic areas" where it can help as the United States cuts foreign aid.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's corporate headquarters are in Washington and its journalistic headquarters are based in the Czech Republic, which has been leading the EU drive to find funds.
Last month, a U.S. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore $12 million that was appropriated by Congress. Lawyers for the service, which has been operating for 75 years, said it would be forced to shut down in June without the money.
In March, Kallas recalled the influence that the network had on her as she was growing up in Estonia, which was part of the Soviet Union.
"Coming from the other side of the Iron Curtain, actually it was (from) the radio that we got a lot of information," she said. "So, it has been a beacon of democracy, very valuable in this regard." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 17:42:43+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Middle East",
"Qatar",
"Saudi Arabia",
"District of Columbia",
"Books and literature",
"Politics",
"Business"
] | # Trump tallies promised Mideast investments in US differently by the day
By Josh Boak
May 20th, 2025, 05:42 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump loves big numbers — and he's always happy to talk them up.
Trump, who coined the phrase "truthful hyperbole" in his book "The Art of the Deal," over the last few days has been steadily increasing the amount of money he says that countries in the Mideast pledged to invest in the U.S. when he visited the region last week. He didn't provide underlying details.
The figure has gone from $2 trillion last week to potentially as much as $7 trillion as of Tuesday, according to statements by Trump and the White House.
A look at how the number has bounced around:
THURSDAY: With his Mideast trip still under way, Trump told reporters on Air Force One: "We just took in $4 trillion."
FRIDAY: A White House statement said Trump's "first official trip was a huge success, locking in over $2 trillion in great deals."
MONDAY: "We brought back about $5.1 trillion," Trump said in remarks to the Kennedy Center's leadership. "That's not bad. And, it's being credited as one of the, maybe, the most successful visit that anybody's ever made to any place. There's never been anything like this."
TUESDAY: "They're spending $5.1 trillion, probably it's going to be $7 trillion by the time we stop," Trump said before a U.S. Capitol meeting with Republican House members.
TUESDAY: "You know, we took in $5.1 trillion in the last four days from the Middle East," Trump said later in the afternoon in the Oval Office.
The White House did not respond to a request to explain the sources of Trump's escalating claims.
The White House did provide a breakdown on the $2 trillion in its Friday statement. It included $600 billion in investment from Saudi Arabia, which the country announced in January as part of a four-year commitment. There would also be a $1.2 trillion economic exchange with Qatar, as well as $243.5 billion in commercial and defense deals with that country. The United Arab Emirates committed to $200 billion in deals with the U.S., putting the initial White House total at $2.24 trillion, provided all those commitments are actually fulfilled.
Not all of the investment commitments or promised jobs are sure to materialize, so the final tally might not be as much as promised.
Trump said in 2017 that the electronics manufacturer Foxconn would build a $10 billion factory in Wisconsin employing 13,000 people, only for the company to back down from that commitment in 2019. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 15:38:02+00:00 | [
"Theater",
"Arian Moayed",
"Julia Roberts",
"Middle East",
"New York City Wire",
"Jessica Hecht",
"Arts and entertainment",
"Hugh Grant",
"Marjan Neshat",
"Shakira",
"Dianne Wiest",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Alan Cumming",
"Iran",
"Donald Trump",
"Marilyn Monroe",
"Entertainment",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] | # Tony Award nominee Marjan Neshat makes history in 'English'
By Mark Kennedy
May 20th, 2025, 03:38 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — Marjan Neshat is a veteran of stage and screen who teaches fledgling actors. Like so many of us, she sometimes has bouts of self-doubt.
"I think on the first day of class, I still always have imposter syndrome, but I've grown to live with it," she says. "I never thought that I had the gravitas to be like, 'I'm going to teach you acting.'"
This semester, her students at The New School got to witness self-doubt kicked to the curb when Neshat became a first-time Tony Award nominee. "I'm sure they're all a bit more smitten with me now," she says, laughing.
Neshat earned the nod for her work — appropriately enough — playing a teacher in Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated play "English," which premiered on Broadway in the fall.
"There's something about this play that feels so bottomless," she adds. "It kind of felt like winning the lottery because it was, to me, everything as an actress that I care about — it was artistic, and it was subtle and it was nuanced."
## A different depiction of Middle Eastern life
"English" explores the ways in which language shapes identity, can help people feel understood or misunderstood and the push and pull of culture. It's set in a storefront school near Tehran, where four Iranian students are preparing over several weeks for an English language exam.
Neshat plays their teacher, a woman who loves rom-coms and English but who is unmoored, a foot in Iran and one in England, where she lived for many years but never completely felt at home.
"We don't always belong to what we're born to," says Neshat. "She understands the potential of language and the potential of reaching beyond yourself. And yet she's at a point in her life where she's also losing a lot of that."
The play is packed with cultural references — like Christiane Amanpour, Hugh Grant and "Whenever, Wherever" by Shakira. One character admires Julia Roberts' teeth, saying "They could rip through wire. In a good way."
"I feel like so often, when you're telling stories about a different culture, especially in the Middle East, it's like, 'Well, we wanna see them behind the veil' and 'We want to see our idea of them.' And I feel like, especially with my character, I feel it defies all of that. I feel she is romantic and flawed and complicated."
The play has made history by making Neshat and co-star Tala Ashe the first female actors of Iranian descent to be Tony-nominated. (The first Iranian-born actor to receive a Tony acting nomination was Arian Moayed.)
The two face off at the Tonys on June 8 in the category of best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play alongside Jessica Hecht, Fina Strazza and Kara Young.
## One woman, two worlds
Neshat's family fled postrevolutionary Iran in 1984, when Neshat was 8, and she hasn't been back since. She decided early on she wanted to act, despite her mother's fear that her daughter might share the same fate as Marilyn Monroe.
She adores the plays of Anton Chekhov and watching movies on the Criterion Channel, and she's obsessed with the novel "Anne of Green Gables." "I'm not like super-showy. I'm interior and deep," she says. When "English" ended its run, she and the cast wept in their dressing rooms.
"She (Neshat) thrives in mystery and yearning and I think I've always strived to capture a feeling that goes beyond language. She's after that, too," says Toossi. "I think she holds contradictions and leaves space for the audience. She operates in a register must of us can't quite reach."
Neshat's credits range from the movies "Sex in the City 2" and "Rockaway" to an off-Broadway production of "The Seagull" with Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming, and to roles on TV in "New Amsterdam," "Quantico," "Elementary" and "Blue Bloods."
"I've sort of been saved by art in so many ways," she says. "It's been sometimes like a really bad boyfriend, and it's brought out all my middle school rejection and angst, but truly, in the best of ways, I have, I think, become more myself or understood who I am."
## 'A cry into the void'
"English" — written in the wake of President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries during his first term — premiered off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company in 2022 with Neshat in the teacher's role.
"There is something very emotional about the fact that she wrote this as like a cry into the void when the Muslim ban happened and the fact we were like opening shortly after Trump became president," says Neshat. "Just the culmination of all these things, it felt like an event."
She has a tight bond with Toossi, nurturing her "English" and also appearing in the playwright's "Wish You Were Here." The playwright once saw Neshat at a play reading before they ever met and soon gave the teacher in "English" the name Marjan. Neshat jokes that "she wrote me into being."
"Her writing has given me some of the richest roles of my life," says. Neshat. For her part, Toossi says getting Neshat and Ashe to be Tony-nominated is her proudest achievement.
On the opening night for "English" on Broadway, Neshat was joined by her mother and her 12-year-old son, Wilder, and they marveled at the journey life takes you.
Neshat's grandmother was married at 13 in Iran and never learned to read or write, though she dictated poems and letters. Just two generations later, their family has star on Broadway.
"The little girl I was in Iran would never have imagined that I would be sitting with my mom and nominated for a Tony," she says. "It just truly is a ride." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 15:05:56+00:00 | [
"Mali",
"Crime",
"Human Rights Watch",
"Ilaria Allegrozzi",
"Wagner Group",
"Al-Qaida",
"War and unrest",
"Mali government",
"Homicide"
] | # Families mourn and call for probe after Malian soldiers accused of massacre
By The Associated Press
May 20th, 2025, 03:05 PM
---
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Military personnel in Mali carried out "apparent summary executions" of at least 22 people in the conflict-hit central region of the country, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
At least three families and two local leaders recounted to The Associated Press how Malian soldiers seized more than 20 men from a market in the village of Diafarabé in the central Mopti region. The men's bodies were later found in two mass graves.
Diafarabé, whose inhabitants mostly belong to the Fulani ethnic group, is in an area where JNIM, an Al Qaida-linked extremist organization, is active and regularly targets the Malian army with attacks.
Such extrajudicial killings are becoming increasingly common under Mali's military junta, including late last year when Human Rights Watch accused the army and Russia's Wagner Group of killing dozens of civilians and setting fire to at least 100 houses during military operations.
In a new report on Tuesday, HRW called for an independent investigation into the killings, saying the probe being led by the military "raises grave concerns that the inquiry will not be independent or impartial."
Locals previously told the AP the Malian army arrested the victims of the latest killings at the market in Diafarabé, but one escaped from custody and, upon return, raised the alarm that others had been executed.
In interviews with AP this week, villagers recounted seeing decomposing bodies in the graves.
"The villagers of Diafarabé went to the location ... and they discovered two mass graves," said Diowro Diallo, president of the local Fulani association Dental Wuwardé.
Among those killed was Abba Dicko, 44, one of his relatives said, speaking anonymously out of fear for their safety.
"The bodies were in such a state of decomposition that we could not identify them or count them accurately, but we believe the account of the person who escaped the massacre and raised the alarm," the relative said.
Another resident who gave only his first name as Cissé for fear of being arrested, said his 32-year-old son and cousin were among the victims.
"I saw the soldiers come to the market to kidnap my relatives. The arrested individuals are well-known in the village. I never imagined they would be killed in this way," he added.
Villagers also spoke about growing fear and tension in the aftermath of the killings.
"We are asking the authorities to remove the soldiers to avoid further incidents," said one resident who said he lost four of his relatives.
The Malian military has not provided any update from the inquiry it said it opened last week.
Human rights experts, however, see little or no positive outcome from such a probe, citing past incidents whose investigations never resulted in any action.
The military authorities have not made any progress in ensuring justice for the victims of serious rights abuses in the course of the country's deadly conflict, said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW. The failure to hold members of the security forces and the Wagner Group to account for grave abuses "has eased the way for further atrocities," Allegrozzi added. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 00:27:01+00:00 | [
"Kim Kardashian",
"Jessica Jackson",
"California",
"Donald Trump",
"Paris",
"Entertainment",
"Robert Kardashian",
"Alice Marie Johnson",
"Business",
"O.J. Simpson"
] | # Kim Kardashian dons a graduation cap and marches closer to becoming a lawyer
May 22nd, 2025, 12:27 AM
---
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Kim Kardashian is a step closer to following in her father's footsteps and becoming a lawyer.
She has completed a legal apprenticeship and is now eligible to take the California bar exam, her representative confirmed Wednesday.
The entrepreneur and reality TV star posted an Instagram Story from a small private ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she smiled as she donned a graduation cap.
Jessica Jackson, a lawyer who mentored her in the program, called it "one of the most inspiring legal journeys we've ever seen."
"Six years ago, Kim Kardashian walked into this program with nothing but a fierce desire to fight for justice," Jackson says in a speech in the video. "No law school lectures, no ivory tower shortcuts, just determination. And a mountain of case law books to read."
California allows people to study under a lawyer or judge as an alternative to law school. Kardashian could become a licensed lawyer if she passes the state's notoriously difficult state bar exam.
Jackson said Kardashian spent "18 hours a week, 48 weeks a year for six straight years" on the program.
Her late father, Robert Kardashian, was an attorney and counted O.J. Simpson among his clients.
Kardashian revealed the milestone roughly a week after she testified in a Paris courtroom about her fear of being killed during a 2016 armed robbery.
"I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me," she told a Paris court May 13 about the ordeal. "I absolutely did think I was going to die."
Kardashian has in recent years been a criminal justice reform advocate and in 2018 successfully lobbied President Donald Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a grandmother who was serving a life sentence without parole for drug offenses. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 07:13:30+00:00 | [
"Vladimir Putin",
"Russia",
"Kyiv",
"Ukraine",
"Sergey Lavrov",
"Alexander Khinshtein",
"War and unrest",
"Russia government",
"Russia-Ukraine war",
"Ukraine government",
"Politics",
"Sergei Sobyanin",
"Russia Ukraine war"
] | # Putin visits Kursk region for the first time since expelling Ukrainian forces
By The Associated Press
May 21st, 2025, 07:13 AM
---
President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's Kursk region for the first time since Moscow claimed that it drove Ukrainian forces out of the area last month, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
Putin visited the region bordering Ukraine the previous day, according to the Kremlin.
Ukrainian forces made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in one of their biggest battlefield successes in the more than three-year war. The incursion was the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II and dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin.
Since the end of 2023, Russia has mostly had the advantage on the battlefield, with the exception of Kursk.
Putin has effectively rejected recent U.S. and European proposals for a ceasefire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday accused Kyiv's allies of seeking a truce "so that they can calmly arm Ukraine, so that Ukraine can strengthen its defensive positions."
North Korea sent up to 12,000 troops to help the Russian army take back control of Kursk, according to Ukraine, the U.S. and South Korea. Russia announced on April 26 that its forces had pushed out the Ukrainian army. Kyiv officials denied the claim.
## Ukraine says it stopped Russian attacks in Kursk
The Ukrainian Army General Staff said on Wednesday evening that its operation "in the designated areas in the border regions of Kursk continues" and "although the conditions remain difficult, Ukrainian defenders hold their positions, fulfill their tasks and inflict effective damage on the enemy." Its map of military activity showed Ukrainian troops holding a thin line of land hard against the border but still inside Russia.
Putin's unannounced visit appeared to be an effort to show Russia is in control of the conflict, even though its full-scale invasion of its neighbor has been slow and costly in terms of casualties and equipment.
Video broadcast by Russian state media showed that Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2, which is still under construction, and met with selected volunteers.
Many of the volunteers wore clothes emblazoned with the Russian flag, some had the Latin letters "V" on them, one of the symbols of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"What you are doing now during this difficult situation for this region, for this area, and for the country, will remain with you for the rest of your life as, perhaps, the most meaningful thing with which you were ever involved," Putin said as he drank tea with the volunteers.
Ukraine's surprise thrust into Kursk and its ability to hold land there was a logistical feat, carried out in secrecy, that countered months of gloomy news from the front about Ukrainian forces being pushed backward by the bigger Russian army.
Kyiv's strategy aimed to show that Russia has weaknesses and that the war isn't lost. It also sought to distract Russian forces from their onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.
The move was fraught with risk. Analysts noted that it could backfire and open a door for Russian advances in Ukraine by further stretching Ukrainian forces that are short-handed along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.
The incursion didn't significantly change the dynamics of the war.
Putin told acting Kursk Gov. Alexander Khinshtein that the Kremlin supported the idea of continuing monthly payments to displaced families that still couldn't return to their homes.
Putin said that he would back a proposal to build a museum in the region to celebrate what acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein described as "the heroism of our defenders and the heroism of the region's residents."
Disgruntled residents had previously shown their disapproval over a lack of compensation in rare organized protests.
Putin last visited the Kursk region in March, when Ukrainian troops still controlled some parts of the area. He wore military fatigues – a rarely seen sight for the Russian leader, who usually wears a suit – and visited the area's military headquarters where he was filmed with top generals.
## Russia and Ukraine continue deep strikes with drones
Russia's Ministry of Defense on Wednesday repeatedly reported its air defenses shot down dozens of drones over multiple Russian regions. In total, between 8 p.m. on Tuesday and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the ministry said 262 drones were shot down.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported a total of 16 drones downed on their way towards Moscow, and during the day flights were briefly halted in and out of Moscow's Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukosky airports, according to Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya. Flights were also temporarily grounded in the cities of Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kostroma, Vladimir and Yaroslavl.
Local authorities in the regions of Tula, Lipetsk and Vladimir also announced blocking cell phone internet in the wake of the drone attacks.
In Ukraine, Russian drone attacks killed two people and wounded five others in the northern Sumy region, the regional administration said.
In the Kyiv region, four members of a family were injured when debris from a downed drone hit their home, according to the regional administration.
Russia launched 76 Shahed and decoy drones overnight at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said.
The Ukrainian army said that its drones struck a semiconductor plant overnight in Russia's Oryol region, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, 10 drones hit the Bolkhov Semiconductor Devices Plant, one of Russia's key producers of microelectronics for the military-industrial complex.
It wasn't possible to independently verify the claim.
___
Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 13:04:58+00:00 | [
"Recipes",
"Food and drink",
"Katie Workman",
"Lifestyle"
] | # How to cook the perfect steak, grill marks and all
By Katie Workman
May 22nd, 2025, 01:04 PM
---
We aren't in the thick of summer yet, not by a long shot, but hopefully you've already managed to fire up the grill at least once or twice. As the days get longer, the weather commands us to find a way to cook and dine outdoors.
A juicy steak is — for many — the pinnacle of grilling options. In your mind, you can already see them. Caramelized and sizzling on the outside, pink and tender on the inside, with those beautiful crosshatch marks that let you know exactly how your steak was prepared. Here's how to get to that perfect beefy nirvana.
This method works for all cuts of tender beef steak, such as ribeye, porterhouse, ranch, T-bone, filet mignon, flat iron steak, NY strip steak and so on.
Buy the best grade of beef you can afford. USDA Prime is the top of the range, with USDA Choice coming after that. Next is Select, which will be leaner still. If possible, speak with a butcher about getting the best cut of meat for your needs and your budget.
## How to get perfect grill marks
First, make sure your steaks are thick enough. If they're on the thinner side, 1¼ inch or less, you will probably want to flip your steaks only once, so they don't overcook on the inside while the outside becomes that deliciously appealing caramelized brown. In this case, you'll get grill marks that go one way.
If your steaks are thicker, then go for crosshatch grill marks.
Place the steaks on the grill on the diagonal, at about a 45-degree angle across the direction of the grates. Grill for a few minutes. Rotate the steaks a quarter turn (90 degrees). You are looking to create a diamond pattern with grill marks.
Flip the steaks and grill them the same way.
Let your steaks sit on the cutting board for 5 minutes after removing them from the grill before you cut them. This will finish the cooking (it's called carryover cooking). The resting period also lets the meat reabsorb its juices, so they stay in your steak where they belong and don't run out onto your cutting board.
No matter what kind of steaks you choose, no matter what the thickness, make sure you have cleaned the grill well. A clean grill will offer cleaner grill marks. Also, oil the grill.
## How to know whether the steak is rare, medium rare or medium
In general (and it depends on the cut of beef and the heat of the grill), a 1½-inch-thick steak will cook to medium rare in 12 to 16 minutes. A 1-inch steak will cook to medium rare in a total of 8 to 12 minutes.
An instant-read meat thermometer is the best way to check doneness. For medium rare, 130 degrees F is the approximate internal temperature.
You can also use the touch test, if you don't have a meat thermometer. A general rule of thumb, so to speak:
## For rare
Let one hand hang limp. With the index finger of the other hand, push gently into the soft triangle of flesh between the thumb and index finger of the hanging hand. It will offer very little resistance, give way easily, and feel soft and spongy. That's the feel of a rare steak.
## For medium-rare
Extend your hand in front of you and spread your fingers. Press the same spot with the index finger of the other hand. The flesh will be firmer but not hard — springy and slightly resistant. This is the feel of medium-rare steak.
## For medium
Make a fist and press that same spot between thumb and index finger. It will feel firm and snap back quickly, offering only a minimum of give, as does meat cooked to medium.
## A recipe for compound butter to go with your steak
A wonderful way to finish your grilled steak is to top it with a pat of compound butter, which is simply softened butter mixed with some herbs and/or seasonings. As the meat rests, place a bit of the butter atop it and let the butter melt as the meat rests.
## Garlic Parmesan Compound Butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan
1 small garlic clove (minced)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
In a small bowl, combine the butter, Parmesan, minced garlic, salt and pepper until well blended. Place a couple tablespoons of butter on top of a steak as it rests after being removed from the fire.
___
Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, "Dinner Solved!" and "The Mom 100 Cookbook." She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at [email protected].
___
For more AP food stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/recipes. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 04:29:50+00:00 | [
"Philippines government",
"Sara Duterte",
"Ferdinand Marcos Jr.",
"Rodrigo Duterte",
"Netherlands",
"The Hague",
"Manila",
"Martin Romualdez",
"Benigno Aquino III",
"Politics",
"Elections",
"Government programs",
"Lucas Bersamin"
] | # Philippine president calls for all Cabinet secretaries to resign after election setbacks
By Jim Gomez
May 22nd, 2025, 04:29 AM
---
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked all of his Cabinet secretaries to submit resignations on Thursday in a "bold reset" of his administration following last week's mid-term elections, which saw more opposition candidates win crucial Senate seats.
Marcos, the 67-year-old son of a late Philippine dictator overthrown in 1986, won the presidency in the deeply divided Southeast Asian country by a landslide in 2022 in a stunning political comeback as he made a steadfast call for national unity. But his equally popular vice-presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, later broke from him in a falling out that has sparked intense political discord.
With support from treaty ally the United States and other friendly countries, Marcos emerged as the most vocal critic of China 's growing aggression in the disputed South China Sea while contending with an array of longstanding domestic issues, including inflation — and delayed fulfillment of a campaign promise to bring down the price of rice — as well as many reports of kidnappings and other crimes.
"This is not business as usual," Marcos was cited as saying in a government statement. "The people have spoken and they expect results — not politics, not excuses. We hear them and we will act."
Marcos called for the "courtesy resignation of all Cabinet secretaries in a decisive move to recalibrate his administration following the results of the recent elections," the government statement said.
"The request for courtesy resignations is aimed at giving the president the elbow room to evaluate the performance of each department and determine who will continue to serve in line with his administration's recalibrated priorities," the government said.
At least 21 Cabinet secretaries led by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin either immediately submitted their resignations or expressed their readiness to do so.
"This is not about personalities — it's about performance, alignment and urgency," Marcos said. "Those who have delivered and continue to deliver will be recognized. But we cannot afford to be complacent. The time for comfort zones is over."
Government services will remain uninterrupted during the transition, the government said, adding that "with this bold reset, the Marcos administration signals a new phase — sharper, faster and fully focused on the people's most pressing needs."
Five out of the 12 Senate seats contested in the mid-term elections were won by allies of Sara Duterte or her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been arrested and detained by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands. The elder Duterte, a staunch critic of Marcos, was accused of committing crimes against humanity over a brutal anti-drugs crackdown he launched that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead.
Marcos-endorsed senatorial candidates won five Senate seats while two other seats were unexpectedly won by two liberal democrats associated with the late former President Benigno Aquino III, whose family has long been at odds with the Marcoses.
Voting for half of the 24-member Senate is crucial because the government body will hold an impeachment trial for Sara Duterte in July over an array of criminal allegations, including corruption and a public threat to assassinate Marcos, his wife and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. She made those threats in an online news conference in November but later issued a vague denial that she wanted the president killed.
Sara Duterte is facing a separate criminal complaint for her threats against the Marcoses and Romualdez.
Most of the seats in the House were won by candidates allied with Marcos and his cousin, Romualdez, in the May 12 elections, which many saw as a preview to the presidential elections scheduled for 2028. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 02:47:22+00:00 | [
"New Mexico",
"Farmington",
"Shootings",
"Law enforcement",
"Robert Dotson",
"Matthew Garcia",
"Lawsuits",
"Legal proceedings",
"Gun violence",
"Philip Stinson",
"Tom Clark"
] | # Judge finds police acted reasonably in shooting New Mexico man while at wrong address
By Morgan Lee
May 21st, 2025, 02:47 AM
---
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed part of a lawsuit that accused police of violating constitutional protections when they fatally shot a man after showing up at the wrong address in response to a domestic violence call.
The shooting of Robert Dotson, 52, in the northwestern New Mexico city of Farmington prompted a civil lawsuit by his family members, though public prosecutors found there was no basis to pursue criminal charges against officers after a review of events. The suit alleged that the family was deprived of its civil rights and officers acted unreasonably.
Hearing a knock at the door late on April 5, 2023, Dotson put on a robe, went downstairs and grabbed a handgun before answering. Police outside shined a flashlight as Dotson appeared and raised the firearm before three police officers opened fire, killing him. Dotson did not shoot.
"Ultimately, given the significant threat Dotson posed when he pointed his firearm at officers ... the immediacy of that threat, the proximity between Dotson and the defendant officers, and considering that the events unfolded in only a few seconds, the court finds that the defendant officers reasonably applied deadly force," U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Garcia said in a written court opinion.
The judge also said the officers were entitled under the circumstances to qualified immunity — special legal protections that prevent people from suing over claims that police or government workers violated their constitutional rights.
The opinion was published May 15 — the same day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a separate case that courts should weigh the totality of circumstances and not just a "moment of threat" when judging challenges to police shootings under the Fourth Amendment.
Tom Clark, one of the Dotson family's attorneys, said the lawsuit against Farmington police will move forward on other claims under tort law and provisions of the New Mexico Civil Rights Act, which limits immunity for police and other government agencies.
Defense attorneys said in court filings that the officers acted reasonably under "the totality of circumstances," noting that they repeatedly knocked and announced that police had arrived and saying Dotson "posed an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to police."
Philip Stinson, a professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, said Tuesday that court evaluations of police immunity in shootings "sometimes lead to results that end up leaving you scratching your head."
"Here the court is saying the police made a mistake — but in that moment they were confronted with a decision to use deadly force," he said. "I don't think this is the last word in this case."
Lawyers for Dotson's family emphasized that police were at the wrong address and that he was likely blinded by the flashlight with little inkling that police were there. They said officers did not give him sufficient time to comply with commands as an officer shouted, "Hey, hands up."
According to the lawsuit, Dotson's wife, wearing only a robe, came downstairs after hearing the shots and found her husband lying in the doorway. She fired outside, not knowing who was out there. Police fired 19 rounds but missed her. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 14:11:28+00:00 | [
"Patrick Lyoya",
"Michigan",
"Grand Rapids",
"Law enforcement",
"Christopher Schurr",
"Legal proceedings",
"Juries",
"Chris Becker",
"Shootings"
] | # Trial decision expected in case of Michigan police officer who killed Black man in 2022
By Ed White
May 22nd, 2025, 02:11 PM
---
DETROIT (AP) — A prosecutor said he will announce Thursday whether to hold a second trial for a Michigan police officer who fatally shot a Black man in the back of the head after a tumultuous traffic stop.
Christopher Schurr's trial on a second-degree murder charge ended May 7 when the jury said it could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker scheduled an 11:30 a.m. EDT news conference in Grand Rapids, 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit, to announce the next step.
Schurr, 34, who was a Grand Rapids officer, said he feared for his life and shot Patrick Lyoya because the 26-year-old Congolese immigrant had control of his Taser.
Lyoya's death in April 2022 was the climax of a fierce struggle that lasted more than two minutes. Schurr stopped a car for having the wrong license plate. Lyoya stepped out of the car, didn't produce a driver's license and began running.
Schurr was on top of Lyoya on the ground when he shot him in the back of the head. The entire confrontation was recorded on video and repeatedly played for the jury.
At trial, defense experts said the decision to use deadly force was justified because the exhausted officer could have been seriously injured if Lyoya had used the Taser. The prosecutor's experts, however, said Schurr had other choices, including simply letting Lyoya run.
It's not known why Lyoya was trying to flee. Records show his driver's license was revoked at the time and there was an arrest warrant for him in a domestic violence case, though Schurr didn't know it. An autopsy revealed his blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for driving. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 01:06:52+00:00 | [
"Louisiana",
"Juries",
"Oregon",
"Legal proceedings",
"Louisiana state government",
"Legislation",
"Discrimination",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Trials",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"Royce Duplessis",
"Supreme Court of the United States",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] | # Louisiana Republicans reject bill that would address split jury verdicts, a Jim Crow-era practice
By Sara Cline
May 22nd, 2025, 01:06 AM
---
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by now-banned split juries the opportunity to ask for a new trial was rejected by Republican state senators on Wednesday, likely killing the measure.
An estimated 1,000 people behind bars in the Deep South state were convicted by non-unanimous juries, a practice rooted in racism from the era of "Jim Crow" laws and deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. Advocates say it is past time for Louisiana to right a wrong and to give those people a chance at a fair trial.
Proponents of the bill pointed to multiple examples of innocent people — since exonerated — who were wrongfully convicted by split juries and spent decades in prison. Supporters said the measure could have created a way for any other possibly innocent people behind bars who had been convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek another chance for a fair trial.
The bill would have added non-unanimous verdicts to a list of claims for which an inmate can seek a retrial. Proponents reiterated that the legislation would only have created the opportunity to do so and that it would not have automatically granted a retrial or release.
During debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers raised concerns about overburdening courts and district attorneys with additional trials. Proponents said whether a new trial is granted is ultimately at the discretion of district attorneys.
Opponents also raised concerns about the cases being decades-old with some witnesses possibly dead or evidence lost. Supporters countered that old cases are tried all the time and that transcripts of testimony from the original trials could be used.
"This is about what's right, not about what's easy or convenient," Sen. Royce Duplessis, the New Orleans Democrat who authored the bill, said to his colleagues.
Louisiana adopted the practice of split jury convictions in 1898 during a constitutional convention that was fueled by efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. Diluting the voice of Black jurors allowed the often-white majority to determine the outcome.
Louisiana voters did not get rid of the practice until 2018, two years before the Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of the 6th Amendment's guarantee of the right to an impartial jury.
At the time, Louisiana and Oregon were the only states that allowed split decisions — 10-2 or 11-1 jury votes — to result in convictions. The Oregon Supreme Court granted new trials to hundreds of people. But Louisiana's Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively.
"If we choose to vote down this bill we're saying that justice has an expiration date," Duplessis said. "We have an opportunity in Louisiana to remove this stain, because right now we are the only ones wearing it."
The bill failed on a vote of 9-26, along party lines. Given the overwhelming lack of support for the bill in the Senate and that there is only a month left in this year's Legislative Session, the measure currently has no viable path forward and is likely dead. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 09:14:59+00:00 | [
"Germany",
"Friedrich Merz",
"Donald Trump",
"Europe",
"Economy",
"Germany government",
"International trade",
"Government policy",
"Politics",
"Economic indicators",
"Monika Schnitzer",
"Business"
] | # Germany's economy will stagnate this year, advisers say
May 21st, 2025, 09:14 AM
---
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's economy will stagnate this year as the country faces headwinds from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade threats, the government's panel of independent economic advisers said Wednesday.
Germany has Europe's biggest economy, but hasn't seen significant economic growth in five years and the gross domestic product shrank in each of the last two years.
The advisory panel, in its first forecast since new Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government took office earlier this month, predicted the economy will stagnate this year and grow by 1% in 2026. Its previous forecast, in November, was for 0.4% growth this year.
The new outlook is in line with the forecast made a month ago by Germany's last government.
Merz, who took office on May 6, has pledged to roll back bureaucracy, advance digitization, provide tax breaks for companies and promote more European trade agreements.
"Trump's tariff policy is increasing uncertainty and endangering economic growth worldwide," said Monika Schnitzer, the head of the panel. But she said that a huge investment package put together by Merz's coalition "offers opportunities for a modernization of infrastructure in Germany and a return to a higher path of growth," meaning a better outlook for next year.
Germany for years expanded exports and dominated world trade in engineered products such as industrial machinery and luxury cars. But it has suffered from increasing competition from Chinese companies, along with many other factors, and Trump's tariffs have added a further risk to German exports.
Last year, the United States was Germany's biggest single trading partner for the first time since 2015, displacing China from the top spot as exports to the Asian power declined. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 14:06:02+00:00 | [
"Financial performance",
"National Association of Realtors",
"Business",
"Lawrence Yun",
"Mortgages"
] | # April home sales slow with high mortgage rates, prices, putting chill into spring buying season
By Alex Veiga
May 22nd, 2025, 02:06 PM
---
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged prospective home buyers during what's traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.
