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Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed his support for former President Donald Trump's goal of having NATO members spend 2% of their GDP on defense, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the alliance in the face of Russia's continued aggression.
Lithuania n president backs Trump ’s NATO defense spending goal amid ongoing Russia n threatWhat to know about the NTSB and the investigation into the DC plane crashConspiracies, espionage, an enemies list: Takeaways from a wild day of confirmation hearingsFireAid delivered loads of surprises.
Here are some of the best moments from the musical benefitAP Entertainment WireTrump's potential tariffs on Canada and Mexico are a wildcard for prices and the US economyFACT FOCUS: No evidence that $50 million was designated by the US to buy condoms for HamasKrakow's fire-spitting dragon sculpture will hold its breath for a fuel-saving checkupMan says he was behind some of the viral googly eyes on public art in OregonAnchorage Museum among Alaskans combining to win auction for Alaska Railroad's golden spikeHow setting boundaries can improve your health at workAP News AlertsMeat and greet: Historic London market counting down the yearsThe World in PicturesTrump rescinds funding freeze but uncertainty lives on for wide array of environmental programsWhen RFK Jr. was presented with the science on vaccines he said he needed to see, he dismissed itRise in diagnoses is prompting more US adults to ask: 'Do I have ADHD?'Apple's iPhone sales during the holiday season slipped despite a highly anticipated AI rolloutAbout half of Americans approve of using weight-loss drugs to treat obesity, AP-NORC poll findsExpected release of high-profile male hostages sparks excitement and anxiety in IsraelRusia afirma que capturó otro pueblo ucraniano cuando se acerca a ciudad claveReanudan tareas de recuperación e investigación en río Potomac tras choque aéreo de DCBusinessUnited Nations and Red Crescent workers prepare the aid for distribution to Palestinians at UNRWA warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. A Palestinian family sits outside a tent next to their destroyed house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday. Israeli soldiers take position next to crumpled-up U.N. vehicles perched precariously atop building debris in UNRWA compound, where the military discovered tunnels in the main headquarters of the U.N. agency that the military says Hamas militants used to attack its forces during a ground operation in Gaza, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Palestinian children wait next to a row of jerrycans to collect water in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday. Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. United Nations and Red Crescent workers prepare the aid for distribution to Palestinians at UNRWA warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. United Nations and Red Crescent workers prepare the aid for distribution to Palestinians at UNRWA warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. A Palestinian family sits outside a tent next to their destroyed house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday. A Palestinian family sits outside a tent next to their destroyed house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday. Israeli soldiers take position next to crumpled-up U.N. vehicles perched precariously atop building debris in UNRWA compound, where the military discovered tunnels in the main headquarters of the U.N. agency that the military says Hamas militants used to attack its forces during a ground operation in Gaza, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Israeli soldiers take position next to crumpled-up U.N. vehicles perched precariously atop building debris in UNRWA compound, where the military discovered tunnels in the main headquarters of the U.N. agency that the military says Hamas militants used to attack its forces during a ground operation in Gaza, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Palestinian children wait next to a row of jerrycans to collect water in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday. Palestinian children wait next to a row of jerrycans to collect water in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday. Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Palestinians walk on the rubble of destroyed houses, after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Support has surged for the U.S. nonprofit that raises money for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that serves Palestinian refugees, since the start of the war in Gaza. That is despite the U.S. governmentwhen Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on the other side of the Gaza border wall, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.Supporters of Israel have also seen a surge in donations for what they say will be a lengthy rehabilitation and reconstruction process there as well. Some 139,000 people have given to UNRWA USA since October 2023, said Mara Kronenfeld, its executive director, a huge jump from the 7,000 people it counted among its donor base before the current war. Those donors, and some institutional funders, gave $32 million in 2023 and she expects the total raised in 2024 to reach over $51 million. Previously, the nonprofit raised around $4 million annually, she said. UNRWA USA is a separate but affiliated nonprofit that