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https://apnews.com/article/america-military-parades-overseas-france-china-history-fe71a26517d2cc0aa37a4836a3b5d1e3
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Trump's military parade: A peacetime outlier in US history
| 2025-06-14T04:02:46 |
# Trump's military parade: A peacetime outlier in US history
By Bill Barrow
June 14th, 2025, 04:02 AM
---
The military parade to mark the Army's 250th anniversary and its convergence with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday are combining to create a peacetime outlier in U.S. history. Yet it still reflects global traditions that serve a range of political and cultural purposes.
Variations on the theme have surfaced among longtime NATO allies in Europe, one-party and authoritarian states and history's darkest regimes.
## France: Bastille Day and Trump's idée inspirée
The oldest democratic ally of the U.S. holds a military parade each July 14 to commemorate one of the seminal moments of the French Revolution. It inspired — or at least stoked — Trump's idea for a Washington version.
On July 14, 1789, French insurgents stormed the Bastille, which housed prisoners of Louis XVI's government. Revolutionaries commenced a Fête de la Fédération as a day of national unity and pride the following year, even with the First French Republic still more than two years from being established.
The Bastille Day parade has rolled annually since 1880. Now, it proceeds down an iconic Parisian route, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It passes the Arc de Triomphe — a memorial with tributes to the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars and World War I — and eventually in front of the French president, government ministers and invited foreign guests.
Trump attended in 2017, early in his first presidency, as U.S. troops marched as guests. The spectacle left him openly envious.
"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," Trump told French President Emanuel Macron. "It was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France. We're going to have to try and top it."
## The British set modern ceremonial standards
In the United Kingdom, King Charles III serves as ceremonial (though not practical) head of U.K. armed forces. Unlike in France and the U.S., where elected presidents wear civilian dress even at military events, Charles dons elaborate dress uniforms — medals, sash, sword, sometimes even a bearskin hat and chin strap.
He does it most famously at Trooping the Colour, a parade and troop inspection to mark the British monarch's official birthday, regardless of their actual birthdate. (The U.S. Army has said it has no specific plans to recognize Trump's birthday on Saturday.)
In 2023, Charles' first full year as king, he rode on horseback to inspect 1,400 representatives of the most prestigious U.K. regiments. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, used a carriage over the last three decades of her 70-year reign.
The British trace Trooping the Colour back to King Charles II, who reigned from 1660-1685. It became an annual event under King George III, described in the American colonists' Declaration of Independence as a figure of "absolute Despotism (and) Tyranny."
## Authoritarians flaunt military assets
Grandiose military pomp is common under modern authoritarians, especially those who have seized power via coups. It sometimes serves as a show of force meant to ward off would-be challengers — and to seek legitimacy and respect from other countries.
Cuba's Fidel Castro, who wore military garb routinely, held parades to commemorate the revolution he led on Dec. 2, 1959. In 2017, then-President Raúl Castro refashioned the event into a Fidel tribute shortly after his brother's death. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, known as "Comandante Chávez," presided over frequent parades until his 2013 death. His successor, Nicolás Maduro, has worn military dress at similar events.
North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un, who famously bonded with Trump in a 2018 summit, used a 2023 military parade to show off his daughter and potential successor, along with pieces of his isolated country's nuclear arsenal. The event in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square — named for Kim's grandfather — marked the North Korean Army's 75th birthday. Kim watched from a viewing stand as missiles other weaponry moved by and goose-stepping soldiers marched past him chanting, "Defend with your life, Paektu Bloodline" — referring to the Kim family's biological ancestry.
In China, Beijing's one-party government stages its National Day Parade every 10 years to project civic unity and military might. The most recent events, held in 2009 and 2019, involved trucks carrying nuclear missiles designed to evade U.S. defenses, as well as other weaponry.
Legions of troops, along with those hard assets, streamed past President Xi Jinping and other leaders gathered in Tiananmen Square in 2019 as spectators waved Chinese flags and fighter jets flew above.
Earlier this spring, Xi joined Russian President Vladimir Putin — another strongman leader Trump has occasionally praised — in Moscow's Red Square for the annual "Victory Day" parade. The May 9 event commemorates the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II — a global conflict in which China and the Soviet Union, despite not being democracies, joined the Allied Powers in fighting the Axis Powers led by Germany and Japan.
## A birthday parade for Hitler
Large civic-military displays were, of course, a feature in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy before and during World War II. Chilling footage of such events lives on as a reminder of the dangers of authoritarian extremism.
Among those frequent occasions: a parade capping Germany's multiday observance of Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939. (Some far-right extremists in Europe still mark the anniversary of Hitler's birth.) The four-hour march through Berlin on April 20, 1939, included more than 40,000 personnel across the Army, Navy, Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Schutzstaffel (commonly known as the "SS.") Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the streets. The Führer's invited guests numbered 20,000.
On a street-level platform, Hitler was front and center. Alone.
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https://apnews.com/article/trump-mass-firings-doge-rubio-state-department-a9d4a147aff47702b4e3e06b507795b3
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Judge halts plan to downsize State Department, citing injunction
| 2025-06-13T22:09:45 |
# Judge halts plan to downsize State Department, citing injunction
By San Francisco
June 13th, 2025, 10:09 PM
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A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday stopped Secretary of State Marco Rubio from proceeding with plans to downsize the State Department, saying that it was prohibited behavior under an injunction she issued last month.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston barred the Republican administration from carrying out much of its plans to reorganize and slash departments while she hears a legal challenge brought by labor unions and others. She said that President Donald Trump had failed to seek Congressional cooperation to do so when he ordered government-wide cuts.
But, in late May, the State Department notified Congress of an updated reorganization of the agency that would cut programs and personnel even more deeply than previously revealed.
Rubio this week also ordered U.S. embassies to fire all remaining staffers with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He said the State Department will take over USAID's foreign assistance programs by Monday.
The Trump administration said Rubio had launched a reorganization of the State Department independently of the president's directive and so was exempt.
Illston, who was nominated to the bench by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was not convinced.
"If the State Department has any question about whether planned actions fall within the scope of the Court's injunction, the Court ORDERS the Department to first raise those questions with the Court before taking action," she wrote in an order issued Friday.
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https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-work-requirement-worries-disability-health-trump-58feb16ce507c8ed467a71c0be27c38a
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Medicaid enrollees fear losing benefits under work requirements
| 2025-06-15T03:27:06 |
# Medicaid enrollees fear losing benefits under work requirements
By Geoff Mulvihill
June 15th, 2025, 03:27 AM
---
It took Crystal Strickland years to qualify for Medicaid, which she needs for a heart condition.
Strickland, who's unable to work due to her condition, chafed when she learned that the U.S. House has passed a bill that would impose a work requirement for many able-bodied people to get health insurance coverage through the low-cost, government-run plan for lower-income people.
"What sense does that make?" she asked. "What about the people who can't work but can't afford a doctor?"
The measure is part of the version of President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful" bill that cleared the House last month and is now up for consideration in the Senate. Trump is seeking to have it passed by July 4.
The bill as it stands would cut taxes and government spending — and also upend portions of the nation's social safety net.
For proponents, the ideas behind the work requirement are simple: Crack down on fraud and stand on the principle that taxpayer-provided health coverage isn't for those who can work but aren't. The measure includes exceptions for those who are under 19 or over 64, those with disabilities, pregnant women, main caregivers for young children, people recently released from prisons or jails — or during certain emergencies. It would apply only to adults who receive Medicaid through expansions that 40 states chose to undertake as part of the 2010 health insurance overhaul.
Many details of how the changes would work would be developed later, leaving several unknowns and causing anxiety among recipients who worry that their illnesses might not be enough to exempt them.
Advocates and sick and disabled enrollees worry — based largely on their past experience — that even those who might be exempted from work requirements under the law could still lose benefits because of increased or hard-to-meet paperwork mandates.
## Benefits can be difficult to navigate even without a work requirement
Strickland, a 44-year-old former server, cook and construction worker who lives in Fairmont, North Carolina, said she could not afford to go to a doctor for years because she wasn't able to work. She finally received a letter this month saying she would receive Medicaid coverage, she said.
"It's already kind of tough to get on Medicaid," said Strickland, who has lived in a tent and times and subsisted on nonperishable food thrown out by stores. "If they make it harder to get on, they're not going to be helping."
Steve Furman is concerned that his 43-year-old son, who has autism, could lose coverage.
The bill the House adopted would require Medicaid enrollees to show that they work, volunteer or go to school at least 80 hours a month to continue to qualify.
A disability exception would likely apply to Furman's son, who previously worked in an eyeglasses plant in Illinois for 15 years despite behavioral issues that may have gotten him fired elsewhere.
Furman said government bureaucracies are already impossible for his son to navigate, even with help.
It took him a year to help get his son onto Arizona's Medicaid system when they moved to Scottsdale in 2022, and it took time to set up food benefits. But he and his wife, who are retired, say they don't have the means to support his son fully.
"Should I expect the government to take care of him?" he asked. "I don't know, but I do expect them to have humanity."
## There's broad reliance on Medicaid for health coverage
About 71 million adults are enrolled in Medicaid now. And most of them — around 92% — are working, caregiving, attending school or disabled. Earlier estimates of the budget bill from the Congressional Budget Office found that about 5 million people stand to lose coverage.
A KFF tracking poll conducted in May found that the enrollees come from across the political spectrum. About one-fourth are Republicans; roughly one-third are Democrats.
The poll found that about 7 in 10 adults are worried that federal spending reductions on Medicaid will lead to more uninsured people and would strain health care providers in their area. About half said they were worried reductions would hurt the ability of them or their family to get and pay for health care.
Amaya Diana, an analyst at KFF, points to work requirements launched in Arkansas and Georgia as keeping people off Medicaid without increasing employment.
Amber Bellazaire, a policy analyst at the Michigan League for Public Policy, said the process to verify that Medicaid enrollees meet the work requirements could be a key reason people would be denied or lose eligibility.
"Massive coverage losses just due to an administrative burden rather than ineligibility is a significant concern," she said.
One KFF poll respondent, Virginia Bell, a retiree in Starkville, Mississippi, said she's seen sick family members struggle to get onto Medicaid, including one who died recently without coverage.
She said she doesn't mind a work requirement for those who are able — but worries about how that would be sorted out. "It's kind of hard to determine who needs it and who doesn't need it," she said.
## Some people don't if they might lose coverage with a work requirement
Lexy Mealing, 54 of Westbury, New York, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and underwent a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgeries, said she fears she may lose the medical benefits she has come to rely on, though people with "serious or complex" medical conditions could be granted exceptions.
She now works about 15 hours a week in "gig" jobs but isn't sure she can work more as she deals with the physical and mental toll of the cancer.
Mealing, who used to work as a medical receptionist in a pediatric neurosurgeon's office before her diagnosis and now volunteers for the American Cancer Society, went on Medicaid after going on short-term disability.
"I can't even imagine going through treatments right now and surgeries and the uncertainty of just not being able to work and not have health insurance," she said.
Felix White, who has Type I diabetes, first qualified for Medicaid after losing his job as a computer programmer several years ago.
The Oreland, Pennsylvania, man has been looking for a job, but finds that at 61, it's hard to land one.
Medicaid, meanwhile, pays for a continuous glucose monitor and insulin and funded foot surgeries last year, including one that kept him in the hospital for 12 days.
"There's no way I could have afforded that," he said. "I would have lost my foot and probably died."
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https://apnews.com/article/chinese-scientists-smuggling-michigan-5a2959da92e06f589644e7d9be2a389f
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2 Chinese scientists will stay in jail while accused of bringing biological material to US
| 2025-06-13T18:45:21 |
# 2 Chinese scientists will stay in jail while accused of bringing biological material to US
By Ed White
June 13th, 2025, 06:45 PM
---
DETROIT (AP) — Two Chinese scientists accused of smuggling or shipping biological material into the United States for use at the University of Michigan will remain in custody after waiving their right to a hearing Friday in federal court.
Yunqing Jian and Chengxuan Han said in separate court appearances in Detroit that they would not challenge the government's request to keep them locked up while their cases move forward.
"This is a constantly evolving situation involving a large number of factors," Han's attorney, Sara Garber, told a judge. She didn't elaborate and later declined to comment.
Han was arrested Sunday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China, where she is pursuing an advanced degree at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. She planned to spend a year completing a project at the University of Michigan lab, and is accused of shipping biological material months ago to laboratory staff.
It was intercepted by authorities. The FBI, in a court filing, said the material is related to worms and lacked a government permit. Experts told The Associated Press it didn't appear to be dangerous.
Jian's case is different. She is charged with conspiring with her boyfriend, another scientist from China, to bring a toxic fungus into the U.S. Fusarium graminearum can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice.
The boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, was turned away at the Detroit airport last July and sent back to China after authorities found red plant material in his backpack.
Jian, who worked at the university lab, was arrested June 2. Messages between Jian and Liu in 2024 suggest that Jian was already tending to Fusarium graminearum at the lab before Liu was caught at the airport, the FBI said.
Jian's attorneys declined to comment Friday.
Federal authorities so far have not alleged that the scientists had a plan to unleash the fungus somewhere. Fusarium graminearum is already prevalent in the U.S. — particularly in the east and Upper Midwest — and scientists have been studying it for decades. Nicknamed "vomitoxin" because it's most known for causing livestock to throw up, it can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and fever in animals and people.
Researchers often bring foreign plants, animals and even strains of fungi to the U.S. to study them, but they must file certain permits before moving anything across state or national borders.
The university has not been accused of misconduct. It said it has received no money from the Chinese government related to the work of the three scientists. In a statement, it said it strongly condemns any actions that "seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission."
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-air-defense-f0e72fa1c1dba6bc08fcc0bfb0c5a9f0
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Iranian missiles penetrated Israel's air defenses Friday. How ironclad is the system?
| 2025-06-13T21:27:26 |
# Iranian missiles penetrated Israel's air defenses Friday. How ironclad is the system?
By Julia Frankel
June 13th, 2025, 09:27 PM
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's multilayered air-defense system was tested Friday night as Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel, with some reportedly landing in the city of Tel Aviv.
Israel's military said it had intercepted the vast majority of the missiles but that some left "a few impacts on buildings." An Associated Press reporter saw smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. A Tel Aviv area hospital said it was treating 15 injured civilians.
The attack was a stiff challenge for Israel's air-defense system, which has intercepted projectiles fired from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran since the start of the war Oct. 7, 2023. They have ranged from short-range rockets to medium-range missiles to attack drones to ballistic missiles like those fired Friday night.
U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.
But the vast majority of Israel's air defense over the past year has been carried out by Israel itself. Over the decades, Israel has developed a sophisticated system capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties.
Here's a closer look at Israel's multilayered air-defense system:
## The Arrow
This system developed with the U.S. is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran launched on Tuesday. The Arrow, which operates outside the atmosphere, has also been used in the current war to intercept long-range missiles launched by Houthi militants in Yemen.
## David's Sling
Also developed with the U.S., David's Sling is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has been deployed on multiple occasions throughout the war.
## Iron Dome
This system, developed by Israel with U.S. backing, specializes in shooting down short-range rockets. It has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was activated early last decade – including thousands of interceptions during the current war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%.
## Iron Beam
Israel is developing a new system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it would be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. According to Israeli media reports, the cost of a single Iron Dome interception is about $50,000, while the other systems can run more than $2 million per missile. Iron Beam interceptions, by contrast, would cost a few dollars apiece, according to Israeli officials — but the system is not yet operational.
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https://apnews.com/article/consumer-product-safety-commission-donald-trump-firings-case-4de756d7a68ba6dfdd36620b43381fd1
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Federal judge blocks Trump's firing of Consumer Product Safety Commission members
| 2025-06-13T17:59:45 |
# Federal judge blocks Trump's firing of Consumer Product Safety Commission members
By Lea Skene
June 13th, 2025, 05:59 PM
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BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the terminations of three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission after they were fired by President Donald Trump in his effort to assert more power over independent federal agencies.
The commission helps protect consumers from dangerous products by issuing recalls, suing errant companies and more. Trump announced last month his decision to fire the three Democrats on the five-member commission. They were serving seven-year terms after being nominated by President Joe Biden.
After suing the Trump administration last month, the fired commissioners received a ruling in their favor Friday; it will likely be appealed.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the case was clearcut. Federal statute states that the president can fire commissioners "for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause" — allegations that have not been made against the commissioners in question.
But attorneys for the Trump administration assert that the statute is unconstitutional because the president's authority extends to dismissing federal employees who "exercise significant executive power," according to court filings.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox agreed with the plaintiffs, declaring their dismissals unlawful.
He had previously denied their request for a temporary restraining order, which would have reinstated them on an interim basis. That decision came just days after the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority declined to reinstate board members of two other independent agencies, endorsing a robust view of presidential power. The court said that the Constitution appears to give the president the authority to fire the board members "without cause." Its three liberal justices dissented.
In his written opinion filed Friday, Maddox presented a more limited view of the president's authority, finding "no constitutional defect" in the statute that prohibits such terminations. He ordered that the plaintiffs be allowed to resume their duties as product safety commissioners.
The ruling adds to a larger ongoing legal battle over a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey's Executor. In that case from 1935, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause. The decision ushered in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the airwaves and much else. But it has long rankled conservative legal theorists who argue the modern administrative state gets the Constitution all wrong because such agencies should answer to the president.
During a hearing before Maddox last week, arguments focused largely on the nature of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and its powers, specifically whether it exercises "substantial executive authority."
Maddox, a Biden nominee, noted the difficulty of cleanly characterizing such functions. He also noted that Trump was breaking from precedent by firing the three commissioners, rather than following the usual process of making his own nominations when the opportunity arose.
Abigail Stout, an attorney representing the Trump administration, argued that any restrictions on the president's removal power would violate his constitutional authority.
After Trump announced the Democrats' firings, four Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to the president urging him to reverse course.
"This move compromises the ability of the federal government to apply data-driven product safety rules to protect Americans nationwide, away from political influence," they wrote.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission was created in 1972. Its five members must maintain a partisan split, with no more than three representing the president's party. They serve staggered terms.
That structure ensures that each president has "the opportunity to influence, but not control," the commission, attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in court filings. They argued the recent terminations could jeopardize the commission's independence.
Attorney Nick Sansone, who represents the three commissioners, praised the ruling Friday.
"Today's opinion reaffirms that the President is not above the law," he said in a statement.
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https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-heavy-rain-floods-dead-97842f69a5f45ccb51ca4ab1e0b43266
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Deaths in San Antonio rise to 11 and some are still missing after heavy storms, officials say
| 2025-06-13T20:12:56 |
# Deaths in San Antonio rise to 11 and some are still missing after heavy storms, officials say
June 13th, 2025, 08:12 PM
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The number of deaths from drenching rains in San Antonio rose to 11 people on Friday and crews searched for others still missing a day after fast-rising floodwaters tossed and swept away more than a dozen cars into a creek.
Search teams combed low-water crossings a day after Thursday's downpour that dumped more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain in a span of hours in parts of the nation's seventh-largest city. Some people climbed up trees to escape rapidly rising waters and authorities said firefighters made more than 70 rescues across San Antonio.
Many of the rescues involved pulling people from stalled cars. At least 10 people were rescued from bushes and trees about a mile away from where their vehicles sunk, the San Antonio Fire Department said in a statement.
Rescue crews were still searching for missing people as the flooding subsided, San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson Joe Arrington said. It was unclear how many were missing Friday evening.
"Our hearts are with the families of those we've lost to this week's flash floods and the families who continue searching for their loved ones," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
Three of the 11 confirmed dead were between 28 to 55 years old, according to a news release from the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office.
The search for the missing was focused on Beitel Creek where more than a dozen cars were found stuck or overturned, San Antonio officials said. Search dogs were also brought in Thursday to help find missing people, they said.
Among the missing was Stevie Richards, 42, the San Antonio Express-News reported. His wife, Angel, said she was on the phone with him when his car was swept away shortly before sunrise.
"As I was talking to him, he said, 'Oh, the car's floating'… It wasn't even a whole minute later that I could hear it hitting up against something, him screaming and cussing, and I could hear the water take the phone. It happened really, really fast," she told newspaper.
Those confirmed dead includes people found beyond the creek and throughout the county, said Monica Ramos, a spokesperson for the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office.
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https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-executive-order-4f863aaa8e0c59640ebc727827ffc887
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Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order
| 2025-06-13T12:52:47 |
# Judge blocks Trump's election executive order
By Christina A. Cassidy
June 13th, 2025, 12:52 PM
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ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to overhaul elections in the U.S., siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.
The Republican president's March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline.
The attorneys general had argued the directive "usurps the States' constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat." The White House had defended the order as "standing up for free, fair and honest elections" and called proof of citizenship a "commonsense" requirement.
Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts said in Friday's order that the states had a likelihood of success as to their legal challenges.
"The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections," Casper wrote.
Casper also noted that, when it comes to citizenship, "there is no dispute (nor could there be) that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal elections and the federal voter registration forms require attestation of citizenship."
Casper also cited arguments made by the states that the requirements would "burden the States with significant efforts and substantial costs" to update procedures.
Messages seeking a response from the White House and the Department of Justice were not immediately returned. The attorneys general for California and New York praised the ruling in statements to The Associated Press, calling Trump's order unconstitutional.
"Free and fair elections are the foundation of this nation, and no president has the power to steal that right from the American people," New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
The ruling is the second legal setback for Trump's election order. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., previously blocked parts of the directive, including the proof-of-citizenship requirement for the federal voter registration form.
The order is the culmination of Trump's longstanding complaints about elections. After his first win in 2016, Trump falsely claimed his popular vote total would have been much higher if not for "millions of people who voted illegally." Since 2020, Trump has made false claims of widespread voter fraud and manipulation of voting machines to explain his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
He has said his executive order secures elections against illegal voting by noncitizens, though multiple studies and investigations in the states have shown that it's rare and typically a mistake. Casting a ballot as a noncitizen is already against the law and can result in fines and deportation if convicted.
Also blocked in Friday's ruling was part of the order that sought to require states to exclude any mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day. Currently, 18 states and Puerto Rico accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long they are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Oregon and Washington, which conduct their elections almost entirely by mail, filed a separate lawsuit over the ballot deadline, saying the executive order could disenfranchise voters in their states. When the lawsuit was filed, Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs noted that more than 300,000 ballots in the state arrived after Election Day in 2024.
Trump's order has received praise from the top election officials in some Republican states who say it could inhibit instances of voter fraud and will give them access to federal data to better maintain their voter rolls. But many legal experts say the order exceeds Trump's power because the Constitution gives states the authority to set the "times, places and manner" of elections, with Congress allowed to set rules for elections to federal office. As Friday's ruling states, the Constitution makes no provision for presidents to set the rules for elections.
During a hearing earlier this month on the states' request for a preliminary injunction, lawyers for the states and lawyers for the administration argued over the implications of Trump's order, whether the changes could be made in time for next year's midterm elections and how much it would cost the states.
Justice Department lawyer Bridget O'Hickey said during the hearing that the order seeks to provide a single set of rules for certain aspects of election operations rather than having a patchwork of state laws and that any harm to the states is speculation.
O'Hickey also claimed that mailed ballots received after Election Day might somehow be manipulated, suggesting people could retrieve their ballots and alter their votes based on what they see in early results. But all ballots received after Election Day require a postmark showing they were sent on or before that date, and that any ballot with a postmark after Election Day would not count.
|
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-iran-israel-zelenskyy-ba2a52ce82897f16f76f52d4b8e53b34
|
Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort
| 2025-06-14T12:40:40 |
# Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort
By Samya Kullab
June 14th, 2025, 12:40 PM
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports.
"The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us," Zelenskyy said. "The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports."
Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East.
## 'We will raise this issue'
Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
"In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue," he said.
Zelenskyy also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East.
"We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this," he said. "Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine."
Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelenskyy said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel.
"And for us it was a blow," he said. "When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles."
An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop.
"This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there," he said.
## Coalition offer under consideration
The offer of a foreign troop "reassurance force" pledged by the Coalition of the Willing was still on the table "but they need a backstop, as they say, from America," Zelenskyy said. "This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine."
The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia.
"It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991," he said.
But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Trump.
Without crushing U.S. sanctions against Russia, "I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us," Zelenskyy said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine.
## Body and prisoner returns follow Istanbul talks
In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday.
Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia returned 1,200 bodies.
Ukraine and Russia also exchanged another group of ill and severely wounded servicemen on Saturday, officials from both countries said, although the sides did not report the numbers.
Zelenskyy said in a post on X that the Ukrainian servicemen who returned were members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Transport Special Service.
The first round of the staggered exchanges took place on Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the June 2 Istanbul talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss both the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war.
"Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age," Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.
## Russia says push continues
Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its troops captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim.
Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defenses destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. A 45-year-old man was killed when a Russian drone dropped explosives in the Kherson region on Saturday, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said.
Russia's defense ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During the June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely.
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https://apnews.com/article/eu-finland-estonia-baltic-sea-power-cable-749aaf24aa9a92db09c749736600c1db
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Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
| 2025-06-14T08:45:14 |
# Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in Baltic Sea
June 14th, 2025, 08:45 AM
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HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish authorities have accused senior officers of a Russia-linked vessel that damaged undersea cables last year between Finland and Estonia of criminal offenses related to the wreckage.
They say the oil tanker, the Eagle S, dragged its anchor to damage the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links between Finland and Estonia on Dec. 25. The Kremlin previously denied involvement in damaging the infrastructure, which provides power and communication for thousands of Europeans.
The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but has been described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union's executive commission as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.
Russia's use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
For the West, the incidents are a test of resolve in the face of what are believed to be widespread sabotage attacks in Europe allegedly linked to Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Eagle S was carrying 35,000 tons of oil and investigators allege it left a drag trail with its anchor for almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) on the sea bed before it was stopped and escorted to the vicinity of a Finnish port.
The senior officers, whose names were not made public, were the master, the chief mate and the second mate, Finnish police said in a statement Friday. The trio was responsible for the safe passage, navigation and operation of the tanker and are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications.
"The criminal investigation has examined and assessed, among other things, the extent of their responsibility for the condition of the vessel and the degree to which they should have observed the anchor falling into the sea," said Detective Chief Inspector Sami Liimatainen, who is leading the case for the National Bureau of Investigation.
The investigators' findings have been referred to Finnish prosecutors for possible charges.
The damage to the Estlink 2, which can provide about half of the electricity needs for Estonia in winter, did not disrupt service, although it did drive up energy prices in the Baltic nations.
The cable is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) long and is located at a depth of 90 meters (295 feet) at its deepest point, across one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe.
The undersea cables and pipelines that crisscross the sea link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries, promote trade, energy security and, in some cases, reduce dependence on Russian energy resources.
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https://apnews.com/article/jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-wedding-venice-fd8bbdcd626d0a31c125d03182211cb3
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Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez to spotlight Venice's artisanal heritage during nuptials
| 2025-06-14T04:06:14 |
# Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez to spotlight Venice's artisanal heritage during nuptials
By Colleen Barry
June 14th, 2025, 04:06 AM
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VENICE, Italy (AP) — Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have invited celebrity friends like fellow space traveler Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump for their Venice nuptials later this month, but the couple hopes to put a spotlight on Venice's traditions during the celebrations.
They are sourcing some 80% of their wedding provisions from Venetian vendors, according to people close to the couple, as a way to share their appreciation for the romantic lagoon city. The wedding will take place over three days in late June, with events for the some 200 invited guests kept private.
Two historic Venetian companies will add artisanal touches to the celebration: Rosa Salva, the city's oldest pastry maker that has been crafting donut-shaped fishermen's biscuits since 1876, and Laguna B, a design studio known for its distinctive handblown Murano glass prized by fashion and design clients.
## Treats good for fishermen and VIPs alike
Antonio Rosa Salva, the 6th generation in his family to run the business, said the wedding order of a selection of surprises for goody bags was important recognition of his family's long tradition of baking Venetian specialties dating back nearly 150 years.
They include the bussola buttery biscuit that was long a fisherman's staple, and small zaletti cookies, made from the Veneto region's corn meal, flavored with raisins and lemon zest.
"We try to maintain the old recipes,'' said Rosa Salva, whose family business includes a catering service and four locations in Venice's historic center and one on the mainland. "We do everything with love. It's a pleasure and a privilege.''
Rosa Salva, whose business regularly caters large events for 1,000 or more people in Venice, is perplexed by posters that have gone up around the historic center protesting the use of the city as a venue for the Bezos-Sanchez wedding.
"Events like this bring quality tourism to Venice,'' he said. "I don't see how an event with 200 people can create disruptions. It's responsible tourism. It's prestigious that a couple like this, who can go anywhere in the world, are getting married in the city."
## Collectible glassware with social responsibility
Laguna B was founded by Marie Brandolini, who became known as the glass countess, in 1994, and the company is now being guided by her son, Marcantonio Brandolini, from the family's palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal.
The younger Brandolini said his vision is to restore the Venetian tradition of running creative enterprises out of Venice's grand palazzi, which historically dedicated the ground floor to work spaces for the merchant nobility. His is a good example. The company employs 14 people under 30 out of offices in the courtyard and a boutique in an adjacent alleyway, in a sector, he underlined, "not related to tourism.''
His upstairs neighbors are Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller — close friends of Bezos and Sanchez, but he doesn't think that is why the wedding planner picked his company, which is well known among a small network of collectors.
Laguna B won't disclose what its master glassblowers on Murano have created for the wedding, but the company is known for distinctive glassware that at times feature an undulating lip – no two alike.
"I hope they like what we did for them,'' Brandolini said. "For us, it's a great opportunity, it gives extra support for our growth.''
While the business thrives on such important orders, Brandolini said he is equally gratified by young, discerning customers who seek out the shop because they admire Laguna B's commitment to community building, reviving Venice's artisanal heritage and projects to help protect the fragile lagoon. They might buy just a single drinking glass.
