WASHINGTON (AP) —Opponents of President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;rallied across the U.S. on Saturday to protest&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-campaign-promise-tracker/">the administration's actions</a>&nbsp;on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.

More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists. The protest sites included the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.

Protesters assailed the Trump administration's moves to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-doge-veterans-64722f96984f1b730fea88278f6bc93f">fire thousands of federal workers</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">close Social Security Administration field offices</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/usaid-federal-judge-trump-administration-bdc919a5d98eda5ab72a32fdfe2f147d">effectively shutter entire agencies</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportations-el-salvador-justice-contempt-6085e64a04b5d6455f368175af83e724">deport immigrants</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-visibility-trump-orders-2f949cdab2673e3becdfc3d213158aa9">scale back protections for transgender people</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-covid-federal-money-lawsuit-restraining-order-hhs-4d534b9f04389161f71e3bc541e87d7a">cut federal funding for health programs</a>.

Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign advocacy group, spoke at the Washington protest, criticizing the Trump administration's treatment of the LBGTQ+ community.

“The attacks that we’re seeing, they’re not just political. They are personal, y’all,” she said. “They’re trying to ban our books, they’re slashing HIV prevention funding, they’re criminalizing our doctors, our teachers, our families and our lives. This is Donald Trump’s America and I don’t want it y’all. We don’t want this America, y’all. We want the America we deserve, where dignity, safety and freedom belong not to some of us, but to all of us.”

Thousands of people marched in New York City's midtown Manhattan. In Massachusetts thousands more gathered on Boston Common holding signs including “Hands off our democracy,” “Hands off our Social Security” and “Diversity equity inclusion makes America strong. Hands off!”

In Ohio, hundreds rallied in the rain at the Statehouse in Columbus.

Roger Broom, 66, a retiree from Delaware County, Ohio, said at the Columbus rally that he used to be a Reagan Republican but has been turned off by Trump.

“He’s tearing this country apart,” Broom said. “It’s just an administration of grievances.”

Hundreds of people also demonstrated in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a few miles from Trump's golf course in Jupiter, where he spent the morning at the club's Senior Club Championship. People lined both sides of PGA Drive, encouraging cars to honk and chanting slogans against Trump.

Archer Moran from Port St. Lucie, Florida, said, “They need to keep their hands off of our Social Security."

“The list of what they need to keep their hands off of is too long,” Moran said. “And it's amazing how soon these protests are happening since he’s taken office.”

The president plans to go golfing again Sunday, according to the White House.

Asked about the protests, the White House said in a statement that “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”

Activists have staged&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/50501-protests-project-2025-trump-state-capitols-ddd341171a54ba9b498cbfe7530e18ab">nationwide demonstrations</a>&nbsp;against Trump or Musk multiple times since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-scene-rotunda-republicans-second-term-618e452b9e8fe294095937b27816d21a">Trump returned to office.</a>&nbsp;But the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/de267a3227574cb182b953cb60e69ae2">Women's March in 2017</a>, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trump's first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mo-state-wire-in-state-wire-mi-state-wire-minneapolis-virus-outbreak-55933b8695e36337a6bfe96728b3e7f3">demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities</a>&nbsp;after George Floyd's killing in 2020.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, protesters said they were supporting a variety of causes, from Social Security and education to immigration and women's reproductive rights.

“Regardless of your party, regardless of who you voted for, what’s going on today, what’s happening today is abhorrent,” said Britt Castillo, 35, of Charlotte. "It’s disgusting and as broken as our current system might be, the way that the current administration is going about trying to fix things — it is not the way to do it. They’re not listening to the people."

“All they’re doing is making sure that they have a parachute for them and their rich friends, and everybody else here that lives here — that makes the gears turn for this country — are just screwed at the end of the day,” she said.

Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Fatima Hussein in West Palm Beach, Florida, and video journalist Guillermo Gonzalez in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743876858648.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —Opponents of President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;rallied across the U.S. on Saturday to protest&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-campaign-promise-tracker/">the administration's actions</a>&nbsp;on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743886007749.jpeg" alt="Protesters in Hays, Kansas on Saturday-&nbsp;Photo By Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Protesters in Hays, Kansas on Saturday-&nbsp;Photo By Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists. The protest sites included the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743885445533.jpeg" alt="Protesters in Hays, Kansas on Saturday-&nbsp;Photo By Tony Guerrero/Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Protesters in Hays, Kansas on Saturday-&nbsp;Photo By Tony Guerrero/Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>Protesters assailed the Trump administration's moves to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-doge-veterans-64722f96984f1b730fea88278f6bc93f">fire thousands of federal workers</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">close Social Security Administration field offices</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/usaid-federal-judge-trump-administration-bdc919a5d98eda5ab72a32fdfe2f147d">effectively shutter entire agencies</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-deportations-el-salvador-justice-contempt-6085e64a04b5d6455f368175af83e724">deport immigrants</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-visibility-trump-orders-2f949cdab2673e3becdfc3d213158aa9">scale back protections for transgender people</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-covid-federal-money-lawsuit-restraining-order-hhs-4d534b9f04389161f71e3bc541e87d7a">cut federal funding for health programs</a>.Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743885930456.png" alt="Image from HandsOff2025 video" />
 <figcaption>Image from HandsOff2025 video</figcaption>
 </figure>Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign advocacy group, spoke at the Washington protest, criticizing the Trump administration's treatment of the LBGTQ+ community.“The attacks that we’re seeing, they’re not just political. They are personal, y’all,” she said. “They’re trying to ban our books, they’re slashing HIV prevention funding, they’re criminalizing our doctors, our teachers, our families and our lives. This is Donald Trump’s America and I don’t want it y’all. We don’t want this America, y’all. We want the America we deserve, where dignity, safety and freedom belong not to some of us, but to all of us.”Thousands of people marched in New York City's midtown Manhattan. In Massachusetts thousands more gathered on Boston Common holding signs including “Hands off our democracy,” “Hands off our Social Security” and “Diversity equity inclusion makes America strong. Hands off!”In Ohio, hundreds rallied in the rain at the Statehouse in Columbus.Roger Broom, 66, a retiree from Delaware County, Ohio, said at the Columbus rally that he used to be a Reagan Republican but has been turned off by Trump.“He’s tearing this country apart,” Broom said. “It’s just an administration of grievances.”Hundreds of people also demonstrated in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a few miles from Trump's golf course in Jupiter, where he spent the morning at the club's Senior Club Championship. People lined both sides of PGA Drive, encouraging cars to honk and chanting slogans against Trump.Archer Moran from Port St. Lucie, Florida, said, “They need to keep their hands off of our Social Security."“The list of what they need to keep their hands off of is too long,” Moran said. “And it's amazing how soon these protests are happening since he’s taken office.”The president plans to go golfing again Sunday, according to the White House.Asked about the protests, the White House said in a statement that “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”Activists have staged&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/50501-protests-project-2025-trump-state-capitols-ddd341171a54ba9b498cbfe7530e18ab">nationwide demonstrations</a>&nbsp;against Trump or Musk multiple times since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-scene-rotunda-republicans-second-term-618e452b9e8fe294095937b27816d21a">Trump returned to office.</a>&nbsp;But the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/de267a3227574cb182b953cb60e69ae2">Women's March in 2017</a>, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trump's first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mo-state-wire-in-state-wire-mi-state-wire-minneapolis-virus-outbreak-55933b8695e36337a6bfe96728b3e7f3">demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities</a>&nbsp;after George Floyd's killing in 2020.In Charlotte, North Carolina, protesters said they were supporting a variety of causes, from Social Security and education to immigration and women's reproductive rights.“Regardless of your party, regardless of who you voted for, what’s going on today, what’s happening today is abhorrent,” said Britt Castillo, 35, of Charlotte. "It’s disgusting and as broken as our current system might be, the way that the current administration is going about trying to fix things — it is not the way to do it. They’re not listening to the people."“All they’re doing is making sure that they have a parachute for them and their rich friends, and everybody else here that lives here — that makes the gears turn for this country — are just screwed at the end of the day,” she said.___Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Fatima Hussein in West Palm Beach, Florida, and video journalist Guillermo Gonzalez in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

Protesters tee off against Trump and Musk across the U.S.

Children’s Mercy Kansas City&nbsp; announce a comprehensive $152 million expansion plan for Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas (CMHK) aimed at enhancing patient care and improving access to existing services and new clinical programs, according to a media release from the hospital.&nbsp;

“As the only freestanding pediatric hospital in the state of Kansas, this expansion will allow for even more families to have access to world-class care closer to home,” said Alejandro Quiroga, MD, MBA, CEO &amp; President, Children’s Mercy. "We're really excited about this project because it shows how dedicated we are to giving the best care possible to our community. By bringing all our outpatient services together, improving our hospital facilities, and creating a modern, connected campus, we're making sure we can meet the growing needs of patients and families in the region.”&nbsp;

The first phase of the project, already underway, is the expansion of surgical services which includes the renovation of the Sterile Processing Department and the addition of new pre-op, post-op, and procedural spaces. Construction is set to be complete by summer 2026.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We have teams of nationally recognized surgeons and proceduralists. The addition of new procedures rooms and expanded facilities will allow CMHK to meet the growing demand for procedural services in specialties such as ENT, Orthopedics and Gastroenterology,” said Shawn St. Peter, MD, Senior Vice President, Surgeon-in-Chief, Children’s Mercy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The expansion project also includes:&nbsp;

“We listened to the needs of physicians and families in this community and the expansion of our Kansas hospital strengthens our capacity to serve the growing pediatric population,” said Amy Fallon, MPH, PhD, President of Regional Operations, Children’s Mercy. “This is more than just adding rooms or advancing technology; it’s about deepening our commitment and reaffirming our dedication to delivering top-quality, accessible health care to every child that needs it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

