By DIDI TANG, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Views of China and its leader, Xi Jinping, have improved in many countries worldwide, while those of the U.S. and President Donald Trump have deteriorated, according to a new survey of about two dozen countries by the Pew Research Center.

Released Tuesday, the survey shows that international views of the two superpowers and their leaders are closer than ever. The results are a drastic departure from those in the past several years when the U.S. and its leader — then-President Joe Biden — enjoyed more favorable international views than China and its president.

In its latest survey of 24 countries, Pew found that the U.S. was viewed more favorably than China in eight countries, China was viewed more favorably in seven, and the two were viewed about equally in the remainder.

Pew did not provide definitive explanations for the shifts, but Laura Silver, associate director of research, said it’s possible that views of a country may change when those of another superpower shift.

“As the U.S. potentially looks like a less reliable partner and people have limited confidence, for example, in Trump to lead the global economy, China may look different in some people’s eyes,” Silver said.

Also, China’s human rights policies and its handling of the pandemic — which were related to negative views of the country in the past — may not weigh as much this time, she said.

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A group of Democratic senators this week accused the Trump administration of ceding global influence to China by shuttering foreign aid programs, imposing tariffs on allies, cracking down on elite universities and restricting visas for international students.

In the Pew findings, 35% of those in 10 high-income countries surveyed consistently — including Canada, France, Germany and Italy — have favorable opinions of the U.S., down from 51% from last year.

By comparison, 32% of them have positive views of China, up from last year’s 23%. And 24% of them say they have confidence in Trump, compared with 53% last year for Biden.

Xi scored a slight improvement: 22% of those in these rich countries say they have confidence in the Chinese president, up from last year’s 17%.

However, people in Israel have far more favorable views of the U.S. than of China: 83% of Israelis like the U.S., compared with 33% who say they have positive views of China. And 69% of them say they have confidence in Trump, while only 9% express confidence in Xi.

Pew surveyed more than 30,000 people across 25 countries — including the U.S., which was excluded from the comparison — from Jan. 8 to April 26. The margins of error for each country ranged from plus or minus 2.5 to plus or minus 4.7.

AP writers Emily Swanson and Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

By CLAIRE SAVAGE, Associated Press

The federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against workplace discrimination will allow some complaints filed by transgender workers to move forward, shifting course from earlier guidance that indefinitely stalled all such cases, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.

The email was sent earlier this month to leaders of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the subject line “Hot Topics,” in which Thomas Colclough, director of the agency’s Office of Field Programs, announced that if new transgender worker complaints involve “hiring, discharge or promotion, you are clear to continue processing these charges.”

But even those cases will still be subject to higher scrutiny than other types of workplace discrimination cases, requiring approval from President Donald Trump’s appointed acting agency head Andrea Lucas, who has said that one of her priorities would be “defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights.”

Since Trump regained office in January, the EEOC has moved away from its prior interpretation of civil rights law, marking a stark contrast to a decade ago when the agency issued a landmark finding that a transgender civilian employee of the U.S. Army had been discriminated against because her employer refused to use her preferred pronouns or allow her to use bathrooms based on her gender identity.

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Under Lucas’s leadership, the EEOC has dropped several lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers. Lucas defended that decision during her June 18 Senate committee confirmation hearing in order to comply with the president’s executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes.

However, she acknowledged that a 2020 Supreme Court ruling — Bostock v. Clayton County — “did clearly hold that discriminating against someone on the basis of sex included firing an individual who is transgender or based on their sexual orientation.”

Colclough acknowledged in his July 1 email that the EEOC will consider transgender discrimination complaints that “fall squarely under” the Supreme Court’s ruling, such as cases involving hiring, firing and promotion. The email backtracked on an earlier policy, communicated verbally, that de-prioritized all transgender cases.

The EEOC declined to comment on the specifics of its latest policy, saying: “Under federal law, charge inquiries and charges of discrimination made to the EEOC are confidential. Pursuant to Title VII and as statutorily required, the EEOC is, has been, and will continue to accept and investigate charges on all bases protected by law, and to serve those charges to the relevant employer.”

But even the cases that the EEOC is willing to consider under Bostock must still be reviewed by a senior attorney advisor, and then sent to Lucas for final approval.

