By MAE ANDERSON

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — China-founded e-commerce sites Temu and Shein say they plan to raise prices for U.S. customers starting next week, a ripple effect from President Donald Trump’s attempts to correct the trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies by imposing a sky-high tariff on goods shipped from China.

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Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, which is now based in Singapore, said in separate but nearly identical notices that their operating expenses have gone up “due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs.”

Both companies said they would be making “price adjustments” starting April 25, although neither provided details about the size of the increases. It was unclear why the two rivals posted almostidentical statements on their shopping sites.

Since launching in the United States, Shein and Temu have given Western retailers a run for their money by offering products at ultra-low prices, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising.

The 145% tariff Trump slapped on most products made in China, coupled with his decision to end a customs exemption that allows goods worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free, has dented the business models of the two platforms.

E-commerce companies have been the biggest users of the widely used exemption. Trump signed an executive order this month to eliminate the “de minimis provision” for goods from China and Hong Kong starting May 2, when they will be subject to the 145% import tax.

As many as 4 million low-value parcels — most of them originating in China — arrive in the U.S. every day under the soon-to-be canceled provision.

U.S. politicians, law enforcement agencies and business groups lobbied to remove the long-standing exemption, describing it as a trade loophole that gave inexpensive Chinese goods an advantage and served as a portal for illicit drugs and counterfeits to enter the country.

Shein sells inexpensive clothes, cosmetics and accessories, primarily targeting young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Temu, which promoted its goods through online ads, sells a wider array of products, including household items, humorous gifts and small electronics.

In November, American e-commerce giant Amazon launched a low-cost online storefront featuring electronics, apparel and other products priced at under $20. Many of the electronics, apparel and other products on the storefront Wednesday resembled the types of items typically found on Shein and Temu.

In their customer notices about the pending price increases, the companies encouraged customers to keep shopping in the days ahead.

“We’ve stocked up and stand ready to make sure your orders arrive smoothly during this time,” Temu’s statement said. “Were doing everything we can to keep prices low and minimize the impact on you.”

By THALIA BEATY

NEW YORK (AP) — The nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice says staff from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency contacted them to assign a team to the organization and told them they planned to similarly install teams with all nonprofits receiving funds appropriated by Congress.

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Nick Turner, president of the New York-based criminal justice nonprofit, said Wednesday the nonprofit’s attorneys asked the DOGE staffers what legal basis they had to investigate a nonprofit and informed the staffers that the U.S. Department of Justice recently terminated grants to Vera. The DOGE staffers then withdrew their request to assign a team, according to a transcript of the call provided by Vera.

The White House and Justice Department did not immediately return requests for comment.

Vera, which has an annual budget of around $45 million that mostly comes from private funders, advocates for reducing the number of people imprisoned in the U.S. They consult with law enforcement and public agencies to design alternative programs to respond to mental health crises or traffic violations, and also support access to lawyers for all immigrants facing deportation.

Nonprofit advocates say DOGE’s request threatens the basic freedoms of civil society.

“It would clearly undermine a core tenet of civil society: its independence from the state,” said Benjamin Soskis, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute. “Regulatory oversight is one thing, but this would seem to go into much further, darker territory, where the government threatens the functioning of nonprofits that it does not agree with.”

Vera’s president said in an interview it is speaking publicly about DOGE’s request so other nonprofits can prepare.

“I think it is a terrifying harbinger of what might be a DOGE agenda to start infiltrating nonprofits that receive federal funding,” Turner said. “It could be a misunderstanding. It could be an aggressive overreach,” but it seemed clear that DOGE believed receiving any federal funding would be a reason to install a team at a nonprofit.

Not the first threat from the White House to nonprofits

Diane Yentel, the president and CEO the National Council of Nonprofits, called the request from DOGE to Vera a blatant abuse of power that should alarm all Americans.

“This action by DOGE sets a dangerous precedent, leaving any recipient of federal funding — nonprofit, for-profit, and individuals alike — vulnerable to the whims of this destructive group,” Yentel said in a statement. Her organization sued to prevent a freeze of all federal funding.