supports UNRWA’s mission through advocacy and fundraising.and allowing Hamas to operate out of its schools and other facilities. UNRWA denies those accusations. It fired several employees suspected of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack.before researchers can access the grant information that nonprofit organizations report on their tax forms. Polarized responses to the war among the public likely also deter some donors and organizations from publicizing their support. That stands in contrast with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Donors to UNRWA USA who spoke with The Associated Press expressed dismay with U.S. policy, which has staunchly backed Israel with both. Other donors have poured funds into nonprofits that support organizations in Israel, providing services for displaced people, mental health support and money to rebuild. The U.S. had been the UNRWA’s largest funder, sending $422 million in 2023 and $343 million in 2022. The funds raised by UNRWA USA certainly do not replace the amount withheld by the U.S. government, Kronenfeld said, but she sees the donations from individuals as evidence that people have not given up hope trying to save lives in Gaza. “The American people really stepped up. They stepped up to provide essential, lifesaving, critical humanitarian support when our government stepped aside,” Kronenfeld said. In the initial weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, the Jewish Federations of North America tapped its network with a campaign to raise $500 million. It surpassed that goal, raising $862 million by the end of 2024. The federations immediately started moving money to benefit survivors of the Hamas attack and Israelis displaced by the war and have allocated $707 million so far to organizations in Israel.Eric Fingerhut, the CEO and president of the organization, said his donors have also traveled to Israel to communicate support with their presence and cited an instance when the federation talked with farming communities that were attacked. They needed millions to replace farming equipment that militants had burned and the federations were able to tell them, “Don’t worry about the money, we’ll take care of it,” Fingerhut said. Donors more than doubled the amount they gave to P.E.F Israel Endowment Fund, which facilitates donations to Israeli charities. In the 12 months after the war broke out, the fund gave out $330 million, up from the $160 million it typically had granted out annually, said Geoffrey Stern, its president. When asked about the surge in support for UNRWA USA, Stern said, “There is tragedy, there is hurt and pain, there is need on both sides of the conflict.” The vast majority of humanitarian funding comes from governments or multilateral organizations like the United Nations. But Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said the support individual donors give to humanitarian organizations is very important. “I don’t think you would find a humanitarian organization that didn’t wish that they had more flexible funding from private sources,” she said. Philanthropic funds from small donors or foundations can plug budget gaps, allow for innovation and help organizations operating in dangerous environments to keep their workers safe, she said.Last summer, Riley Brookshire, who lives near San Francisco, raised more than $2,100 through a crowdfunding campaign for UNRWA USA, mostly from his friends and other people he knew. It was his first time donating to the organization. Over about a month, he biked more than 40 miles a day after he got off work, logging almost 1,270 miles. He called the fundraiser, “No brakes for Palestine,” in reference to the fixed gear bike he rode, which has no gears and no brakes.He was moved to start the fundraiser in part by posts he saw online from the war, which has now killed more than Brookshire said that he wanted to do something more than going to protests and calling his representatives, but he had doubts along the way about whether the fundraiser was working. “It was the early nights like that when some of the donations were kind of small at the beginning where I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing? This might be futile. I know that I want to help. Maybe this isn’t an effective way to do it,’” he said. After posting screenshots of his daily ride to the fundraiser for about two weeks, donations started to pick up. He said he felt a lot of gratitude to his friends who helped him reach his goal of first $1,200 and then, $2,000. But he also said the money was a drop in the bucket. “There’s a weird contradiction there, right?” Brookshire said. “If you do something, it’s not going to help very much. But if you don’t do anything, then you’re not helping at all.” McIlreavy said across the board, humanitarian responses to conflicts are underfunded even as the number of conflicts and displaced people have grown. Her advice for donors is not to expect that that their gift will solve a conflict or totally restore a community that’s been hit by disaster. “We need to get more comfortable with saying, ‘I don’t need to be there for everything, but doing something is better than nothing,’” she said.Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visitMidair collision kills 67 people in the deadliest US air disaster in almost a quarter centuryHere’s what is known about the deadly collision between a passenger jet and Army helicopter
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