national - Page 27 of 28 - The Rapid City Post

U.S. Institute of Peace employees hold an impromptu celebration on the steps of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Monday, May 19, 2025, in Washington, after federal district Judge Beryl A. Howell blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with dismantling the organization. (AP Photo/Gary Fields)

Judge denies stay request, lets ruling stand blocking DOGE efforts to shut down peace institute

May 23, 2025

A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S. Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board. In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell said Friday that the government did not meet any of the four requirements for a stay, including a “strong showing” of whether its request could succeed on the merits. Howell also denied a request by the government that she approve a two-day administrative stay to allow an appeal to the appeals court for the District of Columbia

White House slashing staff in major overhaul of National Security Council, officials say

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size, lead to the ouster of some political appointees and return many career government employees back to their home agencies. That’s according to two U.S. officials and one person familiar with the reorganization who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter. The officials say the number of staff at the NSC is expected to be significantly reduced. The shake-up is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being dramatically made over after the ouster early this month of Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security adviser.

President Donald Trump silences his phone that rang twice as he was speaking to reporters after signing executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watch. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU and 25% penalties on smart phones as his trade war intensifies

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump is threatening a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well as a 25% tariff on smartphones unless the products are made in America. The threats were delivered over social media on Friday. They reflect Trump’s ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs aren’t producing the sufficient trade deals he’s seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he’s promised to voters.

Movie armorer completes prison sentence in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting

May 23, 2025

A movie armorer convicted in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has been released from a New Mexico prison after competing an 18-month jail term. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants to return home to Bullhead City, Arizona, on parole related to her involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed also is being supervised under terms of probation for a separate conviction on a charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a bar in Santa Fe.

Badar Khan Suri poses for a portrait, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Georgetown scholar recalls terror and ‘mockery of due process’ in immigration jail

May 23, 2025

A Georgetown University scholar who was targeted for deportation by the Trump administration said he was terrified in immigration jail. Badar Khan Suri told The Associated Press of using a toilet in a cramped open cell and hugging a prayer rug as if it were his son. He said it took several days to talk to his attorneys. Khan Suri was released on bond last week as his lawsuit against the U.S. government’s deportation case continues. The Trump administration denied any inhumane treatment or lack of due process. The administration said it revoked Khan Suri’s visa because he was spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism.

This image provided by the U.S. Army shows a screenshot of data from the Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast, or ADS-B, of the flight path of Army Black Hawk "PAT23" on a May 1, 2025, flight that led to air traffic controllers aborting the landings of two commercial jets. (U.S. Army via AP)

Pentagon lost contact with Army helicopter on flight that caused jets to nix landings at DC airport

May 23, 2025

The Army is telling The Associated Press that military air traffic controllers lost contact with an Army helicopter for about 20 seconds as it neared the Pentagon on the flight that caused two commercial jets to abort their landings this month at a Washington airport. The aborted landings on May 1 added to general unease about continued close calls between government helicopters and commercial airplanes near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following a deadly midair collision in January between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people. Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the head of Army aviation, says the controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk on May 1 because a temporary control tower antenna had not been set up at the correct location at the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump has signed executive orders to speed up the development of nuclear power and grant the energy secretary authority to approve advanced reactor designs and projects. The orders take authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for decades. Friday’s orders would reorganize the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure quicker reviews of nuclear projects, including an 18-month deadline for the NRC to act on industry applications. The White House says there will be significant staff reductions at the NRC but they don’t intend to fire commissioners who head the agency. Critics say the moves could compromise safety and violate legal frameworks.

Chief Justice agrees to pause court orders requiring DOGE to turn over records about its operation

May 23, 2025

Chief Justice John Roberts is agreeing to temporarily pause orders that would require Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to publicly disclose information about its operations. The order came after the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed against DOGE by a government watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues the team led by the billionaire entrepreneur has been central to President Donald Trump’s push to remake the government and must be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the government argues it is just a presidential advisory body that is exempt from requests for documents under FOIA.

FILE - Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

US Justice Department pardon lawyer pledges ‘hard look’ at plot to kidnap Michigan governor

May 23, 2025

The U.S. Justice Department’s new pardon attorney says he is going to take a “hard look” at two men who are in prison for leading a conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Ed Martin Jr. says, “We can’t leave these guys behind.” Martin spoke on “The Breanna Morello Show.” He likened Barry Croft Jr. and Adam Fox to the 1,500 people pardoned by President Donald Trump for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. There was no immediate comment from Whitmer’s office.

Judge blocks another Trump executive order targeting a major law firm

May 23, 2025

A federal judge has permanently blocked another of President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting a major law firm, calling it unconstitutional retaliation designed to punish lawyers for their legal work that the White House does not like. The ruling from U.S. District Judge John Bates in favor of Jenner & Block marks the second time this month that a judge has struck down a Trump executive order against a prominent firm. The spate of executive orders announced by Trump sought to impose the same consequences against the targeted firms, including suspending security clearances of attorneys and barring employees from federal buildings.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konakovic speaks during a panel discussion at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton, Ohio, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

At commemoration of Dayton Peace Accords, Balkan and US officials say NATO helps maintain peace

May 23, 2025

Representatives of Balkan nations and Americans of both political parties agree on NATO’s value in maintaining peace around the world. Their comments came at a public forum in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday held in conjunction with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. The event returns to the site of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords. The deal ended the three-year Bosnian war. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said as a superpower the U.S. needs friends. Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia praised the alliance’s role in the 1995 accords. The framework remains largely in place today.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Jay patrols the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Thursday, May 15, 2025, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Mike Pesoli)

For 1 sentinel, a final walk at Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

May 23, 2025

Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Jay of Indianapolis has been dutifully guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery for the last two years. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Jay and the other guards on watch duty serve as both protectors and commemorators of a national tribute to America’s unidentified and missing service members. With Jay’s final walk scheduled for June 2, this Memorial Day will hold special significance for him as the cemetery prepares for a string of events honoring those who died for their country.

Rapper Kid Cudi leaves federal court after testifying at the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in New York, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Key moments from the second week of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial

May 23, 2025

The second week of Sean Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial featured a dozen witnesses who described the music mogul’s physical attacks on others or who provided testimony addressing the government’s charges. Several of them were reluctant witnesses who testified only in response to subpoenas and, in one case, after being granted immunity. The resistant witnesses sometimes were fertile ground for defense lawyers to elicit testimony to support their claims that the acts they witnessed were proof of domestic violence rather than the federal charges he faces. The trial resumes Tuesday.

FILE - A lone penny is illuminated in a bin of completed pennies at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

The penny costs nearly 4 cents to make. Here’s how much the US spends on minting its other coins

May 23, 2025

The impending “death” of the U.S. penny has spotlighted the coin’s own price tag — nearly 4 cents to make and distribute each, or quadruple its value. Months after President Donald Trump called on his administration to cease penny production, the U.S. Mint announced this week that it had made its final order of penny blanks — and plans to stop making new 1-cent coins after those run out. Coin production costs vary thanks to different raw metals used, complexity of their designs, labor needed and more. Many of those expenses have been on the rise — and the penny isn’t the only coin entering our wallets today that costs more to make than it’s worth.

