U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has led a congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet with Ukraine's president before heading to Poland for talks with officials there on Sunday.

Pelosi, a California Democrat who is second in line to the presidency after the vice president, is the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia's war began more than two months ago. Her visit to Kyiv on Saturday marks a major show of continuing support for the country's struggle against Moscow.

“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement released Sunday.

Footage released by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office showed Pelosi and other U.S. legislators in Kyiv. In video later released by Pelosi’s office, the speaker and Zelenskyy both thanked each other for their support in the war.

“We’ll win and we’ll win together,” Zelenskyy said.

Pelosi added: “We are here until victory is won.”

The full congressional delegation included Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Schiff, of California who chairs the House Intelligence Committee; Jim McGovern of Massachusetts who chairs the House Rules Committee; Jason Crow of Colorado; Barbara Lee of California; and Bill Keating of Massachusetts.

“You all are welcome,” Zelenskyy told the delegation.

Pelosi told Zelenskyy: “We believe that we are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom."

“We are on a frontier of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi added.

The visit wasn't previously announced.

The delegation continued its trip in southeast Poland, and Pelosi said they would later visit the capital, Warsaw, to meet with President Andrzej Duda and other senior officials. Poland has received more than 3 million refugees from Ukraine since Russia launched its war on Feb. 24.

“We look forward to thanking our Polish allies for their dedication and humanitarian efforts,” she said.

In a news conference in Poland, Pelosi said she and others in the delegation applauded the courage of the Ukrainian people. She added that the delegation brought Zelenskyy “a message of appreciation from the American people for his leadership.”

Schiff said the U.S. lawmakers had a three-hour meeting with Zelenskyy and his administration, talking about sanctions, weapons and aid assistance. Schiff promised that intelligence sharing would continue between Ukraine and the U.S.

“This is a struggle of freedom against tyranny,” Schiff said. “And in that struggle, Ukraine is on the front lines.”

McGovern said Russia's war had repercussions far beyond Ukraine, saying it was exacerbating a food crisis that would be disastrous for poor people across the globe.

“Putin’s brutal war is no longer only a war against the people of Ukraine,” McGovern said. “It’s also a war against the world’s most vulnerable.”

He added that Ukraine is a “breadbasket of the world.”

“I don’t think that Putin cares if he starves the world,” McGovern said.

Day after day, Russia is pounding the Donbas region of Ukraine with relentless artillery and air raids, making slow but steady progress in seizing the industrial heartland of its neighbor.

With the conflict now in its fourth month, it's a high-stakes campaign that could dictate the course of the entire war.

Suppose Russia prevails in the battle of Donbas. In that case, it will mean that Ukraine loses not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way for Moscow to grab more territory and dictate its terms to Kyiv. A Russian failure could lay the grounds for a Ukrainian counteroffensive — and possibly lead to political upheaval for the Kremlin.

Following botched early attempts in the invasion to capture Kyiv and the second-largest city of Kharkiv without proper planning and coordination, Russia turned its attention to the Donbas, a region of mines and factories where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.

Learning from its earlier missteps, Russia is treading more carefully there, relying on longer-range bombardments to soften Ukrainian defenses.

It seems to be working: The better-equipped Russian forces have made gains in both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that make up the Donbas, controlling over 95% of the former and about half of the latter.

Ukraine is losing between 100 and 200 soldiers a day, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the BBC, as Russia has “thrown pretty much everything non-nuclear at the front.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier put the daily death toll at up to 100.

When the war was going badly for Russia, many thought President Vladimir Putin might claim victory after some gains in Donbas and then exit a conflict that had seriously bruised the economy and stretched its resources. But the Kremlin has made clear it expects Ukraine to recognize all the gains Russia has made since the start of the invasion — something Kyiv has ruled out.

Russian forces control the entire Sea of Azov coast, including the strategic port of Mariupol, the Kherson region — a key gateway to Crimea — and a large chunk of the Zaporizhzhia region, which could aid a further push deeper into Ukraine. Few expect that Putin will stop.

Russia has a clear edge in artillery in the battle for Donbas, thanks to a more significant number of heavy howitzers, rocket launchers, and abundant ammunition. The Ukrainians have had to be economical in using their artillery, with the Russians constantly targeting their supply lines.

Moscow's earlier territorial gains in the south, including the Kherson region and a large part of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, have prompted Russian officials and their local appointees to ponder plans to fold those areas into Russia or declare them to be independent, like the so-called “people's republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukrainian officials and Western analysts voiced concern that Moscow could try to press its offensive into the heavily populated and industrialized Dnipro region farther north, an advance that could potentially slice Ukraine in two and raise a new threat for Kyiv.

Such ambitions all hinge on Moscow's success in the east. A defeat in the Donbas would put Kyiv in a precarious position, with new recruits lacking the skills of battle-hardened soldiers now fighting in the east and supplies of Western weapons insufficient to fend off a potentially deeper Russian push.

Ukrainian officials brushed off such fears, voicing confidence that its military can hold out to stem the Russian advances and even launch a counterattack.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press.

NEW ORLEANS —

Vice President Kamala Harris was in New Orleans Saturday speaking at the annual Essence Festival of Culture.

Harris spoke on the Wealth and Power stage about the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as other issues facing women of color.

After her speech at the festival, Harris spoke exclusively with Hearst-owned WDSU about the impacts of Louisiana's abortion trigger laws in place.

"We as Americans prided ourselves on the foundational principles of freedom and liberty," Harris said. "When we say the government can interfere and make decisions instead of letting a woman and her family, pastor or priest make that decision, I think that is a real moment of crisis, frankly."

Harris expressed her disappointment in the Supreme Court's decision, and that it was the government's responsibility the protect people's rights.

"We rightly hold ourselves out to be a nation that is a democracy founded on very important principles that include that we will protect and ensure people's rights," Harris said. "This is the first time in the history of the court that a right that had been recognized has been taken away from women in America. It is pretty serious."

Louisiana's trigger laws make most abortions illegal in the state.

Under a law signed by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat, most abortions would become illegal almost immediately upon the overturning of Roe.

The original 2006 statute allows for prison terms of one to five years and fines of $5,000 to $50,000 for abortion providers.

Senate Bill 342, sponsored by Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, increases the penalties to one to 10 years of prison time and fines of $10,000 to $100,000.

This bill was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards on June 22.

Neither the original statute nor the newly signed bill has exceptions for rape or incest.

Jackson's bill outlines what would not be considered abortion in Louisiana:

• A medical procedure with the intention to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child
• The removal of a dead unborn child or the inducement of a positive diagnosis certified in writing in the Women's medical record and an ultrasound test that the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage
• The removal of an ectopic pregnancy
• The performance of a medical procedure necessary in good faith or reasonable medical judgement to prevent death or substantial risk of death to the pregnant woman due to a physical condition or to prevent the serious permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman. However, the physician shall make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstance to preserve the life of the mother and unborn child in a manner that is consistent with reasonable medical practice
• The removal of an unborn child who is deemed to be medical futile, a judgement certified by two qualified physicians in the woman's medical record

Jackson's law also requires any abortion deemed medically necessary to be done in a licensed medical facility. Physicians will also be required to send an abortion report.

An abortion-inducing drug or chemical is also now illegal in Louisiana when used to cause an abortion.

A state district judge in New Orleans has temporarily blocked the trigger law that makes abortions illegal in the state of Louisiana.

