WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is not on the ballot this fall. But at least three prominent members of his administration will be, representing the Democratic Party in a trio of governor’s races that may test the resilience of the Biden brand two years after he left the White House under a cloud of disapproval. Two Biden Cabinet members — former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland of New Mexico and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra of California — advanced to the general election ballot for governor in their states this week. They joined Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former senior adviser, who secured the Democratic nomination in Georgia’s governor’s race last month. Their rise comes as a bitter feud erupts among Biden’s allies, including some who worked in the White House, about the Biden family’s reemergence in the public spotlight just five months before the high-stakes midterm elections. Hunter Biden is mixing it up with admirers and critics on social media, while Jill Biden is rehashing the tortured saga of the last presidential race in a new memoir. Biden himself has his own book coming out later this year. As candidates shift toward the general election phase of the midterms, it’s unclear whether the Biden connections will help or hurt the Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls come November. “I will put my experience to work for the people of our state,” Haaland told cheering supporters this week as she accepted her party’s nomination. She did not, however, mention Biden’s name as she ticked through her experience as a single mother, her time in Congress and her leadership of the Interior Department. One former Biden White House aide, Rodericka Applewhaite, suggested that some Democrats on the ballot this fall were intentionally avoiding asking the former president to help with their campaigns. Applewhaite is among the Democratic operatives publicly criticizing the Biden’s public reemergence in recent days — especially Jill Biden’s book tour. “The Bidens are burning a lot of good will that they built up over a very long time in what seems to be days,” she said, offering the former president and his family a pointed suggestion. “Step aside and let us have the battles that we need to have today.” On the ground in California, Georgia and New Mexico, Biden alumni are navigating their Biden connection in different ways. Haaland and Becerra are eager to focus on President Donald Trump in their campaign materials, but neither referenced Biden in their primary night speeches to supporters. Nor does either cite Biden’s name in the biographies listed on their official campaign websites. Biden did not issue a public endorsement in the New Mexico or California contests ahead of Tuesday’s contests either. Democrats have focused on hammering Republicans over Trump’s time in office. “It’s laughable that Republicans have become so desperate to avoid talking about Donald Trump that they are now trying to go after our candidates for advocating for their states and getting results when they served in the executive branch,” said Kevin Donohue, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association. Democrats, he said, “are focused on affordability” while “Republicans are all in on Trump’s cost-raising agenda.” That hasn’t stopped Republicans from highlighting both candidates’ old boss. In fact, Republicans are actively planning to highlight Democrats’ ties to the Biden administration as a weakness in the weeks ahead, according to Kollin Crompton of the Republican Governors Association. “Deb Haaland turned her back on New Mexico to push Biden’s failed policies and the Green New Scam. New Mexico deserves a leader, not a career politician who forgot where she came from,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who chairs the campaign organization, said in a statement. Georgia is another story. Lance Bottoms points to her work with Biden on her campaign website. She asked for, and received, Biden’s formal endorsement just ahead of Georgia’s primary, which she shared widely on her campaign’s social media platforms. She also said she’d invite the former president to campaign with her this fall. “As I am moving around this state, people are missing Joe Biden more and more each day,” she told CNN. Bottoms was the first of two candidates Biden endorsed since leaving office, and he called her with congratulations after her primary victory on May 19. But even Bottoms has not highlighted her time in the administration on the campaign trail. Her stump speech regularly mentions her time serving as Atlanta’s mayor and career as a prosecutor but quickly pivots to issues like affordability and the Trump administration’s agenda. “I spoke with him this morning, so he called to congratulate me,” Bottoms said of Biden after her primary win. But then she immediately pivoted. “At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We want to live in great neighborhoods, we want great schools, we want access to health care.” Americans had a dimmer view of Biden’s presidency when he left office than they did at the end of Trump’s first term or Barack Obama’s second, according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Around one-quarter of U.S. adults at the time said Biden was a “good” or “great” president, with less than 1 in 10 saying he was “great.” It was a stark illustration of how tarnished Biden’s legacy has become, with many members of his own party seeing his Democratic presidency as merely mediocre. Americans were similarly likely to describe both Biden and Trump as “poor” or “terrible” — about half said this characterized each president’s time in office — but about 3 in 10 said Biden was “average,” while less than 2 in 10 said this about Trump. The Biden family has faced fresh scrutiny in