ANN ARBOR (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 19 of his 27 points in the first half and Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 18 points, leading No. 3 Michigan in a 90-80 win over No. 8 Michigan State on Sunday to give the Big Ten champions a 15th straight conference win.

The Spartans (25-6, 15-5) were swept by their rivals in the regular season, but might get a third shot against them in a week at the Big Ten Tournament final.

Lendeborg, a preseason All-America selection, was the best player on the court for the second time in the series.

The UAB transfer was 8 of 12 from the field, matched a career high with five 3-pointers, had three assists and also made winning plays at the other end of the court.

After Jeremy Fears Jr. made a jumper to pull Michigan State within three points with 3:47 left, Lendeborg made a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to start a 10-2 run that sealed the victory.

Fears had 22 points and nine assists, Jaxon Kohler matched a career high with 23 points and Carson Cooper added 19 points.

Fears drew attention for another kick toward an opponent’s groin. He was called for a technical after a video review showed he swung his right leg backward and into Elliot Cadeau.

When the Wolverines won the first matchup earlier this season, Fears appeared to intentionally trip Lendeborg and Michigan coach Dusty May said there were several dangerous plays in the game.

Up next

Michigan State: Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

Michigan: Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan fired their basketball coaches on the same day, parting ways with former assistants under Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.

The Eagles and Broncos were both 10-21 overall and 4-14 in the Mid-American Conference this season, tying Northern Illinois for last place.

Heath and Stephens were previously assistants for the Spartans. Stephens also played for the program.

Heath, a former Eastern Michigan player, had a 57-99 record over four seasons with the Eagles. Stephens was 42-84 over four seasons.

Heath was previously the coach at Kent State, leading that MAC program to the Elite Eight in 2002. He also guided Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2007 and did the same at South Florida in 2012.

Stephens was on Izzo’s staff for 19 seasons, including the last decade as an associate head coach. He has coached in six Final Fours, including 2003 when he was an assistant for Tom Crean at Marquette. Stephens also was an assistant at Oakland University.

It started like most of my trips do, by coming across a cheap airfare. I’d only been to Vienna once, decades ago, loved it and always meant to go back. But did I really want to go in winter, when it’s bone-chilling cold, even if I could fly there for only $400 roundtrip? I’m a California girl, after all.

The answer was yes, of course it would be worth it. I pondered going for the elaborate Christmas markets for which the city is famous, but it’s too hard to get away in December, what with the holidays and all.

Then, I remembered I’d always wanted to see the famed snow-white Lippizaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School, and I’d read about the hundreds of balls that take place each winter. Plus, Vienna is considered the world’s best city for classical music, and winter is when the scene is in high gear. Not all that surprising, really, considering it’s too cold to do much else.

In fact, my love of grand opera began there some 40 years ago, when my friend and I discovered we could buy standing room tickets for that night’s performance of “Salome” at the box office for the Staatsoper, the Vienna Opera House. We paid the equivalent of 91 cents. The evening was enchanting and unforgettable.

Nowadays, there’s no way I’m standing for three hours, but I’m still cheap, so I paid 16 Euros (around $20) for obstructed view tickets to “The Marriage of Figaro.” Mozart wrote the opera in his house nearby and it premiered in Vienna in 1786. We were in our cheap seats in the third row of a box, so couldn’t see the whole stage, but we saw enough to enjoy the show. It’s definitely worth going to see this Renaissance and Gothic revival palace of music, opened in 1869, even if you’re not an opera fan, but it’s essential to get advance tickets online, although you can still get standing room tickets at the box office on the same day. They’re not 91 cents anymore, but still pretty cheap.

Back when we bought our plane tickets in September, I couldn’t stop the ridiculous thoughts of going to a ball. I’m 69 years old — a little long in the tooth to pretend to be Cinderella. I live in T-shirts and mom jeans. I owned nothing that could be worn to a fancy occasion, let alone a ball. But the idea kept growing on me, until finally it popped out, fully grown. I needed to go to a ball. Any ball. No one was inviting me back home, so I clearly needed to go to Vienna.

Luckily, my friend Lori agreed to come with me (She’s weird too).  I went online and bought tickets for 210 Euros each to the Coffee Brewers Ball — supposedly one of the best in the city. (Don’t laugh, coffee is a religion there.) Then, of course, we had to go buy formal evening gowns, shoes, stockings, clutches and gloves. I found The Dress Outlet in the downtown L.A. garment district that had plus size dresses, and scored a silver sequined gown on sale for $59. We also bought enough cold weather clothing to outfit a polar expedition — and we needed it.

On arrival, we checked into the lovely 130-year-old Hotel Kaiserhof, an antique-filled place with a kind, helpful staff.

On our first morning, we headed to the Belvedere Museum, a baroque former palace that retains its grandeur. The acres of gorgeous gardens were frozen in January, but the palace retains its massive crystal chandeliers, painted ceilings, gilt trim and all its imperial splendor.

Our destination was the collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt, including his most famous, “The Kiss.” The artist used real gold in their construction they glow even today. This did not disappoint.

Afterward, we headed to the Hofburg Palace, where we’d reserved a walking tourof the Imperial Apartments, including the Sisi Museum. Sisi was the nickname of Empress Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We’d recently watched an engrossing PBS series about her life. In a story that is possibly apocryphal, she was 16 years old when she accompanied her aristocratic Bavarian family to Vienna, where her sister Helene was to meet Emperor Franz Joseph, to whom she was already engaged to be married. But when they arrived, the emperor was so smitten with Sisi that he broke his engagement to her older sister, and married her instead. That was only the beginning of a thoroughly unique life for a royal wife.

After touring the excessively grand Imperial Apartments, I felt my little tract house at home was a little lacking. But then I don’t need dozens of servants to take care of it.

Our next big adventure was visiting the Spanish Riding School, which has been famous for its pure white “dancing” Lippizaner stallions for hundreds of years. The name dates back to a former emperor, a Habsburg from Spain, who brought his horses with him. The first mention of a riding arena on the site dates back to 1565. And, to this day, they are meticulously trained from colts to perform spectacular feats of dressage, including some who can lift their front legs and seem to prance off the ground.

For horse lovers, it’s a breathtaking treat to see them. After the performance, we took a guided tour of their stables, where the equines are treated like the stars they truly are. Each horse has its own rider, who trains it from a young age and stays with the horse until it retires. We got a look at their fancy show tack, including bridles and saddles, and learned about their lives. We weren’t allowed to pet them, which I understand because strangers could make them sick, but it was hard to keep my hands in my pockets. The tour was supposed to last an hour but actually was only 37 minutes, which was annoying, but still worthwhile.

And then there were the balls. I was able to get press tickets to see the annual Vienna Philharmonic Ball, which is one of the most sought-after and prestigious in the city. Tickets go on sale in January. This year, the 100-year-old event sold out in only 80 minutes, according to the ball director, Paul Halwax.

Each year, workers remove all the seating from the elegant, gilded Musikverein — the concert hall where the famed Vienna Philharmonic plays — and turn it into a ballroom that can hold some 2,600 people. And we felt like we encountered all of them, as the elegantly attired guests were crammed cheek-to-jowl in the huge space. In addition to the main ballroom, there were bars and other places to hear music and dance the night away, and I mean that literally. Vienna balls generally start around 9 p.m. with a processional of white-clad debutantes dancing, and then continue all night until 4:30 or 5 a.m. punctuated by special events such as ballet or opera performances.  Afterward, attendees ignore their sore feet and head out to get traditional Vienna sausages for breakfast before going home.

The most elegant balls, like the Philharmonic, are unyielding about their dress codes: White tie and tails for men and long evening gowns for ladies. Some balls allow tuxedos as well. People who turn up underdressed are turned away with regrets. Every year, some ladies show up in short cocktail dresses, and are sometimes irate at being refused entry, even though every venue, often even the tickets themselves, describe the dress code in advance. The Philharmonic ball, ever solicitous of its elite guests, provides seamstresses, hairdressers and cosmeticians on site for emergency repairs.

Vienna is known as the city of balls, and some 400 are held annually, sponsored by trade associations or other groups. The official ball season starts on Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m. Most of the balls are held in carnival season of January and February, ending by Ash Wednesday, but there are some outliers at other times as well. Generally, anyone can buy a ticket to a ball, but be warned that they typically sell out.

For this trip, I had to break my cardinal cheapskate rule of never paying to check a bag at the airport, because bringing an evening gown (actually two, because I bought one for the opera as well)- was impossible in my tiny carry-on bag.

Keep this in mind, though: Regular tickets only get you in the door, to watch and dance. If you want a place to sit, you need to reserve a seat at a table. This will cost considerably more, but it’s well worth it when your tootsies are sore and you need a break. Waiters are also on hand to bring food and drink, at additional cost. Champagne is by far the most popular option. Tickets for table seats are often for sale before regular tickets. There are typically also fancy boxes for sale, with as you can imagine, higher prices.

Being cheapskates, we didn’t have seats, so by 1:30 a.m. our dogs were barking. But, surprisingly, the fairy tale atmosphere was so enchanting that I didn’t even feel tired, but our bodies couldn’t take any more.

The following night, we repeated the magical experience, this time in the Hofburg Palace. The Coffeehouse Owners Ball is so vast that it takes over all the ballrooms in the palace. With more space, it was less crowded than the night before, so cooler. The orchestra in the main ballroom, which accomodated thousands of dancers, played waltzes and also other dances, even sedate rock ‘n’ roll. Other smaller ballrooms offered more dancing, including sambas, tangos, swing and more. Later in the evening, a jazz club and disco opened. The entire place remained buzzing until the wee hours, but again we had to reluctantly leave as our aching feet disappointed us.

Incidentally, Vienna was the first place I ever drank real, delicious dark roast coffee all those years ago, long before it became popular in the U.S. In fact, the aromatic beverage is practically a sacrament in Vienna, which is why there’s a ball dedicated to it. The menu at our hotel breakfast offered us nine different varieties, with lattes, espressos and other drinks with which I wasn’t acquainted.