Louisiana’s attorney general is warning doctors against performing abortions, despite the judge’s order blocking the state from enforcing its ban on the procedure.

Attorney General Jeff Landry said that the state judge’s Monday order blocking enforcement “has limited reach” and that abortion remains a crime in Louisiana after Friday’s Supreme Court decision ending abortion rights.

NEW YORK —

Former Vice President Mike Pence is becoming increasingly brazen in his willingness to counter former President Donald Trump.

The two will hold dueling rallies in Arizona on Friday as they stump for rival candidates who offer dramatically different visions of the Republican Party in a critical battleground state. Days later, they will once again cross paths as they deliver major speeches on the same day in Washington, D.C.

The encounters mark a more confrontational phase in the fraught relationship between the former running mates and once close confidantes who could soon find themselves competing against one another in the 2024 GOP presidential primary if they both ultimately choose to run.

“I think this is a continuation of the larger message that Pence is trying to embody here, which is the Republican Party should look to the future,” said Scott Jennings, a longtime party strategist. “This is going to be the existential question for the Republican Party: Are we going to listen to a slightly different view than Donald Trump’s? Right now, the standard-bearer for this is Mike Pence.”

That description marks a striking turnaround for Pence, who spent his four years in the White House as Trump’s most loyal defender. But Trump turned on his vice president when Pence refused to go along with his unconstitutional efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, putting Pence in the crosshairs of a violent mob on Jan. 6.

Now Pence, who has repeatedly defended his actions that day, is taking a more active effort to shape the future of the party. This week, Pence endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson in Arizona's Republican gubernatorial primary, pitting himself against Trump, who has endorsed Kari Lake, a former newscaster who has embraced Trump's election lies.

“As Arizona Democrats pursue the reckless Biden-Harris agenda, Karrin Taylor Robson is the only candidate for Governor that will keep Arizona’s border secure and streets safe, empower parents and create great schools, and promote conservative values,” Pence said in a statement announcing his decision.

Pence backed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a top Trump target who easily defeated the former president’s hand-picked challenger this spring. But Pence’s Arizona move showed a willingness to weigh in on a closer and open race in alliance with the state’s outgoing GOP governor, Doug Ducey, who also rebuffed Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

Pence is planning to campaign with Robson in Phoenix and southern Arizona Friday — the same day that Trump is set to headline a rally for Lake that was rescheduled after the death of his first wife, Ivana Trump.

A Trump spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on the events.

Trump and Pence will again cross paths next week as the former president returns to the nation's capital for the first time since leaving the White House. Pence will address the conservative Heritage Foundation on Monday evening and will speak at the Young America’s Foundation's annual National Conservative Student Conference on Tuesday morning. That afternoon, Trump will headline a two-day summit organized by the America First Policy Institute.

Pence will use his speech before the Heritage Foundation to highlight the policy agenda he released earlier and talk about the future of the party, according to aides. The remarks are expected to offer an implicit contrast with Trump, who has spent much of his energy since leaving office on relitigating the 2020 election.

Video: Jan. 6 rioter apologizes to officers at hearing

Pence has urged Republicans to move on, even as he continues to tout the accomplishments of what he often describes as the Trump-Pence administration.

Pence's efforts come as Trump is preparing to launch a third campaign for the White House as soon as this summer while he faces a flurry of investigations into his efforts to cling to power. That includes the House Jan. 6 committee, which on Thursday will hold another prime-time hearing, this time spotlighting Trump's refusal to call off the angry mob that stormed the Capitol and sent Pence and other lawmakers into hiding.

While polls show Trump remains the overwhelming favorite in a hypothetical GOP primary, Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff and a top adviser, argued that even if Trump does announce a run, that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be on the ballot two years from now.

“As the committee winds down, I'm sure he’s looking for a reset that brings attention back on him. And an announcement does not necessarily mean a commitment at the end of that process to continue forward," said Short. “I don't think there's any doubt that the president enjoys being the center of attention. And the announcement puts even additional media focus on him."

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to slam Pence for refusing to go along with his scheme to remain in power. At a gathering of Evangelical Christians in Nashville, Tennessee, last month, Trump again said Pence “did not have the courage to act," drawing applause.

When it comes to a potential race, Trump does not see Pence as a threat, according to allies, who are much more consumed with Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor is increasingly seen by conservatives as a natural and younger successor to Trump's MAGA movement who can channel the same anger, but with less baggage.

Jennings, meanwhile, praised Pence for being willing to stand up to Trump when so many others in the party still refuse to cross him.

“What Mike Pence is doing is extremely valuable. And whether he is a viable candidate for president. I don’t know. But he’s certainly earned the right to make the case for a post-Trump future," said Jennings.

“He may end up being John the Baptist to someone else," he added. "Headless but remembered well.”

A judge ruled on Tuesday that Couy Griffin is disqualified and barred from elected office due to his participation in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Griffin, founder of "Cowboys for Trump," was convicted in March of breaching the U.S. Capitol. At the time, he was serving as a county commissioner in New Mexico.

State District Court Judge Francis Mathew said in his ruling that Griffin violated his oath to uphold the Constitution when he engaged in the insurrection.

The ruling was the result of a civil lawsuit brought by three plaintiffs who argued that Griffin should be barred from holding public office because of a clause in the 14th Amendment. According to The Associated Press, the clause says people who engage in an insurrection can be barred from office.

NPR reports that this is the first time someone has been removed from office since the Civil War under that provision.

Griffin was reportedly shocked by the judge's ruling.

"I really did not feel like the state was going to move on me in such a way," he told CNN. "I don't know where I go from here."

A senator from Washington is second in line for the presidency. Sen. Patty Murray moved up in the line of succession after being sworn in Tuesday as Senate president pro tempore.

That position is typically third in the line of succession, after Speaker of the House. However, Republicans failed to elect a speaker on Tuesday and it's unclear when someone will receive the 218 votes to assume the role.

Murray, 72, has been in office since 1993. She is the first woman to serve as Senate president pro tempore. In her position, she is authorized to preside over the Senate, sign legislation and issue the oath of office to new senators.

Murray will move back down to third in line for the presidency after the Speaker of the House is elected.

Order of presidential succession:

1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House
3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense
7. Attorney General
8. Secretary of the Interior
9. Secretary of Agriculture
10. Secretary of Commerce
11. Secretary of Labor
12. Secretary of Health and Human Services
13. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
14. Secretary of Transportation
15. Secretary of Energy
16. Secretary of Education
17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
18. Secretary of Homeland Security

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official, who said two years ago that she wouldn’t challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024. But she changed her mind in recent months, citing, among other things, the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change,” a nod to the 76-year-old Trump’s age.

Former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony counts before the New York State Supreme Court Tuesday. Here are five of the big takeaways mentioned in the statement of facts document released by the court:

1.  Shortly after announcing his presidential run, Donald Trump met with the CEO of American Media, Inc., which owns and publishes magazines and tabloids. The company agreed to be the “eyes and ears” for Trump’s campaign during the election to mitigate negative stories and publish negative stories on his competition.

2. Donald Trump allegedly has a secret baby. The indictment says that a former Trump Tower doorman was trying to sell information regarding a child that Trump allegedly had out of wedlock. The document says the claims were never thoroughly investigated by the CEO of American Media, Inc. AMI paid the doorman $30,000 for the rights to the exclusive story.

3.  Around June 2016, about five months before the presidential election, a woman came out alleging she had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump while he was married. American Media, Inc. ultimately paid the woman $150,000 not to speak out. There was documentation alleging the Trump Organization would reimburse the media company.