The community is invited to be part of this initiative. Philanthropic gifts will advance this renovation to improve the health of all children and families, bringing expert care closer to home.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743709952900.png" alt="Children's Mercy Renderings provided by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hdrinc?__cft__[0]=AZVJPlaGVfpaostW4hN6qAczNWPuzGNM2jVgwWD60UXwLJl4tvu9vXBZOkQwXTeSa0ZN3s5hZr0ohJJah4PlpBSK-ZJg03kDA2FWOAzxXSUcnOfVrlReujZMmp3KpCJniHdmsGugzpEo-8O7_f3FktNgSvkGoFQ3NXAKXEH3yyfrcHRn12UovzBnYjOq9eX-N54&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">HDR</a>" />
 <figcaption>Children's Mercy Renderings provided by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hdrinc?__cft__[0]=AZVJPlaGVfpaostW4hN6qAczNWPuzGNM2jVgwWD60UXwLJl4tvu9vXBZOkQwXTeSa0ZN3s5hZr0ohJJah4PlpBSK-ZJg03kDA2FWOAzxXSUcnOfVrlReujZMmp3KpCJniHdmsGugzpEo-8O7_f3FktNgSvkGoFQ3NXAKXEH3yyfrcHRn12UovzBnYjOq9eX-N54&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">HDR</a></figcaption>
 </figure>Children’s Mercy Kansas City&nbsp; announce a comprehensive $152 million expansion plan for Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas (CMHK) aimed at enhancing patient care and improving access to existing services and new clinical programs, according to a media release from the hospital.&nbsp;“As the only freestanding pediatric hospital in the state of Kansas, this expansion will allow for even more families to have access to world-class care closer to home,” said Alejandro Quiroga, MD, MBA, CEO &amp; President, Children’s Mercy. "We're really excited about this project because it shows how dedicated we are to giving the best care possible to our community. By bringing all our outpatient services together, improving our hospital facilities, and creating a modern, connected campus, we're making sure we can meet the growing needs of patients and families in the region.”&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743710012719.png" alt="Children's Mercy Renderings provided by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hdrinc?__cft__[0]=AZVJPlaGVfpaostW4hN6qAczNWPuzGNM2jVgwWD60UXwLJl4tvu9vXBZOkQwXTeSa0ZN3s5hZr0ohJJah4PlpBSK-ZJg03kDA2FWOAzxXSUcnOfVrlReujZMmp3KpCJniHdmsGugzpEo-8O7_f3FktNgSvkGoFQ3NXAKXEH3yyfrcHRn12UovzBnYjOq9eX-N54&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">HDR</a>&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Children's Mercy Renderings provided by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hdrinc?__cft__[0]=AZVJPlaGVfpaostW4hN6qAczNWPuzGNM2jVgwWD60UXwLJl4tvu9vXBZOkQwXTeSa0ZN3s5hZr0ohJJah4PlpBSK-ZJg03kDA2FWOAzxXSUcnOfVrlReujZMmp3KpCJniHdmsGugzpEo-8O7_f3FktNgSvkGoFQ3NXAKXEH3yyfrcHRn12UovzBnYjOq9eX-N54&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">HDR</a>&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>The first phase of the project, already underway, is the expansion of surgical services which includes the renovation of the Sterile Processing Department and the addition of new pre-op, post-op, and procedural spaces. Construction is set to be complete by summer 2026.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have teams of nationally recognized surgeons and proceduralists. The addition of new procedures rooms and expanded facilities will allow CMHK to meet the growing demand for procedural services in specialties such as ENT, Orthopedics and Gastroenterology,” said Shawn St. Peter, MD, Senior Vice President, Surgeon-in-Chief, Children’s Mercy.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743710105263.png" alt="Children's Mercy Renderings provided by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hdrinc?__cft__[0]=AZVJPlaGVfpaostW4hN6qAczNWPuzGNM2jVgwWD60UXwLJl4tvu9vXBZOkQwXTeSa0ZN3s5hZr0ohJJah4PlpBSK-ZJg03kDA2FWOAzxXSUcnOfVrlReujZMmp3KpCJniHdmsGugzpEo-8O7_f3FktNgSvkGoFQ3NXAKXEH3yyfrcHRn12UovzBnYjOq9eX-N54&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">HDR</a>" />
 <figcaption>Children's Mercy Renderings provided by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hdrinc?__cft__[0]=AZVJPlaGVfpaostW4hN6qAczNWPuzGNM2jVgwWD60UXwLJl4tvu9vXBZOkQwXTeSa0ZN3s5hZr0ohJJah4PlpBSK-ZJg03kDA2FWOAzxXSUcnOfVrlReujZMmp3KpCJniHdmsGugzpEo-8O7_f3FktNgSvkGoFQ3NXAKXEH3yyfrcHRn12UovzBnYjOq9eX-N54&amp;__tn__=-]K-R">HDR</a></figcaption>
 </figure>The expansion project also includes:&nbsp;<ul>
 <li>New Medical Office Building (MOB):&nbsp;A state-of-the-art facility to consolidate outpatient services currently spread across multiple locations, providing a seamless and connected experience for patients and families. The MOB is scheduled to open in the Summer of 2027.&nbsp;</li><li>Hospital Renovations:&nbsp;Upgrades to the hospital space vacated by the consolidation of outpatient services, enhancing the overall patient and staff experience. These renovations are expected to be completed by the Summer of 2029.&nbsp;</li><li>New Service Offerings: Introduction of new programs such as Inpatient Rehab, Intensive Outpatient Programs, an expanded GI Motility program and a Neuroscience Center of Excellence.&nbsp;</li><li>Parking and Exterior Updates:&nbsp;Modern parking structures, new entrances, and exterior improvements to facilitate better wayfinding and accessibility. (Parking and Emergency services will still be accessible throughout construction.)&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>“We listened to the needs of physicians and families in this community and the expansion of our Kansas hospital strengthens our capacity to serve the growing pediatric population,” said Amy Fallon, MPH, PhD, President of Regional Operations, Children’s Mercy. “This is more than just adding rooms or advancing technology; it’s about deepening our commitment and reaffirming our dedication to delivering top-quality, accessible health care to every child that needs it.”&nbsp;&nbsp;The community is invited to be part of this initiative. Philanthropic gifts will advance this renovation to improve the health of all children and families, bringing expert care closer to home.&nbsp;

Children’s Mercy Kansas announces multi-million dollar expansion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday in a case over whether states should be to able cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in arguments that come amid a wider push from abortion opponents to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-medicaid-trump-planned-parenthood-supreme-court-c512ec676b99d521d240bedeb7f85574">defund the nation’s largest abortion provider</a>.

<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2024/23-1275">Click here to</a> listen to the oral argument

Low-income patients who go there for things like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing could see their care upended if the court sides with South Carolina leaders who say no public money should go the organization.

The court is considering a legal question that could have wider effects: Whether Medicaid patients can continue to sue over the right to choose their own qualified provider.

South Carolina says those lawsuits aren’t allowed and barring them would save public money in legal fees. Some conservatives appeared open to that argument. Justice&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-justice-kavanaugh-roske-threat-93dc0806da374b53126120d90bfa77e1">Brett Kavanaugh</a>&nbsp;said there has been confusion over the question in lower courts. “One of my goals coming out of this will be to provide that clarity,” Kavanaugh said.

The state says people could go through an administrative appeal process if denied coverage, though justices like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-deportations-birthright-citizenship-0787cdf8bd36b964c7974ed032717ed4">Amy Coney Barrett</a>&nbsp;raised questions about whether that would work for low-income patients. “That’s the beneficiary taking the risk, going to the provider she wants to see, and then potentially having to pay out of pocket, right?”

Planned Parenthood argues Congress clearly wanted people to be able to make their own “intensely personal” decisions about which doctor to visit, and lawsuits are the only real way that right has been enforced.

Justice&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-catholic-charities-wisconsin-supreme-court-50bd53ad748a147f9e28132512cf7b74">Elena Kagan</a>&nbsp;agreed that patients do have the right to choose their doctor under the law, and suggested that blocking them from suing would be a sea change. “This is kind of changing the rules midstream, isn’t it?” Kagan said.

People on both sides of the issue gathered outside the court for demonstrations that included a brass band before arguments unfolded.

The case started in 2018, before the court’s decision that overturned the nationwide right to abortion. South Carolina has since banned it after around six weeks’ gestation.

South Carolina’s move to cut off Medicaid funding was blocked in court following a lawsuit from from Medicaid patient Julie Edwards, who wanted to keep going to Planned Parenthood for birth control she needed because her diabetes could make it dangerous for her to carry a pregnancy to term, according to court papers. The state eventually appealed to the Supreme Court.

Federal law prohibits Medicaid money from being used for abortions, with very limited exceptions, but patients often go there for other services because it can be tough to find doctors who accept the publicly funded insurance program and can schedule appointments quickly.

Other conservative states have also moved to cut Planned Parenthood out of the Medicaid program, and more would likely follow if South Carolina prevails. Attorneys for the state say patients can visit other health centers for care.

About one-quarter of everyone in the U.S. is enrolled in the program, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/american-cancer-society">American Cancer Society</a>&nbsp;has said that losing the ability to sue would hurt their access to care, especially in rural areas.

In South Carolina, $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood every year — a tiny fraction of a percentage point of the state’s total Medicaid spending.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday in a case over whether states should be to able cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in arguments that come amid a wider push from abortion opponents to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-medicaid-trump-planned-parenthood-supreme-court-c512ec676b99d521d240bedeb7f85574">defund the nation’s largest abortion provider</a>.<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2024/23-1275">Click here to</a> listen to the oral argumentLow-income patients who go there for things like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing could see their care upended if the court sides with South Carolina leaders who say no public money should go the organization.The court is considering a legal question that could have wider effects: Whether Medicaid patients can continue to sue over the right to choose their own qualified provider.South Carolina says those lawsuits aren’t allowed and barring them would save public money in legal fees. Some conservatives appeared open to that argument. Justice&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-justice-kavanaugh-roske-threat-93dc0806da374b53126120d90bfa77e1">Brett Kavanaugh</a>&nbsp;said there has been confusion over the question in lower courts. “One of my goals coming out of this will be to provide that clarity,” Kavanaugh said.The state says people could go through an administrative appeal process if denied coverage, though justices like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-deportations-birthright-citizenship-0787cdf8bd36b964c7974ed032717ed4">Amy Coney Barrett</a>&nbsp;raised questions about whether that would work for low-income patients. “That’s the beneficiary taking the risk, going to the provider she wants to see, and then potentially having to pay out of pocket, right?”Planned Parenthood argues Congress clearly wanted people to be able to make their own “intensely personal” decisions about which doctor to visit, and lawsuits are the only real way that right has been enforced.Justice&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-catholic-charities-wisconsin-supreme-court-50bd53ad748a147f9e28132512cf7b74">Elena Kagan</a>&nbsp;agreed that patients do have the right to choose their doctor under the law, and suggested that blocking them from suing would be a sea change. “This is kind of changing the rules midstream, isn’t it?” Kagan said.People on both sides of the issue gathered outside the court for demonstrations that included a brass band before arguments unfolded.The case started in 2018, before the court’s decision that overturned the nationwide right to abortion. South Carolina has since banned it after around six weeks’ gestation.South Carolina’s move to cut off Medicaid funding was blocked in court following a lawsuit from from Medicaid patient Julie Edwards, who wanted to keep going to Planned Parenthood for birth control she needed because her diabetes could make it dangerous for her to carry a pregnancy to term, according to court papers. The state eventually appealed to the Supreme Court.Federal law prohibits Medicaid money from being used for abortions, with very limited exceptions, but patients often go there for other services because it can be tough to find doctors who accept the publicly funded insurance program and can schedule appointments quickly.Other conservative states have also moved to cut Planned Parenthood out of the Medicaid program, and more would likely follow if South Carolina prevails. Attorneys for the state say patients can visit other health centers for care.About one-quarter of everyone in the U.S. is enrolled in the program, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/american-cancer-society">American Cancer Society</a>&nbsp;has said that losing the ability to sue would hurt their access to care, especially in rural areas.In South Carolina, $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood every year — a tiny fraction of a percentage point of the state’s total Medicaid spending.