FILE - People visit the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., April 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Venezuelan workers at Disney put on leave from jobs after losing protective status

May 23, 2025

Almost four dozen Venezuelan workers who had temporary protected status have been put on leave by Disney after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to strip them of legal protections. The high court’s order put on hold a ruling that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans. Disney said Friday that the move was made to make sure that the employees were not in violation of the law. The 45 workers across the company who were put on leave will continue to get benefits. A union official representing Disney workers in Florida called the move distressing but says Disney had no choice.

If you haven’t left yet, it may be too late to avoid the Memorial Day travel rush

May 23, 2025

Freeways and airports across the U.S. are filling up as more people make their Memorial Day weekend getaways. Even as politics and the nation’s aging air traffic infrastructure rattle the U.S. travel industry, Americans were expected to travel in record numbers for the holiday. Auto club AAA predicts over 45 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday. The vast majority will be making road trips. The Federal Aviation Administration expected Thursday to be the peak day for air travel, but airports were still busy on Friday. Airlines and lodging companies had observed slower bookings last month and weren’t sure if demand would increase for the unofficial start of summer.

FILE - U.S. Marshals patrol outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in Chevy Chase, Md., June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Man gets 10 years for trying to carjack car with 2 members of Justice Sotomayor’s security detail

May 23, 2025

A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to carjack a car occupied by two U.S. Marshals Service deputies who were members of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s security detail. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon also sentenced Kentrell Flowers to five years of supervised release after his prison term. Around 1 a.m. on July 5, 2024, two deputies dressed in Marshals Service shirts were on duty in an unmarked government car when Flowers exited a minivan, approached the vehicle and pointed a loaded gun at one of the deputies through a window. The deputy fired four shots at Flowers, hitting him in the mouth.

File - The Capitol is seen in Washington, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

What issues to watch as ‘big, beautiful bill’ moves to the Senate

May 23, 2025

House Republicans are jubilant about muscling through President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and immigration package by a single vote. But across the Capitol, senators are more cautious. Senate Majority Leader John Thune can afford to lose three Republican senators and still pass the bill, and there are more than that who have problems with it. Like the House, he will have to balance the concerns from moderate and conservative members of his conference. Republicans’ aspirational deadline is July 4, ahead of a potential debt default. Thune said groups of senators had already been meeting to discuss the legislation.

U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen stand during the academy's graduation and commissioning ceremony at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/KT Kanazawich)

Vance says Trump will use US military decisively rather than in ‘open-ended conflicts’ of the past

May 23, 2025

Vice President JD Vance has told military academy graduates that President Donald Trump is working to ensure that U.S. armed forces are only sent into harm’s way with clear goals rather than the “open-ended conflicts” of the past. Vance told graduates at the United States Naval Academy that Trump’s approach means that if they are sent to war, it will be “with a very specific set of goals in mind.” Vance was making his first remarks as vice president to one of the nation’s military service academies.

President Donald Trump gestures while answering a reporter's question during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump relishes uttering the outlandish. Here’s where some of his most showstopping comments stand

May 22, 2025

It may start as a casual aside, a wee-hours social media post or a much hyped announcement. Whatever the delivery mechanism, President Donald Trump loves to toss out startling ideas aimed at dropping jaws, commanding headlines and bolstering his political brand. His sometimes implausible notions may turn into reality, or — through repetition — no longer sound so outlandish. At other times, Trump just moves on. Some ideas just seem to fade away or go underground. From U.S. annexation of Canada, Greenland and Panama to checking out Fort Knox to see if the gold is still there, some of Trump’s jaw-droppers are still going, while others came to nothing.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani attends the 34th Arab League summit, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Thaier Al-Sudani/Pool via AP)

Trump vowed to ease sanctions on Syria. How quickly that happens is up for debate

May 22, 2025

Since President Donald Trump announced his intent to end a half-century of sanctions on Syria, a debate has developed in his administration over how quickly and thoroughly that should happen. U.S. presidents have piled up penalties over the years, and those could be quickly lifted or waived through executive action. But Congress imposed some of the strictest measures and would have to permanently remove them. Some Trump administration officials are pushing to lift or waive sanctions as fast as possible without demanding tough conditions first. Others have proposed a phased approach, giving short-term waivers soon on some sanctions and then tying further relief to Syria meeting conditions. Those could substantially slow or even permanently prevent longer-term relief.

Omer Shem Tov, center, an Israeli hostage who survived over 500 days in Hamas captivity, celebrates while being welcomed during his arrival at Logan Airport, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Feted by school children, tossing out a first pitch: Former Israeli hostage grapples with celebrity

May 22, 2025

Former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov is visiting Boston with a message — don’t forget those who are still being held in Gaza. Shem Tov, who was abducted from the Tribe of Nova music festival with two of his friends, spent 505 days in captivity, much of it underground. He was released in February and is visiting Boston and New York to share his story and urge people to continue calling for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. He was greeted by a group of singing school children on his arrival in Boston and threw out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game.

Mario Westbrook sits on his porch, May 21, 2025, in New Orleans East, where he says the community has long had negative experiences with law enforcement. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)

Mistrust in law enforcement complicates the search for the New Orleans jail escapees

May 22, 2025

As authorities scour New Orleans for escapees from a jailbreak, they’re also confronting a history of mistrust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Nearly a week after 10 inmates yanked open a faulty cell door inside a city jail and moved the toilet to squeeze through a hole, five remain on the lam despite hefty financial rewards for tips leading to their capture. Police have said most of the fugitives are likely still in the city. Complicating efforts is a history of misconduct and racial bias against Black people by city police, a state police record of excessive force, and a jail system found to violate constitutional rights.

FILE - The community of Geismar is seen in the shadow of a chemical and petroleum industrial corridor, that is a known source of ethylene oxide emissions, in Ascension Parish, La., Friday, June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Louisiana stifles community air monitoring with threat of million-dollar fines, federal lawsuit says

May 22, 2025

A coalition of Louisiana environmental groups is suing the state over a law they say violates their free speech rights by restricting them from sharing information about air quality. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Thursday, argues that Louisiana’s Community Air Monitoring Reliability Act is unconstitutional and imposes onerous requirements such as a $1 million penalty for violations. Some groups say they have stopped sharing data on their social media platforms as a result. The state has argued the law is necessary to prevent misinformation after an influx in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to support grassroots air monitoring in heavily industrialized areas.

FILE - This June 22, 2019, file photo shows the exterior of the New York Times building in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Indigenous Amazon tribe says New York Times story led to its members being smeared as porn addicts

May 22, 2025

An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued the New York Times over the newspaper’s reporting on the community’s introduction to the internet. The Marubo tribe says the June 2024 story led to unfair depictions of its members as pornography addicts. It also says the article was amplified and sensationalized by other outlets showing its members as moral degenerates unable to handle technology. The Times says in response that the story actually shows a sensitive and nuanced exploration of the benefits and complications of new technology. The defamation suit was filed in a Los Angeles court this week. It seeks at least $180 million in damages from each plaintiff.

FILE - In this March 30, 2021, file photo, young unaccompanied migrants, watch television inside a playpen at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley, in Donna, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, Pool, File)

Trump administration seeks to end protections for immigrant children in federal custody

May 22, 2025

The Trump administration is seeking to end an immigration policy cornerstone that since the 1990s has offered protections to child migrants in federal custody, a move that will be challenged by advocates. The protections, known as the Flores Settlement, largely limit to 72 hours the amount of time that child migrants traveling alone or with family can be held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It also governs conditions in which they are held. A court filing proposes a July 18 hearing on the settlement before U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in California.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court declines to reinstate independent agency board members fired by President Donald Trump

May 22, 2025

The Supreme Court has declined to reinstate independent agency board members fired by President Donald Trump. The court’s action Thursday essentially extended an order Chief Justice John Roberts issued in April that had the effect of removing two board members Trump fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers, as Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce. Neither agency has enough appointed members to take final actions on issues before them, as Trump has not sought to appoint replacements. The decision Thursday keeps on hold an appellate ruling that had temporarily reinstated Gwynne Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The court’s liberal justices dissented.

Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting homes and cars on fire and forcing evacuations early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/William Liang)

AP PHOTOS: Jet crashes into San Diego neighborhood, killing 3 and setting homes and vehicles on fire

May 22, 2025

San Diego By: GREGORY BULL and WILLIAM LIANG San Diego (AP) — The music agency Sound Talent Group said Thursday

FILE - Pumpjacks operate in a pasture, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Tax bill passed by House Republicans would gut Biden-era clean energy tax credits

May 22, 2025

The budget reconciliation bill passed by House Republicans early Thursday would gut clean energy tax credits that Democrats approved three years ago. It also boosts support for mining, drilling and traditional energy production. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, repeals or phases out more quickly clean energy tax credits passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act during former President Joe Biden’s term. Clean energy advocates said the bill walks back the largest government investment in clean energy in history. President Donald Trump called the bill “arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country.”

FILE - Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., questions retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine during his confirmation hearing on his nomination to be promoted to general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

GOP US Sen. Tommy Tuberville is expected to announce run for Alabama governor, associates say

May 22, 2025

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville plans to run for governor of Alabama in 2026, according to people familiar with his plans. Two people who have spoken with Tuberville say they expect him to announce a gubernatorial bid. They spoke on condition of anonymity because were not authorized to talk about a campaign. Tuberville, a Republican, did not confirm the plans but said he intends to announce a decision Tuesday. Tuberville was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020. Tuberville harnessed fame from his college coaching days at Auburn and benefited from a Donald Trump endorsement in casting himself as a political outsider to win election.

Jimmy Wayne Carwyle appears during an arraignment in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)

Man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston found mentally incompetent for trial

May 22, 2025

A man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through the front gate of her home has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial, but he has demanded a second opinion at a court hearing. Jimmy Wayne Carwyle a 48-year-old from Mississippi, appeared at a Hollywood courthouse that specializes in mental health cases on Thursday. He had a long, gray beard and wore blue suicide-prevention jail clothing. He has pleaded not guilty to felony stalking and vandalism. His attorney told a judge that one psychiatrist found Carwyle incompetent, but he’s exercising his right to an evaluation from another doctor.

Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr sits in court during the second day of his trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. (WOOD-TV via AP, Pool)

A Michigan police officer who killed a Black motorist won’t face a retrial, prosecutor says

May 22, 2025

A Michigan police officer who fatally shot a Black man in the back of the head after a tumultuous traffic stop will not face a second murder trial. Prosecutor Chris Becker made the announcement Thursday, two weeks after a trial ended without a unanimous verdict. Becker says he doubts there would be a different result in another trial because the case has “split the community.” Christopher Schurr was a police officer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He says he feared for his life and shot Patrick Lyoya because the 26-year-old Congolese immigrant had control of his Taser. Schurr was charged with second-degree murder.

FILE - The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Headquarters, is seen from a commercial airliner as it files over the CIA campus in Langley, Va., July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Police respond to shooting outside CIA headquarters

May 22, 2025

Authorities say a security incident outside CIA headquarters has led to a shooting. Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia responded to what they described as a “nonfatal” shooting at the agency’s headquarters in McLean about 4 a.m. Thursday to assist CIA police with traffic control. The FBI says there is no ongoing threat to public safety and declined to respond when asked whether authorities have identified a motive for the incident. CIA headquarters is in McLean, Virginia, just outside Washington.

Terri Osborne, center, speaks as her brother, Mike Robirds, right, listens outside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the execution of Oscar Smith Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Osborne and Robirds are siblings of Judy Robirds, shown in the photograph at right, who was murdered, along with her sons, shown in the photograph at left, by Oscar Smith in 1989. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Tennessee man is executed for killing his wife and her 2 sons, 3 years after last-minute reprieve

May 22, 2025

Tennessee has executed Oscar Smith for the 1989 murder of his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad Burnett. Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning three years after the 75-year-old was spared by a last-minute reprieve in 2022. It turned out that the lethal drugs had not been properly tested. An investigation found that testing was just one of numerous problems plaguing Tennessee’s executions. The state unveiled a new execution protocol in December. Smith was one of several inmates who sued over the new protocol. A trial in that case is set for next January.

President Donald Trump smiles as he speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump’s $600 million war chest: How he plans to wield his power in the midterms and beyond

May 22, 2025

Between a barrage of executive orders, foreign trips and norm-shattering proclamations, President Donald Trump has also been busy raking in cash. The president now sits on a war chest of at least $600 million, according to three people familiar with the total. That’s an unprecedented sum in modern politics, particularly for a lame-duck president who is constitutionally barred from running again. And his goal is even more ambitious: To raise at least $1 billion this cycle, according to the people, who like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of an operation that aims to raise as much as possible to help push through Trump’s agenda and hold the House and Senate next November.

This photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, shows death row prisoner Richard Kenneth Djerf. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP)

Arizona plans to carry out its second execution this year

May 22, 2025

Arizona is planning to carry out a second execution this year, this time for a man convicted of killing four people 31 years ago in metro Phoenix. Prosecutors asked the Arizona Supreme Court to set a briefing schedule leading up to the execution of Richard Djerf, who pleaded guilty to killing Albert Luna Sr., his wife, Patricia, and two of their children. If the court agrees to prosecutors’ suggested schedule, it would consider the request for Djerf’s execution warrant in late July, with the execution likely occurring in early September.

FILE - A vehicle stops at Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Feb. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Jury convicts New York-Paris flight stowaway who slipped past gate agents

May 22, 2025

A woman who was able to sneak onto a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass last year has been convicted of a stowaway charge. A federal court jury in Brooklyn came back with a verdict on Thursday in the case of Svetlana Dali, a 57-year-old Russian citizen with U.S. residency. Court documents say Dali sneaked past federal security agents and airline gate agents by blending in with other passengers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in November. She was taken into custody at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. A sentencing date was not set. The guidelines call for up to six months in prison. She has been in custody for five months.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters as an image of President Donald Trump's post on Truth Social regarding the tax cuts package appears on screen in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The bond market is shaking Wall Street again, this time because of worries about tax cuts

May 22, 2025

The bond market has a sleepy reputation, but it can pack a punch when alarmed. And worries are now growing about tax cuts pushed by Washington and how they’ll inflate the U.S. government’s debt. That’s sent yields higher this week, enough to shake the stock market and potentially send it to its worst week in the last seven. The moves in the bond market are also likely to make mortgages more expensive for U.S. home buyers, along with other kinds of loans.

FILE - A group of Florida International University students protest against cuts in federal funding and an agreement by campus police to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on the FIU campus on a day of protests around the country in support of higher education, April 17, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Federal judge blocks immigration authorities from revoking international students’ legal status

May 22, 2025

A judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students nationwide while a court case challenging previous terminations plays out. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White on Thursday barred the government from reversing the students’ legal status, arresting or transferring them until the case is resolved. They could still be arrested in cases like violent crimes. White said the government’s actions “wreaked havoc not only on the lives of Plaintiffs here but on similarly situated F-1 nonimmigrants across the United States and continues do so.” More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring and then abruptly reinstated.