4. In October 2016, a second woman came forward with a story claiming she had a sexual encounter with Trump while he was married. At the time, this woman’s lawyer and Trump’s lawyer negotiated a $130,000 payout for the rights to her account.

5. The document mentions that in the summer of 2017, Donald Trump invited the American Media, Inc. CEO to the White House for dinner to thank him for his help during the campaign.

SEE MORE: What happens now that Donald Trump has been arraigned?

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Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com

President Joe Biden released what he says is the most ambitious and comprehensive us government-led effort to fight antisemitism in American history.

CEO Ted Deutch of American Jewish Committeesays we all have a role to play.

The four pillars of the national strategy include raising awareness, improving security, reversing normalization and building solidarity.

The Department of Education has been tasked with ensuring college campuses take antisemitic acts seriously, and that Jewish students aren't excluded. The Department of Homeland Security has action items to make sure hate crimes are reported. The Small Business Administration, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Commerce will all highlight better diversity, equity and inclusion trainings so Jewish experiences are included.

"But then there are also more than 100 items that the that the administration calls on others to do,” Deutch said. “Congress should pass laws to ensure that social media companies are keeping their networks free of hatred that can lead to violence. It calls on Congress to pass more funding to provide security for nonprofit institutions. It calls on state and local governments to take action. There will be efforts among sports leagues to help elevate this issue."

This action from the Biden administration is in response to the rise in antisemitism across the country.

Deutch says 40 percent of American Jews feel less secure in their own country than they did a year ago.

The Anti-Defamation League which tracks incidents of antisemitic harassment says 2022 had the highest number of incidents on record since ADL began tracking in 1979.

Deutch says he knows the national strategy will work because there are timelines that have been established, and people the administration has made responsible for making sure these actions come to fruition.

He says everyone must come together to fight antisemitism and strengthen democracy.

SALT LAKE CITY — Messages obtained by CNN show texts between Utah Sen. Mike Lee and President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows in which the two discuss the administration's attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

On Dec. 8, 2020, Lee floated the idea of some states sending Electoral College delegates contrary to the verified ballot counts.

"If a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternative slates of delegates, there could be a path," Lee wrote.

But almost a month later on Jan. 3, 2021, Lee expressed frustration with the president.

"I don’t think the president is grasping the distinction between what we can do and what he would like us to do," expressed Lee, who also sent the following message:

"Again, all of this could change if the states in question certified Trump electors pursuant to state law. But in the absence of that, this effort is destined not only to fail, but to hurt DJT in the process."

The very next day, Trump seemingly responded to Lee's texts at a rally the two attended in Georgia.

“Mike Lee is here too, but I am a little angry at him today,” the former president said.

Trump's comment drew a text response to Meadows from Lee.

"I’ve been spending 14 hours a day for the last week trying to unravel this for him. To have him take a shot at me like that in such a public setting without even asking me about it is pretty discouraging," messaged Lee. "It’s not your fault. But I’ve been calling state legislators for hours today, and am going to spend hours doing the same tomorrow. I’m trying to figure out a path that I can persuasively defend, and this won’t make it any easier."

Lee, who faces reelection this year, did not personally respond to the texts, but his office sent a statement.

"The text messages tell the same story Sen. Lee told from the floor of the senate the day he voted to certify the election results of each and every state in the nation. They tell the story of a U.S. senator fulfilling his duty to Utah and the American people by following the Constitution," his office said.

The main candidates running against Lee reacted to the story.

"It's sad to read that. I want senators from either party to put country ahead of partisan divides and in this case, it looks like he literally wants to be Trump's lawyer," said Kael Weston. "It's sad. It's not right."

In a tweet, challenger Evan McMullen called Lee’s actions a spurious legal effort to overturn the 2020 election.

This article was written by John Franchi for KSTU.

President Joe Biden says the federal government will buy half a billion COVID-19 rapid test kits and distribute them free of charge to people to use at home. But despite the high public demand for tests, it will still be several more weeks before these kits are available to be shipped. The administration is still working on details for how the program will work.

DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE THE TESTS?

Not yet. As of this week, the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services were “executing on what's called an ‘accelerated emergency contract,'" the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said. A contract is expected to be signed soon.

WHEN WILL THE TEST KITS BE DELIVERED?

The first delivery is expected in early January. All 500 million kits will not be delivered at the same time but instead will arrive in batches.

MY DRUGSTORE DOESN'T HAVE ANY TESTS. HOW CAN I GET A FREE KIT FROM THE GOVERNMENT?

You'll go to a new government website to request a kit, but the site won't be functional until after the first batch of test kits have been delivered, Psaki said. She said the process was being handled that way to avoid creating more confusion for the public. But the idea is that anyone who wants a test kit would log onto this website to request one.

“We’re obviously not going to put the website up until there are tests available,” Psaki said.

WHICH HOME TEST WILL I GET?

It's unclear. But Psaki noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved several different brands of rapid home tests.

WILL I BE LIMITED TO ONE TEST OR CAN I REQUEST MULTIPLE?

To be determined, Psaki said.

WHY IS BIDEN BUYING THESE TEST KITS?

It represents an acknowledgment by the president that the administration needs to do more to increase access to COVID-19 testing, which is an important tool to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In cases where infected people show symptoms or not, testing is the only way to find out if they have the virus so they can avoid being out and about and potentially spreading the disease.

But demand for test kits soared as the holidays neared and people grew eager to test themselves and their families before traveling, and as the easily transmissible omicron variant spread rapidly in just a few weeks to become the dominant strain in the U.S.

Biden's promise of 500 million test kits is in addition to the administration's earlier pledge to send 50 million rapid tests to community health centers across the country.

IS THERE ANOTHER WAY TO GET A TEST KIT FOR FREE

Biden said in a speech Tuesday that, starting in January, private insurers will cover the cost of at-home testing. So people will have the option of buying tests at a store or online and then seeking reimbursement from their health insurance provider.

The government will also provide access to free at-home tests for people who may not have health insurance, Biden said.

A leftist millennial who rose to prominence during anti-government protests was elected Chile’s next president Sunday after a bruising campaign against a free-market firebrand likened to Donald Trump.

With almost 99% of polling stations reporting, Gabriel Boric won 56% of the votes, compared to 44% for his opponent, lawmaker José Antonio Kast.

Video above: The challenges Chile faces ahead of Sunday's presidential vote

In a model of civility that broke from the polarizing rhetoric of the campaign, Kast immediately recognized defeat, tweeting a photo of himself on the phone with his opponent congratulating him on his “grand triumph.” Meanwhile outgoing President Sebastian Pinera — a conservative billionaire — held a video conference with Boric to offer his government's full support during the three-month transition.

“I am going to be the president of all Chileans,” Boric said in the brief televised appearance with Pinera.

Boric's victory is likely to be felt throughout Latin America, where ideological divisions have been on the rise amid the coronavirus pandemic, which reversed a decade of economic gains, exposed longstanding deficiencies in health care and deepened inequality.

At 35, Boric will become Chile's youngest modern president when he takes office in March and only the second millennial to lead in Latin America, after El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.

He was among several activists elected to Congress in 2014 after leading protests for higher quality education. On the stump, he vowed to “bury” the neoliberal economic model left by Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 dictatorship and raise taxes on the “super rich” to expand social services, fight inequality and boost protections of the environment.

