<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20SHERMAN%20and%20LINDSAY%20WHITEHURST%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK SHERMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST&nbsp;</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">The Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;seemed intent Thursday on keeping a block on President Donald Trump’s restrictions on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-immigration-trump-20919d26029cf0f98ecb0dc7f90a066b">birthright citizenship</a>&nbsp;while looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders.

<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2024/24A884">Click here to listen to</a> a replay of the oral argument

It was unclear what such a decision might look like, but a majority of the court expressed concerns about would happen if the Trump administration were allowed, even temporarily, to deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally.

The justices heard arguments in the Trump administration’s emergency appeals over lower court orders that have kept the citizenship restrictions on hold across the country. Nationwide, or universal, injunctions have emerged as an important check on Trump’s efforts to remake the government and a mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies.

Judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-inauguration-swearing-capitol-b3549ebe5dae74a872502aa79def7a11">began his second term</a>&nbsp;in January, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court at the start of more than two hours of arguments.

Birthright citizenship is among several issues, many related to immigration, that the administration has asked the court to address on an emergency basis.

The justices are also considering the Trump administration’s pleas to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-parole-supreme-court-6282e48ef9bf41bd5c77e8e2b0642e89">end humanitarian parole</a>&nbsp;for more than 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-immigrants-deportation-protection-80f61585197eaff8b254c9b621976780">strip other temporary legal protections</a>&nbsp;from another 350,000 Venezuelans. The administration remains&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-7-2025">locked in legal battles</a>&nbsp;over its efforts to swiftly deport people accused of being gang members to a prison in El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act.

Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term that would deny citizenship to children who are born to people who are in the country illegally or temporarily.

The order conflicts with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump-immigration-735d28a2572f623f199f97b3bc97644a">a Supreme Court decision from 1898</a>&nbsp;that held that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment made citizens of all children born on U.S. with narrow exceptions that are not at issue in this case.

States, immigrants and rights group sued almost immediately, and lower courts quickly barred enforcement of the order while the lawsuits proceed.

The current fight is over the rules that apply while the lawsuits go forward.

The court's liberal justices seemed firmly in support of the lower court rulings that found the changes to citizenship that Trump wants to make would upset the settled understanding of birthright citizenship that has existed for more than 125 years.

Birthright citizenship is an odd case to use to scale back nationwide injunctions, Justice Elena Kagan said. "Every court has ruled against you,” she told Sauer.

But if the government wins on today’s arguments, it could still enforce the order against people who haven’t sued, Kagan said. “All of those individuals are going to win. And the ones who can’t afford to go to court, they’re the ones who are going to lose,” she said

Several conservative justices who might be open to limiting nationwide injunctions also wanted to know the practical effects of such a decision as well as how quickly the court could reach a final decision on the Trump executive order.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh pressed Sauer with a series of questions about how the federal government might enforce Trump’s order.

“What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn?” he said.

Sauer said they wouldn’t necessarily do anything different, but the government might figure out ways to reject documentation with “the wrong designation of citizenship.”

Kavanaugh continued to press for clearer answers, pointing out the executive order gave the government only about 30 days to develop a policy. “You think they can get it together in time?” he said.

The Trump administration, like the Biden administration before it, has complained that judges are overreaching by issuing orders that apply to everyone instead of just the parties before the court.

Picking up on that theme, Justice Samuel Alito said he meant no disrespect the nation's district judges when he opined that they sometimes suffer from an “occupational disease ... 'I am right, and I can do whatever I want.'”

But Justice Sonia Sotomayor was among several justices who raised the confusing patchwork of rules that would result if the court orders were narrowed and new restrictions on citizenship could temporarily take effect in more than half the country.

Some children might be “stateless,” Sotomayor said, because they'd be denied citizenship in the U.S. as well as the countries their parents fled to avoid persecution.

New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum, representing 22 states that sued, said citizenship could “turn on and off” for children crossing the Delaware River between Camden, New Jersey, where affected children would be citizens, and Philadelphia, where they wouldn't be. Pennsylvania is not part of the lawsuit.

One possible solution for the court might be to find a way to replace nationwide injunctions with certification of a class action, a lawsuit in which individuals serve as representatives of a much larger group of similarly situated people.

Such a case could be filed and acted upon quickly and might even apply nationwide.

But under questioning from Justice Amy Coney Barrett and others, Sauer said the Trump administration could well oppose such a lawsuit or potentially try to slow down class actions.

Supreme Court arguments over emergency appeals are rare. The justices almost always deal with the underlying substance of a dispute.

But the administration didn't ask the court to take on the larger issue now and, if the court sides with the administration over nationwide injunctions, it's unclear how long inconsistent rules on citizenship would apply to children born in the United States.

A decision is expected by the end of June.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747336226952.png" alt="Protesters outside the Supreme Court Thursday-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Protesters outside the Supreme Court Thursday-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20SHERMAN%20and%20LINDSAY%20WHITEHURST%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK SHERMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST&nbsp;</a>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">The Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;seemed intent Thursday on keeping a block on President Donald Trump’s restrictions on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-immigration-trump-20919d26029cf0f98ecb0dc7f90a066b">birthright citizenship</a>&nbsp;while looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders.<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2024/24A884">Click here to listen to</a> a replay of the oral argumentIt was unclear what such a decision might look like, but a majority of the court expressed concerns about would happen if the Trump administration were allowed, even temporarily, to deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally.The justices heard arguments in the Trump administration’s emergency appeals over lower court orders that have kept the citizenship restrictions on hold across the country. Nationwide, or universal, injunctions have emerged as an important check on Trump’s efforts to remake the government and a mounting frustration to the Republican president and his allies.Judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-inauguration-swearing-capitol-b3549ebe5dae74a872502aa79def7a11">began his second term</a>&nbsp;in January, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court at the start of more than two hours of arguments.Birthright citizenship is among several issues, many related to immigration, that the administration has asked the court to address on an emergency basis.The justices are also considering the Trump administration’s pleas to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-parole-supreme-court-6282e48ef9bf41bd5c77e8e2b0642e89">end humanitarian parole</a>&nbsp;for more than 500,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-immigrants-deportation-protection-80f61585197eaff8b254c9b621976780">strip other temporary legal protections</a>&nbsp;from another 350,000 Venezuelans. The administration remains&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-7-2025">locked in legal battles</a>&nbsp;over its efforts to swiftly deport people accused of being gang members to a prison in El Salvador under an 18th century wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act.Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term that would deny citizenship to children who are born to people who are in the country illegally or temporarily.The order conflicts with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump-immigration-735d28a2572f623f199f97b3bc97644a">a Supreme Court decision from 1898</a>&nbsp;that held that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment made citizens of all children born on U.S. with narrow exceptions that are not at issue in this case.States, immigrants and rights group sued almost immediately, and lower courts quickly barred enforcement of the order while the lawsuits proceed.The current fight is over the rules that apply while the lawsuits go forward.The court's liberal justices seemed firmly in support of the lower court rulings that found the changes to citizenship that Trump wants to make would upset the settled understanding of birthright citizenship that has existed for more than 125 years.Birthright citizenship is an odd case to use to scale back nationwide injunctions, Justice Elena Kagan said. "Every court has ruled against you,” she told Sauer.But if the government wins on today’s arguments, it could still enforce the order against people who haven’t sued, Kagan said. “All of those individuals are going to win. And the ones who can’t afford to go to court, they’re the ones who are going to lose,” she saidSeveral conservative justices who might be open to limiting nationwide injunctions also wanted to know the practical effects of such a decision as well as how quickly the court could reach a final decision on the Trump executive order.Justice Brett Kavanaugh pressed Sauer with a series of questions about how the federal government might enforce Trump’s order.“What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn?” he said.Sauer said they wouldn’t necessarily do anything different, but the government might figure out ways to reject documentation with “the wrong designation of citizenship.”Kavanaugh continued to press for clearer answers, pointing out the executive order gave the government only about 30 days to develop a policy. “You think they can get it together in time?” he said.The Trump administration, like the Biden administration before it, has complained that judges are overreaching by issuing orders that apply to everyone instead of just the parties before the court.Picking up on that theme, Justice Samuel Alito said he meant no disrespect the nation's district judges when he opined that they sometimes suffer from an “occupational disease ... 'I am right, and I can do whatever I want.'”But Justice Sonia Sotomayor was among several justices who raised the confusing patchwork of rules that would result if the court orders were narrowed and new restrictions on citizenship could temporarily take effect in more than half the country.Some children might be “stateless,” Sotomayor said, because they'd be denied citizenship in the U.S. as well as the countries their parents fled to avoid persecution.New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum, representing 22 states that sued, said citizenship could “turn on and off” for children crossing the Delaware River between Camden, New Jersey, where affected children would be citizens, and Philadelphia, where they wouldn't be. Pennsylvania is not part of the lawsuit.One possible solution for the court might be to find a way to replace nationwide injunctions with certification of a class action, a lawsuit in which individuals serve as representatives of a much larger group of similarly situated people.Such a case could be filed and acted upon quickly and might even apply nationwide.But under questioning from Justice Amy Coney Barrett and others, Sauer said the Trump administration could well oppose such a lawsuit or potentially try to slow down class actions.Supreme Court arguments over emergency appeals are rare. The justices almost always deal with the underlying substance of a dispute.But the administration didn't ask the court to take on the larger issue now and, if the court sides with the administration over nationwide injunctions, it's unclear how long inconsistent rules on citizenship would apply to children born in the United States.A decision is expected by the end of June.

