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Source: Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to have his first phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, and Trump’s commerce secretary said Canada may get some reprieve from automobile tariffs.

Carney said Thursday that the president’s office reached out the previous evening to schedule a call. It would be the first conversation between the two leaders since Carney was sworn in as prime minister earlier this month as Trump pursued his trade war and repeatedly called for Canada’s annexation.

“I appreciate this opportunity to discuss how we can protect our workers and build our economies,” Carney said from Parliament Hill. “I will make clear to the president that those interests are best served by co-operation and mutual respect, including of our sovereignty.”

The call, which Carney said will take place within days, comes after Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to implement 25 per cent levies on all automobile and auto part imports — his latest move to upend global trade through a massive tariff agenda that pushed some automakers’ stock prices down on Thursday.

But Canadian cars may not be hit as hard as others. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him in a phone call Wednesday night that Canadian-made vehicles with 50 per cent or more American parts will not face the tariffs.

Ford said it was a productive conversation and Lutnick “knows how integrated the auto trade is” between the two countries — but the provincial government still doesn’t know when Canadian vehicle production might see the tariff break.

“A lot of the automobiles that are manufactured here in Ontario have 50, 60 per cent parts from the U.S.,” Ford said.

Ford said he’ll wait to respond to the latest tariffs until after April 2, when Trump is set to implement what he calls “reciprocal” tariffs by increasing U.S. duties to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports.

Despite Lutnick’s reassurance, Trump has since escalated his threats against Canada. He posted on social media Thursday that if “the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both.”

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, also called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. It boosted rules requiring that a majority of parts in an automobile be North American in order for the vehicle to be tariff-free.

Trump praised CUSMA at the time it was negotiated as the “best agreement we’ve ever made” — but experts say his expanding tariff assault on Canada and Mexico is undermining the trade pact.

Trump signed the executive order Wednesday to implement duties on automobile imports starting April 3. A fact sheet provided by the White House said automobiles imported under CUSMA will only be tariffed on the value of content not made in the United States.

The executive order also imposes tariffs on certain auto parts, including engines, transmissions and electrical components. The fact sheet said automobile parts under CUSMA will not be tariffed until a process is created to identify non-U.S. content.

The president’s tariffs and ongoing talk of annexation have become top political issues in Canada ahead of the April 28 general election vote. Carney interrupted his campaign to return to Ottawa to lead a meeting of the Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee on Thursday.

Speaking at a campaign event in Coquitlam, B.C., Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his message to Trump is “stop attacking America’s friends.”

“We will never be the 51st state, but we can, once again, be friends with the United States if the president reverses course on these disastrous tariff threats,” Poilievre said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called mounting tariffs an “illegal trade war” at a campaign stop in Windsor, Ont., and said it feels like “a betrayal, a gut-punch for absolutely no reason.”

Trump moved forward earlier this month with 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including Canadian products.

He also launched — then partially paused — economywide tariffs against Canada and Mexico. It’s not clear whether those sweeping tariffs, which Trump has linked to the flow of fentanyl, are set to return next week.

Trump has said his tariffs are aimed in part at compelling companies to manufacture goods in the U.S. Manufacturers have said redistributing the North American automobile industry would not be easy.

Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, said in a media statement said “the result is higher costs for manufacturers, price increases for consumers, and a less competitive industry.

MichAuto executive director Glenn Stevens Jr. said the tariffs will be felt across the American supply chain.

“This means jobs lost, increased input costs and pressure on the balance sheets of companies large and small,” said Stevens Jr., who represents the automobile sector in Michigan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.

Kelly Geraldine Malone and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press

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ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia bill to codify the right to in vitro fertilization got overwhelming approval from the state Senate Thursday, setting it up to move to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature.

The House approved it last month, and the chamber will likely approve the final version Friday.

Republican Rep. Lehman Franklin drew bipartisan support for his bill, which he introduced in part over concerns about access to the treatment after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last year that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. After multiple rounds of IVF and a plan to adopt fell through, Franklin and his wife Lorie were finally able to conceive using the treatment. They’re expecting a baby girl this summer.

“We wanted to find the language to safeguard it so we didn’t have any kind of experience that other states might have had in the past,” Franklin said in an interview. “We want to get ahead of the game and make sure that we’re safe.”

Lorie Franklin joined her husband in the House and Senate when each chamber voted on the bill.

