MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government sent 25,000 troops to Acapulco after the resort was hit by Hurricane Otis on Oct. 25, but apparently that hasn’t stopped the violence this week.
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Lai Ching-te is Taiwan’s president-elect who has vowed to safeguard the Asian island’s de-facto independence from China and further align it with other democracies. The 64-year-old Lai emerged victorious in an election Saturday on the island of 23 million people that China claims as its own. He is vice president with the Democratic Progressive Party which has rejected China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan. Lai vowed on Saturday night that Taiwan would “continue to walk side by side with democracies... Читать дальше...
Two U.S. Navy SEALs are missing after doing a nighttime boarding mission off the coast of Somalia, according to two U.S. officials. In a statement Saturday U.S. Central Command said that search and rescue operations are currently ongoing to locate the two sailors. The command said it would not release additional information on the incident until the personnel recovery mission is complete. The mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing U.S. and international mission to provide... Читать дальше...
The Buffalo Bills’ wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers that was scheduled for Sunday has been moved to Monday amid a forecast for dangerous winter weather. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other officials said they were making the change for safety’s sake. Officials advised residents to stay off the roads starting at nightfall on Saturday, with a driving ban taking effect at 9 p.m. The game will now be played at Highmark Stadium at 4:30 p.m. Monday instead of 1 p.m. Sunday.
Ruling-party candidate Lai Ching-te has emerged victorious in Taiwan’s presidential election and his opponents have conceded. Beijing strongly opposes Lai and the result will determine the trajectory of relations with China over the next four years. While domestic issues such as the sluggish economy and expensive housing also featured prominently in the campaign, Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party’s appeal to self-determination, social justice and rejection of China’s threats ultimately won out. Speaking after his victory... Читать дальше...
Iowa's brutal winter weather is making an unrepresentative process even less representative. The subzero temperatures, icy roads and life-threatening wind chills may keep some Republican caucusgoers home on Monday. But only a tiny slice of the state even takes part in the kickoff to the GOP presidential nominating process, anyway. The state's population is whiter, more rural and evangelical than the rest of the nation. As Iowa has become a firmly Republican state, the two major parties have diverged on their nominating schedules... Читать дальше...
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate two crashes involving Florida’s Brightline train that killed three people at the same railroad crossing on the high speed train’s route between Miami and Orlando. The crashes happened Wednesday and Friday at a crossing along the U.S. 1 corridor in Melbourne, on Florida’s Atlantic coast, where the high speed train passes through on its daily routes to and from South Florida. Since Brightline launched the 160-mile extension that links South Florida and Orlando in September... Читать дальше...
President Joe Biden can make an increasingly strong case that he’s helped fix inflation, if only he can get voters to believe him. Figures issued this past week reflected a historic level of progress on battling high prices, hinting that inflation could be near the Federal Reserve’s 2% target around the time of November’s election. Current and former aides say that Biden is eager to do still more to bring down inflation, after a price surge in 2021 and 2022 crushed his public approval ratings in... Читать дальше...
Some of the most contested real estate for Iowa’s Republican caucuses is a vast, wind-swept plain where hogs outnumber people by the millions. Northwest Iowa is the evangelical Christian heart of conservative Iowa. Both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis have invested in appealing to politically influential evangelicals in the region. Republican candidates in Iowa aren’t talking as much about abortion rights, due in part to concerns that the issue is a winning one for Democrats. But many voters and pastors... Читать дальше...
Winter sport enthusiasts are heading to ski resorts and backcountry slopes ahead of the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. But a massive winter storm that dumped snow across much of the western U.S. also brought a high risk of avalanche conditions. The first reported U.S. avalanche death of the season happened Wednesday in California. And on Thursday, two men were rescued and a third died after they were caught in an avalanche in Idaho. To stay safe, people who enjoy activities in the snowy... Читать дальше...
