JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, Calif. 鈥� On many nights, hundreds of migrants squeeze through poles in a border wall or climb over on metal ladders. They gather in a buffer zone between two walls with views of the night lights of Tijuana, Mexico, waiting hours for Border Patrol agents while volunteers deliver hot coffee, instant ramen and bandages for busted knees and swollen ankles.

About an hour drive east, where the moon offers the only light, up to hundreds more navigate a boulder-strewn desert looking for always-shifting areas where migrants congregate. Groups of just a few to dozens walk dirt trails and paved roads searching for agents.

The scenes are a daily reminder that San Diego became the busiest corridor for illegal crossings in April, according to U.S. figures, the fifth region to hold that distinction in two years in a sign of how quickly migration routes are changing.

Routes were remarkably stable a short time ago. San Diego was the busiest Border Patrol sector for decades until more enforcement pushed migrants to the desert area near Tucson, Arizona, which became the top spot by 1998. The in South Texas saw the most activity from 2013 to June 2022 as Central Americans became a greater presence.

Migrants were arrested nearly 128,900 times on the Mexican border in April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday, down 6.3% from March and barely half of a record-high 250,000 in December. While still historically high, April bucked a typical spring increase.

The drop is largely due to heightened Mexican enforcement, which includes blocking migrants from boarding freight trains, according to U.S. officials. touts his multibillion-dollar border crackdown, while others highlight violence in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas as a deterrent on the path to the Rio Grande Valley.

Mexico pledged it won鈥檛 allow more than 4,000 illegal crossings a day to the U.S., Alicia B谩rcena, Mexico鈥檚 foreign relations secretary, told reporters Tuesday. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 10,000 on some days in December.

Despite the overall decline, arrests in the San Diego sector reached 37,370 in April, up 10.6% from March as the busiest of nine sectors bordering Mexico. Troy Miller, CBP鈥檚 acting commissioner, said more enforcement, including with other countries, led to overall declines from March, while acknowledging 鈥渃ontinually shifting migration patterns.鈥�

Many migrants say San Diego is the easiest and least dangerous place to cross. They constantly check their phones for messages, social media posts and voice calls that help them plan their route and crossing.

鈥淥ne hears many things on the way,鈥� Oscar Palacios, 42, said one April morning after being driven by an agent to wait in a dirt patch where more than 100 migrants shivered near campfires. After Mexican immigration agents returned him three times to southern Mexico, the Ecuadorian man said, he gave someone he didn鈥檛 know $500 for a document that allowed him to fly to Tijuana. He then paid a smuggler to guide him to California.

San Diego鈥檚 draw lies in part because Tijuana is the largest city on the Mexican side of the border, U.S. officials say. People of nearly 100 nationalities have arrived at Tijuana鈥檚 airport this year, including 12,000 each from Colombia and Cuba, about 6,000 each from Haiti and Venezuela and thousands more from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, China and Mauritania.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the prevalence of social media,鈥� said Paul Beeson, whose 33-year Border Patrol career included stints as chief agent in the San Diego, Tucson and Yuma, Arizona, sectors. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more information out there about getting across. Air transportation has picked up and people are able to move around.鈥�

Migration in San Diego presents a challenge because people come from a wider variety of countries 鈥� including India, Georgia, Egypt, Jamaica and Vietnam 鈥� where deportation flights can be costly and difficult to arrange, U.S. officials say. Mexicans, who are deported nearby over land, and Guatemalans and Hondurans, whose governments have long accepted frequent deportation flights, are a smaller presence there than elsewhere on the border.

The Border Patrol has been busing and flying some migrants from San Diego to other border cities for processing, a role reversal from even last year, when migrants were sent to San Diego to deal with overflow.

Migrants wait hours for agents to pick them up for processing instead of dayslong delays that were common when makeshift camps started popping up in the San Diego area about a year ago. Last month children in the camps were subject to custody standards guaranteeing their health and safety.

One night last week, about 70 people gathered between two walls near an upscale outlet mall. Two Honduran women were no longer able to walk after being injured while scaling the border wall; one accepted a Border Patrol ride to the hospital.

鈥淎lmost every night we have injuries from people jumping,鈥� said Clint Carney, 58, who volunteers many nights answering migrants鈥� questions and serving snacks.

Near Jacumba Hot Springs, a town of less than 1,000 people, about a dozen people from Latin American countries arrived at a fork in a dirt road around 10 p.m. About 100 Chinese migrants came just before sunrise, many neatly dressed and playfully taking pictures on their phones.

Some of the Latin Americans grumbled quietly when the Chinese lined up ahead of them as Border Patrol vehicles arrived. Previously agents issued colored wristbands that were used to keep track of how long people had been waiting and who was next in line, but that practice was stopped in December.

Such staging areas have popped up in remote areas after migrants cross the border where mountainous terrain has prevented barrier construction. Mexican authorities鈥� increased presence in some areas pushed traffic elsewhere in the sparsely populated desert, creating new camps. One new site is a short distance from a gun club, without tents, bathrooms or other services.

San Diego shelters have been unable to house everyone who is released by the Border Patrol with notices to appear in immigration court. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said more than 143,000 migrants have been released on the streets since Sept. 13, citing Border Patrol data.

From a bus and trolley station where agents leave migrants, it is a short ride to the airport, where they can charge phones and use restrooms before boarding flights to destinations elsewhere in the U.S.

Associated Press writer Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed.

ATLANTA 鈥� On Sunday, President Joe Biden will step foot on a college campus for the first time since student protests over the war in Gaza at dozens of American universities, including some in Georgia, escalated to encampments, arrests and concerns about rising antisemitism.

Biden鈥檚 remarks at Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he is scheduled to give the commencement address, will be closely scrutinized as some have called for protests of his support of the Israeli government鈥檚 actions in the region.

While the White House hasn鈥檛 shared many details about what Biden will say at Morehouse, it鈥檚 possible he鈥檒l talk about the campus demonstrations. Biden said in a radio interview on Atlanta鈥檚聽聽Wednesday morning that 鈥淚鈥檝e been very clear, every American has the right to peacefully protest,鈥� but added it鈥檚 unacceptable when it 鈥渃rosses the line to hate speech.鈥�

Presidents have often used commencement addresses during challenging moments for the nation to outline their positions on issues.

The tradition dates back at least to 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt addressed the Naval Academy 鈥� the most frequent commencement destination. The military academies account for 30% of presidential commencement addresses.

鈥淚 ask that you make it from now on your object to see that if ever the day should arise, your courage, your readiness, your eager desire to win fresh renown for the flag be made good by the training you have given yourselves and those under you in the practical work of your profession in seamanship and gunnery,鈥� Roosevelt told the men.

Exactly a century later in 2002, in his first commencement address since the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush gave his vision for the war against terrorism at the commencement exercises at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Bush spent much of his speech addressing the attacks, the importance of America defending itself and its allies and what he described as the 鈥減erilous crossroads of radicalism and technology.鈥�

鈥淥ur security will require the best intelligence, to reveal threats hidden in caves and growing in laboratories,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur security will require modernizing domestic agencies such as the FBI, so they鈥檙e prepared to act, and act quickly, against danger. Our security will require transforming the military you will lead 鈥� a military that must be ready to strike at a moment鈥檚 notice in any dark corner of the world. And our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives.鈥�

In May of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson delivered his 鈥淕reat Society鈥� speech at the University of Michigan. Two months later he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, handing one of his pens to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

A year later, Johnson gave the commencement address at Howard University 鈥� which has hosted five sitting presidents, including Biden. The speech at the historically Black university focused on civil rights, while setting up the intellectual framework for affirmative action in 鈥淭o Fulfill These Rights.鈥�

鈥淪o, it is the glorious opportunity of this generation to end the one huge wrong of the American Nation and, in so doing, to find America for ourselves, with the same immense thrill of discovery which gripped those who first began to realize that here, at last, was a home for freedom,鈥� Johnson said on the campus quad.

During his tenure in the White House, President Jimmy Carter spoke at four college commencements. In his 1977 address at Notre Dame 鈥� on the heels of Watergate and the Vietnam War 鈥� Carter laid out his foreign policy agenda.

鈥淚 believe we can have a foreign policy that is democratic. That is based on fundamental values. And it uses power and influence, which we have, for human purposes,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淲e can also have a foreign policy that the American people support and for a change, know about and understand.鈥�

According to John Woolley,聽聽Carter spoke at four commencements during his presidency, including the Capitol Page School, the United States Naval Academy and Cheyney State College, now known as Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

In 2013, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to speak at a Morehouse graduation and used his speech as an opportunity to talk directly to Black men.

On campus and beyond.

The first Black president said there was 鈥渘o time for excuses鈥� for that generation of African American men and that it was time for their generation to step up professionally and in their personal lives.

Through a steady downpour, Obama told the students that they 鈥渁re the heirs to a great legacy. You have within you the same courage and that same strength, the same resolve as the men who came before you.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what being a Morehouse man is all about,鈥� the president said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what being an American is about. Success may not come quickly or easily. But if you strive to do what鈥檚 right; if you work harder and dream bigger; if you set an example in your own lives and do your part to help meet the challenges of our time, then I am confident that, together, we will continue the never-ending task of perfecting our union.鈥�

Obama鈥檚 final words were nearly drowned out by thunder. But he stayed long enough to receive an honorary doctor of law degree.

———

漏2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at聽. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Justice Samuel Alito drew sharp condemnation Friday following revelations that an was flown outside his home after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, a development that renewed calls on the left for Congress to impose ethics standards on the Supreme Court.

The New York Times that it said was seen at the justice鈥檚 home in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 17, 2021, days before President Joe Biden鈥檚 inauguration. Alito told the Times he had 鈥渘o involvement鈥� in the flag鈥檚 hanging and said it was 鈥渂riefly placed鈥� there by his wife.

