Myanmar earthquake death toll rises to 3,145 as more bodies found

Myanmar earthquake death toll rises to 3,145 as more bodies found

By DAVID RISING Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from the earthquake that hit Myanmar nearly a week ago rose Thursday to 3,145 as search and rescue teams found more bodies, the military-led government said, and humanitarian aid groups scrambled to provide survivors medical care and shelter.

Information Minister Maung Maung Ohn also announced at a meeting in the capital, Naypyitaw, that 4,589 people were injured and 221 others were missing, state television MRTV reported.

The epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 was near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. It brought down thousands of buildings, buckled roads and destroyed bridges in multiple regions.

Local media reports of casualties have been much higher than the official figures. With telecommunications widely out and many places difficult to reach, the numbers could rise sharply as more details come in.

A report issued Thursday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that the earthquake and aftershocks have affected more than 17 million people across 57 of the country’s 330 townships, including more than 9 million who were severely affected.

“The coming days will be critical in determining the full scale of the disaster’s impact and the response required to meet the needs of millions affected,” it said.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher and special envoy Julie Bishop will arrive in Myanmar on Friday.

The secretary-general appealed to the international community to immediately step up funding for quake victims “to match the scale of this crisis,” and urged unimpeded access to reach those in need.

“The earthquake has supercharged the suffering – with the monsoon season just around the corner,” he said.

The World Health Organization said that according to its initial assessment, four hospitals and one health center had been completely destroyed, while another 32 hospitals and 18 health centers had been partially damaged.

“With infrastructure compromised and patient numbers surging, access to health care has become nearly impossible in many of the worst-hit areas,” the U.N. said. “Thousands of people are in urgent need of trauma care, surgical interventions and treatment for disease outbreaks.”

A mobile hospital from India and a joint Russian-Belarusian hospital also were now operating in Mandalay.

With many left homeless by the quake, and many others staying away from their homes because of fears that ongoing aftershocks will bring them down, workers in Naypyitaw labored in the 40 C (104 F) heat to busily erect big tents in open fields to provide some shelter.

In Mandalay, local residents gave slices of watermelon to Chinese volunteers taking a break from the high temperatures.

More than 1,550 international rescuers were operating alongside locals on Thursday, according to a statement from the military. Rescue supplies and equipment have been sent by 17 countries.

Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil war.

The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.

As concerns grew that ongoing fighting could hamper humanitarian aid efforts, the military declared a temporary ceasefire Wednesday, through April 22. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule.

The military said that it would still take “necessary” measures against those groups, if they use the ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks.

Already on Thursday, there were reports from local media in Kachin state in the north of Myanmar that military attacks continued in several areas, but they couldn’t be independently confirmed.

Prior to the earthquake, the military was battling the Kachin Independence Army militia group. The KIA on Wednesday also declared a ceasefire but reserved the right to defend itself. It was unclear how the reported fighting broke out.

The earthquake shook Kachin, but there have been no reports of damage there.

In Bangkok, where the quake brought down a skyscraper under construction, the search for survivors and bodies continued as Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said that a possible sound of life was detected in the rubble. By near day’s end, however, nobody was found.

Twenty-two people were killed and 35 injured in the city, mostly by the collapse of the unfinished building.

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Jintamas Saksornchai contributed to this report.

Rare greenhouse gas law in NC could get pulled back by GOP legislators

Rare greenhouse gas law in NC could get pulled back by GOP legislators

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor worked together in 2021 to enact a rare energy law in the South that sought to sharply reduce power plant emissions by 2030 and ultimately reach carbon neutrality.

“Today, North Carolina moves strongly into a reliable and affordable clean energy future,” then-Gov. Roy Cooper said at the October 2021 bill signing ceremony. “This is a new beginning.”

But now, amid changing priorities at the federal level, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature is seeking to repeal the law’s requirement of taking “all reasonable steps to achieve” reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. The legislation wouldn’t end meeting the carbon neutrality standard by 2050 as the 2021 law still requires.

Senate bill supporters contend getting rid of the 70% target deadline would help Duke Energy — the state’s dominant electric utility — assemble less expensive power sources now and moderate the electricity rate increases necessary to reach the 2050 standard. Besides, they say, state regulators already recently pushed back the interim deadline, as the law allows.

