By ANNIE MA, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will release some previously withheld grant money for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Office of Management and Budget to allow the funds to be sent to states.

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President Donald Trump’s administration on July 1 withheld more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, adult literacy and English language instruction, as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities. About $1.3 billion of that funding supported after-school programming for children.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Republican senators said the withheld money supported programs that had longstanding bipartisan support and were critical to local communities.

“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” the senators wrote. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. 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 DORANY PINEDA, TY O’NEIL and JOHN LOCHER

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — When the running gets hard in this desert dubbed “hell on Earth,” Danny Westergaard tells himself: “Slow and steady” or “smooth as butter.”

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For 18 years, Westergaard, 66, has braved the scorching summer heat of California’s Death Valley in an ultramarathon billed as the world’s toughest. Last week, 99 runners from across the globe embarked on a grueling 135 mile competition from the lowest point below sea level of North America to the trailhead of the highest peak in the contiguous U.S. They had 48 hours to do it. Few have completed the competition as many times as Westergaard, a retired aerospace project manager, though finishing is not a given.

“It’s just become like a summer ritual and a family reunion,” he said. “I feel at home when I’m here. It’s my tribe.”

For the 37th year, the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon challenged athletes to withstand stretches of this dry, searing desert. The race takes place in July, when temperatures have soared into the 130s F. Even as a place of extremes, Death Valley is not immune to global warming. Seven of its hottest summers have occurred in the past 10 years, according to the National Park Service. And if planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, more places could experience its broiling temperatures.

Over two days, Westergaard would trek up and down mountain ranges, past sand dunes and salt flats, through quaint towns and vast desertscapes amid temperatures as high as 117 F. He tried to smile throughout, even when he felt miserable.

Danny Westergaard, left, cools of with water with pacing help from daughter Madison Westergaard as the sun rises during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

“It just lifts you up,” he said of smiling so others smile back.

First night: The race begins

At 8 p.m., the first wave of runners take off. Westergaard jogs up a ramp into the pale light of dusk. It’s 113 F, and it feels like a blow dryer to the face.

Leap frogging in a van behind him is his cheer squad and support crew – Jennifer Drain, his smiley cousin back for the 17th year, and daughters Meagan, who has attended before, and Madison, a first timer. The crew, who playfully call Westergaard “wiener dog,” are hauling everything he needs: food, ice, water, electrolytes.

This heat can kill. Soaring body temperatures can lead to organ failure and strain the heart, especially for people with heart disease, and cause heat stroke. To prevent that they keep him cool. They spray mist on him and pour ice into his hat and a bandana wrapped around his neck. His drinking water is ice cold.

Danny Westergaard cools off in the shade while taking a short break during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A few hours in, Meagan asks her dad if he’s peed. “Long stream,” he responded of his amount of urine. Staying hydrated is critical. As he sweats, he’s losing liquids that can critically stress kidneys if not replenished. Dehydration can cause organs to fail from lack of blood, oxygen and nutrients, leading to seizures and death.

No runners have died doing the competition, but heat-related issues are common, said Megan Dell, the race’s medical director. Stomach issues can lead to vomiting and dehydration. Hyponatremia — which happens when your blood’s sodium is too low — has sent runners to the hospital.

Westergaard has learned to embrace the rollercoaster. One moment he feels like Superman — the next he could be throwing up on the side of the road, questioning if he’ll make it. “You just suck it up, just like in life, and get through the lows, and it always gets better.”

The next day: Running through “the oven”

The runners dash toward mile 50.8, the critical cut off point they must get to by 10 a.m. or be eliminated. The sun is peaking over the mountains, casting a warm glow over dune fields. It’s 85 F.

“Living the dream, ey?” Westergaard said with a smile, his perky strut now a droopy shuffle.

He pours water on his face and arms and munches some watermelon. Madison paces behind him as they crack jokes. “Get er done! Junior wiener in training!” Meagan yelled.

Danny Westergaard, right, competes with pacing help from daughter Meagan Westergaard during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Westergaard makes it to the cut off point before 9 a.m. It’s 90 F.

Mile 56: After moving for 14 hours straight, Westergaard rests and eats some avocado toast. “Great! Let’s motor!” he said after 10 minutes sitting on a chair.

Miles later, he begins his descent into “the oven” that is Panamint Valley, usually the hottest part of the race during the hottest part of the day. It’s 96 F and the heat sizzles from above and below. Westergaard runs on the white line on the road because it’s cooler. In hotter years, the asphalt got so hot the bottoms of his shoes felt sticky on the ground.