Existing home sales dropped 0.5% last month from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The sales decline marks the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009. March's sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.
Sales fell 2% compared with April last year. The latest home sales fell slightly short of the 4.10 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 22nd consecutive month, although at a slower rate. The national median sales price rose 1.8% in April from a year earlier to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April.
"The affordability condition is clearly hurting the market, particularly higher mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.
The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to its high so far this year of just above 7%, which it set in mid-January. The average rate's low point so far was five weeks ago, when it briefly dropped to 6.62%.
The elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept frozen out many would-be homebuyers, even as the inventory of homes on the market has risen sharply from last year.
There were 1.45 million unsold homes at the end of last month, a 9% increase from March, and 20.8% higher than April last year, NAR said.
That translates to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.5-month pace at the end of April last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 14:12:13+00:00 | [
"North Sea",
"Netherlands",
"Fires",
"Panama City",
"Panama",
"Transportation and shipping",
"Transportation technology",
"Electric vehicles"
] | # Dutch safety board calls for urgent improvements after deadly North Sea cargo ship blaze
By Mike Corder
May 22nd, 2025, 02:12 PM
---
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Protocols for responding to emergencies on busy North Sea shipping routes off the Dutch coast must be urgently improved, an independent Dutch safety watchdog said Thursday in a report into a deadly blaze on a cargo ship.
The warning by the Dutch Safety Board came in its report about emergency services' response to a fierce fire that broke out on the night of July 25, 2023, on the Fremantle Highway freighter that was carrying nearly 3,000 automobiles, including nearly 500 electric vehicles, from Germany to Singapore.
One of the 23 people on board was killed and six others were injured after jumping overboard to escape smoke churning out of the ship's cargo hold about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland. The remaining 16 people were rescued using helicopters.
During the mission by Dutch maritime rescuers, "the focus for too long was on firefighting instead of saving the crew," the report said.
It added that poor information sharing between different rescuers and emergency services on land meant authorities were not fully prepared when 16 survivors who also required medical help were flown to shore, causing delays in transferring them to hospitals.
"In order to be well prepared for future incidents at sea, the emergency assistance system must be put in order as soon as possible. Various improvements are needed for this, both at the Coastguard and at the relevant safety regions," the report said in recommendations to the government.
The Dutch report did not look into or comment on the cause of the fire. Maritime authorities in Panama were investigating the cause because the ship was flying under a Panamanian flag.
The fire burned out of control for a week as the stricken freighter floated near shipping lanes and the shallow Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed migratory bird habitat. It was eventually towed to a port in the northern Netherlands for salvage. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 16:32:30+00:00 | [
"Books and literature",
"Book Reviews",
"Fiction",
"Ann Levin",
"Entertainment",
"Bobby Mahon"
] | # 'Heart, Be at Peace' review: Donal Ryan offers spellbinding sequel
By Ann Levin
May 20th, 2025, 04:32 PM
---
In 2014 Donal Ryan published a novel in the U.S. called "The Spinning Heart" about a rural Irish town after the 2008 financial collapse. It was narrated by a chorus of voices, one per chapter, and at the center was a good-hearted contractor, Bobby Mahon.
Ryan's latest book is a spellbinding sequel, "Heart, Be at Peace," that works just fine on its own. It chronicles the changes that have buffeted Nenagh, County Tipperary, in the decade since the recession. Once again, the story is told by 21 townspeople, including one who has died, and Bobby is at the center.
Over the years he has done well for himself with a "kitchen the size of a soccer pitch" and a "marble island in the middle of it that you could feed an army at," as one envious frenemy grouses. But recently Bobby has been having panic attacks because a compromising picture of him at a stag party in Amsterdam has been making the rounds. Also, he is worried sick about the drug dealers lurking around town in cars with blacked-out windows, posing a threat to the children, including his own.
Another member of the chorus is Lily, who describes herself as "witch by training" and prostitute by inclination. She learned her magic from a Roma woman who settled in the town, "caught roots" and married a local. Lily adores her beautiful granddaughter, Millicent — her long legs, blue eyes and "the shine off of her like the sun on the water of the lake." They go for long walks in the meadows, gathering wild garlic, dock leaves and sorrel, but lately, the girl has fallen under the spell of Augie Penrose, the ringleader of the drug dealers, and Granny knows in her heart it will not end well.
Bobby, Lily, Millicent and all the others — each one sees the town and its residents, including the newcomers from Eastern Europe, from a different perspective. Together, they narrate a gripping story that is heartbreaking, funny and occasionally raunchy of a beaten-down but resilient community that embodies the best and worst of humanity.
The book ends with a monologue from Bobby's preternaturally wise and forbearing wife, Triona, who is puzzling over a dramatic plot development in the last chapter. "There's more to that story, a lot more I'd say, but it'll be told elsewhere, I'm sure." If she is right, then perhaps Ryan is already planning the third installment of a trilogy. What a gift that would be for readers everywhere.
___
AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 21:02:27+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Law enforcement",
"Florida",
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement",
"Immigration",
"Greg Abbott",
"Texas",
"Ron DeSantis",
"United States government",
"United States",
"Katie Blankenship",
"Government and politics",
"Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet",
"Barack Obama",
"Austin Kocher",
"Lena Graber",
"John Torres",
"Jeffrey Dinise",
"Politics"
] | # The revival of a program delegates Trump immigration enforcement to police
By Gisela Salomon and Rebecca Santana
May 20th, 2025, 09:02 PM
---
As part of the Trump administration's push to carry out mass deportations, the agency responsible for immigration enforcement has aggressively revived and expanded a decades-old program that delegates immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement agencies.
Under the 287(g) program led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, police officers can interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, ICE has rapidly expanded the number of signed agreements it has with law enforcement agencies across the country.
The reason is clear. Those agreements vastly beef up the number of immigration enforcement staff available to ICE, which has about 6,000 deportation officers, as they aim to meet Trump's goal of deporting as many of the roughly 11 million people in the country illegally as they can.
Here's a look at what these agreements are and what critics say about them:
## What is a 287(g) agreement and what's the benefit to ICE?
These agreements are signed between a law enforcement agency and ICE and allow the law enforcement agency to perform certain types of immigration enforcement actions.
There are three different types of agreements.
—Under the "jail services model," law enforcement officers can screen people detained in jails for immigration violations.
—The "warrant service officer" model authorizes state and local law enforcement officers to comply with ICE warrants or requests on immigrants while they are at their agency's jails.
—The "task force model" gives local officers the ability to investigate someone's immigration status during their routine police duties.
These agreements were authorized by a 1996 law, but it wasn't until 2002 that the federal government actually signed one of these agreements with a local agency. The first agreement was with Florida's Department of Law Enforcement.
"The benefit to ICE is that it expands the ability to enforce immigration law across multiple jurisdictions," said John Torres, who served as acting director of ICE from 2008 to 2009.
Earlier in his career, he said, he was assigned to the Los Angeles jail and would interview any foreign citizen who came through the jail to see if they were in the country illegally. But if a jail has a 287(g) agreement with ICE it frees up those agents at the jail to do something else.
## What's going on with these agreements under the Trump administration?
The number of signed agreements has ballooned under Trump in a matter of months.
In December of last year, ICE had 135 agreements with law enforcement agencies across 21 states. By May 19, ICE had signed 588 agreements with local and state agencies across 40 states, with an additional 83 agencies pending approval.
Roughly half of the pacts are in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced the arrest of more than 1,100 immigrants in an orchestrated sweep between local and federal officials.
Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also allied himself with Trump on immigration, comes in second. Other states topping the list are Georgia and North Carolina.
A majority of the agreements are with sheriff's departments, a reflection of the fact that they are largely responsible for running jails in America.
But other agencies have also signed the agreements including the Florida and Texas National Guard, the Florida Department of Lottery Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The expansion of agreements "has been unprecedented in terms of the speed and the breath," said Amien Kacou, attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida.
"ICE under the Trump administration has made a push in every state essentially to have them cooperate," Kacou said.
## So what are the concerns?
Immigrants, and their attorneys and advocates say these agreements can lead to racial profiling and there's not enough oversight.
"If you are an immigrant, or if you sound like an immigrant or you look like an immigrant, you are likely to be detained here in Florida," said Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director at Hope Community Center in Apopka, central Florida.
These concerns are especially acute over the task force model since those models allow law enforcement officers to carry out immigration enforcement actions as part of their daily law enforcement work.
Lena Graber, a senior staff attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center which advocates for immigrants, said that the Obama administration phased out the task force model in 2012 after concerns that law enforcement organizations authorized under it were racially profiling people when making arrests.
The first Trump administration considered bringing back that model but ultimately did not, she said. Graber said using this model, the local law enforcement have most of the powers of ICE agents.
"They're functionally ICE agents," she said.
Rights groups say that in areas where 287(g) agreements are in place, people in the country illegally are less likely to reach out to law enforcement authorities when they're victims of or witness to a crime for fear that authorities will turn around and arrest them instead.
"This is finding methods to terrorize communities," said Katie Blankenship, an immigration attorney and co-founder of Sanctuary of the South. "They create immigration enforcement and local law enforcement which they are not trained or able to do in any sort of just manner."
Federal authorities and local law enforcement agencies deny those critics and maintain that officers follow the laws when detaining people.
"There is no racial profiling," said Miami Border Patrol chief agent Jeffrey Dinise at a recent press conference along with Florida and ICE officials. He explained that officers may stop cars after traffic violations. They run the tag plates through immigration systems and can see the legal status of the person, he said.
Torres also said that local law enforcement officers operating under 287(g) agreements aren't "out on an island by themselves." There's a lot of coordination with ICE agents and the local law enforcement officers.
"They're not asking them to operate independently on their own," Torres said.
## How does law enforcement join?
Law enforcement agencies nominate officers to participate in the 287(g) program. They have to be U.S. citizens and pass a background check.
On its website, ICE has created templates of the forms that law enforcement agencies interested in joining the program can use.
The training varies. According to ICE's website, officers in the "task force model" must complete a 40-hour online course that covers such topics as immigration law, civil rights and liability issues. As of mid-March about 625 officers had been trained under that model, the website said, although that number is likely much higher now as law enforcement agencies are signing up regularly.
For the "jail enforcement model," there's a four week training as well as a refresher course. The Warrant Service Officer model requires eight hours of training.
Austin Kocher, a researcher at Syracuse University in New York who focuses on immigration affairs, said that training has always been a challenge for the 287(g) program. It's expensive and often a strain on small departments to send them to a training center, so the training has gotten progressively shorter, he said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 18:37:37+00:00 | [
"Khartoum",
"Sudan",
"Sudan government",
"War and unrest",
"Nabil Abdullah",
"Military and defense",
"Humanitarian crises",
"Famine"
] | # Sudan's military says it took full control of Greater Khartoum region that includes the capital
May 20th, 2025, 06:37 PM
---
CAIRO (AP) — Sudan's military on Tuesday said it took full control of the Greater Khartoum region after a long-running battle against remnants of a paramilitary group in the region's west and south.
The development was the latest victory for the military in its more than two years of fighting against the Rapid Support Forces, a civil war that has pushed parts of the country into famine.
Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesman for the Sudanese military, said forces retook the Greater Khartoum region, which include the capital city of Khartoum and its sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North, or Bahri.
"Khartoum state is completely free of rebels," he declared in a video statement.
Earlier, Abdullah said troops battled RSF fighters in the western and southern areas of Omdurman as part of a large-scale operation to kick the paramilitaries out of their pockets there.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF.
Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in Khartoum and other parts of the country. The war has killed at least 24,000 people, though the number is likely far higher.
The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. Parts of Sudan have been pushed into famine.
The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:11:45+00:00 | [
"Amazon.com",
"Inc.",
"Spotify Technology SA",
"Apple",
"Mobile apps",
"Consumer electronics manufacturing",
"Lifestyle",
"Business",
"PayPal Holdings",
"Internet",
"Technology",
"Tablets and e-readers",
"Production facilities",
"Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers"
] | # One Tech Tip: These are the apps that can now avoid Apple's in-app payment system
By Kelvin Chan
May 22nd, 2025, 12:11 PM
---
LONDON (AP) — Apple users are starting to get ways out of the iPhone maker's so-called "walled garden."
For years, the company blocked app developers from informing people about how to pay for a subscription or service that didn't involve going through its own iOS App Store.
Some apps didn't like this. It's the reason you weren't able to pay for your Spotify subscription from the app.
But all that changed last month, when U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a scathing decision against Apple that promises to shake up the iPhone app payment ecosystem.
She ordered Apple to tear down the barriers around its previously exclusive payment system for in-app digital transactions and allow developers to provide links to alternative options. She also ordered Apple to stop preventing app makers from communicating directly with users through their apps to let them know about deals and offers. She told Apple not to impose new commissions on purchases made outside the App Store.
Some companies, including Spotify, moved quickly to capitalize on the judge's demand with app updates.
Here's a look at how iPhone users — at least those in the United States — can make the most of the changes:
## Spotify
Spotify customers previously had to go to its website to pay for a music streaming subscription. That's because Spotify long ago removed the in-app payment option in protest against Apple's practice of requiring that digital subscriptions be bought only through iOS apps while taking a commission of up to 30%.
Following a U.S. app update, Spotify said users "can finally see how much something costs in our app, including pricing details on subscriptions and information about promotions that will save money."
If you're a Spotify listener, you can now scroll through various subscription plans on the app to see their prices. Free users who want to upgrade to a premium subscription can sign up by tapping a button directly in the app. Existing premium users can easily switch to a different subscription level, also by simply tapping a button.
And in another update, the company said users can also view individual audiobook prices and buy them within the Spotify app. Premium subscribers will also be able to buy "top up" hours for audiobook listening if they've maxed out their 15 free listening hours each month.
## Epic Games
Gamers can rejoice. Five years after Apple ousted Fortnite for trying to introduce a direct payment plan to bypass the App Store, the popular game is back on iOS.
The comeback appeared in jeopardy after Apple initially refused to approve Fortnite's bid before Apple relented this week, clearing the app for U.S. users. It's also back in the European Union, where alternative app marketplaces have been mandated since last year.
Fortnite maker Epic Games had previewed the updated app's new payment buttons to let players buy V-bucks currency to spend on character "cosmetics" like outfits, wraps for weapons or dance movements known as "emotes." One button leads to Apple's in-app purchasing system while the other is for Epic's own payment system, which can earn players up to 20% extra V-bucks for their accounts.
## Kindle
Amazon has updated its Kindle app to add a button so that users can more easily buy books directly from their iPhones.
Previously, users could only look up books and download a sample on the app, but did not have an option to buy directly. They had to open up their web browser and log in to their Amazon accounts to make the purchase, or else buy it from a Kindle reader.
Now, U.S.-based readers can tap the new 'Get Book' button in the Kindle iOS app, which the ecommerce giant says will take them directly to their mobile web browser to complete the purchase.
"We regularly make improvements to our apps to help ensure we are providing customers the most convenient experience possible," Amazon said in a statement.
## Patreon
If you support online creators by paying for their podcasts, videos, music or other content on Patreon, you've now got the option to bypass Apple when buying subscriptions.
The subscription platform updated its iOS app so that fans in the U.S. purchasing memberships have the option to skip Apple's checkout option that includes a 30% fee and instead use Patreon's own checkout option.
The update app lets fans pay directly from the Patreon app by tapping the Join button. You can use credit cards, PayPal, Venmo or even the Apple Pay mobile wallet. There's still the option to stick with Apple's in-app purchasing system — displayed less prominently underneath the Join button — which will include Apple's fees, according to screenshots posted on Patreon's website.
Patreon said the update doesn't apply to fans in other countries. However, it does mean creators based outside of the U.S. whose fans are in the country will be able to access the new payment option.
The platform said that based on Apple's feedback, eventually it will move its alternative checkout method to an external browser so it can continue to avoid adding the extra fees.
___
Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at [email protected] with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 03:09:31+00:00 | [
"Financial markets",
"United States government",
"Stocks and bonds",
"Financial services",
"United States",
"Microsoft Corp.",
"Enphase Energy",
"Inc.",
"First Solar",
"UnitedHealth Group",
"Business",
"Donald Trump",
"Sunrun",
"Humana"
] | # Stocks drift as worries about the US government's soaring debt continue to weigh
By Stan Choe
May 22nd, 2025, 03:09 AM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting on Wall Street Thursday following a rocky week so far because of worries coming out of the bond market about the U.S. government's debt.
The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged in morning trading, coming off a sharp loss that has it potentially heading for its worst week in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 43 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:23 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.
Technology stocks were doing most of the heavy lifting for the broader market. The majority of stocks within the S&P 500 were losing ground, but gains for technology companies with outsized values offset those losses. Google's parent Alphabet jumped 4.1% and Microsoft rose 1.3%.
Treasury yields were holding a bit steadier in the bond market, which has been the epicenter of Wall Street's action this week, but only after several sharp swings in the morning. Yields have been on the rise in part because of worries about the U.S. government's spiraling debt.
The House of Representatives approved a bill early Thursday that would cut taxes and could add trillions of dollars to the U.S. debt.
Besides making it more expensive for the U.S. government to borrow to pay its bills, higher Treasury yields can also filter into the rest of the economy and make it tougher for U.S. households and businesses to get their own loans. Higher yields also discourage investors from paying high prices for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed as high as 4.63% before the U.S. stock market opened for trading, before receding to 4.59%. It stood at 4.58% late Wednesday and was as low as 4.01% early last month. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for action by the Federal Reserve, slipped to 4.00% from 4.02% late Wednesday.
The House's multitrillion-dollar spending bill, which aims to extend some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks from President Donald Trump's first term while adding others, is expected to undergo some changes when it gets to the Senate for a vote.
The legislation also includes a speedier rollback of production tax credits for clean electricity projects, which sent shares of solar companies tumbling. Sunrun dropped 37.7%, Enphase Energy fell 15.2% and First Solar slid 3.8%.
Health care stocks were also falling early Thursday after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it was immediately expanding its auditing of Medicare Advantage plans. UnitedHealth Group fell 1.3% and Humana was down 4.4%.
Wall Street had several economic updates on Thursday.
The number of Americans filing unemployment claims last week fell slightly. The broader employment market has remained strong, though businesses remain worried about the economic uncertainty amid a trade war.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across Europe and Asia. France's CAC 40 dropped 1.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.2% and South Korea's Kospi slid 1.2% for some of the sharper losses.
___
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Yuri Kageyama contributed. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 02:51:08+00:00 | [
"Andrew Cuomo",
"James Comer",
"New York",
"Legal proceedings",
"New York City",
"U.S. Department of Justice",
"District of Columbia",
"New York City Wire",
"Donald Trump",
"Associated Press",
"Pam Bondi",
"Pandemics",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"Politics",
"Government and politics",
"Rich Azzopardi"
] | # Justice Dept. investigating former New York Gov. Cuomo
By Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker
May 21st, 2025, 02:51 AM
---
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after congressional Republicans recommended that he be charged with lying over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Washington follows a referral from Rep. James Comer, Republican chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, over statements Cuomo made to lawmakers investigating his management of the pandemic when the virus was spreading through nursing homes, the person said. The person was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The investigation plunges the Justice Department yet again into New York politics as Cuomo runs for New York City mayor. It comes just months after federal prosecutors abandoned a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for a second term. They cited a desire to free Adams up to cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
A spokesperson for Cuomo said Tuesday that the former governor was never informed of any such investigation.
"So why would someone leak it now?" Rich Azzopardi said in an email. "The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple — something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against."
Azzopardi added, "Governor Cuomo testified truthfully to the best of his recollection about events from four years earlier, and he offered to address any follow-up questions from the Subcommittee — but from the beginning this was all transparently political."
The investigation was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times. The Justice Department declined Tuesday to comment. Spokespeople for the U.S. attorney's office in Washington didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The inquiry also subjects the department to claims that it is pursuing retribution against political adversaries. The new leader of the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, Jeanine Pirro, ran unsuccessfully against Cuomo for New York attorney general in 2006 and has been a harsh critic in the years since, publicly accusing him of a coverup of nursing home deaths.
The Justice Department separately has launched a mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump for civil fraud.
The investigation into Cuomo revisits a years-old, politically divisive question over the then-governor's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes. Republicans have zeroed in on a controversial directive his administration issued in March 2020 that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients just because they had had COVID-19. More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks.
Comer referred Cuomo to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution last month, alleging that he made false statements to lawmakers during a hearing last year focused on his decision-making.
Cuomo adamantly defended himself during the hearing, blaming the first Trump administration for failing to provide enough testing and personal protective equipment in the early days of the pandemic. "These are all diversions to blame New York and other states for the culpability of the federal response, which was malpractice," Cuomo said.
But Comer asserted that Cuomo had lied during the hearing. He cited what he said was evidence of Cuomo's direct involvement in a state report that the congressman said "low-balled" nursing home fatalities. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 12:54:51+00:00 | [
"Lebanon",
"Mahmoud Abbas",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars",
"Israel",
"Politics",
"Palestinian territories government",
"Religion",
"Political refugees"
] | # Lebanese and Palestinian leaders agree that Lebanon won't be used as a launchpad to strike Israel
By Bassem Mroue
May 21st, 2025, 12:54 PM
---
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese and Palestinian presidents agreed Wednesday that Palestinian factions won't use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel, and to remove weapons that aren't under the authority of the Lebanese state.
The announcement was made during a meeting between President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived earlier in the day beginning a three-day visit to Lebanon, his first in seven years.
Lebanon's government is seeking to establish authority throughout the country, mainly in the south near the border with Israel after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that ended in late November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
The 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon aren't under the control of the Lebanese state, and Palestinian factions in the camps have different types of weapons. Rival groups have clashed inside the camps in recent years, inflicting casualties and affecting nearby areas.
It wasn't immediately clear how the weapons would be removed from the camps, which are home to tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them descendants of families that fled to Lebanon after Israel was created in 1948.
Abbas' Fatah movement and the militant Hamas group are the main factions in the camps. Smaller groups, including some jihadi factions, also have a presence in the camps — mainly in Ein el-Hilweh, which is Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp and located near the southern port city of Sidon.
A joint statement read by the Lebanese presidency's spokeswoman, Najat Sharafeddine, said that both sides have agreed that weapons should only be with the Lebanese state, and the existence of "weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state has ended."
The statement said that both sides have agreed that Palestinian camps in Lebanon aren't "safe havens for extremist groups." It added that "the Palestinian side confirms its commitment of not using Lebanese territories to launch any military operations."
In late March, Israel intensified its airstrikes on Lebanon in response to Hamas allegedly firing rockets at northern Israel from southern Lebanon.
Shortly after the wave of airstrikes, the Lebanese government for the first time called out the Palestinian group and arrested nearly 10 suspects involved in the operation. Hamas was pressured by the military to turn in three of their militants from different refugee camps.
There are nearly 500,000 Palestinians registered with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, in Lebanon. However, the actual number in the country is believed to be around 200,000, as many have emigrated but remain on UNRWA's roster. They are prohibited from working in many professions, have few legal protections and can't own property. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 18:48:57+00:00 | [
"Weather",
"Storms",
"Winter weather",
"Science",
"Kyle Pederson",
"Climate and environment",
"Associated Press"
] | # May nor'easter to rain, snow on New England before Memorial Day
By Isabella O'Malley and Patrick Whittle
May 21st, 2025, 06:48 PM
---
SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — An unusual May nor'easter is set to wallop New England on Thursday, providing a soaking before the Memorial Day holiday weekend with weather more commonly associated with fall and winter.
Nor'easters usually arrive in the end of fall and winter and bring high winds, rough seas and precipitation in the form of rain or snow. This week's nor'easter could bring wind gusts over 40 mph (64 kph) and up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain in some areas. Snow is even possible at high elevations.
The storm has New Englanders preparing for a messy couple of days during a time of year usually reserved for sunshine and cookouts.
## What is a nor'easter?
A nor'easter is an East Coast storm that is so named because winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast, according to the National Weather Service. The storms can happen at any time of the year, but they are at their most frequent and strongest between September and April, according to the service.
The storms have caused billions of dollars in damage in the past. They usually reach the height of their strength in New England and eastern Canada. The storms often disrupt traffic and power grids and can cause severe damage to homes and businesses.
"We have a stronger jet stream, which is helping intensify a low pressure system that just happens to be coming up the coast. And so that's how it got the nor'easter name," said Kyle Pederson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boston.
## Who will see rain and snow
The heaviest rain is likely to fall in Rhode Island and southern and eastern Massachusetts, Pederson said. Localized nuisance flooding and difficult driving conditions are possible Thursday, and catastrophic flooding is not expected.
The storm is then expected to pass, leaving light rain and patchy drizzle, on Friday.
"It's just really a nice dose of rain for the region — not expecting much for flooding," Pederson said.
Snow is expected to be confined to mountainous areas, but accumulations there are possible.
## Why nor'easters are rare in May
Nor'easters are usually winter weather events, and it is unusual to see them in May. They typically form when there are large temperature differences from west to east during winter when there is cold air over land and the oceans are relatively warm.
But right now there is a traffic jam in the atmosphere because of an area of high pressure in the Canadian Arctic that is allowing unusually cold air to funnel down over the Northeast. The low pressure system off the East Coast is being fueled by a jet stream that is unusually south at the moment.
"It really is a kind of a winter-type setup that you rarely see this late," said Judah Cohen, seasonal forecast director at the private firm Atmospheric and Environmental Research.
If this type of pattern in the atmosphere happened two months earlier, he said, "we'd be talking about a crippling snowstorm in the Northeastern U.S., not just a wet start to Memorial Day weekend."
___
O'Malley reported from Philadelphia.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 17:45:54+00:00 | [
"Alphabet",
"Inc.",
"Artificial intelligence",
"Sundar Pichai",
"California",
"Internet",
"Associated Press",
"Technology",
"Meta Platforms",
"Eddy Cue",
"Apple",
"Business",
"Warby Parker"
] | # Google's unleashes 'AI Mode' in the next phase of its journey to change search
By Michael Liedtke
May 20th, 2025, 05:45 PM
---
Google on Tuesday unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence technology to accelerate a year-long makeover of its search engine that is changing the way people get information and curtailing the flow of internet traffic to websites.
The next phase outlined at Google's annual developers conference includes releasing a new "AI mode" option in the United States. The feature makes interacting with Google's search engine more like having a conversation with an expert capable of answering questions on just about any topic imaginable.
AI mode is being offered to all comers in the U.S. just two-and-a-half-months after the company began testing with a limited Labs division audience.
Google is also feeding its latest AI model, Gemini 2.5, into its search algorithms and will soon begin testing other AI features, such as the ability to automatically buy concert tickets and conduct searches through live video feeds.
In another example of Google's all-in approach to AI, the company revealed it is planning to leverage the technology to re-enter the smart glasses market with a new pair of Android XR-powered spectacles. The preview of the forthcoming device, which includes a hands-free camera and a voice-powered AI assistant, comes 13 years after the debut of "Google Glass," a product that the company scrapped after a public backlash over privacy concerns.
Google didn't say when its Android XR glasses will be available or how much they will cost, but disclosed they will be designed in partnership with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. The glasses will compete against a similar product already on the market from Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Ray-Ban.
## AI's big role in Google search
The expansion builds upon a transformation that Google began a year ago with the introduction of conversational summaries called "AI overviews" that have been increasingly appearing at the top of its results page and eclipsing its traditional rankings of web links.
About 1.5 billion people now regularly engage with "AI overviews," according to Google, and most users are now entering longer and more complex queries.
"What all this progress means is that we are in a new phase of the AI platform shift, where decades of research are now becoming reality for people all over the world," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said before a packed crowd in an amphitheater near the company's Mountain View, California, headquarters.
## AI ripples across the internet
Although Pichai and other Google executives predicted AI overviews would trigger more searches and ultimately more clicks to other sites, it hasn't worked out that way so far, according to the findings of search optimization firm BrightEdge.
Clickthrough rates from Google's search results have declined by nearly 30% during the past year, according to BrightEdge's recently released study, which attributed the decrease to people becoming increasingly satisfied with AI overviews.
The decision to make AI mode broadly available after a relatively short test period reflects Google's confidence that the technology won't habitually spew misinformation that tarnishes its brand's reputation, and acknowledges the growing competition from other AI-powered search options from the likes of ChatGPT and Perplexity.
## Will AI undercut or empower Google?
The rapid rise of AI alternatives emerged as a recurring theme in legal proceedings that could force Google to dismantle parts of its internet empire after a federal judge last year declared its search engine to be an illegal monopoly.
In testimony during a trial earlier this month, longtime Apple executive Eddy Cue said Google searches done through the iPhone maker's Safari browser have been declining because more people are leaning on AI-powered alternatives.
And Google has cited the upheaval being caused by AI's rise as one of the main reasons that it should only be required to make relatively minor changes to the way it operates its search engine because technology already is changing the competitive landscape.
But Google's reliance on more AI so far appears to be enabling its search engine to maintain its mantle as the internet's main gateway — a position that's main reason its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., boasts a market value of $2 trillion.
During the year ending in March, Google received 136 billion monthly visits, 34 times more than ChatGPT's average of 4 billion monthly visits, according to data compiled by onelittleweb.com.
Even Google's own AI mode acknowledged that the company's search engine seems unlikely to be significantly hurt by the shift to AI technology when a reporter from The Associated Press asked whether its introduction would make the company even more powerful.
"Yes, it is highly likely that Google's AI mode will make Google more powerful, particularly in the realm of information access and online influence," the AI mode responded. The feature also warns that web publishers should be concerned about AI mode reducing the traffic they get from search results.
## Even more AI waiting in the wings
Google's upcoming tests in its Labs division foreshadow the next wave of AI technology likely to be made available to the masses.
Besides using its Project Mariner technology to test the ability of an AI agent to buy tickets and book restaurant reservations, Google will also experiment with searches done through live video and an opt-in option to give its AI technology access to people's Gmail and other Google apps so it can learn more about a user's tastes and habits. Other features on this summer's test list include a "Deep Search" option that will use AI to dig even deeper into complex topics and another tool that will produce graphical presentations of sports and finance data.
Google is also introducing its equivalent of a VIP pass to all its AI technology with an "Ultra" subscription package that will cost $250 per month and include 30 terabytes of storage, too. That's a big step beyond Google's previous top-of-the-line package, which is now called "AI "Pro," that costs $20 per month and includes two terabytes of storage. ——
The Associated Press and Google have a licensing and technology agreement that gives Google's Gemini AI chatbot access to AP's news coverage. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 08:52:09+00:00 | [
"Benjamin Netanyahu",
"Israel government",
"Gaza Strip",
"Donald Trump",
"Israel",
"Kerem Shalom",
"United Nations",
"Middle East",
"Hamas",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars",
"Foreign aid",
"War and unrest",
"International agreements",
"Religion",
"Antoine Renard",
"Theft",
"Stephane Dujarric",
"Politics",
"Military and defense"
] | # Netanyahu promises new Gaza aid delivery plan as supplies still fail to reach Palestinians
By Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy, and Melanie Lidman
May 21st, 2025, 08:52 AM
---
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.N. said Wednesday it was trying to get the desperately needed aid that has entered Gaza this week into the hands of Palestinians amid delays because of fears of looting and Israeli military restrictions. Israeli strikes pounded the territory, killing at least 86 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country is days away from implementing a new aid system in Gaza that has come under heavy international criticism. He said Israel later plans to create a "sterile zone" there, free of Hamas, where the population, which has repeatedly evacuated and relocated throughout the war, would be moved and receive supplies.
With renewed ceasefire talks appearing to make little progress, Netanyahu said he will end the war only if Hamas releases all hostages and steps down from power — and if President Donald Trump's plan to relocate the territory's population outside Gaza is implemented. The Palestinians, along with nearly all of the international community, have rejected Trump's plan to empty Gaza of its Palestinian population and place the territory under U.S. control.
Under international pressure, Israel has allowed dozens of aid trucks into Gaza after blocking all food, medicine, fuel and other material for nearly three months. But the supplies have been sitting on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the majority of supplies that had entered since Monday had been loaded onto U.N. trucks, but they could not take them out of the crossing area. He said the road the Israeli military had given them permission to use was too unsafe.