The expansive version of free speech long accepted in American society is facing more forceful competition than it has seen in a century. On college campuses, a newer version of free speech is emerging as young generations redraw the line where expression crosses into harm. Their version has no tolerance for speech leading to physical or psychological harm. The Israel-Hamas war and its rhetoric appear to be widening the fault lines and pushing students to demand that university leaders take a side between clashing versions of free speech. Читать дальше...
In a new twist in the abortion access fight, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule that they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counseling centers. The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for needy Americans to so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which counsel against abortions. Millions in federal funding currently flow to the organizations through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, a... Читать дальше...
Just a few months after he took office, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a moratorium to halt federal executions — a stark contrast after his predecessor carried out 13 in six months. Under Garland’s watch and a president who vowed to abolish the death penalty, the Justice Department took on no new death penalty cases. That changed Friday as federal prosecutors said they would seek capital punishment for a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket. The decision doesn’t change the halt on federal executions... Читать дальше...
As communities nationwide are preparing to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this weekend, some will take a cue from the civil rights icon’s history of protest amid the war in Gaza and a looming presidential election. Monday also marks 100 days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that killed some 1,200 and led to roughly 240 being taken hostage. Since then, more than 100 Israelis remain kidnapped and more than 23,000 Palestinians have died in Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Читать дальше...
Forecasters say brutally cold weather could prove a deadly challenge this weekend as a continuing wave of Arctic storms hammers much of the country with blinding snow, freezing rain and whipping winds. Governors from New York to Louisiana have declared states of emergency ahead of predicted snow and subzero temperatures. In St. Louis, the National Weather Service warned of rare and “life-threatening” cold. The fierce weather has forced GOP presidential nominees to shuffle their schedules in Iowa, the leadoff caucus state. Читать дальше...
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Starbucks in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over workers who were trying to unionize a store in Memphis, Tennessee. Starbucks fired seven employees in Memphis in February 2022, citing safety. But the labor board intervened and asked a federal judge to require Starbucks to reinstate the workers. The judge agreed and Starbucks rehired the workers. But Starbucks appealed, saying federal courts have used different standards to determine when to grant injunctions to the NLRB. Читать дальше...
Fox News has stopped running MyPillow commercials in a payment dispute with chief executive and election denier Mike Lindell. Fox says it would be happy to accept MyPillow ads again once their account is paid. Losing Fox was just the latest in a series of financial and legal setbacks for Minnesota-based MyPillow and Lindell, who continues to propagate former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen. Lindell acknowledges that MyPillow owes Fox. He puts the amount at $7.8 million... Читать дальше...
The Los Angeles police chief has announced he is retiring. Chief Michel Moore made the unexpected announcement Friday. His tenure will end in February. Moore has been chief since 2018. He had been reappointed last year for a second term as chief to begin planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The department has faced several controversies during Moore’s time. He has been a police officer for more than four decades. Moore says he and his wife plan to move closer to their out-of-state daughter. Читать дальше...
Three of the nation’s biggest banks say their profits fell last quarter. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup have been dealing with the lingering effects of higher interest rates and the industry costs of last year’s banking crisis that caused the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. But setting aside the turbulence of the banking panic, the banks had a mostly strong 2023 driven by a resilient job market, a U.S. consumer who continues to spend and not fall behind on their debts despite the impact of inflation... Читать дальше...
A Vermont state trooper is being praised for plunging into a frigid pond and saving the life of an 8-year-old girl who had fallen through the ice while playing with siblings. Police say the girl and her younger sister fell through the thin ice on the pond on private property in Cambridge on Dec. 17. The 80-year-old homeowner was able to pull the younger girl to shore but couldn’t reach the older one, so called 911. Police say Trooper Michelle Archer arrived less than five minutes later. She pulled a rope and flotation device from her cruiser... Читать дальше...
The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $1.75 million to an innocent man who spent 35 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of sexual assault. Louis Wright was released in November after authorities said DNA tests ruled him out as the perpetrator. The attack on an 11-year-old girl in the small Michigan town of Albion happened in 1988. The Cooley Law School Innocence Project says there was no signed confession and the victim was never asked to identify Wright. Michigan makes people exonerated... Читать дальше...
