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Feb 11 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand said on Wednesday it had cancelled 46 wide-body long-haul ‌services ahead of a planned two-day strike ‌by cabin crew over stalled negotiations.

The cancellations have affected 9,500 ​travellers, Air NZ said in a statement, adding that the domestic and regional network would operate as normal, with some cargo-only flights also scheduled.

In a ‌separate statement, local ⁠union E tū said the airline's cabin crew would strike on February 12 ⁠and February 13 after talks failed to resolve their concerns, urging Air New Zealand to make "a fair ​and realistic" ​offer.

"The work done ​by wide-body cabin crew ‌is demanding and often misunderstood," E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh said.

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"They are also shift workers whose rosters change every month. They work very irregular hours ... and there is no certainty in their ‌work patterns."

The union said the ​strike will involve only wide-body ​aircraft workers, with ​cabin crew taking action on both ‌days.

Air New Zealand said it ​has contacted ​affected passengers with rebooking options or refunds.

The airline added that it has rescheduled flights and ​redeployed its ‌fleet to protect most Tasman and Pacific services ​from cancellations.

(Reporting by Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Immigrant rights groups are seeking to toss out a Republican lawsuit that would prohibit theU.S. Census Bureaufrom counting people who are in the U.S. illegally during the 2030 census.

The groups said the lawsuit filed late last month by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway would violate the law and require a recount of the U.S. population from 2020, costing billions of dollars.

"That unlawful request would distort representation for millions of Americans and shake the foundations of our representative democracy," said the motion from the immigrant rights groups, which are seeking to intervene and are being represented by several ACLU Foundation chapters.

The lawsuit is the latest effort by Republicans to exclude people who are in the U.S. illegally or other noncitizens from the census figures. Those numbers guide thedistribution of federal moneyand determine the number of congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state receives in a process known as apportionment.

The Missouri lawsuit asks that theapportionment processthat used the 2020 census figures be redone without including people in the U.S. illegally and that the process after the 2030 census be conducted in the same manner.

A similar lawsuit filed by four other GOP state attorneys general is pending in federal court in Louisiana, and Republican lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation that would accomplish the same goal.

ARepublican redistricting experthad written that using only the citizen voting-age population, rather than the total population, for the purpose of redrawing congressional and state legislative districts could be advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.

The Constitution's 14th Amendment says "the whole number of persons in each state" should be counted for the numbers used for apportionment. The Census Bureau has interpreted that to mean anybody living in the U.S., regardless of legal status.

The Missouri lawsuit comes asPresident Donald Trump has been pressuringRepublican-led state legislatures to redraw their congressional districts to benefit the GOP ahead of this year's midterm elections. Last August,Trump instructedthe Commerce Department to have the Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally from the head count.

Intervenors recentlysucceeded in getting another lawsuitagainst the Census Bureau tossed out. A three-judge panel in Tampa last week dismissed a challenge by Republican groups to the agency's statistical methods during the 2020 census.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that citizenship wasn't a factor in the apportionment process under the Constitution. When asked if a citizenship question would be included, he said the agency hadn't determined the questions on the 2030 census form yet. The Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau.

"What the questionnaire is, I don't know, and we've not decided," Lutnick said.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky:@mikeysid.bsky.social.

Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Census Bureau athttps://apnews.com/hub/us-census-bureau.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former federal prosecutor who quit amid a dispute with the Trump administration is now representing former CNN host Don Lemon, who was one of nine people indicted for their alleged roles indisrupting a serviceat a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official was a pastor.

A court filing Tuesday shows that Lemon has hired former interim U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had beenleading the sprawling investigationand prosecution of major fraud cases for the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Officeuntil he resignedlast month.

Several prosecutors have now leftthe office at a time of growing frustration with the administration'simmigration enforcement crackdownand the Justice Department's response to fatal shootings of two people by federal officers in Minneapolis.

Lemon had previously said through another attorney thathe planned to plead not guiltytofederal civil rights chargesover his coverage of the church protest. He has said he was not affiliated with the group that disrupted the church service, and that he was there in his capacity as an independent journalist. The indictment alleges various actions by the group that entered the church, including what Lemon said as he reported on the event for his livestream show.

Lemon is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 13 in federal court in St. Paul.

The Trump administration has cited theMinnesota fraud cases,in which most defendants have come from the state's large Somali community,as justificationfor its immigration crackdown in the state. Thompson estimated in December that the losses to taxpayers from several fraud cases being prosecuted in Minnesotacould total $9 billion.