A U.N. official later said more than a dozen trucks that left the crossing area arrived at warehouses in central Gaza on Wednesday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Israel said 100 trucks had crossed into Gaza on Wednesday.
Food security experts have warned that Gaza risks falling into famine unless the blockade ends. Malnutrition and hunger have been mounting. Aid groups ran out of food to distribute weeks ago, and most of the population of around 2.3 million relies on communal kitchens whose supplies are nearly depleted.
At a kitchen in Gaza City, a charity group distributed watery lentil soup.
Somaia Abu Amsha scooped small portions for her family, saying they have not had bread for over 10 days and she can't afford rice or pasta.
"We don't want anything other than that they end the war. We don't want charity kitchens. Even dogs wouldn't eat this, let alone children," she said.
Aid groups say the small amount of aid that Israel has allowed is far short of what is needed. About 600 trucks entered daily under the latest ceasefire.
## Netanyahu says population will be moved south
Israel has said its slight easing of the blockade is a bridge until the new aid system it demands is put in place. The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have rejected the system, saying it enables Israel to use aid as a weapon and forcibly displace the population.
Netanyahu told reporters the plan will begin "in coming days."
He said in a later phase, the "sterile zone" in southern Gaza would be free of Hamas and the population would be moved there "for the purposes of its safety." There, they would receive aid, "and then they enter – and they don't necessarily go back."
The plan involves small number of distribution hubs directed by a private, U.S.-backed foundation known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Armed private contractors would guard the distribution.
Israel says the system is needed because Hamas siphons off significant amounts of aid. The U.N. denies that claim.
Initially, four hubs are being built, one in central Gaza and three at the far southern end of the strip, where few people remain.
A GHF spokesman said the group would never participate in or support any form of forced relocation of civilians. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group's rules. said there was no limit to the number of sites and additional sites will open, including in the north, within the next month.
## Israeli warning shots shake diplomats
Israeli troops fired warning shots as a group of international diplomats was visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Footage showed a number of diplomats giving media interviews as rapid shots ring out nearby, forcing them to run for cover. No one was reported injured.
The Israeli military said their visit had been approved, but the delegation "deviated from the approved route." The military said it apologized and will contact the countries involved in the visit.
The soldiers' actions were roundly criticized as officials from Italy, Austria and Germany were among those demanding that Israel investigate what happened. Foreign ministers in Canada and France called for the Israeli ambassador to be summoned to provide an explanation.
Israeli troops have raided Jenin dozens of times as part of a crackdown across the West Bank. The fighting displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Early Thursday, sirens sounded across Israel as its military said it intercepted a missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it can take hours or days for them to acknowledge their assaults.
## The trickle of aid is jammed
Currently, after supplies enter at Kerem Shalom, aid workers are required to unload them and reload them onto their own trucks for distribution.
Antoine Renard, the World Food Program's country chief for Palestine, said 78 trucks were waiting. He told The Associated Press that "we need to ensure that we will not be looted."
Looting has plagued aid deliveries in the past, and at times of desperation people have swarmed aid trucks, taking supplies.
A U.N. official and another humanitarian worker said the Israeli military had designated a highly insecure route known to have looters. The military also set a short window for trucks to come to Kerem Shalom and rejected a number of individual truck drivers, forcing last-minute replacements, they said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing aid for Gaza, did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
## Hospitals surrounded
Israeli strikes continued across Gaza. In the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israel recently ordered new evacuations pending an expanded offensive, 24 people were killed, 14 from the same family. A week-old infant was killed in central Gaza. In the evening, a strike hit a house in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, killing two children and their parents, according to hospital officials.
The Israeli military did not comment on the strikes. It says it targets Hamas infrastructure and accuses Hamas militants of operating from civilian areas.
Israeli troops also have surrounded two of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third believed to be alive, after most were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 21:01:05+00:00 | [
"Automotive accidents",
"Illinois",
"St. Louis",
"Business",
"Jennifer Homendy",
"National Transportation Safety Board"
] | # Shortage of overnight truck parking contributed to deadly Greyhound bus crash, regulators say
By John O'Connor
May 20th, 2025, 09:01 PM
---
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Overnight parking for long-haul truckers at interstate rest stops is critically short and was a key contributor to a 2023 Greyhound bus crash in Illinois that killed three people, federal regulators said Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said driver fatigue and poor company oversight of its drivers also played key roles when the Greyhound bus exited Interstate 70 onto a rest area ramp east of St. Louis and struck three semitrailers parked on the shoulder.
Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the crash, which sheared off the right side of the bus and injured 12 aboard, was preventable.
"Our investigation brought to light a critical shortage of safe truck parking and made clear a painful lesson: Until we address this important safety issue, lives are at risk on our nation's roads," she said.
Truck parking on rest stop entrance and exit ramps is illegal, but the ban is seldom enforced because there's insufficient parking for the 13 million rigs on the nation's roads and the federal government electronically monitors truckers' hours on the road and their rest periods.
The board, meeting in Washington, also cited the bus driver's fatigue and "deficient driver oversight by Greyhound," including the company's failure to address the driver's "recurring unsafe driving behaviors." Records compiled during the investigation showed the driver had been involved in four prior accidents, two of which were deemed preventable, and an electronic monitor caught him driving over the speed limit on repeated occasions.
A spokesman said via email that "Greyhound Lines has fully cooperated with the NTSB since the beginning of this investigation" but declined further comment, citing ongoing litigation.
The westbound bus, with 22 passengers, entered the rest area near Highland, 32 miles (about 51 kilometers) east of St. Louis at 1:48 a.m. on July 12, 2023. It slid along the sides of three trucks parked for the night.
None of the truck drivers was hurt, but three bus passengers were killed and the bus driver and 11 other passengers were injured.
The report also noted that injuries could have been minimized if more passengers had been wearing safety belts provided. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted a rule in 2019 requiring commercial buses to have seatbelts for the driver and every passenger. Illinois law requires the use of seatbelts. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 17:52:41+00:00 | [
"California",
"John Thune",
"Donald Trump",
"Ronald Reagan",
"Alex Padilla",
"Charles Schumer",
"Sheldon Whitehouse",
"United States Senate",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"Pollution",
"U.S. Democratic Party",
"United States government",
"Congress",
"United States",
"Government and politics",
"Government policy",
"U.S. Government Accountability Office",
"United States House of Representatives",
"Richard Nixon",
"Legislation",
"Voting",
"Politics"
] | # Senate will try to block California rules that would phase out gas-powered cars
By Mary Clare Jalonick and Matthew Daly
May 20th, 2025, 05:52 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate will move this week to block California from enforcing a series of vehicle emissions standards that are tougher than the federal government's, including first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday that the Senate will begin to consider three House-passed resolutions that would roll back the standards. Final votes could come as soon as this week.
His announcement came despite significant pushback from Democrats, questions from some Republicans and the advice of the Senate Parliamentarian, who has sided with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in saying California's policies are not subject to the review mechanism used by the House.
The resolutions would block California's rules to phase out the gas-powered cars, along with standards to cut tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and curb smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks. Like the House, Senate Republicans are using the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules. The Trump administration in 2019 revoked California's ability to enforce its own emissions standards, but Biden later restored the state's authority.
Republicans have argued that the rules effectively dictate standards for the whole country, imposing what would eventually be a nationwide electric vehicle mandate. Around a dozen states have already followed California's lead.
Thune called it an "improper expansion" of the federal Clean Air Act that would "endanger consumers, our economy and our nation's energy supply."
California for decades has been given the authority to adopt vehicle emissions standards that are stricter than the federal government's. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced plans in 2020 to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles within 15 years as part of an aggressive effort to lower emissions from the transportation sector. Plug-in hybrids and used gas cars could still be sold.
The Biden administration approved the state's waiver to implement the standards in December, a month before President Donald Trump returned to office. The California rules are stricter than a Biden-era rule that tightens emissions standards but does not require sales of electric vehicles.
Biden's EPA said in announcing the decision that opponents of the California waivers did not meet their legal burden to show how either the EV rule or a separate measure on heavy-duty vehicles was inconsistent with the Clean Air Act.
Newsom has evoked Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who signed landmark environmental laws, as he has fought congressional Republicans and the Trump administration on the issue.
"The United States Senate has a choice: cede American car-industry dominance to China and clog the lungs of our children, or follow decades of precedent and uphold the clean air policies that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon fought so hard for," he said in a statement after Thune's announcement.
Senate Democrats have strongly pushed back on the GOP effort. California Sen. Alex Padilla said Tuesday that he will place holds on four pending EPA nominations over "reckless attempts" to roll back the rules.
Padilla, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats also spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon in protest. Schumer, D-N.Y., said that taking the vote under the Congressional Review Act — meaning Republicans only need a simple majority and no Democratic votes — against the parliamentarian's wishes is akin to "going nuclear," a term both parties used when Democrats voted to lower the vote threshold for executive and lower court judicial nominations in 2013 and when Republicans voted to lower the threshold for Supreme Court confirmations in 2017.
"Legislation to repeal these waivers should be subject to a 60-vote threshold," Schumer said.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said he's concerned about precedent. "We are opening up a Pandora's Box of multiple abuses," Whitehouse said.
Thune said that any concerns over the process are misplaced, and noted that Democrats tried and failed to eliminate the Senate filibuster when Biden was president.
"We are not talking about doing anything to erode the institutional character of the Senate," Thune said. "In fact, we are talking about preserving the Senate's prerogatives."
___
Associated Press writer Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 19:14:55+00:00 | [
"North Korea",
"Maggie Hassan",
"Stephen Miller",
"Kristi Noem",
"Donald Trump",
"Mexico",
"Amy Coney Barrett",
"United States government",
"United States Congress",
"Constitutional law",
"Border security",
"Congress",
"United States",
"Politics",
"Legal proceedings",
"Roger Taney",
"Ulysses S. Grant",
"Prisons",
"Abraham Lincoln",
"Immigration",
"John Blume",
"Courts",
"George W. Bush"
] | # Kristi Noem says habeas corpus lets Trump remove people from the US
By Meg Kinnard
May 20th, 2025, 07:14 PM
---
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the constitutional provision that allows people to legally challenge their detention by the government is actually a tool the Trump administration can use in its broader crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border. She called habeas corpus "a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their rights."
Noem, testifying before a congressional committee Tuesday, gave that response when asked by Sen. Maggie Hassan to define the legal concept.
"That's incorrect," the New Hampshire Democrat swiftly interrupted Noem, defining the "legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people." Hassan, a former attorney who practiced in Boston, went on to call habeas corpus "the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea."
The back and forth follows comments by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who said earlier this month that President Donald Trump is looking for ways to expand his administration's legal power to deport migrants who are in the United States illegally. To achieve that, Miller said the administration is "actively looking at" suspending habeas corpus.
## What is habeas corpus?
The Latin term means, literally, "you have the body." Federal courts use a writ of habeas corpus to bring a prisoner before a neutral judge to determine if imprisonment is legal.
Habeas corpus was included in the Constitution as an import from English common law. Parliament enacted the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, which was meant to ensure that the king released prisoners when the law did not justify confining them.
The Constitution's Suspension Clause, the second clause of Section 9 of Article I, states that habeas corpus "shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it."
## Has it been suspended previously?
Yes. The United States has suspended habeas corpus under four distinct circumstances during its history. Those usually involved authorization from Congress, something that would be nearly impossible today — even at Trump's urging — given the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus multiple times during the Civil War, beginning in 1861 to detain suspected spies and Confederate sympathizers. He ignored a ruling from Roger Taney, the Supreme Court 's chief justice. Congress then authorized suspending it in 1863, which allowed Lincoln to do so again.
Congress acted similarly under President Ulysses S. Grant, suspending habeas corpus in parts of South Carolina under the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, it was meant to counter violence and intimidation by groups that opposed Reconstruction in the South.
Habeas corpus was suspended in two provinces of the Philippines in 1905, when it was a U.S. territory and authorities were worried about the threat of an insurrection, and in Hawaii after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor but before it became a state in 1959.
Writing before becoming a Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett co-authored a piece stating that the Suspension Clause "does not specify which branch of government has the authority to suspend the privilege of the writ, but most agree that only Congress can do it."
## What has the Trump administration said about suspending it?
Miller has said the administration is considering trying.
"The Constitution is clear, and that of course is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion," he told reporters outside the White House on May 9.
"So, I would say that's an option we're actively looking at," Miller said. "Look, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not."
Asked by Hassan on Tuesday if she supported the provision, Noem said she did, adding that "the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not."
Hassan, who responded by saying that even Lincoln had obtained "retroactive approval" from Congress, then asked Noem if she would follow a court order overturning a theoretical suspension of habeas corpus, or if she would follow Trump's decision.
Noem said she was "following all court orders ... as is the president," prompting Hassan to say "that is obviously not true for anybody who reads the news."
John Blume, a professor at Cornell Law School, said Noem's response to Hassan was either evidence that she "fundamentally misunderstands habeas corpus" or "was giving an answer she knew was wrong to appease the president."
Should the administration argue that the constitutional provision should be suspended due to what Trump officials have characterized as an "invasion" by migrants, Blume said he felt such a position would be "very unlikely to fly" with the U.S. Supreme Court.
## Could the Trump administration do it?
It can try. Miller suggested that the U.S. is facing an "invasion" of migrants. That term was used deliberately, though any effort to suspend habeas corpus would spark legal challenges questioning whether the country was in fact facing an invasion, let alone one that presented extraordinary threats to public safety.
Federal judges have so far been skeptical of the Trump administration's past efforts to use extraordinary powers to make deportations easier, and that could make suspending habeas corpus even tougher.
Trump argued in March that the United States was facing an "invasion" of Venezuelan gang members and evoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority he has tried to use to speed up mass deportations. His administration acted to swiftly deport alleged members of Tren de Aragua to a notorious prison in El Salvador, leading to a series of legal fights.
Federal courts around the country, including in New York, Colorado, Texas and Pennsylvania, have since blocked the administration's uses of the Alien Enemies Act for many reasons, including by raising questions about whether the country is truly facing an invasion.
## If courts are already skeptical, how could habeas corpus be suspended?
Miller, who has been fiercely critical of judges ruling against the administration, advanced the argument that the judicial branch may not get to decide.
"Congress passed a body of law known as the Immigration Nationality Act which stripped Article III courts, that's the judicial branch, of jurisdiction over immigration cases," he said earlier this month.
That statute was approved by Congress in 1952 and there were important amendments in 1996 and 2005. Legal scholars note that it does contain language that could funnel certain cases to immigration courts, which are overseen by the executive branch.
Still, most appeals in those cases would largely be handled by the judicial branch, and they could run into the same issues as Trump's attempts to use the Alien Enemies Act.
The U.S. system of government is divided into three branches: executive (the president), legislative (Congress) and judicial (the courts).
## Have other administrations tried this?
Technically not since Pearl Harbor, though habeas corpus has been at the center of some major legal challenges more recently than that.
Republican President George W. Bush did not move to suspend habeas corpus after the Sept. 11 attacks, but his administration subsequently sent detainees to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, drawing lawsuits from advocates who argued the administration was violating it and other legal constitutional protections.
In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo detainees had a constitutional right to habeas corpus, allowing them to challenge their detention before a judge. That led to some detainees being released.
___
Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Mark Sherman contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 16:54:27+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Bruce Springsteen",
"Neil Young",
"Pearl Jam",
"England",
"Bob Seger",
"Entertainment",
"Eddie Vedder",
"Government and politics",
"Kid Rock",
"Data management and storage",
"Bob Dylan",
"David Bauder",
"Dana Perino",
"Greg Gutfeld",
"Politics"
] | # Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump keep up their culture war
By David Bauder
May 21st, 2025, 04:54 PM
---
There's no retreat or surrender from Bruce Springsteen — or from President Donald Trump, for that matter.
The rock star released a digital EP on Wednesday with four songs recorded live in Manchester, England last week, along with two of his addresses to the audience that attacked Trump's "corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration."
The Boss pointedly opened his concert in Manchester Tuesday night, his third in the English city, with the song "No Surrender."
A satirical video posted on Trump's social media account on Wednesday showed the Republican president taking a swing on the golf course and his "ball" hitting Springsteen in the back as he stumbles to get onstage.
Springsteen, long a Trump opponent, began the latest skirmish in the culture war in England last week, where he opened a European tour. His same-state neighbor Trump — they both have homes in New Jersey — responded by calling the Boss a "dried-out prune of a rocker."
Both men have had other rock stars leap to their defense. Trump supporter Kid Rock appeared twice on Fox News Channel last week. He said his fellow Michigander, Bob Seger, "smokes" Springsteen.
"Bruce Springsteen is another one of the liberals who has mountains of money who so desperately wants to keep his good standing in the eyes of Hollywood and the elite," Kid Rock said. Springsteen "plays the working-class guy" but his politics are "ass-backward," he said.
On Fox's influential show "The Five," former White House press secretary Dana Perino said she always found Springsteen overrated, and Greg Gutfeld denounced him with an off-color slur.
Neil Young has backed Springsteen, and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder praised him during a concert in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Springsteen brought up issues, and in response "all that we heard were personal attacks and threats that nobody else should even try to use their microphones or use their voices in public or they will be shut down," Vedder said.
"The name-calling is so beneath us," said Vedder, before Pearl Jam performed Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."
For Springsteen, "No Surrender" replaced "Land of Hope and Dreams" atop his concert set list. The EP released digitally on Wednesday also contained a cover of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom."
___
David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 04:33:03+00:00 | [
"International trade",
"Japan",
"Donald Trump",
"United States",
"Tariffs and global trade",
"Business",
"Yuri Kageyama",
"Japan government",
"United States government"
] | # Japan's exports slow in April as Trump's tariffs dent shipments to the U.S.
By Yuri Kageyama
May 21st, 2025, 04:33 AM
---
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's exports to the United States, its largest single trading partner, fell nearly 2% in April as tariff hikes imposed by President Donald Trump hit home.
Globally, exports rose just 2% year-on-year, down from 4% in March, leaving a trade deficit for the first time in three months.
Imports from the United States fell more than 11% in April, while total imports slipped 2.2%.
Weakening exports could drag on growth after the economy contracted 0.7% in the last quarter.
Japan is asking the Trump administration to scrap his tariffs on imports from Japan, but so far, the U.S. has not agreed to do so.
The Finance Ministry said April's trade deficit totaled 115.8 billion yen ($804 million), compared with 504.7 billion yen a year earlier.
The Japanese yen recently has gained against the U.S. dollar, eroding the value of exports in yen terms. The dollar is trading at about 144 yen, down from about 155 yen a year ago.
Exports had picked up earlier in the year as businesses rushed to beat tariffs that have gradually taken effect since Trump took office for a second time.
While trade with the United States has suffered, exports to other regions such as Southeast Asia have expanded.
The U.S. is charging a 25% tariff on imports of autos, a mainstay of Japan's trade with the U.S. and a key driver of growth for the economy. Trump has relaxed some of those tariffs but has kept in place higher tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Japan's vehicle exports fell nearly 6% in April from the year before.
Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's main tariff negotiator, is due to visit the U.S. soon for talks, likely over the weekend, in the third round of those talks.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 15:00:56+00:00 | [
"Immunizations",
"U.S. Food and Drug Administration",
"Medication",
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.",
"Clinical trials",
"COVID-19 pandemic",
"Children",
"Philadelphia",
"COVID-19",
"Sean OLeary",
"Vinay Prasad",
"Pfizer Inc.",
"Business",
"Health",
"Paul Offit",
"Moderna",
"Inc.",
"Marty Makary"
] | # New Trump vaccine policy limits access to COVID shots
By Matthew Perrone and Lauran Neergaard
May 20th, 2025, 03:00 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday it will limit approval for seasonal COVID-19 shots to seniors and others at high risk pending more data on everyone else — raising questions about whether some people who want a vaccine this fall will be able to get one.
Top officials for the Food and Drug Administration laid out new standards for updated COVID shots, saying they'd continue to use a streamlined approach to make them available to adults 65 and older as well as children and younger adults with at least one high-risk health problem.
But the FDA framework, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, urges companies to conduct large, lengthy studies before tweaked vaccines can be approved for healthier people. It's a stark break from the previous federal policy recommending an annual COVID shot for all Americans six months and older. In the paper and a subsequent online webcast, the FDA's top vaccine official said more than 100 million Americans still should qualify for what he termed a booster under the new guidance.
Dr. Vinay Prasad described the new approach as a "reasonable compromise" that will allow vaccinations in high-risk groups to continue while generating new data about whether they still benefit healthier people.
"For many Americans we simply do not know the answer as to whether or not they should be getting the seventh or eighth or ninth or tenth COVID-19 booster," said Prasad, who joined the FDA earlier this month. He previously spent more than a decade in academia, frequently criticizing the FDA's handling of drug and vaccine approvals.
It's unclear what the upcoming changes mean for people who may still want a fall COVID-19 shot but don't clearly fit into one of the categories.
"Is the pharmacist going to determine if you're in a high-risk group?" asked Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "The only thing that can come of this will make vaccines less insurable and less available."
The nation's leading pediatrics group said FDA's approach will limit options for parents and their children.
"If the vaccine were no longer available or covered by insurance, it will take the choice away from families who wish to protect their children from COVID-19, especially among families already facing barriers to care," said Dr. Sean O'Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 47,000 Americans died from COVID-related causes last year. The virus was the underlying cause for two-thirds of those and it was a contributing factor for the rest. Among them were 231 children whose deaths were deemed COVID-related, 134 of them where the virus was the direct cause -- numbers similar to yearly pediatric deaths from the flu.
The new FDA approach is the culmination of a series of recent steps under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scrutinizing the use of COVID shots and raising questions about the broader availability of vaccines. It was released two days ahead of the first meeting of FDA's outside vaccine experts under Trump.
Last week the FDA granted full approval of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine but with major restrictions on who can get it — and Tuesday's guidance mirrors those restrictions. The approval came after Trump appointees overruled FDA scientists' earlier plans to approve the shot without restrictions.
Pfizer and Moderna, makers of the most commonly used COVID shots, each said they would continue to work with the agency.
For years, federal health officials have told most Americans to expect annual updates to COVID-19 vaccines, similar to the annual flu shot. Just like with flu vaccines, until now the FDA has approved updated COVID shots so long as they show as much immune protection as the previous year's version.
But FDA's new guidance appears to be the end of that approach, according to Prasad and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who co-authored the journal paper and joined the FDA webcast.
Prasad and Makary criticized the U.S.'s "one-size-fits-all," contrasting it with some European countries that recommend boosters based on age, risk and other factors.
Prasad said the FDA will ask all manufacturers to do new clinical trials in healthy people ages 50 to 64, randomly assigning them to get a vaccine or a placebo and tracking outcomes with special attention to severe disease, hospitalization or death. Companies might need to repeat that requirement for future vaccine approvals if there's a large virus mutation rather than the past year's incremental evolution. Companies are also free to test their vaccines for approval in younger adults and children, Prasad said, adding "this is a free country."
Since becoming the nation's top health official in February, Kennedy has filled the FDA and other health agencies with outspoken critics of the government's handling of COVID shots, including Makary and Prasad. Under federal procedures, the FDA releases new guidance in draft form and allows the public to comment before finalizing its plans. The publication of Tuesday's policy in a medical journal is highly unusual and could run afoul of federal procedures, according to FDA experts.
Health experts say there are legitimate questions about how much everyone still benefits from yearly COVID vaccination or whether they should be recommended only for people at increased risk.
In June, an influential panel of advisers to the CDC is set to debate which vaccines should be recommended to which groups.
The FDA's announcement appears to usurp that advisory panel's job, Offit said. He added that CDC studies have made clear that booster doses do offer protection against mild to moderate illness for four to six months after the shot even in healthy people.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 00:08:25+00:00 | [
"Government budgets",
"North Carolina",
"Legislation",
"North Carolina state government",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"Josh Stein",
"Taxes",
"Politics",
"Business"
] | # Taxes, salaries, vacancy cuts make plain differences over rival North Carolina GOP budgets
By Gary D. Robertson
May 22nd, 2025, 12:08 AM
---
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina House's reveal of its state government budget proposal makes plain the differences on taxes, salaries and job cuts between Republicans who control both General Assembly chambers.
With strong bipartisan support, the House gave preliminary approval late Wednesday to its plan to spend $32.6 billion in the year beginning July 1 and $33.3 billion the next year — the same amounts Senate Republicans agreed to for their competing two-year budget approved last month.
The amounts reflect a more strained fiscal picture amid uncertainty over federal government spending, inflation and projections of flat or falling tax collections.
"We've had to tighten the belt a little bit more than we normally have," Rep. Donny Lambeth, a top chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters.
But the chambers' paths to those figures show deep areas of disagreement as they pursue a compromise they hope new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein can accept — or build enough legislative support to withstand a Stein veto.
## House more cautious on tax rate reductions
GOP leaders in both chambers agree a previously approved law reducing the current 4.25% individual income tax rate to 3.99% in 2026 should stay in place.
But the House, concerned about revenue shortfalls, doesn't want to go along with the Senate proposal to reduce that rate to 3.49% in 2027 and 2.99% in 2028.
The House also would make it harder to lower the rate below 3.99% by raising revenue thresholds contained in current law that state coffers must exceed before the rate automatically falls. The Senate tilts toward a more aggressive threshold, proposing a schedule that could reduce the rate one day to 1.99%.
Stein has warned that the current thresholds, if left intact, could bring "self-inflicted fiscal pain" by curbing revenues. Senate Republicans have downplayed such fears, and outside conservative groups argue the House budget actually would raise taxes — legislative staff calculate $2 billion-plus more revenue annually compared to current law.
The national conservative group Club for Growth warned on X ahead of Wednesday's vote that anyone voting for the bill containing the "tax increase in North Carolina should expect to be held accountable on election day, and kiss their political future goodbye."
The threat didn't faze House Republicans, some of whom considered it a scare tactic as talks begin with Senate counterparts. House leaders also note the plan would lower income taxes further by increasing standard deductions and eliminating tax on the first $5,000 of a worker's tips.
"Nothing on the outside of this building is going to change my belief and this (GOP) caucus' belief that this budget is ... the more fiscally conservative between the two chambers," House Speaker Destin Hall said during a break in Wednesday's debate.
## Teacher salaries surge in House plan
The House plan would raise teacher pay well above the Senate proposal, with a focus on early-career instructors.
The House proposal would increase state-funded salaries of K-12 teachers by 8.7% on average over the next two years. The Senate's proposed raises are well under half of that percentage, but that doesn't include $3,000 bonuses the Senate also approved.
The House says its plan would vault compensation for first-year teachers to top levels in the Southeast. Stein's budget proposal released in March would raise teacher pay well over 10% on average.
## House goes deep on cutting vacant jobs
House Republicans would direct state agencies, departments and institutions to eliminate nearly 3,000 vacant positions, while the Senate version directs that 850 vacancies be eliminated. The Office of State Human Resources notes there were more than 14,000 vacancies in state agencies as of last month.
About two-thirds of the House's cuts come from a directive for agencies to eliminate 20% of their vacant positions, with cost savings intended to beef up salaries to recruit and retain workers for critical hard-to-fill positions.
## Negotiations could continue well into summer
After an expected final House vote Thursday, the budget bill will return to the Senate — a prelude to House-Senate negotiations on a unified plan to present to Stein.
The goal is to have an enacted budget by July 1, but meeting that deadline has been difficult in recent years as Republicans have battled each other and the Democratic governor. Given this week's discourse over taxes, GOP intraparty negotiations could extend deep into summer.
Legislative Republicans currently are one seat shy of a veto-proof majority, meaning Stein could wield some influence.
For now, Stein backs the House plan over the Senate. In a statement released during Wednesday's floor debate, he praised its proposals for teacher pay, cutting taxes for working families and reducing income tax rates "only when the economy is growing."
"The House's proposed budget isn't perfect," said Stein, yet while also criticizing "the Senate's fiscally irresponsible revenue scheme."
Stein's words trickled down into Wednesday's vote. Following five hours of debate and dozens of amendments, 27 House Democrats joined all the Republicans present in voting 93-20 for the plan. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 14:36:28+00:00 | [
"Harris Dickinson",
"Movies",
"Cannes Film Festival",
"Sam Mendes",
"Frank Dillane",
"Theater",
"Celebrity Interviews",
"Ken Loach",
"Entertainment",
"Jake Coyle",
"Eliza Hittman",
"John Lennon"
] | # Harris Dickinson is one of the most in-demand actors, but he had to direct a film first
By Jake Coyle
May 20th, 2025, 02:36 PM
---
CANNES, France (AP) — Harris Dickinson is sitting on a rooftop terrace in Cannes, trying to find all the movie tattoos on his body.
There's a little one for 2001's "Donnie Darko," but there's a much larger one on his arm for "Kes," Ken Loach's seminal British social realism drama from 1969.
"I'm sure there's a few more on my legs," Dickinson says, smiling. "I can't remember."
But the spirit of Loach runs strong in Dickinson's directorial debut, "Urchin." The film, which premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, stars Frank Dillane as a homeless London drug addict.
A sensitive and preceptive character study, "Urchin" has been widely hailed as a standout at Cannes. Just as the 28-year-old Dickinson, who starred in last year's "Babygirl," is emerging as a major movie star, he's revealed himself to be a filmmaker to watch, too.
"Before we screened, I was debilitated by nerves," Dickinson said the day after the premiere. "I felt so vulnerable — which I do normally with acting, but not as much. I suddenly realized what an exposing thing this is. Like you said, it's showing a different side of myself and putting that out there to be obliterated."
But Dickinson, who first emerged in Eliza Hittman's 2017 film "Beach Rats," only expanded audiences' notions of him with "Urchin." As he explained in an interview, making it was important enough to him, even if it meant sacrificing parts at the very moment Hollywood won't stop calling. Next, Dickinson will star as John Lennon in Sam Mendes' four-film Beatles project. The Associated Press' conversation with Dickinson has been edited for clarity and brevity.
## AP: How did your artistic journey start? Was acting or directing first?
DICKINSON: I wanted to direct from a very young age. I wanted to make films. I was making these skateboard videos and I was doing a lot of short films on YouTube. I had a web series where I would release episodes weekly. It was like a sketch show. That was my first love, just making things.
Acting kind of kicked off a little bit once "Beach Rats" came out at Sundance. It was weird. I had to earn my stripes, of course, as an actor. But I couldn't go to film school because I was acting. So I just carried on my own interest in it and thought: Hopefully someday I can do it. Then the short film happened and the BBC took a chance on me, commissioning "Urchin."
## AP: Was it hard to juggle your priorities?
DICKINSON: Hard to figure out, yeah. And particularly when we're in a world where people don't always love someone trying to do multiple things. And rightly so. There are times when you shouldn't be trying to be a basketball player, or whatever. A lot of people do go, "Oh, I fancy doing that now," particularly when they get to a more successful position. But this has always been a love of mine and I've just been waiting for the moment to do it. It's strange as well because I'm also at a point in my acting where I had to take a lot of time out to make this film. But I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
## AP: That must have required a lot of effort, especially after all the attention of "Babygirl." Did it mean saying no a lot?
DICKINSON: Yeah, for sure. But it's easy to say no to things. "Urchin" was all I could think about. It was pouring out of me. It was all that was on my mind. It's easy to say no when you've got something to take you away from that, you know? Nothing that came in would make me question my own film, which is a sign that I had to make it at this time. I don't know, maybe that sounds self-important.
## AP: What was it about this character that compelled you?
DICKINSON: The discovery of Mike happened over a long time. I really started with the intention to create a very focused character study of someone who was ultimately battling against themselves. I wanted to show a full person in all of their ugliness and all of their humanity and their charm. And that was a hard process to get right. It also happened with Frank, who came on and tapped into those things so beautifully. I kept coming back to the no judgment thing, not allowing us to feel sorry for him too much. Just observe him and go through situations and see how he acts.
