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Two men were killed and a third person was wounded during a shooting in a Seattle park Saturday night, police said. Police responded to a report of a shooting at Cal Anderson Park around 10:30 p.m., the Seattle Police Department said in a statement. Officers found three men with gunshot wounds and provided first aid until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived. One man succumbed to his injuries at the scene, police said. Two other victims were transported from the park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood to Harborview Medical Center, where the second man died, police said. The third shooting victim was listed in critical condition, police said. Investigators were searching for a man who reportedly left the scene before officers arrived, police said.    

The U.S. Army identified on Saturday the three soldiers who were killed when two helicopters collided in Alaska while returning from a training mission. The helicopters were headed to Fort Wainwright from a mission in the Donnelly Training Area when they crashed at 1:39 p.m. Thursday, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Healy. The U.S. Army announced Friday that it has grounded aviation units for training after 12 soldiers died within the last month in helicopter crashes in Alaska and Kentucky. “The move grounds all Army aviators, except those participating in critical missions, until they complete the required training,” the Army said in a statement. Killed in Thursday's crash were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher Robert Eramo, 39, of Oneonta, New York; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle D. McKenna, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Warrant Officer 1 Stewart Duane Wayment, 32, of North Logan, Utah. A fourth soldier was injured and was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and was listed in stable condition. He was not identified Saturday. “The battalion is devastated and mourning the loss of three of our best,” said Lt. Col. Matthew C. Carlsen, the 1-25th AB commander. Their loss can't be compared to the suffering felt by the soldiers' families, he said. “The entire team has come together to focus our thoughts, prayers, and actions to provide and sustain them with whatever comfort and support they need at this time, and I promise that this will continue long into the future,” he said. A Safety Investigation Team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, based at Fort Novosel, Alabama, is leading the safety investigation, officials said in an email. Department of Defense instructions and Army regulations prohibit the investigators from releasing any information to the public concerning the causes, analysis or internal recommendations, the statement said. “The loss of these Soldiers is devastating and is being felt by family, friends and military communities across Alaska,” said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division. “The families of Fort Wainwright and 1-25 are as strong a team as I’ve ever seen. Our hearts are heavy, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and loved ones of the fallen.”

The White House Correspondents' Association dinner — known for its fun albeit ferocious jabs at Washington — took a more solemn tone this year as what many see as the brazen attack on press freedom across the globe was on painful display. Upon arriving at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met privately with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March. He was charged with spying, despite strong denials from his employer and the U.S. government. Some guests wore buttons with “Free Evan” printed on them. Also among the 2,600 people attending the gala is Debra Tice, the mother of Austin Tice, who has not been heard from since disappearing at a checkpoint in Syria in 2012. U.S. officials say they operate under the assumption that he is alive and are working to try to bring him home. Also Read: Jailed US reporter in Russian court to appeal detention “They are among hundreds of journalists around the world who are wrongfully detained for the simple act of doing journalism — which is not a crime,” said Tamara Keith, a White House correspondent for NPR and the association’s president. The Bidens also made a beeline for Brittney Griner, the WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist who was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months last year before her release in a prisoner swap. Griner is attending with her wife, Cherelle, as guests of CBS News. The black-tie dinner draws a wide array of celebrities and media moguls to Washington, with parties being held across the capital. Among those in attendance are actor Liev Schreiber, singer John Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, the model and television personality. Also Read: Russia charges Journal reporter with espionage: Report Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened the dinner with a pre-taped video about the importance of a free and independent press. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are seated on the stage along with comedian Roy Wood Jr., a correspondent for “The Daily Show,” as the featured entertainer. Wood gave a preview of where his jokes were headed, predicting that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wasn’t likely to end his culture clashes or stop his feud with Disney just because of a few jibes. The comedian told CNN not to expect DeSantis to say, "'You know what, man, you’re right. Go ahead and put Black history back in them books.’ ... He’s fighting Mickey Mouse. You can’t change that person’s mind with a joke.” The venue is a familiar one for Biden, who attended several as vice president to Barack Obama. The Washington event returned last year after being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Biden was the first president in six years to accept the invitation after Donald Trump shunned the event while in office. Biden took the opportunity last year to take aim at his many critics, including Republicans and the leader of their party: Trump. This year, he is coming not only as the commander in chief but as a presidential contender.

