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As the Trump administration prepares to close the Kennedy Center for a two-year renovation, the head of Washington’s performing arts center has warned its staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.”In a Tuesday memo obtained by the Associated Press, Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell told staff that “departments will obviously function on a much smaller scale with some units totally reduced or on hold until we begin preparations to reopen in 2028,” promising “permanent or temporary adjustments for most everyone.”Over the next few months, he wrote, department heads would be “evaluating the needs and making the decisions as to what these skeletal teams left in place during the facility and closure and construction phase will look like.” Grenell said leadership would “provide as much clarity and advance notice as possible.”The Kennedy Center is slated to close in early July. Few details about what the renovations will look like have been released since President Donald Trump announced his plan at the beginning of February. Neither Trump nor Grenell have provided evidence to support claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, Trump had pledged it would remain open during renovations.“Upon the completion of these upgrades, Americans and visitors from all over the world, for generations to come, will enjoy the Center and marvel at its spectacular features and design,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.It’s unclear exactly how many employees the center currently has, but a 2025 tax filing said nearly 2,500 people were employed during the 2023 calendar year. A request for comment sent to Kennedy Center Arts Workers United, which represents artists and arts professionals affiliated with the center, wasn’t immediately returned.Leading performers and groups have left or canceled appearances since Trump ousted the center’s leadership a year ago and added his own name to the building in December. The Washington Post, which first reported about Grenell’s memo, has also cited significant drops in ticket revenue, whichalong with private philanthropycomprises the center’s operating budget. Officials have yet to say whether such long-running traditions as the Mark Twain Award for comedy or the honors ceremony for lifetime contributions to the arts will continue while the center is closed.The Kennedy Center was first conceived as a national cultural facility during the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s. President John F. Kennedy led a fundraising initiative, and the yet-to-be-built center was named in his honor following his assassination. It opened in 1971 and has become a preeminent showcase for theater, music, and dramatic performances, enjoying bipartisan backing until Trump’s return to office last year.“This renovation represents a generational investment in our future,” Grenell wrote. “When we reopen, we will do so as a stronger organizationone that honors our legacy while expanding our impact.” Hillel Italie, AP National Writer
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Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, a likely medal contender at the Milan Cortina Games, was barred from racing Thursday after refusing a last-minute plea from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to not use a helmet that honors more than 20 athletes and coaches killed in his country’s war with Russia.The decision came roughly 45 minutes before the start of the competition and ended a three-day saga where Heraskevych knew he was risking being pulled from the Games by wearing the helmet, one that the IOC says breaks rules against making statements on the field of play.The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said his decision to wear the helmet was “inconsistent with the Olympic Charter and Guidelines on Athlete Expression.” He wore the helmet in training, but the IOC asked for him to wear a different helmet in races. It offered concessions, such as wearing a black armband or letting him display the helmet once he was off the ice.“I believe, deeply, the IBSF and IOC understand that I’m not violating any rules,” Heraskevych said. “Also, I would say (it’s) painful that it really looks like discrimination because many athletes already were expressing themselves. . . . They didn’t face the same things. So, suddenly, just the Ukrainian athlete in this Olympic Games will be disqualified for the helmet.”IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who was slated to be in Cortina d’Ampezzo to see Alpine skiing, went to the sliding center instead to meet Heraskevych. She was waiting at the top of the track when he arrived around 8:15 a.m., and they met privately. After about 10 minutes, Coventry was unable to change Heraskevych’s mind.“We didn’t find common ground in this regard,” Heraskevych said.Tears rolled down Coventry’s face after the meeting. The Olympic champion swimmer made clear that she wanted a different outcome, and the IOC said the decision was made with regret.“As you’ve all seen over the last few days, we’ve allowed for Vladyslav to use his helmet in training,” Coventry said. “No one, no oneespecially meis disagreeing with the messaging. The messaging is a powerful message. It’s a message of remembrance. It’s a message of memory and no one is disagreeing with that. The challenge that we are facing is that we wanted to ask or come up with a solution for just the field of play.”Coventry and Heraskevych agreed that the helmet isn’t clearly visible during races anyway, given that sliders are zipping down the icy chute at around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour). That, the IOC hoped, was the window to a compromise. Heraskevych would not budge.“Sadly, we’ve not been able to come to that solution,” Coventry said. “I really wanted to see him race today. It’s been an emotional morning.”Heraskevych said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the race went on without him. The first two runs were Thursday, the last two are Friday. Regardless of what CAS says, if anything, his chance to race in these Games is gone. The IOC is letting him keep his credential, meaning he can remain at the Olympics as an athletejust not a competing one.About a dozen Russian athletes are being allowed to compete at the Olympics as neutral individuals along with seven Belarusians. They are not allowed to compete under their national flag or anthem. Heraskevych has spoken out several times about why he believes they shouldn’t be at the Olympics and said the IOC’s decision “plays along with Russian propaganda.”The decision drew immediate condemnation from officials in Ukraine and some athletes.“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “Unfortunately, the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says otherwise.”