By DAVE COLLINS and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has ordered a senior U.S. Justice Department official to drop an inquiry into a retired FBI agent’s involvement in a defamation lawsuit involving Alex Jones’ conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

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Ed Martin Jr., who leads the Justice Department’s “weaponization working group,” sent a letter dated Sept. 15 to the Sandy Hook families’ lawyer asking for information about former FBI agent William Aldenberg, who responded to the 2012 school shooting and was a plaintiff in the lawsuit, along with victims’ relatives, that led to a $1.4 billion judgment against Jones for calling the massacre a hoax.

Martin’s letter suggested that he was looking into whether Aldenberg broke a federal law by receiving financial benefits for helping to organize the lawsuit. Jones, who said he met with Martin last week in Washington, has accused Democrats and Justice Department officials of orchestrating the lawsuit to silence him.

But Martin’s correspondence to Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, and Aldenberg, “caused frustrations” within the Justice Department, and Blanche directed Martin to withdraw the letter, said the person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency matters.

Mattei said he received a new letter from Martin on Wednesday that said there was no investigation of Aldenberg and “I hereby withdraw my request for information.”

“Less than 18 hours after calling out Alex Jones and Ed Martin for their corrupt use of the Department of Justice to harass Sandy Hook families and the heroic FBI agent who ran into that school to save any children he could, I am happy to learn that this so-called inquiry has now been withdrawn, if it ever existed at all,” Mattei said in a statement.

Martin, who has been examining President Donald Trump’s claims of anti-conservative bias inside the Justice Department, has sent letters to a host of targets in other, unrelated matters, seeking information or making appeals. But it is unclear whether such requests have amounted to anything.

FILE – Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones takes the witness stand to testify at the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., Sept. 22, 2022. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool, File)

Jones posted a copy of the Sept. 15 letter on his X account Tuesday, saying “Breaking! The DOJ’s Task Force On Government Weaponization Against The American People Has Launched An Investigation Into The Democrat Party / FBI Directing Illegal Law-fare Against Alex Jones And Infowars.”

The school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012, killed 20 first graders and six educators. Jones, based in Austin, Texas, repeatedly called it a hoax and pushed false claims that it was staged by crisis actors in an effort to increase gun control. The Infowars host later said he believed the shooting was “100% real.”

At the 2022 defamation trial in Connecticut, Aldenberg and relatives of many of the victims testified about being subjected to threats and abuse by people who believed Jones’ conspiracy theories about the shooting.

FILE – FBI agent William Aldenberg tries to compose himself while testifying during the first day of Alex Jones’ Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Waterbury Superior Court, Sept. 13, 2022, in Waterbury, Conn. (H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, File)

Aldenberg was among the law enforcement officers who responded to the school, and he broke down while testifying during the trial about finding dead children and teachers.

Aldenberg did not respond to messages left at a phone number and email addresses listed for him in public records.

Jones recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal of the $1.4 billion judgment. He also is appealing a $49 million judgment in similar lawsuit in Texas filed by two other parents of a child killed in Newtown. He has cited free speech and press rights in both cases.

He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022. The Sandy Hook plaintiffs are now trying to liquidate Infowars’ assets in state court proceedings in Texas. Some of Jones’ personal belongings also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy case.

FILE – Attorneys Joshua Koskoff, left, and Christopher Mattei, right, representing parents, rear, of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, speak outside the Connecticut Supreme Court, Sept. 26, 2019, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Dave Collins, File)

Martin has been serving as head of the Justice Department’s “weaponization working group” since his nomination for top federal prosecutor in Washington was pulled amid bipartisan concerns about his modest legal experience and his advocacy for Jan. 6 rioters.

Attorney General Pam Bondi created the group to scrutinize matters in which conservatives have claimed they were unfairly targeted or treated.

Martin was also recently named a special prosecutor to help conduct the separate mortgage fraud investigations into Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff.

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

BWINDI, Uganda (AP) — News of a sick or injured mountain gorilla can worry local residents in this mountainous area that’s home to the endangered species. That’s partly because most of the gorillas have been given names, allowing rangers and others to humanize the animal’s suffering.

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But widespread interest in protecting mountain gorillas also comes from the economic benefits of tourism that have turned poachers into conservationists, married women into porters and rangers into eloquent spokespeople for the great apes.

“If we know there is a gorilla that is sick, you see everyone is concerned. ‘Why? Why is the gorilla sick? It’s suffering from what?’” said Joyleen Tugume, a ranger-guide in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. “Even the community people. Everyone is touched.”

Tugume said poaching in the park is increasingly rare since “we are actually all working together to make sure conservation goes well, because we are all benefitting.”

