By YURAS KARMANAU and LIUDAS DAPKUS

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarus freed 52 political prisoners on Thursday as part of a deal brokered by the United States, which lifted some sanctions on the country’s national airline.

Related Articles

Brazilian Supreme Court panel sentences Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for coup attempt

Venice mayor condemns reported attack on American Orthodox Jewish couple

Russian drone incursion in Poland prompts NATO leaders to take stock of bigger threats

Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ of Gaza hostages release with strike on Doha, Qatari premier says

UK fires ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson over his links to Jeffrey Epstein

It was another sign of a possible rapprochement between Washington and Minsk, a close ally of Russia that has faced Western isolation for years. U.S. President Donald Trump and Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko spoke on the phone last month, and the American leader even suggested a face-to-face meeting could be in the works.

That would be a big win for Lukashenko, who has ruled his nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades. Belarus has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But more recently, Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions. He has regularly released prisoners as a way to win favor, including freeing Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in June.

The concession from the U.S. came a day after Poland denounced an incursion of Russian drones into its territory — saying some came from Belarus — in what Western officials called an act of aggression. NATO jets were scrambled and shot some of the drones down.

Trump, whose country is the major military power in NATO, offered an ambiguous initial response to the incursion, posting on his Truth Social platform: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!”

Sanctions on Belavia eased

Trump envoy John Coale announced the lifting of sanctions at a meeting with Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday.

Some sanctions on Belarus national carrier, Belavia, were relaxed in light of prisoner releases so far, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations. That will allow the airline to repair and buy parts for its planes, including Boeing aircraft.

The airline was sanctioned by the European Union, the U.S., and others after Belarusian flight controllers ordered a commercial jet traveling from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk. Once the plane landed, authorities arrested Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist who was on board.

Lukashenko, who has relied on Russia’s loans and cheap energy to keep Belarus’ economy afloat, called the Thursday move “very important.”

Opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya warned that the easing of sanctions could allow Moscow, whose aviation industry is sanctioned, to get airplane parts through Belavia.

“We understand that this is part of the deal,” she told The Associated Press. “But lifting sanctions without systemic changes in the country could open loopholes that both the Lukashenko regime and Russia will use to circumvent the sanctions.”

That could also create new opportunities for Belarus in its relationship with Russia. Minsk will be able to resell the parts to Moscow “at a very favorable price,” said independent analyst Valery Karbalevich, and it makes “the Kremlin’s leash” on Belarus “a little longer.”

One prisoner released refuses to go to Lithuania

One of the prisoners released Thursday, veteran opposition activist Mikalai Statkevich, refused to cross into Lithuania and tried to return to Belarus, but was blocked by the border guards, Anatol Lyabedzka, of Tsikhanouskaya’s team, told AP in a phone interview from a Lithuanian border crossing where the prisoners were handed over.

“He decided not to let Lukashenko kick him out of the country and is resisting a forced deportation,” Lyabedzka said.

Maksim Viniarski, another freed dissident, told AP that Statkevich repeatedly demanded to stop the bus taking him, Viniarski and others to Lithuania and let him out. As the bus entered the no-man’s land between Belarus and Lithuania, “emaciated, yet determined to resist” Statkevich hit an emergency stop button, opened the door and got out. “Statkevich said that he won’t leave the country and that he didn’t need anyone to sell him out,” Viniarski said.

For a while, Statkevich remained in the no-man’s land, but then Belarusian security operatives took him in the direction of the Belarusian border crossing, Lyabedzka said.

Statkevich’s refusal recalled a similar one by Maria Kolesnikova, a key leader in the mass protests that rocked Belarus in 2020. She became a symbol of Belarusian resistance after the authorities tried to deport her in September 2020. Driven to the Ukrainian border, she briefly broke away from security forces, tore up her passport, and walked back into Belarus. She was convicted a year later on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The other 51 freed prisoners have crossed into Lithuania, Lyabedzka said.

Statkevich, one of Lukashenko’s most prominent and charismatic opponents, attempted to run for president in 2010, but was arrested, convicted on charges of organizing mass riots and sentenced to six years. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, and in 2015 he was released under pressure from the U.S.

Statkevich was arrested again before the 2020 elections, found guilty once more of organizing mass riots, and sentenced to another 14 years. He has been held incommunicado since February 2023.

Also among those released were Ihar Losik, a journalist for U.S. government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well other journalists and bloggers, party and union leaders, and 14 foreigners.

Franak Viachorka, Tsikhanouskaya’s senior advisor, told AP that while most of the released Belarusians are in “normal physical and psychological condition,” some need urgent medical care.

Elena Ramanauskienė — a Lithuanian who was detained in Belarus while visiting, convicted of espionage and sentenced to six years — burst into tears after stepping from the bus that brought her and some of the others back, and thanked those who made her release possible.