The next day, after two balls in a row, I scarcely got out of my comfy hotel bed except to get downstairs in time for free breakfast. I’m old, after all. Even in my sleep, I was still humming the waltzes I’d heard. In fact, I’m still humming them to this day.

When I planned this adventure, I presumed it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But now, I’m even considering doing it again. The balls were so grand and overwhelmingly beautiful. The winter season in January means no crowds at any tourist attraction. We walked right into museums that have long lines in the summer.

But brrrr…it’s so darn cold! There’s no lingering strolls and window shopping, at least not for these weenie California girls. And Vienna is a city of beautiful gardens, all of which were cold and dead in January.

This is something I must contemplate further, although I know I’ll be back to Vienna again, and hopefully soon. It is a magical place.

If you go:

• What’s in a name? Vienna is the city’s English name, but it’s called Wien (pronounced veen) in German. Also note that nearly all Austrian tourism websites have a toggle at the top that will allow you to translate them into English.
• Spanish Riding School: Make sure you have advance reservations to see the stallions. Buy tickets here: srs.at/en
• Music: The main opera house is the Wiener Staatsoper, a spectacular palace of music that has performances of various types most every night. wiener-staatsoper.at, The other main opera house is the Volksoper Wien, which hosts operas, operettas and musicals. volksoper.at There are too many music venues to list here, but the most famous is the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world’s greatest orchestras, which performs at the Musikverein.
• Balls: Vienna is known as the city of balls, and its estimated that some 400 are held annually. Generally, anyone can buy a ticket to a ball, which does not include seating. Tickets are already on sale for next January’s Coffeehouse Owners Ball. at kaffeesiederball.at.
• Museums: Vienna has a dizzying number of museums, including spectacular former palaces. You can also visit the homes of famous people, including Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Strauss and Sigmund Freud.
• Where to stay: We liked the mid-priced boutique Hotel Kaiserhof, which has an elevator, bar, room service, breakfast buffet and friendly staff. It’s located in the Fourth District, close to public transportation and the historic attractions in the First District. hotel-kaiserhof.at/wien

By Aya Miller, mlive.com

THREE RIVERS, MI — Ashley Steel had just parked outside Applebee’s, 1330 W. Broadway St., for her 4 p.m. shift when she saw the roof of Menards and a sea of debris fly into the air.

Within seconds, a reported tornado had descended on Steel, before she could run inside the restaurant.

“I was going to die,” Steel told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette about the thoughts running through her mind. “I closed my eyes and just kept screaming… I felt sticks, I felt the trees.”

As the skies cleared, people emerged to overturned cars, downed power lines, scraps of metal and varying other debris along West Broadway Street.

Roads were blocked by a tangle of downed power lines.

Three Rivers Health Emergency Room, a Holiday Inn Express and Menards were among businesses that sustained significant damage.

The Menards at 1001 Warner Drive had partially collapsed with large chunks of the roof, brick walls and front entrance missing.

One resident said the entrance to the emergency room at 701 South Health Parkway was blocked by debris. Employees at the emergency room declined to comment on the damage.

Hospital employees were set to drive home in vehicles caked with dirt. Instead of glass windows, their cars had gaping holes.

Nearby trees had been uprooted.

Jonathan Baker looked outside the window of his office at Kendall Electric, 1201 W. Broadway St., when he saw a weird funnel shape and debris fly into the air.

“I think there’s a tornado at my house,” he said to his colleagues.

Within seconds there was a big gust of wind and he screamed to his colleagues to hide in the bathroom. They made it to the bathroom just before gusts of wind blew out doors and windows.

It was “chaos,” Baker said.

A spring-like storm in Three Rivers quickly escalated into a violent supercell, resulting in at least two tornado touchdowns.

Though no life-threatening injuries were reported, several individuals were treated for minor injuries, and emergency personnel are on-site managing the aftermath.

A tornado touchdown in Union City also was reported from this storm.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center on Friday evening in response to storm and the significant damage.

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By ANITA SNOW

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Wearing an oxygen pack on her back for her COPD, Marcia OBara is leading a group of nature enthusiasts on a mission to see birds. They carry walking sticks on the flat trails, moving at their own pace, without pressure or competition and enjoying a sense of community.

This is Birding for Every BODY, one of numerous such excursions offered each month by the nonprofit Tucson Bird Alliance with Arizona’s Pima County.

It’s part of a growing national movement to help people with physical and other limitations experience birding and nature in general.

“It’s an opportunity for people to get out and see birds without pressure, no matter how long it takes or how many birds we see,” said OBara, a retired nurse who has been leading the accessible outings for three years. She said disabled people often cannot keep up on traditional outings, especially when competitive birders are focused on checking off a list of the greatest possible number of species.

For her accessible walks, OBara ensures that all trails are easily traversable, and bathrooms are open and large enough to accommodate mobility scooters and wheelchairs. She checks on the availability of drinking water, shade and benches. Once a walk gets underway, OBara checks to ensure everyone is keeping up, then modulates the pace as needed.

“I used to work in rehab, so I usually know what people need,” OBara said.

While the outings are open to those with wheelchairs and mobility scooters, people who use those devices rarely attend the walks, OBara said, perhaps because they don’t think they’ll be able to keep up.

“But we’d encourage them to come,” OBara said.

Enjoying nature and community

On one of several walks she led in February at Tucson-area parks, OBara pointed out a phainopepla, a slender, crested bird perched on a mesquite tree that adores the bright red berries of desert mistletoe clumped on the branches. Quacking mallards and other ducks swam in ponds or pecked the ground.

“It’s nice to just be outside and not think of anything else,” said Rhea Guertin, a retired Rhode Island snowbird who spends four months in Tucson each winter. She used a walking pole for stability.

“I’m just slow,” she explained.

Evelyn Spitzer, a retired Tucson-area teacher, used a walking pole for her heart condition and the lingering effects of a recent surgery.

The organized effort to share birding with people with limitations goes back at least to 2018, when retired Texas teacher Virginia Rose founded the nonprofit Birdability. Rose has used a wheelchair since suffering a spinal injury at age 14.

On smooth trails or from the back deck

“Our vision is that birding be truly for everybody and every BODY, regardless of disability,” said Cat Fribley, Birdability’s executive director. She said participants’ limitations include mobility issues, blindness or low vision, chronic illness, intellectual or developmental disabilities, mental illness. Some are neurodivergent, deaf, hard of hearing or have other health concerns.

Fribley, who has a mobility scooter for multiple disabilities, said she can go five or six miles while birding on the accessible paths in her residential community in Iowa City, Iowa.

“In the winter, I bird on my back deck with my coffee,” she said.

Other examples of accessible birding include watching from a car, from a canoe on a river, or simply through a kitchen window, advocates said.

Maps and apps

Birdability has helped compile a crowdsourced map of accessible birding locations nationwide in partnership with the National Audubon Society, and offers advice to able-bodied birders on how to be more welcoming and inclusive.

The group’s website has many other resources and adaptive devices, such as car-window mounts for cameras, and apps that blind people and others can use to identify and record birdsong.

Occupational therapist Freya McGregor recommends binocular harnesses, which are strapped around the back and chest, saying they’re easier on the shoulders and neck than binoculars that hang around the neck.

McGregor — who has a permanent knee injury — runs Access Birding, which trains nature organizations such as state parks and local Audubon chapters on making trails accessible.

Birding by ear

Birding “really brings you joy,” said Jerry Berrier, a 73-year-old Massachusetts birder who has been blind since birth. “There is happiness from being out in nature.”

Berrier got hooked as a college student when he learned to identify a huge number of bird calls and songs to satisfy the lab requirement for a biology class. He later taught blind and blind-deaf people how to negotiate the use of laptops and cellphones at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts.

He captures avian songs and calls for his website, www.birdblind.org, to help blind bird enthusiasts record and share their own. Last year, he launched the “Any Bird, Any Body” podcast with his friend, Gary Haritz.

Berrier also helped organize the first national bird-a-thon for blind enthusiasts in the U.S. It drew several hundred participants last year, who reported the birdcalls they heard over 24 hours. The event goes international this year on May 3-4.

“We encourage people to reach out to local organizations to help blind people with the bird-a-thon, he said. “A disability can be very isolating.”

Anita Snow wrote for The Associated Press for more than 35 years before retiring a year ago. When she’s not birding, she writes freelance articles from her home in Tucson, Arizona.

By ROBIN ARZON

This recipe is from the “I Love Sandwiches” chapter in my cookbook “Eat to Hustle.” The chapter is basically my love letter to road-trip food made healthier — inspired by fast-food classics, gas-station gems, and deli-counter staples that I thought I’d never get to eat again after going vegan.

My versions hit just as hard, especially because they’re loaded with plant-based protein, so your body enjoys them just as much as you do.

Traditional sloppy joes are way too sweet and ketchup-y for my taste. I like to think my version is a little more refined — still hearty and meaty from the lentils, with a smoky, savory sauce that’s just the right amount of tangy. Serve the hearty filling on high-protein buns and watch them disappear.

Napkins definitely required.

Lentil Sloppy Joes

Servings: 4 sandwiches

2 tablespoons avocado oil

Ingredients

½ medium white onion, diced

½ green bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce or coconut aminos

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups cooked lentils

4 high-protein burger buns, such as Hero

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200°F. In a large skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the pepper is soft, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce, coconut sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt, paprika, red pepper and black pepper. Let the mixture come to a simmer, then stir in the lentils to coat. Simmer until the lentils are warmed through and the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

While the lentils are simmering, split the burger buns and arrange on the oven rack to toast. Divide the sloppy joes mixture among the toasted buns and serve immediately.

Robin Arzón is head instructor and vice president of fitness and programming at Peloton. She’s also a bestselling author. She lives in New York City with her husband, Drew, and their children Athena Amelia and Atlas Sage.

