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Category: Associated Press

  • More than 160,000 pounds of meat bearing false USDA inspection labels recalled

    More than 160,000 pounds of meat bearing false USDA inspection labels recalled

    NEW YORK — More than 83 tons of meat are being recalled across the U.S. because the products were not properly inspected by federal authorities and were shipped out with falsified inspection stickers, the Department of Agriculture said.

    Star Meat Delivery Inc., based in Lucama, N.C., is recalling more than 167,000 pounds of raw pork, beef, and goat nationwide. The USDA said that number could grow as it continues its investigation.

    Food produced without inspection may contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria, or other contaminants, the agency said Tuesday in announcing the recall. So far, there have been no confirmed reports of illnesses or injuries from the meats, according to the USDA.

    The meat in question was produced “on various dates” before Sept. 22 and has USDA inspection stickers falsely bearing an establishment number — EST. 1363 — that the agency said “does not have a federal grant of inspection.” However, some packages people purchased may not bear that labeling because retail stores may have applied their own stickers with pricing and safe handling instructions, the agency warned.

    The products were shipped to Georgia distributor A&D Foods to send to retail and restaurant locations nationwide.

    The USDA said the products should be considered misbranded and unsafe to eat and be discarded or returned to the place of purchase.

    The agency said the problem was discovered during the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s routine checks. It’s not clear whether anyone has been arrested or criminally charged.

    Star Meat Delivery, in a statement posted on its Facebook page Thursday, pushed back at the notion that the inspection stamps on its products were somehow falsified. It said the establishment number in question was “legitimately reserved” as part of the USDA application process while it seeks approval to process and package meat for the Georgia distributor.

    That approval process is still underway, Star Meat said, although the meat involved was sourced from a USDA-inspected supplier.

    “No other products sold by Star Meat Delivery were mislabeled, and no other products sold by Star Meat Delivery are part of the recall that has been issued,” the company said. “We are cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities to finalize the application and are following the recall procedures that have been put into place.”

    The USDA didn’t immediately respond to Star Meat’s statement.

    Recalls triggered by forged inspection stamps are relatively rare, according to Keith Schneider, a food safety professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

    “This is someone taking a shortcut,” he said. “Systems are in place to catch these sorts of things and it appears the system worked as intended. You can’t skip inspections.”

    Last year, some 32,000 pounds of meat, including chorizo, pork chops and ribs, produced by Sabrositos Hondurenos, of New Jersey, were recalled after the USDA determined they had fake inspection stickers.

  • Israel’s Netanyahu, at U.N., calls accusations of genocide in Gaza ‘the biggest lie of the century’

    Israel’s Netanyahu, at U.N., calls accusations of genocide in Gaza ‘the biggest lie of the century’

    Allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza are not only false but “the biggest lie of the century,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders Thursday in a defiant speech that asserted his nation’s right to wage war against Iran — and was not heard by scores of delegates who trooped out before he started speaking.

    Netanyahu, his voice rising in emphasis, said attacking Iran “was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make” and denounced as “moral cowards” a mass of delegates who walked out of the U.N. General Assembly when he took the podium to speak.

    “In defending itself, Israel is also also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said. “In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes.”

    When Netanyahu walked to the rostrum, a mix of cheers, boos and mass walkouts erupted. Scores of delegates marched out and a majority of visible seats sat empty afterward. “Order in the hall, please,” General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said repeatedly.

    “If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu said.

    His remarks — which at times sounded like a stump speech as Israel gears up for elections — came after a week filled with speeches by world leaders accusing Israel of genocide and war crimes in Gaza.’’

    Palestinians had called for a mass walkout

    The Palestinian Mission to the U.N. said in a message to many of the 193 U.N. member nations to bring as many staff as possible to the assembly hall and “collectively walk out of the assembly” once the Israeli prime minister is announced.

    “This will send a clear message to Netanyahu and his government that no one is willing to aid, abet, or be complicit in its genocide and war crimes and illegal occupation, which all peace-loving states and peoples demand must come to an end,” the message said.

    Israel rejects allegations that it committed genocide and war crimes and is illegally occupying Palestinian territory. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, but the Israeli government insists they are legal.

    Netanyahu, who is prone to using visual aids during his General Assembly speeches, at one point held up a pager while reminding the audience of Sept. 17, 2024, when Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers that had been distributed to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The pager attack wounded more than 3,000 people and killed 12, including two children.

    He reminded the assembly of the scale of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people. “This is equal to 40,000 innocent Americans slaughtered in less than 24 hours,” he said, or 16 times the death count on the 9/11 attacks that left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York.

    Netanyahu thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for taking decisive action against Iran, and he insisted Israel would prevail: “We will continue to win because we have no other choice.”

    Netanyahu followed the Palestinian president’s remote speech

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also addressed the U.N. General Assembly earlier Thursday, delivering prerecorded remarks from his office in Ramallah after the United States denied him and other top Palestinian officials visas to attend the gathering for the second year in a row.

    The 90-year-old leader’s popularity at home and relevance abroad have both waned. But in his remarks, Abbas made clear he did not intend to quietly accept being sidelined.

    “We will not leave our homeland. We will not accept displacement. And we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf,” Abbas said.

    Though world leaders have repeatedly invoked the plight of Palestinians in speeches throughout the week, Abbas urged the international community to take more tangible action against Israel.

    “How long will some countries continue to remain silent about Israel, or continue supplying it with weapons that it uses against our people? The world has witnessed the enormous cost in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” Abbas said. “What, then, is the international community waiting for before it acts to protect the Palestinian people?”

    Netanyahu is in the city of a mayor who wants him arrested

    In past years, Netanyahu has used his General Assembly speech to both denounce the United Nations as biased and make Israel’s case to world leaders. His address — scheduled for prime time in Israel — is the cornerstone of an abbreviated trip to the United States unfolding under the shadow of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani calling him a “war criminal” and pushing for his arrest.

    Mamdani has acknowledged that New York does not have the authority to execute an International Criminal Court warrant but urged federal authorities to do so.

    Israel has grown increasingly isolated throughout the war in Gaza. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. At least 73,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s subsequent offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government whose numbers are generally considered reliable by the international community.

    A ceasefire agreed to by Israel and Hamas last October halted the heaviest of the fighting and led to the release of the remaining hostages yet further steps have since stalled. Israel maintains control of most of Gaza and continues to carry out airstrikes on Palestinians near military-held zones. Hamas not disarmed or relinquished power and there has been no progress toward reconstruction in the mostly destroyed territory.

    Netanyahu has said no Palestinian state will be established while he is Israel’s leader and has argued that the Palestinian Authority is not a partner for peace.

    Netanyahu dismissed incidents of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as a “handful of young juvenile delinquents” throwing stones, chopping down olive trees and lighting fires.

    “I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism,” the prime minister said before accusing foreign leaders and the international press of distorting the scale of violence in the West Bank.

    Netanyahu’s government is dominated by settlers and their allies, including the Cabinet minister who oversees the police. There have been few arrests of settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians.

    Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and the Palestinians want both as part of their future state. The Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as illegal and as an obstacle to creating a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.

  • Senate rejects resolution to halt the Iran war as gas prices upend midterms

    Senate rejects resolution to halt the Iran war as gas prices upend midterms

    WASHINGTON — Despite rising political anxiety over the Iran war, senators on Thursday narrowly rejected a war powers resolution seeking to halt President Donald Trump‘s military action, which has been largely blamed for the spike in gas prices and become a flashpoint in the midterm election.

    The Senate tally, 49-50, coming days after Trump’s bombastic address to the United Nations in which he threatened to “annihilate” Iran, was likely the last chance for lawmakers to go on record about the war ahead of November. More Republicans are peeling away from the president as the war drags on and as they campaign for control of Congress. The Senate outcome fell short, with four GOP senators joining most Democrats in favor of the resolution.

    “They have been carrying water for this ridiculous and illegal war for months and months and months and not listening to their constituents,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D, Va.), who pushed the war powers resolution forward.

    About half of rural American voters believe the economy is worse off now than when Trump returned to office, according to a new survey from The Associated Press in partnership with KFF. The costs of groceries, gas, and healthcare rank as top pain points for the rural voters.

    “We’ve got to break the cycle,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R, N.C.), who joined in voting yes.

    Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Rand Paul of Kentucky also voted for the resolution to end the war, as they have in many previous tallies. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) voted against.

    This was the 14th time the Senate has considered a war powers resolution, since Trump launched the conflict on Feb. 28.

    War powers resolutions are largely political statements, without the full force of law, but stand among the sharper tools the House and Senate have to express disapproval of the White House, short of halting funds for Trump’s military actions. As resolutions, they do not go to the president’s desk for his signature.

    As gas prices climb, Republicans start to question the war

    Republicans in control of Congress have shied away from directly confronting Trump over the war, now stretching past the seven-month mark. But their unrest is surfacing as stubbornly high gas prices leave voters in a cash crunch back home.

    Diesel costs, in particular, have almost doubled, topping $6 a gallon, according to AAA.

    Just returning from a swing through Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska stumping for GOP candidates who are suddenly at risk in their elections, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana called on Trump to hold a prime-time address to the nation to explain the Iran war strategy and the end game.

    “People are confused about the war and upset about the cost of living,” he said.

    But he and others were not yet ready to vote against the war.

    “My own view is that the focus right now needs to be on attacking the cost-of-living issues,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R, Mo.) who opposes the war powers resolution and believes the president is acting within his authority to conduct the military action.

    House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries scoffed at the handful of Republicans now trying to distance themselves from what he called Trump’s failed economy. “Now all of a sudden they’re waking up,” he said.

    Democrats keep pushing war powers votes in Congress

    Earlier this month, the House for a third time approved a war powers resolution, this time with seven Republicans joining the Democrats, including two from battleground Iowa, Rep. Zach Nunn and Rep. Mariannette Miller Meeks, where affordability issues among rural voters are dominating the campaigns.

    Senators, though, have rarely been able to confront Trump by passing a war powers resolution.

    In June, the Senate approved a war powers resolution after four GOP senators joined Democrats, but Republicans abruptly reversed course the next day after Trump berated them during a private lunch over the outcome.

    At the time, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, stood up to defend his vote only to end up in a shouting match with Trump. He later switched to oppose the war powers resolution after receiving a personal briefing from the White House.

    Thursday’s vote was on a resolution that had passed the House in July with GOP support. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who authored the House resolution, said the Senate outcome was “a slap in the face to the millions of American people who want this war to end.”

    Other options to halt the Iran war

    As the war drags on, costing $43.5 billion so far, Congress is also seeking other ways to force Trump to rethink his military strategy in Iran.

    Rep. Thomas Massie, the renegade Republican from Kentucky, pushed forward articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before the GOP leadership abruptly adjourned the House and sent lawmakers home to campaign for the election, avoiding any potential vote on the matter.

    Lawmakers also have the power of the purse to curtail military spending, something Republicans have been reluctant to do but Democrats are sure to tackle if they win power in the midterm election. The White House’s request for an additional $87.6 billion funding package for the war and other needs has idled in Congress.

    First created in the aftermath of the Vietnam War as a way to hold a president accountable for military actions, the war powers act has long posed a test of the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government.

    While the Constitution says only Congress can declare war, the president as commander-in-chief is also able to engage the military. The war powers act seeks to provide clarity by requiring the president, within 60 days of any such action, to seek approval — or risk disapproval — from Congress.

  • Trump hails deep friendship with Xi as China’s leader urges ‘healthy’ competition between 2 powers

    Trump hails deep friendship with Xi as China’s leader urges ‘healthy’ competition between 2 powers

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed the “truly great friendship” he has forged with Xi Jinping as the Chinese leader began his highly anticipated state visit by pressing for the world’s two biggest economies to work more closely together to avoid friction as they compete.

    While Trump has many thorny issues to discuss with the president of America’s biggest economic rival, he focused on his long relationship with Xi as the two gathered with aides for opening remarks before formal talks.

    “From the time of my first election in 2016, President Xi and I have forged a friendship, a truly great friendship, actually, built on mutual respect and the vital interests of our people,” Trump said.

    China has resisted the Trump administration’s urgings — and economic threats — to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to U.S. terms to end the nearly seven-month war. Xi wants to see Trump permanently halt arms sales to Taiwan and loosen export restrictions on cutting-edge advanced chips. The two sides on Wednesday agreed to extend by two months a one-year trade truce that was set to expire Nov. 10 as they work to find a more durable agreement.

    Xi presses Trump on Taiwan

    In their private conversation, Xi also urged Trump to “prudently handle the Taiwan issue,” according to the Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.

    China has made clear it views Taiwan as the most sensitive issue in the U.S.-China relationship. Beijing considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory and vows to annex the island by force if necessary. The United States is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with sufficient hardware to deter any armed attack from the mainland. The U.S. has said it opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.

    China has repeatedly pressed Washington to permanently halt the arms sales, including when Trump and Xi met in Beijing in May.

    After that meeting, Trump said he was holding off on final approval for a record $14 billion arms package that was in the pipeline. He also described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

    Chinese president once more invokes the ‘Thucydides trap”

    Xi was also more pointed than Trump in his public remarks, saying Chinese and American interests are “deeply intertwined” and that the “competition should be a healthy one and should be kept within bounds.”

    He also reiterated his warning that the U.S. and China must avoid the ” Thucydides trap,” referring to the idea that when a rising power threatens to displace an established one, the result is often war. Xi offered a similar warning when Trump visited Beijing in May.

    “It should be a race of catching up with one another, not a wrestle in which one either wins or loses,” Xi added.

    Xi also announced that China will invite 100,000 American youth to come to his country for studies and exchanges in the next five years and that China will send two pandas to the zoo in Atlanta. He called the beloved animals an “envoy of friendship” and that they will meet the American people in a “few days.”

    Xi says China and U.S. should make sure AI is ‘always under human control’

    Trump said in a social media post earlier Thursday that artificial intelligence — “superintelligence” as he is trying to rebrand it — will be high on the agenda amid growing global anxiety that the technology will kill jobs or potentially even wipe out humanity.

    “I want to leave it exactly where it is,” Trump wrote. “That is China’s position also.”

    Xi also touched on AI in his opening comments, saying that the two countries had a responsibility to ensure that humans always operate AI.

    “We have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good and ensure that a development of AI is always under human control and serves the well being of the people,” the Chinese leader said.

    The two countries’ finance ministers met earlier this week, with the U.S. proposing a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents between the two nations.

    Trump rolls out the red carpet for Xi and faces criticism from some White House allies

    Trump has made clear he wants to impress Xi with the visit. The Republican president made sure construction of a new helicopter landing pad on the White House’s South Lawn was completed before the visit and he met Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on Wednesday evening when they flew into Joint Base Andrews outside Washington.

    The White House also arranged for an elaborate military review that the leaders and their spouses observed before the Oval Office talks. Following the military review, first lady Melania Trump accompanied Peng for a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.

    After about 90 minutes of talks, the leaders stepped out to the South Lawn so Trump could show off the new White House helipad and give Xi a tour of Marine One, the presidential helicopter. Trump and Xi also appeared to peer at the ballroom construction site from afar. Xi left the White House shortly after the quick tour and is to return in the evening for the state dinner.

    “We had a great meeting,” Trump said in a brief exchange with reporters after the tour.

    Later, the leaders will dine on sea bass at a black-tie dinner in the White House East Room, featuring red décor and a toast honoring the late President Richard Nixon, whose 1972 trip to China led to the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1979 and the parallel severing of formal ties with Taiwan.

    Trump’s decision to roll out the red carpet for Xi has spurred criticism from lawmakers in both parties and some White House allies.

    “Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would have suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome here in the United States of America based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

    Xi urges U.S. and Iran to return to interim agreement

    The two sides also discussed the ongoing conflict in Iran, according to Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television.

    Trump has argued to little effect that China, which is far more dependent on Gulf oil than the U.S., has plenty of incentive to use its sway with Tehran to help force an end to the conflict.

    But Trump’s war of choice has unnerved Beijing, with the government condemning the U.S. and Israeli military action and Xi previously expressing concerns the conflict signaled a return to what he called the “law of the jungle.” The U.S. administration has warned China, Tehran’s biggest trading partner, not to aid Iran’s military effort.

    Xi, during Thursday’s talks, said China supports the U.S. and Iran returning to a short-lived interim deal from the summer in an effort to wind down the war, according to CCTV. That agreement broke down soon after it was signed in June as the countries traded renewed fire over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy shipments.

  • FDA nominee voices support for vaccines at Senate hearing scrutinizing Trump administration efforts

    FDA nominee voices support for vaccines at Senate hearing scrutinizing Trump administration efforts

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration voiced support for the safety of long-established vaccines at a hearing Thursday, even as senators questioned her about the White House’s efforts to upend childhood immunizations.

    Heidi Overton is currently serving as a White House adviser and has worked on a series of Trump health initiatives, including an executive order last month that called for splitting up and spacing out childhood vaccinations, bucking decades-old guidelines. Overton, a physician, stood beside Trump in the Oval Office when he falsely remarked that the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine could be “quite lethal.”

    Senate Health Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, pushed Overton to reject that statement and affirm the safety of FDA-approved vaccines.

    “Right now every vaccine that is on the market has been determined to be safe and effective,” including the MMR vaccine, Overton said.

    Cassidy has repeatedly tried to extract commitments from Trump health nominees to uphold vaccine standards, including from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., only to see the Republican administration push forward with efforts undermining their use.

    “Kennedy gave me guarantees, and he did not keep them,” said Cassidy, a Republican. “If the president asks you to do something that goes against those guarantees you give us today, what will you do?”

    Overton said she would “follow the statutory requirements” for FDA commissioners and give Trump her best advice. Later in the hearing, Overton declined to explicitly say that Trump was wrong about the MMR vaccine’s safety.

    “This committee needs to know whether you will be radically honest, whether you will use your authority to stand up for sound science and protect children’s health,” Cassidy said. He didn’t indicate whether he’d support Overton’s nomination or when he might schedule a committee vote on it.

    If confirmed, Overton would inherit a raft of other controversial projects at the agency, including a safety review of the nation’s principal abortion drug and new rules that make it easier to sell flavored electronic cigarettes. Both issues were a focus for Republicans and Democrats on the panel.

    Overton sidesteps past statements on abortion pill

    The FDA approved the abortion pill mifepristone in 2000 and has repeatedly affirmed its safety while broadening access, including allowing it to be sent through the mail. But Kennedy ordered an FDA review of the drug’s safety last year, following calls from anti-abortion groups and lawmakers favoring abortion restrictions.

    While working at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, Overton wrote that the FDA decision to allow mail delivery of mifepristone was “dangerous to women,” referring to the practice as “chemical abortion on demand.”