His is a message of inclusivity, which he also applies to the Bezos-Sanchez choice of wedding venue. "The world is for everybody. Whoever wants to do something, should be able to do it, following the law," he said.
## Venice protests
Unsurprisingly in a city whose future is fiercely debated at every turn, the wedding has attracted the attention of protesters, who on Thursday hung a banner on St. Mark's bell tower with Bezos' name crossed out. They cite the risk of disruptions in a city so overrun with mass tourism that officials are for a second year requiring day-trippers to pay a tax to enter on key summer days.
City officials have pledged that services will function normally during the wedding, and issued a denial in late March to reports that the wedding organizers had booked half the city's water taxis and blocked out rooms at luxury hotels.
"We are very proud,'' Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told The Associated Press this week in St. Mark's Square, saying he hoped he would get the chance to meet Bezos. "I don't know if I will have time, or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it's an honor that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.''
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https://apnews.com/article/china-taiwan-huawei-smic-export-restrictions-semiconductor-6f43d0b9f34d39258ca3e3c1406d9055
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Taiwan adds China’s Huawei and SMIC to export control list
| 2025-06-15T07:38:39 |
# Taiwan adds China's Huawei and SMIC to export control list
June 15th, 2025, 07:38 AM
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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan's Commerce Ministry has added Chinese chipmakers Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to its export control list, as trade and technology frictions between the self-ruled island, China and the United States increase.
Inclusion on the "strategic high-tech commodities" list means Taiwanese companies will need to obtain export permits before selling goods to the respective companies. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as other companies in China, Iran and elsewhere.
The export control entities list was last updated on Sunday. Neither Huawei nor SMIC initially commented on their inclusion.
Huawei and SMIC have both been sanctioned by the U.S. The two companies are producing China's most advanced homegrown artificial intelligence chips in an effort to compete with U.S.-based Nvidia and supply Chinese tech firms with the much-needed chips amid export curbs.
Taiwan is home the world's largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a major supplier for Nvidia.
Last November, the U.S. ordered TSMC to halt supplies of certain advanced chips to Chinese customers as part of broader efforts to restrict China's access to cutting-edge technologies.
China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. The U.S. is Taiwan's biggest unofficial ally and arms seller.
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https://apnews.com/article/floods-south-africa-mthatha-weather-e80a4dcedd9e34acbd2a9778e568931d
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Death toll in South Africa floods rises to 86
| 2025-06-14T13:50:31 |
# Death toll in South Africa floods rises to 86
By Gerald Imray
June 14th, 2025, 01:50 PM
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The death toll in floods in South Africa's Eastern Cape province has risen to 86, the police minister said Saturday as rescuers continued to retrieve bodies from the floodwater.
Senzo Mchunu, the country's top law enforcement official, spoke to police rescue teams that have been searching for missing people and recovering bodies in and around the town of Mthatha since the floods hit in the predawn hours of Tuesday.
Mchunu said the floods were a tragedy but urged local residents to ignore what he called inaccurate reports spreading on social media that the disaster was caused by someone opening the sluice gates at a nearby dam, leading to water surging through communities. Mchunu said the Mthatha Dam in question did not have sluice gates.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday during a visit to Mthatha that authorities would investigate if there were any problems with the local dam that might have led to the tragedy.
A wall of water 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) high in places flowed out of the river, the head of the provincial government said, washing away victims with parts of their houses and trapping others inside their homes.
Ramaphosa partly attributed the rains and floods to climate change and said some of South Africa's coastal regions were now constantly vulnerable to weather-related disasters. More than 400 people died in flooding in and around South Africa's east coast city of Durban in 2022, which a study linked to climate change.
The floods in the Mthatha area and a neighboring district caught many people unaware despite weather services issuing warnings last week that an extreme cold front was heading for the region, bringing heavy rains and gale-force winds.
The largely rural region is one of the country's poorest and authorities said communities living in informal housing close to the river were especially vulnerable when it burst its banks. Authorities have been criticized for the rescue response but also for the state of the infrastructure in the area.
Officials believe that people are still missing and the death toll could rise further as rescue teams have been searching through floodwater and damaged homes for nearly a week. One of the bodies retrieved on Saturday was that of a boy that rescuers believed was around 13 or 14 years old.
Many children are among the dead, although authorities haven't given an exact count. Some of the victims were washed up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away from their homes by the floods.
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https://apnews.com/article/russia-israel-iran-attack-mideast-nuclear-us-d5374c53a8b7188f29ffdc25486f5b55
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Russia walks a fine line in the Middle East, balancing ties with Israel and Iran
| 2025-06-15T04:02:23 |
# Russia walks a fine line in the Middle East, balancing ties with Israel and Iran
By The Associated Press
June 15th, 2025, 04:02 AM
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Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.
Israel's military strikes this weekend on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, killing top generals and scientists, and Tehran's response with drones and missiles, put Moscow in an awkward position, requiring fine diplomatic skills to preserve ties with both parties. But it also could open opportunities for Russia to possibly become a power broker to help end the confrontation.
Some observers in Moscow also argue that the focus on the confrontation between Israel and Iran could distract global attention from the war in Ukraine and play into Russia's hands by potentially weakening Western support for Kyiv.
## A Russian condemnation but little else
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to both Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to help de-escalate the conflict.
In his call with Pezeshkian, Putin condemned the Israeli strikes and offered his condolences. He noted that Russia has put forward specific initiatives aimed at resolving the situation around the Iranian nuclear program.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement condemning the Israeli strikes as "categorically unacceptable" and warning that "all the consequences of this provocation will fall on the Israeli leadership." It urged both parties "to exercise restraint in order to prevent further escalation of tensions and keep the region from sliding into a full-scale war."
But despite the harshly worded condemnation of Israel's actions, Moscow hasn't issued any signal that it could offer anything beyond political support to Tehran despite a partnership treaty between the countries.
In his call with Netanyahu, Putin "emphasized the importance of returning to the negotiation process and resolving all issues related to the Iranian nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means," and he offered his mediation "in order to prevent further escalation of tensions," the Kremlin said in a readout.
"It was agreed that the Russian side will continue close contacts with the leadership of both Iran and Israel, aimed at resolving the current situation, which is fraught with the most disastrous consequences for the entire region," it added.
Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the escalating situation in the Middle East by phone Saturday. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Kremlin leader emphasized Russia's readiness to carry out mediation efforts, and noted it had proposed steps "aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements" during U.S.-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
## Moscow-Tehran ties: From tense to strategic partners
Relations between Moscow and Tehran often were tense in the Cold War, when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was a U.S. ally. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini branded the U.S. as the "Great Satan," but also assailed the Soviet Union as the "Lesser Satan."
Russia-Iran ties warmed quickly after the USSR's demise in 1991, when Moscow became an important trade partner and a top supplier of weapons and technology to Iran as it faced international sanctions. Russia built Iran's first nuclear power plant in the port of Bushehr that became operational in 2013.
Russia was part of the 2015 deal between Iran and six nuclear powers, offering sanctions relief for Tehran in exchange for curbing its atomic program and opening it to broader international scrutiny. It offered political support when the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the agreement during Trump's first term.
After a civil war in Syria erupted in 2011, Russia and Iran pooled efforts to shore up Bashar Assad's government. They helped Assad reclaim most of the country but failed to prevent a swift collapse of his rule in December 2024 after a lightning opposition offensive.
When Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the West alleged that Tehran signed a deal with the Kremlin to deliver Shahed drones and later launch their production in Russia.
In January, Putin and Pezeshkian signed the "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty that envisions close political, economic and military ties.
## Russia-Israel ties stay strong despite tensions
During the Cold War, Moscow armed and trained Israel's Arab foes. Diplomatic relations with Israel ruptured in 1967 but were restored in 1991. Russian-Israeli ties quickly warmed after the collapse of the Soviet Union and have remained strong.
Despite Moscow's close ties with Tehran, Putin has repeatedly demonstrated his readiness to take Israeli interests into account.
He has maintained warm, personal ties with Netanyahu, who frequently traveled to Russia before the war in Ukraine.
Russia and Israel have built a close political, economic and cultural relationship that helped them tackle delicate and divisive issues, including developments in Syria. It survived a tough test in 2018, when a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Syrian forces responding to an Israeli airstrike, killing all 15 people aboard.
And even though Russia supplied Iran with sophisticated S-300 air defense missile systems, which Israel said were taken out during its strikes last year on Iran, Moscow has dragged its feet on deliveries of other weapons in an apparent response to Israeli worries. In particular, Russia has delayed providing advanced Su-35 fighter jets that Iran wants so it can upgrade its aging fleet.
Israel, in its turn, appeared to take Moscow's interests into account by showing little enthusiasm for providing Ukraine with weapons in the 3-year-old war.
The Kremlin's friendly ties with Israel has fueled discontent in Tehran, where some members of the political and military leadership reportedly were suspicious of Moscow's intentions.
## Possible Russian gains from Middle East tensions
Maintaining good ties with both Israel and Iran could pay off now, placing Moscow in a position of a power broker trusted by both parties and a potential participant in any future deal on Tehran's nuclear program.
Long before Friday's strikes, Putin discussed the mounting Middle East tensions in his calls with Trump, conversations that offered the Russian leader a chance to pivot away from the war in Ukraine and engage more broadly with Washington on global issues.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggested in recent days that Russia could take highly enriched uranium from Iran and convert it into civilian reactor fuel as part of a potential agreement between the United States and Iran.
Prospects for negotiating a deal under which Iran would accept tighter restrictions on its nuclear program appear dim after the Israeli strikes. But if talks resume, Russia's offer could emerge as a pivotal component of an agreement.
Many observers believe the Israeli attacks will likely fuel global oil prices and help enrich Moscow at a time when its economy is struggling.
"It will destroy the hopes of Ukraine and its allies in Western Europe for a drop in Russian oil revenues that are essential for filling the military budget," Moscow-based military analyst Ruslan Pukhov wrote in a commentary.
Some commentators in Moscow also argue the confrontation in the Middle East will likely distract Western attention and resources from the war in Ukraine and make it easier for Russia to pursue its battlefield goals.
"The world's attention to Ukraine will weaken," said pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov. "A war between Israel and Iran will help the Russian army's success in Ukraine."
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https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-big-beautiful-bill-trump-e2f61c37d6cc7b6d96e85a679944476a
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The GOP's big bill would bring changes to Medicaid for millions
| 2025-06-15T11:26:26 |
# The GOP's big bill would bring changes to Medicaid for millions
By Leah Askarinam
June 15th, 2025, 11:26 AM
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WASHINGTON (AP) —
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has been clear about his red line as the Senate takes up the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill Act: no Medicaid cuts.
But what, exactly, would be a cut?
Hawley and other Republicans acknowledge that the main cost-saving provision in the bill – new work requirements on able-bodied adults who receive health care through the Medicaid program -- would cause millions of people to lose their coverage. All told, estimates are 10.9 million fewer people would have health coverage under the bill's proposed changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. That includes some 8 million fewer in the Medicaid program, including 5.2 million dropping off because of the new eligibility requirements.
"I know that will reduce the number of people on Medicaid," Hawley told a small scrum of reporters in the hallways at the Capitol.
"But I'm for that because I want people who are able bodied but not working to work."
Hawley and other Republicans are walking a politically fine line on how to reduce federal spending on Medicaid while also promising to protect a program that serves some 80 million Americans and is popular with the public.
As the party pushes ahead on President Donald Trump' s priority package, Republicans insist they are not cutting the vital safety net program but simply rooting out what they call waste, fraud and abuse. Whether that argument lands with voters could go a long way toward determining whether Trump's bill ultimately ends up boosting — or dragging down — Republicans as they campaign for reelection next year.
Republicans say that it's wrong to call the reductions in health care coverage "cuts." Instead, they've characterized the changes as rules that would purge people who are taking advantage of the system and protect it for the most vulnerable who need it most.
## What's in the bill
House Republicans wrote the bill with instructions to find $880 billion in cuts from programs under the purview of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has a sprawling jurisdiction that includes Medicaid.
In the version of the bill that the House passed on a party-line vote last month, the overall cuts ended up exceeding that number. The Kaiser Family Foundation projects that the bill will result in a $793 billion reduction in spending on Medicaid.
Additionally, the House Ways & Means Committee, which handles federal tax policy, imposed a freeze on a health care provider tax that many states impose. Critics say the tax improperly boosts federal Medicaid payments to the states, but supporters like Hawley say it's important funding for rural hospitals.
"What we're doing here is an important and, frankly, heroic thing to preserve the program so that it doesn't become insolvent," Speaker Mike Johnson said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, has denounced the bill as an "assault on the healthcare of the American people" and warned years of progress in reducing the number of uninsured people is at risk.
## Who would lose health coverage
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the GOP's proposed changes to federal health programs would result in 10.9 million fewer people having health care coverage.
Nearly 8 million fewer people would be enrolled in Medicaid by 2034 under the legislation, the CBO found, including 5.2 million people who would lose coverage due to the proposed work requirements. It said 1.4 million immigrants without legal status would lose coverage in state programs.
The new Medicaid requirements would apply to nondisabled adults under age 65 who are not caretakers or parents, with some exceptions. The bill passed by the U.S. House stipulates that those eligible would need to work, take classes, or record community service for 80 hours per month.
The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that more than 90% of people enrolled in Medicaid already meet those criteria.
The legislation also penalizes states that fund health insurance for immigrants who have not confirmed their immigration status, and the CBO expects that those states will stop funding Medicaid for those immigrants altogether.
## Why Republicans want Medicaid changes
Republicans have cited what they call the out-of-control spending in federal programs to explain their rationale for the changes proposed in the legislation.
"What we are trying to do in the One Big Beautiful Bill is ensuring that limited resources are protected for pregnant women, for children, for seniors, for individuals with disabilities," said Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., in a speech on the House floor.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso argued that Medicaid recipients who are not working spend their time watching television and playing video games rather than looking for employment.
Republicans also criticize the CBO itself, the congressional scorekeeper, questioning whether its projections are accurate.
The CBO score for decades has been providing non-partisan analysis of legislation and budgetary matters. Its staff is prohibited from making political contributions and is currently led by a former economic adviser for the George W. Bush administration.
## What polling shows
While Republicans argue that their signature legislation delivers on Trump's 2024 campaign promises, health care isn't one of the president's strongest issues with Americans.
Most U.S. adults, 56%, disapproved of how Trump was handling health care policy in CNN polling from March. And according to AP VoteCast, about 6 in 10 voters in the November election said they wanted the government "more involved" in ensuring that Americans have health care coverage. Only about 2 in 10 wanted the government less involved in this, and about 2 in 10 said its involvement was about right.
Half of American adults said they expected the Trump administration's policies to increase their family's health care costs, according to a May poll from KFF, and about 6 in 10 believed those policies would weaken Medicaid. If the federal government significantly reduced Medicaid spending, about 7 in 10 adults said they worried it would negatively impact nursing homes, hospitals, and other health care providers in their community.
For Hawley, the "bottom lines" are omitting provisions that could cause rural hospitals to close and hardworking citizens to lose their benefits.
He and other Republicans are especially concerned about the freeze on the providers' tax in the House's legislation that they warn could hurt rural hospitals.
"Medicaid benefits for people who are working or who are otherwise qualified," Hawley said. "I do not want to see them cut."
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https://apnews.com/article/texas-san-antonio-flooding-death-toll-525b1dd96128120d1a0c5df0c6ce1a98
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Death toll from San Antonio flooding rises to 13
| 2025-06-14T22:57:05 |
# Death toll from San Antonio flooding rises to 13
June 14th, 2025, 10:57 PM
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The death toll from heavy rains that inundated parts of San Antonio has risen to 13, and all those missing have been found, authorities said Saturday.
More than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain fell over a span of hours on Thursday, causing fast-rising floodwaters to carry more than a dozen cars into a creek.
Some people climbed trees to escape. Firefighters rescued more than 70 people across the nation's seventh-largest city.
More than a dozen cars got stuck or overturned in Beital Creek. The San Antonio Fire Department said 11 of those who died were found in the Perrin Beitel search area around the creek. One person was found several miles upstream.
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https://apnews.com/article/tianeptine-gas-station-heroin-fda-poison-4c8f6b98c9c615c9236ac950ce34850c
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Tianeptine, or 'gas station heroin,' can be addictive and cause serious side effects
| 2025-06-14T14:00:06 |
# Tianeptine, or 'gas station heroin,' can be addictive and cause serious side effects
By Matthew Perrone
June 14th, 2025, 02:00 PM
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Health officials want you to think twice before buying one of those brightly colored little bottles often sold at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops.
Sometimes called "gas station heroin," the products are usually marketed as energy shots or cognitive supplements but actually contain tianeptine, an unapproved drug that can be addictive and carries risks of serious side effects.
U.S. poison control centers have reported a steady rise in calls linked to the drug for more than a decade. And last month the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning to health professionals about "the magnitude of the underlying danger or these products."
Here's what to know about gas station heroin.
## How are these products sold in the U.S.?
Tianeptine is approved in a number foreign countries as an antidepressant, usually as a low-dose pill taken three times a day. But it has never been approved by the FDA for any medical condition in the U.S.
Additionally, the drug cannot legally be added to foods and beverages or sold as a dietary supplement — something the FDA has repeatedly warned U.S. companies about.
Still, under-the-radar firms sell tianeptine in various formulas, often with brand names like Zaza, Tianaa, Pegasus and TD Red. Although that is technically illegal, the FDA does not preapprove ingredients added to supplements and beverages.
"It's kind of this grey area of consumer products, or supplements, where the contents are not regulated or tested the way they would be with a medication," said Dr. Diane Calello of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System.
Last year, Calello and her colleagues published a study documenting a cluster of emergency calls in New Jersey tied to a flavored elixir called Neptune's Fix. People experienced distress, rapid heartbeat, low blood pressure and seizures after drinking it. More than a dozen of the 20 patients had to be admitted for intensive care.
## Why use these products?
Many tianeptine products claim— without evidence or FDA approval— to help users treat medical conditions, including addiction, pain and depression.
In 2018, the FDA issued a warning letter to the maker of a product called Tianna, which claimed to provide "an unparalleled solution to cravings for opiates."
While tianeptine is not an opioid, the drug binds to some of the same receptors in the brain, which can temporarily produce effects akin to oxycodone and other opioids. Tianeptine also carries some of the same physiological risks of opioids, including the potential to dangerously depress breathing.
"That's what tends to get people into trouble," said Dr. Hannah Hays of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "They use it for opioid-like effects or to self-treat opioid withdrawal and that can lead to slow breathing and problems like that."
People dealing with opioid addiction, pain, depression, anxiety and other conditions should see a health professional to get a prescription for FDA-approved treatments, Hays said.
## Is tianeptine use going up?
Experts aren't sure but national figures show a big rise in emergency calls involving the drug.
Calls to poison control centers increased 525% between 2018 and 2023, according to a data analysis published earlier this year. In about 40% of cases, the person had to seek medical care, with more than half of them needing critical care.
One explanation for the rise in calls is simply that more Americans are using the products.
But experts also say that the products are triggering more emergencies as they become more potent and dangerous. And the researchers in New Jersey who analyzed Neptune's Fix found that the liquid also contained synthetic cannabis and other drugs.
"You never quite know what's in that bottle," Calello said. "It's important for people to know that even if they have used a product before, they could get a bottle that contains something very different from what they're looking for."
## Are there policies that could reduce tianeptine use?
Tianeptine is not included in the federal Controlled Substances Act, which bans or restricts drugs that have no medical use or have a high potential for abuse, such as heroin, LSD and PCP. But about a dozen states have passed laws prohibiting or restricting tianeptine, including Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Tennessee.
In some cases, those laws have led to more cases of withdrawal among users of tianeptine, which can be chemically addictive. But state data also shows some success in reducing harm tied to the drug.
Until recently, Alabama had the highest rate of tianeptine-related calls in the southern U.S., which increased more than 1,400% between 2018 to 2021. But after the state restricted tianeptine in 2021 calls began modestly decreasing while calls across other southern states continued to climb.
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-missiles-attack-tel-aviv-0d75e7309887a0ef0fd55554e3ba9415
|
Israelis are uneasy as they prepare for more Iranian missiles
| 2025-06-14T18:45:32 |
# Israelis are uneasy as they prepare for more Iranian missiles
By Melanie Lidman
June 14th, 2025, 06:45 PM
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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A palpable tension settled over an eerily quiet Tel Aviv on Saturday as residents anticipated another round of missiles to be fired from Iran, which is under intense attack from the Israeli military.
Iran's retaliatory strikes late Friday — a barrage of drones and missiles mostly shot down by Israel's defenses — killed at least three people in the greater Tel Aviv area, and wounded dozens.
Most stores and restaurants were closed the next day across the Mediterranean city, though some ice cream shops remained open. A smattering of people gathered with friends in parks, while staying close to public bomb shelters. Tel Aviv's beaches, normally packed, had fewer sunbathers.
Uneasy Israelis huddled over their phones for updates about the escalating conflict with Iran, while still trying to go about their lives and enjoy a bit of sunshine.
"It just feels very unknown," said Lindsay Schragen, an architect in Tel Aviv.
After more than 20 months of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the conflict with Houthi rebels in Yemen — all with ties to Iran — Israelis are used to government requests for them to go to bomb shelters when sirens are activated.
But those episodes usually last about 10 minutes, whereas conflict with the much more powerful Iranian army means attacks last significantly longer, requiring families to spend hours in bomb shelters. Still, many people expressed gratitude for Israel's early warning systems, including cellphone notifications, and the robust shelter infrastructure in the city.
Schragen, who moved to Israel from New Jersey eight years ago, said it was difficult for her family and friends in the U.S. to understand how she spent the night dashing for a bomb shelter and then the next afternoon hanging with friends in the park.
"My mom keeps calling me and asking if I'm in the shelter, but no, I'm here, outside," she said. "Somehow we're able to preserve some normalcy."
Over the decades, Israel has developed a sophisticated air defense system capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties.
Israel's attack on Iran was much more intense and caused significantly more damage. Israel said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days killed a number of top generals, nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.
Israel said the surprise attack was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon. The Israeli attack threw into disarray talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran's rapidly developing nuclear program.
As the Iranian attack ensued, hospitals across Israel moved intensive-care patients into underground parking lots converted for such emergencies.
Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan, has room for hundreds of patients in its underground facility east of Tel Aviv. Over the past 48 hours, the hospital has moved dozens of patients, including premature babies, into the protected underground area.
"I told my wife I never want my child to be born into such a reality," said Eliran Bar, the father of a three-week-old premature baby in the intensive care unit. "I really hope it will end soon."
Saturday was mostly quiet in Israel, though many people were preparing for another night of missiles.
Shaun Katz, a 32-year-old lawyer from Tel Aviv, packed a bag with camping mattresses, water bottles, and bananagrams, his favorite game, to pass the time.
"We don't know how this goes on or how it plays out, but this may have been the best chance to neutralize the Iranian threat," Katz said. "I usually would take the option to de-escalate, but I don't know if that option is on the table, and this may be the best chance we've got to stop them from getting a nuclear weapon."
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, though its uranium enrichment has reached near weapons-grade levels, according to the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.
Others in the Tel Aviv area, where several buildings were destroyed, were more worried about what comes next.
"My wife, she is Israeli, she's very, very anxious and she wants to leave as soon as possible," said Howard Alansteen, an American living in Israel. "She's talking about going over the bridge to Jordan. She was talking about getting on a ferry to Cyprus. She's taking about going to Eliat. She is really upset."
Zhenya Kuperman, a 20-year-old chef from Givatayim, a suburb east of Tel Aviv, said she had many friends who were too scared to leave their homes all day, but it helped her to come out and see people.
"Even with all the pressure, all we need is to be together," she said.
|
https://apnews.com/article/no-kings-protest-trump-philadelphia-los-angeles-immigration-raids-a3b67d23733cd060f8d01aef1e391dbf
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Demonstrators rally against Trump at 'No Kings' protests
| 2025-06-14T04:11:08 |
# Demonstrators rally against Trump at 'No Kings' protests
By Marc Levy, Claudia Lauer, and Jim Vertuno
June 14th, 2025, 04:11 AM
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Masses of demonstrators packed into streets, parks and plazas across the United States on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and small towns, blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights.
Organizers of the "No Kings" demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events. Governors across the U.S. had urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering.
Confrontations were isolated. But police in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration enforcement raids erupted a week earlier and sparked demonstrations across the country, used tear gas and crowd-control munitions to clear out protesters after the formal event ended. Officers in Portland also fired tear gas and projectiles to disperse a crowd that protested in front of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building well into the evening.
And in Salt Lake City, Utah, police were investigating a shooting during a march downtown that left one person critically injured. Three people were taken into custody, including a man believed to be the shooter, who also suffered a gunshot wound, according to Police Chief Brian Redd.
Redd said it was too early to tell if the shooting was politically motivated and whether those involved knew each other. The shooter appeared to be walking alongside the group of thousands who were marching, he added. Video feeds showed demonstrators running for safety as gunshots rang out.
Huge, boisterous crowds marched, danced, drummed, and chanted shoulder-to-shoulder in New York, Denver, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles, some behind "no kings" banners. Atlanta's 5,000-capacity event quickly reached its limit, with thousands more gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Officials in Seattle estimated that more than 70,000 people attended the city's largest rally downtown, the Seattle Times reported.
Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army's 250th anniversary that coincides with the president's birthday. About 200 protesters assembled in northwest Washington's Logan Circle and chanted "Trump must go now" before erupting in cheers. A larger-than-life puppet of Trump — a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet — was wheeled through the crowd.
In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while others flew their flags upside down, a sign of distress. Mexican flags, which have become a fixture of the Los Angeles protests against immigration raids, also made an appearance at some demonstrations Saturday.
In Culpepper, Virginia, police said one person was struck by an SUV when a 21-year-old driver intentionally accelerated his SUV into the crowd as protesters were leaving a rally. The driver was charged with reckless driving.
The demonstrations come on the heels of the protests over the federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
"Today, across red states and blue, rural towns and major cities, Americans stood in peaceful unity and made it clear: we don't do kings," the No Kings Coalition said in a statement Saturday afternoon after many events had ended.
## Philadelphia
Thousands gathered downtown, where organizers handed out small American flags and people carried protest signs saying "fight oligarchy" and "deport the mini-Mussolinis."
Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support.
"I just feel like we need to defend our democracy," she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration's layoffs of staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and Trump trying to rule by executive order, she said.
A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words "young man" in the song "Y.M.C.A." to "con man."
"I am what the successful American dream looks like," said C.C. Téllez, an immigrant from Bolivia who attended the protest. "I've enjoyed great success here in the United States, and I've also contributed heavily to my community. And if there was space for me, I think there's a way for everybody else to belong here as well."
## Los Angeles
Thousands gathered in front of City Hall, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle before marching through the streets.
As protesters passed National Guard troops or U.S. Marines stationed at various buildings, most interactions were friendly, with demonstrators giving fist bumps or posing for selfies. But others chanted "shame" or "go home" at the troops.
Amid signs reading "They fear us don't back down California" and "We carry dreams not danger, " one demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back. Another hoisted a huge helium-filled orange baby balloon with blond hair styled like Trump's.
A few blocks from City Hall, protesters gathered in front of the downtown federal detention center being guarded by a line of Marines and other law enforcement. It was the first time that the Marines, in combat gear and holding rifles, have appeared at a demonstration since they were deployed to city on Friday with the stated mission of defending federal property.
Peter Varadi, 54, said he voted for Trump last November for "economic reasons." Now, for the first time in his life, he is protesting, waving a Mexican and U.S. combined flag.
"I voted for Donald Trump, and now I regret that, because he's taken this fascism to a new level," Varadi said. "It's Latinos now. Who's next? It's gays. Blacks after that. They're coming for everybody."
Even after the formal event ended, the downtown streets were packed with a jubilant crowd as people danced to salsa music and snacked on hot dogs and ice cream bought from vendors, many of whom are Latino immigrants. But the previously calm demonstration turned confrontational as police on horseback moved into the crowd and struck some people with wood rods and batons as they cleared the street in front of the federal building.
## New York City
Marchers in the crowd that stretched for blocks along Fifth Avenue had diverse reasons for coming, including anger over Trump's immigration policies, support for the Palestinian people and outrage over what they said was an erosion of free speech rights.
But there were patriotic symbols, too. Leah Griswold, 32, and Amber Laree, 59, who marched in suffragette white dresses, brought 250 American flags to hand out to people in the crowd.
"Our mothers who came out, fought for our rights, and now we're fighting for future generations as well," Griswold said.
Some protesters held signs denouncing Trump while others banged drums.
"We're here because we're worried about the existential crisis of this country and the planet and our species," said Sean Kryston, 28.
## Minnesota
Gov. Tim Walz and law enforcement encouraged people not to attend rallies "out of an abundance of caution" following the shootings of the Democratic state lawmakers.
Dozens of events were canceled, but tens of thousands still turned out for demonstrations in Duluth, Rochester and St. Paul, which included a march to the state Capitol. Walz canceled his scheduled appearance at the St. Paul event.
Authorities said the suspect had "No Kings" flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.
Seda Heng, 29, of Rochester, said she was heartbroken by the shootings, but still wanted to join the rally there. "These people are trying to do what they can for their communities, for the state, for the nation," Heng told the Minnesota Star-Tribune.
## North Carolina
Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte's First Ward Park before marching, chanting "No kings. No crowns. We will not bow down."
Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping along the way.
Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to "speak for what's right" after mass deportations and Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
"If we don't stop it now, it's just going to keep getting worse," she said.
Naomi Mena said she traveled an hour to demonstrate in Charlotte to represent her "friends and family who sadly can't have a voice out in public now" to stay safe.
## Texas
A rally at the Texas Capitol in Austin went off as planned despite state police briefly shutting down the building and the surrounding grounds after authorities said they received a "credible threat" to Democratic state lawmakers who were to attend.