Excerpted from “Eat to Hustle” by Robin Arzón. Copyright (copyright) 2026 by Robin Arzón. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

By TERRY TANG and OBED LAMY

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cradling his newborn daughter in his lap in their Indianapolis home, JaKobi Burton’s love for the new lady in his life is evident with each caress.

The first-time dad’s commitment started months earlier. Burton attended every medical appointment and took classes with Dads to Doulas, a program created by the organization Dear Fathers that teaches Black fathers-to-be how to provide physical, mental and spiritual support up to and after childbirth.

He and his wife, Crystal Wilmot-Burton, understood that the pregnancy came with immense risk, not just because they were in their 40s but also because they are Black. Federal health data shows Black women are almost 3.5 times more likely than white women to die around the time of childbirth.

Health professionals and advocates hope that by giving Black fathers-to-be the tools to be more hands-on — through government-funded programs and nonprofit center resources — they can cut into those odds. Organizers say there has been a noticeable shift in the attitudes of some Black men who now openly discuss their pregnancy fears and insecurities.

“I want you to know that I was involved and that I was looking out for you from the very beginning, and I’m always going to be your biggest protector,” Burton tells his 1-month-old daughter. “That’s what I did from the beginning of this experience, trying to learn as much as I could.”

Paternal involvement is ‘directly correlated with better outcomes’

Health disparities, racism and equal access to prenatal care are among the contributing factors for the disparities in mortality rates among women of different races, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Two recent viral cellphone videos — including one in Indiana — show hospital staff dismissing the concerns of Black women in labor.

The maternal mortality rate for Black women soars above that of other racial groups. They suffered 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White women experienced 14.5. Hispanic and Asian women faced 12.4 and 10.7, respectively.

The National Healthy Start Association, which was created in 1998 to help improve infant and maternal mortality rates, has “fatherhood practitioners” at its 116 project sites. They, along with case managers, offer men assistance including webinars, a texting service and even cooking lessons.

Kenneth Scarborough, who has been the NHSA’s fatherhood and men’s health consultant for 10 years, has noticed a shift toward including male partners in the efforts to preserve the health of pregnant women.

“There’s more research that is being done to be able to change those narratives, without a shadow of a doubt,” Scarborough said. “The challenge with that is still getting these institutions to understand the value of making sure that Dad is there and he is at the table.”

Doctors still leave Black fathers “on the fringes of the conversation” while society often codifies them as “scary and rough,” said Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, founder and director of the Center of Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts University.

She said she has heard countless anecdotes of fathers being ignored in the exam room, even though paternal involvement is “directly correlated with better outcomes.”

Mothers- and fathers-to-be face racism in medical institutions

Black patients are frequently advised to seek out an OB-GYN who looks like them, and Wilmot-Burton did just that.

“I thought maybe she would be more caring, be more willing to listen to my issues, which she was,” she said.

But Black doctors make up a tiny share of OB-GYNs nationwide. Of the estimated 43,700 practicing OB-GYNs, 7.5% are Black women, according to 2023 data from the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges. Even fewer — 2.3% — are Black men.

Deborah Frazier, the CEO of National Healthy Start, said medical organizations must let go of any stigma about paternal involvement. Black and brown fathers still face stereotypes of absenteeism.

“We have data and interviews with fathers, and those fathers have told us that they wanted to be there with their partners, and they wanted be present for their births,” Frazier said.

Charles Johnson IV founded 4Kira4Moms in 2017 after his wife, Kira, bled to death during a cesarean section at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. Johnson sued the hospital in 2022, saying she died because of a culture of racism.

Fathers should be able to walk the line between assertive and aggressive while still being a “force in the room,” the group’s executive director Gabrielle Albert said.

“What if you happen to be 6-foot-5 and 200-something pounds? If you speak up, what’s gonna happen?” Albert said. “Let’s role-play conversations. How do you push back against the doctor?”

From dad to doula

In August — two months before Wilmot-Burton gave birth — Burton was one of a dozen prospective dads holding a Black baby doll at a Dads to Doulas workshop. Facilitator Kyra Betts Patton tells them studies show present fathers-to-be can lower the chances of premature births.

“The largest time frame for maternal mortality, you’re looking at 43 to 100 days after you’ve had a baby. No one’s there but the partner,” Patton said.

Burton said the classes gave him the courage to advocate throughout the pregnancy, and that he took a checklist of questions from the class to every appointment.

“I pushed hard prior to the delivery to make sure that our birth plan was followed, even though it wasn’t completely. But she (Phoenix) still turned out great and was delivered successfully,” said Burton. He also took classes with the Indiana Breastfeeding Coalition.

Wilmot-Burton gives her husband credit for taking these workshops while also working and attending grad school. His presence was vital, especially when she felt unwell or was nervous.

“I would encourage other Black women to make sure their partners are on board to attend some classes or read books,” she said, “and definitely go to as many appointments as they can.”

Tang reported from Phoenix.

By Lauren Gibbons BRIDGEMI.COM

This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.

In Oakland County’s Waterford Township, concern over the use of automatic license plate readers by law enforcement agencies escalated to a 24-year-old man smashing several of the devices to bits.

Police credit one of the cameras he’s accused of breaking with helping track him down. The license plate reader, Sheriff Scott Underwood said, captured his license plate data before it was damaged.

Underwood highlighted that incident as one of many examples where the readers have assisted in solving crimes quickly, but the damaged cameras and subsequent arrest highlight the tension many communities are experiencing as local officials grapple with how and whether to use automatic license plate readers in policing.

At least 16 states have adopted policies aimed at regulating the use and retention of data collected by license plate readers, which capture pictures of vehicle license plates every time a car drives by.

A group of lawmakers led by Republican state Rep. Doug Wozniak of Shelby Township and Democratic state Rep. Jimmie Wilson of Ypsilanti are suggesting it’s time for Michigan to do the same.

“Michiganders deserve to know that new technology is being used responsibly, not in ways that invade privacy or erode public confidence,” Wozniak said in a statement announcing bipartisan bills to regulate the devices, arguing their plan would protect driver privacy and help maintain public trust in law enforcement.

Absent a statewide policy, decisions on the use of license plate readers have fallen to local law enforcement agencies and municipal governments.

In communities where license plate reader contracts are being considered, concerned residents have increasingly spoken up at public hearings about the possibility of data being used to surveil lawful activity or the possible sharing of data with federal law enforcement agencies.

At least 125 Michigan agencies contract with the Atlanta-based company Flock Safety, one of the largest providers nationwide of automatic license plate reader technology.

Law enforcement agencies using the devices tout the technology as a speedy way to help locate missing people or catch criminals, and some police groups are concerned the proposed statewide regulations as written would go too far.

Colorado lawmakers debate limits on police surveillance, data and tech: ‘It’s not just coming down the pipe — it’s here’

“We’re not against any regulations — we just don’t want it to weaken what a good investigative tool the license plate readers are,” said Matt Saxton, executive director of the Michigan Sheriff’s Association.

HOW THE BILLS WOULD WORK

If the proposed legislation became law, the biggest change would be a restriction on how long any data collected by license plate readers is stored.

Lawmakers supporting the bills are pushing for a 14-day limit on data retention, as well as limiting use of the license plate reader system to specific law enforcement actions, including:

Finding missing peopleLocating stolen vehiclesLocating people with outstanding arrest warrantsIdentifying uninsured or unregistered vehiclesParking and tolling enforcementCriminal investigations

The legislation also calls for publicly available reports from agencies using the readers on how the data is used and would offer a path for legal recourse if a driver believes his or her data was used improperly.

State and local governments can support effective policing “while still demanding safeguards that protect civil liberties,” Wilson said in a statement announcing the bills.

“This legislation creates clear limits on how … data is collected, stored and shared, ensuring these tools are used to improve public safety, not to enable routine mass surveillance,” he continued.

In most communities with license plate readers, the devices are placed at or near major public intersections. As vehicles pass by, the reader takes a photo of the back of the car, collecting the license plate number that can be used to look up the vehicle registration.

Photos are typically stored by the contractor for 30 days, though locals can elect to keep them for more or less time. The law enforcement entity can then cross-check those images with “hot lists” of license plates connected to suspected criminals or missing people.

Critics contend that 24-hour surveillance of drivers, the vast majority of whom will never be charged with a crime, poses major privacy concerns — especially considering the 30-day standard for storing the data also means anyone with access could gain insight into a driver’s daily routines.

Saxton, the executive director of the Sheriff’s Association, said law enforcement criminal investigations or missing person searches can take longer than two weeks to complete. He’s concerned cutting the timeline short could limit the effectiveness of the tool.

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“If that data was gone after 14 days, we couldn’t use that as a tool to help that family find out answers about their missing loved ones,” he said.

The proposed legislation is pending in the House Judiciary Committee and would need to earn majority support in the politically divided House and Senate to become law.

ACLU of Michigan policy strategist Gabrielle Dresner, whose organization worked closely with lawmakers on crafting the proposal, is optimistic about the chances of meaningful reform.

“​​In conversations we’ve had with the vast majority of the representatives, we’ve had a lot of support from both sides of the aisle … the most left of left and right of right,” she said. “It’s really a popular issue among everyone.”

WHERE THINGS STAND STATEWIDE

In the meantime, communities around the state are reaching differing conclusions about how to balance law enforcement requests with increased pushback from citizens.

After weeks of opposition from residents, Lapeer County Sheriff Scott McKenna recently pulled back a request for license plate readers.

He told county commissioners that he personally believes foregoing the readers “leaves us in a vulnerable position,” but, after taking stock of the situation, he “felt it was my duty at that point to pull it off the agenda.”

Some cities, including Bay City and Ferndale, have in recent months backed out of contracts with Flock and have reassessed their license plate reader policies or switched to a different provider in response to community concerns.

In Detroit, city council members recently requested a report on how data collected from the city’s more than 500 license plate readers is used, expressing concerns about the possibility of data sharing.

But other communities are still considering getting their own license plate readers or adding onto existing contracts as local police credit the technology with helping locate stolen vehicles, bust human trafficking rings, solve serious crimes like rapes and murders and fill coverage gaps in short-staffed departments.

