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Trump defends his sweeping tariffs and watches 'America First' drag races during Michigan stop

MILFORD, Mich. (AP) -- President Donald Trump came to Michigan on Monday and argued that his economic policies have revived the auto industry and American manufacturing, even as some businesses contend that the sweeping tariffs he's imposed have actually hurt the state.

Trump visited a sprawling General Motors facility in the Detroit suburb of Milford that is a testing ground for its vehicles. He pumped a fist after watching a trio of drag races that involved muscle cars and luxury vehicles like the Corvette Z06, Cadillac Escalade V, and EV Hummer -- events the announcer promised were "all America First power."

It was the kind of thundering speed the president is expecting at an IndyCar race in Washington next month, which is part of America's 250th birthday celebrations.

In a subsequent speech inside a design facility, the president cheered GM's plans to expand production domestically in coming years and declared himself a president who was standing up for auto workers "at long last."

"I've done more for you than your parents, OK?" he joked.

Michigan was one of the 2024 battlegrounds Trump flipped after it backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. But the state has seen parts of its economy affected by the president's tariffs, including on imported cars and auto parts. Automakers have long said tariffs increase the cost of doing business, which leads to higher prices for consumers.

Company officials led Trump on a tour where he saw various GM models, including the latest versions of the Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado -- the production of which he argued had been boosted by tariffs.

At one point, POTUS grabbed a pen and signed the hood of a white Corvette that was made specifically for America's 250th birthday.

"They've come a long way," he said to reporters about the Detroit-based automaker during the tour. "It's amazing what tariffs are doing for GM." Trump said he's been good to the company but he declined to say more.

"The rest of the world doesn't love me, but that's OK," he said, alluding to tariffs. "It's called 'America first.'"

The president's speech lasted more than an hour and was wide ranging -- hitting on the economy, the war in Iran and the U.S. military operation that toppled the leader of Venezuela.

He also touched on communism, crime rates, his administration's efforts to transform the nation's capital and even how carefully he treads to keep from tripping while on stage or deplaning from Air Force One.

With early primary voting already underway, Trump called on stage Republican Reps. Lisa McClain, Tom Barrett and Tim Walberg, as well as gubernatorial candidate John James and Senate candidate Mike Rogers.

Rogers is unopposed in the Senate primary, but the GOP gubernatorial contest pits James, who is backed by Trump, against Perry Johnson, a businessman turned politician who has launched unsuccessful campaigns before, including for president in 2024.

Comey says seashells post was political speech – not a threat – as he presses to dismiss charges

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former FBI Director James Comey urged a judge on Monday to throw out federal charges against him, arguing that a photo of seashells arranged on a beach he posted on social media was not a call to violence against President Donald Trump but protected political speech.

Comey's lawyers argue the government cannot prove the Instagram photo of seashells in the numerical arrangement of "86 47" constituted a "true threat" against the Republican president, who fired Comey in 2017 and has publicly called for his prosecution. The slogan -- which has long meant to "get rid of" or "eject" -- has been featured on thousands of items sold online and regularly displayed at protests, defense lawyers wrote in court papers.

"But the government now singles out Mr. Comey to prosecute one of the President's most prominent critics for publishing another person's statement of political opposition," his attorney's wrote. "That attempt to suppress core political speech contravenes both the statutes at issue and the First Amendment."

The seashells case against Comey was the second in months targeting the ex-FBI director, a long-running Trump foe whom the president over the years has called a "corrupt piece of garbage" and other pejorative names.

An earlier case in Virginia accusing Comey of lying to Congress was dismissed last November after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who charged him and another Trump adversary, New York Attorney General Letitia James, was illegally appointed to the job.

More broadly, the case is part of a retribution campaign by the Trump administration Justice Department, which has initiated investigations across the country into individuals the president does not like. Comey has long drawn Trump's ire for his role overseeing the early months of an investigation into whether Trump's 2016 campaign had coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of that year's election.

The two-count indictment charges Comey with "knowingly and willfully" making a threat to "take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon" Trump and with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. It does not provide evidence that Comey knowingly threatened Trump, especially since Comey has said the opposite, but suggested a "reasonable recipient who is familiar with the circumstances would interpret" the message as a threat.

Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service last year over the post after Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. Comey deleted the post shortly after it was made, writing: "I didn't realize some folks associate those numbers with violence" and "I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down."

"Even if '86 47' could implausibly be read to suggest violence, a reasonable observer would still understand Mr. Comey's post as mere political hyperbole, not a true threat," Comey's lawyers wrote. "The Supreme Court has rejected threats prosecutions based on speech far more directly threatening than Mr. Comey's seashells post here."

Savannah Guthrie makes an emotional plea to her mother's kidnappers

"Today" show host Savannah Guthrie says in a new video that her family is living an unending nightmare nearly six months after her mother's disappearance and pleads with her kidnappers: "Tell us where to look for her."

The video released Monday is the latest public plea from the journalist about 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie since her disappearance on Feb. 1 from her home just outside Tucson, Arizona. Savannah Guthrie said her family will never stop looking for her.

"The world can be a cruel and unforgiving place, and I know that you have tried to do things the right way," she said. "So I'm asking you, begging you, to do the right thing now. Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her. I truly believe it is never too late to do the right thing."

Authorities believe Nancy Guthrie was kidnapped, abducted or otherwise taken against her will on Feb. 1. They found blood near the front doorstep of her home just outside Tucson, and the FBI later released surveillance videos showing a masked man on the porch that night.

Volunteers and search teams scoured the nearby desert terrain filled with cactuses, bushes and boulders in the weeks after she vanished. A volunteer group recently searched for her body near the Arizona-Mexico border. Authorities have not said how many purported ransom demands were made after Guthrie's disappearance, though three news organizations reported receiving such notes and turned them over to investigators.

The FBI has discounted some of the ransom notes as nothing more than extortion attempts, but said it's still evaluating others that might be legitimate. The federal agency hasn't specified which ransom notes might be genuine.

Savannah Guthrie has previously made a series of social media postings about her mother after she went missing. In the days after the disappearance, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings acknowledged they were aware of media reports of a supposed ransom letter and were ready to talk and listen, but wanted proof their mother was alive. Weeks later, Savannah Guthrie said her family was offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of her mother. She also acknowledged for the first time that her mother might not be alive, but added that there was still hope.

Circus performer accidentally shot in neck with arrow at New York county fair

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (AP) -- A circus performer was accidentally shot in the neck by an arrow during a performance at a county fair in upstate New York, police and organizers said.

It happened Friday night at the Orange County Fair in Middletown, northwest of New York City, according to state police.

Ana Daza Tavera, 42, and Edwin Cuervo Rangel, 38, a married couple from Waukesha, Wisconsin, had been performing their crossbow sharpshooting act when she accidentally struck him in the neck with an arrow as he held up a foam target, police said.

Cuervo Rangel was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition and the circus was canceled for the night.

Benjamin Jackson, the ringmaster at Circus Murcia, said Monday that Cuervo Rangel was luckily struck on the side of his neck in a spot with mostly soft tissue and no major blood vessels.

"No blood leaking out. There was a little around the hole where the arrow went in, kind of like getting your ear pierced," he said.

Cuervo Rangel was released from the hospital Saturday after the arrow was safely removed and he received stitches, Jackson said.

He'll need time to heal before he can resume performing but was "walking around, talking, eating, enjoying life," Jackson said.

Circus Murcia said Cuervo Rangel is expected to make a full recovery as it requested privacy for him and his family.

"Safety has always been our top priority and we would like to emphasize that while this was a tragic accident, it is an isolated incident and there was and is no danger to the general public and audiences," the company said in a statement.

The circus returned to its regular schedule of three shows a day on Saturday, minus the crossbow act.

Court documents say there were at least 3 shooters at Seattle food festival, 1 among the dead

SEATTLE (AP) -- Police now say there were at least three suspects involved in a shootout at a crowded food festival near Seattle's Space Needle over the weekend. One of them was among those killed in the violence.

In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case waived his initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters, rather than two: the 15-year-old; an acquaintance who died at the scene; and "at least one other unknown suspect."

