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Leavenworth, Kansas, relents and will allow a private prison to reopen and house immigrants

The City Commission in Leavenworth on Tuesday approved a permit to private prison operator CoreCivic. Members voted 4-1 to approve a three-year permit with conditions that set minimum staffing levels, ban the housing of minors and provide for a city oversight committee.“If they don’t follow those guidelines, we can pull the permit,” Mayor Nancy Bauder said before the vote.The 1,104-bed Midwest Regional Reception Center is 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the Kansas City International Airport. Co

Electric blanket investigated as cause of Monroe fire that injured 1

The house sustained significant damage to its exterior and interior.RELATED STORIESTeen arrested more than a year after Everett crash that killed 32 people found dead in Anacortes home'Nothing short of incredible': King County Sheriff's Office reports 22% drop in overall crimeOfficials investigating electric blanket used outdoors as possible cause of Monroe fireOne victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center and treated for smoke inhalation and cut injuries from broken glass.Firefighters

Pentagon blocks photographers from Hegseth’s briefings on the Iran war

Most mainstream news organizations have left their desks at the Pentagon rather than accept new Trump administration rules that restrict their movements and who they can talk to.They’ve been replaced at the Pentagon by a newly constituted press corps that agreed to the rules and to a large extent work for outlets that are supportive of President Donald Trump.The Pentagon has been giving passes to reporters who vacated their desks at the Pentagon in order to attend Hegseth’s briefings

Iowa bars local gender identity protections after rolling back its civil rights code

After last year’s state law was enacted, the city passed a resolution “to reinforce the fact that we had that authority and to make sure that our residents knew that discrimination on the basis of gender identity specifically was still prohibited in Iowa City,” Bergus said Wednesday.Bergus said the new law is “extreme overreach,” preventing local governments from responding to the needs of their community, and Iowa City is considering legal action.“Our local leadership remains committed to

Iran’s sports minister says the country can’t take part in the World Cup because of US attacks

Iran’s sports and youth minister said it’s “not possible” for the country to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in its ongoing war.Iran was expected to take part in the World Cup that will be held across North America in June, but Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television that his country’s soccer team players are not safe in the U.S., according to a video of the interview posted Tuesday.“Due to the

Los Angeles school superintendent denies wrongdoing and asks for his job back during federal probe

<block>LOS ANGELES (AP) — The superintendent of Los Angeles public schools who’s on paid leave during a federal investigation, released a statement on Wednesday denying any wrongdoing and asking to be reinstated as head of the nation’s second-largest district.The FBI served search warrants on Feb. 25 at Alberto Carvalho’s home and the LA Unified School District’s headquarters. Two days later, the district’s Board of Education voted unanimously to place him on leave pending the outcome of the probe. “Mr. Carvalho remains confident that the evidence will ultimately demonstrate that he acted appropriately and in the best interests of students,” said the statement, attributed to a spokesperson and distributed by Holland & Knight, the law firm representing him. “We hope the school board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent.”Authorities have not provided details of the nature of the investigation involving the district, which serves more than 500,000 students, nor have they accused Carvalho of any crimes.The FBI also searched a third location near Miami. The Miami Herald reported the Florida property belonged to Debra Kerr, who previously worked with AllHere, an education technology company that had a contract with Los Angeles schools before it collapsed and its leader was indicted for fraud.In 2024, Carvalho heavily touted a deal with AllHere for an AI chatbot named “Ed” designed to help students. But about three months after unveiling the technology and paying the company $3 million, the district dropped its dealings with AllHere, which collapsed into bankruptcy. Months later, founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was charged with securities and wire fraud, along with identity theft.At the time, Carvalho denied personal involvement in the selection of AllHere, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wednesday’s statement was his first comment since last month’s searches. “Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” the statement said. “While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”Following the search of school headquarters, LA Unified said it was cooperating with investigators and had no further information. The board said its decision to place Carvalho on leave was intended to minimize any disruption to its mission of teaching students. Andres Chait, the chief of school operations, was named acting superintendent.Carvalho became superintendent for LA in 2022. He previously led the public schools in Miami. </block>

Federal distrust prompts some Democratic states to protect polling places, election records

In a letter Monday to Trump’s new pick to lead the agency, Markwayne Mullin, the group pressed for assurances “that ICE will not have a presence at polling locations during the 2026 election cycle.”Federal law already prohibits the deployment of armed federal forces to election locations unless “necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States,” but Democratic lawmakers, election officials and governors remain concerned.“The fear is that the Trump administration will attempt to evoke

‘Dances With Wolves’ actor to be sentenced in Las Vegas for sexually assaulting Indigenous girls

In November 2023, the case paused due to Chasing Horse’s charges in the United States, but resumed the following year.After all of Chasing Horse’s appeals have been exhausted, British Columbia prosecutors will assess next steps, Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, said in an email Tuesday.The Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service in Alberta said in a statement following Chasing Horse’s conviction that a warrant remains outstanding against him and said t

Sub Pop Records leaving Denny Triangle for Seattle’s waterfront

The age-old independent record label Sub Pop Records, based in Seattle, will relocate from its Denny Triangle store to Seattle’s waterfront on April 1.Sub Pop announced it will move to a 2,688-square-foot store inside the nearly 115-year-old Maritime Building at 908 Alaskan Way for its new Sub Pop Waterfront location.A sign was posted in the window of the label’s former Amazon re:Invent tower space, a building on Amazon’s campus that houses 5,000 employees, indicating it was &#

Photos of beachgoers in UAE where oil tankers and cargo ships line up in Hormuz Strait

<block>KHOR FAKKAN, United Arab Emirates (AP) — People on the coast of the United Arab Emirates can see oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz while playing on swings, riding horses and camping out on the beach near Khor Fakkan, as the war in Iran affects the global energy supply.—This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.</block>

Virginia’s former first lady to run for Congress in newly drawn district

Terry McAuliffe — said Wednesday that she will run for Congress, putting a prominent name into the mix for a newly drawn district.“We need a leader who has a record of delivering and can finally bring down costs for families, who will increase access to affordable healthcare, and who will never back down from holding Donald Trump and ICE accountable,” McAuliffe said in a statement.Virginia voters are weighing a constitutional amendment that would create a new congressional map on April 21.If the

Analysis: Iran war becomes a contest of who can take the most pain

<block>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The war on Iran, for all its complexity and global effects, boils down to a single question: Who can take the pain the longest? A surge in oil prices points to what may be Iran’s most effective weapon and the United States’ biggest vulnerability in continuing the campaign: Damaging the world economy. A sharp rise in gas prices has rattled consumers and financial markets, and international travel and shipping have been severely disrupted. U.S. President Donald Trump appears aware of the danger. As oil jumped to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday, the highest since 2022, he suggested the war would be “short-term.” That helped reassure markets and the price eased to around $90 — even as Trump, nearly in the same breath, vowed to keep up the war and the punishment on Iran.On the other side, Iran has to endure a near-constant stream of American and Israeli airstrikes it can’t defend against. So far, the Islamic Republic has been able to keep its leadership and military cohesive and in control. The Iranian public, which already rose up against its theocracy in nationwide protests in January, still boils in anger but have stayed home as they try to survive the heavy bombardment. Security forces have been on the street every day to ensure no anti-government demonstrations form. The pressure is on U.S. allies as well. Gulf Arab states, while still not combatants in the war, face seemingly unending and occasionally fatal Iranian fire targeting oil fields, cities and critical water works. And Israel, while boasting of inflicting heavy damage on Iran’s missile program and other military targets, continues to be targeted by increasingly sophisticated Iranian missiles that send a buckshot-like bouquet of high explosives raining down on its cities. Frequent air-raid sirens have disrupted daily life, closed schools and workplaces and created a tense atmosphere across the region.<hl2>No off-ramps seen in fighting</hl2>There’s no immediate end to the war in sight — nor in the rhetoric coming from both America and Iran, whose bad blood extends back decades to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said in a speech Monday in Doral, Florida. “We go forward, more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long running danger once and for all.”Iranian Foreign Ministry official Kazem Gharibabadi offered a mirror image comment from Tehran, boasting that the Islamic Republic had rejected contacts about a ceasefire that he said had come from China, France, Russia and others.“At the moment, we hold the upper hand,” Gharibabadi told Iranian state television late Monday night. “Just look at the state of the global economy and energy markets — it has been very painful for them.”He asserted that it was Iran that “will determine the end of the war.”<hl2>Iranian strategy remains havoc</hl2>For years before Israel and the U.S. launched the war on Feb. 28, Iran warned that, if attacked, it would retaliate on the entire Middle East, targeting the oil infrastructure that made its Gulf Arab neighbors fantastically wealthy. By contrast, Tehran’s economy has been crippled by international sanctions. Iran has now backed up its threat with barrages of missiles and drones. Qatar was forced to halt its production of natural gas, and Bahrain declared its oil operations couldn’t meet their contractual obligations. Other producers like Saudi Aramco are affected, disrupting a key source of energy for Asia — particularly China, which has sent a top envoy to the region. Shipping broadly has stopped in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas traded passes, and up to 30% of world fertilizer exports. Iran didn’t need to mine the waterway — its attacks on several ships prompted companies stop sending their vessels through the strait. Trump has suggested U.S. warships providing escorts to tankers, but that has yet to materialize in a way to restart the traffic.Early Tuesday morning, he threatened that if Iran stops the oil through the strait, “they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.Iran, however, only doubled down. The Revolutionary Guard warned on Tuesday that it won’t allow “a single liter of oil” to leave the Persian Gulf.<hl2>What is victory?</hl2>For Iran’s theocratic rulers, victory means surviving the campaign still in power, no matter the costs to the country and the region.Trump has been vague and contradictory about his aims in the war. At times, he seems to push for overthrowing Iran’s theocracy; other times, he seems to be willing to stop short of that, saying broadly that he wants to ensure Iran is no longer a threat to Israel, the region and the U.S. That could give him flexibility in declaring that victory has been achieved, especially if real damage starts to show to the U.S. economy.But if the war stopped right now, both the U.S and Israel would be left with major challenges.One is Iran’s leadership. After an Israeli airstrike killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war, Iranian clerics named his 56-year-old son Mojtaba to the position, elevating him to the rank of an ayatollah. Now Iran’s ultimate ruler, the younger Khamenei has long been viewed by analysts as being even more hard-line than his father, with close ties to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Israel already described him as a target in its campaign, while Trump has said he wanted someone else in the role. Also, Iran still has its stockpile of highly enriched uranium – one reason for the war that Israel and the U.S. have both pointed to. Iran had been enriching up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.The U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in June during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, likely burying much of the stockpile in the debris. Those sites to this day remain out of the reach of international inspectors. Mojtaba Khamenei could issue a religious ruling, or fatwa, reversing his father’s earlier statements and ordering it to be used to make a weapon. That’s something both America and Israel, long believed to be the Mideast’s only nuclear-armed state, don’t want to see. __EDITOR’S NOTE — Jon Gambrell, news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press, has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the Mideast and the wider world since joining AP in 2006.</block>

