Turkey’s parliament ratifies Finland’s NATO membership

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

By Suzan Fraser | Associated PressANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s parliament on Thursday ratified Finland’s application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic country’s long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.All 276 lawmakers present voted in favor of Finland’s bid, days after Hungary’s parliament also endorsed Helsinki’s accession.“This will make the whole NATO family stronger & safer,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter in welcoming Turkey’s action.Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment and applied to join the alliance.Full unanimity is required to admit new members into the 30-member alliance, and Turkey and Hungary were the last two NATO members to ratify Finland’s accession.Sweden’s bid to join the alliance, meanwhile, has been left hanging, with both Turkey and ...

Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit to lay off 85% of staff

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

By Jackie Wattles | CNNVirgin Orbit — the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — is laying off the vast majority of its workforce as company leadership struggles to secure additional funding.About 675 employees will be terminated by April 3, according to a public document filed Thursday, amounting to around 85% of Virgin Orbit’s workforce. The move was made to “reduce expenses in light of the Company’s inability to secure meaningful funding.”The news was reported earlier by CNBC. Virgin Orbit spokespeople declined to comment beyond the filing.On March 15, Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart had told nearly all of the company’s staff to cease operations, placing them on a week-long furlough as the rocket company worked to secure additional funding.The public document filed Thursday stated that the company will incur about $15 million in charges related to the decision to cease operations, including “$8.8 million in severance payments...

Democrats hail, Republicans blast Trump indictment

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

The indictment of former President Trump by a Manhattan grand jury rocked Capitol Hill on Thursday, with Democrats hailing the decision and Republicans blasting what they described as a political witch hunt.“The indictment of a former president is unprecedented. But so too is the unlawful conduct in which Trump has been engaged,” tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who served as lead impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial. “A nation of laws must hold the rich and powerful accountable, even when they hold high office. Especially when they do. To do otherwise is not democracy.”Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the House Judiciary Committee and an ally of Trump, summed up the Republican reaction in a one-word tweet: “Outrageous.”“The unprecedented election interference from corrupt Socialist District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a political witch-hunt and a dark day for America,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference and the o...

No decision for deGrom in rough Rangers debut vs Phillies

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacob deGrom had a rough debut for the Texas Rangers.The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches Thursday and finished with seven strikeouts.But while he was throwing plenty of strikes, as he did during nine outstanding seasons with the New York Mets, the right-hander gave up five runs and six extra-base hits over 3 2/3 innings against the NL champion Philadelphia Phillies in the season opener.The Rangers’ prized addition — deGrom signed a $185 million, five-year contract as a free agent in December — still avoided a loss in his first start with his new team. Texas’ bats bailed him out after he exited, scoring nine times in the fourth against Aaron Nola and two Phillies relievers.Nola also allowed five runs over 3 2/3 innings in his sixth and maybe last opening-day start for the Phillies. The 29-year-old right-hander is going into the final year of his contract, and discussions about an ...

Florida Senate OKs easier path to imposing death penalty

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate on Thursday passed a bill repealing a law requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for the death penalty, a reaction to the life sentence handed to the man who massacred 17 people at a Parkland high school.The bill passed on a 29-10 vote and will allow the death penalty with a jury recommendation of at least 8-4 in favor of execution. The House still needs to approve the bill. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis supports the proposal.The bill was proposed after a divided 9-3 jury spared Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz in November from capital punishment for killing 17 at the school in 2018. The Parkland school shooter instead received a life sentence. “What happened in Parkland was abhorrent. What happened in Parkland was a tragedy that will forever stain this state,” said Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, the bill sponsor. “That verdict shocked the conscience not only of the people of Parkland, not only the people in Fl...

Guardians complete deals with All-Star 2B Giménez, Stephan

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians locked up two more key players to long-term contracts before opening another season.The AL Central champions signed All-Star second baseman Andrés Giménez to a seven-year contract and completed a four-year deal with reliever Trevor Stephan on Thursday before facing the Mariners in their first game of 2023.Giménez’s $106.5 million deal, which was previously reported by the AP, runs through the 2029 season and includes a $23 million club option for 2030. Stephan’s contract goes through 2026 and includes club options for 2027 and 2028.“It was special. I told my wife, my mom, my grandma, and they were they were extremely happy,” Giménez said. “That was one moment we were expecting, not this soon, but we were kind of ready. The excitement was a lot.”The 24-year-old Giménez was one of the league’s best all-around players last season, batting .297 with 17 homers and 69 RBIs while winning a Gold Glove. Giménez, who finished sixth in M...

Bill to criminalize help for Idaho minors’ abortions passes

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that would criminalize helping minors obtain an abortion without parental consent won final passage in Idaho’s legislature on Thursday and is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little. The measure would be the first of its kind in the U.S. It seeks to restrict travel by creating the crime of “abortion trafficking” and would bar adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor or “recruiting, harboring or transporting the pregnant minor” without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian. Anyone convicted of breaking the law would face two to five years in prison, and could also be sued by the minor’s parent or guardian. Parents who raped their child would not be able to sue, though the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion would remain in effect. To sidestep violating a constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho’s law would make illegal only the in-state segment of a trip to an out-of-s...

52 years after capture, orca Lolita may return to Pacific

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — More than 50 years after the orca known as Lolita was captured for public display, plans are in place to return her from the Miami Seaquarium to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, where a nearly century-old, endangered killer whale believed to be her mother still swims.An unlikely coalition involving the theme park’s owner, an animal rights group and an NFL owner-philanthropist announded the agreement during a news conference Thursday.“I’m excited to be a part of Lolita’s journey to freedom,” Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said. “I know Lolita wants to get to free waters.”Lolita, also known as Tokitae, was about 4 years old when she was captured in Puget Sound in summer 1970, during a time of deadly orca roundups. She spent decades performing for paying crowds before falling ill. Last year the Miami Seaquarium announced it would no longer stage shows with her, under an agreement with federal regulators. Lolita — now 57 years old and 5,000 po...

San Diego County supervisor to resign after assault lawsuit

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 21:50:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The chair of San Diego County’s board of supervisors said he will resign amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a government employee, completing a swift and shocking fall for a decorated Marine combat veteran whose star rose with his Democratic Party’s ascendancy in the nation’s eighth-largest city. Nathan Fletcher, who defected from the Republican Party in 2013, was elected to a second term with 65% of the vote in November, two years after Democrats won a board majority that eluded their grasp for decades. Fletcher, 46, was the face of the San Diego region’s muscular response to COVID-19 at daily news conferences. He became half of San Diego’s most powerful political couple after his 2017 marriage to Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, a well-known liberal Democratic state assemblywoman who became a top California labor leader last year. Fletcher’s progressive positions and telegenic presence made him a solid favorite to succeed another prominent California politician,...