By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are taking the first steps to change the chamber’s rules on Thursday, making it easier to confirm groups of President Donald Trump’s nominees and overcome Democratic delays.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s move is the latest salvo after a dozen years of gradual changes by both parties to weaken the filibuster and make the nominations process more partisan. He has said the Democrats’ obstruction is “unsustainable” as they have drawn out the confirmation process and infuriated Trump as many positions in his administration have remained unfilled.

Opening up the Senate, Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said that the delays have prevented the Senate from spending time on legislative business.

“We’re going to fix this today, and restore the longtime Senate precedent of expeditious confirmation, and the Senate’s role as first and foremost a legislative body,” Thune said.

Republicans are taking a series of procedural votes Thursday on a group of 48 of Trump’s nominees, and are expected to vote to “overturn the chair,” or change the rules, which takes a simple majority vote. If all goes according to their plan, the nominees — undersecretaries and staff positions for various agencies across the government as well as several ambassadors — could be confirmed by next week.

The rules change effort comes as both parties have obstructed the other’s nominees for years, and as both Republicans and Democrats have advocated speeding the process when they are in the majority. The Republican rules change stops short of speeding up votes on high-level Cabinet officials and lifetime judicial appointments, and it is loosely based on a proposal from Democrats under President Joe Biden.

Republicans have been pushing the rules change since early August, when the Senate left for a monthlong recess after a breakdown in bipartisan negotiations over the confirmation process and Trump told Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to “GO TO HELL!” on social media.

Democrats have blocked more nominees than ever before as they have struggled to find ways to oppose Trump and the GOP-dominated Congress, and as their voters have pushed them to fight Republicans at every turn. It’s the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn’t allowed at least some quick confirmations.

Schumer has said Democrats are delaying the nominations because Trump’s nominees are “historically bad.”

“If you don’t debate nominees, if you don’t vote on individual nominees, if there’s not some degree of sunlight, what will stop Donald Trump from nominating even worse individuals than we’ve seen to date, knowing this chamber will rubber stamp anything he wishes?” Schumer said Monday.

Schumer told Republicans that they will “come to regret” their action — echoing a similar warning from GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to then-Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 2013, when Democrats changed Senate rules for executive branch and lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations. At the time, Republicans were blocking President Barack Obama’s picks.

Republicans took the Senate majority a year later, and McConnell eventually did the same for Supreme Court nominees in 2017 as Democrats tried to block Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch.

“I say to my Republican colleagues, think carefully before taking this step,” Schumer said.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press

Income inequality dipped, more people had college degrees, fewer people moved to a different home and the share of Asian and Hispanic residents increased in the United States last year, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

These year-to-year changes, big and small, from 2023 to 2024 were captured in the bureau’s data from the American Community Survey, the largest annual audit of American life. The survey of 3.5 million households asks about more than 40 topics, including income, housing costs, veterans status, computer use, commuting, and education.

Here’s a look at how the United States changed last year.

Income inequality dips

Income inequality — or the gap between the highest and lowest earners — in the United States fell nationwide by nearly a half percent from 2023 to 2024, as median household income rose slightly, from $80,002 to $81,604.

Five Midwestern states — Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin — had statistically significant dips, along with Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Puerto Rico.

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North Carolina was the only state to see a statistically significant rise in inequality. North Carolina State economist Michael Walden said it reflected the state generating high-paying jobs in tech and other professional sectors, while the post-pandemic labor shortage which raised wages in lower-paying service jobs had ended.

In South Dakota, which had a leading 4% drop, the inequality dip “could reflect stronger growth in the household income among lower and middle income households (or smaller growth in the income of the highest brackets),” state demographer Weiwei Zhang said Wednesday in an email.

In Nebraska, it could be high employment rates across all demographic groups since “high employment leads to income, thus less income inequality,” said Josie Schafer, director of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

In Massachusetts, one of the traditional strengths of the state’s economy — high-paying jobs in life science, high tech and research — has been sluggish in the past two years, said Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research at a University of Massachusetts Amherst institute.

“The typical jobs in this industry are the kind of thing that helps Massachusetts have the highest per capita (income) in the country but also exacerbates some elements of income inequality,” Melnik said.

