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Trump digs in on election lies, insults accuser during CNN town hall event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

By JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)During a contentious CNN town hall Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming.Trump, returning to the network after years of acrimony, also refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russian aggression and said the U.S. “might as well” default on its debt obligation, despite the potential devastating economic consequences.The live, televised event — held in early-voting New Hampshire — underscored the challenges of fact-checking Trump in real time. The former president was cheered on and applauded by an audience of Republican and unaffiliated voters as moderator Kaitlan Collins sometimes struggled to get a word in edgewise. Trump — who at one point snapped that Collins was “a nasty person” &#...

Suspect arrested in North County e-bike shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Authorities arrested a suspect connected to the shooting of an e-bike rider Tuesday in the Oceanside area, police said.Jesus Castaneda, 32, was arrested Wednesday morning during a traffic stop near the 3300 block of College Boulevard, Jennifer Atenza with the Oceanside Police Department said in a news release. An officer recovered a firearm believed to be used in the shooting as well as an e-bike that matched the description of the one the suspect was seen riding from the scene, according to police. Castaneda was booked on suspicion of assault with a firearm, Atenza confirmed. Mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, known as Dooce to fans, dead at 47 The shooting occurred Tuesday around 10:06 p.m. near the 3500 block of College Boulevard.Officers found a 31-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the foot, per police. The victim was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released. Anyone with additional information regarding the incident is asked to immediatel...

Takeaways from Trump on CNN: Lies about abortion, election, sexual abuse verdict

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s primetime return to CNN Wednesday for the first time since 2016 felt like a throwback: Trump with the long, twisting answers; the interviewer at times struggling to fact-check him or return his focus to the question at hand; and then, eventually, both talking over each other as Trump flings insults her way. Wednesday’s town hall in New Hampshire was the first time in years that Trump faced prolonged questioning from an outlet outside the friendly confines of conservative media outlets of his choosing.He had branded CNN “fake news” and never granted any of its journalists an interview while president. Trump’s campaign said he was appearing on the network now to step outside a GOP comfort zone as he already starts to turn his focus to a potential 2024 general election rematch with Democrat Joe Biden.Trump’s appearance on CNN comes at a time of jarring dualities for the former president: The Republican is facing a crescendo of legal problems yet seems in ...

Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao to stop publishing political cartoon Zunzi after government complaints

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong newspaper will stop publishing works by the city’s most prominent political cartoonist after his drawings drew government complaints, in another example of hushed speech and media voices after a Beijing-led crackdown.Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao did not elaborate on why it would stop publishing Wong Kei-kwan’s works. “Ming Pao would like to express gratitude to Zunzi for witnessing how times have changed with us over the last four decades,” its editorial department said, referring to Wong by his pen name. His comic drawings caricatured Hong Kong society’s frustrations since before the then-British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Wong did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment Thursday, and the newspaper did not elaborate on its announcement that it would stop publishing the cartoons on Sunday. It was unclear whether the government played a role in the decision, and the government departments that complained abo...

Book on climate optimism wins Shaughnessy Cohen political writing prize

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

OTTAWA — A hope-filled book about mitigating climate change has won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Journalist Chris Turner received the $25,000 award at Politics and the Pen, an annual fundraising event in Ottawa, for “How to be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World.”The prize from the Writers’ Trust of Canada goes to a book of literary non-fiction that “has the potential to influence thinking on Canadian political life.” Jurors say Turner’s book strikes a delicate balance, acknowledging that it won’t be easy to craft policy that addresses climate change while arguing that it’s possible — and even helpful — to take an optimistic approach to the problem. The other nominees, who receive $2,500, include Norma Dunning for “Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name? The Eskimo Disc System and a Daughter’s Search for her Grandmother” and Dale Eisler for “From Left to Right: Saskatchewan’s Political and Eco...

