By TERRY TANG, Associated Press

As communities across the country on Monday host parades, panels and service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights icon’s legacy.

In the year since Donald Trump’s second inauguration fell on King Day, the Republican president has gone scorched earth against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted mostly Black-led cities for federal law enforcement operations, among other policies that many King admirers have criticized.

One year ago, Trump’s executive orders, “Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” and “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” accelerated a rollback of civil rights and racial justice initiatives in federal agencies, corporations and universities. Last month, the National Park Service announced it will no longer offer free admission to parks on King Day and Juneteenth, but instead on Flag Day and Trump’s birthday.

The fatal shooting this month of an unarmed Minneapolis woman in her car by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sent there to target the city’s Somali immigrant population, as well as Trump recently decrying civil rights as discrimination against white people, have only intensified fears of a regression from the social progress King and many others advocated for.

Still, the concerns have not chilled many King holiday events planned this year. Some conservative admirers of King say the holiday should be a reminder of the civil rights icon’s plea that all people be judged by their character and not their skin color. Some Black advocacy groups, however, are vowing a day of resistance and rallies nationwide.

FILE – The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial during the 9th Annual Wreath Laying and Day of Reflection and Reconciliation, in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

‘We’ve always strived to be a more perfect union’

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Trump said he felt the Civil Rights Movement and the reforms it helped usher in were harmful to white people, who “were very badly treated.” Politicians and advocates say Trump’s comments are what are harmful, because they dismiss the hard work of King and others that helped not just Black Americans but other groups, including women and the LGBTQ+ community.

“I think the Civil Rights Movement was one of the things that made our country so unique, that we haven’t always been perfect, but we’ve always strived to be this more perfect union, and that’s what I think the Civil Rights Movement represents,” Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor and only the nation’s third elected Black governor, said this week in an interview with The Associated Press.

Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, one of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights coalitions, said the Trump administration’s priorities make clear it is actively trying to erase the movement.

“From health care access and affordable housing to good paying jobs and union representation,” Wiley said, “things Dr. King made part of his clarion call for a beloved community are still at stake and is even more so because (the administration) has dismantled the very terms of government and the norms of our culture.”

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

The conservative Heritage Foundation think tank is encouraging the holiday’s focus to stay solely on King himself. Brenda Hafera, a foundation research fellow, urged people to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta or reread his “I have a dream” speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington nearly 63 years ago.

But using the holiday as a platform to rally and speak about “anti-racism” and “critical race theory” actually rejects King’s ambition for the country, Hafera argued.

“I think efforts should be conducted in the spirit of what Martin Luther King actually believed and what he preached. And his vision was a colorblind society, right,” Hafera said. “He says very famously in his speech, don’t judge by the color of your skin, but the content of your character.”

Groups call for holiday of reclamation, education and rallying

The NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil right organization which had a myriad MLK Day events planned for Monday, asserted that the heightened fears among communities of color and in immigrant communities mean King Day observances must take a different tone. People will have to put their safety first, even if their government isn’t, said Wisdom Cole, NAACP senior national director of advocacy.

FILE – A crowd marches across the Lefty O’Doul Bridge during the MLK Day March in San Francisco on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Dan Hernandez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)

“As folks are using their constitutional right to protest and to speak out and stand up for what they believe in, we are being faced with violence. We are faced with increased police and state violence inflicted by the government,” Cole said.

The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of organizations affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, has planned its events under the banner “Reclaim MLK Day of Action.” Organizers planned demonstrations in Atlanta, Chicago and Oakland, California, among other cities, over the weekend and Monday.

“This year it is more important than ever to reclaim MLK’s radical legacy, letting his wisdom and fierce commitment to freedom move us into the action necessary to take care of one another, fight back, and free ourselves from this fascist regime,” Devonte Jackson, a national organizing director for the coalition, said in a statement.

Indiana school cancels historic MLK Day event

For the first time in its 60-year history, Indiana University in Indianapolis canceled its annual Martin Luther King dinner. Over the years, the event drew notable guest speakers including Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, and activist Angela Davis.

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The reasoning was “budget constraints,” according to a social media post by the school’s Black Student Union. However, the group said it was worried this was “connected to broader political pressures.” A few students have since organized smaller community dinners or “eat-ins” to fill the void, WTHR-TV in Indianapolis reported.

Meanwhile, the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Westbrook, Maine, canceled a MLK Day service due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to the parish website. But a member of the church’s “social justice and peace committee” told NewsCenterMaine.com that the pastor was concerned about people’s safety amid rumors of ICE agents being in the area.

Overall, there have been few reports of King Day events being majorly scaled down or canceled altogether.

