By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and JOSHUA GOODMAN

MIAMI (AP) — The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.

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Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort.

It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.

The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”

The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.

Emboldened by the U.S. capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.

“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.

While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.

The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former U.S. Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s.

In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles.

FILE – Cuba’s President Raul Castro listens to the Cuban and Venezuelan national anthems during his welcome ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace, March 17, 2015, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft.

“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.”

While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime.

The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the U.S. considers state sponsors of terrorism.

The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of U.S. fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.

Richer reported from Washington.

Minnesota handled itself brilliantly against Ohio State’s high-pressure, up-tempo defense while dispatching the Buckeyes at Williams Arena in mid-February.

The same could not be said Friday in Indianapolis.

The fourth-seeded Gophers committed a season-high 21 turnovers in a 60-55 loss to No. 5-seed Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The Buckeyes will meet top-seeded UCLA in Saturday’s semifinals.

Minnesota, on the other hand, exits the tournament as a one-and-done participant after earning a double-bye as one of the conference’s top-four seeds. The No. 19-ranked Gophers do so not feeling as though they put their best foot forward.

“In order to compete against the best, you’re going to have to play at a really, really high level,” Gophers coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “I don’t think that we played as well as we could play, obviously.”

Aside from the turnovers, Minnesota struggled to shoot — particularly from distance. The Gophers missed their first nine 3-point attempts, and again couldn’t buy one in the closing two minutes. For the game, the Gophers went just 6 for 26 from beyond the arc.

Minnesota had a distinct advantage on the glass, pulling down 44 boards compared to No. 11-ranked Ohio State’s 27. Doing much of that damage for Minnesota was Sophie Hart. The Farmington native had 12 points and 19 rebounds, while Grace Grocholski paced Minnesota with 18 points.

But Ohio State center Elsa Lemmilä had a double double of her own and Buckeyes star guard Jaloni Cambridge controlled the contest, finishing with 17 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

While Minnesota had a size advantage, Ohio State’s quickness was the game’s determining factor.

“I thought they played a really good game. I thought they were really aggressive, made us feel really uncomfortable, got us sped up in a lot of ways, and forced us to turn the ball over in either full-court scenario or even in the half-court scenario,” Plitzuweit said. “And then I thought when we had good opportunities, even in the fourth quarter, we just — it looked like we felt sped up and rushed a little bit, and didn’t capitalize on a lot of those.”

Teams can be more susceptible to that in win-or-go-home situations, particularly one like Minnesota, which sports so little postseason experience.

In that way, Friday could prove invaluable for the Gophers, whose next game will come in the program’s first NCAA Tournament game in eight years.

“I think that’s something we’ve been striving for every single year since we’ve been here,” Grocholski said. “So, I think we’re obviously super grateful to be in the position we are.”

Where that game will be played remains to be seen. The Gophers were ranked No. 15 on the selection committee’s final pre-tournament update. The top 16 teams on Selection Sunday will host the first two rounds of the tournament, meaning Williams Arena could be an NCAA Tournament site.

But Ohio State was No. 16 in those rankings, and it would now be a massive surprise if the Buckeyes didn’t leapfrog Minnesota. It’s possible Friday’s loss will cost Minnesota a chance to host the opening weekend, though the Gophers’ resume remains formidable.

Selection Sunday is March 15.

“Certainly proud of our young ladies,” Plitzuweit said, “for putting themselves in a position where we feel very confident that our body of work has put us in a good spot for the next tournament.”

Said Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff of the Gophers: “I think they have a chance to play really well in March Madness.”

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By REBECCA SANTANA

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a one-minute video, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, decked out in Western riding gear and a cowboy hat, rides a horse through a pine forest near Mount Rushmore. She trumpets her department’s hard-line message: “You cross the border illegally, we’ll find you.”

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The ad was one of the many times the outgoing secretary made herself the public face of her department. In the end, that approach led to her undoing.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was firing Noem, a decision that came on the heels of back-to-back hearings in Congress this week where she faced rare but blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers, especially over the $220 million ad campaign that featured the secretary on horseback.

An administration official said the ad campaign, along with other “many unfortunate leadership failures” such as fallout from the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota and mismanagement of her staff, led to her firing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the private considerations for the firing.

Noem had faced criticism for months, primarily from Democrats, about the administration’s tough immigration crackdown, especially in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of two Minneapolis protesters at the hands of federal officers. Despite outrage over how she characterized the protesters as agitators, publicly Trump stood by her throughout her 13-month tenure.

Noem’s social media was awash in videos of her out on the streets seemingly joining arrest sweeps of illegal migrants, and photographs of her posing in front of inmates at a notorious El Salvadoran prison. Airports across the country also beamed videos of Noem blaming Democrats for a federal government shutdown.

