By MELISSA GOLDIN, Associated Press

President Donald Trump marked his first year back in office by presiding over a meandering, nearly two-hour-long press briefing to recount his accomplishments, repeating many false claims he made throughout 2025.

Related Articles

Doctors in Minnesota decry fear and chaos amid Trump administration’s immigration crackdown

China meets initial soybean purchase goal, but Trump’s shifting trade policy could disrupt deal

Federal judge says Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Virginia is ‘masquerading’ in the job

Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance say they are expecting their fourth child

A look at Trump’s Board of Peace and who has been invited

Among the topics about which he continued to spread falsehoods were the 2020 election, foreign policy, the economy and energy.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

2020 election

TRUMP, referencing former President Joe Biden: “… a man that didn’t win the election, by the way, it’s a rigged election. Everybody knows that now.

THE FACTS: This is a blatant falsehood that has been disproven many times over — the 2020 election was not stolen. Biden earned 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232. He also won over 7 million more popular votes than Trump.

But Trump has been persistent in claiming that he won the 2020 race since its completion, even after he earned a second term in 2024, and has continued to claim the lead-up to the 2026 midterms.

Biden’s Electoral College victory was nearly the same margin that Trump had in 2016 when he beat Hillary Clinton 227 to 306 (304 after two electors defected). Biden triumphed by prevailing in key states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

Allegations from Trump of massive voting fraud have been refuted by a variety of judges, state election officials and an arm of his own administration’s Homeland Security Department. In 2020, then-Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, told the AP that no proof of widespread voter fraud had been uncovered. “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” he said at the time.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

International conflicts

TRUMP: “You have to understand, I settled eight wars.”

THE FACTS: This statistic, which Trump frequently cites as one of his accomplishments, is highly exaggerated. Although he has helped mediate relations among many nations, his impact isn’t as clear-cut as he makes it seem.

The conflicts Trump counts among those that he has solved are between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, Rwanda and Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.

There is far more work that remains before any declaration of an end to the war in Gaza and although Trump is credited with ending the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, this can be seen as a temporary respite from an ongoing cold war. Fresh fighting broke out last month between Cambodia and Thailand, and between Congolese forces and Rwanda-backed rebels.

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict at the White House in August. But the leaders have yet to sign a peace treaty and parliaments have yet to ratify it. After the April killing of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir pushed India and Pakistan closer to war than they had been in years, a ceasefire was reached. Trump claimed that the U.S. brokered the ceasefire and Pakistan thanked him, while India denied his claims.

Friction between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is best described as heightened tensions, not war. There has been no threat of war between Serbia and Kosovo during Trump’s second term, nor has he made any significant contribution to improving relations in his first year back in the White House.

The economy

TRUMP: “We inherited, remember this — inflation was at a historic high. We had never had inflation like that. They say 48 years. But whether it’s 48 years or ever, we had the highest inflation, in my opinion, that we’ve ever had.”

THE FACTS: This is false. Biden-era inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, a consequence of supply chain interruptions, potentially excessive amounts of government aid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine driving up food and energy costs.

But Americans have known even worse and more sustained inflation than that. For example, higher than 13% in 1980 during an extended period of price pain. And by some estimates, inflation approached 20% during World War I.

Inflation had been falling during the first few months of Trump’s presidency, but it picked back up after the president announced his tariffs in April. It was at 2.7% as of December 2025.

Energy policy

TRUMP: “I say clean, beautiful coal. I never say the word coal, it has to be preceded by the words clean, beautiful coal.”

THE FACTS: The production of coal is cleaner now than it has been historically, but that doesn’t mean it’s clean.

Trump, however, continually omits this crucial context.

Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the coal industry have decreased over the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And yet United Nations-backed research has found that coal production worldwide still needs to be reduced sharply to address climate change.

Along with carbon dioxide, burning coal emits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog and respiratory illnesses, according to the EIA.

Coal once provided more than half of U.S. energy production. Today, coal accounts for about 15% of U.S. electricity production.

California wildfires

TRUMP, discussing approvals for reconstruction after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires: “… the 20,000 houses or more that burned down in Los Angeles because they didn’t have the water, they didn’t allow the water to come down from the Pacific Northwest. They routed the water into the Pacific Ocean … They didn’t want to do it. They want to protect the tiny little fish.”

THE FACTS: Trump again tried to blame the fact that some Los Angeles fire hydrants ran dry during last year’s wildfires on the state’s water policies that aim to protect endangered species, including a tiny fish known as the Delta smelt. Local officials say the hydrant outages occurred because the municipal system was not designed to deal with such a massive disaster.

