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Trump warns he’s considering limited strikes as Iranian diplomat says proposed deal is imminent

By
The Associated Press
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump warned on Friday that limited strikes against Iran are possible even as the country’s top diplomat said Tehran expects to have a proposed deal ready in the next few days following nuclear talks with the United States.

In response to a reporter’s question on whether the U.S. could take limited military action as the countries negotiate, Trump said, “I guess I can say I am considering that.” Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a TV interview that his country was planning to finalize a draft deal in “the next two to three days” to then send to Washington.

“I don’t think it takes long, perhaps, in a matter of a week or so, we can start real, serious negotiations on the text and come to a conclusion,” Araghchi said on MSNOW’s “Morning Joe” show.

The tensions between the longtime adversaries have ramped up as the Trump administration pushes for concessions from Iran and has built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades, with more warships and aircraft on the way. Both countries have signaled that they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fizzle out.

“We are prepared for war, and we are prepared for peace,” Araghchi said Friday.

Trump said a day earlier that he believes 10 to 15 days is “enough time” for Iran to reach a deal following recent rounds of indirect negotiations, including this week in Geneva, that made little visible progress. But the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups.

Araghchi also said Friday that his American counterparts have not asked for zero enrichment of uranium as part of the latest round of talks, which is in contradiction to what U.S. officials have said.

“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear program, including enrichment, is peaceful and will remain peaceful forever,” he said.

He added that in return Iran will implement some confidence-building measures in exchange for relief on economic sanctions.

In response to Araghchi’s claim, a White House official said Trump has been clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them and that it cannot enrich uranium. The official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Tehran has long insisted that any negotiations should only focus on its nuclear program and that it hasn’t been enriching uranium since U.S. and Israeli strikes last June on Iranian nuclear sites. Trump said at the time that the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, but the exact damage is unknown as Tehran has barred international inspectors.

Iran has also insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful. The U.S. and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons.

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Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Washington and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Rams promote Nate Scheelhaase to offensive coordinator, AP source says

By
The Associated Press
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams are promoting assistant Nate Scheelhaase to offensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Rams haven’t made a full announcement of coach Sean McVay’s new staff for the upcoming season. Scheelhaase replaces Mike LaFleur, who became the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach this month.

The 35-year-old Scheelhaase became a rising star in NFL coaching circles last season. He interviewed for at least five head coaching vacancies in the past two months. He spent the previous two years as a top offensive assistant to McVay and LaFleur, receiving the title of pass game coordinator last season while the Rams went 14-6 and reached the NFC title game.

Although McVay calls Los Angeles’ plays and leads the design of their offense, Scheelhaase will be the Rams’ fifth offensive coordinator during McVay’s 10 seasons in charge. All four assistants who previously held that title have gone on to become head coaches, as did Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor.

All five of those former top Rams assistants — Matt LaFleur, Taylor, Kevin O’Connell, Liam Coen and Mike LaFleur — still hold those head coaching jobs. The number might have been even higher, but McVay spent two seasons without a designated offensive coordinator after Matt LaFleur’s departure.

The 35-year-old Scheelhaase is a former Illinois quarterback who was on Matt Campbell’s staff at Iowa State from 2018 to 2023, eventually becoming the Cyclones’ offensive coordinator in his final season and leading a dramatic improvement that caught McVay’s attention.

Among his responsibilities in Los Angeles, Scheelhaase was tasked with literally drawing the offensive plays taught to the Rams for each week’s game plan — a detail-oriented job previously held by several Rams assistants who went on to bigger things.

The Rams’ offense was the NFL’s best by many metrics last year, leading the league in scoring and total yards during the regular season with AP NFL MVP Matthew Stafford at the controls. Stafford has announced he is returning for an 18th NFL season. The Rams will be among the preseason favorites to contend for a Super Bowl berth in their home SoFi Stadium in February 2027.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Trump administration eases limits on coal plants for emitting mercury, other toxins

By
The Associated Press
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday weakened limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants, the Trump administration’s latest effort to boost the fossil fuel industry by paring back clean air and water rules.

Toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired plants can harm the brain development of young children and contribute to heart attacks and other problems in adults. The plants are also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. The EPA announced the move at a massive coal plant next to the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky.

“The Trump EPA’s action follows the rule of law and will reduce of cost of generating baseload power, lowering costs and improving reliability for consumers,” EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi said in a statement. The agency said the change should save hundreds of millions of dollars.

The final rule reverts the industry to standards first established in 2012 by the Obama administration that have reduced mercury emissions by nearly 90%. The Biden administration had sought to tighten those standards even further after the first Trump administration had moved to undermine them.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest single human source of mercury pollutants. Power plants release the mercury into the atmosphere, which then falls in rain or simply by gravity, entering the food chain through fish and other items that people consume.

Environmental groups said the tightened rules have saved lives and made communities that live near coal-fired power plants healthier. But industry groups argued that the tougher standards, along with other rules that limited emissions from coal plants, made operating them too expensive.

They accused the Biden administration of piling on so many requirements that it would drive a rush of plant retirements.

“The reliability of the electric grid is in a better place because of the administration’s swift repeal of this rule. As crafted, the rule would have dealt a crippling blow to power plants that are essential to maintaining grid reliability,” said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

The coal industry’s outlook has changed dramatically in the last year.

In March, the EPA promoted the “biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” announcing their intention to peal back dozens of environmental protections. The Biden administration’s focus on climate change was over — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the actions marked “the death of the ‘green new scam.’” Fossil fuel rules were big targets, including major efforts to reduce carbon emissions from coal plants and mandate greenhouse gas reporting. The Trump administration has also extended deadlines for dozens of coal-fired power plants to comply with certain Clean Air Act rules.

Beyond fewer environmental protections, the Trump administration has issued emergency orders halting the planned shutdown of several coal plants. Officials say the plants produce consistent power during major storms or at other times when need is high. Removing coal would reduce the grid’s reliability, especially at time when a rush of new data centers is demanding more than ever from the grid, they say. Officials have dismissed concerns about higher customer costs from keeping coal plants operating, their plentiful emissions and their significant contribution to climate change.

And earlier this month, the EPA revoked a finding that climate change is a threat to public health, which has long been the basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, President Donald Trump hosted a group of coal miners who honored him as the “champion of coal.”

Activists say favoring coal makes little sense at a time when renewables are cleaner, cheaper and reliable.

Gina McCarthy, who headed the EPA under former President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration will be remembered for helping the coal industry at the expense of public health.

“By weakening pollution limits and monitoring for brain-damaging mercury and other pollutants, they are actively spiking any attempt to make America – and our children – healthy,” said McCarthy, who is also the chair of the climate action group America Is All In.

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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

Diplomacy is still the only viable path to peace in Ukraine, UN refugee chief Barham Salih says

By
The Associated Press
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — There are many obstacles to a peace deal in Ukraine, but a diplomatic solution remains the only viable option, the newly appointed head of the U.N. refugee agency said Friday, warning that humanitarian operations are increasingly overstretched because of multiple global crises.

Barham Salih, Iraq’s former president who was elected UNHCR high commissioner in December, made his first visit to Ukraine since taking office.

After traveling to Ukraine’s front-line cities, including Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and discussed the latest in efforts to secure a peace deal. He also discussed the future of UNHCR operations as Ukraine endures Russian attacks on its energy grid during a harsh winter.

“You have to be hopeful, but I do understand the difficulties in the situation, and it’s clear, of course, there are many, many impediments along the way, but at the end of the day, there is no military solution. There needs to be peace, a durable and just peace so that people can go back to their lives,” he said, speaking to The Associated Press in an interview in Kyiv.

“Things are not necessarily easy, definitely not easy, but let’s redouble the effort to make sure that diplomacy has a chance and really bring about a durable and just peace to this war that has been going on for far too long,” he added.

Of the agency’s $470 million appeal for Ukraine, only $150 million has been pledged. The shortfall reflects deep cuts across the humanitarian sector, making it increasingly difficult to deliver aid across multiple crises.

There are 3.7 million Ukrainians displaced within the country and nearly 6 million Ukrainians outside the country who have become refugees in Europe and elsewhere, he said.