Amazon to receive $1 billion in tax breaks in eastern Oregon for new data centers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials in a remote northeastern Oregon county have voted to give tax breaks worth an estimated $1 billion to Amazon for five more data centers there. Wednesday’s unanimous vote by Port of Morrow’s five commissioners was the last step in securing the enterprise zone incentives, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Companies in the state can receive property tax exemptions through local enterprise zones.Local officials hope the incentives will bring $12 billion in new Amazon spending in their county along the Columbia River about 160 miles (257 kilometers) from Portland. Amazon already has four giant data centers in Morrow County and several hundred local jobs tied to its operations. But its growth has produced contentious debate over how the Seattle company secured its incentives and an ongoing probe over possible self-dealing by some people awarding its tax breaks.The state is investigating potential conflicts of interest among port officials and a former coun...

On heels of damning sex abuse verdict, Trump faces GOP voters on live CNN town hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

WASHINGTON — Unchastened and unrepentant, Donald Trump picked up Wednesday where he left off two years ago, rejecting the 2020 election results and his role in the Jan. 6 riots, denouncing Democrats as “stupid fools” and vowing to make the U.S. a fossil-fuel superpower.Twice impeached, recently indicted and now on the hook for a $5-million sexual abuse and defamation verdict, image rehabilitation was clearly the furthest thing from Trump’s mind as he barrelled into New Hampshire for a prime-time CNN town hall. The former president denied knowing E. Jean Carroll, the “wackjob” whose civil suit ended Tuesday with a finding that Trump sexually assaulted the former magazine writer in 1996, then later defamed her in his public efforts to deny the allegations. He rejected any suggestion that he helped to foment the deadly Capitol Hill riots in 2021, when supporters ran rampant through Congress, fuelled by his still-rigid insistence that he was the rightful wi...

Lincoln Park homeowner looks for answers after receiving nearly $7,000 water bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago homeowner is looking for answers after receiving a nearly $7,000 water bill."Trust me you would be reporting a completely different story if I had used 6 hundred gallons of water in a month," said Chuck Wehland to WGN's Alyssa Donovan. "You would be reporting a flood at Cleveland and Armitage."When Chuck Wehland opened up his monthly utility bill from the City of Chicago, he was shocked to see he owed $6,913.24 — with the bill showing that he supposedly used more than 600 gallons of water in just one month.After more than a decade in his Lincoln Park home, Wehland said he knows what to expect when it comes to his water bill from month-to-month."Recently, it's been like $230 a month," Wehland said.That includes water, sewer and garbage pickup, but even with all three wrapped up into one, Wehland said it should never come close to 30 times his typical monthly payment."Everything is the same," Wehland said. "It's not like we hear running water or anything like that....

Could AI be the future of preventing school shootings?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (WPIX) -- Artificial intelligence is creeping into our lives in many ways — one of the most promising possibilities is spotting guns before they can be used at schools. Nexstar's WPIX got an inside look at one of the first schools in the country using the tech to better spot firearms in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. At Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, something is always watching. It goes beyond the hundreds of security cameras Dr. Christopher Heilig, the superintendent, pointed out as he walked around the sprawling campus.“As a school administrator, it’s a little bit different these days,” Heilig explained. “First and foremost, first thing in the morning, we’re always thinking security and safety.”  Suspected space rock crashes through New Jersey home This is why his high school became one of the first in the country to add something extra by working with a company called ZeroEyes. It uses existing video cameras, coupled with artificial intelli...

Five notable moments from Trump's CNN town hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

CNN’s town hall with former President Trump in New Hampshire on Wednesday was filled with a number of headline-making moments, marking Trump’s first appearance on the network in years.The former president kicked off the forum, which was moderated by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, by touting his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. Trump also went after E. Jean Carroll one day after he was found liable in a civil case of sexually abusing and defaming her. He also raised eyebrows when he declined to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.Here are five notable moments from Trump’s CNN town hall:Trump calls E. Jean Carroll a ‘whack job’The town hall took place one day after a jury found Trump liable of sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll for her allegation that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.But Trump was dismissive of the findings, as well as any suggestion that it would hurt him in the polls.“This is a fake stor...