KANSAS CITY —The Clay County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, led a counter-human trafficking operation Jan. 23 and 24 that resulted in the arrest of two men who sought to have sex with a child, as well as services provided to more than a dozen potential trafficking victims.

Two men identified as 33-year-old&nbsp;Jose Trinidad-Diaz of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico and 34-year-old&nbsp;Dominic Shelby of Kansas City, Kan. &nbsp;have been charged with felony attempted child enticement after they tried to meet whom they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex.

 It was actually under-cover detectives who had been chatting with them online and by text message. 

At the same time as the predator operation, investigators conducted a victim advocacy operation at a Clay County hotel. They had posted an online ad purportedly soliciting sex, knowing that many sex workers are victims of human trafficking. Twenty-seven sex workers responded to the hotel, and 13 agreed to accept services to leave a life of sex trafficking and/or sex work. Advocates from the organizations Value Unconditional and Relentless Pursuit met with them to begin giving them resources for their journeys.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738161592950.png" alt="Trinidad-Diaz-photo Clay Co." />
 <figcaption>Trinidad-Diaz-photo Clay Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —The Clay County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, led a counter-human trafficking operation Jan. 23 and 24 that resulted in the arrest of two men who sought to have sex with a child, as well as services provided to more than a dozen potential trafficking victims.Two men identified as 33-year-old&nbsp;Jose Trinidad-Diaz of Kansas City, Mo. / Mexico and 34-year-old&nbsp;Dominic Shelby of Kansas City, Kan. &nbsp;have been charged with felony attempted child enticement after they tried to meet whom they believed to be a 14-year-old girl for sex. It was actually under-cover detectives who had been chatting with them online and by text message. At the same time as the predator operation, investigators conducted a victim advocacy operation at a Clay County hotel. They had posted an online ad purportedly soliciting sex, knowing that many sex workers are victims of human trafficking. Twenty-seven sex workers responded to the hotel, and 13 agreed to accept services to leave a life of sex trafficking and/or sex work. Advocates from the organizations Value Unconditional and Relentless Pursuit met with them to begin giving them resources for their journeys.

Kan. man arrested after human trafficking, child sexual abuse sting

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays Post

A 29-year-old Kansas man accused of allowing his infant son to fatally ingest methamphetamine was officially charged with murder last week and will go to trial later this year.

Abraham Duran Leon appeared in front of District Judge Curtis Brown in Ellis County District Court on Jan. 22 and was charged with first-degree murder in the commission of a felony. The felony stems from possession of methamphetamine. The alternate charge in the chase is murder in the second degree, unintentional but reckless.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours of April 2, 2024, Leon’s 5-month-old infant son was found unresponsive and not breathing.

An autopsy report revealed the child had methamphetamine in his system and died from complications related to methamphetamine intoxication.

Leon is being held on two other cases totaling nine charges, seven felonies and two misdemeanors.

Among those charges are two counts of drug possession, three counts of interference with a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing and eluding, and criminal damage to property.

Leon, who is&nbsp;represented by two court-appointed attorneys, has filed several pro se motions in all three of the cases.

Those included a motion to suppress evidence, a writ of habeas corpus claiming there is no jurisdiction he is held in prison and several motions to dismiss the case because his right to a speedy trial has been violated.

During the hearing, Judge Brown explained to Leon his right to a speedy trial does not start until he is arraigned.

He also told Leon any delays caused by the defendant’s motions would not count against the state’s time. It has to take him to trial, and it counts against the defendant.

Ellis County Attorney Aaron Cunningham said the state wants to try all three cases separately, and the state will be going forward with a jury trial in the murder case.

The court initially scheduled the trial for late June, but that has already been moved to September.

Because Leon has filed several motions himself, the court will have a special hearing on March 7 to consider them.

Leon remains in the custody of the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712771901192.png" alt="Leon-photo Ellis County" />
 <figcaption>Leon-photo Ellis County</figcaption>
 </figure>By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT Hays PostA 29-year-old Kansas man accused of allowing his infant son to fatally ingest methamphetamine was officially charged with murder last week and will go to trial later this year.Abraham Duran Leon appeared in front of District Judge Curtis Brown in Ellis County District Court on Jan. 22 and was charged with first-degree murder in the commission of a felony. The felony stems from possession of methamphetamine. The alternate charge in the chase is murder in the second degree, unintentional but reckless.According to court documents, in the early morning hours of April 2, 2024, Leon’s 5-month-old infant son was found unresponsive and not breathing.An autopsy report revealed the child had methamphetamine in his system and died from complications related to methamphetamine intoxication.Leon is being held on two other cases totaling nine charges, seven felonies and two misdemeanors.Among those charges are two counts of drug possession, three counts of interference with a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing and eluding, and criminal damage to property.Leon pleaded not guilty to all charges.Leon, who is&nbsp;represented by two court-appointed attorneys, has filed several pro se motions in all three of the cases.Those included a motion to suppress evidence, a writ of habeas corpus claiming there is no jurisdiction he is held in prison and several motions to dismiss the case because his right to a speedy trial has been violated.During the hearing, Judge Brown explained to Leon his right to a speedy trial does not start until he is arraigned.He also told Leon any delays caused by the defendant’s motions would not count against the state’s time. It has to take him to trial, and it counts against the defendant.Ellis County Attorney Aaron Cunningham said the state wants to try all three cases separately, and the state will be going forward with a jury trial in the murder case.The court initially scheduled the trial for late June, but that has already been moved to September.Because Leon has filed several motions himself, the court will have a special hearing on March 7 to consider them.Leon remains in the custody of the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department.

NW Kan. man enters plea in 5-month-old son's drug death

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Just after 9:30p.m. Jan. 23, a&nbsp;Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2021 Nissan Altima for an alleged traffic violation on 150th Road near Q. Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. 

The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Brandon Michael Oliver, 39, and Amberle Clare Harrington, 33, both of Topeka.

After a probable cause search of the vehicle, Oliver and Harrington were arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail.&nbsp; Oliver was booked on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, transporting an open container and driving while suspended. 

Harrington was booked into jail on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement conceal/alter/destroy evidence.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738164693942.png" alt="Oliver-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Oliver-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Just after 9:30p.m. Jan. 23, a&nbsp;Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2021 Nissan Altima for an alleged traffic violation on 150th Road near Q. Road, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. The occupants of the vehicle were identified as Brandon Michael Oliver, 39, and Amberle Clare Harrington, 33, both of Topeka.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738164726507.png" alt="Harrington-photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Harrington-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>After a probable cause search of the vehicle, Oliver and Harrington were arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail.&nbsp; Oliver was booked on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, transporting an open container and driving while suspended. Harrington was booked into jail on requested charges of possession of cocaine, possession of THC, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with law enforcement conceal/alter/destroy evidence.

Sheriff: Kan. woman accused of hiding evidence during traffic stop

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-menendez">Bob Menendez</a>&nbsp;was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt -- crimes his own lawyer said earned him the nickname “Gold Bar Bob.”

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan announced the sentence after Menendez tearfully addressed the judge, saying he’d lost everything he cared about, except for his family.

“You were successful, powerful, you stood at the apex of our political system,” the judge said. ”Somewhere along the way, and I don’t know when it was, you lost your way and working for the public good became working for your good.”

Menendez’s actions, the judge said, feed the cynicism of voters.

“What’s been the result?" he said, noting a lengthy investigation of a five-year crime. "You lost your senate seat. You lost your chairmanship and you lost your good name.”

Prosecutors had requested a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-sentencing-new-jersey-11a90b6e46989ed70e7c389e91e61987">15-year prison term</a>&nbsp;for the Democrat who was convicted of multiple charges including acting as an agent for Egypt for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/menendez-bribery-trial-jury-deliberations-bab89b99a77fc6ce95531c88ab26cc4d">selling his once-considerable clout</a>&nbsp;in Washington for bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Given a chance to speak before he was sentenced, Menendez broke down several times as he described his accomplishments.

“You really don’t know the man you are about to sentence,” Menendez told Stein as he stood before him with his hands in his pockets, except when he wiped his face with a tissue.

“Your honor, I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions,” he added. “I’ve done far more good than bad. I ask you, your honor, to judge me in that context.”

