Republicans take another crack at Homeland Security funding, citing Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are invoking thewar in Iranand the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tee up votes Thursday on a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

Congress Homeland Security

The House already approved a DHS spending bill in January, but it faltered in the Senate as Democrats insisted on changes to immigration enforcement operations following the shooting death of ICU nurseAlex Prettiin Minneapolis. As a result, funding for the departmentlapsedon Feb. 14.

Republicans are calling on Democrats to reconsider their vote in the wake of the conflict in Iran. Both the House and the Senate are expected to hold votes on the matter.

"The military action in Iran makes it all more urgent and crucial to have a fully funded, fully staffed DHS across all its departments," House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

It did not appear the GOP's strategy had changed the position of Democratic lawmakers, though. They said they are prepared to fund most of the agencies at the department, just not Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.

"It's the same lousy, rotten bill that does not put any guardrails or constraints on ICE or CBP after federal agents shot American citizens in the street," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.

Workers are beginning to miss part of their paychecks

Following thelongestfederal shutdown in the country's history last year, Congress has completed work on 11 of this year's 12 appropriations bills. Only the bill for Homeland Security remains outstanding.

Republicans said the timing couldn't be worse for a Homeland Security shutdown. While a large majority of the department's employees are considered essential and continue to work, many will not receive a full paycheck this week.

Republicans said the prospect of an increase in unscheduled absences by the Transportation Security Administration's agents and screeners could lead to longer wait times at the nation's airports. Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has canceled various assessments to determine vulnerabilities to critical infrastructure. And training for first responders conducted through the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been canceled.

"Can we not understand America is under siege, now likely to be attacked because radical Islam is under siege, and they're going to hit back and we're sitting here looking at each other and not funding DHS," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said during a hearing Tuesday featuring DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Democrats are seeking several changes at the department include prohibiting ICE enforcement operations at sensitive locations like schools and churches, allowing independent investigations into alleged wrongdoing, requiringwarrantsto be signed by judges before federal agents can forcibly enter private homes or other nonpublic spaces without consent, and requiring agents to wear identification and remove their masks.

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Republicans note that the bill does include a bipartisan provision directing more resources for deescalation training and $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras.

Little to show from negotiations

The White House and congressional Democrats don't appear to have made significant progress in recent weeks resolving their differences after trading several offers.

"Look, we're still far apart but we're negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the Republican chairwoman of a panel that oversees homeland security funding, said she's been talking to Democrats about a possible pathway forward, but prospects are unclear.

She and other Republicans are citing last weekend's mass shooting inAustinas an example of the dangerous threat environment that's facing Americans following the attack on Iran.

"I think that it is incredibly irresponsible to not fund the agency that is supposed to keep us safe here at home," Britt said.

Democrats said they are ready to fully fund all the agencies within the department except for ICE and CBP.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, authored a proposal to do that, but it was blocked from consideration. She said Republican leadership was using Trump's "aimless, costly and illegal war with Iran to force through more funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection without any of the substantial changes that the vast majority of Americans believe those agencies need."

"It is a cynical effort and it is one that will fail," DeLauro said.

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

byAlpha World

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sports

March 04, 2026

Republicans take another crack at Homeland Security funding, citing Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are invoking thewar in Iranand the prospect of retaliatory terrorist attacks as they tee up...

Read More

A breast cancer survivor knits prostheses in Kenya as silicone ones are costly

THIKA, Kenya (AP) — When Mary Mwangi got her cancer diagnosis, she imagined death would follow shortly. She did not expect that her hobby of knitting, which she took up while recovering, would affect the lives of thousands of breast cancer survivors.

Kenya Knitted Prostheses

She now makes knitted prostheses for other breast cancer survivors inKenyawho who have had an entire breast removed, known as a mastectomy, without the reconstructive surgery common in higher-income countries.

Women say the affordable prostheses are a relief in Kenya where, as in most countries, breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women. On average, 6,000 cases are diagnosed annually in Kenya, where 40% of the population lives below the poverty line.

'My dignity was restored'

Mwangi began in 2017 by knitting hats and scarves, then met a woman who was knitting a prosthesis.