The explanation didn鈥檛 satisfy critics, who noted the Supreme Court is hearing several cases this year involving the aftermath of the 2020 election. The upside-down flag became a symbol for former President Donald Trump鈥檚 supporters who falsely claimed widespread fraud in the election.

鈥淭his stuff鈥檚 not normal,鈥� Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, told CNN on Friday. 鈥淚鈥檓 just stunned that we would ever have had to have a Supreme Court justice explain why his wife was flying a flag upside down in response to an 鈥� insurrection.鈥�

Last fall, in response to a series of revelations about travel accepted by and , the Supreme Court adopted a code of conduct for the first time. That code guides the justices to 鈥渞efrain from political activity,鈥� and several judicial ethics experts speculated the incident with Alito was serious enough to violate those provisions.

鈥淒isplaying a political symbol like this, with a clear message about the 2020 election given the timing, in the front yard of one鈥檚 home falls under this code provision, and Justice Alito should disqualify himself from cases related to the 2020 election challenges,鈥� said Renee Knake Jefferson, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

鈥淏ut the code does not require him to do so,鈥� Jefferson added. 鈥淯ltimately, it is his decision alone to make.鈥�

By adopting the code of conduct last year, Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to head off Democratic efforts in Congress to impose an ethics code on the high court. But the code鈥檚 provisions are self-enforced, and many of the court鈥檚 critics argue the document doesn鈥檛 adequately address scandals that have plagued the high court for years.

鈥淚f聽a judge on聽any聽other federal court had done this, the allegation would be investigated because it calls into question a person鈥檚 ability to fairly decide a case,鈥� Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN in a statement.

鈥淭hrough a long string of problematic behavior that has leaked out in the press, the far-right justices have demonstrated that they too should be subject to an enforceable ethics code,鈥� Whitehouse said. 鈥淭hey are not capable of policing themselves.鈥�

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the incident was the 鈥渓atest proof鈥� that Congress should pass ethics reform for the high court.

鈥淔lying an upside-down American flag 鈥� a symbol of the so-called 鈥楽top the Steal鈥� movement 鈥� clearly creates the appearance of bias,鈥� Durbin said in a statement. 鈥淛ustice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former president鈥檚 immunity.鈥�

Republicans were, at least initially, more muted in their response 鈥� or didn鈥檛 address the criticism.

Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, for attempting to 鈥渋ncite another mob to try to intimidate justices, harass them at home, or worse.鈥�

A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.

色情论坛 of the flag landed at a critical moment in the Supreme Court鈥檚 term, as the justices race to finish opinions before their self-imposed end-of-June deadline. Public support for the court has since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. And there have been signs that the combination of controversial cases and ethics scandals have frayed relationships internally.

During in Alabama, Thomas lamented what he described as a loss of collegiality compared with the court he joined in 1991. Thomas has made similar comparisons before, though he did so early in his remarks last week 鈥� and without prompting 鈥� suggesting those tensions were still top of mind.

鈥淲e may have been a dysfunctional family, but we were a family,鈥� Thomas said at the conference. 鈥淚t would be inconceivable that anyone would of the court or do anything to intentionally harm one another.鈥�

The Supreme Court is weighing two major cases this term tied to the 2020 election and the attack on the Capitol. In one, the justices are Trump鈥檚 claim of absolute immunity from special counsel Jack Smith鈥檚 election subversion charges. In another, a January 6 rioter is an obstruction charge filed against him by prosecutors, arguing that Congress intended that law to apply to people destroying evidence, not storming a government building.

Former Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman 鈥� also a former professor and dean at the Chapman University law school 鈥� pleaded not guilty in Phoenix on Friday on charges related to allegedly participating in a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Arizona.

A grand jury in Arizona handed up indictments last month , including the fake electors from that state and several individuals connected to his campaign.

While Trump is not among those charged in Arizona, the details in the indictment suggest he is 鈥淯nindicted Coconspirator 1.鈥�

鈥淚,聽of course,聽plead聽not guilty,鈥� Eastman said following the brief hearing. 鈥淚鈥檓 confident that,聽with the laws faithfully applied, I will be exonerated at the end of this process.鈥�

Eastman was released from custody without conditions.

Eastman聽is the first defendant charged in the Arizona case to appear in court and the others are scheduled to follow suit in the coming weeks. Among them are Trump鈥檚 former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former attorney Rudy Giuliani, close aide Boris Epshteyn and Christina Bobb, the top lawyer on 鈥渆lection integrity鈥� for the Republican National Committee.

Each defendant is expected to be fingerprinted and have a mugshot taken as they are processed, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Eastman鈥檚 indictment stems from being among those聽聽for overturning the 2020 election results and intimately involved in the fake electors scheme.

鈥淭his really tracks much of the same type of information and allegations that we see in the Georgia indictment and others,鈥� Michael Moore,聽a聽CNN legal analyst and former US attorney,聽said聽Friday on聽鈥淐NN 色情论坛room.鈥澛犫�淎nd that is dealing with whether or not there was some forgery committed by presenting false documents and signatures, and that is the offenses that could be defined by state law, so you鈥檙e seeing state officials bringing these charges.鈥�

The right-wing lawyer devised a multi-step plan for then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election and advised Trump on plots to disrupt Congress鈥� certification of the 2020 election results.

