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Category: Associated Press

  • President Donald Trump unveils the new Air Force One, a converted Qatari jet

    President Donald Trump unveils the new Air Force One, a converted Qatari jet

    ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — President Donald Trump on Friday showed off the new Air Force One, a formerly Qatari-owned jumbo jet that has been converted into the official U.S. presidential aircraft.

    The new aircraft eschews the Kennedy-era robin’s egg blue exterior of the old plane for a bolder look, with the underbelly of the plane painted navy blue with a red stripe above it. The plane’s left side, where the president boards, features the presidential seal, while the tail of the aircraft has a massive American flag on it.

    “This plane was transformed into a flying White House at a level of luxury that nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said from inside the massive Andrews Air Force Base hangar, as a couple of hundred assembled Air Force personnel looked on. He spoke after stepping off the new plane in a dramatic flourish, as his signature tune “God Bless the USA” played.

    He confirmed that he would be taking the new jet to the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, next month and indicated he would be returning to China “at some point,” presumably a reference to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that China is hosting in November. His return from the Group of Seven summit in France this week was the last planned trip aboard the old Air Force One, he said.

    “Now, when we land at airports in London and in Germany and different places, nobody tops this one, and that’s the way we have to have it for our country,” Trump said, noting that the colors and the design were to “my taste, I will say.”

    He added that the new Air Force One will do a flyover during the July 4 celebrations next month.

    The gift from Qatar is serving as a so-called “bridge” aircraft to carry the president until the new planes ordered directly from Boeing arrive. That delivery is currently slated for 2028.

    The administration formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jet from Qatar last year to be used as the presidential airplane, despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign government. Trump has insisted in the past that he would not fly around in the Qatari jet once he leaves office and said it would instead be donated to a future presidential library.

    Trump on Friday said the U.S. was in a “little bit of a logjam” as they awaited the delivery of the new jets directly from Boeing, which had originally been scheduled for 2024 but have been delayed. He recalled asking the emir of Qatar for use of one of their planes.

    “See, a normal president wouldn’t do this. A normal president wants to stay away from aircraft,” Trump said Friday. “But our country has to be represented properly.”

    The Air Force said in a news release Friday that any plane deemed Air Force One “must meet rigorous security requirements” and that the Qatari plane “was modified under a disciplined engineering approach that prioritized these exact core capabilities above all else.” The Air Force also said “much of the previous head of state interior layout” of the plane was kept intact.

    The Air Force has said in the past that security modifications to the jet would cost less than $400 million.

    Trump’s efforts to reimagine the presidential airplane date back to his first administration, when he directed that an incoming fleet of new jets would adopt a color scheme that was nearly identical to that of his personal airplane. Then-President Joe Biden reversed the decision in March 2023 as an Air Force review suggested that the darker colors could increase costs and delay delivery of the new jets, but once Trump returned to office, he returned to his desired colors for the plane.

    Other government jets that carry other top administration officials will also use the similar red, white, and navy color scheme, the Air Force said earlier this year.

    An Air Force spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, told the Associated Press that the two current planes, known as VC-25As, will not be retiring. Instead, they will remain in the fleet until the new Boeing planes, referred to as VC-25Bs, come into service, the spokesperson said.

    It is unclear how the older jets will be used but the spokesperson said that both the Qatari jet as well as the VC-25As will be available for use and “the Presidential Airlift Group will select the appropriate aircraft for each mission based on operational requirements.”

  • A year after smashing a locker, Wyndham Clark finds himself leading at another U.S. Open

    A year after smashing a locker, Wyndham Clark finds himself leading at another U.S. Open

    SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The smashed-up locker at Oakmont last year is as much a part of Wyndham Clark’s resume as the U.S. Open title he won two years before that.

    Such is life in a world teeming with cell phone cameras and viral video. Such is life in professional golf, a sport built on managing failure and harnessing emotions — and where success one week, or one year, doesn’t always carry over to the next.

    Clark’s spot at the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard after his second round at Shinnecock on Friday brought up expected reminders of his emotion-filled journey through a sport — a life, really — that Clark himself acknowledged nobody truly conquers.

    “I was on top of the world in my game, at least when I won the U.S. Open, and then had some good years,” the 32-year-old said. “Then, next thing you know, I’m apologizing for breaking a locker.”

    Much as tennis great John McEnroe will always have “You cannot be serious!” alongside the seven grand slam singles titles he won in another of sports’ biggest pressure cookers, Clark will always have the broken locker at Oakmont. He will always have the underhanded fling of the driver that smashed an advertising board and snapped off the clubhead at the PGA Championship, a few months before the locker debacle.

    Because of that, he’ll probably also always have his share of detractors and critics — people watching for some brilliance on the golf course, but also waiting for the next big blowup.

    “I’m fierce, competitive, love the game, respect the game, and I just had a bad moment,” Clark said. “Hopefully I can win those people back.”

    His breakthrough three years ago at LA Country Club was tinged with tears and stories of the personal growth Clark had to make to reach that point.

    Much of it had to do with the emotional residue left from his mom’s death in 2013 — a family tragedy that he conceded had left him spiraling.