    In response to questions from Washington Sen. Patty Murray, Overton sidestepped her personal views on the drug, stating that it “has met the safety and efficacy determinations of the FDA.” Overton said she didn’t want to “prejudge” the FDA’s ongoing safety review of the pill.

    “The FDA has said this is safe,” responded Murray, a Democrat. “We need someone in FDA to make sure this is done by science.”

    Republicans on the health committee, including Cassidy, recently published a report suggesting the handful of companies that sell mifepristone may not be complying with rules for overseeing doctors who prescribe the drug.

    “If I’m confirmed as commissioner I would be committed to making sure every company is following the law,” Overton told Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana.

    Overton’s abortion views could complicate her efforts to win over two moderate Republicans on the panel: Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Both have bucked their party on the issue, supporting federal access to abortion. Collins is currently locked in a tight reelection race in which abortion access is a central issue.

    But Collins focused her questions Thursday on a different issue: recent FDA decisions allowing new flavored e-cigarettes onto the market. Under previous administrations, including Trump’s first term, the agency had restricted sweet vaping flavors due to their potential appeal to kids.

    Overton pointed out that approval of several fruit-flavored vapes had the backing of FDA scientists, who determined the products met the standard of “appropriate for the protection of public health,” by helping adult smokers quit cigarettes.

    “They believed that standard was met because so many adult smokers are using flavors preferentially,” Overton said.

    To become commissioner, Overton will need a majority of votes from the 21-member health committee, followed by a positive vote from the full Senate.

    Under the current administration, leading the agency has involved balancing Trump’s demands for slashing regulations — such as those for vaping products — alongside Kennedy’s interests in scrutinizing vaccines, drugs and food ingredients.

    The previous FDA head faced numerous challenges before quitting

    Those challenges dogged the tenure of the previous FDA head, Marty Makary, who resigned in May. Makary’s time at the agency was defined by scientific disputes, leadership changes and a string of media stories detailing low morale and internal dysfunction among staffers. The FDA has lost about 20% of its employees to layoffs, buyouts, retirements or resignations since Trump took office.

    Overton studied under Makary at Johns Hopkins University, where she received a doctoral degree in clinical research after earning her medical degree at the University of New Mexico.

    Like Makary, Overton has no experience running a large bureaucracy, a critical skill for steering the FDA’s 16,000 staffers spread across numerous U.S. and international locations.

    In financial disclosure forms, Overton reported no investments in healthcare or food companies. That’s a stark contrast to Makary and other recent FDA nominees who have had to divest investments or cut other financial ties with companies regulated by the FDA.

    Overton reported $50,000 to $100,000 in student loans.

  • Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia effectively shatters 2022 peace deal that ended war

    Renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia effectively shatters 2022 peace deal that ended war

    ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Renewed fighting between Ethiopian federal troops and Tigrayan fighters escalated Thursday, effectively shattering a peace pact that ended a devastating two-year war in 2022, as rebel forces mobilized for an armed struggle they hope will lead to the removal of the federal prime minister.

    The main combatants are Ethiopian federal troops and fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, an armed political group in Tigray, Ethiopia’s northernmost regional state.

    Ethiopia’s military said Thursday that dozens of TPLF fighters had been killed in ongoing operations and that federal forces “have been able to detain many” others and seize a large quantity of weapons from them.

    The TPLF and Ethiopian federal troops waged war between November 2020 and November 2022, when a peace deal was signed in Pretoria, South Africa.

    Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian forces against the TPLF in that conflict. The civilian death toll was estimated by Ghent University researchers to be 500,000, including from violence, famine and the collapse of health services.

    After both sides signed the Pretoria peace deal, a caretaker administration seen as loyal to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was installed in Mekelle, the Tigray capital. But tensions remained, with the TPLF maneuvering for political control in Mekelle.

    Rebel fighters forge a coalition

    This time, the TPLF appears to have mobilized widely, bringing together former foes in its stated goal of removing Abiy from power in Addis Ababa, the federal capital.

    On Sunday, the TPLF and six other opposition groups announced that they had formed an alliance to overthrow Abiy’s governing Prosperity Party, which was reelected in June polls that were boycotted by major opposition groups.

    Both sides had been accusing each other of bad faith, and for months some civilians in Tigray expected a return to armed hostilities. In May, the TPLF forced out regional leader Tadesse Werede, who reported to Abiy, and replaced him with a new council led by TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael, who led the Tigrayans in the previous conflict.

    Ethiopian federal authorities accused the TPLF of seeking to build an alliance with neighboring Eritrea to destabilize Ethiopia. The TPLF accused Ethiopian authorities of conducting drone attacks in Tigray. Eritrea said that it was alarmed by Abiy’s repeated assertions of his wish for sovereign access to the Red Sea via Eritrea.