FILE – Dark storm clouds hang over TD Ameritrade Park and the Omaha skyline in Omaha, Neb., Friday, June 20, 2014, as the rain starts coming down. (AP Photo/Eric Francis, file)

Greater diversity and fewer people married

The United States became more demographically diverse, and fewer people were married from 2023 to 2024.

The non-Hispanic white population, who identify with only a single race, dropped from 57.1% to 56.3%, while the share of the nation’s Asian population rose from 6% to 6.3% and the Hispanic population rose from 19.4% to 20%. The rate of the Black population stayed the same at 12.1%, as did the American Indian Alaska Native alone population at 1%.

In the marriage department, the share of men who have never married increased from 37.2% to 37.6%, and it rose from 31.6% to 32.1% for women.

Fewer people moved, as costs of renting and owning homes rose

Last year, only 11% of U.S. residents moved to another home, compared to 11.3% in the previous year. The decline of people moving this decade has been part of a continuous slide as home prices have skyrocketed in some metros and interest rates have gone up. In 2019, by comparison, 13.7% of U.S. residents moved.

The monthly costs for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 from $1,960. Homeowners with a mortgage in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) had the highest median monthly costs.

Costs for renters also increased as the median rent with utilities went from $1,448 to $1,487.

By GENE JOHNSON and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

OREM, Utah (AP) — Just weeks into the fall semester, a crowd gathered around a white canopy on a grassy college courtyard. They were eager to hear what the speaker beneath it had to say. It was a typical university scene, with its promise of the exchange of ideas and debate, except in one way: its size.

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This speaker was Charlie Kirk, one of the most influential voices in President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, and the event Wednesday at Utah Valley University drew more than 3,000 people. Backpack-toting students watched from surrounding buildings as Kirk, wearing a white T-shirt that said “Freedom,” tossed red MAGA caps, Frisbee-style, to his fans.

He took his place beneath the canopy, the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong” emblazoned across it. He picked up a handheld microphone and he began to address the audience.

As he answered a question about gun violence, a single shot cracked.

Campuses were Kirk’s frequent stops

Kirk, 31, a podcaster, founded the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA. He embraced notions of Christian nationalism and often made provocative statements about gender, race, religion and politics. He had insisted that it was worth it to have “some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”

Often he brought those ideas onto college campuses, where they were especially controversial. Kirk was known for openly debating progressives and challenging audiences to stump him on political points.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

His campus appearances often drew protests, and Wednesday’s was no different. Online petitions signed by thousands of people had called for his talk at Utah Valley University, as well as another, scheduled for Sept. 30 at Utah State University, to be canceled.

“As students at Utah Valley University, we have come to cherish an environment that strives for inclusivity and diversity,” one said. “Yet, the planned speaking engagement of Charlie Kirk threatens this ideal. Kirk’s presence and the messages he delivers stand in contrast to the values of understanding, acceptance, and progress that many of us hold dear.”

The university responded by affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”

No metal detectors or bag checks

As was typical for Kirk’s events, security was light. There were six university police officers assigned to the event, plus some private security. There were no metal detectors or bag checks, students told The Associated Press. Some attendees said no one even checked their tickets.

As Kirk arrived, cheers rose. The crowd packed a terraced courtyard, and students, including some protesters, watched from nearby buildings or overlooks.

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked.

Kirk responded, “Too many.”

The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.

Those were his last words before the bullet struck him. The shot came from a figure in dark clothing on a distant roof on campus, authorities said.

Blood gushed from Kirk’s neck. He held the microphone a moment, then slumped over.

The map above shows the site on the Utah Valley University campus where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot. (AP Digital Embed)

Madison Lattin, 21, was a few dozen feet to Kirk’s left when the shot echoed over. Lattin, who’d long looked up to Kirk, watched his body jerk and saw the blood.

And it clicked in her head: “That was a gunshot. Now what?”

Shock, followed by chaos and escape

“No! Charlie!” screamed an audience member.

“Go! Run! Go!” yelled another.

The crowd fled the plaza in multiple directions, some slipping and falling or leaping over benches as they did.

