Author: Reporter

The Associated Press plans to cut its workforce by 8% starting with staff buyouts and some layoffs

The Associated Press, better known simply as the AP, said in November that it would begin offering buyouts and lay off selected employees, part of a plan to reduce the news outlet’s staff by about 8% and accelerate a transition to a digital-first organization. The move is part of what is expected to be a dispiriting end-of-year period in the news industry, which is beset by business woes that go back years. The end of a busy presidential-election cycle was also expected to accelerate reorganization plans. The AP said those eligible for buyouts were to learn of the offer,...

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Ending Birthright Citizenship: Constitutional debate reignited by Trump’s racist plan to redefine America

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to end birthright citizenship as soon as he gets into office to make good on campaign promises aiming to restrict immigration and redefining what it means to be American. But any efforts to halt the policy would face steep legal hurdles. Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It has been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country. It is not...

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Republicans work to hide reminders of deadly January 6 attack on the Capitol as Trump retakes power

Inside the Capitol, reminders of the violence are increasingly hard to find. Scars on the walls have been repaired. Windows and doors broken by the rioters have been replaced. And there is no plaque, display, or remembrance of any kind. Lawmakers rarely mention the attack, and many Republicans try to downplay it, echoing President-elect Donald Trump’s claims that the carnage of that day is overblown and that the rioters are victims. In some ways, it is like the insurrection of January 6, 2021, that shook the foundations of American democracy, never happened. “It’s been erased,” said Senator Peter Welch...

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Counting votes: How Congress will certify a convicted felon’s Electoral College victory on January 6

The congressional joint session to count electoral votes on January 6 is expected to be much less eventful than the certification four years ago that was interrupted by a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who tried to stop the count and overturn the results of an election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. This time, the convicted felon is returning to office after winning the 2024 election that began with Biden as his party’s nominee and ended with Vice President Kamala Harris atop the ticket. She will preside over the certification of her own loss, fulfilling...

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More Border Patrol agents are training as chaplains to help peers process challenges on and off the job

As immigration remains a hotly contested priority for the Trump administration after playing a decisive role in the deeply polarized election, the Border Patrol agents tasked with enforcing many of its laws are wrestling with growing challenges on and off the job. More are training to become chaplains to help their peers as they tackle security threats, including the powerful cartels that control much of the border dynamic, and witness growing suffering among migrants — all while policies in Washington keep shifting and public outrage targets them from all sides. “The hardest thing is, people … don’t know what...

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Educators worry that mass deportation fears will keep immigrant children from attending school

Last time Donald Trump was president, rumors of immigration raids terrorized the Oregon community where Gustavo Balderas was the school superintendent. Word spread that immigration agents were going to try to enter schools. There was no truth to it, but school staff members had to find students who were avoiding school and coax them back to class. “People just started ducking and hiding,” Balderas said. Educators around the country are bracing for upheaval, whether or not the president-elect follows through on his pledge to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally. Even if he only talks...

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