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NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump met Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the latest in a series of meetings with foreign leaders as Europe braces for the possibility of a second Trump term. The presumptive Republican nominee hosted Duda for dinner at Trump Tower, where the two were expected to discuss Ukraine, among other topics. Duda, who has long expressed admiration for Trump, is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine and has encouraged Washington to provide more aid to Kyiv amid Russian’s ongoing invasion. That funding has been held up by Trump allies in Congress. As he arrived, Trump praised the Polish president, saying, “He’s done a fantastic job and he’s my friend.” “We had four great years together,” Trump added. “We’re behind Poland all the way.” U.S. allies across the world were caught off guard by Trump’s surprise 2016 win, forcing them to scramble to build relationships with a president who often attacked longstanding treaties and alliances they valued. Setting up meetings with him during the 2024 campaign suggests they don’t want to be behind again. Even as he goes on trial for one of the four criminal indictments against him, Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden are locked in a rematch that most observers expect will be exceedingly close in November. “The polls are close,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a Biden ally and a major voice in his party on foreign affairs. “If I were a foreign leader — and there’s a precedent attached to meeting with candidates who are nominated or on the path to being nominated — I’d probably do it too.” Murphy noted that former President Barack Obama did a lengthy international tour and met with foreign leaders when he first ran for the White House. So did Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who challenged Obama in 2012 and whose trip included a stop in Poland’s capital, Warsaw. Duda’s visit comes a week after Trump met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, another NATO member and key proponent of supporting Ukraine, at the former president’s Florida estate. And last month, Trump hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an autocrat who has maintained the closest relationship with Russia among European Union countries. Orban shared a montage of footage of the visit on his Instagram feed, with included an image of him and his staff meeting with Trump and the former president’s aides in a scene that looked like an official bilateral meeting. Trump also met briefly in February with Javier Milei, the fiery, right-wing populist president of Argentina who ran a campaign inspired by Trump, complete with red “Make Argentina Great Again” hats. Milei gave Trump an excited hug backstage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, according to video posted by a Trump campaign aide. Biden administration officials have been careful not to weigh in publicly on foreign leaders’ meetings with Trump, who they acknowledge has a real chance of winning the race. While some officials have privately expressed frustration with such meetings, they are mindful that any criticism would open the U.S. to charges of hypocrisy because senior American officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meet frequently with foreign opposition figures at various forums in the United States and abroad. Security and policy officials monitor the travel plans of foreign officials visiting the U.S., but generally don’t have a say in where they go or with whom they meet, according to an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss protocol. Trump has been back in his hometown this week for the start of his criminal hush money trial, which has dramatically limited his ability to travel and campaign. While in town, aides have been planning a series of events that began Tuesday night when Trump, after court adjourned, stopped by a Harlem bodega where a man was killed to rail against crime and blast the district attorney who made him the first former president in U.S. history to stand criminal trial. Duda, a right-wing populist who once proposed naming a military base in his country “Fort Trump,” described the dinner earlier Wednesday as a private get-together between friends at Trump’s former residence while he is in town for meetings at the United Nations. “I have been invited by Mr. Donald Trump to his private apartment,” Duda told reporters, saying it was “a normal practice when one country has good relations with another country” to want those relations to be as strong as “possible with the representatives of various sides of the political stage.” He described a friendly relationship with Trump built over years of working together. “We know each other as people. Like two, I can say in some way, friends,” said Duda, whose term ends in 2025. Duda’s visit comes as House Republicans wrangle over a $95 billion foreign aid bill that would provide new funding to Ukraine, including money for the U.S. military to replace depleting weapon supplies. Many Trump allies in the House are fiercely opposed to aiding Ukraine, even as the country warns that it is struggling amid a fresh Russian offensive. Trump has said he might be open to aid in the form of a loan. Like Cameron, Duda’s efforts to push the U.S. to approve additional aid put him in common cause with Biden, who has struggled for six months to unlock additional congressional funding. One area where Trump and Duda agree when it comes to the conflict are their efforts to push NATO members to increase their defense spending. Duda has called on fellow members of the alliance to raise their spending to 3% of gross domestic product as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. That would represent a significant increase