LP_468x60
ontario news watch
on-the-record-468x60-white
and-another-thing-468x60

OTTAWA — As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders warn of a rising tide of hate around the world, community groups in Canada say they’re getting more and more calls from frightened people.

At a media availability with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw last month, Trudeau said antisemitism is on the rise globally, and especially since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Trudeau was in Poland to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

“Holocaust denialism is on the rise, violent extremism is on the rise,” Trudeau said. “Hatred, not just against Jews, but against all different races and backgrounds, is on the rise in all of our democracies. And we have not yet responded forcefully enough, strongly enough.”

Noah Shack, interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his organization has seen a massive increase in acts of antisemitism in Canada and around the world in the past year.

“We’ve seen synagogues firebombed all across this country, schools shot at in multiple cities. We’ve seen mobs of violent protesters calling for the destruction of the Jewish people, calling for Jews to be sent back to Europe. We’ve seen the flags of terrorist organizations waving proudly while Canadian flags are being burned,” Shack said. “This is a really distressing time for the Jewish community but I think it should be distressing for all Canadians.”

Zaid Al-Rawni is CEO of Naseeha Mental Health, an organization that operates a mental health hotline. He said his organization has seen a 600 per cent increase in distress calls in the past year.

“It’s causing them a lot of social anguish,” said Al-Rawni. He added that most of the hotline’s users are Muslim and many are feeling that their faith is being questioned by other Canadians.

The hotline expanded this year to 24/7 service, after previously being available only a few hours a day and receiving a few hundred calls per month. It now gets a few thousand calls monthly and more people are now using the organization’s chat feature as well, Al-Rawni said.

He said that while he and his team initially thought the increase in volume would be temporary, it hasn’t diminished for more than a year.

“We’ve accepted the idea that this isn’t a blip,” he said. “This is going to be the new normal.”

Al-Rawni said some callers report that they’re feeling “censored” at work or their careers have been derailed because of their faith. Others say they just don’t know how to process the images they’re seeing from the war in Gaza, or the expressions of Islamophobic hatred they’re reading online.

“It’s clear that people are really anxious about how to deal with the horrors we’ve all witnessed, how we fit in as a faith community to the wider mosaic of Canadian society, a lot of anxiety about the future,” Al-Rawni said. “Add to that the kind of lurching right in the world … the world seems to be making less space for each other.”

The latest Statistics Canada data on hate crimes in Canada shows that between 2022 and 2023, the total number of police-reported hate crimes increased from 3,612 to 4,777. The reported number of hate crimes has been rising steadily over the last few years.

Statistics Canada says that in 2023, 2,128 police-reported crimes were found to be motivated by race or ethnicity, while 1,284 cases were said to be motivated by religion.

Of those police-reported hate crimes, 900 targeted Jewish people, 784 targeted Black people, 228 targeted South Asian people and 211 targeted Muslim people. Sexual orientation was the motivation for 860 of the reported crimes.

A 2019 Statistics Canada survey said that Canadians self-reported being the victim of more than 223,000 hate crimes — and only about one incident in five was reported to police.

Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said the Statistics Canada data on police-reported hate crimes is “not representative of reality” because Canada doesn’t collect “any kind of accurate or representative data on the amount or type of racism and other forms of hate that are experienced by groups.”

“That said, all the imperfect data suggests, and organizations that represent particular communities will agree, that things are getting worse,” he said.

Shack said it’s critical for laws to be enforced and for communities to be kept safe, both through community-based solutions and by ensuring that police have the resources that they need.

“I don’t think that our public institutions have done enough to push back against it and to make it clear and unequivocal that that kind of stuff does not belong in this country,” he said. “There needs to be a unified approach across all levels of government.”

Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani told the Canadian Bar Association’s annual general meeting on Tuesday that “we all need to stand together against hatred.”

He said that as a racialized Muslim he knows “too well” the devastating impact crimes can have. He said Canada leads the G7 in the number of deaths linked to Islamophobic hatred — 11 since 2017.

“It has likewise been devastating to me to see other communities face a terrible rise in hate crime, including, and especially in the past year, the Jewish community right across the country,” Virani said, adding that he will host a national forum on combating antisemitism next month.

Sabah Ghouse, program coordinator for the Islamophobia Legal Assistance Hotline, said the number of calls her organization receives doubled between 2023 and 2024.

“We’ve received cases such as violence against Muslims in the forms of physical and verbal attacks. We’ve also seen workplace discrimination, discrimination at schools and universities, tenancy-related issues as well as defamation and negligence,” she said.

Ghouse said people are “definitely scared.”

“No tangible solution has been put into place to combat Islamophobia,” she said. “We need those in power and leadership, such as politicians, to unequivocally stand with Muslims and against Islamophobia. And we’re not seeing that, unless it’s for election cycles, or when a terror attack against Muslims occurs.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press


WASHINGTON — A tariff threat continues to loom as Canadian ministers connect with Republican lawmakers and business groups in Washington in hopes of swaying U.S. President Donald Trump away from the idea of damaging duties for good.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Defence Minister Bill Blair are in the U.S. capital this week making the case that Canada should not be dragged into a trade war.

They’re meeting with senators and congresspeople, and were looking to hold meetings with newly appointed members of Trump’s team.

On Monday, Trump paused his executive order to impose 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy.

Trump is freezing the levies until March 4 in response to border security commitments from both countries, saying it will allow time to reach a “final economic deal.”

Experts warn that ongoing trade uncertainty will make Canada a less desirable place to invest than the U.S.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press


SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge who already questioned the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order is set to hear arguments Thursday over a longer-term pause of the directive, which aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle has scheduled a hearing involving lawyers from the Trump administration, four states suing to stop the order, and an immigrant rights organization, which is challenging it on behalf of a proposed class of expectant parents.

The latest proceeding comes just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants’ rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.

Here’s a closer look at where things stand on the president’s birthright citizenship order.

Where do things stand on birthright citizenship?

The president’s executive order seeks to end the automatic grant of citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to parents who are in the country illegally or who are here on a temporary, but lawful, basis such as those on student or tourist visas.

For now, though, it’s on hold. Two weeks ago, Coughenour called the order “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking its implementation. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman followed that up with an injunction keeping it on hold long-term, until the merits of the case are resolved, barring a successful appeal by the Trump administration.

Asked by Boardman if the administration would appeal, an attorney for the administration said he didn’t immediately have the authority to make that decision.

What’s happening in the latest case?

On Thursday, the birthright citizenship issue is back before Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee. During a hearing last month, he said the case stood out in his more than four decades as a federal judge. “I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is,” he told a Justice Department attorney.