Some conservatives are skeptical of IVF because some embryos are discarded in the process. Franklin said floating concerns are “satellite issues that are worthy of debate,” that could be addressed separately.

Legal experts say Georgia’s current law does not pose a significant threat to IVF the way Alabama’s constitution did.

A handful of states have “personhood” laws, which give rights to fertilized eggs, embryos or fetuses. Georgia’s personhood law defines a fetus as a person and is one of the broadest, giving rights such as tax breaks and child support to unborn children.

But the Alabama ruling relied on the wording of the state’s wrongful death statute and language added to the Alabama Constitution in 2018 protecting the “rights of the unborn children.” After the ruling, Alabama’s governor signed legislation protecting IVF providers from legal liability.

Still, the bill’s passage comes a day after a hearing on House Bill 441 that would make most abortions a homicide and recognize fetuses as people from the point of fertilization. House Republican sponsors of that bill voted in favor of Franklin’s bill protecting IVF access. But doctors told the committee the bill would bar access to IVF.

“Ultimately, I don’t think they’re going to be able to go all the way with personhood and simultaneously protect IVF the way they want to,” said Duke University law professor Jolynn Dellinger in an interview last month, referring to those who want to push the laws defining personhood further.

For now, though, IVF access will remain protected in Georgia. President Donald Trump has also affirmed his support for IVF access, including through an executive order aiming to reduce its cost.

Republican House Speaker Jon Burns made the bill to protect IVF a priority this session.

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Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.

Charlotte Kramon, The Associated Press

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has once again scrambled the politics of organized labor and the working class with his planned tariffs on auto imports.

The White House is eagerly promoting supportive comments from the nation’s top auto worker union leader, a previous Trump critic who endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump in 2024. At least a few Democrats from auto-producing states have joined their Republican colleagues in applauding the tariffs that Trump casts as a long-term jobs boost for U.S.-based auto production. Other Democrats, meanwhile, have blasted Trump’s policy, warning that a trade war will drive up inflation and raise costs for all Americans.

Long-term consequences from Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on imported vehicles remain unclear, as does the fallout from additional tariffs he has announced on products coming from Canada, Mexico, China and other U.S. trading partners. But the latest political uproar highlights the ongoing effort by the Republican president to reorient party alliances and voter loyalties in ways that not only explain his 2024 comeback but could reverberate into the 2026 midterms and beyond.

In praising the Trump administration’s tariff plan, United Autoworkers President Shawn Fain asserted the union’s independence.

“The UAW,  and the working class in general, couldn’t care less about party politics,” Fain said.

Fain, who announced UAW’s endorsement of Harris over Trump last year by declaring Trump to be “all talk” on labor issues, hailed his administration this week “for stepping up to end the free-trade disaster that has devastated working-class communities for decades.”

That turnabout wasn’t lost on White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who declared Thursday that the president’s new tariffs “are a big deal for auto workers in the industry.”

Fain, she noted, “wasn’t the greatest fan of the president on the campaign trail.”

That may have understated the union leader’s criticisms.

“When Donald Trump was in office,” Fain had said then, “he did nothing to help the American auto worker.”

Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat who represents thousands of UAW members in a key presidential swing state, likewise has been a Trump critic but called the tariff’s “a good first step.” She noted, however, that lawmakers are seeking clarification on many details of Trump’s plans.

Organized labor, heavily concentrated in northeastern states and the Great Lakes region, has historically aligned with Democrats, including supporting more protectionist policies like tariffs. Republicans, meanwhile, pressed for decades to liberalize international trade.

Democrat President Bill Clinton first upended those alliances when he signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, breaking with unions that had endorsed him in 1992. The effects, alongside decades of so-called “culture wars,” have coincided with working-class voters being more up for grabs. Trump — who renegotiated NAFTA during his first term but didn’t overhaul its essential free trade provisions — has made an especially strong play for union support and backing from non-union working-class voters who historically tilted more Democratic.

In 2024, Harris garnered the support of more than half of voters who were union members or were in a household with a union member, according to AP VoteCast. But 44% supported Trump, an uptick from the 42% he got four years earlier. In that election, then-challenger Joe Biden, a Democrat, drew 56% of voters in union households.

With Trump back in power, Republicans are now the full-throated protectionists echoing union leaders like Fain.

“Hopefully, it results in fair treatment and more jobs in America,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana. Pointing to a recent Hyundai announcement that it would build a plant in Louisiana, Scalise argued that Trump’s plans “already are paying off.”

