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WORCESTER, MA — A supervisor and three instructors with the Massachusetts State Police Academy were indicted in connection with the death ofEnrique Delgado-Garcia, a recruit who died following a training exercise on defensive tactics in 2024, authorities announced Monday, Feb. 9.

Delgado-Garcia, 25, died on Sept. 13, 2024, a day after becoming unresponsive during a boxing match at the State Police Academy in New Braintree, a town about 68 miles west of Boston. At the time, theWorcester Telegram & Gazette, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that the boxing program was previously halted due to injury concerns.

Following his death, state police suspended full-contact boxing training activities for recruits, and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell appointed attorney David Meier toconduct an independent investigationinto the incident.

After anine-month grand jury investigation, Meier said evidence revealed that members of the State Police Academy committed a "series of wanton and reckless acts" in connection with various defensive tactics and physical confrontation training exercises.

The head of the academy's defensive tactics unit, Sgt. Jennifer Penton, and three troopers under her command – Edwin Rodriguez, David Montanez, and Casey LaMonte – were each charged with involuntary manslaughter and causing serious injury to a person participating in a physical training exercise, Meier said.

Penton has also been charged with perjury for allegedly giving false testimony to a special statewide grand jury, according to Meier.

"Each of these individuals owed a duty of care to Enrique Delgado-Garcia and to his fellow trainees," Meir said during anews conferenceon Monday, Feb. 9. "Each of them interacted with Mr. Delgado-Garcia and his fellow trainees on a daily basis, and each of them committed a series of wanton and reckless acts and omissions that resulted in Enrique Delgado-Garcia's death."

Autopsy: Enrique Delgado-Garcia died from blunt trauma

Delgado-Garcia was rushed to a hospital in Worcester, a city about 20 miles east of New Braintree, on Sept. 12, 2024, after being injured during a training exercise.

In a statement, Meier said "wanton and reckless conduct resulted in Enrique Delgado Garcia suffering concussion-like symptoms as the result of unauthorized, unapproved, and unsupervised boxing-related sparring exercises that occurred during Academy training activities on Wednesday, September 11, 2024."

He added that Delgado-Garcia sustained multiple blunt force injuries to the head and "massive brain bleeding" after instructors at the State Police Academy failed to stop a training boxing match on Sept. 12, 2024. Delgado-Garcia died the next day as a result of the "head injuries sustained during the recruit-on-recruit boxing match," according to Meier.

Last year, Michael Wilcox, a lawyer representing Delgado-Garcia's family, confirmed that Delgado-Garcia died from blunt trauma to the head. Citing an autopsy report from the medical examiner, Wilcox said Delgado-Garcia suffered a myriad of injuries to his head, including contusions in both his eyes, thyroid, and neck.

The autopsy report also found that Delgado-Garcia had contusions on his chest and back, as well as on one of his arms and knees, according to Wilcox. Delgado-Garcia's family has previously said they were told the 25-year-old suffered injuries during a few minutes of boxing, which was part of the training program at the academy.

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Law enforcement, lawyers react to indictments

During the news conference, Campbell said it was necessary to conduct an independent investigation into Delgado-Garcia's death due to the "extraordinary nature of these events and the complexity of this case."

Delgado-Garcia's death rocked the Worcester District Attorney's Office, where he had once served as a victim witness advocate, and left members of his family calling for answers. The Worcester District Attorney's Office recused itself from the investigation due to its close connection to Delgado-Garcia.

In response to the indictments announced on Monday, Feb. 9, Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said in a statement that it was a "difficult and somber day" for the department, which he said has "cooperated fully" with Meier's probe.

Noble said the department has taken several steps to strengthen the academy, including "expanding support" for recruits and commissioning a forthcoming "independent review" by the International Association of Police Chiefs.

Brian Williams, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, said "veteran training staff indicted today are entitled to the same presumption of innocence and due process guaranteed to every citizen."