## AP: I admire that he's trying to get his life in order, but he's also sabotaging himself.
DICKINSON: He can't transcend his own behavior, which is so common for a lot of people, especially when they've been through a certain degree of trauma. How do you get out of that? How do you change your behavior? When your support network's gone, even the institution is not enough to get someone out of these cycles. As people, what interests me is that we're an incredibly advanced civilization but, at the end of the day, we're quite rudimentary in our design. We're quite basic in the way we go back to things.
## AP: Did the film proceed out of work you've done with a charity for homeless people or were you inspired firstly by social realists like Ken Loach?
DICKINSON: I'm always a bit reluctant to talk about this because it's something I've been doing in private and not trying to be like a heroic thing of a cause. I'm just a minor, minor part of a much bigger cause that is ultimately made up of hundred of thousands of individuals that are collectively working toward change. But it was always important to have the bones of this film lay in that space. It had to have the undercurrent to it. It had to have that factual reality to it.
And, yeah, Loach, (Shane) Meadows. Ken Loach, he's one of the greats, for good reason. He's made incredibly important films. And I don't know if this film has the throughline of a social realism drama or a social political film. I think it has the beginnings of it because we enter the world and then stay there very observationally. But then the language changes.
## AP: Do you expect to keep making films interspersed between acting?
DICKINSON: I hope so. I hope people let me do it again. That's the goal. But it takes a lot of you. I think my partner is probably happy for me to not be a neurotic person for a bit.
## AP: Well, playing John Lennon is no piece of cake, either.
DICKINSON: I'll probably be neurotic, as well. I'll probably be just as neurotic.
___
For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 04:01:11+00:00 | [
"Hip hop and rap",
"Celebrity",
"Kurt Cobain",
"Music",
"New York City Wire",
"Cassie",
"Kanye West",
"Arts and entertainment",
"Jay-Z",
"Lindsey Bahr",
"Lola Abecassis Sartore",
"Kid Cudi",
"Scott Mescudi",
"Pusha T"
] | # Who is Kid Cudi, the rapper testifying at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial?
By Maria Sherman
May 22nd, 2025, 04:01 AM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — Kid Cudi is the latest celebrity being called to testify at Sean "Diddy" Combs ′ sex trafficking trial in New York.
The popular melodic rapper is expected to take the stand Thursday and tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs' ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie.
According to court filings and testimony, the Cassie-Cudi relationship, which grew out of the two working on music together, sent Combs into rages in which he beat her. Prosecutors contend that Combs was so upset he arranged to have Cudi's convertible firebombed.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that he leveraged his status as a power broker to abuse women.
Here's what you need to know about the 41-year-old Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi.
## Who is Kid Cudi?
The Cleveland born-and-raised, skinny-jean wearing, Grammy Award-winning rapper has long been celebrated for his alternative hip-hop, emotional music that effortlessly weaves genres together in surprising ways.
Music blogs and other tastemakers quickly caught on to Cudi's 2007 single, "Day 'n' Nite," with its unique singsong style that later appeared on his blockbuster 2009 debut, "Man on the Moon: The End of the Day" as "Day 'n' Nite (Nightmare)." The album's hits included "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" and is easily one of the most influential rap records of the last two decades. In September, "Day 'n' Nite" was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Cudi began as something of a protégé of Kanye West, when the then-uncontroversial rapper signed Cudi to his G.O.O.D. Music label in 2008. Cudi left in 2013.
He is featured on Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" and West's landmark "808s & Heartbreak." Cudi has always had an eye and ear toward innovation. In 2022, his album "Entergalactic" was released alongside a Netflix adult-animated romantic comedy of the same name, which he told The Associated Press allowed him to "explore the abstract."
## What is Kid Cudi's involvement with Combs and Cassie?
Cassie, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, has been the trial's central witness with her accounts of years of violence and sexual abuse.
She testified that Combs arranged for her to meet Cudi in 2011 to work on music. The two began dating soon after, and she said she got a burner phone to communicate with Cudi in secret.
Cassie said she and Combs had broken up at the time, although they still engaged in sex parties that Combs orchestrated. It was during one of these that Combs looked at her phone and learned of the Cudi relationship, Cassie testified.
In response, she said he lunged at her with a corkscrew and kicked her in the back.
When Cassie and Combs were out of the country in 2012, Combs told her that Cudi's car would be blown up and Combs wanted Cudi's friends there to see it, Cassie testified.
On Tuesday, Cassie's mother, Regina Ventura, testified that Cassie told her Combs was so angry about her relationship with Cudi that he planned to release sexually explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt Cassie and Cudi.
Cassie testified that Cudi came to visit her at her mother's Connecticut home around Christmas in 2011 and she broke up with him, fearing for both of their safety.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has.
## Kid Cudi's more recent music, and acting
His latest album, "Insano," arrived last year. Soon after its release, "Insano (Nitro Mega)," a partner record that featured Wiz Khalifa, Pusha T, Steve Aoki and more, arrived.
On May 9, Cudi released his latest single, "Neverland." A short film of the same name, directed by Ti West and produced by Monkeypaw Productions, will premiere at Tribeca Film Festival this June.
Also in May, Cudi officially launched his new apparel label, WZRD.
Daring fashion has been a longtime passion for Cudi; the rapper has partnered with brands such as BAPE and Adidas. He collaborated with the late designer Virgil Abloh, and in 2021 channeled Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain by wearing an Abloh-designed Off-White floral dress on stage at "Saturday Night Live."
Last week, he announced his engagement to menswear designer Lola Abecassis Sartore.
Cudi is also a celebrated actor, having appeared in a number of feature films and television programs. They include 2020s "Bill & Ted Face the Music," the 2021 Netflix original "Don't Look Up," the HBO series "How to Make It in America" and the glossy "House Party" remake in 2023, in which he played it straight as an anti-social lurker who doesn't like parties ("too much laughing") and only wanted to go to give his pal LeBron a poem, as The Associated Press' Lindsey Bahr wrote in her review.
___
Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak and Andrew Dalton contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 20:20:50+00:00 | [
"Financial markets",
"Stocks and bonds",
"United States government",
"United States",
"Business"
] | # How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 5/21/2025
By The Associated Press
May 21st, 2025, 08:20 PM
---
Wall Street slumped under the weight of pressure from the bond market, where Treasury yields climbed on worries about the U.S. government's spiraling debt and other concerns.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.4%.
Stocks had been drifting only modestly lower earlier in the day, after Target and other retailers gave mixed forecasts for their upcoming profits. The market then turned sharply lower after the U.S. government released the results for its latest auction of 20-year bonds. That helped send Treasury yields jumping.
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 fell 95.85 points, or 1.6%, to 5,844.61.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 816.80 points, or 1.9%, to 41,860.44.
The Nasdaq composite fell 270.07 points, or 1.4%, to 18,872.64.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 59.02 points, or 2.8%, to 2,046.56.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 113.77 points, or 1.9%.
The Dow is down 794.30 points, or 1.9%.
The Nasdaq is down 338.46, or 1.8%.
The Russell 2000 is down 66.70 points, or 3.2%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is down 37.02 points, or 0.6%.
The Dow is down 683.78 points, or 1.6%.
The Nasdaq is down 438.15, or 2.3%.
The Russell 2000 is down 183.60 points, or 8.2%. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:50:28+00:00 | [
"Prisons",
"Crime",
"England",
"London",
"Wales",
"David Gauke",
"Robert Jenrick",
"Criminal punishment",
"United Kingdom"
] | # UK will roll out chemical castration for sex offenders
By Pan Pylas
May 22nd, 2025, 12:50 PM
---
LONDON (AP) — The British government is to rollout the use of medication to suppress the sex drive of sex offenders, as part of a package of measures to reduce the risk of reoffending and alleviate the pressures on the prison system, which is running out of space.
In a statement to Parliament Thursday following the release of an independent sentencing review, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said so-called chemical castration would be used in 20 prisons in two regions and that she was considering making it mandatory.
"Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control," she said.
Though the review highlighted the treatment would not be relevant for some sex offenders such as rapists driven by power and control, rather than sexual preoccupation, Mahmood said studies show that chemical castration can lead to a 60% reduction in reoffending.
It's been used in Germany and Denmark on a voluntary basis, and in Poland as mandatory for some offenders.
The recommendation was part of a wide-ranging review led by former justice secretary, David Gauke. As well as looking at ways to cut reoffending, Gauke recommended reforms to overhaul the prisons system, which is running at near-capacity.
One of the first things Mahmood did as justice minister after Labour returned to power after 14 years last July was sanction an early-release program for prisoners to free up space. She says she inherited a judicial system that had been neglected for years by the previous Conservative government and set up the review as a means to stabilize it.
"If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials," she said. "The police must halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok and chaos reigns. We face the breakdown of law and order in this country."
The review recommended that criminals could be released from prison earlier than currently, while judges could be given more flexibility to impose punishments such as driving bans. It also recommended that sentences of less than 12 months would also be scrapped, apart from exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases. It also called for the immediate deportation for foreign nationals handed a three-year sentence or less.
The review called for higher investment in the probation service to allow officers to spend more time with offenders for their rehabilitation and extra funding for the many more being tagged in the community.
Mahmood responded by giving a 700 million-pound ($930 million) a year for probation within years.
"If the government doesn't put the resources into probation that is necessary, then the risk here is that we won't make progress on rehabilitation that we need, and there will be a public backlash against it," Gauke said.
The prison population in England and Wales has doubled over the past 30 years or so to nearly 90,000. That's despite a fall in crime rates and is driven in part by the fact that longer sentences are being handed out amid pressure to be tough on crime.
Robert Jenrick, the justice spokesman for the Conservatives, warned that scrapping short sentences would be effectively "decriminalizing" offenses like burglary, theft and assault. And tags, he said, are as useful as "smoke alarms putting out bonfires" in stopping reoffending.
In response, Mahmood said she was clearing up the mess left by the Conservatives and that the government has also embarked on the largest expansion of the prison estate since Victorian times in the 19th century. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 18:36:31+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Venezuela",
"Richard Grenell",
"Nicolas Maduro",
"Joseph St. Clair",
"Scott St. Clair",
"Venezuela government",
"United States government",
"Caracas",
"U.S. Air Force",
"Veterans",
"United States",
"Politics",
"Anxiety",
"Post-traumatic stress disorder"
] | # Venezuela frees US Air Force veteran considered wrongfully detained, his family says
By Associated Press
May 20th, 2025, 06:36 PM
---
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A United States Air Force veteran, who the U.S. government had determined to be wrongfully detained in Venezuela, was released from custody Tuesday.
Joseph St. Clair was handed over to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, according to a statement from the veteran's family and a post on X from the official. The family said St. Clair, who had served four tours in Afghanistan, was detained in November.
"This news came suddenly, and we are still processing it, but we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude," St. Clair's parents, Scott and Patti, said in a statement.
Scott St. Clair told The Associated Press earlier this month that his son, a language specialist, had traveled to South America to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Joe St. Clair is back in America," Grenell posted on X along with four photos, including one showing him and the veteran on a runway and another of both sitting inside an airplane. Grenell added, without providing details, that he met Venezuelan officials "in a neutral country" on Tuesday "to negotiate an America First strategy."
Six other Americans detained in Venezuela in the months after the country's July presidential election were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Grenell in February.
Grenell, during the meeting in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, urged Maduro to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. Hundreds of Venezuelans have since been deported to their home country.
Last week, Maduro thanked Trump and Grenell for allowing a 2-year-old girl to reunite with her mother, who had been deported to Venezuela in April. Maduro described the U.S. government's decision to send the girl to Venezuela as a "profoundly humane" act.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 20:15:44+00:00 | [
"Financial markets",
"Stocks and bonds",
"Business"
] | # How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 5/20/2025
By The Associated Press
May 20th, 2025, 08:15 PM
---
U.S. stocks fell as momentum slowed for Wall Street after it rallied from a deep hole nearly all the way back to its all-time high set earlier this year.
The S&P 500 lost 0.4% Tuesday, its first drop in seven days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%.
Stocks of companies in the travel industry led the way lower as doubts continue about how much U.S. households will be able to spend on vacations. U.S. Treasury yields and the value of the U.S. dollar held relatively steady.
On Tuesday:
The S&P 500 fell 23.14 points, or 0.4%, to 5,940.46.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 114.83 points, or 0.3%, to 42,677.24.
The Nasdaq composite fell 72.75 points, or 0.4%, to 19,142.71.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.15 points, or 0.1%, to 2,105.58.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 17.92 points, or 0.3%.
The Dow is up 22.50 points, or 0.1%.
The Nasdaq is down 68.39, or 0.4%.
The Russell 2000 is down 7.67 points, or 0.4%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 58.83 points, or 1%.
The Dow is up 133.02 points, or 0.3%.
The Nasdaq is down 168.08, or 0.9%.
The Russell 2000 is down 124.58 points, or 5.6%. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 18:06:01+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Assisted reproductive technology",
"United States government",
"Government policy",
"Executive orders",
"Supreme Court of the United States",
"Bombings",
"United States",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"Health",
"Politics",
"Brian Levine"
] | # White House says Trump is reviewing IVF policy recommendations promised in executive order
By Christine Fernando
May 20th, 2025, 06:06 PM
---
CHICAGO (AP) — Days after a bombing outside a Southern California fertility clinic, a White House official confirmed Tuesday that the Trump administration is reviewing a list of recommendations to expand access to in vitro fertilization.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February asking for ways to protect access and "aggressively" lower "out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment." White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the White House Domestic Policy Council wrote the list of recommendations over the last 90 days.
"This is a key priority for President Trump, and the Domestic Policy Council has completed its recommendations," Desai said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Desai did not offer additional details about when the recommendations or a plan would be released or give details about the contents of the report.
The report was sent to the president days after an explosion damaged part of a fertility clinic in Palm Springs. The FBI believes a 25-year-old man was responsible for the blast, and authorities said his writings suggest he held anti-natalist views that include a belief that it's morally wrong for people to bring children into the world. Investigators have called the attack an act of terrorism.
The explosion brought renewed attention to the common fertility treatment IVF after it became a major political talking point during the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
Dr. Brian Levine, a New York City reproductive endocrinologist and IVF specialist, said he expects the White House report will contain recommendations for the states and also hopes it calls for expanding IVF coverage for members of the military and federal government employees.
"As a fertility doctor who's been practicing for the last 13 years, I don't think I've ever had this level of excitement for what the government is going to do," he said. "For the first time in my career, IVF is a priority at the highest levels of the government. It signals to patients that finally our advocacy is being heard. Both sides of the aisle are recognizing the problem we have in this country with access to IVF care."
Trump called for universal coverage of IVF treatment while on the campaign trail, after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had provided a constitutional right to abortion for half a century. That 2022 decision has led to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened IVF access by trying to define life as beginning at conception.
During his campaign, Trump vowed to make the fertility treatment free for women but didn't give details about how he would fund his plan or precisely how it would work. Abortion rights groups countered that IVF would not be threatened if not for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which Trump has proudly taken credit for.
IVF costs vary but range from about $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle, and people often need more than one cycle. Insurance coverage can be patchy. Some plans cover it, some partly cover it and some don't cover it at all.
Most Americans want access to IVF protected. Last year, a poll from The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about six out of 10 U.S. adults support that.
Trump's stance on IVF has put him at odds with the actions of much of his own party. While Trump has claimed the Republican Party has been a "leader" on IVF, many Republicans have been left grappling with the tension between support for the procedure and for laws passed by their own party that grant legal personhood not only to fetuses but to any embryos that are destroyed in the IVF process.
GOP efforts to create a national narrative that it is receptive of IVF also have been undercut by state lawmakers, Republican-dominated courts and anti-abortion leaders within the party's ranks, as well as opposition to legislative attempts to protect IVF access.
Mini Timmaraju, CEO and president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, called Trump's comments about IVF "lip service."
"All Trump has done is stack his administration with extremists, restrict access to reproductive care, and implement the dangerous Project 2025 plan, which would threaten access to IVF nationwide," she said.
___
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Associated Press Science Writer Laura Ungar contributed to this report from Louisville, Kentucky. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 19:22:47+00:00 | [
"Arizona",
"Fraud",
"Kris Mayes",
"Indictments",
"Crime",
"Government programs",
"Business",
"Health"
] | # 20 people, health care business and church charged in sober living scheme in Arizona
May 20th, 2025, 07:22 PM
---
PHOENIX (AP) — Twenty people, a mental health business and a church were charged in an indictment that alleged Arizona's Medicaid program was defrauded $60 million in a scheme involving billing for mental health treatment and addiction rehabilitation, the latest indictment in a series of crackdowns in the state focusing on sober living homes.
The indictment announced Tuesday alleged Happy House Behavioral Health LLC was paid the money for services that were either never provided or only partially completed and that there was billing for clients who were deceased and incarcerated.
Authorities say sober living homes referred clients to the behavioral health business, which received money from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and then paid the homes for the clients in violation of state law.
Money laundering charges alleged Happy House Behavioral Health paid $5 million in July 2023 to a Hope of Life International Church, which later wired $2 million to an entity in Rwanda.
The charges against Happy House Behavioral Health include conspiracy, fraud, forgery, theft and money laundering.
The Associated Press left an email with a lawyer representing Happy House Behavioral Health.
In a statement, Hope of Life International Church said it was unjustly charged with money laundering for accepting a donation from a licensed sober living facility that was a tenant of the church and was later accused of defrauding the state's Medicaid program. The church said it didn't have access to the sober living facility's internal operations, financial practices or management decisions.
"The church's only relationship was that of a landlord and, later, as a recipient of a donation — a donation accepted in good faith, consistent with its mission and longstanding practice," the statement said.
In all, more than 100 people and several companies have been charged in cases brought by Attorney General Kris Mayes' office in the state's crackdown on Medicaid fraud and unlicensed sober living homes, many of which targeted tribal community members. The state had suspended payments to more than 100 providers as part of the crackdown.
The scam had left an unknown number of Native Americans homeless on the streets of metro Phoenix as fraudulent sober living homes lost their funding and turned former residents out onto the streets.
Navajos account for most Native Americans grappling with addictions who have been affected by the scam. Navajo officials say that in some cases, people who ended up in the homes were picked up in unmarked vans and driven to the Phoenix area from faraway places on the sprawling Navajo Nation that stretches across northern Arizona, and parts of New Mexico and Utah. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 22:33:50+00:00 | [
"William Robert Braddock III",
"Tampa",
"Anna Paulina Luna",
"Congress",
"Courts",
"Elections",
"United States House of Representatives",
"Philippines government",
"Government and politics",
"Erin Olszewski"
] | # A former Florida Republican congressional candidate gets 3 years for threatening primary opponent
May 21st, 2025, 10:33 PM
---
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida Republican congressional candidate accused of stalking and plotting to have his primary opponent murdered by a purported foreign hit squad was sentenced Wednesday to three years in federal prison.
William Robert Braddock III, 41, of St. Petersburg was sentenced in Tampa federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in February to sending an interstate transmission of a threat to injure.
In 2021, Braddock and U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna were both candidates in the primary election to represent the 13th Congressional District of Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives. Luna eventually won the primary and later the general election. She was re-elected last year.
Braddock spent months disparaging Luna and attempting to inject himself into her life, investigators said. During a June 2021 telephone call with Luna's friend, GOP activist Erin Olszewski, Braddock threatened to have Luna murdered by a "Russian-Ukrainian hit squad" if she continued to poll well in the race for the 13th District.
There was no evidence that Braddock, a former Marine, had such contacts in foreign organized crime or took any steps to carry out a murder plot.
Later that year, Braddock flew to Thailand and eventually settled in the Philippines, officials said. He remained there until surrendering to authorities in Manila in 2023. He was taken back to the U.S. last fall to face trial. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 04:10:57+00:00 | [
"Tennessee",
"Bill Lee",
"Crime",
"Oscar Smith",
"Capital punishment",
"Joe Biden",
"Legal proceedings",
"Pam Bondi",
"Dorinda Carter"
] | # Tennessee prepares to execute Oscar Smith, 3 years after last-minute reprieve
By Travis Loller
May 21st, 2025, 04:10 AM
---
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Just over three years ago, Oscar Smith came within minutes of being executed before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a surprise reprieve that revealed problems with the lethal injection drugs. On Thursday, the state is prepared to try again.
Asked in a recent phone interview about coming so close to death in 2022, Smith declined to reflect very deeply on it but instead expressed a wish that Lee had not intervened, saying the past three years on death row have been "more than hell." Without going into specifics, he said conditions at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, have deteriorated, and he accused its officials of not following policies.
Smith, 75, said he asked his family to stay away on Thursday and not witness his execution because "they don't need to see anything like that."
Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989. A Davidson County jury sentenced him to death the following year.
Some relatives of Smith's victims do plan to attend the execution, Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter said in an email. The Associated Press requested to interview relatives through the Tennessee Attorney General's victim services office, but no one agreed to be interviewed.
"My own personal minister will be with me in the execution chamber with her hand on my shoulder praying," Smith said. He is grateful for that, but also worried about her.
"I'm having a real hard time adjusting to the idea of having a young lady in the execution chamber," he said. "She doesn't need any bad experiences."
Smith will be the first Tennessee inmate to be executed under a new lethal injection process released in late December that uses a single dose of the barbiturate pentobarbital. While the method is new to Tennessee, it has been used by other states and the federal government.
A review of the drug under President Joe Biden's administration led then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to halt its use in federal executions, finding it had the potential to cause " unnecessary pain and suffering." New Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the Justice Department to reconsider that decision.
Smith is suing Tennessee over the update to the execution protocols, arguing TDOC failed to follow the recommendations of a yearlong independent investigation called for by Lee in 2022. However, that trial is not until next January — too late to change anything for Smith. Only Lee has the power to stop the execution. He said on Tuesday that he plans to let it go forward.
While lethal injection is the state's preferred method of execution, some Tennessee inmates in recent years have exercised the option of death in the electric chair, expressing the opinion that it would be quicker and less painful. Smith, too, had the option to choose the electric chair, but declined to make a choice.
"Because of my religious beliefs, I wouldn't participate or sign anything," he said. "I was taught that taking your own life, or having anything to do with it, is a sin."
Smith has continued to claim that he is innocent. In a phone interview on May 7 — shortly before he was to begin a 14-day period of relative isolation that is part of the new Tennessee execution protocol — Smith mostly wanted to discuss his case and the various ways he feels his trial was unfair.
In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge denied requests to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons.
"Now that I could rebut everything they used against me, the courts don't want to hear it," is the way Smith sees it. He says he wants a new trial and "to be found truly innocent by a jury of my peers."
However, the judge who declined to reopen his case found the evidence of Smith's guilt extensive, citing prior threats and a life insurance policy taken out by Smith for the three victims.
Speaking about the execution, Smith said, "It sounds like we're going back to medieval times, to the gladiators. People want to see blood sports.
"Why anyone wants to see anyone being killed, I don't understand it. We're supposed to be a civilized country." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 16:23:45+00:00 | [
"Texas",
"Olin Corp.",
"Chemicals manufacturing",
"Disaster planning and response",
"Business"
] | # Chlorine leak at a Texas chemical plant prompts officials to ask residents to stay inside
May 20th, 2025, 04:23 PM
---
FREEPORT, Texas (AP) — A chlorine leak at a Texas chemical plant on Tuesday prompted officials to ask residents in two Texas cities near the facility to shelter in place.
Chlorine gas was released around 9 a.m. from a plant in Freeport that is owned by Olin Corp., according to Brazosport CAER, an organization that provides communication between residents and petrochemical industries in the area. Freeport is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Houston.
Officials announced that the leak had been stopped around 9:45 a.m.
A request to shelter in place was issued shortly after the leak happened as a precaution for residents in Clute and Lake Jackson, officials said. The shelter in place request was lifted around 10:40 a.m.
It was not immediately known if there were any injuries due to the leak.
"The status of the chlorine leak has been contained and an all clear has been issued," the Lake Jackson Police Department said on social media.
In a statement, Clayton, Missouri-based Olin said all of its employees have been accounted for and people who were potentially exposed were being medically evaluated.
"We are conducting a thorough analysis to identify the cause of the release. Olin is appreciative of the rapid response and support of all site and local emergency response teams during this incident. The safety of our employees, the community, and our environment is always our top priority," Olin said.
The company manufacturers chlorine, industrial bleach, hydrochloric acid and other products that are used to make plastics, paper products and detergents. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 16:31:07+00:00 | [
"South Africa",
"Donald Trump",
"Cyril Ramaphosa",
"South Africa government",
"Foreign aid",
"Government budgets",
"Politics",
"Financial services",
"HIV and AIDS",
"United States government"
] | # South Africa says its budget can't cover for the deep US cuts in foreign aid
By Michelle Gumede
May 21st, 2025, 04:31 PM
---
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa doesn't have the funds to cover the over $430 million shortfall caused by the Trump administration's cuts in foreign aid, the country's finance minister said Wednesday.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana spoke to Parliament while presenting an updated budget — one without the value-added tax increases that had sparked public outcry and fierce disagreement among parties in the ruling coalition.
Without that tax revenue, he said, South Africa doesn't have enough money to make up for the cuts that have threatened the vast network of support for one of the world's largest HIV-positive populations.
The country runs the largest treatment network in the world.
The finance minister spoke shortly before President Cyril Ramaphosa's much-anticipated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House.
Earlier this year, the dismantling of USAID by the Trump administration saw around $436 million in annual funding for HIV treatment and prevention in South Africa evaporate, putting the program and thousands of health care jobs on the line.
Godongwana said the updated budget prioritizes financial resources to support what is currently feasible, and defers other programs until "our resources allow."
More pain might be coming, he warned.
"The spending pressures that may require funding later this year include, among others, the withdrawal of the presidential emergency plan for AIDS relief called PEPFAR funding, particularly which was through the USA," he said.
"We've not made provision for the allocation for that now."
Globally, PEPFAR is credited with saving at least 26 million lives since it began in 2003, according to the U.N. AIDS agency.
South Africa's previous budget presentation allocated 28.9 billion rand ($1.6 billion) for health. The current one allocates a significantly lower 20.7 billion rand ($1.1 billion) instead. The money is earmarked to protect around 4,700 health positions, hire 800 doctors who have finished their community service and address shortages in medical supplies, services, and accruals. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 04:07:59+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Miami",
"Immigration",
"Courts",
"Law enforcement",
"Asylum",
"Politics",
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement",
"Antonio Ramos",
"Associated Press",
"Juan Serrano",
"United States government",
"U.S. Department of Justice",
"Wilfredo Allen",
"Colombia government"
] | # Spate of ICE arrests at immigration courts nationwide
By Joshua Goodman and Gisela Salomon
May 22nd, 2025, 04:07 AM
---
MIAMI (AP) — Juan Serrano, a 28-year-old Colombian migrant with no criminal record, attended a hearing in immigration court in Miami on Wednesday for what he thought would be a quick check-in.
The musty, glass-paneled courthouse sees hundreds of such hearings every day. Most last less than five minutes and end with a judge ordering those who appear to return in two years' time to plead their case against deportation.
So it came as a surprise when, rather than set a future court date, government attorneys asked to drop the case. "You're free to go," Judge Monica Neumann told Serrano.
Except he really wasn't.
Waiting for him as he exited the small courtroom were five federal agents who cuffed him against the wall, escorted him to the garage and whisked him away in a van along with a dozen other migrants detained the same day.
They weren't the only ones. Across the United States in immigration courts from New York to Seattle this week, Homeland Security officials are ramping up enforcement actions in what appears to be a coordinated dragnet testing out new legal levers deployed by President Donald Trump's administration to carry out mass arrests.
While Trump campaigned on a pledge of mass removals of what he calls "illegals," he's struggled to carry out his plans amid a series of lawsuits, the refusal of some foreign governments to take back their nationals and a lack of detention facilities to house migrants.
Arrests are extremely rare in or immediately near immigration courts, which are run by the Justice Department. When they have occurred, it was usually because the individual was charged with a criminal offense or their asylum claim had been denied.
"All this is to accelerate detentions and expedite removals," said immigration attorney Wilfredo Allen, who has represented migrants at the Miami court for decades.
## Dismissal orders came down this week, officials say
Three U.S. immigration officials said government attorneys were given the order to start dismissing cases when they showed up for work Monday, knowing full well that federal agents would then have a free hand to arrest those same individuals as soon as they stepped out of the courtroom. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared losing their jobs.
AP reporters on Wednesday witnessed detentions and arrests or spoke to attorneys whose clients were picked up at immigration courthouses in Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, Seattle, Chicago and Texas.
The latest effort includes people who have no criminal records, migrants with no legal representation and people who are seeking asylum, according to reports received by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, known as AILA. While detentions have been happening over the past few months, on Tuesday the number of reports skyrocketed, said Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, practice and policy counsel at AILA.
In the case of Serrano in Miami, the request for dismissal was delivered by a government attorney who spoke without identifying herself on the record. When the AP asked for the woman's name, she refused and hastily exited the courtroom past one of the groups of plainclothes federal agents stationed throughout the building.
The Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts, referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of Homeland Security, said in a statement that it was detaining people who are subject to fast-track deportation authority.
Outside the Miami courthouse on Wednesday, a Cuban man was waiting for one last glimpse of his 22-year-old son. Initially, when his son's case was dismissed, his father assumed it was a first, positive step toward legal residency. But the hoped-for reprieve quickly turned into a nightmare.
"My whole world came crashing down," said the father, breaking down in tears. The man, who asked not to be identified for fear of arrest, described his son as a good kid who rarely left his Miami home except to go to work.
"We thought coming here was a good thing," he said of his son's court appearance.
Antonio Ramos, an immigration attorney with an office next to the Miami courthouse, said the government's new tactics are likely to have a chilling effect in Miami's large migrant community, discouraging otherwise law abiding individuals from showing up for their court appearances for fear of arrest.
"People are going to freak out like never before," he said.
## 'He didn't even have a speeding ticket'
Serrano entered the U.S. in September 2022 after fleeing his homeland due to threats associated with his work as an adviser to a politician in the Colombian capital, Bogota, according to his girlfriend, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being arrested and deported. Last year, he submitted a request for asylum, she said.
She said the couple met working on a cleanup crew to remove debris near Tampa following Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
"He was shy and I'm extroverted," said the woman, who is from Venezuela.
The couple slept on the streets when they relocated to Miami but eventually scrounged together enough money — she cleaning houses, him working construction — to buy a used car and rent a one-bedroom apartment for $1,400 a month.
The apartment is decorated with photos of the two in better times, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York, visiting a theme park and lounging at the beach. She said the two worked hard, socialized little and lived a law-abiding life.
"He didn't even have a speeding ticket. We both drive like grandparents," she said.
The woman was waiting outside the courthouse when she received a call from her boyfriend. "He told me to go, that he had been arrested and there was nothing more to do," she said.
She was still processing the news and deciding how she would break it to his elderly parents. Meanwhile, she called an attorney recommended by a friend to see if anything could be done to reverse the arrest.
"I'm grateful for any help," she said as she shuffled through her boyfriend's passport, migration papers and IRS tax receipts. "Unfortunately, not a lot of Americans want to help us."
____
AP reporters Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, and Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 15:19:32+00:00 | [
"Animals",
"Matthias Bellwald",
"Jonas Jeitziner",
"Switzerland government",
"Evacuations",
"Switzerland",
"Science",
"Oddities",
"Alban Brigger"
] | # Swiss evacuate livestock by hoof and helicopter because of landslide risk over Alpine village
By Jamey Keaten
May 21st, 2025, 03:19 PM
---
GENEVA (AP) — Not quite a flying cow, but almost: Swiss authorities added livestock to the list of evacuees along with about 300 people moved out of a village threatened by a possible landslide from an Alpine mountainside overhead. One puzzled bovine got a lift down by helicopter.
Mayor Matthias Bellwald of Blatten used a news conference Wednesday to praise the community "solidarity" in the quick evacuations since Saturday in his village in the southern Lötschental valley.
Jonas Jeitziner, spokesman for the Lötschental crisis center, said by phone that a total of 190 sheep, 26 cows and about 20 rabbits were evacuated, including "Loni" — an injured cow that needed to be ferried out by helicopter on Tuesday.