    “I didn’t show any emotion off the course,” Clark explained after his victory that day. “But when I was on the golf course, I couldn’t have been angrier.”

    The easy way for the armchair psychologists (and sports pundits) to explain things after that win was to conclude that Clark’s victory proved he had harnessed the emotion, turned the page and beaten back all the demons.

    It’s never that simple.

    “For any of us, this is a process,” Clark’s sports psychologist, Julie Elion, wrote in her new book ’Mastering Your Mental Game.” “Golfers don’t reach the top and then stay there forever.”

    Clark followed the U.S. Open win with 18 months of good golf, including a win at Pebble Beach. Last year was something different — he only had two top-10 finishes, did not make the FedEx Cup playoffs and was nowhere to be seen at the Ryder Cup.

    “Mastering our mental game in golf or reaching a state of growth or self-improvement in life isn’t always a permanent condition,” Elion wrote. “It takes more work over more years, and there are frequently hills and valleys.”

    At Shinnecock, Clark held a four-shot lead after his second round. Heading into the weekend, he finds himself back on the rise again. He recently took to social media to tell the world he had a new girlfriend, Emily Tanner, who held hands with him as they exited the 18th green after Friday’s round of 1-under 69.

    Four weeks ago, Clark won the Byron Nelson for his first victory in 28 months.

    “I kind of looked at it objectively and took a bird’s-eye view on it and said, ‘OK, I’m not hitting it good off the tee, I’m not putting as good as I was,’” he explained about his turnaround. “And I said, ‘All right, I’ve got to attack that.’”

    He hired a swing coach, Pat Coyner at Cherry Hills, near where Clark grew up outside of Denver.

    He’s been hitting his driver straighter of late. His iron game has improved dramatically (up 110 spots in the analytic-driven stat: strokes gained on approach shots). He found a new putter, which has helped him dial in dramatically over the past four weeks, during which he also finished third at the Memorial and played in the final group last Sunday at the Canadian Open.

    Never more did it look in sync than Friday on No. 18, where he sank a 33-footer to finish the day in red numbers.

    Now, a chance for another breakthrough at the U.S. Open. With a win, he would celebrate again. But he knows as well as anyone that it wouldn’t mean all the problems — or the work, both on and off the course — are behind him.

    “I just think with the mental game there’s ebbs and flows,” Clark said. “If you think of it as climbing Everest, sometimes you go up, sometimes you have to go down to go back up. I think that’s kind of what happens both on the golf course and off the golf course. Right now I’m trending back up, which is nice.”

  • EU leaders squabble over outreach to Moscow as Ukraine war rages on

    EU leaders squabble over outreach to Moscow as Ukraine war rages on

    BRUSSELS — European Union leaders have been unable to agree on setting up a back channel with Moscow to ensure that the bloc’s interests are protected should progress be made in negotiations to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, some of them said on Friday.

    European Council President António Costa, who chaired their two-day summit in Brussels this week, had directed his office to reach out to the Kremlin and proposed a senior official to make contact. Costa said his aim was not to mediate or set up a parallel negotiating track to the one led by the United States, which is making little progress.

    “We needed to immediately establish this direct contact,” Costa said, clarifying that Brussels would not seek to mediate in negotiations but rather open communications.

    “We cannot depend only on others to interpret Russian messages and we must be able to convey directly to Russia our own messages,” he added.

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she supported Costa’s approach because “our entire continent is at risk, and this is why Europe must be one of the architects of a just and lasting peace.”

    An unresolved disagreement over diplomacy

    Debate has been swirling around Europe in recent months about whether to appoint a mediator for talks with Russia to help get things moving again, but this has been largely rejected as many believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be unlikely to negotiate anyway.

    Instead, the 27 EU countries have focused on concessions that Russia should make to secure peace.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that peace negotiations must ultimately be conducted by Ukraine, Russia, Europe, and the U.S.

    “Who speaks for the European Union is something we don’t need to decide on today,” he said. “We will decide on that when talks come about.”

    He added that Costa has “an important to role to play” as president of the European Council, representing the EU, preparing and organizing summits, and “we don’t need to make decisions going beyond that at the moment.”

    Merz highlighted efforts to coordinate diplomacy by the so-called E3 group of countries — Germany, France, and Britain — a format that he said came about “at the explicit wish of Ukraine.”

    French President Emmanuel Macron said “Europeans are not mediators” in the negotiations but that “Costa, when the competencies are defined, will have a place.”

    Margus Tsahkna, foreign minister of Estonia — a nation on the EU’s eastern flank that has faced drone incursions and was once occupied by the Soviet Union — said that “Europe must not assume the role of a neutral mediator” but instead buttress Ukraine’s position to “force the Kremlin into serious negotiations.”

    Some nations support Costa’s backchannel proposal

    As European leaders left overnight after the summit wrapped up, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever joked that Costa would be the envoy to Moscow.

    “I was just talking about you, António,” De Wever said while laughing and shaking Costa’s hand. “I was full of praise, saying you are the only one who can represent us and that we will send you to Moscow.”

    Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said that “opening up a channel is not a mistake in our view, and I trust António Costa.”

    “What was very clear last evening is that any negotiations would have to be first and foremost between Ukraine and Russia, but there are no indications that Russia is coming to the table at all,” he said.