Attorney Adam Fee told Stein to give Menendez credit for a “lifetime of extraordinary public service and personal sacrifices.”

“Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as gold bar Bob,” Fee said.

Menendez's lawyers had said prior to the sentencing that their client deserves less than two years in prison, citing his decades of public service and a life largely well-lived after the son of Cuban immigrants rose from poverty to become “the epitome of the American Dream.”

But Fee said the defense team decided to ask that Menendez get no more than eight years after hearing Stein earlier in the day give substantial prison terms to two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying bribes to the senator. Fred Daibes, a real estate developer, got seven years and a $1.75 million fine. Wael Hana, an entrepreneur, got eight years a $1.25 million fine and was ordered to forfeit $125,000.

Prior to the announcement of his sentence, Daibes, 67, tearfully told Stein the jury verdict had left him “borderline suicidal,” and requested leniency so that he could care for his 30-year-old autistic son.

Hana told the judge, “I am an innocent man."

"I never bribed Senator Menendez or asked his office for influence.”

The judge, though, said the jury's verdict was “very, very substantial."

A third businessman pleaded guilty and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-bribery-trial-79f089b759a434314f98cb69cad0c2b5">testified against Menendez</a>&nbsp;at a trial last year.

Menendez&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-new-jersey-senate-resignation-9941e49020a032da3861f5f5cf118ec2">resigned from the Senate</a>&nbsp;after his conviction last year, though he lost much of his power in fall 2023 when the charges against him were revealed and he was forced to surrender his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The trial traced Menendez’s dealings with Egyptian officials and his quest to aid three men who showered him with lucrative gifts found during a 2022 raid on the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home he shared with his wife, Nadine.

FBI agents who searched the house found $480,000, some of it stuffed inside boots and the pockets of clothing hung in the couple's closets. They also seized gold bars worth an estimated $150,000.

Prosecutors said Menendez had “put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes,” including by serving Egypt’s interests as he worked to protect a meat certification monopoly Hana had established with the Egyptian government.

Among other things, Menendez provided Egyptian officials with information about the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwrote a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in military aid to Egypt.

Prosecutors said that for other bribes, Menendez attempted to persuade a federal prosecutor in New Jersey to go easy on Daibes, a politically influential real estate developer accused of bank fraud.

And at the trial, another businessman, Jose Uribe, testified that he helped Nadine Menendez get a Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator sought to pressure state prosecutors to drop criminal probes of his associates.

Menendez has insisted that he is innocent of any crime, saying repeatedly that his interactions with Egyptian officials were normal for the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, and that he always put American interests first. He denied taking any bribes and said the gold bars belonged to his wife.

Nadine Menendez faces trial in March on many of the same charges as her husband after spending the last year battling breast cancer.

Menendez’s lawyers, in a presentence submission, said he had already suffered greatly.

“Unsurprisingly, Senator Menendez’s conviction has rendered him a national punchline and stripped him of every conceivable personal, professional, and financial benefit,” his lawyers wrote. “Bob is now 71, with his long-built reputation in tatters. He has suffered financial and professional ruin."

In court papers, the lawyers described how Menendez devoted much of his life to his country and his community after he was scarred by the early loss of his father, who killed himself when Menendez was 23 after he was unable to pay off gambling debts.

They described a 50-year history of public service in heroic terms, tracing a career in which Menendez was mayor of Union City, New Jersey, a state lawmaker, a member of the U.S. House and then a senator from 2006 to 2024.

Yet he also had the distinction of being the only U.S. senator indicted twice.

In 2015, he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-national-national-united-states-congress-united-states-government-a1bc4361120d418984469fcf7a6c2dc1">charged with selling his influence</a>&nbsp;to a wealthy Florida eye doctor and entrepreneur who prosecutors said lavished him with luxury vacations and campaign contributions. But the jury in that case couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. Federal prosecutors dropped the case rather than put him on trial again.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738186653849.png" alt="Menendez outside the courthouse following the sentencing hearing -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Menendez outside the courthouse following the sentencing hearing -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-menendez">Bob Menendez</a>&nbsp;was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt -- crimes his own lawyer said earned him the nickname “Gold Bar Bob.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721150824503.png" alt="One of the gold bars found at Menendez's house during a law enforcement search-photo. US District Court Southern District of New York" />
 <figcaption>One of the gold bars found at Menendez's house during a law enforcement search-photo. US District Court Southern District of New York</figcaption>
 </figure>U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan announced the sentence after Menendez tearfully addressed the judge, saying he’d lost everything he cared about, except for his family.“You were successful, powerful, you stood at the apex of our political system,” the judge said. ”Somewhere along the way, and I don’t know when it was, you lost your way and working for the public good became working for your good.”Menendez’s actions, the judge said, feed the cynicism of voters.“What’s been the result?" he said, noting a lengthy investigation of a five-year crime. "You lost your senate seat. You lost your chairmanship and you lost your good name.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Senator Menendez accomplished many things on behalf of our state, but sadly he will be remembered for putting his own interests and financial gain ahead of the public interest. It is critical that we hold our elected leaders to the highest professional and ethical standards. <a href="https://t.co/wbdv2O6PqH">pic.twitter.com/wbdv2O6PqH</a>&mdash; Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovMurphy/status/1884709710680519139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Prosecutors had requested a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-sentencing-new-jersey-11a90b6e46989ed70e7c389e91e61987">15-year prison term</a>&nbsp;for the Democrat who was convicted of multiple charges including acting as an agent for Egypt for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/menendez-bribery-trial-jury-deliberations-bab89b99a77fc6ce95531c88ab26cc4d">selling his once-considerable clout</a>&nbsp;in Washington for bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.Given a chance to speak before he was sentenced, Menendez broke down several times as he described his accomplishments.“You really don’t know the man you are about to sentence,” Menendez told Stein as he stood before him with his hands in his pockets, except when he wiped his face with a tissue.“Your honor, I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions,” he added. “I’ve done far more good than bad. I ask you, your honor, to judge me in that context.”Attorney Adam Fee told Stein to give Menendez credit for a “lifetime of extraordinary public service and personal sacrifices.”“Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as gold bar Bob,” Fee said.Menendez's lawyers had said prior to the sentencing that their client deserves less than two years in prison, citing his decades of public service and a life largely well-lived after the son of Cuban immigrants rose from poverty to become “the epitome of the American Dream.”But Fee said the defense team decided to ask that Menendez get no more than eight years after hearing Stein earlier in the day give substantial prison terms to two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying bribes to the senator. Fred Daibes, a real estate developer, got seven years and a $1.75 million fine. Wael Hana, an entrepreneur, got eight years a $1.25 million fine and was ordered to forfeit $125,000.Prior to the announcement of his sentence, Daibes, 67, tearfully told Stein the jury verdict had left him “borderline suicidal,” and requested leniency so that he could care for his 30-year-old autistic son.Hana told the judge, “I am an innocent man.""I never bribed Senator Menendez or asked his office for influence.”The judge, though, said the jury's verdict was “very, very substantial."A third businessman pleaded guilty and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-bribery-trial-79f089b759a434314f98cb69cad0c2b5">testified against Menendez</a>&nbsp;at a trial last year.Menendez&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bob-menendez-new-jersey-senate-resignation-9941e49020a032da3861f5f5cf118ec2">resigned from the Senate</a>&nbsp;after his conviction last year, though he lost much of his power in fall 2023 when the charges against him were revealed and he was forced to surrender his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.The trial traced Menendez’s dealings with Egyptian officials and his quest to aid three men who showered him with lucrative gifts found during a 2022 raid on the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home he shared with his wife, Nadine.FBI agents who searched the house found $480,000, some of it stuffed inside boots and the pockets of clothing hung in the couple's closets. They also seized gold bars worth an estimated $150,000.Prosecutors said Menendez had “put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes,” including by serving Egypt’s interests as he worked to protect a meat certification monopoly Hana had established with the Egyptian government.Among other things, Menendez provided Egyptian officials with information about the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwrote a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in military aid to Egypt.Prosecutors said that for other bribes, Menendez attempted to persuade a federal prosecutor in New Jersey to go easy on Daibes, a politically influential real estate developer accused of bank fraud.And at the trial, another businessman, Jose Uribe, testified that he helped Nadine Menendez get a Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator sought to pressure state prosecutors to drop criminal probes of his associates.Menendez has insisted that he is innocent of any crime, saying repeatedly that his interactions with Egyptian officials were normal for the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, and that he always put American interests first. He denied taking any bribes and said the gold bars belonged to his wife.Nadine Menendez faces trial in March on many of the same charges as her husband after spending the last year battling breast cancer.Menendez’s lawyers, in a presentence submission, said he had already suffered greatly.“Unsurprisingly, Senator Menendez’s conviction has rendered him a national punchline and stripped him of every conceivable personal, professional, and financial benefit,” his lawyers wrote. “Bob is now 71, with his long-built reputation in tatters. He has suffered financial and professional ruin."In court papers, the lawyers described how Menendez devoted much of his life to his country and his community after he was scarred by the early loss of his father, who killed himself when Menendez was 23 after he was unable to pay off gambling debts.They described a 50-year history of public service in heroic terms, tracing a career in which Menendez was mayor of Union City, New Jersey, a state lawmaker, a member of the U.S. House and then a senator from 2006 to 2024.Yet he also had the distinction of being the only U.S. senator indicted twice.In 2015, he was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-national-national-united-states-congress-united-states-government-a1bc4361120d418984469fcf7a6c2dc1">charged with selling his influence</a>&nbsp;to a wealthy Florida eye doctor and entrepreneur who prosecutors said lavished him with luxury vacations and campaign contributions. But the jury in that case couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. Federal prosecutors dropped the case rather than put him on trial again.