recent weeks, sometimes even from former aides. The former president’s son, Hunter Biden, drew criticism for recently appearing on the podcast of far-right conspiracy theorist Candace Owens. He has garnered attention by posting online about his experience with addiction and criticisms of the media. Former first lady Jill Biden has shocked some Democrats for comments she made as part of a book tour for her memoir, “View from the East Wing,” which was released Tuesday. The former first lady said in an interview with CBS News that she was “frightened” by her husband’s performance during the infamous debate against Trump. The fallout eventually prompted Biden to drop out. In the memoir, she writes that Biden’s senior aides “insisted he needed to run” for reelection. Her memoir includes a retelling of her husband’s decision to end his candidacy and the family’s reaction to the former president’s cancer diagnosis last year. Throughout her book tour, she has faced tough questions about the former president’s health and cognitive abilities while in office, as well as her role in pushing him to seek reelection despite widespread public concerns. The former first lady described it as “heartbreaking” that the Democratic Party abandoned her husband during an interview on ABC’s “The View.” “That’s why Joe had to decide to get out, because he had lost the support of the Democratic Party,” she said. Such comments have sparked a fight among allies, especially after former Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates questioned to the New York Post “why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly re-opened now.” Jill Biden shot back, “I want to say to Andrew, call me up and say it to my face.” Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was perhaps a surprising private overture from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Sen. Bernie Sanders. The meeting between the two had come just after the Vermont senator announced a plan for the public to take a 50% ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI, using their stock to create a public wealth fund that would spread the fortune generated by AI behemoths. Altman told Sanders that he, too, wants the public to have equity in AI companies. Though the CEO said he couldn’t support Sanders’ threshold of 50%, he nonetheless wanted to work with him to advocate for the general idea, according to people with knowledge of the conversation. The nearly hourlong meeting in Sanders’ Senate office this week, held at Altman’s request, highlighted the inherent tension between AI powerhouses and policymakers as Americans are increasingly asked to accept the costs of the AI boom even as they remain unconvinced of its direct benefits. Yet it’s also creating odd political bedfellows fueled by populism as politicians from Sanders to President Donald Trump embrace giving the public a stake in AI’s growth. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump described a potential partnership “where the American people can benefit from the success of AI” and said executives from leading AI companies will visit the White House, “probably next week,” to discuss the idea. “There’s something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public,” Trump, a Republican, said Friday. When reporters noted to Trump that Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, had proposed public ownership in AI companies, he pointed to similarities in their coalitions. The economic views of Trump voters and voters who supported Sanders for president, Trump said, “aren’t that far apart.” Trump has embraced government investment in private companies in his second term, scrambling his party’s politics. His administration last year secured a 10% stake in the struggling Silicon Valley company Intel, and it considered a government takeover of Spirit Airlines earlier this year, although the airline couldn’t reach a deal and ultimately closed. The positioning of leading figures such as Trump and Sanders comes as concerns about AI are emerging far beyond Washington. In Michigan, Democrats recently clashed over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appearance with Altman at the site of a major data center. Candidates such as New York Democratic House hopeful Alex Bores have also made AI regulation a campaign issue by tapping into voters’ angst about the technology. “This is a real change to society,” Altman told reporters this week. “I think it’s possible both that people can use AI a lot and like using it and also have anxiety about what it’s going to do for the future.” Data center projects across the country have drawn opposition from residents concerned about electricity demand, water consumption and environmental impacts. Some states once eager to attract the facilities, including Ohio and Virginia, have moved to reconsider tax incentives. “We need to pass legislation right now that says there’s not going to be any further data center development until they agree to pay for their own electricity, build their own grids and pay for their own water supply,” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a leading Republican skeptic of Big Tech, told The Associated Press. Before arriving in Washington, Altman stopped in Michigan on Monday to appear alongside Whitmer, a Democrat, at the building site of a 1.65 million-square-foot data center. Whitmer’s team claimed the project will create more than 2,500 union construction jobs. But it also drew criticism from local activists and some Democrats, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who called the project “disgusting.” She said she was “so disappointed” in Whitmer. “It’s a very controversial topic right now and it’s coming from the ground up,” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, said about the grassroots pushback. “People feel very strongly about it.” Whitmer, however, told reporters after the event that “one thing’s very clear, everyone has a cellphone in our pocket.” “We are all, more and more, consuming technology and data and these data centers are going to get built. So, my thought is if we can hold them to a high standard and do it in Michigan, that’s the best way to do it,” she said. The tensions extend beyond data centers. On college campuses, commencement speakers have been interrupted by boos when discussing artificial intelligence. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School. Altman acknowledged those concerns. He said that while “the impact on jobs has been less than many people in our field expected,” he understands “that college students have a lot of anxiety about the future.” The idea that AI’s expansion is inevitable is increasingly shared by leaders across the political spectrum, even as they disagree sharply about how to manage it. That reality was at the center of Altman’s conversations in Washington. In addition to Sanders, Altman met with Trump administration officials such as Michael Kratsios, the White House’s chief science and technology adviser, and congressional leaders from both parties. Sanders’ team emphasized that the two did not reach an agreement on the main points that the senator made to Altman, including the 50% figure so the public has decision-making power. Sanders also expressed opposition to the growing election spending by the AI industry. “Unfortunately, Sam Altman did not commit to any of those,” said Sanders’ spokesperson Jeremy Slevin. Altman, in emerging from the conversation, described it as “great,” adding that the two “obviously don’t agree on everything.” Congress this week released a bipartisan framework that would establish the first broad federal approach to AI regulation while temporarily preempting many state laws. Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s top competitors, has proposed mechanisms for coordinating pauses on advanced AI development if systems become too powerful. The Trump administration has also begun constructing its own oversight structure, signing an executive order to establish a process for reviewing national security risks posed by advanced AI systems before their public release. Sanders said he found the administration’s move notable after years of warnings that regulation could slow American innovation. “Even these guys are beginning to catch on that there are legitimate concerns that have to be dealt with,” Sanders said. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

DEXTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — On the kind of warm, bright afternoon that Michigan boaters wait all year for, Malik Amine and his brother readied their family’s pontoon boat for the summer. The cover was off and Portage Lake sparkled in the sun. But before the brothers could leave a narrow wooden dock, they had a decision to make: how much gasoline to put in the pontoon’s 52-gallon engine. Recreational boaters, like motorists, are feeling a pinch from the Iran war. U.S. gas prices have come down in recent weeks, but a gallon of regular gas still cost an average of 34% more Friday than it did a year earlier, according to motor club AAA. The price of diesel fuel, which is also used by some boaters, is up 53% from last year. Ethanol-free gas, which many boaters, classic car owners and lawn mower users prefer, is anywhere from 20 cents to $1 per gallon more than regular fuel, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores, which also represents fuel retailers. One gas station near Portage Lake, which is 60 miles west of Detroit, is selling ethanol-free fuel for $7 per gallon. Amine said he didn’t plan to fill the boat’s tank ahead of Memorial Day weekend. “The cost is going to be a lot more than it was last year,” Amine said. “I think it’s probably a little bit smarter to do what you need and fill it as much as you need, because who knows when this conflict’s going to end.” The National Marine Manufacturers Association estimates that 100 million Americans go boating each year, contributing to an industry worth $230 billion annually. The trade group, which represents companies that make boats, marine engines, boating equipment and accessories, said its conversations with boaters indicate that most still plan to head out on the water this year, but in some cases, gas prices are curtailing their plans. “There were a number of people within that who said, ‘I am going to have to change my behavior’,” said Ellen Bradley, the association’s chief brand officer. “I may not go as far. I may not as fast. I may spend more time anchored and swimming. I may spend more time at the dock.” Neil and Kathleen Donohoe sold their home in Colorado and now live aboard a 50-foot, diesel-powered boat dubbed the Granuaile, which is the Gaelic name of Grace O’Malley, a 16th century sea captain known as Ireland’s pirate queen. They’ve spent the last seven years cruising up and down the East Coast and to the Bahamas. Maintenance on the boat – not fuel – is typically their greatest expense, Neil Donohoe said. But lately, the cost to fill up the boat — which can hold 1,500 gallons — is eye-popping. They talk to other boaters and use various marine apps to find the cheapest gas. “It’s not driving us not to cruise, but it’s making a difference,” he said. This summer, the couple plan to stick around the Chesapeake Bay area instead of heading further north. They’ve already been to Maine and to Canada, they reasoned, and they don’t feel the urge to go again while gas prices are so high. “It seems a little gross to spend that kind of money when so many people are struggling,” Kathleen Donohoe said. Gas prices are also impacting boating-related businesses. The Seattle Sailing Club, which offers lessons, chartered cruises and rentals, said its fuel bill has gone up 