Cari Bartholomew, state director of Utah Moms for America, said she had taken her 17-year-old son out of school so he could attend Kirk’s event. They were joined by other women from the group and their kids. Bartholomew’s son was in line waiting to ask a question when Kirk was shot. Chaos ensued and she couldn’t find him as people ducked for cover and started running. She later learned her son was unharmed.

“All of us, we were trying to grab the little kids and getting them as near to us as possible,” she said.

Ryan DeVries, a 25 year-old who works in property management and volunteers as a first responder, said he was surprised by the lack of a security presence at the event; he left his firearm in his car as he anticipated having to walk through metal detectors.

He was weaving his way through the tightly packed crowd to pose a question to Kirk when he heard what sounded similar to a “popping” firework. Glancing at the stage after the shot was fired, DeVries saw Kirk’s head slumped.

A stampede rife with terror and panic soon erupted, said DeVries. Some attendees darted to a nearby building and ran through a water fountain to escape, he said. Others ducked and hid.

Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at the Utah Valley University, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Croewley/The Deseret News via AP)

“People definitely feared for their lives. I could see it in their eyes. I could hear it in their voices. People were crying. People were screaming,” DeVries said.

After the panic subsided, Erynn Lammi, a 35-year old student who heard the gunshot, saw AirPods, phones, keys and trash strewn across the courtyard. When she returned home, she said, she cried her eyes out, feeling for Kirk’s wife and children as she was reminded of the loss of her own father when she was 13.

“Powerlessness,” Lammi said.

In hours, his death echoed across the country

The shooting drew condemnation from across the political spectrum as an example of the escalating threat of political violence in the United States, including the assassination of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband in June and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington in May. President Donald Trump was shot in the ear on the campaign trail in western Pennsylvania last year.

In this image taken from video, SWAT heads into campus after Charlie Kirk was shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)

“Today, a young man was murdered in cold blood while expressing his political views,” said former President George W. Bush. “It happened on a college campus, where the open exchange of opposing ideas should be sacrosanct. Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square.”

Democratic former President Joe Biden posted his condolences on X. “There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” he wrote. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”

Late Wednesday night, the shooter remained at large. Police helicopters still circled over Orem in the early evening, and roadblocks caused congestion on the streets surrounding the campus. Armed officers walked around in small groups.

Just off campus, a man stood on a street corner holding a sign that read “R.I.P. Charlie.” A parade of trucks drove through town flying American flags in his honor.

At a nearby vigil, a few dozen people gathered, holding electric candles in the slanting afternoon light. As quiet attendees looked on, a chaotic afternoon behind them, speakers read Bible verses.

Johnson reported from Seattle. AP reporters from around the country contributed.

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage fell this week to its lowest level in nearly a year, reflecting a pullback in Treasury yields ahead of an expected interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week.

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The long-term rate eased to 6.35% from 6.5% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.2%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate slipped to 5.5% from 5.6% last week. A year ago, it was 5.27%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation.

Rates have been mostly declining since late July amid growing expectations that the Fed will cut its benchmark short-term interest rate for the first time this year at the central bank’s meeting of policymakers next week.

A similar pullback in rates happened in the leadup to September last year, when the Fed cut its rate in for the first time since March 2020 in the early days of the pandemic. Back then, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage got down to a 2-year low of 6.08%, but soon after climbed again, reaching above 7% by mid-January.

While the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, its actions can influence bond investors’ appetite for long-term U.S. government bonds, like 10-year Treasury notes. Lenders use the yield on 10-year Treasurys as a guide to pricing home loans.

The Fed has kept its main interest rate on hold this year because it’s been more worried about inflation potentially worsening because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs than about the job market.

But in a high-profile speech last month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank may cut rates in coming months amid concerns about weaker job gains following a grim July jobs report, which included massive downward revisions for June and May.

On Tuesday, revised jobs data from the government showed the U.S. job market was much weaker last year and this year than earlier data suggested. And the latest weekly snapshot of unemployment benefit claims shows more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, an indication that the number of layoffs could be rising.

The housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. Sales have remained sluggish so far this year as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has mostly hovered above 6.5%.

The average rate is now at its lowest level since Oct. 10, when it was 6.32%.