In the end, keeping the spotlight on herself drew fierce scrutiny that may have pushed the president over the edge in deciding whether to keep her on board. Trump said he will nominate Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin in her place and will make Noem a “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,” a new security initiative that will focus on the Western Hemisphere.

FILE – As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Noem was grilled in Congress this week over the ads

In the Mount Rushmore ad, a montage of video clips shows classic images of American history and culture — a rocket launching into air, a woman standing in a golden wheat field — interspersed with images of Trump being sworn into office, pumping his fist in the air after being shot at, and walking along a row of saluting cadets.

“Anyone who searches for freedom can always find a home here, but that freedom’s a precious thing. And we defend it vigorously. You cross the border illegally, we’ll find you,” Noem says in the video.

“But if you come here the right way, your American dream can be as big as these open skies. From President Trump and me, Welcome home.”

Over two days of questioning this week, senators and representatives pushed her to explain the ad campaign.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana asked whether spending $220 million was appropriate when the administration was in a battle against waste. And he asked what the president knew.

“The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?”

“Yes, sir,” Noem replied. “We went through the legal processes. Did it correctly.”

FILE – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, center, watches as officers speak with a person passing through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, March 16, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

She was repeatedly pressed about contracts awarded surrounding the campaign.

The Associated Press reported last year that the Department of Homeland Security, citing “an unusual and compelling urgency” over the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, skipped a fully competitive bidding process when it launched an ad campaign early in 2025 and gave two Republican-linked firms the first part of the funding.

Noem insisted to Kennedy that the campaigns were effective.

“Well, they were effective in your name recognition,” Kennedy replied.

Kennedy said Trump and Noem had different versions of the president’s role

Kennedy went on to suggest that the campaign “puts the president in a terribly awkward spot.”

“It’s just hard for me to believe knowing the president as I do, that you said, ‘Mr. President, here’s some ads I’ve cut and I’m going to spend $220 million running them’ that he would have agreed to that,” said Kennedy.

Trump later told NBC News that he didn’t know about the campaign and that he wasn’t “thrilled” with it.

“I spent less money than that to become president. I didn’t know about it,” he said.

Kennedy told CNN that he got a call from Trump Tuesday evening and the president was angry.

FILE – Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pilots a U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat Small with the Maritime Security Response Team, March 16, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

“Her version and the president’s version of whether the president, A) was informed and B) consented are decidedly different,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy, speaking after Noem’s firing, said he spoke with the president after the secretary’s testimony and he was “mad as a murder hornet.”

When Trump nominated Noem for his Cabinet, he said he’d known her for years and she was “very strong” on border security. As recently as after the Minneapolis fallout in January, Trump said she was doing “great.”

Noem made herself the public face of DHS

Beyond the Mount Rushmore ad, Noem appeared in other ads and a stream of social media videos and photos put out by the DHS communications team or in news reports. The constant appearances and content showed an image of a secretary out in the field, carrying out Trump’s vision. She swooped into the heart of immigration enforcement operations, with visuals of the action following shortly after.

It was a tactic she employed right from the beginning of her tenure, when she went out with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making arrests in New York City. Wearing a flak jacket and baseball cap, Noem said in a video that they were “getting the dirtbags off the streets.”

Later images showed her at the controls of a plane in Alaska or decked out in firefighting gear taking part in a training exercise. In Chicago she accompanied agents on a raid near a local Walmart store.

In one video, she stood in front of a cell packed with inmates in a Salvadoran prison and warned people not to come to the U.S. illegally or they could end up there.

She may have successfully raised her profile. But in the end, she became the latest senior administration official to rankle the president and be shuffled into obscurity.

Gov. Maura Healey is telling Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “come and take” her Dunkin’ coffees from her in response to Kennedy questioning the safety of the sugary drinks offered by Dunkin’ and Starbucks.

“Come And Take It,” read an image with a star above it posted by Healey to her official X account Wednesday. The post had quoted a Boston Globe article reporting that Kennedy said he may potentially pull certain ingredients, including those found in Dunkin’ products, from the market if they can’t be proven safe.

“You know, I wish he would work to end measles in the country. That’s where I would focus my attention if I were Health and Human Services Secretary. I wouldn’t be taking on Dunkin’,” Healey said when asked by a reporter about her X post during a media scrum, while also holding a Dunkin’ coffee cup in her hand.

Kennedy responded to Healey’s X post with one of his own on Thursday, assuring Healey and Bay State residents that Dunkin’ is not going anywhere.

RFK Jr. posted, “No one is taking away your Dunkin’. But isn’t it reasonable to ask whether a drink loaded with 180 grams of sugar is safe?”