In Memphis, Tennessee, the National Civil Rights Museum is going about its annual King Day celebration as normal. The museum is located on the site of the former Lorraine Motel, where King was shot on April 4, 1968. The museum is offering free admission on the holiday, an annual tradition.

“This milestone year is not only about looking back at what Dr. King stood for, but also recognizing the people who continue to make his ideals real today,” museum President Russell Wigginton said.

Tang reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Washington, Adrian Sanz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.

By JONEL ALECCIA, Associated Press Health Writer

A Portland, Oregon, boy is struggling to recover from infant botulism after drinking contaminated ByHeart baby formula donated through a program that aims to help poor and homeless families.

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Ashaan Carter, now 10 months old, was hospitalized twice and remains on a feeding tube after contracting the dangerous infection that has sickened more than 50 babies across the U.S.

His mother, Angel Carter, said she received a can of ByHeart formula from a case worker with the Oregon Department of Human Services in early November, days before a nationwide recall of the product.

Carter, who receives state food and housing assistance, said she had been exclusively breastfeeding her son, but her milk supply was waning. The case worker told the 27-year-old that the ByHeart formula “was closest to breast milk” and could help, she said.

“I accepted it thinking, ‘OK, I’m hoping my baby can get on a bottle,’” Carter said. “It’s been all downhill since then.”

State officials wouldn’t comment on Carter’s case, but they acknowledged that the agency received ByHeart formula from PDX Diaper Bank. That was one of nearly two dozen nonprofit groups nationwide who are part of ByHeart’s “OpenHearted Initiative” that donated formula to “families in need,” according to the company’s website.

Since June 2022, nearly 24,000 cans of formula have been distributed to groups that aid homeless and other vulnerable families, the company said. All the company’s products have been recalled since production began in March 2022 because of potential contamination.

Soon after consuming the ByHeart formula, Ashaan developed severe constipation and muscle weakness, becoming so limp that he couldn’t move his head, Carter said.

After a trip to an emergency room, he was sent to Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland. Doctors there diagnosed him with presumed infant botulism tied to the ByHeart formula, according to Dr. Sylvia Peterson-Perry, a family medicine doctor who delivered Ashaan and cares for him and his mother.

He was treated with BabyBIG, an IV medication that provides antibodies to the infection to stop the progress of the disease.

Ashaan was hospitalized for nearly two weeks in November and discharged without a feeding tube. His health rapidly declined, including dramatic weight loss, and he was hospitalized again in December. He got so sick that his mother was afraid he would die.

“He was just withering away,” Carter said.

The Oregon caseworker texted Carter after the recall, she said, warning her to stop using the formula.

But it was too late for Ashaan, who had to have the feeding tube down his throat replaced because his muscles remain weak, his doctor said. It’s not clear how long it will remain. He is having to relearn how to crawl and to talk.

“It’s devastating, especially for our vulnerable families who are trusting this product to nourish their child and trusting our social services to provide safe food for their babies,” Peterson-Perry said.

ByHeart had partnered with Baby2Baby, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that includes high-profile celebrities among its supporters. The news outlet Healthbeat was first to report that recalled formula went to groups serving at-risk families.

PDX Diaper Bank received about 400 cans of donated ByHeart formula through Baby2Baby and distributed more than 300 of them before they were recalled, Rachel Alston, the group’s executive director, said in an email.

“All of our partners confirmed that they took immediate action to inform families, and we offered support where we could along the way,” she said in an email.

Baby2Baby officials did not respond to email requests for comment. ByHeart officials said the company worked with Baby2Baby and other groups that received formula to ensure that the products were pulled and families were notified.

No new cases of infant botulism tied to the outbreak have been reported since Dec. 17, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has conducted inspections at ByHeart plants, but has released no information about the source of the outbreak. Production remains shut down.

Seattle food safety lawyer Bill Marler said Carter is one of more than 30 families he represents whose babies were sickened by ByHeart products. At least 18 lawsuits have been filed against ByHeart and stores that sold the contaminated formula. This week, Marler asked a federal panel to consolidate the cases in a U.S. district court in New York.

___

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 JAMES BROOKS, Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Red baseball caps spoofing Donald Trump’s iconic MAGA hats have become a symbol of Danish and Greenlandic defiance against the U.S. president’s threat to seize the frozen territory.

People march during a pro- Greenlanders demonstration, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

The caps reading “Make America Go Away” — parodying Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — have gained popularity along with several variants on social media and at public protests, including a weekend demonstration held in freezing weather in the Danish capital.

European governments are rallying behind Denmark, citing the need to defend Arctic regions and warning that threats against Greenland undermine Western security.

Protesters, however, are less diplomatic.