In February, the White House directed federal agencies to review all funding for nonprofits because many “actively undermine the security, prosperity, and safety of the American people.”

The Trump administration has also sought to cancel other funding previously allocated by Congress and awarded to nonprofits, though the courts have paused some of those actions.

DOGE has also taken control of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit created and funded in part by Congress that worked to promote peace and security around the world. Employees and board members of USIP have sued the administration, arguing that the nonprofit is independent and not a part of the executive branch.

DOGE staffers referenced USIP as an example of DOGE assigning a team to a nonprofit that receives Congressional funds, according to the call transcript provided by Vera.

Many nonprofits receive federal funding

The federal government offers hundreds of billions of dollars in funding to nonprofit organizations in every state.

Researchers at the Urban Institute found that 103,475 nonprofits received $267 billion in government grants in 2021, according to an analysis of nonprofit tax forms. The analysis excludes the many small nonprofits with few assets that file less detailed tax forms.

Vera said the terminated grants from the Justice Department totaled around $5 million over three years. Those funds would have provided sign language interpretation for victims of crimes who are deaf, helped to develop responses to human trafficking and changed the way prosecutor offices work to reduce the number of people entering the legal system.

The Justice Department notified Vera it terminated the grants because it had change its priorities to “more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and better coordinating law enforcement efforts at all levels of government.”

Turner said he believed the administration targeted Vera because it’s outspoken about its mission to pursue racial justice and support immigrants, policies the White House opposes.

“The Trump administration is obviously doing everything that it can to hobble and handicap civil society, whether it’s in academia or law firms or foundations and now has obviously opened this front on nonprofits,” Turner said.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits 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. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Washington County residents now have access to multiple specialized health care services through HealthPartners’ new Specialty Center in Woodbury.

The Specialty Center, which opened in March, offers 13 different health care services to patients. Located at 233 Radio Drive, the building occupies close to 56,000 square feet, according to vice president of medical specialties Kate Klugherz.

“This is our newest location in Woodbury, and our goal is that we continue to meet the evolving health care needs of the growing east metro,” Klugherz said.

Services include allergy, asthma, cancer care, cardiology, ear, nose, throat, gastroenterology, endoscopy services, oncology, infusion services, urogynecology, audiology, radiology, rheumatology, urology and lab services, Klugherz said.

Klugherz said the new specialty center is expected to serve more than 85,000 patients annually.

“Now, instead of driving into St. Paul or even Minneapolis, our patients can receive specialty care closer to home,” Klugherz said.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner said Wednesday.

The office said in a statement that it amended the cause and manner of death for the 39-year-old New York City native following a review of laboratory test results.

Trachtenberg, who was known for “Gossip Girl,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Harriet the Spy,” was found unconscious and unresponsive in her luxury apartment tower in Manhattan in February.

Officials at the time said no foul play was suspected, and the medical examiner’s office had listed her death as “undetermined.”

Trachtenberg’s family had objected to an autopsy, which the medical examiner’s office honored because there was no evidence of criminality.

Her representative didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Taylor Momsen and Blake Lively were among the celebrities who mourned Trachtenberg when her Feb. 26 death was announced.

Trachtenberg was 8 when she began playing Nona Mecklenberg on Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” from 1994 to 1996 and then starred in the title role in the film adaptations of “Harriet the Spy” and “Inspector Gadget,” opposite Matthew Broderick.

In 2000 Trachtenberg joined the cast of “Buffy,” playing Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar between 2000 and 2003.

Trachtenberg went on to recurring roles on “Six Feet Under,” “Weeds” and “Gossip Girl,” where she played the gang’s scheming nemesis, Georgina Sparks. She was one of the original series’ stars to return for a pair of guest appearances in the 2021 “Gossip Girl” revival.

Trachtenberg’s later credits included the 2004 teen sex comedy “EuroTrip” and 2009’s “17 Again” with Zac Efron and Leslie Mann.