Local officials in Trenton and Taylor this week considered renewing existing contracts with Flock Safety. Taylor police credit the tool with arrests in a 14-year-old’s shooting death and a sting operation involving possible child predators, among other things.

In Waterford Township, where police began using license plate readers in 2022, law enforcement was recently approved to add additional readers and Flock-powered drones to its repertoire, despite concerted pushback from locals.

After several cameras were destroyed — including the camera that led to an arrest in the crime — Underwood, the Waterford police chief, in a press release said the public is entitled to their opinions regarding the readers, but aren’t entitled to maliciously interfere.

The license plate readers “collect only images of vehicles and license plates,” he said in the release. “Those images, coupled with a number of other investigative techniques, led to a successful resolution in this case, that being the arrest of a person who committed three felonies.”

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By Annika Hammerschlag THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

As missiles and drones curtail energy production across the Persian Gulf, analysts warn that water, not oil, may be the resource most at risk in the energy-rich but arid region.

On Sunday, Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants. Earlier, Iran said a U.S. airstrike had damaged an Iranian plant.

Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting individual systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations.

In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination, along with roughly 86% in Oman and about 70% in Saudi Arabia. The technology removes salt from seawater — most commonly by pushing it through ultrafine membranes in a process known as reverse osmosis — to produce the freshwater that sustains cities, hotels, industry and some agriculture across one of the world’s driest regions.

For people living outside the Middle East, the main concern of the Iran war has been the impact on energy prices. The Gulf produces about a third of the world’s crude exports and energy revenues underpin national economies. Fighting has already halted tanker traffic through key shipping routes and disrupted port activity, forcing some producers to curb exports as storage tanks fill.

But the infrastructure that keeps Gulf cities supplied with drinking water may be equally vulnerable.

“Everyone thinks of Saudi Arabia and their neighbors as petrostates. But I call them saltwater kingdoms. They’re human-made fossil-fueled water superpowers,” said Michael Christopher Low, director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah. “It’s both a monumental achievement of the 20th century and a certain kind of vulnerability.”

Early signs of risk

The war that began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran has already brought fighting close to key desalination infrastructure. On March 2, Iranian strikes on Dubai’s Jebel Ali port landed some 12 miles from one of the world’s largest desalination plants, which produces much of the city’s drinking water.

Damage also was reported at the Fujairah F1 power and water complex in the United Arab Emirates, and at Kuwait’s Doha West desalination plant. The damage at the two facilities appeared to have resulted from nearby port attacks or debris from intercepted drones.

On Sunday, Bahrain accused Iran of indiscriminately attacking civilian targets and damaging one of its desalination plants, though it didn’t say supplies have gone offline. The island nation, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been among the countries targeted by Iranian drones and missiles.

Earlier, Iran said a U.S. airstrike damaged an Iranian desalination plant. Abbas Araghchi, the country’s foreign minister, said the strike on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had cut into the water supply for 30 villages. He warned that in doing so “the U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.”

Many Gulf desalination plants are physically integrated with power stations as co‑generation facilities, meaning attacks on electrical infrastructure could also hinder water production. Even where plants are connected to national grids with backup supply routes, disruptions can cascade across interconnected systems, said David Michel, senior fellow for water security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“It’s an asymmetrical tactic,” he said. “Iran doesn’t have the same capacity to strike back at the United States and Israel. But it does have this possibility to impose costs on the Gulf countries to push them to intervene or call for a cessation of hostilities.”

Desalination plants have multiple stages — intake systems, treatment facilities, energy supplies — and damage to any part of that chain can interrupt production, according to Ed Cullinane, Middle East editor at Global Water Intelligence, a publisher serving the water industry.

“None of these assets are any more protected than any of the municipal areas that are currently being hit by ballistic missiles or drones,” Cullinane said.

A long-standing concern

Gulf governments and U.S. officials have long recognized the risks these systems pose for regional stability: if major desalination plants were knocked offline, some cities could lose most of their drinking water within days. A 2010 CIA analysis warned attacks on desalination facilities could trigger national crises in several Gulf states, and prolonged outages could last months if critical equipment were destroyed.

More than 90% of the Gulf’s desalinated water comes from just 56 plants, the report stated, and “each of these critical plants is extremely vulnerable to sabotage or military action.”

A leaked 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable warned the Saudi capital of Riyadh “would have to evacuate within a week” if either the Jubail desalination plant on the Gulf coast or its pipelines or associated power infrastructure were seriously damaged.

Saudi Arabia has since invested in pipeline networks, storage reservoirs and other redundancies designed to cushion short-term disruptions, as has the UAE. But smaller states such as Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have fewer backup supplies.

Climate change could threaten water plants

As warming oceans increase the likelihood and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea and raise the chances of landfall on the Arabian Peninsula, storm surge and extreme rainfall could overwhelm drainage systems and damage coastal desalination.

The plants themselves contribute to the problem. Desalination is energy-intensive, with plants worldwide producing between 500 and 850 million tons of carbon emissions annually, approaching the roughly 880 million tons emitted by the entire global aviation industry.

The byproduct of desalination, highly concentrated brine, is typically discharged back into the ocean, where it can harm seafloor habitats and coral reefs, while intake systems can trap and kill fish larvae, plankton and other organisms at the base of the marine food web.

As climate change intensifies droughts, disrupts rainfall patterns and fuels wildfires, desalination is expected to expand in many parts of the world.

The threat is not hypothetical

During Iraq’s 1990-1991 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War, Iraqi forces sabotaged power stations and desalination facilities as they retreated, said the University of Utah’s Low. At the same time, millions of barrels of crude oil were deliberately released into the Persian Gulf, creating one of the largest oil spills in history.

The massive slick threatened to contaminate seawater intake pipes used by desalination plants across the region. Workers rushed to deploy protective booms around the intake valves of major facilities.

The destruction left Kuwait largely without fresh water and dependent on emergency water imports. Full recovery took years.

More recently, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted Saudi desalination facilities amid regional tensions.

The incidents underscore a broader erosion of long-standing norms against attacking civilian infrastructure, Michel said, noting conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Iraq.

International humanitarian law, including provisions of the Geneva Conventions, prohibit targeting civilian infrastructure indispensable to the survival of the population, including drinking water facilities.

The potential for harmful cyberattacks on water infrastructure is a growing concern. In 2023 and 2024, U.S. officials blamed Iran-aligned groups for hacking into several American water utilities.

Iran’s own water supply at risk

After a fifth year of extreme drought, water levels in Tehran’s five reservoirs plunged to some 10% of their capacity, prompting President Masoud Pezeshkian to warn the capital may have to be evacuated.

Unlike many Gulf states that rely heavily on desalination, Iran still gets most of its water from rivers, reservoirs and depleted underground aquifers. The country operates a relatively small number of desalination plants, supplying only a fraction of national demand.

Iran is racing to expand desalination along its southern coast and pump some of the water inland, but infrastructure constraints, energy costs and international sanctions have sharply limited scalability.

“They were already thinking of evacuating the capital last summer,” Cullinane of Global Water Intelligence said. “I don’t dare to wonder what it’s going to be like this summer under sustained fire, with an ongoing economic catastrophe and a serious water crisis.”

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Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram.

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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

By JJon Gambrell, Sam Metz, and Kareem Chehayeb THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant on Sunday, raising fears that civilian infrastructure may become fair game in the war, as Iran’s president vowed to expand the country’s attacks on American targets across the region in the face of intense U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.

A late-night Israeli strike on an oil facility engulfed parts of Iran’s capital, Tehran, in smoke on Sunday, while Israel renewed attacks in Lebanon. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the nine-day-old campaign, which has rippled across the region and appears to have no end in sight.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian threatened Sunday to step up attacks on American targets across the Middle East. He appeared to backtrack from conciliatory comments toward his Gulf neighbors on Saturday. Those comments, in which he apologized for attacks on their soil, were quickly contradicted by Iranian hard-liners.

In Lebanon, intensifying Israeli strikes pushed the death toll higher as several hundred thousand people were displaced and Israel targeted the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. And in central Israel, three people were injured in a Sunday afternoon strike.

The war, which Israel and the United States launched with airstrikes on Feb. 28, has so far killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials. Six U.S. troops have also been killed.

The conflict has rattled global markets, disrupted air travel and left Iran’s leadership weakened by several thousand Israeli and American airstrikes.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Sunday that the war’s effect on the oil industry would continue to spiral, warning it could soon become harder to both produce and sell oil.

Some regional producers, including in Iraq, have already curbed output amid dangers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s president toughens tone

“When we are attacked, we have no choice but to respond. The more pressure they impose on us, the stronger our response will naturally be,” Pezeshkian said in video comments Sunday. “Our Iran, our country, will not bow easily in the face of bullying, oppression or aggression — and it never has.”

The remarks came a day after Pezeshkian said Iran regretted regional concerns caused by Iranian strikes and urged neighboring states not to take part in U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran.

While multiple Gulf states reported intercepting more incoming missiles and drones from Iran, Pezeshkian said the country wasn’t looking to battle them and accused the U.S. of trying to pit countries against one another.

Iranian hard-liners quickly contradicted those remarks. Judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei wrote on X: “The geography of some countries in the region — both overtly and covertly — is in the hands of the enemy, and those points are used against our country in acts of aggression. Intense attacks on these targets will continue.”

Mohseni-Ejei and Pezeshkian are part of a three-member leadership council that has overseen Iran since an earlier strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pezeshkian’s remarks Sunday reinforced pledges that Iran would not surrender despite U.S. and Israeli threats, with Trump and Netanyahu saying their aim remains the replacement of Iran’s leaders.

“We’re not looking to settle,” Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One. “They’d like to settle. We’re not looking to settle.”

Desalination and oil facilities attacked

The Gulf nations of Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, reported additional Iranian missiles launched toward them on Sunday, including several that hit new categories of civilian infrastructure.

