By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY and JIM MUSTIAN, Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — On a visit to New Zealand, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed, New Zealand law enforcement agencies told The Associated Press.

The plastic 3D-printed replica pistols formed part of display stands Patel presented to at least three senior New Zealand security officials in July. Patel, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country so far, was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand.

Pistols are tightly restricted weapons under New Zealand law and possessing one requires an additional permit beyond a regular gun license. Law enforcement agencies didn’t specify whether the officials who met with Patel held such permits, but they couldn’t have legally kept the gifts if they didn’t.

It wasn’t clear what permissions Patel had sought to bring the weapons into the country. A spokesperson for Patel told the AP Tuesday that the FBI would not comment.

The pistols were surrendered and destroyed

Inoperable weapons are treated as though they’re operable in New Zealand if modifications could make them workable again. The pistols were judged by gun regulators to be potentially operable and were destroyed, New Zealand’s Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told AP in a statement Tuesday.

Chambers didn’t specify how the weapons had been rendered inoperable before Patel gifted them. Usually this means the temporary disabling of the gun’s firing mechanism.

Three of New Zealand’s most powerful law enforcement figures said they received the gifts at meetings July 31. Chambers was one recipient, and the other two were Andrew Hampton, director-general of the country’s human intelligence agency NZSIS, and Andrew Clark, director-general of the technical intelligence agency GCSB, according to a joint statement from their departments.

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A spokesperson for the spy agencies described the gift as “a challenge coin display stand” that included the 3D-printed inoperable weapon “as part of the design.” The officials sought advice on the gifts the next day from the regulator that enforces New Zealand’s gun laws, Chambers said.

When the weapons were examined, it was discovered they were potentially operable.

“To ensure compliance with firearms laws, I instructed Police to retain and destroy them,” Chambers said.

James Davidson, a former FBI agent who is now president of the FBI Integrity Project, a nonprofit that seeks to safeguard the bureau from undue partisan influence, has criticized Patel’s appointment.

But Davidson said the gift of the replica pistols appeared “a genuine gesture” from Patel and their destruction was “quite frankly, an overreaction by the NZSIS, which could have simply rendered the replica inoperable,” he said.

New Zealand has strong gun controls

3D-printed weapons are treated the same as other guns in New Zealand. The country bolstered its gun restrictions following a 2019 white supremacist attack on two mosques in the city of Christchurch, when 51 Muslim worshipers were shot dead by an Australian man who had amassed a cache of semiautomatic weapons legally.

The guns Patel gifted to the law enforcement chiefs were not semiautomatic models now prohibited after the Christchurch massacre. But there are a suite of other reasons New Zealanders might not legally be able to possess certain weapons, including the specific permits required for pistols.

New Zealand doesn’t have a passionate culture of gun ownership and the weapons have been viewed more dimly since the mass shooting. Gun ownership is enshrined in New Zealand law as a privilege, not a right.

The country isn’t short on guns; they’re common in rural areas for pest control. But violent gun crime is rare and many urban residents might never have even seen a firearm in person.

It’s uncommon even to see police officers carrying weapons. Front-line officers aren’t usually armed on patrol and leave their weapons locked in their vehicles.

Patel caused discomfort with China remarks

News of Patel’s visit caused ripples in New Zealand at the time because the opening of the new FBI office in Wellington wasn’t divulged to news outlets or the public until it had already happened. An FBI statement in July said the move aligned New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The office would provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with oversight from Canberra, Australia, since 2017, the statement said.

Public records disclosed to local news outlets this month revealed that Patel met with and dined with a more than a dozen senior public servants and elected officials, including Cabinet ministers, during his visit. It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday how many officials received the pistols as gifts.

Patel had already provoked mild diplomatic discomfort in Wellington by suggesting in remarks supplied to reporters that the new FBI office aimed to counter China’s influence in the South Pacific Ocean, where New Zealand is located. The comments prompted polite dismissal from officials in Wellington, who said the bolstered FBI presence was primarily to collaborate on child exploitation and drug smuggling crimes. Beijing decried Patel’s remarks.

Mustian reported from New York. Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.

Authorities identified on Tuesday two pedestrians who died in separate weekend crashes in St. Paul.

A driver struck Steve Phongdesawat, 32, of New Hope, early Saturday near Lake Phalen.

On Sunday, Pang Foua Yang, 36, died after a driver hit her with his vehicle in the Como neighborhood, according to police.

In that case, officers responded to the 1000 block of Stinson Street on a report of a crash and found Yang not conscious or breathing. St. Paul Fire Department medics pronounced her dead at the scene.

