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GOP-led Wisconsin Senate votes to fire nonpartisan official targeted by 2020 election skeptics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Thursday to fire the battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, prompting a legal challenge from Democrats who say the vote was illegitimate.Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a lawsuit that Senate Republicans don’t have the authority to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe and accused them of attacking the state’s elections.It’s the latest in a whirlwind of deep partisan divisions in Wisconsin, where Republicans who control the Legislature are threatening to impeach a newly elected Supreme Court justice before she’s even heard a case. They’re also floating plans to overhaul the state’s electoral maps before the high court can toss out current boundaries that favor the GOP.The fight over who will lead the elections agency stems from persistent lies about the 2020 election and creates instability ahead of the 2024 presidential ra...

Megyn Kelly welcomes Donald Trump for an interview 8 years after he erupted over her debate question

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Donald Trump sat down with Megyn Kelly for a satellite radio interview that aired on Thursday, it was a long way — in time and circumstance — from their most memorable encounter in the summer of 2015.That was when Kelly, then a Fox News star, infuriated the future president at a GOP debate with a question about his treatment of women. He bitterly attacked her after the debate, and his supporters joined in, leaving her worried about threats.Kelly, who later worked at NBC News, is now resurrecting her career as a journalist-commentator, with a podcast that was picked up as a two-hour weekday show on SiriusXM satellite radio. Sirius last week announced it had signed Kelly to a deal that extends through the 2024 election and beyond.Do the bad feelings linger?“All that nonsense between us,” Kelly said this summer, “is under the bridge.”It seemed that way through the mostly friendly, occasionally challenging interview taped this week at Trump’s Bedminster, New J...

Thirty Seconds to Mars returns with a new album that Jared Leto says will ‘surprise’ a lot of people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Thirty Seconds to Mars is back with a new clutch of songs born from the pandemic and collected under a very long title. “It’s the End of the World But It’s a Beautiful Day” is exactly what it sounds like — optimistic, despite the doom.“I really feel like it represents where we’re at as a planet, as a people,” says Jared Leto, who formed the band with his brother, Shannon. “You keep waiting for crazy to be over. But there’s just one more day. And sometimes it’s easy to forget that life is full of promise and hope and beauty.”Despite its long title, the band’s sixth studio album is filled with shorter songs than usual and with a sound that tries to veer away from their typical anthemic, soaring sound.“We’re not shy about things,” says Leto. “But this album was different. We really challenged ourselves to do as little as possible. We wanted there to be a focus on the vocal and really to allow what is there to be felt and heard.”The resulting 11-track album is heav...

3 people from Canada sickened in botulism outbreak in Bordeaux, France

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

OTTAWA — The Public Health Agency of Canada says three Canadian residents have fallen ill from a botulism outbreak in Bordeaux, France. They’re among 10 people who have suspected botulism after eating sardines prepared and served at Tchin Tchin Wine Bar in an area popular among tourists.One of the patients, who was not from Canada, has died. The food was eaten between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10. The public health agency says there could be more cases, including among Canadians travelling in France, because symptoms of botulism can take up to eight days to appear. It says anyone who ate at the wine bar during that time should self-monitor and get immediate medical care if they have symptoms including nausea, vomiting, constipation, blurred or double vision, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth or difficulty breathing.   The Tchin Tchin Wine Bar is located close to the Rugby World Cup 2023 fan zone. Botulism is a rare but serious disease caused by bacteria that produce a toxin. It is spre...

2 pedestrians struck by vehicles in Scarborough crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

Toronto police say two pedestrians have been hospitalized after they were struck by vehicles that crashed in Scarborough on Thursday.The extent of their injuries is not currently known.It happened at Victoria Park Avenue and Huntingwood Drive at around 4:12 p.m.A black sedan and white SUV were involved.Road closures are in effect and police are warning drivers to avoid the area.COLLISION: UPDATE:Victoria Park Ave and Huntingwood Dr4:12 pm-two pedestrians have been transported to hospital-avoid the area, road closures in effect#GO2151449^lm— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) September 14, 2023

