The post Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, White Stripes and Outkast get into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Romano spent more than 17 years at the Justice Department, eventually becoming a supervisor on the team that would prosecute more than 1,500 people charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The moment he watched the largest investigation in department history get wiped away with the stroke of a pen — on President Donald Trump’s first day back in the White House — Romano knew he had to leave.

“I knew on January 20th, when the pardons were announced, that I needed to find my way out,” Romano said in an interview with The Associated Press weeks after his resignation from the Justice Department. “It would be untenable for me to stay, given the pardons and given the false narratives that were being spread about January 6.”

Now, Romano says he fears Trump’s decision to pardon even the most violent rioters — whom his own vice president once said “obviously” shouldn’t be pardoned — could embolden right-wing extremists and encourage future political violence.

“The way that the pardons have been received by the January 6th defendants and by other right-wing extremists, as I understand it, is to recognize that if you support the president and if you commit violence in support of the president, that he might insulate you from the consequences, that he might protect you from the criminal justice system,” Romano said. “And so that might encourage people to commit these sort of acts.”

Romano is among dozens of Justice Department lawyers who have resigned, been pushed out or fired in the weeks since Trump’s new leadership has taken over and begun making sweeping changes to align the law enforcement agency with the priorities of the Republican president whom the department once prosecuted.

Trump’s return to the White House has ushered in a dizzying change for many in the Justice Department, but perhaps few have felt it more than the lawyers who spent years working on the largest-scale serious attack on the Capitol since the war of 1812.

As a deputy chief of the now-disbanded Capitol Siege Section that prosecuted the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, Romano had a close-up view of the evidence, including harrowing videos and court testimony detailing the violence that unfolded when the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify former President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

Romano joined the Justice Department in 2007 straight out of law school, and was working in the section in Washington that handles public corruption cases on Jan. 6, 2021. He recalled watching the riot unfold on television, and quickly deciding he wanted to help with the prosecution of what he described as a “crime of historic proportions.”

Trump’s pardons cemented the president’s yearslong campaign to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack.

While vying to return to the White House, Trump repeatedly downplayed the violence that left more than 100 police officers injured, and lauded the rioters as patriots and hostages whom he contended were unfairly persecuted by the Justice Department for their political beliefs. Only two Capitol riot defendants were acquitted of all charges, which Trump supporters cited as evidence that Washington juries can’t be fair and impartial. Some Jan. 6 defendants are now considering running for office.

The scope of Trump’s clemency hours after the inauguration came as a surprise to many, considering the president had suggested in the weeks prior that instead of blanket pardons, he would look at the Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis. Trump’s proclamation described the prosecution as “a grave national injustice” and declared that the pardons would begin “a process of national reconciliation.”

Trump’s pardons led to the release from prison of the leaders of far-right extremist groups convicted of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power as well as rioters convicted of brutal attacks on police — many of whose crimes were captured on camera and broadcast on live TV. Trump has defended his pardons, saying the sentences handed down for actions that day were “ridiculous and excessive” and that “these are people who actually love our country.”

Romano said the notion that the Jan. 6 defendants were not treated fairly by in the justice system or not given the due process they were entitled is “simply not true.” In many cases, he said prosecutors had overwhelming evidence because the defendants “filmed themselves proudly committing crimes.”

“They had the full protection of rights guaranteed to them by the American justice system and the Constitution,” Romano said. “It was my experience when dealing with these cases and seeing the way that the rioters and some of their attorneys behaved in court, that their take was that they should be treated like heroes and not prosecuted at all.”

Despite the pardons, Romano said he still believes that the Capitol Siege Section’s work was important because it left behind a “historical record” of what happened on Jan. 6 that cannot be changed.

“In light of the efforts to whitewash the history of that day, in light of the efforts for people to lie about that day for their own benefit, which is what’s happening, it’s important that people really understand the truth about what happened on January 6th,” he said.

The Vatican has confirmed that the conclave to elect the next pope will commence on Wednesday, May 7.

This announcement follows the recent passing of Pope Francis, who was laid to rest over the weekend. He died last week at the age of 88.

In preparation for the upcoming conclave, cardinals convened Monday morning to discuss various matters related to the election. A total of 135 cardinals are eligible to participate in this significant event, which will shape the future of the Catholic Church.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Watch: Pope Francis' funeral draws crowds of the faithful to St. Peter's Square

Once conclave begins, media blackouts are enacted by the Vatican, sealing the cardinals off from the outside world.

Once convened in the Sistine Chapel, the cardinals take an oath of secrecy and commit to a prayerful selection process. They gather to discuss potential candidates and cast their votes in private.

A two-thirds majority is required to elect the new pope. If no candidate receives the necessary votes after several rounds, the cardinals may shorten voting periods or consider compromise candidates.

In rounds where a candidate fails to achieve the two-thirds majority, the votes are burned with a chemical that produces black smoke, signaling to the faithful gathered outside in St. Peters Square that no decision has been reached.

When a new Pope is elected, white smoke signals the announcement to the world.

SPECIAL COVERAGE | The death of Pope Francis: Remembering his life and legacy

Behind the scenes, the new pontiff must choose his papal name. For instance, when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope, he chose the name Francis to honor his commitment to serve the poor.

Cardinals then emerge before the assembled crowd in St. Peters Square to proclaim, "Habemus Papam," Latin for "We have a Pope." The newly elected pontiff subsequently delivers his first blessing and addresses the public.

The death of a Pope marks not just a transition, but a moment of reflection, reverence, and renewal for nearly 1.3 billion Catholics around the globe. Through this intricate dance of tradition and faith, each transition leads to a new chapter in the story of the Catholic Church.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

The post Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music: Lady Blackbird, new music from Bon Iver, Lorde, Robert Randolph + more appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

By AAMER MADHANI

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of his second go-around in the White House, President Donald Trump spoke with certainty about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine in the first 24 hours of his new administration and finding lasting peace from the devastating 18-month conflict in Gaza.