🎧Supreme Court divided over whether states can cut off Planned Parenthood funding

BY&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/mike-catalini">MIKE CATALINI</a>

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-cory-booker-senate-speech-4540f0c98e620b591bfbea8c1001419a">Cory Booker</a>&nbsp;held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-campaign-promise-tracker/">sweeping actions</a>.

Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” More than 24 hours later, the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, was still going. It set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history, though Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor.

It was a remarkable show of stamina as Democrats try to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/democrats-anger-backlash-trump-musk-426c189225ee978b4eea09352ac122b7">show their frustrated supporters</a>&nbsp;that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump’s agenda. Yet Booker also provided a moment of historical solace for a party searching for its way forward: By standing on the Senate floor for more than a night and day and refusing to leave, he had broken a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/thurmond-strom-filibuster-1957.pdf">filibuster the advance</a>&nbsp;of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.

Now, Booker, who spoke openly on the Senate floor of his roots as the descendant of both slaves and slave-owners, holds that record. In his speech, Booker said he drew upon the entirety of his ancestry because "they speak to the complicated history of America.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black party leader in Congress who had slipped into the Senate chamber to watch Booker on Tuesday afternoon, called it “an incredibly powerful moment" because he had broken the record of a segregationist and was “fighting to preserve the American way of life and our democracy.”

Still, Booker centered his speech on a call for his party to find its resolve, saying, “We all must look in the mirror and say, ‘We will do better.’”

“These are not normal times in our nation,” Booker said as he began the speech Monday evening. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”

Booker warns of a ‘looming constitutional crisis’

Shifting his feet, then leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">Social Security offices</a>&nbsp;led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He listed the impacts of Trump's early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/musk-trump-doge-social-security-92de2ce547df0dcdcc00a5876e1a7bd6">the program won't be touched</a>.

Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents, donning and doffing his reading glasses. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president's talk of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-imperialism-canada-panama-greenland-b4b53445dee97398b498b79eab54d49b">annexing Greenland and Canada</a>&nbsp;and a “looming constitutional crisis.”

Throughout the day Tuesday, Booker got help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him questions. Booker yielded for questions but made sure to say he would not give up the floor. He read that line from a piece of paper to ensure he did not slip and inadvertently end his speech. He stayed standing to comply with Senate rules.

“Your strength, your fortitude, your clarity has just been nothing short of amazing and all of America is paying attention to what you’re saying,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said as he asked Booker a question on the Senate floor. “All of America needs to know there’s so many problems, the disastrous actions of this administration.”

As Booker stood for hour after hour, he appeared to have nothing more than a couple glasses of water to sustain him. Yet his voice grew strong with emotion as his speech stretched into the evening, and House members from the Congressional Black Caucus stood on the edge of the Senate floor to support Booker.

“Moments like this require us to be more creative or more imaginative, or just more persistent and dogged and determined,” Booker said.

Booker's cousin and brother, as well as Democratic aides, watched from the chamber's gallery. Sen. Chris Murphy accompanied Booker on the Senate floor throughout the day and night. Murphy was returning the comradeship that Booker had given to him in 2016 when the Connecticut Democrat held the floor for almost 15 hours to argue for gun control legislation.

His Senate floor speech breaks Thurmond's record

As Booker neared Thurmond's record, he remarked, "I don’t have that much gas in the tank.”

Yet anticipation in the Capitol was growing that he could supplant Thurmond, who died in 2003, as the record holder for the longest Senate floor speech. Democratic senators sat at their desks to listen and the Senate gallery filled with onlookers.

He had already surpassed the longest speech time for a sitting senator — the 21 hours and 19 minutes that Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ted-cruz">Ted Cruz</a>, a Texas Republican, had held the floor to contest the Affordable Care Act in 2013. Responding to his record being broken, Cruz posted a meme of Homer Simpson crying on social media.

Throughout his determined performance, Booker repeatedly invoked the civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia on Tuesday, arguing that overcoming opponents like Thurmond would require more than just talking.

“You think we got civil rights one day because Strom Thurmond — after filibustering for 24 hours — you think we got civil rights because he came to the floor one day and said, ‘I’ve seen the light,’” Booker said. "No, we got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it and John Lewis bled for it."

Booker's speech was not a filibuster, which is a speech meant to halt the advance of a specific piece of legislation. Instead, Booker's performance was a broader critique of Trump's agenda, meant to hold up the Senate's business and draw attention to what Democrats are doing to contest the president. Without a majority in either congressional chamber, Democrats have been almost completely locked out of legislative power but are turning to procedural maneuvers to try to thwart Republicans.

Can his speech rally the anti-Trump resistance?

Booker is serving his second term in the Senate. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2020, when he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/a4917019ce954f809677941533f38f51">launched his campaign from the steps of his home in Newark</a>. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-cory-booker-ia-state-wire-deval-patrick-iowa-a737f1e88c667cac19c59bf8acb2c16e">dropped out</a>&nbsp;after struggling to gain a foothold in a packed field, falling short of the threshold to meet in a January 2020 debate.

But as Democrats search for a next generation of leadership, frustrated with the old-timers at the top, Booker's speech could cement his status as a leading figure in the party.

On Tuesday afternoon, tens of thousands of people were watching on Booker’s Senate YouTube page, as well as on other live streams.

Even before taking to the national political stage, Booker was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party in New Jersey, serving as mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, from 2006 to 2013.

During college, he played tight end for Stanford University's football team. He became a Rhodes scholar and graduated from Yale Law before starting his career as an attorney for nonprofits.

He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013 during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-senate-united-states-congress-general-news-senate-elections-united-states-government-31beb16e9f704852991d5e6576b2cdaf">a special election</a>&nbsp;held after the death of incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg. He won his first full term in 2014 and reelection in 2020.

As Democratic colleagues made their way to the Senate chamber to help Booker by asking him questions, he also made heartfelt tributes to his fellow senators, recalling their personal backgrounds and shared experiences in the Senate. Booker also called on Americans to respond not just with resistance to Trump’s actions but with kindness and generosity for those in their communities.

Booker said, “I may be afraid — my voice may shake — but I’m going to speak up more."

Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J. Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743501571096.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/author/mike-catalini">MIKE CATALINI</a>WASHINGTON (AP) — In a feat of determination, New Jersey Democratic Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/who-is-cory-booker-senate-speech-4540f0c98e620b591bfbea8c1001419a">Cory Booker</a>&nbsp;held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-campaign-promise-tracker/">sweeping actions</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSchumer</a>: &quot;Would the Senator yield for a question?&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/SenBooker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenBooker</a>: &quot;Chuck Schumer, it&#39;s the only time in my life I can tell you no.&quot; Schumer: &quot;I just wanted to tell you, a question, do you know you have just broken the record?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/kRPK5Iq659">pic.twitter.com/kRPK5Iq659</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1907213181937668537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">In his prayer, Senate chaplain Black alludes to Cory Booker marathon speech: &quot;Today we are grateful for the efforts of the floor staff, Capitol Police, the stenographers, the pages and all those who have worked through the night. We pray you give them the strength they need...&quot; <a href="https://t.co/uBumUrX8k5">pic.twitter.com/uBumUrX8k5</a>&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1907105050201100373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” More than 24 hours later, the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, was still going. It set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history, though Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor.It was a remarkable show of stamina as Democrats try to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/democrats-anger-backlash-trump-musk-426c189225ee978b4eea09352ac122b7">show their frustrated supporters</a>&nbsp;that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump’s agenda. Yet Booker also provided a moment of historical solace for a party searching for its way forward: By standing on the Senate floor for more than a night and day and refusing to leave, he had broken a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.gov/about/resources/pdf/thurmond-strom-filibuster-1957.pdf">filibuster the advance</a>&nbsp;of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.Now, Booker, who spoke openly on the Senate floor of his roots as the descendant of both slaves and slave-owners, holds that record. In his speech, Booker said he drew upon the entirety of his ancestry because "they speak to the complicated history of America.”House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black party leader in Congress who had slipped into the Senate chamber to watch Booker on Tuesday afternoon, called it “an incredibly powerful moment" because he had broken the record of a segregationist and was “fighting to preserve the American way of life and our democracy.”Still, Booker centered his speech on a call for his party to find its resolve, saying, “We all must look in the mirror and say, ‘We will do better.’”“These are not normal times in our nation,” Booker said as he began the speech Monday evening. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”<h2>Booker warns of a ‘looming constitutional crisis’</h2>Shifting his feet, then leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">Social Security offices</a>&nbsp;led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He listed the impacts of Trump's early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/musk-trump-doge-social-security-92de2ce547df0dcdcc00a5876e1a7bd6">the program won't be touched</a>.Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents, donning and doffing his reading glasses. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president's talk of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-imperialism-canada-panama-greenland-b4b53445dee97398b498b79eab54d49b">annexing Greenland and Canada</a>&nbsp;and a “looming constitutional crisis.”Throughout the day Tuesday, Booker got help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him questions. Booker yielded for questions but made sure to say he would not give up the floor. He read that line from a piece of paper to ensure he did not slip and inadvertently end his speech. He stayed standing to comply with Senate rules.“Your strength, your fortitude, your clarity has just been nothing short of amazing and all of America is paying attention to what you’re saying,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said as he asked Booker a question on the Senate floor. “All of America needs to know there’s so many problems, the disastrous actions of this administration.”As Booker stood for hour after hour, he appeared to have nothing more than a couple glasses of water to sustain him. Yet his voice grew strong with emotion as his speech stretched into the evening, and House members from the Congressional Black Caucus stood on the edge of the Senate floor to support Booker.“Moments like this require us to be more creative or more imaginative, or just more persistent and dogged and determined,” Booker said.Booker's cousin and brother, as well as Democratic aides, watched from the chamber's gallery. Sen. Chris Murphy accompanied Booker on the Senate floor throughout the day and night. Murphy was returning the comradeship that Booker had given to him in 2016 when the Connecticut Democrat held the floor for almost 15 hours to argue for gun control legislation.<h2>His Senate floor speech breaks Thurmond's record</h2>As Booker neared Thurmond's record, he remarked, "I don’t have that much gas in the tank.”Yet anticipation in the Capitol was growing that he could supplant Thurmond, who died in 2003, as the record holder for the longest Senate floor speech. Democratic senators sat at their desks to listen and the Senate gallery filled with onlookers.He had already surpassed the longest speech time for a sitting senator — the 21 hours and 19 minutes that Sen.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ted-cruz">Ted Cruz</a>, a Texas Republican, had held the floor to contest the Affordable Care Act in 2013. Responding to his record being broken, Cruz posted a meme of Homer Simpson crying on social media.Throughout his determined performance, Booker repeatedly invoked the civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia on Tuesday, arguing that overcoming opponents like Thurmond would require more than just talking.“You think we got civil rights one day because Strom Thurmond — after filibustering for 24 hours — you think we got civil rights because he came to the floor one day and said, ‘I’ve seen the light,’” Booker said. "No, we got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it and John Lewis bled for it."Booker's speech was not a filibuster, which is a speech meant to halt the advance of a specific piece of legislation. Instead, Booker's performance was a broader critique of Trump's agenda, meant to hold up the Senate's business and draw attention to what Democrats are doing to contest the president. Without a majority in either congressional chamber, Democrats have been almost completely locked out of legislative power but are turning to procedural maneuvers to try to thwart Republicans.<h2>Can his speech rally the anti-Trump resistance?</h2>Booker is serving his second term in the Senate. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2020, when he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/a4917019ce954f809677941533f38f51">launched his campaign from the steps of his home in Newark</a>. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-cory-booker-ia-state-wire-deval-patrick-iowa-a737f1e88c667cac19c59bf8acb2c16e">dropped out</a>&nbsp;after struggling to gain a foothold in a packed field, falling short of the threshold to meet in a January 2020 debate.But as Democrats search for a next generation of leadership, frustrated with the old-timers at the top, Booker's speech could cement his status as a leading figure in the party.On Tuesday afternoon, tens of thousands of people were watching on Booker’s Senate YouTube page, as well as on other live streams.Even before taking to the national political stage, Booker was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party in New Jersey, serving as mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, from 2006 to 2013.During college, he played tight end for Stanford University's football team. He became a Rhodes scholar and graduated from Yale Law before starting his career as an attorney for nonprofits.He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013 during&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-senate-united-states-congress-general-news-senate-elections-united-states-government-31beb16e9f704852991d5e6576b2cdaf">a special election</a>&nbsp;held after the death of incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg. He won his first full term in 2014 and reelection in 2020.As Democratic colleagues made their way to the Senate chamber to help Booker by asking him questions, he also made heartfelt tributes to his fellow senators, recalling their personal backgrounds and shared experiences in the Senate. Booker also called on Americans to respond not just with resistance to Trump’s actions but with kindness and generosity for those in their communities.Booker said, “I may be afraid — my voice may shake — but I’m going to speak up more."___Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J. Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed.

Booker's anti-Trump speech rocks the U.S. Senate for over 24 hours

Norman William "Bill" Hipple, 100, was born July 18, 1924, in Barnard, to William and Blanche Cummings Hipple. He died at his home in Hutchinson on Sunday, March 30, 2025.Bill was a senior at Lincoln High School when America entered World War II. Upon turning 18 in July, he enlisted and was inducted into the Navy. Following basic training he was assigned to a new aircraft carrier, the Shipley Bay, which was deployed to the South Pacific.&nbsp;Following his discharge in 1946, Bill returned to Lincoln. Using the skills he learned from his father, he was a small construction contractor in Lincoln for many years.He was united in marriage with Drene Herman of Lincoln on September 8, 1950. In 1983 they moved to Hutchinson where Drene passed away in 2006.Bill had his Navy stories which he enjoyed telling to all who would listen. An entertaining storyteller, he was always ready to mix his service history with humor. As the owner of a small private plane, Bill loved to fly in his younger years.While in Hutchinson, Bill and Drene joined the Countryside Baptist Church. They both received Christ and were baptized in 1996.Other family members preceding him in death include three brothers, Lew, Carl, and Jack; and three sisters, Willmetta Stogehill, Marjorie Drageus, and Eloise Wilson.Bill is survived by his nephew, John Wilson, and his wife, Mary of Minneapolis.Graveside services with Naval military honors will be held&nbsp;at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, April 7, at the Lincoln Cemetery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743510800425.jpeg" alt="Norman Hipple" />
 <figcaption>Norman Hipple</figcaption>
 </figure>Norman William "Bill" Hipple, 100, was born July 18, 1924, in Barnard, to William and Blanche Cummings Hipple. He died at his home in Hutchinson on Sunday, March 30, 2025.Bill was a senior at Lincoln High School when America entered World War II. Upon turning 18 in July, he enlisted and was inducted into the Navy. Following basic training he was assigned to a new aircraft carrier, the Shipley Bay, which was deployed to the South Pacific.&nbsp;Following his discharge in 1946, Bill returned to Lincoln. Using the skills he learned from his father, he was a small construction contractor in Lincoln for many years.He was united in marriage with Drene Herman of Lincoln on September 8, 1950. In 1983 they moved to Hutchinson where Drene passed away in 2006.Bill had his Navy stories which he enjoyed telling to all who would listen. An entertaining storyteller, he was always ready to mix his service history with humor. As the owner of a small private plane, Bill loved to fly in his younger years.While in Hutchinson, Bill and Drene joined the Countryside Baptist Church. They both received Christ and were baptized in 1996.Other family members preceding him in death include three brothers, Lew, Carl, and Jack; and three sisters, Willmetta Stogehill, Marjorie Drageus, and Eloise Wilson.Bill is survived by his nephew, John Wilson, and his wife, Mary of Minneapolis.Graveside services with Naval military honors will be held&nbsp;at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, April 7, at the Lincoln Cemetery.

Norman William "Bill" Hipple, 100

Clinton Ray Logan passed away unexpectedly Saturday, March 22, 2025. He was born July 29, 1961 in Belleville, Kansas, to Alice J. and Kenneth R. Logan. Clint was a graduate of Scandia High School in 1979, Scandia, KS, and a graduate of Kansas Wesleyan University in 1983.&nbsp;

One thing his family remembers most about Clint was that he was a hard worker and took great pride in every single thing he did. He loved to be up and moving and working with his hands. He could never stomach an office job so he accordingly worked at an old print shop in Salina as a copy repairman and day to day store employee after college. After that, he spent the majority of his career as the head of the beer department at Brooks Liquor in Salina stocking shelves dressed to the nines, how he thought everyone should dress for work.&nbsp;

Working hard at his job was important to him, but he always said the best thing he ever did was to raise his family.&nbsp; Not many knew Clint, or really knew him. He lived a quiet and hidden life really only known to his immediate family. It was a life of love, sacrifice, and virtue, instilling it to those nearest to him through his words and most importantly his example.&nbsp;

In his family time he loved playing cards, going on walks, reading in any spare time, watching clips of movies or listening to music, having bubble blowing competitions with his daughter, and just sitting and being. He lived his life by the phrase “less is more” and was captivated by the simple things in life. His weird kitchen creations and late night wanderings will be deeply missed.

Although he never belonged to a church he was a good and faithful servant of God and was known for smiling and saying “It’s going to be a great day; God made it!”. He always said we have been gifted a short time here on this garden and we have to make the most of it.

Clint is survived by his wife of 25 years, Teresa Logan of their home in Salina, and his daughter, Robyn Logan of Manhattan, KS, and two sisters: Lora Wiruth of Cuba, KS, and Cynthia Meehan of Titusville, FL.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Kenneth Logan.&nbsp;

A Rosary Service will be held Sunday March 30th at 7:30pm at the St. Mary’s Queen of the Universe Catholic Church in Salina, KS. Family will greet friends after in the gathering area.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, March 31st at 10:30am at St. Mary’s Queen of the Universe Catholic Church, with Fr. Kevin Weber officiating. A meal will follow in the parish hall. The burial will be Tuesday, April 1st at 10:00am at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Cemetery in Wilson, KS.

