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Gov. Youngkin aims for a GOP sweep in Virginia’s legislative elections. Democrats have other ideas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — In a closing message to voters in this year’s closely watched Virginia legislative elections, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin ticks off accomplishments from the first half of his term. Tax cuts, law enforcement pay raises and more money for mental health services, Youngkin says in the political ad, adding that there’s so much more he wants to get done over his next two years in office.“Elect a Republican team to back me up and I promise, we’ll deliver,” Youngkin says.Unmentioned is what Democrats warn will happen if Republicans end two years of divided government: new restrictions on abortion, a rollback of gun control laws and recently expanded voting rights, and an agenda driven by divisive social issues.Voters could make their priorities clear Tuesday when they decide whether to give the GOP full control of state government for the first time in a decade or empower Democratic legislators to continue serving as a check on Youngkin’s priorities...

Israel’s military and Hezbollah exchange fire along the tense Lebanon-Israel border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

RMEISH, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes along the border with Lebanon Saturday as the militant Hezbollah group attacked several Israeli army posts, including one that was struck with two large rockets.The escalation came a day after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his powerful group is already engaged in unprecedented fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border. He threatened a further escalation as Israel’s war in Gaza with Hamas, Hezbollah’s ally, nears the one-month mark. Hezbollah is prepared for all options, Nasrallah declared, “and we can resort to them at any time.” Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters attacked at least six Israeli posts along the border, saying “suitable rockets and weapons” were used. It added that “direct hits were scored and technical equipment was destroyed.”The Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV network reported that Hezbollah fired Saturday two Burkan rockets, which carry heavy warheads, at an Israeli post kno...

Russia opens a vast national exposition as presidential election approaches

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — With pointed disdain for the West, Russia on Saturday unveiled a sprawling exposition highlighting the nation’s accomplishments, which will run through the months leading to the presidential election in which Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek a new term.Putin issued a decree in March to hold the exposition and some observers have seen it as aimed at creating an ideological framework for his reelection. News reports had suggested he might use the opening to announce his candidacy for the March election, but his spokesman later said he would not attend the event.Putin has led Russia as president or prime minister since 2000, and reelection would extend his term until 2030.The event is held at VDNKh, the vast exposition grounds in northern Moscow that was established by Josef Stalin and is renowned for its collection of elaborate Soviet Gothic-style pavilions. The setting plays to many Russians’ nostalgia for the Soviet era and echoes Putin’s dri...

Israeli forces use illegal white phosphorus in attacks on Gaza and Lebanon: Amnesty International

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli forces used shells containing the illegal and flesh-burning white phosphorus in attacks on Gaza and southern Lebanon, the human rights group Amnesty International said. The organization said it verified three other instances of Israel's military dropping white phosphorus on Lebanese border areas in the past month.Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.After an Oct. 16 Israeli strike in the town of Duhaira, houses and cars caught fire and nine civilians were rushed to the hospital with breathing problems from the fumes, Amnesty said. The group said it had verified photos that showed white phosphorus shells lined up next to Israeli artillery near the tense Lebanon-Israel border.Th...

Daylight saving time: Lawmakers tried to lock the clocks this year — what happened?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — It's nearly time for us to fall back an hour (and gain an hour of sleep) as daylight saving time comes to an end. Americans have repeatedly expressed their distaste for changing the clocks twice a year. A 2022 poll by Monmouth University found that 61% want to end the bi-annual tradition. In a poll conducted earlier this year by YouGov, 62% said they want the clock changing to be “eliminated.” Less than 30% of those polled by AP-NORC in 2019 said they like the twice-a-year change, while the rest were split between sticking to permanent standard time or daylight time year-round. Despite 6 in 10 Americans hoping we can stop changing the clocks, efforts to do so have largely stalled.  Have you been tipping wrong at restaurants? What experts advise Numerous states have passed (or tried to pass) legislation regarding daylight saving time — at least 29 have considered legislation this year alone. But, in many cases, the legislation is almost symbolic at best.&...

