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Nebraska governor signs 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

By MARGERY A. BECK and JOSH FUNK (Associated Press)LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a bill Monday that bans abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care for people younger than 19.The abortion ban takes effect immediately, while the ban on gender-affirming care takes effect on Oct. 1. The hybrid measure ties together restrictions that Republicans have pursued across the U.S.Pillen called the law “the most significant win for social conservative agenda in over a generation of Nebraska” before he signed the law while holding a 5-day-old baby as his two oldest granddaughters stood next to him.“It’s about protecting our kids and saving babies. Pure and simple,” Pillen said. Opponents have promised to sue to try and block the law. The head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, Mindy Rush Chipman, said in a statement that “every option is on the table to undo these regres...

Biden, McCarthy to meet on debt ceiling, time to ‘get moving’ to resolve standoff

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are to meet late Monday at the White House at a pivotal moment as Washington works to strike a budget compromise and raise the nation’s borrowing limit in time to avert a potentially chaotic federal default. McCarthy told reporters midday at the Capitol that “decisions have to start being made” since “we’re 10 days out” from the deadline.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that as soon as June 1 the U.S. could start running short of cash to pay the nation’s bills. A default would be damaging for many Americans and people the world over relying on U.S. stability, sending shockwaves through the global economy.“We have to spend less next year than we spent this year,” McCarthy, R-Calif. reiterated and pointed to the House’s spending cuts as the “framework” for a deal.&#...

After active shooter reported at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts State Police does not find any threats, no injuries reported

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

After police swarmed St. John’s Prep in Danvers on Monday for a report of an active shooter on campus, Massachusetts State Police did not immediately find any threats and no injuries were reported.Some students fled the campus following the report of a person with a gun.School officials believe they were the victim of a “swatting” hoax call.“Earlier this afternoon there was a report of an active shooter on campus at Benjamin Hall,” St. John’s Prep wrote on its website. “Danvers and State police reported to campus and the school entered an enhanced lockdown protocol.“We believe that St. John’s was the victim of a Swatting call,” the school added. “Everyone is safe, there have been no injuries and police are currently clearing campus buildings as we account for all students.”Massachusetts State Police troopers and Danvers Police officers responded to the school for a report of a person with a gun at around 1:49 p....

Russia TV celebrates as it reports the capture of Bakhmut, comparing it to Berlin in 1945

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

By DASHA LITVINOVA and SAMYA KULLAB (Associated Press)TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian TV went into a full frenzy of celebration as it reported Moscow’s capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. There were comparisons to the Red Army liberating Berlin in 1945, congratulations relayed from President Vladimir Putin and announcers emphasizing the victory by using the city’s nearly century-old Soviet name of Artyomovsk.“The myth that Artyomovsk is an unassailable fortress has been crushed,” an anchor said Sunday night on Channel One, Russia’s most popular state broadcaster. “Those are historic events.”A report from the smoldering city in eastern Ukraine followed, showing Russian fighters yelling “Victory!” and placing two flags — the Russian tricolor and the black flag of the private military contractor Wagner — atop a tall, partly destroyed building.The flags were mounted “so that everyone could see them,̶...

Recipe: Antipasto Pasta Salad perfect for Memorial Day weekend (or anytime)

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

A holiday weekend is coming up! Here’s a quick and easy dinner for the weekend, or anytime. It’s based on an antipasto platter that usually contains cured meats, olives, cheese, assorted pickles and vegetables. Thinking of these ingredients, I created a quick and easy pasta salad. You can use other cured meats and vegetables that you like. Use this recipe as a guide for quantities. The salad can be made a day ahead. Refrigerate it and bring to room temperature before serving.Helpful hintsLook for reduced-sodium ham and smoked turkey breast at the deli counter.You can use any type of short cut pasta such as bowtie or penne.CountdownPlace water for pasta on to boil.Prepare all ingredients.Boil pasta.Assemble the salad.Shopping listTo buy:1 container corkscrew pasta1 bottle balsamic vinegar1/4 lb. sliced lean deli ham1/4 lb. sliced reduced-sodium smoked turkey breast1 small container pitted black olives1 can/jar roasted red peppers1 jar pepperoncini1 piece Parmesan cheese1 tomato1 bunc...