    Speaking to reporters, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the leaders had failed at the summit to resolve their differences over the approach overnight. “Europe is unable to agree even on whether there will be negotiations or who will lead them,” he said.

    Russia responds publicly to the overture

    Putin has tried to cut out Europe and Kyiv from negotiations with the U.S. over Ukraine’s future. But the Kremlin said on Friday it was “ready for contact” with Europe, on the condition it abandon its desire to talk to Moscow from the position of force.

    At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that the EU can not be an impartial peace broker. He again rejected Western claims that Moscow was harboring plants to attack Europe as “provocation” and “nonsense” while warning that Europe’s military buildup poses growing security threats.

    “A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences,” Lavrov said in an essay released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

  • Comedy trailblazer Tom Dreesen, Sinatra’s longtime opening act, dies at 86

    Comedy trailblazer Tom Dreesen, Sinatra’s longtime opening act, dies at 86

    LOS ANGELES — Tom Dreesen, who along with partner Tim Reid formed one of America’s first interracial stand-up comedy duos and later spent years as Frank Sinatra’s opening act, died Wednesday. He was 86.

    Dreesen died at his home in Los Angeles, according to publicist Lori De Waal. A cause of death was not provided.

    After meeting in Chicago, Dreesen and Reid, who was Black, formed “Tim and Tom” in 1969. Against a backdrop of simmering racial tension, they used humor to address social issues and promote understanding between audiences of different backgrounds. They worked together until the mid-1970s. Reid went on to solo success playing DJ Venus Flytrap on the popular TV sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, where Dreesen was a guest star.

    “When I was a kid I found an album he and his comedy partner did called Tim and Tom and took it home and played it and it was one of the albums that changed the course of my life. So great,” comedian and filmmaker Mike Binder wrote on X.

    After splitting with Reid, Dreesen honed a solo comedy act, making over 500 national TV appearances, including 60 visits to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He also was a frequent guest and sometime guest host on The Late Show with David Letterman. Their friendship dated to the early 1970s when both worked at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, Calif.

    Dreesen’s final TV appearance came last week on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, which replaced Stephen Colbert’s canceled CBS late-night show.

    Dreesen was Sinatra’s opening act for 14 years and became close with the entertainer.

    “If he loved you, he worshipped the ground you walked on,” Dreesen told the Desert Sun newspaper in 2014. ”In a lot of ways, he was like a father to me. I didn’t have a father that really cared that much where I was and what I did. But Frank would give me advice and counsel, and then he was a buddy in a lot of ways. I thought the world of him.”

    Dressen also toured with Sinatra’s fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Liza Minnelli, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, and Tony Orlando.

    “He was one of the most brilliant comedians of all time. Tonight, he’ll once again be opening for Dean, Frank and Sammy,” Deana Martin, a daughter of Dean Martin, posted on X.

    In 2008, Dreesen co-wrote the book Tim and Tom: An American Comedy Act in Black and White and in 2020 he authored his memoir.

    Dreesen acted in such TV shows as Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and Touched by an Angel. His film roles included Spaceballs, Man on the Moon, and Trouble With the Curve, as well as the HBO movies The Rat Pack and Lansky.

    Dreesen was active in charitable work, motivational speaking, and veterans’ causes, including serving as ambassador for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

    “America lost one of our great comedians and patriots, and I lost a dear friend,” Sinise posted on X.

    He was born on Sept. 11, 1939, in Chicago and raised as one of eight children in suburban Harvey. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17 and after getting out in 1960 he returned home to work a series of jobs, including selling insurance.

    Dreesen is survived by daughters Amy and Jennifer from his marriage to Maryellen Subock, which ended in divorce in 1984, as well as seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Tommy.

  • Friction between Trump and Republican senators is growing before the pivotal midterm elections

    Friction between Trump and Republican senators is growing before the pivotal midterm elections

    WASHINGTON — The relationship between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans neared a breaking point this week as he upended their efforts to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agree to new terms.

    Trump’s overnight social media post Wednesday that he was delaying Jay Clayton’s nomination to become national intelligence director, just hours before the U.S. attorney’s confirmation hearing, further strained relations between the Senate and White House that have been worsening for weeks. Later that day, some Republican senators who have been hesitant to challenge the president directly on the Iran war were blunt in their criticism of his deal to end it.

    “This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R.,La.) said in a post on X.

    The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his massive package of spending and tax cuts.

    At the time, criticism of the president was almost nonexistent among Republicans on Capitol Hill, and they planned to highlight passage of that bill in the midterms. But as the November election draws closer and Republicans are trying to defend their majorities, Trump is instead needling Congress with his demands and reversals, driving several Republican senators to disparage his actions publicly for the first time.

    “I think somebody’s not dialing the president into the complexities of what he’s done here,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) said Wednesday after Clayton’s confirmation was postponed. “I mean, my God.”

    The slow unraveling of what once seemed like an airtight alliance between the executive and legislative branches in a Republican-led Washington extends to their policy priorities.

    Trump appears to have lost interest in most of the GOP agenda and has become almost singularly focused on his voting legislation to require proof of citizenship, which has almost no chance of passing. At the same time, he has asked members of Congress to fund parts of his White House ballroom project, allow a temporary intelligence director that none of them like, and cede their powers on the Iran war.

