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China presents UN with vague Mideast peace plan as US promotes its own role in easing the Gaza war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China on Wednesday presented the United Nations Security Council with a four-point plan for Middle East peace in a demonstration of its ambitions to be a global superpower. But the plan was short on details, and the United States quickly reminded the council of its attempts to ease the Gaza war. China has had little role in negotiations over the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which have been largely monopolized by the United States for decades. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the council that the war shows the urgent need for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.“We should revitalize the political prospects of the two-state solution with stronger determination,” he said. The lack of a Palestinian state is “the crux of the repeated turbulence in the Palestinian-Israeli situation,” he said.U.S. President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials also have spoken in favor of working toward a two-state solution for the conflict.China made its biggest foray into Middle...

Investigation opened after Saguenay, Que., police kill man allegedly armed with knife

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

SAGUENAY, Que. — Quebec’s police watchdog says it is investigating after police in Saguenay, Que., shot and killed a man who was allegedly armed with a knife.The agency, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, says police in the city about 180 kilometres north of Quebec City received a 911 call reporting a stabbing shortly after 10 a.m. on Tuesday.The agency says in a news release that officers arrived a few minutes later and reported seeing an individual with a knife.It says the officers ordered the man to drop the weapon, and when he didn’t, they attempted to use a stun gun to stop him.However, it says, the individual continued to advance toward the officers with the knife in his hand.It says one of the police officers then shot the man, who was declared dead at the scene.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2023. The Canadian Press

Lawsuit seeks $5M for Black former delivery driver who says white men shot at him in Mississippi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Black former delivery driver in Mississippi who says two white men shot into his work van and then pursued him in a high-speed chase last year has filed a new lawsuit against the men and his former employer, FedEx.This is the second civil suit on behalf of D’Monterrio Gibson, and it seeks at least $5 million. The two men were tried for attempted murder and other charges but a judge declared a mistrial this summer.Gibson was not wounded during the encounter on Jan. 24, 2022, in Brookhaven, about an hour’s drive south of Jackson. FedEx made him return to work on the same route, and that caused him to have “depression, stress, anxiety, loss of sleep, and emotional pain and suffering,” according to the lawsuit. It was filed by attorney Carlos Moore on Nov. 20 in state court.FedEx spokesperson Austin Kemker said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press: “Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees. FedEx denies the allegatio...

Deutsche Bank was keen to land a ‘whale’ of a client in Trump, documents at his fraud trial show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Deutsche Bank viewed Donald Trump as a “whale” of a client, was eager to land him and eagerly cultivated a relationship that grew from $13,000 worth of revenue to $6 million in two years, according to documents presented Wednesday at the former president’s civil fraud trial. The bank’s dealings with Trump are a key issue in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, which accuses Trump, his company and some executives of hoodwinking lenders and insurers by presenting them with grossly inflated statements of his asset values. The defendants deny any wrongdoing. They have sought to show that the bank felt delighted, not deceived, by Trump and courted his business.“We are whale hunting,” then-bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic wrote colleagues in November 2011, after she had been introduced to Trump’s son Donald Jr. but had yet to meet the elder Trump. The bankers used “whale” to refer to a very wealthy client, Vrablic testified Wedne...

Senators need to ‘get out of the way’ and pass carbon price bill: Tory MP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

OTTAWA — Ontario Conservative MP Adam Chambers says senators should, in his words, “learn their place in a democracy” and go back to being what he calls “invisible” instead of holding up a carbon pricing farm bill.The Conservatives insist the “unelected” Senate is blocking a bill that would remove the carbon levy from natural gas and propane that’s used on farms. MPs will vote later today on a Conservative motion exhorting the Senate to stop stalling and pass the bill, which the House of Commons voted for last spring.The government exempted gasoline and diesel used on farms from carbon pricing because there are no alternatives, but say there are steps farmers can take to reduce their use of natural gas and propane.Farmers have complained that carbon pricing is costing them tens of thousands of dollars, and that alternatives and efficiencies that would lower their carbon price bills are too expensive.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Sen...