Williams added that the association "stands firmly behind its members and intends to vigorously defend them against these charges as we continue to work collaboratively with the Department to strengthen and enhance training standards, ensuring Troopers are fully prepared to meet the complex and demanding realities of the job."

Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston, praised the charges, saying that while state police "failed" Delgado-Garcia, it was "heartened" to see troopers would be held accountable.

"The grieving Delgado-Garcia family deserves justice, and this tragedy must lead to meaningful reforms," the nonprofit said in a statement.

Most charges to be tried in Worcester

As of 5 p.m. local time on Monday, Feb. 9, it did not appear that arraignment dates for the troopers had been set.

Online court records indicated the manslaughter and training injury-related charges against the troopers will be prosecuted in Worcester Superior Court, while the perjury charge against Penton would be prosecuted in Middlesex Superior Court.

Campbell's office did not immediately respond to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette's query about the reason for the different sites. Meier noted during the news conference that the indictments had been brought by a statewide grand jury.

Lawyers for Penton and LaMonte declined to comment. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has reached out to lawyers listed for other troopers.

State police also did not immediately respond to queries about the job status of the charged troopers. Online records listed Penton as a lieutenant. Campbell's office, which identified her as a sergeant, didn't immediately return a request for clarification.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette:Enrique Delgado-Garcia case: 4 charged with manslaughter

VERNON, France (AP) — In a tightly controlled manufacturing hangar west of Paris, workers put the finishing touches on an enormous silver-colored engine. In just a few days, a similar machine will help propel the most powerful version of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket yet, flying for the first time with four boosters.

On Thursday, the Ariane 64 rocket — named after its four boosters — is scheduled to make its maiden launch from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, aiming to deploy 32 satellites for Amazon Leo's broadband constellation.

The flagship of Europe's rocket industry is racing in a highly competitive environment against heavy weight players across the world, including the global market leader, Elon Musk's SpaceX.

At ArianeGroup's plant in Vernon, engineers design, integrate and test engines for the European heavy-lift launcher. At another site west of Paris, in Les Mureaux, the rocket's main stage components are being carefully built and assembled.

Associated Press journalists were provided rare access to facilities placed under strict security and confidentiality rules where teams of highly-specialized workers make from space conquest a daily reality.

"It's a special launch — something new for us on Ariane 6," ArianeGroup Chief Technical Officer Hervé Gilibert said. This flight marks the debut of the four-booster configuration, making the rocket roughly twice as powerful as the version flown since 2024, he said.

"Don't be surprised if you see it accelerate much more than Ariane 62, the version we have already launched five times," Gilibert said. "It delivers significantly more power, allowing much heavier payloads to be sent into space."

Components make trans-Atlantic journey

The launcher, its engines and avionics are built across Europe as 13 nations, members of the European Space Agency, agreed to cooperate and finance the Ariane 6 program.

"We are working with more than 600 subcontractors," Gilibert said. "Everything comes together at two main sites — Bremen in Germany for the upper stage, and Les Mureaux in France for the lower, or main stage of the launcher."

Ahead of Thursday's launch, all components have crossed the Atlantic to French Guiana for final assembly. The rocket stands about 62 meters (203 feet) tall, roughly the height of a 20-story building.

"We check everything until the very last minute, and then we fly," Gilibert said.

Once airborne, the mission will last about one hour and 50 minutes — nearly a full orbit around Earth — before the satellites are deployed in pairs from the top of the rocket. Amazon Leo's constellation is intended to compete with SpaceX's thousands of Starlink satellites.

The Vulcain 2.1 engine built at Vernon ignites first at liftoff.

"For a few seconds, we verify that it is functioning properly," said Emmanuel Viallon, director of the Vernon site. "Once we are fully confident it will operate correctly for the eight minutes that follow, we ignite the solid boosters and the rocket lifts off."

The four boosters help propel the rocket at launch, consuming 142,000 kilograms (313,056 pounds) of solid propellant in just over two minutes until they burn out.