But as the Republican president nears the 100th day of his second term, he’s struggling to make good on two of his biggest foreign policy campaign promises and is not taking well to suggestions that he’s falling short. And after criticizing President Joe Biden during last year’s campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump now finds himself giving diplomacy a chance as he tries to curb Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

“The war has been raging for three years. I just got here, and you say, ‘What’s taken so long?’” Trump bristled, when asked about the Ukraine war in a Time magazine interview about his first 100 days. As for the Gaza conflict, he insisted the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in 2023 that triggered the war “would have never happened. Ever. You then say, ‘What’s taking so long?’”

Measuring a U.S. president by his first 100 days in office is an arbitrary, albeit time-honored, tradition in Washington. And brokering peace deals between intractable warring parties is typically the work of years, not weeks.

But no other president has promised to do as much out of the gate as Trump, who is pursuing a seismic makeover of America’s approach to friends and foes during his second turn in the White House.

Trump has moved at dizzying speed to shift the rules-based world order that has formed the basis for global stability and security in the aftermath of World War II.

All sides have scrambled to acclimate as Trump launched a global tariff war and slashed U.S. foreign aid all while talking up the ideas of taking Greenland from NATO ally Denmark and making Canada the 51st state.

But Trump’s inability to broker deals in Ukraine and Gaza — at least to date — might be the most demonstrable evidence that his effort to quickly shake up U.S. foreign policy through sheer will could have its limits.

And Trump hasn’t obscured his frustration, particularly over the Ukraine war, which he’s long dismissed as a waste of U.S. taxpayer money and of lives lost in the conflict.

The president and his team have gone hot and cold about prospects for peace in Ukraine since Trump’s Oval Office blowup with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

In that encounter, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance lectured the Ukrainian leader for being insufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance in the fight to repel Russia’s invading forces before asking him to leave the White House grounds.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the White House is ready to walk away if Ukraine and Russia don’t make substantial progress toward a peace deal soon.

And Trump on back-to-back days this past week lambasted Zelenskyy for “prolonging” the “killing field” and then Russian President Vladimir Putin for complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching brutal strikes that pummeled Kyiv.

But by Friday, Trump was expressing optimism again after his special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow with Putin. Following the talks, Trump declared that the two sides were “very close to a deal.”

Less than 24 hours later, Trump was once again downcast after he met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral, expressing doubt in a social media post that Putin was serious about forging a deal.

“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Trump said of Putin and Russia’s ongoing bombardment of Ukraine.

Trump again expressed frustration with Putin in an exchange with reporters on Sunday evening. “I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said. “We have the confines of a deal, I believe. And I want him to sign it and be done with it.”

The Kremlin on Monday declared a ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 as Russia marks Victory Day over Nazi Germany.

White House National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt said Trump remains committed to getting a deal done and is “closer to that objective than at any point during Joe Biden’s presidency.”

“Within 100 days, President Trump has gotten both Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table with the aim to bring this horrific war to a peaceful resolution,” Hewitt said. “It is no longer a question of if this war will end but when.”

Peace in Gaza remains elusive

Trump started his second term with some momentum on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

His envoy Witkoff, a fellow New York real estate maverick turned high-stakes diplomat, teamed up with the outgoing Biden Middle East adviser Brett McGurk to get Israeli and Hamas officials to agree to a temporary ceasefire deal that went into effect one day before Trump’s inauguration. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

On the eve of his return to office, Trump took full credit for what he called an “epic” agreement that would lead to a “lasting peace” in the Middle East.

The temporary ceasefire led to the freeing of 33 hostages held in Gaza and the release of roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

But the truce collapsed in March, and fighting resumed, with the two sides unable to come to an agreement for the return of 59 remaining hostages, more that half of whom Israeli officials believe are dead.

Conditions in Gaza remain bleak. Israel has cut off all aid to the territory and its more than 2 million people. Israel has disputed that there is a shortage of aid in Gaza and says it’s entitled to block the assistance because, it claims, Hamas seizes the goods for its own use.

Trump, as he flew to Rome on Friday for the pope’s funeral, told reporters that he’s pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “very hard” to get food and medicine into Gaza but dismissed questions about how the Israeli leader is responding to his appeal.

“Well, he knows all about it, OK?” Trump told reporters.

Hewitt, the National Security Council spokesman, pushed back on the notion that Trump has fallen short on his effort to find an endgame to the Gaza conflict, setting the blame squarely on Hamas.

“While we continue to work to secure the release of all remaining hostages, Hamas has chosen violence over peace, and President Trump has ensured that Hamas continues to face the gates of hell until it releases the hostages and disarms,” Hewitt said.

Trump’s team says the president has racked up more foreign policy wins than any other U.S. president this early in a term.

The White House counts among its early victories invoking a 1798 wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Venezuelan migrants it accuses of being gang members, securing the release of at least 46 Americans detained abroad, and carrying out hundreds of military strikes in Yemen against Houthi militants who have been attacking commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

Trump hopeful for Iran nuclear deal breakthrough

The White House this month also launched direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program, a renewed push to solve another of the most delicate foreign policy issues facing the White House and the Middle East.

Trump says his administration is making progress in its effort to secure a deal with Iran to scupper Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Witkoff flew directly from meeting with Putin in Moscow to Muscat, Oman, to take part in talks on Saturday, the third engagement between U.S. and Iranian officials this month.

The U.S. and other world powers in 2015 reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. But Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear agreement in 2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.”

Since Trump pulled out of the Obama-era deal, Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium.

The president said on Friday that he’s open to meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, while also indicating military action — something that U.S. ally Israel has advocated — remains an option.

As Trump increasingly expresses his preference for diplomacy rather than military action, Iran hawks at home are urging him to tread carefully in his hunt for a legacy-defining deal.

“The Iranians would have the talking point that they forced the same person who left the deal many years later, after them resisting maximum pressure, into an equal or worse deal,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

But Trump wants a solution, and fast.

“I think a deal is going to be made there,” Trump said Sunday “That’s going to happen pretty soon.”

President Donald Trump’s campaign has released details about a rally scheduled for Tuesday in Macomb County to celebrate the 100th day of his second term.

The campaign said in an email the event will be held at 6 p.m. April 29th at the Sports & Expo Center on the South Campus of Macomb Community College on 12 Mile and Hayes roads in Warren.

Tickets for the rally, which is open to the public, are available here.

