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Factbox-Major cases before the US Supreme Court this term

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court’s current term features major cases involving former President Donald Trump’s ballot disqualification, his claim of immunity from prosecution, the abortion pill, gun rights, the power of federal agencies, social media regulation and Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement.

Here is a look at some of the rulings already issued, cases already argued and cases still to be argued this term.

TRUMP BALLOT DISQUALIFICATION

The court on March 4 handed Trump a major victory by barring states from disqualifying candidates for federal office under a constitutional provision involving insurrection and reversing Colorado’s exclusion of him from its ballot. The justices unanimously overturned a decision by Colorado’s top court to kick the former president off the state’s Republican primary ballot after finding that the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. The Colorado court had found that Trump took part in an insurrection for inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM

The justices are set on April 25 to hear arguments in Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Lower courts have rejected Trump’s bid to be shielded from a federal criminal case pursued by Special Counsel Jack Smith, with the consideration of his appeal by the justices delaying the start of his trial. Trump has said he is immune because he was president when he took the actions aimed at undoing the election outcome. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

OBSTRUCTION CHARGE

The court on April 16 is set to hear arguments over whether a man named Joseph Fischer who was involved in the Capitol attack can be charged with obstructing an official proceeding – congressional certification of the 2020 election results. The case has potential implications for Trump because he faces the same charge in the special counsel’s federal election subversion case. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

ABORTION PILL ACCESS

The justices on March 26 heard arguments in a case involving possible restrictions in access to the abortion pill. The justices signaled they were unlikely to limit access, appearing skeptical that the anti-abortion groups and doctors challenging the drug, called mifepristone, have the needed legal standing to bring the case. The Biden administration has appealed a lower court’s ruling in favor of the plaintiffs that would limit how the medication is prescribed and distributed. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

IDAHO ABORTION LAW

The justices on April 24 are due to hear arguments over the legality of Idaho’s near-total abortion ban in medical-emergency situations. Idaho officials are appealing after a lower court concluded that the state’s Republican-backed abortion measure must yield to a federal law that ensures that patients can receive emergency “stabilizing care.” Biden’s administration, which sued over the Idaho law, has said that a 1986 U.S. statute could potentially require abortions that would not be included under Idaho’s narrow exception for saving the mother’s life. A decision in the case is expected by late June.

BUMP STOCKS

The court on Feb. 28 heard arguments over the legality of a ban imposed during Trump’s presidency on “bump stocks” – devices that enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns. The justices delved into the technical aspects of the devices. The Biden administration has appealed a lower court’s ruling in favor of a Texas gun shop owner who challenged the ban implemented after a 2017 mass shooting that killed 58 people in Las Vegas. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION FREE SPEECH

The justices on March 18 heard arguments over the National Rifle Association’s claim that a New York state official violated its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment by coercing banks and insurers to cut ties with it. The NRA urged the justices to revive its lawsuit accusing the official, Maria Vullo, of unlawfully retaliating against it following a 2018 mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Parkland, Florida high school. The justices sought to distinguish permissible government advocacy from unlawful coercion. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GUN CURBS

The court on Nov. 7 heard arguments over the legality of a federal law that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to have guns. The justices appeared inclined to uphold the law. Biden’s administration appealed a lower court’s ruling that the law violated the Constitution’s Second Amendment’s “right to keep and bear arms.” The challenge was filed by a Texas man charged with illegal gun possession while subject to a domestic violence restraining order after assaulting his girlfriend. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

SOUTH CAROLINA ELECTORAL MAP

The justices on Oct. 11 heard arguments over the legality of a Republican-drawn electoral map in South Carolina that was blocked by a lower court for racial bias after 30,000 Black residents were moved out of a U.S. House of Representatives district. The conservative justices signaled sympathy toward arguments made by Republican South Carolina officials. The lower court in 2023 found that the map violated constitutional provisions that guarantee equal protection under the law and bar racial voting discrimination. But on March 28 it decided that the map could be used in this year’s elections because the Supreme Court’s ruling had not yet been issued and the election calendar was fast approaching. A ruling by the Supreme Court is expected by the end of June.

FISH CONSERVATION PROGRAM

The court heard arguments on Jan. 17 in a bid by fishing companies to further limit the regulatory powers of federal agencies in a dispute involving a government-run program to monitor for overfishing of herring off New England’s coast. The justices appeared divided in the case. The companies have asked the court to rein in or overturn a precedent established in 1984 that calls for judges to defer to federal agency interpretation of U.S. laws deemed to be ambiguous, a doctrine called “Chevron deference.” A ruling is expected by the end of June.