10.7% since the beginning of the war. Lindsey Brown, the club’s office manager, said its fleet of 30 boats usually rely on wind power, but they all have gas or diesel backup engines. In April, the marina where the boats are docked charged $6.50 per gallon for diesel, she said. By late May, that had risen to $7.99 per gallon. “We are just heading into our busy season, so we may see a more dramatic effect on our business if the price of fuel doesn’t change or continues to increase,” Brown said. Brown, who lives on a sailboat at the marina, said the service she uses to pump out wastewater just added a fuel surcharge to her bill. It’s also the busy season for Melissa Kunnert, who owns NautiMi On the River, an ice cream and gift shop near Portage Lake. She rents out a tiki-themed pontoon boat for parties and hosts three-hour evening cruises for $50 a person starting after Memorial Day. Kunnert decided not to raise her prices this summer even though it costs more to fill up the pontoon. She wonders if the higher gas prices affecting all forms of travel might benefit her business by keeping more potential customers closer to home. “I’m interested to see if we’ll have the same amount as previous years (or) if we will have more because people don’t want to use their gas, they want ours,” Kunnert said. In Traverse City, Michigan, a few hours north of Portage Lake, Robert Hinds decided to add a $50 fuel surcharge to the fishing trips he offers as the owner and operator of Central Coast Angling. He tows his 22-foot boat from port to port on Lake Michigan depending on where the fishing is best, so he has to fill up his truck in addition to his boat. Hinds said he’s had multiple cancellations as customers do their own math on gas prices. One regular customer from Nebraska didn’t make the trip this spring. “It’s really tough. People do want to get out and I still believe people will,” he said. “But everybody comes from different walks of life.” Hinds recently ruled out his own fishing trip to Wisconsin after figuring out it would cost him $400 in diesel fuel for the truck that tows his boat. “I can just stay home and fish here,” he said. ___ AP Video Journalist Mike Householder contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday sided with 20 Democratic states and halted an effort by the Trump administration to force states to comply with a range of conditions to get billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun granted a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit challenging the conditions for getting SNAP funding. Among them are restrictions related to “gender ideology,” “immigration,” and “fair athletic opportunities” for women and girls. The judge said he would issue a memorandum later explaining his decision. In their lawsuit, the states argued the Agriculture Department has “thrown unconstitutional and unlawful roadblocks between the programs created by Congress and the States that rely on them, threatening critical nutrition support, vital agricultural research, and the safety of our national food chain and communities.” Lawyers for the government opposed the preliminary injunction, arguing in their court filing that “these new requirements would help promote the sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars, strengthen USDA’s control and oversight of obligated funds, and ensure that grant recipients comply with federal laws, regulations, and policies.” SNAP is a major part of the U.S. social safety net, helping about 39 million Americans, about 1 in 9, buy groceries. Beneficiaries decreased by nearly 4.3 million from January 2025 to January 2026, according to preliminary government data released by the Agriculture Department. Experts say new requirements mandated by a massive tax and spending cut bill Republicans pushed through Congress last summer are the primary reasons. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump has pardoned former U.S. Representative Stephen Buyer, an Indiana Republican, who was convicted of securities fraud for engaging in insider trading in 2018 as a T-Mobile US consultant ahead of a $23 billion merger with Sprint. The proclamation, issued on Thursday and announced by the White House on Friday, gave no specific rationale for the pardon other than to assert that Buyer’s service as a U.S. Army judge advocate general and member of Congress “was distinguished and highly productive.” It also said that Trump, in granting Buyer a “full, complete and unconditional pardon,” was acting on the “advice and recommendation” of 52 current and former members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives listed in the proclamation. Buyer served in the House as a Republican from Indiana between 1993 and 2011 before working as a corporate consultant. He was found guilty in March of 2023 on four counts of securities fraud, and was sentenced in September of that year to 22 months in prison. Prosecutors said at trial that Buyer bought Sprint stock after learning from a T-Mobile executive that the telecommunications companies were in merger talks in 2018 and made illegal trades again the following year. According to prosecutors, Buyer made more than $100,000 from the Sprint trades and more than $200,000 from buying stock in Navigant Consulting Inc. before it was acquired by Guidehouse in 2019. Buyer, who had served as one of the House managers in the 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton, took the stand at his own trial and denied trading on inside information. Prosecutors sought three years in prison for Buyer in court filings, saying that he had abused his clients’ trust and lied on the stand. The U.S. Supreme Court refused in May of this year to hear Buyer’s appeal of his conviction. (Reporting by Steve Gorman and Christian Martinez; Editing by Kim Coghill) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com