By HILLEL ITALIE

As the Trump administration prepares to close the Kennedy Center for a two-year renovation, the head of Washington’s performing arts center has warned its staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.”

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In a Tuesday memo obtained by The Associated Press, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell told staff that “departments will obviously function on a much smaller scale with some units totally reduced or on hold until we begin preparations to reopen in 2028,” promising “permanent or temporary adjustments for most everyone.”

A Kennedy Center spokesperson declined comment Wednesday.

Over the next few months, he wrote, department heads would be “evaluating the needs and making the decisions as to what these skeletal teams left in place during the facility and closure and construction phase will look like.” Grenell said leadership would “provide as much clarity and advance notice as possible.”

The Kennedy Center is slated to close in early July. Few details about what the renovations will look like have been released since President Donald Trump announced his plan at the beginning of February. Neither Trump nor Grenell have provided evidence to support claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, Trump had pledged it would remain open during renovations.

It’s unclear exactly how many employees the center currently has, but a 2025 tax filing said nearly 2,500 people were employed during the 2023 calendar year. A request for comment sent to Kennedy Center Arts Workers United, which represents artists and arts professionals affiliated with the center — wasn’t immediately returned.

A bronze sculpture of President John F. Kennedy is displayed in the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Leading performers and groups have left or canceled appearances since Trump ousted the center’s leadership a year ago and added his own name to the building in December. The Washington Post, which first reported about Grenell’s memo, has also cited significant drops in ticket revenue that — along with private philanthropy — comprises the center’s operating budget. Officials have yet to say whether such long-running traditions as the Mark Twain Award for comedy or the honors ceremony for lifetime contributions to the arts will continue while the center is closed.

The Kennedy Center was first conceived as a national cultural facility during the Eisenhower administration, in the 1950s. President John F. Kennedy led a fundraising initiative, and the yet-to-be-built center was named in his honor following his assassination. It opened in 1971 and has become a preeminent showcase for theater, music and dramatic performances, enjoying bipartisan backing until Trump’s return to office last year.

A bronze sculpture of President John F. Kennedy, left, is reflected in a mirror, right, in the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

“This renovation represents a generational investment in our future,” Grenell wrote. “When we reopen, we will do so as a stronger organization — one that honors our legacy while expanding our impact.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The youngest brother of late NFL star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman pleaded guilty this week to setting fire to a San Jose, California, post office last summer.

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Richard Tillman, 44, was arrested on July 20 after he rammed a car into the post office in a strip mall and then set the vehicle ablaze. The lobby of the building went up in flames. Nobody was hurt.

Tillman, of San Jose, on Monday entered a guilty plea in federal court to malicious destruction of government property.

“In pleading guilty, Tillman admitted that he intentionally set the fire in order to ‘make a point to the United States government,’” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

Prosecutors didn’t say what point Tillman was trying to make.

U.S. Postal Inspector Shannon Roark said in July that Tillman told officers at the scene he had livestreamed the incident on YouTube.

Tillman, who remains in federal custody, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced on April 27.

After the crash, his brother Kevin Tillman said in a statement that Richard Tillman had been suffering from “severe mental health issues” for many years, and the family was relieved no one was hurt.

Pat Tillman left the Arizona Cardinals to join the military after 9/11 and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 at age 27. His family is from the San Jose area.

Kevin Tillman also left his Major League Baseball career with the Anaheim Angels to serve in the military.

A man being pursued by federal agents in St. Paul crashed and was taken to the hospital Wednesday with non-life threatening injuries, according to St. Paul police.

Officers responded to a report of a crash at 9:40 a.m. at Western and Selby avenues. The man crashed into two vehicles before hitting a snowbank, said Sgt. Toy Vixayvong, a St. Paul police spokesman.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her spoke out amid the surge in federal immigration enforcement, saying Wednesday’s incident underscores that ICE is “causing chaos, and putting residents at risk in St. Paul.”

St. Paul fire department medics transported the man to a hospital. People in the vehicles that were struck did not need medical attention at the scene, according to Vixayvong.

The situation drew a crowd and Her added, “I want to thank those who continue to show up and keep watch over their neighbors. I also want to thank the St. Paul Police for staying on the scene to clean up and ensure those impacted received assistance.

“Because of the reckless way that ICE is running their operation, one person ended up in the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and several bystanders had their cars damaged,” she said. “This is just another incident that tells us loud and clear: Operation Metro Surge needs to end immediately.”

St. Paul police officers took a crash report and are investigating.

Police referred additional questions to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A Pioneer Press message to DHS wasn’t immediately returned.

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By JOSEPH WILSON

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Some saw it as a ground-breaking moment for transgender athletes when freestyle skier Elis Lundholm competed at the Winter Olympics.

As for Lundholm? He’s just focused on the sport.

“I haven’t really thought about it that much,” the 23-year-old Swede told reporters after finishing 25th in the women’s moguls qualifying on Wednesday, missing the final. “I’m here at the same conditions as everyone else, so yeah, I’m just skiing.”

Outsports, an LGBTQ+ sports website, reported before the competition started that Lundholm would become the first openly transgender athlete to compete at a Winter Games. The International Olympic Committee-endorsed online statistics site Olympedia lists more than 20 transgender athletes who have competed at the Summer Games, but none at the Winter Olympics.

Lundholm, who was assigned female at birth and identifies as a man, competes in the women’s category. The Swedish ski team said Lundholm has not undergone any gender-affirming treatment or surgery, meaning there is no discussion of having an unfair advantage.

Despite some voices on social media questioning whether he should compete with the women given he identifies as a man, Lundholm’s competitors have expressed no objections.

“I think it’s great that Elis is competing as the, I think, first transgender Winter Olympian,” U.S. skier Tess Johnson said. “I think that’s awesome and, yeah, I mean we’re here to ski we’re here to have fun and that’s exactly what we do.”

The soft-spoken Lundholm couldn’t agree more.

“I guess I want everyone to be able to be themselves and just do what they want to do,” Lundholm told reporters in Livigno.

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The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) wants to introduce a gene testing policy for gender eligibility in women’s events in the near future. That would follow genetic testing for gender eligibility introduced in world athletics.

From the late 1960s and for the next 30 years Olympic athletes competing in women’s events had to undergo a gender test and be issued with a “certificate of femininity,” until it was decided to be too intrusive and not accurate enough.

Last year, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee effectively barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports, saying they were complying with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

“I want everyone to be able to compete fairly against each other,” Lundholm said about testing that would not impact his eligibility but could affect other transgender athletes.

Most of all he wanted to keep his focus on improving his skiing.

“I’m happy to put down a run today. It wasn’t the best run,” he said. “There are some things to fix, but I’m happy.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics