This year, clients still have a lot of questions about international travel, according to Damian McCabe with McCabe World Travel in McLean, Virginia.

“They’re saying, ‘Gee, I’m a little bit worried. Our government is not well perceived in some cases around the world and are we going to encounter anyone who’s not friendly to us?’” McCabe said.

McCabe said she tells clients to be friendly to anyone they come across, and they’ll likely be respected back. Expect political questions, though, she said.

“American clients will be questioned about what their perception is about what’s going on. People may answer that in two very different ways. And I think staying as middle-of-the-road as you can, no matter what your flavor is, is really important,” McCabe said.

She strongly encourages those traveling to not get into heated debates or try to push any agenda.

“Be respectful. If people ask questions, answer as much as you’re comfortable with, but don’t be inflammatory,” she said.

One change in her guidance this year is encouraging clients traveling abroad to not wear political clothing or decals. She also discourages displaying the American flag on clothing or on luggage.

“We just think that that’s a little too overt,” McCabe said. “I think Europeans are more curious than anything else about how the Americans they’re interacting with are proceeding all of this.”

She said with that guidance in mind, the clients who have traveled to Europe so far this year said the trip was enjoyable.

“We haven’t had a single client come home and say, ‘Wow, my enjoyment of this trip was affected by how we were treated,’” McCabe said.

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Cleveland was 11 of 16 from beyond the arc in the quarter as it jumped out to a 68-51 lead at halftime after leading by only one point at the end of the first period. Max Strus made three 3s while Sam Merrill, De’Andre Hunter and Donovan Mitchell had two apiece. Mitchell had five assists in the quarter, all on 3-pointers.

The Cavaliers were one of four teams to share the previous record of 10, which happened during a second-round series against Atlanta in 2016. Milwaukee, Phoenix and Utah also sank 10 during postseason games in 2021. Mitchell was on that Jazz team.

The regular-season record for 3s in a quarter is 12, which has happened six times.

Cleveland, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, was second in the league in 3-pointers behind Boston and second in 3-point field goal percentage behind Milwaukee during the regular season.

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Companies like BYD, Great Wall, Geely and Chery Automobile are reaching outward as they build the scale they need to survive cut-throat competition in their home market.

These generally are not state-run giants like SAIC, BAIC and Guangzhou Automotive. The founder of Geely started out making refrigerators.

BYD first built up its expertise in battery technology, now its biggest advantage as the world’s largest-selling EV maker. Some others are technology companies allied with automakers to offer autonomous driving.

Here are some of the key players:

Great Wall Motors

Great Wall Motors, with the Haval, Wey, Ora, Poer and Tank brands, is banking on overseas sales to keep growing after seeing its sales inside China fall by nearly 15% last year, even as the company’s net profit jumped more than 80%. The company has factories in Russia, Thailand and Brazil, where it is challenging Toyota’s popular Hilux pickup truck with its GWM Poer, a hybrid pickup of its own. Another mainstay is the Haval H6, a hybrid sports SUV.

Great Wall has smoothed its transition to overseas production by buying factories of other automakers. In Thailand, it took over a factory formerly operated by General Motors Corp. In Brazil, it purchased a former Mercedes-Benz plant.

“It is essential for volume to be big, otherwise the cost of production is too high,” Great Wall’s chairman, Wei Jianjun, said in a media huddle at the show. Wei, who also goes by the name Jack Wey, was born in Beijing but moved to nearby Hebei, home of the Great Wall. He led the company’s transition from vehicle modification to automaking, becoming China’s biggest maker of pickup trucks and a leading SUV maker. The company has a joint venture for EVs with BMW.

Chery

State-owned Chery Automobile says it was the first Chinese automaker to export overseas. It has sold more than 15 million of its Chery, Exeed, Omoda and Jetour models overseas, mostly in the developing world and emerging markets, including Turkey and Ukraine. Chery reported selling 2.6 million vehicles overseas last year and is aiming for 3 million in 2025. It’s quickly expanding overseas production, setting up factories in Russia and Spain. It is expanding rapidly in Latin America.

Chery’s tie-up with EV-maker Visionary Vehicles aimed to sell in North America but has not yet achieved that goal. The company has a 50-50 joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover, which is a subsidiary of Tata Motors of India that makes Jaguars and Land Rovers in China. It also collaborates with Huawei Technologies and e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Chery still sells far more fuel-engine cars than EVs. Its battery electric vehicle company, Chery New Energy, makes minivehicles like the eQ1, or Small Ant, and the QQ Ice Cream. Its mainstays are the Tiggo lineup of SUVs and its Arrizo sedans.

BYD

BYD made more electric vehicles last year than Tesla, selling 3.52 million EVs in China, up 28% from a year earlier. Its strength in plug-in hybrids has helped as Chinese increasingly opt for the fallback of a fuel engine.

The company, based in southern China’s Shenzhen, recently announced an ultra-fast EV charging system it says can provide a full charge for its latest EVs within five to eight minutes, about as long as a fill-up. It plans to build more than 4,000 of the new charging stations across China.

The Chinese company started out making batteries and has been refining its battery and energy storage technology while building an auto empire that is expanding outside China.