    The growing rift has brought much of the Senate’s business to a halt and put Republicans who are up for reelection this year on the defensive. It has also put pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been up-front with Trump about what he can and cannot do in the Senate.

    Trump pressures Thune on voting bill

    Trump has pressured Thune relentlessly to scrap the filibuster and pass the strict proof-of-citizenship legislation, called the SAVE America Act. Thune (R., S.D.) has told Trump publicly and privately that the votes are not there for either step. Still, Trump has kept up the push.

    In a social media post Thursday, Trump said he would be “the last Republican president” if the voting bill does not pass.

    “Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, must not let this ‘carnage’ happen,” Trump said. “They will go down on the wrong side of History, as will all Republicans who just stood by and watched.”

    Nonetheless, Trump has yet to go after the well-liked Republican leader on a personal basis, as he often did with Thune’s predecessor, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.). Trump once called McConnell a ” dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack.”

    Trump and Thune talk frequently, even as Thune is sometimes giving the president news he does not want to hear. As Trump pushed for the voting bill, Thune scheduled weeks of floor time to consider it, an effort to make clear that the Senate was supportive, even if the votes are lacking.

    Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate, said he has never heard Trump say anything negative about Thune.

    “It’s a difficult position,” Schmitt said of Thune’s role in the Senate. “I think they have a good working relationship.”

    One of Thune’s closest allies, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, said the even-keeled leader is the “right person at the right time.”

    “In the Capitol today, he is the stable force,” Rounds said. “In Washington, D.C., today, he is the stable force.”

    No signs of revolt among Senate GOP

    There were no signs of a revolt within the GOP conference for now, despite Trump’s pressure.

    Thune “has managed it better than anyone else could manage it,” said Cassidy, who has become a more frequent Trump critic since a primary loss to a Trump-backed challenger.

    Criticism of Trump has at times surfaced even among his closest Senate allies, especially with his proposed $1.776 billion settlement fund for his political allies and his pick for acting intelligence director, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience.

    But the rift with Trump has also stoked some new internal tensions.

    Several Republican senators criticized Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), who has waged an online campaign to eliminate the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, in a private conference lunch this week for stoking dissension within the party in an election year.

    Unbowed, Lee has kept up his social media campaign, including a post Friday on X in which he said that giving up because Republicans lack the votes is a “recipe for failure.”

    Texas Sen. John Cornyn, one of those who spoke out at the meeting, replied that it is Lee’s job to find the votes, “if you can.”

    “Can’t just complain about others,” Cornyn posted. “Prove us wrong.”

    Trump’s dwindling number of allies

    Some Senate Republicans have made clear they have no plans to separate themselves from Trump.

    As several of his colleagues criticized Trump’s agreement with Iran this week, first-term Sen. Bernie Moreno (R., Ohio) aggressively defended it on social media.

    “Let’s get the Nobel Peace Prize ready!” Moreno posted on X.

    But Trump has far fewer of those Senate allies than he did when they narrowly passed the tax and spending cuts legislation a year ago. That is in part because he has picked off some of the most loyal Republican votes himself.

    Both Cassidy and Cornyn lost in primaries last month after Trump endorsed their opponents. Tillis announced he was not running for reelection last year after Trump repeatedly criticized him on social media.

    Now all three have become frequent critics.

    Shortly after his election loss, Cornyn posted on social media a fable about a frog and a scorpion. The scorpion asks the frog to carry it across a river, according to the fable, and then stings the frog in the middle of the river, “dooming them both.”

    “The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence,” Cornyn’s post read. “To which the scorpion replies: ‘I am sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. It’s my character.’”

  • As Juneteenth is celebrated across the U.S., Obama’s presidential center opens in Chicago

    As Juneteenth is celebrated across the U.S., Obama’s presidential center opens in Chicago

    As people gathered across the U.S. to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the first visitors to his presidential center.

    The Obamas, joined by former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton, also read Where the Wild Things Are to 25 school children at the Chicago Public Library branch inside the center. When the former president read Maurice Sendak’s line about being “king of all the wild things,” Michelle Obama interjected with, “Although there were no kings,” to applause.

    Later, awed guests shook hands with the Obamas against the backdrop of a colorful, 38-foot-tall painting depicting a map of Chicago stretching to the ceiling, inspired by Carl Sandburg’s 1914 poem about the city: “stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders.”

    As the last of the first group of guests passed through, the Obamas quickly exited, and the museum opened its doors to the rest of the visitors.

    Located on a sprawling campus on Chicago’s South Side, the center honoring the nation’s first Black president has been designed to inspire people to make the change they want to see in their own communities. It’s the kind of contemplation that also comes as Americans gathered for Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.

    The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, at the end of the Civil War with an order declaring the state’s enslaved people to be free with “absolute equality.” By then, 2½ years had passed since the Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of enslaved people in the South.

    “Juneteenth represents not just a commemoration of the end of slavery but it’s also part of the ongoing struggle for absolute equality and that ideal in American life,” said W. Caleb McDaniel, a Rice University professor and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Sweet Taste of Liberty.