The House select committee investigating the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol 聽Eastman put forward a legal theory that Pence could unilaterally block certification of the election 鈥� a theory that was roundly rejected by Trump鈥檚 White House attorneys and Pence鈥檚 team, but was nevertheless embraced by the former president.

Although Eastman聽聽so he can represent clients and pay his own legal bills as he fights criminal charges stemming from the 2020 election efforts, an attorney discipline judge in California rejected a request from Eastman to reactivate his law license earlier this month聽聽that he be disbarred.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a serious charge, obviously, it can affect both the law licenses for those involved, if they are lawyers, as well as the liberty of them if they are convicted,鈥� Moore said.

CNN鈥檚 Jack Hannah contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO 鈥� The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence for David DePape, 44, whom jurors found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.

DePape was given 20 years for one count and 30 years for another count. The sentences will run concurrently. He was also given credit for the 18 months that he’s been in custody.

DePape stood silently as Judge Corley handed the sentence and looked down at times. His public defense attorneys had asked the judge to sentence him to 14 years, pointing out that he was going through a difficult time in his life and had no prior criminal history.

Corley said she took into account when giving DePape鈥檚 sentence the fact that he broke into the home of a public official, an unprecedented act in the history of the country.

鈥淗e actually went to the home, that is completely, completely unprecedented,鈥� she said.

Before sentencing, Christine Pelosi read victim statements on behalf of her father and mother, explaining how the violent attack changed their lives.

鈥淭he Pelosi family couldn鈥檛 be prouder of their Pop and his tremendous courage in saving his own life on the night of the attack and in testifying in this case,鈥� Aaron Bennett, a spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement. 鈥淪peaker Pelosi and her family are immensely grateful to all who have sent love and prayers over the last eighteen months, as Mr. Pelosi continues his recovery.鈥�

DePape聽admitted during trial testimony聽that he broke into the Pelosis鈥� San Francisco home Oct. 28, 2022, intending to hold the speaker hostage and 鈥渂reak her kneecaps鈥� if she lied to him. He also admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer after police showed up, saying his plan to end what he viewed as government corruption was unraveling.

The attack on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 at the time, was聽captured on police body camera video聽just days before the midterm elections and sent聽shockwaves through the political world.

Defense attorneys argued DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him invalid.

One of his attorneys,聽Angela Chuang, said during closing arguments聽that DePape was caught up in conspiracy theories.

At trial DePape, a Canadian who moved to the U.S. more than 20 years ago, testified that he believed news outlets repeatedly lied about former President Donald Trump. In rants posted on a blog and online forum that were taken down after his arrest, DePape echoed the baseless, right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of devil-worshipping pedophiles runs the U.S. government.

DePape also told jurors he had planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and record his interrogation of the Democratic speaker, who was not at the home at the time of the attack, to upload it online.

Prosecutors said he had rope and聽zip ties聽with him, and detectives found body cameras, a computer and a tablet.

Paul Pelosi also testified聽at the trial, recalling how he was awakened by a large man bursting into the bedroom and asking, 鈥淲here鈥檚 Nancy?鈥� He said that when he responded that his wife was in Washington, DePape said he would tie him up while they waited for her.

鈥淚t was a tremendous sense of shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house, and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,鈥� Pelosi told jurors.

DePape is also charged in state court with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. Jury selection in that trial is expected to start Wednesday.

Paul Pelosi suffered two head wounds in the attack, including a skull fracture that was mended with plates and screws he will have for the rest of his life. His right arm and hand were also injured.

Marta Moehring voted the way she prefers in Nebraska鈥檚 Republican primary Tuesday 鈥� in person, at her west Omaha polling place.

She didn鈥檛 even consider taking advantage of the state鈥檚 no-excuse mail-in ballot process. In fact, she would prefer to do away with mail-in voting altogether. She鈥檚 convinced fraudulent mailed ballots cost former President Donald Trump a second term .

鈥淚 don鈥檛 trust it in general,鈥� Moehring, 62, said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e counted correctly.鈥�

But now Republican officials 鈥� even, sometimes, Trump 鈥� are encouraging voters such as Moehring to cast their ballots by mail. The GOP has launched an effort to, in the words of one official, 鈥渃orrect the narrative鈥� on mail voting and get those who were by Trump to reconsider for this year鈥檚 election.

The push is a striking change for a party that amplified dark rumors about mail ballots to explain away , but it is also seen as a necessary course correction for an election this year that is likely to be decided by razor-thin margins in a handful of swing states.

鈥淲e have to get right on using these mail-in ballots for the people who can鈥檛 get there on Election Day,鈥� , one of Trump鈥檚 strongest congressional allies in his push to said at a conservative gathering in his home state of Pennsylvania.

