By MIKE SCHNEIDER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Two young Republican groups have challenged statistical methods used to produce the results of the 2020 census, four years after the numbers were released, as the GOP continues its growing attack on the numbers from the last U.S. head count.

Related Articles

Maine Gov. Janet Mills will challenge Sen. Susan Collins in key 2026 Senate contest, AP sources say

Who is Adelita Grijalva and what is the controversy over her being sworn in to Congress?

Trump’s quest for the Nobel Peace Prize falls short again despite high-profile nominations

Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown

What to know about National Guard deployments in Memphis and other cities

The legal challenge, filed in a Florida federal court, targets the U.S. population figures that determine how many congressional seats each state gets. It comes as President Donald Trump has been pressuring Republican-led state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts to benefit the GOP ahead of next year’s elections.

Census and redistricting expert Jeffrey Wice said Friday that the Florida lawsuit was part of that strategy to keep the House of Representatives under Republican control.

“Clearly, this is part of that agenda to use the courts and state legislatures in any way they can to retain congressional power,” said Wice, a New York Law School professor. “It’s not a very great step forward.”

The University of South Florida College Republicans, the Pinellas County Young Republicans and two individuals on Tuesday filed a request for a three-judge panel to hear their lawsuit, as is required for cases involving the process of divvying up congressional seats among the states, known as apportionment. The request on Thursday was referred to the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs didn’t respond to an emailed question about the lawsuit, and neither did the Census Bureau or the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees the bureau.

Some GOP elected officials in recent months have been calling for a mid-decade redo of the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident. In August, Trump instructed the Commerce Department to have the Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis recently blamed the Census Bureau for “shortchanging” Florida, saying the nation’s third most populous state deserved an extra seat in the House. Florida gained one additional House seat after the 2020 census, raising its total to 28. Unlike other states, Florida barely provided any resources for mobilizing residents to fill out census forms, and DeSantis brushed off early calls to form a state committee aimed at mobilizing participation.

In a letter to the Commerce Department this week, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, blamed one of the statistical methods for producing inaccurate totals and demanded the release of a file containing original, unaltered census data.

“The Biden (administration) used a shady ‘privacy’ formula that scrambled the data and miscounted 14 states,” Banks wrote in a social media post. “It included illegal immigrants and handed Democrats extra seats. Americans deserve a fair count and I’m fighting to fix it.”

Although the 2020 census numbers were released during the first months of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, the execution and final planning for the head count, including the decision to use the statistical methods, took place during Trump’s first term. The 14th Amendment says that “the whole number of persons in each state” are to be counted for the numbers used for apportionment, and the Census Bureau has interpreted that to mean anybody residing in the U.S., regardless of legal status. Federal courts have repeatedly supported that interpretation.

The methods that the lawsuit challenged were “differential privacy” and “imputation” for group quarters, which include college dorms, nursing homes and other places where people live together under one roof. Differential privacy adds intentional errors to the data to obscure the identity of any given participant in the 2020 census while still providing statistically valid information. Imputation is a process of using other information to fill in data about people when census-takers can’t reach anyone at a particular address.

The 2020 census faced unprecedented obstacles from the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes and wildfires, social unrest and efforts by the Trump administration to end the count early. Group quarters such as college dorms and nursing homes were especially challenging since campuses closed and care facilities restricted access in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19.

The lawsuit describes imputation as a form of statistical sampling, which is prohibited for apportionment. But Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former congressional staffer who consults on census issues, said Friday that “imputation is not sampling” and that differential privacy didn’t affect state population counts used to apportion congressional seats.

“Accuracy is the overarching goal,” Lowenthal said. “I’m not sure why there is a concerted effort among Republicans to diminish the accuracy of the census.”

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social

PARIS (AP) — After a week of intense political turmoil, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to appoint a new prime minister Friday in his latest bid to break the political deadlock that has gripped the country for more than a year, as France struggles with mounting economic challenges and ballooning debt.

The appointment is widely seen as the president’s last chance to revive his second term, which runs until 2027. With no majority in the National Assembly to push through his agenda, Macron faces increasingly fierce criticism, even from within his own camp, and has little room to maneuver.

Outgoing Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu abruptly resigned Monday, only hours after unveiling a new Cabinet that drew opposition from a key coalition partner. The shock resignation prompted calls for Macron to step down or dissolve parliament again. But they remained unanswered, with the president instead announcing on Wednesday that he would name a successor to Lecornu within 48 hours.

Political party leaders who met for more than two hours with Macron, at his request, on Friday emerged from the talks saying they weren’t certain what step the French leader would take next and that if he does name a prime minister, who it would be. Some cautioned that another prime minister picked from the ranks of Macron’s fragile centrist camp risks being disavowed by Parliament’s powerful lower house, prolonging the crisis.

“How can one expect that all this will end well?” said Marine Tondelier, leader of The Ecologists party. “The impression we get is that the more alone he is, the more rigid he becomes.”