Doors are set to open at 1:45 p.m. Remarks by various elected officials will begin at 6 p.m. followed by Trump’s comments, according to the campaign.

Last week, the White House announced Trump’s visit to Michigan, his first since being elected president to a second, nonconsecutive term in office. He won the state of Michigan in both the 2016 and 2024 elections, but lost the state and the election in 2020.

Trump to hold rally in Macomb County to celebrate his first 100 days in office

The past three months have seen the president’s whirlwind approach to covering trade, international alliances and a tariffs program that has led to consumer confidence plummeting, stock markets convulsing and investors losing confidence in the credibility of Trump’s policies.

Since taking office for his second term, the president has been looking to overhaul the federal government as he attempts to cut jobs and agencies, end diversity programs, deport immigrants and launch hefty tariffs that have threatened to upend the global economic order but which he says are needed to force fairer trade deals.

In a news release, organizers said the MCC event is intended to be a “celebration of the most successful and monumental first 100 days of any administration in history.”

Macomb County was one of the southeast Michigan communities where voters favored Trump.

In November 2024, he won Michigan’s 15 electoral college votes, flipping the state again in a victory over Democrat Kamala Harris.

In Macomb, voters chose Trump over Harris, 284,660 votes to 214,977 votes, for a nearly 14-percentage point victory margin.

Trump’s favor in Michigan has wavered over the years, but his supporters have kept the vote counts close. He defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by 10,704 Michigan votes in 2016 and then lost to Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 154,188 Michigan votes four years later.

His speech is expected to touch on tariffs and an an update on Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township. He has said in recent weeks that he was working with Michigan leaders to keep the military installation  “open, strong, thriving” and hinted about the possibility of new fighter jets coming.

Earlier this month, Trump made reference to Selfridge as he was meeting with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the Oval Office. Whitmer and other Michigan officials have long pushed for a new fighter mission to replace the outgoing A-10 squadron at Selfridge.

Familiar faces expected to join Trump during rally next week at Macomb Community College

Most Americans expect higher prices as a result of Trump’s tariffs, new poll finds

Prevailing thoughts from Lions’ 2025 draft class, and what might come next

Macomb County All-Academic Banquet brings out the best in all

The post Michigan Supreme Court rules in embryo custody case appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides health care and support services to nearly 16 million veterans and their families. Beyond its medical services, the VA also partners in conducting research focused on veterans' health, resulting in breakthroughs that can benefit the wider population.

However, proposed budget cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency, initiated during President Donald Trump's first 100 days, could jeopardize these vital services.

Some veterans face lasting challenges from their military service, particularly those who served during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where many returned with traumatic brain and spinal injuries. In response, the VA has launched extensive medical research aimed at treating those injuries.

RELATED STORY | Secretary Doug Collins outlines a plan for 'streamlining' care at Veterans Affairs

"They are looking into a whole bunch on brain health, including PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative diseases," said Elizabeth Stout, who is with the National Association of Veterans Research and Education Foundations.

Their members work on medical research with the VA, and Stout said most people may not be aware of the breakthroughs that have come out of this federally funded research.

"After World War II, you had the pacemaker come out, and the first successful liver transplant occurred at the Denver VA in 1963. Researchers also contributed to the development of the nicotine patch and identified the GLP-1 receptor in the 1990snow seen in products like Ozempic and Wegovy," she said.

RELATED STORY | Drastic VA cuts threaten support for veterans

While these innovations were initially developed with veterans in mind, they have translated into breakthroughs benefiting all Americans.

Currently, though, DOGE, led by Elon Musk, is proposing layoffs that could impact more than 80,000 VA employees.

"We saw the firings at the VA crisis centers and the VA hotline, and I think that really woke a lot of veterans up to understand that this is a veterans issue facing our community," Will Attig, with the Union Veterans Council, told Scripps News in February.

The proposed cuts extend to research-related hiring freezes and funding reductions that could impact ongoing medical research. Stout said NAVREF estimated a potential loss of $35 million in funding for VA research.

"Research can't be turned on and off like a light switch," she said. When asked whether the nation owes it to veterans to maintain funding for this research, Stout replied, "Absolutely. They go out and protect our country at their cost, and when they come home, we should continue to take care of them and provide all the benefits they deserve."

The proposed cuts could not only hinder future research opportunities but also disrupt ongoing medical trials that involve veterans. According to DOGE's "Agency Efficiency" rankings, the VA ranks 19th among federal agencies.

The only thing worse than the need for community food pantries is having a pantry and not being able to store perishable goods.

That’s what makes the food pantry grant for a new refrigeration unit offered by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), Blue Cross Complete of Michigan and the BCBSM Foundation such a blessing.

“Last year we served 75,665 people and because of the refrigeration unit we were able to store milk between pantry days for emergency food,” said Sue Ostosh, executive director of Harvest Time Christian Fellowship Church’s pantry and among the organizations that have received the grant that’s now open for new applicants.

Emergency food as Ostosh explained is a term that pantries use for people who are in a crisis situation.

“They have no food in the house. No food in the cupboards. Their children are hungry and they don’t know what to do,” Ostosh said. “We probably serve three to five families in this situation every week.”

Harvest Time in Warren is one of 179 organizations in 54 counties that have received a grant to help people facing food insecurity, which includes about 14% of people in Michigan or one in seven Michiganders, according to a report by Feeding America. Older adults, seniors over the age of 60, are also at risk with a food insecurity rate of 6.5%.

According to the BCBSM, the situation is even worse for children, with nearly one in six lacking enough to eat and more than 20 counties having 20% or more kids without reliable access to healthy food.

“When families have consistent access to fresh, nutritious foods like milk, cheese and yogurt it supports their health, development and well being,” said Amiee Vondrasek, health and wellness senior manager for the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, in a news release. “Through this grant program, we’re proud to partner with organizations across Michigan to ensure food pantries are equipped to provide the dairy foods their communities want and need, especially for children and seniors facing food insecurity.”

Todd Anderson concurred.

“Access to fresh produce is critically important for growing children and families who are making ends meet with fewer resources,” said the market president for Blue Cross Complete. “Having these basic needs met creates a positive shift in a person’s overall health and wellbeing. It helps bring them out of survival mode, and that ripples out and allows whole communities to thrive.”

The refrigeration units cost $7,000.

In addition to the refrigeration unit, food pantry grantees will also receive personalized technical assistance to enhance pantry operations and $250 in dairy match funding to purchase additional eligible dairy products for their pantry.

“Food pantries play a vital role in providing individuals and families with access to nutritious food and BCBSM and the BCBSM Foundation are proud to offer resources to help expand their reach and impact,” said Tiffany Albert, senior vice president of community relations for BCBSM. “By investing in food pantries, we can address the immediate need of our communities and equip pantries with the necessary resources, tools and support to serve those in need for years to come.”

Ostosh, whose pantry in Warren serves families in Macomb and parts of Oakland and Wayne counties, said she appreciates what BCBSM is doing.

She just wishes more companies were doing it.

“I could use another refrigerator,” she said. “Even a walk-in cooler or freezer would be great.”

Grant applications are due June 22. They must be submitted using the online application.

For more information and to apply visit the Food Pantry Grant Program site at milkmeansmore.org/dairy-in-the-community/food-pantry-grant-program/

Harvest Time Christian Fellowship Church food pantry is 8204 East 9 Mile Rd., in Warren.

By JACK BROOK, Associated Press/Report for America

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The textile mills that once served as the backbone of Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, have long been shuttered, and officials believed federal money would be key to the town’s overdue revitalization. They hoped an improved stormwater drainage system and secured electrical wires — funded through a program to help communities protect against natural disasters and climate change — would safeguard investments in new businesses like a renovated historic theater to spur the largely rural economy.

Mount Pleasant was about to receive $4 million when the Federal Emergency Management Agency eliminated the program. Officials say their plans — years in the making — and those of hundreds of communities nationwide supported by the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program have been upended.

“This is a generational set of infrastructure projects that would set us up for the next hundred years and it just — poof — went away,” said Erin Burris, assistant town manager for Mount Pleasant, 25 miles east of Charlotte.

FEMA’s elimination this month of the BRIC program revoked upwards of $3.6 billion in funding earmarked for communities like Mount Pleasant. Though President Donald Trump has openly questioned whether to shutter FEMA completely, local officials said they were blindsided by the move to end BRIC, established during the Republican president’s first term.

Many affected communities are in Republican-dominated, disaster-prone regions. FEMA called the BRIC grants “wasteful” and “politicized” tools, but officials and residents say they were a vital use of government resources to proactively protect lives, infrastructure and economies. Money would have gone toward strengthening electrical poles to withstand hurricane-force winds in Louisiana, relocating residents in Pennsylvania’s floodplains and safeguarding water supply lines in Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley.

Disasters affect the vast majority of Americans — 95% live in a county that has had a federally declared weather disaster since 2011, said Amy Chester, director of Rebuild by Design, a nonprofit focused on disaster prevention.

The BRIC program told communities, “We’re going to help your community be stronger ahead of time,” she said. “Cutting one of the sole sources of funding for that need is essentially telling Americans that it’s OK that they’re suffering.”

Officials call FEMA’s program imperfect but important

Across multiple states, officials said the BRIC program was far from perfect — they were often frustrated with the wait for funding.

But in southeastern Louisiana, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson said despite his issues with FEMA’s bureaucracy, he’s seen firsthand that money invested to fortify homes and infrastructure works.

The hurricane-ravaged state receives the highest rate of federal disaster assistance per capita, with more than $8 billion pouring in since 2011, according to Rebuild by Design. Lafourche Parish has seen more than a dozen federally declared extreme weather disasters since 2011.

Lafourche had been set to receive more than $20 million from several grants to replace wooden electrical poles with steel and take other steps to lower the soaring costs of home insurance.

Chaisson, a Republican whose parish saw 80% of voters support Trump in November, said he backs efforts to streamline federal agencies — as long as funding continues to flow for disaster prevention.

“I’m hopeful that that’s what the president’s trying to do with this,” he said. “Is there some other way to get the money so we can continue to do these projects? … No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, the programs themselves and the dollars allocated make our communities more resilient.”

Research backs him up: A 2024 study funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found every $1 invested in disaster preparation saved $13 in economic impact, damage and cleanup costs.

Democratic officials in states that lost money have publicly expressed outrage. Few Republicans have joined in at a national level, even though about two-thirds of the top 15 states in total FEMA funds received, spending per person and number of federally declared disasters lean heavily Republican.

An exception has been Louisiana’s senior U.S. senator, Bill Cassidy. He took to the Senate floor this month calling for BRIC’s reinstatement, saying it’s “a lifesaver and a cost-saver.”

About $185 million intended for Louisiana evaporated, and officials had to shelve dozens of applications for hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding, according to data compiled by state and federal agencies.

“This isn’t waste,” Cassidy said. “To do anything other than use that money to fund flood mitigation projects is to thwart the will of Congress.”

FEMA says more than $3.6 billion of BRIC funds will be returned to the federal Disaster Relief Fund, for disaster response and recovery, and an additional $882 million is being returned to the U.S. Treasury or reapportioned by Congress in the following fiscal year. Agency officials did not comment further for this story.

Some states fight to restore funds

Twenty-two mostly blue states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit demanding the federal government release obligated funding, including FEMA grants.

The lawsuit highlights Grants Pass in conservative southern Oregon, where FEMA has refused to release BRIC funding awarded for a $50 million water treatment facility.

Flooding could knock out the water supply for 60,000 people for months, said Jason Canady, city public works director. Funding would have been used in part to build a modernized plant on higher ground.

“If you can’t provide drinking water, hospitals, groceries, restaurants are going to have trouble. Economically, it would be devastating,” he said. “It really is the cornerstone on which the community is built.”

In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Mayor Will Joyce spent two years working with FEMA on a BRIC application to overhaul and provide backup supply for a regional water system used by 100,000 people. Its 36-mile pipeline is at risk of damage from tornadoes and flooding. If it breaks, Stillwater has less than a day’s worth of reserve drinking water.

“We can’t just hope nothing bad happens,” Joyce said. “This project is a necessity.”

Without FEMA’s support, he said, Stillwater will have to double the cost of water for residents to fund the project.

