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Sen. Menendez returns to New York court to enter plea to new conspiracy charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez returns to court Monday to enter an expected not guilty plea to a conspiracy charge alleging that he acted as an agent of the Egyptian government even as he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Menendez, 69, was scheduled to appear in the afternoon before Judge Sidney H. Stein at federal court in Manhattan.The Democrat stepped down from his powerful post leading the Senate committee after he was charged last month. Prosecutors said the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car over the past five years from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for a variety of corrupt acts.The other defendants entered not guilty charges to a superseding indictment last week. The senator was permitted to delay his arraignment so he could tend to Senate duties. He has said that throughout his whole life he has been loyal to the United States and that he will show his innocence.Menendez has resisted cal...

Argentine economy minister has surprise win over populist, and they head toward presidential runoff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Economy Minister Sergio Massa produced a big surprise by finishing first in the opening round of Argentina’s presidential election, reflecting voters’ wariness about handing the presidency to his chief rival, a right-wing populist who upended national politics and pledged to drastically diminish the state.Massa’s victory over Javier Milei, a chainsaw-wielding economist and freshman lawmaker, came despite the fact that on his watch inflation has surged into triple digits, eating away at purchasing power of salaries and boosting poverty. Still, he wasn’t punished in Sunday’s voting. With nearly all balots counted early Monday, Massa had 36.7% of the vote and Milei had 30%, meaning the two will go to a Nov. 19 runoff. Most pre-election polls, which have been notoriously unreliable, had given Milei a slight lead over Massa. Former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, of the main center-right opposition coalition, got 23.8% to finish third in the fiel...

Japan’s Kishida plans an income tax cut for households and corporate tax breaks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Monday he is preparing to take bold economic measures, including an income tax cut for households hit by inflation and tax breaks for companies to promote investment, in what’s seen as a move to lift his dwindling public support.In his speech to start a new Parliamentary session, Kishida said it was time to shift from an economy of low cost, low wages and cost-cutting to one backed by growth led by sustainable wage hikes and active investment.“I’m determined to take unprecedentedly bold measures,” Kishida said, pledging an intensive effort to achieve stronger supply capability in about three years. He said he is determined to help people ride out the impact of soaring prices for food, utilities and other costs that have exceeded their salary increases, by implementing income tax cuts. He also pledged to introduce corporate tax incentives to promote wage increases, investment and optimization.Previously, Kishida...

Australians’ rejection of the Indigenous Voice in constitutional vote is shameful, supporters say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Indigenous campaigners who wanted Australia to create an advisory body representing its most disadvantaged ethnic minority have said its rejection in a constitutional referendum was a “shameful act.” Many proponents of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament maintained a week of silence and flew Aboriginal flags at half-staff across Australia after the Oct. 14 vote deciding against enshrining such a representative committee in the constitution. In an open letter to federal lawmakers, dated Sunday and seen by The Associated Press on Monday, “yes” campaigners said the result was “so appalling and mean-spirited as to be utterly unbelievable.”“The truth is that the majority of Australians have committed a shameful act whether knowingly or not and there is nothing positive to be interpreted from it,” the letter said.The letter said it was written by Indigenous leaders, community members and organizations but is not signed.Indigenous leader Sean Gordon said on Monday...

University of Michigan slithers toward history with massive acquisition of jarred snake specimens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Greg Schneider scans rows upon rows of liquid-filled glass jars containing coiled snake specimens, just a portion of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology’s reptile and amphibian collection believed to be the largest held by any research institution in the U.S. thanks to a recent donation. The museum this fall acquired tens of thousands of reptile and amphibian specimens from Oregon State University, many of which are snakes. The development places the university in a unique position, according to Schneider, the research museum collections manager for the museum’s division of reptiles and amphibians.“I’m fairly confident we’ll have the largest snake collection in the world,” he said. The extensive new additions also will allow scientists to conduct new snake and amphibian research, perhaps looking at trait evolution in mothers and their offspring. Numerous studies have been conducted in recent years about declining amphibian and reptile pop...

