BY MELISSA GOLDIN, Associated Press

In a visit Tuesday to Warren, Michigan, President Donald Trump celebrated his first 100 days back in office by touting his accomplishments, while embellishing some and misrepresenting others.

The speech of about 90 minutes was reminiscent of a campaign rally and covered much of the same ground as he lobbed insults at the previous administration and detractors.

In highlighting his accomplishments, he made a number of false and misleading statements on topics such as the state of the economy and the price of eggs.

Here’s a look at the facts.

Trump exaggerates drop in gas prices

TRUMP: “Gasoline was almost $4 not so long ago. And now, Mike, we just hit $1.98 in a lot of states. Think of it.”

THE FACTS: As of Tuesday, no state had an average gas price of $1.98. Mississippi had the lowest price, at $2.67 per gallon of regular gas. Trump previously made this claim about the level of gas prices on April 16, but they had not fallen as low as $1.98 that day either — or any day in the last two weeks. Mississippi and Tennessee were tied for the lowest average price on April 16, at $2.707 per gallon of regular gas.

National average prices rose under former President Joe Biden to a high of $5.01 in June 2022 before falling to $3.09 in December of that year. Prices rose again to a high of $3.88 in September 2023, but were down to $3.139 in December 2024. They were at $3.13 nationally as of Tuesday. The last time prices surpassed $4 was in August 2022.

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Cost of eggs not as low as Trump says

TRUMP: “Since I took office, the cost of eggs is down 87% now.”

THE FACTS: The retail price of a dozen large eggs decreased in price to $2.07 in September 2023, but has been on the rise since October 2024. As of March, they were up to $6.23.

Wholesale egg prices, on the other hand, fell significantly in March, but not by 87%. They were at a high of $8.17 for a dozen large eggs on March 3 and had dropped to $2.92 by March 26 — a decrease of approximately 64%.

University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson told the AP earlier this month that because the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices.

Inflation was already falling under Biden

TRUMP: “We’re ending the inflation nightmare. The worst that we’ve had, probably in the history of our country.”

THE FACTS: Inflation started falling long before Trump started his second term. Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1% in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December, it had fallen to 2.9%. The most recent data shows that, as of March, it had fallen to 2.4%. Other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14% rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.

Coal production is cleaner, but it still creates emissions

TRUMP: “We stopped their crusade on coal. Did you see what I did the other day? Clean, beautiful coal.”

THE FACTS: The production of coal is cleaner now than it has been historically, but that doesn’t mean it’s clean.

Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the coal industry have decreased over the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Energy lobbyist Scott Segal told the AP earlier this month that “the relative statement that coal-fired electricity is cleaner than ever before is true, particularly when emissions are measured per unit of electricity produced.”

And yet, coal production worldwide still needs to be reduced sharply to address climate change, according to United Nations-backed research.

Along with carbon dioxide, burning coal emits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog and respiratory illnesses, according to the EIA.

Trump misleads on Biden-era ‘electric vehicle mandate’

TRUMP: “I terminated Joe Biden’s insane electric vehicle mandate where you were mandated to buy an electric vehicle. You were mandated within just a few years to buy an electric vehicle.”

THE FACTS: It’s misleading to claim that the Biden administration implemented such a mandate. In April 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency announced strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles. The agency said these limits could be met if 67% of new-vehicle sales are electric by 2032.

And yet, the new rule did not include a requirement for automakers to boost electric vehicle sales directly. It set emissions limits and allowed automakers to choose how to meet them.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on March 12 that the agency would reconsider the rule, but it has not yet been terminated.

In 2019, Kamala Harris co-sponsored a bill as a U.S. senator called the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that would have required 100% of new passenger vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2040. The bill, which stalled in committee, did not ban ownership of vehicles that produce emissions.

Monday had most of the ingredients needed for severe weather in southern Minnesota, but the absence of certain conditions kept it from becoming the worst-case scenario.

Heavy rain, small hail and high winds were reported across south-central Minnesota, though the Twin Cities were largely unscathed.

As the storm barreled east, it produced a confirmed a small tornado in Rice County near Faribault and Kenyon, causing structure damage to a farm, according to National Weather Service storm reports.

It could’ve been worse along the storm’s line if any “discrete” cells had formed ahead of it, said NWS meteorologist Brennan Dettmann.

“We didn’t see much of that,” he said. “We mainly saw just the line, so all the damage we saw was confined to that line that moved through.”

If one or more of the cells had formed, the fuel coming from the line could’ve produced the severe outcomes warned about in early forecasts.

A number of school districts sent students and staff home early on Monday, anticipating the severe weather and possible tornadoes.

As it happened, the storm’s damage in south-central Minnesota was mostly limited to isolated tree damage and hail damage. NWS crews were out surveying the storm path in southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin to assess the aftermath, Dettmann said.

One initial report of a tornado near Fairmont turned out to be a “gustnado.” This phenomenon has similar rotation to a tornado at the surface without a connection to the base of the storm.

Four small tornadoes were also confirmed in southern Eau Claire County, Wis.

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The Minnesota Senate on Monday passed its omnibus liquor bill, which includes provisions to allow Minnesota cities to create “social districts” where alcohol could be consumed publicly.