from the current commitment of 2% by 2024. Trump, in a stunning break from past U.S. precedent, has long been critical of the Western alliance and has threatened not to defend member nations that do not hit that spending goal. That threat strikes at the heart of the alliance’s Article 5, which states that any attack against one NATO member will be considered an attack against all. In February, Trump went even further, recounting that he’d once told leaders that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to members that are — in his words — “delinquent.” Duda suggested he intended to raise his proposal at the dinner. “I have never talked with President Donald Trump about my proposal of raising the spending on defense of NATO countries from 2% to 3% of GDP, but I think that his approach to it will be positive,” he said. The visit was met with mixed reaction in Poland, where fears of Russia run high and Duda’s friendly relationship with Trump has been a source of controversy. Poland’s centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Duda, was critical of the dinner but expressed hope that Duda would use it as an opportunity “to raise the issue of clearly siding with the Western world, democracy and Europe in this Ukrainian-Russian conflict.” Duda, for his part, said he wasn’t worried since presidents regularly meet with various politicians during foreign trips. “No, I am not worried because presidents meet with their colleagues, especially with those who had held presidential offices in their respective countries,” he said. “This is regular practice, there is nothing extraordinary here.” ___ Scislowska reported from Warsaw. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Zeke Miller and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Several members of the Albuquerque police academy’s training staff who were dismissed from their duties last summer filed a lawsuit Wednesday outlining allegations of nepotism and retaliation by leadership within the force. The whistleblower complaint centers on a requirement that male cadets shave their heads with a razor daily. One cadet — the son of a police commander — was found to have violated the policy and wasn’t initially truthful with training staff when asked whether he was following through with the practice. The cadet was dismissed from the academy last August following an internal investigation, but the lawsuit states the decision was reversed in less than 24 hours. The plaintiffs deduced that the commander had intervened on behalf of his son and that they were dismissed from the academy and reassigned to other positions in the field because they reported the violation. In a letter to Police Chief Harold Medina, the plaintiffs described an abuse of authority and suggested that the commander’s intervention was inappropriate and nepotistic. “We have done nothing wrong,” they stated in the letter, which was submitted as part of the complaint. “We have acted to report ethical violations and to protect the public interest in ethically trained law enforcement officials, and we should not suffer retaliation for doing so.” It wasn’t until a month later that the department responded with a notice that an internal investigation would be initiated and it would include possible hazing of a cadet. According to the lawsuit, it was the academy commander who had instructed the training staff to reinstitute “old school” policies and a more “military” style of training at the academy. Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department, told The Associated Press that the city takes hazing allegations very seriously. “Those allegations, as well as the allegations in this lawsuit, will be addressed in court,” he said. It’s unclear whether the shaving policy is still part of the cadet handbook. The beleaguered police department has been grappling with other recent internal investigations, including the mishandling of DWI cases by some officers over a period of years and a traffic crash involving the police chief that seriously injured another driver. The seven plaintiffs who brought the whistleblower complaint made up the academy’s entire training staff and had more than 100 years of combined experience, said their attorney Levi Monagle. They are seeking damages for lost wages, emotional distress and harm to their reputations. The lawsuit stated that the findings of the internal investigation that followed the cadet being reinstated have yet to be shared with the plaintiffs. It was completed by a third party in December. While the plaintiffs believe it found no evidence of hazing, they were issued reprimands for “unspecified violations” of city policies. The training staff had said they were given no explanation for their removal from the academy or explanation for their reassignments. They stated that the removal of officers from positions for which they apply and are tested — without explanation or notice or opportunity to be heard — is “highly unusual” and a violation of the police department’s collective bargaining agreement. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