“This tells you the gap between what is needed and what is available,” he said. “My appeal to the international community is, really, this is not the moment to walk away, this is not a moment to look the other way round. These vulnerable populations need support. We should deliver this help to them.”

The U.N. agency in Ukraine predicts 10.8 million Ukrainians will require humanitarian assistance in 2026, according to a report from the agency. The most critical needs are concentrated along the war’s front lines in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, as well as in the northern border region. Intensified hostilities produce fresh waves of displacement.

The agency’s Ukraine appeal competes with large-scale conflicts in Sudan and Gaza. Since his appointment, Salih has spent only one week in his Geneva office, traveling to Kenya, Chad, Turkey and Jordan before visiting Ukraine.

Drastic cuts to U.S. humanitarian funding under President Donald Trump has accelerated the erosion of global humanitarian infrastructure and severely undermined the ability of organizations to deliver aid.

There are 117 million displaced people worldwide, including at least 42 million refugees, Salih said. Two-thirds face protracted displacement and remain dependent on humanitarian assistance.

Deciding where to prioritize given shrinking resources is “difficult” he said.

“It’s really very difficult to prioritize given the scale of the problem. I was in Kenya and I was in Chad recently and I was in Turkey and in Jordan talking to refugees from Syria. And of course, now in Ukraine, these are all pressing issues, pressing requirements,” he said.

“We need to be there to help people, but also I have to say we really need to look at durable solutions too as well. It’s not a matter of sustaining dependency or humanitarian assistance,” he added.

In his meeting with Zelenskyy, Salih said they discussed the need to focus on the “recovery phase and sustainable solutions and self reliance as we go forward,” he said.

What to know about the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs

By
The Associated Press
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NEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court dealt President Donald Trump a bruising loss on a cornerstone of his economic policy, striking down sweeping tariffs he imposed on nearly every country.

In its 6-3 opinion on Friday, the court ruled Trump’s attempt to use an emergency powers law to enact the levies was not valid.

Two out of three of the justices appointed by Trump joined the majority in striking down the first major piece of Trump’s second-term agenda to come before them.

Here’s what to know:

What the court ruled

Trump relied on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, as justification for a historic barrage of tariffs, even though that law contains no mention of tariffs. IEEPA, which allows the president to seize assets and block transactions during a national emergency, was first used during the Iran hostage crisis. It has since been invoked for a range of global unrest, from the 9/11 attacks to the Syrian civil war.

The president said the U.S. trade deficit were so serious, it too qualified as an emergency, a contention the high court dismissed.

“The fact that no President has ever found such power in IEEPA is strong evidence that it does not exist,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.

In its opinion, the justices noted the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes, including tariffs.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote.

What tariffs are affected

Early last year, Trump cited IEEPA to impose tariffs on America’s three biggest trading partners: Mexico, Canada and China. To justify the levies, he declared a national emergency over undocumented immigration and the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl and the chemicals made to use it.

Then in April, on what Trump billed as “Liberation Day,” he imposed “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 50% on goods from dozens of countries — and a baseline 10% tariff on just about everyone else, also using IEEPA as justification.

Trump also used IEEPA to slap steep import taxes on Brazilian imports, citing the country’s criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, and on India, for the country’s purchases of Russian oil.

Many of the tariffs Trump has imposed under IEEPA have seen a roller coaster of activity after their implementation — taken away, increased and reintroduced at various times in the past year.

While the Supreme Court’s decision upends many of the levies, others imposed by Trump relied on other justifications and are not affected.

Most of America’s trading partners still face steep tariffs on specific sectors, including on steel, aluminum, cars, copper, lumber, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture.

Businesses embrace the decision

The White House hasn’t yet responded to the ruling, but many opponents of the tariffs are cheering it.

We Pay the Tariffs, a group of small businesses that had fought the implementation of import taxes, called the decision a “tremendous victory” for companies that had been hurt by the tariffs.

“They’ve taken out loans just to keep their doors open,” the group’s leader, Dan Anthony, said. “They’ve frozen hiring, canceled expansion plans, and watched their life savings drain away to pay tariff bills that weren’t in any budget or business plan. Today, the Supreme Court has validated what we’ve been saying all along: These tariffs were unlawful from the start.”

