What to know about the latest trial involving Amanda Knox

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Seventeen years after she was accused of killing her British roommate, Amanda Knox returned to an Italian court to hear the outcome of a slander charge that has stuck long after she was exonerated of the murder.

Knox was reconvicted of slander Wednesday for wrongly accusing an innocent man of the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher when the two were exchange students in Italy.

She had hoped to remove the last legal stain against her as she appeared at an Italian tribunal for the first time since she was freed in 2011 after spending four years in prison for Kercher's killing.

Despite a murder conviction against a man whose DNA and footprints were found at the scene, and a 2015 high court verdict definitively clearing Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, doubt about her role has persisted. That is especially true in Italy, among members of Kercher’s family and for the innocent man she accused, Patrick Lumumba.

Here is a glance at the key details in the case:

Knox was a 20-year-old student who had recently arrived in the university town of Perugia to study when her British roommate, Kercher, was found dead in her bedroom in the apartment they shared with two Italian roommates on Nov. 2, 2007.

The murder grabbed worldwide attention as suspicion fell on Knox and Sollecito, with whom she had been involved for just about a week. Headlines dubbing her “Foxy Knoxy” circled the globe, fueled by sensational images of her and Sollecito in a tender moment outside the murder scene and in a store buying undergarments for Knox, whose apartment had become a crime scene.

Knox and Sollecito were convicted in their first trial but after another round of flip-flop verdicts, they were ultimately exonerated by Italy’s highest court in 2015.

Knox was accused of slandering Lumumba, the Congolese bar owner who employed her part-time, based on two statements typed by police that she signed during a long night of questioning just days after the killing. She tried to walk back her story in a four-page handwritten note the next afternoon, but the memo showed her confusion as she attempted to reconcile the signed police statements with her own conflicting recollections.

During her first trial, Knox said police pressure led her to initially accuse an innocent man, a statement she repeated Wednesday before the Florence appeals court. The slander conviction and three-year sentence remained until the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Knox’s rights had been violated during questioning without a lawyer or qualified translator.

Based on that ruling, Italy’s highest court threw out the conviction last November and ruled the two statements typed by police were inadmissible. It ordered a new trial, stipulating the court examine only Knox's handwritten statement for elements to support slander.

Patrick Lumumba was the Congolese bar owner who employed Knox part time. He was arrested and held as a suspect in the murder, based on the overnight interrogation of Knox, and despite her handwritten statement later walking back her accusation. Due to the notoriety in the case, Lumumba left Italy and is living in eastern Europe with family. Lumumba joined the current prosecution as a civil party, as is allowed by Italian law, and continues to believe Knox had a role in the murder.

Rudy Hermann Guede was convicted of Kercher’s murder in a fast-track trial that foresees a lesser sentence. A drifter who was living in Perugia, Guede was arrested in Germany where he fled after the murder. He initially told a friend in a wiretapped call that Knox had nothing to do with the crime, but after being returned to Italy, he blamed Knox and denied involvement. He was released from prison in 2021 after serving 13 years of a 16-year term that included a ruling that he did not act alone. Guede was recently ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet and not leave his home at night after an ex-girlfriend accused him of physical and sexual abuse. An investigation was ongoing.

Meredith Kercher was a 21-year-old student from the University of Leeds who was embarking on a year of study in Perugia, living in a rented flat with Knox and two Italian roommates. Friends, who called her “Mez,” described her as “calm, sweet and shy.” The youngest of four children, she grew up on the outskirts of London. She was last seen on the evening of Nov. 1 having dinner with British friends at a nearby apartment. Kercher’s partially nude body was found Nov. 2 with her throat slashed beneath a duvet in her locked bedroom.

Knox returned to the United States after an appeals court threw out her first conviction in 2011, following four years behind bars. While she hoped to resume her life as a college student, she was dogged by public scrutiny as her legal cases continued in Italy.

Now 36 and a mother of two small children, Knox campaigns for criminal justice reform and against forced confessions, drawing on her experience. She has a podcast with her husband and a new limited series based on her best-selling book in development for Hulu that includes Monica Lewinsky among the executive producers. She also has recorded a series on resilience for a meditation app, and is an aspiring comedian, recently posting a routine on Instagram riffing on motherhood.

Lumumba's lawyer Carlo Pacelli speaks with reporters after the hearing at the Florence courtroom in Florence, Italy, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself "once and for all" of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Amanda Knox arrives flanked by her husband Christopher Robinson, left, at the Florence courtroom in Florence, Italy, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself "once and for all" of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Amanda Knox arrives at the Florence courtroom in Florence, Italy, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself "once and for all" of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Amanda Knox arrives at the Florence courtroom in Florence, Italy, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself "once and for all" of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

FILE - American exchange student Amanda Knox, left, and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito outside the rented house where 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher was found dead in Perugia, Italy, Nov. 2, 2007. Amanda Knox is expected to appear in person in an Italian court to defend herself in a slander case that has the potential to remove the last legal stain against her, following her exoneration nine years ago in the 2007 murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher. (AP Photo/Stefano Medici, File)

FILE - This combination of three file photos shows: from left, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, slain British woman Meredith Kercher and her American roommate Amanda Knox. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday June 5, 2024, for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself ‘once and for all’ of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese citizen who was originally jailed for the murder of Meredith Kercher, leaves the court building on the occasion of the final hearing before the third court verdict for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, in Florence, Italy, Jan. 30, 2014. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday June 5, 2024, for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself ‘once and for all’ of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Raffaele Sollecito listens to his father Francesco Sollecito, right, during a press conference in Rome, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday June 5, 2024, for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself ‘once and for all’ of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca, File)

FILE - Amanda Knox, center, is escorted by Italian penitentiary police officers to Perugia's court, in Italy, Sept 26, 2008. Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom Wednesday June 5, 2024, for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself ‘once and for all’ of a slander charge that stuck even after she was exonerated in the brutal 2007 murder of her British roommate in the idyllic hilltop town of Perugia. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is tasked with helping states and communities hit by disasters like Hurricane Helene.

