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

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 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 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 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 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 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 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 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 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 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 Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 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...

Nebraska pipeline opponent, Indonesian environmentalist receive Climate Breakthrough awards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A political leader and oil pipeline opponent from the U.S. Midwest and an environmentalist from Indonesia have been named this year’s recipients of grants awarded annually by a nonprofit climate-action organization in San Francisco.Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and the founder of pipeline opposition group Bold Nebraska, is the third U.S. recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Award, which is named after the organization. Gita Syahrani, who recently led organizations seeking to accelerate sustainable development in Indonesia, is that country’s second recipient. Climate Breakthrough announced the awards on Wednesday in a news release. Kleeb and Syahrani will each receive a $3 million grant, as well as separate funding for fundraising, legal and communications support and other efforts. Eligible awardees may also receive a $600,000 matching grant toward the end of the three-year grant period to attract additional funding and further su...

Head of Canadian banking at Scotiabank Dan Rees departing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 GMT

TORONTO — Scotiabank’s head of Canadian banking is leaving after a 25-year career at the financial institution.The bank says Dan Rees is leaving to pursue other opportunities.Scott Thomson, president and CEO, thanked Rees for his work at Scotiabank, noting that under his leadership, the bank launched its loyalty program Scene+. Rees will be replaced effective Friday by Aris Bogdaneris. Bogdaneris joined Scotiabank earlier in 2023 to oversee the company’s Tangerine business, as well as global marketing, customer insights, data and analytics and real estate.Thomson says Bogdaneris has a proven track record of delivering scale and growth in retail banking. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:BNS)The Canadian Press

Judge sets rules for research on potential jurors ahead of Trump’s 2020 election interference trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump on Thursday ordered those involved in the case not to disclose possible jurors’ names as she set rules around conducting research into potential members of the jury. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said potential jurors will be brought to the courthouse in Washington on Feb. 9 to fill out a questionnaire that will help the sides narrow down the jury pool ahead of trial, which is scheduled to begin on March 4. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team had raised concerns about what Trump might do with research on possible jurors, citing the former president’s “continued use of social media as a weapon of intimidation in court proceedings.”Trump’s lawyers said in response that the former president “has no intention of publicizing the names or other contact information of jurors.” Chutkan said in her order on Thursday that while prosecutors and the defense can do op...

Following an Israeli airstrike, crowded Gaza hospital struggles to treat wounded children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:49:57 GMT

BUREIJ REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (AP) — The gray film covering the faces of children rushed to Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza Thursday made it hard to distinguish between the living and the dead.After two Israeli airstrikes flattened an entire block of apartment buildings in the Bureij refugee camp and damaged two U.N. schools-turned-shelters, rubble-covered Palestinians big and small arrived at a hospital too packed to take them.Tiny, motionless bodies lay flat against the hospital’s hard floor. A small boy bled out onto the tiles as medics tried to staunch the flow from his head. A baby lay next to him with an oxygen mask strapped on — covered in ash, his chest struggled to rise and fall. Their father sat beside them.“Here they are, America! Here they are, Israel!” he screamed. “They are children. Our children die every day.”More than 3,700 Palestinian children and minors have been killed in just under a month of fighting, and bombings have driven more than half the territory’s 2...