Refundscould be ‘a mess’

The Treasury had collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law as of December, federal data shows.

But the Supreme Court did not address whether the companies and individuals who paid those tariffs could be refunded. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up to demand refunds in lower courts.

Kavanaugh, who dissented from Friday’s decision, noted the process could be complicated.

“The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers. But that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged at oral argument,” Kavanaugh wrote.

At halfpipe, neither US-born Olympic medal favorite competes for U.S. Eileen Gu takes the heat

By
The Associated Press
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LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The two best bets to win the gold medal in women’s halfpipe skiing at the Winter Olympics were born in the United States.

Zoe Atkin competes for Britain and hardly anyone raises a fuss about it.

Eileen Gu competes for China and never hears the end of it.

Stories of athletes who lived in one country then decided to compete for another are nothing new to international sports. Throw some Olympic rings on it, then add a high-profile athlete enjoying tremendous success the way Gu has, and it turns into someting messy, even political.

“So many athletes compete for a different country,” Gu said after Thursday night’s qualifying put her in the mix for her third medal of these Games. “People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.”

She was responding to a question stemming from the latest comments that drew her into the headlines: U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance told Fox News earlier in the week he would hope someone who benefitted from growing up in the United States, the way Gu has, would want to compete under its flag.

None of this is new to the 22-year-old Bay Area native, who recognizes she absorbs her share of vitriol not just because she competes for her mother’s homeland, but also because of her success both on and off the snow.

Not long after the Olympics are over, Gu will be back in Milan attending a fashion show.

Before that, on Saturday, she will be going for her sixth Olympic medal and trying to make it 3 for 3 at two straight Games. That’s something no one else has done since the addition of big air to the program four years ago gave freestyle skiing a third head-over-heels event in the snowpark.

“Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me,” she said.

After the Olympics, action sports stop caring about countries so much

The Olympic charter says athletes must be a “national” — a word similar to citizen but with different legal connotations — of a country to compete for it. Athletes who are nationals of more than one country have to go through a “cooling-off” period if they want to switch, though neither Gu nor Atkin have changed over their Olympic careers.

It is not a surprise: Athletes in freeskiing and snowboarding — two lifestyle sports that champion individuality and are cultivated at X Games, Dew Tours and Burton U.S. Opens where nary a flag can be seen — spend most of their time traveling the globe caring very little about countries or anthems.

“We’re all going to the same place, all traveling together,” said Nick Goepper, the American three-time medalist who competes for his home country. “There’s 25 guys who do this at a high level across the world and it’s better to hang out and mingle with each other, just like people do.”

Besides Vance’s comments, a newspaper report about a 2025 document showing the Chinese government funded Gu and another of its athletes to the tune of millions drew headlines at these Olympics. Gu never mentions money when she discusses her reasons for choosing China, instead saying she did it to increase visibility and bring more girls into a sport that wasn’t as developed in China as it is in the United States.

“I’ve never received criticism from anybody in the ski industry about any of these decisions,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press last month. “But that’s because I’m friends with all of them.”

Atkin, from Massachusetts, made a choice that flew under the radar

Atkin has enjoyed plenty of success but faces none of the same issues. She is a Massachusetts native who has held dual citizenship since birth. (Gu’s citizenship status is another source of constant conjecture, though she has never revealed it.) Atkin’s father is British. Like Gu, Atkin attends Stanford.

The 23-year-old, who won last year’s world championship, has competed for Britain her entire career. She explained its smaller team has afforded her a chance to train and compete at a pace that works well for her.

“It also has a lot to do with my family and I guess I don’t really care what anybody else thinks,” she said. “Obviously, we compete for our nation, but at the end of the day, this is an individual sport and I’m trying to do my best show and my best skiing. To me, that’s all it’s really about.”

Somewhere between Gu and Atkin sits Gus Kenworthy — the halfpipe skier who got famous at the Olympics when he competed for the United States, then kept his career going by signing on with Britain.

He took some flak when he swtiched teams. One reason he did it was because of the perennial depth of the U.S. team. This year, the U.S. placed all four of its men in Friday night’s final and left two others with top-10 rankings — including two-time gold and one-time silver medalist David Wise — at home.

