By MICHELLE L. PRICE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday plans to reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test for American schoolchildren.

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The program, which was created in 1966, had children run and perform situps, pullups or pushups and a sit-and-reach test. It changed in 2012 during the Obama administration to focus more on individual health than athletic feats.

The president “wants to ensure America’s future generations are strong, healthy, and successful,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, and that all young Americans “have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles — creating a culture of strength and excellence for years to come.”

In a late afternoon ceremony at the White House, Trump intends to sign an order that reestablishes the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, as well as the fitness test, to be administered by his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The council also will develop criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award.

In 2012, the assessment evolved into the Youth Fitness Program, which the government said “moved away from recognizing athletic performance to providing a barometer on student’s health.”

The Youth Fitness Test, according to a Health and Human Services Department website last updated in 2023 but still online Thursday, “minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health.”

Expected to join Trump at the event are a number of prominent athletes, including some who have faced controversy.

They include pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau, a Trump friend; kicker Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs; Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam; WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the son-in-law of Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon; and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, a registered sex offender.

The NFL distanced itself from comments Butker made last year during a commencement address at a Kansas college, when he said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children than entering the workforce and that some Catholic leaders were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.” Butker also assailed Pride month and railed against Democratic President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion.

Butker later formed a political action committee designed to encourage Christians to vote for what the PAC describes as “traditional values.”

Sorenstam faced backlash for accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump on Jan. 7, 2021, a day after rioters spurred by Trump’s false claims about his election loss to Biden stormed the Capitol in Washington.

Taylor, who has appeared on stage with Trump at campaign rallies, pleaded guilty in New York in 2011 to misdemeanor criminal charges of sexual misconduct.

By MIKE CATALINI

The family of Virginia Giuffre, who was among Jeffrey Epstein’s most well-known sex trafficking accusers, said that it was shocking to hear President Donald Trump say the disgraced financier “stole” Giuffre from him and urged that Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell remain in prison.

Giuffre, who had accused Britain’s Prince Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. She died by suicide this year.

Her family’s statement is the latest development involving Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges, and the Republican president, who was his one-time friend. Trump denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he cut off their relationship years ago, but he still faces questions about the case.

Trump, responding to a reporter’s question on Tuesday, said that he got upset with Epstein over his poaching of workers and that Epstein had stolen Giuffre from his Palm Beach, Florida, club.

“It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been ‘stolen’ from Mar-a-Lago,” the family’s statement said.

“We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this,” it continued.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the president was responding to a reporter’s question and didn’t bring up Giuffre himself.

“The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,” she said.

The family’s statement comes shortly after the Justice Department interviewed Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges and is serving a 20-year sentence in Tallahassee, Florida. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in a Florida courthouse, though details about what she said haven’t become public.

Maxwell’s lawyers have said she testified truthfully and answered questions “about 100 different people.” They have said she’s willing to answer more questions from Congress if she is granted immunity from future prosecution for her testimony and if lawmakers agree to satisfy other conditions.

A message seeking comment about the Giuffre family’s statement was sent to Maxwell’s attorney Thursday.

A Trump administration official said the president is not considering clemency action for Maxwell.

Giuffre said she was approached by Maxwell in 2000 and eventually was hired by her as a masseuse for Epstein. But the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, she said, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates.

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Giuffre said she was flown around the world for appointments with men including Prince Andrew while she was 17 and 18 years old.

The men, including Andrew, denied it and assailed Giuffre’s credibility. She acknowledged changing some key details of her account.

The prince settled with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a “substantial donation” to her survivors’ organization.

The American-born Giuffre lived in Australia for years and became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epstein’s prolonged downfall.

Her family’s statement said she endured death threats and financial ruin over her cooperation with authorities against Epstein and Maxwell.

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris will have a memoir out in the fall on her historic presidential run.

The book is called “107 Days,” the length of her abbreviated campaign, and will be published by Simon & Schuster on Sept. 23.

“Just over a year ago, I launched my campaign for President of the United States,” Harris said in a video announcement on Thursday. “107 days traveling the country, fighting for our future — the shortest presidential campaign in modern history. Since leaving office, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on those days and with candor and reflection, I’ve written a behind-the-scenes account of that journey. I believe there’s value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what it will take to move forward.”

This cover image released by Simon & Schuster shows “107 Days” by Kamala Harris. (Simon & Schuster via AP)

Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp declined to offer any specifics on what Harris will write about, including her thoughts on questions about President Joe Biden’s fitness for office, but said Harris “addresses everything we would want her to address.”

Harris ended up heading the Democratic ticket after Biden dropped out last July in the wake of a disastrous debate performance, and she was defeated last November by Republican Donald Trump. She would have been the first woman and first woman of color to become president.

On Wednesday, she announced that she will not run for California governor in 2026, but she is still regarded as a potential presidential candidate for 2028. CBS Television announced that Harris will appear Thursday night on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” her first interview since the election.

