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House approves $14.5B in assistance for Israel as Biden vows to veto the GOP’s approach

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press Congressional CorrespondentWASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved $14.5 billion in military aid Thursday for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the war with Hamas but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President Joe Biden.In a departure from norms, Johnson’s package required that the emergency aid be offset with cuts in government spending elsewhere. That tack established the new House GOP’s conservative leadership, but it also turned what would typically be a bipartisan vote into one dividing Democrats and Republicans. Biden has said he would veto the bill, which was approved on a largely party-line vote.Johnson, R-La., said the Republican package would provide Israel with the assistance needed to defend itself, free hostages held by Hamas and eradicate the Palestinian terrorist group, accomplishing “all of this while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of t...

Chicago Bulls are excited for the NBA In-Season Tournament — and the new courts — even if they’re not sure how it works

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

The NBA designed its In-Season Tournament with the goal of bringing a new energy to the early months of the season.That goal has been accomplished in Chicago, where the Bulls are buzzing — with interest, at least — as they prepare for their tournament debut Friday against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center.“With 82 games, you almost look for something to get you up and ready every game,” guard Zach LaVine said. “This is just another opportunity to have some fun in the season. Obviously during those times you want to have a good game or put on a show — and win, obviously.”One detail particularly stirred up the Bulls locker room: the courts.Each team will have a new court design specifically for its In-Season Tournament games. The United Center court will be painted red from baseline to baseline with a white Bulls logo emblazoned at center court over the image of the tournament trophy.When the league revealed all of the court designs last ...

‘He was a good man’: Family of First Nations man question Winnipeg in-custody death

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

WINNIPEG — Loved ones of a First Nations man who died in police custody say officers failed to help him when he needed it most. Family and friends of Elias Whitehead, along with First Nations leaders in Manitoba and Ontario, held a news conference Thursday calling for changes to how police approach wellness checks. They also voiced concern about the force Winnipeg officers used while taking the 37-year-old into custody last month. “The police are supposed to keep people safe. They’re supposed to help people, but this wasn’t the case for Elias. Where was his help?” said Jody Beardy, Whitehead’s partner. “Elias was a good man. He was kind. He would help anyone who needed it, and he would befriend anyone.”Police have said officers were called to the West Broadway neighbourhood shortly before 11 p.m. on Oct. 15 after receiving reports of a man “in distress running into traffic and acting erratically.” Officers took him into custody, ...

MLB settles lawsuits from minor league teams, avoids possible antitrust challenge at Supreme Court

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball avoided a possible U.S. Supreme Court challenge to its antitrust exemption when it settled a federal lawsuit and two in New York State court filed by minor league teams who lost their big league affiliations.James W. Quinn, a lawyer for the teams who sued, said Thursday that a settlement had been reached in all three cases. Quinn said the terms of the settlement were confidential.MLB declined comment.MLB cut the minimum guaranteed minor league affiliation agreements from 160 to 120 in September 2020 and took over running the minors from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, which had been in charge since 1901.The parent companies of the Staten Island Yankees, Tri-City ValleyCats, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Norwich Sea Unicorns sued MLB in December 2021 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleging a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act caused by “a horizontal agreement between competitors that has artificially reduced and ...

US to send $425 million in aid to Ukraine, US officials say

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is expected to deliver $425 million in new military aid to Ukraine for its fight against Russia, including about $300 million in long-term funding to buy laser-guided munitions designed to take out drones, U.S. officials said Thursday.According to officials, the long-term money will be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds contracts for larger weapons systems that need to be either built or modified by defense companies. In addition, the Biden administration will send about $125 million in weapons and equipment through presidential drawdown authority, which pulls weapons from existing U.S. stockpiles. According to officials, the weapons will include munitions for High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), as well as artillery rounds, anti-tank missiles, demolition equipment and cold weather gear.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity becau...

