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Putin denounces sanctions on Russia during his speech for a South Africa economic summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin took multiple shots at the West on the opening day of an economic summit in South Africa, using a prerecorded speech that was aired on giant screens Tuesday to rail at what he called “illegitimate sanctions” on his country and threaten to cut off Ukraine’s grain exports permanently.Putin, the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant related to the war in Ukraine, did not travel to Johannesburg for the summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies. Instead, he plans to participate remotely in the three-day meeting of the bloc that encompasses Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. His 17-minute speech recorded in advance centered on the war in Ukraine and Russia’s relationship with the West — even though South African officials had said East-West frictions should not dominate the first in-person BRICS summit since before the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped to guide the conversation away from the d...

Tropical Storm Franklin nears Haiti and the Dominican Republic bringing fears of floods, landslides

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin roared toward the island of Hispaniola shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti early Wednesday amid fears it would trigger deadly landslides and heavy flooding in both countries. Franklin was expected to swirl above the island for most of Wednesday, with forecasters warning the storm could dump up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, with a maximum of 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas.By Tuesday night, the storm was located 175 miles (280 kilometers) southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had maximum winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving northward at 9 mph (15 kph). Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Harold weakened into a tropical depression Tuesday night after making landfall in South Texas, bringing strong winds, rain and leaving thousands of homes without power.In the Caribbean, officials were most concerned about the storm...

MLK’s dream for America is one of the stars of the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last part of the speech took less time to deliver than it takes to boil an egg, but “I Have A Dream” is one of American history’s most famous orations and most inspiring.On Aug. 28, 1963, from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. began by speaking of poverty, segregation and discrimination and how the United States had reneged on its promise of equality for Black Americans. If anyone remembers that dystopian beginning, they don’t talk about it.What is etched into people’s memory is the pastoral flourish that marked the last five minutes and presented a soaring vision of what the nation might be and the freedom that equality for all could bring.As participants prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, that five-minute piece of King’s 16-minute address is the star of that day and today it is the measuring stick of the country’s progress. How did that memorable moment come to be? Were there oth...

Prosecutors prepare evidence in trial of 3 men accused in plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Whitmer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

BELLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors were preparing Wednesday to present evidence against three men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in what investigators described as an extremist scheme to ignite a civil war.Attorneys were scheduled to make opening arguments in the trial of Eric Molitor and brothers William Null and Michael Null, who were among 14 defendants charged weeks before the November 2020 election. Nine have been convicted in state or federal court, including four who pleaded guilty, while two were acquitted.Investigators described them as members of paramilitary groups angered by Whitmer’s COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy.Eleven women and seven men were selected Monday to serve as circuit court jurors in Republican-leaning Antrim County, a rural area popular with tourists. Whitmer has a vacation home in the Lake Michigan village of Elk Rapids.Evidence presented in previous trials suggested the plotters intende...

At March on Washington’s 60th anniversary, leaders seek energy of original movement for civil rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixty years ago, Andrew Young and his staff had just emerged from an exhausting campaign against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.But they didn’t feel no ways tired, as the Black spiritual says. The foot soldiers were on a “freedom high,” Young recalls.“They wanted to keep on marching, they wanted to march from Birmingham to Washington,” he said.And march they did, in the nation’s capital. Just four months later, they massed for what is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice demonstrations in U.S. history.The nonviolent protest, which attracted as many as 250,000 to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, helped till the ground for passage of federal civil rights and voting rights legislation in the next few years.But in the decades that followed, the rights gains feeding the freedom high felt by Young and others came under increasing threat. A close adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Young went on to become a ...

Allies say Guatemala election winner is a highly qualified peacebuilder, but opponent’s still silent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Bernardo Arévalo’s experience in peacebuilding and diplomacy eminently qualify him to lead Guatemala as the conflict-riven country’s next president, those who know him say. But first he will have to overcome forces that could keep him from taking power. Guatemalans voted for Arévalo in a landslide Sunday, but his opponent, former first lady Sandra Torres, has not conceded, or said anything for that matter. The election results have not been certified, a legal step necessary for Arévalo to become president.That’s not the only hitch: The attorney general’s office also continues to investigate the registration of his Seed Movement party and has already asked a judge once to suspend it. And even if Arévalo takes the presidency, Guatemala’s powers that be could hamstring him as leader when he takes power in five months. Arévalo and those who know him say that he wants to unite his country. It’s his platform of eradicating corruption tha...

Who takes advantage of Donald Trump’s absence and other things to watch in the Republican debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Eight Republican candidates will meet on the debate stage for the first time Wednesday night in what may be the biggest moment in the GOP’s young 2024 presidential primary so far. The overwhelming front-runner in the contest, former President Donald Trump, won’t participate. He says he’s so far ahead that he’d be helping his opponents by showing up. But his absence also offers them opportunity.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a distant second to Trump in many polls, is betting that a strong showing will cement his status as the strongest alternative to the former president despite his many stumbles. DeSantis’ team sees rising newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old entrepreneur, as a threat, while South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence have positioned themselves to compete. The debate also features a handful of aggressive Trump critics led by former New Jersey Gov. Chris...

Trump won’t be at the GOP’s first presidential debate. But his presence will be felt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — He’ll be missing from the stage, but Donald Trump will still be a central figure at the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night as the remaining candidates hoping to take on President Joe Biden confront each other in person for the first time. The eight contenders who are scheduled to attend the Milwaukee debate hosted by Fox News will likely face pressure to articulate how they would differ in style and substance from Trump, who holds a commanding early lead in the race. That could be a delicate task, forcing candidates to decide how closely to align themselves with the former president’s most outlandish positions, including his lies about widespread fraud during the 2020 election. With less than five months until the Iowa caucuses jumpstart the GOP presidential nomination process, the debate is a critical opportunity for lower-polling candidates to introduce themselves to millions of voters, many of whom are just beginning to pay a...

Summer 2023's Hottest Spell in Chicago Ahead Wednesday-Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

"EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING" HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR WEDNESDAY AND AN "EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH" IS IN EFFECT FOR THURSDAYN THE CURRENT HOT SPELL: A high of 99° Wednesday would break the 1947 record of 97° for the date which has stood for 76 years.A high of 100° Thursday would tie the record for the date—also set in 1947. It should be noted that a wind-shifting cold front will be flirting with area—and the speed with which is sinks into the area will impact the high temps we ultimate see. But much of the area is in for intense heat Thursday before a welcome break takes place by Friday and over the coming weekend.Models current put top dew points in coming days building to oppressive 77° levels. That could lead to heat indices as high as 114°.Anyone who lived through the GREAT CHICAGO HEAT WAVE of July 12-15, 1995 will never forget it and knows extreme heat can be more than just an inconvenience—it can be deadly. The loss of life which occurred in that oppressive spell of heat in July 1995 remai...

Man stole over $400,000 worth of cars from Southern California dealerships

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:28 GMT

A man was found guilty of a scheme that resulted in over $400,000 worth of stolen vehicles across Southern California.The suspect, Jean Parret, targeted car dealerships in multiple counties including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Kern and San Diego counties, according to the California Attorney General's Office.Between November 2021 and February 2022, Parret used victims’ stolen identities to open lines of credit and purchase numerous high-end vehicles from car dealerships, authorities said.The total amount of stolen vehicles is estimated at over $400,000, according to court documents, with many dealerships victimized in the scheme.A large amount of the stolen vehicles were eventually transported across the border to Mexico for displacement, officials said.“His victims included not only the lenders and dealerships who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also the identity theft victims who were left dealing with the financial, legal, and emotional impacts of having their ide...