Worried investors

Over the past year, Macron’s successive minority governments have collapsed in quick succession, leaving the European Union’s second-largest economy mired in political paralysis as France is faced with a debt crisis. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, France’s public debt stood at 3.346 trillion euros ($3.9 trillion), or 114% of gross domestic product.

France’s poverty rate also reached 15.4% in 2023, its highest level since records began in 1996, according to the latest data available from the national statistics institute.

The economic and political struggles are worrying financial markets, ratings agencies and the European Commission, which has been pushing France to comply with EU rules limiting debt.

Uncertainty surrounds the choice of the next PM

Macron, a centrist, could break with his habit and pick a figure from the left, which formed a coalition in the 2024 legislative elections. But left-wing opposition leaders said after the talks with Macron that he doesn’t appear to be leaning in that direction.

The two biggest opposition parties in the National Assembly — the far-right National Rally and the far-left France Unbowed party — weren’t invited to the discussions. The National Rally wants Macron to hold fresh legislative elections and France Unbowed wants him to resign.

Macron could also opt for a technocratic government in an attempt to sidestep partisan deadlock. He also has the option of re-appointing Lecornu, who has said that he’s not seeking the job but who remains a loyal ally and spent weeks before his resignation trying to build consensus around a budget.

Related Articles

UN council schedules emergency session Friday over US military actions at Venezuela’s request

Trump’s quest for the Nobel Peace Prize falls short again despite high-profile nominations

China hits US ships with retaliatory port fees before trade talks

Arctic seals and more than half of bird species are in trouble on latest list of threatened species

Fear and vigilance rise as attacks on houses of worship intensify worldwide

Lecornu argued earlier this week that Macron’s centrist bloc, its allies, and parts of the opposition could still clump together into a working government. “There’s a majority that can govern,” he said. “I feel that a path is still possible. It is difficult.”

In any case, the new prime minister will have to seek compromises to avoid an immediate vote of no confidence and may even be forced to abandon an extremely unpopular pension reform that was one of Macron’s signature policies in his second presidential term. Rammed through parliament without a vote in 2023 despite mass protests, it gradually raises the retirement age from 62 to 64. Opposition parties want it to be scrapped.

The political deadlock stems from Macron’s shock decision in June 2024 to dissolve the National Assembly. The snap elections produced a hung parliament, with no bloc able to command a majority in the 577-seat chamber. The gridlock has unnerved investors, infuriated voters, and stalled efforts to curb France’s spiraling deficit and public debt.

Without stable support, Macron’s governments have stumbled from one crisis to the next, collapsing as they sought backing for unpopular spending cuts. Lecornu’s resignation, just 14 hours after announcing his Cabinet, underscored the fragility of the president’s coalition amid deep political and personal rivalries.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drone and missile strikes wounded at least 20 people in Kyiv, damaged residential buildings and caused blackouts across swaths of Ukraine early Friday, authorities said. A child also was killed in separate attacks in the southeast of the country.

In the heart of the Ukrainian capital, rescue crews pulled more than 20 people out of a 17-story apartment building as flames engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five people were hospitalized, while others received first aid at the scene, authorities said.

“Everyone was sleeping and suddenly there was such a sharp sound; it was clear that something was flying. I managed to pull the blanket over my head, and then the strike hit — it blew out the windows, and the glass flew almost all the way to the door,” 61-year-old resident Tetiana Lemishevska told The Associated Press.

“The fire was on the sixth or seventh floor at first, and the flames went up quickly and spread to other floors. So all the people who could left the building without knowing how it would end,” she said.

The Russian strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepared for falling winter temperatures, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko also described the attack as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, reported power outages in Kyiv and the wider region, as well as in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy regions.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that Friday’s attack knocked out power on both sides of the city, divided by the Dnipro River, while Ukraine’s biggest electricity operator, DTEK, said that repair work was already underway on multiple damaged thermal plants.

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday said the strikes had targeted energy facilities supplying Ukraine’s military. It did not give details of those facilities, but said Russian forces used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and strike drones against them.

The energy sector has been a key battleground since Russia launched its all-out invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Each year, Russia has tried to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before the bitter winter season, apparently hoping to erode public morale. Ukraine’s winter temperatures run from late October through March, with January and February the coldest months.

Ukraine’s air force said Friday that the latest Russian barrage included 465 strike and decoy drones, as well as 32 missiles of various types. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 405 drones and 15 missiles, it said.

Related Articles

UN council schedules emergency session Friday over US military actions at Venezuela’s request

Trump’s quest for the Nobel Peace Prize falls short again despite high-profile nominations

China hits US ships with retaliatory port fees before trade talks

Arctic seals and more than half of bird species are in trouble on latest list of threatened species

Fear and vigilance rise as attacks on houses of worship intensify worldwide

In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, residential areas and energy sites were pounded with attack drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing a 7-year-old boy and wounding his parents and others, military administration officials said. A hydroelectric plant in the area was taken offline as a precaution, they said.