Jets begin Aaron Rodgers' 21-day practice window in next step in recovery from torn Achilles tendon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers' improbable comeback from a torn Achilles tendon has taken the next step.The New York Jets opened the 21-day practice window for the quarterback on Wednesday — exactly 11 weeks after he had surgery — with Rodgers cleared for some football activities.Coach Robert Saleh said the four-time NFL MVP, who turns 40 on Saturday, will be limited at practice and is not cleared for contact. Saleh said there's no added risk in taking this step, emphasizing it's not necessarily a signal that Rodgers will play again this season as much as it is the next part of the quarterback's rehabilitation process.“For Aaron, what he will be doing in practice is no different than what he'd be doing on the field, with regards to certain drills and individual (drills),” Saleh said. “Instead of throwing with staff members, he's throwing with teammates.”At the end of the 21-day period, the Jets will have to make a decision whether to activate him or he'll spend the rest of ...

Florida driver arrested after street race ended with Corvette ripped apart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida Mustang driver was arrested Tuesday after a hit-and-run crash left a Corvette driver seriously hurt, the Florida Highway Patrol said.Troopers said a Ford Mustang driver and a Chevrolet Corvette driver were racing on State Road 200 on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 18. Highway Patrol said the Corvette driver hit a Toyota Prius. The Corvette then went off the road and hit a utility pole and a tree, ripping the car apart. A $16 McDonald’s meal is going viral again. Here’s why The Prius remained in the median.(Florida Highway Patrol)Investigators said the Mustang driver parked and concealed his car in a parking lot. He checked on the Corvette driver and then fled the scene, according to troopers.Troopers said they arrested the Mustang driver on Tuesday. The driver, identified as 23-year-old Jacob Carmack, was booked into the Marion County Jail. He was charged with three alleged crimes related to reckless driving, racing, and for failing to remain at the ...

Life expectancy rises, but still trails pre-COVID level

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

(The Hill) – The average life expectancy for 2022 ticked up from the previous year but still remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to the most recent data published Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The CDC measures life expectancy as the average number of years a baby born in a certain year could expect to live, taking for granted that death rates hold constant.In 2022, it was 77.5 years, a dramatic 1.1-year increase from the 76.6-year life expectancy in 2021.Still, the change does not fully make up for the loss of 2.4 years of life expectancy from 2019 to 2021, which, the CDC said, “resulted mostly from increases in excess deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”For at least the last two decades, life expectancy rose steadily each year, but declined dramatically from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 years in 2020, and then to 76.6 years in 2021.“We basically have lost 20 years of gains,” the CDC’s Elizabeth Arias said, the Associated Press reported.Lif...

Could Barton Springs be renamed?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Parks and Recreation Board created a Barton Springs Bathhouse working group in July 2023 with two objectives: recommending a new name for the bathhouse and recommending ideas on how to incorporate educational installations on the racial and cultural history of perhaps Austin’s most famous swimming pool. When presenting the potential names for the bathhouse at the board meeting on Monday, the working group discussed how it would frequently come back during the renaming process to whether “Barton” was an appropriate name for the springs. MORE: Things you may not know about historic Barton Springs “I think at some point, all of us started referring to [Barton] spring as ‘The Spring,’” said Pedro Villalobos, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Board. “That's because of the baggage that it carries with it.”“We are recommending based off of William Barton's known ownership of enslaved people – and given the Confederate Monument Resolution passed by City Cou...

Austin awards $3.5M in grants to local musicians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin's Economic Development Department allocated $3.5 million in grant funding to 368 local professional musicians, bands and independent promotors, city officials announced in a Wednesday release. The 2023 Live Music Fund Event Program offered $5,00 and $10,000 grants "to help encourage, promote, improve, and showcase Austin's diverse live music industry," the release said. Community, connections and chords: How Austin maintains its live music reputation Per city officials, half of grant recipients identified as "majority diverse race/ethnicity," while 32% of grantees identified as women or non-binary, per the release. A complete breakdown of grantees is available online.“Through the Live Music Fund Event Program, we stand by our commitment to Austin’s diverse artistic community, celebrating the rhythm of our city’s identity,” said Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, director of the Economic Development Department, in the release. “These grants empower musicians, ba...