Most Democratic leaders remain unconvinced. Some emphasize that tariffs increase costs that are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Even auto manufacturers who assemble their cars in the U.S. depend heavily on parts made elsewhere.

Other Democrats point to the uncertainty Trump has created for U.S. trading partners and within the business community — by threatening tariffs, announcing some, putting others on hold and leaving details in limbo.

“If you want to bring more manufacturing jobs here into our nation, how can you plan and make all those plans and those commitments when these tariffs could be turned tomorrow or next week?” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania.

Fetterman has been an outspoken critic of his party’s struggle to reach working-class voters, and he said he remains aligned with Trump philosophically on “protecting some of our domestic industries.” But Fetterman said Trump’s scattershot approach so far has amounted to “punching our allies in the mouth.”

Senate Democrats next week will force a vote on a resolution that would nullify the emergency that Trump has used to threaten tariffs on Canada.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said Trump’s aim is not about boosting U.S. production but generating short-term tariff revenues to help pay for sweeping tax cut plans, which are tilted toward wealthy Americans.

Still, Kaine acknowledged that Democrats have “some real divisions on trade,” and he’s worked to corral support for the resolution from steelworker and machinist unions in a nod to the complicated politics. “Having labor support for dropping tariffs is not to be taken for granted — that’s a little bit unusual,” Kaine said.

Fain, for his part, said in his endorsement of Trump’s auto tariffs that trade is just one aspect of policy that affects workers. He called additionally for “securing union rights for autoworkers everywhere with a strong National Labor Relations Board, a decent retirement with Social Security benefits protected, healthcare for all workers including through Medicare and Medicaid, and dignity on and off the job.”

All of those points could put him at odds with Trump and Republicans. Trump remains in a legal fight over his efforts to fire a Democratic appointee to the NLRB to speed the board’s tilt to the right and away from supporting organizing rights. He also has not endorsed the PRO Act, pending legislation that would strengthen workers’ organizing rights.

Still, in a recent interview with The Associated Press, Fain issued a profanity-laced warning for Democrats, specifically chiding the party for leaning on wealthy donors enriched by what he called “a race to the bottom” since NAFTA’s enactment.

“The reason Donald Trump’s president right now is we’ve got too many Democrats who can’t decide who the f—- they want to represent,” Fain said, “and that’s a problem.” — Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington and Steve Peoples in New York contributed reporting.

Bill Barrow And Stephen Groves, The Associated Press



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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of major automakers slumped following President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will place 25% tariffs on auto imports.

Automakers have spread out their supply chains and production facilities throughout North America. Parts and production steps often cross one or more borders during the process. That means it will cost the major automakers more money to build their cars and trucks.

The tariffs will take effect April 3.

“Ultimately, if these tariffs remain in place, we see vehicle prices going higher to help offset the cost,” said Joseph Spak, analyst at UBS, in a note to investors.

General Motors slumped 7.4%. The Detroit automaker could be among the hardest hit of its peers under broad tariffs, as it sources about 40% of vehicles sold in the U.S. from Mexico and Canada, according to analysts at JPMorgan.

Ford, which slipped 3.9%, is less exposed with under 10% of vehicles sourced outside of the U.S., JPMorgan said.

Stellantis, which is based in the Netherlands but has significant manufacturing operations in North America, fell 1.3%.

Honda shares traded in the U.S. fell 2.2% and Toyota shares traded in the U.S. fell 2.5%.

One exception was Tesla. The cars it sells in the U.S. are produced domestically, although CEO Elon Musk noted in a post on X that some car parts used in Teslas come from other countries. Its shares edged up 0.4%. The stock is still down more than 30% this year due to lagging sales in its major markets.

Auto parts suppliers also lost ground. Autoliv fell 3.5% and Aptiv slipped 5.4%. Gentex fell 3.6% and Lear fell 8.3%

Consumers are already facing near record-high car prices. The average price of a new vehicle was $48,039 as of February, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book. That’s not far from the record of just under $50,000 in late 2022.

Other costs related to car ownership have continued to squeeze consumers. The costs of insuring and repairing a vehicle continued rising throughout 2024 and into 2025. Such costs have been among some of the factors keeping overall inflation stubbornly high. Economists worry that tariffs could further reignite inflation as consumers grow increasingly worried about high prices and the economy.