A Texas man went next door with a rifle and fatally shot five of his neighbors, including an 8-year-old boy, after they asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday. The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large more than 18 hours after the shooting and authorities warned that he might still be armed. The attack happened just before midnight Friday near the town of Cleveland, north of Houston, on a street where some residents say it is not uncommon to hear neighbors unwind by firing off guns. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said Oropeza used an AR-style rifle, and as the search for him dragged into Saturday evening, authorities had widened their efforts to as far as “10 to 20 miles" from the murder scene. He said Oropeza may still have a weapon but that he believes authorities have the rifle used in the shooting. Capers said they found clothes and a phone while combing a rural area that includes dense layers of forest but that tracking dogs had lost the scent. Also Read: Police: 5 people killed in shooting at home north of Houston “He could be anywhere now,” Capers said. Capers said the victims were between the ages of 8 and 31 years old and that all were believed to be from Honduras. All were shot “from the neck up," he said. The attack was the latest act of gun violence in what has been a record pace of mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, some of which have also involved semiautomatic rifles. The mass killings have played out in a variety of places — a Nashville school, a Kentucky bank, a Southern California dance hall, and now a rural Texas neighborhood inside a single-story home. Capers said there were 10 people in the house — some of whom had just moved there earlier in the week — but that that no one else was injured. He said two of the victims were found in a bedroom laying over two children in an apparent attempt to shield them. A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured, Capers said. Also Read: 2 US Army helicopters crash in Alaska, killing 3 soldiers FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe everyone at the home were members of a single family. The victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso, 8. The confrontation followed the neighbors walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Capers said. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property, Capers said, and one person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle. The shooting took place on a rural pothole-riddled street where single-story homes sit on wide 1-acre lots and are surrounded by a thick canopy of trees. A horse could be seen behind the victim's home, while in the front yard of Oropeza's house a dog and chickens wandered. Rene Arevalo Sr., who lives a few houses down, said he heard gunshots around midnight but didn't think anything of it. “It's a normal thing people do around here, especially on Fridays after work,” Arevalo said. “They get home and start drinking in their backyards and shooting out there.” Capers said his deputies had been to Oropeza's home at least once before and spoken with him about “shooting his gun in the yard.” It was not clear whether any action was taken at the time. At a news conference Saturday evening, the sheriff said firing a gun on your own property can be illegal, but he did not say whether Oropeza had previously broken the law. Capers said the new arrivals in the home had moved from Houston earlier in the week, but he said he did not know whether they were planning to stay there. Across the U.S. since Jan. 1, there have been at least 18 shootings that left four or more people dead, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today, in partnership with Northeastern University. The violence is sparked by a range of motives: murder-suicides and domestic violence; gang retaliation; school shootings; and workplace vendettas. Texas has confronted multiple mass shootings in recent years, including last year's attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde; a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019; and a gunman opening fire at a church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs in 2017. Republican leaders in Texas have continually rejected calls for new firearm restrictions, including this year over the protests of several families whose children were killed in Uvalde. A few months ago, Arevalo said Oropeza threatened to kill his dog after it got loose in the neighborhood and chased the pit bull in his truck. “I tell my wife all the time, ‘Stay away from the neighbors. Don’t argue with them. You never know how they're going to react,'” Arevalo said. “I tell her that because Texas is a state where you don't know who has a gun and who is going to react that way.”