The United Arab Emirates said that Iran launched more than 100 missiles and drones in new barrages. Only four drones fell at unnamed locations, the country’s defense ministry said.

Bahrain accused Iran of indiscriminately attacking civilian targets and damaging one of its desalination plants, though its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online. The island nation, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has been among the countries targeted by Iranian drones and missiles. Attacks have hit hotels, ports and residential towers and killed at least one person.

The desalination plant strike came after Iran said a U.S. airstrike damaged an Iranian desalination plant. Abbas Araghchi, the country’s foreign minister, said the strike on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had cut into the water supply for 30 villages. He warned that in doing so “the U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.”

Neither U.S. Central Command and Israel’s military had immediate comment on the plant.

Desalination plants supply water to millions of residents in the region, raising new fears of risks in multiple parched desert nations.

Iran also said on Sunday that overnight strikes from Israel hit four oil storage tankers and a petroleum transfer terminal, killing four people. Witnesses in Tehran said the smoke was so thick from a fire that engulfed the north Tehran oil depot that it felt as if the sun had not risen.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said on Sunday that about 10,000 civilian structures across the country had been damaged, including homes, schools and medical facilities. It warned Tehran residents to take precautions against toxic air pollution and the risk of acid rain after Israeli strikes set fires at oil depots in the area.

Iran maintains sufficient fuel, Veys Karami, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, told Iran’s state-run news agency. Israel’s military said on Saturday that the targeted oil depots were being used by Iran’s military.

More strikes hit Lebanon

Israel renewed its assault early Sunday on parts of Lebanon, where health officials reported at least 394 people have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said on Sunday that 83 children and 82 women were among those killed. The Israeli military has ordered large swaths of the country to evacuate. Lebanese officials have reported more than 400,000 displaced during an offensive that Israel’s military has said is aimed at stamping out Iran-supported forces there.

In Beirut, sheltering families crammed into schools, slept in cars or in open areas near the Mediterranean Sea, where some burned firewood to keep warm while awaiting basic supplies. The government says it’s soon repurposing in a large sports stadium to shelter thousands more.

Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the opening days of the war. The subsequent strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire.

Israel withdrew from most of southern Lebanon at that time but continued near-daily strikes, primarily in southern Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah had been trying to rebuild its positions there. Hezbollah said last week that after more than a year of abiding by a ceasefire as Israel’s strikes continued on Lebanon, its patience has ended, leaving it with no option but to fight.

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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Chehayeb from Beirut. Associated Press journalists Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, contributed reporting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

Trump, who said he would nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, made the announcement on social media on Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats.

Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

Noem, took the stage to address a Department of Homeland Security event moments after Trump’s announcement but made no immediate mention of her ouster. Instead, she read from prepared remarks, including reinforcing Trump’s message from the State of the Union last month.

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.

Noem’s tenure looked increasingly short-lived after hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers. One particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.

Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the ad campaign.

Noem has faced waves of criticism as she’s overseen Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

Frustrations over Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line immigration agenda — particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths of the two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — as well as her handling of disaster response, paved the way for her downfall. She faced blistering criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, in Congress hearings this week over those issues and others.

Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism — including from Republicans — over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s response to disasters.

Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.

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By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday fired his embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after mounting criticism over her leadership of the department, including the handling of the administration’s immigration crackdown and disaster response.

Trump, who said he would nominate in her place Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, made the announcement on social media on Thursday, two days after Noem faced a grilling on Capitol Hill from GOP members as well as Democrats.

Trump says he’ll make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.

Noem, took the stage to address a Department of Homeland Security event moments after Trump’s announcement but made no immediate mention of her ouster. Instead, she read from prepared remarks, including reinforcing Trump’s message from the State of the Union last month.

Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during Trump’s second term. Noem’s departure caps a tumultuous tenure overseeing immigration enforcement tactics that have been met with protests and lawsuits.

Noem’s tenure looked increasingly short-lived after hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers. One particular point of scrutiny was a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem that encouraged people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily.

Noem told lawmakers that Trump was aware of the campaign in advance, but Trump disputed that in an interview Thursday with Reuters, saying he did not sign off on the ad campaign.

Noem has faced waves of criticism as she’s overseen Trump’s immigration crackdown, especially since the shooting deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The former South Dakota governor was also criticized over the way her department has spent billions of dollars allocated to it by Congress.

Frustrations over Noem’s execution of the Republican president’s hard-line immigration agenda — particularly her leadership after the shooting deaths of the two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — as well as her handling of disaster response, paved the way for her downfall. She faced blistering criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, in Congress hearings this week over those issues and others.

Aside from immigration, Noem also faced criticism — including from Republicans — over the pace of emergency funding approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the Trump administration’s response to disasters.

Mullin would need to be confirmed by the Senate, but under a federal law governing executive branch vacancies, he would be allowed to serve as an acting Homeland Security secretary as long as his nomination is formally pending.

By LAURIE KELLMAN and FARNOUSH AMIRI

Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Its ballistic missiles. Its proxies. The ruling Islamic theocracy. Israel.

All of the above are part of the Trump administration’s shifting rationale for pummeling Iran and killing its leader without first seeking the buy-in of Congress and U.S. allies. There’s more that’s unclear about the widening war launched by the president and Board of Peace leader — including an exit strategy, a timeline and who President Donald Trump wants to take control of Iran from what he calls the “sick people” who run it now.

What makes the latest U.S.-Iran conflict different from a series of others is that the Trump administration’s own officials do not appear to be clear or uniform on the important questions at hand: Why and why now?

“It’s the standard practice to agree on the rationale before you start and then stick to delivering a consistent messaging,” said David Schenker, a former Trump administration official who is now a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “But that’s a challenge for this administration.”

By Wednesday, the White House was describing the Republican president’s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury as a consideration of past Iranian threats to the U.S. “and the president’s feeling, based on fact, that Iran does pose an imminent and direct threat to the United States of America.” Analysts say that’s unclear.

Here’s a curated selection of the Trump administration’s explanations over the last week as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran expanded into a war.

The re-obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program

WHAT THEY SAID after the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran last summer:

— “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!” — Trump in a June 24, 2025, post on Truth Social.

WHAT THEY SAID after a reported intelligence analysis suggested Iran’s nuclear program had only been set back a few months:

— “That is a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported.” — Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a June 25, 2025, interview with Politico.

WHAT THEY SAID since the strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:

— “If we didn’t do what we’re doing right now, you would have had a nuclear war and they would have taken out many countries because, you know what? They’re sick people.” — Trump on Tuesday at the White House.

THE BACKGROUND:

Iran has long insisted its program is peaceful, but the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Western nations say Tehran had an organized nuclear weapons program up until 2003.

The current state of the program remains a mystery as officials have not allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the nuclear facilities that were bombed since June. That is according to a confidential report by the watchdog circulated to member states and seen Feb. 27 by The Associated Press.

For its part, Iran has said it has not enriched since June. Satellite photos analyzed by the AP have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran was trying to assess and potentially recover material.

Iran is legally obliged to cooperate with the IAEA under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but it suspended all cooperation after the war with Israel.

Iran’s ballistic missiles

WHAT THEY SAID:

— “Iran possesses a very large number of ballistic missiles, particularly short-range ballistic missiles, that threaten the United States and our bases in the region, and our partners in the region, and all of our bases in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain.” — Rubio to reporters on Feb. 25.

— “The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases — both local and overseas — and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America.” — Trump during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House on Monday.

— Iran “was building powerful missiles and drones to create a conventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions.” — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the Monday Pentagon briefing.

THE BACKGROUND:

Iran hasn’t acknowledged that it is seeking to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The country currently has a self-imposed limit on its ballistic missile program, limiting their range to 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles). That puts all of the Mideast and some of Eastern Europe in range.

Trump administration officials told congressional staffers in private briefings on Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S. The administration officials instead acknowledged there was a more general threat from Iran and proxy forces.

“There’s been a lot of reporting that the assessments from the intelligence and military didn’t suggest that there was going to be an Iranian first strike,” said Naysan Rafati, senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based International Crisis Group. “My sense has been that opportunity is at least as much of a significant factor as threats, certainly.”

Israel’s role

WHAT THEY SAID:

— “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after (Iran) before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.” — Rubio to reporters on Monday.

— “Israel was determined to act in its own defense here, with or without American support.” — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters. If that happened, he added, “exquisite intelligence” by the U.S. indicated that Iran would retaliate against American assets. “If we had waited, the consequences of inaction on our part could have been devastating,” he said.

— “No,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, when asked if Israel had forced his hand on attacking Iran. “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”

THE BACKGROUND:

There is no sign that Israel was forced into cooperating with the U.S. in the strike.

An Israeli military official, on customary condition of anonymity, on Wednesday described lockstep planning between the U.S. and Israel. Three weeks before the strikes, Israel understood that the operation was pointing toward another confrontation with Iran and sent a team to the Pentagon, the official said. On Friday, the Israeli army deliberately suggested that the military was standing down for the weekend, releasing photos suggesting that staffers and senior commanders were heading home for Shabbat dinner.

The shared information allowed the strikes to be carried out hours later in a surprise daylight attack, people familiar with the operation told the AP over the weekend. The eventual barrage of U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran came so quickly that they were nearly simultaneous — with three strikes in three locations hitting within a minute — killing Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, another Israeli military official said Sunday.

During the strikes, the U.S. and Israeli war rooms were synchronized in real time to allow for quick adjustments, the first Israeli military official said Wednesday.

In a televised address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel had carried out the strikes “in full cooperation” with the U.S.

Trump has been both for and against regime change in Iran. Now what?

WHAT THEY SAID:

— “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” — Trump on Truth Social on Jan. 2.

— “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take.” — Trump to Iranians on Truth Social just after the first strikes.

— “This is not a so-called regime change war. But the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.” — Hegseth at the Pentagon on Monday.