    The center’s public opening arrives as a symbolic convergence of legacy and liberation. The nation is deeply divided politically and grappling with renewed questions about the arc of racial progress as the Supreme Court hollowed out the Voting Rights Act, endangering Black political representation in Congress.

    The history of Juneteenth

    This is the fifth year since Juneteenth was designated as a federal holiday by former President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president. But the celebrations, which began in Texas and then spread across the country, have a rich and long history in Black America, with the day often spent gathering for picnics and cookouts.

    The holiday — a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” — marks the day when U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Texas port city with the declaration of freedom in General Order No. 3.

    As the third year of the Civil War neared, President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring the freedom of “all persons held as slaves” in the still rebellious states of the Confederacy. For many, it did not mean immediate freedom but a promise of liberation, to be secured with a Union victory.

    “It really required the force of arms and the success of U.S. armies to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation,” McDaniel said.

    About six months after Granger’s arrival in Galveston, the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery nationwide was ratified.

    Celebrations across the nation this year

    Juneteenth’s birthplace celebrated with a daylong gathering at a Galveston park with music and fireworks, a parade, and a worship service in a historic Black church. Nearby Houston lined up musical artists and a domino tournament at Emancipation Park, established in 1872 by a group of formerly enslaved men.

    Hundreds of other cities across the U.S. announced events over the long weekend, including a parade in Atlanta, a bike ride in Los Angeles, and a festival on Martha’s Vineyard.

    Several cities across the U.S. hosted walks named for Opal Lee, the Texas woman who pushed for years to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Participants walk 2½ miles to symbolize the 2½ years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to be enforced in Texas. Lee, known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” turns 100 this year.

    Reflecting on a continuing struggle

    Black Texans embraced the date of Granger’s arrival as one to celebrate, even as the Ku Klux Klan was established in Texas by 1868. By the 1880s, “it was difficult to find a significant community in Texas where it wasn’t being marked by African Americans,” McDaniel said.

    “They made it a community celebration, they made it a celebration of not only freedom but also a demonstration of community empowerment and institution-building,” he added.

    Corey D.B. Walker, dean of Wake Forest University’s divinity school, said the holiday offers a way to recognize the nation’s “complex history” and what it means to be a U.S. citizen, especially amid efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to undermine the retelling of Black history.

    “I think it really reminds people the importance of understanding a fuller, more robust portrait of our nation’s history and the many contributions of many individuals who have contributed to America’s experiment with democracy,” Walker said.

  • FDA panel backs first-of-its-kind flu vaccine using mRNA technology

    FDA panel backs first-of-its-kind flu vaccine using mRNA technology

    WASHINGTON — A new kind of flu vaccine moved a step closer to the U.S. market Thursday as federal health advisers recommended approval of the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Food and Drug Administration is evaluating Moderna’s new shot, dubbed mFlusiva, for older Americans ahead of the winter flu season. Moderna is seeking full approval for the vaccine’s use in people ages 50 to 64 — along with authorization for use in those 65 and older while it conducts additional testing.

    The FDA’s independent advisory committee evaluated Moderna’s studies of the vaccine and voted unanimously that its benefits appear to outweigh any risks for both age groups. The FDA will consider that recommendation in making a final decision by early August.

    Tens of thousands of Americans die from influenza every year, and older adults are among the most vulnerable. There are various types of flu vaccines already available in the U.S., including three specifically recommended for people 65 and older. But vaccines made with the Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology are faster to manufacture than other types — something experts say might help if the shape-shifting flu virus mutates in a way that requires suddenly brewing new doses to match.

    “Having this technology available puts us in a better position to be prepared for emerging strains in the future,” said Flor Munoz-Rivas of Texas Children’s Hospital, one of FDA’s advisers.

    In a study of 40,000 people age 50 and older, Moderna’s mRNA vaccine reduced flu cases by about 27% compared with those given another routinely used vaccine brand. In a smaller study of people 65 and older, Moderna’s shot also generated a strong protective immune response compared with a high-dose flu vaccine already recommended for that age group.

    Data showing strong immune reactions “were very compelling,” said FDA adviser Anna Durbin of Johns Hopkins University, adding that “the vaccine looks very promising.”

    Moderna’s Rituparna Das told panelists that the company’s ability to quickly manufacture mRNA vaccines that closely match the latest flu strains could prevent thousands of hospitalizations in older Americans.

    Severe flu cases in the U.S. generally rise in years when the flu shot doesn’t closely match the circulating virus. Moderna officials noted that flu strains for each fall’s vaccines now are chosen several months earlier than the yearly recipe update for COVID-19 shots that mostly are mRNA-based — and there can be a mismatch if the flu virus mutates after the recipe is made.

    At the meeting, FDA vaccine reviewer Timothy Brennan suggested the agency was open to approving the vaccine for older adults ahead of the coming flu season, despite the need for more information about its use in frail seniors or people with weak immune systems.

    If it’s approved, Moderna is planning its required next-step study to include 400,000 people 65 and older, half given the mRNA vaccine and the rest given one of today’s special-for-seniors shots. It’s supposed to repeat that study for two flu seasons.