A Texas man went next door with a rifle and began shooting his neighbors, killing an 8-year-old and four others inside the house, after the family asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said authorities were still searching for the 39-year-old suspect following the overnight shooting in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Houston. He said the suspect, whom he did not identify, used an AR-style rifle in the shooting. “Everyone that was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution-style,” Capers said during a news conference at the scene. Capers said there were 10 people in the house and that no one else was injured. He said two of the victims, all believed to be from Honduras, were found laying over two children inside. “The Honduran ladies that were laying over these children were doing it in such an effort as to protect the child,” according to Capers, who said a total of three blood-covered children were found in the home but were determined to be uninjured after being taken to a hospital. Capers said two other people were examined at the scene and released. The confrontation followed family members walking up to the fence and asking the suspect to stop shooting rounds, Capers said. The suspect responded by telling them that it was his property, according to Capers, and that one person in the house got a video of the suspect walking up to the front door with the rifle. Three of the victims were women and one was a man. Their names were not released. Capers said the victims were between the ages of 8 and about 40 years old. Authorities have previously been to the suspect's home, according to Capers. “Deputies have come over and spoke with him about him shooting his gun in the yard,” he said. Capers said some of those in the house had just moved from Houston earlier in the week, but he did not know whether they were planning to stay there. The U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023. The violence is sparked by a range of motives: murder-suicides and domestic violence; gang retaliation; school shootings and workplace vendettas. All have taken the lives of four or more people at once since Jan. 1.

Two U.S. Army helicopters crashed Thursday in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth. Two of the soldiers died at the crash near Healy, Alaska, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A fourth soldier was being treated at a hospital for injuries, the Army said in a statement. The names of those killed were being withheld until relatives could be notified, the Army said. Each AH-64 Apache helicopter was carrying two people at the time of the crash, John Pennell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Alaska, said earlier Thursday. The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright, based near Fairbanks. “This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division,” Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in the Army statement. “Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and loved ones, and we are making the full resources of the Army available to support them.” The Army said the cause of the crash was under investigation and more details would be released when they become available. The crash is the second accident involving military helicopters in Alaska this year. In February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter rolled after taking off from Talkeetna. The aircraft was one of four traveling to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage from Fort Wainwright. In March, nine soldiers were killed when two U.S. Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed during a routine nighttime training exercise about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Healy is located about 10 miles (16.09 kilometers) north of Denali National Park and Preserve, or about 250 miles (402 kilometers) north of Anchorage. Healy is a community of about 1,000 people located on the Parks Highway in Alaska’s interior region. It is a popular place for people to spend the night while visiting the nearby park, which is home to Denali, the continent’s tallest mountain. Healy is also famous for being the town closest to the former bus that had been abandoned in the backcountry and was popularized by the book “Into the Wild” and the movie of the same name. The bus was removed and taken to Fairbanks in 2020.  