Automakers have been preparing for tariffs since Trump started the trade war with key trading partners in early February. General Motors and others have worked to get more inventory into the U.S. ahead of any tariffs.

“If they become permanent, then there’s a whole bunch of different things that you have to think about in terms of where do you allocate plants and do you move plants,” said Paul A. Jacobson, chief financial officer at General Motors, during a conference in February.

Trump said the latest round of auto tariffs will be permanent. He has argued that they will lead to automakers opening more factories in the U.S.

“As much as the market is pricing in a big impact of tariffs and lost profitability, think about a world where on top of that, we’re spending billions of capital, billions of dollars in capital, and then it ends, right,” Jacobson said. “So we can’t be whipsawing the business back and forth.”

Damian J. Troise, The Associated Press

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ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Republican-dominated state Senate is going forward with an investigation of Stacey Abrams, a move that comes as President Donald Trump has made a target of the two-time Democratic nominee for Georgia governor.

Republican State Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens said Thursday that he and other Republicans want to further examine recent ethics findings that voter participation group New Georgia Project improperly coordinated with Abrams’ 2018 campaign for governor.

“We have developed somewhat of a problem these days with dark money in politics, with secret money being used to fund campaigns,” Cowsert said. “The whole purpose of our campaign finance laws is to put sunshine on the issues.”

They also want to probe claims by new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin that $2 billion was improperly given to a coalition of groups trying to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Abrams worked with one of the groups until the end of last year, but Trump and other Republicans have made Abrams the face of their criticism of $20 billion in grants awarded by former President Joe Biden’s administration, with Trump calling out Abrams in a recent joint address to Congress.

Senators voted 33-21 along party lines to approve the inquiry.

The same Georgia committee has been pursuing a thus-far fruitless investigation of another Trump enemy, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

“We have already spent precious time investigating people for headlines and clicks, while providing taxpayers with little benefit,” said state Sen. Jason Esteves, an Atlanta Democrat.

Abrams has said that Republicans are targeting her because she’s been politically effective.

The former state House minority leader, Abrams vaulted to national Democratic stardom when she came close to defeating Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018. She parlayed voting rights after that election into a national platform and even consideration as Biden’s running mate in 2020, but lost a 2022 governor’s race rematch to Kemp by a broader margin.

The resolution means the GOP-led Senate can conduct meetings scrutinizing a second high-profile Democrat as Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and several members of the investigatory committee consider running for office in 2026.

Armed with subpoena power, the committee has been trying to force Willis to testify about whether she did anything wrong in her investigation and prosecution of Trump and others. However, its efforts thus far have disclosed little that wasn’t already known about Willis and her hiring of special prosecutor Nathan Wade, with whom she had a romantic relationship, to lead the prosecution against Trump and others.

Abrams founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 to register more nonwhite and young voters in Georgia and to urge them to turn out. She stepped down in 2017 and said she had no role with the group thereafter.

In January, the New Georgia Project and its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund admitted that they broke Georgia’s campaign finance law by failing to register as an independent campaign committee and failing to disclose contributions and spending. The Ethics Commission fined the groups $300,000, the largest ethics fine in state history, mostly for violations that supported Abrams’ 2018 run for governor.

The group has been in turmoil, laying off workers, some of whom said they were fired because they were trying to form a union.

On Feb. 12, the Trump-appointed Zeldin called for the return of $2 billion granted to Power Forward Communities in April 2024, part of $20 billion that Zeldin claimed was improperly granted by Biden’s administration.

Abrams was senior counsel to Rewiring America until December. That’s one of the groups that made up the Power Forward Communities coalition. Abrams wasn’t paid by Power Forward Communities, spokesperson Joshua Karp has said.

One of the other nonprofits that got $7 billion of the $20 billion has sued the EPA, accusing it of improperly freezing a legally awarded grant.

Climate United Fund, a coalition of three nonprofit groups, demanded access to a Citibank account it received through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a program created in 2022 by the Inflation Reduction Act and more commonly known as the green bank.

In a related action, the Coalition for Green Capital, a separate group that received $5 billion from the Biden-era program, sued Citibank, alleging breach of contract over the refusal to disburse the grant funds.

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press

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VICTORIA — The British Columbia government is allowing the height of the Mount Polley tailings dam to be raised an extra four metres, a decade after a similar storage site burst in one of the province’s biggest environmental disasters.

A statement from the Mining and Environment ministers says the extra height is to ensure that spring runoff can be safely managed.