Republicans once were at least as likely as Democrats to vote by mail, but . He that mail balloting was bad months before voting began in the presidential race.

That alarmed GOP strategists who saw mail voting as an advantage in campaigns because it lets them 鈥渂ank鈥� unreliable votes before Election Day and lowers the risk of turnout plummeting because of bad weather or other unpredictable factors at the polls. Trump鈥檚 own campaign tried to sell Republicans on casting ballots by mail, but his voters listened to the then-president. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Democrats were vastly more likely to cast ballots by mail than Republicans.

The trend continued in 2022, and its costs were starkly illustrated in Arizona.

Three top-of-the-ticket Republican candidates there who echoed Trump鈥檚 lies about the unreliability of mail ballots encouraged their supporters . An election machine meltdown that day in one-third of the polling places in the state鈥檚 most populous county led to huge lines and some would-be voters departing in frustration.

The three top Republicans all lost, including falling 17,000 votes short in the governor鈥檚 race and 500 votes short in the one for attorney general.

鈥淚n this election cycle, Republicans will beat Democrats at their own game, by leveraging every legal tactic at our disposal based on the rules of each state,鈥� Lara Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Turning Point Action, a prominent, pro-Trump group, is launching a $100 million campaign to reach infrequent voters in the swing states of Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin. That will include offering mail voting as one way to make casting a ballot easier, spokesman Andrew Kolvet said.

鈥淲e鈥檇 love for elections to be run the way they were before,鈥� Kolvet said. 鈥淲e can spend our time complaining about it or we can get in gear and play by the rules that Democrats, or largely Democrats, used.鈥�

Even Trump himself has started to recommend mail voting, though he frequently bashes it during campaign events and blames it for his 2020 loss. The RNC is also continuing against various aspects of mail voting around the country.

Nonetheless, Trump recorded a short video telling his supporters that 鈥渁bsentee voting, early voting and Election Day voting are all good options.鈥�

One recent push to publicize mail voting came during last month鈥檚 , when the Republican State Legislative Committee teamed up with a committee supporting the party鈥檚 Senate candidate and the state GOP. The goal, said RSLC political director Max Docksey, was 鈥渢o correct the narrative among Republican voters on mail voting.鈥�

The effort was inspired by what the RSLC saw as a successful effort to increase mail voting among Republicans in the battle for control of the Virginia Legislature in 2023, a fight ultimately .

The group sent mail ballot applications to 1.5 million GOP voters, sent 475,000 text messages encouraging mail voting and touted the benefits of mail voting at party gatherings.

But at the same time, Pennsylvania Republicans to force the state鈥檚 mail ballots to be counted at polling places rather than the county election offices, which have the equipment and space to do the job, That鈥檚 among many filed by Republicans around the country since 2020.

The conflicting messages could make it challenging to swiftly reverse the drop-off in mail voting among Republicans.

In Pennsylvania, Republican operatives were pleased with their effort, which they said led to them adding nearly twice as many voters to the state鈥檚 mail ballot list as Democrats did during the primary. But the overall share of Pennsylvania mail ballots sent by Republicans remained about the same as in 2020, at only one-quarter of overall ballots, according to data from the secretary of state鈥檚 office.

Bill Bretz, chairman of the Westmoreland County Republican Party in the western side of the state, said he鈥檚 noticed voters in his conservative area slowly but steadily warming up to mail voting.

鈥淧eople understand the consequences of this election,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of buy-in to vote by any method available, and the vote-by-mail bogeyman is beginning to fade.鈥�

Riccardi reported from Denver and Beck from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Martha Mendoza in Santa Cruz, California, and Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The planned between Joe Biden and Donald Trump that were swiftly organized this week are a coup for CNN and ABC 色情论坛 鈥� but a virtual guarantee they鈥檒l be among the least-watched general election contests ever.

The two campaigns the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized the events for 36 years with the goal of getting them before as many eyes as possible.

ABC, which has assigned David Muir and Linsey Davis as moderators for a debate scheduled for Sept. 10, has said it will make it available for simulcast on any U.S. television network or streaming service that wants it. CNN had not said by early Friday whether it will do the same for its debate, set for June 27 with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash as questioners.

A debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and whomever former President Trump chooses as his running mate is this summer on CBS.

Each of the two debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 were carried on at least 16 networks, according to the Nielsen company. The first was seen by 73.1 million viewers, the second by 63 million.

Debates prior to a party鈥檚 nominating process, which Trump skipped this year, are usually organized and broadcast by individual media organizations. The tradition has been different for those organized by the commission during general election campaigns, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and member of a Annenberg organized a decade ago that explored ways to increase viewership.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the public鈥檚 debate,鈥� Jamieson said.

For CNN leaders, there鈥檚 a great temptation to keep it for themselves. It would likely be the most-watched event ever on a network that is struggling in ratings. CNN鈥檚 chief executive, , made a point in tying the debate to the brand on Wednesday when he announced the agreement to hold it during a sales presentation to advertisers in New York.