Now, in her shared tailor shop in Thika, outside the capital of Nairobi, Mwangi shares her knowledge with other women, calling her group the New Dawn Cancer Warriors. Some make money from the art, while others use it as an outlet whenever they are overwhelmed by the grief of losing a breast.

"Knitting takes you through a process of healing. Once you are not thinking about your disease, you are positive and that positive mind helps you, because healing starts from your mind," she said.

For Nancy Waithera, a high school science teacher, meeting Mwangi before her surgery aided her recovery as she bought the prosthesis and started to picture life without one breast.

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, "everything turned dark." Her husband had recently died, and the diagnosis crushed her further.

But her meeting with Mwangi restored hope, and after surgery she looked forward to her incision healing so she could try on the knitted prosthesis.

On the first day of wearing it, when she was going to church, "I felt like Nancy had come back," she said. "My ego was restored. My dignity was restored."

Filling a bra with clothing

Cancer remains a huge burden in developing countries like Kenya due to the high cost of treatment. Just over 50% of breast cancer patients in Kenya present with an advanced stage of the disease at diagnosis, according to the health ministry, which is working on standardizing early detection.

Mwangi's knitted prostheses cost $10 per breast, or one-sixth of the price of silicone ones in Kenya. Her group of women knit and sell them to organizations that donate to cancer survivors who cannot afford to buy them. Together, they have sold more than 600 pieces in the last three years.

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The yarn-knitted prostheses are filled with the kind of fiber used in pillows. Women said it feels gentle on their skin.

Hannah Mugo, a housewife and mother, said she was lucky to upgrade from filling her bra with clothes, which left her looking rather unbalanced, to donning a knitted prosthesis filled with fiber that boosted her confidence.

"I used to stay indoors because I didn't want people to label me as the 'woman with one breast'," Mugo said. She met Mwangi and learned how to knit, not just for herself but for sale as well.

'There is life after cancer'

Experts say hobbies and support groups play a critical role in healing and recovery for cancer patients. Breast cancer survivor Eglah Wambui, who also knits with Mwangi, recalled that a woman she met during her treatment killed herself due to what doctors said was depression.

"Knitting is therapeutic and helps take away my thoughts," said the mother of two.

Surgeon Daniel Ojuka, who has seen some of the donated prostheses at the Kenyatta National Hospital cancer treatment center, said having a plan for life after surgery and a supportive community makes recovery "significantly easier."

Ojuka said having a mastectomy is the cheapest option for Kenyan women diagnosed with breast cancer, and reconstructive surgery for the affected breast is out of reach for many. It is not covered by the national health insurance system.

Even though surgeons prepare patients to wake up after surgery with a flat chest, the loss is deeply affecting, he said. He has watched patients weep after waking.

For Mwangi, cancer no longer feels like a death sentence. She said she is determined to train more women to knit the prostheses while keeping their hope alive.

"There is life after cancer, and cancer is not a death sentence, because I'm a living testimony," she said.

For more on Africa and development:https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

byAlpha World

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sports

March 04, 2026

A breast cancer survivor knits prostheses in Kenya as silicone ones are costly

THIKA, Kenya (AP) — When Mary Mwangi got her cancer diagnosis, she imagined death would follow shortly. She did not expec...

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Families turn to states for civil rights support as Trump dismantles the Education Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — In their mostly white school district, Black students routinely heard racial slurs. White classmates hurled insults like "slave," "monkey" or worse. It often went unpunished.

Parents made those claims in a 2024 complaint asking the U.S. Education Department to investigate racial bullying at the Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania. They thought their complaint had the power to make things better. Instead, it became one of thousands sitting in a federal office withlittle hope of gaining attentionafter layoffs by the Trump administration.

Families say they've had nowhere else to turn.

"There was an expectation that something was going to happen," said Adrienne King, who has two daughters in the district and is president of the NAACP Bucks County chapter. When nothing did, "it's a very hollow, empty feeling."

One of the Education Department's biggest jobs is to police discrimination in America's schools. But amidmass firingsand shifting priorities, that role has waned. In its place, there's an emerging push for states to step up.