CONSUMER WATCHDOG AGENCY’S FUNDING

The justices on Oct. 3 heard the payday lending industry’s challenge to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure. The justices appeared skeptical of the challenge in a case that Biden’s administration has said imperils an agency set up to curb predatory lending after the 2008 global financial crisis. The administration appealed a lower court’s ruling that the funding mechanism violated the constitutional provision giving lawmakers the power of the purse. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

SEC IN-HOUSE ENFORCEMENT

The court on Nov. 29 heard arguments over the legality of proceedings conducted by in-house judges at the Securities and Exchange Commission to enforce investor-protection laws. The conservative justices signaled some sympathy toward the challenge brought by a Texas-based hedge fund manager who the SEC fined and barred from the industry after determining he had committed securities fraud. Biden’s administration appealed a lower court decision striking down the SEC enforcement proceedings at issue as unconstitutional for violating the right to a jury trial and infringing on presidential and congressional powers. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The justices on March 15 decided that government officials can sometimes be sued under the First Amendment for blocking critics on social media. In unanimous rulings in two cases from California and Michigan, the justices set a new standard for determining if public officials acted in a governmental capacity when blocking critics on social media – a test to be applied in lawsuits accusing them of First Amendment violations. First Amendment free speech protections generally constrain government actors, not private individuals.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT MODERATION

The court on Feb. 26 heard arguments over the legality of Republican-backed laws in Texas and Florida that constrain the ability of social media companies to curb content on their platforms that these businesses deem objectionable. The justices expressed reservations about the laws but signaled they may not block them in their entirety. The two cases involve technology industry challenges contending that the laws restricting the content-moderation practices of large social media platforms violate First Amendment protections. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

PURDUE PHARMA BANKRUPTCY SETTLEMENT

The court on Dec. 4 heard arguments over whether to approve pain medication OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement. The justices voiced concern that the deal would shield Purdue’s wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits over their role in a deadly opioid epidemic while also worrying that scuttling it could harm victims. Purdue’s owners under the settlement would receive immunity in exchange for paying up to $6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by states, hospitals, people who had become addicted and others who have sued the company over misleading marketing of OxyContin. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS

The justices on April 22 are set to hear arguments in an Oregon city’s bid to enforce local laws against people camping on public property, teeing up a legal fight over a homelessness crisis that has vexed municipalities across the Western United States. The case involves an appeal by the city of Grants Pass of a lower court’s ruling that found that the ordinances – which make it illegal to camp on sidewalks, streets, parks or other public places – violate the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishment. A decision in the case is expected by the end of June.

TAX ON FOREIGN EARNINGS

The court on Dec. 5 heard arguments in a challenge to a tax on Americans who have invested in certain foreign corporations. The justices appeared skeptical of the bid by a retired couple from Washington state who appealed after a lower court rejected their challenge to the tax on foreign company earnings, even though those profits have not been distributed to shareholders. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

‘TRUMP TOO SMALL’ TRADEMARK

The court on Nov. 1 heard arguments over whether a California attorney’s trademark for the phrase “Trump Too Small” – a cheeky criticism of the former president – should have been granted by the U.S. Trademark Office. The justices appeared skeptical that the attorney can own a federal trademark covering the phrase. The office, which denied the trademark, appealed a lower court’s decision that the attorney’s First Amendment protections for his criticism of public figures outweighed the agency’s concerns about Trump’s rights. A ruling is expected by the end of June.

(Compiled by Andrew Chung and John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)


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Kamala Harris pushes the envelope as Biden struggles with some Democrats

By Trevor Hunnicutt

(Reuters) – Hosting rapper Fat Joe at the White House to talk about reforming marijuana laws. Visiting an abortion clinic. Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at the historic Selma bridge in Alabama. Walking the bloodstained crime scene of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has stepped out of the shadow of President Joe Biden in recent weeks as part of a high-profile effort to persuade the fractious coalition of voters who sent them to the White House to give them a second term.

Harris’ evolving role comes as progressive Democrats target Biden over his pro-Israel stance and polls show him in a tight race against Republican rival Donald Trump.

As left-leaning voters question Biden’s age and leadership, a problem Trump doesn’t face with his core voters, the 59-year-old Harris is taking on more heated topics, more often and more directly than Biden.

Biden has defended abortion rights but emphasized women whose lives are in danger, and called it a “deeply private and painful” matter.

Harris has gone further – during a visit to Planned Parenthood in Minneapolis, believed to be the first time a sitting vice president has visited an abortion clinic, the former senator described abortion as a basic part of women’s healthcare in vivid terms.

“Everyone get ready for the language: uterus,” she said. “Issues like fibroids — we can handle this — breast cancer screenings, contraceptive care — that is the kind of work that happens here, in addition, of course, to abortion care.”

In Selma, she delivered the strongest comments at that point by any U.S. official on Israel’s offensive against Hamas: “Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire.”

