By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Justice Department official under scrutiny over a whistleblower’s claims that he suggested ignoring court orders will face questions on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as he seeks to be confirmed as a federal appeals court judge.

Related Articles

US Rep. LaMonica McIver pleads not guilty to assault charges stemming from immigration center visit

Kennedy’s new vaccine advisers meet for first time

Trump’s budget bill could complicate 2026 tax filing season after IRS cuts, watchdog warns

Trump defends US strikes on Iran as intel assessment stirs debate

How US adults’ views on same-sex marriage have changed since the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling

Emil Bove, a former criminal defense attorney for President Donald Trump, has been behind some of the most contentious actions that Justice Department leadership has taken since January. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing comes a day after a former Justice Department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower complaint that he was fired after resisting efforts to defy judicial orders.

Bove was nominated last month by the Republican president to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Bove was on the defense team during Trump’s New York hush money trial and defended Trump in the two federal criminal cases brought by the Justice Department.

The White House said Bove “is unquestionably qualified for the role and has a career filled with accolades, both academically and throughout his legal career, that should make him a shoo-in for the Third Circuit.”

“The President is committed to nominating constitutionalists to the bench who will restore law and order and end the weaponization of the justice system, and Emil Bove fits that mold perfectly,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in an email.

Bove is likely to face heated questions over the allegations made by the whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, who was fired in April after conceding in court that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who had been living in Maryland, was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison. Reuveni sent a letter on Tuesday to members of Congress and the Justice Department’s inspector general seeking an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by Bove and other officials in the weeks leading up to his firing.

Reuveni described a Justice Department meeting in March concerning Trump’s plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act over what the president claimed was an invasion by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Reuveni says Bove raised the possibility that a court might block the deportations before they could happen. Reuveni claims Bove used a profanity in saying the department would need to consider telling the courts what to do and “ignore any such order,” Reuveni’s lawyers said in the letter.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche called the allegations “utterly false,” saying that he was at the March meeting and “at no time did anyone suggest a court order should not be followed.”

“Planting a false hit piece the day before a confirmation hearing is something we have come to expect from the media, but it does not mean it should be tolerated,” Blanche wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

Bove has been at the center of other moves that have roiled the Justice Department in recent months, including the order to dismiss New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption case. Bove’s order prompted the resignation of several Justice Department officials, including Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, who accused the department of acceding to a quid pro quo — dropping the case to ensure Adams’ help with Trump’s immigration agenda.

By MARIAM FAM

Born and raised in Iran, Fariba Pajooh, was detained in her country before coming to the United States. She wants to see changes in her homeland — but not by Israel firing missiles or the U.S. dropping bombs.

“Iranian people deserve democracy and freedom,” said the 45-year-old doctoral candidate in Detroit. “But real change cannot come through foreign military attacks, missiles and bombs. History has shown that democracy is not delivered by force.”

The fast-changing war between Israel and Iran, in which the U.S. recently inserted itself by targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, has caused a mix of emotions — including fear and uncertainty — among many in the Iranian diaspora in America and also showcased differences of opinion over the country’s future.

Florida House legislator Anna V. Eskamani, the daughter of Iranian immigrants, stressed that complexity.

“I think most of the diaspora is united in wanting to see a different government in Iran and wanting to see a democracy in Iran, but I think we’re also very concerned about the health and safety of our loved ones and the impact on innocent civilians.”

FILE – Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani talks with a colleague at the end of a meeting of the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee during a legislative session at the state Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Diaspora divided on approach to change in Iran

Some, like Eskamani, support diplomacy rather than war; others, she said, hope military action can lead to an overthrow of the Iranian government.

“It’s very difficult, because not only are you just worried about what’s happening with your family, but then you’re worried about the division within the community here in the United States and around the world,” she said “So it’s just layer upon layer of complexity.”

Israel launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran on June 13, saying it could not let Tehran develop atomic weapons and feared it was close to doing so. Iran has long maintained that its program is peaceful.

After the two nations volleyed strikes for several days, a fragile ceasefire now appears to be holding. If it does, it will provide a global sense of relief after the U.S. intervened by dropping bunker-buster bombs on nuclear sites over the weekend.