Prison time for US Senator who took bribes paid in gold 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday signed the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-laken-riley-act-trump-immigration-2667d626139ddf5a16d1533516eab18f">Laken Riley Act</a>&nbsp;into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. He also announced at the ceremony that his administration planned to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The bipartisan act, the first piece of legislation approved during Trump’s second term, was named for Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was slain last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally.

“She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said during a ceremony that included Riley’s parents and sister. “It’s a tremendous tribute to your daughter what’s taking place today, that’s all I can say. It’s so sad we have to be doing it.”

Trump has promised to drastically increase deportations, but he also said at the signing that some of the people being sent back to their home countries couldn't be counted on to stay there.

“Some of them are so bad that we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re gonna send ’em out to Guantanamo,” Trump said. He said that he'd direct federal officials to get facilities in Cuba ready to receive immigrant criminals.

“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal aliens threatening the American people,” the president said.

The White House announced a short time later that Trump had signed a presidential memorandum on Guantanamo. Migrant rights groups quickly expressed dismay.

“Guantanamo Bay’s abusive history speaks for itself and in no uncertain terms will put people’s physical and mental health in jeopardy,” Stacy Suh, program director of Detention Watch Network, said in a statement.

Trump said the move would double U.S. detention lockup capacities, and Guantanamo is “a tough place to get out of.”

The Guantanamo facility could hold “dangerous criminals” and people who are “hard to deport,” said a Trump administration official speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration would seek funding via spending bills Congress will eventually consider. The administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, said U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement would run the facility in Cuba and that the “the worst of the worst" could go there.

The U.S. military base has been used to house detainees from the U.S. war on terrorism for years. But authorities have also detained migrants at sea at a facility known as the Migrant Operations Center on Guantanamo, a site the U.S. has long leased from the Cuban government. Many of those housed there have been migrants from Haiti and Cuba.

The U.S. has leased Guantanamo land from Cuba for more than a century. Cuba opposes the lease and typically rejects the nominal U.S. rent payments. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Trump wanting to ship immigrants to the island is “an act of brutality.”

“The US government’s decision to imprison migrants at the Guantanamo Naval Base, in an enclave where it created torture and indefinite detention centers, shows contempt for the human condition and international law,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wrote in a post on X.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that enemy combatants in the war on terror held without charge at the military prison at Guantanamo had the right to challenge their detention in federal court. But the justices did not decide whether the president had the authority to detain people at all.

Before Trump took office, the Democratic administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden worked to reduce the number of terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo.

Laken Riley was out for a run in February 2024 when she was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally. Ibarra&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nursing-student-laken-riley-immigrant-d8d75ccc6d81e7a88eb7890829d9fc9c">was found guilty in November</a>&nbsp;and sentenced to life without parole.

Ibarra had been arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and released to pursue his case in immigration court. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August 2023 for child endangerment and released. Police say he was also issued a citation for shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023.

The act quickly passed the newly Republican-controlled Congress with some Democratic support even though opponents said it possibly could lead to large roundups of people for offenses as minor as shoplifting.

The swift passage, and Trump’s quickly signing it, adds to the potent symbolism for conservatives. To critics, the measure has taken advantage of a tragedy and could lead to chaos and cruelty while doing little to fight crime or overhaul the immigration system.

Riley’s mother thanked Trump while holding back tears.

“He said he would secure our borders and he would never forget about Laken and he hasn’t,” she said.

Several top Republican lawmakers and Noem attended the signing ceremony, as did Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a cosponsor.

Under the new law, federal officials would have to detain any immigrant arrested or charged with crimes such as theft or assaulting a police officer, or offenses that injure or kill someone. State attorneys general could sue the U.S. government for harm caused by federal immigration decisions — potentially allowing the leaders of conservative states to help dictate immigration policy set by Washington.

Some Democrats have questioned whether it is constitutional. The ALCU says the law can allow people to be “mandatorily locked up — potentially for years — because at some point in their lives, perhaps decades ago, they were accused of nonviolent offenses.”

Hannah Flamm, interim senior director of policy at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the measure violates immigrants’ basic rights by allowing for detaining people who have not been charged with wrongdoing, much less convicted.

“The latent fear from the election cycle of looking soft on crime snowballed into aiding and abetting Trump’s total conflation of immigration with crime,” Flamm said.

She also noted, “I think it is pivotal to understand: This bill, framed as connected to a tragic death, is pretext to fortify a mass deportation system."

Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this rep

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the signing of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-laken-riley-act-trump-immigration-2667d626139ddf5a16d1533516eab18f">Laken Riley Act</a>, President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday that he is directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States and cannot be deported to their home countries.

Trump made the announcement just before he signed the immigrant detention measure, the first law of his new administration.

“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo," the president said in the White House East Room. He did not elaborate.

The U.S. military base has been used to house detainees from the U.S. war on terrorism.

The Laken Riley Act was described by Trump as a “landmark law” and “tremendous tribute” to the slain Georgia nursing student for whom it is named. The law mandates that people in the U.S. illegally who are accused of theft and violent crimes be detained and potentially deported, even before a conviction.

Laken Riley, 22, went out for a run in February 2024 and was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally. Ibarra&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nursing-student-laken-riley-immigrant-d8d75ccc6d81e7a88eb7890829d9fc9c">was found guilty in November</a>&nbsp;and sentenced to life without parole.

“She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said during a signing ceremony that included Riley's parents and sister. “It’s a tremendous tribute to your daughter what’s taking place today, that’s all I can say. It’s so sad we have to be doing it.”