Ariane 6, through both its launcher and engines, was designed to halve operating costs compared with its predecessor, Viallon said. Ariane 5 was last launched in 2023, concluding a program that began in the late 1970s to give Europe independent access to space.

Engines tested under near-real conditions

Engines produced in Vernon are tested on site under near-real launch conditions. Deep in the surrounding forest, reinforced structures hold the engines in place as they fire at full power, while test teams operate from underground control rooms.

Laurence, the engine firing test director at Vernon, said the full testing cycle takes two to three weeks, before the engines return to the assembly facility for final adjustments. Laurence's last name was not disclosed for security reasons.

For the team, each launch "is always a joy, it's always very intense," she said. "When an engine arrives here, those are really important moments for the team. And then, seeing that the launch goes well ... that brings a great deal of gratitude."

At Les Mureaux facility, engineers have started preparing rocket components for upcoming missions. Huge white cylinders lie horizontally to form the rocket's main stage that is 5.4 meters (17.7 feet) wide including tanks for supercooled hydrogen and oxygen that will feed the Vulcain engine.

Caroline Arnoux, business unit director at ArianeGroup, said seven to eight launches are planned this year.

"We have a very strong order book, equivalent to about 30 launches," Arnoux said. "Roughly one-third are institutional missions and two-thirds commercial. And our commercial customers are all waiting for the Ariane 64 version, which will be extremely important in the coming years."

Europe's independence at stake

Ariane 64 "is an additional level of performance," Hermann Ludwig Moeller, director of the European Space Policy Institute, said. "In itself, this is an important step in the whole program, hoping to demonstrate that this configuration works as reliably as Ariane 6 has been working so far."

The rocket's institutional missions last year included launches of a French military reconnaissance satellite, a weather satellite, and EU-sponsored Earth-observation radar and navigation satellites.

Moeller argued there can hardly be any comparison with SpaceX, which dominates the sector with its reusable rocket model.

SpaceX "builds the rockets, builds the satellites and also sells the service" while Europe operates under a different industrial setup with separate companies responsible for launchers, satellite manufacturing and satellite operations, he said.

For Ariane 6, a key challenge will be diversifying its European customer base, which could involve a system of European preference for government missions and further development of commercial markets across the continent, Moeller argued.

Independent access to space remains the core objective of the program to "allow Europe to meet its own needs," stressed Arnaud Demay, the Ariane 6 project manager.

ArianeGroup is also preparing for the future, working "on key technology bricks ... to enable the reuse of certain launcher components. Ideally, we would like to be able to reuse an entire stage, including the engines that powered its liftoff," Demay said.

Demay confided he almost always cries with emotion at seeing the rocket lifting off.

"We do it so rarely, and it's so majestic when it takes off: that little touch of magic inevitably overwhelms me with emotion every time," he said.

Nicolas Garriga contributed to this report.

A record snowdroughtwith unprecedented heat is hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable towildfiresand hurting winter tourism and recreation.

Scientists say snow cover and snow depth are both at the lowest levels they've seen in decades, while at least 67 Western weather stations have measured their warmest December through early February on record. Normal snow cover this time of year should be about 460,000 square miles — about the size of California, Utah, Idaho and Montana — but this year it's only California-sized, about 155,000 square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

"I have not seen a winter like this before," said center director Mark Serreze, who has been in Colorado almost 40 years. "This pattern that we're in is so darned persistent."

The snowpack — measured by how much water is trapped inside — in Oregon is not only record low, but 30% lower than the previous record, said Jason Gerlich, regional drought early warning system coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Much of the U.S. east of the Rockies is snowbound and enduring more than two weeks ofbone-chilling abnormal cold, but in West Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, Trevor Stephens went to the store last week in gym shorts and a T-shirt.

"Right now there's no snow on the ground," he said in a video interview, looking out his window and lamenting the lack of snowboarding opportunities. "I'd definitely rather have icy roads and snow than whatever is going on out here right now."

Concerns over water supply and wildfires

Ski resorts had already been strugglingthrough a difficult season, but the lack of snow has been persistent enough that concerns are growing about wider effects.

