By MARC LEVY (Associated Press)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg promised Tuesday to help repair the East Coast’s main north-south highway as quickly as possible and said that the destruction of a section of I-95 will likely raise the cost of consumer goods because truckers must now travel longer routes.

Speaking near the site where an out-of-control tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped over on an Interstate 95 off-ramp and caught fire, Buttigieg said he expected that disruptions in trucking routes will put “upward pressure” on shipping costs along the East Coast.

Buttigieg toured the site and then, over the sounds of heavy machinery and demolition, told reporters that “every resource that is needed will be made available” to help Pennsylvania repair the bridge as quickly and safely as possible.

But the collapse is snarling traffic in Philadelphia as the summer travel season starts, upending hundreds of thousands of morning commutes, disrupting countless businesses and forcing trucking companies to find different routes.

Police say the driver perished in the accident, and the Philadelphia medical examiner on Tuesday night identified him as Nathan Moody. He was 53. The resulting fire caused the collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95. The southbound lanes were compromised by the heat from the fire, authorities say.

It could take weeks, at least, to replace the damaged and destroyed section.

Pennsylvania’s transportation secretary, Michael Carroll, said demolition work is continuing around the clock and that his agency will release a replacement plan Wednesday for the roughly 100-foot (30 meter) section of I-95.

Buttigieg said he had not seen any sort of estimate for what sort of cost increases consumers might be facing. But he said the trucking industry is working to make the most of alternative routes. He also suggested that the U.S. Department of Transportation is working with route-selecting software firms such as Google and Waze to optimize their products.

“At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for I-95 being up and running in full working condition,” Buttigieg said.

Of the 160,000 vehicles a day that travel that section, 8% are trucks and “obviously that is a lot of America’s GDP moving along that road every single day,” Buttigieg said.

Subodha Kumar, a professor of statistics, operations and data science at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, said it is impossible to calculate the scale of shipping delays and higher costs caused by detours without analyzing all the alternative trucking routes.

But, Kumar said, the added cost will not be small, and the impact will last for weeks or longer. It will affect commerce to Canada, and create cascading effects throughout the supply chain, he said.

“Any small disruption can multiply exponentially and can make the changes much bigger,” he said.

The effect will be immediate on perishable foods, he said.

For now, I-95 will be closed in both directions.

The elevated southbound portion of I-95 will have to be demolished, as well as the northbound side, officials say.

State police officials said the trucking company had contacted them about the accident and was cooperating, although they have declined to identify the company or say whether it was properly licensed for hauling gasoline.

Authorities say the driver was headed northbound on his way to deliver fuel to a convenience store a few miles (kilometers) away when the truck went down a curving off-ramp and out of control, landing on its side and rupturing the tank.

Rebuilding the stretch is likely to drag into July or August.

In California, a similar situation happened with a highway ramp in Oakland. It was replaced in 26 days, Joseph L. Schofer, a retired professor of civil and environmental engineering from Northwestern University, said.

In Atlanta, an elevated portion of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire, shutting down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city in March 2017. It took authorities there 43 days to replace the span, Schofer said.

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Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

The Portsmouth City Council agreed unanimously Tuesday to pursue a hiring firm to select the city’s fourth permanent manager in as many years.

Members made the decision to present “a united front” after previous differences they’ve worked through since last week, when members were split on whether to appoint Interim City Manager Mimi Terry to the position or pursue a hiring firm.

“We have decided that we’re going to go forward with a unified front,” said Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, adding that she hopes Terry will apply for the position.

Terry is the city’s former chief financial officer who was hired as interim in January after a majority of the newly elected City Council fired Tonya Chapman six months into the job. She also served as interim city manager when the City Council terminated Angel Jones last summer before Chapman’s appointment. Terry previously said she was fired by Chapman.

The city manager is effectively the city’s CEO, tasked with carrying out the council’s vision, developing a budget, supervising city employees and selecting department heads. The traditional process for hiring a city manager typically involves a job advertisement, a narrowing and vetting of qualified candidates and interviews with finalists.