While BYD’s fanciest, latest premium models are expected to sell for up to about $40,000, it also makes much less expensive EVs including the Seagull, which sells for around $12,000 in China.

BYD barely nudged ahead of Tesla in production of battery-powered EVs in 2024, making 1,777,965 compared with Tesla’s 1,773,443.

Geely

Geely Auto is perhaps the most famous Chinese automaker that many people have never heard of. The privately held company was founded as a refrigerator-maker by businessman Li Shufu in 1997 in eastern China’s Taizhou, which early on became a hub of private industry.

Li began making strategic overseas acquisitions early on, buying Sweden’s Volvo Car Co. from Ford Motor in 2010. Geely’s purchase of a 49.9% stake in Malaysia’s Proton gave it a 51% stake in luxury sports car brand Lotus. It formed a 50-50 joint venture to make Smart city cars with Germany’s Daimler AG. It also works with Renault SA of France on powertrains and owns a stake in Aston Martin Lagonda.

In March, it launched sales of its Geely EX5 SUVs in Australia and New Zealand, adding to its global reach.

Geely also owns New York Stock Exchange-listed Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding, which makes a premium EV brand. Geely and Volvo own Swedish automaker Polestar, which has struggled in the U.S. market.

Wuling

China’s second-best selling EV brand is Wuling, a joint venture of Shanghai’s SAIC Motor, General Motors and Guangxi Auto. It sold more than 673,000 EVs in China and has a market share of only 6% compared with BYD’s nearly one-third share. Tesla came in third at 659,000 cars sold.

Apart from its Baojun sedans and vans, Wuling mainly makes engines, commercial vehicles and special purpose vehicles like mini-EVs and golf carts.

Others

Other major Chinese brands of EVs include Nio, Xpeng, Li Auto and Leap Motor. State-run giants like Dongfeng Motor Group, which has an alliance with Nissan Motor Corp., and Changan Automobile, a partner with Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and with Ford Motor Co., are also quickly expanding EV sales.

But the industry is fast-changing and competition in the home market is tough. That’s a key reason why the biggest automakers have focused attention on expanding into global markets.

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El decreto, reportado por primera vez por The Wall Street Journal, apunta al proceso del Gobierno federal para decidir qué colegios y universidades pueden acceder a miles de millones de dólares en préstamos estudiantiles federales y becas Pell, una fuente significativa de ingresos indirectos para muchas de esas instituciones.

El decreto pide a la secretaria de Educación que “responsabilice a los acreditadores de educación superior, incluso a través de la denegación, monitoreo, suspensión o terminación por bajo rendimiento o violaciones a la Ley de Derechos Civiles federal”, dijo el funcionario de la Casa Blanca a CNN.

También “instruye a la secretaria de Justicia y a la secretaria de Educación investigar y terminar con la discriminación ilegal por parte de las instituciones de educación superior estadounidenses, incluidas las facultades de derecho y las escuelas de medicina”, dijo el funcionario.

La secretaria de Educación, Linda McMahon, señaló la idea de que las universidades sean una “meritocracia”, un tema que la Casa Blanca a menudo enfatiza mientras intenta apuntar a la diversidad, equidad e inclusión en la educación y la fuerza laboral.

La acción fue encabezada por el Consejo de Política Interna de Trump, dijo un funcionario de la Casa Blanca, como parte de los esfuerzos continuos del asesor Stephen Miller y otros para avanzar en la agenda del presidente sobre educación superior.

Trump firmó varios otros decretos este miércoles por la tarde dirigidos a reestructurar y reconfigurar el Departamento de Educación, una semana después de que el Gobierno de Trump anunciara un congelamiento de fondos de US$ 2.200 millones para la Universidad de Harvard, estableciendo un gran enfrentamiento sobre la libertad académica, el financiamiento federal y la supervisión de campus.

También “instruye al fiscal general y al secretario de educación a investigar y terminar la discriminación ilegal por parte de las instituciones de educación superior estadounidenses, incluidas las escuelas de derecho y medicina”, dijo el funcionario.

La secretaria de Educación, Linda McMahon, señaló la idea de que las universidades sean una “meritocracia”, un tema que la Casa Blanca a menudo enfatiza mientras intenta apuntar a la diversidad, equidad e inclusión en la educación y la fuerza laboral.

La acción fue encabezada por el Consejo de Política Doméstica de Trump, dijo el funcionario de la Casa Blanca, como parte de los esfuerzos continuos del subjefe de personal Stephen Miller y otros para avanzar en la agenda del presidente sobre educación superior.

Trump firmó varias otras órdenes ejecutivas el miércoles por la tarde dirigidas a reestructurar y reconfigurar el Departamento de Educación la semana después de que su administración anunciara un congelamiento de fondos de $2.2 mil millones en la Universidad de Harvard, estableciendo un gran enfrentamiento sobre la libertad académica, el financiamiento federal y la supervisión del campus.

Una acción tenía como objetivo asegurar que las escuelas capaciten a los estudiantes en el uso de inteligencia artificial.

“Es un gran logro”, dijo Trump mientras firmaba el decreto. “Tenemos literalmente billones de dólares siendo invertidos en IA”, agregó.