The effort comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed rolling back federal environmental and climate change policies, which critics say could boost pollution and threaten human health. Republicans in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh are touting them as ways to reduce the cost of living and boost the economy.

Trump “is taking bold action to make America energy-dominant!” state Senate leader Phil Berger, a bill sponsor, wrote on the social platform X. “To bolster his efforts here in NC, we’re cutting costs for families, removing arbitrary benchmarks, and encouraging new nuclear facilities.”

At least 17 other states — most controlled by Democrats — have laws setting similar net-zero power plant emissions or 100% renewable energy targets, the Natural Resources Defense Council says. North Carolina and Virginia are the only ones from the Southeast.

2021 law allowed for delays

Some North Carolina environmental groups didn’t embrace the 2021 law, saying it lacked low-income customer assistance and contained loopholes to delay the 2030 mandate. Now they’re criticizing the bill passed by the Senate in March as stalling climate action and benefiting Duke Energy financially. The 2021 law also lets the utility seek multiyear rate increases and performance-based incentives.

“Duke Energy agreed four years ago to carbon-reduction goals in exchange for an easier path to rate increases. It’s taken full advantage of the smoother rate-setting process, but now wants to renege on its end of the deal,” North Carolina Sierra Club director Chris Herndon said.

Last fall, the state Utilities Commission, which regulates rates and services for public utilities, accepted that it was “no longer reasonable or executable” for Duke Energy to seek the 70% reduction by 2030, pushing that deadline back by at least four years. Eliminating the interim standard likely would mean scaling back or delaying solar and wind energy production now and relying more on natural gas over the next decade, according to modeling from Duke Energy and a state agency that represents consumers before the Utilities Commission.

“The interim goal is not allowing our commission to make least-cost decisions, because the interim goal is driving fast, expensive behavior selecting generation types,” said outgoing Sen. Paul Newton, a retired Duke Energy executive and bill sponsor. The bill also would open the door to the long-term construction of a large nuclear power plant, Newton added.

Customer cost savings?

Senate Republicans cite the models to estimate that removing the interim goal would reduce by at least $13 billion what Duke Energy would have to spend — and pass on to customers — in the next 25 years. Democrats voting against the measure questioned the $13 billion figure and supported an interim goal.

“Not having any target, even an aspirational target, could mean that we don’t stay on track to get to our 2050 goal,” Democratic Sen. Julie Mayfield said.

The bill, now in the House, also would allow Duke Energy to seek higher electric rates to cover incremental construction costs of a nuclear or gas-powered plant, rather than wait until the project’s end. Newton said the option would avoid one massive rate increase at the project’s conclusion, reining in customer costs. Critics say it would boost Duke Energy’s profits on expensive projects even if never completed.

In supporting the bill, Duke Energy said the “legislation allows modern, efficient and always-on generation to be deployed faster and cheaper” and pointed to the commission’s order last fall. While the North Carolina Chamber backs the bill, some companies oppose it.

New governor pans bill

Any approved final bill would head to Cooper’s successor, Gov. Josh Stein. The Democrat contends the bill would hurt electricity users and threaten the state’s clean-energy economy.

“We should be looking for solutions that create jobs and lower costs for hardworking North Carolinians, not increasing their financial burden,” Stein spokesperson Morgan Hopkins said.

While Democrats have enough legislative seats to uphold Stein’s vetoes if they remain united, Duke Energy often finds allies in both parties. Three Democrats voted for the Senate bill with Republicans.

Uncertainty over the bill’s future could grow after Newton resigned from the Senate last week to take a university job.

Dill-Pickled Green Tomatoes

Dill-Pickled Green Tomatoes

Dill-Pickle Green Tomatoes Recipe

homemade pickled green tomatoes for winter in a glass jars with garlic and parsley. - pickled green tomatoes stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images
Photo by Getty Images

The Dill-Pickled Green Tomatoes recipe is kosher and was originally posted to WPTF’s “Ask Your Neighbor” Cookbook.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serving size: 20 servings

Ingredients

  • Small firm green tomatoes
  • Celery stalks
  • 8 cups of water
  • 4 cups of vinegar
  • Dill to taste
  • Clove of garlic
  • Sweet green peppers, quartered
  • 1 cup salt
canning homemade green tomatoes - pickled green tomatoes stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. For the dill-pickled green tomatoes, first ensure that your canning jars are sterilized, and then pack the small, firm green tomatoes into them.
  2. Add 1 clove of garlic, 1 celery stalk, and 1 quartered sweet green pepper to each jar.
  3. For the pickle brine; combine water, vinegar, salt, and dill and boil for 5 minutes.
  4. Pour the brine over the tomatoes ensuring that they are fully submerged.
  5. Seal the jars and allow them to come to room temperature before storing them in a cool, dark place.