🎧Supreme Court divided on judges’ power in birthright citizenship case 

JOHNSON COUNTY—The Overland Park Police Department requested the Kansas Bureau of Investigation issue a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Overland Park woman.

The whereabouts of 81-year-old Jerry McConnell are unknown and the public’s assistance is requested to help locate her, according to a media release from the KBI.

McConnell was last seen on Wednesday afternoon in Harrisonville, Missouri and was driving to her residence in Overland Park, Kansas. 

McConnell is believed to be driving a grey 2009 Honda Accord bearing Texas license plate RFP836. McConnell also may have been near Severy, Kansas on Thursday afternoon.

McConnell is a white female who is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs around 140 pounds. She has blue eyes and gray hair. If you see Jerry McConnell, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about her whereabouts, call the Overland Park Police Department at (913)-895-6300.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747502608195.png" alt="photo Overland Park Police" />
 <figcaption>photo Overland Park Police</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY—The Overland Park Police Department requested the Kansas Bureau of Investigation issue a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Overland Park woman.The whereabouts of 81-year-old Jerry McConnell are unknown and the public’s assistance is requested to help locate her, according to a media release from the KBI.McConnell was last seen on Wednesday afternoon in Harrisonville, Missouri and was driving to her residence in Overland Park, Kansas. McConnell is believed to be driving a grey 2009 Honda Accord bearing Texas license plate RFP836. McConnell also may have been near Severy, Kansas on Thursday afternoon.McConnell is a white female who is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs around 140 pounds. She has blue eyes and gray hair. If you see Jerry McConnell, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about her whereabouts, call the Overland Park Police Department at (913)-895-6300.

KBI: Silver Alert for Kan. woman last seen May 14

SHAWNEE COUNTY—The search for a suspect who ran from a stolen vehicle crash last month ended Wednesday.

Steven M. Rule, 39, of Topeka, is in custody in the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

On April 24, police&nbsp;&nbsp;were investigating a stolen vehicle report in Topeka, according to Topeka Police&nbsp; LT Manuel Munoz. Through the investigation, officers were notified that the vehicle was in the area of SW 17th and SW Wanamaker in Topeka.

Police located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle fled east on SW 17th and officers did not pursue. A short time later, a Shawnee County Sheriff’s deputy observed the vehicle, which had been involved in an accident at SW 17th and SW McAlister when it struck a tree.

Several individuals ran from the scene and the Deputy began to run after them. During the foot pursuit, the deputy heard shots being fired and summoned additional assistance.&nbsp;Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies including the Kansas Highway Patrol, and Washburn University Police, arrived on scene.

Two individuals were taken into custody at the scene including Bryan K. Carter, 44, of Topeka on requested charges of&nbsp;Possession of stolen property; value $1,500 to $25,000,&nbsp;Fail to stop at an accident; injury/damage over $1,000,&nbsp;Interference with law enforcement, Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.

Laura M. Herde, 42, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the SNDOC for a misdemeanor warrant out of Douglas County and two misdemeanor warrants out of Shawnee County.

Rule is in custody on requested charges of theft, failure to stop at an injury accident, duty of driver to provide certain information, driving while license suspended, interference with law enforcement and flee or attempt to elude.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745527604920.png" alt="Police at the scene of the crash photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Police at the scene of the crash photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—The search for a suspect who ran from a stolen vehicle crash last month ended Wednesday.Steven M. Rule, 39, of Topeka, is in custody in the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747407663939.png" alt="Rule photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Rule photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>On April 24, police&nbsp;&nbsp;were investigating a stolen vehicle report in Topeka, according to Topeka Police&nbsp; LT Manuel Munoz. Through the investigation, officers were notified that the vehicle was in the area of SW 17th and SW Wanamaker in Topeka.Police located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle fled east on SW 17th and officers did not pursue. A short time later, a Shawnee County Sheriff’s deputy observed the vehicle, which had been involved in an accident at SW 17th and SW McAlister when it struck a tree.Several individuals ran from the scene and the Deputy began to run after them. During the foot pursuit, the deputy heard shots being fired and summoned additional assistance.&nbsp;Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies including the Kansas Highway Patrol, and Washburn University Police, arrived on scene.Two individuals were taken into custody at the scene including Bryan K. Carter, 44, of Topeka on requested charges of&nbsp;Possession of stolen property; value $1,500 to $25,000,&nbsp;Fail to stop at an accident; injury/damage over $1,000,&nbsp;Interference with law enforcement, Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.Laura M. Herde, 42, of Topeka, was arrested and booked into the SNDOC for a misdemeanor warrant out of Douglas County and two misdemeanor warrants out of Shawnee County.Rule is in custody on requested charges of theft, failure to stop at an injury accident, duty of driver to provide certain information, driving while license suspended, interference with law enforcement and flee or attempt to elude.

Police capture suspect who ran from crash in stolen vehicle

JOHNSON COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Saturday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford pickup driven by Brady F. Toole, 34, Olathe, was northbound on Interstate 435 at 95th Street in the number three lane. 

The pickup entered lane number four, crossed the right shoulder, traveled off the right side of the roadway into the grass ditch, struck a wood post of a Kansas Department of Transportation sign, slid on the wet muddy surface and struck the southernmost bridge pillar of the 95th Street bridge.&nbsp;

Toole was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

JOHNSON COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 1:30a.m. Saturday in Johnson County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford pickup driven by Brady F. Toole, 34, Olathe, was northbound on Interstate 435 at 95th Street in the number three lane. The pickup entered lane number four, crossed the right shoulder, traveled off the right side of the roadway into the grass ditch, struck a wood post of a Kansas Department of Transportation sign, slid on the wet muddy surface and struck the southernmost bridge pillar of the 95th Street bridge.&nbsp;Toole was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Kansas man dies in violent pickup crash

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JONATHAN%20J.%20COOPER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JONATHAN J. COOPER &nbsp;Associated Press</a>

&nbsp;Joe Biden’s time in public office is now behind him, but his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-age-election-debate-trump-7c366fda83a697265d9ecc77e8a32fd1">age and mental acuity</a>&nbsp;have become a litmus test for the next leaders in his party.

<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/16/biden-hur-tape-special-counsel-audio">Click here to listen to mor</a>e

<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24476201/biden1-copy.pdf">Click here to read</a>&nbsp;transcript of&nbsp;day 1 interview with President Biden.

<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24476203/biden-2-copy.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;transcript of day 2 interview with President Biden

Audio was published Friday from portions of interviews Biden gave to federal prosecutors in 2023, the latest in a stream of reports putting questions about Biden's health back in the spotlight. Months after former President Kamala Harris lost to President Donald Trump, a new book alleges that White House aides covered up Biden's physical and mental decline.

Several potential Democratic contenders for the 2028 nomination have been asked in recent days whether they believe Biden was declining in office or whether he should have sought reelection before a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-lawmakers-debate-2c426f98063ab30143a7675cba10a5b4">disastrous debate performance</a>&nbsp;led to his withdrawal.