Kast, who has a history of defending Chile’s past military dictatorship, finished ahead of Boric by two points in the first round of voting last month but failed to secure a majority of votes. That set up a head-to-head runoff against Boric.

Boric was able to reverse the difference by a larger margin than pre-election opinion polls forecast by expanding beyond his base in the capital, Santiago, and attracting voters in rural areas who don't side with political extremes. For example, in the northern region of Antofagasta, where he finished third in the first round of voting, he trounced Kast by almost 20 points.

An additional 1.2 million Chileans cast ballots Sunday compared to the first round, raising turnout to 55%, the highest since voting stopped being mandatory in 2012.

Kast, 55, a devout Roman Catholic and father of nine, emerged from the far-right fringe after having won less than 8% of the vote in 2017. An admirer of Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, he rose steadily in the polls this time with a divisive discourse emphasizing conservative family values and playing on Chileans' fears that a surge in migration — from Haiti and Venezuela — is driving crime.

As a lawmaker, he has a record of attacking Chile's LGBTQ community and advocating more restrictive abortion laws. He also accused outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, a fellow conservative, of betraying the economic legacy of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the country’s former military leader. Kast's brother, Miguel, was one of Pinochet's top advisers.

“I’m very relieved,” said Mónica Salinero, a teacher who joined in the celebration of Boric's victory at the Plaza Italia in Santiago, the site of protests in 2019.

In recent days, both candidates tried to veer toward the center.

“I'm not an extremist. ... I don't feel far right,” Kast proclaimed in the final stretch even as he was dogged by revelations that his German-born father had been a card-carrying member of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party.

Boric, who is backed by a coalition of leftist parties that includes Chile's Communist Party, brought more centrist advisers onto his team and promised that any changes would be gradual and fiscally responsible.

“On both sides, people are voting out of fear,” Robert Funk, a political scientist at the University of Chile, said before the vote count. “Neither side is particularly enthused with their candidate but they are voting out of fear that, if Kast wins, there will an authoritarian regression or because they fear Boric is too young, inexperienced and aligned with the communists.”

Boric's victory is likely to be tempered by a divided congress.

In addition, the political rules could soon change because a newly elected convention is rewriting the country's Pinochet-era constitution. The convention — the nation's most powerful elected institution — could in theory call for new presidential elections when it concludes its work next year and if the new charter is ratified in a plebiscite.

___

Associated Press writer Patricia Luna reported in Santiago and AP writer Joshua Goodman reported from Miami.

NEW YORK —

New York’s attorney general is seeking former President Donald Trump’s testimony in an ongoing investigation into his business practices, a person familiar with the matter said.

Attorney General Letitia James’ office has requested that Trump sit for a deposition on Jan. 7, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

Related video above: Trump Organization CFO’s son avoided taxes by living in Trump apartment rent-free

The news was first reported by The Washington Post.

Trump’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A message seeking comment was left with Trump’s lawyer, Ronald Fischetti. James’ office declined to comment.

In the past, the Republican former president has decried the investigation as part of a “witch hunt.”

James, a Democrat who recently suspended her campaign for governor to focus on her role as attorney general, has spent more than two years looking at whether Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.

Requesting Trump’s testimony is the first step in a process that could eventually lead to issuing a subpoena and going to a judge to order him to cooperate if he were to refuse.

James’ investigators last year interviewed one of Trump’s sons, Trump Organization executive Eric Trump, as part of the probe. James’ office went to court to enforce a subpoena on the younger Trump and a judge forced him to testify after his lawyers abruptly canceled a previously scheduled deposition.

The civil investigation is separate from a criminal investigation into Trump’s business practices being led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who gained access to the longtime real estate mogul's tax records after a multi-year fight that twice went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Vance, who is leaving office at the end of the year, recently convened a new grand jury to hear evidence as he weighs whether to seek more indictments in the case, which resulted in tax fraud charges in July against the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he and the company cheated tax authorities with lucrative, untaxed fringe benefits. He is due back in court next July.

Asked about the status of the criminal probe, Vance said last week: “I think it’s pretty clear that our investigation is active and ongoing.”

James’ office is involved in Vance’s criminal probe while also conducting its own civil investigation.

Both investigations are at least partly related to allegations made in news reports and by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, that Trump had a history of misrepresenting the value of assets.

James’ office issued subpoenas to local governments as part of the civil probe for records pertaining to Trump’s estate north of Manhattan, Seven Springs, and a tax benefit Trump received for placing land into a conservation trust. Vance later issued subpoenas seeking many of the same records.

James’ office has also been looking at similar issues relating to a Trump office building in New York City, a hotel in Chicago and a golf course near Los Angeles. Her office also won a series of court rulings forcing Trump’s company and a law firm it hired to turn over troves of records.

In October, Trump testified under oath behind closed doors for several hours during a deposition in a lawsuit brought by protesters who say his security team roughed them up in the early days of his presidential campaign in 2015.

Trump had faced a Dec. 23 deadline for questioning in former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos’ defamation lawsuit against him, but she dropped the case last month.

Trump was less cooperative with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian election interference.

Mueller’s team of investigators sought an interview with Trump for months and though Trump, at times, stated publicly that he was willing to sit down with them, his lawyers long resisted the overture.

Instead, Trump’s lawyers in November 2018 submitted written responses on certain topics that Mueller’s team regarded as “inadequate.” Prosecutors in that matter decided against subpoenaing Trump to compel his testimony.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden on Thursday opened the first White House Summit for Democracy by sounding an alarm about a global slide for democratic institutions and called for world leaders to “lock arms” and demonstrate democracies can deliver.

Biden called it a critical moment for fellow leaders to redouble their efforts to bolster democracies. In making the case for action, he noted his own battle to win passage of voting rights legislation at home and alluded to challenges to America's democratic institutions and traditions.

“This is an urgent matter," Biden said in remarks to open the two-day virtual summit. “The data we’re seeing is largely pointing in the wrong direction.”

The video gathering comes as Biden has repeatedly made a case that the U.S. and like-minded allies need to show the world that democracies are a far better vehicle for societies than autocracies.

That is a central tenet of Biden's foreign policy outlook — one that he vowed would be more outward looking than his predecessor Donald Trump's “America First" approach. Biden in his speech announced plans to launch an initiative that would spend up to $424 million for programming around the world that supports independent media, anti-corruption work and more.

But the gathering also drew backlash from the United States’ chief adversaries and other nations that were not invited to participate.

Ahead of the summit, the ambassadors to the U.S. from China and Russia wrote a joint essay describing the Biden administration as exhibiting a “Cold-War mentality” that will “stoke up ideological confrontation and a rift in the world.” The administration has also faced scrutiny over how it went about deciding which countries to invite. China and Russia were among those not receiving invitations.

Other leaders took turns delivering their own remarks on the state of democracy — many prerecorded — often reflecting on the stress that rapidly evolving technology is having on their nations. They also bemoaned the increase of disinformation campaigns aimed at and undermining institutions and elections.

“The democratic conversation is changing,” said Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “New technologies and large tech companies are increasingly setting the stage for the democratic dialogue, sometimes with more emphasis on reach than on freedom of speech.”

The summit comes as Biden is pressing Russia's Vladimir Putin to stand down after a massive buildup of troops on the Ukraine border, creating growing concern in Washington and European capitals that Russia may look to once again invade Ukraine. Biden on Wednesday said that he warned Putin in a video call of “severe consequences” if Russia invaded.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who took part in Thursday’s summit, was to speak with Biden later in the day. He said on Twitter, “Democracy is not a given, it must be fought for.

