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Speaker nominee Scalise tries to sway skeptical GOP colleagues as his chief rival urges party unity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nominated to be House speaker, Rep. Steve Scalise is heading straight into a familiar Republican problem: Skeptical GOP colleagues are reluctant to give their support, denying him the majority vote needed to win the gavel.The House opened its Thursday session at midday in anticipation of floor action to elect a speaker, but quickly gaveled to a recess. Scalise must peel off more than 100 votes, mostly from those who backed his chief rival, Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman favored by hard-liners, as lawmakers dig in for a fight to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy after his historic ouster from the job. No votes were scheduled.“Time is of the essence,” McCarthy said when he arrived at the Capitol.Asked if it was still possible for Scalise, R-La., to find enough support, McCarthy said: “It’s possible — it’s a big hill, though.” The House is entering its second week without a speaker and is essentially unable to function, so the pressure is on R...

US announces evacuation flights for Americans who want to leave Israel as war with Hamas rages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced that the U.S. government will begin operating evacuation flights to help Americans leave Israel as Israel prepares to escalate retaliatory action against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.The evacuation flights are expected to begin Friday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. The U.S. government is arranging for at least four charter flights a day out of Israel, according to people familiar with the planning.The announcement came as the White House confirmed that the death toll in the fighting now includes at least 27 Americans. The war has claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last Saturday.Fourteen U.S. citizens in Israel remain unaccounted for. The White House has said a “handful” of Americans are among the dozens of people that Hamas took hostage.There are still some commercial carriers flying in and out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, and ground routes...

Sen. Menendez is accused of being an unregistered agent of Egypt’s government in updated indictment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey faced a new charge Thursday that he conspired to act as an agent of the Egyptian government, a remarkable accusation against a Democrat who had a powerful role in U.S. policy as head of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee.The superseding indictment, filed in Manhattan federal court, accuses Menendez of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to register with the U.S. government if they act as “an agent of a foreign principal.” As a member of Congress, Menendez was prohibited from being an agent of a foreign government.The new charge comes just weeks after Menendez and his wife were accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen who wanted the senator’s help and influence over foreign affairs. The new indictment said the conspiracy occurred from January 2018 to June 2022, when Menendez was alleged to have “promised to take and took a series o...

Student ‘attacked and stabbed’ outside Scarborough high school: Police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

A Scarborough high school student was injured after being stabbed outside of school on Thursday. Toronto police were called to David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute in the Midland Avenue and Lawrence Avenue East area at 1:30 p.m. for reports of a stabbing.Authorities said a student was “attacked and stabbed” outside the school. Two suspects were arrested at the scene.It’s unclear how serious the injuries are. More to come

Wisconsin Republican leader won’t back down from impeachment threat against Supreme Court justice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly refused to back down on Thursday from possibly impeaching a newly elected liberal state Supreme Court justice over her refusal to step aside in a redistricting case, even after two former conservative justices advised him against the unprecedented move.“No, absolutely not,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said when asked at a news conference if impeachment of Justice Janet Protasiewicz was off the table.“If they decide to inject their own political bias inside the process and not follow the law, we have the ability to go to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Vos said, “and we also have the ability to hold her accountable to the voters of Wisconsin.”The Wisconsin Democratic Party said the comments are a signal that Republicans are backing off from impeaching Protasiewicz “by moving the goalposts in an effort to save face.”Vos first floated the possibility of impeachment in August after Protasiewicz called the Republican-drawn legisl...

Indigenous leader of Guatemalan protests says they are defending democracy after election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — One of the leaders of the nationwide protests against efforts to undermine Guatemala’s elections that have paralyzed much of the country’s commerce for nearly two weeks is a young one-time law student who now heads up one of the country’s most important Indigenous organizations.While Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei tries to draw President-elect Bernardo Arévalo into a dialogue aimed at ending the protests, Luis Pacheco says that it isn’t Arévalo’s call to make and that Giammattei could end them by meeting their demands.Guatemala has been roiled throughout much of this year’s election cycle and even a resounding victory by Arévalo in August did not calm it. The academic and former diplomat ran on a platform of battling corruption that observers say has unnerved Guatemala’s entrenched power structure.This month’s protests have been the largest public display rejecting the administration’s questioning of the election. Protesters have peacefull...

Live updates | Day 6 of the latest Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

The Israeli government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas after its militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and killed hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.In the Gaza Strip, meanwhile, residents are facing ever-growing uncertainty after the territory’s only power plant ran out of fuel and shut down Wednesday. Without power, communication is limited and information is scarce. Egypt has engaged in intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point, which remained closed on both sides Thursday. However, Egypt pushed back against proposals to establish corridors out of Gaza, saying an an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.The war, which has claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. Here’s what’s happening on Day 6 of the latest Israel-Hamas wa...

Crane removes famous tree by Hadrian’s Wall in England that was cut down in act of vandalism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A crane on tracks removed large sections of a much-loved and often-photographed tree Thursday from the place near the Roman landmark of Hadrian’s Wall in northeastern England where the sycamore was cut down two weeks ago in an apparent act of vandalism.The National Trust, which seeks to protect England’s heritage and natural landscapes, said it was necessary to move the downed tree to protect the delicate and now-damaged wall and to make the site safe again for visitors.The stump, which could generate new shoots, will be kept in place and is currently behind a protective barrier. Seeds also were collected to see if they could be used to propagate new saplings.Though the 50-foot-long (15-meter-long) tree was too big to move in one piece, experts hope that relocating the trunk in large sections will provide opportunities for preserving it. “We’ve explored every option for moving the tree, and while it isn’t possible to lift it in one go, as the tree is multi-stemmed with...

Saskatchewan government tables school pronoun bill, invokes notwithstanding clause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

REGINA — The Saskatchewan government has tabled legislation and the notwithstanding clause to prevent children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent.A judge granted an injunction at the end of September pausing the Saskatchewan Party government’s pronoun policy.Premier Scott Moe pledged the same day to recall the legislature early to put the policy into legislation and invoke the notwithstanding clause. The clause is a rarely used provision that allows governments to override certain sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for up to five years.Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said Thursday he was pleased to table the parents’ bill of rights act.“Parents should always be involved in important decisions involving their children,” Cockrill said in a news release.Opposition NDP house leader Nicole Sarauer said the bill tramples on the rights of children“Here’s a government willing to call a sitting in an ...

Judge hears arguments from TikTok and content creators who are challenging Montana’s ban on app

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:22 GMT

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — TikTok and Montana faced off in federal court on Thursday in a case filed by the video sharing app and five Montana content creators who want the court to temporarily block the state’s ban on the platform before it takes effect Jan. 1. Attorneys for TikTok and the content creators argued that the state has gone “completely overboard” in trying to regulate TikTok and is essentially trying to implement its own foreign policy over unproven concerns that TikTok might share user data with the Chinese government. Christian Corrigan, the state’s solicitor general, said Montana’s law was less a statement of foreign policy and rather addresses “serious, widespread concerns about data privacy.”U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said he would rule on the motion for a preliminary injunction as quickly as possible.In May, Montana became the first state in the U.S. to pass a complete ban on the app, based on the argument that the Chinese government could gain access to user ...