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DeSantis set to announce for president on Twitter with Musk

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce his presidential bid Wednesday night alongside Elon Musk.DeSantis will launch his campaign on Twitter Spaces, an audio platform, according to NBC News and Fox News, which first reported the event. The conversation with Musk will be moderated by businessman David Sacks. Various reports have it happening at either 6 p.m. or 7 p.m.Nick Iarossi, a Tallahassee lobbyist who’s been an adviser and fundraiser for DeSantis since he first ran for governor, confirmed in a text message that DeSantis will announce his candidacy with the billionaire owner of Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla.Musk retweeted the NBC story posted on Twitter.The campaign will reportedly also unveil a launch video at the same time.The South African-born Musk first said in 2022 he was leaning toward supporting DeSantis for the Republican nomination. DeSantis joked at the time, “I welcome support from African Americans.”Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, had a sarcastic resp...

Appeals court ruling deals legal setback to Biden administration in gun stabilizing brace case

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court dealt a legal setback to the Biden administration on guns Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging tighter regulations on stabilizing braces, an accessory that has been used in several mass shootings in the U.S. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s rule from going into effect for the gun owners and groups who filed the lawsuit. The order came shortly before a deadline that would have required people to register stabilizing braces and pay a fee, or remove the braces from their weapons.The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives finalized the rule earlier this year after finding the accessories make pistols as dangerously powerful and easy to conceal as short-barreled rifles or sawed-off shotguns, weapons that have been highly regulated since the days of Al Capone. The rule was quickly challenged by gun-rights groups that argued it violated Sec...

Trump, appearing by video, warned that violating protective order in hush money case could lead to sanctions

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

By Josephine Stratman and Larry McShane, New York Daily NewsJudge Juan Merchan warned former president Donald Trump Tuesday that he needed to stick to the terms of a protective order limiting what he can say about the Stormy Daniels hush money case or risk sanctions — including the possibility of a contempt citation.Responding to concerns from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Merchan imposed a protective order on Trump and his team to block them from talking about evidence or witnesses in the case on social media. Tuesday’s hearing was held to review that order.“Violating the court order may result in sanctions,” Merchan told Trump, who appeared in the NYC courtroom via video.Trump was visibly perturbed at times during the short appearance. Appearing on a massive screen wearing a red tie with blue and white stripe, Trump was seated next to his lawyer, Todd Blanche, who told Merchan that Trump was concerned his first amendment rights were being violated as...

1 dead, 1 wounded in downtown shooting

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- One person was killed and another wounded in a downtown shooting Tuesday afternoon, according to San Diego police.The shooting occurred near the San Diego Central Library on Park Boulevard.Police have not disclosed the condition of the wounded victim or if there is a suspect in the incident at this time. It is not known if there are any additional victims in the shooting.There are street closures near the library. Police are asking the public to avoid the area.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Mitt Romney faces new challenger in GOP primary for Utah Senate seat

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs announced plans to run for U.S. Senate next year and challenge first-term Republican Mitt Romney in what could emerge as a competitive primary battle in the deeply conservative state.Romney, 76, has not yet announced whether he plans to seek reelection, but his transformation from 2012 presidential candidate to a recurring critic of President Donald Trump has led many to believe Trump could be vulnerable in next year’s Republican primary.“The only thing I’ve seen him fight for are the Establishment, ‘wokeness,’ open borders, impeaching President Trump and putting us even deeper into debt,” Staggs says in an announcement video that highlights Romney’s votes to impeach Trump.Staggs, 49, is one of several candidates expected to run to the right of Romney and, in the announcement, brands the incumbent as a “Massachusetts millionaire” who moved to Utah. After a career in securities trading, Staggs was elected mayor...