El decreto asegura que las instituciones capaciten adecuadamente a los niños y jóvenes estadounidenses en herramientas de IA para que puedan ser competitivos en la economía a medida que la IA se vuelve más dominante, dijo el secretario de personal de la Casa Blanca, Will Scharf, antes de la ceremonia de firma.

Otro decreto “encarga” a los departamentos y agencias de la administración de Trump “hacer cumplir las leyes vigentes con respecto a los regalos extranjeros a las universidades estadounidenses”. Scharf dijo que esas leyes requieren “ciertas divulgaciones de las universidades” que aceptan grandes regalos extranjeros, que no han sido “efectivamente aplicadas”.

El presidente también firmó un decreto estableciendo una iniciativa de la Casa Blanca sobre colegios y universidades históricamente negros (HBCU, por sus siglas en inglés). Durante el primer mandato del presidente, las relaciones con las HBCU fueron tensas en ocasiones y las propias opiniones de Trump sobre el financiamiento de las instituciones fueron inconsistentes.

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The firms — Perkins Coie and WilmerHale — say the orders are unconstitutional assaults on the legal profession threaten their relationships with clients and retaliate against them based on their past legal representations or their association with particular attorneys whom Trump perceives as his adversaries.

Courts last month temporarily halted enforcement of key provisions of both orders, but the firms asked in court Wednesday for the edicts to be struck down in their entirety and for judges to issue rulings in their favor. Another firm, Jenner & Block, is scheduled to make similar arguments next week and a fourth, Susman Godfrey, is set to make its case next month.

“The entire executive order is retaliatory,” Dane Butswinkas, a lawyer who presented arguments on behalf of Perkins Coie, told a judge.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell did not immediately rule on the firm’s request, but she repeatedly expressed deep unease over the executive order, signaling that she was inclined to side with Perkins Coie.

She grilled a Justice Department lawyer over the government’s plans to suspend the security clearances of lawyers at the firm and asked him to respond to the suggestion that the blacklisting of disfavored law firms was similar to the “Red Scare” panic over communism decades ago. And she pressed him to explain why the Trump administration was forcing firms to disavow the use of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in their hiring practices.

“Why does the administration view those three words as dirty?” Howell asked.

Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson disputed the idea that executive orders were meant as punishment and said the government was entitled to be concerned by what he called the “unlawful” consideration of race and gender as hiring factors by law firms.

The spate of executive orders taking aim at some of the country’s most elite and prominent law firms are part of a wide-ranging retribution campaign by Trump designed to reshape civil society and extract concessions from powerful institutions. The actions have forced targeted entities, whether law firms or universities, to decide whether to push back and risk further incurring the administration’s ire or to agree to concessions in hopes of averting sanctions. Some firms have challenged the orders in court, but others have proactively reached settlements.

The executive actions have generally imposed the same sanctions against the law firms, including ordering that security clearances of attorneys be suspended, that federal contracts be terminated and that lawyers be barred from accessing federal buildings.

Judges had earlier blocked the enforcement of sections related to federal contracts and building access but not the provisions related to security clearances, a topic that dominated the Perkins Coie hearing.

In court Wednesday, Howell said she was troubled that the administration was putting the “cart before the horse” by stripping security clearances en masse without first conducting an individualized review of attorneys. She appeared to grow exasperated as Lawson struggled to answer questions about the basic mechanics for implementing the security clearance suspension or what review process would exist for the attorneys.

“You can’t tell me which agencies are conducting this review?” she asked at one point.

“You don’t know whether the firm or the attorney whose security clearance has been suspended has been given notice about the timing of the review” or whether they will have an ability to object to the review, she said.

The administration has invoked potential national security concerns in justifying the executive orders, but Butswinkas, the lawyer representing Perkins Coie, said that argument was laughable in part because the attorneys at the firm whose work was cited by the order left the firm several years ago.

“To me, it sounds more like national insecurity than national security,” Butswinkas said.

The first law firm action took place in February when Trump suspended the security clearances of attorneys at Covington & Burling who have provided legal services to special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated the president between his first and second terms and secured two indictments that have since been abandoned.

The executive order targeting Perkins Coie singled out the firm’s representation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential race, and the one against WilmerHale cited the fact that special counsel Robert Mueller — who investigated Trump during his first term over potential ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign — was for years a partner at the firm.

“While most litigation requires discovery to unearth retaliatory motive, the President openly proclaims that he is targeting WilmerHale for representing his political opponents in election-related litigation, challenging his immigration-enforcement policies, associating with his perceived enemies (including a Special Counsel appointed by the President’s own Justice Department), and defending a client’s race-conscious college admission policies,” lawyers for WilmerHale wrote in a court filing ahead of Wednesday’s arguments.

In a statement after the hearing, a WilmerHale spokesperson said the firm had “fiercely defended the foundational constitutional rights to counsel and free speech, building on the successful arguments that prevented the unlawful Executive Order from taking effect. We remain confident the court will permanently block the order.”

Last month, Paul Weiss cut a deal with the Trump administration that resulted in an executive order against it being rescinded.

Since then, more than a half-dozen other firms have reached agreements with the White House that require them, among other things, to dedicate free legal services to causes the Trump administration says it champions.

They include Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Milbank; Willkie, Farr & Gallagher; Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins LLP; Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; and Cadwalader, Taft & Wickersham.

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But the gunman who killed seven people and injured dozens more didn’t hear any of it.

Robert E. Crimo III, 24, refused to appear in court or watch from jail, authorities said.

Crimo pleaded guilty last month, an abrupt reversal moments before his trial was set to begin after years of unpredictable legal proceedings.

His absence didn’t stop some survivors or family members of the dead from addressing him in statements detailing their physical or emotional pain since the attack. Some described feeling empty or deeply sad; others said they now fear public gatherings. But most used their time simply to remember the people killed.

“You took my mom,” said Leah Sundheim, the only child of Jacquelyn Sundheim. “I will never be able to summarize how simply extraordinary she was, and how devastating and out of balance my life is without her.”

Prosecutors also presented evidence including parts of a lengthy videotaped confession during the Lake County courthouse hearing, which is scheduled to resume Thursday.

“It went from watching a parade to utter chaos,” testified Dana Ruder Ring, who escaped with her husband and three kids. “We just had to keep going. We just knew that staying still was not a safe idea, and we were terrified.”

Her husband frantically searched for the parents of a child covered in blood while seeing “bodies still smoking on the ground,” Ruder Ring said.

She learned later that the boy’s parents, Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, had been killed.

Shooter’s confession revealed

In a recording of his confession, which defense attorneys tried to have thrown out, a blank-faced Crimo slumped in a chair, his arms crossed, as he said he briefly reconsidered the attack because of a problem with the gun, but he fixed the weapon.

“I walked up the stairs, jumped on the roof and opened fire,” he said.

Crimo was calm and cavalier, even laughing and joking, said Brian Bodden, a Highland Park police officer.

“He was never serious, no remorse,” Bodden testified, adding that Crimo was clear that he intended to kill people. He said Crimo had planned the shooting for years.

Crimo said he tried to avoid children, but it was impossible in the crowd. He gave a cryptic reason for the attack, saying he felt like a sleepwalker.

“I don’t even think I really wanted to,” he said.

A celebration turned horrific

Prosecutors recreated the horror of the day for the upscale community of about 30,000 people north of Chicago.

In one video, a marching band played “You’re a Grand Old Flag” before shots were fired. Musicians carrying instruments ran as emergency sirens blared, fleeing along with other attendees.

Many cried during the testimony, while others put their arms around each other.

Retired Highland Park Police Commander Gerry Cameron said he ran toward what sounded like fireworks or a car backfiring when he saw people hurt and others fleeing. He described later helping people who were hiding in businesses.

“They were reluctant to come out,” he said. “They were horrified.”

Crimo fired from a roof, leaving behind 83 shell casings, authorities said.

Emergency room Dr. Jeremy Smiley escaped the parade while carrying his daughter, got his family to safety and went to the hospital.

“The number of shots, it was just clear that whatever this was, it was going to be bad,” he said in court.

He described caring for a child, later identified as the youngest victim, Cooper Roberts, as injured people filled emergency room beds and lined the hallways. Other doctors kept showing up to help.

Meanwhile, authorities collected evidence in the deserted downtown. Bodies were covered in tarps.

“It was pretty eerie, almost postapocalyptic,” testified Marc Recca of the FBI.

Victims and relatives speak

Crimo injured 48 people and killed seven, including the McCarthys and Sundheim; Katherine Goldstein, 64; Stephen Straus, 88; Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69.

Some survivors described how they now hate loud noises or are paranoid, scanning for threats around them.

Keely Roberts, whose 8-year-old son Cooper Roberts is paralyzed from the waist down, called Crimo “cowardly” for not attending.

“You will not get my sad stories,” she said. “You have no power over my life.”

John Straus, the son of Stephen Straus, said the shooting haunts him.

“There’s no closure, no sense to be made of it,” Straus said. “It is an open wound in our hearts that we will have to nurse forever.”

Sheila Gutman was shot in the foot and described her intense recovery, including numerous surgeries.

“The aftermath inflicts a second wound that continues to bleed, a second kind of violence,” she said in court.

A life sentenc

e is certain

Crimo will be sentenced for 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — and 48 counts of attempted murder. Each first-degree murder count carries a maximum life sentence in Illinois.

The case has moved slowly, in part because Crimo backed out of a plea deal, fired his public defenders and reversed his decision to represent himself. He signed his name and Donald Trump’s when he waived his right to trial.

Crimo has previously skipped court, including parts of jury selection, despite a judge’s warnings that the case would still move forward. Several survivors separately have sued Crimo and gunmaker Smith & Wesson.

Crimo’s parents attended most court proceedings but were absent Wednesday. Robert Crimo Jr., who served less than two months in jail for charges in connection to how his son obtained a gun license, declined to comment Wednesday.

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This story has been corrected to show that Cameron described clearing people who were hiding, not Conway.

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Moises Sandoval Mendoza, 41, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville and was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m. He was sentenced to death for his conviction in the March 2004 killing of 20-year-old Rachelle O’Neil Tolleson.