Her use of the word “ceasefire,” a term left-leaning Democrats were so eager to hear that it had become a rallying cry, was cheered by some, although others demanded it be met with policy changes, too. Harris also pushed Israel to do more to ease what she called a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

“There is no doubt the vice-president has tried to move the conversation about Gaza to a more empathetic place but introducing new language falls flat when there is no evidence she’s pushing for a more meaningful policy shift,” said Abbas Alawieh, a top official for a campaign urging voters to protest Biden by voting “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries.

“She needs to push Biden harder to change U.S. policy,” he said.

Current and former Harris aides disputed the idea of any difference in policy between Biden, characterizing their efforts as a difference in tone and emphasis. They said Harris’ initiatives are a reflection of areas of interest that, in some cases, date back to her time as a prosecutor.

“She’s been on the leading edge of some of the most important issues facing the country, and certainly [those] that are going to be determinative of the election,” said Dave Cavell, a former Harris speechwriter.

Biden cannot emphasize divisive cultural issues without alienating more conservative voters he needs to win, current and former aides said. As the Democrats’ “coalition leader” he needs to focus on the core economic issues that will sway centrists, they said.

To that end, he has used 11 of his 16 trips this year to competitive election states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to promote “kitchen table” economic policies like bringing back manufacturing jobs shipped overseas and supporting unions.

Harris, the first Black, Asian and woman vice president, instead, is embracing a pugilistic role, with a “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour and a “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour, in addition to talking about the economy.

ANOTHER CHALLENGE FOR HARRIS

Biden has assigned Harris a number of seemingly intractable issues during her vice presidency, from the decades-old problem of migration to the U.S. southern border to pushing back on a generations-old pattern of limiting voting rights for left-leaning Americans.

Winning back parts of the Democratic coalition that has fractured over Israel policy, immigration and the economy is another big challenge.

Reuters/Ipsos polling that shows Biden and Trump tied nationally also reveals a majority of women, people under 40 and Latinos disapprove of Biden’s performance as president. Each group favored Biden in 2020, helping him beat Trump.

Only 56% of Black people approved of Biden’s job performance, low figures for a group that typically votes 9-to-1 for Democrats in presidential elections.

Harris, whose approval ratings in recent public opinion polls also hover under 40%, is also the U.S.’s most popular Democratic politician after Biden. But some White House aides have privately questioned her effectiveness as an administration spokesperson and her ability to win were she at the top of the ticket.

If Trump wins white voters, the largest U.S. racial group, for the third election in a row, Biden needs a dominant showing among a diverse set of groups that typically favor Democrats.

There are some signs that Harris is in for a tough fight.

On a trip to San Juan last week also aimed at courting the 5.9 million Puerto Rican Latinos who live in the mainland United States, Harris’ arrival at a community center to celebrate the Caribbean island’s culture was shouted down by demonstrators.

Some chanted “Yankee, go home” and held signs calling Harris a “war criminal” for the Biden administration’s support of Israel in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, despite a mounting Gaza death toll. Such protests have occurred at multiple Harris events.

She has an increasingly vocal fan in Biden, though, who once wrestled with the decision of whether to make her his running mate in 2020. Harris has worked carefully to make sure that she doesn’t appear out of sync with her boss, describing Biden and her on March 4 as “aligned and consistent from the very beginning” on Gaza.

“I love her,” Biden said, unprompted, of Harris of Feb. 6. She’s “doing an incredible job,” he added on March 18.

Read Reuters full Election 2024 coverage here:

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Additional reporting by Arlene Eiras and Nandita Bose; Editing by Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington)


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Georgia bill aimed at requiring law enforcement to heed immigration requests heads to governor

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would require local jailers to check the immigration status of inmates and work with federal immigration officials instead of sheltering people who are in the country illegally.

The House voted 99-75 to accept changes to House Bill 1105, which was backed by Republicans and now goes to the governor for his signature. It previously passed the state Senate.

Under the measure, local law enforcement agencies would risk losing state funding for failing to work with immigration officials. Local officials could also face misdemeanor charges.

The measure gained traction after police accused a Venezuelan man of beating a nursing student to death on the University of Georgia campus.

Jose Ibarra was arrested last month on murder and assault charges in the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley. Immigration authorities say Ibarra, 26, unlawfully crossed into the United States in 2022. It is unclear whether he has applied for asylum.

Democrats raised concerns it would turn local law enforcement into immigration police, making communities less willing to report crime and work with them. They have also pointed to studies showing immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes.

House Republican Jesse Petrea said on the floor Thursday that the bill was asking law enforcement only to work with immigration officials when someone has committed a crime and is in the country illegally.

“I don’t believe anyone in law enforcement believes that’s too much to ask,” he said.


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What to know about Day of Visibility, designed to show the world ‘trans joy’

Sunday is International Transgender Day of Visibility, observed around the world to bring attention to a population that’s often ignored, disparaged or victimized.

Here are things to know about the day.

The “day” is Sunday, but celebrations and educational events designed to bring attention to transgender people are occurring for several days around March 31.