His temporary order blocking the executive action was set to expire Thursday when he’ll hear arguments over whether he should issue an injunction similar to the one issued by the judge in Maryland.

What about the other cases challenging the president’s order?

In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action.

The matter before the Seattle judge Thursday involves four states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. It also has been consolidated with a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Eighteen states, led by Iowa, have filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief supporting the Trump administration’s position in the case.

Yet another hearing is set for Friday in a Massachusetts court. That case involves a different group of 18 states challenging the order, including New Jersey, which is the lead plaintiff.

What’s at issue here?

At the heart of the lawsuits is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, which held Scott, an enslaved man, wasn’t a citizen despite having lived in a state where slavery was outlawed.

The plaintiffs argue the amendment, which holds that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” are indisputably citizens.

The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.

“The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to … the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws,” the government argued in reply to the Maryland plaintiffs’ suit.

Attorneys for the states have argued that it certainly does — and that has been recognized since the amendment’s adoption, notably in an 1898 U.S. Supreme Court decision. That decision, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, held that the only children who did not automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon being born on U.S. soil were children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the U.S. during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.

The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.

____

Catalini is based in Trenton, New Jersey. Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed from Greenbelt, Maryland.

Gene Johnson And Mike Catalini, The Associated Press


ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic and Republican leaders of the Minnesota House reached a power-sharing agreement Wednesday night to end a three-week stalemate that the state’s chief justice said left the chamber “completely dysfunctional.”

Details of how the arrangement will work weren’t immediately released. A joint statement from the top GOP and Democratic leaders in the chamber said only that they had a deal “to organize the Minnesota House effective Thursday,” and that more information would be released Thursday morning.

Democrats had stayed away from the state Capitol since the 2025 legislative session opened Jan. 14. Republicans argued that only 67 — the number of GOP elected members in the chamber — were required for a quorum.

The Minnesota Supreme Court sided with Democrats, ruling Jan. 24 that 68 representatives must be present to conduct business under the state constitution, but left it up to lawmakers to figure out a way to end the standoff.

Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon had gone to the House daily for the last several days to try to convene the chamber, but without a quorum, all he could do was declare an adjournment and return the next day. Under state law, the secretary of state is the presiding officer at the start of the House session until a speaker is elected.

The House GOP holds a 67-66 majority pending a special election to fill an empty seat that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday set for March 11. That election, in a heavily Democratic district that includes the St. Paul suburb of Roseville, is expected to restore the 67-67 tie that both sides agreed came out of the November election.

While House Democrats had said they were willing to recognize that the GOP has a temporary majority, they had also said they wouldn’t return to the Capitol until Republicans promised not to refuse to seat Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke, of the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee, where a judge ruled he won reelection by just 14 votes. It is a swing district, where the GOP would stand a good chance of winning a low-turnout special election.

The Supreme Court ruling effectively nullified all actions that House Republicans had attempted to take, including the election of their top leader, Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, as speaker.

In blocking a quorum, House Democrats used tactics that lawmakers around the country have tried at least two dozen times to thwart their opponents.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Senate has returned to a 34-33 Democratic majority after three weeks of operating relatively smoothly under a power-sharing agreement. Democratic Sen. Doron Clark, of Minneapolis, was sworn in Monday after winning a special election to fill the seat of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, who died in December.

Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press


ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic and Republican leaders of the Minnesota House reached a power-sharing agreement Wednesday night to end a three-week stalemate the state’s chief justice said left the chamber “completely dysfunctional.”

Democrats had stayed away from the state Capitol since the 2025 legislative session opened Jan. 14. Republicans argued that only 67 — the number of GOP elected members in the chamber — were required for a quorum.

The Minnesota Supreme Court sided with Democrats, ruling Jan. 24 that 68 representatives must be present to conduct business under the state constitution, but left it up to lawmakers to figure out a way to end the standoff.

Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon has gone to the House daily since Monday to try to convene the chamber, but without a quorum, all he can do is declare an adjournment and return the next day. Under state law, the secretary of state is the presiding officer at the start of the House session until a speaker is elected.

The House GOP holds a 67-66 majority pending a special election to fill an empty seat that’s set for March 11. That election, in a heavily Democratic district that includes the St. Paul suburb of Roseville, is expected to restore the 67-67 tie that both sides agreed came out of the November election.

House Democrats have been demanding a power-sharing agreement. While they’ve said they’re willing to recognize that the GOP has a temporary majority, they’ve also said they won’t return to the Capitol until Republicans promise not to refuse to seat Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke, of the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee, where a judge ruled he won reelection by just 14 votes. It is a swing district, where the GOP would stand a good chance of winning a low-turnout special election.

The Supreme Court ruling effectively nullified all actions that House Republicans had attempted to take, including the election of their top leader, Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, as speaker.

In blocking a quorum, House Democrats used tactics that lawmakers around the country have tried at least two dozen times to thwart their opponents.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Senate has returned to a 34-33 Democratic majority after three weeks of operating relatively smoothly under a power-sharing agreement. Democratic Sen. Doron Clark, of Minneapolis, was sworn in Monday after winning a special election to fill the seat of Sen. Kari Dziedzic, who died in December.

Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press


HALIFAX — The Canadian and American national women’s hockey teams aren’t worried about the current political climate overshadowing Game 4 of the Rivalry Series.

Players and coaches from both sides of the border are ready to hear boos at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre on Thursday evening, whether politically motivated or not. Instead, they’re focused on the intense rivalry between some of hockey’s best players.

“It’s definitely an interesting time,” Canada forward Blayre Turnbull said following Wednesday’s practice at the 10,500-capacity rink.

“I don’t know if that would happen here in Halifax, but I think the magnitude of this game is bigger than politics right now.”

Fans at several professional sports events in Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver have booed the American national anthem over the past week, apparently in response to a brewing trade war between Canada and the United States. Spectators in Nashville returned the favour on Monday when the Predators hosted the Ottawa Senators.

Talks between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday led to a pause in raised tariffs on imports to the two countries.

Turnbull, 31, is from Stellarton, N.S., and knows what to expect from a Maritime crowd. She believes fan excitement will overpower any dissent during the singing of national anthems.

“The fans and all the young kids in the stands are going to be so over-the-moon excited and overjoyed to have the opportunity to watch us play, that I don’t foresee any booing taking place,” Turnbull said.

“I think it’s going to be more of an empowered atmosphere where everyone is there to cheer us on and just promote our game, and hopefully that’s all that happens.”

Canada head coach Troy Ryan had “some brief conversations with some individual people” about the North American political divide, sparked by executive orders from Trump over the weekend that threatened to raise tariffs on Canadian imports.