After a spiritual adviser prayed over him for about two minutes, Mendoza apologized repeatedly to the victim’s two parents and other relatives present, calling to each by name. “I am sorry for having robbed you of Rachelle’s life,” he said, addressing the parents, one of her brothers, a cousin and an uncle watching through a window from an adjoining room.

Mendoza also said he had robbed Tolleson’s daughter of her mother, adding, “I’m sorry for that. I know nothing that I could ever say or do would ever make up for that. I want you to know that I am sincere. I apologize.” The daughter wasn’t present for the execution.

He then spoke briefly in Spanish, addressing his wife, his sister and two friends watching through a window from another witness room. “I love you, I am with you, I am well and at peace,” he said in Spanish, his words provided in a transcript in English translation. “You know that I’m well, and everything is love.”

As the injection began, he could be heard making two loud gasps and then began snoring. After about 10 snores, all movement ceased and he was pronounced dead 19 minutes later.

Prosecutors say Mendoza, 41, took Tolleson from her north Texas home, leaving her 6-month-old daughter alone. The infant was found cold and wet but safe the next day by Tolleson’s mother. Tolleson’s body was discovered six days later, left in a field near a creek.

Evidence in Mendoza’s case showed he also had burned Tolleson’s body to hide his fingerprints. Dental records were used to identify her, according to investigators.

Pam O’Neil, the victim’s mother, told reporters after witnessing Mendoza’s execution that it could not undo the loss of her daughter. Reading from a statement, she said of Mendoza: “He’s been on death row 20 years. That ended today. He was put to sleep. He felt no pain. I wish I could say the same about my daughter’s death.”

As Mendoza’s relatives and friends left the prison, they appeared distraught and embraced one another.

Hours earlier on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a final request by Mendoza’s attorneys to stop his execution. Mendoza’s attorneys told the justices in a filing that he had been prevented by lower courts from arguing that he had been denied effective assistance of counsel earlier in the appeals process.

But the Texas Attorney General’s Office told the Supreme Court that Mendoza’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel had previously been found “meritless and insubstantial” by a lower federal court.

Lower courts also had previously rejected his petitions for a stay. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday denied Mendoza’s request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty.

Authorities said that in the days before the killing, Mendoza had attended a party at Tolleson’s home in Farmersville, located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Dallas. On the day her body was found, Mendoza told a friend about the killing. The friend called police, and Mendoza was arrested.

Mendoza confessed to police but couldn’t give detectives a reason for the killing, authorities said. He told investigators he repeatedly choked Tolleson, sexually assaulted her and dragged her body to a field, where he choked her again and then stabbed her in the throat. He later moved her body to a more remote location and burned it, they said.

Mendoza was the third inmate put to death this year in Texas, historically the nation’s busiest capital punishment state, and the 13th in the U.S.

On Thursday, Alabama plans to execute James Osgood for the 2010 rape and murder of a woman.

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Delivering his annual State of the State speech to a joint session of the Legislature, the Democratic governor said Minnesota is as strong as it has ever been, but it is a “moment of great uncertainty for our nation.” And he said that is no accident, but the result of the Republican president’s choices on multiple fronts.

“The president of the United States has chosen – chosen! – to throw our economy into turmoil,” Walz said.

“Global markets are teetering on the brink of collapse,” he continued. “Businesses across this country and here in Minnesota are already laying off employees by the thousands. Working people are paying more for basic goods. And if you haven’t checked your 401(k) lately, don’t do it.”

It was Walz’s first major address to a statewide audience since the 2024 campaign, when he was Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, and they lost to Trump and Vice President JD Vance. He got frequent standing ovations from the Democratic side of the chamber and no more than polite applause from Republicans.

“As governor, I will continue to do everything in my power to protect Minnesotans from getting hurt and continue to provide shelter from the storm for Minnesotans,” the governor vowed.

Walz has said that he will decide after the legislative session whether to seek a third consecutive four-year term as governor, a prize no candidate has won since Minnesota switched to four-year instead of two-year gubernatorial terms after the 1962 election.

He is also frequently mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate for 2028, and he has been keeping his name in the national eye by making frequent appearances on cable TV news, sounding similar themes to those he explored Wednesday night.

And he went to Iowa — where its precinct caucuses are the traditional first major test of the presidential campaign season — to kick off his recent series of town hall meetings in competitive congressional districts held by Republicans, after House Speaker Mike Johnson advised GOP representatives to avoid town halls.

Walz’s most immediate task, however, is working with the closely divided Legislature to enact a balanced budget for the next two years before it adjourns May 19. The House is tied at 67-67, while Senate Democrats hold just a two-seat majority, meaning nothing can pass without bipartisan support. But he said Republicans and Democrats have a record of working together in Minnesota no matter what is happening in Washington.

The top elected Republican in state government, House Speaker Lisa Demuth, and other legislative leaders planned to provide reaction later Wednesday night.

The governor expressed particular concern about the potential impact on the state budget of cuts to Medicaid that are being contemplated by Washington Republicans, which could force him to call a special session later this year to fill the resulting holes in the budget.

But Walz told legislators it is not enough to complain about the administration. He said they need to prove to the people of Minnesota and the country that there is a better way to govern.