This amount of liquid fills about 6 quarts.

homemade pickled green tomatoes for winter in a glass jars with garlic and parsley. home conservation. top view. - pickled green tomatoes stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images
Photo by Getty Images
Trump announces sweeping new tariffs to promote US manufacturing, risking inflation and trade wars

Trump announces sweeping new tariffs to promote US manufacturing, risking inflation and trade wars

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of nations that run trade surpluses with the United States, threatening to upend much of the architecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars.

Trump held up a chart while speaking at the White House, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.

The president used aggressive rhetoric to describe a global trade system that the United States helped to build after World War II, saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.

Trump declared a national economic emergency to launch the tariffs, expected to produce hundreds of billions in annual revenues. He has promised that factory jobs will return back to the United States as a result of the taxes, but his policies risk a sudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes on autos, clothes and other goods.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Trump was fulfilling a key campaign promise as he imposed what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on trade partners, acting without Congress through the 1977 International Emergency Powers Act in an extraordinary attempt to both break and ultimately reshape America’s trading relationship with the world.

The president’s higher rates would hit foreign entities that sell more goods to the United States than they buy, meaning the tariffs could stay in place for some time as the administration expects other nations to lower their tariffs and other barriers to trade that it says have led to a $1.2 trillion trade imbalance last year.

The tariffs follow similar recent announcements of 25% taxes on auto imports; levies against China, Canada and Mexico; and expanded trade penalties on steel and aluminum. Trump has also imposed tariffs on countries that import oil from Venezuela and he plans separate import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.

None of the warning signs about a falling stock market or consumer sentiment turning morose have caused the administration to publicly second-guess its strategy, despite the risk of political backlash as voters in last year’s election said they wanted Trump to combat inflation.

Senior administration officials, who insisted on anonymity to preview the new tariffs with reporters ahead of Trump’s speech, said the taxes would raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually in revenues. They said the 10% baseline rate existed to help ensure compliance, while the higher rates were based on the trade deficits run with other nations and then halved to reach the numbers that Trump presented in the Rose Garden.

In a follow-up series of questions by The Associated Press, the White House could not say whether the tariff exemptions on imports worth $800 or less would remain in place, possibly shielding some imports from the new taxes.

Based on the possibility of broad tariffs that have been floated by some White House aides, most outside analyses by banks and think tanks see an economy tarnished by higher prices and stagnating growth.

Trump would be applying these tariffs on his own; he has ways of doing so without congressional approval. That makes it easy for Democratic lawmakers and policymakers to criticize the administration if the uncertainty expressed by businesses and declining consumer sentiment are signs of trouble to come.

Heather Boushey, a member of the Biden White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, noted that the less aggressive tariffs Trump imposed during his first term failed to stir the manufacturing renaissance he promised voters.

“We are not seeing indications of the boom that the president promised,” Boushey said. “It’s a failed strategy.”

Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., said the tariffs are “part of the chaos and dysfunction” being generated across the Trump administration. The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee stressed that Trump should not have the sole authority to raise taxes as he intends without getting lawmakers’ approval, saying that Republicans so far have been “blindly loyal.”

“The president shouldn’t be able to do that,” DelBene said. “This is a massive tax increase on American families, and it’s without a vote in Congress … President Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would lower costs on day one. Now he says he doesn’t care if prices go up — he’s broken his promise.”

Even Republicans who trust Trump’s instincts have acknowledged that the tariffs could disrupt an economy with an otherwise healthy 4.1 % unemployment rate.

“We’ll see how it all develops,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “It may be rocky in the beginning. But I think that this will make sense for Americans and help all Americans.”