A nearly 30-year-old rape claim against Donald Trump went to trial Tuesday as jurors in the federal civil case heard a former advice columnist’s allegation of being attacked in a luxury department store dressing room. The former president says nothing happened between them. E. Jean Carroll will testify that what unfolded in a few minutes in a fitting room in 1996 “would change her life forever,” one of her lawyers, Shawn Crowley, said in an opening statement. “Filled with fear and shame, she kept silent for decades. Eventually, though, silence became impossible,” Crowley said. And when Carroll broke that silence in a 2019 memoir, the then-president “used the most powerful platform on Earth to lie about what he had done, attack Ms. Carroll’s integrity and insult her appearance.” Trump — who wasn't in court but hasn't ruled out testifying —- has called Carroll a “nut job” who fabricated the rape claim to sell her book. Defense attorney Joe Tacopina told jurors Tuesday that her story was wildly implausible and short of evidence. He accused her of pursuing the case for money, status and political reasons, urging the jurors from heavily Democratic New York to put aside any animus they themselves might hold toward the Republican ex-president and ex-New Yorker. Also Read: Rape lawsuit trial against Donald Trump set to get underway “You can hate Donald Trump. That’s OK. But there’s a time and a secret place for that. It’s called a ballot box in an election. It’s not here in a court of law,” Tacopina told the six-man, three-woman panel. “Nobody’s above the law, but no one is beneath it.” The trial stands to test Trump's “Teflon Don” reputation for shaking off serious legal problems and to reprise accounts of the type of sexual misconduct that rocked his 2016 presidential campaign as he seeks office again. Trump denies all the claims, saying they are falsehoods spun up to damage him. The trial comes a month after he pleaded not guilty in an unrelated criminal case surrounding payments made to bury accounts of alleged extramarital sex. Carroll's suit is a civil case, meaning that no matter the outcome, Trump isn't in danger of going to jail. She is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a retraction of Trump statements that she alleges were defamatory. Among his comments: “She’s not my type," which her lawyers say was tantamount to calling her too unattractive to assault. Jurors — whose names are being kept secret to prevent potential harassment — range in age from 26 to 66 and include a janitor, a physical therapist and people who work in security, health care collections, a library, a high school and other settings. They were questioned about their news-watching habits (which vary from watching “everything” to ignoring it all), political donations and support for any of a roster of right- and left-wing groups. They were asked, too, whether they used Trump’s social media platform, read Carroll’s former Elle magazine column and even if they’d seen Trump’s former reality show “The Apprentice” — and whether any of these and other matters would make it difficult for them to be fair. Carroll, 79, is expected to testify as soon as Wednesday that a chance encounter with Trump, 76, turned violent, and that he defamed her when responding to the rape allegations. She says that after she ran into the future president at Manhattan's Bergdorf Goodman on an unspecified spring Thursday evening in 1996, he invited her to shop with him for a woman's lingerie gift before they teased one another to try on a bodysuit. Carroll says they ended up alone together in a store dressing room, where Trump pushed her against a wall and raped before she fought him off and fled. Her suit argues that she was psychologically scarred by the alleged attack, and then subjected to an onslaught of hateful messages and reputational damage when Trump painted her as a liar. “This case is Ms. Carroll's chance to clear her name, to pursue justice,” Crowley said. Tacopina countered that it was “an affront to justice.” He suggested her account of being violently raped in the Fifth Avenue store, with no one around, was preposterous. Also, Tacopina noted, there was no record that Carroll had any injuries, sought out a doctor or therapist, asked the store about surveillance video or even wrote about the alleged attack in her diary. “It all comes down to: Do you believe the unbelievable?” he asked in his opening statement. Also Read: Trump's day in court as criminal defendant: What to know Jurors are also expected to hear from two other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Trump. The jury will also see the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is heard asserting that celebrities can grab women sexually without asking. Carroll's allegations normally would be too old to bring to court. But in November, New York state enacted a law allowing for suits over decades-old sexual abuse claims. The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.