In an open letter, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr., a northeast Pennsylvania Republican, urged FEMA to revive BRIC, saying communities in his district would struggle to fund disaster adaptation work, including relocating families in flooded homes.

Bresnahan wrote that “programs like BRIC are not wasteful, but well within the purview of federal coordination of disaster relief efforts” and noted that Trump “promised not to leave the forgotten men and women of America behind.”

Some towns fear their needs will be forgotten

In Mount Pleasant, Whit Moose, the fourth-generation owner of a downtown pharmacy, said few of his neighbors seem aware that funding disappeared, though his own business would have benefited.

“It was going to be a wonderful thing,” he said. “Now we just got to start over.”

Republican voters in the town embrace efforts to downsize government, but the perception is that cuts are focused on federal bureaucracy, related waste and redundancy, or diversity, equity and inclusion spending, said Jim Quick, vice chairman of the Cabarrus County Republican Party.

“It would be a surprise for us to learn that those budget cuts would be impacting a local municipality,” Quick said. “The reality is all of us have to trim back.”

Town voters are unlikely to retract their support for Trump, he said, noting that 80% supported him in November.

Burris, the assistant town manager, worries about flooding downtown. And she points to one vulnerable utility pole she’s nicknamed Atlas — after the Greek god carrying the world on his shoulders — holding up the electricity, internet and telecommunications for the town’s 1,700 people.

“It’s a special community, and it deserves good things,” Burris said, choking up. “I don’t know what was political about Mount Pleasant — little, teeny, tiny Mount Pleasant — getting a little bit of help with some stormwater flooding.”

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

From tariffs to government layoffs and significant stock market fluctuations, uncertainty surrounds the economy during President Donald Trumps second term.

On his third day in office, Trump announced his economic intentions at the World Economic Forum, a declaration that has since shaped the landscape of the economy during his first 100 days.

If you dont make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff, President Trump said.

RELATED STORY | Americans remain pessimistic on economy amid increased uncertainty, new survey shows

Public confidence is faltering, with a University of Michigan survey released in mid-April indicating that Americans inflation expectations are at their highest level since 1981. This comes as on-again-off-again tariffs impact steel, aluminum, automobiles, and numerous products from the European Union and China.

Local brewers are feeling the pinch. Its hard to pass along price increases to consumers, but sometimes we dont have a choice, said Brian Dunn of Great Divide Brewing in Denver. Dunn noted that the aluminum tariffs would add $1.65 to each case of beer, squeezing margins and raising costs for consumers.

RELATED STORY | IMF warns economic uncertainty will persist amid US tariff concerns

Market concerns are evident, with the DOW, S&P, and NASDAQ all falling approximately 10% since the beginning of the year, and the U.S. dollar reaching a three-year low.

Despite declining confidence, reports suggest a steady economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation has eased, unemployment remains stable, and job creation continues to exceed estimates, presenting a confusing scenario filled with fear amid signs of stability.

The De La Salle Pilots baseball team is having fun.

And why wouldn’t they? After a pair of 15-0 run-rule wins over Avondale on Saturday, the Pilots are 12-2 with 10 of their wins coming against Catholic League rivals Brother Rice, U of D Jesuit, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Catholic Central.

It’s been a striking difference from last season, when the Pilots finished 17-19.

So what’s changed?

“I think we all bought in this year,” said senior Mason Pilarski. “I mean, we kind of all came together as a group.”

The buy-in has circulated around new head coach Dan Cimini, who took the DLS head coaching job after winning the Division 1 state title last season as the skipper for Northville.

“‘Everything counts’ is his motto,’ Pilarski said.

“He’s instilled what he’s about – winning and everything like that. And he’s really put it there, and we’ve all bought in.”

Cimini is familiar with both De La Salle and the Catholic League – he won five state championships as the head coach at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, where he dominated the Catholic League and battled against De La Salle annually. He’s also an eastsider with friends who are Pilot grads.

It helps that there’s plenty of talent on the roster.

Pilarski, a Western Michigan commit, is the team’s top pitcher and is a fixture at the top of the lineup. His 17 RBIs are a team-high and he’s yet to allow an earned run in 18.1 innings pitched.

JJ Jurczyk leads off and is a rangy outfielder who is a soccer state champion with DLS.

Vito Zito is an anchor behind the plate, catching most of the team’s games. He’s hit four home runs and nine of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases, good for a 1.166 on-base plus slugging.

“I keep telling these guys, you know, care about the guy next to you,” Cimini said. “Maybe it’s not your day, someone else will pick you up, and that’s what we’re doing, passing the baton to whoever that day is going to be helping us.”

It’s not just the top of the lineup that opponents have to sweat, either. In their second win over Avondale on Saturday, their 7-8-9 hitters – Mason Stempin, Mark Gerardi and Pashk Daka – went 5-for-5 with two doubles, both by Girardi, and a no-doubter home run by Daka.

On the mound, Dylan Leupke’s ERA is a minuscule .545 in 25.2 innings of work with 38 strikeouts. Jurczyk’s is 2.58 with a team-high 45 punchouts in just 21.2 innings.

All of those guys are returners. Clearly, the talent has been there – Cimini is unlocking it. And it starts with belief.

“He (Cimini) instilled confidence on us,” Zito said. “Last year was hard for us, losing a lot of games. We came in here, he kind of set the standard for us, and we’ve just been playing to it now and having fun.

“It’s a great feeling. I mean, since day one he was saying this is a spot we’re going to be in. And I mean, he spoke into existence, great guy. He’s always picking us up.”

The state is taking notice. In the recent MHSBCA statewide poll, the Pilots were ranked as the best of the best, the cream of the crop – the No. 1 team in Division 1 – just a few weeks into the season.

“(I expected it) Maybe not this early, but I mean, we all knew that we had something special here, especially with them coming in,” Pilarski said. “I wasn’t really expecting it this early, but it’s pretty cool.”

De La Salle, Romeo ride strong starts to rise in new Macomb County baseball rankings

An emphasis on “doing the little things” has made waves for the team. It’s not just about hitting the ball hard and throwing strikes – they work counts, go first to third on hits, field the ball cleanly and hammer the details that other teams don’t.