He added, “It’s a landmark law that we’re doing today. It’s going to save countless lives”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738075679736.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday signed the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-laken-riley-act-trump-immigration-2667d626139ddf5a16d1533516eab18f">Laken Riley Act</a>&nbsp;into law, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes. He also announced at the ceremony that his administration planned to send the “worst criminal aliens” to a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today I&#39;m also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay. Most people don&#39;t even know about it.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/su3eu24J1Z">pic.twitter.com/su3eu24J1Z</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884690347474727404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The bipartisan act, the first piece of legislation approved during Trump’s second term, was named for Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was slain last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump signs Laken Riley Act <a href="https://t.co/8DEIJdzZN5">pic.twitter.com/8DEIJdzZN5</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884692201273163874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said during a ceremony that included Riley’s parents and sister. “It’s a tremendous tribute to your daughter what’s taking place today, that’s all I can say. It’s so sad we have to be doing it.”Trump has promised to drastically increase deportations, but he also said at the signing that some of the people being sent back to their home countries couldn't be counted on to stay there.“Some of them are so bad that we don’t even trust the countries to hold them because we don’t want them coming back, so we’re gonna send ’em out to Guantanamo,” Trump said. He said that he'd direct federal officials to get facilities in Cuba ready to receive immigrant criminals.“We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal aliens threatening the American people,” the president said.The White House announced a short time later that Trump had signed a presidential memorandum on Guantanamo. Migrant rights groups quickly expressed dismay.“Guantanamo Bay’s abusive history speaks for itself and in no uncertain terms will put people’s physical and mental health in jeopardy,” Stacy Suh, program director of Detention Watch Network, said in a statement.Trump said the move would double U.S. detention lockup capacities, and Guantanamo is “a tough place to get out of.”The Guantanamo facility could hold “dangerous criminals” and people who are “hard to deport,” said a Trump administration official speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration would seek funding via spending bills Congress will eventually consider. The administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, said U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement would run the facility in Cuba and that the “the worst of the worst" could go there.The U.S. military base has been used to house detainees from the U.S. war on terrorism for years. But authorities have also detained migrants at sea at a facility known as the Migrant Operations Center on Guantanamo, a site the U.S. has long leased from the Cuban government. Many of those housed there have been migrants from Haiti and Cuba.The U.S. has leased Guantanamo land from Cuba for more than a century. Cuba opposes the lease and typically rejects the nominal U.S. rent payments. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Trump wanting to ship immigrants to the island is “an act of brutality.”“The US government’s decision to imprison migrants at the Guantanamo Naval Base, in an enclave where it created torture and indefinite detention centers, shows contempt for the human condition and international law,” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez wrote in a post on X.The Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that enemy combatants in the war on terror held without charge at the military prison at Guantanamo had the right to challenge their detention in federal court. But the justices did not decide whether the president had the authority to detain people at all.Before Trump took office, the Democratic administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden worked to reduce the number of terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo.Laken Riley was out for a run in February 2024 when she was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally. Ibarra&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nursing-student-laken-riley-immigrant-d8d75ccc6d81e7a88eb7890829d9fc9c">was found guilty in November</a>&nbsp;and sentenced to life without parole.Ibarra had been arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and released to pursue his case in immigration court. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August 2023 for child endangerment and released. Police say he was also issued a citation for shoplifting in Georgia in October 2023.The act quickly passed the newly Republican-controlled Congress with some Democratic support even though opponents said it possibly could lead to large roundups of people for offenses as minor as shoplifting.The swift passage, and Trump’s quickly signing it, adds to the potent symbolism for conservatives. To critics, the measure has taken advantage of a tragedy and could lead to chaos and cruelty while doing little to fight crime or overhaul the immigration system.Riley’s mother thanked Trump while holding back tears.“He said he would secure our borders and he would never forget about Laken and he hasn’t,” she said.Several top Republican lawmakers and Noem attended the signing ceremony, as did Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a cosponsor.Under the new law, federal officials would have to detain any immigrant arrested or charged with crimes such as theft or assaulting a police officer, or offenses that injure or kill someone. State attorneys general could sue the U.S. government for harm caused by federal immigration decisions — potentially allowing the leaders of conservative states to help dictate immigration policy set by Washington.Some Democrats have questioned whether it is constitutional. The ALCU says the law can allow people to be “mandatorily locked up — potentially for years — because at some point in their lives, perhaps decades ago, they were accused of nonviolent offenses.”Hannah Flamm, interim senior director of policy at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the measure violates immigrants’ basic rights by allowing for detaining people who have not been charged with wrongdoing, much less convicted.“The latent fear from the election cycle of looking soft on crime snowballed into aiding and abetting Trump’s total conflation of immigration with crime,” Flamm said.She also noted, “I think it is pivotal to understand: This bill, framed as connected to a tragic death, is pretext to fortify a mass deportation system."___Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this repWASHINGTON (AP) — At the signing of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-laken-riley-act-trump-immigration-2667d626139ddf5a16d1533516eab18f">Laken Riley Act</a>, President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said Wednesday that he is directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States and cannot be deported to their home countries.Trump made the announcement just before he signed the immigrant detention measure, the first law of his new administration.“We’re going to send them out to Guantanamo," the president said in the White House East Room. He did not elaborate.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a> and Acting ICE Director Tom Homan speak to reporters at the White House about Migrant Facility at Guantanamo Bay. <a href="https://t.co/Z3Vjk9U06x">pic.twitter.com/Z3Vjk9U06x</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884713500091539629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The U.S. military base has been used to house detainees from the U.S. war on terrorism.The Laken Riley Act was described by Trump as a “landmark law” and “tremendous tribute” to the slain Georgia nursing student for whom it is named. The law mandates that people in the U.S. illegally who are accused of theft and violent crimes be detained and potentially deported, even before a conviction.Laken Riley, 22, went out for a run in February 2024 and was killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally. Ibarra&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-nursing-student-laken-riley-immigrant-d8d75ccc6d81e7a88eb7890829d9fc9c">was found guilty in November</a>&nbsp;and sentenced to life without parole.“She was a light of warmth and kindness,” Trump said during a signing ceremony that included Riley's parents and sister. “It’s a tremendous tribute to your daughter what’s taking place today, that’s all I can say. It’s so sad we have to be doing it.”He added, “It’s a landmark law that we’re doing today. It’s going to save countless lives”

🎥While signing Laken Riley Act, Trump says he'll send 'criminal aliens' to Guantanamo

TOPEKA —In celebration of Kansas Day, Governor Laura Kelly joined leaders to unveil the new women's suffrage mural in the Statehouse.

On social media the governor wrote, "It serves as a reminder of the bold, visionary women who helped shape Kansas into the state we know and love while inspiring future generations to lead with courage."

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 </figure>TOPEKA —In celebration of Kansas Day, Governor Laura Kelly joined leaders to unveil the new women's suffrage mural in the Statehouse.<figure>
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 </figure><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, we celebrate 164 years of Kansas statehood! As we reflect on our history, let&#39;s celebrate what makes Kansas unique. From our booming agricultural industry to our rolling sunflower fields, there&#39;s truly no place like Kansas. Ad Astra per Aspera, and happy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KansasDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KansasDay</a>! 🌻 <a href="https://t.co/MCWAGY7S27">pic.twitter.com/MCWAGY7S27</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1884614993708212391?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>On social media the governor wrote, "It serves as a reminder of the bold, visionary women who helped shape Kansas into the state we know and love while inspiring future generations to lead with courage."

Kansas Day: New women's suffrage mural in the Kan. Statehouse

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday after cutting it three times in a row last year, a sign of a more cautious approach as the Fed seeks to gauge where inflation is headed and what policies President Donald Trump may pursue.

The Fed reduced its rate last year to 4.3% from 5.3%, in part out of concern that the job market was weakening. Hiring had slowed in the summer and the unemployment rate ticked up, leading Fed officials to approve an outsized half-point cut in September. Yet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemployment-economy-federal-reserve-wages-398073325c467fb2c676042854f6309b">hiring rebounded last month</a>&nbsp;and the unemployment rate declined slightly, to a low 4.1%.

In its statement Wednesday, the Fed upgraded its assessment of the job market, calling it “solid,” and noting that the unemployment rate “has stabilized at a low level in recent months.” The Fed also appeared to toughen its assessment of inflation, saying that it “remains somewhat elevated.” Both a healthier job market and more stubborn inflation typically would imply fewer Fed rate cuts in the coming months.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell conveyed a more deliberate approach to interest rate decisions at a press conference with reporters.

"With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong we did not need to be in a hurry we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.”

Powell has said it is harder to gauge where inflation is headed, in part because of increased uncertainty around what policies Trump will adopt and how quickly they will affect the economy. Trump has promised widespread tariffs, tax cuts, and mass deportation of immigrants, all of which could push prices higher. The Fed typically keeps interest rates high to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation.

In December, Fed officials signaled they may reduce their rate just twice more this year. Goldman Sachs economists believes those cuts won’t happen until June and December.

In November, inflation was just 2.4%, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, not far from its 2% target. But excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose a more painful 2.8% from a year earlier. The Fed pays close attention to core prices because they are often a better guide to inflation’s future path.

Lindsay Rosner, head of multi sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said “while we continue to think the Fed’s easing cycle has not yet run its course, the (Fed) will want to see further progress in the inflation data to deliver the next rate cut.”

It's unclear how of if Trump will respond to the Fed's decision to stand pat. Last week in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that he would bring down energy prices, then&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-economy-inflation-interest-rates-borrowing-6ef86392b080ca963ec633546009409b">“demand”</a>&nbsp;that the Fed lower borrowing costs.