For decades, former President Donald Trump has seemed to shake off allegations, investigations and even impeachments. Now his “Teflon Don” reputation is about to face a new test: a jury of average citizens in a lawsuit accusing him of rape. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a trial over former advice columnist's E. Jean Carroll's claim that Trump raped her nearly three decades ago in a department store dressing room. He denies it. The trial is in a federal civil court, meaning that no matter the outcome, Trump isn't in danger of going to jail. He isn't required to be in court, either, and his lawyers have indicated he most likely won't testify. But the trial, which comes as Trump is again running for president, still has the potential to be politically damaging for the Republican. The jury is poised to hear a reprisal of stories of sexual misconduct that rocked his 2016 presidential campaign, allegations he claimed were falsehoods spun up to try to stop him from winning. Also Read: Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump The trial also comes a month after he pleaded not guilty in an unrelated criminal case surrounding payments made to bury accounts of alleged extramarital sex. Carroll, who seeks unspecified damages, is expected to testify about a chance encounter with Trump in late 1995 or early 1996 that she says turned violent. The trial will also include Carroll's defamation claim against Trump over disparaging remarks he made about her in response to the rape allegations. She's seeking a retraction. She says that after running into the future president at Manhattan's Bergdorf Goodman, he invited her to shop with him for a woman's lingerie gift before they teased one another to try on a garment. Carroll says they ended up alone together in a store dressing room, where Trump pushed her against a wall and raped before she fought him off and fled. Since Carroll first made her accusations in a 2019 memoir, Trump has vehemently denied that a rape ever occurred or that he even knew Carroll, a longtime columnist for Elle magazine. Trump has labeled Carroll a “nut job” and “mentally sick.” He claimed she fabricated the rape claim to boost sales of her book. Also Read: Never thought this could happen in America: Trump says after being charged “She’s not my type,” he has said repeatedly, although during sworn questioning in October, he also misidentified her in a photograph as his ex-wife Marla Maples. Carroll didn't stop to speak with reporters as she arrived at the courthouse Tuesday morning. Jurors are also expected to hear from two other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Trump. Jessica Leeds is set to testify that Trump tried to put his hand up her skirt on a 1979 flight on which the two were assigned neighboring seats. Natasha Stoynoff, a former People magazine staff writer, will testify that Trump pinned her against a wall and forcibly kissed her at his Florida mansion when she went there in 2005 to interview Trump and his then-pregnant wife Melania Trump. Also Read: Trump's day in court as criminal defendant: What to know Jurors will also see the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is heard making misogynistic remarks about women, including an assertion that celebrities can grab, even sexually, women without asking. Carroll's allegations normally would be too old to bring to court. But in November, New York state enacted a law allowing for suits over decades-old sexual abuse claims. The jurors' names will be withheld from both the public and the lawyers, to protect them against possible harassment. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who will preside over the trial, rejected a request by Trump's lawyers that jurors be told that the ex-president wanted to spare the city the disruption his presence might cause. Kaplan noted that Trump has a New Hampshire campaign event scheduled for Thursday, the third day of the trial. “If the Secret Service can protect him at that event, certainly the Secret Service, the Marshals Service, and the City of New York can see to his security in this very secure federal courthouse,” Kaplan wrote in an order. Trump could still decide to attend the trial and testify. If he does not, the jury might be shown excerpts from his deposition, which was recorded on video. On Monday, Kaplan instructed lawyers on both sides not to say anything in front of prospective jurors Tuesday about who is paying legal fees. Earlier this month, the judge let Trump's lawyers question Carroll for an extra hour after it was revealed that her lawyers had received funding from American Future Republic, an organization funded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. In earlier questioning, Carroll said the lawyers were relying solely on contingency fees. The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll, Leeds and Stoynoff have done.