Poland's Andrzej Duda also spoke out against Russia in his address, decrying Moscow and its support of Belarus. Poland and Western allies have accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants as pawns to destabilize the 27-nation European Union in retaliation for its sanctions on his authoritarian regime. Hundreds of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, last month flocked to the Belarus-Poland border. Most were fleeing conflict or despair at home and were looking to reach Germany or other Western European countries.

Poland “took on a commitment to be a support for democracy in Eastern Europe,” Duda said. “It is a beautiful task, but it has its consequences. It has made us the target of the Kremlin propaganda.”

The U.S. may be at its own pivot point.

Local elected officials are resigning at an alarming rate amid confrontations with angry voices at school board meetings, elections offices and town halls. States are passing laws to limit access to the ballot, making it more difficult for Americans to vote. And the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol has left many in Donald Trump's Republican party clinging to his false claims of a stolen election, eroding trust in the accuracy of the vote.

“Here in the United States we know as well as anyone that renewing our democracy and strengthening our democratic institutions requires constant effort,” Biden said.

Biden has said passage of his ambitious domestic agenda — the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill he signed into law, as well as the roughly $2 trillion “Build Back Better Act” of social and climate change initiatives moving through the Senate — will demonstrate how democracy can improve people’s lives.

Some advocates also want Biden to focus on other ways to shore up democracy at home. One early test was coming Thursday as the House moves to approve the Protecting Our Democracy Act, the third in a trio of bills — alongside the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act — largely backed by Democrats but stalled by Republicans in the Senate.

“The United States has a thriving democracy, but it’s been hurting in recent years,” said Michael Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, whose annual report marked a 15th consecutive year of a global democratic slide. “Right now, we’re going through a phase in America where it’s very difficult to get things done and to really prove that democracy can deliver."

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, said in its annual report that the number of countries experiencing democratic backsliding “has never been as high” as the past decade, with the U.S. added to the list alongside India and Brazil.

Chinese officials have offered a stream of public criticism about the summit. They have also expressed outrage over the administration inviting Taiwan to take part. China claims the self-governing island as part of its territory and objects to it having contacts on its own with foreign governments.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan declined to attend the conference. In a statement issued ahead of the meeting, the foreign ministry said, "We value our partnership with the U.S. which we wish to expand both bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation.”

Yet Pakistan’s own relationship with the U.S. has been fraught with suspicion on both sides. Islamabad has balked at Washington’s often-stated criticism that Pakistan has not been a reliable partner in the war on terror, accusing it of harboring the Taliban even as they fought the U.S.-led coalition. Pakistan says it has lost 70,000 people to the war on terror since 2001 and is ready to be a partner in peace but not in war.

Other uninvited countries have shown their displeasure. Hungary, the only European Union member not invited, tried unsuccessfully to block EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from speaking on behalf of the bloc at the summit. During the 2020 campaign, Biden referred to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a “thug.”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto dismissed the summit as a “domestic political-type of event” where countries whose leaders had a good relationship with Trump were not invited.

Turkey, a fellow NATO member, and Egypt, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, were also left off. Iraq was the sole Arab nation invited. The Biden administration has raised human rights concerns about both Turkey and Egypt. However, Poland, which has faced criticism for undermining the independence of its judiciary and media, was invited.

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington, Justin Spike in Budapest, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden told reporters Friday that he is suffering from a cold.

Biden, 79, was asked about his health after sounding hoarse while giving a speech about the November jobs numbers.

He said he doesn't have COVID-19, adding that he is routinely tested for the virus.

"What I have is a 1 1/2-year-old grandson who had a cold, who likes to kiss his pap," Biden said.

Biden underwent a routine physical in November.

His primary care physician attributed Biden's increased throat clearing to gastrointestinal reflux.

During the visit, Biden also had a colonoscopy and had a polyp removed.

Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor said it was benign but could potentially be pre-cancerous. He said Biden should have another colonoscopy in seven to 10 years.

CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati police said a man stabbed two people in Westwood on Thanksgiving Day.

Officers shocked him with a taser and shot him in the leg while he was still wielding the knife, according to police.

Investigators said the officers involved are now on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.

Meanwhile, neighbors who saw the chaos are glad it's over.

The FOP president told WLWT that the suspect has since been treated and released from the hospital, but he will be charged.

It was an unnerving way for people to spend the holiday.

"I seen the arguing and all of that took place, but then afterwards, police showed up, all of that came and I'm like, 'Oh my God,'" a neighbor who didn't want to be identified told WLWT.

The neighbor has only lived in Lafeuille Apartment Homes for a few months but said this holiday with her two small children has now been marred by madness next door.

"I mean, even if there is a little bit of family drama, you're not expecting it to end in stabbings. So, yes, it definitely is shocking and crazy. Especially for it to happen in this apartment complex," she said.

She didn't want to be identified to protect her family.

Cincinnati police said a 911 call came in Thursday afternoon, reporting someone in an apartment trying to stab people.

They said two officers responded and found a man and a woman stabbed.

Investigators told WLWT that officers told the suspect to drop a knife and when the suspect wouldn't comply, they fired a gun and deployed a taser.

The specific timeline has not been released by CPD.

"We don't have that set of sequence of events as of yet," Asst. Chief Terri Theetge said.

Police said the suspect was shot in the leg.

He was at UC Medical Center and in stable condition, police said.

Officers said no one has life-threatening injuries.

FOP President Dan Hils released a statement about the incident late Thursday night:

"Today, while most Cincinnati residents safely enjoyed Thanksgiving with family, our local police officers were on patrol, protecting people. One of those officers was called to a local home after a 911 call about a dangerous man with a knife who was cutting people. She and another officer came upon a man wielding a knife. That man refused orders to drop the knife and then approached the officers with the knife. Both officers immediately saw the threat, and both acted quickly. One officer deployed his Taser device while the other simultaneously fired her service weapon. They stopped the threat. The criminal was treated and released from the hospital, and he will be charged. Both officers are uninjured. Everyone in Cincinnati can be thankful that, even on holidays, they have brave, quick-thinking police officers on patrol, risking their own lives to protect others."

It's still not clear what led up to the stabbings, as CPD remains tight-lipped.

Neighbors said they are relieved the incident is over.

"I didn't want them watching that. I was watching it but I was keeping them away from the windows, when the arguing, you know, I didn't want them to hear all of that. It's Thanksgiving, you know," the neighbor said.

No one at the apartment involved answered the door.

There was blood on the ground as well as empty bandage wrappers just outside the door.

Cincinnati police said they believe the victims and the suspect are family members.

They haven't shared the suspect's name, age, or if he has a criminal history.

Police said the Criminal Investigation Section is now investigating and the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office is involved.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump's re-election campaign has scrapped plans to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend, CNN and The New York Post have confirmed.

The cancellation of the event comes amid concerns about the rising number of coronavirus cases in parts of the United States, including the South.

The campaign never formally announced the plans for the Alabama rally, but Trump was slated to travel to the state ahead of the GOP’s Senate primary race between his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and former Auburn University football coach, Tommy Tuberville.

Campaign officials ultimately decided against it as state officials voiced concerns about a mass gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic, CNN reports.

A person close the Trump campaign told CNN there are currently no rallies on the horizon, but aides are scoping out possible venues for future events.