Dozens of state troopers swarmed through the grounds about four hours before the event, but the area was later opened and the rally started on time. The building remained closed.
The Department of Public Safety later said one person was taken into custody "in connection with the threats made against state lawmakers" after a traffic stop in La Grange, Texas, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Austin. State police did not detail the threat or immediately identify the person, but said there was no additional active threat.
## Mississippi
A demonstration of hundreds of people opened to "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath playing over a sound system on the state Capitol lawn in Jackson.
"A lot of stuff that's going on now is targeting people of color, and to see so many folks out here that aren't black or brown fighting for the same causes that I'm here for, it makes me very emotional," said Tony Cropper, who traveled from Tennessee to attend the protest.
Some people wore tinfoil crowns atop their heads. Others held signs inviting motorists to "Honk if you never text war plans."
Melissa Johnson said she drove an hour-and-a-half to Jackson to protest because "we are losing the thread of democracy in our country."
## Portland
Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters lined the streets in downtown Portland for several blocks, waving signs as passing cars honked in support. They marched around the city draped in American flags to the beat of drums and music.
By late afternoon, a small group of demonstrators amassed across the river to protest in front of an ICE office where three people were arrested Wednesday night after starting a small fire against the building, police said.
Federal immigration officers fired tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets in an effort to clear out the remaining protesters in the evening. Some protesters threw water bottles back and tended to each other's wounds. The police department wrote on X that the event was declared a riot.
At least two people were detained and taken inside the federal immigration building.
|
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-lawmakers-shot-d7983e1e4f1a7573a487cab1a98cd172
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Minnesota lawmaker, spouse dead after targeted shooting
| 2025-06-14T14:24:54 |
# Minnesota lawmaker, spouse dead after targeted shooting
By Tim Sullivan, Steve Karnowski, and Alanna Durkin Richer
June 14th, 2025, 02:24 PM
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BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds of law officers fanned out across a Minneapolis suburb Saturday in pursuit of a man who authorities say posed as a police officer and fatally shot a Democratic state lawmaker in her home in what Gov. Tim Walz called "a politically motivated assassination." Authorities said the suspect also shot and wounded a second lawmaker and was believed to be trying to flee the area.
Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin address, about 9 miles (about 15 kilometers) away.
Authorities identified the suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, and the FBI issued a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Authorities displayed a photo taken Saturday of Boelter wearing a tan cowboy hat and asked the public to report sightings. Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said investigators obtained video as well.
He did not give details on a possible motive.
Boelter is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Hoffman, records show, though it was not clear if or how well they knew each other.
The early morning attacks prompted warnings to other elected officials around the state and the cancellation of planned "No Kings" demonstrations against President Donald Trump, though some went ahead anyway. Authorities said the suspect had "No Kings" flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.
A Minnesota official told The Associated Press that the suspect's writings also contained information targeting prominent lawmakers who have been outspoken in favor of abortion rights. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
The shootings happened at a time when political leaders nationwide have been attacked, harassed and intimidated amid deep political divisions.
"We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence," Walz, a Democrat, said at a news conference. "Those responsible for this will be held accountable."
The governor also ordered flags to fly at half-staff in Hortman's honor.
Law enforcement agents recovered several AK-style firearms from the suspect's vehicle, and he was believed to still be armed with a pistol, a person familiar with the matter told AP. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
## An overnight shooting
Police responded to reports of gunfire at the Hoffmans' home shortly after 2 a.m., Champlin police said, and found the couple with multiple gunshot wounds.
After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to proactively check on Hortman's home. There they encountered what appeared to be a police vehicle and a man dressed as an officer at the door, leaving the house.
"When officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home" and escaped on foot, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said.
Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the front door of Hoffman's home.
John and Yvette Hoffman each underwent surgery, according to Walz.
"We are cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt," the governor said at a morning news conference.
Trump said in a statement that the FBI would join in the investigation.
"Our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and the FBI, are investigating the situation, and they will be prosecuting anyone involved to the fullest extent of the law. Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God Bless the great people of Minnesota, a truly great place!"
## Two Democratic lawmakers targeted
Hortman, 55, had been the top Democratic leader in the state House since 2017. She led Democrats in a three-week walkout at the beginning of this year's session in a power struggle with Republicans. Under a power sharing agreement, she turned the gavel over to Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth and assumed the title speaker emerita.
Hortman used her position as speaker in 2023 to help champion expanded protections for abortion rights, including legislation to solidify Minnesota's status as a refuge for patients from restrictive states who travel to the state to seek abortions — and to protect providers who serve them.
Walz called her a "formidable public servant, a fixture and a giant in Minnesota."
"She woke up every day, determined to make this state a better place," he said. "She is irreplaceable."
Hortman and her husband had two adult children.
The initial autopsy reports from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office gave their cause of death as "multiple gunshot wounds."
The reports said Melissa Hortman died at the scene while her husband was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and was chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which oversees one of the biggest parts of the state budget. He and his wife have one daughter.
State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic asked people "out of an abundance of caution" not to attend "No Kings" protests. Bogojevic said authorities did not have any direct evidence that the protests would be targeted, but noted the "No Kings" flyers in the car.
Organizers announced that all demonstrations in the state were canceled, but many people still showed up for protests at the Capitol and elsewhere in the Twin Cities area.
## The suspect
Boelter was appointed to the workforce development board in 2016 and then reappointed in 2019 to a four-year term that expired in 2023, state records show.
Corporate records show Boelter's wife filed to create a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services LLC with the same Green Isle mailing address listed for the couple. On a website for the business, Boelter's wife is listed as president and CEO, while he is listed as director of security patrols.
The homepage says it provides armed security for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police vehicle, with a light bar across the roof and "Praetorian" painted across the doors. Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest.
An online resume says Boelter is a security contractor who has worked in the Middle East and Africa, in addition to past managerial roles at companies in Minnesota.
Boelter texted friends at a Minneapolis residence, where he had rented a room and would stay one or two nights a week, to say he had "made some choices," the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
In the messages, read to reporters by David Carlson, Boelter did not specify what he had done but said: "I'm going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way. … I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused."
A former next-door neighbor in Inver Grove Heights, where Boelter used to live, said he hardly knew him but remembers his daughters because they kayaked and ice skated on the pond behind the homes.
"It's really sad for the kids, very, very nice kids," Michael Cassidy said. He added that the suspect's wife once came over to pray with his wife and daughter.
## Massive search
Hundreds of police and sheriff deputies, some in tactical gear with assault-style weapons, were scattered throughout the town. Some checkpoints were set up. Police lifted a shelter-in-place order in the afternoon, saying they had reason to believe the suspect was no longer in the area.
"This is crazy, someone going after representatives," said Brooklyn Park resident Douglas Thompson, 62. "This is wrong. I'm hoping they'll catch them."
## Political violence
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican from Cold Spring, called the attack "evil" and said she was "heartbroken beyond words" by the killings.
The shootings are the latest in a series of attacks against lawmakers across parties.
In April a suspect set fire to the home of Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, forcing him and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The suspect said he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he found him, according to court documents.
In July 2024, Trump was grazed on the ear by one of a hail of bullets that killed a Trump supporter. Two months later a man with a rifle was discovered near the president's Florida golf course and arrested.
Other incidents include a 2022 hammer attack on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home and a 2020 plot by anti-government extremists to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and start a civil war.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he asked Capitol Police to "immediately increase security" for Minnesota Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. He also asked Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, to hold a briefing on member security.
"Condemning violence is important but it is not enough," Schumer said on the social platform X. "We must also confront the toxic forces radicalizing individuals and we must do more to protect one another, our democracy, and the values that bind us as Americans."
|
https://apnews.com/article/arizona-maricopa-county-elections-lawsuit-470f6d227696786faad465ce1b7017d5
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Lawsuit centers on power struggle over elections in Arizona's most populous county
| 2025-06-13T23:41:16 |
# Lawsuit centers on power struggle over elections in Arizona's most populous county
By Sejal Govindarao
June 13th, 2025, 11:41 PM
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PHOENIX (AP) — The top elections official in one of the nation's most pivotal swing counties is suing the Maricopa County governing board over allegations that it's attempting to gain more control over how elections are administered.
County Recorder Justin Heap filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court with the backing of America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, who is now the White House deputy chief of staff.
Heap, a former GOP state lawmaker who has questioned election administration in Arizona's most populous county, has been at odds with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for months over an agreement that would divide election operations between the two offices.
After taking office in January, Heap terminated a previous agreement that was reached between his predecessor and the board. He claimed in his lawsuit it would have restrained his power to run elections by reducing funding and IT resources for the recorder's office.
Last year's agreement also gave the board authority over early ballot processing, which drew criticism from Heap in his lawsuit.
Heap is asking the court to undo what the lawsuit calls "unlawful" actions by the board and to issue an order requiring the board to fund expenses he deems necessary.
"Despite their repeated misinformation and gaslighting of the public on these issues, defending the civil right to free, fair and honest elections for every Maricopa County voter isn't simply my job as county recorder, it's the right thing to do and a mission I'm fully committed to achieving," Heap said in a statement Thursday.
The board's chair and vice chair have called the legal challenge frivolous, saying Heap is wasting taxpayer money by going to court.
Negotiations between the offices have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, and the board said in a statement that it appeared things were going well after a meeting in April. It was only weeks later, the board said, that Heap came back with what he called a final offer that included dozens of changes.
Heap claims in the lawsuit that the board rejected his proposed agreement in late May. In a statement, America First Legal says the board separately voted on a tentative budget that shifts Heap's key duties and underfunds the recorder's office.
"From day one, Recorder Heap has been making promises that the law doesn't allow him to keep," Board Chairman Thomas Galvin said. "Arizona election statutes delineate election administration between county boards of supervisors and recorders to ensure there are checks and balances, and Recorder Heap clearly doesn't understand the responsibilities of his position."
Following President Donald Trump's 2020 loss, Maricopa County became an epicenter for election conspiracy theories. Heap has stopped short of saying the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen, but he has said the state's practices for handling early ballots are insecure and has questioned how ballots are transported, handled and stored after they are submitted. Last year, Heap proposed an unsuccessful bill to remove Arizona from a multistate effort to maintain voter lists.
Heap's predecessor, Stephen Richer, was rebuked in some GOP circles for defending the legitimacy of the 2020 and 2022 elections, in which Democrats including former President Joe Biden and Gov. Katie Hobbs won by razor-thin margins. Trump won Arizona in 2024, along with the other battleground states.
|
https://apnews.com/article/trump-military-parade-risks-politicizing-army-anniversary-ef3bcb6fcc813ac98d0c9cc80bfb13f0
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Trump’s recent moves risk politicizing the military
| 2025-06-13T19:01:18 |
# Trump's recent moves risk politicizing the military
By Nicholas Riccardi
June 13th, 2025, 07:01 PM
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Last weekend, President Donald Trump took the rare step of mobilizing the National Guard, and then the U.S. Marines, sending them into Los Angeles over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom quickly took the president to court for unilaterally calling in the military to clamp down on protests against the administration's immigration policies.
Trump followed that up with a campaign-style rally at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where uniformed soldiers cheered as he slammed former President Joe Biden, Newsom and other Democrats — raising concerns the president was using the military as a political prop.
The developments this week are the latest and most visible way Trump has tried to turn government institutions into vehicles to implement his personal agenda, and have cast Saturday's planned military parade in a new light.
The scheduled parade in Washington, D.C., celebrates the Army's 250th anniversary but happens to coincide with the 79th birthday of a president who warned that protests against the event will be "met with very big force."
"As many lengths as Army leaders have gone through to depoliticize the parade, it's very difficult for casual observers of the news to see this as anything other than a political use of the military," said Carrie Ann Lee, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund who also taught at the U.S. Army War College.
Trump has wanted a military parade since his first term, but senior commanders balked, worrying it would be more like a spectacle one would see in authoritarian countries such as North Korea or Russia than something befitting the United States. After returning to the White House, Trump fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replaced him with his own pick and dismissed several other top military leaders.
In the wake of protests over the administration's immigration enforcement operation near downtown Los Angeles, Trump last weekend sent in the California National Guard — and later deployed U.S. Marines — over Newsom's objections. Trump contended Newsom had "totally lost control of the situation." Newsom said the president was "behaving like a tyrant."
It's the first time the Guard has been used without a governor's consent since then-President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama in 1965 to ensure compliance with civil rights laws.
A federal judge late Thursday ruled that Trump violated the law against using the military domestically in his mobilization in Los Angeles and ordered the Guard placed back under the governor's control. The ruling, which did not make a determination about the deployment of Marines, was later blocked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pending a hearing next week.
Military experts warn of the costs of this week's events to the image of the military as a nonpartisan institution and one that has enjoyed a high level of trust among Americans.
"We don't want military forces who work as an armed wing of a political party," Lee said.
Trump has already used other parts of the federal government to reward his allies and punish his enemies. His Federal Communications Commission has launched investigations of media outlets Trump dislikes and, in some cases, is personally suing. The president has directed the Department of Justice to investigate Democratic Party institutions and a former appointee who vouched for the security of the 2020 election when Trump was arguing his loss was due to fraud.
During his brief blow-up with former donor and tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump threatened to pull Musk's government contracts — a sign of how Trump views the government as a tool for personal leverage.
"He's doing it in every aspect of government, not just the military," said Yvonne Chiu, a professor at the Naval War College and a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "But the military is the one with all the weapons."
On Thursday, Trump laughed off protests planned for this weekend against the parade, organized by the "No Kings" movement: "I don't feel like a king," he said during a White House event. "I have to go through hell to get stuff approved."
A new Associated Press-NORC Poll found a partisan divide in whether Americans approve of the parade, but wider agreement on its cost, with 6 in 10 Americans saying the tens of millions of dollars to be spent is not a good use of public money.
Other recent polling has indicated that, even if many others are alarmed, most Republicans are comfortable with the way Trump is exercising his power. More than half of U.S. adults said the president had "too much" power in an April 2025 AP-NORC poll, but only 23% of Republicans agreed.
The president and his supporters have said he's simply giving voters what he promised during the campaign — a strong leader who cracks down on illegal immigration.
Kurt Weyland, a political scientist at the University of Texas, said while the president has done "shocking" things, at least part of the country's system of checks and balances has so far held to keep him in check.
"The courts have been the main line of defense," he said.
The courts stepped in again Thursday, with U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer — the brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer — finding that the situation in Los Angeles did not involve a rebellion, invasion or situation where the government cannot otherwise enforce its laws, which are the requirements for a president to use the military domestically.
"The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants' argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion," Breyer wrote.
William Banks, a former dean of the Syracuse University law school and an expert in national security law, said there are good reasons Americans don't want soldiers or Marines performing law enforcement on their streets. The military is trained to kill enemies, not handle the fraught interpersonal task of policing American streets.
"It's corrosive," Banks said of the military getting deployed domestically. "We don't like that in this society; we haven't for 250 years."
Several experts said the true test for democracy lies ahead — whether it can continue to hold free and fair elections.
Trump tried to overturn his own loss in the 2020 election and, since returning to power, has pardoned more than 1,000 people convicted of crimes in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In the days after the Jan. 6 attack, one of the documents uncovered by investigators was a draft executive order that called for Trump to order the seizure of voting machines. The person the order would have directed to ensure the seizure happened was the secretary of defense.
___
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https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-parade-troops-tanks-birthday-protests-4cca4da0e89908d39c820240744375a1
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US Army's parade proceeds despite rain forecast, protests
| 2025-06-14T04:04:52 |
# US Army's parade proceeds despite rain forecast, protests
By Lolita C. Baldor and Michelle L. Price
June 14th, 2025, 04:04 AM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — The grand military parade that President Donald Trump had been wanting for years barreled down Constitution Avenue on Saturday with tanks, troops and a 21-gun salute, playing out against a counterpoint of protests around the country by those who decried the U.S. leader as a dictator and would-be king.
The Republican president, on his 79th birthday, sat on a special viewing stand south of the White House to watch the display of American military might, which began early and moved swiftly as light rain fell and clouds shrouded the Washington Monument. The procession, with more than 6,000 soldiers and 128 Army tanks, was one Trump tried to make happen in his first term after seeing such an event in Paris in 2017, but the plans never came together until the parade was added to an event recognizing the Army's 250th anniversary.
"Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did too," Trump declared in brief remarks at the parade's end.
The president praised the strength of the military's fighting forces and said U.S. soldiers "fight, fight fight and they win, win win" — putting a new twist on a line that Trump regularly delivered during his 2024 campaign rallies after he survived an assassination attempt.
Early in the evening's pageantry, the Army's Golden Knights parachute team descended from overcast skies toward the reviewing stand. The team had been scheduled to appear at the end of the parade, but jumped earlier than planned in the drizzly skies above the National Mall.
At times, Trump stood and saluted as troops marched past the reviewing stand. But attendance appeared to fall far short of early predictions that as many as 200,000 people would attend the festival and parade. There were large gaps between viewers near the Washington Monument on a day when steamy weather and the threat of thunderstorms could have dampened turnout.
Hours before the parade started, demonstrators turned out in streets and parks around the nation to sound off against the Republican president. They criticized Trump for using the military to respond to people protesting his deportation efforts and for the muscular military show in the U.S. capital.
## Displays of military might
The daylong display of America's Army came as Trump has shown his willingness to use the nation's military might in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided. In the last week, he has activated the California National Guard over the governor's objections and dispatched the U.S. Marines to provide security during Los Angeles protests related to immigration raids, prompting a state lawsuit to stop the deployments.
As armored vehicles rolled down the street in front of the president, on the other side of the country, the Marines who Trump deployed to Los Angeles appeared at a demonstration for the first time, standing guard outside a federal building. Dozens of Marines stood shoulder to shoulder in full combat gear beside the National Guard, Homeland Security officers and other law enforcement. Hundreds of protesters facing them jeered in English and Spanish, telling the troops to go home.
A previously calm demonstration in downtown Los Angeles turned chaotic when police on horseback charged at the crowd, striking some with rods and batons as they cleared the street in front of the federal building and fired tear gas and crowd control projectiles.
In Washington, hundreds protesting Trump carried signs with messages that included "Where's the due process?" and "No to Trump's fascist military parade" as they marched toward the White House.
A larger-than-life puppet of Trump was wheeled through the crowd, a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet.
Other protesters waved pride flags and hoisted signs, some with pointed messages such as "I prefer crushed ICE," referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Other messages included "The invasion was HERE Jan. 6th, NOT in L.A." and "Flip me off if you're a FASCIST."
"No Kings" rallies unfolded in hundreds of cities, designed to counter what organizers said were Trump's plans to feed his ego on his 79th birthday and Flag Day. Organizers said they picked the name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, on the National Mall, a display of armored vehicles, helicopters and military-grade equipment was set up to commemorate the Army's birthday. Vendors outside the Army festival sold gear marking the military milestone. Others hawked Trump-themed merchandise.
Larry Stallard, a retired American Airlines pilot, said he traveled to Washington from Kansas City for the weekend "to see the military and see Trump."
Stallard, who voted for Trump, said it was "hard to believe" people were upset about the cost of the event when "they blow that in 10 seconds on things that we don't even need."
Doug Haynes, a Navy veteran who voted for Trump, attended the daylong festival to celebrate the Army's 250th birthday, but said the parade "was a little over the top."
Pointing at a nearby tank, Haynes said that having them roll down the street is a "very bold statement to the world, perhaps."
The parade was added just two months ago to the long-planned celebration of the Army's birthday and has drawn criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates along the route.
About 6 in 10 Americans said Saturday's parade was "not a good use" of government money. The vast majority of people, 78%, said they neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Kathy Straus traveled from Richmond, Virginia, to attend the parade, carrying a sign criticizing its cost and arguing the money could have been used to feed veterans.
"I thought that it would be more effective to come here than go to a protest with people that think similar to me," said Straus.
The parade wound down Constitution Avenue, lined with security fencing and barriers. A flyover of military aircraft included World War II-era planes, including a B-25 Mitchell bomber, and Army helicopters flew low over the crowd, below the top of the Washington Monument. Mounted soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division made an appearance — horses once played a crucial role in warfare, but today they're mostly used in ceremonial events like today's parade.
Trump swore in 250 new recruits and returning soldiers into service, with soldiers repeating an oath after him.
"Welcome to the United States Army! And have a great life," Trump said to them afterward.
Country music singer Warren Zeiders performed, as did "God Bless the U.S.A." singer Lee Greenwood. The event was capped off by a fireworks show.
It appeared that plans to have U.S. Air Force fighter jets fly over were scrapped because of the weather.
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https://apnews.com/article/las-10-canciones-40-principales-latinamerica-espana-07d4bfce8cc0ad6ec7f9ba6280527c50
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Las 10 canciones más populares de la semana
| 2025-06-13T20:05:46 |
# Las 10 canciones más populares de la semana
By Por The Associated Press
June 13th, 2025, 08:05 PM
---
Las 10 canciones más populares de la semana en algunos países de las Américas y España
ARGENTINA
1.- "Me gusta" - Miranda!, Tini
2.- "Sentimiento natural" – Aitana, Myke Towers
3.- "Carteras chinas" - Elena Rose, Los Ángeles Azules, Camilo
4.- "APT." - Rosé, Bruno Mars
5.- "Que haces" - Becky G, Manuel Turizo
6.- "La pelirroja" - Sebastián Yatra
7.- "Hace rato" - Nicki Nicole, Miranda!
8.- "Me toca a mí" – Morat, Camilo
9.- "Luck Ra: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 61" – Bizarrap, Luck Ra
10.- "Ahora resulta" - Luciano Pereyra, Emanero
(Fuente: Los 40 Principales)
CHILE
1.- "Voy a llevarte pa PR" - Bad Bunny
2.- "Imagínate" - Danny Ocean, Kapo
3.- "Carita linda" - Rauw Alejandro
4.- "La plena" - Beéle, WSound, Ovy On The Drums
5.- "APT." - Rosé, Bruno Mars
6.- "Anxiety" – Doechii
7.- "Mi refe" – Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
8.- "Whisky a la roca" - Jere Klein, Swift 047, Kidd Voodoo
9.- "Qloo_" - Young Cister, Kreamly
10.- "Q somos" - Lola Índigo, Kidd Voodoo
(Fuente: Los 40 Principales)
COLOMBIA
1.- "La plena" - Beéle, WSound, Ovy On The Drums
2.- "Priti" - Danny Ocean, Sech
3.- "Solcito" - Miguel Bueno, Juan Duque
4.- "Vitamina" – Jombriel, DFZM
5.- "Sobelove" – Beéle
6.- "Voy a llevarte pa PR" - Bad Bunny
7.- "Imagínate"- Danny Ocean, Kapo
8.- "Amistad" – Blessd, Ovy On The Drums
9.- "Mi refe" – Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
10.- "Parte & Choke (remix)" - Jombriel, Ryan Castro, Alex Krack
(Fuente: Los 40 Principales)
ESPAÑA
1.- "Anxiety" – Doechii
2.- "APT." - Rosé, Bruno Mars
3.- "Capaz (Merenguetón)" – Yorghaki, Alleh
4.- "Ordinary" - Alex Warren
5.- "End of the World" - Miley Cyrus
6.- "Azizam" - Ed Sheeran
7.- "Imagínate" - Danny Ocean, Kapo
8.- "Messy" - Lola Young
9.- "Degenere" - Myke Towers, Benny Blanco
10.- "Die with a Smile" - Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars
(Fuente: Los 40 Principales)
MÉXICO
1.- "Vivir sin aire" – Maná, Carín León
2.- "Ordinary" - Alex Warren
3.- "Carita linda" - Rauw Alejandro
4.- "How Deep is Your Love" - Prince Royce
5.- "Carteras chinas" - Elena Rose, Los Ángeles Azules, Camilo
6.- "Die with a Smile" – Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars
7.- "Me toca a mí" – Morat, Camilo
8- "Anxiety" – Doechii
9.- "Un millón de primaveras" - Alejandro Fernández
10.- "La pelirroja" - Sebastián Yatra
(Fuente: Los 40 Principales)
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https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-marines-man-detained-491a1a6a1328ade60cb3e2e341336e53
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Marines temporarily detain man while guarding LA federal building
| 2025-06-14T00:29:52 |
# Marines temporarily detain man while guarding LA federal building
By Jake Offenhartz, Lolita Baldor, and Julie Watson
June 14th, 2025, 12:29 AM
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shortly after they began guarding a Los Angeles federal building Friday, U.S. Marines detained a man who had walked onto the property and did not immediately hear their commands to stop.
The brief detention marked the first time federal troops have detained a civilian since they were deployed to the nation's second-largest city by President Donald Trump in response to protests over the administration's immigration arrests. The Marines were activated earlier this week but began their duties Friday.
The man, Marcos Leao, was later released without charges and said the Marines were just doing their jobs.
A U.S. Army North spokesperson said the troops have the authority to temporarily detain people under specific circumstances. He said those detentions end when the person can be transferred to "appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel."
Leao's detention shows how the troops' deployment is putting them closer to carrying out law enforcement actions. Already, National Guard soldiers have been providing security on raids as Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown.
Leao, a former Army combat engineer, said he was rushing to get to a Veterans Affairs appointment when he stepped past a piece of caution tape outside the federal building. He looked up to find a Marine sprinting toward him.
"I had my headphones in, so I didn't hear them," Leao said. "They told me to get down on the ground. I basically complied with everything they were saying."
Leao was placed in zip ties and held for more than two hours by the Marines and members of the National Guard, he said. After Los Angeles police arrived, he was released without charges, he said. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said they responded to a call at the scene but weren't needed, and no charges were filed.
"I didn't know it was going to be this intense here," he said later.
A U.S. official told the AP that a civilian had stepped over the line. He was warned they would take him down and they did, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
About 200 Marines out of the 700 deployed arrived in the city Friday, joining 2,000 members of the National Guard that have been stationed outside federal buildings this week in Los Angeles. Another 2,000 Guard members were notified of deployment earlier this week.
Before the unusual deployment, the Pentagon scrambled to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil.
The forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, the military has said.
But the use of the active-duty forces still raises difficult questions.
"I believe that this is an inevitable precursor of things yet to come when you put troops with guns right next to civilians who are doing whatever they do," said Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and military judge.
He said it's an example of Trump's attempt to unravel the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars active-duty forces from conducting law enforcement.
|
https://apnews.com/article/crude-oil-stock-market-dow-jones-iran-israel-b4160f152508383a6c860d91829c142d
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How major US stock indexes fared Firday, 6/13/2025
| 2025-06-13T20:49:50 |
# How major US stock indexes fared Firday, 6/13/2025
By The Associated Press
June 13th, 2025, 08:49 PM
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Oil prices leaped, and stocks slumped on worries that escalating violence following Israel's attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.
The S&P 500 sank 1.1% Friday and wiped out what had been a modest gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 769 points, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.3%.
Crude prices jumped roughly 7% because Iran is one of the world's major producers of oil and fighting in the region could disrupt the flow.
Treasury yields rose with worries about inflation.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 fell 68.29 points, or 1.1%, to 5,976.97.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 769.83 points, or 1.8%, to 42,197.79.
The Nasdaq composite fell 255.66 points, or 1.3%, to 19,406.83.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 39.59 points, or 1.8%, to 2,100.51.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 23.39 points, or 0.4%.
The Dow is down 565.08 points, or 1.3%.
The Nasdaq is down 123.13 points, or 0.6%.
The Russell 2000 is down 31.74 points, or 1.5%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 95.34 points, or 1.6%.
The Dow is down 346.43 points, or 0.8%.
The Nasdaq is up 96.03 points, or 0.5%.
The Russell 2000 is down 129.65 points, or 5.8%.
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https://apnews.com/article/anker-power-bank-recall-fires-7561310ead84d82bf5e10d18638cafe1
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Anker recalls over 1 million power banks after fire reports
| 2025-06-13T15:13:18 |
# Anker recalls over 1 million power banks after fire reports
June 13th, 2025, 03:13 PM
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NEW YORK (AP) — More than 1.15 million power banks are under recall across the U.S. after some fires and explosions were reported by consumers.
According to a Thursday notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, electronics maker Anker Innovations is recalling certain "PowerCore 10000" power banks because the lithium-ion battery inside can overheat.
An overheating battery can lead to "melting of plastic components, smoke, and fire hazards," Anker wrote in an accompanying announcement. The company added that it was conducting this recall "out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our customers."
According to the CPSC, China-based Anker has received 19 reports of fires and explosions involving these now-recalled portable chargers. That includes two minor burn injuries and 11 reports of property damage amounting to over $60,700.
The recalled "PowerCore 10000" power banks have a model number of A1263. They were sold online at Anker's website — as well as Amazon, eBay and Newegg — between June 2016 and December 2022 for about $27 across the U.S., per the recall notice.
Consumers in possession these now-recalled chargers are urged to stop using them immediately — and contact Anker for a free replacement.
Impacted consumers can visit Anker's website for more information and register for the recall. To receive a replacement, consumers will need to submit a photo of their recalled power bank that shows its model number, serial number, their name, date and the word "recalled" written on the product.
Both the CPSC and Anker note that these power banks should not be thrown directly in the trash or general recycling streams. Due to fire risks, recalled lithium-ion batteries must be disposed of differently than other batteries — so it's important to check local guidance.
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https://apnews.com/article/sole-survivor-air-india-ramesh-plane-crashes-faa15e5e53c630d694afbd1573adab9c
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News of one survivor in Air India crash weighs on other sole survivors
| 2025-06-13T22:05:36 |
# News of one survivor in Air India crash weighs on other sole survivors
By Josh Funk and Lisa Baumann
June 13th, 2025, 10:05 PM
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News of the sole survivor of an Air India plane crash that killed the other 241 people aboard has led to endless online fascination, but it has also stirred up painful feelings for a handful of others who have had similar fates.
Tens of thousands of people have searched for details about Vishwashkumar Ramesh since Thursday's crash, according to Google Trends. People have commented on social media that the idea seems unreal, remarkable, a work of divine intervention, and a miracle.