Events were scheduled around the world and include panels and speakers in Cincinnati and Atlanta, marches in Melbourne, Florida and Philadelphia, and an inclusive roller derby league’s game on New York’s Long Island. A picnic is planned in the English town of Hitchin.

Perhaps the highest profile U.S. event is a rally scheduled for Sunday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Major buildings and landmarks across the U.S. will be lit up in pink, white and light blue to mark the day. Last year, those lit included New York’s One World Trade Center and Niagara Falls.

Rachel Crandall-Crocker, the executive director and co-founder of Transgender Michigan, organized the first day in 2009.

“I think that once a person understands us, it’s hard to discriminate against us,” she said in an interview. “I created it because I wanted a time that we don’t have to be so lonely. I wanted a day that we’re all together all over the world as one community. And that’s exactly what we are.”

It was designed as a contrast to Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is held annually on Nov. 20 to honor the memory of of transgender people who were killed in anti-transgender violence.

Crandall-Crocker selected the day at the end of March to give it space from the day of remembrance and Pride Month in June, which celebrates all types of LGBTQ+ people.

She plans to take part in a rally in Lansing, Michigan.

Transgender people have become more visible in public life in the U.S. and elsewhere.

There also has been a backlash from conservatives officials. At least 11 states have adopted policies barring people from using the bathrooms aligning with their gender in schools or other public buildings, 25 have bans on transgender women and/or girls competing in sports for women or girls and more than 20 have adopted bans on gender-affirming health care for minors. Some of the policies have been put on hold by courts.

Nico Lang, author of “American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era,” which is scheduled to be published later this year, said it’s important to find happiness even amid the political tumult.

“I feel like we as people — all of us queer people, trans people — are trying to assert our humanity right now,” said Lang, who uses they/them pronouns.

They said the day of visibility is powerful because it’s not just on social media but also in real life with rallies and potluck meals.

“It’s just us living our lives,” they said.


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Georgia joins states seeking parental permission before children join social media

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia could join other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts.

Lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to Senate Bill 351, which also would ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify users are 18 or over and mandate additional education by schools on social media and internet use. The House passed the measure 120-45 and the Senate approved it 48-7.

The bill, which Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas called “transformative,” now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.

A number of other states including Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Utah passed laws last year requiring parental consent for children to use social media. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August blocked enforcement of a law requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.

Some in Congress also are proposing parental consent for minors.

State Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican, argued the state should do more to limit social media use by children, saying it’s causing harm.

“Every rose has a thorn, and that’s social media in this generation,” Hilton said. “It’s great for connectivity and activism, but it has reared its ugly head on mental health.”

But opponents warned the bill would cause problems. For example, Rep. David Wilkerson, a Powder Springs Democrat, said that the ban on use of social media in schools could ban teachers from showing educationally valuable YouTube videos.

“If we do pass this, we’ll be back fixing this next year, because there are too many issues with this bill,” Wilkerson said.

The bill says social media services would have to use “commercially reasonable efforts” to verify someone’s age by July 1, 2025.

Services would have to treat anyone who can’t be verified as a minor. Parents of children younger than 16 would have to consent to their children joining a service. Social medial companies would be limited in how they could customize ads for children younger than 16 and how much information they could collect on those children.

To comply with federal regulation, social media companies already ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms, but children have been shown to easily evade the bans.

Up to 95% of teens aged 13 to 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use them “almost constantly,” the Pew Research Center found.

The Georgia bill also aims to shut down porn sites by requiring submission of a digitized identification card or some other government-issued identification. Companies could be held liable if minors were found to access the sites, and could face fines of up to $10,000.

“It will protect our children,” said Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Jasper Republican who argues age verification will lead porn sites to cut off access to Georgians. In March, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law, leading Pornhub to cut off access to Texans.

The Free Speech Coalition, which represents adult film makers, says the bill would be ineffective because users could mask their location and because people would be forced to transmit sensitive information. They also argue it’s unconstitutional because there are less restrictive ways to keep children out and discriminate against certain types of speech. The coalition has sued multiple states over the laws.

The ban on school social media excludes email, news, gaming, online shopping, photograph editing and academic sites. The measure also requires a model program on the effects of social media and for students in grades 6-12, and requires existing anti-bullying programs to be updated.

The move comes after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in May that social media hasn’t been proven to be safe for young people.

Murthy called on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take “immediate action to protect kids now” and asked tech companies to share data and increase transparency and for policymakers to regulate social media for safety the way they do car seats and baby formula.

Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instragram, announced in 2022 it was taking steps to verify ages. Meta says it provides “age-appropriate experiences” for teens 13-17 on Instagram, including preventing unwanted contact from unknown adults.

Dozens of U.S. states, including California and New York, also are suing Meta Platforms Inc., claiming the company harms young people and contributes to a youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.