“I’m gonna vote yes in the spirit of this council being one body and the realization that the votes aren’t there to make a decision on the city manager tonight,” said Council member Bill Moody. Last week, Moody supported appointing Terry to the position, though he was vocal during his reelection campaign about the need for a proper hiring process.

“I will stick by what I said at the last meeting that I support Ms. Terry and I’m very confident that she will, at the end of the day — after the expenditure of 20-some thousand dollars of taxpayer funds — that she will come out on top,” Moody said.

Council members have said they expect hiring a firm would cost around $20,000.

Council member Mark Whitaker said Tuesday it’s “about process, not performance.” Whitaker was also the council member who led the vote to terminate Jones last year before pushing for Chapman’s appointment the following week.

Mayor Shannon Glover said Terry is a “consummate professional who has worked and earned her role,” adding that he agreed the decision should be a united one.

But for Terry, Tuesday night felt familiar. She told The Virginian-Pilot after the meeting that it feels like “Groundhog Day,” referencing the brief period she served as interim before City Council appointed Chapman without a hiring a firm.

“(I’ve) been here in this position same time last year,” she said. “It felt like Groundhog Day, all over again, where I was there, doing the job, and they decided to move forward with someone else, not following the process, but moving forward, which put me in the same position.”

As of Tuesday night, she’s not sure whether she’ll apply for the job. But she also said she understands the decision.

“It’s all fair. If we want to make sure that we don’t do what has been done in the past, then I have to understand this is just the process you go through,” Terry said.

Given the upheaval in the city manager’s office over the last few years, Terry recently requested an additional three months of severance if fired without cause as interim. Her current contract, signed in January, grants her three months of severance if terminated without cause. However, upon signing it, she was also receiving almost $47,000 of severance from her previous departure from the city, according to her contract.

Terry, whose salary is $210,000, said she’s the lowest paid acting city manager across Hampton Roads. She added that she didn’t ask for everything she could’ve when hired in January, such as a housing stipend, for example.

“I took a reduced everything because I love Portsmouth. And I should have covered myself better in my ask,” she said.

Terry said she hasn’t been informed whether she’ll be granted the additional severance coverage, which she requested from the personnel committee that consists of Glover and Moody.

“My dedication to the city is because I love the city. No question,” Terry said. “We’ve got to take our citizens higher. But Portsmouth has such a stigma and I’m fighting to remove the stigma so they can really see Portsmouth.”

Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, [email protected]

MIAMI (AP) — Follow along for live updates on former President Donald Trump, who made his first court appearance Tuesday after being indicted on 37 charges related to the mishandling classified documents. The indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president faces criminal charges by the federal government he once oversaw.

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Donald Trump is characterizing the federal charges against him as “election interference and yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election.”

He aired his grievances to hundreds of supporters at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, hours after becoming the first former president to face charges in federal court. He entered a plea of not guilty.

Previewing a possible legal defense, Trump said he had a right to go through boxes and separate personal records from government documents.

He also said he had not had a chance to review all the materials transferred from the White House before FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago residence last year.

Trump called the case against him “one of the most outrageous and vicious legal theories ever put forward in an American court of law” and compared his own actions to those of other former senior officials, though the facts in those cases are different.

He called special counsel Jack Smith a “thug” who does “political hit jobs” and said, “This day will go down in infamy.”

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What to know:

— What to expect when Trump appears in federal court to face charges

— Journalists so far outnumber protesters outside courthouse where Trump will appear

— A timeline of events leading to Trump’s indictment in the classified documents case

— Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action after months of preparation

— Who is Walt Nauta, the latest Trump loyalist to face potential jail time?

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TRUMP ARRIVES TO CHEERS AT BEDMINSTER

Donald Trump has arrived back at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The former president is scheduled to give his first speech since pleading not guilty to charges of keeping classified documents and blocking the government’s efforts to get them back.

News helicopters thumped overhead as the sun set over the rolling greens at Bedminster.