For Cimini, who is one of the most accomplished baseball coaches in Michigan across the last two decades, it’s something he knows sets the good teams apart from the great ones.

Photos from De La Salle baseball’s 15-0 win over Avondale on Saturday

“I just really wanted them to understand that, you know, with hard work and preparation and do the little things that we talk about – the little things are, what win championships and what win games,” Cimini said. “And I don’t know if they did a lot of that stuff last year. I mean, they did some of it, but now they’re doing it all.

“Our goals are (to) win a Catholic League championship, and then, you know, see what we can do in the playoffs and hopefully be at Michigan State again. That’s my goal every single year as a coach, and I think these guys now believe that they can do that same thing, so that’s cool.”

The Pilots last won a state championship in 2016.

Spanish power distributor Red Elctrica said that restoring power to large parts of the country after a massive and unprecedented outage Monday that also hit Portugal could take 6-10 hours.

The company declined to speculate on the causes of the blackout. The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center issued a statement saying there was no sign the outage was due to a cyberattack.

Eduardo Prieto, head of operations at Red Electrica, told journalists it was unprecedented, calling the event exceptional and extraordinary.

The outage hit across Spain and Portugal, including their capitals, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines.

Authorities said the cause was not immediately known, though one Portuguese official said the problem appeared to be with the electricity distribution network in Spain.

The Portuguese Cabinet convened an emergency meeting at the prime ministers residence, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez visited power distributor Red Elctrica to follow efforts at restoring grid operations.

The countries have a combined population of over 50 million people. It was not immediately clear how many were affected. It is rare to have such a widespread outage across the Iberian Peninsula.

A couple of hours later, Spains electricity network operator said it was recovering power in the north and south of the peninsula, which would help to progressively restore the electricity supply nationwide.

Portugals government said the outage appeared to stem from problems outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa.

It looks like it was a problem with the distribution network, apparently in Spain. Its still being ascertained, Cabinet Minister Leito Amaro was quoted as saying.

Portuguese distributor E-Redes said the outage was due to a problem with the European electricity system, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso. The company said it was compelled to cut power in specific areas to stabilize the network, according to Expresso.

Spains public broadcaster RTVE said a major power outage hit several regions of the country just after midday local time, leaving its newsroom, Spains parliament in Madrid and subway stations across the country in the dark.

A graph on Spains electricity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 12:15 p.m. from 27,500MW to near 15,000MW.

Video aired on Spanish television showed people evacuating metro stations in Madrid and empty stations with trains stopped in Barcelona.

Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended. Three matches were underway when power went down.

Spains traffic department asked citizens to avoid using their cars as much as possible due to the power outage, which has affected traffic lights and electrical road signage.

In Terrassa, an industrial town 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Barcelona, stores selling generators were out of stock after people lined up to buy them.

Portugals E-Redes said parts of France also were affected.

In a country of some 10.6 million people, the outage hit the capital, Lisbon, and surrounding areas, as well as northern and southern parts. Portuguese police placed more officers on duty to direct traffic and cope with increased requests for help, including from people trapped in elevators.

Portuguese hospitals and other emergency services switched to generators. Gas stations stopped working and trains stopped running.

Portugals National Authority for Emergencies and Civil Protection said backup power systems were operating.

Several Lisbon subway cars were evacuated, reports said. Also in Portugal, courts stopped work and ATMs and electronic payment systems were affected. Traffic lights in Lisbon stopped working.

It was not possible to make calls on mobile phone networks, though some apps were working.

Hajime Sato, the James Beard Award-winning chef who owned and operated sushi restaurant Sozai in Clawson, announced he has closed the restaurant.

In a post on Sozai's Instagram page, the restaurant announced April 26 was its final service.

On his own Instagram page, Sato said that after reflection, the best thing for his family is to return to the Pacific Northwest.

"It will be extremely difficult to leave Sozai behind. I put everything I had into building something special for my customers and to further my work as a sustainable seafood advocate," he said in the post. "Thank you to everyone who has shared wonderful times with me at Sozai. I will cherish those memories. My sincerest hope is that you will continue to try new things."

Last year, Sato won the James Beard Award for "Best Chef: Great Lakes." He is the first sushi chef to win the regional award, and it's the first time a Michigan chef has won the regional award in more than two decades. He was a finalist for the "Best Chef" national award in 2023.

Sozai and Sato are known for sustainable sushi, meaning they look at key factors including traceability, fish populations, fishing methods, and farming practices.

During his acceptance speech, Sato admitted that until a couple of years ago, he didn't know about the James Beard Awards.

"I'm one of those guys, can I make the sushi rice a little better today than yesterday? Can I make an impact on one person's life when I serve sushi? That's who I am," he said. "My parents did a good job. I grew up in Japan, and whatever I do, it's not good enough."

Watch below: Our 2024 story with Sato after being named a finalist for a James Beard Award

Two metro Detroit restaurants up for James Beard Foundation Awards

He said something changed after the awards, and now, people have started listening to him.

"Oceans is not in good shape. As you know, Earth is not in good shape. Small restaurant like me cannot really do that much, but, everybody here nominations, winners, now you have a voice," he said. "I need everybody's help so maybe we can do this award ceremony 10 years from now."

We spoke to Sato earlier in 2024 after it was announced he was a finalist.

Whats unique about this restaurant is called Omakase which is, basically, chefs choice so you, basically, sit down and I ask you some things and I start making some food for you," Sato said.

He said the goal was to bring traditional Japanese cuisine to metro Detroit.

One of the things we specialize in is is sushi side and if you go to the kitchen side simply grilled fish with a miso glaze, stuff like that, said Chef Sato.

Detroit Democratic State Rep. Donavan McKinney announced he is entering the race for Michigan's 13th Congressional District, looking to unseat incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar.

Im not running for Congress because Im a millionaire or a billionaire. Im running because Im not. Im running because our community deserves to have someone fighting back against the Trump-Musk administration who knows our struggles of housing insecurity, of wages that havent kept up with the cost of living, of environmental racism, and more someone who has lived those struggles, and will fight for us with the urgency that this moment demands, McKinney said in a statement announcing his campaign. Im running for Congress so that you will never have to wonder if your Congressman is fighting for you in Washington. You know I will be and I will always answer the phone for our community, for our kids, for all of us.