The bill, SF2511 , authored by Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, passed in a 53-12 vote Monday after debate on the Senate floor. The bill includes a provision allowing cities statewide to establish “social districts” — designated areas where people can purchase beer, wine and cocktails from licensed establishments and legally consume them in specified public spaces, such as sidewalks and streets.

The Minnesota Legislature first passed a pilot program for a social district in Anoka County in 2022 and expanded the pilot program option to Stillwater and Shakopee in 2024.

The bill includes parameters for cities that want to pass a social district ordinance. Cities must establish specific boundaries and hours of operation, and alcohol must be bought from nearby licensed establishments, served in approved non-glass containers and consumed only within the district, according to the bill language.

Cities are barred from hosting cannabis events in the same space as designated social districts.

The bill also stipulates that cities must post clear signage and make a report on a social district’s impact within 24 months of its creation.

“With this provision, we can give our cities the freedom to innovate while maintaining the safeguards that Minnesotans expect,” Klein said in a statement following passage Monday. “I look forward to seeing social districts contribute to even more thriving, connected communities across our state.”

The social district legislation was originally authored by Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL–St. Cloud, in SF1182 , before being incorporated into the omnibus liquor policy bill. SF2511 now heads to the House for consideration.

Minnesota is on its way to officially recognizing the service of Hmong and Lao and other veterans who fought alongside the U.S. in the “Secret War” during the 1960s and 1970s in Laos.

A veterans and military affairs bill passed by the state House on Tuesday night creates a path to grant official state veteran status for fighters recruited into Special Guerrilla Units by the CIA during the Vietnam War to fight communist forces in Southeast Asia.

The anniversary of the fall of Saigon this week marks 50 years since the U.S. ended its involvement in Vietnam, and supporters of the bill gathered at the state Capitol with surviving veterans of the Secret War to call for greater recognition.

“Today, we say their service matters, their sacrifice matters, their story is American history,” said Rep. Jay Xiong, DFL-St. Paul, co-author of the veterans bill and the son and grandson of Hmong soldiers.

He added: “Recognizing SGUs isn’t just symbolic, it’s a long overdue act of respect.”

‘Burden of being forgotten’

Lee Pao Xiong, a professor from the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University, addresses the media at a Capitol news conference on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, along with state lawmakers and Hmong veterans of the "Secret War" in Laos in the 1960s and ’70s. (Alex Derosier / Pioneer Press)

Ya Lee, a Special Guerrilla Unit veteran who flew T-28 warplanes, said there is limited time to recognize surviving veterans for their sacrifices, and that they carry the “burden of being forgotten.”

Lee, who said he is among 10 remaining T-28 pilots living in the U.S., was among dozens of veterans at the Capitol on Tuesday who showed up in military uniforms to support the bill.

At a news conference promoting the bill, Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, said it’s not exactly clear how many SGU veterans remain in Minnesota, but that it’s likely fewer than 1,000.

During the 1960s and 1970s, many groups across Southeast Asia found themselves drawn into a U.S. war against communist forces within and beyond the borders of Vietnam.

Many faced persecution by their governments as a result, with many hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes and eventually ending up in the U.S. But official recognition for their contributions to the war efforts remained elusive for decades.

Legislation

The House passed a large veterans and military affairs bill containing the Secret War acknowledgement language by a vote of 126-6 on Tuesday, though it’ll need a little more work since it differs from the version passed by the Senate. Once those have been smoothed over in a conference committee, the House and Senate will have to vote once again before it can go to Gov. Tim Walz.

If signed into law by the governor, the bill would create a definition for veterans of the Secret War in Laos and criteria for eligibility for benefits and privileges for veterans. Those include designation as a veteran on driver’s licenses and ID cards, access to state veterans cemeteries, and access to preference in private employment.

Anyone who became a citizen under the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act of 2000 will automatically get Secret War veteran status. Eligibility also extends to those who received a Medal of Honor, Purple Heart or other military award for service in support of the U.S. military operating in Laos.

Beyond immediate recognition of veterans who got citizenship for their service, the Minnesota commissioner of Veterans Affairs would be empowered to recognize veterans who served with a special guerrilla unit or other forces that operated from a base in Laos between February 1961 and May 1975.

State task force

A state task force created by the bill is charged with overseeing the process for official recognition. It is to include the Minnesota veterans commissioner, a U.S. Veterans Affairs Department official, a Hmong American Minnesota resident who served in the military, two Secret War veterans, a U.S. Vietnam veteran and other history and veterans’ issues specialists.

While the bill creates a process to recognize anyone involved in the Secret War in Laos, a group backing a bill earlier this legislative session to recognize Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian veterans expressed disappointment that language didn’t mention those groups by name.

Bana Soumetho, who was born to Lao refugee parents in Thailand and has been working to establish explicit recognition for a broader group of Secret War veterans in state law, expressed her frustration in an email.

“This year marked what may have been the final meaningful opportunity for many of our aging veterans to receive public acknowledgment,” she wrote. “Instead, it became a painful reminder of how easily their stories can be overlooked — even when the intent is recognition.”

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