Memorial contributions may be left to Love and Learn Daycare of St. Mary’s Queen of the Universe Church and St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in care of Ryan Mortuary, Salina.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1743691163789.png" alt="Clinton Ray Logan" />
 <figcaption>Clinton Ray Logan</figcaption>
 </figure>Clinton Ray Logan passed away unexpectedly Saturday, March 22, 2025. He was born July 29, 1961 in Belleville, Kansas, to Alice J. and Kenneth R. Logan. Clint was a graduate of Scandia High School in 1979, Scandia, KS, and a graduate of Kansas Wesleyan University in 1983.&nbsp;One thing his family remembers most about Clint was that he was a hard worker and took great pride in every single thing he did. He loved to be up and moving and working with his hands. He could never stomach an office job so he accordingly worked at an old print shop in Salina as a copy repairman and day to day store employee after college. After that, he spent the majority of his career as the head of the beer department at Brooks Liquor in Salina stocking shelves dressed to the nines, how he thought everyone should dress for work.&nbsp;Working hard at his job was important to him, but he always said the best thing he ever did was to raise his family.&nbsp; Not many knew Clint, or really knew him. He lived a quiet and hidden life really only known to his immediate family. It was a life of love, sacrifice, and virtue, instilling it to those nearest to him through his words and most importantly his example.&nbsp;In his family time he loved playing cards, going on walks, reading in any spare time, watching clips of movies or listening to music, having bubble blowing competitions with his daughter, and just sitting and being. He lived his life by the phrase “less is more” and was captivated by the simple things in life. His weird kitchen creations and late night wanderings will be deeply missed.Although he never belonged to a church he was a good and faithful servant of God and was known for smiling and saying “It’s going to be a great day; God made it!”. He always said we have been gifted a short time here on this garden and we have to make the most of it.Clint is survived by his wife of 25 years, Teresa Logan of their home in Salina, and his daughter, Robyn Logan of Manhattan, KS, and two sisters: Lora Wiruth of Cuba, KS, and Cynthia Meehan of Titusville, FL.He was preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Kenneth Logan.&nbsp;A Rosary Service will be held Sunday March 30th at 7:30pm at the St. Mary’s Queen of the Universe Catholic Church in Salina, KS. Family will greet friends after in the gathering area.Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, March 31st at 10:30am at St. Mary’s Queen of the Universe Catholic Church, with Fr. Kevin Weber officiating. A meal will follow in the parish hall. The burial will be Tuesday, April 1st at 10:00am at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Cemetery in Wilson, KS.Memorial contributions may be left to Love and Learn Daycare of St. Mary’s Queen of the Universe Church and St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in care of Ryan Mortuary, Salina.

Clinton Ray Logan

BOSTON (AP) — Maxim Naumov came to a stop in the middle of the ice, looked up at the sky and patted his heart. Then he mouthed a few words, in Russian, to his parents:

“This is for you guys. You guys are with me. I love you both.”

Former world pairs champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova died in January when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-crash-62adba7fb1f546b4cf1716e42b86482b">their plane crashed into a military helicopter</a>&nbsp;on approach to Washington, D.C., and fell into the icy Potomac River. A total of 67 people were killed, including more than two dozen who were returning from a development camp following the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.

Maxim Naumov, who finished fourth at nationals, already had returned home. Since the crash, he has become in many ways the face of the tragedy — or at least its effect on the skating community.

“I don’t think I’ve walked through a hallway and haven’t given a hug since. And I feel that support and love,” he said Sunday. “It’s been beyond anything that I could have ever even imagined. And it helps so much to get through this day.

“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “But it makes my heart so full.”

Naumov, 23, skated in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc-helicopter-jet-crash-figure-skaters-58511d50373d7c3910fea82edc676078">a benefit in Washington</a>&nbsp;earlier this month that raised more than $1.2 million for the victims’ families. Speaking to reporters Sunday after performing at the world championships gala, Naumov said the time that he is on the ice gives his mind a chance to escape the tragedy.

“As soon as I hit the ice, my brain just — I don’t know whether it’s focus or just calmness or stillness or what, but it feels like I tune everything out,” he said. “And I’m just talking with them, and they’re helping me.

“I don’t hear the crowd. I don’t hear the announcers, I don’t hear anything. I just have this internal dialogue and I’m just able to almost be calm and just be in my heart,” Naumov said. “And they’re always there, too. And every time I think of them, especially when I’m on the ice, it really, really helps me get through.”

The world championships, which had previously been scheduled at the home of Boston's Celtics and Bruins, brought renewed attention to the plane crash and&nbsp;<a href="https://pronto.associatedpress.com/web/search/text?all=false&amp;endDate=2006-07-29T04:00:00.000Z&amp;sourceType=ap&amp;dateRangeType=live&amp;mediaSortType=newest&amp;pagesize=100&amp;viewType=conversation&amp;keyword=category:sports%20AND%20skating&amp;storyType=clean&amp;mediatype=text&amp;startDate=1996-06-29T04:00:00.000Z&amp;pagenumber=0">the century-old Skating Club of Boston</a>&nbsp;that has been a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-plane-crash-figure-skating-club-boston-a2f015f02dab4cc2c22146dc1758de5d">home for Olympians</a>&nbsp;and recreational skaters alike.

There was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/figure-skating-tribute-world-championships-e1476d61759f6a0aab01d2b1366b71f8">a tribute on Wednesday</a>, sandwiched between the day's two sessions, and frequent reminders of the tragedy.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who finished sixth in pairs this weekend, held up pictures of the Boston club members who died in the crash: two young skaters, their mothers and the two coaches.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/figure-skating-world-championships-amber-glenn-e0596b208d4a83141640dd364244be18">Reigning U.S. champion Amber Glenn</a>&nbsp;wore a T-shirt honoring the memory of all the young skaters who were lost.

Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God” who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/figure-skating-world-championships-usa-americans-2bdf829ff3ab3b2a3f11dc102fb0308d">won his second straight world championship</a>&nbsp;on Saturday night, finished the show on Sunday with a performance that he said was dedicated to the plane crash victims. He came to the end, red-eyed and choking back tears.

Naumov’s introduction on Sunday identified him as a member of the Boston club and included his three fourth-place finishes at nationals. It didn’t mention the crash, but many in the crowd surely knew his connection: He received not only the polite applause that greeted most of the other skaters, but a second wave, with individuals standing to cheer him on.

Wearing unadorned black pants and a sparkly black top, a gold chain flopping around his neck as he glided across the ice, Naumov gave a gala performance aimed more at emotion than proof of athletic prowess.

The choice of music, Mac Miller’s posthumous 2020 release “That’s on Me,” was intentional. Miller died of an accidental drug overdose in 2018.

“Lately, for some reason — well, not for some reason — but lately I’ve just been listening to Mac Miller’s album ‘Circles.’ Like just over and over and over,” Naumov said. “And knowing the unfortunate story about him as an artist, it’s been very relatable.

“I relate to it, and I feel really deeply and emotionally what he’s talking about in those songs. And it’s also been really helpful for me to almost get my emotions out in that way personally.”

When his&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/this-just-in.bsky.social/post/3llmjsm6iwk2o">skate was over</a>, Naumov took a deep breath, patted his heart again and waved in each direction. His bows were deep and poignant. Leaving the ice after a one-minute standing ovation, he made the sign of the cross.

“There’s a lot of emotions just right now, and it’s hard to even put a name to what I’m feeling currently," he said. "I just feel so much support, and it’s very overwhelming.

“I have so much gratitude," Naumov said. “And I’m thankful for each and every single one of those fans.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743382387471.png" alt="Flowers and remembrances are displayed for the six athletes, coaches and family members who perished in a plane crash in January, at The Skating Club of Boston, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Norwood, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)" />
 <figcaption>Flowers and remembrances are displayed for the six athletes, coaches and family members who perished in a plane crash in January, at The Skating Club of Boston, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, in Norwood, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)</figcaption>
 </figure>BOSTON (AP) — Maxim Naumov came to a stop in the middle of the ice, looked up at the sky and patted his heart. Then he mouthed a few words, in Russian, to his parents:“This is for you guys. You guys are with me. I love you both.”Former world pairs champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova died in January when&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ronald-reagan-national-airport-crash-62adba7fb1f546b4cf1716e42b86482b">their plane crashed into a military helicopter</a>&nbsp;on approach to Washington, D.C., and fell into the icy Potomac River. A total of 67 people were killed, including more than two dozen who were returning from a development camp following the U.S. figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1743425359637.png" alt="Max Naumov reacts after performing Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Washington at the Legacy on Ice event, a figure skating tribute to support the families and loved ones affected by the Jan. 29, 2025, aviation incident. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)" />
 <figcaption>Max Naumov reacts after performing Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Washington at the Legacy on Ice event, a figure skating tribute to support the families and loved ones affected by the Jan. 29, 2025, aviation incident. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)</figcaption>
 </figure>Maxim Naumov, who finished fourth at nationals, already had returned home. Since the crash, he has become in many ways the face of the tragedy — or at least its effect on the skating community.“I don’t think I’ve walked through a hallway and haven’t given a hug since. And I feel that support and love,” he said Sunday. “It’s been beyond anything that I could have ever even imagined. And it helps so much to get through this day.“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “But it makes my heart so full.”Naumov, 23, skated in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dc-helicopter-jet-crash-figure-skaters-58511d50373d7c3910fea82edc676078">a benefit in Washington</a>&nbsp;earlier this month that raised more than $1.2 million for the victims’ families. Speaking to reporters Sunday after performing at the world championships gala, Naumov said the time that he is on the ice gives his mind a chance to escape the tragedy.“As soon as I hit the ice, my brain just — I don’t know whether it’s focus or just calmness or stillness or what, but it feels like I tune everything out,” he said. “And I’m just talking with them, and they’re helping me.“I don’t hear the crowd. I don’t hear the announcers, I don’t hear anything. I just have this internal dialogue and I’m just able to almost be calm and just be in my heart,” Naumov said. “And they’re always there, too. And every time I think of them, especially when I’m on the ice, it really, really helps me get through.”The world championships, which had previously been scheduled at the home of Boston's Celtics and Bruins, brought renewed attention to the plane crash and&nbsp;<a href="https://pronto.associatedpress.com/web/search/text?all=false&amp;endDate=2006-07-29T04:00:00.000Z&amp;sourceType=ap&amp;dateRangeType=live&amp;mediaSortType=newest&amp;pagesize=100&amp;viewType=conversation&amp;keyword=category:sports%20AND%20skating&amp;storyType=clean&amp;mediatype=text&amp;startDate=1996-06-29T04:00:00.000Z&amp;pagenumber=0">the century-old Skating Club of Boston</a>&nbsp;that has been a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-plane-crash-figure-skating-club-boston-a2f015f02dab4cc2c22146dc1758de5d">home for Olympians</a>&nbsp;and recreational skaters alike.There was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/figure-skating-tribute-world-championships-e1476d61759f6a0aab01d2b1366b71f8">a tribute on Wednesday</a>, sandwiched between the day's two sessions, and frequent reminders of the tragedy.Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, who finished sixth in pairs this weekend, held up pictures of the Boston club members who died in the crash: two young skaters, their mothers and the two coaches.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/figure-skating-world-championships-amber-glenn-e0596b208d4a83141640dd364244be18">Reigning U.S. champion Amber Glenn</a>&nbsp;wore a T-shirt honoring the memory of all the young skaters who were lost.Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God” who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/figure-skating-world-championships-usa-americans-2bdf829ff3ab3b2a3f11dc102fb0308d">won his second straight world championship</a>&nbsp;on Saturday night, finished the show on Sunday with a performance that he said was dedicated to the plane crash victims. He came to the end, red-eyed and choking back tears.Naumov’s introduction on Sunday identified him as a member of the Boston club and included his three fourth-place finishes at nationals. It didn’t mention the crash, but many in the crowd surely knew his connection: He received not only the polite applause that greeted most of the other skaters, but a second wave, with individuals standing to cheer him on.Wearing unadorned black pants and a sparkly black top, a gold chain flopping around his neck as he glided across the ice, Naumov gave a gala performance aimed more at emotion than proof of athletic prowess.The choice of music, Mac Miller’s posthumous 2020 release “That’s on Me,” was intentional. Miller died of an accidental drug overdose in 2018.“Lately, for some reason — well, not for some reason — but lately I’ve just been listening to Mac Miller’s album ‘Circles.’ Like just over and over and over,” Naumov said. “And knowing the unfortunate story about him as an artist, it’s been very relatable.“I relate to it, and I feel really deeply and emotionally what he’s talking about in those songs. And it’s also been really helpful for me to almost get my emotions out in that way personally.”When his&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/this-just-in.bsky.social/post/3llmjsm6iwk2o">skate was over</a>, Naumov took a deep breath, patted his heart again and waved in each direction. His bows were deep and poignant. Leaving the ice after a one-minute standing ovation, he made the sign of the cross.“There’s a lot of emotions just right now, and it’s hard to even put a name to what I’m feeling currently," he said. "I just feel so much support, and it’s very overwhelming.“I have so much gratitude," Naumov said. “And I’m thankful for each and every single one of those fans.”