The arrival of Trump’s motorcade was met with cheers. Many people rushed to get pictures. Several hundred supporters and club members were packed onto a patio, many wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Guests included former Justice Department official Kash Patel, former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik and MyPillow businessman and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell.

Lindell said he was at the event “to support our real president, Donald Trump,” and “there was nothing done with any malicious intent at all.” He added that he considers the indictment “a blessing” because he thinks it will drive Trump’s poll numbers up.

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WHITE HOUSE TRYING ITS BEST TO STAY MUM ON CASE AGAINST TRUMP

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is refusing to give straight answers to questions about the federal case against Trump.

Jean-Pierre was asked Tuesday if President Joe Biden agrees with his wife, first lady Jill Biden, who has already said that it was a “little shocking” that Trump maintained large support from the Republican Party.

“I’m just not going to comment on anything that’s related to the indictment,” Jean-Pierre responded.

The president’s chief spokesman also dodged a question about whether Biden would ever consider pardoning Trump. “No comment,” Jean-Pierre said, although she laughed slightly.

It is all part of the White House’s policy to not comment on ongoing criminal matters. In the meantime, they’ve only invoked Biden’s predecessor at strategic points.

Jean-Pierre did stress Tuesday that Biden was categorically not involved in any decision by the Justice Department to indict Trump and that he is focusing on restoring integrity to the department.

“That is why we have been very, very consistent,” Jean-Pierre said. “When it comes to criminal cases, we just do not comment.”

At a reception honoring U.S. State Department chiefs of mission, Biden declined to comment on Trump’s arrest when asked by reporters.

During his formal remarks at that event, Biden referred to simultaneous interpretation during his lengthy meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and then quipped: “I turned all my notes in.”

Trump was known to have confiscated an interpreter’s notes after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After prompting hearty laughter from the crowd, Biden insisted he was not talking about Trump.

“That’s not a reference to the president, the former president,” Biden said. “Look, no. It really isn’t.”

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SUPPORTERS GATHER AT NEW JERSEY GOLF CLUB

Trump’s supporters have begun to arrive at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, where he’s planning to deliver remarks responding to the charges after returning from his arraignment Tuesday night.

Dozens of white wedding chairs have been set up on the club’s stone patio before a stage decorated with American flags and red, white and blue bunting.

Guests as Trump’s Bedminster event include former Department of Justice official Kash Patel, Bernie Kerik and MyPillow conspiracist Mike Lindell.

Lindell says he’s here “to support our real president, Donald Trump.” He called on Ron DeSantis to drop out of the presidential race and endorse Trump tomorrow.

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TRUMP GOES FROM COURT TO CUBAN EATERY

Trump’s first stop after court was the iconic Versailles restaurant and bakery in the Little Havana neighborhood.

Inside, a group of people greeted him and laid hands on him in prayer. Those in the room also sang “Happy Birthday” to Trump, who will turn 77 Wednesday.

“Some birthday. Some birthday,” he said. “We’ve got a government that is out of control.”

Versailles is a landmark that is a required stop for politicians visiting Miami. Cuban exiles gathered there to celebrate Fidel Castro’s death in 2016.

Trump’s aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta, joined him at the eatery, helping people take selfies with Trump.

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SPECIAL COUNSEL SEES TRUMP IN COURT

The special counsel who brought charges against Trump attended the former president’s first court appearance in person.

Jack Smith sat in the first row behind the prosecution’s table at Tuesday’s hearing in Miami federal court, where Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he hoarded classified documents.

Smith spoke briefly Friday about the indictment but has otherwise remained out of public view.

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TRUMP RELEASED WITHOUT BOND

Trump was released without having to pay a bond after pleading not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he hoarded classified documents and refused government demands to give them back.

Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began in a federal courtroom in Miami but did not speak during the proceedings.

He remained seated while lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” he told the judge.

Trump scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing but was otherwise expressionless. He also crossed his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.

Blanche objected to barring the former president from talking to witnesses including Nauta, a Navy veteran who fetched Trump’s Diet Cokes as his valet at the White House before joining him as a personal aide at Mar-a-Lago. Blanche said that they work for Trump and he needs to be able to communicate with them.

