By MIKE CATALINI, Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump has moved to keep his former defense attorney Alina Habba on the job as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, even though a panel of judges refused to extend her tenure.

Habba’s term was set to expire this week, and federal judges in New Jersey had moved to appoint someone else to the position. But the Republican president on Thursday withdrew Habba’s nomination to hold the role permanently, setting in motion a series of steps that allow her to transition from being an interim U.S. attorney to an acting U.S. attorney and remain in the job for the next 210 days.

FILE – Alina Habba speaks after being sworn in as interim US Attorney General for New Jersey, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on March 28, 2025. (Pool File via AP)

“Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,” Habba posted on X. “I don’t cower to pressure. I don’t answer to politics. This is a fight for justice. And I’m all in.”

The Trump administration’s decision resolves what had threatened to become a high-profile clash over who would serve as New Jersey’s top prosecutor, a post with sweeping authority over public corruption, violent crime and organized crime cases. The move allows Habba, one of the most visible and controversial U.S. attorneys in the country, to remain in charge and cements the administration’s preference for loyalists in key Justice Department positions.

Habba, who became interim U.S. attorney for the state in March, appeared to lose the position on Tuesday when judges in the district declined to keep her in the post while she awaited confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Instead, the judges appointed one of Habba’s subordinates, Desiree Leigh Grace, to take her place.

But hours later, Bondi removed Grace, accusing the judges who replaced Habba of being “rogue” and “politically minded.”

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In a post on LinkedIn, Grace addressed her appointment by the district’s judges, saying it would “forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit.”

Habba, whose term as interim U.S. attorney was set to end Friday, was designated as acting United States attorney, a Justice Department official said. Federal law would have precluded her from serving as acting U.S. attorney while her nomination for the role was pending in the Senate.

During her four months as interim U.S. attorney, Habba’s office tangled with two prominent New Jersey Democrats — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver — over their actions during a chaotic visit to a privately operated immigration detention center in the state’s largest city.

Baraka was arrested on a trespass charge stemming from his attempt to join a congressional visit of the facility. Baraka denied any wrongdoing, and Habba eventually dropped that charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba’s office over the arrest and short-lived prosecution, calling it a “worrisome misstep.” Baraka is now suing Habba over what he says was a “malicious prosecution.”

Habba then brought assault charges against McIver, whose district includes Newark, over physical contact she made with law enforcement officials as Baraka was being arrested.

The prosecution, which is pending, is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. McIver denies that anything she did amounted to assault.

Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state’s directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement.

In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office’s prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark.

Trump had formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nomination can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney.

Associated Press journalist Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, N.Y., contributed to this report.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A raid by U.S.-led forces in northwestern Syria on Friday killed a senior leader in the Islamic State militant group, the U.S. military said Friday.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it had killed IS leader Dhiya Zawba Muslih al-Hardan and his two adult sons, who were also affiliated with the group, early Friday in a raid in the town of al-Bab, in Syria’s Aleppo province.

It said the men “posed a threat to U.S. and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government,” adding that three women and three children at the site were not harmed.

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the raid was carried out through an airdrop of forces, the first of its kind to be carried out by the U.S.-led coalition against IS this year, and that ground forces from both the Syrian government’s General Security forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces participated.

The observatory said the operation was “preceded by a tight security cordon around the targeted site, a heavy deployment of forces on the ground, and the presence of coalition helicopters in the airspace of the area.”

There was no statement from either the government in Damascus or the SDF about the operation.

Washington has developed increasingly close ties with the new Syrian government in Damascus since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive last year, and has been pushing for a merger of forces between the new Syrian army and the Kurdish-led SDF, which controls much of the country’s northeast.

However, progress between the two sides in agreeing on the details of the merger has been slow and could be further complicated by the recent outbreak of sectarian violence in the southern province of Sweida, in which government forces joined Sunni Muslim Bedouin clans in fighting against armed factions from the Druze religious minority.

Some government forces allegedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted their houses. The violence has increased the wariness of other minority groups — including the Kurds — toward Damascus.

By HANNA ARHIROVA, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces are holding back Russia’s concerted summer push to break through defenses along parts of the front line, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.

“They are not advancing. It’s very tough for our guys out there. And it’s tough everywhere,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday, in comments embargoed till Friday. “It’s also very hard for the Russians — and that’s good for us.”

With the war now in its fourth year after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, the effort is draining resources on both sides, although Russia has more resources and people to sustain its fight. Ukraine is seeking further support from Western partners.

Rescuers work at a damaged city hospital that was hit by a Russian guided air bomb in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Russia has claimed the capture of some villages and hamlets in recent weeks, but no defensively stronger urban areas have fallen to its troops.

Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have repeatedly attempted to stage minor incursions near Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region to film symbolic footage, such as raising a Russian flag, but Ukrainian forces have repelled those efforts, Zelenskyy said.

“It happened five to seven times recently, sometimes with only two or six people. Once they tried to hold a position with 12 people — and all of them were eliminated by our defenders,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy described the situation in the northeastern Sumy border region as “much better” than in recent months, noting progress by Ukrainian forces over the past six weeks.

Ukraine wants 10 Patriot missile systems

Russia has also intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian cities, with the second-largest city Kharkiv struck with a powerful glide bomb for a second straight day Friday. Seven people were injured, officials said. On Thursday, 42 were injured.

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Joyce Msuya, the United Nations’ deputy humanitarian chief, told the Security Council on Friday that Ukraine’s humanitarian situation is “deteriorating” due to expanding Russian attacks on civilian areas across the country.