“Disqualified. I think that’s enough to understand what the modern IOC really is and how it disgraces the idea of the Olympic movement,” added Ukrainian skier Kateryna Kotsar on Instagram. “Vladyslav Heraskevych, for us and for the whole world, you’re a champion. Even without starting.”The IOC had sided with Ukraine’s top slider before. When he displayed a “No war in Ukraine” sign after his fourth and final run at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the IOC said he was simply calling for peace and did not find him in violation of the Olympic charter.This time, Heraskevych said he believes there are inconsistencies in how the IOC decides what statements are allowed. Among those he cited: U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov bringing a photo of his late parentsformer pairs world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were among the 67 people killed in a plane crash on January 29, 2025to the kiss-and-cry area after his skate in Milan this week, and Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone’s decision to appear at the opening ceremony wearing a kippah that bore the names of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed in the 1972 attack during the Munich Games.“A competitor literally placed the memory of the dead on his head to honor them,” Heraskevych wrote on Instagram. “I frankly do not understand how these two cases are fundamentally different.”Firestone said he admired Heraskevych. “I think he’s a man with strong values,” he said.In Milan, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said if athletes were allowed to display messaging without restrictions on the field of play “that would lead to a chaotic situation.”“Sport without rules cannot function. . . . If we have no rules, we have no sport,” Adams said.Heraskevych was fourth at the world championships last year and was among the fastest in training leading into the Olympic races. A medal was certainly within reach, but to Heraskevych, the helmet mattered more.“The International Olympic Committee destroyed our dreams,” said Mykhailo Heraskevych, the slider’s coach and father. “It’s not fair.” AP journalists Julia Frankel, Vasilisa Stepanenko and Graham Dunbar contributed. AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics Tim Reynolds, AP Sports Writer
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A little known security feature on iPhones is in the spotlight after it stymied efforts by U.S. federal authorities to search devices seized from a reporter.Apple’s Lockdown Mode recently prevented FBI agents from getting into Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s iPhone.Agents seized the phone, as well as two MacBooks and other electronic devices, when they searched Natanson’s home last month as part of an investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of illegally handling classified information. But the FBI reported that its Computer Analysis Response Team “could not extract” data from the iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode, according to a court filing.So what is Lockdown Mode? Here’s a rundown of how it works and how to use it: Highest security Apple says Lockdown Mode is an “optional, extreme” protection tool designed to guard against “extremely rare and highly sophisticated cyberattacks.” It’s not for everyone, but instead for “very few individuals” who could be targeted by digital threats because of who they are or what they do.“Most people will never be targeted by attacks of this nature,” Apple’s support page says.It’s available in Apple’s newer operating systems, including iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. It works by putting strict security limits on some apps and features, or even making some unavailable, to reduce the areas that advanced spyware can attack. It also restricts the kinds of browser technologies that websites can use and limits photo sharing. Can Apple turn it off? Apple has previously rejected U.S. government requests to build so-called backdoor access for its devices.In 2016, Apple refused a request by authorities to help bypass lockscreen security for an encrypted iPhone belonging to a shooter who carried out a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. The company also declined to add an ability to input passcodes electronically, which would make it possible to carry out “brute force” attempts to guess the combination using computers.“It would be wrong to intentionally weaken our products with a government-ordered backdoor,” Apple said in explaining its decision. How to turn on Lockdown Mode Make sure your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook has been updated. You’ll have to turn the feature on separately for each of your Apple devices.On your iPhone, go to Settings, then to the Privacy and Security section, scroll down to the bottom and tap on Lockdown Mode. Enter your passcodenot a facial or fingerprint scanto activate it. The device will restart and then you’ll again have to use your passcode to unlock it. On MacBooks, follow a similar procedure from the System Settings menu.Apple recommends that you switch it on for all of the company’s devices that you own. Better than biometrics You might assume that requiring facial or fingerprint recognition to unlock your phone is good enough to protect it from snooping. But experts say passcodes are better than biometrics at protecting your devices from law enforcement, because they could compel you to unlock your device by holding your phone up to your face or forcing you to put your finger on the scanner.FBI agents told Natanson that they “could not compel her to provide her passcodes,” but the warrant they used to execute the search did give them the authority “to use Natanson’s biometrics, such as facial recognition or fingerprints, to open her devices.” According to a court filing, Natanson said she didn’t use biometrics to lock her devices but agents were ultimately able to unlock her MacBook with her finger. This is how it affects your phone Apple says some apps and features will work differently when Lockdown Mode is on.Some websites might load slowly or not work properly, and some images and web fonts could be missing because they block “certain complex web technologies.”In Messages, most types of attachments are blocked, and links and link previews won’t be available. Incoming FaceTime calls are blocked unless it’s from a number you’ve called in the past month.In Photos, location information is stripped from shared photos and shared albums are removed from the app. Focus mode won’t work normally.There are also tighter restrictions on connecting your phone or computer to unsecure Wi-Fi networks or to other computers and accessories.When I tried it out on my own iPhone, some apps warned me that certain functions might not work. I noticed that one of my news apps started using a different font and photos on some websites didn’t appear, replaced by a question mark.The biggest disruption happened when I went to the gym, which involved using a web-based check-in system to scan a QR code. But my phone camera wouldn’t work so I had to turn off Lockdown Mode in order to get in. To be sure, my iPhone’s standalone Code Scanner app still worked, so the problem seemed to center on using a website to activate the camera. Turn it off Follow the same procedure outlined above that you used to turn on Lockdown Mode. You’ll need to enter your passcode and the phone will perform a restart. Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip. Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer
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