“I want to show my support to Greenland and also show that I don’t like the president of the United States,” said 76-year-old Copenhagen resident Lars Hermansen, who wore one of the red caps at a protest Saturday.

The mock hats were created by Copenhagen vintage clothing store owner Jesper Rabe Tonnesen. Early batches flopped last year — until the Trump administration recently escalated its rhetoric over Greenland. Now there are popping up everywhere.

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“When a delegation from America went up to Greenland, we started to realize this probably wasn’t a joke — it’s not reality TV, it’s actually reality,” said Tonnesen, 58. “So I said, OK, what can I do?” Can I communicate in a funny way with a good message and unite the Danes to show that Danish people support the people of Greenland?”

Demand suddenly surged from a trickle to selling out in the space of one weekend. Tonnesen said he has now ordered “several thousand.”

The original version designed by Tonnesen featured a play on words: “Nu det NUUK!” — a twist on the Danish phrase “Nu det nok,” meaning “Now it’s enough,” substituting Nuuk, Greenland’s tiny capital.

Protesters at Saturday’s rally waved red-and-white Danish and Greenlandic flags and carried handmade signs mocking U.S. claims over the territory, which is slightly larger than Saudi Arabia.

“No Means No,” read one sign. Another declared, “Make America Smart Again.”

Wearing one of the spoof hats, protester Kristian Boye, 49, said the gathering in front of Copenhagen City Hall struck a lighthearted tone while delivering a serious message.

“I’m here to support the Greenlanders, who are going through a very hard time right now,” he said. “They are being threatened with having their country invaded. I think it’s totally unacceptable.”

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — European shares and U.S. stock futures skidded Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap a 10% extra tariff on imports from eight European countries because they oppose having America take control of Greenland.

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Germany’s DAX lost 1.1% to 25,020.35 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 1.3% to 8,150.78. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.3% to 10,206.12.

The future for the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7%.

The European countries targeted by Trump blasted his threat to raise tariffs, saying they “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.” An unusually strong joint statement from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland was the most forceful rebuke from the European allies since Trump returned to the White House almost a year ago.

Trump’s moves are testing the strategic alignment and institutional trust underlying support from Europe, the largest trading partner and provider of financing to the United States, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

“In a world where geopolitical cohesion within the Western alliance is no longer taken for granted, the willingness to recycle capital indefinitely into U.S. assets becomes less automatic. This is not a short-term liquidation story. It is a slow rebalancing story, and those are far more consequential,” Innes said.

In Asia, shares were mixed after China reported that its economy expanded at a 5% annual pace in 2025, though it slowed in the last quarter. Strong exports, despite Trump’s higher tariffs on imports from China, helped to offset relatively weak domestic demand.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.1% to 26,563.90. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.3% to 4,114.00.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 declined 0.7% to 53,583.57. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was due to hold a news conference later Monday as she prepares to dissolve the parliament for a snap election next month.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.3% to 4,904.66, pushing further into record territory on strong gains for tech-related companies. Computer chip maker SK Hynix climbed 1.1%.

Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.7%, while the Sensex in India fell 0.6%.

On Friday, stocks edged lower on Wall Street as the first week of corporate earnings season ended with markets trading near record levels.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1% and the Dow industrials lost 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite shed 0.1%. They all notched weekly losses, while smaller company stocks fared better. The Russell 2000 eked out a 0.1% gain.

Technology stocks were the strongest forces behind the market’s moves throughout most of the day. Several big technology stocks made strong gains and helped offset losses elsewhere.

Earnings updates might give investors a better sense of how consumers are spending their money and how businesses are faring with persisting inflation and higher tariffs. Results from the technology sector are being scrutinized by investors trying to figure out whether the high stock prices fueled by the craze around artificial intelligence are justified.

This week will bring a broader mix of earnings from airlines, industrial companies, and technology companies. United Airlines, 3M, and Intel are all scheduled to release their quarterly earnings results.

The U.S. central bank will get another update on inflation this week with the government’s release of the personal consumption expenditures price index, or PCE. It is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure for inflation.

The Fed’s next policy meeting is in two weeks, when it is expected to keep its current benchmark interest rate as it strives to balance a slowing jobs market with stubbornly high inflation, which remains above the Fed’s 2% goal.

In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil slipped 37 cents to $58.97 per barrel. It has settled after a spate of volatility during widespread protests in Iran against that country’s leadership.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 45 cents to $63.68 a barrel.

The price of gold resumed its upward climb, gaining 1.6%, while the price of silver jumped 4.4%.

The U.S. dollar rose to 157.99 Japanese yen from 157.93 yen. The euro rose to $1.1626 from $1.1581.