Woman accused of spitting on a top federal prosecutor is arrested on an assault charge

May 22, 2025

A woman accused of spitting on the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital has been arrested on a federal assault charge. Investigators say then-acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr. was being interviewed on video by a Newsmax reporter outside his office on May 8 when Emily Gabriella Sommer approached him and spit on his left shoulder. The encounter occurred on the same day that President Donald Trump pulled Martin’s nomination to remain U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on a more permanent basis. Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro replaced Martin, who faced bipartisan opposition in the Senate after a turbulent stint in office.

FILE - Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a presentation of the company's AI assistant, Copilot, and 50th Anniversary celebration at Microsoft headquarters, in Redmond, Wash., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond, File)

Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO’s speech to protest AI tech for Israeli military

May 22, 2025

Microsoft has fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the company’s work supplying the Israeli military with technology used for the war in Gaza. Software engineer Joe Lopez could be heard shouting at Nadella in the opening minutes Monday of the tech giant’s annual Build developer conference in Seattle before getting escorted out of the room. Lopez’s outburst was the first of several pro-Palestinian disruptions at the event that has drawn thousands of software developers to the Seattle Convention Center this week. At least three talks by executives were disrupted.

FILE - Apple's digital music player, iPod, is displayed after its introduction by Apple Computer Inc. chief executive officer Steve Jobs during a news conference, Oct. 23, 2001, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

The iconic designs of Jony Ive

May 22, 2025

Jony Ive became renowned for a meticulous design aesthetic that shaped the cultural zeitgeist during a 27-year career at Apple, which he left in 2019. He did his most influential work after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to run the company in 1997, where the two forged a partnership that would hatch a succession of game-changing products like the iPhone release in 2007. Ive’s name was thrust back into the spotlight on Wednesday when ChatGPT maker OpenAI recruited him and his design firm, LoveFrom, to lead a new hardware project.

Sparks has been making music for more than half a century. They see no reason to retire

May 22, 2025

They’ve spent more than half a century together as bandmates and put out dozens of records. But the brothers behind the art-pop band Sparks have no intention of retiring anytime soon. The band’s sound has been ever-evolving since its inception. Ron and Russell Mael see resisting any impulse to remain the same as a central priority. The pair spoke with The Associated Press ahead of the release of their 28th studio album, “Mad!,” on Friday. They say they have no plans to retire and find it meaningful that younger generations are finding their music.

ICE agents wait in hallways of immigration court as Trump seeks to deliver on mass arrest pledge

May 21, 2025

A spate of arrests at immigration courts across the United States this week has rattled people showing up for hearings and may signal a coordinated attempt at deportations under fast-track authority that President Donald Trump sharply expanded soon after taking office. Among those arrested was a 28-year-old Colombian man who The Associated Press witnessed getting arrested by five plainclothes federal agents in the hallways of Miami immigration court minutes after his case was dismissed.

FILE - Then Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

The crypto industry saw Trump as a champion. Some now fear he’s putting personal profits first

May 21, 2025

It seems like a triumph for a cryptocurrency industry that’s sought mainstream acceptance: Top investors in one of President Donald Trump’s crypto projects invited to dine with him at his luxury golf club in Northern Virginia on the heels of the Senate advancing key pro-crypto legislation and while bitcoin prices soar. But Thursday night’s event for the 220 biggest buyers of the $TRUMP meme coin has instead raised questions about potentially shadowy buyers using the anonymity of the internet to buy access to the president. Trump, once a crypto skeptic, is now a big fan of the industry — and some of its proponents are wondering if that’s such a good thing.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., center, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., right, talk as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Here’s the late changes Republicans made to Trump’s big bill

May 21, 2025

Republicans have made several late changes to their tax cut and immigration bill. The revisions were unveiled late Wednesday evening, just before the House launched into an all-night session to debate and vote on the legislation. Among the changes were the striking of sections that authorized the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands, an acceleration of work requirements for some Medicaid participants and a higher state and local tax deduction. If the bill clears the House, it would move to the Senate for further consideration.

Kermit the Frog to deliver commencement address at the University of Maryland graduation

May 21, 2025

Kermit the Frog is set to address the University of Maryland’s class of 2025 as their commencement speaker. Muppets creator Jim Henson graduated from Maryland in 1960 after majoring in home economics there. The university says he fashioned the original frog puppet from one of his mother’s coats and a ping-pong ball cut in half. A bronze statue of him and Kermit sitting on a bench is a well-known feature of the College Park campus. Kermit was created in 1955 and became the centerpiece of the Muppets franchise. The graduation ceremony is Thursday evening.

What to know about Kid Cudi, the rapper testifying against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

May 21, 2025

Rapper Kid Cudi is the latest celebrity being called to testify in Sean “Diddy” Combs′ sex trafficking trial. The popular melodic rapper is expected to tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs’ ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. She testified that the relationship sent Combs into a rage, and he beat her when he learned of it. Prosecutors contend that Combs arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed. The Cleveland born-and-raised, Grammy-award-winning rapper has long been celebrated for his alternative hip-hop. His game-changing single “Day ‘n’ Nite (Nightmare)” is easily one of the most influential rap records of the last two decades.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters at the Capitol, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Senate clears way to block clean air standards in California, including vehicle emission rules

May 21, 2025

Senate Republicans have voted to establish a new precedent that will allow them to roll back clean air standards in California, including a rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. The winding series of Senate procedural votes that went late into Wednesday evening could have profound implications on California’s longstanding efforts to reduce air pollution. Republicans established a new, narrow exception to the Senate filibuster, and Democrats strongly objected to the move. The votes cleared the way procedurally for Republicans to bring up three House-passed resolutions that would block the rules. The Senate could pass the resolutions later this week.

FILE - A silhouette of a crucifix and a stained glass window is seen inside a Catholic Church in New Orleans, Dec. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

New Orleans Archdiocese agrees to pay nearly $180M to victims of clergy sexual abuse

May 21, 2025

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans has agreed to pay nearly $180 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse under a settlement announced Wednesday. A statement by the committee that negotiated the agreement says the archdiocese, its parishes and several insurers will pay $179.2 million into a trust to benefit survivors. It says the money will be distributed after the church emerges from bankruptcy. The agreement would settle a lawsuit filed in 2020. But it still requires approval by the bankruptcy court, abuse survivors and other Archdiocese creditors. The suit involves more than 500 people who say they were abused by clergy.

Institute of Peace reclaims its headquarters after court win over Musk’s cost-cutting team

May 21, 2025

The U.S. Institute of Peace has retaken control of its headquarters, two days after a federal judge said the firing of its board and employees by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was illegal. The institute’s acting president, George Moose, entered its headquarters on Wednesday with private security and the institute’s outside attorney for the first time since being escorted off the premises during the DOGE takeover. Moose and most of the institute’s board were fired in March, part of the mass slashing of the federal workforce spearheaded by Musk. Speaking after a short examination of the headquarters, Moose said all appeared to be in order: “Things look to be in pretty good shape,” he says.

