Trial to begin in human smuggling case after freezing deaths of Indian family at Canada-US border

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday that could determine whether the swing state’s top elections official, who has been the target of disproven Republican election conspiracy theories, will remain in her post.

Republicans who control the state Senate tried to fire Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe last year, leading the commission to sue in an effort to keep Wolfe on the job.

The commission argues that the state Supreme Court should uphold a lower court’s ruling in Wolfe’s favor, which would allow her to remain in her position and not face a confirmation vote by the Senate.

But Republican lawmakers argue that the commission must appoint a commissioner, either Wolfe or someone else, so the Senate can vote on confirming that person. Wolfe can’t be allowed to remain in the position as a holdover, they contend.

Wolfe was first appointed for the nonpartisan position in 2018 and confirmed to a four-year term by the GOP-controlled state Senate in 2019. The commission is overseen by a bipartisan board that is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and Wolfe is head of the nonpartisan staff.

Wolfe was targeted for removal by Republican lawmakers who were unhappy with the 2020 presidential election won by President Joe Biden. President-elect Donald Trump won Wisconsin this year, just as he did in 2016. Unlike after his loss in 2020, Trump backers are not alleging widespread fraud in this year’s election.

Wolfe was the subject of conspiracy theories and targeted by threats from election skeptics who falsely claim she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 vote in favor of Biden. Biden’s win by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review, and multiple state and federal lawsuits.

When Wolfe was up for reappointment in 2023, all six members of the commission voiced support for her. Three Republicans voted to reappoint, but the three Democrats abstained, resulting in a deadlocked vote. Had she gotten a fourth vote in support, her appointment would have been sent to the Senate, which then could have voted to fire her.

Even though her appointment was not forwarded to the Senate, Republican senators voted in September 2023 to fire Wolfe over objections from Democrats and the Legislature’s nonpartisan attorneys. They argued that the Senate didn’t have the authority to vote at that time because Wolfe was a holdover in her position and had not been reappointed.

The commission sued to challenge that Senate vote. Republican legislative leaders changed course and claimed in court filings that their vote to fire Wolfe was merely “symbolic” and had no legal effect.

Republicans asked the judge to order the elections commission to appoint an administrator for the Senate to vote on.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Ann Peacock, in a 2023 ruling, said Wolfe is legally serving as administrator of the elections commission as a holdover given that the commission did not have a majority vote to appoint her. The Senate’s vote to remove her had no legal effect and the commission has no duty to appoint a new leader while Wolfe is serving as a holdover, Peacock ruled.

Republican leaders of the Legislature appealed and the state Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday. It will issue a decision weeks or months from now.

Wolfe was asked about the case during a news conference the day after this month’s election and whether she was committed to remaining in her position “for the long haul.” She made no promises.

“I’m completely committed to seeing through this election and making sure that this election is certified,” Wolfe said.

The state Senate is charged with voting on approving appointees such as Wolfe. However, the GOP majority starting in January will shrink from 22-11 to 18-15 as a result of this month’s election. That means Republicans can only lose one vote on their side and still have a majority.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Before Russia’s invasion, this was an ordinary green lawn in the heart of Ukraine’s capital. Tourists would visit to take photos, and locals would stroll there on weekends.

But 1,000 days of war have transformed it into a makeshift memorial, dotted with blue-and-yellow flags — each honoring a soldier who died fighting Russia. Many were volunteers who left their civilian lives behind to answer to defend their country.

Their loved ones, left alone with grief, hope their sacrifices won’t be forgotten. They plant small, simple flags, hand-marked with the names and dates they died. Over time, the flags have multiplied, fluttering in the wind as the seasons change and the war drags on.

“I put it so that someone might pass by and see that this person once lived and gave their life for us,” said Svitlana Kirichenko, who traveled from Cherkasy to replace the weathered flag she had planted over a year ago in honor of her son, who died fighting. She carefully placed a new one in its place.

“So we can live peacefully among our own people, and not have Russians dictate how we should live and what to do.”

Associated Press archives show that the first flags appeared on the lawn in May of the war’s first year, shortly after Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv region and the capital was no longer under the threat of occupation. Photos from that time show dozens of flags neatly arranged in rows across the grassy field.

As the war continued, the place has transformed. The grass has faded away, replaced by well-worn paths resembling those in a cemetery, winding through thousands of flags. Among them, many portraits have appeared — brought by relative — showing confident, smiling faces in military uniforms.

Svitlana Kanevska, cloaked in a black hood against the drizzly autumn rain, bent over a portrait of her boyfriend, Serhii Ivanytskyi, who had died months earlier in eastern Ukraine. The photo — a selfie he had sent her during one of their chats — showed him standing in a sunlit Ukrainian field. Kanevska carefully wiped droplets from the image.

Since Serhii joined the army early in the war, their time together had been scarce, mostly confined to messages. He kept his location and activities hidden, and their conversations centered largely on love.

Last December, during a brief leave in Kyiv, they passed by this very memorial. “He said he felt so sorry for the guys,” Kanevska recalled. He was killed in the summer of 2024.

