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House Republicans prep for debt vote; Biden open to meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rushed ahead Wednesday toward a vote on his sweeping debt ceiling package despite a veto threat from the White House, shoring up support after making post-midnight concessions to Republican holdouts in the slim GOP majority.Passage of the sprawling 320-page package in the House would be a turnaround for the embattled McCarthy as he unites his fractious Republican majority confronting President Joe Biden with demands for spending restrictions and cuts in exchange for approving $1.5 trillion more in debt to pay the nation’s bills. While the president has refused to negotiate over the debt limit and has threatened to veto the broad Republican bill — which would almost surely die in the Democratic Senate anyway — McCarthy is challenging Biden with his plan to kickstart negotiations and prevent a potentially catastrophic federal default this summer. The two men could hardly be further apart on how to resolve the issue.Biden, on Wednesd...

Teck says Glencore bid remains ‘non-starter,’ but leaves door open for suitors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

Teck Resources Ltd.’s move to cancel a key shareholder vote on its plan to separate its businesses may be seen as a win for Glencore in its ongoing campaign to acquire the Vancouver-based mining company.But Teck is standing by its assertion that the offer by the Swiss commodities giant remains a “non-starter,” and Teck CEO Jonathan Price indicated Wednesday the company may be receptive to other suitors. “We have premium businesses. And when it comes to M&A, we firmly believe that competition for assets drives value,” Price told a conference call with analysts.Teck announced just hours before its annual meeting Wednesday that it will not go ahead with the vote on its plan to split its metals and steelmaking coal businesses into two companies.The move suggested the company did not believe it had the two-thirds approval from shareholders required for its proposal, which would have split the company into Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources (EVR).Glenco...

Senate talks terror prevention since Boston Marathon bombing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The chair of the U.S. Senate subcommittee on emerging national security threats said at a hearing Wednesday that much has been learned about enhancing emergency response and counterterrorism efforts in the decade since the Boston Marathon bombing, but more can still be done.Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire used her opening remarks at the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Hearing in Washington to reflect on changes since two pressure-cooker bombs went off near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013.“I am proud of the rapid response to the horror of the attack on that day, and last week, on the 10th anniversary of the bombing, I was proud to watch joyful crowds urging on determined race participants,” she said. “However, there is still much work to do to strengthen our ability to prevent and respond to emerging threats.”Former Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis testified that among the biggest changes since the bombing have...

We Build The Wall founder sentenced to 4 years in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The co-founder of a fundraising group linked to Steve Bannon that promised to help Donald Trump construct a wall along the southern U.S. border was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors.Brian Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran who lost both of his legs and an arm in the Iraq War, previously pleaded guilty for his role in siphoning donations from the We Build the Wall campaign.A co-defendant, financier Andrew Badolato, was also sentenced to three years for aiding the effort. He had also pleaded guilty. A third man involved in siphoning funds from the wall project, Colorado businessman Tim Shea, won’t be sentenced until June.Kolfage and Badolato were also ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to the victims.Absent from the case was Bannon, Trump’s former top political adviser. He was initially arrested aboard a luxury yacht and faced federal fraud charges along with ...

Cedric the Entertainer has novel coming in September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Call him the Cedric the Novelist. Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that it will publish a novel in September by Cedric the Entertainer. “Flipping Boxcars,” billed as a “valentine” to 1940s crime fiction, is scheduled for Sept. 12.“Flipping Boxcars is an homage to my grandfather, who I never met, but I’ve been told I am a lot like,” Cedric the Entertainer, who stars in the CBS-TV comedy “The Neighborhood” and has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, said in a statement. “This is an intriguing novel filled with surprises, thrills, triumphs, and the heartaches of a family connected through time and circumstance.”The novel is co-written by Alan Eisenstock, who has worked on books with George Lopez and Robert Schimmel.The Associated Press

Argentina: A desperate search for a door as currency tumbles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Antonela Massarelli desperately needed a front door for the new house she and her family will move into this weekend in a Buenos Aires suburb.The 29-year-old mother of two said she found one prospect Tuesday morning at about 20,000 pesos, but noted with exasperation that the price went up by afternoon to more than 30,000. And store owners — faced with potentially higher costs to replace doors the next day — mostly wanted to hold onto their merchandise.“They didn’t want to sell,” she said. “I went to a lot of places and they were closing, they said, ‘I can’t sell to you’, ‘I can’t sell to you’ and the doors they did want to sell were of a really crappy material.”Her eventual purchase, at 31,900 Argentinian pesos, amounted to US$65 at black-market rates, US$144 at the official rate.Massarelli’s struggle with the door reflected the uncertainty in Argentina as its currency has sharply depreciated over the past week in the informal market, raising fresh que...