BOSTON (AP) — An Oklahoma man was arrested Wednesday after authorities accused him of throwing a pipe bomb at the Massachusetts headquarters of a group called The Satanic Temple. The Salem-based group says on its website that it campaigns for secularism and individual liberties, and that its members don’t actually worship Satan. Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Oklahoma, has been charged with using an explosive to damage a building following an attack last week on the headquarters, which is also used as an art gallery. Several phone numbers associated with Palmer were out of service Wednesday, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said they didn’t yet have the name of any lawyer representing him. He is due to make an initial court appearance in Oklahoma on Thursday. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Surveillance cameras showed a man walk up to the building soon after 4 a.m. on April 8 wearing a face covering, tactical vest and gloves, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI. The man then ignited an improvised explosive device, threw it at the main entrance then ran away. The bomb partially detonated, resulting in some minor fire damage, authorities said. The bomb appeared to be made from a piece of plastic pipe, authorities said, and they were able to extract a DNA sample from a single hair on the bomb. The Attorney’s Office said investigators found a six-page note in a flowerbed near the attack addressed to “Dear Satanist” and urged repentance. Authorities said Palmer had posted similar comments on social media. The Attorney’s Office also said surveillance footage showed a black Volvo registered to Palmer driving erratically in the area before and after the incident, and it said Palmer had recently bought some PVC pipe from a home improvement store in Oklahoma. The Satanic Temple says on its website that it doesn’t believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. The group could not immediately be reached for comment. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature moved in fits and starts toward adjournment on Wednesday, with unfinished business including final votes on a series of gun safety bills that were introduced after the deadliest shooting in state history last fall. The Senate was awaiting an enactment vote on the governor’s gun safety proposals that would strengthen the state’s yellow flag law, boost background checks for private sales of guns and make it a crime to recklessly sell a gun to a prohibited person. The Senate narrowly gave final approval to a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks that can transform a weapon into a machine gun. Looming in the background: Lawmakers had yet to vote on a red flag proposal sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross to allow family members to petition a judge to remove guns from someone who is in a psychiatric crisis. The state’s yellow flag law puts police in the lead of the process, which critics say is too complicated. Legislators faced a Wednesday deadline for completing work before adjournment. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills indicated she had no interest in extending the session. A dustup between the governor and lawmakers over the amount of money to help communities recover from storm damage created an 11th-hour wrinkle. Lawmakers also had to approve a budget revision that could prove contentious. The Oct. 25 shooting by an Army reservist that claimed 18 lives and injured 13 others served as a backdrop for the legislative session. Republicans accused Democrats of using the tragedy to play on people’s emotions to pass contentious bills, some of which were previously defeated. Supporters of the legislation said constituents implored them to do something to prevent future attacks. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron Technology to produce advanced memory computer chips in New York and Idaho. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., personally courted Micron to build what would ultimately be a set of four chip factories near Syracuse in the town of Clay. He noted in a Wednesday interview that the announcement was a sign to voters about how Democrats were reviving the manufacturing sector. ”It will be the biggest memory chip plant in America,” said Schumer. “For the Syracuse area, this is the best thing that’s happened probably since the Erie Canal.” The comparison to the 1825 infrastructure project that connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean is audacious, but it gets at the possible magnitude of the economic impact as well as the national security stakes in an increasingly digital world. Including the government support, Micron plans to invest $100 billion in upstate New York over the next two decades. The investment would lead to an estimated 9,000 direct jobs and 40,000 construction jobs. Micron has also announced plans for a $15 billion memory chip plant in its hometown of Boise, Idaho. The funding comes from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which is set to provide government support for new and expanded facilities being developed by Intel, TSMC, Samsung and Global Foundries, among other chip companies. The law included $52 billion to support the domestic semiconductor industry, reducing the risk that the chip shortages experienced amid the pandemic could hurt the U.S. economy and national security. The Democratic administration has set a goal for 20% of the world’s advanced chips to be made in the United States and has restricted the flow of chips into China. A senior Biden administration official, insisting on anonymity to discuss the deal before its official announcement, confirmed the agreement with Micron. President Joe Biden discussed in Pittsburgh on Wednesday the importance of computer chips that power everything from weapons to artificial intelligence to household appliances such as refrigerators. Biden noted that Republican Donald Trump, the former president and his election-year rival, had not been as aggressive in boosting the sector and curbing China’s access to chips. “For all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that,” Biden told a group of steelworkers. Trump has told his supporters that China was “afraid” of him because he levied tariffs on the nation with the goal of supporting U.S. factory jobs. Biden has kept the tariffs and on Wednesday suggested plans to expand them on steel and aluminum. “I took on communist China like no administration in history,” Trump told supporters at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com