鈥淲hen people have something important to say,鈥� Thompson said, 鈥渢hey say it on CNN.鈥�

CNN said Wednesday the debate would also air live on its international and Spanish-speaking networks, and stream on CNN Max and CNN.com.

The pool of people available to watch on CNN鈥檚 main television network is dwindling due to cord-cutting of cable and satellite services. CNN was available in 71% of American homes with television in May 2020; this month it鈥檚 just under 54%, Nielsen said.

Keeping the debate on CNN alone would run up against stout criticism that it鈥檚 not the public-spirited thing to do, something ABC moved quickly to avoid.

Political polarization that has spread to the media would also likely cut into viewership if the event was not shared, Jamieson said. Would Fox 色情论坛 viewers, after years of hearing CNN criticized by some of their favorite politicians and media figures, turn to CNN for a debate or skip it entirely?

It鈥檚 still not certain how many other networks will carry the debates even with the opportunity. Only PBS has said that it would; other networks have yet to give a public commitment.

Despite worries about how many people will watch, Jamieson said there鈥檚 some irony in that there鈥檚 a lot to like about the proposed ground rules for the event. So far, the plans are to hold them in television studios without an audience.

That鈥檚 something the Annenberg group had proposed a decade ago, saying an audience that reacts to what the candidates are saying is often a distraction, and that audience is usually packed with partisans on both sides.

If the two campaigns agree to rules where one candidate鈥檚 microphone would be shut off while his opponent answers a question, it would go a long way to solving what has been a more frequent problem recently with politicians interrupting and talking over an opponent, she said.

鈥淚f someone had told me that there was going to be some good news about political discourse this year, I would have told them they were delusional,鈥� she said.

Leaving Washington behind, prominent far-right House Republicans who have repeatedly showed up Thursday at to do what they do best.

They stood outside Trump Tower filming their support for the indicted former president. They filed into the Manhattan courthouse 鈥渟tanding back and standing by,鈥� as Rep. Matt Gaetz put it 鈥� invoking Trump鈥檚 call to the extremist Proud Boys. They were admonished to put down their cell phones.

And the House Republicans commandeered the spotlight 鈥� much like did earlier in the week 鈥� to rant against what they called the 鈥渒angaroo court鈥� and the 鈥減olitical persecution鈥� of Trump, as their day jobs waited for their return.

鈥淧resident Trump is not going anywhere,鈥� said Rep. , R-Colo., as hecklers interrupted.

鈥淎nd we are not going anywhere either. We are here to stand with him.鈥�

TODAY: Michael Cohen pressed on his crimes and lies as defense attacks key Trump hush money trial witness

The split-screen scene between New York and D.C. provided one of the more vivid examples yet of how Republicans have tossed aside the de rigueur tasks of governing in favor of the engineered spectacle of grievance, performance and outrage that powers Trump-era American politics.

As much of Congress stalled out yet again, unable to legislate through the country鈥檚 challenges, the Republicans chose to spend the day going viral.

The excursion was all the more remarkable because it comes as House Republicans were focused Thursday on moving to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland 鈥� part of a broader campaign attack on President Joe Biden.

The House鈥檚 Oversight and Judiciary Committee Republicans are demanding the Justice Department turn over evidence in the classified documents case against Biden, including an audio that is potentially embarrassing to the president as he stumbles through some answers. The Judiciary panel soldiered on Thursday, while the Oversight committee punted its hearing to evening, once lawmakers return.

Rep. , perhaps the most outspoken of Trump鈥檚 allies who joined him in New York when he was first charged in the case, lambasted her GOP colleagues for dashing to Manhattan when she said they should be back in Washington doing congressional business.

鈥淚鈥檓 here doing my job,鈥� Greene said on the eve of the trip.

Greene particularly criticized Johnson, , for 鈥渞unning up鈥� to New York when she is pushing him toward her next big project, dismantling Special Counsel Jack Smith鈥檚 office and its against Trump, including for trying to overturn the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

It all unfolds as Congress is on record as being among the most unproductive in recent times, with few legislative accomplishments or bills passed into law.

Republicans swept to House majority control in 2023, but became quickly consumed by infighting as traditional conservatives were pushed aside by Trump鈥檚 national populist Make America Great Again movement. They ousted their own leader, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, derailed priority bills and left Johnson forced to rely on help from Democrats to stay in power, an unheard of scenario.

鈥淭he extreme MAGA Republicans have brought nothing but chaos, dysfunction and extremism to the Congress from the very beginning,鈥� said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader. 鈥淎nd they cannot point to a single thing that they鈥檝e been able to do on their own to deliver real results, to solve problems for hardworking American taxpayers.鈥�

鈥淕et a job,鈥� the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted on social media.

Outside the courthouse, the dozen or so Republican lawmakers didn鈥檛 dress the same, as others did with matching dark suits and Trump-styled red ties earlier in the week, but still formed a unified front for Trump.