After some back and forth, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump cannot talk to them about the case except through his lawyers, but he can talk to them about their jobs.

“There will be no communication about the case with fact witnesses who are on a list provided by the government,” Goodman said.

Nauta, who was indicted alongside the former president, did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

The former president will not have to surrender his passport or restrict his personal travel. Trump is expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES

Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging that he hoarded classified documents detailing sensitive military secrets and schemed to thwart government efforts to get them back.

Trump appeared before a judge in Miami’s federal courthouse Tuesday in a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.

Trump aide Walt Nauta, who was indicted alongside the former president, did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

Authorities say Trump schemed and lied to block the government from recovering the documents concerning nuclear programs and other sensitive military secrets stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases and slammed the prosecutions as politically motivated. He’s expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP’S INITIAL APPEARANCE UNDERWAY

Trump’s initial court appearance is underway on charges that he mishandled classified documents.

Trump appeared Tuesday in Miami federal court with aide Walt Nauta, who is charged as a co-conspirator.

Authorities say Trump schemed and lied to block the government from recovering the documents concerning nuclear programs and other sensitive military secrets stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases and slammed the prosecutions as politically motivated. He’s expected to return later Tuesday to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP RODE TO COURT WITH HIS SON ERIC

Trump rode to court with his son Eric, who accompanied the motorcade from the former president’s Doral resort to the federal courthouse in Miami.

CNN aired footage of Trump walking to a line of SUVs with his son by his side while someone yelled, “Let’s go Trump!”

The former president could be seen stopping and waving at supporters, as well as chatting with staff members. Eric Trump appeared to clap his father on the back just before he climbed in a vehicle.

As he rode to court, Trump posted on his social media site that the case against him was a “witch hunt.”

Later, outside the courthouse Trump lawyer Alina Habba said, “Today is not about President Donald J. Trump, who is defiant.”

“It is not about the Republican Party, it is not about the 2024 election,” Habba added. “It is about the destruction of longstanding principles that have set this country apart.”

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TRUMP, AIDE BOOKED AT COURTHOUSE

Trump and an aide charged as a co-conspirator have gone through the formal booking process at the Miami federal courthouse.

That’s according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which said Trump and Walt Nauta had been booked shortly after they arrived Tuesday afternoon.

Both men are expected to appear at the defense table shortly on charges that they wrongly held onto classified documents.

The two men were seen arriving at court together.

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TRUMP ARRIVES AT MIAMI COURTHOUSE FOR HISTORIC APPEARANCE

Trump has arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami to formally surrender to authorities ahead of his court appearance on charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Trump’s motorcade arrived Tuesday afternoon at the courthouse shortly before he’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge, a stunning moment in American history days after he became the first former president charged with federal crimes.

It’s the second criminal case Trump is facing as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He’s also accused in New York state court of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying he’s being unfairly targeted by political opponents who want to hurt his campaign. After his court appearance, Trump will return to New Jersey, where he’s expected to hold a press event to publicly respond to the charges.

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TRUMP HEADS TO MIAMI COURTHOUSE FOR APPEARANCE

Trump is on his way to the federal courthouse in Miami to face dozens of charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents.

Trump departed his Doral golf course Tuesday afternoon en route to the courthouse, where he is expected to surrender to federal authorities and face a judge.

The former president is not expected to have his mugshot taken but will have his digital fingerprints taken.

Trump was indicted last week on 37 felony charges accusing him of willfully retaining classified documents and obstructing justice.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly gave final approval Tuesday to legislation that would prohibit local governments from adopting ordinances preventing the expansion of certain energy services based on fuel type — one of two energy bills the legislature could wrap up this week.

The measure — which runs counter to efforts in some other states to curb natural gas use and move toward electricity — next goes to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk following a House vote of 74-36.

The Senate approved the measure last week after adding language that lays out a process to decommission future utility-scale solar energy projects once they permanently cease production. The requirements would be developed by state regulators and must include a method to pay to end the project and restore the site.