President Joe Biden has formally announced he's seeking reelection. But he's also still the president, with roughly 20 months left in his term regardless of whether he wins a second one on Election Day 2024. With Tuesday's campaign video release, Biden is following through on months of saying he intended to seek reelection. Top Democrats have remained solidly unified behind the president, despite his low approval ratings and many Americans saying they'd rather not see the 80-year-old Biden try for four more years in the White House. But all that has meant Biden faced relatively little pressure to make his 2024 bid official. Here's a look at why he announced now and how things will, and won't, change for him going forward: ___ WHY NOW? A formal reelection announcement means the president is now allowed to raise money directly for his campaign. It's a change from his speeches at donor events benefiting the Democratic National Committee or other outside political groups that he has given since entering the White House. Also Read: Joe Biden announces 2024 reelection bid Biden will spend campaign funds on salaries and logistics building out a 2024 staff and holding events outside his official presidential business. He plans to have dinner in Washington on Friday with leading Democratic donors and DNC leaders, paying special attention to those who write big checks to ensure his reelection campaign stays well funded. Some party donors and organizers had begun grumbling about a lack of movement on the reelection front, and the announcement, followed by Friday's gathering, will allow the president to reassure them. Another reason why Biden waited until April was that it allowed him to avoid releasing publicly how much his reelection campaign raised during the year's first quarter. That's when donors typically slow down their contributions — and some top Democratic givers wanted a break after a busy election season during last fall's midterms and before next year's presidential race kicks into high gear. President Barack Obama waited to announce his 2012 reelection bid until early April of the previous year. Tuesday also marks the fourth anniversary of Biden's announcement of his 2020 presidential campaign. Also Read: Biden to unveil new efforts to protect S. Korea from nukes President Donald Trump, meanwhile, first filed for reelection on Jan. 20, 2017, the day of his inauguration, and held his first campaign rally in February 2017. But his second White House campaign didn't formally kick off until June 2019 with an Orlando, Florida, rally that fell roughly four years after he first entered the 2016 presidential race. ___ WHAT ABOUT HIS AGE? Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86 by the end of a second term. He has acknowledged that age is a “legitimate" concern but scoffed at questions about whether he will have the stamina for another campaign, much less four more years in the White House. “Watch me," he has repeatedly declared. Voters will now get the chance to do just that — but that is unlikely to make such questions go away. Republicans have often highlighted Biden's age, and even some Democrats have questioned whether the president is living up to promises he made during the 2020 campaign to be a “bridge” to a new generation of leadership. One Republican running for president, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, has called for mental competency testing for candidates over 75 — a category that would include both Biden and Trump, who announced his own 2024 campaign in November. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed aside such testing, noting that Biden helped lead Democrats to a surprisingly strong midterm showing. “Maybe they’re forgetting the wins the president got over the past few years, but I’m happy to remind them anytime,” Jean-Pierre said in February. ___ WILL SEEKING REELECTION CHANGE HOW BIDEN HANDLES BEING PRESIDENT? There won't be big changes, Biden aides insist, at least for now. The president is still hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House for a state dinner on Wednesday and planning overseas travel later this summer. As he has done in recent months, Biden also will continue to hit the road domestically to highlight legislation his administration helped push through Congress. Biden has already visited many parts of the country, highlighting how a bipartisan public works package will help repair roads, highways, bridges, ports and train tunnels and how increased federal spending approved as part of other legislation will bolster U.S. manufacturing, lower prescription drug prices and improve broadband internet access in rural areas. Such events often blur the line between official business and promoting the president and his party politically, and the distinction will only get murkier going forward. Since the weeks leading up to the midterms, Biden has frequently denounced “extreme" Republicans loyal to Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement as posing a threat to America's core democracy. It's a message he will continue to champion as the 2024 race begins heating up. ___ WILL BIDEN HAVE TO COMPETE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION? Probably not much. Self-help author Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are the only Democrats to challenge the president. Neither of them presents the type of primary opposition that wounded previous incumbents, such as Sen. Ted Kennedy's campaign against President Jimmy Carter in 1980 or Pat Buchanan's run against President George H.W. Bush in 1992. The DNC is so fully committed to Biden this year that it is not planning to schedule primary debates, sparing the president from sharing a stage with Williamson, Kennedy or any other potential challenger. Also benefiting Biden is the fact that South Carolina's primary is set to replace Iowa's caucuses in leading off the Democratic primary voting next year. Biden revived his 2020 campaign after losing the first three contests with a resounding South Carolina primary victory, and he personally directed that the state go first in 2024 — solidifying his popularity among Democrats there. That may counterbalance Democrats' deep ambivalence to Biden elsewhere. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last week found that only 26% of Americans — and only about half of Democrats — said they wanted to see Biden run again. But the poll found that 81% of Democrats said they would at least probably support the president in a general election. ___ WHO WILL BIDEN'S REPUBLICAN OPPONENT BE? Trump is the 2024 Republican presidential field's early leader, setting up a potential general election rematch with Biden. Although Trump announced his bid back in November, the rest of the 2024 Republican primary field has been slow to form around him. The only other declared GOP candidates in the race include Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison, businessman Perry Johnson, “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy and radio host Larry Elder. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is widely expected to be a leading Trump alternative but is in no hurry to announce his campaign. Also expected to join the race but not officially in yet are former Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Biden's political team has for months been preparing to face Trump again. But even if an alternative like DeSantis wins the GOP nomination, Biden's aides argue, many of the same criticisms about adherence to MAGA extremism apply since so many top Republicans agree with Trump on key policy and social issues.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to “finish the job” he began when he was sworn in to office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest president for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party’s nomination, with no serious Democratic rivals. But he’s still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation. The announcement, in a three-minute video, comes on the four-year anniversary of when Biden declared for the White House in 2019, promising to heal the “soul of the nation” amid the turbulent presidency of Donald Trump — a goal that has remained elusive. “I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are," Biden said. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.” Also Read: Biden to unveil new efforts to protect S. Korea from nukes While the question of seeking reelection has been a given for most modern presidents, that’s not always been the case for Biden, as a notable swath of Democratic voters have indicated they would prefer he not run, in part because of his age — concerns Biden has called “totally legitimate” but ones he did not address head-on in the launch video. Yet few things have unified Democratic voters like the prospect of Trump returning to power. And Biden’s political standing within his party stabilized after Democrats notched a stronger-than-expected performance in last year’s midterm elections, as the president set out to run again on the same themes that buoyed his party last fall, particularly on preserving access to abortion. Also Read: Biden says US embassy evacuation in Sudan has been completed “Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred,” Biden said in the launch video, which painted the Republican Party as extremists trying to roll back access to abortion, cut Social Security, limit voting rights and ban books they disagree with. “Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away.” “This is not a time to be complacent,” Biden added. “That’s why I’m running for reelection." As the contours of the campaign begin to take shape, Biden plans to campaign on his record. He spent his first two years as president combating the coronavirus pandemic and pushing through major bills such as the bipartisan infrastructure package and legislation to promote high-tech manufacturing and climate measures. With Republicans now in control of the House, Biden has shifted his focus to implementing those massive laws and making sure voters credit him for the improvements, while sharpening the contrast with the GOP ahead of an expected showdown over raising the nation's borrowing limit that could have debilitating consequences for the country's economy. Also Read: Biden 2024 splits Democrats, but most would back him in November: AP-NORC poll But the president also has multiple policy goals and unmet promises from his first campaign that he’s pitching voters on giving him another chance to fulfill. “Let’s finish this job. I know we can,” Biden said in the video, repeating a mantra he said a dozen times during his State of the Union address in February, listing everything from passing a ban on assault-style weapons and lowering the cost of prescription drugs to codifying a national right to abortion after the Supreme Court's ruling last year overturning Roe v. Wade. Buoyed by the midterm results, Biden plans to continue to cast all Republicans as embracing what he calls “ultra-MAGA” politics — a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again" slogan — regardless of whether his predecessor ends up on the 2024 ballot. He’s spent the last several months road-testing campaign themes, including painting Republicans as fighting for tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy while trying to cut social safety net benefits relied on by everyday Americans and roll back access to abortion services. Also Read: Biden aide, Saudi prince see ‘progress’ toward Yemen war end Biden, speaking over brief video clips and photographs of key moments in his presidency, snapshots of diverse Americans and flashes of his outspoken Republican foes, including Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, exhorted supporters that “this is our moment” to “defend democracy. Stand up for our personal freedoms. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights.” Biden also plans to point to his work over the past two years shoring up American alliances, leading a global coalition to support Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s invasion and returning the U.S. to the Paris climate accord. But public support in the U.S. for Ukraine has softened in recent months, and some voters question the tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance flowing to Kyiv. The president faces lingering criticism over his administration's chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of war, which undercut the image of competence he aimed to portray to the world, and he finds himself the target of GOP attacks over his immigration and economic policies. As a candidate in 2020, Biden pitched voters on his familiarity with the halls of power in Washington and his relationships around the world as he promised to return a sense of normalcy to the country amid Trump’s tumultuous presidency and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. But even back then, Biden was acutely aware of voters’ concerns about his age. Also Read: Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump “Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said in March 2020, as he campaigned in Michigan with younger Democrats, including now-Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “There’s an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.” Three years later, the president now 80, Biden allies say his time in office has demonstrated that he saw himself as more of a transformational than a transitional leader. Still, many Democrats would prefer that Biden didn’t run again. A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows just 47% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, up from 37% in February. And Biden’s verbal — and occasional physical — stumbles have become fodder among the GOP, which has sought to cast him as unfit for office. Biden, on multiple occasions, has brushed back concerns about his age, saying simply, “Watch me.” During a routine physical in February, his physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, declared him “healthy, vigorous” and “fit” to handle his White House responsibilities. Aides acknowledge that while some in his party might prefer an alternative to Biden, there is anything but consensus within their diverse coalition on who that might be. And they insist that when Biden is compared with whomever the GOP nominates, Democrats and independents will rally around Biden. For now, the 76-year-old Trump is the favorite to emerge as the Republican nominee, creating the potential of a historic sequel to the bitterly fought 2020 campaign. But Trump faces significant hurdles of his own, including the designation of being the first former president to face criminal charges. The remaining GOP field is volatile, with DeSantis emerging as an early alternative to Trump. DeSantis' stature is also in question, however, amid questions about his readiness to campaign outside of his increasingly Republican-leaning state. To prevail again, Biden will need to revive the alliance of young voters and Black voters — particularly women — along with blue-collar Midwesterners, moderates and disaffected Republicans who helped him win in 2020. He'll have to again carry the so-called “blue wall” in the Upper Midwest, while protecting his position in Georgia and Arizona, longtime GOP strongholds that he narrowly won in his last campaign. Biden’s reelection bid comes as the nation weathers uncertain economic crosscurrents. Inflation is ticking down after hitting the highest rate in a generation, driving up the price of goods and services, but unemployment is at a 50-year low, and the economy is showing signs of resilience despite Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Presidents typically try to delay their reelection announcements to maintain the advantages of incumbency and skate above the political fray for as long as possible while their rivals trade jabs. But the leg up offered by being in the White House can be rickety — three of the last seven presidents have lost reelection, most recently Trump in 2020. Biden’s announcement is roughly consistent with the timeline followed by then-President Barack Obama, who waited until April 2011 to declare for a second term. Trump launched his reelection bid on the day he was sworn in in 2017. Biden is not expected to dramatically alter his day-to-day schedule as a candidate — at least not immediately — with aides believing his strongest political asset is showing the American people that he is governing. And if he follows the Obama playbook, he may not hold any formal campaign rallies until well into 2024. Obama didn't hold a reelection rally until May 2012. On Tuesday, Biden named White House adviser Julie Chávez Rodríguez to serve as campaign manager and Quentin Fulks, who ran Sen. Raphael Warnock's reelection campaign in Georgia last year, to serve as principal deputy campaign manager. Reps. Lisa Blunt-Rochester, Jim Clyburn and Veronica Escobar; Sens. Chris Coons and Tammy Duckworth; entertainment mogul and Democratic mega-donor Jeffrey Katzenberg; and Whitmer will serve as campaign co-chairs. On the heels of the announcement Tuesday, Biden was set to deliver remarks to union members before hosting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit at the White House. He plans to meet with party donors in Washington later this week. Biden’s formal go-ahead comes after months of public incredulity that the president would seek another term despite plentiful signs that he was intent on doing so. Ahead of the president’s announcement, first lady Jill Biden expressed disbelief at the persistent questions about her husband’s intent to run. “How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” she told The Associated Press in late February. “He says he’s not done."