Skater, whose parents died on flight from Kansas, performs at gala

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-social-security-administration">Social Security Administration</a>&nbsp;is partially backtracking on a plan that would require all new and existing beneficiaries to travel to a Social Security field office to verify their identity.

The Social Security Administration this week said that people applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income who are not able to use agency’s online portal, can complete their claim entirely over the phone instead of in person. Other SSA applicants will still be required to verify their identities at a field office.

The changes will apply to all beneficiaries beginning April 14th, instead of the previously announced date of March 31st.

“We have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country’s most vulnerable populations,” said Lee Dudek, SSA’s acting commissioner of Social Security in a statement.

Dudek added that delaying the policy start date will help officials train employees on new procedures.

Last week SSA announced a plan to require&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-doge-fraud-services-35efe10cffa1ee40c1e9f12385b2cc35">in-person identity checks</a>&nbsp;for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">47 field offices in 18 states</a>. The new requirements would have impacted anyone who needed to verify their bank information, as well as families with children who receive Social Security benefits and cannot verify certain information online.

The changes are intended to combat fraud and waste within the system, which President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-trump-ukraine-war-526c3976f1549400c7d5c27c18028ecb">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and officials in his administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-payments-deceased-false-claims-doge-ed2885f5769f368853ac3615b4852cf7">have claimed</a>&nbsp;are widespread.

The policy change has sparked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-doge-fraud-services-35efe10cffa1ee40c1e9f12385b2cc35">furor</a>&nbsp;among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who say the Trump administration is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population.

AARP’s Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond said the Wednesday announcement “is a good first step by the Social Security Administration to respond to the concerns of AARP, our members, and older Americans everywhere about plans to discontinue phone service for critical Social Security customer service needs.”

“Merely delaying the implementation of this change is not enough, though,” she said. “SSA should take a deliberate approach to its proposed changes to customer service that seeks public input, follows a clear communication plan, and allows a reasonable timeframe for compliance.”

Roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children, receive Social Security benefits.

Trump’s nominee to lead the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-social-security-administration">SSA</a>&nbsp;faced questions Tuesday at his confirmation hearing about efforts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">close field offices</a>&nbsp;and cut back on phone service at the beleaguered agency.

Frank Bisignano, was called to account for recent upheaval at the SSA, which has taken center stage in the debate over the usefulness of DOGE cuts to taxpayer services and their effect on the social welfare program long regarded as the third rail of national politics.

A Wall Street veteran and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-2bb49cfbc4c14c208269d24267b5b943">one-time defender</a>&nbsp;of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, Bisignano has since 2020 served as chairman of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm. He told CNBC in February that he is “fundamentally a DOGE person” but “the objective isn’t to touch benefits.”

When asked during the hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1742575370069.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-social-security-administration">Social Security Administration</a>&nbsp;is partially backtracking on a plan that would require all new and existing beneficiaries to travel to a Social Security field office to verify their identity.The Social Security Administration this week said that people applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income who are not able to use agency’s online portal, can complete their claim entirely over the phone instead of in person. Other SSA applicants will still be required to verify their identities at a field office.The changes will apply to all beneficiaries beginning April 14th, instead of the previously announced date of March 31st.“We have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country’s most vulnerable populations,” said Lee Dudek, SSA’s acting commissioner of Social Security in a statement.Dudek added that delaying the policy start date will help officials train employees on new procedures.Last week SSA announced a plan to require&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-doge-fraud-services-35efe10cffa1ee40c1e9f12385b2cc35">in-person identity checks</a>&nbsp;for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">47 field offices in 18 states</a>. The new requirements would have impacted anyone who needed to verify their bank information, as well as families with children who receive Social Security benefits and cannot verify certain information online.The changes are intended to combat fraud and waste within the system, which President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-trump-ukraine-war-526c3976f1549400c7d5c27c18028ecb">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and officials in his administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-payments-deceased-false-claims-doge-ed2885f5769f368853ac3615b4852cf7">have claimed</a>&nbsp;are widespread.The policy change has sparked&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-doge-fraud-services-35efe10cffa1ee40c1e9f12385b2cc35">furor</a>&nbsp;among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who say the Trump administration is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population.AARP’s Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer Nancy LeaMond said the Wednesday announcement “is a good first step by the Social Security Administration to respond to the concerns of AARP, our members, and older Americans everywhere about plans to discontinue phone service for critical Social Security customer service needs.”“Merely delaying the implementation of this change is not enough, though,” she said. “SSA should take a deliberate approach to its proposed changes to customer service that seeks public input, follows a clear communication plan, and allows a reasonable timeframe for compliance.”Roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children, receive Social Security benefits.Trump’s nominee to lead the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-social-security-administration">SSA</a>&nbsp;faced questions Tuesday at his confirmation hearing about efforts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/social-security-offices-closures-doge-trump-b2b1a5b2ba4fb968abc3379bf90715ff">close field offices</a>&nbsp;and cut back on phone service at the beleaguered agency.Frank Bisignano, was called to account for recent upheaval at the SSA, which has taken center stage in the debate over the usefulness of DOGE cuts to taxpayer services and their effect on the social welfare program long regarded as the third rail of national politics.A Wall Street veteran and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-2bb49cfbc4c14c208269d24267b5b943">one-time defender</a>&nbsp;of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, Bisignano has since 2020 served as chairman of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm. He told CNBC in February that he is “fundamentally a DOGE person” but “the objective isn’t to touch benefits.”When asked during the hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”

Social Security Admin. backtracks on some ID requirements after backlash

By WILL WEISSERT&nbsp; Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The attempts by President Donald Trump and top leaders of his administration to downplay a security breach that revealed military strike plans in a Signal group chat including a journalist stand in stark contrast to their reaction to Hillary Clinton's use of a home server as secretary of state.

This time, they've largely focused their ire not on sweeping potential security lapses, or punishments as a result, but on the journalist who was errantly added to the group text and reported on it: editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. Some of the text's participants who spoke out against Clinton haven't commented publicly at all about the Signal leak.

One of the chief concerns about Clinton's email server was that it was insecure, and that sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands. But former FBI Director James Comey said in recommending that no charges be brought against Clinton that there was no evidence that her email account had been hacked by hostile actors.

Trump insisted Tuesday that no classified information was divulged in the group chat, though Goldberg wrote that messaging revealed "precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing" of strikes in Yemen. The White House's National Security Council has said it is investigating.

For her part, Clinton's reaction to Goldberg's reporting was one of astonishment: "You have got to be kidding me," Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.

Here's a look at what some of the officials in the group chat, and some of those steadfastly standing by them, are saying now versus then.

Now: "The main thing was nothing happened. The attack was totally successful," Trump said during a meeting with a group of his ambassadors at the White House on Tuesday.

He also called his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, "a very good man" and insisted "he will continue to do a very good job," while adding, "I think it's very unfair how they attacked Michael" and labeling Goldberg a "total sleazebag."

Later, in an interview with Newsmax, Trump said a Waltz aide had Goldberg's number and "this guy ended up on the call." He also added that he felt good about what occurred. "I can only go by what I've been told ... but I feel very comfortable, actually."

Then: "Hillary is the one who sent and received classified information on an insecure server, putting the safety of the American people under threat," Trump said in an October 2016 speech in Warren, Michigan.

"The rigged system refused to prosecute her for conduct that put all of us, everybody in this room, everybody in this country at risk. Hillary Clinton went to great lengths to create a private email server and to bypass government security in order to keep her emails from being read by the public and by federal officials," he said in a November 2016 speech in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

And, during a Florida rally in July 2016, he even urged Russian hackers to help find a batch of emails said to have vanished from Clinton's private server. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."

Now: "I think there's a lot in the lessons for a lot of journalists in this city who have made big names for themselves making up lies about this president," Waltz said during Tuesday's White House meeting with Trump and the ambassadors.

He also said of Goldberg, "This journalist, Mr. President, wants the world talking about more hoaxes."

In a subsequent interview on Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle," Waltz said, "I take full responsibility. I built the group." He also contradicted Trump by saying that no staffer was responsible.

Waltz further acknowledged, "embarrassing, yes" and said, "We made a mistake. We're moving forward."

Then: "How is it Hillary Clinton can delete 33,000 government emails on a private server, yet President Trump gets indicted for having documents he could declassify?" Waltz posted in June 2023, referencing charges against Trump for mishandling classified documents. The case was scrapped after Trump won a second term.