“Because the truth is, this current administration in Washington, they’re not forever,” he said. “These small, petty men will disappear into the dustbin of history. And when they do, there will be an opportunity and an obligation to actually rebuild government so that it works for working people.”

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In a video posted by the team a little over an hour before Game 3, Landeskog said, “I’ll have my jersey on tonight. Excited to be part of the guys.”

About two hours before the game, the team also posted a picture of Landeskog’s jersey hanging in his locker. This is set to mark Landeskog’s first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to capture the Stanley Cup. He’s been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.

Leading into the game, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was non-committal on Landeskog’s availability, saying only, “well see.” Asked what criteria he would use in making a determination, Bednar simply responded: “Gut feeling.”

Colorado’s first-round series with Dallas is tied at 1.

Landeskog’s presence on the ice figures to provide a big boost not only for his teammates but the capacity crowd. His No. 92 sweater is a frequent sight around the arena.

“Everyone is rooting for him. It’s a great comeback story,” Bednar said after morning skate. “I trust in Gabe’s preparation, and what I’m seeing with my own eyes that he’s getting close and ready to play. I think he feels really good about where he’s at.

“Adding him back into our locker room, he’s almost an extension of the coaching staff, but he’s still one of the guys and the guy that everyone looks up to. You can’t get enough of that this time of the year.”

Landeskog’s injury goes back to the 2020 “bubble” season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.

He was activated Monday before Game 2 in Dallas and skated in pregame warmups, but didn’t play.

Stars forward Matt Duchene was teammates with Landeskog and they remain good friends.

“We’ve been rooting for him to come back,” said Duchene, who was the third overall pick by Colorado in 2009. “Obviously, it makes our job harder having a guy like that out there, but on the friends side, the human side and the fellow athlete side, I think everyone’s happy to see the progress he’s made. … I’m just really happy that he’s gotten to this point.”

It doesn’t mean the Stars will take it easy on Landeskog.

“It’s remarkable he’s coming back, if he’s coming back, as a friend,” said longtime teammate Mikko Rantanen, a 2015 first-round pick by Colorado before being traded in January to Carolina and on to Dallas in March. “As an opponent, obviously, no mercy.”

The 32-year-old Landeskog recently went through a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles. He’s practiced with the Avalanche leading up to their opener in the NHL playoffs.

“He’s looking good so we’ll see where things go,” Makar said said Wednesday before the game. “For him, I know it’s going to be a huge night when he does play. It’s going to be really exciting for us to have him back in the room and have the captain back.”

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

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In a series of executive actions signed Wednesday, Trump targeted universities that he views as liberal adversaries to his political agenda. One order called for harder enforcement of a federal law requiring colleges to disclose their financial ties with foreign sources, while another called for a shakeup of the accrediting bodies that decide whether colleges can accept federal financial aid awarded to students.

Trump also ordered the Education Department to root out efforts to ensure equity in discipline in the nation’s K-12 schools. Previous guidance from Democratic administrations directed schools not to disproportionately punish underrepresented minorities such as Black and Native American students. The administration says equity efforts amount to racial discrimination.

Foreign money is at issue in clash with Harvard

Colleges’ financial ties with foreign sources have long been a concern among Republicans, especially ties with China and other countries with adversarial relationships with the U.S. It became a priority during Trump’s first term and reemerged last week as the White House grasped for leverage in its escalating battle with Harvard University.

The White House said it needed to take action because Harvard and other colleges have routinely violated a federal disclosure law, which has been unevenly enforced since it was passed in the 1980s. Known as Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, the law requires colleges to disclose foreign gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more.

Last week, the Education Department demanded records from Harvard over foreign financial ties spanning the past decade, accusing the school of filing “incomplete and inaccurate disclosures.” Trump’s administration is sparring with Harvard over the university’s refusal to accept a list of demands over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests as well as its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

In the executive order, Trump calls on the Education Department and the attorney general to step up enforcement of the law and take action against colleges that violate it, including a cutoff of federal money.

The Trump administration intends to “end the secrecy surrounding foreign funds in American educational institutions” and protect against “foreign exploitation,” the order said.

It was applauded by Republicans, including Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He accused China of exploiting academic ties to steal research and “indoctrinate students.”

Accreditors ordered to drop DEI

Another order aims at accrediting bodies that set standards colleges must meet to accept federal financial aid from students. Trump campaigned on a promise to overhaul the industry, saying it was “dominated by Marxist Maniacs and lunatics.”

Often overlooked as an obscure branch of college oversight, accreditors play an important role in shaping colleges in many aspects, with standards that apply all the way from colleges’ governing boards to classroom curriculum.

Trump’s executive order is the opening salvo in what could be a lengthy battle to overhaul the accrediting industry. Chief among his priorities is to strip accreditors of DEI requirements imposed on colleges. Some accreditors have already dropped or stopped enforcing such standards amid Trump’s DEI crackdown.

Trump’s order calls on the government to suspend or terminate accreditors that discriminate in the name of DEI. Instead, it calls on accreditors to focus more squarely on the student outcomes of colleges and programs they oversee.

The president wants to make it easier for new accreditors to compete with the 19 that are now authorized to work on behalf of the federal government. As it stands, new accreditors looking to be recognized by the government must undergo an arduous process that traditionally takes years. Trump’s order said it should be “transparent, efficient, and not unduly burdensome.”

“Instead of pushing schools to adopt a divisive DEI ideology, accreditors should be focused on helping schools improve graduation rates and graduates’ performance in the labor market,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

De-emphasizing equity in school discipline

Trump also invoked opposition to equity efforts in his order on school discipline. The edict signed Wednesday seeks a return to “common sense school discipline,” allowing decisions to be based solely on students’ behavior and actions, McMahon said.

Another executive order instructs government agencies and departments to no longer rely on “disparate impact theories.” Under the disparate impact standard, policies and practices that disproportionately impact minorities and other protected groups could be challenged regardless of their intent.

In many schools around the country, Black students have been more likely to receive punishments that remove them from the classroom, including suspensions, expulsions and being transferred to alternative schools. A decade ago, those differences became the target of a reform movement spurred by the same reckoning that gave rise to Black Lives Matter. The movement elevated the concept of the “school-to-prison pipeline” — the notion that being kicked out of school, or dropping out, increases the chance of arrest and imprisonment years later.

Federal guidelines to address racial disparities in school discipline first came from President Barack Obama’s administration in 2014. Federal officials urged schools not to suspend, expel or refer students to law enforcement except as a last resort, and encouraged restorative justice practices that did not push students out of the classroom. Those rules were rolled back by Trump’s first administration, but civil rights regulations at federal and state levels still mandate the collection of data on discipline.

On Wednesday, Trump directed McMahon to issue new school discipline guidance within 60 days. The order also calls for a review of nonprofit organizations that have promoted discipline policies rooted in equity and ensure they don’t receive federal money.

Another order creates a federal task force focused on giving America’s students training on artificial intelligence as early as kindergarten. It would work to develop new online learning resources.

Trump is also establishing a White House initiative to empower Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Among other efforts, it would seek to promote private-sector partnerships with HBCUs and schools’ workforce preparation in industries like technology and finance.

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The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Drew Ensign, a deputy assistant attorney general, filed a sealed motion requesting a seven-day stay of the judge’s directive for the U.S. to provide testimony and documents that involve plans to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The administration is also seeking relief from having to file daily updates on its progress.

Lawyers for Abrego Garcia filed a response in opposition to the government’s motion to halt the order. It was also under seal in the Maryland federal court.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted the stay until April 30, but her order did not make any changes to the required daily status updates. She didn’t explain her legal reasoning, but wrote that it was made “with the agreement of the parties.”

The administration expelled Abrego Garcia to El Salvador last month, and officials later described the mistake as “an administrative error” — but insisted that Abrego Garcia was in fact a member of the MS-13 gang.

The Wednesday evening order came just one day after Xinis castigated the administration’s lawyers in a written filing Tuesday for ignoring her orders, obstructing the legal process and acting in “bad faith” by refusing to provide information.

The U.S. has claimed that much of the information is protected because it involves state secrets, government deliberations and attorney client privilege. But Xinis has rejected the argument and demanded that the Trump administration provide specific justifications for each claim of privileged information by 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Here’s what the judge wants — and what the administration wants

Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, did not directly address the judge’s comments from Tuesday when asked by reporters at the White House on Wednesday. But he reiterated the administration’s position that Abrego Garcia will be detained and deported again if he were to be returned to the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration nearly two weeks ago to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., rejecting the White House’s claim that it couldn’t retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him.

Trump administration officials have pushed back, arguing that it is up to El Salvador — though the president of El Salvador has also said he lacks the power to return Abrego Garcia. The administration has also argued that information about any steps it has taken or could take to return Abrego Garcia is protected by attorney-client privilege laws, state secret laws, general “government privilege” or other secrecy rules.

But Xinis said those claims, without any facts to back them up, reflected a “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”

“For weeks, Defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this Court’s orders,” Xinis wrote in the order Tuesday. “Defendants have known, at least since last week, that this Court requires specific legal and factual showings to support any claim of privilege. Yet they have continued to rely on boilerplate assertions. That ends now.”

Abrego Garcia was expelled after living in the US for about 14 years

Abrego Garcia, 29, lived in the United States for roughly 14 years, during which he worked in construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records.

A U.S. immigration judge had shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador in 2019, ruling that he would likely face persecution there by local gangs that had terrorized his family. He also was given a federal permit to work in the United States, where he was a metal worker and union member, according to Abrego Garcia’s lawyers.

But the Trump administration expelled Abrego Garcia to El Salvador last month anyway.

Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime and has denied the allegations. His attorneys have pointed out that the criminal informant claimed he was a member of MS-13 in Long Island, New York, where he has never lived.

It’s not the first time the Trump administration has faced a scathing order from a federal judge over its approach to deportation cases.

A three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scolded the administration last week, saying its claim that it can’t do anything to free Abrego Garcia “should be shocking.” That ruling came one day after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador. That was a different legal case.

Democrats and legal scholars say Trump is provoking a constitutional crisis in part by ignoring court rulings; the White House has said it’s the judges who are the problem.