Cooper vetoed a bill in 2021 that addressed restrictions on county and city governments to block certain energy categories. He said at the time it wrongly undermined the state’s transition to a clean energy economy and local authority. The affirmative vote margins for this year’s bill suggest that another Cooper veto could be overridden.

The latest bill also bars local ordinances that would prohibit the purchase, sale or installation of an appliance like a stove, oven or heater.

Separately, the legislature appears to be nearing final approval of a bill that would increase punishments for intentionally damaging utility equipment.

The bill, which cleared a House committee on Tuesday, was a direct response to substation shootings in Moore County last December that cut power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses for days. Final votes could come as soon as Wednesday.

The proposal would make it a high-grade felony to purposefully damage or attempt to damage an energy facility, including those that transmit or distribute electricity or fuel, and any associated hardware, software or digital infrastructure. It would partially replace an existing state law that makes utility damage a misdemeanor without jail time on a first offense. The measure, which passed the Senate unanimously in March, also would permit anyone injured or whose property is damaged by a utility attack to sue for monetary damages.

The investigation into the Moore County attacks is ongoing, said Sen. Tom McInnis, a bill sponsor who represents the area.

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The story has been corrected to show that the House vote was 74-36, not 74-38.

Bruce Zimmermann tossed his first Triple-A shutout, scattering six hits and striking out nine as the Norfolk Tides blanked the Worcester Red Sox 3-0 in the opener of a six-game series Tuesday night before 4,366 fans at Harbor Park.

It was the first complete-game shutout by a Tides pitcher since Zach Clark did it on Aug. 31, 2012, at Harbor Park.

The first-place Tides (44-19) snapped a two-game slide and increased their lead over Durham (36-28) to 8.5 games in the International League East.

Worcester (31-33) saw its four-game win streak come to an end.

The Baltimore Orioles optioned Zimmermann to Norfolk on Friday after he gave up four runs in three innings against the Milwaukee Brewers and saw his ERA rise to 7.20, but he bounced back in a big way. He improved to 3-3 with the Tides, matched his season high in strikeouts and threw 67 of his 94 pitches for strikes.

Lewin Diaz scored on Red Sox starter Jake Faria’s wild pitch in the third inning to give Norfolk the lead. Terrin Vavra added an RBI single in the fifth and Joey Ortiz hit a solo homer in the seventh. It was Ortiz’s fifth home run with the Tides.

Vavra had two of the Tides’ five hits and stole a base.

The two teams will play again at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday.

By MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)

Donald Trump made a first appearance in federal court in Miami on Tuesday facing 37 counts related to the mishandling and retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Here’s a look at the charges, the special counsel’s investigation and how Trump’s case differs from those of other politicians known to be in possession of classified documents:

WHAT HAPPENED IN COURT?

Trump’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for him, and the former president was released on his own recognizance without no bail. He will not have to surrender his passport or have his personal travel restricted.

He scowled at times during the 50-minute hearing, but was otherwise expressionless. He folded his arms, fiddled with a pen and crossed his fingers back and forth as he listened.

Trump leaned over to whisper to his attorneys before the hearing began but did not speak during the proceedings. He remained seated while his lawyer Todd Blanche stood up and entered the plea on his behalf. “We most certainly enter a plea of not guilty,” the lawyer told the judge.

Blanche objected to barring the former president from talking to witnesses, including his co-defendant, valet Walt Nauta, saying that they work for him and he needs to be able to communicate with them. After some back and forth, Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman said Trump cannot talk to them about the case except through his lawyers, but he can talk to them about their jobs.

Nauta was granted bond with the same conditions as Trump. He did not enter a plea because he does not have a local attorney. He will be arraigned June 27 before Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, but he does not have to be present.

Court records don’t indicate when the next hearing in Trump’s case will be.

Unlike Trump’s arraignment in New York, no photographs were taken because cameras aren’t allowed in federal court. There were, however, sketch artists, and theirs will be the only images from the actual courtroom appearance.

Security remained tight outside the building, but there were no signs of significant disruptions despite the presence of hundreds of protesters. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Fox News that there were no arrests or “major incidents.”