Longtime trading partners are preparing their own countermeasures. Canada has imposed some in response to the 25% tariffs that Trump tied to the trafficking of fentanyl. The European Union, in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, put taxes on 26 billion euros’ worth ($28 billion) of U.S. goods, including on bourbon, which prompted Trump to threaten a 200% tariff on European alcohol.

Many allies feel they have been reluctantly drawn into a confrontation by Trump, who routinely says America’s friends and foes have essentially ripped off the United States with a mix of tariffs and other trade barriers.

The flip side is that Americans also have the incomes to choose to buy designer gowns by French fashion houses and autos from German manufacturers, whereas World Bank data show the EU has lower incomes per capita than the U.S.

“Europe has not started this confrontation,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We do not necessarily want to retaliate but, if it is necessary, we have a strong plan to retaliate and we will use it.”

Italy’s premier, Giorgia Meloni, on Wednesday reiterated her call to avoid an EU-US trade war, saying it would harm both sides and would have “heavy” consequences for her country’s economy.

Because Trump had hyped his tariffs without providing specifics until Wednesday, he provided a deeper sense of uncertainty for the world, a sign that the economic slowdown could possibly extend beyond U.S. borders to other nations that would see one person to blame.

Ray Sparnaay, general manager of JE Fixture & Tool, a Canadian tool and die business that sits across the Detroit River, said the uncertainty has crushed his company’s ability to make plans.

“There’s going to be tariffs implemented. We just don’t know at this point,” he said Monday. “That’s one of the biggest problems we’ve had probably the last — well, since November — is the uncertainty. It’s basically slowed all of our quoting processes, business that we hope to secure has been stalled.”

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Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Oldcastle, Ontario, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Shingles is awful, but there may be another reason to get vaccinated. It may fight dementia

Shingles is awful, but there may be another reason to get vaccinated. It may fight dementia

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A vaccine to fight dementia? It turns out there may already be one – shots that prevent painful shingles also appear to protect aging brains.

A new study found shingles vaccination cut older adults’ risk of developing dementia over the next seven years by 20%.

The research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, is part of growing understanding about how many factors influence brain health as we age – and what we can do about it.

“It’s a very robust finding,” said lead researcher Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer of Stanford University. And “women seem to benefit more,” important as they’re at higher risk of dementia.

The study tracked people in Wales who were around 80 when receiving the world’s first-generation shingles vaccine over a decade ago. Now, Americans 50 and older are urged to get a newer vaccine that’s proven more effective against shingles than its predecessor.

The new findings add another reason for people to consider rolling up their sleeves, said Dr. Maria Nagel of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, who studies viruses that infiltrate the nervous system.

The virus “is a risk for dementia and now we have an intervention that can decrease the risk,” Nagel said.

With Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia on the rise in an aging population, “the implications of the study are profound,” Dr. Anupam Jena, a Harvard physician and health economist, wrote in a Nature commentary.

What is shingles?

Anyone who’s had ever had chickenpox – nearly everybody born before 1980 – harbors that virus for the rest of their life. It hides in nerves and can break out when the immune system weakens from illness or age, causing painful, blister-like sores typically on one side of the body that last for weeks – what’s called shingles.

About 1 in 3 Americans will get shingles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most recover, it sometimes causes severe complications. If it infects an eye it can cause vision loss. Up to 20% of shingles patients suffer excruciating nerve pain months or even years after the rash itself is gone.

What’s the link between shingles and dementia?

It’s not clear exactly how Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia form. But certain viruses that sneak inside the nervous system – especially members of the herpes family including the chickenpox virus — have long been suspected of adding to genetic and other factors that make people more vulnerable.

Last summer, doctors at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital reported that an episode of shingles could raise someone’s risk of dementia by about 20%.

Partly, it’s because that virus can cause inflammation, bad for organs including the brain. It also can directly infect blood vessels in the brain, causing clots and impeding blood flow, said Colorado’s Nagel, a risk both for strokes and for dementia.

More intriguing, her lab also discovered shingles can spur formation of a sticky protein called amyloid that’s one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.

Do shingles vaccines protect against dementia?

Adults who get recommended vaccines tend to have other brain-healthy habits including exercising and a good diet, which made it hard to prove an extra benefit.

Stanford’s Geldsetzer took advantage of “a natural experiment” in Wales, which opened shingles vaccinations with an age limit: anyone 80 or older on Sept. 1, 2013, was ineligible but those still 79 could squeeze in. Comparing seniors who just met or just missed that cutoff would mimic a research study that randomly assigned otherwise similar people to be vaccinated or not.

Geldsetzer’s team analyzed more than 280,000 medical records and found evidence that vaccination did offer some protection against dementia. At the time, people received a first-generation vaccine called Zostavax.

An important next step is testing whether today’s vaccine, Shingrix, also offers dementia protection, Nagel said. Another research group recently reported some evidence that it does. Vaccine manufacturer GSK last month announced a collaboration with UK health officials to track seniors’ cognitive health as they get vaccinated.

Geldsetzer also hopes to further study that earlier shot to see if the type of vaccine might make a difference.

What are the shingles vaccine recommendations?

Shingrix is a onetime vaccination, given in two doses a few months apart. The CDC recommends it starting at age 50 for most people but also for younger adults with certain immune-weakening conditions – including those who years ago got that first-generation shingles vaccine. Fewer than 40% of eligible Americans have gotten vaccinated.

Side effects including injection-site pain and flu-like fever and achiness are common. The CDC cautions if you’re currently fighting another virus such as the flu or COVID-19, to wait on a shingles shot until you’re well.

While there’s no proven prevention for dementia, doctors also recommend other commonsense steps to lower the risk. Stay socially and cognitively active. And control high blood pressure and, for people with diabetes, high blood sugar, both of which are linked to cognitive decline.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

North Carolina Senate Republicans pick Lee as next majority leader

North Carolina Senate Republicans pick Lee as next majority leader

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Senate Republicans chose a new majority leader on Tuesday, elevating a veteran lawmaker who has won close swing district races to a top position in the chamber’s GOP caucus.

A news release said the caucus elected Sen. Michael Lee of New Hanover County to the post by acclamation. Lee succeeds outgoing Sen. Paul Newton, who resigned from the Senate last week to become general counsel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“It is an honor to have the support and trust of my colleagues,” Lee said in the release.

The majority leader is considered a chief lieutenant to the chamber’s No. 1 leader, GOP Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger. The majority leader presides at caucus meetings in which Republican senators discuss policy issues and votes. Once Newton’s replacement in the Senate is appointed, Republicans will again hold 30 of the 50 seats.

“Michael works day in and day out to do the best for his constituents,” Berger said. “He is someone every senator — Republican or Democrat — can turn to for advice and mentorship.”

Lee, an attorney, was first appointed to the Senate in 2014 to fill a vacancy. He lost his seat in the 2018 election to former Wilmington Mayor Harper Peterson, only to regain it by edging Peterson two years later. Lee began serving as one of the top budget committee chairmen in 2023 and will keep that job while majority leader.

Lee has been a key advocate for laws that expanded the use of taxpayer funds for K-12 students to attend private schools. This year, he shepherded a bill that would prevent public schools from advancing certain diversity, equity and inclusion practices within classroom instruction or teacher training.

Lee has been considered at times a moderating voice in the Republican Party on several issues. During the General Assembly’s debate on new abortion restrictions, Lee early on publicly described his opposition to a ban during the first trimester of pregnancy. The law ultimately enacted in 2023 banned most abortions after 12 weeks.

States sue Trump administration for rescinding billions in health funding

States sue Trump administration for rescinding billions in health funding

By DEVNA BOSE and LINDSEY WHITEHURST Associated Press

A coalition of states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country.

Attorneys general and other officials from 23 states sued in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, as well as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the District of Columbia.

The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government did not provide “rational basis” or facts to support the cuts. The attorneys general say it will result in “serious harm to public health” and put states “at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services.”

The lawsuit asks the court to immediately stop the Trump administration from rescinding the money, which was allocated by Congress during the pandemic and mostly used for COVID-related efforts such as testing and vaccination. The money also went to addiction and mental health programs.

“Slashing this funding now will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients,” James said Tuesday in a news release.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which began serving employees dismissal notices on Tuesday in what’s expected to total 10,000 layoffs, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon pointed to the agency’s statement from last week, when the decision to claw back the money was announced. The HHS said then that it “will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”

Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact of the loss of funds, though the lawsuit points to the clawback putting hundreds of jobs at risk and weakening efforts to stem infectious diseases like flu and measles.