Florida recently passed a law banning social media accounts for children under 14 regardless of parental consent and require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds.


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A growing number of Americans end up in Russian jails. The prospects for their release are unclear

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A journalist on a reporting trip in a Ural Mountains city. A corporate security executive traveling to Moscow for a wedding. A dual national returning to her hometown in Tatarstan to visit her family.

All of them are U.S. citizens, and all are behind bars in Russia on charges of varying severity.

Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common as relations between Moscow and Washington sink to Cold War lows. Washington accuses Moscow of targeting its citizens and using them as political bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they all broke the law.

Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the U.S., while for others, the prospects of being released in a swap are less clear.

“It seems that since Moscow itself has cut off most of the communication channels and does not know how to restore them properly without losing face, they are trying to use the hostages. … At least that’s what it looks like,” said Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who quit after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Friday marks a year since the arrest of Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal who is awaiting trial in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison on espionage charges.

Gershkovich was detained while on a reporting trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of spying for the U.S. Russian authorities haven’t revealed any details of the accusations or evidence to back up the charges, which he, his employer and the U.S. government all deny.

Another American accused of espionage is Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan. He was arrested in 2018 in Russia and sentenced to 16 years in prison two years later. Whelan, who said he traveled to Moscow to attend a friend’s wedding, has maintained his innocence and said the charges against him were fabricated.

The U.S. government has declared both Gershkovich and Whelan to be wrongfully detained and has been advocating for their release.

Others detained include Travis Leake, a musician who had been living in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug-related charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also on drug charges; and dual nationals Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.

Kurmasheva, a Prague-based editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was arrested October 2023 in her hometown of Kazan, where she traveled to see her ailing elderly mother. She has faced multiple charges, including not self-reporting as a “foreign agent” and spreading false information about the army.

Khavana, of Los Angeles, returned to Russia to visit family and was arrested on treason charges. According to Pervy Otdel, a rights group that specializes in treason cases, the charges against her stem from a $51 donation to a U.S. charity that helps Ukraine.

The precise number of Americans jailed in Russia is unclear, but the cases of Gershkovich and Whelan have received the most attention.

Gershkovich was designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department less than two weeks after his arrest, unusually fast action by the U.S government. The designation is applied to only a small subsection of Americans jailed by foreign countries.

Prisoners who get that classification have their cases assigned to a special State Department envoy for hostage affairs, who tries to negotiate their releases, and must meet certain criteria — including a determination that the arrest was done solely because the person is a U.S. national or as part of an effort to influence U.S. policy or extract concessions from the government.

The U.S. has had some success in recent years negotiating high-profile prisoner swaps with Russia, striking deals in 2022 that resulted in the releases of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Marine veteran Trevor Reed. Both Griner and Reed were designated as wrongfully detained.

In the exchanges for them, Moscow got arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S., and pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, given a 20-year prison term in the U.S. for cocaine trafficking.

It’s unclear whether there are any negotiations in the works on swapping other Americans held in Russia, such as Leake, Fogel, Kurmasheva or Khavana.

Kurmasheva’s husband, Pavel Butorin, told The Associated Press shortly after her arrest that he hoped the U.S. government would use “every avenue and every means available to it” to win her release, including designating her as a wrongfully detained person.

In December, the State Department said it had made a significant offer to secure the release of Gershkovich and Whelan, which it said Russia had rejected.

Officials did not describe the offer, although Russia has been said to be seeking the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was given a life sentence in Germany in 2021 for the killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.

President Vladimir Putin, asked this year about releasing Gershkovich, appeared to refer to Krasikov by pointing to a man imprisoned by a U.S. ally for “liquidating a bandit” who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya.

Beyond that hint, Russian officials have kept mum about the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeatedly said that while “certain contacts” on swaps continue, “they must be carried out in absolute silence.”

Whether there are any other Russians held in the West that Moscow might be interested in is unclear.

When Russia agreed to release Griner but not Whelan, a senior Biden administration official lamented to reporters that Russia had “rejected each and every one of our proposals for his release.”

Those scenarios — in which one detainee is released but not another — weigh heavily on officials in the U.S. government, said Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, speaking in a January interview with AP.

“Unless someone’s coming off a plane, onto a tarmac, in the United States of America and into the arms of their loved ones, we’re not getting a win,” Carstens said.

Historically, “when the relationships (between countries) are better, the exchanges seem to be smoother,” said Nina Khrushcheva, a Moscow-born professor of international affairs at the New School in New York and the great-granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

She pointed to prisoner swaps between the Soviet Union and Chile during the detente period of the 1970s, as well as those with the U.S. and Germany shortly after Mikhail Gorbachev took office in the 1980s. Prominent Soviet dissidents Vladimir Bukovsky and Natan Sharansky were released in these exchanges.