Adam Frank: Science could finally discover aliens. What does that mean?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

Are we alone? Is life around us a cosmic accident that only happened once on this lonely planet, making human beings the only technological civilization anywhere? Or is the universe teeming with life, and perhaps even intelligence and self-awareness?These questions have haunted humanity for millennia. Science is now poised to take a fantastic leap forward in answering them.Over the next few decades, we will finally gain hard data that will help us answer our questions about alien life. But as we come ever closer to that milestone, another equally pressing question emerges. What would finding alien life — or not — mean for us all?Many people believe that answers about life in the universe will come from Earth’s own skies via UFOs — or as our government has taken to calling them, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Recent years have seen the Pentagon acknowledging pilots’ reports of UAP and creating a related office, Congress holding UAP hearings and NASA laun...

Multiple people shot at while driving on 91 Freeway in Corona

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

At least one person was hospitalized following a drive-by shooting on the 91 Freeway on Friday night. The shooting took place just after 10:30 p.m. near McKinley Street in Corona, according to law enforcement officials. A woman driving eastbound on the freeway said that she passed a slow-moving vehicle as she approached McKinley, and upon doing so, the suspect in that vehicle drove up next to her and opened fire. At least one person was hospitalized following a shooting on the 91 Freeway on Friday night. (OnSceneTV)At least one person was hospitalized following a shooting on the 91 Freeway on Friday night. (OnSceneTV)At least one person was hospitalized following a shooting on the 91 Freeway on Friday night. (OnSceneTV)Her car was hit twice but she was not injured, according to police.  LAPD pursues vehicle in L.A. County Authorities said that another man driving eastbound on the 91 Freeway was also struck in the leg by a bullet. He was transported to a local h...

Suspects flee in foot after high-speed chase in L.A.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

At least one person is in custody following a high-speed pursuit through Los Angeles County on Friday night.The two suspects inside the car were initially wanted for an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.As the vehicle traveled at high speeds through freeways and surface streets, the suspects eventually pulled over in a neighborhood near West Louise Street and Pacific Avenue in Long Beach.At least one person is in custody following a high-speed pursuit through Los Angeles County on Nov. 3, 2023. (KTLA)At least one person is in custody following a high-speed pursuit through Los Angeles County on Nov. 3, 2023. (KTLA)At least one person is in custody following a high-speed pursuit through Los Angeles County on Nov. 3, 2023. (KTLA)At least one person is in custody following a high-speed pursuit through Los Angeles County on Nov. 3, 2023. (KTLA)At least one person is in custody following a high-speed pursuit through Los Angeles County on Nov. 3, ...

SAG-AFTRA negotiators close to reaching a deal with studio executives

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

After 113 days on the picket lines, the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike could finally be in sight as negotiators are reportedly in the home stretch of finalizing a deal. On Friday, SAG-AFTRA members were on standby waiting to hear from studio executives on their most recent counter-proposal. “It could be over soon,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA. "The focus today is trying to bring this deal home, and the fact is, there are still some issues between us. We're waiting for a response from the studios and streamers, but I am hopeful."In what could be the final hours for picketing, Crabtree-Ireland told KTLA that he met with studio executives up until 9 p.m. Thursday evening, but the studios and streamers have not responded to the union’s counter-proposal since then. Both sides seem frustrated and unwilling to budge on the use of artificial intelligence. "These are really important things that we're out here fi...

Elderly woman found in Chinatown; ID unknown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:39 GMT

Los Angeles General Medical Center is asking for help identifying an elderly woman found in Chinatown.The patient, believed to be approximately 90 years old, was recently found on North Broadway, hospital officials said. The circumstances were not released, but efforts to identify her have been unsuccessful thus far.The woman is 5-feet tall, weighs 91 pounds, and has "salt/pepper" hair and brown eyes. A photo released by the hospital shows her apparently awake in bed.Anyone with information is asked to contact Dayanira Diaz, a social worker at Los Angeles General Medical Center at 323-409-3377.