Environment Minister Tamara Davidson and Mines Minister Jagrup Brar say their decision was informed by the Environmental Assessment Office and they are satisfied that safety issues have been assessed thoroughly.

The tailings dam at the open-pit gold and copper mine in B.C.’s Cariboo region gave way in August 2014, spilling mine waste into nearby waterways and causing widespread environmental damage.

Two reviews led to changes in 2016 on how tailings ponds are regulated, and the government says the proposed dam height increase — from 60 to 64 metres — meets or exceeds all requirements.

The ministers say that they recognize there are significant concerns around the operation of the mine, and since 2016 there are “significantly stronger environmental standards.”

“Approvals for this change come after comprehensive technical reviews by experts, including external engineers, as well as consultation with First Nations,” they say.

Their statement says that what happened in 2014 can never happen again.

“Our strong requirements (for) protecting the environment are non-negotiable,” the statement says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man who set fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas and who painted the word “resist” for authorities to find at the scene has been arrested, police announced Tuesday.

Paul Hyon Kim, 36, faces charges of arson, possession of an explosive device and shooting into a vehicle in state court, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference.

Kim was expected to be taken into the federal government’s custody later Tuesday to face additional charges, said Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI division.

An attorney for Kim who could comment on his behalf was not listed Tuesday in court records.

Security video played at the news conference showed the suspect, dressed all in black and covering his face, paint the word “resist” across the glass doors of a Tesla service center early on March 18. McMahill said the suspect threw Molotov cocktails — crude bombs filled with gasoline or another flammable liquid — and fired several rounds from a weapon into multiple vehicles.

McMahill said Tuesday they were “actively investigating” a motive and whether it is connected to other recent cases of vandalism targeting Tesla property across the country.

There has been a clear uptick of violent attacks on property carrying the Tesla logo across the U.S. and overseas since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that has slashed government spending.

The attacks are keeping law enforcement busy.

Prosecutors in Colorado charged a woman last month in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships, including Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on a building. And federal agents in South Carolina have arrested a man they say set fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston

Some of the most prominent incidents have been reported in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest, like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment runs high.

An Oregon man faces charges after allegedly throwing several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returning another day and shooting out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard, more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom last week, damaging vehicles and windows, the second time in a week that the store was targeted.

Evans, the special FBI agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, declined Tuesday to comment on the similarities of the cases. But he told reporters last week that the Las Vegas case “has some of the hallmarks” of terrorism.

“Was this terrorism? Was it something else? It certainly has some of the hallmarks that we might think — the writing on the wall, potential political agenda, an act of violence,” Evans said. “None of those factors are lost on us.”

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press


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WASHINGTON (AP) — As part of a push to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, the Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial polluters a chance for exemptions from requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set up an electronic mailbox to allow regulated companies to request a presidential exemption under the Clean Air Act to a host of Biden-era rules.

Companies were asked to send an email by Monday seeking permission from President Donald Trump to bypass the new restrictions. The Clean Air Act enables the president to temporarily exempt industrial sites from new rules if the technology required to meet them is not widely available and if the continued activity is in the interest of national security.

Environmental groups denounced the administration’s offer, calling the email address a “polluters’ portal” that could allow hundreds of companies to evade laws meant to protect the environment and public health.

Margie Alt, campaign director of the Climate Action Campaign, said the request for exemption applications “is a gift to the fossil fuel industry” and further indication of a “polluters-first agenda” under Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“Companies can now apply for a gold-plated, ‘get-out-pf-permitting free’ card,” she said, adding that the latest action marked at least the third time Zeldin has moved to weaken enforcement of environmental laws since he took office less than two months ago. On March 12, he announced a series of actions to roll back landmark environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles.

Last month, Zeldin said he would push for a 65% spending cut at the agency, saying, “We don’t need to be spending all that money that went through the EPA last year.”

Trump and Zeldin, aided by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, have also pushed to drastically reduce EPA staffing, and the agency is considering a plan to eliminate its scientific research office. About 1,000 scientists and other employees who help provide the scientific foundation for EPA rules safeguarding human health and the environment could be fired.

The EPA’s offer for companies to request exemptions was first reported by The New York Times.

“Submitting a request via this email box does not entitle the submitter to an exemption,” the EPA said in a statement. ”The President will make a decision on the merits.”

Authority for exemptions “solely rests with the president, not EPA,” added EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou.