Many Democrats would prefer to focus on Trump's second term. Trump has done his best to prevent that — mentioning Biden's name&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/first-100-days-trump-still-leans-old-foe-joe-biden-rcna201229">an average of six times per day</a>&nbsp;during his first 100 days in office, according to an NBC News analysis — and Republicans have followed his lead, betting that voters frustrated by Trump's policy moves will still prefer him over memories of an unpopular presidency.

In the race for Virginia governor, one of this year's highest-profile contests, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is running a pair of digital ads tying Democrat Abigail Spanberger to Biden, with images of&nbsp;<a href="https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/28531e56-93cf-40f0-9baa-09e6722f885a/">the two hugging</a>&nbsp;and the former president calling her a friend.

“The stench of Joe Biden still lingers on the Democratic Party,” Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett said. “We have to do the hard work of fixing that, and I think that includes telling the truth, frankly, about when we were wrong.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/murphy-biden-cognitive-decline-2028-00349025">told Politico</a>&nbsp;this week that “there’s no doubt” that Biden, now 82, experienced cognitive decline as president.

<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pete-buttigieg">Pete Buttigieg</a>, the former transportation secretary, wasn’t nearly as blunt but still stopped short of defending Biden’s decision to run. He responded “maybe” when asked Tuesday whether the Democratic Party would have been better off if Biden hadn’t tried to run for a second term.

“Right now, with the advantage of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” Buttigieg told reporters during a stop in Iowa.

Illinois Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/j-b-pritzker">JB Pritzker</a>&nbsp;said he didn't see signs of mental or physical decline in his meetings with Biden.

“I saw him a few times,” he told CNN this week. “I certainly went to the White House whenever there was an opportunity for me to make the case for something for people in my state. And I never had the experience of anything other than a guy who brought to the table a lot of good ideas about how to solve problems.”

The book “Original Sin,” by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, revives a core controversy of Biden’s presidency: his decision to run for a second term despite voters, including Democrats, telling pollsters that he should not run again. Biden would have been 86 at the end of a second term had he won in November.

A spokesperson for Biden did not respond to a request for comment.

“We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job,” the spokesperson has told many media outlets in response to the book.

Late Friday, Axios published portions from audio recordings of Biden's six hours of interviews with prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents after his term as vice president ended in 2017.

The Biden administration had already released transcripts of the interviews, but the recordings shed light on special counsel Robert Hur's characterization of Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and appeared to validate his claim that the then-president struggled to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died of cancer in 2015.

Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against Hur's report, which they characterized as a partisan hit. Biden was at that time — early 2024 — still planning to run for a second term and fending off accusations that he was too old for another four years in the job.

The recordings released by Axios include Biden's discussion of his son's death. His responses to some of the prosecutors' questions are punctuated by long pauses, and his lawyers at times stepped in to help him recall dates and timelines.

Before he dropped his reelection bid last summer, Biden faced widespread doubts within his own party, even as Democratic leaders dismissed both a series of verbal flubs and Republican allegations about his declining acuity.

In January 2022, just a year into Biden’s first term, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that only 48% of Democrats wanted him to seek reelection. That fell to 37% of Democrats in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-norc-poll-biden-2024-presidential-prospects-c843c5af6775b4c8a0cff8e2b1db03f6">an AP-NORC poll conducted in February 2023</a>. Three-quarters of Americans — and 69% of Democrats —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/bidens-age-is-a-significant-concern-for-voters/">said in August 2023</a>&nbsp;that they believed Biden was too old to serve as president for another four-year term.

And shortly after his debate flop,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-poll-drop-out-debate-democrats-59eebaca6989985c2bfb">nearly two-thirds of Democrats</a>&nbsp;said Biden should withdraw from the race.

Biden and former first lady Jill Biden appeared on ABC’s “The View” in a preemptive defense of his health and decision-making before the first excerpts of “Original Sin” were published.

He said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-view-president-trump-abc-interview-kamala-harris-0e7c4aba0b021e40540dcc68872ff0d1">he’s responsible for Trump’s victory</a>&nbsp;but attributed Harris’ loss, at least in part, to sexism and racism. He maintained that he would have won had he remained the Democratic nominee. Both Bidens rejected concerns about his cognitive decline.

Patricia McEnerney, a 74-year-old Democrat in Goodyear, Arizona, said Biden should not have tried to run again.

“I think it’s sad the way it ended,” she said.

She compared him to Douglas MacArthur, the World War II and Korean War general famously dismissed by President Harry Truman.

“I think he needs to stop giving interviews. I think that would help,” McEnerney said. “Like MacArthur said, generals just fade away.”

Janet Stumps, a 66-year-old Democrat also from Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, had a different view.

“I don’t think it’s going to hurt the Democrats,” Stumps said. “I feel badly that he feels he has to defend himself. I don’t think he has to. Everybody ages. And the fact that he did what he did at his age, I think he should be commended for it.”

Hackett, the Democratic strategist, predicted Biden won’t be a major factor in the 2026 midterms or the 2028 presidential primaries. But he said Democrats who want voters to trust them would be well-served “by telling the truth about the mistakes that our party made in the run-up to 2024.”

“Those mistakes were largely driven by Joe Biden, and I think any Democrat not willing to say that is not really prepared to face the voters, who want the truth and they want authenticity,” Hackett said.

Rick Wilson, a former GOP strategist who co-founded the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, said Republicans want to talk about Biden to avoid defending Trump. But he said the strategy is folly.