The Minnesota Department of Health said it sent layoff and separation notices Tuesday to 170 employees whose positions were funded by recently terminated federal grants. The state agency also said about 300 more workers were at risk of having their positions eliminated, and that it had rescinded job offers to nearly 20 people.

The agency said the layoffs and separations are a direct consequence of the federal government’s cutting more than $220 million in previously approved funding.

“We are working now to figure out how much of this critical public health work we can save and continue,” Minnesota Health Commissioner Brooke Cunningham said in a statement. “The sudden and unexpected action from the federal government left us with no choice but to proceed with layoffs immediately.”

California could lose almost $1 billion, according to a statement from state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. That money supports a number of public health initiatives, including substance use disorder prevention programs, vaccination efforts and bird flu prevention.

Health officials in North Carolina, which joined the lawsuit, estimate the state could lose $230 million, harming dozens of local health departments, hospital systems, universities and rural health centers. At least 80 government jobs and dozens of contractors would be affected, according to state health officials.

“There are legal ways to improve how tax dollars are used, but this wasn’t one of them,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said. “Immediately halting critical health care programs across the state without legal authority isn’t just wrong — it puts lives at risk.”

Already, more than two dozen COVID-related research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health have been cancelled.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from March shows that COVID-19 killed 411 people each week on average, even though the federal public health emergency has ended.

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Associated Press reporter Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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This story has been corrected to show that the amount of money that was cut was $11 billion, not $12 billion.

Val Kilmer, ‘Top Gun’ and Batman star with an intense approach, dies at 65

Val Kilmer, ‘Top Gun’ and Batman star with an intense approach, dies at 65

By MARK KENNEDY and ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Val Kilmer, the brooding, versatile actor who played fan favorite Iceman in “Top Gun,” donned a voluminous cape as Batman in “Batman Forever” and portrayed Jim Morrison in “The Doors,” has died. He was 65.

Kilmer died Tuesday night in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and friends, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in an email to The Associated Press. Kilmer died from pneumonia. He had recovered after a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required two tracheotomies. The New York Times was the first to report his death.

Kilmer, who at 17 was the youngest actor ever accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School at the time he attended, experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most.

“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed,” he says toward the end of “Val,” the 2021 documentary on his career. “And I am blessed.”

His break came in 1984’s spy spoof “Top Secret!” followed by the comedy “Real Genius” in 1985. Kilmer would later show his comedy chops again in films including “MacGruber” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

His movie career hit its zenith in the early 1990s as he made a name for himself as a dashing leading man, starring alongside Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton in 1993’s “Tombstone,” as Elvis’ ghost in “True Romance” and as a bank-robbing demolition expert in Michael Mann’s 1995 film “Heat” with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

“While working with Val on ‘Heat’ I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character,” director Michael Mann said in a statement Tuesday night.

Actor Josh Brolin, a friend of Kilmer, was among others paying tribute.

“You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,” Brolin wrote on Instagram. “There’s not a lot left of those.”

Kilmer — who took part in the Method branch of Suzuki arts training — threw himself into parts. When he played Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” he filled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis. To play Morrison, he wore leather pants all the time, asked castmates and crew to only refer to him as Morrison and blasted The Doors for a year.

That intensity also gave Kilmer a reputation that he was difficult to work with — something he grudgingly agreed with later in life, while always defending himself by emphasizing art over commerce.

“In an unflinching attempt to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into a myriad Hollywood moments, I had been deemed difficult and alienated the head of every major studio,” he wrote in his 2020 memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry.”

One of his more iconic roles — hotshot pilot Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise in 1986’s “Top Gun” — almost didn’t happen. Kilmer was courted by director Tony Scott but initially balked. “I didn’t want the part. I didn’t care about the film. The story didn’t interest me,” he wrote in his memoir. He agreed after being promised that his role would improve from the initial script. He would reprise the role in the film’s 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

One career nadir was playing Batman in Joel Schumacher’s goofy, garish “Batman Forever” (1995) with Nicole Kidman and Chris O’Donnell — before George Clooney took up the mantle for 1997’s “Batman & Robin” and after Michael Keaton played the Dark Knight in 1989’s “Batman” and 1992’s “Batman Returns.”

