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Nation and world at a glance

Up to 1,000 transgender troops

being moved out of the military

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will immediately begin moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify.

That’s happening under a new directive issued Thursday. Buoyed by Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals in the military, the Defense Department will then begin going through medical records to identify others who haven’t come forward.

Department officials have said it’s difficult to determine exactly how many transgender service members there are, but medical records will show those who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, who show symptoms or are being treated. Those troops would then be involuntarily forced out of the service.

Trump to name Fox host Pirro

as top federal prosecutor in DC

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he is naming Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a former county prosecutor and elected judge, to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital after abandoning his first pick for the job.

He made the announcement in a post Thursday on Truth Social.

Pirro cohosts the show “The Five” on Fox on weekday evenings. She was elected as a judge in New York’s Westchester County Court in 1990 before serving three terms as the county’s elected district attorney. Trump tapped Pirro to lead the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office after pulling his nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. for the position.

White House overhaul of troubled

air traffic control to cost billions

The Trump administration has proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the U.S. air traffic control system in the wake of recent deadly plane crashes and technical failures that have put a spotlight on the outdated network.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the plan calls for six new air traffic control centers, along with technology and communications upgrades at all of the nation’s air traffic facilities over the next three years.

How much it will exactly cost wasn’t immediately revealed. Officials want to add fiber, wireless and satellite technology at more than 4,600 locations, replace 618 radars and increase the number of airports with systems designed to reduce near misses on runways.

Ex-fashion model testifies Weinstein

sexually assaulted her at 16 and 19

NEW YORK — A former model has testified that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her when she was 16 years old, calling it the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.

Kaja Sokola told jurors at Weinstein’s #MeToo retrial on Thursday that the onetime movie honcho put his hand inside her underwear and made her touch his genitals at a Manhattan apartment in 2002. Weinstein is not charged with any crime in connection with the alleged assault. Sokola is testifying because Weinstein is charged with forcing oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel four years later. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and denies sexually assaulting anyone.

Reports of Trump deportation plans

highlight abuse of migrants in Libya

CAIRO — Experts, human rights workers and lawyers criticized reports of plans to deport migrants from the U.S. to Libya. Migrants in Libya are routinely arbitrarily detained and placed in squalid detention centers where they are subjected to extortion, abuse, rape and killings.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that Libya has some 800,000 migrants and refugees seeking work or who have fled war in their home countries.

A U.N.-backed independent fact-finding mission found evidence that crimes against humanity had been committed against migrants in Libya. Authorities from rival administrations in Libya have denied signing a deportation deal with the Trump administration.

Judge orders end to freeze on funds

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Education Department to undo a freeze on the last of the U.S. relief money given to schools to help students recover academically from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Associated Press

The federal government provided $189 billion in aid money for schools during the crisis, giving them broad latitude in how to spend it.

Nation and world at a glance

Iran’s top diplomat in Pakistan to mediate in escalation with India over Kashmir attack

ISLAMABAD — Iran’s foreign minister held talks with top Pakistani officials on Monday to try and mediate in the escalation between Islamabad and New Delhi after last month’s deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, as the United Nations urged both sides to exercise restraint.

Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Islamabad was the first by a foreign dignitary since tensions flared in the wake of the April 22 massacre of 26 people, most of them Indian Hindu tourists, in the town of Pahalgam, which India blames on Pakistan. Islamabad denies the accusation.

Tehran has offered to help ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Araghchi held separate meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who thanked him for his peace efforts, according to government statements. Araghchi will visit India this week, according to Pakistani state-run media.

Antonio Guterres, the U.N. Secretary General, also urged both sides later Monday to exercise restraint: “Make no mistake: A military solution is no solution,” he told reporters.

“Now is the time for maximum restraint and stepping back from the brink,” Guterres said. “The United Nations stands ready to support any initiative that promotes de-escalation, diplomacy, and a renewed commitment to peace.”

Islamabad has offered to cooperate with an international investigation. India hasn’t accepted the offer so far, and several world leaders have urged both sides to show restraint and avoid further escalation.

Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the active duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as the Trump administration moves forward with deep cuts that it says will promote efficiency but that critics worry could result in a more politicized force.