Oregon, Colorado and Utah have reported their lowest statewide snowpack since the early 1980s, as far back as records go.

A dry January has meant most states have received half their average precipitation or even less. Along with sunny days and higher-than-average temperatures, that's meant little snow buildup in a month that historically gets a lot of snow accumulation across much of the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. Because of heavy rains in December, California is in better shape than the other states, scientists said.

As of Monday, it had been 327 days since Salt Lake City International Airport got 1 inch of snow, making it the longest stretch since 1890-91, according to the National Weather Service.

The meager snow in Colorado and Utah has put the Upper Colorado River Basin at the heart of the snow drought, said Gerlich.

A robust mountain snowpack that slowly melts as winter warms to spring provides a steady flow of water into creeks and rivers. That helps ensure there's enough water later in the year for agriculture, cities, hydropower electric systems and more.

But lack of snow or a too-fast melt means less water will replenish rivers like the Colorado later in the season.

"This is a pretty big problem for the Colorado basin," said Daniel Swain of the University of California's Water Resources Institute.

Experts said the snow drought could also kick-start an earlywildfireseason. Snow disappearing earlier than average leaves the ground exposed to warmer weather in the spring and summer that dries soils and vegetation quicker, said Daniel McEvoy, researcher with the Western Regional Climate Center.

Too warm to snow

While it's been dry, the record-low snowpack is mostly due to how warm the West has been, which is connected to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, several scientists said. Since Dec. 1, there have been more than 8,500 daily high temperature records broken or tied in the West, according to NOAA data.

Much of the precipitation that would normally fall as snow and stay in the mountains for months is instead falling as rain, which runs off quicker, Swain and other scientists said. It's a problem scientistshave warned about with climate change.

Going snowless happens from time to time, but it's the warmth that has been so extreme, which is easier to tie to climate change, said Russ Schumacher, professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University and Colorado State Climatologist.

"It was so warm, especially in December, that the snow was only falling at the highest parts of the mountains," McEvoy said. "And then we moved into January and it got really dry almost everywhere for the last three to four weeks and stayed warm."

Wetter, cooler weather is coming

Meteorologists expect wetter, cooler weather across the West this week with some snow so this may be the peak of the snow drought. But it'll still be warmer than usual in many areas, and scientists aren't optimistic the snow will be enough.

"I don't think there's any way we're going to go back up to, you know, average or anywhere close to that," said Schumacher. "But at least we can chip away at those deficits a little bit if it does get more active."

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visithttps://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

MANILA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Philippines' ambassador to the United States on Tuesday underscored the need to "cool" the temperature with China, after both sides signaled their willingness ​to set aside tensions in the South China Sea and explore areas of economic ‌cooperation.

Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez said Manila's relationship with Beijing should not be defined solely by maritime disputes, even as ‌the Philippines continues to call out actions it deems unlawful.

"We have a continuing bilateral conversation with them," Romualdez told reporters. "We will continue with that one and see how we can work, especially in the economic front."

"That's what we want to do... there are some signs that our Chinese friends ⁠are also prepared to see some ‌opportunities where we can work, you know, and isolate this situation in the West Philippines Sea," Romualdez added, using the term Manila uses to refer ‍to waters within its exclusive economic zone.

The Philippines and China have been locked in a series of maritime confrontations in recent years, with the Philippines accusing China of aggressive actions inside its EEZ, including dangerous ​manoeuvres, water-cannoning, and interference in resupply missions.

China, in turn, has accused the Philippines of intruding ‌into what it claims as its territory.

Recent weeks have seen sharper exchanges between the Chinese Embassy and Philippine officials, prompting Manila to reiterate that differences between states are best handled through diplomacy, not public rhetoric.

With the Philippines chairing ASEAN this year, Romualdez said easing friction is vital to secure China's full engagement in efforts to finally conclude a long‑delayed Code of Conduct in ⁠the South China Sea.