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER COURT?

Before heading to the airport, Trump’s motorcade took a detour to Versailles Restaurant in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, where a small crowd of supporters awaited him. Posing for photos and saying “food for everyone,” Trump commented briefly on his case.

“I think it’s going great,” he said. “We have a rigged country. We have a country that’s corrupt.”

Several religious leaders at the restaurant prayed over him for a moment.

Afterward, Trump flew back to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, where he gave a speech to hundreds of cheering supporters, many clad in red “Make America Great Again” hats.

“This day will go down in infamy,” Trump said, describing the federal prosecution against him as “the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country.”

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?

Trump faces 37 counts related to the mishandling of classified documents, including 31 counts under an Espionage Act statute pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information. The charges also include counts of obstructing justice and making false statements, among other crimes.

Trump is accused of keeping documents related to “nuclear weaponry in the United States” and the “nuclear capabilities of a foreign country,” along with documents from White House intelligence briefings, including some that detail the military capabilities of the U.S. and other countries, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege Trump showed off the documents to people who did not have security clearances to review them and later tried to conceal documents from his own lawyers as they sought to comply with federal demands to find and return documents.

The top charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

HOW DID THIS CASE COME ABOUT?

Officials with the National Archives and Records Administration reached out to representatives for Trump in spring 2021 when they realized that important material from his time in office was missing.

According to the Presidential Records Act, White House documents are considered property of the U.S. government and must be preserved.

A Trump representative told the National Archives in December 2021 that presidential records had been found at Mar-a-Lago. In January 2022, the National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Trump’s Florida home, later telling Justice Department officials that they contained “a lot” of classified material.

That May, the FBI and Justice Department issued a subpoena for remaining classified documents in Trump’s possession. Investigators who went to visit the property weeks later to collect the records were given roughly three dozen documents and a sworn statement from Trump’s lawyers attesting that the requested information had been returned.

But that assertion turned out to be false. With a search warrant, federal officials returned to Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 and seized more than 33 boxes and containers totaling 11,000 documents from a storage room and an office, including 100 classified documents.

In all, roughly 300 documents with classification markings — including some at the top secret level — have been recovered from Trump since he left office in January 2021.

DIDN’T PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE HAVE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, TOO?

Yes, but the circumstances of their cases are vastly different from those involving Trump.

After classified documents were found at Biden’s think tank and Pence’s Indiana home, their lawyers notified authorities and quickly arranged for them to be handed over. They also authorized other searches by federal authorities to search for additional documents.

There is no indication either was aware of the existence of the records before they were found, and no evidence has so far emerged that Biden or Pence sought to conceal the discoveries. That’s important because the Justice Department historically looks for willfulness in deciding whether to bring criminal charges.

A special counsel was appointed earlier this year to probe how classified materials ended up at Biden’s Delaware home and former office. But even if the Justice Department were to find Biden’s case prosecutable on the evidence, its Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that a president is immune from prosecution during his time in office.

As for Pence, the Justice Department informed his legal team earlier this month that it would not be pursuing criminal charges against him over his handling of the documents.

WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON?

In claiming that Trump is the target of a politically motivated prosecution, some fellow Republicans have cited the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 not to bring charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in that year’s presidential race, over her handling of classified information.

Clinton relied on a private email system for the sake of convenience during her time as the Obama administration’s top diplomat. That decision came back to haunt her when, in 2015, the intelligence agencies’ internal watchdog alerted the FBI to the presence of potentially hundreds of emails containing classified information.

FBI investigators would ultimately conclude that Clinton sent and received emails containing classified information on that unclassified system, including information classified at the top secret level. Of the roughly 30,000 emails turned over by Clinton’s representatives, the FBI has said, 110 emails in 52 email chains were found to have classified information, including some top secret.

After a roughly yearlong inquiry, the FBI closed the investigation in July 2016, finding that Clinton did not intend to break the law. The bureau reopened the inquiry months later, 11 days before the presidential election, after discovering a new batch of emails. After reviewing those communications, the FBI again opted against recommending charges.