Ryan said the subject, however, hasn’t been discussed as a team.

“It’s definitely not part of the noise within our group,” said Ryan, from Spryfield, N.S. “If they decide they want to talk about it, we’ll talk about it, but it’s not something we think we have to get ahead of.”

“I think hockey is just not a place for a lot of political views,” he added. “We understand people’s concerns but we’re here to just put on a show — and play against our biggest rival.”

Canada currently leads this season’s five-game Rivalry Series 2-1 after the U.S. hosted the first three meetings this past November.

American head coach John Wroblewski says his young squad is ready to stage a comeback Thursday in front of what will be a raucous Canadian crowd.

“You don’t need to say much more about the passion that Canadians have for their sport,” he said. “The political unrest that’s happening in arenas right now — I don’t have a lot to comment on with that.

“What I would like to say is that the celebration of this amazing event should be on display. This is one of the coolest sports events.”

Turnbull, Ryan and Canadian assistant coach Kori Cheverie of New Glasgow, N.S., hope their homecoming is a special experience after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 world women’s hockey championship in their home province.

The popularity of the six-team Professional Women’s Hockey League, which has brought new fans to the game and is already looking at expansion, is also adding to enthusiasm for the female game in both countries.

“Last night at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, we had a lot of young athletes, young women, young girls that play hockey,” said Ryan, who is also head coach of the PWHL’s Toronto Spectres.

“The PWHL has just exposed it on a whole other level. The international game, and the Canada-U. S. Rivalry Series, has probably been a great foundation for what the PWHL has been able to build on; it’s just an exciting time for women’s hockey and women’s sports in general.”

Fans of all ages decked in PWHL merchandise filled the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame on Tuesday to meet Montreal Victoire captain Marie Philip-Poulin and Toronto Sceptres captain Turnbull, among others.

“After worlds got cancelled a few years ago, I didn’t expect the opportunity to come back and play at home, so I’m really excited about it,” Turnbull said of Thursday’s matchup. “It’s a game that I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced.

“I can’t wait for the puck to drop.”

Game 5 of the annual Rivalry Series is set for Saturday at Credit Union Place in Summerside, P.E.I.

Notes: Canada assistant coach Caroline Ouellette, senior manager of player development and scouting Cherie Piper and general manager Gina Kingsbury all won gold at the 2004 worlds at the same arena, then called the Metro Centre. Canada beat the U.S. 2-0 in front of a sold-out crowd …. Canada came back to claim last year’s Rivalry Series with four straight wins to beat the U.S. 4-3 in the seven-game event.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025.

Kristen Lipscombe, The Canadian Press


A movement to oppose President Donald Trump organized under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, is looking to spark nationwide protests on Wednesday. Organized largely online, many of the protests are planned at state capitols, with some in other cities. Flyers circulating decry Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society, and include messages such as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.”

Hundreds are also rallying in Washington, D.C., in support of USAID as the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the government agency aid, sending U.S. workers around the world scrambling to pack up households and shutter the institutions six-decade mission.

Here’s the latest:

Newsom’s office says his meeting with Trump over LA fire aid was productive

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said he had a productive meeting with Trump to discuss federal aid needed to help Los Angeles-area fire victims recover from the recent blazes.

Newsom, a Democrat, also met with members of Congress earlier in the day to try to secure support for disaster aid.

“I look forward to more productive meetings, and I look forward to the spirit that defined the meetings of this day — that’s a spirit of collaboration and cooperation,” he said in a video posted on X.

During Newsom’s meeting with Trump, he thanked the president for his administration’s help so far, including debris removal efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the governor’s office said.

Trump is targeting antisemitism in schools. Experts fear other civil rights will be ignored

The federal office that enforces civil rights at schools across the U.S. has been ordered to prioritize complaints of antisemitism above all else as it molds to Trump’s agenda, raising fears that other rights violations will go unpunished.

Trump’s new leader of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights told staff this week they will be expected to aggressively pursue complaints involving antisemitism and hew closely to Trump’s wishes, according to sources who were on the call with Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Already there are signs of a hard turn on civil rights enforcement, including new actions focused squarely on anti-Jewish bias and transgender issues.

▶ Read more about the enforcement of civil rights in schools during Trump’s administration

Senate Democrats pulling an all-nighter to protest Vought

Senate Democrats vow to stay up all night to protest Trump’s nomination of Russ Vought as White House budget director.

Vought is a chief architect of Project 2025 and influential in the Musk team’s DOGE cuts slashing across the federal government.

All 47 Democrats say they will vote against Vought. But as the minority party in the Senate, that’s not enough to stop his confirmation. Instead, Senate Democrats are marching through the full 30 hours of debate before a final vote.

Vought is expected to be confirmed as director of the Office of Management and Budget in a Senate vote Thursday.

Texas governor says his state is seeking $11B in reimbursements for border wall construction projects

Texas Republican Gov. Gregg Abbott says he discussed securing the border with Trump and has identified 4,000 cells in his state that federal authorities could use as immigration lockups.

Abbott said Texas also has military bases that could house soldiers used in immigration crackdown efforts.

He said his state is seeking $11 billion in federal reimbursement costs over the past four years. That’s because Abbott ordered Texas to build sections of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border after the Biden administration halted construction.

Abbott said 20 miles (32 kilometers) of border wall would be completed “in the coming days.”

California’s Newsom meets with Trump, lawmakers

Trump’s meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrapped up at the White House on Wednesday evening, but the governor and president did not speak to reporters afterward.

The White House also did not provide any details about their conversation.

Newsom was on Capitol Hill earlier, meeting with House lawmakers from California including Rep. Judy Chu who represents the badly burned Altadena area.

The governor also met with California’s two Democratic Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, in what Padilla’s office said was a productive meeting about the latest response to the fires. They were joined by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Padilla reiterated his commitment to working with his colleagues to fully fund federal disaster relief without partisan strings attached, his office said.

Hundreds demonstrate outside Idaho Statehouse

Several hundred people rallied outside the Idaho Statehouse in Boise, holding signs with slogans like “STOP the COUP” and “Why is Elon in Charge?”

Emily Stoker, who lives in the nearby city of Meridian, carried a large sign emblazoned with the word “FASCIST” beneath a portrait of President Trump. “I don’t understand why people are supporting this,” she said, gesturing to the sign.

“I’m horrified at the direction our country is going, that it’s moving backwards. It’s moving more toward hate, moving towards empowering the wealthy and disenfranchising the poor and the minorities,” Stoker said. “We stand for truth and goodness and equality.”