The canceled plans come as Trump continues to complain about the low turnout during his first return to the campaign trail in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — President Donald Trump's former political adviser Steve Bannon was arrested Thursday morning on charges that he and three others scammed many people who donated an online fundraising scheme called “We Build The Wall.”

The charges were outlined in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.

Federal prosecutors say Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors" in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $25 million to build a wall along the southern border of the U.S.

Along with Bannon, the other three men arrested in the case are Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato, and Timothy Shea. They’re each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, both of which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

According to the indictment, the scheme started in December of 2018.

To induce donors to donate to the campaign, court documents say Kolfage repeatedly and falsely assured the public that he would “not take a penny in salary or compensation” and that “100% of the funds raised . . . will be used in the execution of our mission and purpose” because, as Bannon publicly stated, “we’re a volunteer organization.”

Those representations were reportedly false. In truth, prosecutors say Kolfage, Bannon, Badolato, and Shea received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funds from "We Build the Wall," which they each used in a manner inconsistent with the organization’s public representations.

In particular, Kolfage is accused of covertly taking more than $350,000 in donations for his personal use, while Bannon allegedly used a non-profit organization under his control to receive over $1 million from the campaign. Prosecutors say Bannon used at least some of that money to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.

To conceal the payments to Kolfage from "We Build the Wall," the men allegedly devised a scheme to route those payments from the campaign to Kolfage indirectly through a nonprofit and a shell company under Shea’s control, among other avenues.

“They did so by using fake invoices and sham ‘vendor’ arrangements, among other ways, to ensure, as Kolfage noted in a text message to Badolato, that his pay arrangement remained ‘confidential’ and kept on a ‘need to know’ basis,” prosecutors say.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged, the defendants defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretense that all of that money would be spent on construction. While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle. We thank the USPIS for their partnership in investigating this case, and we remain dedicated to rooting out and prosecuting fraud wherever we find it.”

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – A man in Massachusetts is taking extreme measures to ensure his Trump campaign sign isn’t tampered with.

John Oliveria of New Bedford says his sign started disappearing from his yard and after going through six, the Navy veteran was fed up.

Oliveria, a member of the New Bedford School Committee, has now put electric wire around the sign in his front yard and he tells WJAR it has certainly sent a message to thieves.

After two weeks with the fence, the Republican says the sign has stood its ground.

Oliveria says Americans have to be able to respect each other, despite political differences. Otherwise, he argues nothing will get accomplished.

Oliveria believes the sign supporting President Donald Trump’s reelection bid was specifically singled out, because he also has another sign encouraging people to vote, but that one was never touched.

For those wondering if putting electric fencing in residential areas is legal in the state, WJAR reports that it depends on the laws and regulations in each community. If someone were injured because of it, there could be legal trouble.

WASHINGTON —

Video above: President-elect Joe Biden gives speech on his education nominee

For President-elect Joe Biden, Washington’s year-end burst of deal-making brought renewed hope for a productive, successful first 100 days in office.

The city’s fever broke, at least momentarily, as longtime combatants finally forged a COVID-19 relief deal that carried with it dozens of smaller bills, offering proof that Capitol Hill's damaged systems and norms can still produce meaningful legislation — at least when backed up against the wall.

Most of Biden's 36 years in the Senate came in an era when Washington functioned far better. As president he will be seeking to restore at least the veneer of good faith and bipartisanship that defined those times and cast aside the divisions of the tea party era and four years of President Donald Trump.

After initial resistance and demands for changes, President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion pandemic relief package, delivering long-sought cash to businesses and individuals while averting a government shutdown.

The massive bill includes $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems and an increase in food stamp benefits.

In that context, the year-end deal — powered by the imperative to deliver pandemic relief to a struggling nation — is a good omen. At the end, it featured good-faith negotiation among Capitol Hill's skilled but battling leaders as well as a productive role for moderates and pragmatists in both parties whose efforts are often brushed aside.

“We have our first hint and glimpse of bipartisanship,” Biden said Tuesday. “In this election, the American people made it clear they want us to reach across the aisle and work together."

The demand for bipartisanship is a common refrain that often comes as a throwaway line from Washington pols who have little experience in delivering it. But Biden has made it the centerpiece of his transition message — and he has a track record in the Senate and in the Obama administration of following through.

He also has no choice. The election delivered Democrats the narrowest House majority of the modern age and a narrowly divided Senate that demands bipartisanship, even if Democrats win control of a 50-50 chamber after next month's twin Georgia runoff elections.

Biden said there is much more work to do and spoke optimistically of lawmakers coming together again in January or February to pass another package — and the template for success is there.

There are few measures of success greater than a big, bipartisan vote. By that metric, the 5,593-page, end-of-session behemoth — combining a $900 billion COVID-19 relief deal, a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill, and dozens of late-session add-ons — was a smash hit. The 92-6 Senate vote and a pair of lopsided House tallies on the final bill came after months of indecision and deadlock were replaced with frenzied deal-cutting and compromise.

Yet there are those in Biden's party deeply skeptical that bipartisanship can take root in such a starkly polarized country. Republicans are certain to feel the pull of their far-right flank in the coming era, shifting the party to a debt-and-deficits focus that may well be incompatible with much of Biden's agenda.

And then there's the Capitol itself. The pain-inducing process that led to the final virus package offered almost daily lessons in Congress' capacity for dysfunction and wheel-spinning. And enormous power remains concentrated in the hands of only a few leaders.

Top Republicans, like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will be a critical power broker during Biden's first two years in office, credited Biden with getting Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to accept a bill that was smaller than those she rejected in the summer and fall.

“The new president was helpful in suggesting that we ought to go ahead now and I think that may have had an impact on the speaker," McConnell told reporters Monday.

Biden and McConnell have a long relationship and worked out several deals on taxes and spending during President Barack Obama's first term. The polarization of the parties and the scorched-earth politics of the past decade won't make that success easy to replicate, but Biden is all-in.

“They know I level with them," Biden said of Republicans. “They know I never mislead. They know I tell them the truth, and they know I don’t go out of my way to try to embarrass.”

Bipartisanship and deals with McConnell were hardly the message voiced by most Democrats during a campaign in which liberals schemed to get rid of the Senate filibuster to power through their agenda.

But when Pelosi pulled back from demands for more than $2 trillion in COVID-19 relief earlier this month, there was little public backlash from arch progressives. Instead, Democrat after Democrat issued praise for the legislation even though it offered less direct aid to struggling people than they wanted.

The optimistic take is that COVID-19 relief, with its near-universal support in Congress, amounts to training wheels for a post-Trump Washington to find its way. While topics like immigration and taxes may be too tough to tackle, there's genuine hope in areas like infrastructure.

Pelosi is Biden's most powerful asset but she will have her hands full managing the smallest House majority of modern times. Her caucus increasingly tilts to the left and it sustained deep losses in swing districts and Trump country in the fall. But there's no sense, it seems, in catering to the left under the looming balance of power — and a mid-term election in 2022 that will determine whether Biden's Democrats lose control of the House.

Pelosi and McConnell have a strained relationship, but when their interests align and when they work in tandem, they are an unstoppable force. The pending new agreement started out as one to work out the annual appropriations bills. It quickly became clear that momentum could be sustained as senior lawmakers were given opportunities to find agreement on taxes, education, energy, and appropriations.

The skill is there. Finding the will and the way is the challenge.

Democratic lobbyist Steve Elmendorf said Biden and his team are going to be highly engaged and that gives him reason for optimism.