He's the latest person to announce a run against Thanedar. Democrat Adam Hollier also announced a campaign earlier this month.

McKinney represents the 11th district, which is the district in the State of Michigan, with a median income of less than $20,000.

In the announcement, he touted several endorsements from local leaders, including several state representatives.

The 13th Congressional District includes parts of Detroit, Downriver communities, the Grosse Pointes and Highland Park and Hamtramck.

It's a primarily Democratic district Thanedar was elected in 2022 with 71% of the vote and was reelected last year with more than 68% of the vote. The winner of the Democratic primary will likely win the general election.

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Since President Donald Trump returned to office, every week has been a whirlwind of activity to show Americans that his administration is relentlessly pursuing his promises.

With a compliant Republican-controlled Congress, Trump has had a free hand to begin overhauling the federal government and upending foreign policy.

As Trump hits his 100th day in office Tuesday, his imprint is everywhere. But will it last?

Very much unsettled is whether the Republican president has run up his scorecard lawfully. Trump has faced lawsuits over his attempts to surge deportations, punish law firms and slash the federal workforce. All of that and more is being adjudicated in courtrooms, meaning much of what he’s done could come undone.

Here’s a look at where progress on his promises stands:

He promised to beat inflation

“We’re going to get those prices down,” he told voters.

Prices have come down — before Trump took office and since. Inflation has been falling since a peak of 9.1% in 2022. It was at 3% in January, the month Trump was inaugurated, and 2.4% in March.

But the Federal Reserve has warned that the president’s tariff plans will most likely lead to higher prices by taxing foreign imports.

He’s cracked down on illegal immigration

Trump has clearly made progress on a signature promise to control the border.

The number of people trying to cross illegally into the United States from Mexico dropped steeply in President Joe Biden’s last year, from a high of 249,740 in December 2023 to 47,324 in December 2024. Under Trump, the numbers sank to only 8,346 in February and 7,181 in March.

For all the legal wrangling about Trump’s unorthodox and possibly illegal tactics to get immigrants out of the country, it’s unclear whether he’s matching Biden’s aggressive deportation record last year — the numbers are not yet in.

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is arresting large numbers of people across the country. Many who assert their innocence have been deported without due process.

He promised to slash energy bills

Trump told voters he’ll reduce their energy costs by half to three-quarters in 12 to 18 months. That promise comes due next year.

He brought on the tariffs

Trump vowed in the campaign: “I will impose across-the-board tariffs on most foreign-made goods.”

He’s followed through, big time, though with frequently changing caveats.

Trump began by escalating tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, ostensibly as punishment for allowing fentanyl into the U.S. Then he announced even more widespread taxes on foreign imports on April 2, part of what he described as “Liberation Day.” Trump retreated from parts of that plan, choosing to pursue negotiations instead, but he left in place tariffs on China as high as 145%.

The stock market has whipsawed from the hefty import taxes and the erraticism in their application.

He failed to end a war as promised

At rally after rally last summer, Trump promised peace between Russia and Ukraine merely by winning the election. “Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after I win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” he told a Detroit conference in August. By then, he’d been making the same vow at least since May. It did not happen.

At times, he framed the promise differently, saying he would end the war in one day. That day has not come.

He promised big tax cuts

Trump has tested the limits of what he can do by decree, but he’ll need Congress to achieve his promised tax cuts.

He pledged to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security payments, and he said he will make permanent the expiring tax cuts he enacted during his first term.

None of this has happened. And with big tariffs kicking in, the tax burden is on track to get worse before it possibly gets better. Trump is working with Republicans in Congress to push through legislation achieving the tax cuts, but his party has thin majorities.

He went after pillars of education

Trump’s threats to choke off billions in tax dollars to many universities flow from multiple promises in the campaign — to combat antisemitism on campuses, to take on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to rid campuses of foreign students he considers hostile to American values.

After several other prominent schools signaled their willingness to comply with Trump’s demands, Harvard stood firm against the pressure.

In response, Trump has called for withdrawing Harvard’s tax-exempt status, has threatened to block it from enrolling foreign students — more than a quarter of its enrollments — and has frozen more than $2 billion in grants and contracts.

… and pillars of culture

Trump’s promised agenda against “woke” policy swept quickly through the government, as DEI programs from the Biden years were halted and references to diversity in federal communications were purged.

At the Pentagon, in particular, a messy revisionism ensued, as thousands of images on webpages and other online content were flagged for removal. An image of the Enola Gay bomber from World War II was flagged for deletion — because of the “gay” — as were materials paying tribute to Black and Navajo war heroes and pioneering women. Most of the targeted material ultimately survived.

An executive order from Trump on “restoring truth and sanity to American history” forbids federal money to Smithsonian programs that promote “improper ideology.”

He promised to roll back transgender rights

Trump campaigned against the participation of transgender athletes in sports and against broader moves in society, especially in Democratic-led jurisdictions, to accommodate views that gender is not inherently binary.

As president, he has signed executive orders to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s teams, and he’s asked the Supreme Court to rule against lower courts that have blocked his attempt to remove transgender troops from the military.

He promised to pardon Jan. 6 rioters, and he did

In the campaign, Trump celebrated the Jan. 6 rioters as “patriots” and “hostages” of the justice system and promised, “I will sign their pardons on Day 1.” He did exactly that. Roughly 1,500 people, including those who attacked police officers, received pardons.

Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

The Justice Department is cracking down on leaks of information to the news media, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying prosecutors will once again have authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make unauthorized disclosures to journalists.

New regulations announced by Bondi in a memo to the staff obtained by The Associated Press on Friday rescind a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

The new regulations assert that news organizations must respond to subpoenas when authorized at the appropriate level of the Department of Justice and also allow for prosecutors to use court orders and search warrants to compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media.

The memo says members of the press are presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities, and subpoenas are to be narrowly drawn. Warrants must also include "protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities, the memo states.

The Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump's policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people, Bondi wrote.

Under the new policy, before deciding whether to use intrusive tactics against the news media, the attorney general is to evaluate whether there's a reasonable basis to believe that a crime has been committed and that the information the government is seeking is needed for prosecution. Also, deciding whether prosecutors have first made reasonable attempts to obtain the information from alternative sources and whether the government has first pursued negotiations with the affected member of the news media.