Trump later ordered water released from two dams in California’s Central Valley agricultural hub, but the water never went to Los Angeles, instead going to a dry lake basin more than 100 miles away.

Most of California’s water comes from the north, where it melts from mountain snow and runs into rivers that connect to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. From there, much of it is sent further south to farmers and cities like Los Angeles through two large pumping and canal systems. One is run by the federal government and the other by the state. Contrary to Trump’s claim, no water supply from the Pacific Northwest connects to California’s system.

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

A St. Paul couple who are the founders of a drug recovery organization are connected to a drug case involving a Mexico-based trafficking organization, according to a criminal complaint in Ramsey County District Court. Both are facing two counts of felony drug charges.

Xianna Moua Yang and her husband, Yeng Moua, are each charged with one first-degree felony charge of selling or aiding in the selling of 17 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine within 90 days and one first-degree felony charge of possessing 50 grams or more of cocaine or methamphetamine. Earlier in the month, Moua Yang, 37, was found with her 40-year-old husband in a car containing 3 pounds of illicit drugs. Their bail is each set at $150,000.

‘Helping others’ while in recovery

The couple opened their nonprofit, Koom Recovery, in 2024, and said their mission was to help Hmong people in Minnesota recover from substance abuse disorder, as people who have struggled with addiction themselves.

SMALL FILE — MAX. WIDTH FOR PRINT: 3 INCHES — Xianna Moua Yang, 37, was charged Jan. 8, 2026, in Ramsey County with two felony counts of drug possession and sale, for picking up drugs from someone in connection with a Mexican drug trafficking organization police had been investigating for months, during the evening of Jan. 8, 2026. (Courtesy of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 8, officers watched as Moua Yang and Moua drove to a Minneapolis hotel. A Hispanic man came out of the hotel with a black suitcase and wheeled it to the car, placing it in the back seat, according to the complaint.

Officers followed the car to the East Side of St. Paul, where they conducted a traffic stop, according to the complaint.

According to the charges, Minnesota agencies have been investigating a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization, “DTO,” for several months. Two other people were identified by law enforcement as “associates of DTO,” or “runners” who deliver drugs to people on behalf of the organization.

Earlier on the same day that Moua Yang and Moua were observed at the Minneapolis hotel, the two runners identified by officers were seen there interacting with a man who wheeled out a suitcase to their car. The two runners were later found with 3 pounds of drugs, which tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

When officers stopped Moua Yang and Moua, who was driving, he was asked if he had drugs or firearms with him. He replied that he “did not know.” Moua told officers he was on his way to “help people,” and that he and his wife were on their way home. He said he was recently off probation for controlled substances and firearms and that he and his wife are in recovery, according to the complaint.

SMALL FILE — MAX. WIDTH FOR PRINT: 3 INCHES — Yeng Moua, 40, was charged Jan. 8, 2026, in Ramsey County with two felony counts of aiding with drug possession and sale, after picking up drugs from someone in connection with a Mexican drug trafficking organization police had been investigating for months, during the evening of Jan. 8, 2026. (Courtesy of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Moua later told officers that he did not know anything illegal was in the car. He said that “he moves things for people but does not go through the things.”

Moua Yang told officers that the “stuff” in the car was hers and that her husband had nothing to do with it.

Officers found 3 pounds of drugs that tested positive for methamphetamine in a black garbage bag that was ripped open and had identical packaging as the drugs recovered in the runners’ car, according to the charges.

Moua Yang and Moua were arrested on suspicion of drug possession.

‘Knows what she is doing is wrong’

Moua Yang later told an officer that she participated in two drug runs for a Hispanic man she knows as “Layo,” according to the complaint. She told officers that she needed money and “knows what she is doing is wrong, as she is a drug counselor and a recovered drug addict.”

Moua Yang said “Layo” contacted her using a Mexican telephone number and told her where to pick up and deliver the drugs. Moua Yang told police that every time she moves the drugs, she receives $1,000.

According to the charges, Moua Yang told her husband before the drug exchange at the hotel that they were on the way to pick up donations for people experiencing homelessness. When Moua saw that the “donations” in question were drugs, he became angry, the charges said. The two argued, and while her husband drove the car, Moua Yang “crawled into the back seat, took the drugs out of the suitcase, and put them in the garbage bag.”

Moua Yang’s next court hearing will be held Wednesday. Moua’s next hearing will take place March 4.

Related Articles

U.S. immigration authorities downplay concerns over citizens being detained

1 teen killed, another injured in southern Dakota collision with semi

MN physicians describe ‘chaos and fear’ due to immigration actions

St. Paul police chief: Even off-duty cops are being stopped by ICE agents

Charges: UMN equine hospital vet tech took morphine from vials, which she then diluted with saline

By MORGAN LEE and SAVANNAH PETERS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A judge has ordered that actor Timothy Busfield be released from jail during a detention hearing on child sex abuse charges.