Democrats on Capitol Hill demand answers from Treasury Secretary on DOGE

House and Senate Democrats are demanding Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provide answers about DOGE’s ability to access sensitive Treasury Department information on American citizens.

Senate Democrats want Bessent to meet with them, according to a letter from Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and five other senators. They say Treasury’s answers so far have been “inadequate.”

House Democrats on the powerful Ways & Means Committee led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., wrote in a separate letter, “It is both unclear and unsettling why DOGE would be privy to this sensitive payment system and confidential taxpayer information.”

Trump offers to build a ballroom at the White House

Trump reverted back into his real estate developer mode while before signing his executive order on women’s sports when he declared that he would offer to build a ballroom for the White House.

“This room is packed,” Trump said, before diverting from the issue of sports to say that he had offered to build a ballroom for the White House several times under the Biden administration “and I never heard back.”

Trump suggested he would build a ballroom like one at his Mar-a-Lago resort and said he was “very good about building ballrooms.”

He said such a room would cost $100 million and said, “So I’m going to try and make the offer to myself, you know, because we could use a bigger room.”

It was not immediately clear if he intended to follow through on the offer and the details of such a construction project.

Judge likely to limit DOGE access to Treasury

A federal judge seems likely to order that allies of Elon Musk should not have further access to Treasury Department payment systems beyond two new Musk-aligned special government employees who already have access.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is weighing a lawsuit from federal workers’ unions trying to prevent Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems, which the plaintiffs call a massive privacy invasion.

A Justice Department attorney said no one outside of the Treasury Department has gotten access to the records, other than new special government employee Marko Elez, who reports to Tom Krause.

Kollar-Kotelly is expected to sign an order late Wednesday as she considers the unions’ push for broader restrictions on access to the system that handles trillions of dollars’ worth of federal payments.

Demonstrators gather outside the Arizona State Capitol

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix on Wednesday, waving signs opposed to Trump and Musk while chanting “stop the coup,” “deport Elon” and “no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!”

Karolyn Switzer, 82, of Payson, Arizona, said she and a friend drove 90 minutes to attend because she was “thoroughly disgusted” with the way Trump and Musk have been running the country. She said she was especially concerned by the potential for the removal or reduction of services and benefits to a myriad of federal programs, including Social Security and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. She was frightened by other recent moves by Trump and Musk.

“It scares me to see a bunch of young, inexperienced computer nerds in places like the U.S. Treasury,” said Switzer, a retired computer programmer with 49 years of experience. She was referring to Wired’s recent reporting that a group of young engineers was enlisted to work for the Department of Government Efficiency, the special commission headed by Musk.

Hundreds of people protest in Sacramento

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside of the California Capitol building in Sacramento to oppose the Trump administration’s actions and rhetoric.

Rallygoers yelled chants and held signs that decried Trump as a threat to democracy, diversity, immigrants and LGBTQ+ Americans.

“Hey, hey! Ho, ho! His tyranny has got to go,” protesters chanted at one point. One person held a sign that read: “Mexicans aren’t going anywhere.” Many waved American flags.

The demonstration comes days after the state Legislature, which is dominated by Democrats, approved bills that Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign to help protect the state’s progressive policies from challenges by the White House.

—By Sophie Austin

More than 2,000 people protest at Minnesota Capitol

Over 2,000 protesters bundled up and braved wind chills at around 5 degrees F (-15 C) on the steps of the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul, including several hundred who marched from a nearby college.

The crowd far exceeded the 200 people originally estimated by organizers before word spread on social media.

Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota, told the protesters through a megaphone that they need to hold power accountable.

“We, the people, are the ultimate power in our democracy,” Belladonna-Carrera said.

Those protesting expressed their anger not just at Trump but also Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Some signs read “Impeach Trump,” “Impeach President Musk and the Other One,” and “Nobody Elected Elon.”

USAID has a big impact across the globe

The United States is the world’s largest source of foreign assistance by far, although several European countries allocate a much bigger share of their budgets.

While aid to Africa dwarfs the roughly $2 billion that Latin America receives annually, the Western Hemisphere has long been a spending priority of both Democratic and Republican administrations.

USAID has been critical in protecting the Amazon rainforest, fighting cocaine in South America, response to HIV, girls’ education and free school lunches in Africa and funding in Ukraine to help during the war, along with countless other efforts.

▶ Read more about the global impact of USAID

Trump meets privately with Texas Gov. Abbott

Trump has met with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, calling him “a great friend” and saying “he’s really done a great job at the border.”

The two met behind closed doors. But Abbott joined many elected officials to watch the president sign a subsequent executive order designed to prevent people assigned male at birth from participating in women’s or girls’ sports.

Abbott has been an outspoken proponent of hardline immigration policies.

During the Biden administration, Texas sent thousands of migrants detained along its border with Mexico to northern cities like New York.

Trump will bar transgender athletes from the 2028 Olympics

Trump said his administration will deny visas to any transgender female athletes trying to compete at the 2028 Olympic games in Los Angeles.

The president said he’s directing his Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to deny entry to people he described as men “fraudulently” attempting to compete in the games as female athletes.

He said he’s also directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to notify the governing body of the Olympic Games of the U.S. position on transgender athletes.

Trump is signing order banning transgender female athletes

Trump is holding a ceremony to sign an executive order to ban transgender female athletes from competing in women or girls’ sporting events.

“From now on women’s sports will be only for women,” Trump said before the signing.

Trump was talking before taking pen to paper Wednesday as members of Congress and women, including some women athletes, looked on in the East Room of the White House.

DOGE looks at Medicare, Medicaid systems

Billionaire Elon Musk’s federal cost-cutting initiative, DOGE, is taking a look at the systems and technology at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The agency spends more than $1 trillion providing health insurance for roughly half the country.

Two agency officials are working with DOGE, CMS spokeswoman Catherine Howden said in a statement.

“We are taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of President Trump,” Howden said.

Trump administration ramps up pressure on federal workers to quit

An email encouraging federal workers to accept financial incentives to quit is reminding them that buyouts or furloughs could come next.

“The majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,” said an email that was distributed by the Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday and viewed by The Associated Press.

The deadline to apply for the deferred resignation program, which includes pay until Sept. 30, is 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Democrats have warned workers not to take the offer, saying it wasn’t properly authorized.

The email said there would be fewer civil service protections for employees who remain.

“Employees will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward,” said the email.

Rubio promises to rebuild foreign aid. Democrats call shuttering USAID an illegal coup

Rubio said the Trump administration will now “work from the bottom up” to determine which U.S. aid and development missions abroad should resume.

“This is not about ending foreign aid. It is about structuring it in a way that furthers the national interest of the United States,” he said in Guatemala City.