"We are the chair of ASEAN ​and I would like the participation of China to be ​significant, especially in the Code of Conduct," he said. "Who knows, we might be able to finally nail it down after more than 20 years."

Manila has said ‍it will insist that ⁠the Code of Conduct explicitly references the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea as it works to complete the document within the year.

The Philippine foreign ministry said ⁠on Monday it remains the country's "authoritative voice" on regional and international issues, with its newly appointed spokesperson for maritime ‌affairs reiterating that Philippine diplomacy will continue to be anchored on "sober assessments of ‌facts".

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by David Stanway)

By Tora Agarwala

Interview of Shafiqur Rahman, Ameer (President) Jamaat-e-Islami, in Dhaka

DHAKA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Shafiqur Rahman has long been on the margins of Bangladeshi politics, but his bearded face now appears on posters and billboards across Dhaka, urging voters to elect the country's first Islamist‑led government in a general election on Thursday.

The 67‑year‑old doctor and Jamaat‑e‑Islami party chief has risen ​from near obscurity to be a serious contender for prime minister, after decades of being mostly known only in Islamist circles.

A Jamaat coalition is expected to put up ‌a close fight against frontrunner and former ally, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Bangladesh votes on February 12 in its first national election since a Gen Z‑led uprising toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

Roughly 91% of the country's ‌175 million people are Muslim, making it one of the world's largest Muslim-majority nations. Islam is the state religion, though the constitution also enshrines secularism, and the population is predominantly Sunni.

Opinion polls suggest the once‑banned Jamaat, which opposed Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan, is heading for its strongest performance yet, alarming moderates and minorities.

Under Hasina, authorities cracked down on Islamist groups, jailing top Jamaat leaders, sentencing some to death for 1971 war crimes, banning the party, and driving it underground. Rahman was arrested in 2022 for allegedly assisting members of a banned militant outfit and jailed for 15 months.

But the ⁠2024 uprising changed Jamaat and Rahman's fortunes.

Days after Hasina fled to ‌India in August that year, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus eased curbs on the party and a court in 2025 lifted the ban, allowing the party, long forced to meet discreetly, to re‑emerge.

Jamaat quickly mobilised, launching charitable outreach and flood‑relief work, with Rahman's white beard ‍and all‑white attire making him a highly visible figure.

"We tried to raise our voice, but repeatedly it was suppressed," Rahman told Reuters in December. "(After the uprising) we got a chance to come again to the surface."

FAMILY OF DOCTORS

Born in 1958 in the northeastern district of Moulvibazar, Rahman began his political life in a leftist student organisation before joining Islami Chhatra Shibir, Jamaat's student wing.

He formally joined Jamaat in 1984 and unsuccessfully ​contested national elections in 1996, 2001 and 2018. He became the chief of the party in 2020.

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His wife, Amina Begum, served in parliament in 2018 and is also a doctor, ‌like their two daughters and a son. Rahman is the founding chair of a family-owned hospital in the northeastern district of Sylhet.

Many in Dhaka say they barely knew his full name during Hasina's rule, a striking contrast to his main rival and BNP chief, Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and former President Ziaur Rahman. The two Rahmans currently fighting for the top job are not related.

Jamaat describes its leader as a humble and sincere person who "leads a modest, disciplined life grounded in simplicity and approachability".

CAPITALISED ON POLITICAL VACUUM

Analysts say Shafiqur Rahman capitalised on the political vacuum after the uprising.

"In the month after the uprising, there was no visible leader in Bangladesh. Tarique Rahman was in exile in London," said Dhaka University professor ⁠Shafi Md Mostafa.

"(Shafiqur) Rahman travelled across the country, gained media attention, and, within barely two years, became ​a frontrunner," said Mostafa.

On the campaign trail, his speeches have resonated with some voters, presenting Jamaat as a clean, ​moral alternative guided by Islamic values. In December, the party allied with the Gen Z National Citizen Party, widening its appeal among younger and less‑conservative voters.