    Moderna’s data showed no major safety issues, although the shot did cause some temporary reactions including injection-site pain, fever, headache, tiredness, and aches. The latter reactions are common in a variety of vaccines, but occurred somewhat more often than with today’s flu shots. The FDA said that’s typical of mRNA vaccines.

    Those temporary reactions can be a signal that “your immune system is responding,” said Hayley Gans, a Stanford Medicine pediatrician and FDA adviser who stressed it will be important to explain that to vaccine recipients.

    Earlier this year, Moderna’s data was at the center of a highly unusual public dispute as a then-top FDA official blocked the company’s application for its first-of-its-kind shot.

    The embattled vaccine chief at the time, Vinay Prasad, said the company should have compared its shot to a high-dose flu vaccine recommended for seniors rather than a standard-dose brand. It was a sign of FDA’s heightened vaccine scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

    Moderna challenged that decision, noting that FDA staff had approved that main study’s design and citing a separate, smaller study comparing the mRNA shot with a high-dose vaccine for seniors. Days after the spat, the FDA accepted Moderna’s application.

    Moderna also is studying the vaccine in younger adults and plans a separate study in 9- to 17-year-olds this fall.

  • Meloni slams Trump’s claim she ‘begged’ for a photo with him as Italy’s top diplomat cancels U.S. trip

    Meloni slams Trump’s claim she ‘begged’ for a photo with him as Italy’s top diplomat cancels U.S. trip

    ROME — The Italian government closed ranks on Friday to slam U.S. President Donald Trump over his claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested America’s longtime European ally had had enough of Trump’s boasting and criticism.

    Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly canceled a planned trip to the United States this weekend, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy.

    Meloni for her part posted a video calling Trump’s claims “completely fabricated” and expressing astonishment that he would invent such things about an ally.

    “Italy and I do not beg,” she said pointedly.

    Trump had made the comments in an interview broadcast Friday on the La7 network. The La7 correspondent had asked Trump about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and the conversation turned to their meeting during the just-concluded G7 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France. Meloni and Trump were filmed speaking at several moments, including alone on a small sofa.

    According to La7, Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo-op. Trump said he wasn’t obliged to do it but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster put a dubbed version of the conversation online, not the original English audio.

    Meloni is astonished and defiant

    Trump’s posturing underscored how his alliance with Meloni — long seen as one of his closest friends in Europe — has frayed over his war in Iran, his tariffs against Europe, and his complaints when anyone disagrees with him.

    He turned on Meloni in April after she refused to support his war in Iran and stood up for Pope Leo XIV when Trump lashed out at the pontiff.

    But Meloni’s strong response on Friday suggested she no longer fears Trump’s verbal attacks — attacks that could actually play in her favor in a country where public opinion of the American president has chilled, said Lorenzo Castellani, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss Guido Carli University.

    “In some ways this was a favor to Giorgia Meloni, in the sense that she was accused until a few months ago of being a sort of Trump’s vassal in Europe,” he said.

    In her video, Meloni said she was responding to Trump’s claims because “certain things deserve an immediate response.”

    “Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

    It was an apparent reference to an interview Trump gave to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April in which he criticized Meloni’s refusal to back the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Meloni didn’t respond publicly at the time. By Friday, it appeared she had had enough of his boasts and broadsides.

    “I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating,” Meloni said Friday. “But there’s one thing he must remember: Italy and I do not beg.”

    The White House did not return an immediate request for comment on Meloni’s remarks.

    Meloni had initially sought to build on longstanding strong U.S.-Italian ties when Trump began his second term, and had positioned herself as a “bridge” between Washington and the European Union. She was the lone EU head of state to attend his inauguration.

    But relations have frayed over the U.S. war in Iran, which Meloni has said was illegal, and Trump’s position on Ukraine, which Italy strongly supports. Trump’s tariffs and strong U.S. support of Israel over its war in Gaza have been other points of contention.

    Italian officials close ranks around Meloni

    By Friday afternoon, solidarity for Meloni had poured in from across the government and political spectrum, and included a call from President Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s respected head of state.

    “Whoever attacks @GiorgiaMeloni attacks all of us,” posted Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.

    Justice Minister Carlo Nordio referenced the sacrifice of American troops in World War II in underlining the harm to U.S.-Italy relations caused by Trump.

    “The thousands of crosses marking the graves of American soldiers who died to free us from Nazi-Fascist dictatorship did not deserve such a painful blow to our fraternal ties,” Nordio said on X.

    Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he didn’t believe Meloni would ever beg someone for a photo, “not even under threat.”

    Tajani had been due to travel to the U.S. on Sunday to take part in an Italy-U.S. business forum in Miami during which he was to have meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a U.S. State Department announcement of the meeting.

    A ‘fantastic’ friendship frays

    Meloni and Trump had gotten off to a strong start, and the two leaders are ideologically aligned on many issues. As the head of a far-right party, Meloni backs curbing migration and promoting traditional values.

    Weeks before Trump’s 2025 inauguration, Meloni met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat, a visit that she said went “beyond expectations.” It was, she said at the time, “an opportunity to confirm a relationship that promises to be very solid.’’

    In the months after, Trump had praised her repeatedly, as “fantastic,” “incredible,” beautiful, and a friend.