Westergaard trains year round to acclimate to the heat. As he gets older, he doesn’t tolerate heat as well and has slowed down. His two-hour sauna sessions are now one, and he runs a few times a week instead of daily.

“I’m just out there longer,” he said, “but still getting it done.”

Tony Wolf, kinesiology professor at the University of Georgia, said aging adults generally have reduced heart function compared to younger adults. When combined with the cardiovascular demand of exercise and heat stress, it can cause difficulties.

There isn’t much research about how the bodies of fit older adults, including competitive athletes, regulate internal temperature. “There aren’t a ton of people in their 60s and older who are doing those kinds of events,” said Wolf.

Danny Westergaard cools off with water before starting up after a short break during the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Studies focused on adults before and after a training program found that exercise improved heart function and thermoregulation. That could suggest that the heart and thermoregulation impairments linked to aging are largely mitigated by lifelong fitness, Wolf said.

Second night: Sleepy hallucinations

The runners are spread out now, their flashing lights twinkling in the distance. This night is the toughest for Westergaard as sleep deprivation sets in. He zigzags on the road, barely awake. The runners ahead of him look like they’re running toward him.

In past years, his hallucinations have included people luring him to rest on couches that were actually bushes. Another time, he struck up a conversation with a kid skateboarding by him with a dog. And once, he watched for hours as a guy swung off the edge of the crescent moon, waving down at him.

“It was just clear as day,” Westergaard said of the hallucination.

At 3:10 a.m. at mile 98, he sleeps for 15 minutes under the moonlight.

“No one really quite understands” why he does this, said Madison.

Final day: The push toward the finish

At 11:50 a.m. and around mile 123, Westergaard shuffles through the town of Lone Pine. Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental U.S., soars some 14,500 feet into the blue sky.

A crowd claps and cheers as he runs by.

“Go Danny, go!” yelled a man.

It’s 92 F as he approaches the final 4,750 foot mountain ascent to the finish line. Westergaard is walking at a snail’s pace and says he’s falling asleep. But his smile hasn’t waned.

“We’ve come a long way,” Westergaard said, Madison pacing behind and spraying him.

“Long way for a burger!” she responded. They giggle while thinking about the veggie burger they’ll buy upon finishing.

Then he does, crossing the finish line with his crew at exactly 45 hours and 29 minutes.

It was his most special Badwater 135 race by far, he says misty eyed, having Meagan and Madison at his side.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Twin Cities native Isaac Thompson, currently president and CEO of the Oregon Symphony, has been appointed the Minnesota Orchestra’s president and CEO, the symphony announced Friday.

Isaac Thompson will begin his new role on Oct. 14, 2025. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Orchestra)

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Isaac back to his ‘home’ orchestra as its new administrative leader,” said board chair Nancy Lindahl in a news release. “We were drawn to Isaac’s vision for what an orchestra can mean to its community when it knits together artistic, social and civic connections with real impact. He comes to this role with an impressive background encompassing creative collaborations with orchestra musicians and artistic leaders, significant experience securing private and public support, an understanding of how to truly strengthen community connections and a bold, entrepreneurial spirit — not to mention a deep-seated love for the Minnesota Orchestra.”

Thompson succeeds interim president and CEO Brent Assink, who began serving in that role in September following the departure of Michelle Miller Burns, who took the top administrative role with the Dallas Symphony. Thompson will begin his new role on Oct. 14.

Thompson played in the Minnesota Youth Symphonies and studied violin with Nancy Lokken and former Minnesota Orchestra Concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis in high school. He received a bachelor of music in violin performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin.

He worked for the Milwaukee Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony and the New York Philharmonic before joining the Oregon Symphony. Thompson serves on the boards of the League of American Orchestras and Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media.

“The opportunity to return to Minnesota to lead my hometown orchestra at this moment is deeply meaningful,” Thompson said. “Many of my formative musical experiences occurred at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and I credit my knowledge of and love for the symphonic repertoire to the Minnesota Orchestra.”

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By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Asian countries are offering to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas in negotiations with the Trump administration as a way to alleviate tensions over U.S. trade deficits and forestall higher tariffs. Analysts warn that strategy could undermine those countries’ long-term climate ambitions and energy security.

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Buying more U.S. LNG has topped the list of concessions Asian countries have offered in talks with Washington over President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign goods. Vietnam’s Prime Minister underlined the need to buy more of the super-chilled fuel in a government meeting, and the government signed a deal in May with an American company to develop a gas import hub. JERA, Japan’s largest power generator, signed new 20-year contracts last month to purchase up to 5.5 million metric tons of U.S. gas annually starting around 2030.