Hegseth also told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions and directed the military to cut an additional 10% of its general and flag officers across the force, which could include any one-star or above or officer of equivalent Navy rank.

The cuts are on top of more than a half-dozen top general officers that President Donald Trump or Hegseth have fired since January, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr. They also have fired the only two women serving as four-star officers, as well as a disproportionate number of other senior female officers.

In the earlier rounds of firing, Hegseth said the eliminations were “a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.”

As Pentagon chief, Hegseth has touted his efforts to root out any programming or leadership that endorses diversity in the ranks, tried to terminate transgender service members and begun sweeping changes to enforce a uniform fitness standard for combat positions.

In a memo announcing the cuts Monday, Hegseth said they would remove “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.” He said the aim was to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”

There are about 800 general officers in the military, but only 44 of those are four-star general or flag officers. The Army has the largest number of general officers, with 219, including eight four-star generals.

The number of general officer positions in the military is set by law. Members of Congress were not provided with the advance notification they normally would receive on the cuts but were given a “very brief alert” this afternoon, according to a congressional staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not made public.

The cuts were first reported by CNN.

Trump administration says Harvard will receive no new grants until it meets demands

WASHINGTON — Harvard University will receive no new federal grants until it meets a series of demands from President Donald Trump’s administration, the Education Department announced Monday.

The action was laid out in a letter to Harvard’s president and amounts to a major escalation of Trump’s battle with the Ivy League school. The administration previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, and Trump is pushing to strip the school of its tax-exempt status.

Harvard has pushed back on the administration’s demands, setting up a closely watched clash in Trump’s attempt to force change at universities that he says have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.

In a press call, an Education Department official said Harvard will receive no new federal grants until it “demonstrates responsible management of the university” and satisfies federal demands on a range of subjects. The ban applies to federal research grants and not to federal financial aid that helps students cover college tuition and fees.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the decision on a call with reporters.

The official accused Harvard of “serious failures.” The person said Harvard has allowed antisemitism and racial discrimination to perpetuate, it has abandoned rigorous academic standards, and it has failed to allow a range of views on its campus. To become eligible for new grants, Harvard would need to enter negotiations with the federal government and prove it has satisfied the administration’s requirements.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Kuwait frees 10 Americans in 2nd release of detainees

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say Kuwait has released 10 more American detainees in an apparent goodwill gesture. It brings to nearly two dozen the total number freed from Kuwait in the past two months.

Taken together, the pardons of 23 Americans since March — done as a goodwill gesture by a U.S. ally — amounted to the largest release of U.S. citizens by a single foreign country in years. Ten others were released on March 12, weeks after a visit to Kuwait by Adam Boehler, who is serving as the Trump administration’s envoy for hostage affairs. The releases weren’t done as part of a swap, and the U.S. wasn’t asked to give up anything in return.

Trump on tariffs: Children

will get 2 dolls instead of 30

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is acknowledging that his tariffs could result in fewer and costlier products in the United States. He says American kids might “have two dolls instead of 30 dolls.”

But he’s also insisting China will suffer more from his trade war. The Republican president has tried to reassure a nervous country that his tariffs won’t provoke a recession.

But a new government report shows the U.S. economy shrank during the first three months of the year.

Trump told his Cabinet on Wednesday that his tariffs meant China was “having tremendous difficulty because their factories are not doing business.” He said the U.S. didn’t really need imports from the world’s dominant manufacturer.

Storms knock out power

to thousands in Ohio, Pa.

Tuesday night’s powerful storms knocked out power to more than 425,000 customers in Pennsylvania and 40,000 in Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.

Neighboring states also reported thousands of outages. About 300,000 Pennsylvania customers and nearly 19,000 in Ohio were without power late Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Light called the storm’s damage “unprecedented” for knocking out electricity for some 250,000 of its customers and toppling trees and snapping power poles. The utility was bringing in outside help to restore electricity, and outages could last a week, the spokesperson said.

The Associated Press

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro surveyed damage in Allegheny County on Wednesday and stopped by Fiori’s, a popular pizzeria that had had its roof ripped off by the storm.

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