Infantino says he’s talked to Trump and was assured that Iran can come to US for World Cup

is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.Iranian officials have suggested recently that its country’s participation is in some doubt because of the war.FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday night “to discuss the status of preparations” for the tournament and received assurances that Iran would be permitted to come to the U.S.“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has

Why some airport security screeners will continue to get paid during the government shutdown

The union representing federal screeners argues that moving operations to private companies could erode job protections and reduce pay and benefits for workers already facing high turnover amid demanding conditions.How the program worksTSA’s screening partnership program allows airports to use private security companies chosen by the federal government to run checkpoints while TSA retains authority over procedures and oversight. The agency says private security screeners receive the same securit

Kaboom of the wild? Proposed howitzer testing in the Adirondacks alarms critics

No current contract exists, but Hopmeier said in an email that they could accept government contracts after testing authority is obtained.The Army’s DEVCOM Armaments Center said in an email that it has no current plans for howitzer testing at that Adirondack site, “but may consider future artillery experimentation based on Army priorities.”The proposed range would be near the site of a Cold War-era nuclear missile silo Hopmeier’s business bought in 2015 — one of a dozen that once rin

Fragrant flower lei, synonymous with Hawaii, face competition from cheaper imports

Darius Kila, who is Native Hawaiian.Because lei-giving is so ingrained in Hawaii, lawmakers are constantly buying them and doling them out — at groundbreakings, to honor constituents or volunteers, or for staffers’ birthdays, for example.An effort to regulate leiKila this year sponsored a bill, requested by the Hawaiian Council, that would have required a certain percentage of lei purchased by state officials to include flowers grown in-state. It also sought lei labels telling customers wh

Cher’s son heads to court over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home

<block>The son of Cher is scheduled to be in court Wednesday for a hearing over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home earlier this month.It was the second arrest in a matter of days for Elijah Allman, 49, of Malibu, California, who was detained Feb. 27 after allegedly acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in New Hampshire. It was unclear if Allman had any connection to either St. Paul’s School or the home in Windham, New Hampshire.Allman remains in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections in what is called preventive detention, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said. Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, faces two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it .In the incident at the prep school, Allman was charged with four misdemeanors: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime.At about 7 p.m. that day, Concord police responded to reports that Allman was disturbing people in the dining hall of St. Paul’s School. After charging Allman, police said he was released on bail as his case works through the court system.Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working. It was unclear from the court records if Allman has an attorney.In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman struggles with mental health issues and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.The petition from the singer and actress said Elijah Allman is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.A few weeks later, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he is in a good place now, attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his previously estranged wife.</block>

Texas man facing execution for fatally stabbing girlfriend and her 8-year-old son

“The public has a strong interest in enforcement of Ricks’ sentence.”The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Ricks’ request for a 90-day reprieve or to commute his death sentence.Prosecutors said Ricks and Sanchez were arguing in their apartment when Sanchez’ two sons from a previous marriage — Anthony and Marcus Figueroa — tried to break up the fight.Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, according to court records.Marcus Figueroa ran to

Trump to visit Ohio and Kentucky to downplay war’s effect on economy and target a top GOP antagonist

“But we’re really bringing down prices big.”Trump’s affordability tour meets his opposition to MassieAfter Democrats won the Virginia and New Jersey governors’ races in November, the White House announced that Trump would travel the country to show that he’s taking kitchen table issues seriously and reassure voters nervous about still-rising prices and economic growth.Since then, the president has made stops in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas — though

Trump has one prescription for midterms. House Republicans have another

Lisa McClain of Michigan, the House GOP conference chair, spoke of tax cuts for families, energy independence and the so-called Trump accounts for newborns as she described “real results for real people.” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana said his colleagues were working with Trump to “make life more affordable for working families.” Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, recounted “win after win” as he proclaimed “working families are keeping more of their hard-ear