New search for Madeleine McCann, UK toddler missing since 2007, Portuguese police confirm

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

LISBON (AP) — Portuguese police have said they will resume searching for Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who disappeared in the country’s Algarve region in 2007, in the next few days.Portugal’s Judicial Police released a statement confirming local media reports that they would conduct the search at the request of the German authorities and in the presence of British officials.Earlier on Monday, police were seen erecting tents and cordons in an area by the Arade dam, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Praia da Luz, where the 3-year-old was last seen alive.British, Portuguese and German police are still piecing together what happened when the toddler disappeared from her bed in the southern Portuguese resort on May 3, 2007. She was in the same room as her 2-year-old twin brother and sister while her parents had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.In mid-2020, Germany’s police identified Christian Brueckner, a 45-year-old German citizen who was in the Algarve in 2007, as ...

Florida sued over new law blocking Chinese citizens, other foreigners from buying property

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A group of Chinese citizens living and working in Florida sued the state Monday over a new law that bans Chinese nationals from purchasing property in large swaths of the state.The law applies to land near military installations and other “critical infrastructure” and also affects citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. But Chinese citizens face the harshest restrictions.The law “will codify and expand housing discrimination against people of Asian descent in violation of the Constitution and the Fair Housing Act. It will also cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a press release announcing the suit.The suit says the law unfairly equates Chinese people with the actions of their government and there is no evidence of national security risk from Chinese citizens buying Florida pro...

Minnesota Legislature puts final touches on $72B budget as Democrats celebrate successes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature was putting the final touches on a $72 billion state budget Monday as Democrats celebrated enacting an ambitious agenda that ranged from protecting abortion rights, to providing more resources for education, to legalizing marijuana.The big tax bill of the session, which cleared its final test Sunday evening, included $3 billion in tax cuts, including modest one-time rebates from the state’s $17.5 billion budget surplus. But lawmakers also approved tax increases to provide ongoing funding for long-term initiatives like transportation improvements and a new paid family and medical leave program.Lawmakers faced an adjournment deadline of midnight on Monday night. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz called it “clearly the most successful legislative session” in many Minnesotans’ lifetimes.Democrats, who control both the House and Senate for the first time in eight years, regularly describe the legislation...

Rick Hummel, longtime St. Louis baseball writer known as ‘The Commish,’ dies at 77

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

Rick Hummel, who covered the Cardinals for five decades for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and who is enshrined in the writer’s wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, has died.The Post-Dispatch reported that Hummel — known as “The Commish” by friends, players, managers, even baseball commissioners — died Saturday after a short, unspecified illness. He was 77.Hummel was born in 1946 in Quincy, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1968. He was hired at the Post-Dispatch in 1971, joining the baseball beat two years later. He chronicled three Cardinals’ World Series championships, seven National League pennants and six MVP seasons.Hummel received the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award in 2006, placed by his peers in the writers’ wing in Cooperstown. He said in his speech that the honor was “more than just a dream come true because I never could have dreamt this.”Sixteen years after that, Hummel wa...

Pakistan re-arrests Imran Khan’s key associate amid crackdown on his followers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:59 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani authorities Monday arrested a key associate of former Prime Minister Imran Khan just hours after she was released from custody as authorities pressed on with a crackdown on Khan’s supporters. Shireen Mazari, who served as rights minister under Khan during his 2018-2022 term in office, was arrested last Thursday in the capital, Islamabad, on charges of inciting people to violence. She was released Monday on a court order but was again taken into custody hours later.Mazari has been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s military and the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.Authorities began a crackdown after Khan supporters attacked public property and military installations following his arrest this month.Mazari’s daughter, Imaan Mazari, had petitioned a high court, arguing that her mother’s arrest was unlawful. She said the Lahore High Court ordered...