Later, when asked by reporters if he expected the Fed to listen to him, he said, “yes.” Presidents in recent decades have avoided publicly pressuring the Fed out of deference to its political independence.

Asked Wednesday if Trump had communicated his desire for lower rates directly to Powell, the Fed chair said he had “no contact.”

Most other central banks in developed countries are cutting their interest rates. The European Central Bank, for example, is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs at its next meeting on Thursday. The Bank of Canada said Wednesday it has also cut its rate, and the Bank of England is also expected to do so next month.

The Bank of Japan, however, is actually raising its rate from a rock-bottom level. Japan has finally experienced some inflation after decades of slower growth and bouts of deflation.

A Fed rate cut in March is still possible, though financial markets' futures pricing puts the odds of that happening at just one-third.

As a result, American households and businesses are unlikely to see much relief from high borrowing costs anytime soon. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-c0761e8cbd4dba18f682541a18ae0fb2">slipped to just below 7% last week</a>&nbsp;after rising for five straight weeks. The costs of borrowing money have remained high economywide even after the Fed reduced its benchmark rate.

That is because investors expect healthy economic growth and stubborn inflation will forestall future rate cuts. They recently bid up the 10-year Treasury above 4.80%,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/37c91aa8d1cc4d2a09506d31e9dba99b">its highest level since 2023</a>.

Another reason for caution among Fed policymakers this year is that they will want to evaluate any changes in economic policy by the Trump administration. Trump has said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-energy-economy-inflation-ev-oil-gas-00be8d3d5216a328e129666032c889e1">he could slap tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico</a>&nbsp;as early as Feb. 1. During his presidential campaign he threatened to impose taxes on all imports.

The Trump administration has also said it will carry out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-border-security-enforcement-ice-cb40a6a7e2d94582aa0774be47a8ab36">mass deportations of migrants</a>, which could push up inflation by reducing the economy's ability to produce goods and services. At the same time, some economists say Trump's promises to deregulate the economy could lower prices over time.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday after cutting it three times in a row last year, a sign of a more cautious approach as the Fed seeks to gauge where inflation is headed and what policies President Donald Trump may pursue.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">Fed Chair Jerome Powell: &quot;We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance. At today&#39;s meeting, the committee decided to maintain the target range of the federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.5%.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FOMC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FOMC</a> <a href="https://t.co/gBb9GX99ai">pic.twitter.com/gBb9GX99ai</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884690623292191079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Fed reduced its rate last year to 4.3% from 5.3%, in part out of concern that the job market was weakening. Hiring had slowed in the summer and the unemployment rate ticked up, leading Fed officials to approve an outsized half-point cut in September. Yet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemployment-economy-federal-reserve-wages-398073325c467fb2c676042854f6309b">hiring rebounded last month</a>&nbsp;and the unemployment rate declined slightly, to a low 4.1%.In its statement Wednesday, the Fed upgraded its assessment of the job market, calling it “solid,” and noting that the unemployment rate “has stabilized at a low level in recent months.” The Fed also appeared to toughen its assessment of inflation, saying that it “remains somewhat elevated.” Both a healthier job market and more stubborn inflation typically would imply fewer Fed rate cuts in the coming months.Fed Chair Jerome Powell conveyed a more deliberate approach to interest rate decisions at a press conference with reporters."With our policy stance significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong we did not need to be in a hurry we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance.”Powell has said it is harder to gauge where inflation is headed, in part because of increased uncertainty around what policies Trump will adopt and how quickly they will affect the economy. Trump has promised widespread tariffs, tax cuts, and mass deportation of immigrants, all of which could push prices higher. The Fed typically keeps interest rates high to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation.In December, Fed officials signaled they may reduce their rate just twice more this year. Goldman Sachs economists believes those cuts won’t happen until June and December.In November, inflation was just 2.4%, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, not far from its 2% target. But excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose a more painful 2.8% from a year earlier. The Fed pays close attention to core prices because they are often a better guide to inflation’s future path.Lindsay Rosner, head of multi sector fixed income investing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said “while we continue to think the Fed’s easing cycle has not yet run its course, the (Fed) will want to see further progress in the inflation data to deliver the next rate cut.”It's unclear how of if Trump will respond to the Fed's decision to stand pat. Last week in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that he would bring down energy prices, then&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-economy-inflation-interest-rates-borrowing-6ef86392b080ca963ec633546009409b">“demand”</a>&nbsp;that the Fed lower borrowing costs.Later, when asked by reporters if he expected the Fed to listen to him, he said, “yes.” Presidents in recent decades have avoided publicly pressuring the Fed out of deference to its political independence.Asked Wednesday if Trump had communicated his desire for lower rates directly to Powell, the Fed chair said he had “no contact.”Most other central banks in developed countries are cutting their interest rates. The European Central Bank, for example, is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs at its next meeting on Thursday. The Bank of Canada said Wednesday it has also cut its rate, and the Bank of England is also expected to do so next month.The Bank of Japan, however, is actually raising its rate from a rock-bottom level. Japan has finally experienced some inflation after decades of slower growth and bouts of deflation.A Fed rate cut in March is still possible, though financial markets' futures pricing puts the odds of that happening at just one-third.As a result, American households and businesses are unlikely to see much relief from high borrowing costs anytime soon. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-interest-financing-home-loan-c0761e8cbd4dba18f682541a18ae0fb2">slipped to just below 7% last week</a>&nbsp;after rising for five straight weeks. The costs of borrowing money have remained high economywide even after the Fed reduced its benchmark rate.That is because investors expect healthy economic growth and stubborn inflation will forestall future rate cuts. They recently bid up the 10-year Treasury above 4.80%,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/37c91aa8d1cc4d2a09506d31e9dba99b">its highest level since 2023</a>.Another reason for caution among Fed policymakers this year is that they will want to evaluate any changes in economic policy by the Trump administration. Trump has said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-energy-economy-inflation-ev-oil-gas-00be8d3d5216a328e129666032c889e1">he could slap tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico</a>&nbsp;as early as Feb. 1. During his presidential campaign he threatened to impose taxes on all imports.The Trump administration has also said it will carry out&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-border-security-enforcement-ice-cb40a6a7e2d94582aa0774be47a8ab36">mass deportations of migrants</a>, which could push up inflation by reducing the economy's ability to produce goods and services. At the same time, some economists say Trump's promises to deregulate the economy could lower prices over time.

🎥Bad news for borrowers: Fed hits pause on interest rate cuts

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer</a>

A yearlong outbreak of tuberculosis in the Kansas City, Kansas area has taken local experts aback, even if it does not appear to be the largest outbreak of the disease in U.S. history as a state health official claimed last week.

“We would expect to see a handful of cases every year,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Kansas Health System. But the high case counts in this outbreak were a “stark warning," he said.

The outbreak has killed two people since it started in January 2024, Kansas state health department spokeswoman Jill Bronaugh said. Health officials in Kansas say there is no threat to the general public.

TB is caused by bacteria that lives in the people’s lungs and spreads through the air when they talk, cough or sing. It is very infectious, but only spreads when a person has symptoms.

Once it infects a person, TB can take two forms. In “active” TB, the person has a long-standing cough and sometimes bloody phlegm, night sweats, fever, weight loss and swollen glands. In “latent” TB, the bacteria hibernates in the person’s lungs or elsewhere in the body. It does not cause symptoms and does not spread to others.

Roughly a quarter of the global population is estimated to have TB, but only about 5% to 10% of those develop symptoms.

How big is the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas?

As of Jan. 24, 67 people are being treated for active TB, most of them in Wyandotte County, Bronaugh said. Another 79 have latent TB.

The state’s provisional 2024 count shows 79 active TB cases and 213 latent cases in the two counties where the outbreak is happening, Wyandotte and Johnson. Not all of those are linked to the outbreak and Bronaugh did not respond to requests for clarification.

The situation is improving, though: “We are trending in the right direction right now,” Ashley Goss, deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told the state Senate’s Committee on Public Health and Welfare Jan. 21.

Is the Kansas tuberculosis outbreak the largest in U.S. history?

Kansas health officials called the outbreak “the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history” since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began counting cases in the 1950s.