“There is no safe place left in Ukraine,” she said.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is working with international partners to secure 10 U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, which can shoot down missiles, with three already confirmed from Germany and Norway.

The Trump administration will sell the systems, he said, but Ukraine’s task is to find funding for all 10. Each system costs more than $1 billion.

Ukraine is also seeking to obtain a license to manufacture the Patriot systems itself.

Kremlin says no summit meeting in sight

The Ukrainian leader expressed little hope for progress in direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine, though he said the Kremlin envoys have begun discussing the possibility of a leaders’ summit with Ukraine.

“We need an end to the war, which probably begins with a meeting of leaders. It won’t work any other way with (the Russians),” Zelenskyy said.

The Kremlin, however, remained set against top-level talks before a potential comprehensive peace agreement is fleshed out.

“A high-level meeting can and must put a final point in the settlement and seal the modalities and agreements that are yet to be worked out by experts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. “It’s impossible to act otherwise.”

Zelenskyy says anti-graft street protests were ‘legitimate’

In domestic politics, Zelenskyy said public protests against changes earlier this week to Ukraine’s anti-corruption law were “legitimate.” The changes threatened the independence of anti-graft watchdogs and also drew rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups, prompting Zelenskyy to propose new legislation to restore the independence of the anti-graft agencies.

Demonstrators protest against a new bill proposed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy restoring the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agencies, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

“It’s very important that society speaks. I respect the opinion of society,” Zelenskyy said. “People asked for changes. We responded.”

Demonstrators gathered for the third day on Thursday evening, but drew a smaller crowd.

He said those agencies must be “truly independent,” adding that “the most important thing in this war is the unity of our state. It is critical not to lose unity.”

However, the risk now remains that the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, will fail to approve the new bill, which could bring even larger crowds to the streets. Zelenskyy expressed confidence that it would pass in a vote scheduled for July 31.

“The most important thing right now is that the bill exists. It has been registered. I believe it will receive enough votes. I want that to happen,” he said.

Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed.

“We don’t have to choose between reliability and affordability on one side, and public health protections on the other. Offshore wind delivers all three, and the time to act is now.”

A model wind turbine during a 2022 press conference at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where officials announced plans to transform the site “into one of the largest offshore wind port facilities in the nation.” (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

As extreme weather grips the nation in early summer, New York has seen heatwaves breaking a 137-year-old record and record rain.

This is just a preview of what’s expected to be one of the hottest seasons on record, leaving many New Yorkers sweltering, short of breath, and struggling to stay safe. Our bodies, especially our lungs, are being pushed to the limit as climate-driven heat and pollution continue to rise.

In the face of soaring temperatures, many people crank up their air conditioning to stay cool and protect their health. Ironically, this short-term, necessary solution is making the problem worse. 

In most homes and workplaces, those AC units rely heavily on fossil fuels, the same fuels responsible for overheating our planet in the first place. The result? A vicious cycle where more heat means more energy use, more air pollution, and even hotter conditions, particularly in low-income neighborhoods already burdened by environmental and health inequities. 

Even before this latest heatwave, our communities have been facing a crisis. For decades, air pollution from the fossil fuels to power our homes has contributed to rates of asthma and lung disease all across the city. Now, with the Trump administration actively working to roll back environmental protections, the urgency is even greater. New York must step up, not just with words, but with concrete solutions we can build and scale right here at home.

This March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would rollback several air quality regulations around power plants, such as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. This also includes clean cars and truck rules that limit tailpipe emissions.

These rollbacks mean increased toxins such as mercury, which can cause neurological damage, particularly in children, and pollution linked to asthma, lung cancer, and heart conditions, released into our air by fossil fuel power plants and heavy-duty vehicles.

Burning fossil fuels to produce energy has created a public health crisis in New York, across the nation, and around the world. Here at home, the pollutants released into our air have contributed to asthma attacks and lung disease, putting lives at risk and increasing healthcare costs for everyday New Yorkers.

This year, the American Lung Association gave over 11 New York counties a grade of C or below for air quality in its annual “State of the Air Report.” As of 2021, over 315,000 children and 1.3 million adults in the state were living with asthma, which is directly impacted by environmental conditions like air pollution. These health emergencies are preventable and the costs are hitting families where it hurts most: their health and their wallets. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. We have solutions, right now, that can break the cycle, clean up our air, and deliver reliable, affordable energy. One of the most powerful is offshore wind. And the best part is that we’re building it just off New York’s coast, creating a clean energy supply while supporting a smooth transition to green jobs and strengthening our state’s economy.

Right now, South Fork Wind Farm, 35 miles east of Montauk Point, is powering 70,000 homes with clean, pollution-free energy at the same rate as fossil fuels. Because offshore wind uses free fuel, it offers long-term price stability, even during extreme weather. Once the upfront cost of building turbines is covered, this renewable energy source becomes affordable, stable, and resilient.

More offshore wind projects are actively under construction, and once completed, they’ll provide over a million homes with clean, affordable, reliable energy throughout New York. If the state meets its goal of producing 9 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2035, that would bring $34 billion in capital investment, create thousands of jobs up and down state, and provide enough pollution-free energy to power 5 million homes.

Without this transition, New Yorkers will continue to pay the price both in rising electric bills and worsening public health. It’s time for our state government to clean up our act, and our air. 

We don’t have to choose between reliability and affordability on one side, and public health protections on the other. Offshore wind delivers all three, and the time to act is now. 

Max Micallef is the New York State advocacy manager of clean air initiatives at the at the American Lung Association.

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