Israel-Hamas war misinformation is everywhere. Here are the facts

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

Misinformation about the latest Israel-Hamas war is thriving on social media platforms, where misrepresented video footage, mistranslations and outright falsehoods often crowd out real reporting from the conflict. In recent weeks, users have pushed false claims that “crisis actors” are staging scenes of carnage and that U.S. Marines are flooding in to fight on the ground in Gaza.Here is a closer look at the latest misinformation spreading online — and the facts.___CLAIM: Yemen has declared war against Israel.THE FACTS: Yemen’s internationally recognized government has not declared war on Israel. Houthi rebels that control the country’s capital launched missiles at Israeli targets this week and threatened further attacks. But experts say the Iran-backed militia stopped short of declaring an all-out war against the Jewish state.Social media users are sharing a video of a a military leader dressed in combat fatigues speaking in Arabic, which they say shows Yemen has become the first re...

Experts call Connecticut city’s ‘mishandled ballots’ a local and limited case, but skeptics disagree

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

A judge’s order for a new primary in Connecticut’s largest city because of what he called mishandling of absentee ballots is fueling skepticism about the security of U.S. elections, as well as conspiracy theories involving the 2020 presidential election.But election experts contend what happened in Bridgeport — mayoral supporters captured on surveillance video dropping paper into outdoor ballot boxes — is unique to Bridgeport, a working class city of more than 144,000 that has a long history of problems with absentee ballots. At the very least, they said, it is pretty rare and shouldn’t be seen as evidence of widespread problems.“In Connecticut, this is a problem here and here alone,” longtime election law attorney Bill Bloss, who is representing the Democratic candidate who successfully challenged the outcome of the city’s mayoral primary, said Thursday when asked about the case fueling misinformation about former President Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat. ...

Toronto condo ceiling collapses with people inside. Residents are speaking out

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

A terrifying scenario at a new Toronto condominium at St. Clair West and Old Weston Road on Wednesday night after the roof of a small gym on the main floor collapsed with two people inside.Resident Daniel Sarunas and his girlfriend moved into their new condo in May, along with many others. On Thursday, they all woke up to witness the ceiling of the downstairs gym caved in, with debris scattered everywhere.“It’s already been enough of them sharing final closing costs… all that stuff. It’s stressful for anyone. Work has been stressful, and then to get this in the morning, it was not great,” Sarunas told CityNews.“There have been the usual challenges of pre-built, the little things here and there, but this was concerning, to say the least.”The images were shared in a private group chat on social media, along with information that a few people were using the gym when the ceiling collapsed, but no one was hurt — simply shocked that this hap...

A year out from the election, Biden’s strategy is to revive 2020 themes, drawing contrast with Trump

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year out from Election Day, President Joe Biden ’s reelection campaign is outlining a plan to retain the White House by framing the 2024 race around many of the same themes it used in 2020 — presenting a contrast with Donald Trump ‘s “Make America Great Again” movement stark enough to reenergize its winning coalition of supporters. In a strategy memo obtained by The Associated Press, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said her team is already looking beyond the Republican presidential primary to a general election “that will be very close.” But “the message Joe Biden ran on in 2020 remains popular with voters and central to this campaign.”“The president and vice president have a strong message that resonates with voters, a clear contrast with whoever the MAGA Republican Party nominates,” Rodriguez wrote. “This campaign will win by doing the work and ignoring the outside chatter — just like we did in 2020.”The memo is striking in how...

A pilot accused of threatening to shoot a commercial airline captain is an Air Force Reserve officer

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:40:53 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A pilot accused of threatening to shoot a commercial airline captain if they diverted their flight to give a passenger medical attention is an Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel who was relieved of command for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.Jonathan J. Dunn’s military service came to light in a Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office filing Thursday in which a judge was asked to delay his arraignment for 45 to 60 days to allow time for the U.S. military to bring Dunn back from overseas.Dunn was indicted Oct. 18 and charged with interfering with a flight crew over the alleged in-flight incident in August 2022. The Transportation Department’s inspector general had said Dunn threatened to shoot the captain during the disagreement over whether to divert because of the passenger’s medical issue.Dunn was afterward sent on orders to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, training to serve at the 603rd Air Operations Center. The Air Force has suspended his access to sensitive inform...