But it has happened more than a dozen times before.
George Lamson Jr., who was the lone survivor of a Galaxy Airlines crash more than 40 years ago, said such stories always deeply affect him.
## Surviving the Air India crash
Ramesh told India's national broadcaster that he still can't believe he's alive after his brother and more than 200 others died in the crash.
He said the aircraft seemed to become stuck immediately after takeoff. The lights then came on, he said, and right after that it accelerated but seemed unable to gain height before it crashed.
He said the side of the plane where he was seated fell onto the ground floor of a building and there was space for him to escape after the door broke open. He unfastened his seat belt and forced himself out of the plane.
"When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive," he said.
## Surviving leaves 'a lasting echo'
Lamson, who was a 17-year-old from Plymouth, Minnesota, when he survived the Galaxy crash in Reno in 1985, didn't respond to messages from The Associated Press this week.
But he has talked about his feelings on social media and in the 2013 "Sole Survivor" documentary that focused on him and 13 other sole survivors of major airline crashes.
Lamson posted Thursday that he stays in touch with other sole survivors and he finds that "there's an unspoken understanding, and it's been comforting."
"My heart goes out to the survivor in India and to all the families waking up to loss today," Lamson wrote. "There are no right words for moments like this, but I wanted to acknowledge it. These events don't just make headlines. They leave a lasting echo in the lives of those who've lived through something similar."
## A pilot with survivor's guilt
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky. When his wife told him that everyone else on the plane died, Polehinke wept.
"My first concern was the passengers that were my responsibility that day," he said in the "Sole Survivor" documentary.
Adding to the survivor's guilt is the fact that the airline announced in the aftermath of the crash that Polehinke and the pilot violated policy by having an extended personal conversation when they were supposed to be focused on the flight.
But one of the investigators of that crash told the filmmakers that the pilots' personal conversation likely had nothing to do with the crash, and everyone told investigators that Polehinke and the pilot were highly competent professionals.
But one of the survivors of that crash told the AP in 2014 that Polehinke's conversation with the pilot was the reason he survived.
"I have a very good feeling about Jim Polehinke," said his former co-pilot, Bill Doughty, now 63. "He's a very competent pilot. I think he's a good person, but he's a little bit of a loner. I think it was a conversation he had with Jim, and he was saying, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that.' And Jim said, 'I know you didn't mean to say that, but you can't take it back.'"
## 'The right place at the right time'
Cecilia Crocker doesn't just carry the marks of the 1987 crash she survived on her heart and in the scars on her arms, legs and forehead. She also got an airplane tattoo on her wrist.
Crocker, who was known as Cecilia Cichan at the time of the crash, said in the documentary that she thought about the crash every day.
"I got this tattoo as a reminder of where I've come from. I see it as — so many scars were put on my body against my will — and I decided to put this on my body for myself," she said. "I think that me surviving was random. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
But Lamson said in the documentary that he doesn't believe in random chance and can't shake the feeling that "my life was spared for a reason either I wanted or something a higher power than me wanted."
Crocker was 4 years old when she flew on Northwest Airlines Flight 255 and it crashed in the Detroit suburb of Romulus, killing 154 people on board, including her parents and brother. Two people also died on the ground.
The Phoenix-bound McDonnell Douglas MD80 was clearing the runway when it tilted and the left wing clipped a light pole before shearing the top off a rental car building.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the plane's crew failed to set the wing flaps properly for takeoff. The agency also said a cockpit warning system did not alert the crew to the problem.
Aviation experts have said that video of the Air India crash raises questions about whether the flaps were set properly this time.
Investigators have recovered the plane's flight data recorder, but they have not yet determined what may have caused the crash.
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https://apnews.com/article/japan-earthquake-hoax-meteorological-agency-rumors-misinformation-8d8cd12ad06c5769c8c4b69753d53f83
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July earthquake rumors are a hoax, says Japan's weather chief
| 2025-06-13T14:06:45 |
# July earthquake rumors are a hoax, says Japan's weather chief
By Mari Yamaguchi
June 13th, 2025, 02:06 PM
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TOKYO (AP) — The head of Japan's meteorological agency on Friday dismissed widespread rumors of a major earthquake in Japan this summer as unscientific and a "hoax," urging people not to worry because even the most advanced science still cannot predict any quake or tsunami.
"At the moment, it is still impossible to predict an earthquake with specific timing, location or its magnitude," Japan Meteorological Agency Director General Ryoichi Nomura told reporters. "Any such prediction is a hoax, and there is absolutely no need to worry about such disinformation."
Nomura was referring to rumors in Hong Kong and other Asian cities of a major earthquake or a tsunami in July in Japan have led to flight cancellations and reductions in service, affecting tourism.
He said it was "unfortunate" that many people are affected by the disinformation, though he sympathized with the sense of unease that the people tend to develop toward something invisible.
The rumor originates from a 2022 Japanese comic book "The future I saw," which features a dream foreseeing a tsunami and is also available in Chinese. The chatter began spreading earlier this year through social media, mainly in Hong Kong.
The author previously gained attention for allegedly predicting the 2011 quake and tsunami in northern Japan, which killed more than 18,000 people.
Japan, which sits on the Pacific "ring of fire," is one of the world's most quake-prone countries.
Last summer, a panel of seismologists noted a slight increase in the probability of a megaquake on Japan's Pacific coasts. The government organized an awareness-raising week but only triggered panic buying, beach closures and other overreactions and complaints.
While it is important to inform people about the science, Nomura said, it is also necessary for everyone in this quake-prone country to take early precautions.
"In Japan, an earthquake can occur anytime, anywhere," Nomura said. "So I ask everyone to take this opportunity to ensure your preparedness for a major quake."
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https://apnews.com/article/mali-tuareg-rebels-azawad-army-african-corps-kidal-aguelhoc-1829aa71f1faa6442467570ebcb8072f
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Several killed as separatists clash with Malian army, Russian allies in country's north
| 2025-06-13T21:56:04 |
# Several killed as separatists clash with Malian army, Russian allies in country's north
By Associated Press
June 13th, 2025, 09:56 PM
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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian security forces clashed with members of an armed separatist group over two days, resulting in the deaths of 10 separatists, the Malian army said Friday. The Azawad separatists said it killed dozens of Malian soldiers and members of a Kremlin-controlled armed force.
The clashes began with a military offensive in the northern Kidal region on Thursday, the Malian army said in a statement. On Friday, the Malian military's logistics convoy was ambushed before the attack was repelled, it added.
The separatists reported they killed "dozens" of Malian soldiers and fighters with the Kremlin-controlled African Corps in the ambush.
The Azawad separatist movement has been fighting for years to create the state of Azawad in northern Mali. They once drove security forces out of the region before a 2015 peace deal that has since collapsed was signed to pave the way for some ex-rebels to be integrated into the Malian military.
"We recovered 12 trucks loaded with cereals, tankers full of diesel, one military pickup, and one armored vehicles from the 30 vehicles in the convoy," Mohamed Maouloud Ramadan, spokesman for the Azawad separatists, said in a statement that acknowledged the death of three of their members.
Viral videos shared by the separatists showed military trucks on fire in a large swathe of desert land amid gunfire as gun-wielding hooded young men posed in front of the trucks. The videos also showed bodies with uniforms that resemble those of the Malian army. The Associated Press could not independently verify the videos.
The latest clashes show how difficult it is for security forces in Mali to operate in difficult terrains like Kidal, according to Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South think tank.
"It's difficult to gather actionable intelligence to protect their convoys, and this gives a significant advantage to armed and jihadist groups", said Lyammouri.
The latest attack occurred days after Russia's mercenary group Wagner – which for more than three years helped Malian security forces in the fight against armed groups – announced it was leaving the country. The Africa Corps, under the direct command of the Russian defense ministry, said it will remain in Mali.
There are around 2,000 mercenaries in Mali, according to U.S. officials. It is unclear how many are with Wagner and how many are part of the Africa Corps.
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https://apnews.com/article/las-10-canciones-spotify-latinoamerica-espana-98adf4fc96ffce23ea6f7782db676803
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Las 10 canciones más escuchadas de la semana en Spotify
| 2025-06-13T18:32:48 |
# Las 10 canciones más escuchadas de la semana en Spotify
By Por The Associated Press
June 13th, 2025, 06:32 PM
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Las 10 canciones más escuchadas de la semana en Spotify, a nivel global y en algunos países de Latinoamérica y España.
GLOBAL
1.- "Ordinary" - Alex Warren
2.- "Don't Say You Love Me" - Jin
3.- "Die with a Smile" – Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars
4.- "Back to Friends" – sombr
5.- "Birds of a Feather" – Billie Eilish
6.- "Undressed" – sombr
7.- "La plena - W Sound 05" - W Sound, Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
8.- "APT." - Rosé, Bruno Mars
9.- "Who" – Jimin
10.- "Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie)" - Tate McRae and F1 The Album
ARGENTINA
1.- "La plena - W Sound 05" - W Sound, Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
2.- "Ramen para dos" - Maria Becerra, Paulo Londra, XROSS
3.- "Motinha 2.0 (Mete Marcha) - Remix" - DENNIS, Luisa Sonza, Emilia
4.- "Capaz (merengueton)" - Alleh, Yorghaki
5.- "Tu jardín con enanitos" - Roze Oficial, Max Carra, Valen, RAMKY EN LOS CONTROLES
6.- "Vitamina" - Jombriel, DFZM, Jøtta
7.- "Pa las girlas" – Mattei
8.- "Blackout" - Emilia, TINI, Nicki Nicole
9.- "Baile inolvidable" - Bad Bunny
10.- "Veldá" - Bad Bunny, Omar Courtz, Dei V
CHILE
1.- "QLOO(asterisk)" - Young Cister, Kreamly
2.- "Who" – Jimin
3.- "Bella" - Lucky Brown, Jere Klein, Nes
4.- "Y ke pa - remix" - Julianno Sosa, benjitalkapone, Jairo Vera
5.- "La plena - W Sound 05" - W Sound, Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
6.- "Mambinho Brasileño" - benjitalkapone
7.- "2x1" - Jere Klein, Lucky Brown, Valdi, Mateo On The Beatz
8.- "Ponte lokita" - Katteyes, Kidd Voodoo
9.- "Tiene" - Tobal Mj, Lucky Brown, Nacho G Flow
10.- "Whisky a la roca" - Kidd Voodoo, Jere Klein, Swift 047
COLOMBIA
1.- "La plena - W Sound 05" - W Sound, Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
2.- "No tiene sentido" - Beéle
3.- "Quédate" – Beéle
4.- "Amista" - Blessd, Ovy On The Drums
5.- "Mi refe" - Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
6.- "Hiekka" - Nicky Jam, Beéle
7.- "Vitamina" - Jombriel, DFZM, Jøtta
8.- "Top diesel" – Beéle
9.- "Yogurcito" – Blessd, Tayson Kryss, Joseph Ren, Sebastian Ledher
10.-"Una noche de locura" - Blessd, Tayson Kryss, Joseph Ren, Sebastian Ledher
ESPAÑA
1.- "Droga" - Mora, C. Tangana
2.- "No tiene sentido" – Beéle
3.- "La plena - W Sound 05" - W Sound, Beéle, Ovy On The Drums
4.- "Aurora" - Mora, De La Rose
5.- "Soleao" - Myke Towers, Quevedo
6.- "Cuando hables con él" – Aitana
7.- "Capaz (merengueton)" - Alleh, Yorghaki
8.- "Hiekka" - Nicky Jam, Beéle
9.-"6 de febrero" - Aitana
10.- "Still Luvin" - Delaossa, Quevedo, Bigla The Kid
MÉXICO
1.- "Tu sancho" - Fuerza Regida
2.- "Marlboro Rojo" - Fuerza Regida
3.- "Morena" - Neton Vega, Peso Pluma
4.- "Vita Fer" - Los Dareyes De La Sierra, Tito Double P
5.- "Triple lavada" - Esau Ortiz
6.- "Amigos? No." - Oscar Maydon, Neton Vega
7.- "Champagne" - Tito Double P
8.- "Ansiedad" - Fuerza Regida
9.- "Ay Mamita" - Alan Arrieta
10.- "Tu Tu Tu" - Clave Especial, Edgardo Nuñez
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https://apnews.com/article/adams-rikers-island-ice-nyc-council-ef1031cfc01f9ebb731106962cec61fb
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Judge blocks plan to allow immigration agents in New York City jail
| 2025-06-14T00:19:29 |
# Judge blocks plan to allow immigration agents in New York City jail
June 14th, 2025, 12:19 AM
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NEW YORK (AP) — A judge blocked New York City's mayor from letting federal immigration authorities reopen an office at the city's main jail, in part because of concerns the mayor invited them back in as part of a deal with the Trump administration to end his corruption case.
New York Judge Mary Rosado's decision Friday is a setback for Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who issued an executive order permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to maintain office space at the Rikers Island jail complex. City lawmakers filed a lawsuit in April accusing Adams of entering into a "corrupt quid pro quo bargain" with the Trump administration in exchange for the U.S. Justice Department dropping criminal charges against him.
Rosado temporarily blocked the executive order in April. In granting a preliminary injunction, she said city council members have "shown a likelihood of success in demonstrating, at minimum, the appearance of a quid pro quo whereby Mayor Adams publicly agreed to bring Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") back to Rikers Island in exchange for dismissal of his criminal charges."
Rosado cited a number of factors, including U.S. border czar Tom Homan's televised comments in February that if Adams did not come through, "I'll be in his office, up his butt saying, 'Where the hell is the agreement we came to?' "
Adams has repeatedly denied making a deal with the administration over the criminal case. He has said he deputized his first deputy mayor, Randy Mastro, to handle decision-making on the return of ICE to Rikers Island to make sure there was no appearance of any conflict of interest.
Rosado said that Mastro reports to Adams and "cannot be considered impartial and free from Mayor Adams' conflicts."
Mastro said in a prepared statement Friday the administration was confident they will prevail in the case.
"Let's be crystal clear: This executive order is about the criminal prosecution of violent transnational gangs committing crimes in our city. Our administration has never, and will never, do anything to jeopardize the safety of law-abiding immigrants, and this executive order ensures their safety as well," Mastro said.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is running in the Democratic primary for mayor, called the decision a victory for public safety.
"New Yorkers are counting on our city to protect their civil rights, and yet, Mayor Adams has attempted to betray this obligation by handing power over our city to Trump's ICE because he is compromised," she said in a prepared statement.
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https://apnews.com/article/iachr-letter-cuban-medical-missions-caribbean-oas-153f3a6efbc898f307c78be650c87da6
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A letter demanding data on Cuban medical missions roils the Caribbean
| 2025-06-13T16:17:22 |
# A letter demanding data on Cuban medical missions roils the Caribbean
By Dánica Coto
June 13th, 2025, 04:17 PM
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An unusual request from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights about Cuban medical brigades that operate worldwide and provide much needed help has roiled countries in the Caribbean and the Americas.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the commission asks members of the Organization of American States, OAS, for details including whether they have an agreement with Cuba for medical missions, whether those workers have labor and union rights and information about any labor complaints.
"This was an unprecedented move," said Francesca Emanuele, senior international policy associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. "It's deeply troubling."
Cuba has more than 22,000 doctors working in more than 50 countries, including in the Caribbean and the Americas, according to its government. A breakdown for the region was not available, but many impoverished nations in the Caribbean rely heavily on those medical professionals.
The commission, an independent body of the OAS, which is heavily funded by the U.S., said it plans to analyze the data collected as well as offer recommendations "given the persistence of reports of rights violations."
A spokesperson for the commission declined comment, saying the letter is private.
The letter was sent after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions in late February for Cuban or foreign government officials accused of involvement in Cuba's medical missions, which he called "forced labor."
"The timing is really suspicious," Emanuele said, noting that the information requested "falls squarely" within the member states' sovereign decision-making. "The role of this organization should not be distorted."
In June, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump slapped several unidentified officials from Central America with visa restrictions.
## A deadline looms
Silence has prevailed since the human rights commission issued its May 24 letter giving OAS member states 30 days to respond.
"I'm awaiting a regional approach," said Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
He said in a phone interview that he would raise the issue next week during a meeting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States as chairman.
"There are no human rights issues involved here," he said, noting that St. Vincent is party to several international and labor conventions. "They have not been breached and will not be breached."
Gonsalves said Cuban doctors run the sole hemodialysis center in St. Vincent that provides free care to 64 patients at a rate of $5 million a year.
"Without the Cubans, that dialysis center will close," he said.
When asked if he worried about potential visa restrictions, Gonsalves said he met earlier this year with Rubio and provided a lengthy letter that he declined to share detailing the work of Cuban medical professionals in St. Vincent.
"We didn't scrimp on any of the details," he said. "I didn't walk away from that meeting thinking that there was any possibility or threat of sanctions."
## A divided region
Guyana 's foreign minister, Hugh Todd, told The Associated Press on Friday that the government plans to amend its payment and recruitment system involving Cuban medical professionals.
He said their main concern "is to make sure we are compliant with international labor laws." Todd did not say whether the planned amendments are related to concerns over U.S. visa restrictions.
Late Thursday, Guyanese Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said the government wants to ensure that "the conditions of work here don't run afoul of the requirements set by the United States of America."
Guyana depends heavily on the U.S. for support, especially given an ongoing and bitter border dispute with neighboring Venezuela.
Some Caribbean leaders have said they would risk losing a U.S. visa, noting that Cuban medical professionals provide much needed help in the region.
"If we cannot reach a sensible agreement on this matter...if the cost of it is the loss of my visa to the U.S., then so be it," Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Mottley told Parliament in March as legislators pounded a table in support.
No Cuban medical workers are currently in Barbados.
Echoing Mottley's sentiment was Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley.
"I just came back from California, and if I never go back there again in my life, I will ensure that the sovereignty of Trinidad and Tobago is known to its people and respected by all," he said in March.
In April, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel criticized what he described as a campaign against the Caribbean country.
"There is no doubt that that desperate campaign to block Cuban cooperation has two clear objectives: to close off any avenue of income for the country, even in an activity as noble and necessary to other nations as healthcare services," he said.
"The other reason is political and ideological: they want to sweep Cuba away as an example. And they resort to methods as immoral as threatening any foreign official involved in that activity," he added.
Rubio has defended visa restrictions, saying they promote accountability.
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https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-environmental-activists-pardon-822d06021bcf0ef7d69d457d4082b1b6
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Nigeria's president pardons activists executed during military junta
| 2025-06-13T19:31:15 |
# Nigeria's president pardons activists executed during military junta
By Dyepkazah Shibayan
June 13th, 2025, 07:31 PM
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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has posthumously pardoned nine environmental activists executed 30 years ago by the then-ruling military junta, drawing sharp criticism and anger from activists who argued on Friday that the individuals committed no crime.
During an event Thursday to mark the 26th anniversary of Nigeria's return to democracy, Tinubu pardoned the "Ogoni Nine," including celebrated writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, and described them as "national heroes."
The men were convicted of murdering four local chiefs and were hanged in 1995 by the then-military regime led by Gen. Sani Abacha. They were part of the Ogoni ethnic group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, and had protested environmental pollution in the region by multinational oil companies, particularly Shell.
Their trial and murder sparked international outrage at the time, with rights groups calling it unjust and lacking credible evidence.
Local rights and civil society groups described Tinubu's pardon as misleading and "insulting."
"A pardon is given to people who have been convicted of wrongdoing," said Ken Henshaw, executive director of local rights group We The People.
Henshaw said the process leading to their execution did not prove that they were guilty of the allegations against them. "For him (Tinubu) to say he wants to pardon them is a misnomer," he added.
The Nigerian government must also recognize formally that the murdered activists are "innocent of any crime and fully exonerate them," said Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International Nigeria's director.
"Full justice for the Ogoni Nine is only a first step," said Sanusi. "Much more needs to be done to get justice for communities in the Niger Delta, including holding Shell and other oil companies to account for the damage they have done and continue to do."
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https://apnews.com/article/beckham-oldman-paige-king-charles-honors-28e9d5e5b206fcacab3f92ca891e85e3
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David Beckham, Gary Oldman and others honored by King Charles III
| 2025-06-14T11:14:53 |
# David Beckham, Gary Oldman and others honored by King Charles III
By Pan Pylas
June 14th, 2025, 11:14 AM
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LONDON (AP) — Arise Sir David, Sir Gary and Sir Roger. And Dame Elaine, Dame Pat and Dame Penny.
Former England soccer captain David Beckham, Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman and The Who's frontman Roger Daltrey were knighted in King Charles III's birthday honors list released late Friday.
Elaine Paige, the renowned musicals singer, Booker Prize-winning novelist Pat Barker and former Conservative government minister Penny Mordaunt were given damehoods, the female equivalent of a knighthood.
The honors, which aim to reward individuals for their contributions to British life, are awarded twice a year to celebrities and public figures as well as ordinary people: Once at New Year's, and then in June to mark the king's birthday.
The winners are chosen by civil servants' committees based on nominations from the government and the public. The awards are usually given out by the king or a senior royal acting in his place at Buckingham Palace.
## The Sirs
Beckham, 50, was widely expected to be knighted following speculation last week that appeared to be based on a conversation he had with the monarch at the Chelsea Flower Show last month.
As well as representing England 115 times, including 59 times as captain, Beckham played for some of Europe's most venerable clubs, most notably Manchester United and Real Madrid.
He has been knighted for his services to sport and to charity, having partnered with UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's fund, for two decades and campaigned with a charity working to eradicate malaria. Beckham also played a pivotal role in London being awarded the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
"Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honor," he said.
Oldman, 67, was recognized for his services to drama both on screen and on stage. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the 2017 film "Darkest Hour," and recently dazzled audiences in the Apple TV spy thriller series " Slow Horses."
Daltrey, who co-founded The Who in 1964, has been recognized for services to charity as well as music, having been a patron of "Teenage Cancer Trust" since 2000.
The 81-year-old, who led the charity's concert series at Royal Albert Hall for more than two decades, said he was humbled by the award.
"It's a dream come true for me, but it's especially a dream because the charity means so much," he said.
## The Dames
Paige, 77, was honoured for her services to charity as well as music. She has held senior roles at a charity supporting young people with acquired brain injury and another one that supports disabled tennis players.
"I've got all these different emotions coming at me all at once," she said. "I'm proud and I feel grateful and I'm thrilled and surprised, and so it's been quite a lot to take in."
Barker, 82, known for "The Regeneration Trilogy," said she thought the letter announcing her damehood was from "really angry" tax authorities.
"Nobody else does that kind of quality of paper," she said. "I still sort of had to read the first paragraph several times before it sank in."
A year on from losing her seat at the general election when her Conservative Party lost office, Mordaunt said it was "lovely to be appreciated in this way."
Mordaunt, 52, saw her profile boosted during the king's coronation ceremony in 2023. The former lawmaker made a memorable appearance bearing the "sword of state," the first time the duty had been carried out by a woman.
## The 'Companion'
Antony Gormley, the sculptor who was knighted in 2014, was made a "Companion of Honour" for his services to art. The award is one of the most prestigious that the monarch can bestow to citizens in Britain and across the Commonwealth, as there are only 65 companions at any one time.
Introduced in 1917 by King George V, the award recognizes people who have made "a major contribution to the arts, science, medicine, or government lasting over a long period of time." Current members include British environmentalist David Attenborough, Canadian author Margaret Atwood and one of Britain's greatest-ever athletes Sebastian Coe.
## Hundreds more are awarded
The honors don't just reward people in the public eye. More than 1,200 people received honours in the latest list. Women made up 48% of those honored, with 11% of recipients from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The oldest recipient was 106-year-old World War II veteran William Irwin, who was awarded a British Empire Medal, for his services to the community.
The youngest was 11-year-old disability campaigner Carmela Chillery-Watson, who was made a "Member of the Most Excellent Order British Empire," or MBE. Chillery-Watson, who has LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy, has become the youngest ever recipient of the award for helping raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
In what is thought to be a first, three members of the same family were named in the same list. Jenna Speirs, her mother Caroline and father Duncan were each awarded a British Empire Medal for founding a children's cancer charity called Calum's Cabin after Jenna's twin brother died of an inoperable brain tumour aged 12.
Campaigners who have fought to tackle the rise of knife crime were also recognized. Pooja Kanda, whose 16-year-old son was murdered with a ninja sword near his home, was awarded the Order of the British Empire, or OBE. Alison Madgin, the mother of 18-year-old Samantha Madgin, who was knifed to death, was made an MBE alongside her daughter Carly Barrett.
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-06-14-2025-20f4e4bcb928eebf4e06f2fd4bb0af22
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Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 20 as war rages on after the opening of a new front with Iran
| 2025-06-14T09:24:45 |
# Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 20 as war rages on after the opening of a new front with Iran
By Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy
June 14th, 2025, 09:24 AM
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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight and into Saturday, according to local health officials. The 20-month war with Hamas has raged on even as Israel has opened a new front with heavy strikes on Iran that sparked retaliatory drone and missile attacks.
Another 11 Palestinians were killed overnight near food distribution points run by an Israeli- and U.S.-supported humanitarian group in the latest of almost daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have fired on the crowds, while the military says it has only fired warning shots near people it describes as suspects who approached its forces.
The sites are located in military zones that are off limits to independent media. Israel's military said it fired warning shots overnight to distance a group of people near troops operating in the Netzarim corridor, and an aircraft struck a person who kept advancing.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private contractor that operates the sites, said they were closed Saturday. But witnesses said thousands had gathered near the sites anyway, desperate for food as Israel's blockade and military campaign have driven the territory to the brink of famine.
Al-Awda Hospital said it received eight bodies and at least 125 wounded people from a shooting near a GHF site in central Gaza.
Mohamed Abu Hussein, a resident of the built-up Bureij refugee camp nearby, said Israeli forces opened fire toward the crowd about a kilometer (half-mile) from the food distribution point. He said he saw several people fall to the ground as thousands ran away.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said it received 16 dead, including five women, from multiple Israeli strikes late Friday and early Saturday. It said another three men were killed near two GHF aid sites in the southernmost city of Rafah, now a mostly uninhabited military zone. Israel's military said it was unaware of any gunfire there during that time overnight.
An Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed four people, Al-Aqsa Hospital said.
Meanwhile, Israel's military said two projectiles came from Gaza and fell in open areas, with no injuries.
## US, Israel push their own distribution to sideline UN
Israel and the United States say the new aid system is intended to replace a U.N.-run network that has distributed aid across Gaza through 20 months of war. They accuse Hamas of siphoning off the aid and reselling it to fund its militant activities.
U.N. officials deny Hamas has diverted significant amounts of aid and say the new system is unable to meet mounting needs. They say the new system has militarized aid by allowing Israel to decide who has access and by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances or relocate again after waves of displacement.
They say the U.N. has struggled to deliver aid even after Israel eased its blockade last month because of military restrictions and rising lawlessness.
Hamas, which is allied with Iran, sparked the war when its fighters led a rampage into southrn Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They still hold 53 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in count.
The offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of some 2 million Palestinians, leaving them almost entirely reliant on international aid.
The war has drawn in Iran and its other allies across the region, igniting a chain of events that led to Israel's major strikes on Iran's nuclear and military facilities on Friday.
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https://apnews.com/article/nigeria-attack-village-guma-amnesty-44c89b8dec357711293edc52e2b016a0
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At least 100 people killed by gunmen in north-central Nigeria, rights group says
| 2025-06-14T20:09:13 |
# At least 100 people killed by gunmen in north-central Nigeria, rights group says
By Dyepkazah Shibayan
June 14th, 2025, 08:09 PM
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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 100 people have been killed in a gun attack on a village in Nigeria 's north-central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday.
The attack took place between late Friday and the early hours of Saturday in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of the state, the rights group said in a Facebook post.
Dozens of people are still missing, and hundreds were injured and without adequate medical care, it added.
"Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms. So many bodies were burnt beyond recognition," Amnesty said.
Graphic videos and photographs on social media platforms showed what appeared to be corpses and burnt down houses in the aftermath of the attack.
Udeme Edet, a spokesperson of the police in Benue, confirmed that an attack took place in Yelewata, but did not specify how many people were killed.
While it remains unclear who was responsible for the killings, such attacks are common in Nigeria's northern region where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water.
The farmers accuse the herders, mostly of Fulani origin, of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their produce. The herders insist that the lands are grazing routes that were first backed by law in 1965, five years after the country gained its independence.
Last month, gunmen, believed to be herders, killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue. In April, at least 40 people were killed in the neighbouring state of Plateau.
Benue State Gov. Hyacinth Alia has sent a delegation to Yelewat to support relatives of the victims.
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https://apnews.com/article/alaska-willow-oil-court-cc5886e344313edb6b6bb301beb8cb20
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US appeals court refuses to vacate Biden approval of Alaska's Willow oil project
| 2025-06-13T17:49:15 |
# US appeals court refuses to vacate Biden approval of Alaska's Willow oil project
By Becky Bohrer
June 13th, 2025, 05:49 PM
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Friday refused to vacate the approval of the massive Willow oil project on Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope though it found flaws in how the approval was reached.
The decision from a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes in a long-running dispute over the project, most recently greenlit in March 2023 by then-President Joe Biden's administration and under development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska by ConocoPhillips Alaska.
The court's majority opinion found what it called a procedural error — but not a serious or substantive one — by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of the analysis in approving Willow. The court sent the matter back to the agency for additional work.
The majority determined that vacating the project's approval would be unwarranted and its consequences severe, though Judge Gabriel P. Sanchez dissented on that point.
A prior version of the project approved late in President Donald Trump's first term was overturned in 2021, leading to the environmental review process completed under Biden that drew the latest legal challenges from environmentalists and a grassroots Iñupiat group.
Alaska's Republican governor and its congressional delegation and state Legislature have backed Willow. The project also has broad support among Alaska Native leaders on the North Slope and groups with ties to the region who see Willow as economically vital for their communities.