At the time, then-FBI Director James Comey condemned Clinton’s email practices as “extremely careless,” but noted that there was no evidence that Clinton had violated factors including efforts to obstruct justice, willful mishandling of classified documents and indications of disloyalty to the U.S.

DOES A FEDERAL INDICTMENT PREVENT TRUMP FROM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

No. Neither the charges nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON (Associated Press)

MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump became the first former president to face a judge on federal charges as he pleaded not guilty in a Miami courtroom Tuesday to dozens of felony counts accusing him of hoarding classified documents and refusing government demands to give them back.

The history-making court date, centered on charges that Trump mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect, kickstarts a legal process that will unfold at the height of the 2024 presidential campaign and carry profound consequences not only for his political future but also for his own personal liberty.

Trump approached his arraignment with characteristic bravado, posting social media broadsides against the prosecution from inside his motorcade en route to the courthouse and insisting — as he has through years of legal woes — that he has done nothing wrong and was being persecuted for political purposes. But inside the courtroom, he sat silently, scowling and arms crossed, as a lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a brief arraignment that ended without him having to surrender his passport or otherwise restrict his travel.

The arraignment, though largely procedural in nature, was the latest in an unprecedented reckoning this year for Trump, who faces charges in New York arising from hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign as well as ongoing investigations in Washington and Atlanta into efforts to undo the results of the 2020 race.

Always in campaign mode, he swiftly pivoted from the solemn courtroom to a festive restaurant, stopping on his way out of Miami at Versailles, an iconic Cuban spot in the city’s Little Havana neighborhood where supporters serenaded Trump, who turns 77 on Wednesday, with “Happy Birthday.” The back-to-back events highlight the tension for Trump in the months ahead as he balances the pageantry of campaigning with courtroom stops accompanying his status as a twice-indicted criminal defendant.

Yet the gravity of the moment was unmistakable.

Until last week, no former president had ever been charged by the Justice Department, let alone accused of mishandling top-secret information. The indictment unsealed last week charged Trump with 37 felony counts — many under the Espionage Act — that accuse him of illegally storing classified documents in his bedroom, bathroom, shower and other locations at Mar-a-Lago and trying to hide them from the Justice Department as investigators demanded them back. The charges carry a yearslong prison sentence in the event of a conviction.

Trump has relied on a familiar playbook of painting himself as a victim of political persecution. He attacked the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case as “a Trump hater,” pledging to remain in the race and scheduling a speech and fundraiser for Tuesday night at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club.

But Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sought to insulate the department from political attacks by handing ownership of the case last November to a special counsel, Jack Smith, who on Friday declared, “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”

Smith attended Tuesday’s arraignment, sitting in the front row behind his team of prosecutors.

The court appearance unfolded against the backdrop of potential protests, with some high-profile backers using barbed rhetoric to voice support. Though city officials said they prepared for possible unrest, there were few signs of significant disruption.

Trump didn’t say a word during the court appearance, other than to occasionally turn and whisper to his attorneys who were seated on either side of him. He fiddled with a pen and clasped his hands on the table in front of him as the lawyers and the judge debated the conditions of his release.

While he was not required to surrender a passport — prosecutors said he was not considered a flight risk — the magistrate judge presiding over the arraignment directed Trump to not discuss the case with certain witnesses. That includes Walt Nauta, his valet who was indicted last week on charges that he moved boxes of documents at Trump’s direction and misled the FBI about it.

Nauta did not enter a plea Tuesday because he did not have a local lawyer with him.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche objected to the idea of imposing restrictions on the former president’s contact with possible witnesses, noting they include many people close to Trump, including staff and members of his protection detail.

“Many of the people he interacts with on a daily basis — including the men and women who protect him — are potential witnesses in this case,” Blanche said.

Trump, who has repeatedly insisted that he did nothing wrong, showed no emotion as he was led by law enforcement out of the courtroom through a side door.