GOP candidate’s wife portrays rival’s proposed pay raise for school personnel as unfeasible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Makenze Cameron, the wife of Republican gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron, dismissed the Democratic governor’s proposal for an 11% pay raise for public school personnel as unfeasible as she promoted her husband’s education plan during a campaign appearance Thursday.Speaking at a “Moms for Cameron” event in Kentucky’s largest city, Makenze Cameron chatted about motherhood, her husband, her faith and the frenzy of the campaign. She also delved into issues — especially pertaining to education, having formerly taught school for seven years.Gov. Andy Beshear and state Attorney General Daniel Cameron have presented competing education plans, staking out positions on an overarching campaign issue. Cameron pledged to boost starting teacher pay, saying the ripple effect would lift salaries for other teachers as well. Beshear upped the ante by proposing an 11% pay raise for teachers and all public school personnel, including bus drivers, janitors an...

As the nation fixates on a Pennsylvania manhunt, a DC murder suspect is on the run and off the radar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — While the nation has been transfixed by the two-week manhunt for escaped prisoner Danelo Souza Cavalcante in Pennsylvania, another fugitive drama has been playing out in the nation’s capital with comparatively minimal attention. Christopher Haynes has been on the run for a week, since escaping from police custody at George Washington University Hospital on Sept. 6. Haynes, 30, had been arrested earlier in the day on murder charges relating to an Aug. 12 shooting in the district. His escape prompted a several-hour shelter-in-place order last week for the entire GW campus and brief roadblocks on nearby streets.Cavalcante, a 34-year-old Brazilian national who was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, was captured Wednesday morning in southeastern Pennsylvania after an extended pursuit that received wall-to-wall live coverage. Haynes is still at large and awaits a trial.The contrast between the two manhunts has been stark: while the national media has tracked...

Captured fugitive tells officials he planned to head to Canada or Puerto Rico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

They caught him just in time.After eluding a police dragnet in southeastern Pennsylvania for two weeks, escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante could sense authorities were closing in. He knew he had to make a break for it or face capture. So he formulated a plan: The 34-year-old fugitive would carjack someone within 24 hours and try to flee to Canada or Puerto Rico.But there would be no car, no ride to the border, no way out.Cavalcante — dirty and wet and hiding in thick underbrush — was captured by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection tactical team Wednesday morning. The team’s search dog, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Yoda, bit him on the scalp and then latched onto his leg as Cavalcante, still armed with a rifle he’d stolen a few days earlier, made one last futile effort to crawl away.Hours later, inside a Pennsylvania State Police barracks, the Brazilian national, speaking in Portuguese through an interpreter, revealed to investigators his plan to forcibly take a car.“He said ...

Stock market today: Wall Street climbs, and Dow rises more than 300 points as stocks worldwide rally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street rose Thursday after a blizzard of reports suggested the U.S. economy is still humming, though inflation may be too. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8% for its best day in two weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 331 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8%.Some of the strongest action was in the bond market, where Treasury yields swung up and down several times. While the reports bolstered hopes the U.S. economy will avoid a deep recession, the strength underlying them could also add upward pressure on inflation. One report said U.S. shoppers spent more at retailers last month than economists expected. Such spending has been a linchpin for the economy, but it could also encourage retailers to keep trying to raise prices further.The strong spending is a result of a remarkably resilient job market, which has withstood a steep jump in interest rates. A separate report Thursday morning said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last w...

S&P/TSX composite rises almost 300 points, U.S. stock markets also rally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:08 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index gained almost 30 points on a broad-based rally led by base metal stocks as the price of oil reached US$90 per barrel, while U.S. stock markets also rose.A strong initial public offering (IPO) by a semiconductor company helped lift investors’ spirits Thursday and offset several economic reports that came in stronger than expected, said Michael Currie, senior investment adviser at TD Wealth. Shares in U.K. firm Arm Holdings opened at US$56.10 on the Nasdaq after being priced at $51. At the end of the trading day, its stock was up almost 25 per cent at $63.59. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 288.90 points at 20,567.84.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 331.58 points at 34,907.11. The S&P 500 index was up 37.66 points at 4,505.10, while the Nasdaq composite was up 112.47 points at 13,926.05.Arm’s debut was one of the biggest IPOs in a while, and markets appear to be sighing with relief after a strong showing...