鈥淲e鈥檙e watching the persecution of a patriot,鈥� said Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn. 鈥淲hat a price to be a patriot President Trump has paid.鈥�

Gaetz called it the 鈥淢r. Potato Head doll of crimes鈥� where the prosecutors had to 鈥渟tick together a bunch of things鈥� to make a case.

While some like Gaetz are among Trump鈥檚 biggest backers in Congress, others are working quickly to burnish their credentials with the MAGA movement that now defines the Republican Party for their own political survival.

The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., had been late to endorse Trump, and now faces a difficult primary next month. His Trump-aligned challenger, Republican John McGuire, was able to ride with Good and the other lawmakers in Trump鈥檚 motorcade to the courthouse.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here to have his back,鈥� Good said of Trump. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here to defend him and to tell the truth about this travesty of justice, this political persecution, this election interference, this rigging of elections.鈥�

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who had been a supporter of his home state presidential contender Nikki Haley, derided the 鈥渒angaroo court鈥� prosecuting Trump.

Arizona Rep. Eli Crane said Democrats are prosecuting Trump because 鈥渢hey can鈥檛 beat him鈥� at the ballot box in November.

Crane said he and other Republicans are fighting to 鈥淢ake America Great Again,鈥� which after the afternoon of heckling, drew a round of cheers.

By day鈥檚 end, they were back at the Capitol, several of them recounting their visit in a series of late-evening floor speeches, all caught on the cameras, before they finished up for the night, and closed out the House.

NEW YORK 鈥� Donald Trump鈥檚 lawyers accused the star prosecution witness in of lying to jurors, portraying Trump fixer-turned-foe on Thursday as a serial fabulist who is bent on seeing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee behind bars.

As Trump looked on, defense attorney Todd Blanche pressed Cohen for hours with questions that focused as much on his misdeeds as on the case鈥檚 specific allegations and tried to sow doubt in jurors鈥� minds about Cohen鈥檚 crucial testimony

Blanche鈥檚 voice rose as he interrogated Cohen with phone records and text messages over Cohen鈥檚 claim that he spoke by phone to Trump about the hush money payment to porn actor that is at the heart of the case, days before wiring her lawyer $130,000.

Blanche said that was a lie, confronting Cohen with texts indicating that what was on his mind, at least initially, during the phone call were harassing calls he was getting from an apparent 14-year-old prankster. Cohen said he believed he also spoke to Trump about the Daniels deal.

鈥淲e are not asking for your belief. This jury does not want to hear what you think happened,鈥� Blanche said, his voice growing even louder, prompting an objection from the prosecutor.

The heated moment was the crescendo of defense cross-examination over two days designed to portray Cohen 鈥� a onetime Trump loyalist who has become one of his biggest foes 鈥� as a media-obsessed opportunist who turned on the former president after he was denied a White House job.

Whether the defense is successful in undermining Cohen鈥檚 testimony could determine Trump鈥檚 fate in the case. Over the course of the trial鈥檚 fourth week of testimony, Cohen described for jurors he said he had with Trump about the alleged scheme to stifle stories about sex that threatened to torpedo Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign.

Prosecutors have tried to blunt the defense attacks on their star witness by getting him to acknowledge at the outset his past crimes, including a guilty plea for about work he did on a Trump real estate deal in Russia.

But the cross-examination underscored the risk of prosecutors鈥� reliance on Cohen, who was peppered repeatedly with questions about his criminal history and past lies. Cohen also testified that he lied under oath when he pleaded guilty to federal charges, including tax fraud, in 2018.

鈥淚t was a lie? Correct?鈥� Blanche asked Cohen about whether he lied to the late U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III at a court hearing about not feeling pressured into pleading guilty.

鈥淐orrect,鈥� Cohen said.

The defense also attacked Cohen鈥檚 motivations and elicited testimony designed to support the defense鈥檚 argument that the Daniels deal was essentially a shakedown of Trump, rather than a plot to keep voters in the dark. Cohen acknowledged telling a former prosecutor that he felt Daniels and her lawyer were extorting Trump in seeking the $130,000 payment to keep quiet about her claim of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.

鈥淵es, I recall making a statement like that 鈥� that they were extorting Mr. Trump,鈥� Cohen told jurors.

He鈥檚 by far prosecutors鈥� most important witness, of the alleged scheme to silence women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump. Trump denies the women鈥檚 claims. Cohen told jurors that Trump promised to reimburse him for the money he fronted and was constantly updated about behind-the-scenes efforts to bury potentially detrimental stories.

Cohen also matters because the reimbursements he received form the basis of 34 felony counts charging Trump with falsifying business records. Prosecutors say the reimbursements were logged, falsely, as legal expenses to conceal the payments鈥� true purpose.

Trump, who insists the prosecution is an effort to damage his campaign to reclaim the White House, says the payments to Cohen were properly categorized as legal expenses because Cohen was a lawyer. The defense has suggested that he was trying to protect his family, not his campaign, by squelching what he says were false, scurrilous claims.