The regulations come as the Trump administration has complained about a series of news stories that have pulled back the curtain on internal decision-making, intelligence assessments and the activities of prominent officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said this week that she was making a trio of criminal referrals to the Justice Department over intelligence community leaks to the media.

The policy shift also comes amid continued scrutiny of the highest levels of the Trump administration over their own lapses in safeguarding sensitive information. National security adviser Michael Waltz was revealed last month to have inadvertently added a journalist to a group text using the Signal encrypted messaging service, where top officials were discussing plans to attack the Houthis. Hegseth has faced his own drumbeat of revelations over his use of Signal, including a chat that included his wife and brother, among others.

In a statement, Bruce Brown, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement that strong protections for journalists serve the American public by safeguarding the free flow of information.

Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11 was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum, he said.

The policy that Bondi is rescinding was created in by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in the wake of revelations that the Justice Department officials alerted reporters at three news organizations The Washington Post, CNN and The New York Times that their phone records had been obtained in the final year of the Trump administration.

The new regulations from Garland marked a startling reversal of a practice of phone records' seizures that had persisted across multiple presidential administrations. The Obama Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, alerted The Associated Press in 2013 that it had secretly obtained two months of phone records of reporters and editors in what the news cooperatives top executive called a massive and unprecedented intrusion into newsgathering activities.

After blowback, Holder announced a revised set of guidelines for leak investigations, including requiring the authorization of the highest levels of the department before subpoenas for news media records could be issued.

But the department preserved its prerogative to seize journalists records, and the recent disclosures to the news media organizations show that the practice continued in the Trump Justice Department as part of multiple investigations.

A pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants helped propel President Donald Trump back to the White House.

"It's going to be called a Trump mass deportation," Trump said during a campaign rally on Aug. 12, 2024. "We will begin the largest deportation operation in American history."

He appointed a border czar, Tom Homan, to increase expulsions.

"I will run the biggest deportation operation the country has ever seen," said Homan, a week after Trump won the election.

The Trump administration has embraced a shock and awe approach to immigration enforcement designed for maximum publicity. The homeland security secretary has attended and posted video of early morning arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Trump has deployed more armed forces to the border and used military planes to ferry away immigrants. He has also sent alleged Venezuelan gang members to a terrorism prison in El Salvador before they could have a day in court.

But federal data shows there has not been a significant jump in immigrants deported since Trump took office. Mass deportations have not occurred. The numbers show removals are lagging behind levels during the Biden administration.

"Frankly I was shocked," said Sue Long, co-founder of the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse that tracks immigration statistics at Syracuse University.

RELATED STORY | How the US deported suspected gang members, triggering a legal battle

Early on the Trump administration touted the number of daily immigration arrests but has never shared detailed deportation figures.

Long was able to calculate recent deportation figures using a cumulative number deep inside a spreadsheet ICE is required by law to keep updated for Congress.

"They're lower," Long said. "Their daily average is simply 10 percent lower."

The White House told Scripps News that because border crossings are down, so are deportations. It is an argument Homan also makes.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | What's the potential financial cost of Trump's immigration policies?

"We're down border crossings 96 percent, so we don't have millions of people coming across the border," Homan told reporters at the White House. "Just to compare our removal numbers to (Biden's) is just ridiculous."

Homan also told the New York Times, "We need to increase the arrests ... They're not high enough."

There are still an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

Homan says more funding from Congress would boost immigration enforcement efforts. Costs are high to arrange and transport individuals out of the U.S. to their home countries. Logistics are another challenge, as countries must agree to receive deported immigrants.

Yemens Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a U.S. airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The U.S. military did not acknowledge carrying out the strike.

The strike in Yemen's Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country's decadelong war to see African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations killed while crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

It also likely will renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as Operation Rough Rider, which has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The U.S. military's Central Command, in a statement early Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign. The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

RELATED STORY | Judge orders Trump admin not to delete Signal communications about attack plans

To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations, Central Command said. We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what weve done or what we will do.

It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the alleged strike in Saada.

Graphic footage shows aftermath of explosion

Graphic footage aired by the Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.

The rebels' Civil Defense organization said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others wounded in the attack.

Footage from the site analyzed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by debris fragments and the wounds suffered by those there.

A voice, soft in the footage, can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: In the name of God. An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded.

The International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, said it was deeply saddened by the deaths at the prison.

It is imperative that all efforts are made to avoid harm to civilians and to protect those most vulnerable in these challenging circumstances, it said.

African migrants caught in middle of Yemen's war

Ethiopians and other African migrants for years have landed in Yemen, braving the war-torn nation to try and reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces, causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants.

Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.

Monday's alleged strike recalled a similar strike by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis back in 2022 on the same compound, which caused a collapse killing 66 detainees and wounding 113 others, a United Nations report later said. The Houthis shot dead 16 detainees who fled after the strike and wounded another 50, the U.N. said. The Saudi-led coalition sought to justify the strike by saying the Houthis built and launched drones there, but the U.N. said it was known to be a detention facility.

The coalition should have avoided any attack on that facility, the U.N. report added.

That 2022 attack was one of the deadliest single attacks in the yearslong war between the coalition and the Houthi rebels and came after the Houthis killed three people in a strike near Abu Dhabi's international airport.

US military says over 800 strikes conducted in campaign so far

Meanwhile, U.S. airstrikes overnight targeting Yemen's capital killed at least eight people, the Houthis said. The American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign.

The overnight statement from Central Command also said Operation Rough Rider had killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders, including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of those officials.

"We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region," it added.

RELATED STORY | The Pentagon's inspector general will investigate the Houthi strike Signal chat

The U.S. is targeting the Houthis because of the groups attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis are also the last militant group in Irans self-described Axis of Resistance that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

US discusses deadly port strike

The U.S. is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign. Central Command on Monday offered an explanation for why it hit the port.

U.S. strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel, which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities, it said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory they hold to the outside world. It issued a notice Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should quickly hand over the devices to authorities.

A field campaign will be implemented in coordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals, the Houthis warned.

Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russias full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there.