Ultimately, however, the fate of those imprisoned in Russia “is only in Putin’s hands,” Khrushcheva said.

Carstens echoed her sentiment.

“These are tough cases. The fact is that Russia holds the key to the jail cell,” he told AP this week. “The United States continues to have conversations with allies and partners about what we can do to secure Evan and Paul’s freedom. These efforts are sensitive and it doesn’t help Evan and Paul to have negotiations in public. The United States will continue our efforts until we can bring Evan and Paul home.”

___

Tucker reported from Washington.


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Former US Sen. Joe Lieberman and VP candidate to be remembered at hometown funeral service

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Political dignitaries, family and friends are gathering Friday to honor the late Joe Lieberman at a funeral service in Stamford, Connecticut, the hometown of the four-term U.S. senator who grew up as the son of a liquor store owner and came within hundreds of votes of becoming the first Jewish vice president in 2000.

Lieberman died Wednesday in New York City from complications from a fall, according to his family. He was 82.

Services will be held at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford. For Lieberman, a self-described “observant jew” who followed the rules of the Jewish Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, the congregation played a key role early on in his life.

He once recalled how the congregation’s former synagogue building was “a place that gave me the first sense of religion; a very special uplift,” according to a posting on the congregation’s website.

“I feel very lucky — my adherence to the Jewish tradition is really an asset,” he said. “Religious Catholics and Protestants find a bond of common value with my beliefs and stand. It is this that makes me so proud of being an American.”

Top Connecticut Democrats, including former Sen. Chris Dodd, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Gov. Ned Lamont, Lieberman’s one-time rival for the Senate seat, are expected to attend the services Friday morning. A second public memorial is expected to be held at a future date.

Lieberman, a former state Senate leader and attorney general, was known for his pragmatic, independent streak. A moderate Democrat who ended up running as an independent to win a fourth term in the Senate, Lieberman came close to becoming Republican John McCain’s running mate in 2008. However, conservatives balked at the idea of tapping Lieberman, who was known for supporting gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights and environmental causes while taking a hawkish stand on military and national security matters.

President Joe Biden on Thursday called Lieberman a friend, someone who was “principled, steadfast and unafraid to stand up for what he thought was right.”

“Joe believed in a shared purpose of serving something bigger than ourselves,” Biden, who served 20 years in the Senate with Lieberman, said in his statement. “He lived the values of his faith as he worked to repair the wounds of the world.”

Lieberman came tantalizingly close to winning the vice presidency in the contentious 2000 presidential contest that was decided by a 537-vote margin victory for George W. Bush in Florida after a drawn-out recount, legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision. He was the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket.

Over the last decade, Lieberman helped lead No Labels, a centrist third-party movement that has said it will offer as-yet-unnamed candidates for president and vice president this year. Some groups aligned with Democrats oppose the effort, fearing it will help presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump win the White House.

Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, have four children.


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Chicago plans to move migrants to other shelters and reopen park buildings for the summer

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago plans to close five shelters for migrants in the coming weeks and move nearly 800 people, including families, in order to reopen park district buildings hosting popular summer camps, athletic contests and other community events in time for summer.

The shift is part of the city’s ongoing scramble to meet the needs of people arriving from the U.S. border with Mexico.

Advocates for the newly arrived have frequently criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, and argued that the available services are inadequate. Others believe Chicago is unfairly prioritizing new arrivals over longtime residents, including unhoused people with similar needs.

Johnson announced the plan to close the park district shelters this week, saying they were “no longer necessary.”

“I am proud of the efforts of my administration, our partners, and the many Chicagoans who stepped up to welcome new arrivals by providing shelter in our Park District field houses at a time when this was clearly needed,” Johnson said in a statement Monday.

“We are grateful to the alderpersons and communities who have embraced new neighbors with open arms, and we are pleased that these park facilities will be transitioned back to their intended purpose in time for summer programming.”

Chicago has reported more than 37,000 migrants arriving to the city since 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending buses of people to so-called sanctuary cities. Many migrants who land in Chicago come from Venezuela, where a social, political and economic crisis has pushed millions into poverty, and where three-quarters of residents live on less than $1.90 a day.

The city initially used police stations and airports as officials searched for other temporary shelters. Some residents of neighborhoods surrounding some of the park district fieldhouses have regularly protested their use as shelters since last summer.

On Friday, a city dashboard showed more than 10,000 people remain in city-run shelters. That’s down from a peak of nearly 15,000 in January.

The city has not specified when all the park buildings will be empty, only that it will take several weeks. Volunteers who work with migrants said residents of at least two of the park buildings were told they will begin moving to other shelters Saturday.

Nearly 20 other temporary shelters are still operating in the city, including churches, hotels, a library and former warehouses. The largest shelters are housing more than 1,000 people while others reported counts closer to 100, according to the city’s latest update this month.

