AP-Newswatch

Trump’s suggestion the US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump’s proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents has been swiftly rejected and denounced by American allies and adversaries alike. Saudi Arabia weighed in quickly, noting the kingdom’s long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position.” Similarly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters that his country has long supported a two-state solution in the Middle East and that nothing has changed. the militant Hamas group, which sparked the war with its attack on Israel, called the proposal a “recipe for creating chaos” in the region.

Trump’s demand that US aid workers return home sparks outrage in Washington and anxiety overseas

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. aid staffers worldwide are scrambling for answers and starting to pack up households or pull their children from school. That turmoil follows a sudden Trump administration order yanking almost all of them off the job and out of the field. In Washington, Democratic lawmakers and other supporters of the U.S. Agency for International Development plan rallies Wednesday to protest the dismantling of the independent aid agency that was established six decades ago. USAID has been one of the agencies hardest hit as the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s budget-slashing team target federal programs it says are wasteful or not aligned with a conservative agenda.

US officials now say Trump only wants to displace Palestinians from Gaza temporarily

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — President Donald Trump’s top diplomat and his main spokesperson are walking back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after American allies and even Republican lawmakers rebuffed his suggestion that the U.S. take “ownership” of the territory. Trump had called for “permanently” resettling Palestinians from war-torn Gaza and left open the door to deploying American troops there as part of a massive rebuilding operation. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday he only sought to move roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily to allow for reconstruction. Even that proposal has drawn criticism from Palestinians and Arab nations that Trump has called on to take them in.

Trump’s birthright citizenship order is put on hold by a second federal judge

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland has ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally. Trump’s inauguration week order was already on temporary hold nationally because of a separate suit brought by four states in Washington state. In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman heard arguments in Maryland federal court on Wednesday. Bringing the suit before Boardman are immigrant-rights advocacy groups CASA and Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, and a handful of expectant mothers.

Thousands protest Trump administration policies in cities across the US

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside a federal courthouse in Philadelphia and at state capitols in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana to protest the early actions of President Donald Trump’s administration. Protesters waved signs decrying Trump; billionaire Elon Musk; and the hard-right playbook for American government and society known as Project 2025. The protests were a result of a movement that has organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Websites and accounts across social media issued calls for action, with messages such as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.”

Trump’s Gaza plan has stunned the region. Here’s a look at the serious obstacles it faces

President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly transfer hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip and develop faces some major obstacle. The Palestinians don’t want to leave and the Arab world doesn’t want another refugee crisis. If Trump pushes ahead anyway, it could undermine the Gaza ceasefire, stop the release of hostages held by Hamas and further delay Israel’s hope-for normalization with Saudi Arabia. But there is another possibility: That Trump’s proposal is an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at eventually securing the kind of Middle East mega-deal he says he is seeking.

Trump and Musk’s dismantling of government is shaking the foundations of US democracy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is proving little match for the Department of Government Efficiency as wary lawmakers watch it march through the bureaucracy. When Elon Musk debuted DOGE at the Capitol recently, House Speaker Mike Johnson enthusiastically predicted the coming Trump administration would bring “a lot of change.” Three weeks in, the change the Republican administration has brought is a disruption of the federal government on an unprecedented scale. Longstanding programs are being dismantled, sparking widespread public outcry and challenging the very role of Congress to create the nation’s laws and pay its bills. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says whatever DOGE is doing, it’s certainly not what democracy looks like.

Sweden’s worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead, including the gunman

OREBRO, Sweden (AP) — Sweden’s worst mass shooting has left at least 11 people dead including the gunman and five seriously wounded at an adult education center. Police believe the perpetrator acted alone but hadn’t said by Wednesday if he was a student or what his motive may have been. Tuesday’s shooting occurred at a school on the outskirts of Orebro, west of Stockholm. It offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. Gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden.

Racial gap widened in deaths among US moms around the time of childbirth

NEW YORK (AP) — Black women in the U.S. died at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women around the time of childbirth in 2023. That’s according to federal health data released Wednesday. The new report shows maternal mortality fell below prepandemic levels overall but racial gaps widened. In 2021 and 2022, the maternal death rate for Black women was about 2.6 times higher than white women. Drawing from death certificates, the CDC counted women who died while pregnant, during childbirth, and up to 42 days after birth. Accidental deaths are excluded. One expert says the data suggest that COVID-19 impacted all pregnant women, but the postpandemic return to normal also included the factors that drive the racial gap.

Aliens, sloths and silliness: Super Bowl ads offer laughs, celebs and surprises to win over viewers

NEW YORK (AP) — Eugene Levy’s trademark eyebrows fly off for Little Caesars. A tongue dances to Shania Twain to promote Nestle’s Coffee Mate Cold Foam. And Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunite at Katz’s in an ad for Hellmann’s. A frenzied mix of silliness and celebrities is hitting the airwaves and the Internet, and that means one thing: it is Super Bowl ad time again. Like every year, it’s an intense battle to capture the attention of the more than 120 million viewers expected to tune into the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Fox on Sunday. So veteran advertisers are using tried-and-true tactics like celebrity cameos, humor and cute animals to win over watchers, while first-time and newer advertisers are courting outrageousness and using stunts to try to stand out.