The driver struck Yang before his vehicle stopped in a backyard, police said.

In the Saturday crash, officers were sent about 12:45 a.m. to Maryland Avenue and Clarence Street.

The driver who struck Phongdesawat called 911 and stayed on the scene, according to police. The man reported he was driving west on Maryland Avenue, crossing Clarence Street, and didn’t see Phongdesawat before he struck him.

Medics transported Phongdesawat to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In both instances, police say the drivers stayed on the scene and cooperated with officers.

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Over the last month voters have nixed 60 different products, ranging from Velveeta cheese to railings found in professional sports stadiums, and declared them not the “coolest thing” made in Minnesota.

Hosted by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and BMO, the manufacturing competition, “Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota” has narrowed down its final four products for voters to choose from.

“Reaching the top four is a huge accomplishment,” said Doug Loon, president and CEO of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, in a news release. “These products have captured the imagination of voters and put a spotlight on the creativity, craftsmanship and ingenuity that define Minnesota manufacturing.”

Without further ado, here are the finalists.

SR Series G7+ Aircraft

The SR Series G7+ Aircraft is the latest in the SR Series from Cirrus Aircraft. Constructed in Duluth, the single-engine piston aircraft features the world’s first FAA-approved autonomous emergency landing system from Garmin.

MRZR

An off-road military vehicle from Polaris, the MRZR is manufactured and engineered in Roseau and Wyoming, Minn. With military modifications, the MRZR can also include infrared and blackout lighting, greater range and collapsible roll cages for internal transport in helicopters and on naval vessels.

Trackchair

Hand-built in Marshall, the Trackchair from ATZ is an all-terrain wheelchair that can navigate through sand, mud, snow and up to 10 inches of water. Tim Swenson, who created the chair to allow his son to access the outdoors, crafted the first Trackchair using a bent tube frame, two snowmobile tracks and a broken seatbelt.

Teardrop Trailer

Vistabule, a family-run business, manufactures its Teardrop Trailer in St. Paul. Weighing 1,400 pounds, the trailer features a queen-size sleeping area and a galley kitchen with upper cabinets, customizable pull-out drawers, sink, cooler and refrigerator options.

“Each matchup now feels less like a contest and more like a celebration of what our state can build,” Loon said.

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Last year’s inaugural competition saw products like a man-made floating wetland, a wood-burning sauna stove, a rainbow freezer pop and an Arctic Cat snowmobile.

The first place finisher? Scotch Magic Tape from 3M Co.

This year’s winning product will be announced Oct. 7 at the 2025 Manufacturers’ Summit.

Voting is open now until 5 p.m. Sunday. To cast your last vote, go to http://pipr.es/CcOxwe4.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana’s Republican governor asked for National Guard deployments to New Orleans and other cities, saying Monday that his state needs help fighting crime and praising President Donald Trump’s decision to send troops to Washington and Memphis.

Gov. Jeff Landry, a Trump ally, asked for up to 1,000 troops through fiscal year 2026 in a letter sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It comes weeks after Trump suggested New Orleans could be one of his next targets for deploying the National Guard to fight crime.

Trump also sent troops in recent months to Los Angeles and his administration has announced plans for similar actions in other major cities, including Chicago and Portland, Oregon.

Landry said his request “builds on the proven success” of deployments to Washington and Memphis. While Trump has ordered troops into Memphis with the backing of Tennessee’s Republican governor, as of Monday night there had yet to be a large-scale operation in the city.

“Federal partnerships in our toughest cities have worked, and now, with the support of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, we are taking the next step by bringing in the National Guard,” Landry said.

Leaders in Democratic-controlled states have criticized the planned deployments. In Oregon, elected officials have said troops in Portland are not needed.

In his request, Landry said there has been “elevated violent crime rates” in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans as well as shortages in local law enforcement. He said the state’s vulnerability to natural disasters made the issue more challenging and that extra support would be especially helpful for major events, including Mardi Gras and college football bowl games.

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But crime in some of the state’s biggest cities has actually decreased recently, with New Orleans, seeing a particularly steep drop in 2025 that has put it on pace to have its lowest number of killings in more than five decades.

Preliminary data from the city police department shows that there have been 75 homicides so far in 2025. That count includes the 14 revelers who were killed on New Year’s Day during a truck attack on Bourbon Street. Last year, there were 124 homicides. In 2023 there were 193.

In Baton Rouge, the state capital, has also seen a decrease in homicides compared to last year, according to police department figures. Data also shows, however, that robberies and assaults are on pace to surpass last year’s numbers.

Associated Press reporter Sara Cline contributed to this report.