But some Belarusians viewed their release differently. Larysa Shchyrakova, a 52-year-old journalist who was almost done serving her 3 1/2-year prison term in her hometown of Gomel, said she was “deported.”

“I have no home, no relatives here – nothing,” Shchyrakova told reporters in Vilnius. “My mother died while I was in prison, so now I can’t even go to her grave.”

Almost 1,200 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, according to human rights group Viasna, and Trump has said he wants to win the release of more.

Warming ties?

There have been signs of Trump seeking a thaw with Lukashenko — much as he has with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Soon after hosting Putin for talks in Alaska last month, Trump hinted he was working on a deal to win the release of hundreds of prisoners held in Belarus after holding a “wonderful talk” with Lukashenko.

Trump announced in a social media posting following the call — his first publicized engagement with Belarussian leader during his second term — that the purpose of the conversation was to thank Lukashenko for the June prisoner release.

But the U.S. leader said the two also talked about the potential release of many more being held in Belarus.

Trump also added: “I look forward to meeting President Lukashenko in the future.”

That would be a remarkable turnaround for a leader who has been widely shunned for his relentless repression of the opposition and independent media, especially after tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest his reelection in August 2020, in a vote widely seen as rigged.

In the ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term in another election that the opposition called a farce.

Karmanau reported from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, and Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

By SARA CLINE

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A series of reported threats toward historically Black colleges and universities across the U.S. on Thursday led to lockdown orders, canceled classes and heightened security.

Related Articles

Trump marking 9/11 by attending a New York Yankees game

Texas drops lawsuit against doctor accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth

Utah, where Charlie Kirk was killed, has strong pro-gun laws

Trump administration requests emergency ruling to remove Cook from Fed board

Judge issues nationwide block on Trump policy that cuts off Head Start for people in US illegally

Authorities did not elaborate on the type of threats that were made and no injuries have been reported. The FBI told The Associated Press that they are taking the “hoax threat calls“ seriously and that there is “no information to indicate a credible threat.”

Although lockdowns have since been lifted, schools that received the threats continue to act with an abundance of caution. In an era of mass shootings — and following a wave of violence Wednesday and a spate of hoax calls about active shooters at the start of the school year — some universities opted to call off classes for the rest of the week and send students home.

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, called the threats “reprehensible attacks” and said that any threat made against HBCUs is “a threat against us all.”

“These attacks cannot be tolerated, minimized, or ignored,” he said. “They must be met with swift and decisive action.”

Southern University in Louisiana, which reported a “potential threat to campus safety” on the 8,200-student campus and put students under lockdown for about an hour. At Alabama State University, which sits near downtown Montgomery and has an enrollment of about 3,500, students were ordered to shelter-in-place as police searched each building on campus.

About two hours later, the university said that it had received the “all-clear” from police. However, the school said that while the “immediate threat has been resolved” students were asked to shelter in place in their dorms and classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day.

Clark Atlanta University in Georgia, Virginia State University, Hampton University in Virginia and Bethune-Cookman University in Florida also reported threats.

FILE – The campus of Clark Atlanta University is seen April 21, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Martin, File)

Precautionary measures came at a time of heightened worry on school campuses over violence following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah Valley University and a shooting at a Colorado high school.

Swatting incidents typically increase after violent events, putting schools on edge, said Don Beeler, chief executive officer of TDR Technology Solutions, which tracks swatting calls and offers technology to prevent them. The safety measures that schools may implement following potential threats could be heightened, such as cancelling class for a few days, instead of just one day.

“Anything that happens in the next week is going to get an overreaction than what you normally see,” Beeler said.

Other HBCUs that did not receive threats announced that they, too, were tightening security.

Baton Rouge Police block the entrance of Southern University’s campus at the corner of Harding Boulevard and Scenic Highway, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, after a threat led administers to announce a lockdown, in Baton Rouge, La. (Javier Gallegos/The Advocate via AP)

South Carolina State University required anyone coming on campus, in Orangeburg, to show a photo ID after the threats started surfacing. Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia — which neighbors a university that did receive a threat — issued a lockdown Thursday and said it was amping up security measures.

At the start of the school year, at least a dozen college campuses received hoax calls about active shooters. The realistic-sounding calls, some of which had gunshots that could be heard in the background, prompted universities to issue lockdowns with directions to “run, hide, fight.”

Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press Writers Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina

By WILL WEISSERT and STEPHEN WHYNO

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump was attending the New York Yankees game on Thursday night to mark the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, after honoring the memories of the victims at the Pentagon earlier in the day.

Related Articles

Historically Black colleges issue lockdown orders, cancel classes after receiving threats

Texas drops lawsuit against doctor accused of illegally providing care to transgender youth

Utah, where Charlie Kirk was killed, has strong pro-gun laws

Trump administration requests emergency ruling to remove Cook from Fed board

Judge issues nationwide block on Trump policy that cuts off Head Start for people in US illegally

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Trump was even expected to stop by the locker room as his team hosts the Detroit Tigers.