Thompson recently formed his own law firm with Harry Jacobs, another former federal prosecutor who resigned amid the upheaval in the office. Jacobs had beenlead prosecutor in the caseof Vance Boelter, who has pleaded not guilty in last year's assassination of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the nonfatal shootings of a state senator and his wife.

The firm's website describes them as "battle tested and seasoned" trial lawyers.

Thompson did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Drake Maye says he will not need offseason surgery on the right shoulder that drew lots of attention ahead ofSunday's Super Bowl LX loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"Just get some time off. Time's the best healer," Maye told reporters on Tuesday. "Definitely just need time off. Nothing that needs anything to be done. Just some time away and time to get some rest and time away from football."

Maye said after the gamethat he received shoulder injectionsand that he "was good to go" and "it felt all right."

Heading into the Super Bowl, Maye waslimited in practice with a shoulder injuryhe suffered in the AFC championship game win over the Denver Broncos. On the team's initial injury report, the 23-year-old quarterback was listed as questionable with a shoulder injury and an illness thatcaused him to miss a practice.

Despite being removed from the injury report and telling reporters he felt well heading into the game, Maye struggled against Seattle. He completed 27-of-43 passes for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns,2 interceptions and a fumble,with most of his passing yards coming in the fourth quarter. Maye's second interception was returned for a touchdown and all but closed the game.

"I think it's a case of having one hit in the AFC championship game that was just kind of unfortunate," Maye said. "Unfortunate timing, the two weeks (before the Super Bowl) was great to have off to have a chance to be out there for my guys. You can't blame things on injuries. Things happen like this all the time in the league. ... You can't (blame) it on one little thing, the shoulder. ... I was feeling like I was able to make throws in the game and was myself."

Maye had a strong second NFL season, making his second Pro Bowl and being named a second-team All-Pro while also finishing second in the MVP race. The Patriots ended their three-season playoff drought and flipped their record from the 4-13 finishes from the past two seasons to 14-3 and AFC East champions in 2025.

The 2025 season just concluded, but Maye is already eager to begin preparing for 2026.

"Ten weeks until we're back here," Maye said in a final message to Patriots fans. "That don't sound too far away. It turns around quickly on you. I'm looking forward to it."

Several LIV Golf members enjoyed a surge in the world rankings this week following the season-opening tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) announced last week that players in the Saudi-backed circuit would start receiving rankings points for the first time, although the benefits are limited to each event's top-10 finishers.

LIV Golf rookie Elvis Smylie of Australia jumped from 133rd in the rankings to 77th after winning his LIV debut in Riyadh.

"It's a by-product of the great work I'm doing with my team and the good golf that I'm playing," said Smylie, 23. "If I continue to do that, then all that stuff will take care of itself. But it's definitely motivating for me to try to get into the Masters."

Riyadh runner-up and former World No. 1 Jon Rahm of Spain climbed from 93rd to 67th. Also seeing significant rises were Sebastian Munoz of Colombia (767th to 566th), Abraham Ancer (616th to 449th) and Thomas Pieters of Belgium (564th to 419th).

The lone exception was LIV rookie Thomas Detry, who finished seventh in Riyadh. He fell form 62nd to 63rd while not defending his maiden PGA Tour victory at the WM Phoenix Open.

OWGR points are critical for earning entries into the season's four major tournaments. The top 50 the week before the Masters (rankings released March 30) will earn entries to Augusta, as will the top 60 ahead of the U.S. Open (May 18) and the top 50 for The Open Championship (May 25). The OWGR does not have an official exemption for the PGA Championship, where the top 100 typically are invited.

LIV Golf has been seeking OWGR points since its debut season in 2022. However, Rahm and CEO Scott O'Neil were among those who were highly critical of the league only receiving points for top-10 finishers.

"Yeah, it's fantastic that we're getting points," Rahm said on LIV's broadcast after the first round in Riyadh. "It's fantastic that we're being recognized in a way. With that said, I don't like how we're not being treated the same as every other tour.

"It seems like the rules that have been in place aren't really applied to us, with only 10 of us getting points, it doesn't seem fair. There are small fields out there throughout the course of the year that get full points, or full players get points, right? So, there's work to be done."

LIV moved from a 54-hole format to 72 holes this season in an effort to obtain OWGR points, but issued a statement making the league's discontent with the depth of points available clear.

"We acknowledge this long-overdue moment of recognition, which affirms the fundamental principle that performance on the course should matter, regardless of where the competition takes place," LIV Golf said in a statement last week.

