By FERNANDA FIGUEROA and MATT BROWN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, commonly known as the “Six Triple Eight,” were honored Tuesday with the Congressional Gold Medal, following a long-running campaign to recognize their efforts.

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was credited with solving a growing mail crisis during its stint in England and, upon their return, serving as a role model to generations of Black women who joined the military.

They cleared out a backlog of about 17 million pieces of mail in three months, twice as fast as projected. The battalion would go on to serve in France before returning home. And like many Black units during World War II, their exploits never got the attention afforded their white counterparts — until now.

At a ceremony held in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol’s visitor center, House Speaker Mike Johnson presented the medal to the family of the unit commander, Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley. More than 300 descendants of the women who served in the battalion were present in the crowd.

“This ceremony reflects one of the highest and most cherished traditions of our republic, one that’s roots stretch back all the way to General George Washington,” Johnson said in remarks at the event.

“The Six Triple Eight are great American patriots, loyal to a nation that, for far too long, failed to return the favor. And I’m glad to say that’s changing, and we’re doing that here today,” the House speaker continued.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered remarks alongside the lawmakers who co-sponsored the legislation enabling the medal. At least two dozen members of Congress were in attendance.

Kim Guise, senior curator and director of curatorial affairs at the National WWII Museum, said there are only two women living from the 855 who served in the unit.

“That really shows how long this recognition took,” Guise said. “It is really important to recognize the accomplishments of these women and what they went through to serve their country in war time.”

Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore, who co-sponsored the legislation to award the medal to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, called it a long overdue honor for the women in the unit.

“These heroes deserve their dues; and I am so glad their story is being told,” Moore told The Associated Press on Monday. “I am especially honored to ensure my constituent Ms. Anna Mae Robertson and the many others who served with her, are recognized for their selfless service.”

In 2022, Congress voted 422-0 to bestow its highest honor on the 6888th.

“It’s overwhelming,” retired Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, who lives in Arizona, told The AP after the vote. “It’s something I never even thought about it.”

FILE – World War II veteran Maj. Fannie Griffin McClendon, a member of the World War II 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, poses for a photo at her home on June 10, 2021, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

McClendon joined the Air Force after the military was integrated and retired in 1971. She was the first female to command an all-male squadron with the Strategic Air Command.

The 6888th was sent overseas in 1945, a time when there was growing pressure from African-American organizations to include Black women in what was called the Women’s Army Corps, and allow them to join their white counterparts overseas.

“They kept hollering about wanting us to go overseas so I guess they found something for us to do overseas: Take care of the mail,” McClendon said. “And there was an awful lot of mail. … They expected we were gonna be there about two or three months trying to get it straightened out. Well I think in about a month, in a month and a half, we had it all straightened out and going in the right direction.”

The 6888th toiled around the clock, processing about 65,000 pieces of mail in each of the three shifts. They created a system using locator cards with a service member’s name and unit number to ensure mail was delivered.

Over the years, the unit’s story started to gain wider recognition. A monument was erected in 2018 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to honor them, and the 6888th was given the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2019. A documentary “The Six Triple Eight” was made about their exploits. In 2024, Tyler Perry directed a movie for Netflix about the unit, starring Kerry Washington.

Associated Press writer Michael Casey contributed to this report.

By ZEKE MILLER and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has dismissed many of former President Joe Biden’s nominees to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, including Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Emhoff, who is Jewish and who led the Biden administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism, criticized Trump’s action, saying, “Let me be clear: Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized.”

He added, “To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous — and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”

Others dismissed alongside Emhoff include former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain and former domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, who was the principal author of and the impetus behind the first-ever comprehensive National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism in 2023.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since taking office in January Trump has moved to fire many Biden appointees across government — including ostensibly apolitical roles. Biden too dismissed some Trump carryover appointees after he entered the White House in 2021, most notably 18 appointees named to U.S. military academy boards, but at a far smaller scale.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Kraft Heinz lowered its full-year sales and earnings guidance Tuesday, citing weaker customer spending in the U.S. and the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

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It’s the latest big food company to sound the alarm over trade tensions and weak consumer demand. Last week, PepsiCo lowered its full-year earnings forecast, also citing tariffs. And earlier Tuesday, Coca-Cola noted a pullback in U.S. consumer spending due to economic uncertainty.

Kraft Heinz acknowledged that it’s in a tough spot. It needs to keep prices low to prevent consumers from migrating to cheaper store brands of products like ketchup, mayonnaise and macaroni and cheese. But tariffs – which impact imported ingredients like coffee – will add to its expenses.

“In regards to pricing for the tariffs, we are trying to do everything we possibly can to minimize the amount of price necessary,” Kraft Heinz Chief Financial Officer Andre Maciel said Tuesday during a conference call with investors.

Maciel said the company is looking at many alternatives, including shifting suppliers and, over the longer term, reformulating products. Kraft Heinz also said it built up some inventory earlier this year to help cushion the impact from tariffs.

Kraft Heinz, which is based in Pittsburgh and Chicago, said its North American revenue fell 7% to $4.5 billion in the January-March period. Weakness in the U.S. overcame some stronger results in Canada.

Kraft Heinz said it expects its operating income to fall up to 10% this year. It had previously expected a decline of up to 5%. The company said it needs flexibility to offer promotions and step up marketing. It also wants to add value options, like a new 11-ounce Kraft Mac & Cheese that’s designed to feed a family, about 50% more than the original 7.25-ounce box.

The company said it also may need to respond to changes in federal regulations. Last week, U.S. health officials urged food makers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors in the nation’s food supply.

Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera said Kraft Mac & Cheese has been free of artificial flavors and colors since 2016. But some of the company’s products, like Kool-Aid, do contain artificial colors.

Kraft Heinz said its net revenue fell 6% to $5.9 billion in the January-March period. That was shy of the $6.0 billion Wall Street was expecting, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The company now expects its adjusted revenue to fall 3.5% this year; it previously expected a 1.5% decline.

Kraft Heinz shares were flat in afternoon trading Tuesday.

By The Associated Press

In the morning of April 29, 1975, a massive evacuation exercise began in Saigon, which ended almost 24 hours later. About 6,500 people had been airlifted by the end of the exercise, including nearly 900 Americans. Hours later, on April 30, Saigon fell, and with it came the end of the Vietnam War.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

FILE- U.S. Navy personnel aboard the USS Blue Ridge push a helicopter into the sea off the coast of Vietnam in order to make room for more evacuation flights from Saigon, Tuesday, April 29, 1975. The helicopter had carried Vietnamese fleeing Saigon as North Vietnamese forces closed in on the capital. (AP Photo/jt, File)
FILE- Last Viet evacuees by boat from Saigon water front in Saigon as PRG troops closing in on April 30, 1975. (AP Photo/Matt Franjola, File)
FILE- A weeping South Vietnamese mother and her three children are shown on the deck of this amphibious command ship being plucked out of Saigon by U.S. Marine helicopters in Vietnam, April 29, 1975. (AP Photo/J.T. Wolkerstorfer, File)
FILE- U.S. Marines disembark from a CH-53 “Jolly Green Giant” to restore order and restrain crowds at the gates of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon during the final evacuation on April 29, 1975. (AP Photo/Frances Starner, File)
FILE- A Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) tank enters the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon on May 1, 1975. (AP Photo/Frances Starner, File)
FILE – In this April 30, 1975 file photo, South Vietnamese civilians try to scale the walls of the U.S. embassy in Saigon in an attempt to get aboard evacuation flights. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich, File)
FILE- A U.S. Marine helicopter takes off from helipad on top of the American Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam, April 30, 1975. (AP Photo/Phu, File)
FILE – In this Monday, April 28, 1975 file photo, South Vietnamese troops and western TV newsmen run for cover as a North Vietnamese mortar round explodes on Newport Bridge on the outskirts of Saigon. (AP Photo/Hoanh, File)
FILE- Refugees fleeing the advance of communist forces pour into Saigon April 28, 1975, arriving in jammed vehicles and on foot from rural districts north of the capital. (AP Photo/H. Hung, File)
FILE- South Vietnamese troops and civilians retreat along Route 15 east of Saigon on Monday, April 28, 1975 past barbed wire they had erected to protect the area. But now they are fleeing the advancing communists. (AP Photo/Matt Franjola, File)
In this April 29, 1975 file photo, mobs of Vietnamese people scale the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam, trying to get to the helicopter pickup zone, just before the end of the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich, file)
FILE – In this Sunday, April 27, 1975 file photo, a cross from a church in Saigon stands against the dawn sky after a rocket attack and ensuing fire. (AP Photo/Matt Franjola, File)
FILE- Victorious North Vietnamese troops ride a tank down Rue Catinat in Saigon while South Vietnamese civilians look on, April 30, 1975, as the capital of South Vietnam fell to communist forces, ending the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Yves Billy, File)
FILE- U.S. Marines hit the deck of the USS Blue Ridge to dodge flying metal from a South Vietnamese helicopter that crashed on the deck of the ship, April 29, 1975. One pilot had dropped his helicopter on the blade of another that had just landed, and chunks of metal ripped through the air. The top helicopter, with its load of women and children, nearly toppled into the sea, but they were rescued and there were no injuries. (AP Photo/J.T. Wolkerstorfer, File)
File- Victorious North Vietnamese troops aboard a tank take a position outside Independence Palace in Saigon, April 30, 1975, the day the South Vietnamese government surrendered, ending the Vietnam War. Communist flags fly from the palace and the tank. (AP Photo/Yves Billy, File)
FILE- The last three staffers in The Associated Press’ Saigon bureau, reporters Matt Franjola, left, Peter Arnett, rear, and George Esper, second from right, are joined by two North Vietnamese soldiers and a member of the Viet Cong on the day the government of South Vietnam surrendered, April 30, 1975. One of the soldiers is showing Esper the route of his final advance into the city. (AP Photo/Sarah Errington, File)
FILE- As victorious North Vietnamese troops ride past on a tank, defeated South Vietnamese troops discard their uniforms in Saigon, April 30, 1975, the day the South Vietnamese capital fell to communist forces, ending the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Yves Billy, File)
File- A U.S. Marine helicopter lifts off from the landing pad atop the U.S. Embassy during the evacuation of Saigon Wednesday, April 30, 1975. (AP Photo/Phu, File)
FILE- A communist fighter carrying a rocket-propelled grenade passes comrades on the steps of the National Assembly (Parliament) building in Saigon on April 30, 1975, as South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam, ending the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Yves Billy, File)
FILE- Tank of the PRG is driven through Saigon’s Tong Nhut Street on May 1, 1975. (AP Photo/Frances Starner, File)
Associated Press wirecopy story by Peter Arnett and George Esper on the fall of Saigon, April 29, 1975 (page 1 of 3). (AP Photo/Corporate Archives)
Associated Press wirecopy story by Peter Arnett and George Esper on the fall of Saigon, April 29, 1975 (page 2 of 3). (AP Photo/Corporate Archives)
Associated Press wirecopy story by Peter Arnett and George Esper on the fall of Saigon, April 29, 1975 (page 3 of 3). (AP Photo/Corporate Archives)