“The fact that he’s gonna be here, it’s something that I’m excited to be a part of,” said Boone, who added that he hoped he and the president would have the chance to “interact for a few minutes.”

A presidential visit always prompts extra security at sporting events, but things were heightened after conservative activist and close Trump ally Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah on Wednesday. When Trump attended the Sept. 11 observance ceremony at the Pentagon earlier Thursday, authorities moved the ceremony inside as an added precaution.

Trump’s attendance at the Yankees game on Sept. 11 recalled President George W. Bush’s ceremonial first pitch 24 years earlier as the Yankees played the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series — a moment that came to symbolize national resilience after the attacks mere weeks earlier.

Since the attacks, the Yankees and their fans have marked Sept. 11 during the seventh-inning stretch by singing “God Bless America” in addition to the traditional “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and they were doing so again Thursday.

Even before Trump left the White House, security at the stadium was tight. Every entrance featured metal detectors and Secret Service agents, some with sniffer dogs, while New York Police Department helicopters thundered overhead.

Stadium authorities opened the gates three hours before the first pitch, and long lines began forming even before that, though most of the crowd appeared to be moving into the stadium smoothly. The Yankees said ticketholders were “strongly urged to arrive as early as possible.”

Fans wait to pass through security screening at Yankee Stadium before a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The Secret Service also posted a statement saying extra time would be necessary and asking fans to “consider leaving your bags at home to help speed up the security screening process.”

Trump’s attendance at the U.S. Open men’s final in Queens last weekend sparked security lines long enough that some fans didn’t make it to their seats until more than an hour into the match, despite organizers delaying its start by 30 minutes.

Yankee Stadium authorities installed security glass outside an upper level suite on the third base side, over the Tigers dugout. The service level was also closed at 5:30 p.m. for additional security sweeps.

The game is Trump’s eighth major sporting event since returning to the White House in January. He attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Daytona 500, UFC fights in Miami and Newark, New Jersey, the NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia, the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and last weekend’s U.S. Open match.

His appearance marks the third time a sitting president has visited Yankee Stadium for a game, following Bush in 2001 and Warren G. Harding, who came in 1923, the same year the original Yankee Stadium opened.

The president planned to spend the night at Trump Tower after the game, a rarity for him in recent years since changing his primary residence to Florida in 2019. The Yankee Stadium scoreboard featured a large MLB logo over an American flag and a red, white and blue ribbon under the inscription “September 11, 2001, We Shall Not Forget.”

A glass barrier is placed in front of seats at Yankee Stadium before a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The large American flag behind the left field bleachers and the smaller flags for each of baseball’s 30 teams that ring the stadium’s upper level were lowered to half-staff after Trump issued an executive order honoring Kirk. Before Wednesday’s game, the Yankees held a moment of silence for Kirk and flashed his picture on their stadium’s big screen.

Trump was born in the New York borough of Queens, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he “remains a New Yorker at heart.” Still, Trump’s appearances at baseball games haven’t always been welcomed by fans.

During his first term in 2019, Trump tried to make a low-profile appearance as the Washington Nationals hosted the Houston Astros in the World Series, entering a lower-tier box to the left of home plate with first lady Melania Trump as the game got underway and without prior announcement.

At the end of the third inning, the ballpark video screens carried a salute to U.S. service members that drew cheers throughout the stadium. But when the shot cut to Trump, it sparked a torrent of boos and heckling and even chants of “Lock him up!”

By DEVI SHASTRI

A school-age child has died from a rare complication of measles contracted in infancy, Los Angeles County health officials said Thursday.

Related Articles

FTC launces inquiry into AI chatbots acting as companions and their effects on children

What did NYC know about the 9/11 toxins at ground zero? After 20 years, the truth may soon come out

Charlie Kirk’s shooting death exposes security gaps at political events

Income inequality dipped and fewer people moved, according to largest survey of US life

Average rate on a 30-year mortgage falls to lowest level in nearly a year

The child, who had been too young to be vaccinated when they were infected by the virus, died of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, according to the county health department. The incurable disorder causes progressive brain damage and is nearly universally fatal.

About 1 in 10,000 people who get measles develops the disorder, but the risk is 1 in 600 for infants.

“This case is a painful reminder of how dangerous measles can be, especially for our most vulnerable community members,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County health officer. “Infants too young to be vaccinated rely on all of us to help protect them through community immunity.”

This has been the worst year for measles in the U.S. in more than three decades, as childhood vaccination rates decline and domestic and international outbreaks have spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 1,454 cases as of Tuesday. Three people have died.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and is 97% effective at preventing measles after two doses. Doctors recommend kids get a shot at 12-15 months old and a second one at age 4-6 years.

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