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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

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“No lo he llamado. Podría llamarlo”, dijo Trump en una ceremonia de firma de acción ejecutiva en la Oficina Oval este miércoles por la noche. “Creo que está cometiendo un error al no bajar las tasas de interés, y creo que, aunque lo estamos haciendo bien, podríamos hacerlo mucho mejor”.

Trump ha atacado públicamente a Powell en los últimos días, calificando al presidente de la Reserva Federal de “gran perdedor” y diciendo que su “despido es inminente”. Trump eligió a Powell para el cargo en 2017, pero desde entonces ha mantenido un desacuerdo público con él. Sin embargo, el martes suavizó su postura y afirmó que no tenía “intención” de despedir a Powell después de que sus asesores le advirtieran que despedir al jefe del banco central sería contraproducente legal y económicamente, informaron a CNN fuentes familiarizadas con el asunto.

No obstante, Trump renovó sus ataques contra Powell el miércoles, acusándolo de politizar las bajadas de las tasas de interés.

“Está manteniendo las tasas demasiado altas”, dijo Trump, y también criticó a Powell por actuar con demasiada lentitud para subir las tasas hace varios años, al inicio de la crisis inflacionaria. “Históricamente ha llegado tarde… fue recomendado por cierta persona con la que no estoy muy contento”.

Trump y otros funcionarios de la Casa Blanca han sugerido que la medida de la Reserva Federal de bajar las tasas en las últimas etapas de la administración Biden —pero no (todavía) bajo el Gobierno de Trump— podría ser política. No hay evidencia de que la Reserva Federal, que es independiente, esté adoptando una postura política. Además, Powell ha negado vehementemente las sugerencias de que la Reserva Federal juegue con la política al tomar sus decisiones de política monetaria.

Powell ha dicho repetidamente que la Reserva Federal solo tomará una decisión de subir o bajar las tasas después de una cuidadosa consideración y no apresurará una decisión ni emitirá un recorte de emergencia antes de la próxima reunión programada del comité de fijación de tasas en mayo.

“Esperemos que haga lo correcto: lo correcto es bajar las tasas de interés, así que veremos qué sucede”, dijo Trump. “Creo que estamos sentados sobre algo que va a ser muy bueno con todo el dinero de los aranceles que está empezando a llegar. Nuestro país va a estar muy bien, y espero que, ya saben, no tengamos inflación”.

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The state filed the lawsuit in 2019, seeking $38 million for policing the protests. The sometimes-chaotic demonstrations drew international attention for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s opposition to the pipeline’s Missouri River crossing upstream of the tribe’s reservation. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, fearing an oil spill polluting its water supply.

A trial played out over several weeks in early 2024 in federal court in Bismarck, the state capital. People who testified included former North Dakota governors Doug Burgum, who took office in December 2016 during the protests’ height, and Jack Dalrymple, whose administration responded to the protests’ early months.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor found the United States liable to the state on all claims and for more than $27.8 million in damages.

The judge wrote: “The bottom line: United States had a mandatory procedure, it did not follow that procedure, and harm occurred to the state of North Dakota. The law allows reimbursement for this harm. More than that, the rule of law requires this Court to hold the United States liable to remind it of its role in the larger picture of ensuring peace, not chaos.”

Thousands of people camped and demonstrated against the pipeline near the crossing for months, resulting in hundreds of arrests. Sometimes-violent clashes occurred between protesters and law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers from around the state and region responded to the protests.

The protest camps were cleared in February 2017. An attorney for the state said the protests ended in a response of more than seven months involving 178 agencies, resulting in 761 arrests and requiring four days of cleanup of the camp to remove millions of pounds of trash.

In a joint statement, Gov. Kelly Armstrong and Attorney General Drew Wrigley said: “As outlined in trial testimony and Judge Traynor’s ruling, decisions made by the Obama administration emboldened protestors and ultimately caused millions of dollars in damage to North Dakota, while endangering the health and safety of North Dakota communities, families and law enforcement officers who responded to the protests.”

The state’s claims included negligence, gross negligence, civil trespass and public nuisance.

Attorneys for the government said at trial that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials “acted reasonably given limited options at their disposal” during the protests, and that the state’s claim is “greatly overstated.” The government asked the judge to find a lack of legal jurisdiction for the state’s claims, that the state hasn’t proven its claims and is not entitled to damages.

The Associated Press sent an email to an attorney who argued for the federal government at trial seeking comment.

The pipeline has been transporting oil since June 2017. Many state government officials and industry leaders support the pipeline as crucial infrastructure in the country’s No. 3 oil-producing state. The pipeline carries roughly 5% of the United States’ daily oil production.

In 2017, the pipeline company, Energy Transfer, donated $15 million to help cover the response costs. That same year, the U.S. Justice Department gave a $10 million grant to the state for reimbursing the response. The judge found the former to be a gift and reduced the latter from the state’s total recovery.

Then-President Donald Trump denied a 2017 request from the state for the federal government to cover the costs through a disaster declaration.

The pipeline is operating while a court-ordered environmental review of the river crossing is carried out.

A North Dakota jury recently found Greenpeace liable for defamation and other claims brought by the pipeline’s builder in connection with protest activities, with damages surpassing $660 million against three Greenpeace organizations.

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