"However, this outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th. Limiting points to only the top 10 finishers disproportionately harms players who consistently perform at a high level but finish just outside that threshold, as well as emerging talent working to establish themselves on the world stage-precisely the players a fair and meritocratic ranking system is designed to recognize.

"No other competitive tour or league in OWGR history has been subjected to such a restriction. We expect this is merely a first step toward a structure that fully and fairly serves the players, the fans, and the future of the sport.

"We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally."

--Field Level Media

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tony Vitello walked up the dugout stairs to meet with reporters about 15 minutes later than he was expecting because of a team meeting that went longer than planned.

The new San Francisco Giants manager had a lot to say on the first day of spring training.

He also knows he's got a lot to learn.

"I rambled today," Vitello said, grinning. "The guys might ban me from any more meetings before this thing is over, but you want to set a vibe for what you want your team to be. We can throw out a T-shirt or put something on the locker room door, but it's also going to require some daily interactions."

The 47-year-old Vitello is one of the more fascinating stories in baseball this spring, with the manager making therare jump straight from a college dugout to Major League Baseball. Before coming to the Bay Area, he built the Tennessee Volunteers into a national powerhouse in the vaunted Southeastern Conference.

Vitello's college credentials are nearly impeccable: He went 341-131 over eight seasons, reaching the College World Series three times and leading the Vols to the program's first national championship in 2024.

Now it's time to find out if that translates to MLB success. Vitello said he has no excuses.

"There are so many people who are willing to help," Vitello said. "The biggest thing is our guys need to use these resources. You have everything you need. That reflects on my situation, too."

Vitello's coaching staff has a few people that should help with the transition, including former Padres manager Jayce Tingler and former Rangers and Angels skipper Ron Washington.

Tingler will be the bench coach while the 73-year-old Washington is the infield coach.

The two coaching veterans are helping Vitello adjust during his crash course on adjusting to MLB life. San Francisco has multiple position competitions to sort out over the next six weeks while preparing for the regular season, including a potential role for star first base prospect Bryce Eldridge.

"I think, at the root of it, there's definitely some boxes that need to be checked," Vitello said. "You'd like to see guys do well. If you're keeping score, you want to win. But I'll rely on Coach Tingler and Wash about what boxes we need to check before this thing is over with."

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The Giants fired manager Bob Melvinin September after they went 81-81 in his second season and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year. San Francisco hasn't reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories to edge the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under Gabe Kapler.

Buster Posey — the Giants' president of baseball operations — made the surprise move to target a college coach to become the franchise's next leader. While very successful, Vitello had a colorful and combustible reputation.

The NCAA suspended Vitello twice during his Tennessee tenure, first for spending too much time arguing a call in 2018. During that two-game suspension, he raised money for charity with apizza and lemonade standwhile the Vols played.

Chest-bumping an umpirein 2022 led to a four-game suspension, and Vitello spent that time working with aTennessee fraternityoffering achest bumpto anyone donating $2 to the Wounded Warriors Project.

It remains to be seen how Vitello's style will translate to the long professional baseball schedule. The college regular season is 56 games while MLB's slate is a marathon with 162 contests stretching from late March to late September.

Five-time Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman — who played in college at Cal State Fullerton from 2012 to 2014 — said he was looking forward to Vitello's energy.

"He was handling NIL money and things like that, so the college game is probably a lot closer to professional baseball than when I was playing," Chapman said. "Winning baseball looks the same. It's pitching and defense, knowing how to run the bases, managing personalities and managing guys.

"He has a lot of experience doing that. There's going to be a learning curve in some areas. You can't fully know how to run a major league clubhouse unless you've been in one, but I don't think it'll be foreign to him. He's a baseball guy, he's done things at a high level, so I think the transition will be smooth."

AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The Justice Department's explanation for seeking toraid a major election office in Georgiaand seize ballots tied to the 2020 election was made much clearer Feb. 10, after it was forced to release a document showing the arguments it used to get a search warrant.

The FBI, which is part of the DOJ, seized ballots and other records tied to the 2020 election from a Fulton County election center near Atlanta on Jan. 28. The move marked a major escalation of efforts underPresident Donald Trump's current administration to call into doubt the results of the2020 presidential election, whichTrump lostto then-former Vice PresidentJoe Biden.

The new document is the affidavit signed by FBI Special Agent Hugh Raymond Evans in the government's request for a search warrant.

"Following the November 3, 2020, presidential election, there were many allegations of electoral impropriety relating to the voting process and ballot counting in Fulton County, Georgia," Evanswrote in the affidavit.