    Both sides deny responsibility for launching this round of hostilities, and most of the fighting is believed to be in remote areas of often ragged, mountainous territory. On Wednesday, TPLF fighters seized the airport in Mekelle from federal police, and national carrier Ethiopian Airlines canceled flights there and elsewhere in the region.

    Observers say pressure is building on Abiy

    The Ethiopian News Agency, the official news organization of the Ethiopian government, described the TPLF as a “Trojan horse,” saying that the group’s “repeated attempts to incite conflict” defy the government’s “patience, concessions and magnanimity.”

    The coalition formed by the TPLF and six other opposition groups said that it would be known as the Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival. In addition to the TPLF, the others include the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Oromo Liberation Army, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front, the Benishangul Peoples’ Liberation Movement and the Gumuz Peoples’ Democratic Movement.

    That alliance, which unites some groups previously opposed to each other, may put pressure on Abiy, according to Kjetil Tronvoll, an academic analyst of Ethiopia at Oslo New University College.

    “The situation now differs substantially from the 2020-2022 war on Tigray,” he said in an analysis posted on X. “This time around Fano is an ally and Eritrea a backer. Supply lines are also secured through Eritrea.”

    Regional blocs and the U.S. call for an end to fighting

    The African Union and a key regional bloc known as IGAD called for de-escalation of hostilities. U.S. Ambassador Ervin J. Massinga said in a statement that he felt disappointed by the TPLF’s “poor decision to launch a large-scale offensive.”

    His statement said that the TPLF’s “unwinnable fight does nothing for the people. Other armed groups would be wise to avoid this.” A TPLF official, Amanuel Assefa, said the statement was unfair.

    Abiy has been praised by many for his ambitious infrastructure projects that seek to turn Addis Ababa into a world-class city. To his supporters, the prime minister is a renaissance man trying to reimagine the old greatness of Ethiopia.

    Abiy rose from relative obscurity to power in 2018 as a reform-minded pragmatist. Ties with Eritrea, which broke away from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of brutal guerrilla warfare, had been cold since the 1990s, and Abiy’s efforts to repair relations with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki helped him win the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

    A year later, Abiy confounded expectations by launching a military operation against the TPLF.

    Some of Abiy’s critics now see him as a provocateur whose actions could lead to hostilities in the Horn of Africa. His push for sovereign access to the Eritrean seaport of Assab has reignited tensions with Eritrea, which shares a border with Tigray. Abiy also angered Somalia by trying to negotiate access to the sea via the territory of Somaliland.

  • 8 sailors in USS Lincoln group attempted suicide on extended deployment, Navy leader says

    8 sailors in USS Lincoln group attempted suicide on extended deployment, Navy leader says

    WASHINGTON — Eight sailors attempted suicide while deployed with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, which spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the Iran war, the Navy’s top civilian leader said this week.

    Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao provided the information to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a letter dated Tuesday after the New York Democrat inquired last month about the strike group’s crew of thousands. The Lincoln’s extended deployment drew the nation’s attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.

    Gillibrand asked Cao specifically if there were any suicides.

    “There have been no suicides on board during this deployment,” Cao wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press and reported earlier by CNN. “Since the beginning of LINCOLN’S deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group — this number includes the LINCOLN crew and Sailors from the carrier wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons.”

    President Donald Trump had downplayed reports about conditions on the Lincoln, which left its homeport in San Diego in November, arrived in the Middle East in January in support of Iran operations, and spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days.

    The carrier and some of its supporting ships stopped in Thailand in early September on their way back home to California. The Lincoln’s commanding officer, Capt. Dan Keeler, said then that the ship will be heading home soon but may make further supply stops. He declined to comment on the exact date the strike group is expected back in the U.S.

    Last month, Trump called the nearly nine months at sea that the sailors endured a “good period of time” but added that “over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer.”

    Trump told reporters in August that he spoke with a retired admiral who recounted being on ships for “much longer.” Trump said the admiral assured him that the Lincoln is “beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.” Trump did not name the admiral.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also had said that conditions about the Lincoln were “completely misrepresented.”

    Gillibrand took aim at both in a statement released this week in response to Cao’s letter.

    “What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members,” she stated.

    “Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect,” Gillibrand said. “That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable.”

    Extended deployments of carriers wear on service members who are away from home for long periods and increase strain on the ship and its equipment. The Navy is continuing to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Trump administration has offered no clarity on how it intends to wind down the war.

  • Starbucks to shutter 250 stores in North America this week in 2nd wave of closings

    Starbucks to shutter 250 stores in North America this week in 2nd wave of closings

    Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores later this week.

    It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe.

    In a letter to employees, Starbucks chief operating officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren’t delivering acceptable financial results or can’t provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees.

    The company didn’t say Thursday which coffeehouses will close or how many are located in the U.S. It also didn’t say how many of the affected coffeehouses are unionized. More than 700 U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021, but the union and the company have yet to reach a labor agreement.