"These people are obviously dysfunctional and have some challenging relationships,” he said of Trump and his team and allies. “The fact that it took so long to get them in a room is everybody's fault. Well, Joe Biden's not going to let that happen."

Washington, however, rarely rewards those who suspend their cynicism. Democrats who give grudging respect to McConnell say the best hope for bipartisanship may be his desire to do what's best for the GOP's hopes to hold the Senate — just as they detect the politics of the Georgia runoff races as a reason for McConnell's flexibility now on pandemic relief.

“We're accustomed to each other but he's got a pretty big job," McConnell said of Biden. “So we'll see how that works out.”

Congress is ending a chaotic session, a two-year political firestorm that started with the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, was riven by impeachment and a pandemic, and now closes with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump.

In the few days remaining, GOP senators are ignoring Trump's demand to increase COVID-19 aid checks to $2,000 and are poised to override his veto of a major defense bill, asserting traditional Republican spending and security priorities in defiance of a president who has marched the party in a different direction.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a top Trump ally, tried to bridge the divide Thursday, saying Congress could try again to approve Trump's push for bigger COVID aid checks in the new session, which opens Sunday.

“I am with President Trump on this," Graham said on Fox News.

“Our economy is really hurting here,” he said. "There’s no way to get a vote by Jan. 3. The new Congress begins noon Jan. 3. So the new Congress, you could get a vote.’’

As the Senate grinds through the New Year's holiday, the one-two rebuke of Trump's demands punctuates the president’s final days and deepens the divide between the Republican Party's new wing of Trump-styled populists and what had been mainstay conservative views.

The stalemate is expected to drag into the weekend.

An exasperated Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said this week, “After all the insanity that Senate Republicans have tolerated from President Trump — his attacks on the rule of law, an independent judiciary, the conduct that led to his impeachment — is this where Senate Republicans are going to draw the line — $2,000 checks to the American people?”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown little interest in Trump's push to bolster the $600 relief checks just approved in a sweeping year-end package, declaring Congress has provided enough pandemic aid, for now, as he blocked repeated Democratic attempts to force a vote.

Opening the Senate on Thursday, McConnell called the House-passed bill matching Trump's $2,000 request “socialism for rich people” who don't need the federal help. He prefers a more targeted approach.

The refusal to act on the checks, along with the veto Friday or Saturday of the defense bill, could very well be among McConnell's final acts as majority leader as two GOP senators in Georgia are in the fights of their political lives in runoff elections next week that will determine which party controls the Senate.

Trump made an early return Thursday to the White House from his private club in Florida.

Trump and President-elect Joe Biden are separately poised to campaign in Georgia ahead of Tuesday's election as GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler face Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

It's a dizzying end to a session of Congress that resembles few others for the sheer number of crises and political standoffs as Trump's presidency defined and changed the legislative branch.

Congress opened in 2019 with the federal government shutdown over Trump's demands for money to build the border wall with Mexico. Nancy Pelosi regained the speaker's gavel after Democrats swept to the House majority in the midterm election.

Related video: Pelosi slams McConnell for halting stimulus checks

The Democratic-led House went on to impeach the president over his request to the Ukrainian president to “do us a favor” against Biden ahead of the presidential election. The Republican-led Senate acquitted the president in 2020 of the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

When the pandemic struck, Congress rallied with unusual speed and agreement to pass a $2 trillion relief package, the largest federal intervention of its kind in U.S. history.

The COVID-19 crisis also shuttered the Capitol and altered the workings of Congress. The House changed its rules to allow proxy voting, a first, so lawmakers could avoid the health risks of travel to Washington. The Senate ultimately halted its traditional daily lunches.

The usually bustling halls of Congress became eerily silent most days. Many members tested positive for the virus.

The Congress had few other notable legislative accomplishes, and could not agree on how to respond to the racial injustice reckoning that erupted after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Instead, the Senate was primarily focused on filling the courts with Trump's conservative judicial nominees, including confirming his third Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett.

As the session appeared to be winding down, Trump stunned Washington days before Christmas by delaying his signature on the latest $2 trillion-plus COVID relief and year-end funding package over his fresh demands for additional aid.

Trump’s push for $2,000 checks gained sudden momentum when dozens of House Republicans joined Democrats in approving the measure Monday. But the effort fizzled in the GOP-led Senate.

Democrats embraced Trump's demand, a rare alliance with the Republican president, but his own party split between those few joining his push for more aid and others objecting to more spending they said was not targeted to those who need it most.

Liberal senators, led by Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who support the relief boost are blocking action on the defense bill until a vote is taken on Trump’s demand.

McConnell offered an alternative aid bill, linking the $2,000 checks with Trump's other priorities, including a complicated repeal of protections for tech companies like Facebook or Twitter and the establishment of a bipartisan commission to review the 2020 presidential election.

But the GOP leader has scheduled no votes on his measure and it would be unlikely to have enough support in Congress to pass.

For now, the smaller $600 checks are being sent to households. Americans earning up to $75,000 qualify for the payments, which are phased out at higher income levels, and there’s an additional $600 payment per dependent child.

The outgoing president has been berating Republican leaders for the standoff, but he appears more focused on gathering GOP support for his extraordinary Electoral College challenge of Biden's victory when the vote is tallied in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6.

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri is among those leading Trump’s challenge to the Electoral College result, but he was rebuked Thursday by GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who warned colleagues off what he called a “dangerous ploy” that could damage trust in elections.

The challenge is not expected to change the election outcome, with Biden set to be inaugurated Jan. 20. But it will be among the first votes tallied in the new Congress.

A police officer has died from injuries sustained as President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, a violent siege that is forcing hard questions about the defeated president's remaining days in office and the ability of the Capitol Police to secure the area.

The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that Officer Brian D. Sicknick was injured “while physically engaging with protesters" during the Wednesday riot. He is the fifth person to die because of the melee.

The rampage that has shocked the world and left the country on edge forced the resignations of three top Capitol security officials over the failure to stop the breach. It led lawmakers to demand a review of operations and an FBI briefing over what they called a “terrorist attack.” And it is prompting a broader reckoning over Trump’s tenure in office and what comes next for a torn nation.

Protesters were urged by Trump during a rally near the White House earlier Wednesday to head to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers were scheduled to confirm Biden’s presidential victory. The mob swiftly broke through police barriers, smashed windows and paraded through the halls, sending lawmakers into hiding.

Five have died because of the Capitol siege. One protester, a white woman, was shot to death by Capitol Police, and there were dozens of arrests. Three other people died after “medical emergencies” related to the breach.

Despite Trump’s repeated claims of voter fraud, election officials and his own former attorney general have said there were no problems on a scale that would change the outcome. All the states have certified their results as fair and accurate, by Republican and Democratic officials alike.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said news of the police officer’s death was “gut-wrenching.”

“None of this should have happened,” Sasse said in a statement. “Lord, have mercy.”

Sicknick had returned to his division office after the incident and collapsed, the statement said. He was taken to a local hospital where he died on Thursday.

Two House Democrats on committees overseeing the Capitol police budgets said those responsible need to be held to answer for the “senseless” death.

"We must ensure that the mob who attacked the People’s House and those who instigated them are held fully accountable,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Ct., and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio. in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any remaining day with the president in power could be “a horror show for America.” Likewise, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the attack on the Capitol was “an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president," and Trump must not stay in office “one day” longer.