Related Articles

US forces seize seventh sanctioned tanker linked to Venezuela in Trump’s effort to control its oil

Jurors selected in trial for alleged murder-for-hire plot of Border Patrol leader in Chicago

Supreme Court seems likely to strike down Hawaii’s restrictions on guns in stores and hotels

Testimony ends in Uvalde officer’s trial over response to 2022 school shooting, case set for jury

Mexico sends 37 cartel members to US in latest offer to Trump administration

The order Tuesday by state district court Judge David Murphy is linked to accusations that Busfield inappropriately touching a minor while working as a director on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.”

The judge ordered that the defendant was released on his own recognizance, pending trial. Busfield will be supervised upon release by a pretrial service in Albuquerque, and can leave the state to live at home, the judge said.

Busfield, an Emmy Award-winning actor who is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” was ordered held without bond last week at his first court appearance. Busfield called the allegations lies in a video shared before he turned himself in.

At the hearing Tuesday, Busfield was handcuffed and dressed in an orange jail uniform at the hearing in a New Mexico state district court, while wife and actor Melissa Gilbert watched from the court gallery.

Gilbert was tearful while exiting the courtroom after the judge ordered Busfield’s release.

Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls in the 1970s to ’80s TV series “Little House on the Prairie,” is on the list of potential witness submitted ahead of the hearing.

Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest earlier this month on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.”

According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the police department says the child reported Busfield touched him on private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but did not specify where. He said he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble.

On Monday, Busfield’s attorneys submitted two brief audio recordings of initial police interviews in which the children say Busfield did not touch them in private areas. The attorneys in a court filing argue that the complaint characterizes the interviews as a failure to disclose abuse, but an “unequivocal denial is materially different from a mere absence of disclosure.”

According to the criminal complaint, one of the boys disclosed during a therapy session that he was inappropriately touched by the show’s director. Those records were obtained by police during the investigation.

Arguing Tuesday for Busfield’s continued detention, Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch called evidence of abuse against Busfield strong and specific.

“The boys’ allegation are supported by medical findings and by their therapist,” Brandenburg-Koch said. “Their accounts were specific and not exaggerated.”

She also described a documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior by Busfield over the past three decades. Prosecutors also say witnesses have expressed fear regarding retaliation and professional harm.

“GPS is not going to tell this court if he is around children or talking to witnesses,” Brandenburg-Koch said.

Busfield’s attorneys have argued that the allegations emerged only after the boys lost their role in the TV show, creating a financial and retaliatory motive. The filings detailed what the attorneys said was a history of fraud by both the boys’ father and mother. They cited an investigation by Warner Bros. into the allegations that found the allegations unfounded.

Busfield also submitted letters vouching for his character, and his attorneys say he passed an independent polygraph test.

Legal experts say New Mexico is among a few states that allow polygraph evidence in criminal cases, but a judge has final say over whether one can be used. There are strict requirements for admission.

Morgan reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

MONTREAL — The Wild have confirmed they are shutting down Jonas Brodin because of a lingering lower body injury, and further that the defenseman won’t be playing for Sweden in the 2026 Winter Olympics next month.

Brodin missed his fourth straight game Tuesday when the Wild played the Canadiens at Bell Centre.

Wild coach John Hynes, who serve as an assistant coach for Team USA at the Milan Cortina Games, confirmed a published report that Brodin is being shut down and will not play in Italy.

Brodin has three goals and 12 assists in 42 games for the Wild, who entered Tuesday’s game with 65 points, second-best in the NHL behind Central Division rival Colorado. Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek also is missing time with an injury, but Hynes said he was hoping he may get some good news when the team returns to Minnesota.

With both Wild goalies, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, headed overseas to play in Milan Cortina, there is still a sense that the Swedes will be in the thick of the fight, although they also are likely to be without Ducks forward Leo Carlsson, also with a lower body injury.

Another Swedish standout, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, missed Monday’s loss to the Wild and his Olympic status is unknown.

“I know all the treatment guys around every team here in the NHL is so good that hopefully they can get them back in shape and go there,” Gustavsson said after beating the Maple Leafs on Monday. “If it happens they can’t be there, Sweden’s got a lot of good players in the NHL. We’re going to be just fine.”

Related Articles

Filling roles: Marcus Foligno’s first hat trick keeps Wild rolling

Wild rake in Toronto, blowing past Leafs

Toronto-area Wild players look to harness homecoming energy

Five veterans missing, but Wild seek no excuses in road win

Depleted Wild rally for overtime win in Buffalo