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in a remote part of southwestern Uganda, is home to many groups of habituated gorillas that have become comfortable in the presence of humans.

Vibrant tourist economy

Tourists pay a considerable sum — $800 in permit fees per foreign non-resident — for the right to see gorillas in their natural habitat. An official revenue-sharing policy channels $10 from each permit back to the local community via their elected leaders, who can invest in projects ranging from water provision to health care. Local communities are also entitled to 20% of all park entry fees generated annually.

Many locals, including reformed poachers living near the park, told The Associated Press that the money generated has ensured the recovery of the species, with habitat encroachment and poaching in decline as wildlife authorities seek to collaborate more with nearby communities.

Philemon Mujuni, a poacher until five years ago, said he once thought of the gorilla as a hostile animal to be killed before it killed him if he ever encountered one. As a boy, he used to follow his father, whom he described as “a senior poacher,” into the forest to help carry the antelopes they pulled from traps.

But in 2020, when poachers killed a beloved gorilla named Rafiki, Mujuni and others formed an organization of former poachers who now say the primates are more important than any other animal.

They serve as community watchdogs, looking out for people who might venture into the forest to set duiker traps that sometimes ensnare gorillas. Their surveillance efforts help support the work of armed rangers who also regularly patrol the park.

“When community conservation rangers sensitized us, we said, ‘Let us reform and stop poaching in the national park of Bwindi,’” Mujuni said. “I can’t go there. Because, through the conservation team from (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park), we get some money from these gorillas we could kill.”

Reformed poachers

Peter Tumwesigye, one of 128 members of the group of reformed poachers, said gorillas are so important that people whose actions lead to a gorilla’s death should be jailed.

“So that others can learn and never do it again,” he said.

Many of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, a mountainous area encompassing parts of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

The outlook for mountain gorillas has been positive since 2018, when a survey showed that the population exceeded 1,000. It’s a remarkable comeback for a species that faced extinction in the last century.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains a list of threatened species, cites the mountain gorilla as endangered, an improvement from its earlier designation as critically endangered. About half of the gorillas live in Uganda.

Besides Bwindi, the only other Ugandan park where gorillas can be tracked in the wild is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. But that protected area has just one family of gorillas, while Bwindi has 27 groups that can be seen up close by visitors.

The primates are tracked daily. Tugume, the ranger-guide, said she works even on Christmas Day. One recent morning she led a small group of tourists into the forest, swinging a sickle to clear the way and speaking of the tenderness she sees in gorillas.

“You have to fight to take over,” she said, talking about a young male in a family of gorillas that one day could challenge the leader — known as a silverback for its distinguishing coat — for mating rights.

“When you are the leader, you have all the rights to mate with the females. But when you are not the leader, you don’t need to mate but you can mate secretly. And if the silverback comes to know, then it will be a tug of war,” she said.

At the offices of the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Buhoma, a town outside the park, a group of ranger-guides and porters gathers each morning for the opportunity to earn generous tips from helping tourists navigate the forest.

Groups of trackers are allocated porters, who can even help carry an unfit tourist up the hills and through the undergrowth for around $300.

“The value of the gorilla money is very critical,” said Gessa Simplicious, a conservationist with the Uganda Tourism Board. “It helps with building trust, but it also helps in the awareness of the need to conserve.”

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

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

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

BWINDI, Uganda (AP) — News of a sick or injured mountain gorilla can worry local residents in this mountainous area that’s home to the endangered species. That’s partly because most of the gorillas have been given names, allowing rangers and others to humanize the animal’s suffering.

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Activist flotilla seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza says drones attacked its boats

Ukraine’s president says the world is in ‘the most destructive arms race in history’

But widespread interest in protecting mountain gorillas also comes from the economic benefits of tourism that have turned poachers into conservationists, married women into porters and rangers into eloquent spokespeople for the great apes.

“If we know there is a gorilla that is sick, you see everyone is concerned. ‘Why? Why is the gorilla sick? It’s suffering from what?’” said Joyleen Tugume, a ranger-guide in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. “Even the community people. Everyone is touched.”

Tugume said poaching in the park is increasingly rare since “we are actually all working together to make sure conservation goes well, because we are all benefitting.”

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in a remote part of southwestern Uganda, is home to many groups of habituated gorillas that have become comfortable in the presence of humans.

Vibrant tourist economy

Tourists pay a considerable sum — $800 in permit fees per foreign non-resident — for the right to see gorillas in their natural habitat. An official revenue-sharing policy channels $10 from each permit back to the local community via their elected leaders, who can invest in projects ranging from water provision to health care. Local communities are also entitled to 20% of all park entry fees generated annually.