鈥淭he crime is that they鈥檙e doing this case,鈥� Trump told reporters Thursday before entering the courtroom, flanked by a group of congressional allies that included Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; and Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., the chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.

The hard-right Republican lawmakers stood outside the courthouse and railed against a 鈥渒angaroo court鈥� and the case, amplifying the former president鈥檚 attacks on the judicial system as they were heckled but also cheered by the crowd. The former president has been joined at the courthouse in recent days by a slew of conservative supporters, including some considered potential vice presidential picks and others angling for future administration roles.

Among those at the courthouse Thursday were Republican members of the House Oversight Committee, which delayed a hearing on an so the lawmakers could appear alongside Trump in Manhattan.

Blanche confronted Cohen with profane social media posts, a podcast and books he wrote about the former president, getting Cohen to acknowledge that he has made millions of dollars off slamming Trump. In one clip played in court Thursday, Cohen could be heard using an expletive and saying he truly hopes 鈥渢hat this man ends up in prison.鈥�

鈥淚t won鈥檛 bring back the year that I lost or the damage done to my family. But revenge is a dish best served cold,鈥� Cohen was heard saying. 鈥淵ou better believe that I want this man to go down.鈥�

Cohen acknowledged he has continued to attack Trump, even during the trial.

In one social media post cited by the defense attorney, Cohen called Trump an alliterative and explicit nickname, as well as an 鈥渙range-crusted ignoramus.鈥� Asked if he used the phrase, Cohen responded: 鈥淪ounds correct.鈥�

Cohen 鈥� prosecutors鈥� final witness, at least for now 鈥� is expected to return to the witness stand Monday. The trial will take Friday off so Trump can attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg鈥檚 office has said it will rest its case once Cohen is done on the stand, though it could have an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if Trump鈥檚 lawyers put on witnesses of their own.

The defense isn鈥檛 obligated to call any witnesses, and it鈥檚 unclear whether the attorneys will do so. Trump鈥檚 lawyers have said they may call Bradley A. Smith, a Republican who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the Federal Election Commission, to refute the prosecution鈥檚 contention that the hush money payments amounted to campaign-finance violations. Defense lawyers said they have not decided whether Trump will testify.

Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Michelle L. Price and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

GALVESTON, Texas 鈥� Early estimates indicate up to 2,000 gallons of oil may have spilled into surrounding waters when a barge carrying fuel broke free from a tugboat and slammed into a bridge near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

The barge crashed into a pillar supporting the Pelican Island Causeway span on Wednesday. The impact caused the bridge to partially collapse and cut off the only road connecting Galveston to Pelican Island, the Coast Guard said.

Video shows splotches of oil had spilled from the barge into Galveston Bay. Jeff Davis of the Texas General Land Office said during a news conference Thursday that early cleanup efforts have not identified any impacted wildlife.

The barge has the capacity to hold 30,000 barrels, but was holding 23,000 barrels 鈥� approximately 966,000 gallons 鈥� when it struck the bridge, Rick Freed, the vice president of barge operator Martin Marine, said at the news conference. Freed said the only tank that was compromised in the crash was holding approximately 160,000 gallons, which is the “complete risk.”

“We’re pretty confident there was much less oil introduced to the water than we initially estimated,” Coast Guard Capt. Keith Donohue said.

“We’ve recovered over 605 gallons of oily water mixture from the environment, as well as an additional 5,640 gallons of oil product from the top of the barge that did not go into the water,” Donohue said.

The Coast Guard said earlier that it had deployed a boom, or barrier, to contain the spill, which forced the closure of about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway.

A tugboat lost control of the 321-foot barge “due to a break in the coupling” that had connected the two vessels, the Coast Guard said.

“Weather was not a factor, at all, during the coupling issue,” Freed said. When pressed for more details on how the two vessels became disconnected, he said: “It’s under investigation right now, and I really can’t disclose anything further until the investigation is through.”

On Thursday, the barge remained beside the bridge, weighed in place by debris including rail lines that fell onto it after the crash.

The bridge, which provides the only road access between Galveston and Pelican Island, remained closed to incoming traffic, but vehicles leaving Pelican Island and pedestrians in both directions were able to cross.

Texas A&M University at Galveston, which has a campus on Pelican Island, urged staff and faculty to leave and said it was closing the campus, although essential personnel would remain.

“Given the rapidly changing conditions and uncertainty regarding the outage of the Pelican Island Bridge, the Galveston Campus administration will be relocating all Texas A&M Pelican Island residents,” through at least Sunday, it said in a statement late Wednesday.

Fewer than 200 people related to the school were on the island when the barge hit the bridge. Spokesperson Shantelle Patterson-Swanson said the university would provide transportation and cover the housing costs of those who choose to leave, but underlined that the school has not issued a mandatory evacuation.

Aside from the environmental impact of the oil spill, the region is unlikely to see large economic disruption as a result of the accident, said Maria Burns, a maritime transportation expert at the University of Houston.

The affected area is miles from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a large shipping channel for ocean-going vessels.

The accident came weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.

Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.