In Pennsylvania, a lawmaker is proposing a new state agency that would investigate schools and uphold students'civil rights— traditionally the role of the federal government. At the same time, advocates there and in other Democrat-led states are pressing existing state agencies to intervene when students face discrimination based on race, disability or sex.

The idea carries risk. Pushing the work to states could create a patchwork of systems with uneven protections. Some worry it will embolden the Trump administration to retreat further on civil rights.

Lawmakers propose more muscular state agencies

Pennsylvania Sen. Lindsey Williams offered a blunt message last fall when she proposed a new state civil rights office to be modeled after its federal counterpart. "If the federal government won't stand up for our most vulnerable students, I will," said Williams, a Democrat.

Her bill, to be introduced this spring, faces long odds in the state's Republican-controlled Senate. Yet even if it fails there, Williams believes it has potential to become a national model. She's already heard interest from lawmakers in other states, and similar proposals have been put forward in Maryland and Illinois.

More immediately, advocates in Pennsylvania are calling for heavier investment in an existing but often overlooked agency. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission already has the power to investigate schools and enforce students' rights, but it's rarely used for that end. It's better known for handling employment disputes, with just 5% of its recent cases involving education.

Kristina Moon, a lawyer at the Education Law Center in Pennsylvania, has started encouraging families to take discrimination complaints to the commission instead of the federal government. She sees it as the next best option for families left in limbo amid federal turmoil.

"It's incredibly important for students and families to be aware of any other option available to them," said Moon, who represents families in the Pennridge complaint.

The commission is welcoming complaints that have stalled at the federal level. Yet officials are also realistic about their limitations. The agency has about 100 staff — down from more than 200 in the past — and some question its ability to handle a sharp increase in complaints.

The federal Education Department had more than 300 open investigations in Pennsylvania as of January 2025, according to the most recent federal data. Each is a possible candidate to be shifted to the state.

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"It would be tough, I'll be totally honest," said Desireé Chang, the commission's education director. "A stark influx would definitely put some weight on our agency. But we would do it because that is what we are charged with doing."

Civil rights work has slowed under the Trump administration

Before President Donald Trump took office last year, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights was already struggling under a heavy caseload. Work has slowed further aftersweeping layoffs, which closed entire offices in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and elsewhere. Some remaining staff say time-consuming investigations have become rare as they focus on the quickest complaints.

At the same time, Trump officials have used the office to go after schools that make accommodations fortransgender students and athletes, arguing that it discriminates against girls and women.

Trump officials blame the previous administration for leaving a backlog of complaints. Trump officials havebrought back some fired employeesto help clear cases.

The fallout is being felt across the country. In Maryland, a recently proposed bill would give the state's Commission on Civil Rights new power to investigate discrimination in schools. The office has long handled discrimination cases in areas like housing and employment, but students don't have a comparable option to file complaints.

At a hearing last week, officials at the commission supported the bill and said they can no longer rely on the federal government to defend students' rights.

"Offices have been closed, people have been fired, cases are piling up or not even moving — that's why we sought to step in that gap and provide Maryland students an option," said Glendora Hughes, general counsel for the commission.

In Massachusetts, advocates are turning attention to an existing office in the state's education department. The Problem Resolution System investigates complaints from families who say their schools violated state or federal law, but advocates say it's unclear what kinds of cases the office takes on and why. A coalition of advocates recently asked the office for clarity.

Some legal aid groups are also filling in gaps. The Southern Poverty Law Center is suing a Louisiana school district on behalf of a 10-year-old boy with autism. The suit says the St. Tammany Parish School District illegally cut the boy's classroom time to just two hours a day starting in 2024, down from a full day. The nonprofit said it's the kind of case that would have been handled by the federal government in the past.

One of the U.S. Education Department's most powerful tools is the ability to pull federal funding from schools that violate civil rights laws. Facing that threat, schools usually have agreed to make changes when pressed by the agency.

Proposals at the state level have varying enforcement powers. Some would allow states to mediate disputes between families and schools, and to issue legal orders. By contrast, a newly created Office of Civil Rights in California primarily aims to provide anti-discrimination guidance and training to local schools.