    Grams said Starbucks is continuing to retrofit its North American coffeehouses to make them cozier and more inviting. The company expects 1,500 stores will be retrofitted by Sept. 30, which is the end of Starbucks’ fiscal year.

    “This progress has given us a clearer view of the performance of every coffeehouse,” Grams said in his letter. “While most are benefiting from this overall momentum, some coffeehouses continue to underperform despite the hard work and commitment of all of you.”

    Grams said Starbucks is still committed to growing its store count in North America. At the end of June, the company had 18,371 stores in the region.

    Starbucks said it will transfer employees to other stores if possible or provide severance support if it’s not able to place an employee in another location.

    Starbucks has also been cutting its corporate ranks. The company laid off 900 nonretail employees when it closed stores last September. In May, Starbucks laid off an additional 300 corporate employees and closed some underused U.S. offices.

    The company said it will incur $300 million in restructuring charges with this round of closures, including $200 million in cash charges as it exits leases and pays employee separation benefits and $100 million in non-cash charges due to the disposal and impairment of coffeehouse assets.

    Starbucks shares fell less than 1% Thursday in morning trading.

  • China’s Xi arrives in Washington, kicking off his state visit with rare planeside welcome from Trump

    China’s Xi arrives in Washington, kicking off his state visit with rare planeside welcome from Trump

    WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington on Wednesday, where he was met with a rare planeside greeting from President Donald Trump, who was there to welcome his counterpart instead of waiting for him to drive up to the White House.

    Trump’s decision to greet Xi at Joint Base Andrews just outside Washington rather than receiving him at the executive residence shows how far the U.S. president is going to honor China’s leader as he made his first state visit to the U.S. capital in more than a decade.

    A 100-foot long red carpet was unfurled at the bottom of the staircase placed at the door of Xi’s plane. A 21-person honor guard was arrayed on the sides of the carpet and Trump and first lady Melania Trump stood near a staircase on the side of the plane, where they greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, with handshakes.

    The welcome ceremony also included a flyover by two B-1 bombers, flower presenters, platoons from each military service, and a presentation of the flags and anthems of both countries. Trump and his wife spoke to their counterparts, but their words could not be heard. Trump, who wore gloves and an overcoat though it was a relatively warm 63 degrees Fahrenheit outside, removed one of his gloves to shake hands with Xi. At one point he slapped Xi on the back and said something to him that was inaudible.

    The salutation kicks off a three-day visit that’s expected to be saturated with pomp, even by White House standards. The state visit, complete with a formal state dinner at the White House on Thursday, is supposed to reciprocate the ceremonial grandeur that marked Trump’s May visit to China.

    But it also is a showy patina at a time when tensions between the two geopolitical rivals are high over trade, artificial intelligence, Trump’s war with Iran and China’s designs on Taiwan.

    The visit comes after Trump’s trip to China in May

    Beyond using the visit to try to keep “strategic stability” between the two countries, Trump seems to be pulling out all the diplomatic stops to show off for Xi. Trump has lavished praise on Xi as a “great leader” and described a warm relationship with the man he has called a friend. That is all while he has given Xi a pass on many issues.

    Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the “lavish welcome.” Wicker, R-Miss., said during a speech Tuesday in the Senate that Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader “based on all of the troubling issues we have with President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.”

    Wicker archly suggested a list of topics that Trump could discuss with Xi at the state dinner, such as “the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran,” saying that “during every minute of dialogue” Trump should keep in mind that “his guest is a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. and China must interact at the highest levels because the countries are “the two largest economies in the world” and “probably the two most powerful militaries in the world.”

    “The idea that we would not interact with them at the highest levels is irresponsible. It’s outrageous. We have to,” Rubio told reporters Wednesday while he was in New York.

    Trump to welcome Xi with ‘the most respect’

    Trump has made it clear he wants to wow Xi, telling reporters in recent weeks that he was delighted his new “work of art” helicopter landing pad would be ready for the visit while bemoaning that his massive White House ballroom would not.

    Trump on Wednesday was looking to match the pageantry he was met with in China earlier this year. Xi was not at the airport to meet Trump — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng was there instead. But a red carpet was rolled out to meet Air Force One in Beijing. A military honor guard, a military band and about 300 Chinese youths waving Chinese and American flags and chanting, “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” also were present. The children wore white and light blue uniforms that mirrored the traditional paint colors of the presidential plane.

    The first lady said earlier Wednesday her husband decided to personally greet Xi when he arrived in the Washington region because “they have a great relationship.”