She noted that former President Joe Biden offered similar exemptions after issuing a rule last year tightening emission standards for ethylene oxide from commercial facilities that sterilize medical equipment.

Exemptions offered this week also could apply to more than 200 chemical plants nationwide that are being required to reduce toxic emissions likely to cause cancer. The rule, issued last year, advanced the former president’s commitment to environmental justice by delivering critical health protections for communities burdened by industrial pollution from ethylene oxide, chloroprene and other dangerous chemicals, the Biden administration said.

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press

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NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City rapper who joined President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and conspiracy charges after prosecutors say he used earnings from his music career to fuel gang violence in Brooklyn.

Sheff G, whose legal name is Michael Williams, agreed to serve five years in prison as part of the plea entered in a Brooklyn court Wednesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.

“Notoriety could not shield this defendant from justice,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “He used his fame to fund and direct violence, terrorizing our streets.”

The 26-year-old rapper, whose songs and videos have millions of YouTube views and Spotify streams, was among those arrested in connection with a long-term investigation into gang-related shootings in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

More than 30 purported members of the 8 Trey Crips and the street gang’s affiliate, the 9 Ways gang, have so far been indicted.

Among them is Tegan Chambers, a rapper known as Sleepy Hallow who also appeared on stage with Trump and Sheff G during the May 23, 2024, rally in the Bronx.

Prosecutors say Sheff G showered money and jewelry on gang members are they battled rivals in Brooklyn.

In one shooting, they say Sheff G even acted as the getaway driver, chauffeuring three codefendants to and from a 2021 shooting that targeted a rival but instead hit two bystanders.

He also treated Sleepy Hallow and others to a lavish dinner at a Manhattan steakhouse to celebrate a 2020 shooting that killed a purported rival gang member and injured five others, according to prosecutors.

Surveillance videos, social media posts, text messages and more document the criminal activities, and the two rappers also boasted about their deeds in their songs, Gonzalez’s office said.

Lawyers for the two rappers didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment Thursday. Sheff G is due to be sentenced Aug. 13; Sleepy Hallow is due in court April 11.

The two were among the notable names Trump touted during his campaign stops as he worked to woo Black voters by comparing his legal challenges to racial prejudice in the criminal justice system.

“One thing I want to say: They are always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures,” Sheff G told the Bronx crowd last May after being invited on stage by the Republican candidate. “Trump is going to shout the wins for all of us.”

Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press

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ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Brian Kemp could tie New York’s Kathy Hochul for the highest-paid state governor under a proposal made Thursday.

State senators agreed to amend House Bill 86 to give big pay raises to most of Georgia’s statewide elected officials, who are all Republicans. The bill would also raise pay for judges on the state Supreme Court and other statewide courts.

The measure would raise Kemp’s pay from the $182,000 he made in the budget year that ended June 30 to $250,000. According to figures compiled by New York state government, that would tie Hochul, a Democrat for the most any governor is paid. Maine Gov. Janet Mills makes the least, at $70,000 a year, according to the figures.

The House must agree to the bill before it would go to Kemp for his signature or veto, and changes could still be made. Rep. Rob Leverett, an Elberton Republican who sponsors the underlying measure, said he was “caught completely flat footed” by the amendment and was still trying to decide whether he supported it.

State Sen. John Albers, a Roswell Republican, said statewide official salaries need updating, noting that Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is now in line to earn a higher salary than Kemp.

“I believe it’s time that we stood up and said it’s the right thing to do because it’s woefully out of date,” said Albers, who made the surprise proposal as Georgia’s yearly legislative session nears its end.

Other statewide officials including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger would see their pay increase to $200,000 a year. So would Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Insurance Commissioner John King, incoming Labor Commissioner Barbara Rivera Holmes and state schools Superintendent Richard Woods.

Currently, those officials earn a range of salaries between the $99,000 that Jones made last year and the $146,000 that Carr earned last year.

Also included in the bill is House Speaker Jon Burns, who would see his pay rise from $106,000 to $200,000. The raises would begin July 1, although some senators suggested any change would be more appropriate when officials are sworn in for new terms after upcoming 2026 elections.

Jones said if the measure became law, he would donate his raise back to the state treasury.

“Those things need to be vetted better than that,” Jones said immediately after the measure passed.

A spokesperson for Kemp declined to comment. Spokespersons for Raffensperger and Carr did not immediately respond to text messages seeking comment.

Jeff Amy, The Associated Press

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