In Washington, Democratic lawmakers and hundreds of others rallied outside the Capitol to protest the fast-moving shutdown of an independent government agency.

“This is illegal and this is a coup,” California Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs cried.

“We are witnessing in real time the most corrupt bargain in American history,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen shouted.

“Lock him up!” members of the crowd chanted.

▶ Read more on outrage and anxiety over USAID

USAID contractor says they are placed in danger with cut offs

A USAID contractor posted in an often violent region of the Middle East said the shutdown of the agency had placed the contractor and the contractor’s family in greater danger, cut off from some ways to reach the U.S. government for help if needed.

The contractor woke up one morning earlier this week blocked from access to government email and other systems, and an emergency “panic button” app was wiped off the contractor’s smartphone. Other USAID staff globally reported the same problem, although emergency comms were being restored to some on a spotty basis.

“You really do feel cut off from a lifeline,” the contract staffer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a Trump administration ban forbidding USAID workers from speaking to people outside their agency.

__By Ellen Knickmeyer

VA nurses are in short supply. Unions say encouraging them to quit could make things worse

The nurses who care for military veterans are in such short supply that staffing shortages are considered severe at most Veterans Administration hospitals.

Encouraging the 100,000 VA nurses to quit now will worsen a crisis that’s already affecting the care of more than 9 million enrolled veterans.

Federal employees face a Thursday deadline if they want to accept buyouts and resign with pay through Sept. 30.

Mary-Jean Burke, a leader of the American Federation of Government Employees, says the more they learn from the Office of Personnel Management, the more it seems “too good to be true.” The union is discouraging its members from taking the offer.

▶ Read more about the Veterans Administration nurses

A Black church in DC that was vandalized by the Proud Boys gains control over the group’s trademark

A judge has awarded a historic Black church in Washington control over the Proud Boys trademark after the far-right group defaulted on a $2.8 million judgment.

The ruling in D.C. Superior Court grants rights to the trademark of the group’s name to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church and bars the Proud Boys members from selling any merchandise with its name or symbols without the church’s consent. The ruling also allows the church to try to seize any money made from selling the group’s merchandise.

The church filed the lawsuit to try to recoup damages from vandalism made by group members after a December 2020 pro-Donald Trump rally. Black Lives Matter banners were torn down and burned at two churches, including Metropolitan African Methodist. There were also violent clashes between opposing protesters and arrests were made that night.

Enrique Tarrio, then the leader of the Proud Boys, confessed to participating in the burnings and was later sentenced to more than five months in jail on those and other charges. Tarrio was later sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for orchestrating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

▶ Read more about the ruling

Democrats demand answers over Musk’s access to sensitive data

Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee questioned the White House Wednesday about President Donald Trump’s decision to grant billionaire Elon Musk and his staff access to classified information and the personal data of millions of Americans.

Writing to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the lawmakers said national security and Americans’ personal privacy must be protected from security lapses that could occur as Musk and his staff look to overhaul the federal workforce.

Musk and inspectors at the Department of Government Efficiency now have access to information contained within dozens of agencies, including medical and financial data belonging to millions of Americans, and classified material about foreign intelligence or the identity of undercover operatives.

In their letter, the senators asked how department staff were vetted and what safeguards are in place to prevent the misuse of information.

Democratic lawmakers also invited themselves into House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over DOGE’s access of a highly private federal payment system.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Ca., and Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., who are both members of the powerful Ways & Means Committee, headed over to the speaker’s suite to demand answers. It was unclear if the speaker or the Treasury secretary were on hand to meet and discuss.

More pushback on Trump’s Gaza plan, this time from Republicans

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called Trump’s proposal for a U.S. takeover of Gaza as “problematic.”

“The idea of Americans going in on the ground in Gaza is a non starter for every senator,” the South Carolina lawmaker told reporters Wednesday. “So I would suggest we go back to what we’ve been trying to do which is destroy Hamas and find a way for the Arab world to take over Gaza and the West Bank, in a fashion that would lead to a Palestinian state that Israel can live with.”

Callers swamp Senate offices, only to get busy signals and voicemail

Callers are getting busy signals and voicemail inboxes too full to leave comments at many U.S. Senate offices. There’s a deluge of people trying to voice their opinions on Trump’s Cabinet picks, executive orders and moves to dismantle various federal programs.

The problem was confirmed in a memo distributed to Senate staff obtained by The Associated Press.

Constituents want to reach their representatives as Trump and his ally Musk work to dismantle much of the federal government, shuttering agencies, temporarily freezing funding and pushing workers to resign.

One popular social media post urges opponents to call their lawmakers six times a day, every day — two calls to each of their senators and two to their House members. “You should NOT be bothering with online petitions or emailing,” it said.

▶ Read more on efforts of constituents to reach Congress

McConnell’s office says he’s doing fine, using wheelchair as precaution

“Senator McConnell is fine,” his spokesman David Popp said.

The office sent a statement after the former GOP leader, who suffered from childhood polio, stumbled on a small series of steps exiting the Senate.

“The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work,” Popp said.

McConnell was using a wheelchair as a precautionary measure at the Capitol.

EPA to resume payments for major programs

The Environmental Protection Agency will resume payments for major programs including Superfund site cleanup, clean drinking water infrastructure and habitat restoration, according to a Tuesday memo obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by E&E News.

The internal memo from Gregg Treml, acting Chief Financial Officer, complies with a recent court order temporarily freezing the Trump administration’s broad pause on federal financial assistance.

Funding will continue to flow “while ongoing litigation proceeds or until otherwise directed by a court,” the memo said.

Palestinians reject Trump’s call to expel them from Gaza

Saeed Abu Elaish’s wife, two of his daughters and two dozen others from his extended family were killed by Israeli airstrikes over the past 15 months. His house in northern Gaza was destroyed. He and surviving family now live in a tent set up in the rubble of his home.

But he says he will not be driven out, despite Trump’s call for transferring all Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. could take over the devastated territory and rebuild it for others.

“We categorically reject and will resist any plans to deport and transfer us from our land,” he said from the Jabaliya refugee camp.

▶ Read more reactions from Palestinians to Trump’s comments on Gaza

Sen. Mitch McConnell stumbles on Senate steps

The Republican former leader fell slightly on a few steps while exiting the Senate chamber after late-morning votes.

Mitchell was immediately scooped up by colleagues, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and they headed into a private GOP lunch.

Daines said McConnell seemed just fine. “He walked on his own power to lunch,” he said.

McConnell of Kentucky experienced a more serious fall two years ago and has since had a few other stumbles and setbacks while back at the Capitol. He ended his run as the longest serving Senate leader at the end of the last congressional session.