President Donald Trump said he was not seeking regime change in Iran, two days after first appearing to float the idea.

“I’d like to see everything calm down as quickly as possible,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don’t want to see so much chaos.”

Fearing for family in Iran

It has been an intense period, especially for those with relatives in Iran. Pajooh said she and her mother were worried about Pajooh’s grandfather in Tehran who initially was unable to evacuate before later managing to do so.

“My mom is a tough woman,” she said. “When she calls me and cries, it’s a big thing, because always I call her and cry,” Pajooh added, her voice breaking with emotion.

Since the ceasefire, “my heart is not as heavy as it was,” she said. “I feel I can breathe.”

Pajooh, who worked as a journalist in Iran, said she was arrested and held there twice. Still, she said, any changes in the country should be the decision of the Iranian people there.

“We don’t want you to bring us democracy with your bombs,” she said. “It’s our work. We are doing it.”

In California, Sharona Nazarian, the mayor of Beverly Hills and a Jewish immigrant from Iran, forcefully defended Israel’s decision to attack.

“A nuclear-armed Iranian regime would pose a grave danger,” she told a city council meeting last week. “Israel’s action, though difficult, reflects a preemptive effort to prevent a potential catastrophe.”

She added: “True change in Iran must come from its own people. … My hope is that they will unite with strength and reclaim their future.”

Intellectually torn and emotionally messy

Rachel Sumekh grew up in Los Angeles and is Jewish. Her parents are Iranian; she has extended family in Iran and closer relatives in Israel. She knows many people of Iranian descent in the U.S. are supportive of the war because they want the “regime changed.”

“I’m just praying that this leads to more freedom and liberation for the people of Iran,” Sumekh said. “But if history has taught us anything, it’s that in the Middle East, bombs alone are not the way to create lasting peace. This is all messy and confusing and layered.”

Sumekh said that as she drove Monday near what’s known as Persian Square or “Tehrangeles,” she was surprised to see some people holding signs calling for the return of monarchy in Iran.

“Since when is a king democracy?” she said. “Regardless of what religion we belonged to, we all left Iran for a reason. Many people are upset in this moment and feel like if Iran goes back to the moment they left it, it’ll all be fine.”

In Massachusetts, when Elika Dadsetan first saw that the U.S. had struck Iran, she recalled thinking: No one wins in this.

“We want to make that change. We want to do it internally. We don’t want to have it be forced upon us and especially not from a place like Israel or the U.S., and not like this, not through bombing,” she said.

For about a week she has been having trouble getting updates from some relatives in Iran, as she grapples with grief, rage and heartbreak.

“We are resilient,” Dadsetan said. “We’ll get through this, just really, unfortunately, it will be a lot of pain before we do get through this.”

Associated Press writer Deepa Bharath contributed.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By MIKE STOBBE and LAURAN NEERGAARD

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers began their first meeting Wednesday under intense scrutiny from medical experts worried about Americans’ access to lifesaving shots.

First on the agenda is an awkward scenario: Kennedy already announced COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women, and his new advisers aren’t scheduled to vote on whether they agree. Yet government scientists prepared meeting materials calling vaccination “the best protection” during pregnancy — and said most children hospitalized for COVID-19 over the past year were unvaccinated.

COVID-19 remains a public health threat, resulting in 32,000 to 51,000 U.S. deaths and more than 250,000 hospitalizations since last fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most at risk for hospitalization are seniors and children under 2 — especially infants under 6 months who could have some protection if their mom got vaccinated during pregnancy, according to the CDC’s presentation.

It’s one signal that this week’s two-day meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices isn’t business as usual.

Another sign: Shortly before the meeting, a Virginia-based obstetrician and gynecologist stepped down from the committee, bringing the panel’s number to just seven. The Trump administration said Dr. Michael Ross withdrew during a customary review of members’ financial holdings.

The meeting opened as the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that it will continue publishing its own vaccine schedule for children but now will do so independently of the ACIP, calling it “no longer a credible process.”