Besides “political nerds,” he said, “no one else cares.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1709338240853.png" alt="File photo Former President Biden&nbsp; White House image" />
 <figcaption>File photo Former President Biden&nbsp; White House image</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JONATHAN%20J.%20COOPER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JONATHAN J. COOPER &nbsp;Associated Press</a>&nbsp;Joe Biden’s time in public office is now behind him, but his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-age-election-debate-trump-7c366fda83a697265d9ecc77e8a32fd1">age and mental acuity</a>&nbsp;have become a litmus test for the next leaders in his party.A short clip of the audio is below.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">HUR TAPES: BIDEN RAMBLING ABOUT SHOOTING A BOW AND ARROW IN MONGOLIA “I went to Mongolia. They’re doing a 20-mile horse race. And there are sumo wrestlers. I get handed the bow and arrow - I’m not a bad archer. But pure luck, I hit the g**d*** target!” <a href="https://t.co/KWivG2a035">pic.twitter.com/KWivG2a035</a>&mdash; TheBlaze (@theblaze) <a href="https://twitter.com/theblaze/status/1923519657903792272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/16/biden-hur-tape-special-counsel-audio">Click here to listen to mor</a>e<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24476201/biden1-copy.pdf">Click here to read</a>&nbsp;transcript of&nbsp;day 1 interview with President Biden.<a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24476203/biden-2-copy.pdf">Click here to read&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;transcript of day 2 interview with President BidenAudio was published Friday from portions of interviews Biden gave to federal prosecutors in 2023, the latest in a stream of reports putting questions about Biden's health back in the spotlight. Months after former President Kamala Harris lost to President Donald Trump, a new book alleges that White House aides covered up Biden's physical and mental decline.Several potential Democratic contenders for the 2028 nomination have been asked in recent days whether they believe Biden was declining in office or whether he should have sought reelection before a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-lawmakers-debate-2c426f98063ab30143a7675cba10a5b4">disastrous debate performance</a>&nbsp;led to his withdrawal.Many Democrats would prefer to focus on Trump's second term. Trump has done his best to prevent that — mentioning Biden's name&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/first-100-days-trump-still-leans-old-foe-joe-biden-rcna201229">an average of six times per day</a>&nbsp;during his first 100 days in office, according to an NBC News analysis — and Republicans have followed his lead, betting that voters frustrated by Trump's policy moves will still prefer him over memories of an unpopular presidency.In the race for Virginia governor, one of this year's highest-profile contests, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is running a pair of digital ads tying Democrat Abigail Spanberger to Biden, with images of&nbsp;<a href="https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/28531e56-93cf-40f0-9baa-09e6722f885a/">the two hugging</a>&nbsp;and the former president calling her a friend.“The stench of Joe Biden still lingers on the Democratic Party,” Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett said. “We have to do the hard work of fixing that, and I think that includes telling the truth, frankly, about when we were wrong.”Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/murphy-biden-cognitive-decline-2028-00349025">told Politico</a>&nbsp;this week that “there’s no doubt” that Biden, now 82, experienced cognitive decline as president.<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pete-buttigieg">Pete Buttigieg</a>, the former transportation secretary, wasn’t nearly as blunt but still stopped short of defending Biden’s decision to run. He responded “maybe” when asked Tuesday whether the Democratic Party would have been better off if Biden hadn’t tried to run for a second term.“Right now, with the advantage of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” Buttigieg told reporters during a stop in Iowa.Illinois Gov.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/j-b-pritzker">JB Pritzker</a>&nbsp;said he didn't see signs of mental or physical decline in his meetings with Biden.“I saw him a few times,” he told CNN this week. “I certainly went to the White House whenever there was an opportunity for me to make the case for something for people in my state. And I never had the experience of anything other than a guy who brought to the table a lot of good ideas about how to solve problems.”The book “Original Sin,” by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, revives a core controversy of Biden’s presidency: his decision to run for a second term despite voters, including Democrats, telling pollsters that he should not run again. Biden would have been 86 at the end of a second term had he won in November.A spokesperson for Biden did not respond to a request for comment.“We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job,” the spokesperson has told many media outlets in response to the book.Late Friday, Axios published portions from audio recordings of Biden's six hours of interviews with prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents after his term as vice president ended in 2017.The Biden administration had already released transcripts of the interviews, but the recordings shed light on special counsel Robert Hur's characterization of Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and appeared to validate his claim that the then-president struggled to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died of cancer in 2015.Biden and his aides pushed back aggressively against Hur's report, which they characterized as a partisan hit. Biden was at that time — early 2024 — still planning to run for a second term and fending off accusations that he was too old for another four years in the job.The recordings released by Axios include Biden's discussion of his son's death. His responses to some of the prosecutors' questions are punctuated by long pauses, and his lawyers at times stepped in to help him recall dates and timelines.Before he dropped his reelection bid last summer, Biden faced widespread doubts within his own party, even as Democratic leaders dismissed both a series of verbal flubs and Republican allegations about his declining acuity.In January 2022, just a year into Biden’s first term, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that only 48% of Democrats wanted him to seek reelection. That fell to 37% of Democrats in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-norc-poll-biden-2024-presidential-prospects-c843c5af6775b4c8a0cff8e2b1db03f6">an AP-NORC poll conducted in February 2023</a>. Three-quarters of Americans — and 69% of Democrats —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/bidens-age-is-a-significant-concern-for-voters/">said in August 2023</a>&nbsp;that they believed Biden was too old to serve as president for another four-year term.And shortly after his debate flop,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-poll-drop-out-debate-democrats-59eebaca6989985c2bfb">nearly two-thirds of Democrats</a>&nbsp;said Biden should withdraw from the race.Biden and former first lady Jill Biden appeared on ABC’s “The View” in a preemptive defense of his health and decision-making before the first excerpts of “Original Sin” were published.He said&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-view-president-trump-abc-interview-kamala-harris-0e7c4aba0b021e40540dcc68872ff0d1">he’s responsible for Trump’s victory</a>&nbsp;but attributed Harris’ loss, at least in part, to sexism and racism. He maintained that he would have won had he remained the Democratic nominee. Both Bidens rejected concerns about his cognitive decline.Patricia McEnerney, a 74-year-old Democrat in Goodyear, Arizona, said Biden should not have tried to run again.“I think it’s sad the way it ended,” she said.She compared him to Douglas MacArthur, the World War II and Korean War general famously dismissed by President Harry Truman.“I think he needs to stop giving interviews. I think that would help,” McEnerney said. “Like MacArthur said, generals just fade away.”Janet Stumps, a 66-year-old Democrat also from Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, had a different view.“I don’t think it’s going to hurt the Democrats,” Stumps said. “I feel badly that he feels he has to defend himself. I don’t think he has to. Everybody ages. And the fact that he did what he did at his age, I think he should be commended for it.”Hackett, the Democratic strategist, predicted Biden won’t be a major factor in the 2026 midterms or the 2028 presidential primaries. But he said Democrats who want voters to trust them would be well-served “by telling the truth about the mistakes that our party made in the run-up to 2024.”“Those mistakes were largely driven by Joe Biden, and I think any Democrat not willing to say that is not really prepared to face the voters, who want the truth and they want authenticity,” Hackett said.Rick Wilson, a former GOP strategist who co-founded the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, said Republicans want to talk about Biden to avoid defending Trump. But he said the strategy is folly.Besides “political nerds,” he said, “no one else cares.”

🎥Biden Special Counsel audio released; different from the transcript

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating a double homicide in Kansas City.

Just before 7:30p.m. Friday, police were initially called to 92nd and James A Reed Road for what was described as an injury accident, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.

While officers were still on the way the call was updated to a shooting call with a victim at 92nd Street. Initial responding officers located an adult male shooting victim outside of a vehicle just north of 92nd Street 

Additional responding officers were notified of an additional vehicle that had crashed at 93rd and James A. Reed Road.&nbsp; Additional officers responded to that location and found a vehicle that had crashed there with one adult male shooting victim inside the vehicle.

EMS responded to both locations and declared both victims deceased at the scene. Homicide detectives are working to determine the sequence of events that led to the shooting.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747472835672.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating a double homicide in Kansas City.Just before 7:30p.m. Friday, police were initially called to 92nd and James A Reed Road for what was described as an injury accident, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747472818903.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>While officers were still on the way the call was updated to a shooting call with a victim at 92nd Street. Initial responding officers located an adult male shooting victim outside of a vehicle just north of 92nd Street Additional responding officers were notified of an additional vehicle that had crashed at 93rd and James A. Reed Road.&nbsp; Additional officers responded to that location and found a vehicle that had crashed there with one adult male shooting victim inside the vehicle.EMS responded to both locations and declared both victims deceased at the scene. Homicide detectives are working to determine the sequence of events that led to the shooting.&nbsp;

KCPD: 2 dead after report of crash and shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a setback, House Republicans failed Friday to push their big&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-big-beautiful-bill-medicaid-cuts-125ad670515460108ded062029abd8c8">package of tax breaks and spending cuts</a>&nbsp;through the Budget Committee, as a handful of conservatives joined all Democrats in a stunning vote against it.

The hard-right lawmakers are insisting on steeper spending cuts to Medicaid and the Biden-era green energy tax breaks, among other changes, before they will give their support to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;"beautiful” bill. They warn the tax cuts alone would pile onto the nation's $36 trillion debt.

The failed vote, 16-21, stalls, for now, House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Speaker Mike Johnson's</a>&nbsp;push to have the package approved next week.&nbsp;Kansas 4th District Congressman Ron Estes voted for the bill.

The Budget Committee plans to reconvene Sunday to try again. Lawmakers vowed to negotiate into the weekend as Trump is returning to Washington from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-saudi-arabia-human-rights-f005cb14a8a0d51b1963a05215305d04">the Middle East</a>.&nbsp;

“Something needs to change or you’re not going to get my support,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

Tallying a whopping 1,116 pages,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25944505-one-big-beautiful-bill/">the One Big Beautiful Bill Act</a>, named with a nod to Trump, is teetering at a critical moment. Johnson is determined to resolve the problems with the package that he believes will inject a dose of stability into into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/walmart-earnings-tariff-consumers-inflation-773f7de5081c40a98c98fbb293fa5f96">a wavering economy</a>.

With few votes to spare from his slim majority, the Republicans are trying to pass it over the staunch objections of Democrats who slammed the package as a “big, bad bill,” or as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called it, “one big, beautiful betrayal.”

Ahead of Friday's vote, Trump had implored his party to fall in line.

“Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’” the Republican president posted on social media. "We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”

The Budget panel is one of the final stops before the package is sent to the full House floor for a vote, which is still expected sometime next week. Typically, the job of the Budget Committee is more administrative as it compiles the work of 11 committees that drew up various parts of the big bill.

But Friday’s meeting proved momentous even before the votes were tallied.

The conservatives, many from the Freedom Caucus, had been warning they would block the bill, as they holdout for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-tax-cuts-republicans-medicaid-67013369b771d02c0128ee6421f302eb">steeper cuts.</a>&nbsp;At the same time, GOP lawmakers from high-tax states including New York are demanding a deeper tax deduction, known as SALT, for their constituents.

Four Republican conservatives initially voted against the package — Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia. Then one, Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, switched his vote to no in a procedural step so it could be reconsidered later, saying afterward he was confident they’d “get this done.”