FILE - Gov. Jeff Landry speaks during the start of the special session in the House Chamber on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La. (Michael Johnson/The Advocate via AP, Pool,File)

Louisiana Republicans reject bill that would address split jury verdicts, a Jim Crow-era practice

May 21, 2025

A Louisiana bill that would have carved out a path for incarcerated people convicted by now-banned split juries to ask for a new trial has failed. The GOP-dominated state Senate voted against the bill along party lines. The bill would have added non-unanimous jury verdicts to a list of claims for which an inmate can seek a retrial. An estimated 1,000 people behind bars in the Deep South state were convicted by non-unanimous juries, a practice rooted in racism from the era of “Jim Crow” laws and deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020.

This undated photo released by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office shows Sterling Williams. (Louisiana Attorney General's Office via AP)

New Orleans jail worker thought he was unclogging a toilet, not helping 10 escape, lawyer says

May 21, 2025

A lawyer for a worker charged with helping 10 men escape a New Orleans jail says the worker did not know about the jailbreak plan. Sterling Williams was arrested Tuesday in connection with Friday’s jailbreak. His lawyer, Michael Kennedy, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the inmates clogged a toilet to get the water shut off so that they could escape through a hole behind it. Kennedy says Williams did not allow the inmates to cut a pipe behind the toilet to create an opening for their escape. Authorities have said that Williams was threatened into turning off the water but could have reported the threat and the men’s plan.

FILE - Firefighters douse the historic Clayborn Temple, a landmark from the civil rights movement with ties to Martin Luther King Jr., with water after it caught fire, April 28, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht, File)

Fire at historic Black church in Memphis was intentionally set, investigators say

May 21, 2025

Investigators in Tennessee say a fire that severely damaged a historic Black church that served as the headquarters for a 1968 sanitation workers’ strike which brought the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis was intentionally set. The Memphis Fire Department said Wednesday that the fire at Clayborn Temple was set in the downtown church’s interior. Flames engulfed the building in the early morning hours of April 28. It was undergoing a yearslong renovation at the time. Clayborn Temple hosted nightly meetings during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike. King came to support the workers that year and was assassinated in the city April 4.

FILE - Bryan Kohberger, accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger ask for trial delay, citing in part publicity around the case

May 21, 2025

Attorneys for a man accused of killing four University of Idaho students have asked that his trial be delayed. Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger cite in part a recent NBC “Dateline” special that they called prejudicial toward their client and a need for additional time to prepare his defense. The filing says moving forward with an August trial would infringe upon Kohberger’s constitutional rights. It says attorneys need more time to review discovery, complete investigations and prepare for trial. There was no immediate ruling on the request.

Kim Kardashian waves as she arrives to testify regarding a robbery of millions of dollars in jewels from her Paris hotel room in 2016, in Paris, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Kim Kardashian dons a graduation cap and marches closer to becoming a lawyer

May 21, 2025

Kim Kardashian is a step closer to following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a lawyer. Her representative said Wednesday that she has completed a legal apprenticeship and is now eligible to take the California bar exam. The entrepreneur and reality TV star posted an Instagram Story from a small private ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where she smiled as she donned a graduation cap. California allows people to study under a lawyer or judge as an alternative to law school. Kardashian could become a licensed lawyer if she passes the state’s notoriously difficult bar exam.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., testifies before a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report worries farmers, Republicans ahead of release

May 21, 2025

A much-anticipated White House report about childhood diseases has provoked a tug-of-war that’s pitted farmers and some prominent Republican lawmakers against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his politically ambiguous “Make America Healthy Again” movement ahead of its release. Trump promised a sweeping review in within 100 days that would analyze the ramifications of U.S. lifestyles and food ingredients. The report, led by a so-called “MAHA Commission,” is expected to be released Thursday. Farmers and Republicans are nervous about what the report might say about glyphosate, the ingredient commonly used in pesticides sprayed on crops.

Here’s what to expect at the Army’s 250th anniversary parade on Trump’s birthday

May 21, 2025

The Army has started loading up some of the tanks that will take to the streets of the nation’s capital during the 250th anniversary celebration of the service next month. The tanks are starting to be stuck on rail cars in Texas on Wednesday and will take about nine or 10 days to travel by rail to Maryland. From there, they will be loaded onto trucks to be driven into Washington, D.C. The event will feature hundreds of military vehicles, aircraft and soldiers. The Army’s anniversary celebration is set for June 14, which also happens to be President Donald Trump’s birthday. He unsuccessfully tried to get a parade during his first term.

FILE - A sign at entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy campus in Annapolis, Md., Jan. 9,2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Most books pulled from Naval Academy library are back on the shelves in latest DEI turn

May 21, 2025

All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with anti-racism and gender issues are back on the shelves. That is the result of a review ordered by the Pentagon and marks the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Defense officials said Wednesday that about 20 books from the academy’s library are now earmarked for review, but that includes some that weren’t removed in the initial purge of 381 books. A few dozen at the Air Force libraries have been pulled out for review.

FILE - Charging bays are seen at the new Electrify America indoor electric vehicle charging station in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

What to know about the US Senate’s effort to block vehicle-emission rules in California

May 21, 2025

The U.S. Senate is moving forward with an effort to block California’s nation-leading standards for vehicle emissions. The move targets proposals banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, phasing out diesel-powered medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and curbing smog-forming pollution from trucks. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the chamber plans to take up proposals to halt the rules this week. It comes weeks after the House voted to block the rules. The proposals are the latest in a long battle over California’s authority to set emissions standards that are stricter than the federal government’s.

FILE - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Budget cuts at Trump EPA become flashpoint at a heated hearing — and, Democrats say, may kill people

May 21, 2025

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency clashed angrily with Democratic senators Wednesday, accusing one of being an “aspiring fiction writer” and saying another does not “care about wasting money.″ Democrats countered that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s tenure will likely mean more lung cancer and other illnesses suffered by Americans. The heated exchanges, at a Senate hearing to discuss President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash the agency’s budget in half, showed the sharp partisan differences over EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s deregulatory approach.

Lincoln’s blood-stained gloves from the night of his assassination among 144 artifacts on auction

May 21, 2025

Treasured artifacts associated with President Abraham Lincoln have been auctioned off, separated from a collection that was intended to be available for public display forever. The blood-stained leather gloves that were in Lincoln’s pocket the night he was assassinated were among the 144 items up for bid Wednesday. The items were sold to pay off the remainder of a two-decade-old loan that the Lincoln Presidential Foundation used to buy a one-of-a-kind cluster of artifacts. The auction raised $7.9 million, but that includes service fees of about 28% that cover administrative costs.

FILE - Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., speaks in front a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, file)

A former Florida Republican congressional candidate gets 3 years for threatening primary opponent

May 21, 2025

A former Florida Republican congressional candidate accused of stalking and plotting to have his primary opponent murdered by a purported foreign hit squad has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. Court records show William Robert Braddock was sentenced Wednesday in Tampa federal court. He pleaded guilty in February to sending an interstate transmission of a threat to injure. In 2021, Braddock and U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna were both candidates in the primary election to represent the 13th Congressional District of Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives. Luna eventually won the primary and later the general election. During a June 2021 telephone call with Luna’s friend, Braddock threatened to have Luna murdered by a “Russian-Ukrainian hit squad.”

FILE - A waiter carries drinks, Friday, April 18, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

Things to know about ‘no tax on tips,’ Trump’s tax pledge that’s included in GOP budget bill

May 21, 2025

President Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” pledge became a catchphrase for his 2024 campaign. Now it’s inching closer to reality. The idea is firmly planted in the sprawling tax cuts package Republicans are hashing out in the House and aiming to pass in the coming days. In a surprise move, the Senate voted this week to unanimously approve the idea. The proposal has widespread support from the public, lawmakers in both parties and employers who believe such a law will bring relief to the working class. But many critics say that it would come with an enormous cost to the government while doing little to help the workers who need it most.