Campaign posters inspired by Game of Thrones have popped up nationwide, showing Rahman with the line "Dadu is coming", "dadu" meaning grandfather in Bengali.

Seen by some as a ‍more moderate face of Jamaat, Rahman has tried ⁠to soften the party's image by stressing governance, anti‑corruption and social justice. He has also promised equal treatment for all religions.

Rahman, however, has drawn controversy over his views on women, and the party has not fielded a single female candidate.

He said women should work no more than five hours a day to prioritise family responsibilities and recently ⁠posted on social media that pushing women out of the home in the name of modernity amounted to a "form of prostitution".

The post sparked protests at several universities, and Jamaat claimed the account had been hacked.

Rahman says Jamaat is "moderate, ‌we are flexible, we are reasonable".

"But our principles are based on Islamic values, Quranic values," he said. "The Quran is not only for Muslims, it is for ‌the whole creation."

(Reporting by Tora Agarwala in Dhaka; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Michael Perry)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group ofBuddhist monksis set to reach Washington, D.C., on foot Tuesday, capping a trek from Texas that has captivated the country.

The monks in their saffron robes have become fixtures on social media, along with their rescue dog Aloka.

They walk toadvocate for peace. That simple message has resonated across the U.S. as a welcome respite from conflict and political divisions. Thousands have gathered along Southern roadsides to watch the monks' quiet, single-file procession that began in late October.

"My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace," said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group's soft-spoken leader who has taught about mindfulness at stops along the way.

The monks plan to mark the last days of their Walk for Peace with outdoor appearances at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday and the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.

"Their long journey and gentle witness invite us all to deepen our commitment to compassion and the work of peace in our communities," said Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, who will help host an interfaith reception for the monks at the cathedral.

The monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies. Millions have followed them online, and crowds have greeted them at numerous venues, from a church in Opelika, Alabama, to City Hall in Richmond, Virginia.

Mark Duykers, a retired mechanical engineer who practices mindfulness, said he and his wife will drive 550 miles (885 kilometers) from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Washington to see the monks.

"In these divisive times, we saw entire towns in the Bible Belt coming out for these monks — having no idea of what Buddhism is — but being uplifted and moved by it," he said. "That's inspirational."

Nineteen monks began the 2,300-mile (3,700 kilometer) journey from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth on Oct. 26, 2025. They came from Theravada Buddhist monasteries around the globe, led by Pannakara, who is vice president of the Fort Worth temple.

While in the U.S. capital, they plan to submit a request to lawmakers to declare Vesak —Buddha's birthday— a national holiday. But, Pannakara and others have emphasized that is not the walk's goal.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the temple, said the walk is neither a political movement nor is it focused on advocacy or legislation.

"It's a spiritual offering — an invitation to live peace through everyday actions, mindful steps and open hearts," he said. "We believe when peace is cultivated within, it naturally ripples outward into society."

The trek has had its perils, and local law enforcement officers have provided security. In November outside Houston, the monks were walking on the side of a highway when their escort vehicle was hit by a truck.Two monks were injured; one had his leg amputated.

Some of the monks, including Pannakara, have walked barefoot or in socks for most of the journey to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment. As they have pressed on through snow and cold, they've at times donned winter boots.

Peace walks are a cherished tradition in Theravada Buddhism. Pannakara first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means "divine light" in Sanskrit, during a 112-day journey across India in 2022.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha as core to attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection, observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering.

On Tuesday, the monks will complete 108 days of walking. It's a sacred number in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It represents spiritual completion, cosmic order and the wholeness of existence.

The monks' return trip should be less arduous. After an appearance at Maryland's Capitol, a bus will take them back to Texas, where they expect to arrive in downtown Fort Worth early on Saturday.

From there, the monks will walk together again, traversing 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) to the temple where their trip began.

Bharath reported from Los Angeles.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP'scollaborationwith The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington on Tuesday to encourage President Donald Trump to expand the scope ofhigh-stakes nuclear talkswith Iran. The negotiations resumed last week against the backdrop of an American military buildup.