It wasn't immediately clear when residents would return to their houses or the cows come home.
Alban Brigger, an engineer for the region specializing in natural disasters, told the news conference that fog and cloudy conditions made a precise assessment difficult, but an unstable mass of rock and a glacier remained key concerns — in particular, the prospect that falling rock could dislodge masses of ice.
A day earlier, he told reporters the area had seen the "best-case scenario" so far: several small mudslides had occurred, but a massive 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) block didn't come down all at once.
In 2023, residents of the village of Brienz in eastern Switzerland were evacuated before a huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside, stopping just short of the settlement. Brienz was evacuated again last year because of the threat of a further rockslide.
———
Associated Press journalist Philipp Jenne in Vienna contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 13:52:54+00:00 | [
"Military and defense",
"Law enforcement",
"Germany",
"Houthis",
"Yemen",
"Terrorism",
"Israel",
"Hussein H.",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars"
] | # A Yemeni man accused of joining the Houthi rebels has been arrested in Germany
May 22nd, 2025, 01:52 PM
---
BERLIN (AP) — A Yemeni man accused of joining the Houthi rebels in his homeland and briefly fighting for the group was arrested in Germany on Thursday, prosecutors said.
The suspect, identified only as Hussein H. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Dachau, near Munich. Federal prosecutors said he is accused of being a member of a foreign terror organization as a youth.
He allegedly joined the Houthi movement in October 2022 and underwent ideological training, followed by three months of military training. In early 2023, he briefly fought for the group in Yemen's Marib region, prosecutors said.
A judge ordered the man kept in custody pending a possible indictment. Prosecutors didn't specify when he came to Germany.
The Houthis have launched repeated missile attacks targeting Israel as well as international shipping in the Red Sea, portraying it as a response to Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:43:55+00:00 | [
"Labor",
"Meta Platforms",
"Inc.",
"Government programs",
"International trade",
"Tariffs and global trade",
"Federal Reserve System",
"Starbucks Corp.",
"U.S. Department of Labor",
"Business",
"United States government",
"Donald Trump",
"Department of Government Efficiency",
"Jerome Powell",
"Southwest Airlines Co.",
"Elon Musk",
"Microsoft Corp."
] | # US filings for jobless aid, a proxy for layoffs, inch down modestly last week as uncertainty lingers
By Matt Ott
May 22nd, 2025, 12:43 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans filing unemployment claims last week fell slightly as businesses continue to retain employees despite growing economic uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.
Applications for jobless benefits fell by 2,000 to 227,000 for the week ending May 17, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's pretty close to the 230,000 new applications analysts forecast.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are seen as representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 ravaged the economy and wiped out millions of jobs five years ago.
Even though President Donald Trump has paused or dialed down many of his tariff threats, concerns remain about a global economic slowdown that could upend the U.S. labor market, which has been a pillar of the American economy for years.
The U.S. and China last week agreed to a 90-day pause in their trade war, giving financial markets a boost and at least temporarily relieving some of the anxiety over the impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy.
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark lending rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting after cutting it three times at the end of last year.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said the potential for both higher unemployment and inflation are elevated, an unusual combination that complicates the central bank's dual mandate of controlling prices and keeping unemployment low.
Powell said that tariffs have dampened consumer and business sentiment and the government recently reported that the U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace in the first quarter of 2025. Growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the U.S. tried to bring in foreign goods before Trump's massive tariffs went into effect.
Trump is attempting to reshape the global economy by dramatically increasing import taxes to rejuvenate the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Trump has also promised to drastically downsize the federal government workforce, but many of those cuts are being challenged in the courts and Congress.
It's not clear if or when the job cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency — or "DOGE," spearheaded by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk — will surface in the weekly layoffs data.
Despite showing some signs of weakening during the past year, the labor market remains robust, with plentiful jobs and relatively few layoffs.
Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 177,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate held at a historically healthy 4.2%.
Many economists still anticipate that a negative impact from trade wars will materialize this year for American workers.
Microsoft last week began laying off about 6,000 workers, nearly 3% of its workforce and its largest job cuts in more than two years.
Other companies that have announced job cuts this year include Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines and Facebook parent company Meta.
The Labor Department also reported Thursday that the four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week ups and downs during more volatile stretches, rose by 1,000 to 231,500.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of May 10 climbed by 36,000 to 1.9 million. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 04:08:16+00:00 | [
"Earthquakes",
"Greece",
"Natural disasters",
"Athens",
"Aegean Sea",
"Crete",
"Science",
"Ioannis Kefalogiannis"
] | # 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolts Greek islands with no reported injuries
May 22nd, 2025, 04:08 AM
---
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — An undersea 6.1-magnitude earthquake scale struck off the Greek island of Crete early Thursday and was felt across the Aegean Sea, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage.
The powerful quake occurred some 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of the island, according to the Geodynamics Institute of Athens at a depth of 37 kilometers (23 miles) beneath the seabed.
A central road in the Cretan port city of Iraklio was cordoned off after chunks of cracked plaster from a damaged and abandoned building crashed to the ground. "Fortunately, initial reports indicate that due to its significant depth (of the earthquake), there has been no major damage," Civil Protection Minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis told reporters outside Athens before traveling to Crete. The shock was felt extensively across islands throughout the Aegean Sea. Rescue crews were sent to the island as a precaution, officials said.
Earthquake and Planning Protection Organization director Efthymios Lekkas noted that deeper earthquakes typically cause less surface damage.
Greece sits on major fault lines and experiences frequent seismic activity. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:09:04+00:00 | [
"Amber Salazar",
"Retail and wholesale",
"American Bar Association",
"New York City Wire",
"Business",
"Cynthia Compton",
"Amazon.com",
"Inc.",
"Maia Kobabe",
"Reyes Books",
"Angie Thomas",
"Arts and entertainment",
"Lifestyle",
"Stephen Sparks",
"Donald Trump",
"Toni Morrison",
"Courtney Bledsoe",
"Entertainment"
] | # A wave of new owners brings fresh energy to independent bookselling
By Hillel Italie
May 22nd, 2025, 12:09 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — Amber Salazar is the kind of idealist you just knew would end up running a bookstore — a lifelong reader who felt angered "to the core" as she learned of book bans around the country.
A resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Salazar last year opened Banned Wagon Books, a pop-up store she sets up everywhere from wineries to coffee shops, featuring such frequently censored works as Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer," Angie Thomas' "The Hate U Give" and Toni Morrison's "Beloved."
"I decided that no matter what it looked like, I was going to open a bookstore so that I could contribute in some small way and stand up for intellectual freedom in the U.S.," explains Salazar, 33, who donates 5% of her profits to the American Library Association and other organizations opposing bans. "Since we were coming out of the pandemic at that time, I started thinking about ways to combine my love of literature and passion for intellectual freedom with my appreciation for the small businesses in my city who weathered some difficult storms through shutdowns and supply chain concerns."
Salazar is among a wave of new — and, often, younger — owners who have helped the independent book community dramatically expand, intensify and diversify. Independent bookselling is not a field for fortune seekers: Most local stores, whether run by retirees, bookworms or those switching careers in middle age, have some sense of higher purpose. But for many who opened in recent years, it's an especially critical mission. Narrative in Somerville, Massachusetts, identifies as "proudly immigrant-woman owned & operated, with an emphasis on amplifying marginalized voices & experiences." In Chicago, Call & Response places "the voices of Black and other authors of color at the center of our work."
Independent stores will likely never recover their power of 50 years ago, before the rise of Barnes & Noble superstores and the online giant Amazon.com. But the days of industry predictions of their demise seem well behind. In 2016, there were 1,244 members in the American Booksellers Association trade group, at 1,749 locations. As of this month, the ABA has 2,863 individual members, at 3,281 locations. And more than 200 stores are in the process of opening.
"It's incredible, this kind of energy," says association CEO Allison Hill, remembering how, during the pandemic, she feared that the ABA could lose up to a quarter of its membership. "I don't think any of us would have predicted this a few years ago."
Hill and others acknowledge that even during an era of growth, booksellers remain vulnerable to political and economic challenges. Costs of supplies remain high and could grow higher because of President Donald Trump's tariffs. ABA President Cynthia Compton, who runs two stores in the Indianapolis area, says that sales to schools are down because censorship laws have made educators more cautious about what they purchase.
The ABA's own website advises: "Passion and knowledge have to be combined with business acumen if your bookstore is to succeed."
Salazar herself is part of an Instagram chat group, Bookstores Helping Bookstores, with such like-minded sellers as the owners of The Crafty Bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana, "specializing in Indie books & custom bookish accessories," and the Florida-based Chapter Bound, an online store with a calling "to connect great books with great people — at prices everyone can afford."
"In the age of social media, people are craving genuine connection and community," Salazar says. "And books often provide a catalyst to that feeling of community."
Stephen Sparks, who is 47 and since 2017 has owned Point Reyes Books northwest of San Francisco, believes that the pandemic gave sellers of all ages a heightened sense of their role in the community and that the return of Trump to the White House added new urgency. Sales are up 20% this year, he says, if only because "during tough times, people come to bookstores."
The younger owners bring with them a wide range of prior experience. Salazar had worked in retail management for nine years, switched to property and casualty insurance sales "in search of advancement opportunity" and, right before she launched her store, was a business process owner, "a blend of project management, customer and employee experience management."
Courtney Bledsoe, owner of Call & Response, had been a corporate attorney before undertaking a "full career shift" and risking a substantial drop in income. The 30-year-old held no illusions that owning a store meant "pouring a cup of coffee and reading all day." Calling herself "risk averse," she researched the book retail business as if preparing for a trial, before committing herself and launching Call & Response in May 2024.
"This endeavor is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life," she says, acknowledging it could take a couple of years before she can even pay herself a salary. "We're just doing this to serve the community, doing something we love to do, providing people with great events, great reading. It's been a real joy." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 14:14:03+00:00 | [
"Capital punishment",
"Crime",
"Mary Gordon Baker",
"James Robertson",
"South Carolina",
"Legal proceedings",
"Michael Passaro",
"Timothy McVeigh",
"Rock Hill",
"Tommy Pope",
"Marion Bowman Jr.",
"Emily Paavola"
] | # South Carolina death row inmate seeks to volunteer for execution
By Jeffrey Collins
May 21st, 2025, 02:14 PM
---
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After his best friend and four other fellow death row inmates have been put to death in less than a year, a South Carolina inmate wants to become his own attorney which would likely mean his own execution in weeks or months.
A federal judge has ordered a 45-day delay in James Robertson's request to have a different lawyer talk to him and make sure he really wants to fire his own attorneys and deal with the likely lethal consequences of his decision.
Robertson, 51, has been on death row since 1999 after killing both his parents in their Rock Hill home. He beat his father with the claw end of a hammer and a baseball bat and stabbed his mother. He tried to make it look like a robbery in hopes he would get his part of their $2.2 million estate, prosecutors said.
Robertson has fired his lawyers before. Not long after he arrived on death row he wanted to drop his appeals after a card-playing buddy never appealed his death sentence for setting a van on fire with his daughter inside outside his ex-wife's house.
## A letter from a death row inmate
A one-page letter from Robertson landed in a federal judge's mailbox on April 7, four days before South Carolina executed its fifth inmate in seven months. It said Robertson and his lawyer had a difference of opinion.
Since "no ethical attorney will withdraw an appeal that will result in their client's execution," Robertson said he was ready to represent himself.
Robertson's attorney Emily Paavola responded in court documents that Robertson wasn't taking medication for depression, suffered from chronic back pain and a skin condition that made him more depressed and was distressed over those five executions that dropped the close-knit death row population from 30 to 25.
Included was Robertson's best friend on death row, Marion Bowman Jr., killed by lethal injection on Jan. 31, Paavola said.
Paavloa asked the judge to hold off on Robertson's request for four months so he could have a full psychiatric evaluation to decide if he is mentally competent. Prosecutors suggested the judge could talk to Robertson on her own and decide if was able to act as his own lawyer.
Judge Mary Gordon Baker decided to have a different lawyer talk to Robertson, making sure he understands the implications and consequences of his decision and report back by early July.
## Not the first time
Back in the early 2000s, Robertson also sought to drop all his appeals. He told a judge at the time he thought he got the better end of the deal with a death sentence instead of life in prison without parole and he had been let down by every lawyer he had encountered since his arrest.
A judge asked Robertson at a 2002 hearing about his friend Michael Passaro's decision to volunteer for the death chamber.
"It hasn't changed my view. What it did was it made me understand — enhanced reality a bit — to see my best friend go from one day playing cards with me to the next day not being here any more," Robertson said. "He basically has taken a similar route that I'm choosing to take now and we spoke often about his decision."
## Volunteers for death
Volunteers, as they are called in death penalty circles, have been around since the death penalty was reinstated 50 years ago. About 10% of all U.S. executions are inmates who agree to die before finishing all their appeals, according to statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center.
Research by the center and academics found that nearly all volunteers had mental illness that may have led them to decide they no longer wanted to live.
The rate of volunteers has taken a steady decline along with the number of executions.
From 2000 to 2009, 65 of the 590 U.S. executions involved an inmate who dropped appeals, including Timothy McVeigh for killing 148 people in the Oklahoma City bombing. From 2020 to now, just seven of the 111 people put to death have been considered volunteers by the center.
## Prosecutor understands not fighting death sentence
The prosecutor who sent Robertson to death row said he can understand why inmates choose to stop fighting their sentences.
"If you told me — be incarcerated on death row the rest of your life or just go ahead and go to the Lord, you know, I might choose the latter too," said Tommy Pope, now Speaker Pro Tem of the South Carolina House.
But Pope said 26 years ago, he also observed a young man with above average intelligence who likes to work the system when he can and often thinks he is smarter than his attorneys.
"As usual with Jimmy, it will remain to be seen how it plays out until the very end," Pope said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 21:43:36+00:00 | [
"Joe Biden",
"Pete Hegseth",
"Afghanistan",
"Donald Trump",
"United States government",
"Sean Parnell",
"Terrorism",
"United States",
"Politics",
"U.S. Department of State",
"War and unrest",
"Afghanistan government",
"Military and defense"
] | # Hegseth orders new review of Afghanistan withdrawal
By Lolita C. Baldor
May 20th, 2025, 09:43 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another review of the U.S. military's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed American troops and Afghans.
President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly blasted the Biden administration for the withdrawal, which Hegseth said Tuesday was "disastrous and embarrassing." He said the new review will interview witnesses, analyze the decision-making and "get the truth."
There have already been multiple reviews of the withdrawal by the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and Congress, which have involved hundreds of interviews and studies of videos, photographs and other footage and data. It's unclear what specific new information the new review is seeking.
The Abbey Gate bombing during the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans, and wounded scores more. It triggered widespread debate and congressional criticism, fueled by searing photographs of desperate Afghans trying to crowd into the airport to get out of Kabul, with some clinging to U.S. military aircraft as they were taking off.
A detailed U.S. military review was ordered in 2023 to expand the number of people interviewed, after a Marine injured in the blast said snipers believed they saw the possible bomber but couldn't get approval to take him out.
The findings, released in 2024, refuted those assertions and concluded that the bombing was not preventable. A congressional review was highly critical of the withdrawal, saying the Biden administration did not adequately prepare for it or for all the contingencies and put personnel in danger.
Others, however, have faulted the State Department for not moving quickly enough to decide on an evacuation, resulting in a rush to get out as the Taliban took control of the country. Critics have also blamed Trump for making a deal with the Taliban in 2020 when he was president to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which decreased the number of forces on the ground as the pullout went on.
Both Trump and then-President Joe Biden wanted an end to the war and U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
The new review will be led by Sean Parnell, the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs. He will convene a panel that will provide updates "at appropriate times," but there is no time frame or deadline for any report, which is very unusual. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 20:24:53+00:00 | [
"Cyril Ramaphosa",
"Donald Trump",
"South Africa",
"Genocide",
"Elon Musk",
"Politics",
"Julius Malema",
"Tesla",
"Inc.",
"John Steenhuisen",
"Government policy",
"SpaceX"
] | # Trump uses fringe South African official as proof white farmers under threat
By Nicholas Riccardi, Ali Swenson, and Mogomotsi Magome
May 21st, 2025, 08:24 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday with claims that white farmers are being targeted and killed in the country. Trump's main evidence, compiled in a video shown during their Oval Office meeting: Speeches by a politician who was kicked out of Ramaphosa's party, is not part of the coalition that governs the country and whose own political movement garnered less than 10% of the vote in last year's elections.
The Trump administration has used the rhetoric of a fringe politician and South Africa's endemic violence as justification for allowing white South Africans to apply to become refugees in the United States, even as the country has stopped accepting all other refugees and seeks to oust from the country immigrants such as Afghans who assisted the U.S. military.
Some of Trump's allies have seized on Julius Malema's far-left Economic Freedom Fighters to argue that South Africa is engaged in genocide against white farmers, a contention that seemed to baffle Malema's main political rival, Ramaphosa, during his Oval Office visit. Ramaphosa repeatedly stressed that EFF is "a small minority party."
Trump seems to be relying on representations from certain wealthy white South Africans, including his close adviser, Elon Musk, who was at Wednesday's meeting and has repeatedly posted clips of Malema singing an old anti-apartheid song with the lyrics "kill the Boer" and "shoot the Boer" on his X account. Boer refers to the country's white farmers.
"Very few people know that there is a major political party in South Africa that is actively promoting white genocide," the Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted in March alongside a video of the song. "Where is the outrage? Why is there no coverage by the legacy media?"
When a reporter asked Trump for his view on whether a genocide is underway in South Africa, he said, "I haven't made up my mind."
The Oval Office video ended with an aerial shot of a line of white crosses along a road that Trump claimed showed burial sites for white farmers killed in South Africa. Local news reports from the country show that the crosses instead were part of a demonstration in 2020 after a white couple was killed on their farm. The video gained new life earlier this year and has been posted by Musk.
Ramaphosa seemed baffled by the video, turning to Trump as it was being shown before saying, "I'd like to know where that is, because this I've never seen."
The crosses resemble those featured on a hillside memorial in South Africa that claims to mark about 3,000 killings of white farmers in a country that registers more than 20,000 murders a year.
Ramaphosa noted that most murder victims in South Africa are Black. He said that if Trump listened to "the voices of South Africans," he would better understand the situation. A visibly frustrated Trump countered that "we have thousands of stories," and then confronted Ramaphosa with video of Malema calling for Black South Africans to take over land even if the president tells them they cannot.
"That is not government policy," Ramaphosa protested. "Our government policy is completely against what he is saying, even in the Parliament."
Ramaphosa's agricultural minister, John Steenhuisen, who is white, added that he had joined the governing coalition to make sure "that lot" never gains power in South Africa.
__
Riccardi reported from Denver and Magome from Johannesburg. Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin also contributed. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 02:45:54+00:00 | [
"Floods",
"New South Wales",
"Sydney",
"Christopher Minns",
"Weather",
"Australia government",
"Australia",
"Angus Hines",
"Peter Thurtell",
"Politics",
"Climate and environment",
"Climate"
] | # Record floodwaters in eastern Australia leave 3 dead and 1 missing
By Rod Mcguirk
May 22nd, 2025, 02:45 AM
---
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Record floodwaters on Australia's east coast left three people dead and one missing, officials said Thursday, as more heavy rain was forecast in the area.
More than 500 people were rescued in the flooding emergency in New South Wales state north of Sydney. The area has been hit with heavy rain since Tuesday. The flooding exceeds local records set in 1921 and 1929.
News South Wales Premier Christopher Minns said some areas were forecast to receive as much as 30 centimeters (1 foot) of rain in the next 24 hours. He said 50,000 people were warned to prepare to evacuate or be isolated by floodwaters, telling reporters: "We are bracing for more bad news."
The body of a 63-year-old man was recovered from a flooded house in Moto in New South Wales on Wednesday afternoon, Acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said. A coroner will determine whether a pre-existing medical condition played a part in his death, he added.
The body of a man, aged in his 30s, was recovered from floodwaters near Rosewood early Thursday, a police statement said. He had disappeared while attempting to drive through a flooded intersection on Wednesday night.
A 60-year-old woman was found dead on Thursday after her SUV became trapped in floodwaters near Brooklana on Wednesday night. The SUV was found earlier on Thursday, police said.
A 49-year-old man also failed to return home after walking near a flooded road at Nymboida on Wednesday night, police said.
Minns said more than 500 people had been rescued from floodwater in just over two days, many after trying to drive across flooded roads.
Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said 330 flood rescues were conducted in the past 24 hours. Helicopters have been used to rescue people stranded by floodwaters from rooftops and verandahs.
"We've seen more rain and more flooding in the mid-to-north coast area than we've ever seen before," Dib said.
The flooding has hit communities including Taree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in New South Wales.
Taree received a month's rain in 24 hours, an official said.
"Up around the Taree area, we've seen communities that have never flooded in recorded history now flooding," Thurtell said.
The region has opened 14 evacuation centers as of Thursday.
Government meteorologist Angus Hines said a low-pressure weather system had stalled over the flooded region since Monday, bringing 60 centimeters (2 feet) of rain to some parts.
"If it had only been one day and then it had gone, we would have seen some minor or moderate flooding but it wouldn't have been too bad. But four days in a row of this amount of rainfall and we see this significant and extensive, widespread and major flood event happening in front of our eyes," Hines said.
The rain was losing intensity on Thursday, Hines said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 04:01:44+00:00 | [
"Autism",
"Drownings",
"Florida",
"Children",
"National",
"JWD-evergreen",
"Michele Alaniz",
"Jana DAgostino",
"Education",
"Melissa Taylor",
"Health",
"Lindsey Corey",
"Jon Burstein"
] | # Swim classes for kids with autism can save lives
By Jennifer Peltz
May 21st, 2025, 04:01 AM
---
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In an airy indoor pool with fish cutouts on the walls, a group of small children bobbed, floated and tentatively flutter-kicked.
It was what it looked like, a starter swimming class. But here, instructors worked one-on-one or even two to a child. Some held cards to help kids communicate with teachers by pointing instead of speaking. No one blew whistles.
All the students in the class at the Small Fish Big Fish swim school had autism, a developmental disorder linked to a higher-than-average danger of drowning.
It has long worried autism experts and parents, but recent data make the stakes starkly clear. In Florida, a state where water abounds from beaches to backyards, over 100 children who had autism or were being evaluated for it have drowned since the start of 2021, according to the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County.
The numbers highlight an oft-overlooked dilemma: Autism makes swimming instruction all the more necessary but, often, all the more difficult to get.
"It's life-changing for kids with autism," said Lovely Chrisostome, who was terrified this winter when her 6-year-old son slipped out of the family's home and wandered through their lake-dotted neighborhood. She'd once tried enrolling him in swim classes at a public pool, but he had refused to go in.
But her son was in the pool at the autism-specific class at Small Fish Big Fish. An instructor helped him float on his back. When he started showing discomfort – he doesn't like to get his head wet – she eased him onto his side, where he seemed content.
Autism affects an estimated 1 in 31 U.S. children. Their water safety has gotten occasional public attention after tragedies such as the death of Avonte Oquendo, an autistic teen who was found in a New York river in 2014 after disappearing from his school.
While academic research on the issue is limited, a pair of 2017 studies documented a substantially heightened risk of drowning among people with autism spectrum disorder. The risk stems in large part from their propensity to wander off and to underappreciate perils, according to co-author Dr. Guohua Li and other experts.
One Florida 5-year-old apparently wriggled out a doggy door and got into his grandmother's pool. Another died in a canal after slipping through a fence hole at a playground specifically intended for autistic kids. A 6-year-old drowned in a lake after she evidently climbed a bookshelf positioned to block an apartment door, according to the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County. It's now building a national database.
"Swimming lessons should be a first-line treatment for autism," said Li, a Columbia University epidemiology professor who isn't involved in the council's research. Li himself has a son with the condition.
## Lessons a potential lifesaver
Some autistic people excel at swimming, such as the New Jersey teens featured in the 2017 documentary "Swim Team." Many others are adept in water. Even some profoundly autistic children can master survival basics with as little as eight hours of aquatic occupational therapy, said Michele Alaniz, a practitioner who published research based on her work at Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare in Pomona, California.
But some families don't sign up for classes, fearing they'll overwhelm children who might have symptoms ranging from not speaking to repeatedly banging their heads to becoming distressed by noise. Other youngsters get kicked out of programs that can't handle them. Private sessions can be helpful, but pricey.
"Having somebody that understands a child on the spectrum — what the special needs are, how to communicate with a child, how to also mitigate a meltdown, particularly in a pool — is so vital," says Lindsey Corey. She said her 5-year-old son didn't absorb much from a general swim class or from private lessons at home in Lake Worth, Florida, but made progress in a program with instructors trained by the Autism Society.
As drowning risks have come into focus, advocates are trying to make swimming lessons more accessible. An Australian charity called Autism Swim says 1,400 swim teachers, physical therapists and others worldwide have taken its online training since 2016.
## Trepidation and joy in the water
In Florida, the Children's Services Council's of Palm Beach County provided $17,000 last year for the Autism Society of America to train dozens of instructors, said Jon Burstein, who did the council's research on autism and drowning. The organization paid another $13,500 for the classes at Small Fish Big Fish.
The dozen students, ranging from about 4 to 8, attend a nearby autism-specific charter school. They initially were reluctant to get in the bus, let alone in the water, organizers said. But on an early April afternoon, they readily headed for the shallow pool.
One girl floated on a foam board with her face in the water, an exercise in breath control. Another girl grinned as she propelled herself on a foam noodle.
"She's fearless to the point it's scary because she'll just jump into a pool, whether she can swim or not," her mother, Jana D'Agostino, said later. "So this is really important. It's saving their lives."
Across the pool, a boy reluctantly eased himself from the steps into the water, where Small Fish founder Melissa Taylor waited for him. "My turn!" she said, and dunked her head in the water.
He did likewise, then retreated to the steps. Taylor continued working with him, but he soon backed out of the pool and began making hand movements. Realizing he'd had enough, instructors let him towel off.
"It's taking a lot to get him to trust us," explained Taylor. But she also recognizes when repetitive splashing and movement signal excitement, not alarm.
The session continued for the other children, including Chrisostome's son, who emerged with a smile.
He has learned a lot in the lessons, but what struck her most?
"The happiness that he has."
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 08:58:41+00:00 | [
"Alexander Lukashenko",
"Belarus",
"Prisons",
"Law enforcement",
"Pavel Sapelka",
"United Nations",
"Viktoria Kulsha",
"Human rights",
"Criminal punishment",
"Ukraine",
"Ales Bialiatski",
"Protests and demonstrations",
"Belarus government"
] | # A political prisoner dies in Belarusian prison, human rights activists say
By Yuras Karmanau
May 22nd, 2025, 08:58 AM
---
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian man has died in prison while serving a sentence for insulting the country's authoritarian president, a human rights group said Thursday, adding to a growing number of political prisoners who perished amid a relentless crackdown on dissent in the tightly controlled country.
Valiantsin Shtermer, 61, died in a prison colony in the city of Shklow in eastern Belarus, the Viasna Human Rights Center said. The exact date and the circumstances of his death weren't immediately known.
Shtermer, a businessman, was handed a five-year sentence after he was convicted in October 2023 on charges of insulting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and criticizing the Russian war in Ukraine. He was put on the list of "extremists" and "terrorists," designations that implied particularly tough prison conditions.
Belarus was shaken by mass protests in 2020 following a disputed election that handed Lukashenko his sixth consecutive term in office. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, in which more than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands were beaten by police. Top opposition figures were jailed or forced into exile, and hundreds of thousands fled abroad, fearing prosecution.
Shtermer was the eighth political prisoner to die in custody since 2020, according to Viasna. The group said Belarus currently holds nearly 1,200 political prisoners, including its founder, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for over 30 years and has relied on Kremlin subsidies and support, allowed Russia to use his country's territory to send troops into neighboring Ukraine in 2022 and to host some of its tactical nuclear weapons.
Belarusian authorities have recently released some political prisoners, including several U.S. citizens in what some observers saw as an attempt by Lukashenko to try to mend ties with the West, but others have remained behind bars.
The prison where Shtermer died has been known for its harsh conditions. Human rights activists said that he had suffered a stroke before being sent to the prison, but was put in a penitentiary cell upon arrival. He spoke with difficulty, had trouble walking and injured his hand after collapsing but never received medical assistance, they said.
Another political prisoner, Vitold Ashurok, died in the same prison in 2021.
"The Belarusian authorities bear the full responsibility for harassing political prisoners and creating torturous conditions for them and the death of innocent people behind bars," said Viasna's Pavel Sapelka.
According to the United Nations, Belarus holds at least seven political prisoners with disabilities and another 78 who suffer from chronic and grave acute diseases.
"We are horrified by reports about appalling detention conditions, lack of proper medical care and deliberate ill-treatment of prisoners convicted in relation to the 2020 events, including persons with disabilities, and chronic and acute diseases," U.N. experts said earlier this month.
They voiced particular concern about the condition of Viktoria Kulsha, 43, who was sentenced for taking part in protests and has been on a hunger strike since late April. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 00:26:53+00:00 | [
"Everett",
"Seattle",
"Boat and ship accidents",
"U.S. Coast Guard",
"Steve Strohmaier"
] | # 1 person was rescued and a search is underway for 3 others after a boat sinks north of Seattle
May 22nd, 2025, 12:26 AM
---
SEATTLE (AP) — One person was rescued by a good Samaritan and authorities were looking for three others after a boat took on water and sank in waters north of Seattle, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The vessel was a 20-foot (6-meter) long cuddy cabin boat, Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said. The person who rescued the male individual said three others were on board, Strohmaier said. The distress call came in at 1:10 p.m., he said.
A Coast Guard boat crew and helicopter were searching for the missing alongside Everett firefighters and police and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The site is in Possession Sound about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Seattle. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 05:22:23+00:00 | [
"Pakistan",
"Crime",
"Automotive accidents",
"India",
"Terrorism",
"Peshawar",
"South Asia",
"Suicide",
"India government",
"Yasir Iqbal",
"Pakistan government"
] | # Suicide car bombing hits a school bus in Pakistan, killing 5
By Abdul Sattar and Munir Ahmed
May 21st, 2025, 05:22 AM
---
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide car bomber struck a school bus in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people — including three girls — and wounding 53 others, mostly children, officials said, the latest attack in tense Balochistan province.
The province has been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, designated a terror group by the United States in 2019.
A local deputy commissioner, Yasir Iqbal, said the attack took place on the outskirts of the city of Khuzdar as the bus was taking children to their military-run school.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who frequently target security forces and civilians.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the perpetrators "beasts" who deserve no leniency, saying the enemy had committed an act of "sheer barbarism by targeting innocent children."
Officials initially reported that four children were killed but later revised the death toll to say two soldiers were among the dead. Several children were listed in critical condition.
## Blaming India
The military in a statement called the bombing "yet another cowardly and ghastly attack," allegedly planned by neighboring India and carried out by "its proxies in Balochistan."
There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.
Most attacks in the province are claimed by the BLA, which Pakistan alleges has India's backing — claims that India denies.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also blamed India, without providing evidence.
"The attack on a school bus by terrorists backed by India is clear proof of their hostility toward education in Balochistan," Sharif said.
Later, Sharif traveled to Quetta, Balochistan's capital, to meet with wounded people.
Pakistan regularly accuses India, its archrival, for violence at home. Accusations have intensified in the wake of heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed nations amid a cross-border escalation over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, divided between the two but sought in its entirety by each.
That escalation raised fears of a broader war, and during this period the BLA appealed to India for support. India has not commented on the appeal.
## A vicious insurgency
Though Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan is its least populated. It's also a hub for the country's ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination by the government.
Earlier this week, the BLA vowed more attacks on the "Pakistani army and its collaborators" and said its goal is to "lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan."
Militant groups are also active in the Balochistan. Though it is unusual for separatists to target school children in the province, such attacks have been carried out in the restive northwest and elsewhere in the country in recent years.
Most schools and colleges in Pakistan are operated by the government or the private sector. The military also runs a significant number of institutions for children of civilians and of serving or retired army personnel.