The city is aiming to move people to other shelters closer to the park buildings, particularly families with children enrolled in nearby schools, Johnson’s statement said.

Chicago began enforcing a 60-day limit on shelter stays in mid-March. But many exemptions, including for families with children in school, have meant few people are actually being evicted yet.

The city has reported only 24 people leaving shelters so far because of the caps.

Other U.S. cities, including New York and Denver, have used similar shelter limits to cope with limited resource availability for migrants arriving by bus and plane. Mayors also have pleaded for more federal help.

In Chicago, people who are evicted can return to the city’s “landing zone” and reapply for shelter. Volunteers have said that sometimes means people leave a shelter and are sent back to the same location.

Volunteers who work with new arrivals said they understand the desire for neighborhoods to have park district facilities back, particularly for camps and other programs popular during summer months.

But they worry the forced move will upend migrants’ efforts to find work and get their children to school.

“Most people are actively, constantly trying to figure out how they get out of shelters,” volunteer Lydia Wong said. “I don’t know that this helps expedite it at all. The city is saying they want to keep people relatively close, but it’s extremely disruptive — needing to find new routes, new ways to get to school or work.”

Several people living in the park-based shelters told The Associated Press this week they had received little information about the city’s plan, including where they might be moved. They declined to give their names, with several saying they did not want to face any retaliation from employees of the private agency running the shelters.

As of Wednesday, the city said more than 15,000 people have found other housing since officials began keeping data in 2022.

Many have sought rental assistance provided by the state. More than 5,600 families have used the program to find housing, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.

With a few exceptions like diplomats and people on tourist visas, immigrants in the U.S. must notify officials when they move.

Asylum seekers in the immigration court system have five days to do so after changing addresses, to ensure they receive notifications from the court. Missing mail might not sink their case directly, but failing to show up for a court date could lead to them being deported.

___

Associated Press reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed from New York.


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Building a new Key Bridge could take years and cost at least $400 million, experts say

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Rebuilding Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge could take anywhere from 18 months to several years, experts say, while the cost could be at least $400 million — or more than twice that.

It all depends on factors that are still mostly unknown. They range from the design of the new bridge to how swiftly government officials can navigate the bureaucracy of approving permits and awarding contracts.

Realistically, the project could take five to seven years, according to Ben Schafer, an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University.

“The lead time on air conditioning equipment right now for a home renovation is like 16 months, right?” Schafer said. He continued: “So it’s like you’re telling me they’re going to build a whole bridge in two years? I want it to be true, but I think empirically it doesn’t feel right to me.”

Others are more optimistic about the potential timeline: Sameh Badie, an engineering professor at George Washington University, said the project could take as little as 18 months to two years.

The Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday, killing six members of a crew that was working on the span, after the Dali cargo ship plowed into one its supports. Officials are scrambling to clean up and rebuild after the accident, which has shuttered the city’s busy port and a portion of the Baltimore beltway.

The disaster is in some ways similar to the deadly collapse of Florida’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which was was struck by a freighter in Tampa Bay in 1980. The new bridge took five years to build, was 19 months late and ran $20 million over budget when it opened in 1987.

But experts say it’s better to look to more recent bridge disasters for a sense of how quickly reconstruction may happen.

Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, cited the case of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minnesota, which collapsed into the Mississippi River in 2007. The new span was up in less than 14 months.

“It’s the best comparison that we have for a project like this,” Tymon said. “They did outstanding work in being able to get the approvals necessary to be able to rebuild that as quickly as possible.”

Tymon expects various government agencies to work together to push through permits, environmental and otherwise.

“It doesn’t mean that all of the right boxes won’t get checked — they will,” Tymon said. “It’ll just be done more efficiently because everybody will know that this has to get done as quickly as possible.”

One looming issue is the source of funding. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the federal government will pay for the new bridge, but that remains to be seen.

“Hopefully, Congress will be able to come together to provide those resources as soon as possible so that that does not become a source of delay,” Tymon said.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar helped to obtain funding quickly to rebuild the I-35W bridge in her state. But she said replacing the Baltimore span could be more complicated.

She noted that the I-35W bridge, a federal interstate highway, was a much busier roadway with about 140,000 vehicle crossings a day, compared with about 31,000 for the Maryland bridge.

“But where there’s a will there’s a way, and you can get the emergency funding,” Klobuchar said. “It’s happened all over the country when disasters hit. And the fact that this is such a major port also makes it deserving of making sure that this all gets taken care of.”

Badie, of George Washington University, said the cost could be between $500 million and $1 billion, with the largest variable being the design.

For example a suspension bridge like San Francisco’s Golden Gate will cost more, while a cable-stayed span, like Florida’s Skyway Sunshine Bridge, which handles weight using cables and towers, would be less expensive.