“You feel so much pain that you don’t know where to go or what to do,” she said. That’s what brought her here months ago, to place his flag and photo among the countless others. Kanevska, who works nearby, often visits to mourn.

She’s not alone. The place is strewn with fresh and dried flowers, a concentration of grief and an epicenter of Ukrainian history. Independence Square, after all, has long been the heart of Ukraine’s revolutions. For many, it is the only fitting place for their loved ones to be remembered.

City authorities have no control over this memorial. It was created by people themselves, driven by a deep need to honor their fallen in the absence of an official government memorial.

Soldiers and families come here to sit for long stretches, gazing quietly into the distance. New flags are added almost daily.

Nearby, funeral ceremonies take place almost every day, followed by moments of silence. Passersby stop, kneel and observe in quiet reverence. But soon, life in the capital moves on, returning to its usual pace.

The memorial keeps growing with each passing day, a reminder of the price Ukraine pays for its freedom.

“If someone thinks of him, it brings him light where he is. He knows he hasn’t been forgotten,” said Andrii Pedychenko, who came to the memorial to put a new flag for his friend who was killed in action about one year ago. “Each flag is a tragedy. And it reminds us that this is just a small piece because there wouldn’t be enough space here for everyone.”

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Just a week after winning a majority of the vote in several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Donald Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed “there is no such thing as Palestinians.”

Meanwhile, the two Trump advisers who led his outreach to Arab Americans have not secured positions in the administration yet.

The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and Muslims in Michigan, which went for Trump along with all six other battleground states. Some noted Trump’s longstanding support for Israel and said their vote against Vice President Kamala Harris was not necessarily an endorsement of him. Others who openly supported him say he will be the final decisionmaker on policy and hope he will keep his promise of achieving an end to the conflicts in the Middle East.

Albert Abbas, a Lebanese American leader whose brother owns the Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant Trump visited in the campaign’s final days, stood beside the former president during that visit and spoke in support of him.

Now, Abbas says it’s “too early” to judge Trump and that “we all need to take a deep breath, take a step back and let him do the work that he needs to do to to achieve this peace.”

“I just want you to think about what the alternative was,” said Abbas, referring to the current administration’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon. He added, “What did you expect from myself or many members of the community to do?”

Beyond promising peace in the Middle East, Trump has offered few concrete details on how he plans to achieve it. His transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

Throughout the campaign, his surrogates often focused more on criticizing Harris than outlining his agenda. And visuals of the conflict — with tens of thousands of deaths collectively in Gaza and Lebanon — stirred anger among many in Arab and Muslim communities about President Joe Biden and Harris’ backing of Israel.

Amin Hashmi, a Pakistani American in Michigan who voted for Trump, urged him to stay true to his campaign commitments to bring peace.

“I am disappointed but not surprised,” said Hashmi, who urged Trump to “keep the promise you made to the people of Arab descent in Michigan.”

Trump picks what pro-Israel conservatives call a ‘dream team’

Those in the community with concerns have specifically pointed to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, nominated as Trump’s ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has consistently rejected the idea of a Palestinian state in territories seized by Israel, strongly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposed a two-state solution, claiming “there really isn’t such a thing” as Palestinians in referring to the descendants of people who lived in Palestine before the establishment of Israel.

While Huckabee has sparked the most concern among community members, other Trump Cabinet picks have strongly spoken in Israel’s favor as it targets Hamas following the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack in which it killed 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds more as hostage.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated for secretary of state, has opposed a ceasefire in the war, stating that he wants Israel to “destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on.”

Trump’s pick to be his ambassador to the United Nations, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, led the questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on campuses. She has also opposed funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which oversees aid to Gaza.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, which organized for Trump in Michigan, has been outspoken in its support for many of Trump’s Cabinet picks. Sam Markstein, the group’s political director, described the proposed lineup as a “pro-Israel dream team,” adding that “folks are giddy about the picks.” He praised Trump’s pro-Israel record as “second to nobody.”

“The days of this mealymouthed, trying to have support in both camps of this issue are over,” Markstein said. “The way to secure the region is peace through strength, and that means no daylight between Israel and the United States.”

No roles yet for key figures in Trump’s Arab American outreach

Among the reasons some Arab American voters supported Trump was that they believed his prominent supporters would be key in the next administration.

Massad Boulos, a Lebanese businessman and father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, led efforts to engage the Arab American community, organizing dozens of meetings across Michigan and other areas with large Arab populations. Some sessions also featured Richard Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence, who was well-regarded by those who met with him.

Neither Boulos nor Grenell has been tapped yet for the coming administration, though Grenell was once considered a potential secretary of state before Rubio was selected. Boulos declined to comment and Grenell did not respond to a request for comment.

“Some people expected Trump to be different and thought Massad would play a significant role,” said Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, which declined to endorse a candidate in the presidential race.

Siblani himself turned down a suggested meeting with Trump after the non-endorsement announcement.

“But now people are coming to us and saying, ‘Look what you’ve done,’” Siblani said. “We had a choice between someone actively shooting and killing you and someone threatening to do so. We had to punish the person who was shooting and killing us at the time.”

___

Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Detroit and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.