Many locals, including reformed poachers living near the park, told The Associated Press that the money generated has ensured the recovery of the species, with habitat encroachment and poaching in decline as wildlife authorities seek to collaborate more with nearby communities.

Philemon Mujuni, a poacher until five years ago, said he once thought of the gorilla as a hostile animal to be killed before it killed him if he ever encountered one. As a boy, he used to follow his father, whom he described as “a senior poacher,” into the forest to help carry the antelopes they pulled from traps.

But in 2020, when poachers killed a beloved gorilla named Rafiki, Mujuni and others formed an organization of former poachers who now say the primates are more important than any other animal.

They serve as community watchdogs, looking out for people who might venture into the forest to set duiker traps that sometimes ensnare gorillas. Their surveillance efforts help support the work of armed rangers who also regularly patrol the park.

“When community conservation rangers sensitized us, we said, ‘Let us reform and stop poaching in the national park of Bwindi,’” Mujuni said. “I can’t go there. Because, through the conservation team from (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park), we get some money from these gorillas we could kill.”

Reformed poachers

Peter Tumwesigye, one of 128 members of the group of reformed poachers, said gorillas are so important that people whose actions lead to a gorilla’s death should be jailed.

“So that others can learn and never do it again,” he said.

Many of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, a mountainous area encompassing parts of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.

The outlook for mountain gorillas has been positive since 2018, when a survey showed that the population exceeded 1,000. It’s a remarkable comeback for a species that faced extinction in the last century.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which maintains a list of threatened species, cites the mountain gorilla as endangered, an improvement from its earlier designation as critically endangered. About half of the gorillas live in Uganda.

Besides Bwindi, the only other Ugandan park where gorillas can be tracked in the wild is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. But that protected area has just one family of gorillas, while Bwindi has 27 groups that can be seen up close by visitors.

The primates are tracked daily. Tugume, the ranger-guide, said she works even on Christmas Day. One recent morning she led a small group of tourists into the forest, swinging a sickle to clear the way and speaking of the tenderness she sees in gorillas.

“You have to fight to take over,” she said, talking about a young male in a family of gorillas that one day could challenge the leader — known as a silverback for its distinguishing coat — for mating rights.

“When you are the leader, you have all the rights to mate with the females. But when you are not the leader, you don’t need to mate but you can mate secretly. And if the silverback comes to know, then it will be a tug of war,” she said.

At the offices of the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Buhoma, a town outside the park, a group of ranger-guides and porters gathers each morning for the opportunity to earn generous tips from helping tourists navigate the forest.

Groups of trackers are allocated porters, who can even help carry an unfit tourist up the hills and through the undergrowth for around $300.

“The value of the gorilla money is very critical,” said Gessa Simplicious, a conservationist with the Uganda Tourism Board. “It helps with building trust, but it also helps in the awareness of the need to conserve.”

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

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

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has added a Presidential Walk of Fame to the exterior of the White House, featuring portraits of each of the previous commanders-in-chief — except for one.

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Instead of a headshot of Joe Biden, the Republican incumbent instead hung a photo of an autopen signing the Democrat’s name — a reference to Trump’s frequent allegation that the former president was addled by the end of his term in office and not really the one making decisions.

The snub amounts to the latest attempt by Trump to delegitimize a predecessor he routinely belittles, including in front of more than 100 world leaders on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly gathering. Trump has never acknowledged his own defeat to Biden in the 2020 election, instead falsely chalking up the outcome to voter fraud.

Trump had previously signaled he would represent Biden with an autopen on the Presidential Walk of Fame. Trump has alleged without evidence that Biden administration officials might have forged their boss’s signature by using the autopen and taken broad actions he wasn’t aware of.

He’s also cast doubt on the validity of pardons and other documents that Biden signed with an autopen, even though other presidents before him have also relied on the device to sign key papers. A key Republican-led House committee also is investigating the Biden administration’s autopen use.

A sign reading “The Presidential Walk of Fame” and pieces of brown paper are taped along the wall of the White House colonnade next to the Rose Garden, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

White House staff sent out a burst of social media posts Wednesday afternoon gleefully promoting the finished project. The media may get its first in-person glimpse of the Walk of Fame when Trump hosts a dinner Wednesday night on the new Rose Garden patio that sits adjacent to the West Wing Collonad on which the portraits hang.

The addition of the Walk of Fame is the latest in a series of design changes he’s made at the White House since resuming office. He’s also added gold flourishes to the Oval Office walls, installed massive new flagpoles on both lawns, replaced the grass in the Rose Garden with patio stone and started construction on a massive new ballroom.