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Simon & Schuster, where authors also include former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, is calling the Harris book a “page-turning account,” with ”surprising and revealing insights.”

“Kamala Harris is a singular American leader,” Karp said in a statement. “’107 DAYS’ captures the drama of running for president better than just about anything I’ve read. It’s one of the best works of political nonfiction Simon & Schuster has ever published. It’s an eyewitness contribution to history and an extraordinary story.”

Financial terms for “107 Days,” which is listed at 320 pages, were not disclosed. In 2019, Penguin Books published Harris’ “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” timed to coincide with her presidential run for the 2020 election. Harris dropped out before the first primary but was eventually chosen by Biden to be his running mate.

Follow the AP’s coverage of former Vice President Kamala Harris at https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris.

There are many words you could use to describe Nicole Tompkins, the disabled protagonist of “Shaky,” Audible’s recent 9-part comedy audio series: passionate, wild, talented, messy. But she’s also kind of an asshole. 

That’s not a role that disabled people have often been able to play in fiction—neither pure nor villainous, just a regular messed-up human who acts impulsively or lashes out at friends and loved ones during times of stress. Even today, disabled characters are rarely allowed to take center stage in their own stories; instead they become “inspirational” props to the able-bodied characters around them. Though “Shaky” features an ensemble of engaging characters, it’s Nicole, played by Rosa Salazar, who drives the plot throughout. 

The new series from writer and director Katherine Craft, which was released on July 3, follows Nicole’s journey back to her hometown of Plano after being diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s at the age of 30. She’s trying to hold onto her gig as the drummer in Golden Braid, her best friend’s band, struggling to come to terms with her new illness, and distracting herself from her troubles by hooking up with hot guys at every opportunity. 

Craft says she sees a lot of herself in Nicole’s impulsiveness and anger at her lot in life. In her 20s, Craft underwent a series of surgeries that, instead of improving her vision, permanently damaged her ability to see. 

“I just had this rage inside of me for several years, and it was important for me, for Nicole to have that same rage and, as a woman too, I think women are not supposed to have that kind of rage,” Craft told the Texas Observer. “So it was important for me to have this lead character who’s going through it and is not being pretty and sweet and nice about it.”

A few years after she moved back home, Craft’s father, who died in 2023, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, which also inspired the plot of “Shaky.” To further ensure realism, Craft worked with Amy Carlson, an actress and creator with Parkinson’s, as a disability consultant. “It was fun to have a writer and an artist who understood the process, who could come in with her own ideas and experiences and help make it a lot richer.”

Carlson also has a small role as a woman who suggests homeopathy could cure Nicole’s Parkinson’s. Thanks to the numerous disabled characters in the supporting cast, “Shaky” introduces listeners to common pitfalls of life with a chronic condition—such as unhelpful, unsolicited medical advice. We also see how other disabled people, further along in their journeys than Nicole, find autonomy, independence, and meaning in their lives in spite of, or by embracing, their conditions.

But “Shaky” isn’t a lecture on disability culture or activism. It’s a laugh-out-loud-funny comedy laced with drama and a strong sense of place. We visit boisterous nightclubs, playful music therapy classes, and even a bougie retirement community where Nicole’s mother (played by Roselyn Sánchez) connects with a sexy older gentleman from a dating app. 

The characters and casting also further cement this as a story based in the Lone Star State. Frank, a recumbent-bike riding neighborhood busybody who eventually becomes Nicole’s running coach and Obi-Wan Kenobi-like mentor is memorably brought to life by the Austin character actor Sonny Carl Davis (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Bernie,” the “Evil Bong” Series, and a famous endorsement for Beto O’Rourke directed by Richard Linklater). Davis’ performance hints at hidden depths to Frank beneath the cowboy drawl and exasperated jokes, which makes his life advice land harder when Nicole finally slows down long enough to listen.

Frank was inspired by Craft’s father, who had an accent similar to Davis’ and used a recumbent bike with a headrest as a way to stay active. “He was like the neighborhood mayor,” she recalled. “He’d get on his bike and go hang out in someone’s driveway and have a beer. It was a really interesting method of accessibility that let him be out of the house and do stuff.”

As Craft skillfully plays each characters’ flaws off one another, the various plot threads meet in a wild mix of rock music, sexy hookups, TikTok culture, and even a disability rights protest, all of which keeps the listener engrossed through the entire three-and-a-half-hour miniseries. It is hard to find fault here: I’d have liked to see more disability representation among the cast themselves, and the audio mixing on a couple of the busier scenes was a bit hard to follow. But none of this detracted from my enjoyment of Craft’s heartfelt storytelling. It’s easy to recommend “Shaky” to fans of audio dramas, and I’ll be eagerly looking out for whatever Craft does next.

The post ‘Shaky’ Audio Series Is a Messy, Real Look at Disabled Life appeared first on The Texas Observer.