This heightened review process is not typical for other discrimination charges and reflects the agency’s increased oversight for gender identity cases, former EEOC commissioner Chai Feldblum told The AP in a Monday phone interview.

“It is a slight improvement because it will allow certain claims of discrimination to proceed,” Feldblum said of the new policy. “But overall it does not fix a horrific and legally improper situation currently occurring at the EEOC.”

Colclough’s email did not clarify how long the review process might take, or whether cases that include additional claims, such as harassment or retaliation, would be eligible to proceed, and the EEOC declined to address those questions.

“This is not the EEOC being clear to either its own staff or to the public what charges are going to be processed,” Feldblum said. “This is not a panacea.”

The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. 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.

Minnesota trailed the Sky by 10 points in the final two minutes of the second quarter Monday in Chicago, and appeared to be in danger of dropping consecutive games to the same non-playoff team in a three-day span.

But the Lynx closed the half strong, utilizing an 8-0 run to pull within two at the break.

The catalyst? Three forced turnovers to go with a blocked shot.

Minnesota led the Sky by five at the start of the final frame. That lead was still just seven with fewer than four minutes to play, but then came a three-possession stretch within the span of a minute in which Minnesota forced three turnovers, all of which resulted in Lynx layups on the other end to effectively put the game on ice.

The Lynx forced eight turnovers in total in the final frame, on a night in which the Sky committed 19 turnovers that led to 24 Minnesota points.

“It takes a lot out of you physically to make plays against some pretty good pressure. We improved as the game went on,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Then we were trying to be opportunistic going the other way. I thought the game just physically got hard, and that’s what we were hoping — that we could wear them down. I think that happened a little bit.”

Lynx basketball at its finest.

Minnesota point guard Courtney Williams noted the team’s identity is rooted on the defensive end. Minnesota surrenders just 95.4 points per 100 possessions, the league’s best mark by more than two points.

And while the Lynx are also offensively astute, their production on that end jumps to new heights when the opportunities are derived from defensive success.

The league-leading Lynx have an afternoon date with second-place Phoenix on Thursday at Target Center. Minnesota dropped a bout in Arizona last week thanks to a fourth quarter in which the Mercury scored on 11 of their final 13 possessions while the Lynx’s offense sputtered a bit down the stretch.

One often correlates with the other. Such is the case in modern basketball, where success within pace often drives the most success. Set defenses are really good. The team that is more frequently able to catch an opponent on its heels is often the victor at game’s end.

It’s why Minnesota is so good. The Lynx have scored 21.7% of their points off turnovers, the highest ratio in the WNBA. That number plummets to 15.7% in the team’s four losses this season.

In wins this season, the Lynx score 20 points a game off turnovers while allowing 13. In losses, they give up 18 points off turnovers, while getting just 12 of their own.

It’s a lifeblood of this team’s dominance.

It’s why it’s so noticeable when the Lynx aren’t as dialed in with their defensive pressure. Because the scales can tip rather suddenly. But when Minnesota is at its peak, as it was down the stretch in Chicago — frustrating its opponent with persistent ball pressure — the Lynx are tough to beat.

Lynx star forward Napheesa Collier credited the Minnesota guards for their perimeter pressure against the Sky, as well as their active hands from the back when Chicago did get the ball into the post. All of that increased Minnesota’s number of deflections.

“They’re getting their hands in there, trying to get the traps, trying to get their hands on the ball; it’s just so helpful,” said Collier, the reigning WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. “It allows us to try to get into transition and get those easy points.”

“We know when we bring energy and we lean into our defense,” Williams said, “our offense follows.”

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Dr. Emily Chapman has been named as the new president and CEO of Children’s Minnesota.

Chapman will oversee one of the largest pediatric health systems in the country It includes more than 60 pediatric specialties offered through its two hospitals — in St. Paul and Minneapolis — as well as specialty centers and clinics throughout the Twin Cities.

Her appointment follows the retirement of Dr. Marc Gorelick earlier this year.

Chapman has served as senior vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer with Children’s Minnesota since 2017. Chapman is the first female president and CEO in the organization’s 100-year history.

Chapman attended Dartmouth Medical School and the University of Minnesota. After residency, she practiced general pediatrics as an owner and president of the Wayzata Children’s Clinic and then pediatric inpatient care leading Children’s Minnesota’s hospital medicine program through its development and expansion.

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