THE BACKGROUND:

Washington has a long, complicated history with regime change. See Vietnam, Panama, Nicaragua, Iraq and Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, and Venezuela just weeks ago.

And in Iran, the CIA in 1953 helped engineer a coup that toppled Iran’s democratically elected leader and gave near-absolute power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. But as with the shah, who was overthrown in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, regime change rarely goes as planned.

That’s in part because it’s fundamentally out of Trump’s complete control, as he acknowledged Tuesday.

“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he told reporters. “Now we have another group. They may be dead also based on reports. So, I guess you have a third wave coming, and pretty soon we’re not going to know anybody.”

Josef Federman and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

Shawn Colvin has been “a working musician” since she was 18 years old, playing around Carbondale, Illinois, while attending Southern Illinois University.

“That’s a career,” she notes, with a chuckle. And indeed it has been.

Colvin has released a dozen albums since her Grammy Award-winning debut, “Steady On,” came out in 1989, while she was based in New York City. That includes a “Holiday Songs and Lullabies” collection in 1998, the covers set “Uncovered” in 2015, a collaboration with Steve Earle the following year, and an acoustic reworking of “Steady On” to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019. Colvin also won a pair of Grammys in 1998 for “Sunny Came Home,” the Top 10 hit from her fourth album, 1996’s “A Few Small Repairs.”

“I don’t know if I was confident it was gonna work out,” Colvin, who turned 70 in January, says via phone from her home in Austin, Texas. “There was a point when I was in New York, playing in clubs and bars and dance halls, when I thought: ‘Maybe I’m not supposed to do this. All I do is cover songs, and I really want to be a songwriter, and I’m feeling kind of sick of being a copycat.’ It was leaving me feeling empty.

“And after I’d walked away, per se, I had this voice come into my head that said, ‘But you’re good at it!’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I am good at it.’ And the voice said: ‘You have to be a solo acoustic artist. That’s what you do best, and you have to write personal songs’ … like my acoustic-playing songwriting heroes, of which there were many.

“So that was the voice I followed, and look where it got me.”

Colvin is satisfied to be still doing just that: “You play three hours a night, three nights a week, or more, you’re gonna get good, so that`s the standard, always,” she explains. But she’s also working on new music, although not saying much about it other than “it will be an album,” on which she’s collaborating with Stephen Barber, an Austin-based composer she’s worked with periodically over the years.

“I’m taking it really slow — obviously,” Colvin notes. “I’ve made a lot of records, so at this point if I do another one, it needs to mean something, y’know?”

Shawn Colvin performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

Other music events of note this weekend (all subject to change) include …

FRIDAY, MARCH 6

• The Detroit Symphony Orchestra holds its annual Classical Roots weekend with a pair of concerts — 10:45 a.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 — conducted by Thomas Wilson and featuring Kenneth Thompkins on Carlos Simon’s “Troubled Water” for trombone and orchestra at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. The Saturday show will stream free via the “Live From Orchestra Hall” series. The Saturday show will stream free via the “Live From Orchestra Hall” series. A Classical Roots Celebration gala and dinner takes place at 5 p.m. Saturday, with an afterglow following the concert. 313-576-5111 or dso.org.

• The DSO has also opened an exhibit celebrating 50 Years of Classical Roots featuring artifacts, oral histories and other elements. The exhibit will be open through 2028 on the third floor of the William Davidson Atrium in the Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

• The annual Hamtramck Blowout runs through Saturday, March 7, with 130 acts playing at 18 venues around the city. Visit hamtrmackblowout.com for a full schedule, tickets and other details.

• German DJ Paul Van Dyk mans the decks at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. 313-833-9700 or themajesticdetroit.com.

• Techno legend Kevin Saunderson’s sons Damarii and Dantiez spin at 9 p.m. at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Virginia’s Pat McGee Band heads to the Mitten for an 8 p.m. show at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. 248-783-7105 or 20frontstreet.com.

• California dreampop outfit 60 Juno is joined by Vaega at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Detroit singer-songwriter Audra Kubat performs at 7 p.m. for Friday Night Live! at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-833-7900 or dia.org.

• Hard rock troupes Heavy Lies the Crown and Nothing Ever After join forces at 7:30 p.m. at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• The Tartan Terrors bring a Celtic Invasion to town at 7:30 p.m. at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• Pianist Zen Zedravec is in the house through Saturday, March 7, at the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, 97 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe. 313-882-5399 or dirtydogjazz.com.

• Monique Ella Rose brings The Soul Experience to Cliff Bell’s at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Up-and-coming pop singer Ella Red brings her Tour’s Not Real tour to the Pike Room in the Crofoot Complex, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac. Doors at 7 p.m. Peggy opens. 248-858-9333 or thecrofoot.com.

• Troubadour Jason Dennie plays his songs at 7:30 p.m. at the Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Road, Livonia. 734-436-6302 or trinityhousetheatre.org.

• It’s a Pink Floyd two-fer at Orsa Music Hall this weekend, starting with “The Wall in Concert” at 5:30 p.m., followed by a “The Dark Side of the Moon” show at 8:30 p.m. 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• Tributes to the Cult (Sanctuary) and Stone Temple Pilots (Meat Plow) team up at 8 p.m. at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• The iconic Judy Collins looks at both sides at 8 p.m. at The Ark, 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Pianist Ellen Rowe starts the weekend at 5 p.m., followed by sets by Don Hicks & Friends at 7 and 9 p.m., at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Pigeons Playing Ping Pong serves up at 7:30 p.m. from Sanford, Florida, and again at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 7, from St. Petersburg, both streaming via nugs.net.

• Virtual: The Warren Haynes Band livestreams at 8 p.m. from Port Chester, New York, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Moe. jams at 8 p.m. from Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and again on Saturday, March 7, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: 311 streams live from Las Vegas at 11 p.m. and again on Saturday, March 7, via veeps.com.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7

• Ontario electronic rocker Lights flips the switch at Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-8961 or saintandrewsdetroit.com.

• Detroit Opera finishes its run of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, at 7:30 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St., Detroit. 313-237-7464 or detroitopera.org.

• French DJ and producer Hol! tops a two-stage, 10-act bill at the Russell Industrial Center, 1600 Clay St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-434-7699 or russellindustrialcenter.com and thecrofoot.com.

• Detroit’s own MK presides over the dance party at Lincoln Factory, 1331 Holden St., Detroit. Doors at 9 p.m. paxahau.com.

• Multi-genre trumpeter Chris Botti is on at 8 p.m. at the Orsa Music Hall, 350 Madison St., Detroit. 313-887-8500 or musichall.org.

• Blues-rock veteran Duke Tumatoe & the Power Trio returns for an 8 p.m. show at the Token Lounge, 28949 Joy Road, Westland. 734-513-5030 or tokenlounge.com.

• Eddie and the Getaway arrive at the Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-820-5596 or thelovingtouchferndale.com.

• Drum Tao brings ancient Japanese drum art at 7:30 p.m. to the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• Flint’s Shadow of the Talisman tops a seven-band bill at 5:30 p.m. at the Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• The Atlanta quintet Penelope Road comes north for a show at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Saxophonist Alex Harding & Organ Nation blow at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., and again at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at Cliff Bell’s, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. 313-961-2543 or cliffbells.com.

• Kourgaran, Faded and Second Salem are among the bands playing for Detroit Rock City Mayhem 5 at the Diesel Concert Lounge, 33151 23 Mile Road, Chesterfield Township. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-933-3503 or dieselconcerts.com.

• Jasno comes from the Upper Peninsula to rock at 8 p.m. at the Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. Mild Pulp and Odd Reality are also on the bill. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• The Mega 80’s play that decade’s hits at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors at 7 p.m. 248-544-1991 or themagicbag.com.

• Floyd Live — America’s Pink Floyd Experience will make you wish you were there at the Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens. Doors at 7 p.m. 586-630-0120 or theemeraldtheatre.com.

• The Cadieux Cafe hosts the Before The Flood: A Bob Dylan Revue at 8:30 p.m. 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Global singer Tatiana Eva-Marie headlines at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Rainbow Kitten Surprise livestreams at 8 p.m. from New Haven, Connecticut, via nugs.net.

• Virtual: Gorillaz celebrates its new album, “The Mountain,” as the musical guest on this week’s episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30 p.m. (WDIV, Channel 4 in Detroit). Ryan Gosling hosts.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

• Riki Rachtman, former host of MTV’s “Headbangers Ball,” presides over an evening at District 142, 142 Maple St., Wyandotte. Doors at 8 p.m. district142live.com.

• Iranian-American rap and rock stylist Aries promotes his latest album, “Glass Jaw,” at Saint Andrew’s Hall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit. Doors at 7 p.m. 313-961-8961 or saintandrewsdetroit.com.

• Grizz CLL brings his gothy darkwave to the Lager House at 8 p.m. 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit. Tiffadelice and Vazum open. 313-500-1475 or thelagerhouse.com.

• Florida’s Capstan celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its “Cultural Divide” album at 6 p.m. at El Club, 4114 W. Vernor Highway, Detroit. 313-757-7942 or elclubdetroit.com.

• Cleveland’s Inoculation brings its brand of death metal to Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff, Hamtramck. Doors at 6 p.m. 313-462-4117 or sanctuarydetroit.com.

• The Macomb Symphony Orchestra plays Dvorak, Elgar and Britten at 3 p.m. at the Macomb Center, 44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township. 586-286-2222 or macombcenter.com.

• The C-Notes play a 3 p.m. matinee at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux Road, Detroit. 313-882-8560 or cadieuxcafe.com.

• Alejandro Escovedo brings a long career of music as well as his latest album, “Echo Dancing,” to the Ark for a 7:30 p.m. show. 316 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. 734-761-1800 or theark.org.

• Trumpeter Anthony Stanco and his Quintet perform at 6 and 7:30 p.m. at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. First St., Ann Arbor. 734-372-3200 or bluellamaclub.com.