    “He’s coming on our soil, and we need to welcome them with the most respect,” she said of Xi and his wife during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”

    A black-tie dinner and visit to the archives will follow

    Trump’s airport ceremony for Xi will be followed on Thursday by more formalities, including an arrival ceremony at the White House and a review of troops. Before the black-tie dinner, which will feature tech industry leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, the two leaders are expected to dive into the weighty issues behind closed doors, even as expectations are low that the trip will produce any major breakthroughs in the relationship.

    On Friday, Xi and Peng will be back at the White House for a private tea with the Trumps before joining them on a tour of the National Archives in Washington. The White House has said they will view historic documents underscoring the relationship between the two countries.

  • Judge hears arguments without immediately ruling in lawsuit over White House ban on 3 news outlets

    Judge hears arguments without immediately ruling in lawsuit over White House ban on 3 news outlets

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge weighing whether to block President Donald Trump’s ban of three news outlets from White House grounds expressed some skepticism Wednesday in response to the government’s defense of the move.

    U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated by Trump in 2017, didn’t rule from the bench after hearing arguments in an extraordinary showdown between Trump and media outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

    But the judge questioned whether the administration met its legal responsibilities and provided the news outlets with adequate due process before banning them on Friday, assailing what he called “fake news.” More recently, the president has said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.

    The news outlets argued they were singled out because of the content of their coverage — in other words, viewpoint discrimination — and called the ban a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment.

    Kelly said his decision must be guided by courts’ prior rulings in comparable First Amendment cases, even if the government disagrees with them.

    “I think it is fair to say that the processes that the court laid out wasn’t followed here,” Kelly said.

    It wasn’t clear when Kelly, who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018 — would issue a decision on the news outlets’ request for a restraining order. But he said he’d rule as soon as possible.

    CNN, Politico and MS NOW each told The Associated Press they’d have no comment on the emergency hearing.

    Prior rulings indicate journalists should be heard before press passes are revoked

    Kelly opened by reminding both sides that he’s required to apply case precedent.

    The rulings in two prior cases over press access — including one that went to the U.S. Supreme Court — made clear that journalists were entitled to an opportunity to be heard before they have their press passes revoked.

    Justice Department attorney Michael Velchik argued that the rulings in the earlier cases were wrong.

    “Access to the White House is a privilege, not a right,” Velchik said.

    Theodore Boutrous Jr., attorney for the outlets, called the ban an “unprecedented, unreasonable punishment” and said there was “not a semblance of due process.”

    The administration doubled down on its contention that it has the right to decide who can set foot in the White House.

    “The president should be able to take immediate action to protect national security,” Velchik told the court.

    In response, Boutros said, “Suddenly it’s a national security case,” arguing that the president brought up that point only after the lawsuit was filed.

    The Trump administration outlined ‘reporting incidents’ of each news outlet

    In a filing late Tuesday, administration lawyers argued that the ban does not violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to a free press. It contended that the outlets, in their reporting, violated “standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access to the White House complex, including by trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues and publishing sensitive or classified information.”

    The administration went on to detail letters that were sent to each outlet that identified “a non-exhaustive list of reporting incidents, including those that have threatened national security and spread falsehoods.”

    The “reporting incidents” cited in the filing included: CNN reporting on “‘top-secret’ construction details related to the East Wing bunker”; MS NOW reporting “on an alleged leak investigation”; and Politico publishing “a document detailing funding for the White House ballroom containing intricate descriptions of how the Secret Service would invest in security improvements.”

    Further examples were given in individual letters. Politico’s letter detailed six incidents of reporting, including in June citing a “senior administration official … granted anonymity” predicting whether a preliminary deal would end the conflict with Iran.

    That item appeared to reference a background briefing set up by the White House, where an official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House itself. Several other outlets also reported the official’s remarks.

    Major networks continue to refrain from covering Trump for the media pool

    The ban prompted other media outlets to take action in solidarity. The five-network U.S. network press pool — a rotating cast of news outlets that covers the president, and to which CNN belongs — decided to suspend coverage of Trump events until further notice.

    After the hearing Wednesday, the networks were poised to continue their ban on filming Trump coverage. At Joint Base Andrews, where the president was to formally welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping later, journalists from Fox News, CBS and NBC were present but not shooting video, and some appeared to be breaking down their cameras.

    Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News and LindellTV.

    Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, an amicus brief was filed by other news groups, urging the court to immediately restore the three outlets’ White House access.

    The brief — filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the White House Correspondents’ Association and 49 media outlets and industry groups, including The Associated Press, The New York Times and Reuters — says “the targeted expulsion of news media from White House grounds injures the public interest” and ”unassailable First Amendment law makes any viewpoint-based decision to bar reporters from a nonpublic forum constitutionally repugnant.”

    The proceedings are historic, said Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

    “No president has taken this explicit of a step” to ban entire news outlets because he doesn’t like their reporting, she said. “There have been various presidents throughout history who have grumbled about the press or threatened to take more major steps, but really there was nothing at this level before Trump.”