Norman insisted he was not defying the president — “this isn't a 'grandstand,’” he said — as he and the others push from Trump's priorities.

In their quest for deeper reductions, the conservatives are particularly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-cuts-trump-tax-cuts-bill-1e2b12a91a3d12ceb0420ce7053de58e">eyeing Medicaid</a>, the health care program for some 70 million Americans. They want new work requirements for aid recipients to start immediately, rather than on Jan. 1, 2029, as the package proposes.

Democrats emphasized that millions of people would lose their health coverage and food stamps assistance if the bill passes while the wealthiest Americans would reap enormous tax cuts. They also said it would increase future deficits.

“That is bad economics. It is unconscionable,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democratic lawmaker on the panel.

At the same time, talks are also underway with the New Yorkers have been unrelenting in their demand for a much larger SALT deduction than what is proposed in the bill, which could send the overall cost of the package skyrocketing.

As it stands, the bill proposes tripling what's currently a $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, increasing it to $30,000 for joint filers with incomes up to $400,000 a year.

Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the New York lawmakers leading the SALT effort, said they have proposed a deduction of $62,000 for single filers and $124,000 for joint filers.

The conservatives and the New Yorkers are at odds, each jockeying as Johnson labors to pass the package from the House by Memorial Day and send it onto the Senate.

At its core, the sprawling package extends&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2d9e099660064f2b8a8fc2237b4e7e4e">the existing income tax cuts</a>&nbsp;that were approved during Trump's first term, in 2017, and adds new ones that the president campaigned on in 2024, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-taxes-social-security-overtime-tariffs-989016ef41dc1533b05d1871d69c03ff">no taxes on tips</a>, overtime pay and some auto loans.

It increases some tax breaks for middle-income earners, including a bolstered standard deduction of $32,000 for joint filers and a temporary $500 boost to the child tax credit, bringing it to $2,500.

It also provides an infusion of $350 billion for Trump’s deportation agenda and to bolster the Pentagon.

To offset more than $5 trillion in lost revenue, the package proposes rolling back other tax breaks, namely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-clean-energy-solar-wind-tax-biden-trump-16ea35d4543e95e94136cfa8174fa2b9">the green energy tax credits</a>&nbsp;approved as part of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Some conservatives want those to end immediately.

The package also seeks to cover the costs by slashing more than $1 trillion from health care and food assistance programs over the course of a decade, in part by imposing work requirements on able-bodied adults.

Certain Medicaid recipients would need to engage in 80 hours a month of work or other community options to receive health care. Older Americans receiving food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would also see the program's current work requirement for able-bodied participants without dependents extended to include those ages 55-64. States would also be required to shoulder a greater share of the program's cost.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 7.6 million fewer people with health insurance and about 3 million a month fewer SNAP recipients with the changes.

While Republicans insist the package will pay for itself, partly with economic growth, outside budget analysts are skeptical and say it will add trillions of dollars to the nation's deficits and debt.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747416319424.png" alt="Kansas 4th District Congressman Ron Estes during Friday's roll call vote in the House Budget Committee" />
 <figcaption>Kansas 4th District Congressman Ron Estes during Friday's roll call vote in the House Budget Committee</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — In a setback, House Republicans failed Friday to push their big&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-big-beautiful-bill-medicaid-cuts-125ad670515460108ded062029abd8c8">package of tax breaks and spending cuts</a>&nbsp;through the Budget Committee, as a handful of conservatives joined all Democrats in a stunning vote against it.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">House Budget Committee fails to advance GOP tax and spending bill with multiple conservative hardliners joining Democrats in voting against the bill: <a href="https://t.co/zczrdhSW4k">pic.twitter.com/zczrdhSW4k</a>&mdash; TheBlaze (@theblaze) <a href="https://twitter.com/theblaze/status/1923417131829371347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The hard-right lawmakers are insisting on steeper spending cuts to Medicaid and the Biden-era green energy tax breaks, among other changes, before they will give their support to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;"beautiful” bill. They warn the tax cuts alone would pile onto the nation's $36 trillion debt.The failed vote, 16-21, stalls, for now, House&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Speaker Mike Johnson's</a>&nbsp;push to have the package approved next week.&nbsp;Kansas 4th District Congressman Ron Estes voted for the bill.The Budget Committee plans to reconvene Sunday to try again. Lawmakers vowed to negotiate into the weekend as Trump is returning to Washington from&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-saudi-arabia-human-rights-f005cb14a8a0d51b1963a05215305d04">the Middle East</a>.&nbsp;“Something needs to change or you’re not going to get my support,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.Tallying a whopping 1,116 pages,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25944505-one-big-beautiful-bill/">the One Big Beautiful Bill Act</a>, named with a nod to Trump, is teetering at a critical moment. Johnson is determined to resolve the problems with the package that he believes will inject a dose of stability into into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/walmart-earnings-tariff-consumers-inflation-773f7de5081c40a98c98fbb293fa5f96">a wavering economy</a>.With few votes to spare from his slim majority, the Republicans are trying to pass it over the staunch objections of Democrats who slammed the package as a “big, bad bill,” or as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called it, “one big, beautiful betrayal.”Ahead of Friday's vote, Trump had implored his party to fall in line.“Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’” the Republican president posted on social media. "We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”The Budget panel is one of the final stops before the package is sent to the full House floor for a vote, which is still expected sometime next week. Typically, the job of the Budget Committee is more administrative as it compiles the work of 11 committees that drew up various parts of the big bill.But Friday’s meeting proved momentous even before the votes were tallied.The conservatives, many from the Freedom Caucus, had been warning they would block the bill, as they holdout for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-tax-cuts-republicans-medicaid-67013369b771d02c0128ee6421f302eb">steeper cuts.</a>&nbsp;At the same time, GOP lawmakers from high-tax states including New York are demanding a deeper tax deduction, known as SALT, for their constituents.Four Republican conservatives initially voted against the package — Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia. Then one, Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, switched his vote to no in a procedural step so it could be reconsidered later, saying afterward he was confident they’d “get this done.”Norman insisted he was not defying the president — “this isn't a 'grandstand,’” he said — as he and the others push from Trump's priorities.In their quest for deeper reductions, the conservatives are particularly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/medicaid-cuts-trump-tax-cuts-bill-1e2b12a91a3d12ceb0420ce7053de58e">eyeing Medicaid</a>, the health care program for some 70 million Americans. They want new work requirements for aid recipients to start immediately, rather than on Jan. 1, 2029, as the package proposes.Democrats emphasized that millions of people would lose their health coverage and food stamps assistance if the bill passes while the wealthiest Americans would reap enormous tax cuts. They also said it would increase future deficits.“That is bad economics. It is unconscionable,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democratic lawmaker on the panel.At the same time, talks are also underway with the New Yorkers have been unrelenting in their demand for a much larger SALT deduction than what is proposed in the bill, which could send the overall cost of the package skyrocketing.As it stands, the bill proposes tripling what's currently a $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, increasing it to $30,000 for joint filers with incomes up to $400,000 a year.Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the New York lawmakers leading the SALT effort, said they have proposed a deduction of $62,000 for single filers and $124,000 for joint filers.The conservatives and the New Yorkers are at odds, each jockeying as Johnson labors to pass the package from the House by Memorial Day and send it onto the Senate.At its core, the sprawling package extends&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2d9e099660064f2b8a8fc2237b4e7e4e">the existing income tax cuts</a>&nbsp;that were approved during Trump's first term, in 2017, and adds new ones that the president campaigned on in 2024, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-taxes-social-security-overtime-tariffs-989016ef41dc1533b05d1871d69c03ff">no taxes on tips</a>, overtime pay and some auto loans.It increases some tax breaks for middle-income earners, including a bolstered standard deduction of $32,000 for joint filers and a temporary $500 boost to the child tax credit, bringing it to $2,500.It also provides an infusion of $350 billion for Trump’s deportation agenda and to bolster the Pentagon.To offset more than $5 trillion in lost revenue, the package proposes rolling back other tax breaks, namely&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-clean-energy-solar-wind-tax-biden-trump-16ea35d4543e95e94136cfa8174fa2b9">the green energy tax credits</a>&nbsp;approved as part of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. Some conservatives want those to end immediately.The package also seeks to cover the costs by slashing more than $1 trillion from health care and food assistance programs over the course of a decade, in part by imposing work requirements on able-bodied adults.Certain Medicaid recipients would need to engage in 80 hours a month of work or other community options to receive health care. Older Americans receiving food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would also see the program's current work requirement for able-bodied participants without dependents extended to include those ages 55-64. States would also be required to shoulder a greater share of the program's cost.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates at least 7.6 million fewer people with health insurance and about 3 million a month fewer SNAP recipients with the changes.While Republicans insist the package will pay for itself, partly with economic growth, outside budget analysts are skeptical and say it will add trillions of dollars to the nation's deficits and debt.___

🎥Despite Kan. Congressman's vote, Trump's budget bill fails

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Trump administration from quickly resuming deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law enacted when the nation was just a few years old.

Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

The court indefinitely extended the prohibition on deportations from a north Texas detention facility under the alien enemies law. The case will now go back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to intervene in April.

President Donald Trump quickly voiced his displeasure. “THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

The high court action is the latest in a string of judicial setbacks for the Trump administration’s effort to speed deportations of people in the country illegally. The president and his supporters have complained about having to provide due process for people they contend didn’t follow U.S. immigration laws.

The court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations, in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month. Officials seemed “poised to carry out removals imminently,” the court noted Friday.

Several cases related to the old deportation law are in courts

The case is among several making their way through the courts over Trump’s proclamation in March calling the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organization and invoking the 1798 law to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alien-enemies-trump-immigration-deportations-21a62ede23b8c493b60d00a9c125722f">deport people</a>.

The high court case centers on the opportunity people must have to contest their removal from the United States — without determining whether Trump's invocation of the law was appropriate.

“We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion.

At least&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-alien-enemies-act-judge-ruling-f1988c63140c95f8228b42368caed96b">three federal judges</a>&nbsp;have said Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportations-alien-enemies-act-venezuelans-texas-e0dda59f64b1f5752fb92a91ff7878f8">improperly using</a>&nbsp;the AEA to speed deportations of people the administration says are Venezuelan gang members. On Tuesday, a judge in Pennsylvania signed off on the use of the law.

The legal process for this issue is a patchwork one

The court-by-court approach to deportations under the AEA flows from another Supreme Court order that took a case away from a judge in Washington, D.C., and ruled detainees seeking to challenge their deportations must do so where they are held.

In April, the justices said that people must be given “reasonable time” to file a challenge. On Friday, the court said 24 hours is not enough time but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant. The administration has said 12 hours would be sufficient. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines ordered immigration officials to give people 21 days in her opinion, in which she otherwise said deportations could legally take place under the AEA.

The Supreme Court on Friday also made clear that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito complaining that his colleagues had departed from their usual practices and seemingly decided issues without an appeals court weighing in. “But if it has done so, today’s order is doubly extraordinary,” Alito wrote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Trump administration from quickly resuming deportations of Venezuelans under an 18th-century wartime law enacted when the nation was just a few years old.Over two dissenting votes, the justices acted on an emergency appeal from lawyers for Venezuelan men who have been accused of being gang members, a designation that the administration says makes them eligible for rapid removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.The court indefinitely extended the prohibition on deportations from a north Texas detention facility under the alien enemies law. The case will now go back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to intervene in April.President Donald Trump quickly voiced his displeasure. “THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.The high court action is the latest in a string of judicial setbacks for the Trump administration’s effort to speed deportations of people in the country illegally. The president and his supporters have complained about having to provide due process for people they contend didn’t follow U.S. immigration laws.The court had already called a temporary halt to the deportations, in a middle-of-the-night order issued last month. Officials seemed “poised to carry out removals imminently,” the court noted Friday.<h2>Several cases related to the old deportation law are in courts</h2>The case is among several making their way through the courts over Trump’s proclamation in March calling the Tren de Aragua gang a foreign terrorist organization and invoking the 1798 law to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/alien-enemies-trump-immigration-deportations-21a62ede23b8c493b60d00a9c125722f">deport people</a>.The high court case centers on the opportunity people must have to contest their removal from the United States — without determining whether Trump's invocation of the law was appropriate.“We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” the justices said in an unsigned opinion.At least&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-alien-enemies-act-judge-ruling-f1988c63140c95f8228b42368caed96b">three federal judges</a>&nbsp;have said Trump was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportations-alien-enemies-act-venezuelans-texas-e0dda59f64b1f5752fb92a91ff7878f8">improperly using</a>&nbsp;the AEA to speed deportations of people the administration says are Venezuelan gang members. On Tuesday, a judge in Pennsylvania signed off on the use of the law.<h2>The legal process for this issue is a patchwork one</h2>The court-by-court approach to deportations under the AEA flows from another Supreme Court order that took a case away from a judge in Washington, D.C., and ruled detainees seeking to challenge their deportations must do so where they are held.In April, the justices said that people must be given “reasonable time” to file a challenge. On Friday, the court said 24 hours is not enough time but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant. The administration has said 12 hours would be sufficient. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines ordered immigration officials to give people 21 days in her opinion, in which she otherwise said deportations could legally take place under the AEA.The Supreme Court on Friday also made clear that it was not blocking other ways the government may deport people.Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Alito complaining that his colleagues had departed from their usual practices and seemingly decided issues without an appeals court weighing in. “But if it has done so, today’s order is doubly extraordinary,” Alito wrote.

Court extends block on Trump’s use of 1798 law for deportations

By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/rebecca-santana">REBECCA SANTANA</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/eric-tucker">ERIC TUCKER</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey">Former FBI Director James Comey</a>&nbsp;was being interviewed by the Secret Service on Friday about a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/comey-trump-threat-shells-deleted-post-39b37b1d36c0463d3dad41a3d1339d4e">social media post</a>&nbsp;that Republicans insisted was a call for violence against President Donald Trump, according to a law enforcement official.

The interview is part of an ongoing Trump administration investigation and is expected to help investigators assess the purpose and intent of the post and whether Comey intended to communicate a threat to the president, which he flatly denied. Any decision on whether charges should be filed would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump said Friday, though there’s a high bar in proving that comments or posts amount to direct threats of violence.

The official who confirmed the interview, which is standard for the Secret Service while investigating comments perceived as potentially threatening, was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

At issue is an Instagram post from Thursday in which Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”

Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/86" target="_blank">86 is slang</a>&nbsp;meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”

Numerous Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, asserted that Comey was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau was also supporting the investigation.

Asked about it Friday during a Fox News interview, Trump said: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”

He deflected a question on what he thought should happen, saying the decision would be up to Bondi.

The post was deleted Thursday after it was made, with Comey subsequently writing: “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.

Trump and Comey have had a fraught dynamic dating back nearly a decade.

Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed four years earlier by then-President Barack Obama and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bush’s administration.

But the relationship was strained from the start, including after Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president -- an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0">Trump fired Comey in May 2017</a>&nbsp;amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747360229157.png" alt="From Comey's now deleted Instagram" />
 <figcaption>From Comey's now deleted Instagram</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/rebecca-santana">REBECCA SANTANA</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/eric-tucker">ERIC TUCKER</a>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/james-comey">Former FBI Director James Comey</a>&nbsp;was being interviewed by the Secret Service on Friday about a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/comey-trump-threat-shells-deleted-post-39b37b1d36c0463d3dad41a3d1339d4e">social media post</a>&nbsp;that Republicans insisted was a call for violence against President Donald Trump, according to a law enforcement official.The interview is part of an ongoing Trump administration investigation and is expected to help investigators assess the purpose and intent of the post and whether Comey intended to communicate a threat to the president, which he flatly denied. Any decision on whether charges should be filed would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump said Friday, though there’s a high bar in proving that comments or posts amount to direct threats of violence.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump. We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.&mdash; FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1923151715777356062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The official who confirmed the interview, which is standard for the Secret Service while investigating comments perceived as potentially threatening, was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.At issue is an Instagram post from Thursday in which Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/86" target="_blank">86 is slang</a>&nbsp;meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”Numerous Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, asserted that Comey was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau was also supporting the investigation.Asked about it Friday during a Fox News interview, Trump said: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”He deflected a question on what he thought should happen, saying the decision would be up to Bondi.The post was deleted Thursday after it was made, with Comey subsequently writing: “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.Trump and Comey have had a fraught dynamic dating back nearly a decade.Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed four years earlier by then-President Barack Obama and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bush’s administration.But the relationship was strained from the start, including after Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president -- an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-government-4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0">Trump fired Comey in May 2017</a>&nbsp;amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration.