• Virtual: Harry Styles’ “One Night in Manchester” concert, held March 6 to launch his new album “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” will stream beginning at noon on Netflix.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership are calling for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to withdraw from his reelection race after he admitted having an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide.

The Republican leadership announced its decision Thursday, a day after Gonzales acknowledged a relationship that has upturned the political world in his home state and in Washington, and after the House Ethics Committee announced an investigation into his conduct.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” said Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, and GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain in a statement.

“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for reelection.”

Johnson, R-La., has been under enormous pressure from his own GOP lawmakers to take action, and several Republicans have already called for Gonzales to step aside.

Republicans are struggling to maintain their slim majority in the House in the fall midterm elections.

Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show” on Wednesday was asked whether he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her home in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled her death a suicide.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

The congressman, now in his third term, has said he would not step down in response to the allegations, telling reporters recently that there will be opportunities for all the details and facts to come out.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and PAUL WISEMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some two dozen states challenged President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on Thursday, filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

The Democratic attorneys general and governors in the lawsuit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15% tariffs on much of the world.

Trump has said the tariffs are essential to reduce America’s longstanding trade deficits. He imposed duties under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs he imposed last year under an emergency powers law.

Section 122, which has never been invoked, allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15%. They are limited to five months unless extended by Congress.

The lawsuit is led by attorneys general from Oregon, Arizona, California and New York.

“The focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs,” said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. The suit comes a day after a judge ruled t hat companies who paid tariffs under Trump’s old framework should get refunds.

The new suit argues that Trump can’t pivot to Section 122 because it was intended to be used only in specific, limited circumstances — not for sweeping import taxes. It also contends the tariffs will drive up costs for states, businesses and consumers.

Many of those states also successfully sued over Trump’s tariffs imposed under a different law: the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Four days after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping IEEPA tariffs Feb. 20, Trump invoked Section 122 to slap 10% tariffs on foreign goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant told CNBC on Wednesday that the administration would raise the levies to the 15% limit this week.

The Democratic states and other critics say the president can’t use Section 122 as a replacement for the defunct tariffs to combat the trade deficit.

The Section 122 provision is aimed at what it calls “fundamental international payments problems.’’ At issue is whether that wording covers trade deficits, the gap between what the U.S. sells other countries and what it buys from them.

Section 122 arose from the financial crises that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s when the U.S. dollar was tied to gold. Other countries were dumping dollars in exchange for gold at a set rate, risking a collapse of the U.S. currency and chaos in financial markets. But the dollar is no longer linked to gold, so critics say Section 122 is obsolete.

Awkwardly for Trump, his own Justice Department argued in a court filing last year that the president needed to invoke the emergency powers act because Section 122 did “not have any obvious application’’ in fighting trade deficits, which it called “conceptually distinct’’ from balance-of-payment issues.

Still, some legal analysts say the Trump administration has a stronger case this time.

“The legal reality is that courts will likely provide President Trump substantially more deference regarding Section 122 than they did to his previous tariffs under IEEPA,’’ Peter Harrell, visiting scholar at Georgetown University’s Institute of International Economic Law, wrote in a commentary Wednesday.

The specialized Court of International Trade in New York, which will hear the states’ lawsuit, wrote last year in its own decision striking down the emergency-powers tariffs that Trump didn’t need them because Section 122 was available to combat trade deficits.

Trump does have other legal authorities he can use to impose tariffs, and some have already survived court tests. Duties that Trump imposed on Chinese imports during his first term under Section 301 of the same 1974 trade act are still in place.

Also joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

By PETER SMITH

On its own, the phrase “Christ is king” sums up a core tenet of the Christian faith, that Jesus is the divine ruler of the universe. Catholics and many Protestants celebrate a Christ the King Sunday each year.

But the ancient proclamation can morph into something political, controversial or even sinister, depending on who says it and how it’s said.

In recent years, “Christ is king” and similar phrases have been chanted at political rallies, posted on social media and proclaimed in speeches by voices on the right.

At times the phrase is used to support the notion of America as a Christian nation or as one that owes its allegiance specifically to the Christian God. Some current Cabinet officials and recent members of Congress have used the phrase in speeches and on social media.

But other times, political activists have paired “Christ is king” with anti-Zionist statements or negative Jewish stereotypes.

The phrase has gained popularity among far-right figures and their followers. Conservative influencer Candace Owens, who shares antisemitic conspiracies, sells branded “Christ is King” coffee mugs and T-shirts.

The controversy connects to a larger schism on the right, with some conservatives pushing back against an increasingly vocal faction whose denunciations of Israel, critics say, often combine with blatant antisemitism. Some of the latter group insist they’re not antisemitic, just anti-Zionist. That itself is a sharp break from what was once a near-consensus of pro-Israel sentiment among Republicans.

But there are times when the use of the phrase “Christ is king” is unquestionably hostile toward Jews, said a 2025 report by the Rutgers University-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute.

Analyzing social media postings between 2021 and 2024, the institute reported a dramatic increase of the phrase “Christ is king,” often used as a hate meme targeting Jews. The report lamented this deviation from its historical use as a hopeful, sacred affirmation with biblical roots.

“The weaponization or hijacking of ‘Christ is King’ represents a disturbing inversion of its original intent. Rather than sacralizing shared values, extremists have exploited this religious expression to justify hatred,” the report said.

Controversy spotlighted at religious liberty hearing

A recent meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission, a group President Donald Trump created and appointed, put the phrase and related controversies in the spotlight.

At a Feb. 9 hearing focused on antisemitism, a witness, Seth Dillon, spoke of often hearing people use the phrase “Christ is king” followed immediately by a highly contemptuous slur toward Jews.

“This should offend every Christian,” said Dillon, the CEO of the conservative satirical site The Babylon Bee.

Commission member Carrie Prejean Boller repeatedly grilled witnesses about whether opposing Zionism could be construed as anti-Jewish. She said that as a Catholic she opposes Zionism but that this is not antisemitic. She asked Dillon if he thought “saying ‘Christ is king’ is antisemitic.”

Dillon said no and that, as a Christian, he regularly declares that “Christ is my king” — but context matters.

He testified that the phrase has been co-opted by Groypers, alluding to the followers of far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, who has spread antisemitic views.

It’s “using the Lord’s name in an abusive manner,” Dillon said.

Fuentes’ supporters chanted “Christ is king” at the Million MAGA March, a November 2020 rally denying the Republican Trump’s defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in that year’s presidential election.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who chairs the Religious Liberty Commission, announced Prejean Boller’s removal from the panel after the meeting. He asserted that she tried to “hijack” the hearing for her own agenda.

Following the commission meeting, Prejean Boller has posted prolifically on X, denouncing “Zionist supremacists” and repeatedly using the phrase “Christ is King.” She also has denounced the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

A recent Catholic convert, she said she opposes a popular evangelical view that modern-day Israel exists in fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

A religious phrase ‘co-opted by extremist figures’

The commission hearing was hardly the first forum to air controversy over “Christ is king.”

The Network Contagion Research Institute’s 2025 report noted that while many “Christ is king” references on social media are strictly religious, the phrase has been “systematically co-opted by extremist figures.”

The report said Fuentes and other extremists use the phrase as a “white supremacist mantra publicizing their antisemitic beliefs.”

Fuentes has said the Holocaust was exaggerated, and he has denounced “organized Jewry in America.” He has claimed to be in battle with “satanic, globalist elites,” an antisemitic trope.

The religious phrase “Christ is king” is not inherently political, said Brian Kaylor, president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way, a progressive site covering faith and politics.

But that fact provides a “deniability” to those politicizing it, he said.

“We’re at a dangerous point with the phrase ‘Christ is king’ because of the heavy activity and use of it on the far right in very fascist, antisemitic ways,” said Kaylor, a Baptist minister and author of several books on religion and politics. “We’re at the danger of that phrase losing its meaning to where this new antisemitic use is the dominant definition.”

The phrase has also gained popularity in political settings with some on the Catholic and evangelical right who are strongly pro-Israel and have repeatedly denounced antisemitism, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Kaylor said the phrase is often used as “a declaration of Christian nationalism ” asserting that “the nation should be brought under the dictates of Christ.”

A dispute over politics and religion

The controversy has highlighted both religious and political fissures.

The Vatican has diplomatic relations with Israel and has also recognized a state of Palestine. Pope Leo XIV has called for a two-state solution while denouncing antisemitism. During the Israel-Hamas war, popes Francis and Leo denounced the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas and Israel’s massive military response, with Leo demanding a halt to Israel’s “collective punishment” of Gaza’s population.

Other Catholics on the Religious Liberty Commission noted that Jesus and his followers were Jews and that a seminal 1965 Vatican document rejects antisemitism and the blaming of all Jews, including those alive today, for Jesus’ crucifixion.

Patrick, the commission chairman, said the dispute with Prejean Boller reflects “a real problem with a very small group in our Republican Party.” Antisemitism needs to be repudiated or “this is going to destroy our party,” he said on “The Mark Levin Show,” a podcast.

But Prejean Boller has galvanized supporters from a staunchly conservative group called Catholics for Catholics, a lay-led, self-described “militant organization dedicated to the evangelization of this great country.”

It plans to honor Prejean Boller at a March 19 event with a Catholic Champion Award in Washington featuring speakers such as Owens.

Prejean Boller has reposted announcements of the event on X, including one post that shared a Spanish-language statement that translates to “We will not rest until we convert the USA into a Catholic nation.” The post concluded in English with “Christ is King!”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By J.M. HIRSCH

MIAMI (AP) — Rachael Ray isn’t sick. Her marriage is healthy, too. And yes, she’s still on TV.

Rumors have swirled around the woman who gave us 30-minute meals since she stepped away from her daily show. But that hasn’t diminished her thrill at rolling through her mid-50s still cooking on television and still pulling crowds for beachside burger parties.

Welcome to Ray’s third act, the recipe for which is equal parts serendipity and returning to her hands-in-pans roots.