“You could be the fifth best person in America, ranked seventh in the world, and still not make the team,” said Kenworthy, who won the silver medal in 2014. “It’s great to have all these different countries represented. But sometimes it sucks to be in that position, and I’ve been in that position.”

That’s not the only math that changes when the action-sports world gets tossed into the deep end at the Olympics.

As Gu says frequently and said again Thursday, “people are entitled to their opinions.”

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Dutch speedskater Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong wins the 1,500 for her 1st Olympic gold

By
The Associated Press
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MILAN (AP) — Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong of the Netherlands won her first Olympic gold, and sixth career medal overall, by finishing first in speedskating’s 1,500 meters at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Friday, delighting a large and loud crowd of orange-clad Dutch fans.

Rijpma-de Jong clocked 1 minute, 54.9 seconds, supported raucously by thousands of her closest friends in the stands. They roared when she was introduced before her heat. And again when the video boards showed her ahead of the pace of the previous leader, silver medalist Ragne Wiklund of Norway. And, most ear-splittingly, when Rijpma-de Jong crossed the line and the number “1” appeared by her name to signify she’d taken the lead.

Her time was was 0.06 faster than Wiklund’s. Valerie Maltais of Canada took the bronze, 0.31 behind Rijpma-de Jong.

Each medalist in the 1,500 will leave the Milano Speed Skating Stadium with multiple prizes. Rijpma-de Jong already had a silver from team pursuit; Wiklund had a silver in the 3,000 and bronze in the 5,000; Maltais had a gold in team pursuit and bronze in 3,000.

In all, 2023 1,500 world champion Rijpma-de Jong’s Olympic haul now includes one gold, two silvers and three bronzes.

Missing from the field was Dutch star Joy Beune, who won all four 1,500 World Cup races she entered this season but surprisingly didn’t qualify for the distance at her country’s Olympic trials in December, sparking a debate over the way Netherlands selects its speedskating team for the Games.

But the Dutch women still got the gold at this distance, to go with wins by Femke Kok in the 500 and Jutta Leerdam in the 1,000.

American Brittany Bowe, who raced head-to-head against Rijpma-de Jong in the 14th of 15 heats, wound up fourth Friday — the same spot she was in the 1,000 meters and team pursuit in Milan.

Bowe, who turns 38 on Tuesday and had said beforehand this would be her final Olympics, has two Winter Games bronzes — from the 1,000 in 2022 and team pursuit in 2018.

Bowe got engaged during these Olympics to U.S. women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight, who scored as her team won a gold medal by beating Canada 2-1 in overtime on Thursday.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Virginia Democrats pass map that could flip 4 US House seats, if courts and voters approve

By
The Associated Press
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats passed a new congressional map through the Virginia legislature on Friday that aims to help their party win four more seats in the national redistricting battle. It’s a flex of state Democrats’ political power, however hurdles remain before they can benefit from friendlier U.S. House district boundaries in this year’s midterm elections.

A judge in Tazewell, a conservative area in Southwest Virginia, has effectively blocked a voter referendum on the redrawn maps from happening on April 21 by granting a temporary restraining order, issued Thursday.

Democrats are appealing that decision and another by the same judge, who ruled last month that Democrats illegally rushed the planned voter referendum on their constitutional amendment to allow the remapping. The state’s Supreme Court picked up the party’s appeal of the earlier ruling.

If Democrats get to carry out a referendum, voters will choose whether to temporarily adopt new congressional districts and then return to Virginia’s standard process after the 2030 census. Democrats wanted to publish the new map ahead of the April vote.

President Donald Trump launched an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle last year by pushing Republican officials in Texas to redraw districts to help his party win more seats. The goal was for the GOP to hold on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power in midterms.

Instead, it created a burst of redistricting efforts nationwide. So far, Republicans believe they can win nine more House seats in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats think they can win six more seats in California and Utah, and are hoping to fully or partially make up the remaining three-seat margin in Virginia.

Democratic lawmakers in Virginia have sought to portray their redistricting push as a response to Trump’s overreach.