With Helene hitting during the homestretch of an election year, the agency has been criticized by some residents and politicians, like Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who have questioned its response and are spreading false information that its funding is going to migrants or foreign wars.

The Biden administration has defended FEMA's work and says it has the money it needs to help communities right now.

President Joe Biden does say the agency will need more cash in the future. In a letter late Friday to congressional leaders, he wrote that “while FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has the resources it requires right now to meet immediate needs, the fund does face a shortfall at the end of the year.” He also called on lawmakers to act quickly to restore funding to the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program.

There are a lot of misperceptions about FEMA's role in disaster recovery, what it does — and does not — pay for and what residents in hurricane-hit areas can expect.

Here's a closer look:

FEMA has an operating budget and a disaster relief fund. The fund gets replenished every year by Congress and is used to pay for recovery from hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other disasters. FEMA also pays for rebuilding from past disasters and for projects designed to protect communities against future calamity.

“This is kind of like the emergency account for the country,” said Samantha L. Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Congress recently replenished the fund with $20 billion — the same amount FEMA got last year. About $8 billion of that is set aside for recovery from previous storms and mitigation projects.

The federal government doesn't help with every disaster — it generally has to be above the ability of a community or state to handle. In that case, the governor or tribal authority asks the president for an emergency declaration.

Once declared, FEMA assistance varies widely. Public assistance — which is a lot of what it pays for — is geared toward reimbursing governments for debris removal or rebuilding roads, public buildings and more.

FEMA also has individual assistance, designed to help residents. This can include one-time payments for emergency needs up to a trailer for someone who lost their house.

When there is warning — like with hurricanes — FEMA coordinates with state and local governments about what they need and can pre-position supplies like tarps or water in areas likely to be most affected. FEMA also has search-and-rescue teams.

But experts stress that the federal agency isn't in charge of the entire process.

“Everybody thinks that FEMA just comes in right after the disaster and starts managing the entire disaster. And that’s just not the case,” said Brock Long, who was FEMA administrator from 2017 to 2019.

Trump accused FEMA of spending all its money to help immigrants in the country illegally, while other critics assert that the government spends too much on foreign funding for Israel or Ukraine.

“FEMA absolutely has enough money for Helene response right now,” said Keith Turi, acting director of FEMA's Office of Response and Recovery, noting the $20 billion from Congress.

FEMA called Trump's accusations “completely false.”

The agency administers the Shelter and Services Program, which gives money to reimburse cities, towns or organizations for immigration-related expenses. But that comes from a separate pot of money funded by Congress for Customs and Border Protection. FEMA gives out the money, but it doesn’t come from the disaster relief fund.

Congress also separately funds foreign military aid.

There are long-term funding concerns for FEMA, however.

Turi said the agency was already working to make what's called a “supplemental” funding request to Congress before Helene hit. In the storm's wake, it's clear they'll need even more money, he said.

Both Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees FEMA, and Biden have sounded the alarm about more money needed in the future.

Speaking from a Georgia pecan farm devastated by Helene, Biden said the supplemental funding could not wait: “People need help now.”

FEMA seeking extra money is not uncommon. Long said he had to go back to Congress three times during his tenure for more cash.

A 2022 Congressional Budget Office report said that most of the money that goes to the disaster relief fund actually comes in these supplemental requests. Extra money that's needed varies depending on the disaster, but the report noted that “a small number of those disasters account for a disproportionate share of total spending.”

The disaster assistance fund sometimes runs low in late summer before Congress passes a new budget. When that happens, FEMA shifts to what's called “immediate needs funding.” That means the agency stops paying out for previous disasters and conserves its money for life-saving missions during any new ones.

When the disaster relief fund is replenished — like what just happened last week — then money will flow again to longer-term projects.

“Honestly, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done to streamline it and rethink, 'How can a disaster relief fund ... be set up in a manner where the FEMA administrator is not constantly having to ask for supplemental funding?” Long said.

No. It’s important to know not just what FEMA does, but what it doesn't do, especially for individuals.

One claim floating around after Helene is that disaster survivors only get $750 from FEMA. That figure refers to help that the agency can give someone in an affected area for what they might need immediately, like clothing or food, Turi said.

From there, the agency can provide other things like money for a storage unit, medical bills or rental assistance depending on the situation.

For homeowners, the first line of defense is always insurance. Those who don't have insurance or not enough can turn to FEMA, but the maximum amount someone can get to rebuild is $42,500. That's a far cry from what is needed to fix severe damage or rebuild completely.

“This is one of the kind of major problems FEMA has in terms of how the public understands their role and responsibility,” said Montano, the professor. “FEMA does not make anybody whole after a disaster happens. They are not going to give you enough money to completely recover your life.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris prepares for a briefing at FEMA headquarters, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Washington, on recovery and assistance efforts after Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after speaking at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, right at podium, speaks during a media briefing on the government response to Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina while Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, center, and others listen at the state Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)

President Joe Biden talks with Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)