Ex-FBI Director meets with Secret Service over '8647' post

HUTCHINSON, Kansas –&nbsp;Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) resident Tony Payne, 34, died Thursday, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

 He was found unresponsive in his cell Thursday evening. Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived. Payne was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased by medical staff. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.

Payne was serving a 46-month sentence for a violation of the Kansas Offender Registration Act. He was listed as a registered offender since May of 2018 for convictions in Sedgwick County for aggravated assault; use of a deadly weapon, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. He had a dozen convictions for violent crimes and drugs.

Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the KDOC, the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1747410602071.png" alt="Payne photo KDOC" />
 <figcaption>Payne photo KDOC</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON, Kansas –&nbsp;Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) resident Tony Payne, 34, died Thursday, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections. He was found unresponsive in his cell Thursday evening. Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived. Payne was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased by medical staff. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.Payne was serving a 46-month sentence for a violation of the Kansas Offender Registration Act. He was listed as a registered offender since May of 2018 for convictions in Sedgwick County for aggravated assault; use of a deadly weapon, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. He had a dozen convictions for violent crimes and drugs.Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the KDOC, the death is under investigation by the KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

Violent offender in Kanas prison has died 

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump used the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-mideast-saudi-arabia-mbs-qatar-uae-b782fe922d09afced2e1074b65016e80">first major foreign trip</a>&nbsp;of his second term to outline a vision for restoring global stability that is grounded in pragmatism and self-interest rather than values, holding out U.S. ties to wealthy Gulf countries as a model for America’s longtime foes.

His four-day swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which ends Friday, put a spotlight on Trump’s transactional approach to foreign affairs as he was feted by autocratic rulers with a trio of lavish state visits where there was heavy emphasis on economic and security partnerships.

His trip played out against the backdrop of stubborn global conflicts, including Gaza and Ukraine, that showed the limits of his influence. But Trump insisted he was turning the page on American “interventionalism” in the region as he moved to recognize the new government in Syria for the first time and prodded Iran to engage on nuclear talks before it’s too late.

Trump marveled at Gulf state opulence but held his tongue on human rights

Presidential trips to the Middle East usually feature at least some public calls for authoritarian governments to improve their human rights efforts. Not this one, as Trump celebrated his business deals with Gulf royals and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-air-force-one-white-house-wealth-mideast-c1e47bb068337293c360c53f7e542e59">admired their wealth</a>.

Trump toured the marble and gilded palaces of Gulf rulers and deemed them “perfecto” and “very hard to buy.” He praised the “gleaming marvels” of the skyline in Saudi Arabia. And he groused about the “much less impressive” Air Force One.

In Trump’s remarks at a VIP business conference in Riyadh, he went out of his way to distance himself from the actions of past administrations, the days when he said American officials would fly in “in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.”

Rights advocates took that as a pledge of nonintervention, swearing off some of the pressure past U.S. presidents have brought to bear on partners to varying degrees to ease up on detentions, suppression of critics and other issues.

“It’s absolute support for absolute monarchy,” said Saudi exile Abdullah Alaoudh. His father, a Saudi cleric with a wide following there, is imprisoned in the kingdom.

Some rights advocates said Trump officials gave them private assurances the administration was working on behalf of detained Americans and rights advocates. Tommy Pigott, a deputy spokesman at the State Department, declined to say whether Trump raised those or other rights issues in discussions with Gulf royals.

While Trump was in the Mideast, Vladimir Putin opted to skip direct peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the U.S. president's strong calls for them to meet face to face.

Trump has been pushing Putin and Zelenskyy to move with greater haste to end Russia's grinding war in Ukraine.

But after it became clear Putin wouldn’t be attending talks in Turkey this week and would instead be sending underlings to Istanbul, an annoyed Trump insisted he knew all along that it was highly likely Putin would be a no-show.

“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."

As he wrapped up his visit on Friday, Trump said the face-to-face would happen "as soon as we can set it up.”

Trump was scheduled to fly back to Washington on Friday, but tried to keep people guessing until the end. He teased late Thursday that he would be heading to a “destination unknown” — “probably" Washington, he added. His opaque language stoked speculation that he might make a drop-by to Turkey.

But on Friday morning, he told reporters he needed to get back to Washington. His daughter Tiffany had her first child while the president has been away.

“I would actually leave here and go,” Trump said. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”

On Syria sanctions, Trump takes a leap of faith

Just two months ago, the Trump administration wasn’t sold on Syria’s interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime al-Qaida-affiliated insurgent. They worried the Syrian president didn’t have the legitimacy to govern the country’s ethnically diverse population.

Clashes broke out in early March, killing hundreds and targeting many more members of the Alawite religious minority to which the ousted Syrian leader Basher Assad belongs.

The moment gave the Trump White House pause about easing sanctions on Syria. But Trump signaled Monday that he was having a change of heart and was moving toward lifting the Syria sanctions. A day later, he announced the move during an address to Gulf leaders.

Trump then took it another step by agreeing to meet al-Sharaa.

Trump said he was impressed with al-Sharaa, who not that long ago had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. The president called him a “young, attractive guy” with a "very strong past.”

Trump said it was recommendations from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that nudged him to take a chance on al-Sharra.

“President Erdogan called me and said: ‘Is there any way you could do that? Because if you don’t do that, they don’t have a chance,’” Trump said. “So, I did it.”

Throughout the trip, Trump felt more than comfortable dishing out exaggeration and hyperbole.

“This has been an amazing trip.” Trump told reporters Thursday as Air Force One was about to land in Qatar. “We’ve raised trillions of dollars of investment for our country.” A little later he put the figure at $4 trillion.