Three years ago, the woman who turned culinary effervescence, EVOO and garbage bowls into a media empire stepped away from the Food Network and her syndicated daytime talk show. Today, she acknowledges, “It can be hard to find me.”

Ray sat down with the AP recently during a break from events at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival to talk about what’s next, what keeps her going and why she doesn’t care about her legacy.

“I’ll be dead, so who cares?” She said that a lot, actually. About her critics. About the gossip. About whether people today get her and her decisions.

Except, clearly she does care. Particularly about the thread common to it all — giving people kitchen confidence. She once described her cooking as the food equivalent of a pop song. Which sounds flip. But when your entire career is built around breaking barriers to food, the easy digestibility of pop is an apt analogy.

“That was the message I wanted to bring to people. Don’t be scared of this,” she said. “If it doesn’t come out all right, who cares? It’s just dinner.”

From store demos to TV celebrity

The story of Ray’s rise is well-trod. Young woman from upstate New York gets noticed while doing food demos at an upscale grocery store, lands a gig on the Food Network demystifying cooking with a focus on fast and affordable, parlays that into a daytime show backed by Oprah Winfrey, and in short order she and her rat-a-tat Yum-o!-punctuated vernacular — not to mention her knives, books, pans, magazine, pet food and all manner of other products — were ubiquitous.

Then, in 2023 — after 17 seasons on daytime TV — she jarred fans by walking away from much of it, a decision she’d been quietly considering for years. Network television brought with it armies of executives and lawyers.

“I just didn’t want to do that anymore. I didn’t want to live by committee,” she said. “I wanted to focus more on food the way I want to teach it, talking to people I want to talk to, and being just me.”

Stepping out of the limelight

To many, she seemed to slow down or even disappear. After fire destroyed her home in upstate New York and flooding ruined her city apartment, she moved much of her life to Italy. A podcast was started, then quietly shuttered. All amid rumors of failing health and marriage.

Moved under the radar might be more accurate than slowed down. But let’s start with the gossip.

“We’re very volatile people. We’re loud, and then we’re lovey dovey, and I think we confuse a lot of folks because of that,” she said of her marriage to musician and lawyer John Cusimano. “I have a great marriage. My health is fine. I lift weights every morning, 4 o’clock, you know. I’m doing just fine.”

As for slowing down?

After ending her daytime show — the only thing she misses is the energy of the live audience — she created her own production company, Free Food Studios, an effort to control her content (sans layers of lawyers) and launch new talent. A&E soon acquired a 50% stake in it and ordered hundreds of episodes, including several new series starring Ray.

“People tell me on the plane or at the airport or at the grocery store, ‘Oh, I miss your show so much!’ And I’m like, I have many! You know, look on YouTube or look at A&E or look at Disney or Hulu,” she said. “It rotates through all these different platforms now, so it’s harder for people to find.”

In fact, her “Meals in Minutes” recently was renewed for more than 100 new episodes, and she’s producing two additional shows with other stars. Meanwhile, she’s planning an eighth humanitarian trip to Ukraine — she’s been collaborating on them with José Andrés since early in the war — recently launched her own gin, and still sells plenty of pots and pans and pet foods, the latter of which helps fund The Rachael Ray Foundation, which has donated $140 million to animal welfare and nutritional advocacy groups.

Crashing the chefs’ A-list

Today, culinary pedigrees among food celebrities are few and far between, making the early critiques of Ray — She’s not a serious cook! She’s not a chef! — seem quaint, sexist, maybe both. She’s thankful social media has lowered the bar for entry to her world, saying fresh faces no longer need money, connections, a culinary degree or blind luck to get noticed.

What hasn’t changed is the way aging women are judged, particularly when they have the audacity to do so as a public figure. Her appearance has been a hot topic in recent years, but Ray said she refuses to join the beauty bandwagon. “I tried Botox here (pointing at her eyebrows) years ago,” she said. “And I just looked sort of shocked or something. And I thought, this isn’t you.”

At this year’s South Beach festival’s Burger Bash, which Ray has hosted for two decades — consuming some 568 burgers over the years, but who’s counting? — crowds swarmed her with stories of growing up on her recipes and shows. At a private dinner the next night, 20-plus people paid $500 each to clamor as she served pasta alle vongole and told family stories while Cusimano mixed cocktails.

“Honey! I’m talking too much! This got hot!” Ray said, handing him a Martinez cocktail to refresh. “I don’t drink a hot cocktail. I almost never drink the second half of my cocktail.” The crowd of mostly middle-aged women nodded enthusiastically, clearly adopting a new Ray-endorsed rule to foist on their own spouses.

“I love the fact that it’s still relevant that I come here,” Ray said. “I’m a woman in her mid-50s that’s still employed, still making programming, and still can book an event and have thousands of people come out. That means a lot to me.”

What comes next?

“I like not knowing,” she said. “I like watching things evolve and discovering what’s next for myself. So there’s no plan. There’s no road map.”

J.M. Hirsch is a food and travel journalist, and the former food editor for The Associated Press.

By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY

Children living through the latest war in the Middle East or seeing images of the conflict may need help making sense of events that many adults find unnerving. Exposure to war, even if it is indirect, can affect how kids think, feel and behave, according to mental health experts.

Child psychologists and development specialists encourage parents to check in with their children, make time for age-appropriate conversations and to correct misinformation without going into excessive detail.

“Sometimes adults think if they don’t talk about something that is difficult, than it doesn’t exist. But we know that’s not the reality in children’s lives,” said Rebecca Smith, the global head of child protection at Save the Children, an international aid and advocacy organization. “Ignoring or avoiding the topic of conflict can lead to children feeling lost, alone and scared. … It is essential to have open and honest conversations with children to help them process what is happening.”

Below are suggestions for having conversations with children about war and its impacts.

Create a safe space, then listen and validate feelings

Experts recommend starting with what a child might know about what is happening in Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, Israel, Sudan or other parts of the world before attempting to address any feelings of fear, sadness, anger or anxiety.

Some children may not know that fighting has escalated between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran and its proxies on the other. Other kids may be more aware than their families realize and suppress their emotions. Children visiting or living in Middle Eastern countries directly impacted will have seen weapons light up the sky and may know people killed or have to leave their homes.

“For some children where missiles are now visible in the skies, this might be an entirely new and terrifying experience,” Smith said. “When events like this happen, they disrupt a child and family’s sense of safety. What once felt stable and secure may suddenly feel uncertain.”

To help children work through their emotions, the trusted adults in their lives also need to take care of themselves, according to experts. Guidance from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network says adults sharing their own feelings with children can be an opportunity to convey personal beliefs and values about how to treat others. The key is to not assume what children might be thinking or feeling.

If children do not want to talk or are not ready, experts suggest adults remain patient and tell children they are there for them.

“It is necessary to respect child’s ability to refuse communication, their ability not to talk or not to tell about something. Because they can have their own feelings, their own states, which they might not want to share,” child psychologist Nataliia Sosnovenko said, speaking in Ukrainian. Sosnovenko works with Voices of Children, a Ukrainian organization that provides psychological support and documents children’s experiences in the country during the yearslong war with Russia.

Some children might share what they have seen or heard, how they feel or ask questions when given an opportunity. Experts say this is when adults should validate their feelings and address what’s happening honestly while taking their ages and maturity levels into account.

Let their age guide the conversation

The American Psychological Association recommends giving kids basic, age-appropriate information about war and conflict, and addressing any upsetting images, headlines or conversations they were exposed to without going into details that might make them unnecessarily anxious. But ultimately, parents know their children best, experts say.

Families who have loved ones in the region may need to take the extra time to discuss the safety of their relatives and friends, and the difficulty of uncertainty. Families in the region themselves may need to have a plan in place for what to do if they become separated. Experts with Save the Children say to keep it simple and to practice the plan calmly.

Depending on how young, some children can understand the idea that two countries are fighting. But young children living abroad may not be able to distinguish between what they see on screens and what is happening nearby. For children in the U.S., the Iran war can seem much closer than it is if they are frequently seeing images on TV or social media, meaning they may need additional reassurance they are safe from danger.

Older children are likely to understand war and its consequences, which means they might be more concerned and have more questions, the American Psychological Association says. Adults may want to consider focusing on what is within their control and giving children some agency, such as supporting humanitarian efforts, staying informed and addressing misinformation.

UNICEF, the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian aid and long-term support to children worldwide, says it is OK to not have all the answers.

In Lebanon, some families have sought refuge since Saturday in a brick school building. Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Lebanon Country Director, says children there are asking several questions about the reason for conflict and when things might return to normal.

“This one daughter was clinging to her mother and looking up to her mom and asking, ‘Mom, why are they fighting? Why are they attacking us?’ The mother looks at me, but has no answer. Then she’s asking, ‘When are we gonna go home?’ Again, the mom looked at me,” Ingdal said. “I said to her, ‘It’s all right to say that you don’t know, you cannot guarantee anything, but I’m here with you.’”

Limit unnecessary exposure and use this as a teaching opportunity

While some global agencies say children should be aware of what is happening in the world, experts say adults still have a responsibility to keep youngsters safe and limit unnecessary exposure.

Parents are encouraged to pay attention to how exposed children are to the news. The younger the child, the less exposure they should have, according to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Some agencies recommend switching off the news entirely or limiting conversations about distressing events with other adults if children can hear. Others recommend using the opportunity to educate children on the importance of news, understanding where to find accurate facts and how to identify when something is not true or deceiving.

Save the Children says caregivers can model responsible digital behavior, encourage kids not to spread harmful or graphic information and remind them to think twice before sharing content that is possibly inaccurate or emotionally triggering.

It is important for caregivers of children living in conflict zones to remember that some kids do not know a time before war and do not have the ability to disconnect from what is happening around them, Sosnovenko said. That’s where professional help might support conversations and education.

“During the war, the types of people who come to us have changed,” she said. “Thanks to the fact that the psychological culture of the population is improving, people began to understand that therapy is important. These days, help of a psychologist is needed by most people and children as well.”

AP journalist Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this story.