    But stark differences emerged over Ukraine. More recently, Meloni sharply warned against U.S. threats to take Greenland by force, saying she didn’t believe Washington would go so far and that regardless Italy would never support such a move.

    Meloni also received support from an unlikely ally in Europe: Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was on Friday asked about the back and forth on the sidelines of a European Council meeting.

    “About Meloni, first and foremost, all my solidarity,” he told reporters. “Secondly, I not only say this publicly in a response to your question, but also in private during the European Council meeting I offered her all my solidarity against this attack that is not political or personal … I really don´t know how to qualify it.”

  • U.S. push to get Iran talks started hits an early bump due to intense fighting in Lebanon

    U.S. push to get Iran talks started hits an early bump due to intense fighting in Lebanon

    ZURICH — The American push to quickly begin high-stakes talks with Iran hit a snag Friday, just days after the signing of an agreement that opens a two-month window for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and returning oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to prewar levels.

    Iranian officials did not travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that Israeli strikes on Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place, according to three regional officials and a person familiar with the matter. They were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing mediation to try to get the talks rescheduled and spoke on condition of anonymity.

    The situation was fluid as Israel and Hezbollah agreed on Friday to renew their ceasefire, according to a U.S. official and regional officials. It remains to be seen whether that could help put the U.S.-Iran talks back on track.

    In Washington, President Donald Trump lashed out once again in the midst of the intensified fighting in Lebanon and the stalled nuclear talks.

    “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did,” Trump wrote in a social media post Friday. “They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

    Vance was ready for Swiss talks

    Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, had been prepared to make an overnight flight to meet with his Iranian counterparts at a mountainside resort in the tiny Swiss village of Obbürgen and begin the technical talks.

    Vance’s staff and a small group of journalists had gathered at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington in anticipation of the trip. Dozens of White House officials, advance staffers, and more media were already in Switzerland.

    Then the trip was called off — abruptly and for the time being.

    A White House statement said Vance, tapped by Trump to lead the negotiations, decided to postpone his travel. It made no mention of the escalating violence in Lebanon.

    “The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable,” the statement said.

    But, according to officials, the Iranians made clear to the White House that they had balked at starting the talks with Vance because of the Israeli action in Lebanon.

    While Iranian officials and Vance did not make it to Switzerland Friday, a mediator from the Gulf country of Qatar found his way to the resort near Lucerne, Switzerland, where the U.S.-Iran talks are to be held. Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met with the Swiss foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis.

    Fighting in southern Lebanon intensifies

    The fighting had intensified with at least 18 killed by Israeli airstrikes, while four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, officials said.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel’s military would stay in a “security zone” of southern Lebanon as long as “Israel’s security needs require it.”

    Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the U.S.-Iran agreement.

    Iran insists Israel must withdraw from the large swath of southern Lebanon it is occupying, but the wording of the interim deal does not explicitly require that and only ensures Lebanon’s “territorial integrity.”

    Hours before postponing his trip, Vance gave some indication of the state of flux when he told reporters at a White House briefing that he was uncertain if the talks were going to happen this weekend.

    “We think these technical negotiations start sometime this weekend,” Vance said. ”That’s still the plan. But that could change.”

    Soon after Vance spoke to reporters, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, endorsed direct negotiations with the United States. His terse statement, read by state media, appeared to signal to the Islamic Republic’s leadership that it could move forward with a first round of talks.

    “It is obvious that the face-to-face negotiations that will be held in the future will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion,” Khamenei said.

    The messaging seemed to give Khamenei, who was badly wounded in the U.S. strike on Feb. 28 that killed his father, some maneuverability. Hard-liners in the Iranian government, including Khamenei’s father, long opposed direct talks with the White House, especially after Trump, during his first term, pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration.

    Meeting was initially supposed to be a signing ceremony

    Vance was initially expected to go to Switzerland to sign the agreement at a formal ceremony. Instead, Trump signed the document Wednesday during a glitzy dinner at the Palace of Versailles with French President Emmanuel Macron. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, separately signed the agreement.

    It says Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under rubble left by U.S. military strikes last year targeting Tehran’s key nuclear sites, must at minimum be diluted under international supervision.

    It also says Iran shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons — a commitment Tehran has made previously. Other commitments remain to be worked out.

    Iran believes it’s in a strong negotiating position

    Iranians would be going into the talks with a measure of confidence after effectively shutting down the strait, causing global economic reverberations, said Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities in Washington.

    She said the U.S. is now “essentially trying to negotiate our way back to the prewar status quo.”

    Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House think tank, said the “buoyant” Iranian leadership feels it has the upper hand. The endorsement of the talks by the Iranian supreme leader “sends a very strong signal domestically: ’We’re now on an equal footing with the U.S.’”

    ”‘Trump has gone from calling for regime change on Feb. 28 to this: Now they’re going to sit down with us directly and talk about these big issues,’” Quilliam said of the Iranians’ thinking. “So it’s intended more for the domestic audience, and telling them: ‘We are firmly in control of this. There can be no protests, no revolution: We are a new regime and we’re staying put.’”

    Vance has to negotiate through political division

    For Vance, a likely 2028 presidential contender, how the negotiations play out could have enormous ramifications for his political fortunes.