Protests against Trump and Project 2025 begin in cities across the US

A movement to protest the early actions of President Donald Trump’s administration took off Wednesday, as thousands of demonstrators gathered outside a federal courthouse in Philadelphia and at state capitols in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana.

Protesters waved signs decrying Trump; billionaire Elon Musk, the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency; and Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport! Do something,” said one demonstrator’s sign in Philadelphia.

A movement is organizing the protests online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Social media calls for action included such messages as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.”

▶ Read more about the anti-Trump protests

White House press secretary confirms hundreds of arrested migrants have been released, not deported

Karoline Leavitt said 461 people in the country illegally who have been arrested since Trump took office were released back into the U.S. rather than being deported.

Leavitt said that, as of Wednesday morning, more than 8,000 migrants have been arrested since Jan. 20. The people released from immigration custody amount to about 6% of them.

Leavitt said they were released for health reasons, because individuals weren’t likely to be deported quickly, or because of a lack of capacity in immigration detention facilities.

Trump campaigned on ending “catch and release,” accusing the Biden administration of releasing migrants too easily. Trump also has signed an executive order mandating “removing promptly all aliens.”

Cybersecurity expert: DeepSeek’s chatbot could be riskier than TikTok

Feroot CEO Ivan Tsarynny says “It’s mindboggling that we are unknowingly allowing China to survey Americans and we’re doing nothing about it.”

Former Homeland Security and National Security Agency official Stewart Baker says DeepSeek “raises all of the TikTok concerns plus you’re talking about information that is highly likely to be of more national security and personal significance than anything people do on TikTok.”

Congress voted to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest or face a nationwide ban, but then the app received a 75-day reprieve from President Donald Trump to work out a sale.

▶Read more about DeepSeek’s code:

New Chinese AI company DeepSeek tied to Chinese government-run telecom, researchers find

The chatbot offered by the new Chinese AI company DeepSeek appears to be more closely tied to the Chinese state than previously known. Cybersecurity experts say using it may be more risky than watching videos on TikTok.

The web login page of DeepSeek’s chatbot contains some heavily obfuscated computer script. According to the cybersecurity research firm Feroot Security, deciphering it reveals computer infrastructure connections to China Mobile, a state-owned telecom that’s banned in the United States because it feeds information to the Chinese military.

▶Read more about DeepSeek’s code:

White House walks back Trump’s suggestion of permanent resettlement for Gaza residents

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has contradicted Trump’s suggestions that the residents of the Gaza Strip could be permanently relocated elsewhere.

“The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza,” Levitt said during her briefing with reporters. “It’s a demolition site.”

That contradicted Trump, who said on Tuesday night of Gaza, “If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.”

Rubio calls Trump’s proposal in Gaza ‘generous’

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that President Donald Trump’s proposal to take “ownership” of Gaza and redevelop the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East” was a “generous” offer.

“It was not meant as a hostile move,” Rubio said. “It was meant as a, I think, a very generous move.”

He said it is “akin to a natural disaster” and people can’t live there because there are unexploded munitions, debris and rubble.

“In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it,” the top diplomat said.

Trump previewed his plan to Israel’s leader

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “was indeed” aware of Trump’s plan for the U.S. to take “ownership” of Gaza before he publicly announced it.

Leavitt said during a briefing with reporters that she was not present to witness Netanyahu’s reaction to Trump’s plan but said “this is something the president has been socializing and thinking about for quite some time.”

Rubio suggests USAID workers have themselves to blame

The U.S. secretary of state said the original intention was to keep the U.S. Agency for International Development running pending a review of whether and how money was being spent in alignment of U.S. foreign policy under President Trump.

But he said the Trump administration received no cooperation, and employees were acting in “contravention” and “insubordination.”

“It is not the direction I wanted it. It’s not the way we wanted to do it initially, but it is the way we will have to do it now,” Rubio said, referring to the sudden order late Tuesday to pull almost all USAID workers overseas off the job and out of the field.

Rubio spoke at a press conference with the Guatemalan president in the country’s capital.

Guatemala strikes deal with Rubio to accept migrants from other countries deported from the US

Guatemala’s president said Wednesday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that his country will accept migrants from other countries being deported from the United States.

Under the “safe third country” agreement announced by President Bernardo Arevalo, the deportees would then be returned to their home countries at U.S. expense.

Immigration, a Trump administration priority, has been the major focus of Rubio’s first foreign trip as America’s top diplomat, a five-country tour of Central America.

In El Salvador, he announced a similar but broader agreement, which included an offer to accept American citizens jailed in the U.S. for violent crimes.

Pro-Trump Arab American group changes its name after the president’s Gaza ‘Riviera’ comments

A group that played a key role in Donald Trump’s voter outreach to the Arab American community alongside his allies is rebranding itself after the president said that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip.

Bishara Bahbah, chairman of the group formerly known as Arab Americans for Trump, said during a phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the group would now be called Arab Americans for Peace.

The name change came after Trump held a Tuesday press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

FBI agents who ‘simply followed orders’ in Jan. 6 probes won’t be fired, a Justice official says

FBI agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” while investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol are not at risk of being fired, a top Justice Department official said in a memo to the bureau workforce obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

But the memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove also provides no reassurances for any agents found to have “acted with corrupt or partisan intent” and suggests those employees, if there any, should be concerned about a massive and highly unusual review process the Trump administration Justice Department has embarked upon.

The message from Bove is aimed at providing a measure of clarity about highly unusual Justice Department demand for the names of agents who participated in the investigation, a request seen within the FBI as a possible precursor for mass firings.

__By Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer

GOP quashes Democratic effort to force Musk to appear for congressional oversight questions

Republicans blocked Democratic efforts Wednesday to subpoena Musk to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on “Rightsizing Government.”

Musk is leading Trump’s “government efficiency” effort. He’s positioned personnel in key federal agencies where they have sought to close the U.S. Agency for International Development and gain access to sensitive payment systems at the Treasury Department.

“Who is this unelected billionaire that he can attempt to dismantle federal agencies, fire people, transfer them, offer them early retirement and have sweeping changes to agencies without any congressional review, oversight or concurrence?” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, the panel’s ranking Democrat.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., then moved to table the motion, and Republicans quashed it with a 20-19 vote.

Frustrated anti-Trump protesters get a reality check as Democrat notes Republicans hold power

Demonstrators gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to protest the shutdown of USAID seem increasingly frustrated with Democratic lawmakers, chanting “do your job!”

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia took the microphone and described how Democrats plan to fight the changes in court, withhold support for Trump nominees and hopefully win future elections.