Now: "Nobody was texting war plans," Hegseth told journalists traveling with him in Hawaii on Monday. He said of Goldberg, "You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes."

Then: "Any security professional, military, government or otherwise, would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information," Hegseth, then a regular contributor for Fox News Channel, said of Clinton's emails on the network in 2016.

That same year, Hegseth asked on Fox News, "How damaging is it to your ability to recruit or build allies with others when they are worried that our leaders may be exposing them because of their gross negligence or their recklessness in handling information?"

In another 2016 Fox News segment, Hegseth said, "If it was anyone other than Hillary Clinton, they would be in jail right now for what has been done. Because the assumption is, in the intelligence community, if you are using unclassified means, there is the potential for, and likelihood, that foreign governments are targeting those accounts and gathering intelligence from them."

Now: No public comment on the Signal group chat.

Then: "Nobody is above the law, not even Hillary Clinton – even though she thinks she is," Rubio told Fox News in January 2016.

The previous year in a Fox News interview, Rubio referred to the same emails when he said, "What they did is reckless — it's complete recklessness and incompetence."

Deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller

Now: No public comment on the Signal leak.

Then: Miller posted in 2022: "One point that doesn't get made enough about Hillary's unsecured server illegally used to conduct state business (obviously created to hide the Clintons' corrupt pay-for-play): foreign adversaries could easily hack classified ops &amp; intel in real time from other side of the globe."

Now: "My communications, to be clear, in a Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information," Ratcliffe said at a Tuesday congressional hearing.

Then: On Fox News in 2018, Ratcliffe suggested of officials who mishandle sensitive information: "It's always a good thing that we see that there is investigation and prosecution of folks if they're not handling that information appropriately."

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

Now: "There's a difference between inadvertent release versus careless and sloppy, malicious leaks of classified information," Gabbard said at the same congressional hearing.

Then: Gabbard posted on X earlier this month, "Any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1742932610024.png" alt="President Trump National Security team before a Senate committee on Tuesday-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Trump National Security team before a Senate committee on Tuesday-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>By WILL WEISSERT&nbsp; Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — The attempts by President Donald Trump and top leaders of his administration to downplay a security breach that revealed military strike plans in a Signal group chat including a journalist stand in stark contrast to their reaction to Hillary Clinton's use of a home server as secretary of state.This time, they've largely focused their ire not on sweeping potential security lapses, or punishments as a result, but on the journalist who was errantly added to the group text and reported on it: editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. Some of the text's participants who spoke out against Clinton haven't commented publicly at all about the Signal leak.One of the chief concerns about Clinton's email server was that it was insecure, and that sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands. But former FBI Director James Comey said in recommending that no charges be brought against Clinton that there was no evidence that her email account had been hacked by hostile actors.Trump insisted Tuesday that no classified information was divulged in the group chat, though Goldberg wrote that messaging revealed "precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing" of strikes in Yemen. The White House's National Security Council has said it is investigating.For her part, Clinton's reaction to Goldberg's reporting was one of astonishment: "You have got to be kidding me," Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.Here's a look at what some of the officials in the group chat, and some of those steadfastly standing by them, are saying now versus then.Trump<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump on Signal group chat: &quot;There was no classified information as I understand it.&quot; National Security Adviser Michael Waltz: &quot;We have our technical experts looking at it. We have our legal teams looking at it...the attack was phenomenal and it&#39;s ongoing.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/2DjG0idfJa">pic.twitter.com/2DjG0idfJa</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904617345160532395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Now: "The main thing was nothing happened. The attack was totally successful," Trump said during a meeting with a group of his ambassadors at the White House on Tuesday.He also called his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, "a very good man" and insisted "he will continue to do a very good job," while adding, "I think it's very unfair how they attacked Michael" and labeling Goldberg a "total sleazebag."Later, in an interview with Newsmax, Trump said a Waltz aide had Goldberg's number and "this guy ended up on the call." He also added that he felt good about what occurred. "I can only go by what I've been told ... but I feel very comfortable, actually."Then: "Hillary is the one who sent and received classified information on an insecure server, putting the safety of the American people under threat," Trump said in an October 2016 speech in Warren, Michigan."The rigged system refused to prosecute her for conduct that put all of us, everybody in this room, everybody in this country at risk. Hillary Clinton went to great lengths to create a private email server and to bypass government security in order to keep her emails from being read by the public and by federal officials," he said in a November 2016 speech in Virginia Beach, Virginia.And, during a Florida rally in July 2016, he even urged Russian hackers to help find a batch of emails said to have vanished from Clinton's private server. "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sen. Cotton: &quot;They testified...that there&#39;s no intelligence community classified information, is that correct?&quot; Ratcliffe: &quot;That&#39;s correct.&quot; Gabbard: &quot;Yes.&quot; Sen. King: &quot;That&#39;s not correct! She said repeatedly there&#39;s nothing classified. Period.&quot; Sen. Warner: &quot;Period.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Ta27JnxKXt">pic.twitter.com/Ta27JnxKXt</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904564790569156611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>WaltzNow: "I think there's a lot in the lessons for a lot of journalists in this city who have made big names for themselves making up lies about this president," Waltz said during Tuesday's White House meeting with Trump and the ambassadors.He also said of Goldberg, "This journalist, Mr. President, wants the world talking about more hoaxes."In a subsequent interview on Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle," Waltz said, "I take full responsibility. I built the group." He also contradicted Trump by saying that no staffer was responsible.Waltz further acknowledged, "embarrassing, yes" and said, "We made a mistake. We're moving forward."Then: "How is it Hillary Clinton can delete 33,000 government emails on a private server, yet President Trump gets indicted for having documents he could declassify?" Waltz posted in June 2023, referencing charges against Trump for mishandling classified documents. The case was scrapped after Trump won a second term.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecDef</a> Hegseth on Signal group chat: &quot;Nobody&#39;s texting war plans. I know exactly what I&#39;m doing. Exactly what we&#39;re directing. Really proud of what we accomplished, successful missions that night and going forward.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/qgB69C5vnK">pic.twitter.com/qgB69C5vnK</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904736411292487955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Now: "Nobody was texting war plans," Hegseth told journalists traveling with him in Hawaii on Monday. He said of Goldberg, "You're talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who's made a profession of peddling hoaxes."Then: "Any security professional, military, government or otherwise, would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information," Hegseth, then a regular contributor for Fox News Channel, said of Clinton's emails on the network in 2016.That same year, Hegseth asked on Fox News, "How damaging is it to your ability to recruit or build allies with others when they are worried that our leaders may be exposing them because of their gross negligence or their recklessness in handling information?"In another 2016 Fox News segment, Hegseth said, "If it was anyone other than Hillary Clinton, they would be in jail right now for what has been done. Because the assumption is, in the intelligence community, if you are using unclassified means, there is the potential for, and likelihood, that foreign governments are targeting those accounts and gathering intelligence from them."Secretary of State Marco RubioNow: No public comment on the Signal group chat.Then: "Nobody is above the law, not even Hillary Clinton – even though she thinks she is," Rubio told Fox News in January 2016.The previous year in a Fox News interview, Rubio referred to the same emails when he said, "What they did is reckless — it's complete recklessness and incompetence."Deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen MillerNow: No public comment on the Signal leak.Then: Miller posted in 2022: "One point that doesn't get made enough about Hillary's unsecured server illegally used to conduct state business (obviously created to hide the Clintons' corrupt pay-for-play): foreign adversaries could easily hack classified ops &amp; intel in real time from other side of the globe."CIA Director John Ratcliffe<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Heated exchange between <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorBennet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorBennet</a> and CIA Director Ratcliffe. Sen. Bennet: &quot;This sloppiness, this incompetence, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies and the personnel who work for them is entirely unacceptable! It&#39;s an embarrassment! You need to do better!&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fUCywRlqHO">pic.twitter.com/fUCywRlqHO</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904563032769925300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Now: "My communications, to be clear, in a Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information," Ratcliffe said at a Tuesday congressional hearing.Then: On Fox News in 2018, Ratcliffe suggested of officials who mishandle sensitive information: "It's always a good thing that we see that there is investigation and prosecution of folks if they're not handling that information appropriately."Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNIGabbard</a>: &quot;There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal chat.&quot; Sen. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkWarner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarkWarner</a>: &quot;If there was no classified material share it with the committee. You can&#39;t have it both ways. These are important jobs. This is our national security.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/E4y43cSRPE">pic.twitter.com/E4y43cSRPE</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904550509312454829?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Now: "There's a difference between inadvertent release versus careless and sloppy, malicious leaks of classified information," Gabbard said at the same congressional hearing.Then: Gabbard posted on X earlier this month, "Any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such."

🎥In their own words: Trump officials shrugging off Signal chat leak

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-3-25-2025">downplayed</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-plans-trump-hegseth-atlantic-230718a984911dd8663d59edbcb86f2a">texting of sensitive plans for a military strike</a>&nbsp;against Yemen's Houthis this month to a group chat that included a journalist, saying it was “the only glitch in two months” of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly.

Trump told NBC News that the lapse “turned out not to be a serious one," and articulated his continued support for national security adviser&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-security-adviser-mike-wlatz-0c81d044c9ffe18dfd745202e8351b9c">Mike Waltz</a>, who mistakenly added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the chain that included 18 senior administration officials discussing planning for the strike.

“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man," Trump said. He also appeared to point blame on an unnamed Waltz aide for Goldberg being added to the chain. “It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there."

But the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/signal-app-atlantic-war-plans-32699da142c5209b845e57f690df4925">use of messaging app Signal</a>&nbsp;to discuss a sensitive operation has opened the administration to blistering criticism from Democratic lawmakers who expressed outrage at the White House's and senior administration officials' insistence that no classified information was shared. Senior administration officials have struggled to explain why the publicly available app was used to discuss such a delicate matter.

One Democrat calls the mistake ‘an embarrassment’

One official reported to be on the Signal chain, Director of National Intelligence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tulsi-gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard,</a>&nbsp;acknowledged during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that she was traveling overseas during the exchange. She wouldn't say whether she was using her personal or government-issued phone because the matter is under review by the White House National Security Council.