The panel, created more than 60 years ago, helps the CDC determine who should be vaccinated against a long list of diseases, and when. Those recommendations have a big impact on whether insurance covers vaccinations and where they’re available, such as at pharmacies.

Earlier this month, Kennedy abruptly dismissed the existing 17-member expert panel and handpicked eight replacements, including several anti-vaccine voices. And a number of the CDC’s top vaccine scientists — including some who lead the reporting of data and the vetting of presentations at ACIP meetings — have resigned or been moved out of previous positions.

The highly unusual moves prompted a last-minute plea from a prominent Republican senator to delay this week’s meeting. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who chairs the chamber’s health committee, said Monday that many of Kennedy’s chosen panelists lack the required expertise and “may even have a preconceived bias” against new vaccine technologies.

In a House hearing Tuesday, Kennedy defended his purge, saying the old panel had been “a template for medical malpractice.”

Rep. Kim Schrier, a pediatrician and Democrat from Washington state, told Kennedy: “I will lay all responsibility for every death from a vaccine-preventable illness at your feet.”

Committee will vote on RSV protections

The two-day meeting’s agenda on was abruptly changed last week.

Discussion of COVID-19 shots will open the session on Wednesday. Later in the day, the committee will take up RSV, with votes expected. On Thursday, the committee will vote on fall flu vaccinations and on the use of a preservative in certain flu shots.

Related Articles

Minnesota hospitals report slight uptick in ‘adverse health events’

Lilly’s experimental obesity pill holds up to scrutiny in trial

‘Problematic’ MAHA report minimizes success of lifesaving asthma medicines, doctors say

AI is influencing women’s health in new ways, from fertility to menopause

The number of abortions kept rising in 2024 because of telehealth prescriptions, report finds

RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be dangerous for infants.

In 2023, U.S. health officials began recommending two new measures to protect infants — a lab-made antibody for newborns and a vaccine for pregnant women — that experts say likely drove an improvement in infant mortality.

The committee will discuss another company’s newly approved antibody shot, but the exact language for the vote was not released prior to the meeting.

“I think there may be a theme of soft-pedaling or withdrawing recommendations for healthy pregnant women and healthy children,” even though they are at risk from vaccine-preventable diseases, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University who co-authored a recent medical journal commentary criticizing the COVID-19 vaccination decision.

Flu shot recommendations to be debated

At its June meetings, the committee usually refreshes guidance for Americans 6 month and older to get a flu shot, and helps greenlight the annual fall vaccination campaign.

But given the recent changes to the committee and federal public health leadership, it’s unclear how routine topics will be treated, said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher who has studied the committee.

Thursday also promises controversy. The advisory panel is set to consider a preservative in a subset of flu shots that Kennedy and some antivaccine groups have falsely contended is tied to autism. In preparation, the CDC posted a new report confirming that research shows no link between the preservative, thimerosal, and autism or any other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Gostin said the agenda appears to be “a combination of what we would normally expect ACIP to cover along with a mixture of potential conspiracy theories,” he said. “We clearly are in a new normal that’s highly skeptical of vaccine science.”

The committee’s recommendations traditionally go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. Historically, nearly all are accepted and then used by insurance companies in deciding what vaccines to cover.

But the CDC currently has no director, so the committee’s recommendations have been going to Kennedy, and he has yet to act on a couple recommendations ACIP made in April.

The CDC director nominee, Susan Monarez, is slated to go before a Senate committee on Wednesday.

Neergaard reported from Washington.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By JOCELYN GECKER, AP Education Writer

For her 6th grade honors class, math teacher Ana Sepúlveda wanted to make geometry fun. She figured her students “who live and breathe soccer” would be interested to learn how mathematical concepts apply to the sport. She asked ChatGPT for help.

Within seconds, the chatbot delivered a five-page lesson plan, even offering a theme: “Geometry is everywhere in soccer — on the field, in the ball, and even in the design of stadiums!”

It explained the place of shapes and angles on a soccer field. It suggested classroom conversation starters: Why are those shapes important to the game? It proposed a project for students to design their own soccer field or stadium using rulers and protractors.