Whatever is built, steel is expensive these days and there is a backlog for I-beams, Badie said. Plus, the limited number of construction companies that can tackle such a project are already busy on other jobs.

“A project like this is going to be expedited, so everything is going to cost a lot more,” Badie said.

Hota GangaRao, a West Virginia University engineering professor, said the project could cost as little as $400 million. But that’s only if the old bridge’s pier foundations are used; designers may want to locate the new supports farther away from the shipping channels to avoid another collision.

“That’s going to be more steel, more complicated construction and more checks and balances,” GangaRao said. “It all adds up.”

Norma Jean Mattei, an emeritus engineering professor at The University of New Orleans, said replacing the Key Bridge likely will take several years. Even if it’s a priority, the process of designing the span, getting permits and hiring contractors takes a lot of time. And then you have to build it.

“It’s quite a process to actually get a bridge of this type into operation,” she said.


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Cranes arriving to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — The largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard was being transported to Baltimore so crews on Friday can begin removing the wreckage of a collapsed highway bridge that has halted a search for four workers still missing days after the disaster and blocked the city’s vital port from operating.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the crane, which was arriving by barge and can lift up to 1,000 tons, will be one of at least two used to clear the channel of the twisted metal and concrete remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and the cargo ship that hit it this week.

“The best minds in the world” are working on the plans for removal, Moore said. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Baltimore District told the governor that it and the Navy were mobilizing major resources from around the country at record speed to clear the channel.

“This is not just about Maryland,” Moore said. “This is about the nation’s economy. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in America.”

He warned of a long road to recovery but said he was grateful to the Biden administration for approving $60 million in immediate aid. President Joe Biden has said the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the bridge.

“This work is not going to take hours. This work is not going to take days. This work is not going to take weeks,” Moore said. “We have a very long road ahead of us.”

Thirty-two members of the Army Corps of Engineers were surveying the scene of the collapse and 38 Navy contractors were working on the salvage operation, officials said Thursday.

The devastation left behind after the cargo ship lost power and struck a support pillar early Tuesday is extensive. Divers recovered the bodies of two men from a pickup truck in the Patapsco River near the bridge’s middle span Wednesday, but officials said they have to start clearing the wreckage before anyone can reach the bodies of four other missing workers.

State police have said that based on sonar scans, the vehicles appear to be encased in a “superstructure” of concrete and other debris.

Federal and state officials have said the collision and collapse appeared to be an accident.

The victims, who were part of a construction crew fixing potholes on the bridge, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, Butler said. At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship struck the bridge column, and two of them were rescued Tuesday, officials said.

The crash caused the bridge to break and fall into the water within seconds. Authorities had just enough time to stop vehicle traffic, but didn’t get a chance to alert the construction crew.

During the Baltimore Orioles’ opening day game Thursday, Sgt. Paul Pastorek, Cpl. Jeremy Herbert and Officer Garry Kirts of the Maryland Transportation Authority were honored for their actions in halting bridge traffic and preventing further loss of life.

The three said in a statement that they were “proud to carry out our duties as officers of this state to save the lives that we could.”

The cargo ship Dali, which is managed by Synergy Marine Group, was headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.

Synergy extended sympathies to the victims’ families in a statement Thursday.

“We deeply regret this incident and the problems it has caused for the people of Baltimore and the region’s economy that relies on this vitally important port,” Synergy said, noting that it would continue to cooperate with investigators.

Of the 21 crew members on the ship, 20 are from India, Randhir Jaiswal, the nation’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told reporters, saying one was slightly injured and needed stitches but “all are in good shape and good health.”

Scott Cowan, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333, said the union was scrambling to help its roughly 2,400 members whose jobs are at risk of drying up until shipping can resume in the Port of Baltimore.

“If there’s no ships, there’s no work,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can.”

The huge vessel, nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall, was carrying nearly 4,700 shipping containers, 56 of them with hazardous materials inside. Fourteen of those were destroyed, officials said. However industrial hygienists who evaluated the contents identified them as perfumes and soaps, the Key Bridge Joint Information Center said, and there was “no immediate threat to the environment.”

About 21 gallons (80 liters) of oil from a bow thruster on the ship is believed to have caused a sheen in the waterway, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said.

Booms were placed to prevent any spreading of oil, and state environmental officials were sampling the water and air.

At the moment there are containers hanging dangerously off the side of the ship, Gilreath said, adding, “We’re trying to keep our first responders … as safe as possible.”

The sudden loss of a roadway that carried 30,000 vehicles a day and the port disruption will affect not only thousands of dockworkers and commuters but also U.S. consumers, who are likely to feel the impact of shipping delays.

The governors of New York and New Jersey offered to take on cargo shipments that have been disrupted, to try to minimize supply chain problems.

From 1960 to 2015, there were 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collisions, according to the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure.

___

Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland. Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Washington, Krutika Pathi in New Delhi, and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed.


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