Associated Press journalist Vasilisa Stepanenko contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

By SAMY MAGDY and LEE KEATH

CAIRO (AP) — Bombardment stopped and Israeli troops pulled back in Gaza on Friday under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But will the agreement lead, as U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed, to “a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace”?

It took pressure on Israel and Hamas from the United States, Arab countries and Turkey, each saying it was time to end a two-year war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, sparked other conflicts around the region and increasingly isolated Israel.

That push sealed an agreement on a first phase that is to free the remaining living Israeli hostages within days in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

But it left unanswered a long list of questions over what happens next.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel wants to ensure that Hamas disarms. Hamas wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza and is not allowed to restart the war. At the same time, a postwar government for Gaza must be worked out to replace Hamas’ rule. Without that, reconstruction is unlikely, leaving Gaza’s more than 2 million people in continued misery.

With no trust between the sides, much relies on continued pressure from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. Any hitch in working out those intertwined issues could unravel everything and potentially lead to Israel resuming its campaign to destroy Hamas.

Here is what we know about the deal.

The first steps begin

The ceasefire came into effect at noon Friday. The Israeli military said it had pulled back its troops to lines inside Gaza agreed on for the first day, withdrawing from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza’s far north and the wide strip along Gaza’s border with Israel.

The military said Palestinians displaced to the south would be able to move back to their homes in the north. Thousands were already filling roads heading north.

By Monday, Hamas is to release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive. Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinians, including several hundred serving prison sentences and others seized from Gaza during the war. Hamas also will hand over the remains of around 28 hostages believed to have died, though for logistical reasons that may take longer.

At the same time, hundreds of aid trucks will start moving into Gaza.

Negotiations for the next phases would then begin.

Troop withdrawal

Hamas had long insisted it would not release its last hostages unless Israeli troops leave Gaza completely. After agreeing to free them first, Hamas says it is relying on guarantees from Trump that the full withdrawal will happen.

How long it will take — weeks, months, years — is unknown.

An initial 20-point plan issued by Trump last week called for Israel to maintain a narrow buffer zone within Gaza along their shared border, and Israel has also spoken of keeping hold of the Philadelphi corridor, a strip of land on Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Israel is unlikely to relinquish those areas unless Hamas disarms and the void left in running Gaza is filled by a body that Israel deems palatable.

Trump’s plan also called for an Arab-led international security force to move into Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy.

It is not known whether that system will be followed or an alternative will be negotiated.

Disarmament

Hamas long refused to give up its weapons, saying it had a right to armed resistance until Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories ends.

For Israel, disarmament is a key demand. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said its campaign will not end until Hamas’ military capabilities are dismantled, including the network of tunnels built around the territory.

There are signs, however, that Hamas could agree to a “decommissioning” of its offensive weapons, handing them over to a joint Palestinian-Egyptian committee, according to the Arab officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Future government

Israel has said it wants Gaza purged of Hamas influence. But it has also rejected giving any role to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority or any arrangement that could lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has agreed to step down from governing the territory and hand over governance to a body of Palestinian technocrats.

What takes its place is uncertain.

Under Trump’s plan, an international body will govern. The Council of Peace and Board of Peace have both been floated as names for the body.

It would hold most power while overseeing the administration of Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. It would also hold the commanding role of directing reconstruction in Gaza. Trump’s initial 20-point plan called for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lead the body.

Hamas has so far not agreed, saying Gaza’s government should be worked out among Palestinians.

The stakes

Israelis celebrated the agreement announced overnight after three days of talks in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. For much of the Israeli public, freeing the last of the hostages held for two years has been their top priority.

But Palestinians in Gaza were more uncertain. There was relief that the relentless bombardment and ground offensives may stop for a time and aid may flow in. But there was also skepticism and worry over how long any pause in fighting would last, whether hundreds of thousands will be able to return to their homes, and whether Gaza — its cities largely in ruins — will ever be rebuilt.

Related Articles

Thousands of Palestinians return to what remains of their homes as Gaza ceasefire takes effect

UN is ready to surge aid into Gaza and waiting for green light from Israel after deal

These numbers show how 2 years of war have devastated Palestinian lives in Gaza

Hundreds of evangelical Christians in Jerusalem to show support for Israel cheer the peace push

Palestinians in Gaza express relief and caution as ceasefire deal raises hopes of ending the war

Many Palestinians fear Israel will take any breakdown in the talks as a chance to resume its assault. For months, Netanyahu and his hard-line allies have insisted they will keep long-term direct security control over Gaza and have spoken of pushing out its Palestinian population, ostensibly on a “voluntary” basis. In Gaza, many believe that remains Israel’s objective.

Pressure from the U.S. and its allies — if it continues after hostages are out — could prevent Israel from relaunching a full-fledged war.

But there is another, murkier scenario.

If Hamas and Israel cannot reach a final deal or negotiations drag on inconclusively, Gaza could slide into an unstable limbo, with Israeli troops still holding parts of it and Hamas still active. In that case, Israel would be unlikely to allow significant reconstruction, leaving Gaza’s population languishing in tent camps or shelters.