But he acknowledged political reality: “We are where we are because we lost a presidential election and we lost two houses in November. We have a lot more tools in majority than we do in minority,” Kaine said.

Trump’s birthright citizenship order is put on hold by a second federal judge

A federal judge has ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a “most precious right.”

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said no court in the country has endorsed the Trump administration’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“This court will not be the first,” she said. “Citizenship is a most precious right, expressly granted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.”

Boardman said citizenship is a “national concern that demands a uniform policy,” adding that “only a nationwide injunction will provide complete relief to the plaintiffs.”

Trump’s inauguration week order had already been on temporary hold nationally because of a separate suit brought by four states in Washington state, where a judge called the order “blatantly unconstitutional.”

In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action.

▶Read more about what the judge had to say

Pam Bondi is sworn in as U.S. attorney general

Before Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office in the White House’s Oval Office, Trump praised Bondi’s record as a prosecutor and said she will restore “fair, equal and impartial justice” to the department.

It was the first time Trump participated in a swearing in ceremony for a cabinet member in his new term, underscoring the president’s immense personal interest in the department that charged him in two since-abandoned criminal cases.

Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, told the president that she would not let him down, saying: “I will make you proud and I will make this country proud.”

Bondi takes the reins of a Justice Department bracing for upheaval as Trump looks to exert his will over an agency that has long provoked his ire.

Senate Democrats to pull an all-nighter to protest Vought, Project 2025 and DOGE

Senate Democrats are planning an all-nighter to protest confirmation of Russ Vought as Trump’s budget director.

All 47 Democrats are opposing the Vought, who is a chief architect of Project 2025 and influential in the Musk-run DOGE cuts ripping through the federal government. While Democrats don’t have the votes as the minority party to stop the nominee, they will try to muster the stamina to rail against him all night — running out the procedural clock before the roll call.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said they will “sound the alarm on Russell Vought through the night.”

Supporters and lawmakers turn out to back USAID

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered across the street from the U.S. Capitol to protest the latest cuts and dismantling of USAID. Half a dozen Democratic members of Congress were expected to speak at the rally, the second with lawmakers this week.

Posters titled “the faces of foreign aid” showed images of doctors and farmers and teachers who administer USAID programs across the globe.

“Hell no, we won’t go!” chants began before the speakers took the mics.

USAID workers scramble for answers after Trump pulls almost all of them off the job worldwide

U.S. aid staffers around the world are scrambling Wednesday for answers and starting to pack up households or pull their children from school after a sudden Trump administration order yanking almost all of them off the job and out of the field.

In Washington, Democratic lawmakers and other supporters of the U.S. Agency for International Development planned rallies to protest the dismantling of the independent government agency established six decades ago. USAID has been one of the agencies hardest hit as the new administration and Elon Musk’s budget-cutting team target federal programs they say are wasteful or not aligned with a conservative agenda.

U.S. embassies in many of the more than 100 countries where USAID operates convened emergency town halls for the thousands of agency staffers and contractors looking for answers. Embassy officials said they had been given no guidance on what to tell staffers, particularly local hires, about their employment status.

Speaker Mike Johnson calls Trump’s plans for Gaza ‘common sense’

House Speaker Mike Johnson calls Trump’s plans to redevelop Gaza a “bold move” that should be given a look.

“If we could control that situation and bring about a lasting peace there, it would do well for everybody,” Johnson, a Republican, said at a press conference.

“It just makes sense to make the neighborhood there safer,” he said. “I think it follows common sense.”

The speaker said plans to discuss the idea further when he meets with Netanyahu on Thursday at the Capitol.

He acknowledged while Trump’s announcement surprised many Johnson by said it was also cheered by others around the world.

Russian ally hails suspension of US foreign aid

The president of a Serb-dominated part of Bosnia says U.S. funding has inflicted “serious evil” around the world for years.

Milorad Dodik was sanctioned by the Biden administration over allegations of corruption and separatist policies that are undermining the U.S.-brokered peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he praised Trump’s election as “a magnificent event in the new political history.” He also claimed that the U.S. Agency for International Development has been used to destabilize nations.

The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Trump administration voices on Wednesday contradicted some of the comments the president made a day earlier about the U.S. taking long-term control of war-shattered Gaza, the possibility of sending in American troops and the area’s residents being permanently resettled.

President Donald Trump ‘s remarks Tuesday set off alarm in Arab countries and even among some of his Republican allies before Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to walk them back.

Here’s a look at what Trump, Rubio and Leavitt said, and the key areas in which they disagree:

On refugee resettlement outside of Gaza

Trump: “I hope we can do something where they wouldn’t want to go back.”

“If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.”

Rubio: “In the interim, obviously, people are going to have to live somewhere while you’re rebuilding it. It is akin to a natural disaster. What he very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction — the rebuilding of homes and businesses and things of this nature, so that then people can move back in.”

Leavitt: “The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza.”

On sending US troops to Gaza

Trump: “We will do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that.”

Leavitt: “The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza.”

Rubio: “It was not meant as a hostile move. It was meant as, I think, a very generous move, the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding.”

On the US taking long-term control and overseeing reconstruction of Gaza

Trump: “I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East.”

“We’re going to take over that piece and we’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs. And it will be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”

“We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don’t want to be cute. I don’t want to be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East.”

“This could be so magnificent. But more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they are living in hell. And those people will now be able to live in peace. We’ll make sure that it’s done world class.”

Rubio: “What President Trump announced yesterday is the offer, the willingness, of the United States to become responsible for the reconstruction of that area.”

Leavitt: “It’s been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort to ensure stability in the region for all people. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region.”

Will Weissert, The Associated Press


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is scrapping some of its diversity hiring targets, joining a lengthening list of U.S. companies that have abandoned or scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The move, which was outlined in an email sent to Google employees on Wednesday, came in the wake of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that was aimed in part at pressuring government contractors to scrap their DEI initiatives.

Like several other major tech companies, Google sells some of its technology and services to the federal government, including its rapidly growing cloud division that’s a key piece of its push into artificial technology.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, also signaled the shift in its annual 10-K report it filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In it, Google removed a line included in previous annual reports saying that it’s “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.”

Google generates most of Alphabet’s annual revenue of $350 billion and accounts for almost all of its worldwide workforce of 183,000.

“We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year we’ve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there,” Google said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We’ve updated our 10-K language to reflect this, and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic.”

The change in language also comes slightly more than two weeks after Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other prominent technology executives — including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg — stood behind Trump during his inauguration.

Meta jettisoned its DEI program last month, shortly before the inauguration, while Amazon halted some of its DEI programs in December following Trump’s election.