Both Gabbard and CIA Director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/john-ratcliffe">John Ratcliffe</a>, who also was a participant in the Signal exchange and also testified at Tuesday's intelligence hearing, faced blistering criticism from lawmakers.

“This is an embarrassment,” said Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat. “This is utterly unprofessional. There’s been no apology. There’s been no recognition of the gravity of this error.”

In the run-up to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fb2e92a47f054019a2589ace78d20836">his 2016 election victory</a>&nbsp;over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump urged criminal prosecution of the former secretary of state for communicating about classified information with her aides on a private email server she set up. The matter was investigated, but the FBI ultimately recommended against charges. None were brought.

Clinton was among Democrats this week to criticize Trump administration officials' use of Signal.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.

Trump also faced charges&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-182ac44fde89767bc0c3e634f61686bd">for mishandling</a>&nbsp;classified information at his Mar-a-Lago resort following his first White House term. Those charges were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c">later dismissed.</a>

Administration says Democrats shouldn't be outraged

But on Tuesday, top administration officials were insistent the Democratic outrage was misplaced.

On Capitol Hill, Ratcliffe and Gabbard told lawmakers that no classified information was included in the texts about U.S. attack plans in the message chain.

But&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/">the Atlantic reported</a>&nbsp;that the messages included precise information about weapons packages, targets and timing, but did not publish those details.

Pressed on whether such information should be classified, Gabbard hedged. “I defer to the secretary of defense, the National Security Council, on that question,” she said.

Democrats pushed back, saying the leaked military plans show a sloppy disregard for security, but Ratcliffe insisted no rules were violated.

“My communications to be clear in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers in the hearing that was supposed to be focused on global security threats.

Facing heated questions from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Gabbard said there’s a difference between “inadvertent” releases of information and intentional leaks. “There was no classified material that was shared,” Gabbard said.

Warner, though, said the lapse in security could have cost lives.

“If this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost. If the Houthis had this information they could reposition their defensive systems,” Warner said.

In response to questions from Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Gabbard and Ratcliffe said they would participate in an audit looking into administration officials' use of Signal. Wyden said it must be investigated.

“I’m of the view that there ought to be resignations,” Wyden said.

FBI Director Kash Patel, appearing with Ratcliffe and Gabbard at the hearing, said he was only recently briefed on the Signal chat matter and doesn’t have an update on whether the FBI has opened an investigation into it. Warner asked for an update by the end of the day.

The White House in a statement Tuesday called the uproar a “coordinated effort to distract from the successful actions taken by President Trump and his administration to make America’s enemies pay and keep Americans safe.”

White House communications director Steven Cheung grumbled that the article triggering the criticism of the administration was the work of a segment of Washington's "NatSec establishment community running the same, tired gameplay from years past.

“From the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax of the first term to the fake documents case of the last four years … at every turn anti-Trump forces,” Cheung posted on X, referring to investigations into Russian influence on the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump's classified documents case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1742932610024.png" alt="President Trump National Security team before a Senate committee on Tuesday-image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>President Trump National Security team before a Senate committee on Tuesday-image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-3-25-2025">downplayed</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/war-plans-trump-hegseth-atlantic-230718a984911dd8663d59edbcb86f2a">texting of sensitive plans for a military strike</a>&nbsp;against Yemen's Houthis this month to a group chat that included a journalist, saying it was “the only glitch in two months” of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump on Signal group chat: &quot;There was no classified information as I understand it.&quot; National Security Adviser Michael Waltz: &quot;We have our technical experts looking at it. We have our legal teams looking at it...the attack was phenomenal and it&#39;s ongoing.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/2DjG0idfJa">pic.twitter.com/2DjG0idfJa</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904617345160532395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Trump told NBC News that the lapse “turned out not to be a serious one," and articulated his continued support for national security adviser&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-security-adviser-mike-wlatz-0c81d044c9ffe18dfd745202e8351b9c">Mike Waltz</a>, who mistakenly added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the chain that included 18 senior administration officials discussing planning for the strike.“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man," Trump said. He also appeared to point blame on an unnamed Waltz aide for Goldberg being added to the chain. “It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there."But the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/signal-app-atlantic-war-plans-32699da142c5209b845e57f690df4925">use of messaging app Signal</a>&nbsp;to discuss a sensitive operation has opened the administration to blistering criticism from Democratic lawmakers who expressed outrage at the White House's and senior administration officials' insistence that no classified information was shared. Senior administration officials have struggled to explain why the publicly available app was used to discuss such a delicate matter.<h2>One Democrat calls the mistake ‘an embarrassment’</h2>One official reported to be on the Signal chain, Director of National Intelligence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tulsi-gabbard">Tulsi Gabbard,</a>&nbsp;acknowledged during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that she was traveling overseas during the exchange. She wouldn't say whether she was using her personal or government-issued phone because the matter is under review by the White House National Security Council.Both Gabbard and CIA Director&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/john-ratcliffe">John Ratcliffe</a>, who also was a participant in the Signal exchange and also testified at Tuesday's intelligence hearing, faced blistering criticism from lawmakers.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenOssoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenOssoff</a>: &quot;This is an embarrassment. This is utterly unprofessional. There&#39;s been no apology. There has been no recognition of the gravity of this error...We will get the full transcript of this chain and your testimony will be measured carefully against its content.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/rgeBxLrbKS">pic.twitter.com/rgeBxLrbKS</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904568753917943950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“This is an embarrassment,” said Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat. “This is utterly unprofessional. There’s been no apology. There’s been no recognition of the gravity of this error.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sen. Cotton: &quot;They testified...that there&#39;s no intelligence community classified information, is that correct?&quot; Ratcliffe: &quot;That&#39;s correct.&quot; Gabbard: &quot;Yes.&quot; Sen. King: &quot;That&#39;s not correct! She said repeatedly there&#39;s nothing classified. Period.&quot; Sen. Warner: &quot;Period.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Ta27JnxKXt">pic.twitter.com/Ta27JnxKXt</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1904564790569156611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In the run-up to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fb2e92a47f054019a2589ace78d20836">his 2016 election victory</a>&nbsp;over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump urged criminal prosecution of the former secretary of state for communicating about classified information with her aides on a private email server she set up. The matter was investigated, but the FBI ultimately recommended against charges. None were brought.Clinton was among Democrats this week to criticize Trump administration officials' use of Signal.“You have got to be kidding me,” Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.Trump also faced charges&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-182ac44fde89767bc0c3e634f61686bd">for mishandling</a>&nbsp;classified information at his Mar-a-Lago resort following his first White House term. Those charges were&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c">later dismissed.</a><h2>Administration says Democrats shouldn't be outraged</h2>But on Tuesday, top administration officials were insistent the Democratic outrage was misplaced.On Capitol Hill, Ratcliffe and Gabbard told lawmakers that no classified information was included in the texts about U.S. attack plans in the message chain.But&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/">the Atlantic reported</a>&nbsp;that the messages included precise information about weapons packages, targets and timing, but did not publish those details.Pressed on whether such information should be classified, Gabbard hedged. “I defer to the secretary of defense, the National Security Council, on that question,” she said.Democrats pushed back, saying the leaked military plans show a sloppy disregard for security, but Ratcliffe insisted no rules were violated.“My communications to be clear in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers in the hearing that was supposed to be focused on global security threats.Facing heated questions from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Gabbard said there’s a difference between “inadvertent” releases of information and intentional leaks. “There was no classified material that was shared,” Gabbard said.Warner, though, said the lapse in security could have cost lives.“If this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost. If the Houthis had this information they could reposition their defensive systems,” Warner said.In response to questions from Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Gabbard and Ratcliffe said they would participate in an audit looking into administration officials' use of Signal. Wyden said it must be investigated.“I’m of the view that there ought to be resignations,” Wyden said.FBI Director Kash Patel, appearing with Ratcliffe and Gabbard at the hearing, said he was only recently briefed on the Signal chat matter and doesn’t have an update on whether the FBI has opened an investigation into it. Warner asked for an update by the end of the day.The White House in a statement Tuesday called the uproar a “coordinated effort to distract from the successful actions taken by President Trump and his administration to make America’s enemies pay and keep Americans safe.”White House communications director Steven Cheung grumbled that the article triggering the criticism of the administration was the work of a segment of Washington's "NatSec establishment community running the same, tired gameplay from years past.“From the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax of the first term to the fake documents case of the last four years … at every turn anti-Trump forces,” Cheung posted on X, referring to investigations into Russian influence on the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump's classified documents case.Defense Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/pete-hegseth">Pete Hegseth</a>, in his first comments on the matter on Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/hegseth-slams-journalist-after-officials-text-yemen-war-plans-to-a-group-chat-in-a-secure-app-signal">attacked the journalist</a>&nbsp;who received the messages, Goldberg, as “deceitful” and a “discredited so-called journalist” while alluding to previous critical reporting of Trump from the publication.“Nobody was texting war plans and that’s all I have to say about that,” Hegseth said in an exchange with reporters on Monday.<h2>Examining the security of Signal</h2>Signal is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/privacy-encryption-signal-whatsapp-9faf31ed3411bc5b7cab0647b4ab224d">an app</a>&nbsp;that can be used for direct messaging and group chats as well as phone and video calls. It uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services that prevents any third party from viewing conversation content or listening in on calls.In other words, messages and calls sent on Signal are scrambled; only the sender and recipient at each end will have the key to decipher them.Signal’s encryption protocol is open source, meaning that it’s freely available for anyone to inspect, use or modify. The encryption protocol is also used by another popular chat service, social media company Meta’s WhatsApp platform.Government officials have used Signal for organizational correspondence, such as scheduling sensitive meetings. But in the Biden administration, people who had permission to download it on their White House-issued phones were instructed to use the app sparingly, according to a former national security official who served in the administration.The official, who requested anonymity to speak about methods used to share sensitive information, said Signal was most commonly used to notify someone that they should check for a classified message sent through other means.The use of Signal became more prevalent during the last year of the Biden administration after federal law enforcement officials warned that China and Iran were hacking the White House as well as officials in the first Trump administration, according to the official.Sen. Angus King, a Maine Independent, questioned Ratcliffe and Gabbard over their assertion that no classified information was included in the chat.“It’s hard for me to believe that targets and timing and weapons would not have been classified,” he said.___