But critics cast the project as being at odds with Biden's pledges to combat climate change and raised concerns that it would drive further industrialization in the region.
Trump expressed support for additional drilling in the reserve as part of a broader, Alaska-specific executive order he signed upon his return to office aimed at boosting oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state.
During the cold-weather seasons, ConocoPhillips Alaska has worked to build infrastructure such as new gravel roads, bridges and pipelines at the project site, and it has laid out a timeline for producing first oil in 2029. In a statement Friday, the company said it welcomed the ruling and looked forward to "continuing the responsible development of Willow."
J. Elizabeth Peace, a spokesperson with the U.S. Department of the Interior, said the agency doesn't comment on litigation. The Bureau of Land Management falls under Interior.
The appeals panel ruling comes more than a year after it heard arguments in the case. Environmental groups and the grassroots Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic had appealed a lower-court ruling that upheld Willow's approval. Attorneys representing the groups on Friday were evaluating next steps.
Arguments before the appeals court panel focused largely on claims the land management agency did not consider a "reasonable" range of alternatives in its environmental review, as well as the groups' contention the agency had limited its consideration of alternatives to those that allowed for full-field development of the project.
Attorneys for ConocoPhillips Alaska argued the leases in the company's Bear Tooth Unit in the northeast part of the petroleum reserve are in areas open to leasing and surface development — and that the agency committed the unit to development in issuing leases there over a number of years. Willow is in the unit.
Friday's ruling said the agency during the environmental review process took a stance that it needed to screen out alternatives that stranded an economically viable quantity of oil but then never explained whether the pared-back plan it ultimately approved satisfied the full-field development standard.
The agency "framed its environmental review based on the full field development standard and had a rational explanation for doing so," the ruling states. "But that does not permit BLM to potentially deviate from the standard without explanation."
ConocoPhillips Alaska had proposed five drilling sites for Willow but the Bureau of Land Management approved three, which it said would include up to 199 total wells.
Erik Grafe, an attorney with Earthjustice who represented some of the groups that challenged Willow, saw the ruling as a partial victory.
"They found a fundamental flaw that led them to conclude that the BLM acted arbitrarily in approving the Willow project and have sent that back to the agency to reconsider in a non-arbitrary way and make a new decision," he said.
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https://apnews.com/article/us-greenland-direct-flight-united-airlines-100f121e1327168a8deb6b242e5e501b
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United's direct service to Greenland starts on Trump’s birthday
| 2025-06-14T19:51:48 |
# United's direct service to Greenland starts on Trump's birthday
By Kwiyeon Ha
June 14th, 2025, 07:51 PM
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NUUK, Greenland (AP) — The first direct flight from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline landed in the capital city of Nuuk Saturday evening and is set to make its return flight on Sunday morning.
The United Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 8 departed from Newark International Airport in New Jersey at 11:31 a.m. EDT (1531 GMT) on Saturday and arrived a little over four hours later, at 6:39 p.m. local time (1939 GMT), according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
A one-way ticket from Newark to Nuuk cost roughly $1,200. The return flight had a $1,300 to $1,500 price tag.
Saturday's flight marks the first direct passage between the U.S. and the Arctic island in nearly 20 years. In 2007, Air Greenland launched a route between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Kangerlussuaq Airport, some 315 kilometers (195 miles) north of Nuuk. It was scrapped the following year due to cost.
Warren Rieutort-Louis, a 38-year-old passenger from San Francisco, decided to visit Nuuk for just one night to be a part of the historic flight.
"I've been to Greenland before, but never this way around. I came the other way through Europe, so to be able to come straight is really amazing," Rieutort-Louis said after the plane landed.
The United Airlines flight took place on U.S. President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, which was celebrated in Washington with a controversial military parade that was part of the Army's long-planned 250th anniversary celebration.
Trump has repeatedly said he seeks control of Greenland, a strategic Arctic island that's a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, and has not ruled out military force.
The governments of Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland have said it is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. stepping up intelligence gathering on the mineral-rich island.
United announced the flight and its date in October, before Trump was re-elected. It was scheduled for 2025 to take advantage of the new Nuuk airport, which opened in late November and features a larger runway for bigger jets.
"United will be the only carrier to connect the U.S. directly to Nuuk — the northernmost capital in the world, providing a gateway to world-class hiking and fascinating wildlife under the summer's midnight sun," the company said in a statement at the time.
Saturday's flight kicked off the airline's twice weekly seasonal service, from June to September, between Newark and Nuuk. The plane has around 165 seats.
Previously, travelers had to take a layover in Iceland or Copenhagen, Denmark, before flying to Greenland.
The new flight is beneficial for the island's business and residents, according to Greenland government minister Naaja Nathanielsen.
Tourists will spend money at local businesses, and Greenlanders themselves will now be able to travel to the U.S. more easily, Nathanielsen, the minister for business, mineral resources, energy, justice and gender equality, told Danish broadcaster DR. The route is also an important part of diversifying the island's economy, she said. Fishing produces about 90% of Greenland's exports.
Tourism is increasingly important. More than 96,000 international passengers traveled through the country's airports in 2023, up 28% from 2015.
Jessica Litolff, a 26-year-old passenger from Louisiana, said she also hopes the new route will benefit the U.S. and Greenland.
"Distance-wise it's only like four and a half hours, so by flying you can get to Greenland faster than you can to some parts of the United States," she said.
Visit Greenland echoed Nathanielsen's comments. The government's tourism agency did not have projections on how much money the new flights would bring to the island.
"We do know that flights can bring in much more than just dollars, and we expect it to have a positive impact -- both for the society and travellers," Tanny Por, Visit Greenland's head of international relations, told The Associated Press in an email.
Aria Varasteh, a 34-year-old traveler from Washington, had wanted to travel to Greenland "for a very long time."
"I do hope that we receive a warm reception from the locals. From those I've talked to already, it seems that they're excited to have us here," Varasteh said. "And so we're excited to be here and just be the best versions of ourselves."
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https://apnews.com/article/alabama-medical-helicopter-crash-01bbd23e258a6f73666526eead9d5d61
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Investigation finds medications were contributing factor in medical flight crash
| 2025-06-13T19:21:26 |
# Investigation finds medications were contributing factor in medical flight crash
June 13th, 2025, 07:21 PM
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CHELSEA, Ala. (AP) — Federal investigators found that a pilot's medication use may have been a contributing factor in a 2023 medical helicopter crash that killed two in Alabama.
The National Transportation Safety Board released the final report this month on the April 2, 2023, accident. The Airbus EC130 medical helicopter crashed near the community of Chelsea in Shelby County with the three crew aboard. The pilot and a nurse on the flight were killed.
The helicopter was responding to a call when the crash occurred.
The final investigative report said the probable cause was "the pilot's delayed corrective inputs while maneuvering, which resulted in a loss of control."
The report found that a contributing factor was the pilot's use of multiple medications that had a potential sedating effect.
An autopsy found the pilot had cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxer, and the allergy medications cetirizine and diphenhydramine in his system. The medications have the potential to depress the central nervous system, investigators wrote.
The use of the multiple medications "likely worsened this performance deficiency," investigators wrote in the report.
A witness told investigators the helicopter had been hovering along about three or four feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) beside a road before the crash The helicopter then rapidly ascended, turned and "pitched nose down and impacted the road."
Chelsea is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of downtown Birmingham.
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https://apnews.com/article/public-safety-officers-death-benefits-program-backlog-6fb357a85bf3d66202d20599302594cf
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US death benefits program for officers has growing backlog
| 2025-06-14T04:04:52 |
# US death benefits program for officers has growing backlog
By Ryan J. Foley
June 14th, 2025, 04:04 AM
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A federal program that provides benefits to families of police officers and firefighters who die and become disabled on duty is rapidly growing while facing criticism for increasing delays in deciding claims.
Congress created the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program in 1976 to guarantee that the spouses and children of officers who put their lives on the line would receive financial support.
But repeated expansions in eligibility approved by Congress, including three passed in the last five years, have made the program more popular and complex to administer. Critics say the program fails some families by taking too long to grant or deny benefits and making inconsistent rulings.
An Associated Press analysis found that hundreds of families are waiting years to learn whether they qualify for payments, and more are ultimately being denied.
## For one widow, payment came just as she'd given up hope
New Jersey widow Sharline Volcy learned this month that she'd been awarded the benefits, more than 3 1/2 years after her husband, Ronald Donat, died while training at the Gwinnett County Police Academy in Georgia.
Volcy said she was grateful for the aid, which will provide some financial security and help pay for her two daughters to go to college. But she said the long wait was stressful, when she was told time and again the claim remained under review and ultimately saw her inquiries ignored.
"They told me they didn't know how long it would take because they don't have a deadline. That's the hardest thing to hear," she said. "I felt defeated."
She said lawyers didn't want to take the case, and a plea for help to her congressperson went nowhere. She said she'd given up hope and was lucky she had a job as an airport gate agent in the meantime.
## The benefits program isn't meeting its timeframe goal
Volcy's experience isn't unique, and some cases take longer.
As of late April, more than 120 claims by surviving relatives or disabled first responders have been awaiting initial determinations or rulings on their appeals for more than five years, according AP's findings. About a dozen have waited over a decade for an answer.
The program has a goal of making determinations within one year but has not taken steps to track its progress, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.
But roughly three in 10 cases have not met that timeframe in recent years. As of late late April, 900 claims had been pending longer than one year. That includes claims from nearly every state.
Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill to require the program to make determinations within 270 days.
## The denial rate for benefits is up, too
Over the last year, the denial rate has increased, with roughly one in three death and disability claims getting rejected.
Applicants can appeal to a hearing officer and then the director if they choose, but that isn't common. Many say they can't afford attorneys or want to get on with their lives.
Justice Department officials, who oversee the program, say they're making complicated decisions about whether cases meet legal criteria.
"Death and disability claims involving complex medical and causation issues, voluminous evidence and conflicting medical opinions, take longer to determine, as do claims in various stages of appeal," they said in a statement.
## Claims have doubled in recent years
The program started as a simple $50,000 payout for the families of officers who were fatally shot on duty or died as a result of other violence or dangers.
But Congress expanded the program in 1990 to cover some first responders who were disabled on duty, which made some determinations harder to reach. A 1998 law added educational benefits for the spouses and children of those deceased and disabled officers.
Since 2020, Congress has passed three laws making many other types of deaths and disabilities eligible, including deaths related to COVID-19, deaths and injuries of those working rescue and cleanup operations after the September 2001 attacks, and responders who committed suicide under certain circumstances.
Annual claims have more than doubled in the last five years, from 500 in 2019 to roughly 1,200 today.
## Critics say a key partnership creates a conflict of interest
While many applicants have criticized the increasing delays, the leading group that represents the relatives of officers who die on duty has been silent.
Critics say that's because the group, Concerns of Police Survivors, has a financial incentive not to criticize the program, which has awarded it tens of millions of dollars in grant funding in recent decades.
The Missouri-based nonprofit recently received a new $6 million grant from the program to for its work with deceased officers' relatives, including counseling, hosting memorial events, educating agencies about the program and assisting with claims.
The group's founder and retired executive director, Suzie Sawyer, said she was warned many years ago that fighting too hard for claimants could jeopardize its grant funding.
But current spokesperson Sara Slone said advocacy isn't the group's mission and that it works "hand in hand" with PSOB to assist applicants and provide education about benefits.
## One widow's fight has been remarkable, supporters say
Lisa Afolayan's husband died after a training exercise at the Border Patrol academy more than 16 years ago, but she's still fighting the program for benefits.
An autopsy found that Nate Afolayan died from heat illness after completing a 1.5-mile test run in 88 degree heat, at a high altitude in the New Mexico desert.
The program had awarded benefits to families after similar training deaths, dating back to an officer who died at an academy in 1988.
But its independent investigation blamed Nate's death on sickle cell trait, a genetic condition that's usually benign but has been linked to rare exertion-related deaths in police, military and sports training.
The program denied Lisa's claim and her subsequent appeals, arguing the death wasn't the result of heat along and didn't qualify.
The program stood by its denial in 2024, even after a federal appeals court said it may have failed to adequately consider the weather's role and violated a law barring discrimination on the basis of genetic information.
The appeals court is currently considering Lisa's second appeal, even as the couple's two children reach college age.
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-hostages-aid-06-15-2025-bf26d758d6af22b0652984759b6ff5b7
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8 are killed in latest shooting near Israeli and US-supported aid site in Gaza
| 2025-06-15T12:13:29 |
# 8 are killed in latest shooting near Israeli and US-supported aid site in Gaza
By Mohammad Jahjouh and Samy Magdy
June 15th, 2025, 12:13 PM
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KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded Sunday in a shooting near Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution points in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials. Witnesses blamed the Israeli military, which did not immediately comment.
Witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in the southern city of Rafah.
Experts and aid workers say Israel's monthslong blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine in the population of over 2 million. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza's capacity to produce food.
The war in Gaza rages more than 20 months after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which sparked a chain of events that helped lead to Israel's surprise attack on Iran on Friday.
The shooting on Sunday happened close to the sites that are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace a system of aid distribution run by the United Nations, which has rejected the initiative, saying it violates humanitarian principles.
## Witness describes aid distribution as 'a trap'
There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds, and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces.
"There were wounded, dead, and martyrs," Ahmed al-Masri told The Associated Press on Sunday as he returned from one site empty-handed. "It's a trap."
Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival.
"There were many wounded and martyrs," she said. "No one was able to evacuate them."
The Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis said it received eight bodies after the shooting.
The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the U.N. system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May.
"A person dies next to you and you cannot carry him. If you wanted to carry him with your hands, you would return to your children without food. Life is death," said Alaa Saqer, among those seeking aid.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday that overall, the bodies of 65 people killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours.
Later, al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of 11 people killed in an Israeli strike on a house along Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza. It said 35 others were wounded.
## UN has criticized the new aid system
Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid from the U.N.-run system, while U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. The U.N. says the new system does not meet Gaza's needs, allows Israel to control who gets aid and risks further mass displacement as people move closer to the sites.
Two are in the southernmost city of Rafah — now mostly uninhabited — and all three are in Israeli military zones that are off limits to independent media.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military.
Separately, Israel's military body in charge of aid coordination in Gaza, COGAT, said 292 trucks of aid from the U.N. and international community entered Gaza over the past week. About 600 trucks entered per day during the latest ceasefire.
"I feed my children bread and salt, I swear to God," said Mohammad Misleh in Gaza City.
Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel's military campaign has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead but doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population, often multiple times.
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https://apnews.com/article/guinea-elections-military-junta-constitutional-referendum-d113c553ed467312996a8a3ff4b9008c
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Guinea's military junta sets up election body for December elections
| 2025-06-15T06:28:03 |
# Guinea's military junta sets up election body for December elections
By Associated Press
June 15th, 2025, 06:28 AM
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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Guinea's military junta has created a new institution that will be responsible for managing elections, including a constitutional referendum in September and the general and presidential elections set for December.
Guinea is one of several West African countries where the military has taken power and delayed a return to civilian rule. Gen. Mamadi Doumbouya, in power since 2021, agreed in 2022 to launch a democratic transition after a Dec. 31, 2024, deadline.
The ruling junta's failure to meet the deadline led to opposition protests that paralyzed Guinea's capital Conakry in January.
The Directorate General of Elections, or DGE, will be responsible, among other duties, for organizing elections, managing the electoral register and ensuring electoral fairness, junta leader Doumbouya announced in a decree read on state television late Saturday.
The two heads of the institution will be appointed by presidential decree, he added. The DGE will also represent Guinea in subregional, regional, and international electoral bodies.
Last month, Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah said the general and presidential elections will take place in December 2025. He also confirmed the organization of a referendum to adopt a new constitution on Sept. 21, as announced by the junta in April.
There are concerns about the credibility of the elections. The military regime dissolved more than 50 political parties last year in a move it claimed was to "clean up the political chessboard."
It has also tightened the grip on independent media, rights groups say, with social networks and private radio stations often cut off and information sites interrupted or suspended for several months without explanation, while journalists face attacks and arrests.
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https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-attacks-mood-tehran-8de6647cf89b3630ccbcc302f433d81e
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Anger, worry in Iran's capital after Israeli strikes
| 2025-06-14T10:09:29 |
# Anger, worry in Iran's capital after Israeli strikes
By Nasser Karimi
June 14th, 2025, 10:09 AM
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Anger mixed with worry as Iranians in the capital of Tehran woke up Saturday to images of their country's retaliatory attacks on Israel.
Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-line supporters of the country's theocracy, repeatedly aired footage of missile strikes on Tel Aviv throughout the morning. The broadcaster also showed people cheering in front of a large screen set up in Tehran to follow the strikes as if they were watching a soccer match.
Traffic was lighter than normal on the capital's streets. The change was due in part to a religious holiday; even before the attacks began, many Iranians had traveled outside the city to enjoy days off in places along the nearby Caspian Sea.
The holiday mood made news of Israel's assault that much more shocking, particularly when the strikes on Friday killed many ranking members of Iran's military and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, something unseen since Iran's war with Iraq in the 1980s.
"Israel killed our commanders and what do they expect in return? A kiss?" said Mahmoud Dorri, a 29-year-old taxi driver. "We will go after them to punish them: an eye for an eye."
In downtown Tehran, 31-year-old teacher and mother of two Pari Pourghazi expressed her joy over Iran's attack, linking it to Israel's devastating war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"Someone should stop the Israelis. They think they can do anything they want at any time," she said. "Iran showed the Israelis are wrong, though they could suppress people in Gaza or Lebanon by heavy bombing."
Auto mechanic Houshang Ebadi, 61, also backed the Iranian strike but said he opposed a full-fledged war between Iran and Israel.
"I support my country. The Israelis made a mistake in launching attacks on Iran but I hope this comes to an end," Ebadi said. "War will not bear fruit for any side."
Others expressed concerns, verbally or through their actions. At one Tehran gas station, some 300 vehicles waited to fill up, with drivers growing frustrated.
"Sometimes there is a queue because people fear that the refineries may be targeted, sometimes there is a line because of a power outage," said Nahid Rostami, a 43-year-old stylist. "When is this emergency situation going to end?"
Fruit seller Hamid Hasanlu, 41, said his twins couldn't sleep Friday night with the sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft batteries firing.
"The leaders of both countries should know that people are suffering," he said.
Bakeries also drew crowds as people sought to buy supplies including traditional Iranian bread, a staple of meals.
"I buy more bread since I think maybe there is no flour or electricity because of the war," said Molouk Asghari, a 56-year-old homemaker. "I have children and grandchildren. I cannot see them in a hard situation without food, water and electricity."
Across the country, people faced the continued strain of the conflict as Iran's airspace remained closed.
"Who knows what happens tonight?" said Rostami, the stylist.
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https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-memphis-officers-judge-recused-aa74599f545934200e921922ec0803dc
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Judge recuses himself days before sentencing officers in Tyre Nichols case
| 2025-06-13T21:52:48 |
# Judge recuses himself days before sentencing officers in Tyre Nichols case
By Adrian Sainz
June 13th, 2025, 09:52 PM
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the case against five former Memphis officers convicted in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols recused himself Friday, just days before he was supposed to hand down sentences for the men.
U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris issued a one-sentence order saying he was recusing himself and "returns the matter to the Clerk for reassignment to another United States District Judge for all further proceedings."
He offered no further explanation. Norris' clerk did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment Friday.
Norris had overseen the case since federal indictments were issued in September 2023. He accepted guilty pleas from two of the officers and presided over the trial for the other three officers in October. Four of the five officers had been scheduled to be sentenced next week and the fifth on June 23.
U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman was added to the case late Friday, court records showed. It was not immediately clear how the change in judges would affect the timing of the sentencings.
Several motions had been filed under seal in recent days. It was not clear if any of those asked for Norris to step away from the case. It is unusual for a judge to recuse themself from a case between the trial and sentencing.
## Beating was captured on cameras
The officers yanked Nichols from his car, then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who are also Black, caught up with him, they punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton. Nichols called out for his mother during the beating, which took place just steps from his home.
Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days later.
Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries — video that prompted intense scrutiny of police in Memphis.
The beating also sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reform. The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired from the police force and indicted in state and federal court.
Bean, Haley and Smith were found guilty in federal court in October of obstruction of justice through witness tampering related to an attempt to cover up the beating.
The officers failed to say that they or their colleagues punched and kicked Nichols and broke Memphis Police Department rules when they did not include complete and accurate statements about what type of force they used.
Bean and Smith were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges by the federal jury. Haley was found guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights by causing bodily injury and showing deliberate indifference to medical needs. He was also convicted of conspiracy to witness tamper.
Bean and Smith were scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Haley's sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday, and Martin was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. Mills' sentencing was set for June 23.
Martin Zummach, Smith's lawyer, referred questions on Norris' recusal to the district court and the U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday.
Bean, Haley and Smith were acquitted in May of all state charges, including second-degree murder. The jury for the state trial was chosen in majority-white Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga, after Judge James Jones Jr. ordered the case be heard from people outside of Shelby County, which includes the majority-Black Memphis. The officers' lawyers had argued that intense publicity made seating a fair jury difficult.
Martin and Mills pleaded guilty in federal court last year to violating Nichols' civil rights by causing death and conspiracy to witness tamper. They did not stand trial in federal court with their former colleagues. Martin and Mills also avoided the trial in state court after reaching agreements to plead guilty there. Both Martin and Mills testified in the federal trial, and Mills also took the stand in the state trial.
## Officers were part of Scorpion Unit
The officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded weeks after Nichols died. The team targeted illegal drugs and guns, and violent offenders, and sometimes used force against unarmed people.
In December, the U.S. Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people. The investigation also found that the Memphis Police Department conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests.
In May, the Trump administration announced it was retracting the findings of Justice Department civil rights investigations of police departments, including Memphis, that were issued under the Biden administration.
The city has hired a former federal judge and created a task force to address police department reforms. The task force has not announced any recommendations.
Nichols' family is suing the five officers, the city of Memphis and the police chief for $550 million. A trial has been scheduled in that case next year. Norris is the judge presiding over that case too. Court records in the lawsuit did not show any order of recusal Friday.
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https://apnews.com/article/italy-greece-murders-american-arrested-rome-skiathos-e76689b1e241b0b8b5219264e73a1b36
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American man detained in Greece as suspect in deaths of infant and woman in Rome
| 2025-06-13T14:49:20 |
# American man detained in Greece as suspect in deaths of infant and woman in Rome
By Colleen Barry and Costas Kantouris
June 13th, 2025, 02:49 PM
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MILAN (AP) — Greek authorities detained an American man on Friday on the Greek island of Skiathos suspected of killing an infant found over the weekend in a Rome park and of having a role in the death of a woman believed to be the infant's mother, whose body was found nearby.
The American, who wasn't identified, was detained on a European arrest warrant issued in Italy, citing "strong evidence" of his suspected involvement in the death of the baby girl, chief Rome prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi told a news conference in Rome.
Italian investigators said that the cause of the woman's death wasn't known, "but there is a reasonable suspicion that it is a double murder," deputy prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini said.
The bodies of the baby girl and mother, also believed to be American, were found in Rome's Villa Pamphili park on Saturday. The mother's body was under a black bag, having been killed several days before the infant, who was found several hundred meters away in undergrowth.
Both were naked, and without any identification, Lo Voi said.
The suspect, who witnesses had seen in the presence of a woman and infant, fled Italy for Skiathos on Wednesday, Lo Voi said.
He will be formally arrested when the warrant is forwarded to Greek officials, and will appear for an extradition hearing next week, Greek police told The Associated Press.
"It is not exactly understandable that someone who was with a woman and a baby girl, once the woman and the girl died, whom he carried in his arms, would then leave the country without calling for help, without seeking assistance," Lo Voi said. "In itself, that doesn't look good."
The victims' relationship with the suspect wasn't immediately clear — but video surveillance and witness reports put them together on several occasions; witnesses heard them speaking in English. They had been traced to a shelter for the needy near the Vatican, where they appeared to be a nuclear family, Corriere della Sera reported.
At one point, the pair had fought in the street, leading police to take his identity, which helped lead to him, investigators said.
Authorities were able to track down the suspect thanks to fingerprints on the bag covering the woman and a scrap of a tent like ones provided to people without shelter, the newspaper said. He was located in Greece with cellphone data.
According to the newspaper, the woman, who was around 30 years old, had a tattoo of a skeleton on a surfboard.
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https://apnews.com/article/india-bridge-collapse-maharashtra-5d5565c2e660a77a094f8f9349be31cc
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2 killed and 32 injured after a bridge collapses at a tourist destination in western India
| 2025-06-15T12:22:04 |
# 2 killed and 32 injured after a bridge collapses at a tourist destination in western India
June 15th, 2025, 12:22 PM
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NEW DELHI (AP) — At least two people died and 32 others were injured after an iron bridge over a river collapsed on Sunday at a popular tourist destination in India's western Maharashtra state, the state's top elected official said.
At least six people were hospitalized in critical condition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote on the social media platform X. Local media reported that scores of tourists were on the bridge when it collapsed, plunging many into the swollen river.
Fadnavis said six people were rescued and that an intense search operation was ongoing as some people were swept away.
The incident occurred in Kundamala area in Pune district, which has witnessed heavy rains over the past few days, giving the river a steady flow, Press Trust of India reported.
It was not raining when the bridge collapsed in an area frequented by picnickers, the news agency reported.
Police said teams of the National Disaster Response Force and other search and recovery units have undertaken rescue operations, Press Trust said.
India's infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, sometimes leading to major disasters on its highways and bridges.
In 2022, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western state of Gujarat, sending hundreds plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.
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https://apnews.com/article/air-india-plane-crash-boeing-dna-test-b44556b7c0e9e04adcece615262e439e
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Remains of Air India crash victims are handed over to relatives
| 2025-06-15T10:23:05 |
# Remains of Air India crash victims are handed over to relatives
By Aijaz Hussain, Shonal Ganguly, and Piyush Nagpal
June 15th, 2025, 10:23 AM
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AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India's worst aviation disasters, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people, officials said Sunday.
The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable.
Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed. He said the remains of 14 victims were handed over to relatives.
The victims' families waited outside the hospital mortuary as authorities worked to complete formalities and transfer the bodies in coffins into ambulances. Most of them have expressed frustration at a slow pace of the identification process. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process.
Among the passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.
Qasim Rashid Ahmed, a British national of Indian origin whose charity provided food and accommodation to the victims' relatives, said most of the British victims had relatives in Gujarat state and had given their DNA samples.
Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash. The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement Saturday.
Authorities have also begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash.
Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with "immediate urgency."
Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, from a rooftop near the crash site.
The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the U.K.-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The plane that crashed was 12 years old. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
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https://apnews.com/article/air-india-plane-crash-ahmedabad-survivor-boeing-4bb6243d0240956538ddcd253d92f5ce
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Air India crash: Death toll climbs to 270
| 2025-06-14T06:44:16 |
# Air India crash: Death toll climbs to 270
By Aijaz Hussain, Piyush Nagpal, and Shonal Ganguly
June 14th, 2025, 06:44 AM
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AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India's worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said Saturday.
The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
Recovery teams working until late Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said.
Dr. Dhaval Gameti at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad told The Associated Press the facility had received 270 bodies, adding that the lone surviving passenger was still under observation for some of his wounds.
"He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon," Gameti said Saturday.
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims have provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable.
Some relatives expressed frustration Saturday that the process was taking too long. Authorities say it normally takes up to 72 hours to complete DNA matching and they are expediting the process.
"Where are my children? Did you recover them?" asked Rafiq Abdullah, whose nephew, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were on the flight. "I will have to ask questions. Government is not answering these questions."
Another relative persistently asked hospital staff when his relative's body would be handed over to the family for last rites.
"Give us the body," the relative insisted.
Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government says it has formed a high-level, multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes leading to the crash.
The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future and "will not be a substitute to other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
Authorities have begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday in New Delhi at his first news briefing since Thursday's crash.
Eight of the 34 Dreamliner aircraft in India have already undergone inspection, Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with "immediate urgency."
The government is eagerly awaiting results of the crash investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and all necessary steps will be taken without hesitation, Kinjarapu said.
Investigators on Friday recovered the plane's digital flight data recorder, or the black box, which was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site and likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident.
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said it had started working with "full force" to extract the data.
The device is expected to reveal information about the engine and control settings, while the voice recorder will provide cockpit conversations, said Paul Fromme, a mechanical engineer with the U.K.-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti, a former crash investigator for both the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators should be able to answer some important questions about what caused the crash as soon as next week as long as the flight data recorder is in good shape.
Investigators likely are looking at whether wing flaps were set correctly, the engine lost power, alarms were going off inside the cockpit and if the plane's crew correctly logged information about the hot temperature outside and the weight of the fuel and passengers, Guzzetti said.
Mistakes in the data could result in the wing flaps being set incorrectly, he said.
Thursday's Air India crash involved a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft.
There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
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https://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-missile-drone-attacks-nuclear-a8b23f58b502ed77a20a9d843bf30f76
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US-Iran talks over Tehran's nuclear program won't happen after Israel strikes
| 2025-06-14T04:14:40 |
# US-Iran talks over Tehran's nuclear program won't happen after Israel strikes
By Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman, and Julia Frankel
June 14th, 2025, 04:14 AM
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launched an expanded assault on Iran on Sunday, targeting its energy industry and Defense Ministry headquarters, while Tehran unleashed a fresh barrage of deadly strikes.
The simultaneous attacks represented the latest burst of violence since a surprise offensive by Israel two days earlier aimed at decimating Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
New explosions boomed across Tehran as Iranian missiles entered Israel's skies in attacks that Israeli emergency officials said caused deaths around the country, including four in an apartment building in the Galilee region. A strike in central Israel killed an 80-year-old woman, a 69-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy, officials said.