This Sept. 17, 2021 photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows death row inmate James D. Robertson. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

South Carolina death row inmate seeks to volunteer to die after friends are executed

May 21, 2025

A South Carolina inmate whose best friend and four other inmates have been put to death in less than a year appears to want to die himself. James Robertson has asked to become his own attorney which would likely mean his own execution in weeks or months. A federal judge has ordered a 45-day delay in Robertson’s request to have a different lawyer talk to him. The 51-year-old Robertson has been on death row since 1999 after killing both his parents in their Rock Hill home to try to get part of their $2 million estate.

In lawsuit over teen’s death, judge rejects arguments that AI chatbots have free speech rights

May 21, 2025

A federal judge in Florida has rejected arguments made by an artificial intelligence company that its chatbots are protected by the First Amendment — at least for now. The developers behind Character.AI have been seeking to dismiss the case, which alleges that the company’s chatbots pushed a teenage boy to kill himself. In an order issued Wednesday, U.S. Senior District Judge Anne Conway is allowing the case to go forward, in what legal experts say is among the latest constitutional tests of artificial intelligence.

Deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Madison Sheahan, flanked by Acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, speaks during a news conference at ICE Headquarters, in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Trump administration uses multiple techniques to encourage and force deportation

May 21, 2025

Carrying out mass deportations was a key rallying cry during Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency. Since the day he was sworn into office, his administration has focused on how to make that rallying cry reality. They’ve touted their policy of going after “the worst of the worst” — meaning people who’ve committed crimes in America — while leaning on some nations to take immigrants who the U.S. has difficulty deporting to their own countries. They’ve removed protections from hundreds of thousands of people the Biden administration admitted on a temporary basis into the country with the aim of eventually making them deportable. They’ve even suggested people “self-deport.”

FILE - The emblem of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is shown on a podium in Vail, Colorado, Feb. 16, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Judge vacates federal rules requiring employers to provide accommodations for abortions

May 21, 2025

A federal judge in Louisiana on Wednesday struck down government regulations requiring most employers nationwide to provide workers with time off and other accommodations for abortions. Judge David Joseph’s ruling was a victory for conservative lawmakers and religious groups who decried the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s decision to include abortion among pregnancy-related conditions in regulations on how to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which passed in December 2022. The EEOC’s decision swiftly prompted several lawsuits and eroded what had been strong bipartisan support for the law designed to strengthen the rights of pregnant workers.

Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive officer, OpenAI, listens to testimony during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

OpenAI recruits legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive to work on AI hardware in $6.5B deal

May 21, 2025

OpenAI has recruited Jony Ive, the designer behind Apple’s iPhone, to lead a new hardware project for the artificial intelligence company that makes ChatGPT. OpenAI said it is acquiring io Products, a product and engineering company co-founded by Ive, in a deal valued at nearly $6.5 billion.Ive became renowned for a meticulous design aesthetic that shaped the cultural zeitgeist during a 27-year career at Apple, which he left in 2019. The new OpenAI deal now thrusts Ive at the vanguard of AI — a technology driving the biggest industry shift since the iPhone’s arrival.

FILE - The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News building in Philadelphia is shown in a file photo from Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Fictional fiction: A newspaper’s summer book list recommends nonexistent books. Blame AI

May 21, 2025

There’s another artificial intelligence blunder impacting news organizations. The content distributor King Features said it was firing a writer who produced a recommended summer reading list that contains non-existent books. The writer admitted to using AI to help him on the story, and took full responsibility for the mistake. His feature was carried in special sections that were included during the past week in the Chicago Sun-Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. The newspapers involved said they’re stripping the special section, titled “Heat Index,” from their digital editions and investigating to see whether it contained any other false material.

A video plays during a meeting between President Donald Trump and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump seizes on videos of a fringe South African politician as evidence of threats to white farmers

May 21, 2025

President Donald Trump used a video shown in the Oval Office to confront South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with claims that white farmers are being targeted and killed in the country. Trump’s main evidence was clips showing a politician who was kicked out of Ramaphosa’s party, is not part of the coalition that governs the country and whose own political movement garnered less than 10% of the vote in last year’s elections. Some of Trump’s allies have seized on Julius Malema’s far-left Economic Freedom Fighters to argue that South Africa is engaged in genocide against white farmers. Ramaphosa protested and said his government’s policies are “completely against” what was shown in the videos.

FILE - People shop for shoes in a Nike store on Nov. 25, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

Why are more shoppers struggling to repay ‘buy now, pay later’ loans?

May 21, 2025

Short-term lender Klarna says more customers are having trouble repaying their “buy now, pay later” loans. The disclosure this week corresponded with reports by lending platforms Bankrate and LendingTree, which cited an increasing share of all “buy now, pay later” users saying they’re falling behind on payments. Some analysts see the late or missed installments as a sign of faltering financial health among a segment of the U.S. population as the nation’s total consumer debt rises to a record $18.2 trillion. Buy now, pay later plans generally split payments for purchases into four or fewer installments. Providers typically market the loans as accruing zero interest and promote them as a safer alternative to traditional credit cards.

Massachusetts 19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data

May 21, 2025

A Massachusetts college student will plead guilty to stealing millions of students’ and teachers’ private data from two U.S. education tech companies and extorting it for ransom. Assumption University student Matthew Lane, 19, is accused of using stolen login credentials to access the computer network of a software and cloud storage company serving U.S. school systems. PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but a source familiar with the case confirmed the company’s involvement. Lane is alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students’ and 10 million teachers’ names, Social Security numbers and other information if the company did not pay $2.85 million in Bitcoin.

This 2024 photo released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a Fish Lake Valley tui chub. (Nathan Hurner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

A rare olive-colored fish that exists only in Nevada could soon be listed as an endangered species

May 21, 2025

U.S. wildlife officials want to add a rare Nevada fish to the list of endangered species. A federal proposal was issued Wednesday for the Fish Lake Valley tui chub. Environmentalists say the fish is “barely clinging to existence” because of rapid groundwater pumping in a remote area in southwestern Nevada that’s experiencing extreme drought. The proposal’s publication kicks off a 60-day public comment period. It’s the Trump administration’s first proposal to list an endangered species during his second term. The Center for Biological Diversity sued in 2023 and won a settlement that forced the government to decide by this month whether to list the fish.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, testifies before a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing to examine President Donald Trump's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Federal judge orders pretrial detention for man accused of stealing Kristi Noem’s purse

May 21, 2025

A federal magistrate judge has ordered the pretrial detention of a man charged with stealing a purse from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem while she dined at a restaurant under the protection of Secret Service agents. U.S. Magistrate Matthew Sharbaugh concluded after a hearing on Wednesday that the suspect, Mario Bustamante Leiva, must remain jailed because he poses a flight risk. Bustamante Leiva, a 49-year-old a native of Chile, pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud, robbery and aggravated identity theft. Investigators say video captured Bustamante Leiva taking Noem’s purse while she dined at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. in April.