The New York Times’ Janet Maslin said Kilmer was “hamstrung by the straight-man aspects of the role,” while Roger Ebert deadpanned that he was a “completely acceptable” substitute for Keaton. Kilmer, who was one and done as Batman, blamed much of his performance on the suit.

“When you’re in it, you can barely move and people have to help you stand up and sit down,” Kilmer said in “Val,” in lines spoken by his son Jack, who voiced the part of his father after Kilmer’s ability to speak was impaired by cancer treatment. “You also can’t hear anything and after a while people stop talking to you, it’s very isolating. It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit, and it was frustrating until I realized that my role in the film was just to show up and stand where I was told to.”

His next projects were the film version of the 1960s TV series “The Saint” — fussily putting on wigs, accents and glasses — and “The Island of Dr. Moreau” with Marlon Brando, which became one of the 1990s’ most infamously cursed productions.

David Gregory’s 2014 documentary “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau,” described a cursed set subject to a hurricane, Kilmer bullying director Richard Stanley, the firing via fax of Stanley (who sneaked back on set as an extra with a mask on) and extensive rewrites by Kilmer and Brando. The older actor told the younger at one point: ”‘It’s a job now, Val. A lark. We’ll get through it.’ I was as sad as I’ve ever been on a set,” Kilmer wrote in his memoir.

In 1996, Entertainment Weekly ran a cover story about Kilmer titled “The Man Hollywood Loves to Hate.” The directors Schumacher and John Frankenheimer, who finished “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” said he was difficult. Frankenheimer said there were two things he would never do: “Climb Mount Everest and work with Val Kilmer again.”

Other artists came to his defense, like D. J. Caruso, who directed Kilmer in “The Salton Sea” and said the actor simply liked to talk out scenes and enjoyed having a director’s attention.

“Val needs to immerse himself in a character. I think what happened with directors like Frankenheimer and Schumacher is that Val would ask a lot of questions, and a guy like Schumacher would say, ‘You’re Batman! Just go do it,’” Caruso told the Times in 2002.

After “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” the movies were smaller, like David Mamet’s human-trafficking thriller “Spartan”; “Joe the King,” in which he played a paunchy, abusive alcoholic; and 2003’s “Wonderland,” in which he played the doomed ’70s porn star John Holmes. He also threw himself into his one-man stage show “Citizen Twain,” in which he played Mark Twain.

“I enjoy the depth and soul the piece has that Twain had for his fellow man and America,” he told Variety in 2018. “And the comedy that’s always so close to the surface, and how valuable his genius is for us today.”

Kilmer spent his formative years in the Chatsworth neighborhood of Los Angeles. He attended Chatsworth High School alongside future Oscar winner Kevin Spacey and future Emmy winner Mare Winningham. Shortly after he left for Juilliard, his younger brother Wesley suffered an epileptic seizure in the family’s Jacuzzi and died on the way to the hospital. Wesley, just 15, was an aspiring filmmaker.

“I miss him and miss his things. I have his art up. I like to think about what he would have created. I’m still inspired by him,” Kilmer told the Times in 2002.

While still at Juilliard, Kilmer co-wrote and appeared in the play “How It All Began” and later turned down a role in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders” for the Broadway play “Slab Boys,” alongside Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn.

Kilmer published two books of poetry (including “My Edens After Burns”) and was nominated for a spoken word album Grammy in 2012 for “The Mark of Zorro.” He was also a visual artist and a lifelong Christian Scientist.

He dated Cher, and married and divorced actor Joanne Whalley. He is survived by their two children, Mercedes and Jack.

“I have no regrets,” Kilmer told the AP in 2021. “I’ve witnessed and experienced miracles.”

___

Kennedy reported from New York.