This procedure is banned in the US. Why is it a hot topic in fight over Ohio’s abortion amendment?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With Election Day closing in, anti-abortion groups seeking to build opposition to a reproductive rights measure in Ohio are messaging heavily around a term for an abortion procedure that was once used later in pregnancy — but hasn’t been legal in the U.S. for over 15 years.In ads, debates and public statements, the opposition campaign and top Republicans have increasingly been referencing “partial-birth abortions” as an imminent threat if voters approve the constitutional amendment on Nov. 7. “Partial-birth abortion” is a non-medical term for a procedure known as dilation and extraction, or D&X, which is already federally prohibited.“It would allow a partial-birth abortion,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters recently as he explained his opposition to the constitutional amendment, known as Issue 1. “For many years, in Ohio and in this country, we’ve had a law that said a partial-birth abortion — where the child is partially delivered and then killed...

Some parts of Southern California could see rain Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

The Los Angeles area and other parts of Southern California could see light precipitation as a low-pressure system moves through the region on Monday.“It won’t be heavy rain,” says KTLA weather anchor Kaj Goldberg. “But we could see anything from a drizzle to light showers through the morning.”The system will move quickly through SoCal, first bringing wind and light precipitation to the mountain and foothill communities, becoming more widespread into the morning, and then skies clear by the afternoon. SoCal Weather Home Page “Once we get into the lunch hour, we’ll see that low pressure rapidly moving to the south-east and bring dry conditions that continue into Tuesday,” Goldberg says.Monday’s temperatures will be much like Sunday with highs in the mid-to-upper 70s in the L.A. Basin, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and Orange County.

San Jose: Southbound Highway 87 reopens nine hours early

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

SAN JOSE — A stretch of Highway 87 re-opened Sunday night nine hours ahead of schedule for a Caltrans paving project, officials said.Highway 87 going southbound between I-280 and Highway 85 reopened at 8 p.m. following a 56-hour weekend closure for paving repair work. It was originally supposed to reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday.Caltrans said the project’s goal is to “improve ride quality, enhance safety and extend the service life of the pavement.”

Eovaldi remains perfect, Rangers slug their way to 9-2 win over Astros to force Game 7 in ALCS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi remained perfect this postseason, and Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim homered early before a ninth-inning grand slam by Adolis García helped the Texas Rangers avoid elimination with a 9-2 win over the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series on Sunday night.The road team has won every game in this series going into a decisive Game 7 on Monday night in Houston. Cristian Javier is scheduled to pitch for the Astros against three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. Javier beat Scherzer in Game 3 at Texas. Eovaldi, who also won Game 2, yielded five hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings to improve to 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA in the playoffs this year. The wild-card Rangers, one of six major league teams without a World Series title, need one win to return to the Fall Classic for the first time since back-to-back trips in 2010-11.“I’m just proud of how these guys keep bouncing back,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said.The defending World Series champion Ast...

Bruins rally past Ducks, extend season-opening win streak to five

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Poitras scored his first two NHL goals in the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 Sunday for their season-opening fifth straight win.The 19-year-old Poitras, playing in his fifth career game, scored at 6:29 of the final period to erase the Ducks’ lead and then got the go-ahead goal nearly 4 minutes later when he stuffed home the rebound of Jake DeBrusk’s shot.Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal and Linus Ullmark made 32 saves as the Bruins remained one of three undefeated teams along with Vegas and Colorado. Marchand extended his points streak to five games while David Pastrnak saw his four-game goal-scoring streak come to an end.“It was a good win and we just kind of stayed together and stuck with it,” Poitras said. “It was maybe not our best, but we were able to get the job done.”Mason McTavish scored the lone goal for the Ducks, who lost their third straight and fourth in five games this season. John Gibson ma...