In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban carried out the country's deadliest school attack on an army-run institution in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 154 people, most of them children.
___
Ahmed reported from Islamabad. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 04:05:52+00:00 | [
"Tennessee",
"Crime",
"Bill Lee",
"Oscar Smith",
"Chad Burnett",
"Capital punishment",
"Shootings",
"Homicide",
"Judith Smith",
"Legal proceedings",
"Amy Harwell"
] | # Tennessee man faces execution for killing his wife and her 2 sons, 3 years after surprise reprieve
By Travis Loller
May 22nd, 2025, 04:05 AM
---
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who killed his wife and her two teenage sons was scheduled to be executed on Thursday morning, three years after he was saved by a last-minute reprieve.
Oscar Smith, 75, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at 10:10 a.m. Smith has always claimed to be innocent, and in an interview with The Associated Press recently, he primarily wanted to discuss the ways he felt the court system had failed him.
He was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett at their Nashville, Tennessee, home on Oct. 1, 1989. He was sentenced to death by a Davidson County jury in July 1990 for the murders.
In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge denied requests to reopen his case despite some new evidence that the DNA of an unknown person was on one of the murder weapons. The judge wrote that the evidence of Smith's guilt was overwhelming and the DNA evidence did not tip the scales in his favor.
Tennessee executions have been on hold for five years, first because of COVID-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee Department of Correction.
Smith came within minutes of execution in 2022 before he was saved by a surprise reprieve from Republican Gov. Bill Lee. It later turned out the lethal drugs that were going to be used on him had not been properly tested. A subsequent yearlong investigation turned up numerous other problems with Tennessee executions.
The Correction Department issued new guidelines for executions in December. The new execution manual contains only a single page on the lethal injection chemicals with no specific directions for testing the drugs. It also removes the requirement that the drugs come from a licensed pharmacist. Smith's attorney, Amy Harwell, has characterized it this way: "It's as if, having been caught breaking their own rules, TDOC decided, 'Let's just not have rules.'"
The new protocols are the subject of a lawsuit filed by Smith and other death row inmates. A trial in that case is set for next January. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 16:37:34+00:00 | [
"Matthew Lane",
"Massachusetts",
"Crime",
"Theft",
"Technology",
"Engineering",
"Cloud computing",
"Leah B. Foley",
"Internet access",
"Computer networking",
"Information security"
] | # Massachusetts 19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data
By Associated Press
May 21st, 2025, 04:37 PM
---
BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts college student will plead guilty to stealing millions of students' and teachers' private data from two U.S. education tech companies and extorting it for ransom, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Assumption University student Matthew Lane, 19, is accused of using stolen login credentials to access the computer network of a software and cloud storage company serving school systems in the U.S. and abroad, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley.
PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but a source familiar with the case confirmed the company's involvement.
According to court records, Lane is then alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students' and 10 million teachers' names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, residential addresses and medical histories if the company did not pay a ransom of approximately $2.85 million in Bitcoin.
Foley said Lane's actions "instilled fear in parents that their kids' information had been leaked into the hands of criminals – all to put a notch in his hacking belt."
An attorney representing Lane didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment on Wednesday. Lane, of Sterling, Mass., faces counts of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and unauthorized access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Lane is also accused of extorting a $200,000 ransom payment from another telecommunications company last spring by threatening to release customer data.
"Matthew Lane apparently thought he found a way to get rich quick, but this 19-year-old now stands accused of hiding behind his keyboard to gain unauthorized access to an education software provider to obtain sensitive data which was used in an attempt to extort millions of dollars," said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 03:43:26+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"California",
"John Thune",
"Joe Biden",
"Ronald Reagan",
"U.S. Republican Party",
"Barack Obama",
"Neil Gorsuch",
"Voting",
"U.S. Democratic Party",
"United States House of Representatives",
"Pollution",
"Congress",
"Air quality",
"Richard Nixon",
"Ketanji Brown Jackson",
"Business",
"Politics",
"Democracy",
"Government regulations",
"Charles Schumer"
] | # Senate clears way to block clean air standards in California
By Mary Clare Jalonick
May 22nd, 2025, 03:43 AM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted to establish a new precedent that will allow them to roll back vehicle emission standards in California, including a rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The winding series of Senate procedural votes that went late into the evening could have profound implications for California's longstanding efforts to reduce air pollution. It also established a new, narrow exception to the Senate filibuster even as Republicans have insisted that they won't try to change Senate rules.
Democrats strongly objected to the move, delaying the votes for hours as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., cleared the way procedurally for Republicans to bring up three House-passed resolutions that would block the rules. The Senate could pass the resolutions later this week.
At issue are the three California rules — phasing out gas-powered cars, cutting tailpipe emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and curbing smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.
Republicans say the phase out of gas-powered cars, along with the other rules, is costly for consumers and manufacturers, puts pressure on the nation's energy grid and has become a de facto nationwide electric vehicle mandate. Democrats charge that Republicans are acting at the behest of the oil and gas industry and say that California should be able to set its own standards after obtaining waivers from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Thune said this week that the waivers "go far beyond the scope Congress contemplated in the Clean Air Act" and said they "endanger consumers, our economy and our nation's energy supply."
Also at issue is the Senate as an institution, and longstanding filibuster rules that both parties have rolled back over the last two decades. While the Republicans' effort is narrow, it is one of several increasingly partisan efforts to push legislation through the Senate on party-line votes.
Through the series of votes Wednesday, Republicans set precedent for the Senate to reject the state EPA waivers with a simple majority vote. They made that move even after the Senate parliamentarian agreed with the Government Accountability Office that California's policies are not subject to the Congressional Review Act, a law that allows Congress to reject federal regulations under certain circumstances.
"Republicans tonight cross a point of no return for the Senate, expanding what this chamber can do at a majority threshold," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor as he moved to delay the votes. He called the Republicans "fair-weather institutionalists."
Both parties have made major moves to roll back the filibuster — which requires a 60-vote threshold — in recent years.
Democrats voted in 2013, under President Barack Obama, to lower the vote threshold to a simple majority for all presidential nominees, with the exception of the Supreme Court. In 2017, during President Donald Trump's first term, Republicans rolled back the remaining filibuster rules to confirm Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, a rule that Democrats maintained in confirming Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022. That same year, Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to roll back the legislative filibuster but were thwarted by some in their own party who opposed the move.
Republicans have argued this week that they are simply reinforcing Senate rules, and federal laws, that are already in place.
"We are not talking about doing anything to erode the institutional character of the Senate; in fact, we are talking about preserving the Senate's prerogatives," Thune said.
The votes to roll back California standards come after years of Republican efforts to block them. The Trump administration in 2019 revoked California's ability to enforce its own emissions standards, but President Joe Biden later restored the state's authority.
Republicans have argued that the rules effectively dictate standards for the whole country, imposing what would eventually be a nationwide electric vehicle mandate. Around a dozen states have already followed California's lead.
California for decades has been given the authority to adopt vehicle emissions standards that are stricter than the federal government's. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced plans in 2020 to ban the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles within 15 years as part of an aggressive effort to lower emissions from the transportation sector. Plug-in hybrids and used gas cars could still be sold.
The Biden administration approved the state's waiver to implement the standards in December, a month before Trump returned to office. The California rules are stricter than a Biden-era rule that tightens emissions standards but does not require sales of electric vehicles.
Biden's EPA said in announcing the decision that opponents of the California waivers did not meet their legal burden to show how either the EV rule or a separate measure on heavy-duty vehicles was inconsistent with the Clean Air Act.
Newsom has evoked Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, who signed landmark environmental laws, as he has fought congressional Republicans and the Trump administration on the issue.
"The United States Senate has a choice: cede American car-industry dominance to China and clog the lungs of our children, or follow decades of precedent and uphold the clean air policies that Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon fought so hard for," he said this week. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 20:45:13+00:00 | [
"Breonna Taylor",
"Donald Trump",
"Minneapolis",
"Joe Biden",
"George Floyd",
"Law enforcement",
"U.S. Department of Justice",
"Racial injustice",
"Homicide",
"Alex del Carmen",
"Death of George Floyd",
"Legal proceedings",
"Prisons",
"Police brutality",
"Politics"
] | # How federal consent decrees have been used in police reform across the US
By Claudia Lauer
May 21st, 2025, 08:45 PM
---
The Justice Department announced Wednesday it was canceling proposed consent decrees reached with Minneapolis and Louisville to implement policing reforms in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
The department also announced it would retract its findings in six other recent sweeping investigations into police departments as part of a move to phase out the use of the federal oversight mechanism on local police departments at Republican President Donald Trump's behest.
The decision to unwind the investigations is a major reversal from the Biden administration, which had aggressively used the investigations and decrees to push reforms at police departments it accused of civil rights violations.
Here's more information on how consent decrees work and why they've been put in place.
## What are consent decrees?
The federal government has used consent decrees after what are commonly referred to as pattern or practice investigations to address findings of civil rights violations or unconstitutional practices. They've been used for things like monitoring mandated desegregation in schools or addressing unconstitutional conditions in jails or prisons.
The 1994 crime bill gave the Justice Department the ability to conduct pattern or practice investigations specifically of police departments.
The investigations are not criminal. They are often triggered by high-profile excessive or fatal use-of-force incidents like the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. But they can also be triggered by citizen complaints, or be started at the request of local or state officials.
Consent decrees are settlements of the investigation findings that do not require admissions of guilt, but put in place a court-enforced improvement plan that requires agencies to meet specific goals before federal oversight of the agency is removed.
A federal judge usually administers the consent decree and appoints a monitor to oversee and report on progress.
## Who decides what's in a consent decree?
After the Justice Department investigation is complete, and if systemic civil rights violations are found, the department's attorneys work with local governments or police agencies to negotiate the list of reforms included in the decree.
Those reforms can cover an array of issues including policies, training requirements, data practices, oversight and other policing practices, said Alex del Carmen, a professor and associate dean of the School of Criminology at Tarleton State University in Fort Worth.
Del Carmen, who has served as a federal monitor and a special master in large consent decrees, said the DOJ attorneys and the local government or police agency most often will agree on the terms of the decree before it is sent to a judge for approval.
In the rare instance that a police department does not agree to the consent decree terms, the Justice Department has in the past filed a lawsuit to force the reforms, as it did in Colorado City, Arizona. A jury found the department had discriminated against people who weren't members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church and put in place court-ordered reforms.
Most recently, Memphis declined in December to agree to the findings of a Justice Department investigation. The department had not filed a lawsuit in the case, and the announcement Wednesday retracted those findings.
Consent decrees had not yet been proposed in the other five retracted investigations. The now canceled consent decrees in Louisville and Minneapolis were awaiting a judge's approval.
## How long do consent decrees last?
Some decrees are designed to be completed in five years, which was the timeframe in which former President Joe Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, proposed all decrees should have a hearing to decide if they should be ended.
In reality, many of the decrees last a decade or longer. The Justice Department and local officials filed a joint motion earlier this month to conclude a decree at the Albuquerque Police Department that had been enacted in November 2014. Another ongoing consent decree with the New Orleans Police Department began in 2013.
After the consent decree conditions are met, departments often also have to complete a maintenance period to make sure the changes continue.
"Consent decrees remain in effect until a department demonstrates sustained compliance with all requirements," del Carmen said. "Progress is evaluated through regular monitor reports and agency audits. If the department fails to meet benchmarks or violates the decree, the court can hold it in contempt, impose fines, extend oversight, or mandate additional corrective measures."
He said in cases of continued non-compliance, a court can consider the rare step of appointing a receiver- a neutral third party- to manage the department.
## How is success of a consent decree measured?
Critics of police department consent decrees argue they can come with expensive tabs — sometimes in the millions — including paying the monitor. Police unions and local officials often say that money could be better used making improvements to the department and paying officers.
In Albuquerque critics have said they believe the decree failed, citing increased crime numbers.
But advocates of the federal decrees and former monitors said those numbers — crimes or raw use-of-force numbers — are not indicative of success or failure. They point to independent monitor audits that track policy compliance, to community-trust surveys and to declines in misconduct complaints.
They also say the money expended in improving training and accountability often means less payouts later in civil-liability claims against the police departments.
"Independent oversight ensures that agencies cannot ignore or backslide on required changes, even amid political shifts," del Carmen said. "While resource-intensive, it is often argued that (consent decrees) have repeatedly produced lasting reductions in misconduct and strengthened public trust in reformed departments." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 21:30:09+00:00 | [
"Celebrity",
"Books and literature",
"Max Porter",
"Deepa Bhasthi",
"Fiction",
"London",
"International",
"Tate Modern",
"Arts and entertainment"
] | # Indian author Banu Mushtaq wins International Booker Prize with short story collection
By Pan Pylas
May 20th, 2025, 09:30 PM
---
LONDON (AP) — Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi won the International Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for "Heart Lamp," a collection of 12 short stories written over a period of more than 30 years and which chronicle the everyday lives and struggles of women in southern India.
The award was announced by bestselling Booker Prize-longlisted author Max Porter in his role as chair of the five-member voting panel, at a ceremony at London's Tate Modern.
It is the first time the award has been given to a collection of short stories. Bhasthi is the first Indian translator — and ninth female translator — to win the prize since it took on its current form in 2016. Mushtaq is the sixth female author to be awarded the prize since then.
Written in Kannada, which is spoken by around 65 million people, primarily in southern India, Porter praised the "radical" nature of the translation, adding that "It's been a joy" to listen to the evolving appreciation of the stories by members of the jury.
"These beautiful, busy, life-affirming stories rise from Kannada, interspersed with the extraordinary socio-political richness of other languages and dialects," said Porter. "It speaks of women's lives, reproductive rights, faith, caste, power and oppression."
The book, which beat five other finalists, comprises stories written from 1990 to 2023. They were selected and curated by Bhasthi, who was keen to preserve the multilingual nature of southern India in her translation.
Mushtaq, who is a lawyer and activist as well as writer, told a short list reading event on Sunday that the stories "are about women – how religion, society and politics demand unquestioning obedience from them, and in doing so, inflict inhumane cruelty upon them, turning them into mere subordinates."
The 50,000-pound ($66,000) prize money is to be divided equally between author and translator. Each is presented with a trophy too.
The International Booker Prize is awarded every year. It is run alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction, which will be handed out in the fall. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 15:14:35+00:00 | [
"Travel and tourism",
"Holidays",
"Health",
"Business",
"Jess Feldman",
"Spotify Technology SA",
"Lifestyle",
"Technology"
] | # Hydrate. Make lists. Leave yourself time. And other tips for reducing holiday travel stress
By Katherine Roth
May 21st, 2025, 03:14 PM
---
Travel can be stressful in the best of times. Now add in the high-level anxiety that seems to be baked into every holiday season and it's clear that travelers could use some help calming frazzled nerves.
Travel pros say there is plenty you can do ahead of time to make for a happier and less-stressful holiday journey.
## Make a list and check things off
A week before you leave, write down things you need to bring and tasks you need to do before the trip.
"This can include essential packing items, as well as simple tasks like cleaning out old food from the fridge or watering the plants," says Jess Feldman, special projects editor at Travel and Leisure magazine. "The key is to leave the list out for the entire week before you go. I cross the to-dos off throughout the week, and it helps me feel extremely prepared, lessening the stress every time."
## Carry your comfort zone with you
Noise-canceling headphones can go a long way toward blocking out annoyances during travel, although if you use them you should keep an eye on display boards or your phone for any flight or gate changes.
Spotify, YouTube and other sites offer music playlists with names like "Relaxing Chill Out Calming Music for Airports" and "Perfect — Music Travel Relax." Or try "Music for Airports," a groundbreaking album that launched the ambient music genre in 1978.
It's also good to carry extra medications, a change of clothes, a toothbrush and a phone-charging cable, just in case.
Bringing along some snacks or a sandwich from home can feel comforting and be a great alternative to pricey airport offerings.
"I tend to pack for worst-case scenarios, such as flight delays and cancellations. This includes bringing things to do of course, like more than one book, knitting materials, or a few extra downloaded movies," Feldman says. For longer journeys, she might bring a meal in a Tupperware container.
## Stay hydrated
To counter the dry air on flights, bring along an empty water bottle (fill it after you go through security ) and a small pouch with lip balm and travel-size moisturizers.
Hallie Gould, editor-in-chief of Byrdie, a digital site for beauty care, recommends "loading up on skin hydration before your flight. That means drinking extra fluids and applying moisturizing skin products to boost hydration, so you're covering your bases inside and out."
And don't forget your hair.
"Just as the low humidity on the airplane is dehydrating for your skin, it can also dry out your hair. If possible, use a deep conditioner before your trip," Gould says.
## Get app-y and know the rules
"Every airline has different requirements when it comes to the boarding process, paying for perks in advance, or seat upgrades," Feldman says. "It's best to understand all of the above before getting to the airport so that you are not taken off guard."
Having the airline's app lets you know about gate changes, flight delays or cancellations sooner and allows you to more quickly find alternative flights or connections if needed.
## Give yourself the gift of extra time
Security lines can be much longer — and slower — than expected, and so can the walk through a large airport. So giving yourself plenty of extra time can reduce stress. The general rule of thumb is to arrive at the airport two hours before departure for domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
If you're too early, you can always explore the airport shops and lounges or settle in with a good book somewhere.
"I always confirm whether or not there is a lounge I have access to in my departing gate ahead of time," Feldman says. But even without lounge access, she says, "I like to know what the restaurants and waiting areas (near) the gate are like."
## Try to identify the source of your anxiety
"If you have a sense of why you are feeling stressed, it can help to figure out ways to reduce that stress," says Lynn F. Bufka, head of practice for the American Psychological Association. "So if you're feeling overwhelmed, are there things that you can outsource? Is there someone in your family who can help with parts of the planning?"
Recognize that crowds, bad weather and canceled flights are beyond your control.
And some people just don't like to travel far or to fly.
"If it's fear, like fear of flying, it's important to know that it can be treated, and that treatment can really improve the quality of your life," Bufka says.
## Prepare to welcome yourself home
A little extra time tidying your home and making sure you have some easy-to-prepare food ready in the freezer or pantry will make for a much more welcoming return.
"Always, always, always clean your space before leaving for a trip. You are inevitably going to feel a bit off after a long travel day, and coming home to an unorganized space will make it so much worse," Feldman says.
Wash the sheets, take out the trash, put away clothes, clean the countertops. "Arriving home to a neat and tidy space is the best homecoming, especially after a long time away," she says.
___
AP Business Writer Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report from Detroit.
___
For more AP Lifestyles stories, go to https://apnews.com/lifestyle. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 18:53:09+00:00 | [
"Animals",
"Mexico",
"Elephants",
"Tigers",
"Violence",
"Oddities",
"Ernesto Zazueta",
"David Saucedo",
"Diego Garca"
] | # Tigers, jaguars and elephants are the latest to flee cartel violence in Mexico's Sinaloa
By Megan Janetsky and Félix Márquez
May 20th, 2025, 06:53 PM
---
CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — A pack of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates on Tuesday morning, loading them one by one onto a fleet of semi-trucks. Among the cargo: tigers, monkeys, jaguars, elephants and lions – all fleeing the latest wave of cartel violence eclipsing the northern Mexican city of Culiacan.
For years, exotic pets of cartel members and circus animals have been living in a small refuge on the outskirts of Sinaloa's capital. However, a bloody power struggle erupted last year between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, plunging the region into crippling levels of violence and leaving the leaders of the Ostok Sanctuary reeling from armed attacks, constant death threats and a cutoff from essential supplies needed to keep their 700 animals alive.
The aid organization left Culiacan Tuesday and transported the animals hours across the state in hopes that they'll escape the brunt of the violence. But fighting has grown so widespread in the region that many fear it will inevitably catch up.
"We've never seen violence this extreme," said Ernesto Zazueta, president of the Ostok Sanctuary. "We're worried for the animals that come here to have a better future."
## Cartel factions battle
Violence in the city exploded eight months ago when two rival Sinaloa Cartel factions began warring for territory after the dramatic kidnapping of the leader of one of the groups by a son of notorious capo Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán who then delivered him to U.S. authorities via a private plane.
Since then, intense fighting between the heavily armed factions has become the new normal for civilians in Culiacan, a city which for years avoided the worst of Mexico's violence in large part because the Sinaloa Cartel maintained such complete control.
"With the escalating war between the two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, they have begun to extort, kidnap and rob cars because they need funds to finance their war," said security analyst David Saucedo. "And the civilians in Culiacan are the ones that suffer."
Zazueta, the sanctuary director, said their flight from the city is another sign of just how far the warfare has seeped into daily life.
This week, refuge staff loaded up roaring animals onto a convoy as some trainers attempted to sooth them. One murmured in a soft voice as he fed a bag of carrots to an elephant in a shipping container, "I'm going to be right here, no one will do anything to you."
Veterinarians and animals traveled along the freeway to seaside Mazatlan, where they released the animals into another wildlife reserve. Their caravan of vehicles flying large white flags, in a sign of peace, rolled past young men in black ski masks perched on motorcycles who watched them intently — a reminder of what the animals and refuge workers were leaving behind.
The relocation came after months of planning and training the animals, a move made by the organization in an act of desperation. They said the sanctuary was caught in the crossfire of the warfare because of its proximity to the town of Jesús María, a stronghold of Los Chapitos, one of the warring factions.
## 'No safe place left these days'
During intense periods of violence, staff at the sanctuary could hear gunshots echoing nearby, the roar of cars and helicopters overhead, something they say scares the animals. Cartel fighting regularly blocked staff off from reaching the sanctuary, and some animals went days without eating. Many have started to lose fur and at least two have died due to the situation, Zazueta said.
Complicating matters is the fact that an increasing number of the animals they rescue are former narco pets left abandoned in rural swathes of the state. In one case, a Bengal tiger was discovered chained in a plaza, caught in the center of shootouts. Rumors circulate in Sinaloa and other conflict-ridden parts of Mexico that capos feed their enemies to pet lions.
Diego García, a refuge staff member, is among those who travel out to rescue those animals. He said he regularly receives anonymous threats, with callers claiming to know his address and how to find him. He worries he'll be targeted for taking away the former pets of capos. Zazueta said the refuge also receives calls threatening to burn the sanctuary to the ground and kill the fauna if payment isn't made.
"There's no safe place left in this city these days," said García.
That's the feeling for many in the city of 1 million. When the sun rises, parents check for news of shootouts as if it were the weather, to determine if it's safe to send their kids to school. Burned houses sit riddled with bullets and occasionally bodies appear hanging from bridges outside the city. By night, Culiacan turns into a ghost town, leaving bars and clubs shuttered and many without work.
"My son, my son, I'm here. I'm not going to leave you alone," screamed one mother, sobbing on the side of the road and cursing officials as they inspected her son's dead body, splayed out and surrounded by bullet casings late Monday night. "Why do the police do nothing?" she cried out.
## Displaced animals head for new refuge
In February, while driving a refuge vehicle used for to rescue felines and other species, García said he was forced from the car by an armed, masked man in an SUV. At gunpoint, they stole the truck, animal medicine and tools used by the group for rescues and left him trembling on the side of the road.
The breaking point for the Ostok Sanctuary came in March, when one of the two elephants in their care, Bireki, injured her foot. Veterinarians scrambled to find a specialist to treat her in Mexico, the United States and beyond. No one would brave the trip to Culiacan.
"We asked ourselves, 'what are we doing here?'" Zazueta said. "We can't risk this happening again. If we don't leave, who will treat them?"
The concern by many is that Mexico's crackdown on the cartels will be met with even more violent power moves by criminal organizations, as has happened in the past, said Saucedo, the security analyst.
Zazueta blames local government and security forces for not doing more, and said their pleas for help in the past eight months have gone unanswered.
Sinaloa's governor's office did not immediately respond to a request comment.
The sanctuary made the move without any public announcement, worried that they might face repercussions from local officials or the same cartels forcing them to flee, but they hope the animals will find some relief in Mazatlan after years of conflict.
García, the sanctuary staff member, is not so sure. While he hopes for the best, he said he's also watched cartel violence spread like a cancer across the Latin American country. Mazatlan, too, is also facing bursts of violence, though nothing compared to the Sinaloan capital.
"It's at least more stable," he said. "Because here, today, it's just suffocating."
But as the sun set Tuesday, dozens of refuge workers, families and local media gathered at an animal refuge in Mazatlan, craning their necks to catch of glimpse of trailers loaded with elephants, lions and tigers dozing and peering out curiously at the beginning of their new lives.
——
Associated Press videojournalist Fernanda Pesce contributed to this report from Culiacan, Mexico.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 21:27:59+00:00 | [
"California state government",
"California",
"Sacramento",
"Sabrina Cervantes",
"Law enforcement",
"Emergency care",
"Wendy Carrillo",
"Politics",
"Allison Smith",
"Automotive accidents",
"Dave Min"
] | # California state senator cited for suspicion of impaired driving, says she wasn't intoxicated
May 21st, 2025, 09:27 PM
---
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California state lawmaker denied having any alcohol and drugs in her system after Sacramento police cited her earlier this week on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Sacramento police responded at around 1:30 p.m. Monday to a report of a vehicle crash involving state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, department spokesperson Allison Smith said. Cervantes was taken by a private party to a hospital and treated for minor injuries, Smith said.
Smith said officers also went to the hospital as part of their investigation into the incident. They observed "objective signs of intoxication" and issued her a citation for suspicion of DUI, she said. The department later specified they believed Cervantes to be under the influence of drugs, not alcohol. Police did not conduct a breathalyzer test, Smith said.
Cervantes, a Democrat representing part of the Inland Empire, claims no wrongdoing. She said she was seeking care in an emergency room after a car struck her vehicle. She was then "accosted" by Sacramento police officers, who accused her of driving under the influence and detained her for several hours, she said.
Cervantes was elected to the state Senate last year after years serving in the Assembly. She previously chaired the Latino Legislative Caucus.
Cervantes said lab results she sought in the hospital showed she did not have alcohol or drugs in her system.
"This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken," Cervantes said in a statement. "As a Senator, wife, and mother, I hold myself to the highest standard and expect others that serve our communities to do the same."
The incident, which was first reported by Politico, follows several incidents in recent years in which a Democratic state lawmaker in California has been suspected of driving drunk by local authorities. U.S. Rep. Dave Min, who was a state senator at the time, and then-Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo were arrested in separate incidents in 2023 for driving under the influence. Both admitted wrongdoing.
___
This story has been updated to correct that Sacramento police believed Cervantes to be under the influence of drugs, not alcohol. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 17:12:26+00:00 | [
"Marco Rubio",
"Donald Trump",
"Jim Risch",
"Mitch McConnell",
"Susan Collins",
"Jeff Merkley",
"Bashar Assad",
"Gaza Strip",
"Syria",
"Israel",
"Russia",
"United States government",
"Government policy",
"Ukraine",
"United States Senate",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars",
"Israel-Hamas war",
"United States",
"Hamas",
"U.S. Democratic Party",
"Israel government",
"Russia Ukraine war",
"Politics",
"War and unrest",
"Jeanne Shaheen",
"Palestinian territories government",
"South Africa government"
] | # Rubio and Democratic senators spar over foreign policy
By Matthew Lee and Ellen Knickmeyer
May 20th, 2025, 05:12 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Democratic senators sparred Tuesday over the Trump administration's foreign policies, ranging from Ukraine and Russia to the Middle East, Latin America, the slashing of the U.S. foreign assistance budget and refugee admissions.
Rubio defended the administration's decisions to his former colleagues during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, his first since being confirmed on President Donald Trump's Inauguration Day.
He said "America is back" and claimed four months of foreign-policy achievements, even as many of them remain frustratingly inconclusive. Among them are the resumption of nuclear talks with Iran, efforts to bring Russia and Ukraine into peace talks and efforts to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
America's top diplomat praised agreements with El Salvador and other Latin American countries to accept migrant deportees, saying "secure borders, safe communities and zero tolerance for criminal cartels are once again the guiding principles of our foreign policy."
He also rejected assertions that massive cuts to his department's budget would hurt America's standing abroad. Instead, he said the cuts would actually improve the U.S. reputation internationally.
## Hearing opens with a joke, then turns serious
Committee Chairman Jim Risch opened the hearing with praise for Trump's changes and spending cuts and welcomed what he called the administration's promising nuclear talks with Iran.
Risch also noted what he jokingly called "modest disagreement" with Democratic lawmakers, who used Tuesday's hearing to confront Rubio about Trump administration moves.
Ranking Democratic member Jeanne Shaheen argued that the Trump administration has "eviscerated six decades of foreign-policy investments" and given China openings around the world.
"I urge you to stand up to the extremists of the administration," the New Hampshire senator said.
Other Democrats excoriated the administration for its suspension of the refugee admissions program, particularly while allowing white Afrikaners from South Africa to enter the country.
Some Republicans also warned about drastic foreign assistance cuts, including former Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins. They expressed concern that the U.S. is being outmaneuvered by its rivals internationally after the elimination of thousands of aid programs.
"The basic functions that soft power provides are extremely important," McConnell told Rubio at a second hearing later in the day before the Senate Appropriations Committee. "You get a whole lot of friends for not much money."
## Rubio says the US is encouraging but not threatening Israel on Gaza aid
Rubio told the Appropriations Committee that the Trump administration is encouraging but not threatening Israel to resume humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza.
He said the U.S. is not following the lead of several European countries that have imposed sanctions or warned of actions against Israel amid the dearth of assistance reaching vulnerable Palestinians. However, he said U.S. officials have stressed in discussions with the Israelis that aid is urgently needed for civilians in Gaza who are suffering during Israel's military operation against Hamas.
"We're not prepared to respond the way these countries have," but the U.S. has engaged with Israel in the last few days about "the need to resume humanitarian aid," Rubio said. "We anticipate that those flows will increase over the next few days and weeks — it's important that that be achieved."
And Rubio acknowledged that the administration was approaching foreign governments about taking mass numbers of civilians from Gaza but insisted that any Palestinians leaving would be "voluntary."
"There's no deportation," Rubio said. "We've asked countries preliminarily whether they will be open to accepting people not as a permanent solution, but as a bridge to reconstruction" in Gaza.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., condemned it as a "strategy of forced migration."
Also on the Middle East, Rubio said the administration has pushed ahead with attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and promote stability in Syria.
He stressed the importance of U.S. engagement with Syria, saying that otherwise, he fears the interim government there could be weeks or months away from a "potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions."
Rubio's comments addressed Trump's pledge to lift sanctions burdening Syria's new transitional government, which is led by a former militant chief who led the overthrow of the country's longtime oppressive leader, Bashar Assad, late last year. The U.S. sanctions were imposed under Assad.
## Rubio and senators clash over white South Africans entering the country
In two particularly contentious exchanges, Kaine and Van Hollen demanded answers on the decision to suspend overall refugee admissions but to exempt Afrikaners based on what they called "specious" claims that they have been subjected to massive discrimination by the South African government. Rubio gave no ground.
In one tense exchange, Kaine pressed Rubio to say whether there should be a different refugee policy based on skin color.
"I'm not the one arguing that," Rubio said. "Apparently, you are, because you don't like the fact they're white."
"The United States has a right to pick and choose who we allow into the United States," he said. "If there is a subset of people that are easier to vet, who we have a better understanding of who they are and what they're going to do when they come here, they're going to receive preference."
He added: "There are a lot of sad stories around the world, millions and millions of people around the world. It's heartbreaking, but we cannot assume millions and millions of people around the world. No country can." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 18:42:46+00:00 | [
"New Orleans",
"Crime",
"Prisons",
"Law enforcement",
"Corey Boyd",
"Indictments",
"Antoine Massey",
"Michael Kennedy",
"Liz Murrill"
] | # New Orleans jail worker thought he was unclogging a toilet, not helping 10 escape, lawyer says
By Jack Brook
May 21st, 2025, 06:42 PM
---
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ten men who broke out of a New Orleans jail last week clogged a toilet to get the water shut off so that they could escape through a hole behind it, a lawyer for a maintenance worker who is charged with helping them said Wednesday.
The worker, Sterling Williams, did not know about the men's plan and did not allow the inmates to cut a pipe behind the toilet to create an opening for their escape, attorney Michael Kennedy told The Associated Press.