But a spokesperson for the CDC on Tuesday refuted that claim, noting at least two larger TB outbreaks in recent history. In one, the disease spread through&nbsp;<a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/25/3/18-1678_article">Georgia homeless shelters</a>. Public health workers identified more than 170 active TB cases and more than 400 latent cases from 2015 to 2017. And in 2021, a nationwide outbreak linked to contaminated tissue used in bone transplants sickened 113 patients.

TB is treated with antibiotics over the course of several months. A vaccine is available, but generally not recommended in the U.S. because the risk of infection is low and getting the vaccine can interfere with the test doctors use to diagnose the disease.

TB is a much bigger problem outside of the U.S.

TB is a leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide, and has been on the rise.

In 2023, the bacteria killed 1.25 million people globally and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tb-who-tuberculosis-covid-c0fd5cc6542e7f9135833366b71546d2">infected 8 million</a>, the highest count since the World Health Organization started keeping track.

While tuberculosis was a much bigger danger in the U.S. in earlier generations, it has been trending back up in recent years. In 2023 there were more than 9,600 cases nationwide,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tb-tuberculosis-cdc-us-e278fdbc1a7912bfbbab8934ad0691d9">the highest in a decade</a>, according to the CDC.

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707492278650.png" alt=" A digitally colorized scan of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause tuberculosis in human beings. Although tuberculosis cases have been rising, public health departments say they lack the resources to stop the disease from spreading (Courtesy of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)." />
 <figcaption> A digitally colorized scan of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause tuberculosis in human beings. Although tuberculosis cases have been rising, public health departments say they lack the resources to stop the disease from spreading (Courtesy of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DEVI%20SHASTRI%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer</a>A yearlong outbreak of tuberculosis in the Kansas City, Kansas area has taken local experts aback, even if it does not appear to be the largest outbreak of the disease in U.S. history as a state health official claimed last week.“We would expect to see a handful of cases every year,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Kansas Health System. But the high case counts in this outbreak were a “stark warning," he said.The outbreak has killed two people since it started in January 2024, Kansas state health department spokeswoman Jill Bronaugh said. Health officials in Kansas say there is no threat to the general public.<h2>What is tuberculosis?</h2>TB is caused by bacteria that lives in the people’s lungs and spreads through the air when they talk, cough or sing. It is very infectious, but only spreads when a person has symptoms.Once it infects a person, TB can take two forms. In “active” TB, the person has a long-standing cough and sometimes bloody phlegm, night sweats, fever, weight loss and swollen glands. In “latent” TB, the bacteria hibernates in the person’s lungs or elsewhere in the body. It does not cause symptoms and does not spread to others.Roughly a quarter of the global population is estimated to have TB, but only about 5% to 10% of those develop symptoms.<h2>How big is the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas?</h2>As of Jan. 24, 67 people are being treated for active TB, most of them in Wyandotte County, Bronaugh said. Another 79 have latent TB.The state’s provisional 2024 count shows 79 active TB cases and 213 latent cases in the two counties where the outbreak is happening, Wyandotte and Johnson. Not all of those are linked to the outbreak and Bronaugh did not respond to requests for clarification.The situation is improving, though: “We are trending in the right direction right now,” Ashley Goss, deputy secretary at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told the state Senate’s Committee on Public Health and Welfare Jan. 21.<h2>Is the Kansas tuberculosis outbreak the largest in U.S. history?</h2>Kansas health officials called the outbreak “the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history” since the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began counting cases in the 1950s.But a spokesperson for the CDC on Tuesday refuted that claim, noting at least two larger TB outbreaks in recent history. In one, the disease spread through&nbsp;<a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/25/3/18-1678_article">Georgia homeless shelters</a>. Public health workers identified more than 170 active TB cases and more than 400 latent cases from 2015 to 2017. And in 2021, a nationwide outbreak linked to contaminated tissue used in bone transplants sickened 113 patients.<h2>How is tuberculosis treated?</h2>TB is treated with antibiotics over the course of several months. A vaccine is available, but generally not recommended in the U.S. because the risk of infection is low and getting the vaccine can interfere with the test doctors use to diagnose the disease.<h2>TB is a much bigger problem outside of the U.S.</h2>TB is a leading cause of infectious disease death worldwide, and has been on the rise.In 2023, the bacteria killed 1.25 million people globally and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tb-who-tuberculosis-covid-c0fd5cc6542e7f9135833366b71546d2">infected 8 million</a>, the highest count since the World Health Organization started keeping track.While tuberculosis was a much bigger danger in the U.S. in earlier generations, it has been trending back up in recent years. In 2023 there were more than 9,600 cases nationwide,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tb-tuberculosis-cdc-us-e278fdbc1a7912bfbbab8934ad0691d9">the highest in a decade</a>, according to the CDC.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Infectious disease doctor: Tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas a stark warning

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a contentious confirmation hearing to be the nation's top health official,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;struggled to answer questions about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and key vote Kennedy needs to win, repeatedly pressed the nominee on Wednesday to share ways he plans to reform Medicaid, a multibillion-dollar taxpayer-funded program that covers health care for about 80 million people, including children. Republicans have said they might need to make deep cuts to Medicaid to fund President Donald Trump's proposals.

“I don't have a broad proposal for dismantling the program,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy also inaccurately claimed that Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government — it's not; states and federal taxpayers fund it. He also said most Americans have purchased a Medicare Advantage plan, when only about 1 in 10 Americans have.

His misstatements about the program were peppered in between suggestions that he would seek to push privatization of the programs, repeatedly saying that most Americans like private insurance and that they dislike the government run versions of the programs.

Kennedy is seeking to lead a $1.7 trillion department of Health and Human Services agency that will oversee vaccine recommendations as well as food inspections, hospital oversight and funding for hundreds of community health clinics.

In sometimes heated exchanges on Wednesday, Kennedy denied that he is anti-vaccine. But Kennedy, who pointed out that his children are vaccinated, acknowledged he has asked “uncomfortable questions” about vaccinations.

“I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care,” Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee.

Republicans did not ask Kennedy about his vaccine views during the first hour of the hearing.

But Democrats homed in, with Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon pointing out that Kennedy has previously claimed there's “no safe” vaccine, initiating a back and forth between him and Kennedy. Wyden also quoted from Kennedy's books, which say that parents have been “misled” on the measles vaccine.

“You have spent years pushing conflicting stories about vaccines,” Wyden said.

Over many years, Kennedy has been clear about his beliefs on vaccines in dozens of interviews, podcasts and social media posts.

He's headed up a nonprofit that has sued the government over its authorizations of vaccines. He's said there is&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1788596009695633439">“no vaccine that is safe and effective”</a>&nbsp;and repeatedly called for further study of routine childhood vaccinations, despite decades of research and real-world use that proves they've safely prevented disease.

Republicans narrowed in on questions about agriculture, food and the abortion pill, which many women access over telehealth.

Kennedy tried to assure senators that he would not seek widespread bans on vaccines or food, saying he wants to provide more information to people.

“I don’t want to take food away from anybody," he said. "If you like a cheeseburger – a McDonald’s cheeseburger and a diet Coke like my boss — you should be able to get them.”

Kennedy hails from one of the nation’s most storied political families and is the son of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He first challenged President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. He then ran as an independent but abandoned his bid over the summer after striking a deal to endorse Trump, a Republican, in exchange for a promise to serve in a health policy role during a second Trump administration.

Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rfk-hhs-health-kennedy-f40ee2398e3a280c1586eecdd80bdf7c">selected Kennedy</a>&nbsp;in November, shortly after he won the presidential election, saying Kennedy would “end the Chronic Disease epidemic” and “Make America Great and Healthy Again!” As one of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a">the most prominent anti-vaccine activists</a>&nbsp;in the world, Kennedy’s nomination immediately alarmed some public health officials.

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s</a>&nbsp;famous name, populist stances and loyal following have earned him President Donald Trump’s support, but will that get him the votes he needs from the Republican-controlled Senate to become the nation’s top health official?

or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/event/senate-committee/hhs-sec-nominee-rfk-jr-testifies-at-confirmation-hearing/430405">Click here to watch</a> 9a.m. CST

If approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.

His confirmation hearings are set before the Senate finance committee on Wednesday and the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee on Thursday.