“The president of the United States, who apparently only one half of this chamber knows how to stand up to, basically directed states to grab power,” Virginia’s Democratic Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said in February. “To basically maintain his power indefinitely — to rig the game, rig the system.”

Republicans have sounded aghast. House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore described the remap as a way for liberals in northern Virginia’s Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William counties to commandeer the rest of the state.

“In southwest Virginia, we have this saying … They say, ‘Terry, you do a good job up there, but you know, Virginia stops at Roanoke,” Kilgore previously said, referring to how some people across Virginia’s Appalachian region feel unrepresented in state politics. “That’s not going to be the same saying anymore, because Virginia is now going to stop just a little bit west of Prince William County.”

Virginia is currently represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who ran in districts imposed by a court after a bipartisan legislative commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census.

Legislation that would put the Democrats’ more gerrymandered map into effect if voters approve the referendum now awaits the signature of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who has indicated that she would support it.

“Virginia has the opportunity and responsibility to be responsive in the face of efforts across the country to change maps,” Spanberger said as she approved the referendum.

Democratic candidates are already lining up in anticipation. “Dopesick” author Beth Macy and former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello launched campaigns in red areas that would be moved into districts with more registered Democrats.

Virginia Del. Dan Helmer and former federal prosecutor J.P. Cooney, who helped investigate Trump and was fired by him, have launched campaigns in a formerly rural district that would now mostly include voters just outside the nation’s capital. And former Democratic congresswoman Elaine Luria is mounting a comeback against Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, who ousted her in 2022, in a competitive district that the map has made slightly more favorable to Democrats.

US House campaigns are underway. Yet a redistricting battle triggered by Trump rages in some states

By
The Associated Press
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Candidates are campaigning and voting is underway in some primaries. Yet a national battle to redraw U.S. House districts for partisan advantage is still raging in some states ahead of the November midterm elections.

Final boundaries for congressional voting districts remain uncertain in Missouri, New York, Utah and Virginia. Governors in Florida and Maryland are pushing lawmakers to reshape House districts. And that all comes on top of redistricting changes already enacted in California, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting when he urged Texas Republicans last summer to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections. California Democrats reciprocated, and a tit-for-tat redistricting clash soon spread.

So far, Republicans believe they could win nine additional seats in states where they have redrawn congressional districts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats elsewhere because of redistricting. But that presumes past voting patterns hold true in November. And that’s uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.

Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, which could allow them to obstruct Trump’s agenda.

Redistricting battlegrounds:Virginia

Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans

Proposed map: A proposed a new House map could help Democrats win up to four additional seats. To facilitate that, the General Assembly referred a constitutional amendment to the April ballot that would allow mid-decade redistricting.

Challenges: A state judge temporarily blocked the April referendum after ruling that the amendment is invalid because lawmakers violated their own rules while passing it. Democrats are appealing.

Maryland

Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican

Proposed map: The Democratic-led state House passed a redistricting plan backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats win an additional seat.

Challenges: The Democratic state Senate president has said his chamber won’t move forward with redistricting because of concerns it could backfire on Democrats.

Missouri

Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last fall that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: Opponents submitted petition signatures in December to try to force a statewide referendum on the map. The Republican secretary of state has until August to determine whether the petition meets legal muster and has enough signatures. Meanwhile, several lawsuits are challenging the legality of the new districts.

Utah

Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans

New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.

Challenges: Republicans are challenging the judicial map selection in the state Supreme Court and in federal court.

New York

Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans

Proposed map: A judge in January ordered a state commission to draw new boundaries for the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ruling it unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.

Challenges: Republicans lost an appeal in state court but have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case.

Florida

Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans

Proposed map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will call a special legislative session in April on congressional redistricting.

Challenges: A lawsuit asserts that DeSantis cannot legally call the special session. The state constitution says districts cannot be drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.

Redistricting triumphs:Texas

Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans

New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It put on hold a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”

California

Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans

New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.

Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.

North Carolina

Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.

Ohio

Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans

New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.

Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election. Because Republicans had approved the prior maps without sufficient Democratic support, they were required to expire after the 2024 election.