"Based on the evidence at the scene, investigators believe" the 15-year-old "and one of the deceased engaged in a gunfight with at least one other unknown suspect," the document said.

A judge ordered the teen held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault. The King County prosecutor's office said it expected to receive the case from Seattle police on Wednesday for a charging decision.

The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, leaving three people dead and at least four others injured. The annual three-day festival draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers to Seattle Center, a sprawling park in the shadow of the Space Needle. Many attendees rushed into campus buildings or ran from the park at the sound of the shots.

News that there were at least three suspects followed a series of confusing statements from city officials concerning the shooting.

On Sunday, the police department waited five hours to share with the public that one shooter had been arrested and that they believed another to be on the loose. Earlier, Mayor Katie Wilson had announced two people were in custody, a statement she retracted.

At a news conference before the court hearing Monday, Police Chief Shon Barnes said investigators weren't sure if the second shooter was among the dead. Neither he nor the mayor made any reference to additional shooters. Barnes had been out of town Sunday, attending a conference of Black law enforcement executives in Dallas.

The officials defended their handling of the case, saying they were trying to ensure they provided accurate information about chaotic events.

The dead were described as two men, ages 19 and 44, and a woman, 56.

The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy, who was in satisfactory condition Monday. The others -- two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39 -- were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.

One of the victims was walking a bicycle when struck, the court document said. The toddler was with his mother.

Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflected Black identity, has died at 99

Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflected Black identity, culture and spirituality, died Sunday morning in Los Angeles at 99.

Saar’s death was confirmed Monday by relatives. She would have turned 100 this week.

A central figure of the 1960’s Black Art Movement, Saar pioneered assemblage, or sculptures made of found objects, and reclaimed Jim Crow-era memorabilia as powerful totems of Black liberation.

“Her symbolically rich body of work has evolved over time to demonstrate the environmental, cultural, political, racial, technological, economic, and historical context in which it exists,” according to Roberts Projects, the Los Angeles gallery that represents her.

Saar began her career in design and shifted to art at age 35. She continued to make art into her 90s. She grew up in Pasadena and was part of a community of Black artists in nearby Altadena; she often cited Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers as an early source of inspiration.

“Her appropriation of Black collectibles, heirlooms, and utilitarian objects are transformed through subversion,” the gallery said. “Among the older generation of Black American artists, Saar is without reproach.”

Saar’s practice incorporated painting, printmaking, sculpture and found objects including dolls, washboards and other antiques.

Made in 1969, “Black Girl’s Window,” was groundbreaking. Still, it wasn’t widely celebrated until decades later, and it was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2019. “There weren’t that many galleries in Los Angeles at the time and there certainly weren’t any for Black artists,” she once said in an interview.

“The Liberation of Aunt Jemima,” created in 1972, is another one of her most important works. It features memorabilia she collected that denigrated Black people, included a “mammy,” or 19th century minstrel character who smiled while serving white slave owners.

In Saar’s hands though, the figure is reclaimed: She smiles, but holds a rifle and a hand grenade.

“That was done as an answer to the killing of Dr. King,” said Angela Robinson Witherspoon, in reference to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. “She was raising her three young daughters and she wanted to be part of the Civil Rights Movement.”

The Aunt Jemima brand was part of Quaker Oats for more than 130 years. The company announced in 2020 that it would retire the brand, recognizing the logo’s origins were “based on a racial stereotype.”

“I think that she had boundless energy for making art. I think she had a lot to say and was tired of the art world being dominated by white males,” said Robinson Witherspoon, who produced and directed a documentary in 2023 on her. “Betye Saar: Ready to Be A Warrior” features interviews with John Legend, Tina Knowles and other prominent voices.

Though Saar’s work was exhibited in a 1975 solo show at the Whitney Museum, large institutions have exhibited her work only sporadically over the decades. In 2019 though, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and MoMA mounted concurrent solo shows.

Saar taught and mentored a generation of Black artists, including painter Kerry James Marshall. She’s long been considered a leading figure of the West Coast arts landscape.

In spring 2026, Saar was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

“Let’s Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar,” which focuses on costume design, is currently on view at Robert Projects.