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House Republicans ready border enforcement push after delays

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans for months have railed against the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. border with Mexico, holding hearings, visiting border communities and promising to advance legislation to clamp down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking.But so far, they have failed to unify behind a plan, delaying efforts to pass legislation.Now they are hoping to change that. Republicans on Wednesday are jumpstarting work on an immigration and border enforcement package that would remake immigration law to make it more difficult to apply for asylum and easier for the federal government to stop migrants from entering the U.S.Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican who is chair of the Judiciary Committee drafting the legislation, said he expected Wednesday’s markup of the bill to go “well.”The undertaking comes as Washington is putting renewed focus on border security, and the plight of thousands of migrants who show up seeking entry into the U.S., with a looming May de...

Judge to decide whether leak suspect should remain jailed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents is due back in court on Wednesday for a hearing to decide whether he should remain behind bars while he awaits trial. Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested by heavily armed tactical agents at his Massachusetts home last week and charged, under the Espionage Act, with unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. During his first court appearance in Boston’s federal court Friday, a magistrate judge ordered him to remain in custody until Wednesday’s detention hearing. Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. The stunning breach exposing closely held intelligence has sparked international uproar and raised fresh questions about America’s ability to safeguard i...

Kim says North Korea’s 1st spy satellite is ready for launch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has completed the development of its first military spy satellite and ordered officials to go ahead with its launch at an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday. Establishing a space-based surveillance system is one of Kim’s key objectives to advance his military capability to pressure the United States to abandon what he called its hostile policies, such as its military drills with ally South Korea and international economic sanctions on North Korea. Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past launches. During his visit to the country’s aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite is crucial for North Korea to effectively u...

Stock market today: Asia trading mixed ahead of earnings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Wednesday, as investors took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of earnings reports and possible moves by central banks. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% in morning trading to 28,590.40. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1% to 7,370.70. South Korea’s Kospi gained less than 0.1% to 2,573.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6% to 20,521.13. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,383.18. News that China’s economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter, to 4.5%, did not have much of an impact on share prices. While consumption and retail sales have grown, other indicators, such as industrial output and fixed-asset investments, were weaker and indicate an uneven recovery. “It may still be a worst-is-over story, but recovery has shown to be more gradual than a one-shot wonder,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.Wall Street closed little changed after a day of meandering trading. The S&P 500 edged up 0....

9 Indonesian fishermen feared dead, 11 rescued off Australia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Nine Indonesian fishermen are feared drowned and another 11 have been rescued after spending six days without food or water on a barren island off the northwest Australian coast in the aftermath of a powerful tropical cyclone, authorities said Wednesday.Two primitive wooden Indonesian fishing boats were caught in the path of Cyclone Ilsa, which on Friday became the most powerful storm in eight years to cross the Australian coast, with winds gusting at an apparent record of 289 kilometers (180 miles) per hour.One of the boats, Putri Jaya, sank in “extreme weather conditions” on April 11 or 12 while Ilsa was gathering strength over the Indian Ocean as it tracked southeast toward the coast, Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement, citing survivors.The other boat, Express 1, ran aground with 10 men aboard in the early hours of April 12 on Bedwell Island, a sandy outcrop some 300 kilometers (200 miles) west of the Australian coastal tourist tow...

Minnesota House passes government/elections bill that calls for redesigning state flag and seal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

Minnesota is taking another step closer to redesigning its state flag and committing its Electoral College votes to presidential candidates who win the national popular vote.Members of the House on Tuesday voted to approve those and other changes in a $1.5 billion state government and elections package. The 182-page bill boosts spending for the state government agencies, the Legislature and government IT by $400 million in the next two-year budget. It also retools how Minnesota defines “major” political parties — a move that will make it harder for third parties to get on the ballot.Past that, the bill also boosts funding for the public election subsidy, something backers say will encourage more candidates to take state campaign cash and reduce the influence of special interests.Major legislative packages called “omnibus bills” are the norm at the Minnesota Capitol, where lawmakers often lump spending and other policies into big bills. The state government package contains many appr...

Kim Gardner faces more legal trouble regarding prosecutor no-show at murder trial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS - As the St. Louis Circuit Attorney joined her legal team in court on Tuesday to call for a judge to dismiss Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s case calling for her removal from office, another judge was threatening to jail her for contempt of court.Circuit Judge Scott Millikan’s order said Gardner “must appear before this court to show cause why you should not be held in indirect criminal contempt of this court and be sentenced to a term of imprisonment, be required to pay a fine, or both."The judge’s action came after Gardner’s assistant, who was prosecuting an Arch grounds murder from September 2021, did not show up for day 1 of the trial on Monday. Millikan said there was no word from Gardner’s office as to why. As a result, the judge said the case may have to be dropped and suspect Jonathon Jones set free, though police said he and an accomplice were caught on camera shooting the victim to death. His attorney is invoking the defendant’s right to a speedy trial ...

You Paid For It: Resident injured on sidewalk badly need of repair

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis resident said she was seriously hurt on a sidewalk in her neighborhood that's badly in need of repair. She said the city should have fixed it a long time ago.Sheilah Barnett said she’s been pleading for help footing the bills for her injuries and asking for help getting the city to repair the sidewalk."Coming from the store, and I tripped and fell, and I slid a few feet," Barnett said. "I couldn’t bend my wrist when I got up. It was just hanging like that." Top story: Overland armored car robbery video reveals surprising actions She expressed her feelings while going through the issue."Oh, like I don't matter for one thing, and I paid my dues to society as far as working and paying my taxes in all," Barnett said. "I just feel they don't care about the lower class people.”A spokesperson from St. Louis Mayor's Office released the following statement:"Whenever city residents encounter a service issue, the city encourages them to file a service request with the...

Seattle Kraken upset Avalanche in Game 1, handing a playoff series deficit to Avs team that never faced one in 2022 Stanley Cup run

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

Finally greeted by the stakes they’ve longed to have back since the mundanity of regular-season hockey set in six months ago, and matched with the proverbial happy-to-be-here opponent, the Avs played with their seafood.A team that never trailed a series en route to the 2022 Stanley Cup now finds itself swimming against the current in the first round.The Seattle Kraken proved to be more than plucky Tuesday night at Ball Arena, stealing Game 1 of the playoffs 3-1 from the Avalanche. It completed an underdog sweep to ring in the playoffs: All four higher-seeded teams in the Western Conference lost Game 1 at home.Colorado had won six consecutive playoff series Game 1s dating back two years. And the defending champions entered this postseason on a blistering eight-game point streak to win the Central Division and earn the Seattle matchup. But the wild card Kraken pounced early in the first and second periods, and the Avalanche couldn’t cash in on two power play opportunities ...

Kraken-Avalanche Game 1 Quick Hits: Seattle here to scrap and Colorado will have to find an answer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:54 GMT

Initial observations from the Avalanche’s 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken in Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.1. Kraken are here to scrapSeattle’s playoff debut wasn’t always pretty, but the Kraken made it clear they came to the postseason to scrap. They did their offensive work early in each periods – Eeli Tolvanen scored 3 minutes, 26 seconds into the contest, then Alex Wenneberg blasted home a tally 80 seconds into the second period and Morgan Geekie 4:03 into the third. After that, Seattle settled in and did what they do best: Rely on depth and play feisty defense. The Kraken allowed just 16 Avalanche even strength shots and 21 shots total over the first 40 minutes to carry a lead into the third period and made life difficult for Colorado. Nothing new, really. The three regular-season games between these teams? 3-2 Seattle, 2-1 Colorado (SO) and 3-2 Seattle in overtime. The Avs will work for scoring opportunities the rest of this series.2. No time for ...