In Pennridge, families are weighing their next steps. King said she has little hope in the federal complaint, and the bullying hasn't stopped. Her daughters still hear racial slurs at school, and students make insensitive comments about their hair. She wonders how it will all shape her daughters' lives.

"I feel as though my girls have normalized a lot of this, but for the sake of survival — middle school is hard," she said. "You just want to be like everybody else."

The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, alistof supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

byAlpha World

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sports

March 04, 2026

Families turn to states for civil rights support as Trump dismantles the Education Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — In their mostly white school district, Black students routinely heard racial slurs. White classmates hu...

Read More

Cotter and Bratt score in shootout after Brown forces OT in Devils' 4-3 win over Maple Leafs

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt scored in the shootout, Connor Brown forced overtime with a tying goal with 2:21 left in the third period and the New Jersey Devils beat Toronto 4-3 on Wednesday night, sending the Maple Leafs to their fifth straight loss.

Maple Leafs Devils Hockey

Timo Meier and and Arseny Gritsyuk also scored in regulation for the Devils, who have won three in a row and improved to 25-8-1 when scoring at least three goals. Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves.

William Nylander, Matias Maccelli and Matthew Knies had goals for the Maple Leafs, who haven't won since beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Feb. 3 — their last game before the Olympic break. Anthony Stolarz made 44 saves.

Cotter put a backhander past Stolarz to start the shootout for the Devils. After Nylander's wrister was stopped, Bratt also scored on a backhander to put New Jersey up 2-0 in the shootout. Auston Matthews' wrist shot was then stopped by Markstrom, giving the Devils the victory.

With the game tied at 2 in the third period, Knies batted in the rebound of John Tavares' shot past Markstrom to put Toronto ahead with 6:10 left.

Brown took a pass from Gritsyuk on a rush toward the net and roofed a quick shot in tight past Stolarz to tie it at 3 with 2:21 remaining.

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The Devils outshot the Maple Leafs 47 to 27 in regulation.

New Jersey was without defenseman Brett Pesce, who suffered a lower-body injury against Florida on Tuesday night.

Up next

Maple Leafs: Play at New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Devils: Host the Rangers on Saturday.

AP NHL:https://apnews.com/NHL

byAlpha World

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sports

March 04, 2026

Cotter and Bratt score in shootout after Brown forces OT in Devils' 4-3 win over Maple Leafs

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt scored in the shootout, Connor Brown forced overtime with a tying goal w...

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Haitian man dies in US immigration custody with untreated toothache, brother says

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months died at a hospital Monday after a tooth infection was left untreated, the man's brother said Wednesday.

Emmanuel Damas, 56, told medical personnel at the Florence Correctional Center that he had a toothache in mid-February, but he was not sent to a dentist, said Damas' brother, Presly Nelson.

Nelson believes the staff at the facility did not take his brother's complaints seriously even though it was a treatable condition. Nelson said he would expect such a death in countries with less access to health care, but not the United States.

"As a country — I'm an American now — I think we can do better than that," Nelson said.

Damas is among least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. ICE had said it hoped to issue a news release Wednesday.

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Earlier Wednesday, ICE officials announced the death of Mexican national Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who had been in a California ICE detention center and died in the hospital Feb. 27 after reporting chest pain and shortness of breath.

Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis, a Haitian American who is a registered nurse, said she was contacted by Damas' family after his death.

"As a medical person, I am absolutely appalled that there were medical-licensed people that were working there and allowed those things to happen," Ellis said. "It does not make sense to me."

A report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office listed Damas' cause of death as "pending" as of Wednesday.

Damas was taken into ICE custody in September and was soon transferred to the medium-security Florence Correctional Center, where he was held for several months, including after his asylum application was denied, Ellis said.

CoreCivic, a for-profit corrections company that runs the Florence facility, did not respond to emails seeking comment.

byAlpha World

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, ShowBiz, Sports

March 04, 2026

Haitian man dies in US immigration custody with untreated toothache, brother says

FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) — A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months died at a hospital Mo...

Read More