Tornado Watch in effect for parts of the area until 10 p.m.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Tornado Watch is in effect for parts of the area north and west of Travis County until 10 p.m. this evening for the potential of tornadoes.Severe thunderstorms are possible even outside of the Tornado Watch, including in Austin this evening.There will be storms tonight with the arrival of an upper-level disturbance and a cold front moving southeast over the area. Storms should start advancing through the area after 9 to 10 p.m. starting in San Saba County.The Storm Prediction Center updated its risk area for tonight to include most of the area in the slight risk (Category 2 out of 5) for severe storms. It should be noted that far northern Lampasas and the northern half of Milam Counties are on the southern edge of the enhanced risk area (Category 3 out of 5).Overnight threat of severe thunderstormsStorm threats for tonightShowers may linger past 6 a.m. until around 9 a.m. Thursday followed by clearing to a mostly sunny sky tomorrow afternoon. Saturday night sto...

Tracking Lady Bird Lake deaths in Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — People in Austin are questioning a series of deaths in lake waters in Austin.Online reports have been swirling in recent weeks about a possible connection between the deaths in Lady Bird Lake. Texas expert explores why conspiracies swirl around Lady Bird Lake deaths This report aims to provide KXAN viewers with full transparency and facts. As of now, there is no strong connection to the deaths, according to Austin Police. “There are a lot of allegations that there’s a serial killer, but there’s no proof or evidence in any of our investigations to sustain that,” APD Assistant Chief Jeff Greenwalt told KXAN in April.APD said the "circumstances, exact locations and demographics surrounding these cases vary.”“One common theme of the drownings in Austin this year is the combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake,” the department continued.Deaths in Lady Bird LakeSo far this year, there have been at least four bodies that were found in Lady Bird Lake in 202...

Affidavit provides gruesome details in Texas teen's deadly stabbing of parents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

PRIMERA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A probable cause affidavit revealed new details in a Texas teen's deadly stabbing of his parents.Dallas Scott Gilbert, 18, was arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Cameron County records.New details of the attackAt 11:23 p.m., Tuesday, April 18, officers were dispatched to the 21800 block of Stuart Place Road. When they entered the home they found a woman, Angela Watt Gilbert, in a pool of blood in the living room. They also saw a man, identified as her husband and Dallas' father, holding down Dallas.The father began yelling that Dallas had stabbed them both, the affidavit stated. Angela died en route to the hospital after being stabbed "approximately over 8 times on different areas of her body with a black handle and silver blade kitchen knife," the affidavit stated. Police spoke with Dallas, who told them he was outside talking to his mother about various topics before the attack."When all of a sud...

NFL Draft: Vikings have many needs, few picks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:24 GMT

With the 23rd pick in the first round, and just five picks in seven rounds overall, it could well be a mildly slow NFL Draft for the Vikings when it begins with Round 1 on Thursday night.As it stood on Wednesday, the Vikings were set to pick too late Thursday to nab a super-hyped player who would send fans’ hearts racing — quarterbacks Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud, or Alabama defensive end Will Anderson Jr. — and had too few later picks to package in a deal to move up.On the other hand, the Vikings seem to have a lot of unfinished business that can most effectively be addressed starting Thursday, and that could bring some surprises.Minnesota has decisions to make on running back Dalvin Cook and edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, signed but apparently unhappy and/or unwanted. They could be moved for late-round draft picks, or perhaps as part of a package for a depth player. And in their quest to find a successor to quarterback Kirk Cousins, entering a contract year, the Vikings reportedly ha...