Pelosi and Schumer called for invoking the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to force Trump from office before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Schumer said he and Pelosi tried to call Vice President Mike Pence early Thursday to discuss that option but were unable to connect with him.

At least one Republican lawmaker joined the effort. The procedure allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit for office. The vice president then becomes acting president.

Pelosi said if the president’s Cabinet does not swiftly act, the House may proceed to impeach Trump.

Trump, who had repeatedly refused to concede the election, did so in a late Thursday video from the White House vowing a “seamless transition of power.”

Two Republicans who led efforts to challenge the election results, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, faced angry peers in the Senate. Cruz defended his objection to the election results as “the right thing to do” as he tried unsuccessfully to have Congress launch an investigation. In the House, Republican leaders Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana joined in the failed effort to overturn Biden’s win by objecting to the Electoral College results.

With tensions high, the Capitol shuttered and lawmakers not scheduled to return until the inauguration, an uneasy feeling of stalemate settled over a main seat of national power as Trump remained holed up at the White House.

The social media giant Facebook banned the president from its platform and Instagram for the duration of Trump's final days in office, if not indefinitely, citing his intent to stoke unrest. Twitter had silenced him the day before.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said “the shocking events" make it clear Trump “intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power.”

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, under pressure from Schumer, Pelosi and other congressional leaders, was forced to resign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked for and received the resignation of the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, Michael Stenger, effective immediately. Paul Irving, the longtime Sergeant at Arms of the House, also resigned.

Sund had defended his department’s response to the storming of the Capitol, saying officers had “acted valiantly when faced with thousands of individuals involved in violent riotous actions.”

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the police response “a failure.”

Lawmakers from both parties pledged to investigate and questioned whether a lack of preparedness allowed a mob to occupy and vandalize the building. The Pentagon and Justice Department had been rebuffed when they offered assistance.

Black lawmakers, in particular, noted the way the mostly white Trump supporters were treated.

Newly elected Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., said if “we, as Black people did the same things that happened ... the reaction would have been different, we would have been laid out on the ground.”

The protesters ransacked the place, taking over the House area and Senate chamber and waving Trump, American and Confederate flags. Outside, they scaled the walls and balconies.

Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., a former police chief, said it was “painfully obvious” that Capitol police “were not prepared.”

President Donald Trump's fiery speech at a rally just before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol is at the center of the impeachment charge against him, even as the falsehoods he spread for months about election fraud are still being championed by some Republicans.

A Capitol police officer died from injuries suffered in the riot, and police shot and killed a woman during the siege. Three other people died in what authorities said were medical emergencies.

Follow along below for updates: (all times eastern)

9 a.m.

The House has opened its proceedings Wednesday, poised to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time exactly a week after his supporters stormed the Capitol to protest his election defeat.

At least five Republicans have said they will join Democrats in voting to remove Trump from office. The article of impeachment charges the president with “incitement of insurrection.”

The House chaplain opened the session with a prayer for “seizing the scales of justice from the jaws of mob-ocracy.”

A vote is expected by the end of the day.

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8:15 a.m.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is predicting more Republicans will join him in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.

The House is set to vote Wednesday afternoon on impeaching Trump for a second time, accusing him of rallying a violent mob of supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol last week. If that isn't an impeachable offense, Kinzinger said, “I don't know what is.”

Several other Republicans are backing impeachment, including No. 3 GOP leader Liz Cheney.

“This is one of these moments that transcends politics,” the Illinois lawmaker told “CBS This Morning” in an interview ahead of the vote.

Besides Kinzinger and Cheney, other Republicans backing impeachment are John Katko of New York, Fred Upton of Michigan and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington.

Kinzinger wouldn’t say how many more GOP lawmakers might vote to impeach, but said, “there’ll be more than the five you’ve seen so far.”

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WASHINGTON —

Video above: President Trump condemns violence, calls for calm in video

Potential threats and leads are pouring in to law enforcement agencies nationwide after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The challenge is now figuring out what's real and what's just noise.

Investigators are combing through a mountain of online posts, street surveillance and other intelligence, including information that suggests mobs could try to storm the Capitol again and threats to kill some members of Congress.

Security is being tightened from coast to coast. Thousands of National Guard troops are guarding the Capitol ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Governors and lawmakers are stepping up protections at statehouses after an FBI bulletin this week warned of threats to legislative sessions and other inaugural ceremonies.

A primary concern is the safety of members of Congress, particularly when they are traveling through airports, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter.

The FBI and other federal authorities use their substantial resources to prepare. But smaller local police departments lack the staff to hunt down every tip. They must rely heavily on state and federal assessments to inform their work, and that information sometimes slips through the cracks — which apparently happened last week.

A day before the deadly attack on the Capitol, the FBI sent an intelligence bulletin warning of potential violence to other agencies, including the Capitol Police. But officials either did not receive it or ignored it — and instead prepared for a free-speech protest, not a riot. It took nearly two hours for reinforcements to arrive to help disperse the mob. Five people died, including a Capitol officer.

“There are some grammar schools that are better protected than the Capitol,” said Brian Higgins, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and the former chief of a northern New Jersey police force.

Since last week, the FBI has opened 170 case files and received more than 100,000 pieces of digital media. The threats have ranged in specificity and complexity, according to officials briefed on them, making it difficult for authorities to determine which could be credible.

Combing through intelligence isn't the same as shoe-leather detective work. Large departments like New York and Los Angeles have dedicated intelligence units — the NYPD even disseminated its own bulletin ahead of the riot. But smaller police forces rely on joint terrorism task forces and so-called “fusion centers” that were set up around the country after the 2001 attacks to improve communication between agencies.

Norton, Kansas, Police Chief Gerald Cullumber leads a seven-member department in the northwestern part of the state. He said he relies on larger agencies like the Kansas Highway Patrol because his agency is too small to do its own intelligence work. But Cullumber said he stays up to date on the latest information and briefs his officers.

“It doesn’t mean that we rest on our laurels," he said. "It doesn’t mean that we ignore things.”

Once they receive intelligence reports, it’s up to local agencies to plan and take action to keep their communities safe, said Rich Stanek, the former sheriff of Hennepin County in Minnesota who now works in consulting and started the Public Safety Strategies Group.

“If I was the sheriff today, I would be taking it very seriously,” he said. “If they told me Jan. 17 is the date, yeah, I think it’s reasonable to plan for one week ahead and one week behind.”

Mike Koval, who retired in 2019 as the police chief in Madison, Wisconsin, said his state's two fusion centers have technology and resources that go far beyond those of a single local police department.

Staying on top of all the potential intelligence on the internet is like “going to a water fountain to get a drink of water, and it’s coming out with the strength of a fire hydrant and it will take your jaw off,” Koval said.

Meanwhile, elected officials nationwide, including President Donald Trump, have started to urge calm amid the threats. Trump egged on the riots during a speech at the Washington Monument, beseeching his loyalists to go to the Capitol as Congress was certifying Biden’s victory. He took no responsibility for the riot.

“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” Trump said in a statement Wednesday. “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”

Experts say explicit or implicit bias likely helped downplay last week's threat because the protesters were white, and that must change, said Eric K. Ward, a senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center and an expert on authoritarian movements and hate groups.

That could be why Capitol police were so unprepared, compared with the much more aggressive law enforcement response to last summer's protests following the death of George Floyd and other Black men killed by law enforcement.

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Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Amy Forliti and Doug Glass in Minneapolis, Michael R. Sisak in New York and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia contributed to this report.