BU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump used the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-mideast-saudi-arabia-mbs-qatar-uae-b782fe922d09afced2e1074b65016e80">first major foreign trip</a>&nbsp;of his second term to outline a vision for restoring global stability that is grounded in pragmatism and self-interest rather than values, holding out U.S. ties to wealthy Gulf countries as a model for America’s longtime foes.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">BREAKING: The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai just lit up in the American 🇺🇸 flag on the occasion of President Trump’s visit tonight to the UAE. <a href="https://t.co/DqFgM3AVV7">pic.twitter.com/DqFgM3AVV7</a>&mdash; حسن سجواني 🇦🇪 Hassan Sajwani (@HSajwanization) <a href="https://twitter.com/HSajwanization/status/1923074780514677064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Pres. Trump receives the “Order of Sheikh Zayed&quot; from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE الحساب الرسمي لصاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان رئيس دولة الإمارات <a href="https://t.co/6JjKacd0RS">pic.twitter.com/6JjKacd0RS</a>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1923064396680478760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump leaves a message of unity to the people of the UAE after signing the guest book at the Abrahamic Family House. 🇺🇸🇦🇪 “Great unity, great faith, incredible people, with a tremendous leader who is a friend of mine.” <a href="https://t.co/lcg5UF9P2s">pic.twitter.com/lcg5UF9P2s</a>&mdash; The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1923327926453391744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It’s 1am, can’t believe we have President Donald J. Trump sleeping in our county tonight. 🇦🇪 47 🇺🇸 is here tonight <a href="https://t.co/3AWJnTuqhA">pic.twitter.com/3AWJnTuqhA</a>&mdash; حسن سجواني 🇦🇪 Hassan Sajwani (@HSajwanization) <a href="https://twitter.com/HSajwanization/status/1923122198467723741?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The welcome ceremony in UAE continues! 🇺🇸🇦🇪 <a href="https://t.co/sXqS1IboMN">pic.twitter.com/sXqS1IboMN</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1922995639455044017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 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/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> enters Lusail Palace in Doha <a href="https://t.co/2vTplRuKWl">pic.twitter.com/2vTplRuKWl</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1922707603861233712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 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/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>&#39;s motorcade is escorted into Lusail Palace for the Qatari State Dinner 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/bh8Hq0Ug3O">pic.twitter.com/bh8Hq0Ug3O</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1922702397605818755?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> is greeted by the Emir of Qatar 🇺🇸🇶🇦 <a href="https://t.co/G6iH4IM5ll">pic.twitter.com/G6iH4IM5ll</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1922615197832806481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A view from above as F-15QA Multirole Strike Fighters of the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) escort Air Force One into Qatar🇺🇸🇶🇦 <a href="https://t.co/nzpk2L8Cds">pic.twitter.com/nzpk2L8Cds</a>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1922640677671747983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 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://t.co/NYEH8e1Vhk">pic.twitter.com/NYEH8e1Vhk</a>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1923306778009199040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 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/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> arrives at the Amiri Diwan in Doha 🇺🇸🇶🇦 <a href="https://t.co/CZt28tCBid">pic.twitter.com/CZt28tCBid</a>&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1922621220089983248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560"><a href="https://t.co/B50cJQRcpL">pic.twitter.com/B50cJQRcpL</a>&mdash; Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1923344460638736746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Qatari F-15’s providing honorary escort for Air Force One! 🇺🇸🇶🇦 <a href="https://t.co/nUsif3HWrh">pic.twitter.com/nUsif3HWrh</a>&mdash; Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1922607930374844426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>His four-day swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which ends Friday, put a spotlight on Trump’s transactional approach to foreign affairs as he was feted by autocratic rulers with a trio of lavish state visits where there was heavy emphasis on economic and security partnerships.His trip played out against the backdrop of stubborn global conflicts, including Gaza and Ukraine, that showed the limits of his influence. But Trump insisted he was turning the page on American “interventionalism” in the region as he moved to recognize the new government in Syria for the first time and prodded Iran to engage on nuclear talks before it’s too late.Some takeaways from Trump’s travels:<h2>Trump marveled at Gulf state opulence but held his tongue on human rights</h2>Presidential trips to the Middle East usually feature at least some public calls for authoritarian governments to improve their human rights efforts. Not this one, as Trump celebrated his business deals with Gulf royals and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-air-force-one-white-house-wealth-mideast-c1e47bb068337293c360c53f7e542e59">admired their wealth</a>.Trump toured the marble and gilded palaces of Gulf rulers and deemed them “perfecto” and “very hard to buy.” He praised the “gleaming marvels” of the skyline in Saudi Arabia. And he groused about the “much less impressive” Air Force One.In Trump’s remarks at a VIP business conference in Riyadh, he went out of his way to distance himself from the actions of past administrations, the days when he said American officials would fly in “in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.”Rights advocates took that as a pledge of nonintervention, swearing off some of the pressure past U.S. presidents have brought to bear on partners to varying degrees to ease up on detentions, suppression of critics and other issues.“It’s absolute support for absolute monarchy,” said Saudi exile Abdullah Alaoudh. His father, a Saudi cleric with a wide following there, is imprisoned in the kingdom.Some rights advocates said Trump officials gave them private assurances the administration was working on behalf of detained Americans and rights advocates. Tommy Pigott, a deputy spokesman at the State Department, declined to say whether Trump raised those or other rights issues in discussions with Gulf royals.<h2>Thwarted by Putin</h2>While Trump was in the Mideast, Vladimir Putin opted to skip direct peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the U.S. president's strong calls for them to meet face to face.Trump has been pushing Putin and Zelenskyy to move with greater haste to end Russia's grinding war in Ukraine.But after it became clear Putin wouldn’t be attending talks in Turkey this week and would instead be sending underlings to Istanbul, an annoyed Trump insisted he knew all along that it was highly likely Putin would be a no-show.“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."As he wrapped up his visit on Friday, Trump said the face-to-face would happen "as soon as we can set it up.”Trump was scheduled to fly back to Washington on Friday, but tried to keep people guessing until the end. He teased late Thursday that he would be heading to a “destination unknown” — “probably" Washington, he added. His opaque language stoked speculation that he might make a drop-by to Turkey.But on Friday morning, he told reporters he needed to get back to Washington. His daughter Tiffany had her first child while the president has been away.“I would actually leave here and go,” Trump said. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”<h2>On Syria sanctions, Trump takes a leap of faith</h2>Just two months ago, the Trump administration wasn’t sold on Syria’s interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime al-Qaida-affiliated insurgent. They worried the Syrian president didn’t have the legitimacy to govern the country’s ethnically diverse population.Clashes broke out in early March, killing hundreds and targeting many more members of the Alawite religious minority to which the ousted Syrian leader Basher Assad belongs.The moment gave the Trump White House pause about easing sanctions on Syria. But Trump signaled Monday that he was having a change of heart and was moving toward lifting the Syria sanctions. A day later, he announced the move during an address to Gulf leaders.Trump then took it another step by agreeing to meet al-Sharaa.Trump said he was impressed with al-Sharaa, who not that long ago had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. The president called him a “young, attractive guy” with a "very strong past.”Trump said it was recommendations from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that nudged him to take a chance on al-Sharra.“President Erdogan called me and said: ‘Is there any way you could do that? Because if you don’t do that, they don’t have a chance,’” Trump said. “So, I did it.”<h2>Trump's fuzzy math on display</h2>Throughout the trip, Trump felt more than comfortable dishing out exaggeration and hyperbole.“This has been an amazing trip.” Trump told reporters Thursday as Air Force One was about to land in Qatar. “We’ve raised trillions of dollars of investment for our country.” A little later he put the figure at $4 trillion.That figure is about two times the combined gross domestic products of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, meaning that any announced investments would likely accrue over several years — if at all — in ways that might not show up in overall U.S. economic growth numbers.Boeing confirmed that Qatar’s $96 billion purchase of its 787 and 777X jets was the largest order for 787s and wide body jets in the company’s history. Trump enthused it was “the biggest order in the history of, I think, aviation, certainly of that size” of jets.Trump also went overboard in running down the economic record of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, at one point declaring, “The days of economic misery under the last administration are rapidly giving way to the greatest economy in the history of the world.”The U.S. economy grew at 2.8% last year. It declined at an annualized rate of 0.3% during the first three months of this year.<h2>Intractable conflicts remain just that</h2>While Trump's trip initially was conceived as a visit to reward countries that invest in the United States, Trump at one point hoped it also would herald significant steps to end the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Positive news on both fronts proved elusive.Trump barely mentioned either conflict on his trip – and when he did, it was generally in the context of his assertion that they wouldn’t have occurred had he won reelection in 2020.As Israel stepped up an offensive in Gaza — a prelude to a promised full takeover of the territory if Hamas doesn’t release the remaining hostages in its captivity — Trump was again musing about the creation of a “freedom zone” in its territory. It's a notion rejected by Palestinians and the broader Arab world because Trump's plan would relocate civilians from Gaza to allow for rebuilding.Israel conducted significant airstrikes all week in Gaza as Trump was in the region and the fighting on the ground appeared to escalate Friday morning even before Trump left the UAE.Meanwhile, Trump said “a lot of people are starving” in Gaza, a rare acknowledgement of the humanitarian crisis in the territory. Speaking to reporters at a business forum in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip to the Middle East, Trump said, “We’re looking at Gaza.”“And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”<h2>Ethics issues follow along as Trump travels the Mideast</h2>Trump was already facing questions about conflicts of interest for traveling to the Middle East to shape U.S. policy at a time when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-business-interests-family-middle-east-cryptocurrency-cbb7d2354304ce0308800819944cf3f8">his family’s business interests in the region have boomed</a>. He attempted to quiet&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-qatar-air-force-one-2ef13d87b71185bde547abe6840b098c">worries about national security</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emoluments-clause-trump-jet-qatar-56f995acb57eb741b0214aba5e7e8220">constitutional questions</a>&nbsp;by insisting he’s smart to accept a $400 million luxury plane from Qatar and use it as Air Force One.“Why should our military, and therefore our taxpayers, be forced to pay hundreds of millions of Dollars when they can get it for FREE,” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114503203859060399">posted on his social media site</a>&nbsp;during his Middle East swing.The president also dodged questions about a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi using a Trump family-aligned&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-crypto-world-liberty-truth-social-etf-f11c47a99ea618aa06df4dd47b150800">stablecoin</a>&nbsp;for a $2 billion investment in the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.“I don’t know anything about it,” he said.Beyond that, the Trump family has piled up deals to license its brand for real estate projects, and to build Trump towers and golf courses, around the Middle East. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says it’s “frankly ridiculous” to wonder if those profits might influence Trump’s governing decisions.___Madhani reported from Dubai. Associated Press writers Josh Boak, Will Weissert and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.