Many companies outside of the technology industry also have backed away from DEI. Those include Walt Disney Co., McDonald’s, Ford, Walmart, Target, Lowe’s and John Deere.

Trump’s recent executive order threatens to impose financial sanctions on federal contractors deemed to have “illegal” DEI programs. If the companies are found to be in violation, they could be subject to massive damages under the 1863 False Claims Act. That law states that contractors that make false claims to the government could be liable for three times the government’s damages.

The order also directed all federal agencies to choose the targets of up to nine investigations of publicly traded companies, large non-profits and other institutions with DEI policies that constitute “Illegal discrimination or preference.”

The challenge for companies is knowing which DEI policies the Trump administration may decide are “illegal.” Trump’s executive order seeks to “terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs” and other activities of the federal government, and to compel federal agencies “to , combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”

In both the public and private sector, diversity initiatives have covered a range of practices, from anti-discrimination training and conducting pay equity studies to making efforts to recruit more members of minority groups and women as employees.

Google, which is based in Mountain View, California, has tried to hire more people from underrepresented groups for more than a decade but stepped up those efforts in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis triggered an outcry for more social justice.

Shortly after Floyd died, Pichai set a goal to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in the Mountain View, California, company’s largely Asian and white leadership ranks by 30% by 2025. Google has made some headway since then, but the makeup of its leadership has not changed dramatically.

The representation of Black people in the company’s leadership ranks rose from 2.6% in 2020 to 5.1% last year, according to Google’s annual diversity report. For Hispanic people, the change was 3.7% to 4.3%. The share of women in leadership roles, meanwhile, increased from 26.7% in 2020 to 32.8% in 2024, according to the company’s report.

The numbers aren’t much different in Google’s overall workforce, with Black employees comprising just 5.7% and Latino employees 7.5%. Two-thirds of Google’s worldwide workforce is made up of men, according to the diversity report.

——

Associated Press business reporter Alexandra Olson contributed to this report.

Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) — New Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday ordered a review of the federal prosecution of Donald Trump as she unveiled a series of directives designed to overhaul a Justice Department the president claims is biased against conservatives.

Hours after she was sworn in at the White House, Bondi called for the creation of “weaponization working group” that will scrutinize the work of special counsel Jack Smith, who charged Trump in two criminal cases. The group will also review “unethical prosecutions” stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, among other things, according to the memo.

The memo satisfies the longstanding contention of Trump and his allies that the Justice Department under the Biden administration had become “weaponized” against conservatives, even though some of its most high-profile probes concerned the Democratic president and his son, and there’s been no evidence to support the idea that the prosecutions against Trump were launched for a partisan purpose.

It was one of 14 directives signed by Bondi designed to roll back Biden administration policies and align the Justice Department with the priorities of a White House determined to exert control over federal law enforcement and purge agencies of career employees it views as disloyal.

Among other directives Bondi signed were orders to lift the moratorium on the federal death penalty and end federal grants administered by the Justice Department for jurisdictions that “unlawfully interfere with federal law enforcement.”

Bondi herself had foreshadowed the “weaponization” working group’s creation by asserting at her confirmation hearing last month that the Justice Department had “targeted Donald Trump.” The Justice Department will provide quarterly reports to the White House on the progress of the review, which will look for instances where agencies’ actions “appear to have been designed to achieve political objectives or other improper aims rather than pursuing justice,” according to the memo.

In another memo, Bondi wrote that prosecutors could face firings if they refuse to sign onto briefs or appear in court to argue on behalf of the administration, saying it’s the department lawyers’ job to “vigorously defend presidential policies and actions against legal challenges.”

The flurry of activity signals a dramatic reshaping of the Justice Department under Bondi, a longtime Trump ally and former Florida attorney general who defended the president during his first impeachment trial against allegations that he abused the power of his office.

Democrats who opposed Bondi’s confirmation have raised concerns about whether she would be able to lead a Justice Department free of influence from the White House given her close relationship with the president, who repeatedly suggested on the campaign trail that he would seek to use the justice system to exact revenge on his perceived enemies.

Bondi has said that politics will play no role in her decision-making, but she also refused at her confirmation hearing last month to rule out potential investigations into Trump’s adversaries. She also has repeated Trump’s claims that the prosecutions against him amounted to political persecution, telling senators that the Justice Department “had been weaponized for years and years and years, and it’s got to stop.”

Despite the wide-ranging ambitions of the “weaponization working group” memo, there’s no indication that the group will have prosecutorial powers or tools such as subpoenas that could compel subjects of the inquiries to cooperate with the new unit.

And though the memo purports to take aim at the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, it notably excludes from review investigations into Democrats by Biden’s Justice Department, including special counsel probes into the former president’s handling of classified information and his son Hunter’s gun and tax allegations, which resulted in felony convictions before he was pardoned by his father in December.

Smith’s team investigated Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both of those cases resulted in indictments that were withdrawn after Trump’s November presidential win because of longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the federal prosecution of a sitting president.

Smith has forcefully defended the prosecutions, saying politics played no part in the decisions of his team, who he said “stood up for the rule of law.” In his final report to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, Smith said the evidence his team gathered was sufficient enough to convict Trump on charges of scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, accusing Trump of an “unprecedented criminal effort to overturn the legitimate results of the election in order to retain power.”

Bondi was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas earlier Wednesday alongside Trump in the Oval Office. It the first time that Trump had participated in a second-term swearing-in of a Cabinet member, underscoring Trump’s intense personal interest in the operations of the department that investigated him during his first term and indicted him after he left office in 2021.

Trump praised Bondi’s record as a prosecutor and said she will restore “fair, equal and impartial justice” at the department.

Bondi told the president that she would not let him down.

“I will make you proud and I will make this country proud,” she told him. “I will restore integrity to the Justice Department and I will fight violent crime throughout this country and throughout this world, and make America safe again.”

Bondi enters with the department roiled by the firings of career prosecutors and senior FBI officials, along with the highly unusual scrutiny of thousands of agents involved in the sprawling Jan. 6 investigation.

FBI agents this week sued after the Justice Department demanded that the bureau turn over the names of all agents involved in the Jan. 6 probe, which agents believe may be a precursor to mass firings.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said in a memo to the workforce Wednesday that FBI agents “who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner” are not at risk of being fired. The only employees who should be concerned, Bove wrote, “are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent.”

“There is no honor in the ongoing efforts to distort that simple truth or protect culpable actors from scrutiny on these issues, which have politicized the Bureau, harmed its credibility and distracted the public from the excellent work being done everyday,” Bove wrote.

_____

Associated Press reporter Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed.

Alanna Durkin Richer And Eric Tucker, The Associated Press