A look at the 'squad' that Trump targeted in racist tweets

They're all women of color. Every one of them is an American citizen. And of the four members of the self-styled "squad" duly elected to the House of Representatives, only one was born outside the U.S.

In racist tweets over the weekend, President Donald Trump almost certainly was referring to this group of liberal House freshmen whose elections in 2018 helped return the chamber to Democratic control. Among Trump's tweets: "Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came."

Trump defended the tweets Monday and suggested the Democrats leave the country if they have complaints. Condemnation poured in from Democrats and — slowly — a selection of Republicans.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., left, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., center, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., right, gather their things following the adjournment of a House Oversight Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2019, on White House counselor Kellyanne Conway's violation of the Hatch Act. (AP PhotoSusan Walsh)

Here's a look at the lawmakers Trump referenced:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, 29

The Bronx-born former bartender is the charismatic star of the class of 2018, winning her seat in a primary and turning her massive social media following into a measure of power on Capitol Hill.

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, has clashed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over the influence of newcomers. She's also been conspicuously courted by some of the party's many presidential candidates, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

To Trump, she tweeted:

"Mr. President, the country I 'come from,' & the country we all swear to, is the United States."

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, 36

Omar was a child when her family fled civil war in Somalia, an African nation of about 12 million, after it was shattered by a civil war in 1991. She spent years in a refugee camp in Kenya and immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 1995. Omar became eligible for citizenship five years after the family entered.

Omar became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

In the House, she has repeatedly run up against more senior Democrats over her remarks about Israel and what she said was the need to question the Jewish state's influence in Washington.

To Trump, she tweeted:

"The only country we swear an oath to is the United States. Which is why we are fighting to protect it from the worst, most corrupt and inept president we have ever seen."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, 42

The Detroit native is the first Palestinian American elected to the House. She and Omar are the first Muslim American women to serve in the chamber.

And like Omar, Tlaib made a name for herself almost immediately after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled the new session of Congress into session in January. That night, Tlaib was videotaped talking to a liberal group — saying of Trump: "We're gonna impeach the motherf---er."

No such effort is underway even now, in large part because Pelosi and other Democrats don't see bipartisan public sentiment for doing so.

To Trump, Tlaib tweeted:

"Keep talking, you just make me work harder. I'm proud of my Palestinian roots & a WEAK bully like you never wins."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, 45

A Cincinnati native raised in Chicago, Pressley worked for Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy and worked for John Kerry for 13 years while he served in the Senate.

In 2009, she ran for an at-large seat on Boston City Council and became the first woman of color elected to the body in its 100-year history.

Of Trump's tweets, she responded:

"THIS is what racism looks like. WE are what democracy looks like. And we're not going anywhere. Except back to DC to fight for the families you marginalize and vilify everyday."

Follow Kellman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.

While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death — which came soon before the Russian president's reelection — or directly ordered it, according to the official.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Soon after Navalny’s death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.

At the time, Biden said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny but that “there is no doubt” that his death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician and Putin’s most persistent foe, died Feb. 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.

He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

Russian officials have said only that Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.

In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin won a landslide reelection for a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.

The Wall Street Journal first reported about the U.S. intelligence determination.

FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, in February of 2024. An official says the U.S. intelligence community has found "no smoking gun" that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death or directly ordered it. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)