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Biden faces tough battle to secure $105 billion for Ukraine, Israel, the border and more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and MARY CLARE JALONICK (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defense manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.The total cost of the supplemental funding request was pegged at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will move urgently on the legislation, and he made the case for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.The Democratic president’s plans faces some immediate complications on Capitol Hill. The House is at a standstill, unable to pass legislation, as the Republican majority struggle to choose a new speaker, and it could also get bogged down in a divided Senate where some Republicans want to add additional border policies to the measure.But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a ...

Illinois government employee fired after posting antisemitic comments on social media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An employee with the Illinois comptroller’s office has been fired after she posted vulgar antisemitic comments on social media during an exchange about the latest Israel-Hamas war.A spokesperson for Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza said in a statement Thursday that the employee was “immediately fired” after she admitted to some of the posts.“Comptroller Mendoza has zero tolerance for anti-semitism or hate speech,” Mendoza spokesperson Abdon Pallasch said in the statement, which does not name the employee. The vulgar comments were part of an Instagram exchange of insults with another user, who then publicly posted the exchange on their account, the Chicago Tribune reported.Pallasch said in Thursday’s statement that the exchange was posted midday Thursday and also posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.Social media postings identified the employee as Sarah Chowdhury, who worked as a legal counsel for the comptroller’s office.Chowdhury, rea...

Pro-Palestinian rally outside of Freeland’s office shuts down section of Bloor Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

A pro-Palestinian rally outside the constituency office of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has blocked Bloor Street in both directions at Spadina.The protesters are calling on Freeland and the federal government to do more to help the people in Gaza.DEMONSTRATIONBloor Street West/Spadina– taken over the roadway– traffic blocked in all direction#GO2436061 ^vkhttps://t.co/ORS2Y3hd55— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) October 20, 2023It’s not clear how long the clousre will last.More to come

Crombie uses strong mayor powers to override decision on building of fourplexes in Mississauga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has used her strong mayor powers to override a decision by city council and allow the building of fourplexes on low-rise residential lots.Crombie says the move is about increasing the supply of housing and helping families with another affordable alternative when it comes to living in the city. “Given the scale and urgency of the housing crisis, it is critical that leadership at all levels of government work together,” Crombie said in a statement on Friday.“It is one of many ways we are working to build the ‘missing middle’ in our city and communicate to residents that Mississauga is tackling the housing crisis.”The directive also ensures that Mississauga will be eligible for $120 million in funding from the federal government for housing and community infrastructure. Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser had indicated the city’s application for funding was in doubt without a firm commitment to building fourplexe...

Nigerians remember those killed or detained in the 2020 protests against police brutality

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Many Nigerians on Friday remembered the victims of the historic protests against police brutality which took place three years ago, with Amnesty International reporting that at least 15 of the protesters are still being detained illegally.In October 2020, thousands of Nigerians staged nationwide protests to kick against the abuses of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS. In the economic hub of Lagos, security forces opened fire on demonstrators, prompting global condemnation. A government-commissioned inquiry described the shooting and resultant deaths as a massacre.At least 15 protesters arrested three years ago are still held in Lagos prisons, the majority without trial and some being tortured, Amnesty International’s Nigeria office said in a statement listing the names of the victims.In Lagos, a small group of people held a rally to demand justice for victims of police brutality. “Nobody is going to be happy when you are unjustly killing peo...

Brazil police conduct searches targeting intelligence agency’s use of tracking software

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Brazil conducted searches and made two arrests Friday in an investigation targeting members of the country’s intelligence agency who were suspected of using spy technology to track cellphones without judicial authorization, the Federal Police said in a statement. Officials at the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, which is known by its Portuguese acronym ABIN, allegedly used the GPS-based software during the first three years of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration to monitor the phones of his opponents, journalists and lawmakers, Brazilian media reported.O Globo newspaper first reported in March about the alleged illegal use of the FirstMile software developed by Israeli company Cognyte. The newspaper did not disclose the source of its information. The Federal Police declined a request for comment by The Associated Press on Friday. Police arrested two people and carried out 25 search warrants across the states of Sao Paulo, Santa Catari...

UN nuclear agency team watches Japanese lab workers prepare fish samples from damaged nuclear plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

ONJUKU, Japan (AP) — Scientists from the U.N. nuclear agency watched Friday as Japanese lab workers prepared samples of fish collected at a seafood market near the Fukushima nuclear plant to test the safety of treated radioactive wastewater released from the damaged plant into the sea. The discharge of wastewater began on Aug. 24 and is expected to continue for decades. It has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries, including China and Russia, which have banned all imports of Japanese seafood.Japan’s government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, say the discharge is unavoidable because wastewater storage tanks at the plant will be full next year. They say the water produced by the damaged plant is treated to reduce radioactivity to safe levels, and then diluted with massive amounts of seawater to make it much safer than international standards. On Friday, a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency watched as fish s...

2 charged in fraudulent towing of vehicles in Vaughan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

York police have charged two men in connection with fraudulently towing vehicles in Vaughan.In May 2023, officers started to investigate a towing company named A Better Way Towing, after receiving complaints from drivers that their vehicles had been towed from a plaza parking lot in the area of Jane Street and Avro Road. Between May and August, as many as 73 victims had their vehicles illegally towed to an impound lot, being forced to pay in excess of $500 to get their vehicle back. The tow company collected roughly $38,000 through doing this.Police learned through investigation that the owner and another employee from A Better Way Towing were towing vehicles from the plaza parking lot under the direction of the property management. The towing company then charged the vehicle owners for the towing and storage fees when the fee should have been paid by the property manager that directed the vehicles be removed.The owner, Arthur Kogan, 38, and a tow truck driver, Timur Blagushin, 28, ...

Cyberattack hits 2 New York hospitals, forces ambulance diversions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — Two hospitals in New York were hit with a cyberattack and are diverting patients to other facilities, hospital officials said Friday.The cyberattack affected computer systems at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston along with Margaretville Hospital and Mountainside Residential Care Center — all part of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network.The health care network planned to shut down IT systems at the three facilities starting at 10 p.m. Friday “to address the threat and take necessary steps to fully retore our secure network,” network officials said in a statement.Ambulances are being diverted from HealthAlliance Hospital as a precaution and some current patients have been discharged to other facilities, officials said.HealthAlliance Hospital and Margaretville Hospital remain open and walk-in patients will be treated, assessed and either released or stabilized and transferred to other facilities, officials said. They added that no disruption to care at ...

A jury is deliberating the case of a man accused of killing a New Hampshire couple on a hiking trail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:38 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury on Friday began deliberating the case of a man charged with fatally shooting a retired New Hampshire couple on a hiking trail, with prosecutors saying he lied to police to cover up his crimes and defense attorneys saying authorities arrested the wrong person. Logan Clegg, 27, is charged with second-degree murder for what prosecutors described as “knowingly and recklessly” causing the deaths of Stephen and Djeswende “Wendy” Reid. The couple, who had done international development work, had recently retired and were shot multiple times after going for a walk on the trail near their apartment in the city of Concord on April 18, 2022.Their bodies, found several days later, had been dragged into the woods and covered with leaves, sticks and debris, police said. Clegg was living in a tent near the trail at the time. His trial began Oct. 3 and lawyers delivered closing arguments Thursday. Clegg also is charged with several counts of falsifying physical evidence ...