Even for a man whose presidency and post-White House life have been defined by criminal investigations, the documents probe had long stood out both because of the volume of evidence that prosecutors had seemed to amass and the severity of the allegations.

A federal grand jury in Washington had heard testimony for months, but the Justice Department filed the case in Florida, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located and where many of the alleged acts of obstruction occurred.

Though Trump appeared Tuesday before a federal magistrate, the case has been assigned to a District Court judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who ruled in his favor last year in a dispute over whether an outside special master could be appointed to review the seized classified documents. A federal appeals panel ultimately overturned her ruling.

It’s unclear what defenses Trump is likely to invoke as the case moves forward. Two of his lead lawyers announced their resignation the morning after his indictment, and the notes and recollections of another attorney, M. Evan Corcoran, are cited repeatedly throughout the 49-page charging document, suggesting prosecutors envision him as a potential key witness.

In the indictment the Justice Department unsealed Friday most of the charges — 31 or the 37 felony counts — against Trump relate to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.

The indictment Friday accuses Trump of illegally retaining national security documents that he took with him from the White House to Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021. The documents he stored, prosecutors say, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” prosecutors say. He is accused of showing off some to people who didn’t have security clearances to view them.

Beyond that, according to the indictment, he repeatedly sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing Nauta to move boxes and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.

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Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Terry Spencer, Kate Brumback, Curt Anderson and Joshua Goodman in Miami, contributed to this report.

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More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

As the heart of the mid-Atlantic, Hampton Roads has key advantages for establishing offshore wind as a major sector, an economic development official said.

U.S. offshore wind represents a $109 billion revenue opportunity for businesses in the supply chain over the next decade, according to a 2021 report by the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind.

“We really have a generational opportunity to grow the economy of Virginia,” Matt Smith, the director of energy and water technology for Hampton Roads Alliance, said about that opportunity.

And the 2022-2024 state biennium budget allocated $2.5 million for small and medium-sized local businesses to enter the offshore wind industry, he said. A grant program related to that is expected to get up and running later this year.

Leaders in the offshore wind industry provided updates on local wind farm projects in a webinar hosted by RVA757 Connects on June 7. The discussion focused on Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project and Avangrid Renewables’ Kitty Hawk wind project.

Former Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act into law in 2020, which cleared the way for the construction of the new offshore wind farms. The act requires 40% of electricity in the state be produced from renewable energy sources by 2030, and 100% from carbon-free sources by 2050.

Dominion Energy has had two pilot turbines in use since October 2020, which are capable of powering about 3,000 homes, said Josh Bennett, Dominion Energy’s vice president of offshore wind.

His presentation noted the turbines are the first offshore wind project installed in federal waters. Full construction, which will include 176 wind turbines generating power, is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

The pilot turbines have been successful so far, Bennett said.

“The availability of those turbines is at 95% availability, which means that they’re reliable,” he said. “And that’s one of the big questions, which is, ‘Can you put something far out there in the salt and wind environment and it will be reliable?’ And they are doing quite well.”

Dominion Energy’s project is located 27 miles from Virginia Beach and is estimated to increase job growth, Smith said, most of which will be in Hampton Roads.

“The bigger goal for us as an economic development organization and in supporting the economy of Virginia is that study also found that if we could become a hub for offshore wind, we would support over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in Virginia,” he said.

Avangrid Renewables is also working toward the goal of making the region a hub for offshore wind energy. The company has proposed project developments off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina, said Megan Higgins, the company’s senior director of offshore business development.

The Kitty Hawk wind project recently submitted construction and operations plans and the first foundations went into the water earlier in June. The project, located 36 miles from Virginia Beach, has the potential to produce enough power for over 1 million homes, she said.

The project is also expected to have a major economic impact on the Hampton Roads region over the next decade, especially for Virginia Beach, with around 800 jobs created annually upon completion. It is also expected to generate an additional $100 million in tax revenues.

“The project will result in $2 billion in direct and indirect economic impacts to the regions, and that is from the construction spent, increase in household earnings due to the jobs created by the project and an increase in the taxes paid,” she said.

Gabby Jimenez, [email protected]