Here’s what to watch during his confirmation hearings:

He’s headed up a nonprofit that has sued the government over its authorizations of vaccines. He’s said there is “&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1788596009695633439" target="_blank">no vaccine that is safe and effective</a>,” and repeatedly called for further study of routine childhood vaccinations, despite decades of research and real-world use that proves they’ve safely prevented disease.

But more recently, Kennedy has tried to downplay his past remarks and work, saying he’s not anti-vaccine and promising not to “take away” the shots.

The health committee chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also has expressed concerns about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine work. A physician, Cassidy&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1877039738005098978" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;earlier this month he “had a frank conversation” and “spoke about vaccines at length” with Kennedy. On Tuesday, Cassidy told reporters that he is still unsure if he is backing Trump’s nominee.

“I’m still working through it,” Cassidy said during a press availability with Louisiana reporters on Tuesday. “I look forward to the hearings and I will allow that to guide my decision.”

The intensity of the questioning on vaccines over the next two days could provide clues for how other Republicans — like Sen. Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor who represents Kentucky — might consider Kennedy’s nomination.

Watch for overtures to the anti-abortion movement

Some of the country’s most conservative lawmakers have been worried about how Kennedy will handle abortion as health secretary.

Republican Sen. James Lankford, who sits on the finance committee, is expected to grill Kennedy, a longtime Democrat, on the issue during Wednesday’s hearing. Lankford is seen as a possible “no” vote over Kennedy’s past comments supporting abortion. Last month, the Oklahoma senator said he had a “good conversation” with Kennedy but stopped short of endorsing.

HHS can influence abortion and reproductive health access in a number of ways, including with millions of dollars in grants it sends to Planned Parenthood and regulations around abortion pills. Under the Biden administration, the agency also said hospitals were required to provide emergency abortions for pregnant women in medical distress.

On Monday, acting HHS Secretary Dorothy Fink signaled the agency is prepared to adopt a tougher stance on abortion under Kennedy. She ordered the agency to investigate all of its programs to make sure no taxpayer money is going toward elective abortions.

There are Democrats he’s trying to woo, too

Kennedy needs to earn support from nearly all Senate Republicans, but he may also try to pick up a vote or two from the Democratic Party. His closest supporters and advisers&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/calleymeans/status/1883611113298051185" target="_blank">have urged</a>&nbsp;followers to call the offices of Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.

Another Democratic senator may also be in play: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who met with Kennedy and has said he’s open to supporting Trump’s nominees.

An area where Kennedy is trying to find common ground with Democratic senators: food regulations and access to healthier foods. Kennedy has said he supports Medicare and Medicaid helping people pay for healthier foods and gym memberships, an idea Democrats have lobbied for as well. He’s also called for a ban on some of the ingredients used in foods, like dyes and additives.

In a letter sent to U.S. senators on Tuesday, Caroline Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/caroline-robert-kennedy-trump-health-secretary-f01f58305eac53560e31c51aaee5f171">shared shocking personal details</a>&nbsp;about her cousin, saying he is not qualified for the health secretary job.

Caroline Kennedy said RFK Jr.'s views on vaccines are a problem, but she also brought up her experiences growing up with him.

A copy obtained by The Associated Press notes that while she admired him for overcoming a drug addiction, she said he has gone on to “misrepresent, lie, and cheat his way through life.” In an extreme anecdote, she accused him of hosting drug-fueled gatherings in his basement, dorm and garage where he “enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks.”

Meanwhile, another cousin, former Rhode Island congressman and Democrat Patrick J. Kennedy, threw his support behind the health secretary nominee in an opinion piece for The Washington Post on Tuesday. RFK Jr. helped pull him out of addiction, Patrick J. Kennedy said.

“Bobby was the first family member to call and offer his personal and public support, even at a time when some in my family criticized me for breaking the so-called family code of silence,” he wrote.