    Vance’s skepticism of foreign wars was a core part of his political identity during his political rise, which included election as a U.S. senator. Now he finds himself the chief defender of negotiating an endgame to Trump’s conflict that Democrats have largely derided as a foolish gambit. Some hawkish Republicans are aghast that Trump is getting behind a settlement that could put billions of dollars into Iran’s coffers.

    U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, chairperson of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said aspects of the deal are “completely out of step” with Trump’s goals.

    Trump fiercely criticized Obama for the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Trump argued failed to stop Tehran from advancing toward a weapon and funneled billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic. The Republican president exited the U.S. from the deal in 2018.

    Trump has pushed back against comparisons to that earlier agreement, saying he had “negotiated from strength” after a major military campaign while asserting that Obama was paying the Iranians off and not receiving acquiescence.

    Wicker (R., Miss.) was particularly concerned about the $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran mentioned in the 14-point agreement. Trump and Vance have said no U.S. taxpayer money would go to such a fund and it would not come without concessions and reforms by Tehran.

  • Coco Gauff’s French Open title defense ends in 3rd-round loss, Naomi Osaka’s fashion show goes on

    Coco Gauff’s French Open title defense ends in 3rd-round loss, Naomi Osaka’s fashion show goes on

    PARIS — Coco Gauff finally met a player in Paris who could match her court coverage in long baseline rallies.

    Anastasia Potapova ended Gauff’s French Open title defense in the third round with a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory over the American on Saturday.

    “Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much,” Potapova said. “I’m unbelievably proud of myself as well that I stayed there, that I’ve been fighting for the last point, and here I am.”

    The match was played before mostly empty stands inside Court Philippe-Chatrier as French fans stayed away to watch the Champions League soccer final.

    Gauff’s second Grand Slam title came with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Roland Garros a year ago.

    The 30th-ranked Potapova, who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, improved to 3-2 in her career against Gauff. She’s having quite a clay season after reaching a final in Linz, Austria, and the semifinals of the Madrid Open as a qualifier.

    Anastasia Potapova of Austria returns to Coco Gauff of the U.S. during their match on Saturday in Paris.

    The fourth-ranked Gauff was coming off a run to the Italian Open final.

    When Gauff shanked a forehand wide on Potapova’s first match point, Potapova fell on her back and covered her eyes as she stuck her feet up in the air in celebration.

    Gauff waved to the crowd and quickly walked off court when the match was finished.

    It wasn’t a matter of mistakes for Gauff — she hit three double-faults to her opponent’s eight and had 46 unforced errors to Potapova’s 56. It was more that Potapova controlled more in the longer rallies and wore Gauff out.

    Gauff ran a total of 2,309 meters to Potapova’s 2,090.

    Anastasia Potapova reacts after beating Coco Gauff at the French Open.

    Osaka’s fashion statement

    Earlier, Naomi Osaka beat 18-year-old American opponent Iva Jovic, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, after nearly three hours — in her 100th Grand Slam match — to set up a round of 16 meeting with top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.

    Sabalenka beat Daria Kasatkina, 6-0, 7-5.

    For her second-straight match, Osaka wore a metallic gold bomber jacket over a sequined gold playing dress during her walk-on. But this time her outfit was offset by a tan train that stretched to the red clay on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

    Naomi Osaka enters the court for her third-round match against Iva Jovic on Saturday.

    For her opening match, Osaka walked on in a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before revealing her gold dress, which she said reminded her of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night. Then, she had on the bomber jacket and an ivory-colored train for her second match.

    “It’s a surprise every time,” Osaka said of her fashion choices.

    “For me, it would be weirder to wear a normal tennis kit, almost, at this point. It’s the fun of it. For a long time, I didn’t have fun for a little bit. And you guys know that period of time in my life,” Osaka added, referring to how in 2021 she withdrew from the French Open because of issues with anxiety and depression. “Now, I just want things to be fun, and I want to make it exciting for myself.”

    Osaka’s outfits are planned a year and a half in advance and require at least four fittings.

    “We have so many fittings throughout the year because your weight can fluctuate or the fabric can change a little bit,” she said. “There is a lot of effort that goes into it.”

    Our favorite looks from the WNBA draft

    Heat wave ending

    For the seventh straight day of the tournament, it was hot and humid, with the temperature rising to 93 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat is expected to break for Sunday and the second week.

    Midway through Osaka’s victory, a spectator was carried out of the stadium on a stretcher because of an apparent illness.

    On the court, French player Diane Parry beat 2019 semifinalist Amdanda Anisimova, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3), and Diana Shnaider of Russia defeated Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine, 7-5, 6-1, after Oliynykova accused her of liking Russian propaganda posts on social media amid the war between their countries.

    In men’s action, Alejandro Tabilo ended the run of 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (9) victory, and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini required 5 hours, 13 minutes to defeat Francisco Comesana, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (13).

    Berrettini banged his chest after winning on his fourth match point when Comesana’s shot landed long. Then he cried.

    Flavio Cobolli beat Learner Tien, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, and will next meet American Zachary Svajda, who defeated Francisco Cerundolo, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.