Israel has long called for Iran to cease all uranium enrichment, dial back its ballistic missile program and cut ties to militant groups across the region. Iran has always rejected those demands, saying it would only accept some limits on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

It's unclear if Iran'sbloody crackdown on mass protestslast month, orthe movement of major U.S. military assetsto the region, has made Iran's leaders more open to compromise, or if Trump is interested in broadening the already difficult negotiations.

Netanyahu, who will be in Washington through Wednesday, has spent his decades-long political career pushing for stronger U.S. action toward Iran. Those efforts succeeded last year when the U.S. joined Israel in12 days of strikeson Iran's military and nuclear sites, and the possibility of additional military action against Iran is likely to come up in this week's discussions.

Decisions are being made

Netanyahu's visit comesjust two weeks afterTrump's special envoySteve Witkoffand Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and Middle East adviser, met with the prime minister in Jerusalem. The U.S. envoys held indirect talks in Oman with Iran's foreign minister on Friday.

"The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis," Netanyahu's office said over the weekend, referring to Iran-backed militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Years of nuclear talks have made little progress since Trumpscrapped a 2015 agreement with Iran, with strong encouragement from Israel. Iran has shown little willingness to address the other issues, even after suffering repeated setbacks. But the meeting with Trump gives Netanyahu an opportunity to shape the process and may also bolster his standing back home.

"Clearly these are the days when decisions are being made, America is expected to complete its force buildup, and it's trying to exhaust the prospect of negotiations," said Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank.

"If you want to have influence on the process, only so much can be done via Zoom."

Israel fears a narrow agreement

Trump threatened a military strike against Iran last month over the killing of protesters and concerns of mass executions, moving a number of military assets into the region. Thousands were killed and tens of thousands detained at Iranian authorities crushed the protests over widespread economic distress.

As the protests largely subsided, Trump shifted his focus to Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S., Israel and others have long suspected is aimed at eventually developing weapons. Iran insists its program is entirely peaceful and says it has the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

Sima Shine, an Iran expert formerly with Israel's Mossad spy agency who is now an analyst at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel fears that the U.S. might reach a narrow agreement with Iran in which it would temporarily halt uranium enrichment.

A deal in which Iran halts enrichment for several years would allow Trump to claim victory. But Israel believes any such agreement that does not end Iran's nuclear program and reduce its ballistic missile arsenal will eventually require Israel to launch another wave of strikes, she said.

Iran might be unable to enrich uranium after last year's strikes, making the idea of a temporary moratorium more appealing.

In November, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran wasno longer enriching uranium due to the damagefrom last year's war. The U.S. and Israeli airstrikes killed nearly 1,000 people in Iran, while Iranian missile barrages killed almost 40 in Israel.

It's unclear how much damage was done to Iran's nuclear program. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been unable to visit the bombed nuclear sites.Satellite imagesshow activity at two of them.

Netanyahu faces election this year

Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, has long touted his close ties to world leaders, particularly Trump, who he has praised as the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House. This week's meeting allows Netanyahu to show Israelis he is a player in the Iran talks.

"The issue of relations between Netanyahu and Trump will be the issue of the campaign, and he is saying, 'Only I can do this, it's only me,'" Shine said.

Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister, having held the office for a total of over 18 years. His government, the most nationalist and religious in Israel's history, is expected to survive until the election in October, or close to it.

Netanyahu was originally scheduled to visit Washington next week for the Feb. 19 launch of Trump'sBoard of Peace, an initiative that was initially framed as a mechanism for rebuilding Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war but has taken on a larger mandate of resolving global crises.

Netanyahu agreed to join the initiative but is wary of it because it includes Turkey and Qatar, countries he does not want to have a presence in postwar Gaza because of their relations with Hamas.

Moving the visit up could provide an "elegant solution" that allows Netanyahu to skip the launch without offending Trump, Plesner said. Netanyahu's office declined to comment.