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Pennsylvania House battle hinges on Philadelphia suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats who reclaimed the Pennsylvania House majority in November and clung to a one-seat margin by sweeping three special elections earlier this year face yet another contest for control of the chamber next week, when voters will fill a vacancy in the Philadelphia suburbs.At stake in the Delaware County special election is whether freshman Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro will have at least one chamber to aid his agenda going into the final month of budget negotiations. The result could also affect a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights that legislative Republicans are one House vote away from putting before voters as a referendum.The seat became open when Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel resigned in March, a week after a lobbyist accused him by name of sexual harassment.A win by Republican candidate Katie Ford, a military veteran, school volunteer and behavioral therapist, would likely give the House GOP a 102-101 majority and the power to reclaim co...

Toll of northeast India clashes now 60 dead, 35K displaced

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Security measures are keeping the peace in a remote northeast Indian state where 60 people were killed and 35,000 civilians were displaced in rioting and ethnic clashes last week, officials said.Manipur state’s chief minister, N Biren Singh, told reporters late Monday that around 230 people were injured and about 1,700 houses were burned by protesters after fierce fighting broke out when members of tribal groups clashed with a non-tribal group over the economic benefits and reservation status extended to some tribes.Singh said thousands of civilians, escorted by security personnel, were now returning home after the situation was brought under control by police and army who patrolled the streets and enforced a curfew that is still in place. On Monday, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah told India Today news channel that the situation in Manipur was under control and appealed to the people to maintain peace. Violence in Manipur, which borders Myanmar, broke out las...

Pro-DeSantis super PAC ramps up hiring into Super Tuesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The super PAC promoting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to have dozens of staff in place in the first 18 states on the Republican presidential primary calendar in the coming weeks, a move indicating that his expected 2024 announcement is drawing closer.The plans, shared with The Associated Press, are part of the group Never Back Down’s strategy to begin political organizing for DeSantis all the way through Super Tuesday on March 5 and point to a novel approach the super PAC is attempting ahead of a likely DeSantis run. In Iowa, where the leadoff GOP caucuses are expected to begin the 2024 voting, the group has placed about a half-dozen staff, including the former chief of staff to Gov. Kim Reynolds, as part of a broader strategy to handle on-the-ground organizing for DeSantis, a function typically done by a candidate’s campaign staff.The concept has been tried in previous election cycles, though less ambitiously and with little success.Ahead of th...

Deal or default? Biden, GOP must decide what’s on the table

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before President Joe Biden and congressional leaders can even try to avert an unprecedented U.S. government default, their initial challenge on Tuesday will be to agree on what exactly they’re talking about as they hold their first substantive meeting in months.With the government at risk of being unable to meet its obligations as soon as June 1, raising the specter of potential economic calamity, Republicans are coming to the White House hoping to negotiate sweeping cuts to federal spending in exchange for allowing new borrowing to avoid default. Biden, on the other hand, is set to reinforce his opposition to allowing the country’s full faith and credit to be held “hostage” to negotiations — and to affirm his willingness to hold talks on the budget only after default is no longer a threat.The chasm between these diametrically opposite postures is fomenting uncertainty that is already roiling financial markets and threatens to turn into a tidal wave that swamps the...

Stock market today: Asia shares trade mixed ahead of reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares traded mixed Tuesday as investors took a wait-and-see view on the week ahead that’s full of reports on some of the market’s biggest worries, including stubbornly high inflation across the economy. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% in morning trading to 29,141.93. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 7,258.80. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.4% to 2,503.80. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3% to 20,241.95, while the Shanghai Composite edged up nearly 0.2% to 3,399.98. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1% to 4,138.12, coming off its worst week in nearly two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 33,618.69 while the Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to 12,256.92. A strong reading on U.S. jobs, which calmed worries about a possible recession but raised concerns about high inflation, and fears about smaller and mid-sized banks dominated the previous week. Weighed down by much higher interest ra...