Associated Press writer Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738163034654.png" alt="Kennedy spoke with Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a member of the Senate Finance committee, moments before the hearing started-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Kennedy spoke with Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, a member of the Senate Finance committee, moments before the hearing started-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — In a contentious confirmation hearing to be the nation's top health official,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>&nbsp;struggled to answer questions about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WATCH: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. complete opening statement at Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing. <a href="https://t.co/FE0svVjixs">pic.twitter.com/FE0svVjixs</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884628422279721203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A protester interrupts Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during his opening statement, as he addresses his views on vaccines. He says, &quot;I am not anti-vaccine.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/h5UliMeP1I">pic.twitter.com/h5UliMeP1I</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884624753744347323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RobertKennedyJr</a> “We need to get a handle on this… our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong or because we get one of these culture war issues that we&#39;ve been talking about today wrong- it&#39;s going to be destroyed if we continue… <a href="https://t.co/j5YIUqZNZE">pic.twitter.com/j5YIUqZNZE</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1884719620709638196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">&quot;Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine or did you lie on all those podcasts?&quot; Watch exchange between Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonWyden</a> and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on vaccines. <a href="https://t.co/4jYWaWUuzL">pic.twitter.com/4jYWaWUuzL</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884628588785254722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. &quot;I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines.&quot; Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/RonWyden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RonWyden</a>: &quot;Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles… <a href="https://t.co/NqMxcr1ep0">pic.twitter.com/NqMxcr1ep0</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884631127950037297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBennet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorBennet</a> to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;Unlike other jobs were confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death...it&#39;s too important for the games that you&#39;re playing Mr. Kennedy.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/VQZlA26o2V">pic.twitter.com/VQZlA26o2V</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884639007289507891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/OPrRNEq1FP">pic.twitter.com/OPrRNEq1FP</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884643434792652848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorHassan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorHassan</a> asks Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: &quot;When was it that you decided to sell out the values you&#39;ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/nNBzzaB9Xv">pic.twitter.com/nNBzzaB9Xv</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884643823499788405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSanders</a>: &quot;Are you supportive of these onesies?&quot; WATCH: Exchange between Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over onesies. <a href="https://t.co/YGj3vfiGqG">pic.twitter.com/YGj3vfiGqG</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884653818291294292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and key vote Kennedy needs to win, repeatedly pressed the nominee on Wednesday to share ways he plans to reform Medicaid, a multibillion-dollar taxpayer-funded program that covers health care for about 80 million people, including children. Republicans have said they might need to make deep cuts to Medicaid to fund President Donald Trump's proposals.“I don't have a broad proposal for dismantling the program,” Kennedy said.Kennedy also inaccurately claimed that Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government — it's not; states and federal taxpayers fund it. He also said most Americans have purchased a Medicare Advantage plan, when only about 1 in 10 Americans have.His misstatements about the program were peppered in between suggestions that he would seek to push privatization of the programs, repeatedly saying that most Americans like private insurance and that they dislike the government run versions of the programs.Kennedy is seeking to lead a $1.7 trillion department of Health and Human Services agency that will oversee vaccine recommendations as well as food inspections, hospital oversight and funding for hundreds of community health clinics.In sometimes heated exchanges on Wednesday, Kennedy denied that he is anti-vaccine. But Kennedy, who pointed out that his children are vaccinated, acknowledged he has asked “uncomfortable questions” about vaccinations.“I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care,” Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee.Republicans did not ask Kennedy about his vaccine views during the first hour of the hearing.But Democrats homed in, with Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon pointing out that Kennedy has previously claimed there's “no safe” vaccine, initiating a back and forth between him and Kennedy. Wyden also quoted from Kennedy's books, which say that parents have been “misled” on the measles vaccine.“You have spent years pushing conflicting stories about vaccines,” Wyden said.Over many years, Kennedy has been clear about his beliefs on vaccines in dozens of interviews, podcasts and social media posts.He's headed up a nonprofit that has sued the government over its authorizations of vaccines. He's said there is&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1788596009695633439">“no vaccine that is safe and effective”</a>&nbsp;and repeatedly called for further study of routine childhood vaccinations, despite decades of research and real-world use that proves they've safely prevented disease.Republicans narrowed in on questions about agriculture, food and the abortion pill, which many women access over telehealth.Kennedy tried to assure senators that he would not seek widespread bans on vaccines or food, saying he wants to provide more information to people.“I don’t want to take food away from anybody," he said. "If you like a cheeseburger – a McDonald’s cheeseburger and a diet Coke like my boss — you should be able to get them.”Kennedy hails from one of the nation’s most storied political families and is the son of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He first challenged President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. He then ran as an independent but abandoned his bid over the summer after striking a deal to endorse Trump, a Republican, in exchange for a promise to serve in a health policy role during a second Trump administration.Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rfk-hhs-health-kennedy-f40ee2398e3a280c1586eecdd80bdf7c">selected Kennedy</a>&nbsp;in November, shortly after he won the presidential election, saying Kennedy would “end the Chronic Disease epidemic” and “Make America Great and Healthy Again!” As one of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-election-vaccines-2ccde2df146f57b5e8c26e8494f0a16a">the most prominent anti-vaccine activists</a>&nbsp;in the world, Kennedy’s nomination immediately alarmed some public health officials.----------WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/robert-f-kennedy-jr">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s</a>&nbsp;famous name, populist stances and loyal following have earned him President Donald Trump’s support, but will that get him the votes he needs from the Republican-controlled Senate to become the nation’s top health official?<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">LIVE --&gt; Confirmation hearing: ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR, nominee to be Secretary of Health &amp; Human Services, testifies before <a href="https://twitter.com/SenateFinance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenateFinance</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SenFinance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@senfinance</a> – LIVE on C-SPAN <a href="https://t.co/pMoiNNtTof">https://t.co/pMoiNNtTof</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884617329104888242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/event/senate-committee/hhs-sec-nominee-rfk-jr-testifies-at-confirmation-hearing/430405">Click here to watch</a> 9a.m. CSTIf approved, Kennedy will control a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and hospital inspections, hundreds of health clinics, vaccine recommendations and health insurance for roughly half the country.His confirmation hearings are set before the Senate finance committee on Wednesday and the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee on Thursday.Here’s what to watch during his confirmation hearings:<h2>How will he explain his vaccine views?</h2>Over many years, Kennedy has been clear about his beliefs on vaccines in dozens of interviews, podcasts and social media posts.He’s headed up a nonprofit that has sued the government over its authorizations of vaccines. He’s said there is “&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1788596009695633439" target="_blank">no vaccine that is safe and effective</a>,” and repeatedly called for further study of routine childhood vaccinations, despite decades of research and real-world use that proves they’ve safely prevented disease.But more recently, Kennedy has tried to downplay his past remarks and work, saying he’s not anti-vaccine and promising not to “take away” the shots.The health committee chairman, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also has expressed concerns about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine work. A physician, Cassidy&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1877039738005098978" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;earlier this month he “had a frank conversation” and “spoke about vaccines at length” with Kennedy. On Tuesday, Cassidy told reporters that he is still unsure if he is backing Trump’s nominee.“I’m still working through it,” Cassidy said during a press availability with Louisiana reporters on Tuesday. “I look forward to the hearings and I will allow that to guide my decision.”The intensity of the questioning on vaccines over the next two days could provide clues for how other Republicans — like Sen. Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor who represents Kentucky — might consider Kennedy’s nomination.<h2>Watch for overtures to the anti-abortion movement</h2>Some of the country’s most conservative lawmakers have been worried about how Kennedy will handle abortion as health secretary.Republican Sen. James Lankford, who sits on the finance committee, is expected to grill Kennedy, a longtime Democrat, on the issue during Wednesday’s hearing. Lankford is seen as a possible “no” vote over Kennedy’s past comments supporting abortion. Last month, the Oklahoma senator said he had a “good conversation” with Kennedy but stopped short of endorsing.HHS can influence abortion and reproductive health access in a number of ways, including with millions of dollars in grants it sends to Planned Parenthood and regulations around abortion pills. Under the Biden administration, the agency also said hospitals were required to provide emergency abortions for pregnant women in medical distress.On Monday, acting HHS Secretary Dorothy Fink signaled the agency is prepared to adopt a tougher stance on abortion under Kennedy. She ordered the agency to investigate all of its programs to make sure no taxpayer money is going toward elective abortions.<h2>There are Democrats he’s trying to woo, too</h2>Kennedy needs to earn support from nearly all Senate Republicans, but he may also try to pick up a vote or two from the Democratic Party. His closest supporters and advisers&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/calleymeans/status/1883611113298051185" target="_blank">have urged</a>&nbsp;followers to call the offices of Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.Another Democratic senator may also be in play: John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who met with Kennedy and has said he’s open to supporting Trump’s nominees.An area where Kennedy is trying to find common ground with Democratic senators: food regulations and access to healthier foods. Kennedy has said he supports Medicare and Medicaid helping people pay for healthier foods and gym memberships, an idea Democrats have lobbied for as well. He’s also called for a ban on some of the ingredients used in foods, like dyes and additives.<h2>Will that letter come up?</h2>In a letter sent to U.S. senators on Tuesday, Caroline Kennedy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/caroline-robert-kennedy-trump-health-secretary-f01f58305eac53560e31c51aaee5f171">shared shocking personal details</a>&nbsp;about her cousin, saying he is not qualified for the health secretary job.Caroline Kennedy said RFK Jr.'s views on vaccines are a problem, but she also brought up her experiences growing up with him.A copy obtained by The Associated Press notes that while she admired him for overcoming a drug addiction, she said he has gone on to “misrepresent, lie, and cheat his way through life.” In an extreme anecdote, she accused him of hosting drug-fueled gatherings in his basement, dorm and garage where he “enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks.”Meanwhile, another cousin, former Rhode Island congressman and Democrat Patrick J. Kennedy, threw his support behind the health secretary nominee in an opinion piece for The Washington Post on Tuesday. RFK Jr. helped pull him out of addiction, Patrick J. Kennedy said.“Bobby was the first family member to call and offer his personal and public support, even at a time when some in my family criticized me for breaking the so-called family code of silence,” he wrote.<h2>___</h2>Associated Press writer Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, contributed to this report.

🎥Highlights of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country.

The Monday evening order from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn't be subject to a pause in funding.

The White House confirmed that OMB pulled the order Wednesday in a two sentence notice sent to agencies and departments, but said that Trump's underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change, remained in place.

Administration officials said the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to conduct a review to ensure that spending complies with Trump’s recent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-has-trump-done-trump-executive-orders-f061fbe7f08c08d81509a6af20ef8fc0">blitz of executive orders</a>. Agencies had been directed to answer a series of yes or no questions on each federal program by Feb. 7. The questions included “does this program promote gender ideology?” and “does this program promote or support in any way abortion?”

Still, the vaguely worded memo, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737908838710.png" alt="President Trump speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Saturday-photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President" />
 <figcaption>President Trump speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Saturday-photo by Margo Martin, Assistant to the President</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738177826569.png" alt="" />
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 </figure>The Monday evening order from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn't be subject to a pause in funding.The White House confirmed that OMB pulled the order Wednesday in a two sentence notice sent to agencies and departments, but said that Trump's underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change, remained in place.Administration officials said the decision to halt loans and grants was necessary to conduct a review to ensure that spending complies with Trump’s recent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-has-trump-done-trump-executive-orders-f061fbe7f08c08d81509a6af20ef8fc0">blitz of executive orders</a>. Agencies had been directed to answer a series of yes or no questions on each federal program by Feb. 7. The questions included “does this program promote gender ideology?” and “does this program promote or support in any way abortion?”Still, the vaguely worded memo, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services.The freeze was scheduled to go into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, but was stayed by a federal judge until at least Monday after an emergency hearing requested by nonprofit groups that receive federal grants. An additional lawsuit by Democratic state attorneys general was also pending.“The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, blaming the confusion on the courts and news outlets, not the administration. “This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending."Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans, including Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps, would not be affected. But they sometimes struggled to provide a clear picture.Leavitt initially would not say whether Medicaid was exempted from the freeze, but the administration later clarified that it was.Although Trump had promised to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term, the effects of his effort to pause funding were being felt far from the nation’s capital. Organizations like Meals on Wheels, which receives federal money to deliver food to the elderly, and Head Start which provides early childcare in lower income communities, were worried about getting cut off.Democratic critics of the order moved swiftly to celebrate the action.“This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this country—real people made a difference by speaking out," said Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/patty-murray">Patty Murray</a>, D-Wash. "Still, the Trump administration—through a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard of the law—caused real harm and chaos for millions over the span of the last 48 hours which is still ongoing."Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that “Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off.