Former New York state trooper pleads guilty to faking his own shooting

May 21, 2025

A former New York state trooper has pleaded guilty to charges that he shot himself then falsely claimed he was wounded by an unknown gunman on a Long Island highway. Thomas Mascia formally changed his plea during a court appearance Wednesday in Mineola. He had been charged with official misconduct, tampering with evidence and falsifying documents. Mascia’s parents also pleaded guilty Wednesday to firearms charges. Prosecutors say Mascia shot himself in a park, stashed the gun, drove to the highway and called for backup. His lawyer has said Mascia suffers from untreated mental health issues.

The Fulton County Superior Courthouse is seen, March 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Rapper Rod Wave faces more than a dozen charges, some involving a gun, in Georgia

May 21, 2025

The rapper known as Rod Wave faces more than a dozen charges — some involving a gun — after he turned himself in to sheriff’s officials in Georgia on Tuesday. Police say Wave voluntarily surrendered to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Police say the case stems from an April 21 police call in the Atlanta suburb of Milton. Police described it as a “possible domestic disturbance.” Wave’s real name is Rodarius Green. His lawyers on Wednesday said “there is no truth to these charges.” Those charges include aggravated assault, pointing or aiming a gun at someone, and tampering with evidence.

FILE - Elon Musk speaks at a town hall March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File)

Elon Musk’s pullback from politics comes after his last big investment was a flop

May 20, 2025

Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk’s last big spend on a political campaign. And it was a flop. Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns, an announcement that came just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points. Musk’s spending helped make it the most expensive court race in U.S. history. And it came just five months after Musk spent at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win, reversing losses in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years earlier.

FILE - A sculler rows down the Charles River near Harvard University, at rear, April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Most AAPI adults oppose college funding cuts and student deportations, a new poll finds

May 20, 2025

A new AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll finds that as colleges and universities pull back on diversity practices, young Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are overwhelmingly against cutting federal funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education, and deporting students involved in protest activity on campus. Opposition, however, is lower among their parents and grandparents. That’s despite the fact that most AAPI adults, regardless of age, place a high value on a college education. The findings suggest that President Donald Trump’s efforts to roll back DEI on college campuses and crack down on international students could be landing differently among older and younger AAPI adults.

FILE - Capital punishment protesters pray on the grounds of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution before the scheduled execution of inmate Oscar Smith, April 21, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Tennessee prepares to execute Oscar Smith, 3 years after last-minute reprieve

May 20, 2025

Oscar Smith came within minutes of being executed before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a surprise reprieve just over three years ago. It turned out there were problems with the lethal injection drugs that had been ongoing. The state now has a new execution process and is prepared to try again Thursday. Smith says his personal minister will be in the execution chamber praying for him. He’s grateful for that but also worried about her because “she doesn’t need any bad experiences.” The 75-year-old Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville, Tennessee, home in 1989.

President Donald Trump speaks as Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace smiles during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump drafts America’s business titans to burnish his image at home and abroad

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump isn’t the only one who wrapped up a Middle East tour in recent days. American CEOs and other executives dropped everything to tail along with Trump on his travels and bolster the image he tried to sell on his first major foreign trip. Corporate titans are spending more time than ever working to curry favor with the current administration as part of their effort to score relief from tariffs and government regulations. Trump, in turn, is happy to use them as supporting cast members in his efforts to project the economy as booming at a time when growth is slowing.

Dr. Austin Dennard holds her son as she poses for a portrait at her home in Dallas, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A Texas effort to clarify abortion ban reaches a key vote, but doubts remain

May 20, 2025

Several states with near-total abortion bans have introduced legislation seeking to make their medical exceptions clearer. In Texas, a similar bill would specify doctors cannot face criminal charges for performing an abortion in a medical emergency. It’s the first abortion bill to receive bipartisan support from lawmakers since the state ban took effect. Yet it has divided abortion rights advocates who say similar bills do not make bans easier to understand. Efforts by Republican lawmakers to introduce bills seeking to clarify medical exceptions for abortions have risen since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Rapper Kid Cudi expected to testify at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial

May 20, 2025

Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is expected to testify at the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial. He is likely to take the witness stand either Wednesday or Thursday to tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. Cassie testified last week that Combs was enraged when she left him for a period of time in 2011 and began dating Cudi. Prosecutors say Combs was so upset that he arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that he oversaw a racketeering enterprise that controlled Cassie and others through threats and violence.

For kids with autism, swim classes can be lifesaving

May 20, 2025

Some studies have shown that children with autism are more at risk of drowning. Experts say swimming instruction can help, but classes specifically designed for kids with autism aren’t always easy to get. One such class took place recently at the Small Fish Big Fish swim school in Florida. That’s a state where officials have documented more than 100 drownings of children with autism since 2021. The risk stems in large part from a propensity to wander off or underappreciate perils. Parents of children in the swimming class say they see it as potentially lifesaving.

FILE - A ninth grader places his cellphone into a phone holder as he enters class at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file)

Half of US states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more to follow

May 20, 2025

Half of U.S. states now have laws banning or regulating cellphones in schools, with more likely to follow. Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools in 2023, while Alaska became the 25th on Tuesday. Bills have sprinted through legislatures this year in states as varied as New York and Oklahoma, reflecting a broad consensus that phones are bad for kids. Eight other states and the District of Columbia have rules or recommendations out to local districts. There’s an increasing focus on banning phones throughout the school day. But some states with traditions of local control are mandating only that districts adopt cellphone policies

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the New York City Mayoral Candidates Forum at Medgar Evers College Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Justice Dept. investigating former New York Gov. Cuomo over pandemic testimony, AP source says

May 20, 2025

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Republicans recommended that he be charged with lying to Congress over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington launched the investigation shortly after Republican Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked the Justice Department to prosecute Cuomo. A spokesperson for Cuomo said Tuesday that the former governor, who is now running for New York City mayor, was never informed of any such investigation and called the probe “lawfare and election interference.”

Wilmer Escaray talks about his concerns about the future of his employees and customers during an interview inside a franchise of "Sabor Venezolano," one of 18 businesses he owns which employ scores of Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who are now potentially exposed to deportation, in Doral, Fla., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

US business owners are confused about Venezuelan employees with temporary status

May 20, 2025

Businesses face uncertainty after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans. The Miami-area city of Doral is home to the largest Venezuelan community in the United States. It’s coming to grips with Monday’s court decision. Some attorneys advise a case-by-case approach and urge employers and Venezuelans alike to explore alternatives to continue working legally. Venezuelan beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status work in the hospitality, construction, agriculture, health care, retail, and restaurant sectors. A restaurant owner in Doral says he is stressed after the ruling. Wilmer Escaray says at least 70% of his 150 employees are Venezuelan immigrants with Temporary Protected Status.

This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Matthew Lee Johnson, who was sentenced to death for a convenience store robbery in which he set an elderly clerk on fire in Garland, Texas. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)

Texas man is executed 13 years to the day of a store robbery in which he set a clerk on fire

May 20, 2025

A Texas man has been executed 13 years to the day of a convenience store robbery in which he set a clerk on fire in a Dallas suburb. Matthew Lee Johnson received a lethal injection Tuesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 20, 2012, attack on 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a great-grandmother who he splashed with lighter fluid before setting her on fire. Badly burned, she died days afterward. Johnson expressed remorse Tuesday evening and asked for forgiveness from relatives of the victim who watched the execution through a window. Elsewhere, an Indiana man was executed earlier Tuesday for the killing of a police officer.