“Using AI has been a game changer for me,” said Sepúlveda, who teaches at a dual language school in Dallas and has ChatGPT translate everything into Spanish. “It’s helping me with lesson planning, communicating with parents and increasing student engagement.”

Across the country, artificial intelligence tools are changing the teaching profession as educators use them to help write quizzes and worksheets, design lessons, assist with grading and reduce paperwork. By freeing up their time, many say the technology has made them better at their jobs.

A poll released Wednesday by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found 6 in 10 U.S. teachers working in K-12 public schools used AI tools for their work over the past school year, with heavier use among high school educators and early-career teachers. It surveyed more than 2,000 teachers nationwide in April.

Respondents who use AI tools weekly estimate they save them about six hours a week, suggesting the technology could help alleviate teacher burnout, said Gallup research consultant Andrea Malek Ash, who authored the report.

States are issuing guidelines for using AI tools in classrooms

As schools navigate concerns over student abuse of the technology, some are also are introducing guidelines and training for educators so teachers are aware of avoiding shortcuts that shortchange students.

About two dozen states have state-level AI guidance for schools, but the extent to which it is applied by schools and teachers is uneven, says Maya Israel, an associate professor of educational technology and computer science education at the University of Florida.

“We want to make sure that AI isn’t replacing the judgment of a teacher,” Israel said.

Related Articles

Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms

Construction begins on 6 schools in Washington County. Here’s a look at what’s planned.

UMN hikes tuition 6.5%, makes program cuts at all campuses

Justice Department challenges Kentucky regulation allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students

Photos: Park Cottage Grove Class of 2025 graduation

If teachers are using chatbots for grading they should be aware the tools are good for “low-level” grading like multiple choice tests but less effective when nuance is required. There should be a way for students to alert teachers if the grading is too harsh or inconsistent, and the final grading decision needs to remain with the educator, she said.

About 8 in 10 teachers who use AI tools say it saves them time on work tasks like making worksheets, assessments, quizzes or on administrative work. And about 6 in 10 teachers who use AI tools said they are improving the quality of their work when it comes to modifying student materials, or giving student feedback.

“AI has transformed how I teach. It’s also transformed my weekends and given me a better work-life balance,” said Mary McCarthy, a high school social studies teacher in the Houston area who has used AI tools for help with lesson plans and other tasks.

McCarthy said training she received from her school district on AI tools has helped her model proper use for her students.

“If I’m on the soapbox of, ‘AI is bad and kids are going to get dumb,’ well yeah if we don’t teach them how to use the tool,” said McCarthy. “It feels like my responsibility as the adult in the room to help them figure out how to navigate this future.”

Teachers say the technology is best used sparingly

Views on the role of artificial intelligence in education have shifted dramatically since ChatGPT launched in late 2022. Schools around the country initially banned it, but since then many have sought ways to incorporate it into classrooms. Concerns about student overuse and misuse are still prevalent: About half of teachers worry that student use of AI will decrease teens’ ability to think critically and independently or to have persistence when problem solving, according to the study.

One benefit teachers see in becoming more familiar with artificial intelligence is the ability to spot when students are overusing it.

Clues that assignments are written by AI tools include an absence of grammatical errors and complex phrases in writing, said Colorado high school English teacher Darren Barkett. He said he relies on ChatGPT himself to create lesson plans and grade multiple choice tests and essays.

In suburban Chicago, middle school art teacher Lindsay Johnson said she uses only AI programs vetted by her school and deemed safe to use with minors, for data privacy and other concerns. To ensure students feel confident in their skills, she said she brings the technology in only for later stages of projects.

For her 8th graders’ final assessment, Johnson asked them to make a portrait of an influential person in their lives. After students put final touches on their subject’s face, Johnson introduced generative AI for those who wanted help designing the background. She used an AI tool within Canva, after checking with her district’s IT department that the design software passed its privacy screener.

“As an art teacher my goal is to let them know the different tools that are out there and to teach them how those tools work,” she said. Some students weren’t interested in the help. “Half the class said, ‘I’ve got a vision, and am going to keep going with it.’”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.