"Some of those allegations have been disproven, while some of those allegations have been substantiated, including through admissions by Fulton County," Evans added.

Evans wrote that the FBI investigation was jump-started by a referral from an official in Trump's White House, Kurt Olsen. He was appointed by Trump as "Director of Election Security and Integrity," according to the affidavit.

"This warrant application is part of an FBI criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws," Evans wrote.

The Justice Department filed the affidavit to a Georgia federal court for release to the public onthe order of a federal judge, who instructed government lawyers to make redactions to shield the names of non-governmental witnesses. Fulton County officials hadasked the court to release the affidavit to the public.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, defended Georgia's election processes in a statement to USA TODAY.

"As Secretary of State, I've made Georgia the safest and most secure place to vote," Raffensperger said. "Instead of wasting time and tax dollars trying to change the past with baseless and repackaged claims, let's focus our efforts on building a safer, more affordable future for all hardworking Georgians."

What potential crimes is the FBI investigating?

A federal judge in Georgia signedthe search warrant, allowing FBI agents to seize election records as part of an investigation tied to two separate criminal statutes.One of those statutesrequires election officials to keep voter registration records for 22 months after an election.The otherprohibits using threats, coercion or fraud in certain voting processes.

Around 656 boxes of original 2020 election records – as opposed to copies – were seized, according to Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington.

Fulton County has filed a court motionto get the records back.

Evans alleged in his affidavit that there are several "deficiencies or defects" with the November election and vote count that the FBI is looking into in Georgia. Those include missing scanned images of ballots, duplicated ballot scans, inaccurate hand-count tallies of votes and purported absentee ballots that weren't properly creased or folded, he said.

Evans wrote that, if the alleged problems were intentional, then they would be evidence of a crime. By seizing election records, law enforcement would be able to corroborate an analysis suggesting election records were destroyed or that false votes were counted, he said.

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White House official behind investigation helped Trump fight 2020 results

Olsen has a long history of fighting the 2020 election results. He joined the Texas attorney general's attempt to get the Supreme Court to stop four swing states from certifying Biden's 2020 victory over Trump,according to the New York Times.

Olsen was sanctioned by a federal judge in Arizona for acting in bad faith by filing a lawsuit on behalf of Trump ally Kari Lake that made baseless allegations about the reliability of voting machines in that state,according to the California-based Daily Journal.Arizona was one of several swing statesBiden won in 2020.

An appeals court decision upheld those sanctions. Appellate Judge Ronald Gould wrote that the lawsuit "made false, misleading and unsupported factual assertions" and the lawyers behind it didn't conduct a reasonable inquiry before filing it, the Daily Journal reported.

Congressional investigators found that Olsen had multiple phone calls with Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to prevent Biden's 2020 election victory from going into effect,Politico reported.

Trump's national intelligence chief was present at raid

Director of National IntelligenceTulsi Gabbardwas near the raid when it happened, andreportedly put Trump on the phonewith some of the FBI agents involved in the raid the next day.

That raised the eyebrows of the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees, who questioned in aJan. 29 letterwhy someone tasked with overseeing national intelligence would attend a search of an election hub in Georgia.

"The job of the director of national intelligence is to be outward-facing about foreigners, not about Americans," Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee,said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." "My fear is now (Trump) sees the political winds turning against him and he's going to try to interfere in the 2026 elections."

Gabbard said in aFeb. 2 letterthat Trump asked her to be present for the raid, and that election security is a national security issue.

Gabbard is investigating the 2020 election results, according to theWall Street Journaland theNew York Times, which each cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The two outlets reported that her work on the investigation has helped her be in Trump's good graces.

Speaking on "The Dan Bongino Show" on Feb. 2, Trump alluded to the raid whilesaying he won the 2020 election.

"Now you're going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get, with a court order, the ballots," Trump said. "You're going to see some interesting things come out."

Fulton County, which includes much of Atlanta, is the largest county in Georgia by population. Biden's win in that county in 2020 helped propel his win in Georgia as a whole, which had 16 presidential electoral votes. Biden won the 2020 election with 306 electoral votes, compared toTrump's 232tally.

Before Biden was inaugurated into office in January 2021, Trumptried to reverse his 2020 losses in several states, including Georgia. He and his allies filed more than 60 lawsuits. None was successful in proving there was widespread voter fraud.

In a phone call with Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, Trump said,"I just need 11,780 votes"in Georgia. Raffensperger defended the accuracy of his state's election results.

This story has been updated to add new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:DOJ shares why it raided Georgia election hub and seized 2020 ballots