FILE - Dr. Steven Hotze, president of Conservative Republicans of Texas, speaks at a Restrain the Judges news conference, while Janet Porter of Faith2Action listens at right, in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, April 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Charges dropped against conservative activist in Texas over false voter fraud claim

May 20, 2025

Texas prosecutors have dropped charges against a prominent conservative activist in Houston related to allegations he was part of what authorities have called a baseless voter fraud conspiracy theory. Dr. Steven Hotze had been facing four charges related to allegedly helping plan an assault against an air conditioner repairman in October 2020. The man was run off the road and held at gunpoint over false claims he was holding fraudulent voter ballots. On Tuesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office dropped all four counts against Hotze. Jared Woodfill, Hotze’s attorney, said he was surprised but pleased by the dismissal of the charges. A former Houston police officer accused of running the repairman off the road is still facing two charges in the case.

Brian Lowery stands before what remains of his home, which was ripped apart by a tornado, in Tylertown, Miss., on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance

May 20, 2025

Mississippi’s request for federal disaster assistance is pending more than two months after 18 tornadoes ripped through the state. The delays offer a glimpse into what could be in store for communities around the country as the summer storm season arrives and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is mired in turmoil. And hurricane season is just around the corner. The emergency management director in one of the state’s hardest-hit counties says debris-removal operations have ground to a halt, and people who lost their homes aren’t getting the help they need.

Shortage of overnight truck parking contributed to deadly Greyhound bus crash, regulators say

May 20, 2025

Federal regulators have ruled that a lack of overnight parking for long-haul truckers contributed to a deadly 2023 Greyhound bus crash in Illinois that killed three of the bus passengers. The National Traffic Safety Board said in a report Wednesday that other key contributors were bus-driver fatigue, Greyhound’s insufficient oversight and more. The bus was headed west on Interstate 70 east of St. Louis about 2 a.m. on July 12, 2023. It exited onto a rest-area ramp and sideswiped three semitrailers. None of the truck drivers was hurt. The bus driver and 11 passengers were injured.

Senate will try to block California vehicle standards that would phase out gas-powered cars

May 20, 2025

The U.S. Senate will move this week to block California from enforcing a series of vehicle emissions standards that are tougher than the federal government’s, including first-in-the-nation rules phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the Senate will consider three House-passed resolutions this week that would roll back the standards. His announcement came despite significant pushback from Democrats, questions from some Republicans and the advice of the Senate Parliamentarian, who has sided with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in saying California’s policies are not subject to the review mechanism used by the House.

FILE - A customer holds the door for a family arriving at Leavitt's Country Bakery, Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Conway, N.H. Lawyers in a First Amendment lawsuit that pits a New Hampshire bakery owner against a town zoning ordinance over a large painting of doughnuts and other pastries are hoping that a judge can resolve the matter after voters didn't. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Bakery in New Hampshire wins in free speech case over a pastry shop painting

May 20, 2025

A federal judge says a New Hampshire town’s attempt to force a bakery to remove or alter its painting featuring pastries is unconstitutional. The judge ruled Monday that the town of Conway infringed on the free speech rights of bakery owner Sean Young. The town was ordered to stop enforcing its sign code for the mural painted by high school students atop Leavitt’s Country Bakery. The mural shows sunbeams shining down on a mountain range of doughnuts, a muffin, a cinnamon roll and other pastries. The zoning board had said that because the painting showed what’s sold inside — baked goods — it was considered a sign and was larger than what code allows. Young sued in 2023.

FILE - A billboard is seen in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, June 10, 2023, near the health care facility of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which has been affected by a gigantic Medicaid fraud scheme involving sober living homes that promised help to Native Americans seeking to kick alcohol and other additions. (AP Photo/Anita Snow, File)

20 people, health care business and church charged in sober living scheme in Arizona

May 20, 2025

Twenty people, a behavioral health business and a church were charged in an indictment that alleged Arizona’s Medicaid program was defrauded $60 million in a scheme involving billing for mental health treatment and addiction rehabilitation. Its the latest indictment in a series of crackdowns in the state focusing on sober living homes. The indictment alleged Happy House Behavioral Health LLC was paid the money for services that were either never provided or only partially completed. In all, over 100 people and several companies have been charged in cases brought by Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office in crackdowns on Medicaid fraud and unlicensed sober living homes, many of which targeted tribal members.

Hegseth orders new review of Afghanistan withdrawal and suicide bombing at Kabul airport

May 20, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another review of the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and of the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed American troops and Afghans. President Donald Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly blasted the Biden administration for the withdrawal, which Hegseth said Tuesday was “disastrous and embarrassing.” He says the new review will interview witnesses, analyze the decision-making and “get the truth.” There have already been multiple reviews of the withdrawal by the Pentagon, U.S. Central Command, the State Department and Congress, which have involved hundreds of interviews and studies of videos, photographs and other footage and data.

Awaiting Trump’s ‘sanctuary’ list, a sheriff who rejected pact with ICE warns of possible shaming

May 20, 2025

An Iowa sheriff is warning his county may be publicly shamed by the Trump administration for insufficiently backing the president’s immigration agenda. Dubuque County Sheriff Joe Kennedy says he is “more than happy” to help but he doesn’t want to get stuck paying for immigration enforcement and he wants to retain enough jail space for other responsibilities. President Donald Trump ordered a list by May 28 of “sanctuary” jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities but didn’t elaborate on the criteria. Kennedy has made clear that his reluctance to enforce immigration law is not about politics.

FILE - The Pentagon is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Racist memes shared by Navy SEALs prompt investigation, disciplinary actions

May 20, 2025

A defense official says that two Navy SEALs based in Virginia are facing disciplinary action for racist conduct, and several of their platoon and team leaders are being disciplined for leadership failures. The two enlisted Team 4 members are being punished for developing racist memes targeting a Black sailor in their platoon and circulating them in a group chat with other team members. The investigation found that platoon and team leaders did not adequately address the sailor’s concerns about racist behavior. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of an ongoing investigation.

How much did Mideast countries promise to invest in the US? Trump keeps jacking up the number

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump loves big numbers —- and he’s always happy to talk them up. After all, Trump years ago coined the phrase “truthful hyperbole” in his book “The Art of the Deal.” Over the last few days he has been steadily increasing the amount of money he says that countries in the Mideast pledged to invest in the U.S. when he visited the region last week. He didn’t provide underlying details. Based on statements from Trump and the White House, the figure has gone from $2 trillion last week to potentially $7 trillion as of Tuesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with children during a briefing for children during a Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump’s sweet tooth: He eats a ‘good amount’ of candy and likes pink Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump has a sweet tooth. That’s according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who made the revelation at a briefing Tuesday for the children of White House reporters. It was part of a day of events as the White House observed Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. The president and first lady Melania Trump also held separate events with groups of children. One child asked Leavitt how much candy does the president eat every day and she said, “a good amount.” She said he likes pink Starburst candies and Tootsie Rolls.

FILE - A firefighter carries a drip torch as he ignites a backfire against the Hughes Fire burning along a hillside in Castaic, Calif., Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Trump plans to merge wildland firefighting efforts into one agency, but ex-officials warn of chaos

May 20, 2025

President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to merge the government’s wildland firefighting efforts into a single agency. Some former federal officials warn the change could sow chaos and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes with fire season already underway. Trump’s budget would centralize firefighting efforts now split among five agencies into a single Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Interior Department. The Trump administration in its first months sharply reduced the ranks of firefighters through layoffs and retirement offers. The personnel declines and reshuffling of agencies come as global makes fires more severe and destructive.

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