Casualty figures weren't immediately available in Iran, where Israel targeted its Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran as well as sites that it alleged were associated with the country's nuclear program. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed that Iranian missiles targeted fuel production facilities for Israeli fighter jets, something not acknowledged by Israel.
Amid the continued conflict, planned negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear program were cancelled, throwing into question when and how an end to the fighting could come.
"Tehran is burning," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media.
Both Israel's military and Iran state television announced the latest round of Iranian missiles as explosions were heard near midnight, while the Israeli security cabinet met.
Israel's ongoing strikes across Iran have left the country's surviving leadership with the difficult decision of whether to plunge deeper into conflict with Israel's more powerful forces or seek a diplomatic route.
## Urgent calls to deescalate
World leaders made urgent calls to deescalate and avoid all-out war. The attack on nuclear sites set a "dangerous precedent," China's foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel makes a new push to eliminate the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza after 20 months of fighting.
Israel — widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East — said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days have killed a number of top generals, nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program. Iran's U.N. ambassador has said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.
U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon before Israel unleashed its campaign of airstrikes targeting Iran beginning Friday. But Iran's uranium enrichment has reached near weapons-grade levels, and on Thursday the U.N.'s atomic watchdog censured Iran for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made the destruction of Iran's nuclear program his top priority, said Israel's strikes so far are "nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days."
In what could be another escalation if confirmed, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported an Israeli drone struck and caused a "strong explosion" at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant. It would be the first Israeli attack on Iran's oil and natural gas industry. Israel's military did not immediately comment.
The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting.
## Iran calls nuclear talks 'unjustifiable'
The sixth round of U.S.-Iran indirect talks on Sunday over Iran 's nuclear program will not take place, mediator Oman said. "We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon," said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomacy.
Iran's top diplomat said Saturday the nuclear talks were "unjustifiable" after Israel's strikes. Abbas Araghchi's comments came during a call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat.
The Israeli airstrikes were the "result of the direct support by Washington," Araghchi said in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. The U.S. has said it isn't part of the strikes.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, adding that "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left."
## US helps to shoot down Iranian missiles
Iran launched its first waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday. The attacks killed at least three people and wounded 174, two of them seriously, Israel said. The military said seven soldiers were lightly wounded when a missile hit central Israel, without specifying where.
U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.
Israel's main international airport said it will remain closed until further notice.
First responders were looking for survivors and clearing the remnants of a missile that fell on a neighborhood outside of Tel Aviv early Sunday morning.
An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass.
Responders used a drone at points to look for survivors in some of the areas that were too hard to access. Some people were fleeing the area with their belongings in suitcases.
## 'More than a few weeks' to repair nuclear facilities
Israel attacked Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage there. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility.
U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.
Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, including "infrastructure for enriched uranium conversion," and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said four "critical buildings" at the Isfahan site were damaged, including its uranium conversion facility. "As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected," it added.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official procedures, said that according to the army's initial assessment "it will take much more than a few weeks" for Iran to repair the damage to the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. The official said the army had "concrete intelligence that production in Isfahan was for military purposes."
Israel denied it had struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran.
Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's aerospace division, which oversees its arsenal of ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. On Saturday, Khamenei named a new leader for the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division: Gen. Majid Mousavi.
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https://apnews.com/article/sean-combs-diddy-trial-cassie-jane-0c1af5d7d6cc64c098e7465140836bc5
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Ye attends 'Diddy' sex trafficking trial in New York
| 2025-06-13T15:56:49 |
# Ye attends 'Diddy' sex trafficking trial in New York
By Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister
June 13th, 2025, 03:56 PM
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NEW YORK (AP) — Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, briefly showed up to the New York sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs on Friday to support the hip-hop mogul, a longtime friend. But he wasn't allowed into the courtroom and left after briefly watching the trial on a video monitor in another room.
Ye, dressed in white, arrived at Manhattan federal court before noon while the trial was on a break and spent about 40 minutes in the building.
After emerging from an airport-style security screening, Ye was asked if he was at the courthouse to support Combs.
"Yes," he responded with a nod. He then hustled to an elevator and did not respond when asked if he might testify on Combs' behalf when the defense begins its presentation as early as next week.
Courthouse security did not take him to the 26th floor where the trial occurs in one of the building's largest courtrooms. Admittance there is strictly controlled, with seats reserved for Combs' family and legal team, the media and spectators who wait in line for hours to get a coveted seat.
The rapper was taken instead to a courtroom three floors below the trial floor. There, he briefly observed testimony on a large closed-circuit monitor in an overflow room that was one floor below the usual overflow room, which was packed with media representatives and courthouse employees who heard erroneously that he might be there.
As word of his actual location spread and spectators trickled into the room where Ye sat in the front row with Combs' son, Christian, a bodyguard and another Combs' supporter on a side of the room that was otherwise kept vacant by a court officer, Ye looked around the room before abruptly getting up and leaving, along with the others with him.
Ye didn't answer further questions as he left the courthouse, walking past reporters and TV cameras and ducking into a waiting black Mercedes sedan.
In the courtroom where the trial occurred, Combs, 55, seemed elated and aware his friend had visited as family members including his mother watched the proceedings. He has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges alleging that he used his fame, fortune and violence to commit crimes over a 20-year period.
Ye's appearance at the courthouse came a day after a woman identified in court only by the pseudonym "Jane" finished six days of testimony.
She testified that during a relationship with Combs that stretched from 2021 until his arrest last September at a Manhattan hotel, she felt coerced into frequent dayslong sexual marathons with male sex workers while Combs watched and sometimes filmed the drug-fueled encounters.
Defense attorneys have argued that Combs committed no crimes and that federal prosecutors were trying to police consensual sex that occurred between adults.
On Thursday, Jane testified that during a three-month break in her relationship with Combs, she flew to Las Vegas in January 2023 with a famous rapper who was close friends with Combs.
Prior to Jane's testimony on the subject, lawyers and the judge conducted a lengthy hearing out of public view to discuss what could be divulged about the January trip.
Jane was asked if the rapper she accompanied along with the rapper's girlfriend was "an individual at the top of the music industry as well ... an icon in the music industry."
"Yes," Jane replied.
Once in Las Vegas, Jane testified, she went with a group including the rapper to dinner, a strip club and a hotel room party, where a sex worker had sex with a woman while a half-dozen others watched.
She said there was dancing and the rapper said, "hey beautiful," and told her, in crude language, that he had always wanted to have sex with her. Jane said she didn't recall exactly when, but she flashed her breasts while dancing.
Also Friday, the judge said he was leaning toward removing a juror and replacing him with an alternate after prosecutors found inconsistencies in his answers about where he lives.
During jury selection, the juror said he lived in the Bronx. But, prosecutors said, he told a court employee that he recently moved to New Jersey.
Under questioning by Judge Arun Subramanian, the juror acknowledged moving, but said he retains a New York driver's license and stays there during the week. Only New York residents can serve as Manhattan federal court jurors.
Combs' lawyers called it a "thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror" and suggested Subramanian was "conflating inconsistencies with lying."
The judge noted that even if the juror is ousted, the jury would be diverse.
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https://apnews.com/article/nicaragua-former-president-violeta-chamorro-death-bd448ac8c3664b13f92ab2012a0d2a7f
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Nicaragua's former President Violeta Chamorro dies at 95, family says
| 2025-06-14T17:33:26 |
# Nicaragua's former President Violeta Chamorro dies at 95, family says
June 14th, 2025, 05:33 PM
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SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Violeta Chamorro, an unassuming homemaker who was thrust into politics by her husband's assassination and stunned the world by ousting the ruling Sandinista party in presidential elections and ending Nicaragua 's civil war, has died, her family said in a statement on Saturday. She was 95.
The country's first female president, known as Doña Violeta to both supporters and detractors, she presided over the Central American nation's uneasy transition to peace after nearly a decade of conflict between the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega and U.S.-backed Contra rebels.
At nearly seven years, Chamorro's was the longest single term ever served by a democratically elected Nicaraguan leader, and when it was over she handed over the presidential sash to an elected civilian successor — a relative rarity for a country with a long history of strongman rule, revolution and deep political polarization.
Chamorro died in San Jose, Costa Rica, according to the family's statement shared by her son, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, on X.
"Doña Violeta died peacefully, surrounded by the affection and love of her children and those who had provided her with extraordinary care, and now she finds herself in the peace of the Lord," the statement said.
A religious ceremony was being planned in San Jose. Her remains will be held in Costa Rica "until Nicaragua returns to being a Republic," the statement said.
In more recent years, the family had been driven into exile in Costa Rica like hundreds of thousands of other Nicaraguans fleeing the repression of Ortega.
Violeta Chamorro's daughter, Cristiana Chamorro, was held under house arrest for months in Nicaragua and then convicted of money laundering and other charges as Ortega moved to clear the field of challengers as he sought reelection.
The Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation closed its operations in Nicaragua in January 2021, as thousands of nongovernmental organizations have been forced to do because Ortega has worked to silence any critical voices. It had provided training for journalists, helped finance journalistic outlets and defended freedom of expression.
## Husband's assassination
Born Violeta Barrios Torres on Oct. 18, 1929, in the southwestern city of Rivas, Chamorro had little by way of preparation for the public eye. The eldest daughter of a landowning family, she was sent to U.S. finishing schools.
After her father's death in 1948, she returned to the family home and married Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, who soon became editor and publisher of the family newspaper, La Prensa, following his own father's death.
He penned editorials denouncing the abuses of the regime of Gen. Anastasio Somoza, whose family had ruled Nicaragua for four decades, and was gunned down on a Managua street in January 1978. The killing, widely believed to have been ordered by Somoza, galvanized the opposition and fueled the popular revolt led by Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front that toppled the dictator in July 1979.
Chamorro herself acknowledged that she had little ambition beyond raising her four children before her husband's assassination. She said she was in Miami shopping for a wedding dress for one of her daughters when she heard the news.
Still, Chamorro took over publishing La Prensa and also became a member of the junta that replaced Somoza. She quit just nine months later as the Sandinistas exerted their dominance and built a socialist government aligned with Cuba and the Soviet Union and at odds with the United States amid the Cold War.
La Prensa became a leading voice of opposition to the Sandinistas and the focus of regular harassment by government supporters who accused the paper of being part of Washington's efforts — along with U.S.-financed rebels, dubbed "Contras" by the Sandinistas for their counterrevolutionary fight — to undermine the leftist regime.
Chamorro later recounted bitter memories of what she considered the Sandinistas' betrayal of her husband's democratic goals and her own faith in the anti-Somoza revolution.
"I'm not praising Somoza's government. It was horrible. But the threats that I've had from the Sandinistas — I never thought they would repay me in that way," she said.
## 'Peace and progress'
Chamorro saw her own family divided by the country's politics. Son Pedro Joaquin became a leader of the Contras, and daughter Cristiana worked as an editor at La Prensa. But another son, Carlos Fernando, and Chamorro's eldest daughter, Claudia, were militant Sandinistas.
By 1990 Nicaragua was in tatters. The economy was in shambles thanks to a U.S. trade embargo, Sandinista mismanagement and war. Some 30,000 people had died in the fighting between the Contras and Sandinistas.
When a coalition of 14 opposition parties nominated an initially reluctant Chamorro as their candidate in the presidential election called for February that year, few gave her much chance against the Sandinista incumbent, Ortega. Even after months of campaigning, she stumbled over speeches and made baffling blunders. Suffering from osteoporosis, a disease that weakens the bones, she broke her knee in a household fall and spent much of the campaign in a wheelchair.
But elegant, silver-haired and dressed almost exclusively in white, she connected with many Nicaraguans tired of war and hardship. Her maternal image, coupled with promises of reconciliation and an end to the military draft, contrasted with Ortega's swagger and revolutionary rhetoric.
"I bring the flag of love," she told a rally shortly before the vote. "Hatred has only brought us war and hunger. With love will come peace and progress."
She shocked the Sandinistas and the world by handily winning the election, hailing her victory as the fulfillment of her late husband's vision.
"We knew that in a free election we would achieve a democratic republic of the kind Pedro Joaquin always dreamed," Chamorro said.
Washington lifted trade sanctions and promised aid to rebuild the nation's ravaged economy, and by June the 19,000-strong Contra army had been disbanded, formally ending an eight-year war.
## Forced into negotiations
Chamorro had little else to celebrate during her first months in office.
In the two months between the election and her inauguration, the Sandinistas looted the government, signing over government vehicles and houses to militants in a giveaway that became popularly known as "the pinata."
Her plans to stabilize the hyperinflation-wracked economy with free-market reforms were met with stiff opposition from the Sandinistas, who had the loyalty of most of the country's organized labor.
Chamorro's first 100 days in power were marred by two general strikes, the second of which led to street battles between protesters and government supporters. To restore order Chamorro called on the Sandinista-dominated army, testing the loyalty of the force led by Gen. Humberto Ortega, Daniel Ortega's older brother. The army took to the streets but did not act against the strikers.
Chamorro was forced into negotiations, broadening the growing rift between moderates and hardliners in her government. Eventually her vice president, Virgilio Godoy, became one over her most vocal critics.
Nicaraguans hoping that Chamorro's election would quickly bring stability and economic progress were disappointed. Within a year some former Contras had taken up arms again, saying they were being persecuted by security forces still largely controlled by the Sandinistas. Few investors were willing to gamble on a destitute country with a volatile workforce, while foreign volunteers who had been willing to pick coffee and cotton in support of the Sandinistas had long departed.
"What more do you want than to have the war ended?" Chamorro said after a year in office.
## Vision of forgiveness
Chamorro was unable to undo Nicaragua's dire poverty. By the end of her administration in early 1997, unemployment was measured at over 50 percent, while crime, drug abuse and prostitution — practically unheard of during the Sandinista years — soared.
That year she handed the presidential sash to another elected civilian: conservative Arnoldo Aleman, who also defeated Ortega at the ballot.
In her final months in office, Chamorro published an autobiography, "Dreams of the Heart," in which she emphasized her vision of forgiveness and reconciliation.
"After six years as president, she has broadened her definition of 'my children' to include all Nicaraguans," wrote a reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. "So even political opponents like Ortega are briefly criticized in one sentence, only to be generously forgiven in the next."
After leaving office, Chamorro retired to her Managua home and her grandchildren. She generally steered clear of politics and created the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation.
In 2011 it was revealed that she suffered from a brain tumor. In October 2018, she was hospitalized and said by family members to be in "delicate condition" after suffering a cerebral embolism, a kind of stroke.
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https://apnews.com/article/officers-death-benefits-claims-backlog-psob-a4ca99b3e3ca6afc7baded3e94bf00ac
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Families of deceased US officers wait years for death benefits
| 2025-06-14T04:03:15 |
# Families of deceased US officers wait years for death benefits
By Ryan J. Foley
June 14th, 2025, 04:03 AM
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When her husband died after a grueling U.S. Border Patrol training program for new agents, Lisa Afolayan applied for the federal benefits promised to families of first responders whose lives are cut short in the line of duty.
Sixteen years later, Afolayan and her two daughters haven't seen a penny, and program officials are defending their decisions to deny them compensation. She calls it a nightmare that too many grieving families experience.
"It just makes me so mad that we are having to fight this so hard," said Afolayan, whose husband, Nate, had been hired to guard the U.S. border with Mexico in southern California. "It takes a toll emotionally, and I don't think they care. To them, it's just a business. They're just pushing paper."
Afolayan's case is part of a backlog of claims plaguing the fast-growing Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program. Hundreds of families of deceased and disabled officers are waiting years to learn whether they qualify for the life-changing payments, and more are ultimately being denied, an Associated Press analysis of program data found.
The program is falling far short of its goal of deciding claims within one year. Nearly 900 have been pending for longer than that, triple the number from five years earlier, in a backlog that includes cases from nearly every state, according to AP's review, which was based on program data through late April.
More than 120 of those claims have been in limbo for at least five years, and roughly a dozen have languished for a decade.
"That is just outrageous that the person has to wait that long," said Charlie Lauer, the program's general counsel in the 1980s. "Those poor families."
Justice Department officials, who oversee the program, acknowledge the backlog. They say they're managing a surge in claims — which have more than doubled in the last five years — while making complicated decisions about whether cases meet legal criteria.
In a statement, they said "claims involving complex medical and causation issues, voluminous evidence and conflicting medical opinions take longer to determine, as do claims in various stages of appeal." It acknowledged a few cases "continue through the process over ten years."
Program officials wouldn't comment on Afolayan's case. Federal lawyers are asking an appeals court for a second time to uphold their denials, which blame Nate's heat- and exertion-related death on a genetic condition shared by millions of mostly Black U.S. citizens.
Supporters say Lisa Afolayan's resilience in pursuing the claim has been remarkable, and grown in significance as training-related deaths like Nate's have risen.
"Your death must fit in their box, or your family's not going to be taken care of," said Afolayan, of suburban Dallas.
Their daughter, Natalee, was 3 when her father died. She recently completed her first year at the University of Texas, without the help of the higher education benefits the program provides.
## The officers' benefits program is decades old and has paid billions
Congress created the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program in 1976, providing a one-time $50,000 payout as a guarantee for those whose loved ones die in the line of duty.
The benefit was later set to adjust with inflation; today it pays $448,575. The program has awarded more than $2.4 billion.
Early on, claims were often adjudicated within weeks. But the complexity increased in 1990, when Congress extended the program to some disabled officers. A 1998 law added educational benefits for spouses and children.
Since 2020, Congress has passed three laws expanding eligibility — to officers who died after contracting COVID-19, first responders who died or were disabled in rescue and cleanup operations from the September 2001 attacks, and some who die by suicide.
Today, the program sees 1,200 claims annually, up from 500 in 2019.
The wait time for decisions and rate of denials have risen alongside the caseload. Roughly one of every three death and disability claims were rejected over the last year.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and other Republicans recently introduced legislation to require the program to make determinations within 270 days, expressing outrage over the case of an officer disabled in a mass shooting who's waited years for a ruling. Similar legislation died last year.
One group representing families, Concerns of Police Survivors, has expressed no such concerns about the program's management. The Missouri-based nonprofit recently received a $6 million grant to continue its longstanding partnership with the Justice Department to serve deceased officers' relatives — including providing counseling, hosting memorial events and assisting with claims.
"We are very appreciative of the PSOB and their work with survivor benefits," spokesperson Sara Slone said. "Not all line-of-duty deaths are the same and therefore processing times will differ."
## Nate Afolayan dreamed of serving his adopted country
Born in Nigeria, Nate Afolayan moved to California with relatives at age 11. He became a U.S. citizen and graduated from California State University a decade later.
Lisa met Nate while they worked together at a juvenile probation office. They talked, went out for lunch and felt sparks.
"The next thing you know, we were married with two kids," she said.
He decided to pursue a career in law enforcement once their second daughter was born. Lisa supported him, though she understood the danger.
He spent a year working out while applying for jobs and was thrilled when the Border Patrol declared him medically fit; sent him to Artesia, New Mexico, for training; and swore him in.
Nate loved his 10 weeks at the academy, Lisa said, despite needing medical treatment several times — he was shot with pepper spray in the face and became dizzy during a water-based drill.
His classmates found him to be a natural leader in elite shape and chose him to speak at graduation, they recalled in interviews with investigators.
He prepared a speech with the line, "We are all warriors that stand up and fight for what's right, just and lawful."
But on April 30, 2009 — days before the ceremony — a Border Patrol official called Lisa. Nate, 29, had fainted after his final training run and was hospitalized.
It was dusty and 88 degrees in the high desert that afternoon. Agents had to complete the 1.5-mile run in 13 minutes, at an altitude of 3,400 feet. Nate had warned classmates it was too hot to wear their black academy shirts, but they voted to do so anyway, records show.
Nate, 29, finished in just over 11 minutes but then struggled to breathe and collapsed.
Now Nate was being airlifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital for advanced treatment. Lisa booked a last-minute flight, arriving the next day.
A doctor told her Nate's organs had shut down and they couldn't save his life. The hospital needed permission to end life-saving efforts. One nurse delivered chest compressions; another held Lisa tightly as she yelled: "That's it! I can't take it anymore!"
Lisa became a single mother. The girls were 3 and 1.
Her only comfort, she said, was knowing Nate died living his dream — serving his adopted country.
## Sickle cell trait was cited in this benefit denial
When she first applied for benefits, Lisa included the death certificate that listed heat illness as the cause of Nate's death.
The aid could help her family. She'd been studying to become a nurse but had to abandon that plan. She relied on Social Security survivors' benefits and workers' compensation while working at gyms as a trainer or receptionist and dabbling in real estate.
The program had paid benefits for a handful of similar training deaths, dating to a Massachusetts officer who suffered heat stroke and dehydration in 1988. But program staff wanted another opinion on Nate's death. They turned to outside forensic pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina.
Cina concluded the autopsy overlooked the "most significant factor": Nate carried sickle cell trait, a condition that's usually benign but has been linked to rare exertion-related deaths in military, sports and law enforcement training.
Cina opined that exercising in a hot climate at high altitude triggered a crisis in which Nate's red blood cells became misshapen, depriving his body of oxygen. Cina, who stopped consulting for the benefits program in 2020 after hundreds of case reviews, declined to comment.
Nate learned he had the condition, carried by up to 3 million U.S. Black citizens, after a blood test following his second daughter's birth. The former high school basketball player had never experienced any problems.
A Border Patrol spokesperson declined to say whether academy leaders knew of the condition, which experts say can be managed with precautions such as staying hydrated, avoiding workouts in extreme temperatures and altitudes, and taking rest breaks.
Under the benefit program's rules, Afolayan's death would need to be "the direct and proximate result" of an injury he suffered on duty to qualify. It couldn't be the result of ordinary physical strain.
The program in 2012 rejected the claim, saying the hot, dry, high climate was one factor, but not the most important.
It had been more than two years since Lisa Afolayan applied and three since Nate's death.
## Lisa Afolayan's appeal was not common
Most rejected applicants don't exercise their option to appeal to an independent hearing officer, saying they can't afford attorneys or want to get on with their lives.
But Lisa Afolayan appealed with help from a border patrol union. A one-day hearing was held in late 2012. The hearing officer denied her claim more than a year later, saying the "perfect storm" of factors causing the death didn't include a qualifying injury.
Lisa and her daughters moved from California to Texas. They visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, where they saw Nate's name.
Four years passed without an update on the claim. Lisa learned the union had failed to exercise its final appeal, to the program director, due to an oversight. The union didn't respond to AP emails seeking comment.
Then she met Suzie Sawyer, founder and retired executive director of Concerns of Police Survivors. Sawyer had recently helped win a long battle to obtain benefits in the death of another federal agent who'd collapsed during training.
"I said, 'Lisa, this could be the fight of your life, and it could take forever,'" Sawyer recalled. "'Are you willing to do it?' She goes, 'hell yes.'"
The two persuaded the program to hear the appeal even though the deadline had passed. They introduced a list of similar claims that had been granted and new evidence: A Tennessee medical examiner concluded the hot, dry environment and altitude were key factors causing Nate's organ-system failure.
But the program was unmoved. The acting Bureau of Justice Assistance director upheld the denial in 2020.
Such rulings usually aren't public, but Lisa fumed as she learned through contacts about some whose deaths qualified, including a trooper who had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, an intoxicated FBI agent who crashed his car, and another officer with sickle cell trait who died after a training run on a hot day.
## Today, an appeal is still pending
In 2022, Lisa thought she might have finally prevailed when a federal appeals court ordered the program to take another look at her application.
A three-judge panel said the program erred by failing to consider whether the heat, humidity and altitude during the run were "the type of unusual or out-of-the-ordinary climatic conditions that would qualify."
The judges also said it may have been illegal to rely on sickle cell trait for the denial under a federal law prohibiting employers from discrimination on the basis of genetic information.
It was great timing: The girls were in high school and could use the monthly benefit of $1,530 to help pay for college. The family's Social Security and workers' compensation benefits would end soon.
But the program was in no hurry. Nearly two years passed without a ruling despite inquiries from Afolayan and her lawyer.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance director upheld the denial in February 2024, ruling that the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act didn't apply since the program wasn't Afolayan's employer.
Arnold & Porter, a Washington law firm now representing Afolayan pro bono, has appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Her attorney John Elwood said the program has gotten bogged down in minutiae while losing sight of the bigger picture: that an officer died during mandatory training. He said government lawyers are fighting him just as hard, "if not harder," than on any other case he's handled.
Months after filing their briefs, oral arguments haven't been set.
"This has been my life for 16 years," Lisa Afolayan said. "Sometimes I just chuckle and keep moving because what else am I going to do?"
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-netanyahu-nuclear-trump-13d04138deb51e3f6315fa4ab5973cc0
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Netanyahu faces moment of truth with attack on Iran
| 2025-06-14T19:39:22 |
# Netanyahu faces moment of truth with attack on Iran
By Josef Federman
June 14th, 2025, 07:39 PM
---
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on the mission of his lifetime.
For years, the veteran leader has made the destruction of Iran's nuclear program his top priority, raising the issue in speech after speech in apocalyptic terms. Now Netanyahu's moment of truth has arrived.
After battling Iran's allies across the region following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Netanyahu has turned his attention to what he describes as the "head of the octopus," with an unprecedented and open-ended military offensive against Iran and its nuclear program.
It is an aggressive gamble made possible by a confluence of factors, including the weakening of Iranian-backed militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon, and the reelection and support of U.S. President Donald Trump.
But success is not guaranteed, and the outcome of the escalating conflict could determine the fate of Netanyahu's government and shape his legacy.
Here's a closer look:
## Netanyahu's history of warnings on Iran
Netanyahu began warning about the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran in the 1990s — even before his first term as prime minister at the end of the decade. He returned to office in 2009 and has served as prime minister almost continuously since then, rarely missing an opportunity to portray the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to Israel's existence and menace to the world.
In 2012, he famously displayed a crude cartoon illustrating what he said was Iran's march toward the bomb during a speech to the U.N. assembly.
Three years later, he delivered a controversial speech to the U.S. Congress arguing against then-President Barack Obama's emerging nuclear deal with Iran. The speech infuriated the White House and failed to block the deal. But it delighted Republicans and laid the groundwork for Trump to pull out of the agreement three years later.
Netanyahu has frequently compared Iran's theocratic leadership to the Nazis, at times drawing the ire of Holocaust scholars and survivor groups. He turned to that familiar playbook this week as he announced the latest attacks on Iran.
"Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were the victims of a Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regime," he said. "Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear Holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime."
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. But its enrichment of uranium to near-weapons grade levels and failure to cooperate with international inspectors have raised doubts about those claims.
The head of the U.N. nuclear agency has warned that Iran has enough enriched uranium to make several bombs. The agency censured Iran this week for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations, one day before the Israeli strikes began.
## Why attack Iran now?
Netanyahu for years has threatened to strike Iran, repeatedly saying that all options were "on the table."
But never before has he pulled the trigger due to opposition by domestic rivals and security chiefs, questions about the feasibility of such a risky operation and the opposition of a string of U.S. presidents.
But things have changed over the past two years, and Netanyahu now believes he has a chance to shape the region in his own image.
Since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel has systematically degraded a network of Iranian allies across the region.
The war in Gaza has decimated the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but at a devastating price for the territory's civilian population. Last year, Israel also inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, severely weakening the group and contributing to the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, another key Iranian ally. And during a brief round of fighting with Iran last year, Israel knocked out much of its enemies' air-defense systems.
With Iran's "Axis of Resistance" in tatters and Iran unable to defend itself against Israel's air force, there was little to deter Israel from taking action this week.
Trump provided the final piece of the puzzle. After surprising Israel earlier this year with his resumption of nuclear talks with Iran, Trump grew frustrated with the lack of progress in those talks.
Notified about the Israeli plans, the U.S. president appears to have put up little resistance, creating a rare window of opportunity for Israel.
## Will Netanyahu succeed?
It is too early to say.
The Israeli operation appears to have gotten off to a smooth start – with Israel striking dozens of targets and killing senior Iranian military figures. But it remains unclear how much damage Israel has inflicted on Iran's nuclear program.
For now, the divisive and embattled Netanyahu appears to be riding a wave of support at home. Even the political opposition, which tried to topple Netanyahu in a parliamentary vote earlier in the week, has come out in support of the Iran operation.
But things could change quickly. After an initial wave of support for Israel's war against Hamas, the country is now deeply divided. With the fighting now over 20 months old, many believe Netanyahu has unnecessarily dragged out the conflict in a self-serving campaign to remain in office.
Likewise, public support for the Iranian operation could quickly turn if Iran's missile attacks on Israel cause heavy casualties or continue to disrupt life in Israel for an extended period. A debacle on the battlefield – such as the capture of an Israeli fighter pilot by Iran – could also reverse Netanyahu's fortunes. Netanyahu's hints that he is seeking regime change in Iran — a difficult and complicated task — could further hurt his standing.
## Why is success so important for Netanyahu?
After a record-setting tenure in office, Netanyahu has a complicated legacy. He is the object of affection and adoration among his supporters who see him as a wily politician and distinguished statesman. But he is intensely disdained by his many detractors, who see him as a divisive and populist cynic.
Few on either side would disagree that his legacy has been permanently tarnished by the Oct. 7 attacks, the deadliest day in Israel's history.
Netanyahu now sees an opportunity to reshape that legacy once again and go down in history as the man who saved his country from nuclear annihilation, not the prime minister who presided over its darkest moment.
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https://apnews.com/article/military-parade-army-trump-f56795c86d802e1c4d40c4de5b001db5
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Here’s what to expect at the Army’s 250th anniversary parade on Trump’s birthday
| 2025-06-13T16:57:23 |
# Here's what to expect at the Army's 250th anniversary parade on Trump's birthday
By Tara Copp
June 13th, 2025, 04:57 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — The tanks are staged and ready to roll. Fencing and barriers are up. Protective metal plating has been laid out on Washington's streets.