In dog show world, details obvious and subtle rule the day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Doe-eyed dachshunds, push-faced French bulldogs and other nonsporting breeds circle the hallowed rings. A bracco Italiano receives a jowl massage. Spaniels get blow-dried. Everyone is prepping — lovingly, meticulously — for a hoped-for big moment. With more than 3,000 dogs competing this week at the annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show, one of the world’s most prestigious, sometimes it’s a competitor’s confident gait or self-possessed gaze that sets it apart from the pack.“Like all things, beauty is subjective,” said Ann Ingram, who traveled from Cork, Ireland, to New York City to judge several events. “A dog’s attitude in the ring can help. If the dog loves itself, you can tell. He kind of has that attitude of, you know, ‘I’m a winner.’” In short: There are the obvious characteristics — the quantifiable ones — and then there are the intangibles. The show is being held this year on the 40-acre (16-hectare) grounds of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, wh...

Jury to start deliberations in suit accusing Trump of rape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury in New York City is set to begin deliberations Tuesday in a civil trial over advice columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claims that Donald Trump raped her in a luxury Manhattan department store in 1996.U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan will read instructions on the law to the nine-person jury for about an hour before jurors begin discussing the civil claims of battery and defamation.If they believe Carroll, jurors can award compensatory and punitive damages. Trump, who did not attend the trial, has insisted he never sexually assaulted Carroll or knew her.Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told the jury in closing arguments Monday that Carroll’s story is too far fetched to be believed. He said she made it up to fuel sales of a 2019 memoir where she first publicly revealed her claims and to disparage Trump for political reasons.Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, cited excerpts from Trump’s October deposition and his notorious comments on a 20...

Trump forum a big test for CNN, moderator Kaitlan Collins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s town hall forum on CNN on Wednesday is the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign — and a gigantic test for the chosen moderator, Kaitlan Collins.Both sides of the political divide expressed suspicion when the CNN forum at New Hampshire’s St. Anselm College was announced last week. Some Democrats question whether the former president should be given the airtime, while Republicans wonder if a network Trump has long disparaged can be fair.Once it begins, Collins must give audience members the chance to ask questions while determining when to step in with her own. She’ll weigh how to correct misinformation in a potentially hostile environment: Invited town hall participants are those who expect to vote in a Republican primary.“It’s a balance beam and it can be walked,” said Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief now at George Washington University. “We’re going to see if Kaitlan is worthy of...

O'Fallon family basement damage due to the city's sewer backup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

O'FALLON, Mo. - When a family from O'Fallon in St. Charles County returned home to find their entire basement swamped with raw sewage and human waste, it was a nightmare.It was because of a backup in the city’s main sewer, which had apparently become clogged with tree roots and other materials.The struggle for the family is that they can’t get much help. Their house was declared a biohazard. They had to relocate to a hotel for three weeks with two children, one of whom is a four-year-old with special needs. The cleanup cost $10,000, and another $7,000 was needed to replace floors and walls. The cost kept rising.It’s been heartbreaking for Rylee Rooneo and her husband, Jason."Now, the city is telling us that they’re not liable even though they’ve had our lateral scoped, and it’s 100 percent not on us," she said. "They agree with us that there’s nothing that we could have done to prevent this. They’re saying that it’s deemed an act of God because we have to prove that they knew about ...

Lakers rally past Warriors 104-101, take 3-1 series lead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:36 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lonnie Walker scored all of his 15 points in a phenomenal fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied late to take a 3-1 series lead with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 on Monday night.LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who moved to the brink of an improbable trip to the Western Conference finals with their eighth consecutive home victory since March.Los Angeles overcame Stephen Curry's third career postseason triple-double down the stretch largely because of Walker, who has made a seismic impact in returning to the Lakers' rotation in this series after the former starter was stuck on the bench in recent weeks.Walker went 6 for 9 in the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:53 to play. Curry’s layup with 1:05 left trimmed the Lakers’ lead to one point, but Curry missed a long jumper and a 3-point attempt on Golden State’s next possession before ...