Redistricting possibilities:Louisiana

Current map: two Democrats, four Republicans

Proposal: Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed legislation in October to delay the state’s primary election from April 18 until May 16. That could give lawmakers extra time to redraw House districts if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the current districts.

Challenges: The Supreme Court heard arguments in October, but has not ruled yet.

South Carolina

Current map: one Democrat, six Republicans

Proposed map: A legislative committee is considering a congressional redistricting plan that could help Republicans win an additional seat.

Challenges: Republican legislative leaders are concerned the plan could backfire, and time is running short before this year’s election.

Colorado

Current map: four Democrats, four Republicans

Proposed map: A proposed ballot initiative would authorize mid-decade redistricting and impose a new House map that could help Democrats win three additional seats.

Challenges: Organizers must gather enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. If approved by voters, the new districts couldn’t be used until the 2028 elections.

Washington

Current map: eight Democrats, two Republicans

Proposed map: Democratic lawmakers have proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow mid-decade redistricting.

Challenges: Democrats don’t hold the two-thirds majority needed in both legislative chambers to refer a proposed amendment to the ballot, meaning it is unlikely to be approved before the November election.

Wisconsin

Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans

Proposed map: Two lawsuits assert that congressional districts must be redrawn because they unconstitutionally favor Republicans.

Challenges: One case is not scheduled for trial until 2027, and it’s unclear whether the other case can be resolved before the midterm election.

What is ALS, the disease that killed actor Eric Dane?

By
The Associated Press
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Eric Dane, known for his roles on “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Euphoria,” died this week from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at age 53.

The fatal nervous system disease, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, killed Dane less than a year after he announced his diagnosis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ALS is rare. In 2022, there were nearly 33,000 estimated cases, say researchers, who project that cases will rise to more than 36,000 by 2030.

The disease is slightly more common in men than in women and tends to strike in midlife, between the ages of 40 and 60.

Here’s what to know.

What is ALS?

It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control and getting worse over time.

ALS causes nerve cells in the upper and lower parts of the body to stop working and die. Nerves no longer trigger specific muscles, eventually leading to paralysis. People with ALS may develop problems with mobility, speaking, swallowing and breathing.

The exact cause of the disease is unknown, and Mayo Clinic experts said a small number of cases are inherited.

It’s called Lou Gehrig’s disease after the Hall of Fame New York Yankees player. Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS in 1939 on his 36th birthday, died in 1941 and was the face of ALS for decades.

What are some signs of ALS?

Experts say the first symptoms are often subtle. The disease may begin with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg.

Over time, muscles stop acting and reacting correctly, said experts at University of California San Francisco Health. People may lose strength and coordination in their arms and legs; feet and ankles may become weak; and muscles in the arms, shoulders and tongue may cramp or twitch. Swallowing and speaking may become difficult and fatigue may set in.

The ability to think, see, hear, smell, taste and touch are usually not affected, UCSF experts said.

Eventually, muscles used for breathing may become paralyzed. Patients may be unable to swallow and inhale food or saliva. Most people with ALS die of respiratory failure.

How is ALS diagnosed and treated?

The disease is difficult to diagnose because there’s no test or procedure to confirm it. Generally, doctors will perform a physical exam, lab tests and imaging of the brain and spinal cord.

A doctor may interpret certain things as signs of ALS, including an unusual flexing of the toes, diminished fine motor coordination, painful muscle cramps, twitching and spasticity, a type of stiffness causing jerky movements.

There’s no known cure for ALS, but the drug riluzole has been approved for treatment. According to the Mayo Clinic, it may extend survival in the early stages of the disease or extend the time until a breathing tube is needed.

Another much-debated drug, Relyvrio, was pulled from the U.S. market by Amylyx Pharmaceuticals in 2024. Its development had been financed, in part, by the ALS Association, the major beneficiary of the 2014 “ ice bucket challenge ” viral phenomenon.

Other medications are sometimes prescribed to help control symptoms.

Choking is common as ALS progresses, so patients may need feeding tubes. People may also use braces, wheelchairs, speech synthesizers or computer-based communication systems.

After the onset of the disease, experts say patients may survive from two years to a decade. Most people live from two to five years after symptoms develop, and about a fifth live more than five years after they are diagnosed.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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