And more than 6,000 troops are poised to march near the National Mall to honor the Army's 250th anniversary on Saturday, which happens to be President Donald Trump's 79th birthday.
With preparations well in hand, one big unknown is the weather. Rain is in the forecast, so there is a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Thursday that rain or shine the parade will go on. But it could be delayed if there is lightning.
"No matter what, a historic celebration of our military service members will take place!" Kelly said in a statement.
Daylong festivities celebrating the Army are planned on the National Mall — featuring NFL players, fitness competitions and displays — culminating in the parade, which is estimated to cost $25 million to $45 million. The Army expects as many as 200,000 people to attend.
A special reviewing area is being set up for the president, where he will be watching as each formation passes the White House.
Here's what to expect at the parade Saturday:
## The troops
A total of 6,169 soldiers as well as 128 Army tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery will parade before the president and viewers, while 62 aircraft will pass overhead.
The parade will tell the Army's story, starting with the Battle of Lexington — the first battle of the Revolutionary War — and move all the way to present day.
Each conflict will have 150 troops in period costume, followed by a section of hundreds of troops in modern-day dress. For the past several weeks, Army planners have been working out how to get it timed to exactly 90 minutes, Army spokesman Steve Warren said.
Planners first tried marching troops five across and 12 deep — but the parade ran long. To get it down to the exact time, each section will have soldiers marching seven across and 10 deep, Warren said. That means, for example, the Civil War gets exactly three minutes and 39 seconds and World War II gets 6 minutes and 22 seconds.
## The tanks and aircraft
Then there are the tanks. For fans, 8 minutes and 23 seconds into the procession, the first World War I Renault tank will make its appearance.
Compared with today's tanks, the Renaults are tiny and almost look like a robotic weapon out of "The Terminator." But they were groundbreaking for their time, lightweight and enabling movement in that conflict's deadly trench warfare.
The first aircraft will fly over starting 13 minutes and 37 seconds into the parade, including two B-25 Mitchell bombers, four P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft and one C-47 Skytrain. The latter was made famous by the three stripes painted on the wings and body to mark it friendly over U.S. battleships on June 6, 1944, as thousands of Skytrain aircraft dropped more than 13,000 paratroopers into France on D-Day.
The procession will move along into the Gulf War, the war on terror and the modern day, showcasing the Army's M1A2 Abrams tanks and other troop carriers, like the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and Stryker combat vehicle.
There will even be six High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS — the mobile rocket launchers that have been highly valued by Ukraine as it has defended itself against Russia's invasion.
A massive show of Army airpower will begin 48 minutes in, when a long air parade of UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters fly overhead as the Army's story swings toward its future warfare.
## The parade finale
The final sections of marching troops represent the Army's future. The band at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point will lead hundreds of future troops, including members of the Texas A&M Army Corps of Cadets, new enlistees just going through Army initial entry training, and cadets from the Virginia Military Institute and The Citadel in South Carolina.
The last section includes 250 new recruits or soldiers who are reenlisting. As they reach the president, they will turn toward him and raise their right hand, and Trump will swear them into service.
The parade will end with a celebratory jump by the Army's Golden Knights parachute team, which will present Trump with an American flag.
After the parade, a 19-minute fireworks show and concert will round out the celebration.
## Watching the parade
Organizers have estimated that hundreds of thousands of people could be in Washington to see the parade live, but there will be plenty of ways to see it from afar as well.
The Army has said it will be streaming the parade on its social media channels, and some news outlets, including C-SPAN and Fox News Channel, have announced plans to air the entire event live, as well as other special related programming. Others, including NBC News Now, will air the parade via streaming services.
The parade is expected to begin at 6:30 p.m., and organizers have said it will last 90 minutes.
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https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-transgender-immigration-0b233218cae0f76b00ecb5933445e69f
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What’s left for the Supreme Court to decide? 21 cases, including state bans on transgender care
| 2025-06-14T12:32:13 |
# What's left for the Supreme Court to decide? 21 cases, including state bans on transgender care
By Mark Sherman and Lindsay Whitehurst
June 14th, 2025, 12:32 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is in the homestretch of a term that has lately been dominated by the Trump administration's emergency appeals of lower court orders seeking to slow President Donald Trump's efforts to remake the federal government.
But the justices also have 21 cases to resolve that were argued between December and mid-May, including a push by Republican-led states to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. One of the argued cases was an emergency appeal, the administration's bid to be allowed to enforce Trump's executive order denying birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents who are in the country illegally.
The court typically aims to finish its work by the end of June.
Here are some of the biggest remaining cases:
## Tennessee and 26 other states have enacted bans on certain treatment for transgender youth
The oldest unresolved case, and arguably the term's biggest, stems from a challenge to Tennessee's law from transgender minors and their parents who argue that it is unconstitutional sex discrimination aimed at a vulnerable population.
At arguments in December, the court's conservative majority seemed inclined to uphold the law, voicing skepticism of claims that it violates the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. The post-Civil War provision requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same.
The court is weighing the case amid a range of other federal and state efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use. In April, Trump's administration sued Maine for not complying with the government's push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports.
Trump also has sought to block federal spending on gender-affirming care for those under 19 and a conservative majority of justices allowed him to move forward with plans to oust transgender people from the U.S. military.
## Trump's birthright citizenship order has been blocked by lower courts
The court rarely hears arguments over emergency appeals, but it took up the administration's plea to narrow orders that have prevented the citizenship changes from taking effect anywhere in the U.S.
The issue before the justices is whether to limit the authority of judges to issue nationwide injunctions, which have plagued both Republican and Democratic administrations in the past 10 years.
These nationwide court orders have emerged as an important check on Trump's efforts and a source of mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies.
At arguments last month, the court seemed intent on keeping a block on the citizenship restrictions while still looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders. It was not clear what such a decision might look like, but a majority of the court expressed concerns about what would happen if the administration were allowed, even temporarily, to deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country illegally.
Democratic-led states, immigrants and rights groups who sued over Trump's executive order argued that it would upset the settled understanding of birthright citizenship that has existed for more than 125 years.
## The court seems likely to side with Maryland parents in a religious rights case over LGBTQ storybooks in public schools
Parents in the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, want to be able to pull their children out of lessons that use the storybooks, which the county added to the curriculum to better reflect the district's diversity.
The school system at one point allowed parents to remove their children from those lessons, but then reversed course because it found the opt-out policy to be disruptive. Sex education is the only area of instruction with an opt-out provision in the county's schools.
The school district introduced the storybooks in 2022, with such titles as "Prince and Knight" and "Uncle Bobby's Wedding."
The case is one of several religious rights cases at the court this term. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. The decision also comes amid increases in recent years in books being banned from public school and public libraries.
## A three-year battle over congressional districts in Louisiana is making its second trip to the Supreme Court
Lower courts have struck down two Louisiana congressional maps since 2022 and the justices are weighing whether to send state lawmakers back to the map-drawing board for a third time.
The case involves the interplay between race and politics in drawing political boundaries in front of a conservative-led court that has been skeptical of considerations of race in public life.
At arguments in March, several of the court's conservative justices suggested they could vote to throw out the map and make it harder, if not impossible, to bring redistricting lawsuits under the Voting Rights Act.
Before the court now is a map that created a second Black majority congressional district among Louisiana's six seats in the House of Representatives. The district elected a Black Democrat in 2024.
A three-judge court found that the state relied too heavily on race in drawing the district, rejecting Louisiana's arguments that politics predominated, specifically the preservation of the seats of influential members of Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson. The Supreme Court ordered the challenged map to be used last year while the case went on.
Lawmakers only drew that map after civil rights advocates won a court ruling that a map with one Black majority district likely violated the landmark voting rights law.
## The justices are weighing a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography
Texas is among more than a dozen states with age verification laws. The states argue the laws are necessary as smartphones have made access to online porn, including hardcore obscene material, almost instantaneous.
The question for the court is whether the measure infringes on the constitutional rights of adults as well. The Free Speech Coalition, an adult-entertainment industry trade group, agrees that children shouldn't be seeing pornography. But it says the Texas law is written too broadly and wrongly affects adults by requiring them to submit personal identifying information online that is vulnerable to hacking or tracking.
The justices appeared open to upholding the law, though they also could return it to a lower court for additional work. Some justices worried the lower court hadn't applied a strict enough legal standard in determining whether the Texas law and others like that could run afoul of the First Amendment.
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https://apnews.com/article/pope-leo-xiv-american-catholics-e070cbc48bd415384b7d7302ceeff3fb
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AP-NORC poll: What Americans think about Pope Leo XIV
| 2025-06-15T04:01:14 |
# AP-NORC poll: What Americans think about Pope Leo XIV
By Luis Andres Henao and Amelia Thomson-Deveaux
June 15th, 2025, 04:01 AM
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Just over a month after Pope Leo XIV became the first U.S.-born pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church, a new poll shows that American Catholics are feeling excited about their new religious leader.
About two-thirds of American Catholics have a "very" or "somewhat" favorable view of Pope Leo, according to the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, while about 3 in 10 don't know enough to have an opinion. Very few Catholics — less than 1 in 10 — view him unfavorably.
Among Americans overall, plenty of people are still making up their minds about Pope Leo. But among those who do have an opinion, feelings about the first U.S.-born pope are overwhelmingly positive. The survey found that 44% of U.S. adults have a "somewhat" or "very" favorable view of Pope Leo XIV. A similar percentage say they don't know enough to have an opinion, and only about 1 in 10 see him unfavorably.
As he promises to work for unity in a polarized church, Americans with very different views about the future of the church are feeling optimistic about his pontificate. Terry Barber, a 50-year-old Catholic from Sacramento, California, hopes Leo will seek a "more progressive and modern church" that is more accepting of all.
"I'm optimistic. Certainly, the first pope from the United States is significant," said Barber, who identifies as a Democrat. "Since he worked under the previous pope, I'm sure he has similar ideas, but certainly some that are original, of his own. I'm looking forward to seeing what, if any changes, come about under his leadership."
## Bipartisan appeal
About half of Democrats have a favorable view of the new pope, as do about 4 in 10 Republicans and independents. Republicans are a little more likely than Democrats to be reserving judgment. About half of Republicans say they don't know enough to have an opinion about the pope, compared to about 4 in 10 Democrats.
Republicans, notably, are no more likely than Democrats to have an unfavorable opinion of the pope. About 1 in 10 in each group view Pope Leo unfavorably.
Victoria Becude, 38, a Catholic and Republican from Florida, said she's excited about the first U.S.-born pope and hopes he can steer the country back to Catholic doctrine and make Americans proud.
"I'm rooting for him," she said. "I hope that America can get back to faith, and I hope he can do that"
Being a political liberal or conservative, of course, isn't the same thing as identifying as a liberal or conservative Catholic. But the poll found no discernible partisan gap among Catholics on Pope Leo, and Catholics across the ideological spectrum have expressed hope that Leo will be able to heal some of the divisions that emerged during the pontificate of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
Pope Leo recently criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world as he prayed for reconciliation and dialogue — a message in line with his pledges to make the Catholic Church a symbol of peace.
Before becoming pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. He also has said decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests.
Donald Hallstone, 72, a Catholic who lives in Oregon, said he expects that Leo will continue to promote women in governance positions "at a time when there's a shortage of priests" and other leaders in the church.
"It'd be great to see women in those roles," he said. "Women were not excluded in the first centuries."
On the other hand, some right-wing U.S. Catholics hope Leo will focus on Catholic doctrinal opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.
Becude, the Republican, said she's against same-sex relationships because she believes that unions should be between a man and a woman, something that Pope Leo has reiterated. Even though she describes herself as "very conservative," though, she's in favor of reproductive rights even when church teaching opposes abortion.
"I don't believe that they should stop women from having abortions," she said. "We should have our own rights because you don't know the circumstances behind the reason why a woman would want the abortion in the first place."
## Few have negative views — yet
There's plenty of room for views to shift as Leo's agenda as pope becomes clear.
Not all Americans have formed an opinion of the new pope yet; particularly, members of other religious groups are more likely to be still making up their minds. About half of born-again Protestants, mainline Protestants, and adults with no religious affiliation don't know enough to have an opinion about the pope, although relatively few — about 1 in 10 — in each group have an unfavorable view of him.
Older Americans — who are more likely to identify as Catholics — are also more likely than younger Americans to be fans of Leo's. About half of Americans ages 60 and older have a favorable view of Pope Leo, compared to about 4 in 10 Americans under 30.
But even so, only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults under 30 have an unfavorable view of the pope right now.
Mercedes Drink, 31, is from the pope's hometown of Chicago. She still hopes that women will become ordained under his pontificate.
"It's cool; I like him because he brings something different," said Drink, who lives in Minnesota and identifies as being part of the "religious nones" — atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular.
"As a young woman, I hope that he can bring change … considering who he is, he brings something new to the table. I hope he opens the world's eyes to modernizing the church, bringing more people in, having more diversity."
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https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-california-farmworkers-1301639766f55c8d4e8e15ff2fd45687
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Immigration raids disrupt California farms and could leave fields unharvested
| 2025-06-13T16:02:01 |
# Immigration raids disrupt California farms and could leave fields unharvested
By Amy Taxin and Dorany Pineda
June 13th, 2025, 04:02 PM
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VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Large-scale immigration raids at packinghouses and fields in California are threatening businesses that supply much of the country's food, farm bureaus say.
Dozens of farmworkers have been arrested recently after uniformed federal agents fanned out on farms northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, which is known for growing strawberries, lemons and avocados.
Others are skipping work as fear in immigrant communities has deepened as President Donald Trump steps up his immigration crackdown, vowing to dramatically increase arrests and sending federal agents to detain people at Home Depot parking lots and workplaces including car washes and a garment factory. It also comes as Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles following protests over his immigration enforcement operations. Demonstrations have since spread to other U.S. cities.
Maureen McGuire, chief executive of Ventura County's farm bureau, said between 25% and 45% of farmworkers have stopped showing up for work since the large-scale raids began this month.
"When our workforce is afraid, fields go unharvested, packinghouses fall behind, and market supply chains, from local grocery stores to national retailers, are affected," she said in a statement on Thursday. "This impacts every American who eats."
## California is a major center of American agriculture
California's farms produce more than a third of the country's vegetables and more than three-quarters of its fruits and nuts. While the state's government is dominated by Democrats, there are large Republican areas that run through farm country, and many growers throughout the state have been counting on Trump to help with key agricultural issues ranging from water to trade.
Primitiva Hernandez, executive director of 805 UndocuFund, estimates at least 43 people were detained in farm fields in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since Monday. The number is from both the Mexican consulate and the group's own estimates from talking with family members of people detained, she said.
Elizabeth Strater, the United Farm Workers' director of strategic campaigns, said her group received reports of immigration arrests on farms as far north as California's Central Valley. Lucas Zucker, co-executive director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, said farmworker members reported that agents went to at least nine farms but were turned away by supervisors because they lacked a warrant.
"This is just a mass assault on a working-class immigrant community and essentially profiling," Zucker said. "They are not going after specific people who are really targeted. They're just fishing."
In response to questions about the farm arrests, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the agency will follow the president's direction and continue to seek to remove immigrants who have committed crimes.
## Trump recognizes growers' concerns
On Thursday, Trump acknowledged growers' concerns that his stepped-up immigration enforcement could leave them without workers they rely on to grow the country's food. He said something would be done to address the situation, but he did not provide specifics.
"Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," he said on his social media account, adding: "We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!"
The California Farm Bureau said it has not received reports of a widespread disruption to its workforce, but there are concerns among community members. Bryan Little, the bureau's senior director of policy advocacy, said the group has long pressed for immigration reform to deal with long-running labor shortages.
"We recognize that some workers may feel uncertain right now, and we want to be very clear: California agriculture depends on and values its workforce," Little said in a statement. "If federal immigration enforcement activities continue in this direction, it will become increasingly difficult to produce food, process it and get it onto grocery store shelves."
## Farmworker fears for his children
One worker, who asked not to be named out of fear, said he was picking strawberries at a Ventura County farm early Tuesday when more than a dozen cars pulled up to the farm next door. He said they arrested at least three people and put them in vans, while women who worked on the farm burst out crying. He said the supervisors on his farm did not allow the agents inside.
"The first thing that came to my mind is, who will stay with my kids?" the worker, who is originally from Mexico and has lived in the United States for two decades, said in Spanish. "It's something so sad and unfortunate because we are not criminals."
He said he didn't go to work Wednesday out of fear, and his bosses told him to stay home at least one more day until things settle down. But that means fruit isn't getting picked, and he isn't getting paid.
"These are lost days, days that we're missing work. But what else can we do?" he said.
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-mideast-war-news-06-15-2025-d7e902fda4933aa1b0a30d901d4ff479
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Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day and threaten more to come
| 2025-06-15T06:33:06 |
# Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day and threaten more to come
By Jon Gambrell, Natalie Melzer, and Tia Goldenberg
June 15th, 2025, 06:33 AM
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel claimed to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran during a third day of airstrikes Sunday and killed more high-ranking security figures, while some Iranian missiles slipped through Israel's air defenses. Both sides threatened to launch more attacks.
In an indication of how far Israel was prepared to go amid fears of all-out war, a U.S. official told The Associated Press that President Donald Trump in recent days vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Iranian Health Ministry said late Sunday that 224 people have been killed since Israel's attack began Friday. Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1,277 other people were hospitalized. He asserted that more than 90% of the casualties were civilians.
The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles, said intelligence chief Gen. Mohammad Kazemi and two other generals were the latest killed, Iran's state TV reported Sunday night. Israel's attacks have killed several top generals and nuclear scientists.
Iran also said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. Israel's military warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling a further widening of the campaign. Iran's military, on state TV, warned Israelis to stay away from "occupied" areas.
Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has said it launched the attack — its most powerful ever against Iran — to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades. The latest U.S.-Iran talks on its nuclear program were canceled.
Explosions shook the Iranian capital of Tehran. Sirens went off in Israel. The Israeli military noted "several hit sites" Sunday night, including in Haifa in the north, and the Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated nine injured people.
Israel said 14 people have been killed there since Friday and 390 wounded. Iran has fired over 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country's sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses, according to Israeli figures. Israel's main international airport and airspace was closed for a third day.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said if Israel's strikes on Iran stop, then "our responses will also stop." Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, criticized the United States for supporting Israel and said "the responses will be more decisive and severe" if Israel keeps attacking, state TV reported.
Trump said the U.S. "had nothing to do with the attack" and that Iran can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.
## Mosques as bomb shelters
Photos shared by Iran's ISNA News Agency showed bloodied people being helped from the scene of Israeli strikes in downtown Tehran. One man carried a blood-spattered girl.
Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Israel hit a Foreign Ministry building in the north of Tehran, with several civilians injured "including a number of my colleagues," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Israeli strikes also targeted Iran's Defense Ministry after hitting air defenses, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. On Sunday night, Israel said it struck "numerous" sites across Iran that produce missile and air defense components.
Israel also claimed it attacked an Iranian refueling aircraft in Mashhad in the northeast, calling it the farthest strike the military had carried out. Iran did not immediately acknowledge any attack. Video obtained and verified by the AP showed smoke rising from the city.
Iran's foreign minister said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf.
State television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night.
## Death toll rises in Israel
Earlier Sunday in Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a 9-year-old, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven were missing.
Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42. The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for military and other research in Rehovot, reported "a number of hits to buildings on the campus" and said no one was harmed.
An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded.
## Netanyahu says regime change in Iran could be a result
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off urgent calls by world leaders to deescalate.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, he said regime change in Iran "could certainly be the result" of the conflict. He also claimed, without giving evidence, that Israeli intelligence indicated Iran intended to give nuclear weapons to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that it has not pursued a weapon since 2003. But Iran has enriched ever larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.
The U.N.'s atomic watchdog issued a rare censure of Iran last week.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to them and hoped the Iranians would return to the table.
The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still rages after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
In a social media post, Trump warned Iran that any retaliation directed against it would bring an American response "at levels never seen before."
## 'More than a few weeks' to repair nuclear facilities
In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage at Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. The images shot Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility.
U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to be hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.
Israel also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said four "critical buildings" were damaged, including Isfahan's uranium-conversion facility. The IAEA said there was no sign of increased radiation at Natanz or Isfahan.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday in line with official procedures, said it would take "many months, maybe more" to restore the two sites.
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https://apnews.com/article/border-internet-tv-movie-ban-1d554bda4b59aa89b79f02ad2913acc7
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Cambodia bans Thai movies and TV shows in latest border feud tit-for-tat
| 2025-06-13T14:12:58 |
# Cambodia bans Thai movies and TV shows in latest border feud tit-for-tat
By Sopheng Cheang
June 13th, 2025, 02:12 PM
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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia escalated its cold war with Thailand on Friday when it announced a ban on Thai movies and TV shows and a boycott of the neighboring country's international internet links.
Tensions between the Southeast Asian countries have soared since an armed confrontation in a border area on May 28 that each side blamed on the other and which left one Cambodian soldier dead.
Cambodian officials said the import and screenings of Thai movies would be banned, and that broadcasters would be ordered not to air Thai-produced shows, which include popular soap operas. The government said it would inflict a financial blow on Thailand by rerouting its international internet traffic through other countries instead.
Cambodian and Thai authorities engaged in saber-rattling last week, though they have since walked back much of their earlier statements emphasizing their right to take military action.
But they continue to implement or threaten measures short of armed force, keeping tensions high. Thailand has added restrictions at border crossings. Much of their war of words actually has appeared intended to mollify nationalistic critics on their own sides.
The confrontation reportedly took place in a relatively small "no man's land" constituting territory along their border that both countries claim is theirs.
The area is closed to journalists, but it appears that both sides withdrew soon after the fatal confrontation to avoid further clashes, without explicitly conceding the fact in order to save face.
"Neither side wants to use the word 'withdraw'. We say 'adjust troop deployments' as a gesture of mutual respect—this applies to both Cambodia and Thailand." Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was quoted telling reporters this past week.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said Friday on the Telegram social network that his government would act preemptively to establish self-reliance in response to exhortations by Thai nationalists to cut off electricity and internet connectivity to Cambodia.
Camboia's Minister of Post and Telecommunication Chea Vandeth announced on his Facebook page that "all telecommunications operators in Cambodia have now disconnected all cross-border internet links with Thailand," and that the move would deprive Thailand of as much as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, a claim that could not be immediately checked.
The reported move to use circuits bypassing Thailand temporarily disrupted internet connectivity for users of at least one Cambodian service provider.
Thai officials said any plans to cut services to Cambodia were unrelated to the territorial conflict and would actually be targeting the infamous online scam centers in the Cambodian border town of Poipet that have been a problem for several years.
Cambodia's Ministry of Fine Arts meanwhile informed all film distributors and cinemas owners that starting Friday, the import and screening of all Thai films must be immediately suspended.
Som Chhaya, deputy director general of a popular Cambodian TV channel, People Nation Network, told The Associated Press that his company will comply with another government order to drop Thai-produced shows, and in their place broadcast Chinese, Korean or Cambodian dramas.
Thai films and TV shows have a large audience in Cambodia.
Friday's actions in Cambodia were taken one day ahead of a planned meeting in the capital Phnom Penh of the two countries' Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary to help resolve the conflicting territorial claims that led to last month's deadly confrontation.
There is a long history to their territorial disputes, Thailand is still rankled by a 1962 ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands that awarded to Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011, and the ruling was reaffirmed in 2023.
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https://apnews.com/article/russia-us-putin-trump-498642958089922ffc038330041e9987
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Putin and Trump discussed Middle East tensions, Ukraine war in phone call
| 2025-06-14T16:36:13 |
# Putin and Trump discussed Middle East tensions, Ukraine war in phone call
By The Associated Press
June 14th, 2025, 04:36 PM
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a lengthy call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine.
Trump in a posting on his Truth Social platform said they spent the bulk of their conversation focused on Israel's ongoing blistering attacks aimed at decapitating Iran's nuclear program and Iran's retaliatory strikes. But Trump said that he also pressed Putin to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
"He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end," said Trump, who added the conversation went about an hour.
Putin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia's proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
"Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict," Ushakov told reporters. He added that Putin raised concerns that escalating conflict between Israel and Iran threatened "unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East."
Putin also emphasized Russia's readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts, and noted that Russia had proposed steps "aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements" during U.S.-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to U.S. intelligence findings.
"Russia's principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged," Ushakov said.
Trump described the regional situation as "very alarming," Ushakov said, but acknowledged the "effectiveness" of Israel's strikes on targets in Iran.
The leaders did not rule out a possible return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, according to Ushakov.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff had been set to travel on Sunday to Oman for a sixth round of talks with Iranian officials aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear program — a meeting that was set before Israel launched strikes on Friday. But Oman's foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, said on Saturday that the meeting would not take place as planned.
Putin and Trump also discussed the ongoing exchange of war prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. The two sides traded more prisoners on Saturday under an arrangement brokered during talks between the two sides in Istanbul earlier this month.
"Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age," Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.
Trump said Putin also wished him "a Happy Birthday." The U.S. leader turned 79 on Saturday.
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-two-state-conference-un-france-50d54d68040ea58dc6f533e33df3d0cd
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UN conference on Palestinian state postponed
| 2025-06-13T18:41:33 |
# UN conference on Palestinian state postponed
June 13th, 2025, 06:41 PM
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PARIS (AP) — A top-level U.N. conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed amid surging tensions in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.
France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-chair the conference hosted by the U.N. General Assembly in New York on June 17-20, and Macron had been among leaders scheduled to attend. The Palestinian Authority hoped the conference would revive the long-defunct peace process.
Macron expressed his "determination to recognize the state of Palestine" at some point, despite the postponement. France has pushed for a broader movement toward recognizing a Palestinian state in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.
After Israel's strikes on Iran on Friday, Macron said that France's military forces around the Middle East are ready to help protect partners in the region, including Israel, but wouldn't take part in any attacks on Iran.
Macron told reporters that the two-state conference was postponed for logistical and security reasons, and because some Palestinian representatives couldn't come to the event. He insisted that it would be held "as soon as possible" and that he was in discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a new date.
The U.N. ambassadors from France and Saudi Arabia said in a letter to the 193 U.N. member nations that the delay is "due to the current circumstances in the Middle East that prevent regional leaders from attending the conference in New York."
France's Jerome Bonnafont and Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Alwasil said the conference will open on June 17 in the General Assembly hall, but only to propose and agree to its suspension. They invited all countries to attend the opening.
"We are determined to resume the conference at the earliest possible date," the two ambassadors said.
Macron said the aim of the conference "is a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizing the existence and the security of Israel." Any such state would exclude any Hamas leaders, he said.
Macron said that the Israel-Iran conflict, the war in Gaza and the situation for Palestinians around the region are all "interlinked."
Macron spoke on Friday with 10 world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, about the Israeli strikes on Iran and consequences.
One of the aims at the U.N. conference was to increase the number of countries recognizing Palestinian territories as an independent state. So far, more than 145 of the 193 U.N. member nations have done so. The Palestinians view their state as encompassing Gaza and the West Bank with east Jerusalem as the capital.
Netanyahu has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state, and Israel refused to participate in the conference.
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https://apnews.com/article/alaska-first-ever-heat-advisory-df913edec183efd7b1b800fab33ff1ad
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Alaska's first ever heat advisory issued for Fairbanks area
| 2025-06-13T23:37:36 |
# Alaska's first ever heat advisory issued for Fairbanks area
By Mark Thiessen
June 13th, 2025, 11:37 PM
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — For the first time ever, parts of Alaska will be under a heat advisory — but you can put an asterisk at the end of that term.
It's not the first instance of unusually high temperatures in what many consider the nation's coldest state, but the National Weather Service only recently allowed for heat advisories to be issued there. Information on similarly warm weather conditions previously came in the form of "special weather statements."
Using the heat advisory label could help people better understand the weather's severity and potential danger, something a nondescript "special weather statement" didn't convey.
The first advisory is for Sunday in Fairbanks, where temperatures are expected to top 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). Fairbanks has has been warmer in the past, but this is unusual for June, officials said.
Here's what to know about Alaska's inaugural heat advisory:
## Why it's the first
The National Weather Service's switch from special weather statements to advisories was meant to change how the public views the information.
"This is an important statement, and the public needs to know that there will be increasing temperatures, and they could be dangerous because Alaska is not used to high temperatures like these," said Alekya Srinivasan, a Fairbanks-based meteorologist.
"We want to make sure that we have the correct wording and the correct communication when we're telling people that it will be really hot this weekend," she said.
## Not unprecedented and not climate change
The change doesn't reflect unprecedented temperatures, with Fairbanks having reached 90 degrees twice in 2024, Srinivasan said. It's purely an administrative change by the weather service.
"It's not that the heat in the interior that prompted Fairbanks to issue this is record heat or anything like that. It's just now there's a product to issue," said Rich Thoman, a climate specialist at the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
Thoman also clarified that the term swap doesn't have anything to do with climate change.
"I think some of it is related to the recognition that hot weather does have an impact on Alaska, and in the interior especially," Thoman said.
## Little air conditioning
While the temperatures in the forecast wouldn't be considered extreme in other U.S. states, Thoman noted that most Alaska buildings don't have air conditioning.
"And just the opposite, most buildings in Alaska are designed to retain heat for most of the year," he said.
People can open their windows to allow cooler air in during early morning hours — if wildfires aren't burning in blaze-prone state. But if it's smoky and the windows have to remain shut, buildings can heat up very rapidly.
"Last year was the third year in a row in Fairbanks with more than a hundred hours of visibility-reducing smoke, the first time we've ever had three consecutive years over a hundred hours," he said.
There's only been two summers in Fairbanks in the 21st century with no hours of smoke that reduced visibility, a situation he said was commonplace from the 1950s to the 1970s.
## What about Anchorage?
The Juneau and Fairbanks weather service offices have been allowed to issue heat advisories beginning this summer, but not the office in the state's largest city of Anchorage — at least not yet. And, regardless, temperatures in the area haven't reached the threshold this year at which a heat advisory would be issued.
Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist with the weather service, said by email that the Anchorage office is working on a plan to issue such advisories in the future.
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https://apnews.com/article/pride-military-parade-trump-los-angeles-protest-american-908cb1cf74c133ea4f43d33941bf987f
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Protests, parades and Pride: One week in June 2025 is drawing stark American fault lines
| 2025-06-14T11:16:19 |
# Protests, parades and Pride: One week in June 2025 is drawing stark American fault lines
By Ted Anthony
June 14th, 2025, 11:16 AM
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WASHINGTON (AP) — On the first weekend: a vision of the nation built upon inclusivity and the tenets of liberalism — a conception of country that incorporates generations of fights for equity, for compassion, for expanding what it means to be an American.
On the second weekend, in the same town: a public show of strength and nationalism constructed on a foundation of military might, law and order, a tour de force of force.
And on the days in between: a city 2,000 miles from the capital locked in pitched battles over the use — abuse, many contend — of federal power and military authority to root out, detain and oust people who the current administration says do not belong.
Today's United States — its possibility, its strength, its divisiveness, its polarization and fragmentation — is encapsulated in a single week in June 2025, its triumphs and frictions on vivid display.
As events both planned and chaotically spontaneous play out, many Americans are frantically and sometimes furiously pondering assorted iterations of two questions: What is this country right now? And what should it be?
## Pride, protests and parades
Consider two quotes from recent days from two very different Americans.
The first came last weekend, during World Pride in Washington, when a 58-year-old gay man from Philadelphia named David Begler summed up what many were messaging in the days leading up to it after months of Donald Trump's increasing attempts to target the LGBTQ community: "I want us to send a message to the White House to focus on uplifting each other instead of dividing."
The second came days ahead of the military parade planned Saturday for the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, from the mouth of the president on whose 79th birthday it will be held: "If there's any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force," Donald Trump said. "I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force."
Among the competing visions of America in 2025: the desire to protest and seek a redress of grievances against the government vs. the desire for control, order — and a respect for the government and for authority.
The volatile combination of demonstrations and the U.S. military is a potent one, with its most recent roots in the protest movement of the 1960s against the Vietnam War. A young generation that would later be known as baby boomers regularly squared off against police and sometimes the military over U.S. involvement in what was framed as a war against communism in Southeast Asia. Historians give those protesters a fair bit of the credit for that war ultimately ending in 1975. President Jimmy Carter ultimately pardoned more than 200,000 people who had dodged the draft for that conflict.
Then, as now, many in the establishment criticized protesters bitterly, saying they were undermining a nation to which they should be grateful. Questions of loyalty and betrayal were thrown around. The role of the military in quelling civilian protests was bitterly contested, particularly after Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire and killed four students during antiwar protests in May 1970 at Kent State University.
There are echoes of that this week, not only in Los Angeles but now in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of 5,000 state National Guard troops ahead of the "No Kings Day of Defiance" against the Trump administration's ongoing immigration raids. And as protesters in Los Angeles taunt the military and say guardsmen should be "ashamed" to face off against what they call a just cause, it's easy to wonder: How can patriotism and protest coexist?
## Washington at the epicenter
Democracy has always been messy and resistant to consensus. That's part of why the national slogan of the United States is "e pluribus unum" — "out of many, one." And Washington, D.C., as the nation's capital, has long been the place where the many have come to make themselves known as part of the one — and to be noticed.
It was where the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans marched in 1932 to demand their promised postwar payments and be heard in a demonstration that ended violently. It was where the first National Boy Scout Jamboree was held on the National Mall in 1937. It was where the "March on Washington," a centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, ended with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s renowned "I Have a Dream" speech. It was where, in 1995, the "Million Man March" was held to address concerns of the American Black community, and where hundreds of thousands of women came to Washington largely in protest of Trump, just a day after his first inauguration.
It is also the place where Americans remember, where the memorials to World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War sit. It is where the country erected stone shrines in various shapes and sizes to the presidents it most admired — Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is the site of museums containing some of the most distilled expressions of culture — from the Holocaust Museum to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to the National Museum of African American History.
Is it so hard to believe, then, that two events as opposite as World Pride and a military parade unfold here, within blocks of each other, within a week's time? At a politically fractious moment when some families can hardly break bread without political arguments erupting over Trump, Gaza and Israel, immigration and LGBTQ rights, isn't it possible that the weird and downright uncomfortable juxtaposition of these two starkly different events might be the most American thing of all?
Walt Whitman, one of the most famous poets in American history, had this to say about the the diversity of America when he wrote "I Hear America Singing" to underscore that its citizens all contribute to the nation's song: "I am large. I contain multitudes."
And in one week in June, at a time when the fate of the United States is being discussed in every direction we turn, the capital of Whitman's nation has become a showcase in displaying those messy democratic multitudes to the world. For better or for worse.
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https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-iran-war-latest-06-14-2025-19c175edc115d99f0d35c24b38ab1773
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The Latest: Iran fires more missiles at Israel after Israeli military continues strikes
| 2025-06-14T04:48:35 |
# The Latest: Iran fires more missiles at Israel after Israeli military continues strikes
By The Associated Press
June 14th, 2025, 04:48 AM
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Iran launched a second round of missiles against Israel late Saturday as Israel's military kept up attacks in Iran following earlier strikes that targeted nuclear and military sites. They also killed key leaders in the country's governing theocracy.
Israel said hundreds of airstrikes over the past two days killed nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program, in addition to several top generals. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.
The U.S. and Iran had been scheduled to hold their sixth round of indirect talks over Iran's nuclear program on Sunday in Oman, but Oman's foreign minister said that the meeting was canceled after Israel's strikes on Iran.
___
Here's the latest:
## Trump says US 'had nothing to do' with attack on Iran
President Donald Trump said the U.S. had "nothing to do with the attack on Iran" and warned Tehran against targeting U.S. interests in retaliation.
"If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday.
## First responders search for survivors after Tel Aviv missile strike
First responders were looking for survivors and clearing the remnants of a missile that fell on a neighborhood outside of Tel Aviv early Sunday morning.
An AP reporter saw streets lined with damaged and destroyed buildings, bombed out cars and shards of glass.
Responders used a drone to look for survivors in areas that were too hard to access. Some people were fleeing the area with their belongings in suitcases.
## Israeli military says it targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters
The Israeli military said early Sunday it targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran.
Israel's military also said it targeted sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program around Tehran.
It alleged the sites were "related to the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons project."
U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon before Israel unleashed its campaign of airstrikes targeting Iran beginning Friday.
## Israel announces more missiles incoming from Iran
Israel's military says the latest missiles from Iran are incoming, and explosions are heard overhead in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv.
Iran state television has announced the latest missile barrage.
The countries have been trading blows a day after Israel's blistering attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites.
## Drones launched toward base housing US forces in Iraq shot down
Three drones were launched toward a base housing U.S. forces in Iraq following Israel's strikes on Iran, a U.S. military official and a second U.S. official said Saturday.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The drones were shot down, the officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack on Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.
A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has remained mostly quiet amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. In the past, the militias had periodically attacked U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for Washington's support for Israel in its war against the Iran-allied Hamas militant group in Gaza.
Also Saturday, for the second day, supporters of armed factions in Iraq demonstrated in central Baghdad to denounce the Israeli bombing of Iran. The protesters did not attempt to breach the heavily fortified Green Zone where the U.S. Embassy is located.
___
By Abby Sewell in Beirut and Lolita Baldor in Washington.
## Macron speaks by phone with Iranian president and calls for restraint
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday, Macron's office said.
Macron called "for the utmost restraint to avoid escalation," the statement said.
The French president urged his Iranian counterpart to return to the negotiation table quickly: "The Iranian nuclear issue … must be solved through negotiation."
Macron also demanded the immediate release of two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held hostage by the Iranian regime for over three years, Macron's office said.
Macron also spoke on the phone Saturday with U.S. President Donald Trump about the situation in the Middle-East
## Britain sending jets and other military assets to Middle East
Britain is sending Royal Air Force jets and other military reinforcements to the Middle East as the confrontation between Iran and Israel threatens to escalate.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region."
Fast jets and refueling aircraft are being deployed from British bases to the region.
Iran has threatened to attack U.S., French and British bases if those countries help Israel fend off Iranian strikes.
Speaking as he flew to Canada for a summit of leading industrialized nations, Starmer said he had discussed efforts to de-escalate the situation with President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as other world leaders.
He said "intense discussions" would continue at the summit in the Canadian province of Alberta.
## An Iranian provincial governor says 30 troops and 1 rescuer were killed in Israeli strikes
A governor of a province in northwestern Iran said Saturday that 30 troops and one rescuer had been killed there in Israeli strikes, while 55 others had been wounded.
The remarks by Eastern Azerbaijan provincial Gov. Bahram Sarmast represent one of the first acknowledgments of mass casualties from the ongoing Israeli campaign, which began Friday.
The casualties figures come from strikes in Tabriz, the provincial capital, as well as towns in the province like Azarshahr, Bostanabad, Maragheh, Shabestar and Torkmanchai.
So far, Iranian authorities have not offered any overall death toll as the country's theocracy has been reeling from an assault that killed many of its top military commanders. The closet number has been 78 people killed and over 320 wounded, which came from Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.
Earlier Saturday, state TV said strikes Friday killed 60 people in one location in the capital, Tehran.
## China's foreign minister speaks with counterparts in Israel and Iran
China says Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with counterparts in Israel and Iran and warned that Israel's attack on nuclear facilities sets a "dangerous precedent."
A Foreign Ministry statement on Wang's call with Israel says that "China clearly opposes Israel's violation of international law by attacking Iran with force, especially when the international community is still seeking a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue."
Wang also said diplomacy for the issue of Iran's nuclear program has not been exhausted, and force cannot bring lasting peace.
A separate foreign ministry statement on the call with Iran says that "China clearly condemns Israel's violation of Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity" and supports Iran in defending it. The statement adds that "the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities set a dangerous precedent that could have disastrous consequences."
## Putin and Trump discussed Middle East tensions, Ukraine on phone call
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia's proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
## Netanyahu thanks Trump for support in a birthday message
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a birthday message to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu thanked Trump for his "clear support" and for helping to "protect Israeli lives" from Iran. He also repeated his concerns about Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and said that "our victory will be your victory."
Netanyahu added that "our pilots over the skies of Tehran will deal blows to the Ayatollah regime that they cannot even imagine."
## Erdogan expresses condolences to the Iranian president
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday to condemn Israel's attacks on Iran and pass on his condolences to the Iranian people, Erdogan's office said.
"Our president stated that Israel's attacks are a clear violation of international law, aiming to draw the entire region into the fire, and that Netanyahu is attempting to sabotage the nuclear negotiation process with the attacks," the statement said.
"Turkey is closely following the developments regarding the possibility of a nuclear leak at the facility in Natanz and that the only solution to the nuclear dispute is diplomatic processes," it said.
## Leaders of Egypt and Turkey say Israel risks pushing Mideast into 'full-fledged chaos'
The leaders of Egypt and Turkey on Saturday warned that Israel's "escalatory approach" risks plunging the entire Middle East into a "full-fledged chaos."
A statement from the Egyptian presidency said President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed in a phone call that Israel's attacks on Iran could lead to "catastrophic repercussions" in the region.
They called for an immediate cessation of military operations and a return to the Omani-mediated nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.
## Israeli drone strikes a refinery in Iran's South Pars gas field, semiofficial news agencies say
An Israeli drone struck a refinery in Iran's South Pars gas field Saturday, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.
If confirmed, it would mark the first Israeli attack on Iran's oil and natural gas industry. Israel did not immediately acknowledge attacking the field, but such sites do have air defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting since Friday.
The Fars and Tasnim news agencies both reported the strike, saying it happened in Phase 14 of the field. Iran shares the gas field, which stretches across the Persian Gulf, with Qatar.
## Oman says US-Iran talks over Tehran's nuclear program 'will not now take place'
Oman's foreign minister says planned talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program "will not now take place" after Israel's strikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement on social media Saturday. It comes after Iran's foreign minister said any talks would be "unjustifiable" amid the ongoing attacks. Oman has been mediating the talks.
"The Iran-U.S. talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not now take place," al-Busaidi wrote. "But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace."
A sixth round was due to happen in Muscat, Oman's capital, before the Israeli strikes began Friday.
## Russia offers to assist in de-escalating tensions
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to help resolve issues surrounding Iran's nuclear program and to assist in de-escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the conversation, initiated by the Iranian side, followed a call Friday between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian. The ministry said Russia reiterated its condemnation of Israel's military actions against Iran, calling them a violation of the U.N. charter and international law.
## The Israeli military says its strikes on Tehran were deepest ever
Israeli warplanes hit more than 400 targets across Iran in the past 24 hours as part of Operation "Rising Lion," including dozens of missile sites and air defense systems in Tehran, the military said.
Separately, it said over 20 senior Iranian commanders were eliminated, including top intelligence and missile officials.
Israeli army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the road to Tehran was now "open," calling the strikes the deepest ever carried out by the Israeli Air Force.
## Britain's prime minister and Saudi crown prince call for a de-escalation
Keir Starmer and Mohammed bin Salman spoke on Saturday about the "gravely concerning situation in the Middle East and agreed on the need to de-escalate,'' Downing Street Office said in a statement.
The United Kingdom is "poised to work closely with its allies in the coming days to support a diplomatic resolution," it said.
## Egypt pushes back the opening of its new museum, blames Israel-Iran conflict
The Grand Egyptian Museum will open later this year because of the Israeli-Iranian escalation, authorities said Saturday. The megaproject near the famed Giza Pyramids was sent to open on July 3.
The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said the opening was moved to the fourth quarter of 2025, without giving a date and citing ongoing regional developments.
The museum has been under construction for about two decades. Some sections have been open since 2022 for limited tours. However its overall opening has been repeatedly delayed, including because of the coronavirus pandemic.
## Iran's Natanz nuclear facility suffered huge damage, satellite images show
The images show multiple buildings either damaged or destroyed, including structures experts say supply power to the facility. The images were shot on Saturday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press.
Natanz's enrichment plant — where Iran enriched uranium to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — was also destroyed.
All the Natanz facilities damaged in Israeli strikes are above ground and it doesn't appear from the images that belowground enrichment halls had any apparent damage, though they likely are without electricity.
## No nuclear talks with US this weekend, signals Iran's foreign minister
Abbas Araghchi says nuclear talks with the United States would be "unjustifiable" after Israeli strikes on his country — an indication there would be no negotiations this weekend. The U.S. and Iran teams were to hold talks in Oman on Sunday.
Araghchi spoke in a phone call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat.
Israeli airstrikes were the "result of the direct support by Washington," he alleged, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. The U.S. has said it is not part of the strikes.
The "continuation of the indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. is unjustifiable in a situation where the wildness by the Zionist regime continues," he added.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House.
## Egypt's top diplomat says Israeli strikes on Iran can push the region into 'chaos'
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty denounced Israel's strikes on Iran as a "serious escalation" that could push the region to "a state of instability and chaos."
Abdelatty's comments came in phone calls with his Italian and Spanish counterparts, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.
## Iranian media report more Israeli strikes
Footage shared by an affiliate of Iran's state TV showed a fire after an Israeli strike at Zagros Khodro, a former car manufacturing plant in Borujerd.
The state-run IRNA news agency also reported an Israeli strike on Saturday around Abadan in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province. Other strikes appeared to be happening in Kermanshah near a military barracks.
## Israel gives first report of wounded soldiers
The Israeli military says seven soldiers were lightly wounded on Friday night in an Iranian missile strike in central Israel.
It says they were briefly hospitalized and sent home. This is the first report of military casualties in the operation. It gave no further details on where the soldiers were located.
## Iran's supreme leader names new head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Gen. Majid Mousavi, to replace Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday.
The Guard's aerospace division oversees Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles.
## Israel's main international airport will stay closed
The airport authority says the it will stay closed until further notice. Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv has been closed to traffic since Israel attacked Iran's military and nuclear facilities on Friday morning and Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes at Israel.
The announcement came as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria said they were reopening their airspaces on Saturday after closing them.
## Satellite images confirm damage to Iran's ballistic missile arsenal
Satellite images analyzed Saturday by The Associated Press began to confirm some of the damage sustained by Iran's ballistic missile arsenal by the Israeli assault on the country.
Images from Planet Labs PBC taken Friday showed damage at two missile bases, one in Kermanshah and one in Tabriz, both in western Iran.
At Kermanshah, where the base is up against a mountainside, burns could be seen across a wide area after the attack. In Tabriz, images showed damage at multiple sites on the base.
Iran has not acknowledged the damage, though it reported on Israeli strikes in the area.
## Top Sunni university condemns Israel's attack on Iran
Al-Azhar al-Sharif, the Sunni world's foremost institution of religious learning, has condemned Israel's attack on Iran, describing Israel as a "rogue entity."
"The arrogance displayed by the Israeli occupation reflects the darkest form of occupation in modern history," the Cairo-based university said in a statement early Saturday.
It called on the international community to take "urgent actions to halt the repeated violations committed by this rogue entity."
Iran is a powerhouse of Shiite Muslims in the region and often at odds with Sunni nations.
## Israeli military says it hit dozens of targets in Iran overnight
The Israeli military said it carried out overnight strikes on dozens of targets, including air defenses, in the area of Iran's capital, Tehran.
Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the Israeli air force commander, said the strikes carried "operational and national significance."
## Israel pauses natural gas supplies to Egypt, authorities in Cairo say
Israel has paused natural gas supplies to Egypt amid its conflict with Iran, authorities in Cairo said.
The move has forced the Egyptian government to stop supplying gas to some industries, according to a Friday statement from the Ministry of Petroleum.
Some power plants that use natural gas in their operations have also reported fuel oil shortages amid peak summer demand, it said.
Egypt faces a deepening domestic gas shortfall, with a more than 7% shortage in its daily gas needs to operate its power grid.
## Iran's Foreign Ministry calls nuclear talks with US 'meaningless' after Israeli strikes
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday called further nuclear talks with the United States "meaningless" after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said.
The comments by Esmail Baghaei further threw possible talks between the two nations, initially scheduled to take place Sunday in Oman, into doubt.
"The U.S. did a job that made the talks become meaningless," Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel has passed all Iran's red lines by committing a "criminal act" through its strikes.
However, he stopped short of saying the talks were canceled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, quoted him as saying: "It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday talks."
## Jordan will reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft
Jordan will reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft on Saturday morning, its state-run media reported, signaling the Mideast kingdom believes there is no immediate danger of further attacks.
Jordan's state-run Petra news agency said the skies would reopen at 7:30 a.m. local time.
Jordan's airspace had seen Iranian drones and missiles cross through it, with Israeli fighter jets likely engaging targets there.
The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Mideast, a key global aviation route.
## Woman dies in missile strike in Tel Aviv, hospital says
A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital in Tel Aviv said a woman was killed in an Iranian missile strike, bringing the total number of fatalities in the barrages from Iran to three.
The hospital also treated seven people who were wounded in the strike early Saturday. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said a projectile hit a building in the city.
## Israel's paramedic service says 2 people killed when missile hit central Israel
Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom says an Iranian missile struck near homes in central Israel early Saturday morning, killing two people and injuring 19 others. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged.
## U.N. chief calls for escalation to stop, saying 'peace and diplomacy must prevail'
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres urged Israel and Iran to halt their attacks on one another, while calling for diplomacy.
"Israeli bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites. Iranian missile strikes in Tel Aviv. Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail," Guterres wrote on X on Saturday.
## Iran fires a second wave of missiles at Israel
Sirens and the boom of explosions, possibly from Israeli interceptors, could be heard in the sky over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv early Saturday.
AP journalists in Tel Aviv could see what appeared to be at least two Iranian missiles hit the ground, but there was no immediate word of casualties.
The Israeli military said another long-range Iranian missile attack was taking place and urged civilians, already rattled by the first wave of projectiles, to head to shelter. Around three dozen people were wounded by that first wave.
The Iranian outlet Nour News, which has close links with the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said a fresh wave was being launched.
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https://apnews.com/article/trump-e-jean-carroll-sexual-abuse-appeal-8e2db7bdb881ff0b9353b6fb17750f48
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Court rejects Trump’s appeal in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case
| 2025-06-13T23:24:11 |
# Court rejects Trump's appeal in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case
By Michael R. Sisak
June 13th, 2025, 11:24 PM
---
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court won't reconsider its ruling upholding a $5 million civil judgment against President Donald Trump in a civil lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a writer in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.
In an 8-2 vote Friday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's petition for the full appellate court to rehear arguments in his challenge to the jury's finding that he sexually abused advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and defamed her with comments he made in October 2022.
Carroll testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack after they playfully entered the store's dressing room.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the verdict in December, rejecting Trump's claims that trial Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's decisions spoiled the trial, including allowing two other Trump sexual abuse accusers to testify.
The women said Trump committed similar acts against them in the 1970s and in 2005. Trump denied all three women's allegations.
In an opinion Friday, four judges voting to reject rehearing wrote: "Simply re-litigating a case is not an appropriate use" of the process.
"In those rare instances in which a case warrants our collective consideration, it is almost always because it involves a question of exceptional importance," or a conflict between precedent and the appellate panel's opinion, Judges Myrna Pérez, Eunice C. Lee, Beth Robinson and Sarah A.L. Merriam wrote.
All four were appointed by President Joe Biden, Trump's one-time Democratic rival.
The two dissenting judges, Trump appointees, Steven J. Menashi and Michael H. Park, wrote that the trial "consisted of a series of indefensible evidentiary rulings."
"The result was a jury verdict based on impermissible character evidence and few reliable facts," they wrote. "No one can have any confidence that the jury would have returned the same verdict if the normal rules of evidence had been applied."
Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement: "E. Jean Carroll is very pleased with today's decision."
"Although President Trump continues to try every possible maneuver to challenge the findings of two separate juries, those efforts have failed. He remains liable for sexual assault and defamation," said Kaplan, who is not related to the judge.
Trump skipped the trial after repeatedly denying the attack ever happened. He briefly testified at a follow-up defamation trial last year that resulted in an $83.3 million award. The second trial resulted from comments then-President Trump made in 2019 after Carroll first made the accusations publicly in a memoir.
Kaplan presided over both trials and instructed the second jury to accept the first jury's finding that Trump had sexually abused Carroll.
Arguments in that appeal are set for June 24.
|
https://apnews.com/article/grooming-gangs-elon-musk-721e0e29fb390b41a03b3cd6e8cadb5f
|
UK to hold national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse
| 2025-06-14T17:25:07 |
# UK to hold national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse
By Jill Lawless
June 14th, 2025, 05:25 PM
---
LONDON (AP) — The British government announced Saturday it will hold a national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse, something it has long been pressured to do by opposition politicians — and Elon Musk.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would accept a recommendation from an independent reviewer for a judge-led inquiry with the power to summon witnesses.
Starmer said he would "look again" and hold a probe into what the press have dubbed "grooming gangs" of men who prey on often young and vulnerable women.
In some of the most high-profile cases to come to trial, the perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage, and the issue has been taken up by right-of-center politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and stoked by Musk, who took to his X platform to condemn Starmer over the issue.
Musk criticized Starmer for not backing a national inquiry into the matter following a request from the local authority in the northern English town of Oldham, where police found girls under 18 were sexually exploited by groups of men in the 2000s and 2010s. Musk also alleged that Starmer failed to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England's chief prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, a charge that the prime minister vigorously denied.
Because the cases in Oldham and similar ones in several other towns involved predominantly white girls abused by men largely from Pakistani backgrounds, the issue has been used to link child sexual abuse to immigration, and to accuse politicians of covering up the crimes out of a fear of appearing racist.
A 2022 report into what happened in the northwest England town of Oldham between 2011 and 2014 found that children were failed by local agencies, but that there was no cover-up despite "legitimate concerns" that the far-right would capitalize on "the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country."
In January the government said it would support several local inquiries into child exploitation in cities where gangs of men were prosecuted. It had previously said there was no need for further investigations following a string of previous inquiries, both local and national.
A seven-year inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, but many of the 20 recommendations it made in 2022 — including compensation for abuse victims — have yet to be implemented.
Starmer's government also asked Louise Casey, an expert on victim's rights and social welfare, to review previous findings. Her review has been submitted to the government but has not yet been published.
"I have never said we should not look again at any issue," Starmer said as he flew to Canada for a Group of Seven summit. "I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit.
"Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen.
"I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation."
The main opposition Conservative Party offered a swift response.
"Those in authority deliberately covered up the systematic rape of thousands of girls as young as 10 because the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani origin. They thought race relations were more important than protecting young girls,'' Conservative law and order spokesman Chris Philp said. "The truth must now come out and people in positions of authority responsible for the cover up held to account.''
|
https://apnews.com/article/congo-flood-kinshasa-f6968403a540324a7d1e8f46b9f2e5b5
|
Heavy rains flood Congo’s capital, killing at least 19 people
| 2025-06-14T13:49:02 |
# Heavy rains flood Congo's capital, killing at least 19 people
By Jean-Yves Kamale
June 14th, 2025, 01:49 PM
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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Major flooding hit several neighborhoods in Congo's capital Kinshasa, killing at least 19 people and causing severe damage, authorities said Saturday.
Heavy rains Friday through Saturday triggered floods and landslides in Kinshasa's western neighborhood of Ngaliema, killing at least 17 people, the local mayor, Fulgence Bolokome, told the radio station Top Congo. Two avenues in the city were also cut off, he added.
Two other people died when the deluge toppled a wall in the southern neighborhood of Lemba, Mayor Jean-Serge Poba said. A police camp and a bridge were damaged.
"It was around 3 a.m. when we heard a loud noise. When we went outside, the neighbors' wall had collapsed. The man and his wife both died, leaving behind five children who made it out unharmed," resident Clovis Kalenga told The Associated Press.
In April, floods in Kinshasa killed at least 22 people and cut off access to over half the city and the country's main airport.
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https://apnews.com/article/trump-us-steel-nippon-pennsylvania-japan-7c1bc1a0b4ccf65599f0d7b9eb8282fb
|
Trump clears path for Nippon Steel investment in US Steel
| 2025-06-13T23:55:30 |
# Trump clears path for Nippon Steel investment in US Steel
By Josh Boak and Marc Levy
June 13th, 2025, 11:55 PM
---
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order paving the way for a Nippon Steel investment in U.S. Steel, so long as the Japanese company complies with a "national security agreement" submitted by the federal government.
Trump's order didn't detail the terms of the national security agreement.
But the iconic American steelmaker and Nippon Steel said in a joint statement that the agreement stipulates that approximately $11 billion in new investments will be made by 2028 and includes giving the U.S. government a " golden share " — essentially veto power to ensure the country's national security interests are protected against cutbacks in steel production.
"We thank President Trump and his Administration for their bold leadership and strong support for our historic partnership," the two companies said. "This partnership will bring a massive investment that will support our communities and families for generations to come. We look forward to putting our commitments into action to make American steelmaking and manufacturing great again."
The companies have completed a U.S. Department of Justice review and received all necessary regulatory approvals, the statement said.
"The partnership is expected to be finalized promptly," the statement said.
U.S. Steel rose $2.66, or 5%, to $54.85 in afterhours trading Friday. Nippon Steel's original bid to buy the Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel in late 2023 had been valued at $55 per share.
The companies offered few details on how the golden share would work, what other provisions are in the national security agreement and how specifically the $11 billion would be spent.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said the order "ensures U.S. Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security."
James Brower, a Morrison Foerster lawyer who represents clients in national security-related matters, said such agreements with the government typically are not disclosed to the public, particularly by the government.
They can become public, but it's almost always disclosed by a party in the transaction, such as a company — like U.S. Steel — that is publicly held, Brower said.
The mechanics of how a golden share would work will depend on the national security agreement, but in such agreements it isn't unusual to give the government approval rights over specific activities, Brower said.
U.S. Steel made no filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Nippon Steel originally offered nearly $15 billion to purchase U.S. Steel in an acquisition that had been delayed on national security concerns starting during Joe Biden's presidency.
As it sought to win over American officials, Nippon Steel gradually increased the amount of money it was pledging to invest into U.S. Steel. American officials now value the transaction at $28 billion, including the purchase bid and a new electric arc furnace — a more modern steel mill that melts down scrap — that they say Nippon Steel will build in the U.S. after 2028.
Nippon Steel had pledged to maintain U.S. Steel's headquarters in Pittsburgh, put U.S. Steel under a board with a majority of American citizens and keep plants operating.
It also said it would protect the interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters and it wouldn't import steel slabs that would compete with U.S. Steel's blast furnaces in Pennsylvania and Indiana.
Trump opposed the purchase while campaigning for the White House, and using his authority Biden blocked the transaction on his way out of the White House. But Trump expressed openness to working out an arrangement once he returned to the White House in January.
Trump said Thursday that he would as president have "total control" of what U.S. Steel did as part of the investment.
Trump said then that the deal would preserve "51% ownership by Americans," although Nippon Steel has never backed off its stated intention of buying and controlling U.S. Steel as a wholly owned subsidiary.
"We have a golden share, which I control," Trump said.
Trump added that he was "a little concerned" about what presidents other than him would do with their golden share, "but that gives you total control."
The proposed merger had been under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, during the Trump and Biden administrations.
The order signed Friday by Trump said the CFIUS review provided "credible evidence" that Nippon Steel "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," but such risks might be "adequately mitigated" by approving the proposed national security agreement.
The order doesn't detail the perceived national security risk and only provides a timeline for the national security agreement. The White House declined to provide details on the terms of the agreement.
The order said the draft agreement was submitted to U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel on Friday. The two companies must successfully execute the agreement as decided by the Treasury Department and other federal agencies that are part CFIUS by the closing date of the transaction.
Trump reserves the authority to issue further actions regarding the investment as part of the order he signed on Friday.
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