U.S. efforts to sell more LNG to Asia predate the Trump administration, but they’ve gained momentum with his intense push to win trade deals.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is natural gas cooled to a liquid form for easy storage and transport that is used as a fuel for transport, residential cooking and heating and industrial processes.

Trump discussed cooperation on a $44 billion Alaska LNG project with South Korea, prompting a visit by officials to the site in June. The U.S. president has promoted the project as a way to supply gas from Alaska’s vast North Slope to a liquefication plant at Nikiski in south-central Alaska, with an eye largely on exports to Asian countries while bypassing the Panama Canal Thailand has offered to commit to a long-term deal for American fuel and shown interest in the same Alaska project to build a nearly 810-mile pipeline that would funnel gas from

The Philippines is also considering importing gas from Alaska while India is mulling a plan to scrap import taxes on U.S. energy shipments to help narrow its trade surplus with Washington.

“Trump has put pressure on a seeming plethora of Asian trading partners to buy more U.S. LNG,” said Tim Daiss, at the APAC Energy Consultancy, pointing out that Japan had agreed to buy more despite being so “awash in the fuel” that it was being forced to cancel projects and contracts to offload the excess to Asia’s growing economies.

“Not good for Southeast Asia’s sustainability goals,” he said.

LNG deals could derail renewable ambitions

Experts say LNG purchasing agreements can slow adoption of renewable energy in Asia.

Locking into long-term deals could leave countries with outdated infrastructure as the world shifts rapidly toward cleaner energy sources like solar or wind that offer faster, more affordable ways to meet growing power demand, said Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

Building pipelines, terminals, and even household gas stoves creates systems that are expensive and difficult to replace—making it harder to switch to renewables later. “And you’re more likely then to get stuck for longer,” he said.

Energy companies that profit from gas or coal are powerful vested interests, swaying policy to favor their business models, he said.

LNG burns cleaner than coal, but it’s still a fossil fuel that emits greenhouse gases and contributes to climate change.

Many LNG contracts include “take-or-pay” clauses, obliging governments to pay even if they don’t use the fuel. Christopher Doleman of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis warns that if renewable energy grows fast, reducing the need for LNG, countries may still have to pay for gas they no longer need.

Pakistan is an example. Soaring LNG costs drove up electricity prices, pushing consumers to install rooftop solar panels. As demand for power drops and gas supply surges, the country is deferring LNG shipments and trying to resell excess fuel.

The LNG math doesn’t add up

Experts said that although countries are signaling a willingness to import more U.S. LNG, they’re unlikely to import enough to have a meaningful impact on U.S. trade deficits.

FILEL – Energy Secretary Chris Wright holds a report concerning U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as he speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, on March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

South Korea would need to import 121 million metric tons of LNG in a year — 50% more than the total amount of LNG the U.S. exported globally last year and triple what South Korea imported, said Doleman. Vietnam — with a trade surplus with the U.S. twice the size of Korea’s — would need to import 181 million metric tons annually, more than double what the U.S. exported last year.

Other obstacles stand in the way. The Alaska LNG project is widely considered uneconomic. Both coal and renewable energy in Asia are so much cheaper that U.S. gas would need to cost less than half its current price to compete. Tariffs on Chinese steel could make building building gas pipelines and LNG terminals more expensive, while longstanding delays to build new gas turbines mean new gas power projects may not come online until 2032. Meanwhile, a global glut in LNG will likely drive prices lower, making it even harder for countries to justify locking into long-term deals with the United States at current higher prices.

LNG deals raise energy security concerns

Committing to long-term U.S. LNG contracts could impact regional energy security at a time of growing geopolitical and market uncertainties, analysts said.

A core concern is over the long-term stability of the U.S. as a trading partner, said Overland. “The U.S. is not a very predictable entity. And to rely on energy from there is a very risky proposition,” he said.

LNG only contributes to energy security when it’s available and affordable, says Dario Kenner of Zero Carbon Analytics.

“That’s the bit that they leave out … But it’s pretty important,” he said.

This was the concern during the recent potential disruptions to fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and earlier during the war in Ukraine, when LNG cargoes originally destined for Asia were rerouted to Europe. Despite having contracts, Asian countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were outbid by European buyers.

“Events in Europe, which can seem very far away, can have an impact on availability and prices in Asia,” Kenner said.

Asian countries can improve their energy security and make progress toward cutting carbon emissions by building more renewable energy, he said, noting there is vast room for that given that only about 1% of Southeast Asia’s solar and wind potential is being used.

“There are genuine choices to meet rising electricity demand. It is not just having to build LNG,” he said.

Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receive support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.