Cottage Quiche

Cottage Quiche

Cottage Quiche Recipe

Cottage Quiche (bacon and cheese) slice with garnish.
Photo by Getty Images

Cottage quiche recipe by Nancy Nahikian (Raleigh) from the WPTF “Ask Your Neighbor” Cookbook.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 55 minutes

Serving size: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 deep 9-inch frozen pie shell
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups (16 oz.) cottage cheese
  • 2 Tbsp minced parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/s tsp pepper
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • 6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
Bacon cooking in a skillet for Cottage Quiche.
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°.
  2. Prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork.
  3. Bake the pie shell at 425° for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
  4. Remove the pre-baked shell from the oven, letting it cool slightly.
  5. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°.
  6. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and begin adding the cottage cheese, minced parsley, salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg.
  7. Stir in the crumbled bacon and combine well.
  8. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie shell.
  9. Bake for approximately 45 minutes at 350°.
  10. Remove and let your cottage quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Click here to view a recipe for Basic Pie Crust!

bacon and cheese Cottage Quiche with orange juice - quiche bacon stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images
Photo by Getty Images
Stock market today: More swerves hit Wall Street as Trump’s “Liberation Day” nears

Stock market today: More swerves hit Wall Street as Trump’s “Liberation Day” nears

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks swerved through another shaky day of trading Tuesday, with uncertainty still high about just what President Donald Trump will announce about tariffs on his “Liberation Day” coming Wednesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% after roaring back from an early drop of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 11 points, or less than 0.1%, after pinging between a loss of 480 points and a gain of nearly 140, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9%.

Wall Street has been particularly shaky recently, and momentum has been swinging not just day to day but also hour to hour because of uncertainty about what Trump will do with tariffs — and by how much they will worsen inflation and grind down growth for economies. On Monday, for example, the S&P 500 careened from an early loss of 1.7% to a gain of 0.7%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank after a report said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted last month, breaking a two-month streak of growth. A separate report said U.S. employers were advertising slightly fewer job openings at the end of February than economists expected.

Companies are saying they’re already feeling effects from Trump’s trade war, even with the main event potentially coming on Wednesday, when the president will announce a sweeping set of tariffs.

“Customers are pulling in orders due to anxiety about continued tariffs and pricing pressures,” one computer and electronic products company told the Institute for Supply Management in its monthly manufacturers’ survey.

“Starting to see slower-than-normal sales in Canada, and concerns of Canadians boycotting U.S. products could become a reality,” a manufacturer in the food, beverage and tobacco products industry said in the ISM’s survey.

The U.S. economy is still growing, to be sure, and the job market has remained relatively solid even with February’s slightly weaker-than-expected job openings.

But one of the worries hitting the market is that even if Trump announces less-punishing tariffs than feared on Wednesday, the stop-and-start rollout of his trade strategy may by itself cause U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending, which would damage the economy. Trump has pushed for tariffs in part to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States from other countries.

All the nervousness in the market has helped push the price of gold to records, and it briefly topped $3,175 per ounce Tuesday. That’s up from less than $2,700 at the start of the year.

On Wall Street, Tesla charged 3.6% higher a day ahead of reporting how many vehicles it delivered during the first three months of the year.

Worries have grown about a potential backlash from customers, and protestors have been swarming Tesla showrooms due to anger about CEO Elon Musk’s leading the U.S. government’s efforts to cut spending. Tesla’s stock is still down by roughly a third for the year so far.

PVH jumped 18.2% after the company behind the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said it plans to send $500 million to shareholders this year through purchases of its own stock.

Newsmax soared another 179% to follow up on its 735% surge from Monday, which was the first day of trading for the news company’s stock.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Johnson & Johnson, which dropped 7.6% after a U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied the company’s settlement plan related to baby powder containing talc. It’s the third time the company’s attempt to resolve the baby powder settlement through bankruptcy has been rejected by courts.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 21.22 points to 5,633.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 11.80 to 41,989.96, and the Nasdaq composite gained 150.60 to 17,449.89.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia to recover some of their sharp drops from the day before.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX returned 1.7%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 1.1% after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the world’s biggest trade bloc would not cower in the face of U.S. trade demands.

“Europe holds a lot of cards, from trade to technology to the size of our market. But this strength is also built on our readiness to take firm counter measures if necessary,” von der Leyen said. “All instruments are on the table.”

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 held steady as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he was imploring Trump not to impose higher auto tariffs on Japan, a longtime U.S. ally. A central bank survey found a worsening in business sentiment among big manufacturers.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.16% from 4.23% late Monday and from roughly 4.80% in January. That’s a significant move for the bond market, and yields have been falling with worries about a potentially slowing U.S. economy.

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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