The defense attorney laid out a very different narrative than that presented by authorities a day earlier, when Williams, 33, was arrested.
Authorities have said an inmate instructed Williams to turn off the water to a toilet, leading to one of the largest jailbreaks in recent U.S. history. Five of the men remained at large Wednesday.
## Williams just a 'tool,' lawyer says
Kennedy told the AP that after a deputy called Williams to fix a toilet, he found it overflowing.
"This was clearly all part of an orchestrated plan," Kennedy said. Williams "was nothing more than the tool they used to turn off the water, which they knew would have to happen after clogging the toilet."
According to an arrest affidavit that made no mention of a clogged toilet, Williams was "initially very evasive and untruthful" during an interview but ultimately told investigators that an inmate had threatened to "shank" him if he did not turn off the water. Williams could have reported the threat and the escape plan, authorities have said. They asserted that because Williams turned the water off, the inmates were "able to successfully make good" on their escape, the affidavit said.
Kennedy said Williams did not report the escape because he was "not aware" it was happening. The lawyer also addressed authorities' statements that his client was threatened into helping the escape.
"He was not aware that there was going to be an escape," Kennedy said. "He was not conspiring with them. He had no knowledge that he was being used."
A message was left seeking comment from the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office about Kennedy's remarks. The sheriff said Tuesday that she believes the escape was an inside job.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and Attorney General Liz Murrill toured the jail Wednesday morning. Williams told reporters after the tour that "certainly more than one person" was responsible for the escape but declined to share further details.
## Shanking comment was not a threat, lawyer says
Inmate Antoine Massey, who approached Sterling Williams and said he would "shank" him as he was doing his maintenance work, was "just talking to talk" and not intimidating the maintenance worker, Kennedy said.
"Everyone seems to have leaped on that, saying he was acting out of fear. No," Kennedy said. "Yes, someone said they would shank him. They didn't say it in a particularly threatening manner. They said it more as an aside."
Kennedy said the cell with the clogged toilet was for disabled inmates and should never have been in use. "No one should have been in this cell to begin with," he said. "This cell should have been locked down."
"It would seem obvious to me that filling up the toilet, clogging the toilet, was a portion of the escapees' plan," Kennedy said. "They would know that whoever the maintenance person was would have to turn off the water … because it was overflowing."
## 'A scapegoat'
Kennedy said he was only able to meet with Williams for around 30 minutes via Zoom. He did not ask Williams whether he had finished unclogging the toilet, whether he turned the water back on, or how long he was inside the cell.
Williams did not know the name of the deputy who told him to fix the clogged toilet, Kennedy said.
Williams is worried about his safety and his future, his lawyer said. He is being held in a different facility in a separate parish.
"The most important thing I've learned is that these charges are ridiculous and the sheriff's office is trying to use him as a scapegoat to minimize their own embarrassment," Kennedy said. "He did nothing more than the job they pay him to do and now they're attempting to sacrifice him for it."
Williams is charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office.
## Additional arrests made
Also Wednesday, authorities arrested two people accused of helping some of the escapees. Cortnie Harris, 32, of New Orleans, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, of Slidell, are each charged with one felony count of being an accessory after the fact, according to a Louisiana State Police press release.
They were booked into the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center. Online jail records did not indicate whether either woman had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
An initial investigation showed that Harris was in touch by phone with an escapee who's still on the run and transported two escapees who still haven't been caught to multiple locations in New Orleans, the release said. Investigators said Baptiste had been in contact by phone and social media with Corey Boyd, who has since been recaptured, and helped him get food while he was hiding.
___
Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 15:50:54+00:00 | [
"Marvin Ellison",
"Ernie Herrman",
"Donald Trump",
"Economic policy",
"Brian Cornell",
"Government policy",
"Retail and wholesale",
"Business",
"Billy Bastek",
"Recessions and depressions",
"Lowes Companies",
"Inc.",
"Economy",
"United States government",
"International trade"
] | # Tariffs, inflation and leery customers are hitting retailers in different ways
By Michelle Chapman
May 21st, 2025, 03:50 PM
---
Retailers are trying to navigate their way through economic uncertainty in 2025. Tariffs, inflation and lingering fears of a recession have left many Americans uneasy and pulling back on spending.
Because consumer spending accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, a retreat would heighten the odds of contraction for the U.S. economy.
With earnings from major retailers wrapping up it's become clear that the trade war launched by the Trump administration is impacting retailers in very different ways.
Walmart earned a public rebuke from President Donald Trump after it said last week that it has already raised prices and will have to do so again this summer, right when the back-to-school shopping season kicks off. Trump told the retail giant that it should "eat" the additional costs created by his tariffs.
Home Depot said Tuesday that it doesn't expect to raise prices because of tariffs, saying it has spent years diversifying the sources for the goods on its shelves. However, executive Billy Bastek said some products on Home Depot shelves now may disappear. "There's items that we have that could potentially be impacted from a tariff that, candidly, we won't have going forward," Bastek said in a conference call with industry analysts.
While retailers are sorting out how to best operate in a trade war, their customers are taking stock of their finances and the trends are not good. U.S. consumer sentiment declined slightly in May for the fifth straight month, surprising economists, as Americans increasingly worry that President Donald Trump's trade war will worsen inflation.
The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's closely watched consumer sentiment index, released Friday, declined 2.7% on a monthly basis to 50.8, the second-lowest level in the nearly 75-year history of the survey. The only lower reading was in June 2022. Since January, sentiment has tumbled nearly 30%.
Here's a quick look at some poignant details from retailers reporting quarterly financial results Wednesday.
## Target
Target's sales dropped more than anticipated in the first quarter, and the retailer warned they will slip for all of 2025 year as its customers, worried over the impact of tariffs and the economy, pull back on spending.
Target also cut its annual sales projections. The company now expects a low-single digit decline for 2025 after previously projecting a 1% increase for sales.
Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said during Target's conference call that the chain has been dealing with multiple issues impacting its business, including tariffs and declining consumer confidence.
"We have many levers to use in mitigating the impact of tariffs and price is the very last resort," he said. "Our strategy is to remain price competitive by leveraging the capabilities, long-standing relationships and the scale that set us apart from many of our retail peers."
## TJX
TJX Cos., parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other stores, has been pegged as one of the potential "winners" of the shifting trade landscape, as Americans try to save money.
That appeared to be the case Wednesday as the company beat both revenue and profit expectations on Wall Street.
And CEO Ernie Herrman said the second quarter is off to a strong start.
"I am convinced that our broad assortments of great brands and fashions, at compelling prices, will continue to be a tremendous draw for shoppers seeking value," he said. "Further, I am confident that the strength, flexibility, and resiliency of our off-price business model will serve us well in today's macro environment, as it has throughout our long, successful history."
TJX maintained its fiscal 2026 forecast, which includes guidance for consolidated same-store sales to be up 2% to 3%.
## Lowe's
Lowe's first-quarter sales declined slightly to $20.9 billion from $21.4 billion a year earlier, but that was better than Wall Street expected, with the U.S. housing market in a slump.
The home improvement company reaffirmed its 2025 outlook for sales in a range of $83.5 to $84.5 billion. It still expects same-store sales to be flat to up 1%.
President and CEO Marvin Ellison said during the company's conference call Wednesday that approximately 60% of Lowe's purchases originate in the U.S. and about 20% of its purchase volume is currently concentrated in China.
"Although we're pleased with this reduced dependency, we're not satisfied and we're working to accelerate our diversification efforts," he said of the company's product sourcing.
Ellison added that Lowe's expects to continue to be competitive on its prices. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 09:48:56+00:00 | [
"Mauritius",
"United Kingdom",
"Donald Trump",
"Keir Starmer",
"Navin Ramgoolam",
"United Kingdom government",
"Joe Biden",
"Marco Rubio",
"Politics",
"Martin Chamberlain"
] | # A deal on the disputed Chagos Islands is set to be signed. Here's what to know
By Sylvia Hui
May 22nd, 2025, 09:48 AM
---
LONDON (AP) — The governments of Britain and Mauritius have reached a final deal to settle the future of the Chagos Islands, the contested archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean that's home to a strategically important U.S. military base.
They are set to sign the agreement after a last-minute legal block was lifted by a British judge.
The deal will transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands from the U.K. to Mauritius — though Britain will retain control of the largest of the chain of islands, Diego Garcia, which hosts the American naval and bomber base.
The two countries reached an initial agreement in October, but it was put on hold after Britain said it had to wait for the approval of U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal also became stuck after a change of government in Mauritius, amid quarrels over how much money the U.K. should pay for the lease of Diego Garcia. The U.S. pays Britain an unspecified amount to operate the base.
Here's what to know about the disputed islands.
## What are the Chagos Islands and why are they contested?
The remote chain of more than 60 islands is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the tip of India, south of the Maldives.
The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814, when they were ceded by France.
The archipelago is best known for the military base on Diego Garcia, which has supported U.S. military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the U.S. acknowledged it also had been used for clandestine rendition flights of terror suspects.
Britain split the Chagos Islands away from Mauritius, a former British colony, in 1965, three years before Mauritius gained independence, and called the Chagos archipelago the British Indian Ocean Territory.
In the 1960s and 1970s Britain evicted as many as 2,000 people from the islands so the U.S. military could build the Diego Garcia base.
The U.S. has described the base, which is home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, as "an all but indispensable platform" for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa.
Most recently, the U.S. deployed several nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Diego Garcia amid an intense airstrike campaign targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels.
In recent years criticism grew over Britain's control of the archipelago and the way it forcibly displaced the local population. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have both urged Britain to end its "colonial administration" of the islands and transfer their sovereignty to Mauritius.
## Why was the deal delayed?
Negotiations on handing the islands to Mauritius began in 2022 under the U.K.'s previous Conservative government and resumed after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party was elected in July.
In October Britain's government announced that it was finalizing details of a treaty to hand sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, with the exception of Diego Garcia, which will remain under British control for at least 99 years.
The deal was hailed by then-U.S. President Joe Biden as a "historic agreement" that secured the future of the Diego Garcia base. But Britain's opposition Conservatives slammed the government for surrendering control of the territory, saying that the decision exposed the U.K. and its allies to security threats. Last year the now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said it posed "a serious threat" to U.S. national security.
In the beginning of this year Britain's government confirmed that the Trump administration was reviewing a renegotiated deal. In February, Trump suggested he was in favor of the agreement when he met Starmer in Washington.
Meanwhile voters in Mauritius ousted the government that made the deal, and new Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam backed away from it, citing financial concerns.
Ramgoolam suggested that the initial deal — which would reportedly see the U.K. pay 90 million pounds ($116 million) a year to Mauritius for the continued operation of the Diego Garcia military base — was a "sellout." The U.K. government has not disclosed how much it will pay to lease the base.
After more negotiations, a final deal was set to be signed by the two countries' leaders on Thursday.
A last-minute hurdle came when a High Court judge imposed an injunction stopping the handover, hours before the ceremony.
After a further hearing, another judge, Martin Chamberlain, lifted the injunction. He said "the public interest and the interests of the United Kingdom would be substantially prejudiced" if there was a further delay.
Once it is signed, the deal must be approved by Britain's Parliament.
## What does the deal mean
An estimated 10,000 displaced Chagossians and their descendants now live primarily in Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles. Many of them want to return to the islands, and some have fought unsuccessfully in U.K. courts for many years for the right to go home.
Chagossians say they were left out of the political negotiations, which have left them unclear on whether they and their descendants could ever be allowed to return to their homeland.
Human Rights Watch has said that Britain's forced displacement of the Chagossians and ongoing refusal to let them go home "amount to crimes against humanity committed by a colonial power against an Indigenous people."
Two Chagossian women, Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, who challenged the handover deal in the British courts, argued it will become even harder to return once Mauritius takes control of the islands.
The draft deal stated a resettlement fund would be created for displaced islanders to help them move back to the islands, apart from Diego Garcia. But details of how that will work remain sketchy. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 20:59:03+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.",
"Agriculture",
"Jay Bhattacharya",
"Brooke Rollins",
"Missouri",
"Medical research",
"Future of food",
"Children",
"United States government",
"Dave Murphy",
"Politics",
"Prescription drugs",
"District of Columbia",
"Health"
] | # RFK Jr.'s looming MAHA report worries farmers, Republicans
By Amanda Seitz
May 21st, 2025, 08:59 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — A highly-anticipated White House report about childhood diseases has provoked a tug-of-war pitting farmers and some prominent Republican lawmakers against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "Make America Healthy Again" movement ahead of its release.
President Donald Trump promised a review within 100 days that would analyze the ramifications that U.S. lifestyle — from the medications prescribed for children to the food served on their school lunch trays — has on childhood diseases like obesity, depression or attention deficit disorder. The report, led by a so-called "MAHA Commission," is expected to be released on Thursday.
Farmers and Republicans are nervous about what the report might say about glyphosate, the ingredient commonly used in pesticides sprayed on crops. Kennedy has denied the report will be unfavorable to farmers.
Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley warned that farmers have reached out to him, upset they have not been able to provide input on the MAHA report ahead of its release.
"I hope there is nothing in the MAHA report that jeopardizes the food supply or the livelihood of farmers," Grassley said.
Last month, a group of 79 Republicans — including several senators who represent farming states — echoed similar concerns about the report saying in a letter to Kennedy that without the products agricultural "yields and quantity are negatively impacted."
Glyphosate has been available for about 50 years and some farmers say it remains essential for controlling weeds without excessive tilling, helping to conserve both soil and fuel.
"There's a reason why we still use: It works," said Blake Hurst, a Missouri farmer who is past president of the Missouri Farm Bureau.
Kennedy, though, has built a sizable following over many decades, in part, because of the lawsuits he's waged against corporations, including the company that produced weedkiller Roundup. The World Health Organization has labeled that product's key ingredient, glyphosate, as a probable carcinogen for humans.
On Wednesday a large group of his supporters sent Kennedy a letter calling on the commission to "hold the chemical industry" accountable in the report, noting that pressure is mounting.
"Evidence is piling up and the risks from pesticide exposure are undeniable," the letter, signed by 360 self-proclaimed MAHA supporters that include farmers, former Kennedy campaign staffers and those who worked with him at his anti-vaccine nonprofit.
Dave Murphy, a fundraiser for Kennedy's failed presidential bid, said that he submitted studies and comments on pesticides to Trump administration officials for inclusion in the MAHA report but said that there's "a lot of pressure within Washington" over what the final report says on the issue.
During a senate hearing on Wednesday, Kennedy rebutted concerns from Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith that the report would "unfairly" target farmers.
"There's not a single word in them that should worry the American farmer," Kennedy said of his report. "We are not going to do anything to jeopardize that business model."
Kennedy was appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee to discuss the White House's proposed budget, which would give a $500 million boost for Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" initiative. That same proposal also makes deep cuts, including to infectious disease prevention, maternal health and medical research programs.
In February, Trump signed an executive order establishing a Make America Healthy Again Commission tasked with examining the "threat" that prescription drugs, chemicals and certain food ingredients pose to children.
That review was supposed to be led by several members of the president's cabinet, including Kennedy, Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy, who has pledged "radical transparency" since taking over the nation's health department, never convened a public meeting of the commission. The White House only released brief, edited clips from a single, closed-door meeting of the commission held in March.
A White House spokesman called the report, which has not been released, a "historic step," without sharing further details.
___
Associated Press writers David Lieb in Missouri and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 10:22:48+00:00 | [
"Europe",
"Spain",
"Ukraine",
"Madrid",
"Spain government",
"Vladimir Putin",
"Shootings",
"Gun violence",
"Russia-Ukraine war",
"Protests and demonstrations",
"Politics",
"Legislation",
"Corruption",
"Viktor Yanukovych",
"Elina Ayaokur",
"Ukraine government",
"Luis Rayo",
"Petro Poroshenko",
"Maxim Kuzminov",
"Volodymyr Zelenskyy",
"Vasyl Maliuk",
"Darya Dugina",
"Rebellions and uprisings"
] | # An adviser to an ex-Ukrainian president is killed near an American school in Spain, officials say
By Joseph Wilson, Suman Naishadham, and Illia Novikov
May 21st, 2025, 10:22 AM
---
POZUELO DE ALARCON, Spain (AP) — An adviser to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was shot to death Wednesday outside the American School of Madrid, where at least one of his children was enrolled, Spanish authorities and witnesses said.
Andrii Portnov, 51, was shot at 9:15 a.m. (0715 GMT) as students were arriving, Spain's Interior Ministry said.
Portnov was a former politician tied closely to Yanukovych, the pro-Moscow president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was ousted in a popular uprising in 2014 after shelving plans to bring the country closer to the European Union and instead deepen ties with President Vladimir Putin's Russia. Yanukovych's ouster in February 2014 followed a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, with dozens of people killed, many by police snipers.
Portnov was deputy head of the presidential office in that period and was involved in drafting legislation aimed at punishing participants of the uprising. Ukrainian authorities opened a treason case against him, which was later closed, and he also was the subject of U.S. sanctions involving corruption in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on Portnov's killing.
Witnesses said Portnov was shot several times in the head and body by more than one gunman when he was getting into a Mercedes Benz registered to him, police said. The unidentified assailants then fled on foot, and local media reported police helicopters later flew over a nearby park.
Portnov died in the parking lot with at least three shots to his body, Madrid's emergency services said.
He had one child enrolled at the school, according to a parent and an uncle of students there who spoke with The Associated Press. The school declined to comment.
## Portnov's past
After fleeing Ukraine in 2014, Portnov reportedly lived in Russia in 2015 before relocating to Austria. It wasn't immediately clear when he moved to Spain.
In 2018, when pro-Western Petro Poroshenko was president of Ukraine, the country's Security Service, or SBU, opened an investigation against Portnov on suspicion of state treason, alleging his involvement in Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The criminal case was closed in 2019, three months after Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to power.
The United States imposed personal sanctions on Portnov in 2021, designating him as someone "responsible for or complicit in, or (who) has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery."
## High-profile killings
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there have been a number of killings of high-profile figures linked to Moscow and Kyiv.
The killings have included Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist; military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky; and several high-ranking Russian military officers. In those instances, Ukraine denied involvement.
One exception was former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva, who fled to Russia before the invasion and was killed there in 2023. The SBU said in a statement that its chief, Vasyl Maliuk, has said the enemies of Ukraine "will definitely be held accountable for their crimes."
One killing that prompted speculation of retaliation by Moscow was the shooting death in Spain last year of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine in 2023, although there was no independent confirmation of Russia's involvement.
## A school in shock
Police cordoned off a crime scene in a parking lot outside the gate of the American School of Madrid, located in the upscale town of Pozuelo de Alarcón, north of Madrid.
Luis Rayo, 19, who lives in a neighboring building, said he was sleeping when he heard gunfire and went to see what happened.
Timur Ayaokur, 17, said he was 20 minutes into his first class when he and his classmates heard of the shooting. School administrators told students that a man had been shot and pronounced dead outside.
"I thought it was a drill," said Ayaokur, who is in 11th grade. "I was worried because at first I thought it might be a parent of someone I know."
His mother, Elina Ayaokur, who is originally from Azerbaijan, said she knew someone through the emigre community with the same first name as the victim, but did not know him well.
"I didn't know there were Ukrainian politicians there," Ayaokur said, adding that the man she knew had a son in the fourth grade. "I was in shock. Like how is it possible that this happens here?"
___
This story has been updated to clarify that Ayaokur said she knew someone with the same first name as the victim. It also clarifies that her acquaintance has a son in the fourth grade.
———
Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain, and Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 04:03:27+00:00 | [
"Sean Diddy Combs",
"George Kaplan",
"Manhattan",
"New York City Wire",
"Regina Ventura",
"Juries",
"Sexual misconduct",
"Cassie",
"Kid Cudi",
"Prescription drugs",
"Dawn Hughes",
"Entertainment",
"Gerard Gannon"
] | # Rapper Kid Cudi to testify at Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial this week
By Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister
May 21st, 2025, 04:03 AM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean "Diddy" Combs ' one-time personal assistant testified Wednesday that he was in charge of cleaning up hotel rooms after the hip-hop mogul's sex marathons — tossing out empty alcohol bottles, baby oil and drugs, tidying pillows and making it look as if nothing had happened.
An implied part of the job was that "protecting him and protecting his public image were important to him," George Kaplan told jurors at Combs' federal sex trafficking trial. "That's what I was keen on doing."
Kaplan, who worked for Combs from 2013 to 2015, said the Bad Boy Records founder would sometimes summon him to a hotel room to deliver a "medicine kit," a bag full of prescription pills and over-the-counter pain medications. He said Combs dispatched him to buy drugs including MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
Kaplan, 34, was granted immunity to testify after initially telling the Manhattan court that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Prosecutors contend Combs leaned on employees and used his music and fashion empire to facilitate and cover up his behavior, sometimes making threats to keep them in line and his misconduct hush-hush.
Kaplan testified that Combs threatened his job on a monthly basis, once berating him for buying the wrong size bottled water. Combs' longtime girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, testified that Kaplan quit after seeing Combs beat her.
Kaplan's testimony resumes Thursday. He'll be followed by rapper and actor Kid Cudi.
Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, is expected to testify about his brief relationship with Cassie in 2011. Prosecutors say Combs was so upset that he arranged to have Cudi's convertible firebombed.
Also Wednesday, a federal agent showed jurors two handguns he said were found in a March 2024 raid at Combs' Miami-area home, along with photos of ammunition and a wooden box marked "Puffy" — one of his nicknames — that the agent said contained psilocybin, MDMA and other drugs.
Investigators also found items prosecutors say were hallmarks of "freak-offs," including dozens of bottles of baby oil and lubricant, said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerard Gannon.
Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos suggested the search — which involved 80 to 90 agents, an armored vehicle smashing the security gate, handcuffed employees and boat patrols — was overkill. Combs' Los Angeles mansion was also searched.
Gannon confirmed the federal investigation began the day after Cassie filed a lawsuit in November 2023 alleging that Combs abused her for years and involved her in hundreds of "freak-offs" with him and male sex workers. Combs soon settled for $20 million, she said.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he leveraged his fame and fortune to control Cassie and other people through threats and violence. His lawyers say the evidence reflects domestic violence, not racketeering or sex trafficking.
Jurors also heard from a psychologist who delved into the complexities of abusive relationships. Dawn Hughes explained victims often experience a "low sense of self" and tend to stay with abusers because they yearn for love and compassion they experienced in a relationship's early "honeymoon phase."
Hughes also explained how a victim's memory can sometimes become jumbled — retaining awareness of abuse, but mixing up details. Hughes, who was paid $6,000 by the prosecution to testify, didn't examine or mention Cassie or Combs, but her testimony paralleled some of what Cassie said she experienced with him.
Cassie testified that she started dating Cudi in late 2011. Although she and Combs broke up, they still engaged in "freak-offs," she said. It was during such an encounter that Combs looked at her phone and figured out she was seeing Cudi, Cassie said.
Cassie's mother, Regina Ventura, testified Tuesday that Cassie emailed her in December 2011 that Combs was so angry about the relationship that he planned to release explicit videos of her and have someone hurt Cassie and Cudi. Regina Ventura said Combs also demanded $20,000. Scared for her daughter's safety, she said she sent Combs the money, only to have it returned by Combs days later.
Cassie testified that she broke up with Cudi before the end of the year.
"It was just too much," she said. "Too much danger, too much uncertainty of, like, what could happen if we continued to see each other."
After Cassie reunited with Combs, he told her that Cudi's car would be blown up and that he wanted Cudi's friends there to see it, Cassie said.
__
Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 14:08:47+00:00 | [
"Europe",
"Aleksandar Vucic",
"Vladimir Putin",
"Serbia",
"European Union",
"Belgium government",
"Belgium",
"Kaja Kallas",
"Politics",
"Government policy",
"Rail accidents"
] | # EU foreign policy chief calls on Serbia to make a 'strategic choice' between West and East
By Dusan Stojanovic
May 22nd, 2025, 02:08 PM
---
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The European Union's foreign policy chief said Thursday that membership candidate Serbia faces a "strategic choice" of direction, just weeks after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic defied EU warnings and attended Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow.
"Serbia faces a strategic, geostrategic choice, where it wants to be," Kaja Kallas said during her visit to Belgrade. "Serbia's European future depends on the values it chooses to uphold."
Vucic's appearance in Moscow for the May 9 parade was widely condemned in Brussels, with EU officials warning that such actions seriously jeopardize Serbia's EU path. The officials said it was inappropriate for Vucic to stand side by side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, considering Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Kallas said that she discussed the visit with Vucic. "And I expressed my views which are very clear," she said.
"I really don't understand why it is necessary to stand side by side with the person who is conducting this horrible war in Ukraine," she said. "And President Vucic was explaining his side of the story. So, yes, we had a very extensive discussion about this."
Vucic, a former extreme nationalist criticized at home and abroad over alleged increasingly authoritarian ways, has maintained close relations with both Russia and China while formally saying that he wants Serbia to join the EU.
Vucic has said his decision to attend Putin's military parade, which marked the World War II victory over Nazi Germany, was part of efforts to maintain "traditional friendships" — Russia is a fellow Slavic and Orthodox Christian nation — while seeking EU entry.
Serbia, which relies almost fully on Russia for energy, has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and hasn't supported most EU statements condemning the aggression.
Vucic also has been under pressure at home following six months of large anti-corruption protests that erupted after a train station tragedy in Serbia's north that killed 16 people and which many in the country blamed on state officials' graft during infrastructure construction.
"From my discussions with Serbian political leadership it is clear that EU membership remains a strategic goal," Kallas said. "However, I want to emphasize that we need to see actions also to prove and support those words."
" Reforms are how Serbia will advance along its EU path," Kallas added. "There are no shortcuts for membership. Real progress must be made here in Belgrade."
She said she also met the protesting "youth," referring to the students who have led months of demonstrations, and called for Serbia to make serious efforts on media freedom, combating corruption and electoral reform.
"These reforms will bring real benefits for the citizens and the people of Serbia as hundreds of thousands of protesters have been demanding in recent weeks. The autonomy of the universities must be respected," she said.
From Belgrade, Kallas traveled to the former Serbian province of Kosovo which unitarily declared independence in 2008, a move that Serbia does not recognize.
EU-mediated talks between the two neighboring states have been long been frozen. Kallas said normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo is "fundamental" for their European future.
"It is time the two countries to overcome the past a focus on the common future," she said. "I plan to invite the representatives from Belgrade and Pristina to Brussels as soon as possible to discuss the concrete steps forward."
The six Western Balkan countries are in different phases of accession. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 encouraged Europe's leaders to push for the countries to join the bloc, fearing instability.
Kallas said she is "deeply committed to encouraging all the Western Balkan countries to really seize the current momentum that we have in the enlargement." |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 05:06:42+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Kenya",
"International trade",
"Cyril Ramaphosa",
"United States government",
"Economic policy",
"Production facilities",
"International agreements",
"United States",
"Tariffs and global trade",
"Business",
"Kenya government",
"Yoweri Museveni",
"Martin Kimani",
"Pankaj Bedi",
"Government policy",
"Labor",
"Politics"
] | # Kenyans worry a US duty-free trade deal might end and expose them to Trump's tariffs
By Desmond Tiro and Evelyne Musambi
May 22nd, 2025, 05:06 AM
---
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — It's crunch time for the maker of Levi's and Wrangler jeans in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. Hundreds of sewing machines whir in a crowded, air-conditioned factory. On another floor, workers pack clothes destined for the U.S. market.
The fate of about 16,000 workers in the factory at the United Aryan export processing zone hangs in the balance. In September, a duty-free trade agreement between Kenya and the United States could expire under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA.
The factory's founder, Pankaj Bedi, said manufacturers would be unable to compete well in the U.S. market if the AGOA agreement is not renewed, due to the difficult business environment in sub-Saharan Africa.
Without AGOA — meant to benefit African nations that meet certain U.S. expectations in areas including governance and human rights — many Kenyan goods would no longer have duty-free access to the U.S. market. And they would be exposed to the uncertainty of the Trump administration's global tariff campaign.
It's a concern across the continent. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking to journalists after his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, noted that AGOA is "going to be further discussed ... it is top of mind for them as well" in the U.S. administration.
Bedi said his business has benefited from 25 years of the AGOA agreement but will not survive if the deal is not extended again.
"This time around, we are hoping that President Trump will pass it for a longer period, then a long-term strategy can come in play," he said. The longest extension has been for a decade.
In making his pitch, Bedi said he believes that Africa offers the perfect alternative sourcing to Asia with its large and youthful workforce. Seventy percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa are under 30, according to the United Nations.
"I think the real shift of supply chain will happen, and Africa is the last frontier. We cannot go to the moon and start manufacturing there," Bedi said.
Kenya's government would not comment on the deal or why it might be under threat.
Economist Wangari Muikia said the new U.S. tariffs reflect a shift towards reviving American manufacturing, "consistent with Trump's priority to re-shore jobs," but warned that ending AGOA may "strain diplomatic ties and weaken American soft power."
African governments have promoted AGOA as a major job creation avenue.
In Kenya, AGOA has led to the creation of 66,000 jobs since the program began in 2000, according to government statistics published in 2024. Kenya's overall unemployment rate is 12.7%, but the rate among those under 35 is 67% — part of a wider issue for much of Africa's booming young population.
In 2023, Kenya's total exports under AGOA including agricultural products, apparel and handicrafts were worth $510 million, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. United Aryan said it exports an average of 8 million jeans annually from Kenya to the U.S.
But some African governments and leaders have objected to AGOA's conditions. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni criticized the program after it was used in 2023 to pressure him on his stance on homosexuality.
Kenya's former ambassador to the U.N., Martin Kimani, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he believes AGOA's unpredictability has not been good for the economy.
"The real measure of a trade regime is its predictability and its integration into long-term production," he said. "The tariffs and the program's upcoming expiration signal that AGOA is not a stable foundation for African industrial growth."
If Kenya's AGOA deal isn't extended, the country will need to look for alternative markets like the African Continental Free Trade Area to ensure jobs are not lost and manufacturers keep exporting goods, said economist James Shikwati, founder and director of The Inter Region Economic Network.
The continental free trade area has shortcomings that include underdeveloped infrastructure that makes it expensive to transport goods, mistrust that makes it hard for some countries to be fully open to trading with neighbors and a lack of strong institutions that can mediate trade disputes.
Judging by the Trump administration's recent trade-related policies, every trade partner will need to reevaluate its engagement with the U.S., Shikwati added.
For those whose jobs could be affected, there is concern.
United Aryan employee Valdes Samora hopes to keep the sewing machines humming, and that livelihoods will not be lost after September.
The 59-year-old father of nine has been working at the company for two decades. His wife also works there. Workers are paid an average of $200 per month, in a country where the minimum wage is $115.
"I never completed my education, but through this work I have been able to educate my children," he said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 20:02:02+00:00 | [
"Puerto Rico",
"Joe Biden",
"Donald Trump",
"Energy industry",
"Politics",
"Frankie Miranda",
"Hurricanes and typhoons",
"Christopher Wright",
"Technology",
"Javier Ra Jovet",
"Business"
] | # US says $365M slated for solar projects in Puerto Rico will be diverted
By Dánica Coto
May 21st, 2025, 08:02 PM
---
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy announced Wednesday that $365 million originally slated for solar projects in Puerto Rico will be diverted to improve the island's crumbling power grid, sparking an outcry just days before the Atlantic hurricane season starts.
The funds had been in limbo in recent weeks, with the Department of Energy missing a recent deadline to finalize contracts worth $365 million that would see battery-operated solar systems installed at health clinics and public housing units in Puerto Rico.
The money had been set aside for that purpose under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden.
"That money was spring loaded to flow now," said Javier Rúa Jovet, public policy director for Puerto Rico's Solar and Energy Storage Association.
He and others criticized the move.
"This is shameful," Democratic New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez wrote on X, noting that the funds were meant to serve the most vulnerable.
"Republicans have turned their backs on those who need it most, just 1 week before the start of hurricane season," she wrote.