Toddler shot by stray bullet at Utah day care while playing outside

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

SPANISH FORK, Utah (AP) — A 2-year-old boy was shot in the head by a stray bullet while playing outside at day care in Utah, the facility’s owner and authorities said Tuesday.Spanish Fork police believe the bullet came from a pellet or air gun shot from a farming field across the street west of the facility, Lt. Clay Slaymaker said. There are currently no suspects, but a bullet hole could be seen through the vinyl fence that wraps the play area where the incident occurred.Lane Mugleston, the owner of Leap Ahead Daycare, confirmed that the shooting happened at his facility in Spanish Fork. He said two employees were outside when one near the toddler noticed him suddenly stumble, bleeding from the face, while kids played in the fenced-in area outside the day care on Monday afternoon. Nobody heard the shots at the facility, which is in a light industrial area near an airport, he said.“We’re absolutely dumbfounded. And we pray for the family and hope that the doctors are able to d...

Guam residents shelter, military sends away ships as Super Typhoon Mawar closes in

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration as an intensifying Super Typhoon Mawar approached Guam, where anyone not living in a concrete house was urged to seek safety elsewhere and emergency shelters began to fill ahead of what could be the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in decades.Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero said on social media that the declaration will support the mobilization of resources into Guam, which is “especially crucial given our distance from the continental U.S.” Guerrero ordered residents of coastal, low-lying and flood-prone areas of the territory of over 150,000 people to evacuate to higher elevations.Federal assistance will be needed to save lives and property and “mitigate the effects of this imminent catastrophe,” Guerrero said in a letter to the president requesting a “pre-landfall emergency” for Guam. Officials warned residents who aren’t in fully concrete structures — some homes on the far-flung island are ma...

Social media star and influencer Tinx really wants you to take her advice and live your best life

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

“I need you to not wait three weeks for that loser to text you back when he’s not going to,” said Christina Najjar, best-known to her social media followers and podcast listeners as Tinx, in an interview over Zoom.This is classic Tinx. She’ll cut to the chase and believes honesty is the best policy. “I am a Virgo, so therefore I think I know best for everyone,” she said with a smile. “I’m always trying to give people tips. That’s always been a role that’s natural for me.”Tinx is putting her skills to good use with her first book called “The Shift: Change Your Perspective, Not Yourself” (Simon & Schuster), which she describes as “Tinx 101. A baseline, a starter pack for me and my theories and way of thinking.”She says it’s filled with personal anecdotes and life lessons she learned, particularly in her twenties. Topics include self-love, empowerment, mental health, sex and dating. Tinx first started posting videos on TikTok during the pan...

Canada has highest household debt level in G7: CMHC deputy chief economist

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada has the highest level of household debt in the G7, making its economy vulnerable to a global economic crisis, according to the country’s housing agency.In an analysis published Tuesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. deputy chief economist Aled ab Iorwerth said that the country’s household debt has been rising “inexorably” due to rising home prices. Mortgages currently make up about three-quarters of household debt in Canada. While household debt made up 80 per cent of the size of the overall Canadian economy during the 2008 recession, it rose to 95 per cent in 2010 and exceeded its size in 2021, he noted.“By contrast, household debt in the U.S. fell from 100 per cent of GDP in 2008 to about 75 per cent in 2021,” wrote ab Iorwerth. “While U.S. households reduced debt, Canadians increased theirs and this will likely continue to increase unless we address affordability in the housing market.”Over the same period of tim...

Federal government pledges $5M to Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:53:47 GMT

VANCOUVER — The Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver has received about $5 million in new federal funding ahead of its opening on July 1.Federal International Trade and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng says the new funding will go toward renewal of the museum’s permanent space at the Wing Sang Building in Vancouver’s Chinatown, as well as supporting the facility’s first exhibit.Ng made the funding announcement on the sidelines of the U.S.-Canada Chinatown Cultural Preservation and Revitalization Conference, which is hosting representatives from 18 Chinatowns from across North America.Ng says efforts such as the museum and the conference are key to keeping a crucial part of North American history alive and to allow people to “appreciate the diversity of our society.”The museum will feature an exhibition titled “The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act,” with the July 1 opening date coinciding with the centennial of the passing o...