Grantees that include the nonprofit Hispanic Federation had said the funds were urgently needed to provide stable power to people including those on dialysis as major outages continue to hit Puerto Rico.
"Pretending that reallocating these funds will make any immediate difference on the stability of the electric grid, when the grid already has an $18 billion allocation, is just a way to distract from the real consequences of their decision. Puerto Rico deserves better," said Frankie Miranda, the federation's CEO and president.
The Department of Energy said in a statement that the money would now be used "to support technologies that improve system flexibility and response, power flow and control, component strength, supply security, and safety."
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy told The Associated Press that the money would used for things including upgrading aging infrastructure, clearing vegetation from transmission lines and dispatching baseload generation units. The department said it has final authority over how the funds will be used, adding that the solar projects were not scheduled to be constructed until 2026.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement that redirecting the funds would ensure that "taxpayer dollars are used to strengthen access to affordable, reliable and secure power, benefiting more citizens as quickly as possible."
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González praised the move in a statement, saying it would help all 3.2 million residents on the island instead of "a few customers."
"Puerto Rico is facing an energy emergency that requires we act now and deliver immediate solutions. Our communities, businesses, and healthcare facilities cannot afford to wait years, nor can we rely on piecemeal approaches with limited results," she said.
González previously came under fire as her support for investing $1 billion of federal funds in solar projects across Puerto Rico appeared to fade.
A spokeswoman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment and details.
A spokeswoman for Josué Colón, the island's so-called energy czar, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
## Dwindling power generation
Rúa Jovet noted that there are currently at least $16 billion in unspent funds from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency meant to improve Puerto Rico's electric grid, adding that the $365 million should be used for its original purpose.
"There is nothing faster and better than solar batteries," he said. "We should all be moving as fast as we can on generation."
Officials in Puerto Rico already have warned that there will be a shortage of generation this summer. In addition, the Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, and it is predicted to be above average, with nine anticipated hurricanes, four of them major.
Many in Puerto Rico worry that any storm, regardless of how small, could knock out the grid given its fragile state.
Puerto Rico already was hit with island-wide blackouts on Dec. 31 and April 16.
The diversion of funds come as González criticizes the work of Luma Energy, which oversees transmission and distribution of power on the island, and Genera PR, which oversees generation.
The two private companies were contracted by the previous administration as Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority struggled to restructure more than $9 billion in public debt, with mediation still stalled.
## 'Elections have consequences'
Under Biden, there was a push for more renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico, where crews are still rebuild the power grid after Hurricane Maria hit in September 2017 as a powerful Category 4 storm. But the grid was already weak before the storm hit given a lack of maintenance and investment for decades.
Rúa Jovet said the Department of Energy's decision is an ideological one supported by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Of the $1 billion allocated for solar projects in Puerto Rico under Biden, $450 million already has been granted to install solar rooftop and batteries in thousands of homes located in rural areas or whose occupants have medical needs.
Overall, roughly 117,000 homes and businesses on the island currently have solar rooftops.
More than 60% of energy in Puerto Rico is generated by petroleum-fired power plants, 24% by natural gas, 8% by coal and 7% by renewables, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-20 21:10:15+00:00 | [
"Pope Leo XIV",
"Chicago",
"Vatican City",
"Catholic Church",
"Pope Francis",
"Sexual abuse",
"Peter Isely",
"Religion",
"Sexual assault",
"Shaun Dougherty"
] | # Survivors of clergy sexual abuse amplify calls for reforms
By Sophia Tareen
May 20th, 2025, 09:10 PM
---
CHICAGO (AP) — Survivors of clergy sexual abuse amplified calls Tuesday for a global zero-tolerance policy from the new pope's American hometown and raised questions about Leo XIV's history of dealing with accused priests from Chicago to Australia.
The Archdiocese of Chicago responded by defending Leo's record and saying he had "consistently expressed his compassion for survivors of this crime and sin."
The cases span Robert Prevost's previous posts. They include leading a Catholic religious order, bishop and as head of the Vatican's office for bishops, where he was made cardinal.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, called out alleged abuse by Chicago priests and other clergy in Peru, Colombia, Canada and Australia where it contended the new pope should have done more.
Along with a worldwide zero-tolerance law for accused priests, SNAP has called for a global truth commission, survivor reparations and church transparency measures.
"It is our hope that Pope Leo does the right thing," Shaun Dougherty, SNAP president, told reporters in Chicago. "It is our gut, in our experience, that says that he will need the pressure."
Associated Press requests for comment to the Vatican media office Tuesday and its diplomatic representative to the United States didn't receive immediate replies.
## Clergy sexual abuse scandal has plagued the Catholic Church
No one has accused the new pope of any act of abuse himself or knowingly keeping confirmed abusers in public ministry, which has been the biggest scandal plaguing the Catholic Church recently.
Instead, victims' advocates said he should have involved authorities earlier, been vocal about accused priests and worked to strip them of their titles. SNAP has been gathering evidence of how the church has covered for abusers and provided internal communications referencing cases, including in Chicago.
"This is the underground story of Prevost, this is the side of him and his management and decisions that we're finally able to bring to light," said Peter Isely with SNAP.
Some cases span the time when Prevost was based in Chicago as the Midwest regional leader of the Order of St. Augustine, a job he took in 1999. Three years later, he became worldwide leader of the Augustinians.
One priest who faced dozens of abuse allegations left the church in 1993 before landing a job as a Shedd Aquarium tour guide on a recommendation from a top Augustinian official. The priest worked at the popular tourist and school field trip destination in Chicago for nearly a decade before Shedd officials learned about the abuse claims.
"Had Shedd Aquarium received any information regarding the kind of allegations that have been brought to our attention, we would not have hired this individual," a 2003 letter from the aquarium said.
Advocates said Prevost inherited the case when he became Augustinian provincial leader and should have stepped in earlier, considering the priest's new job working directly with children.
## Survivors of abuse want a global zero-tolerance policy
Survivors have demanded the church adopt a global policy that a priest be permanently removed from ministry for a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established according to church law. That has been the policy in the U.S. church since the height of the U.S. scandal in 2002, but the Vatican hasn't imposed it worldwide.
SNAP also cited a case in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which then-Bishop Prevost led from 2014 to 2023. Three women came forward in 2022 to accuse two priests of sexual abuse.
The diocese forwarded information about the case to a Vatican office, which closed the case without a finding. However, the diocese later reopened the investigation after Prevost left for a Vatican post.
Critics said Prevost failed to investigate sufficiently.
The Vatican and Prevost's successor determined Prevost acted correctly as far as church law is concerned. The Vatican noted he imposed preliminary restrictions on the accused priest pending investigation by Peruvian authorities, who concluded that the statute of limitations had expired.
## Archdiocese defends pope's record, saying he followed church regulations
The Archdiocese of Chicago issued a detailed, five-point statement responding to SNAP's press conference and defending the pope's record, saying that in the various cases cited, Prevost acted in accordance with the church's regulations at the time.
It noted that the Vatican had ascertained that Prevost acted correctly in Chiclayo because "the accused was removed from ministry, the persons bringing the allegations were offered victim assistance, the charges were reported to civil authorities and they were investigated at the diocesan level and reported" to the Vatican as required, the statement said.
As a bishop in Peru and then prefect at the Vatican, Prevost was intimately involved in an investigation into an influential Catholic movement in Peru, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which was suppressed earlier this year by Pope Francis because of alleged abuses.
As a result, Prevost made plenty of enemies in the movement who have shared the allegations against him on social media in what some in the Vatican say was a campaign to try to discredit him.
SNAP also cited Prevost's role from 2023 to 2025 leading the Dicastery for Bishops. It cited cases of accused bishops from Canada, Colombia and Australia who resigned amid abuse allegations but were allowed to retain their status as bishops.
While Prevost's office would have handled investigations of accused bishops, the final decisions would have been those of Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, because the pontiff has ultimate authority over bishops.
___
Associated Press writers Peter Smith in Pittsburgh and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 21:50:28+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Marco Rubio",
"United States government",
"South Sudan",
"Immigration",
"El Salvador",
"Panama",
"Costa Rica",
"United States",
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement",
"Politics",
"Political and civil unrest"
] | # Trump administration uses techniques to encourage immigrant deportation
By Rebecca Santana
May 21st, 2025, 09:50 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — Carrying out mass deportations was a key rallying cry during Donald Trump's campaign for the presidency. Since the day he was sworn into office, his administration has focused on how to make that rallying cry reality.
They've touted their policy of going after "the worst of the worst" — meaning people who've committed crimes in America — while leaning on some nations to take migrants who the U.S. has difficulty deporting to their own countries.
They've removed protections from hundreds of thousands of people the Biden administration admitted on a temporary basis into the country with the aim of eventually making them deportable.
Here's a look at the strategies that the Trump administration is using, how they're targeting people for deportation and some of the challenges they're running into:
## They've targeted the 'worst of the worst' ... and whoever they're with
Immigration enforcement officials have repeatedly portrayed their initial efforts as going after people they describe as "the worst of the worst." Those are people who pose public safety or national security threats, people who've been arrested or convicted of committing crimes in America or who ICE determines are gang members.
On their social media feeds, they posted a constant stream of photos of people arrested by ICE and crimes they're alleged to have committed.
Previous administrations have also prioritized people who are considered public safety threats so that strategy isn't necessarily new.
What is different under the Trump administration is that ICE agents now have authority to arrest other people they find with immigration violations when they're going after "the worst of the worst." These are called "collateral arrests" and they weren't allowed under the Biden administration. As one ICE agent described it: "Nobody gets a free pass anymore."
## They've used third countries
Immigration enforcement officials have long complained about countries that do not take their citizens back when the U.S. has determined they can be deported.
Some countries don't take back any of their citizens. Others are selective, especially when it comes to people with criminal convictions or who've committed particularly egregious crimes. And according to a 2001 Supreme Court ruling, ICE cannot hold someone for more than six months if there is no reasonable chance to expect they can be sent back to their home country.
Historically that has meant that immigration enforcement officials have had to release people into the U.S. that it wants to deport but can't.
To get around this problem, the Trump administration has leaned on other countries to accept people who are not their own citizens. The most high profile of these deals was announced in February by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a trip to El Salvador. That country has taken Venezuelans that the U.S. alleges are gang members and is holding them at a notorious prison.
Costa Rica and Panama have also taken citizens who are not their own although they were not imprisoned. Many of them have gone home or moved to third countries.
Outside of those three Central American nations, the Trump administration has said it's exploring other third countries for deportations. More recently there's been indications the U.S. may be trying to send people to Libya or South Sudan.
## They're making people more 'removable'
The Trump administration is trying to strip protections from hundreds of thousands of people admitted into the U.S. on a temporary basis during the Biden administration. This could eventually make those people subject to deportation.
The Democratic president's administration admitted nearly 1.5 million people through two key programs that use a legal tool known as humanitarian parole to admit people into the country.
Separately the Biden administration also dramatically expanded the number of people who were protected from deportation by Temporary Protected Status. That is a designation that allows people already living in the United States to stay and work legally for up to 18 months if their homelands are unsafe because of civil unrest or natural disasters.
The Trump administration is moving aggressively to remove or terminate all of those protections. If successful — and much of these efforts are being litigated — it could potentially open up hundreds of thousands of people to be removed.
## They're encouraging people to leave on their own
There are millions of people in the country illegally including about 1.1 million with final orders of removal but only about 6,000 deportation officers. Those are the officers tasked with finding, arresting and removing people who don't have the right to be in the country.
So in addition to actively trying to find and remove people, the Trump administration wants people to leave voluntarily.
Through aggressive social media and television campaigns, they're encouraging people in the country illegally to go home, saying that otherwise they could face fines and never be allowed back into America.
They're also offering $1,000 and air fare to people who self-deport.
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security touted the first flight of people who took up that offer to return to Honduras. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 07:25:33+00:00 | [
"United Kingdom",
"Mauritius",
"Keir Starmer",
"Donald Trump",
"Navin Ramgoolam",
"United Kingdom government",
"Politics",
"Martin Chamberlain",
"Conservatism",
"Courts"
] | # UK signs agreement to hand sovereignty of the disputed Chagos Islands to Mauritius
By Jill Lawless
May 22nd, 2025, 07:25 AM
---
LONDON (AP) — Britain signed an agreement Thursday handing sovereignty over the contested and strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a move the government says ensures the future of a U.S.-U.K. military base that is vital to British security.
The Indian Ocean archipelago is home to a strategically important naval and bomber base on the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia.
Under the agreement, the U.K. will pay Mauritius 101 million pounds ($136 million) per year to lease back the base for at least 99 years.
Starmer said that base, operated by U.S. forces, is crucial for British counterterrorism and intelligence and is "right at the foundation of our safety and security at home."
The signing was delayed for several hours after a U.K. judge imposed a last-minute injunction blocking the transfer. That was later lifted by another judge.
High Court judge Martin Chamberlain said after a hearing on Thursday that an injunction barring the handover should be removed. He said "the public interest and the interests of the United Kingdom would be substantially prejudiced" if there was a further delay.
The agreement was due to be signed by Keir Starmer and Mauritian leader Navin Ramgoolam at a virtual ceremony on Thursday morning.
But a judge granted an injunction in the early hours of Thursday, blocking the British government from taking any "conclusive or legally binding step" to hand the islands to a foreign government.
The injunction came in response to a claim by two Chagossian women representing the islands' original residents, who were evicted decades ago to make way for the American base. Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, both British citizens, fear it will become even harder to return to their birthplace once Mauritius takes control of the islands.
After the injunction was lifted, Pompe said it was "a very sad day," but vowed to continue fighting.
"We do not want to hand over our rights to Mauritius. We are not Mauritians," she said outside the High Court.
"The rights we are asking for now, we have been fighting for for 60 years," she added. "Mauritius is not going to give that to us."
One of the last remnants of the British Empire, the Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814. Britain split the islands away from Mauritius, a former British colony, in 1965, three years before Mauritius gained independence.
Britain evicted as many as 2,000 people from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build the Diego Garcia base, which has supported U.S. military operations from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Displaced Chagossians fought unsuccessfully in U.K. courts for years for the right to go home. Under the deal, a resettlement fund would be created to help displaced islanders move back to the islands, apart from Diego Garcia. Details of any such measures remain unclear.
Mauritius has long contested Britain's claim to the archipelago and in recent years the United Nations and its top court have urged Britain to return the Chagos to Mauritius, around 2,100 kilometers (1,250 miles) southwest of the islands.
In a non-binding 2019 opinion, the International Court of Justice ruled that the U.K. had unlawfully carved up Mauritius when it agreed to end colonial rule in the late 1960s.
The British government says those rulings put the future of the Diego Garcia base, vital to U.K. security, at stake. Negotiations on handing the islands to Mauritius began in 2022 under the previous Conservative government and resumed after Starmer's Labour Party was elected in July.
A draft agreement was struck in October, but was delayed by a change of government in Mauritius and reported quarrels over how much the U.K. should pay to lease the base.
The U.K. also paused to consult the U.S. after the change of government in Washington. President Donald Trump's administration gave its approval.
The U.K.'s opposition Conservatives have criticized the deal, accusing the government of surrendering sovereignty over a British territory.
"We should not be paying to surrender British territory to Mauritius," Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 06:50:14+00:00 | [
"District of Columbia",
"2024-2025 Mideast Wars",
"Israel-Hamas war",
"Israel",
"Israel government",
"Benjamin Netanyahu",
"Elias Rodriguez",
"Gaza Strip",
"Shootings",
"Crime",
"United States government",
"War and unrest",
"Law enforcement",
"Middle East",
"United States",
"DC Wire",
"Gun violence",
"Katie Kalisher",
"Mike Herzog",
"Pamela Smith",
"Yechiel Leiter",
"Famine",
"Antisemitism",
"Blockades",
"Humanitarian crises",
"United States Congress",
"Sarah Milgrim"
] | # Here's what we know about the DC shooting where 2 staff members of the Israeli Embassy were killed
May 22nd, 2025, 06:50 AM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington -- a young couple on the verge of becoming engaged -- were fatally shot Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum, and the suspect yelled, "Free, free Palestine" after he was arrested, police said.
The attack was seen by officials in Israel and the U.S. as the latest in a growing wave of antisemitism as Israel ramps up its offensive in the Gaza Strip, and as food security experts have warned that Gaza risks falling into famine unless Israel's blockade ends.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said the man had purchased a ring this week with the intent to propose next week in Jerusalem.
Here's what we know:
## What happened?
The two victims, a man and a woman, were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday when the suspect approached a group of four people and opened fire, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.
The suspect was observed pacing outside the museum before the shooting, walked into the museum after the shooting and was detained by event security, Smith said.
When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, "Free, free Palestine," Smith said. She said law enforcement did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the community.
The violence occurred following the American Jewish Committee's annual Young Diplomats reception at the museum.
## Who is the suspect?
The suspect has been identified as Elias Rodriguez, 31, of Chicago.
It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A telephone number listed in public records rang unanswered.
He was being interviewed early Thursday by D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department as well as the FBI. The U.S. attorney in Washington will prosecute the case.
## Who are the victims?
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Lischinsky was a research assistant, and Milgrim organized visits and missions to Israel.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog told Israeli Army Radio that the woman killed was an American employee of the embassy and the man was Israeli.
## What is Israel's reaction?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Thursday that he was "shocked" by the "horrific, antisemitic" shooting.
"We are witnessing the terrible price of antisemitism and wild incitement against Israel," he said in a statement.
Israeli diplomats in the past have been targeted by violence, both by state-backed assailants and Palestinian militants over the decades of the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict that grew out of the founding of Israel in 1948. The Palestinians seek Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, with east Jerusalem as its capital — lands Israel captured in the 1967 war. However, the peace process between the sides has been stalled for years.
## Witnesses to the attack
Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed, they said. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect. When police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh and repeatedly yelled, "Free Palestine,'" Kalin said.
"This event was about humanitarian aid," Kalin said. "How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims and Jews and Christians to work together to actually help innocent people? And then here he is just murdering two people in cold blood."
The influential pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera aired on a loop what appeared to be mobile phone footage of the alleged gunman, wearing a suit jacket and slacks, being pulled away after the shooting, his hands behind his back.
## Israel's new campaign in Gaza
The shooting comes as Israel has launched a new campaign targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a war that has set tensions aflame across the wider Middle East. The war began with the Palestinian militant group Hamas coming out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, to kill 1,200 people and take some 250 hostages back to the coastal enclave.
In the time since, Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 people, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, whose count doesn't differentiate between combatants and civilians.
The fighting has displaced 90% of the territory's roughly 2 million population, sparked a hunger crisis and obliterated vast swaths of Gaza's urban landscape. Aid groups ran out of food to distribute weeks ago, and most of the population of around 2.3 million relies on communal kitchens whose supplies are nearly depleted.
___
The story has been updated to correct the suspect's age to 31 from 30, based on updated information from law enforcement. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 17:14:15+00:00 | [
"Measles",
"Shakira",
"Disease outbreaks",
"New Mexico",
"Kansas",
"New Jersey",
"Immunizations",
"Lung disease",
"Medication",
"Children",
"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention",
"Health",
"Entertainment",
"Scott Weaver"
] | # Measles exposure at Shakira concert in New Jersey
By Devi Shastri and Laura Ungar
May 21st, 2025, 05:14 PM
---
New Jersey health officials are asking people who went to last week's Shakira concert at MetLife Stadium to monitor for measles symptoms because a person went to see the singer while infectious.
There is no confirmed outbreak in New Jersey, but the U.S. and North America are seeing high measles activity this year — including hundreds sickened by the highly infectious airborne virus in West Texas — and declining rates of people getting the vaccine, which is 97% effective after two doses.
Schools and daycares are among the most common places for measles exposures, like one that happened in three western North Dakota public schools in early May that led to all unvaccinated students being held at home for 21 days under state law.
Here's what to know about the measles and how to protect yourself.
## What's happening with measles in the U.S.?
Most U.S. children get vaccinated against measles before entering public school, but increasing numbers of people skipping shots for religious or personal reasons have fueled outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad this year.
Overall, the U.S. has seen more than 1,000 measles cases across 30 states since the beginning of the year, and 11 states with outbreaks — defined as three or more related cases. The largest outbreak in the U.S. has been in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. There are also large outbreaks in Mexico and Canada.
## What is measles?
It's a respiratory disease caused by one of the world's most contagious viruses. The virus is airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It most commonly affects kids.
"On average, one infected person may infect about 15 other people," said Scott Weaver, a center of excellence director for the Global Virus Network, an international coalition. "There's only a few viruses that even come close to that."
Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.
The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.
There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.
People who have had measles once can't get it again, health officials say.
## Can measles be fatal?
It usually doesn't kill people, but it can.
Common complications include ear infections and diarrhea. But about 1 in 5 unvaccinated Americans who get measles are hospitalized, the CDC said. Pregnant women who haven't gotten the vaccine may give birth prematurely or have a low-birthweight baby.
Among children with measles, about 1 in every 20 develops pneumonia, the CDC said, and about one in every 1,000 suffers swelling of the brain called encephalitis — which can lead to convulsions, deafness or intellectual disability.
"Children develop the most severe illness," said Weaver, who works at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. "The cause of death in these kinds of cases is usually pneumonia and complications from pneumonia."
## How can you prevent measles?
The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
"Before a vaccine was developed in the 1960s, everybody got" measles, Weaver said. There is "great data" on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, he said, because it's been around for decades.
"Any of these outbreaks we're seeing can easily be prevented by increasing the rate of vaccination in the community," he said. "If we can maintain 95% of people vaccinated, we're not going to see this happening in the future. And we've slipped well below that level in many parts of the country."
Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.
## Do you need a booster if you got the MMR vaccine a while ago?
Not usually. People who are vaccinated are considered protected against measles for their lifetime.
Health care providers can test for antibodies and give boosters if needed.
Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from "killed" virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.
People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have "presumptive immunity."
Weaver said people at high risk for infection who got the shots many years ago may want to consider getting a booster if they live in an area with an outbreak. Those may include family members living with someone who has measles or those especially vulnerable to respiratory diseases because of underlying medical conditions.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 15:45:15+00:00 | [
"Donald Trump",
"Cryptocurrency",
"Bitcoin",
"Business",
"Politics",
"United States Senate"
] | # Bitcoin hits new price highs as crypto industry scores wins
By Alan Suderman
May 21st, 2025, 03:45 PM
---
Bitcoin hit a new all-time high as the world's most popular cryptocurrency reached price levels not seen since President Donald Trump's inauguration.
The digital asset traded above $109,400 Wednesday morning, a huge increase from recent lows of about $75,000 last month.
Several other cryptocurrencies have seen similar large gains in recent days. That includes Trump's official meme coins, which have jumped up about 75% in the last month. The president is set to have dinner Thursday with some of the meme coins' biggest investors, a move that's drawn intense criticism from some Democrats who say that Trump is improperly using the power of the presidency to boost his personal wealth.
Bitcoin's price increase comes after the crypto industry scored a major win with the U.S. Senate advancing legislation that creates a federal framework to regulate the stablecoins, a fast-growing form of cryptocurrency whose values are often tied to the U.S. dollar.
The bipartisan vote was a major win for the politically powerful cryptocurrency industry, which spent heavily in last year's election and has amassed a large war chest for next year's contests.
A former skeptic turned enthusiastic booster, Trump has been a major promoter of the crypto industry and previously took credit when bitcoin's price broke $100,000 in December. His administration has established a "strategic bitcoin reserve" for the U.S. government and dropped or paused several enforcement actions against major crypto companies. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 10:12:21+00:00 | [
"China",
"Natural disasters",
"National parks"
] | # 2 dead and 19 trapped in landslides in southwestern China
May 22nd, 2025, 10:12 AM
---
BEIJING (AP) — Landslides struck a rural area in China's southwestern Guizhou province Thursday morning, killing two people and leaving 19 others trapped in the debris, state media said.
The bodies were found in Changshi township, while 19 other people from eight households were buried in the nearby Qingyang village where rescue operations were ongoing, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Most of Guowa township, where Qingyang is located, has lost power after the landslides, a local newspaper reported.
A resident told state media that it had rained all night. A drone video of the area showed a large swathe of brown earth that cut through the green slope of the hilly terrain. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-21 00:46:57+00:00 | [
"Indigenous people",
"Scott Campbell",
"Colombia",
"Gustavo Petro",
"United Nations",
"Colombia government",
"Politics",
"The Campbells Co.",
"Race and ethnicity",
"Race and Ethnicity"
] | # UN warns of 'ongoing tragedy' as Indigenous groups in Colombia face extinction
By Manuel Rueda
May 21st, 2025, 12:46 AM
---
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The United Nations human rights office in Colombia warned Tuesday that five Indigenous groups in a storied mountain range face "physical and cultural" extinction, a critical threat that stems from armed groups fighting over their territory and insufficient state protection.
Scott Campbell, Colombia's representative for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that the risk of physical and cultural extinction of Indigenous People of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is "an ongoing tragedy that we can and must prevent."
Campbell urged the Colombian government to protect the Kogui, Wiwa, Kankuamo, Arhuaco, and Ette Naka Indigenous groups, whose combined population is approximately 54,700 people.
Campbell's statement followed a visit to the Sierra Nevada region, where U.N. officials spoke with representatives of these Indigenous tribes.
"These groups are under various forms of cruel attack from non-state armed groups," Campbell said, highlighting the "devastating repercussions on their lives, their land, their territory, their self government...and their spirituality."
In 2022, UNESCO added the ancestral knowledge of these Indigenous groups to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. The recognition highlights the "fundamental role" their traditions play in preserving the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — a mountain range that emerges directly from the Caribbean Sea and boasts snowy peaks reaching nearly 6,000 meters.
But for many years, the Indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada have been under attack from settlers, and now from rebel groups.
Campbell said that rebel groups in the area are imposing curfews on Indigenous communities and interfering with their local assemblies. He added that hundreds of Indigenous people from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta have been forcibly displaced, while last year an Arhuaco community leader was murdered and a member of the Kogui tribe disappeared.
Colombia's government has struggled to pacify rural areas where rebel groups and drug trafficking gangs fight for territory abandoned by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the large guerilla group that made peace with the government in 2016.
President Gustavo Petro has launched peace talks with most of the nation's remaining rebel groups, but the negotiations have yielded few results so far.
Campbell urged the government to protect Indigenous people in the Sierra Nevada not only through military force, but by providing better access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities.
"The violent situation has its roots in disputes over control of territory, drug trafficking routes and various forms of illicit economic activity by non-state armed groups." Campell said.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 12:37:03+00:00 | [
"San Diego",
"Plane crashes",
"Dan Eddy",
"Federal Aviation Administration",
"Transportation",
"Christopher Moore"
] | # Small plane crashes into San Diego neighborhood
By Julie Watson
May 22nd, 2025, 12:37 PM
---
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood during foggy weather early Thursday, setting about 15 homes on fire as well as vehicles, and forcing evacuations along several blocks, authorities said.
"We have jet fuel all over the place," Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said during a news conference. "Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now."
He said "there is a direct hit to multiple homes" in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood and described "a gigantic debris field" in an area of densely populated homes and sweeping canyon views.
It was not known if there were any deaths or injuries.
On the street, one home's roof was blackened and collapsed, with a piece of white metal sitting on the street in front. Half a dozen fully charred cars sat on the street and tree limbs, glass and pieces of white and blue metal were scattered on the road. At the end of the street black smoke billowed as the site continued to burn.
Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang and saw smoke when they looked out the window.
They grabbed their two young children and ran out of the house. On their way out of the neighborhood they saw a car engulfed in flames.
"It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you've just got to drop your head and get to safety," he said.
Police rescued three husky puppies from one of the homes and rolled them away from the crash scene in a wagon. A few blocks away, families including Moore's stood in their pajamas in a parking lot waiting for word of when they can return to their homes.
Many military service members live in the neighborhood, which is made up of single family homes and townhomes. It also is heavily populated by small civilian and military aircraft. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and Gillespie Field are nearby.
Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. "You could barely see in front of you," he said.
The Cessna 550 aircraft crashed at about 3:45 a.m. near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"The number of people on board is unknown at this time," the FAA said in a statement.
The plane can carry six to eight people.
The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.
In October 2021, a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes. It was preparing to land at the airport.
In December 2008, a Marine Corps fighter jet slammed into a house in San Diego's University City neighborhood, causing an explosion that killed four people inside. The Marine Corps blamed the crash on mechanical failure and human error. |
Associated Press News | 2025-05-22 07:50:32+00:00 | [
"Iran",
"Ali Khamenei",
"Donald Trump",
"Steve Witkoff",
"Iran government",
"Barack Obama",
"Kim Jong-un",
"United States government",
"United States",
"Politics",
"Nuclear weapons",
"Ruhollah Khomeini",
"Business",
"Mohammad Reza Pahlavi",
"Saddam Hussein",
"Sanctions and embargoes",
"Ali Larijani"
] | # What to know about the Iran-US nuclear negotiations
By Jon Gambrell
May 22nd, 2025, 07:50 AM
---
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and the United States will hold talks Friday in Rome, their fifth round of negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
The talks follow previously negotiations in both Rome and in Muscat, Oman.
President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions on Iran as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign targeting the country. He has repeatedly suggested military action against Iran remained a possibility, while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached by writing a letter to Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to jump start these talks.
Khamenei has warned Iran would respond to any attack with an attack of its own.
Here's what to know about the letter, Iran's nuclear program and the tensions that have stalked relations between Tehran and Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
## Why did Trump write the letter?
Trump dispatched the letter to Khamenei on March 5, then gave a television interview the next day in which he acknowledged sending it. He said: "I've written them a letter saying, 'I hope you're going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it's going to be a terrible thing.'"
Since returning to the White House, the president has been pushing for talks while ratcheting up sanctions and suggesting a military strike by Israel or the U.S. could target Iranian nuclear sites.
A previous letter from Trump during his first term drew an angry retort from the supreme leader.
But Trump's letters to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term led to face-to-face meetings, though no deals to limit Pyongyang's atomic bombs and a missile program capable of reaching the continental U.S.
## How did previous rounds go?
Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has hosted the three rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. The two men have met face to face after indirect talks, a rare occurrence due to the decades of tensions between the countries.
It hasn't been all smooth, however. Witkoff at one point made a television appearance in which he suggested 3.67% enrichment for Iran could be something the countries could agree on. But that's exactly the terms set by the 2015 nuclear deal struck under U.S. President Barack Obama, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew America. Witkoff, Trump and other American officials in the time since have maintained Iran can have no enrichment under any deal, something to which Tehran insists it won't agree.
Despite that, Iran and the U.S. have held expert-level talks. Experts described that as a positive sign, though much likely remains to be agreed before reaching a tentative deal.
## Why does Iran's nuclear program worry the West?
Iran has insisted for decades that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.
Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's program put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60% purity.
U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to begin a weapons program, but has "undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so."
Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, has warned in a televised interview that his country has the capability to build nuclear weapons, but it is not pursuing it and has no problem with the IAEA's inspections. However, he said if the U.S. or Israel were to attack Iran over the issue, the country would have no choice but to move toward nuclear weapon development.
"If you make a mistake regarding Iran's nuclear issue, you will force Iran to take that path, because it must defend itself," he said.
## Why are relations so bad between Iran and the U.S.?
Iran was once one of the U.S.'s top allies in the Mideast under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who purchased American military weapons and allowed CIA technicians to run secret listening posts monitoring the neighboring Soviet Union. The CIA had fomented a 1953 coup that cemented the shah's rule.
But in January 1979, the shah, fatally ill with cancer, fled Iran as mass demonstrations swelled against his rule. The Islamic Revolution followed, led by Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and created Iran's theocratic government.
Later that year, university students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seeking the shah's extradition and sparking the 444-day hostage crisis that saw diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. severed. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s saw the U.S. back Saddam Hussein. The "Tanker War" during that conflict saw the U.S. launch a one-day assault that crippled Iran at sea, while the U.S. later shot down an Iranian commercial airliner that the American military said it mistook for a warplane.
Iran and the U.S. have see-sawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy in the years since, with relations peaking when Tehran made the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. But Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, sparking tensions in the Mideast that persist today.
___
Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
___
Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/ |
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