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Israel’s Netanyahu may have tough time saving judicial plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put his contentious judicial overhaul plan on hold this week, he vowed to pass the package through parliament “one way or another.” But he may have a hard time keeping that promise.This week’s about-face has left him weakened and coming up against a wall of opposition he has never before faced in a three-decade political career. For nearly three months, hundreds of thousands of people have repeatedly taken to the streets week after week to demonstrate against the plan, crippling major highways and city streets as they accused him of pushing the country toward dictatorship. Influential business leaders and security men came out against him. The country’s main trade union declared a general strike. Perhaps most worrying for Israel, key military reservists, first and foremost Israeli fighter pilots, threatened to stop reporting for duty. Key international allies voiced concerns and objections.While Netanyahu has the support in parli...

Harris, in Africa, confronts painful past, envisions future

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

CAPE COAST, Ghana (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday stepped through the black doors of a colonial-era seaside fort and down into the dungeons, touring a site where millions of enslaved Africans were held captive before they were loaded onto ships bound for the Americas. With her visit to Cape Coast Castle, Harris was insisting on remembering the painful past even as she stood earlier Tuesday before a monument commemorating Ghana’s independence, envisioning a grand future between the U.S. and Africa propelled by innovation on the continent. “The horror of what happened here must always be remembered,” she said from the fort as the sun set over the water. “It cannot be denied. It must be taught. History must be learned.” The nation’s first Black and South Asian vice president is the most high-profile member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Africa as the U.S. escalates its outreach to the continent. The events on her second day in Gh...

Man charged in fatal Toronto subway stabbing wanted in Newfoundland: court documents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

Court documents suggest the man accused in the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old at a Toronto station was wanted on an outstanding warrant in Newfoundland at the time.Toronto police say Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 22, was arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree murder in the weekend stabbing.Court documents from Newfoundland and Labrador provincial court show a man with the same name and date of birth is wanted on an outstanding warrant for breaching probation conditions.The warrant was issued on April 15, 2021, in St. John’s, remains active, and says O’Brien-Tobin’s last known address was in east Toronto.Toronto police allege O’Brien-Tobin stabbed Gabriel Magalhaes in an unprovoked attack while the teen was sitting on a bench at a subway station on Saturday night.Police said the teen died in the hospital after the stabbing.RELATED: TTC increases outreach as expert call for guaranteed income in response to violenceThe teen’s death came as the TTC ...

AP Sources: Judge rules Pence must testify before grand jury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.That’s according to two people familiar with the ruling, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it remains under seal.The people said, however, that Pence would not have to answer questions about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the building as Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the vote. Pence and his attorneys had cited constitutional grounds in challenging the subpoena. They argued that, because he was serving in his capacity as president of the Senate that day, he was protected from being forced to testify under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which is intended to protect members of Congress from...

Head of Nashville school in shooting would ‘run to’ danger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The head of the Christian elementary school in Nashville who was killed in a shooting there on Monday was described by friends as smart, loving and a rare female leader within a male-led religious culture. “If there was any trouble in that school, she would run to it, not from it,” Jackie Bailey said of her friend Katherine Koonce, head of The Covenant School. “She was trying to protect those kids … That’s just what I believe.”Koonce was one of six people killed in the shooting in Tennessee, including three 9-year-old children identified by police as Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney. Also killed were Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher, and Mike Hill, 61, a custodian.Hallie Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the lead pastor at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, according to a statement released by a Presbyterian Church in Dallas where the elder Scruggs had served as an associate pastor.“We love the Scruggs family and mourn with the...

IOC details advice to let Russia, Belarus athletes return

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Some Russian athletes can soon return to international sports, although their status for next year’s Paris Olympics is still up in the air.The International Olympic Committee recommended Tuesday that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to return to competition under a neutral status as long as they have no military links. But the IOC, facing increased pressure to ban Russia and Belarus from the Paris Olympics because of the war in Ukraine, held off on deciding whether they can compete at next year’s Summer Games.That decision will be taken “at the appropriate time,” IOC President Thomas Bach said. When it comes to other events, including Olympic qualifiers, it will be up to each individual sport’s governing body to make the final decision on whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can take part. While the IOC said Russia and Belarus should remain barred from team sports such as soccer and basketball, it still defied repeated calls ...

Fed official: Bank rules under review in wake of SVB failure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s bank supervisors warned Silicon Valley Bank’s management as early as the fall of 2021 of risks stemming from its unusual business model, a top Fed official said Tuesday, but its managers failed to take the steps necessary to fix the problems. The Fed official, Michael Barr, the nation’s top banking regulator, said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing that the Fed is considering whether stronger bank rules are needed to prevent a similar failure in the future. Silicon Valley Bank’s management was deficient, Barr said. In particular, he said, the interest rate model the bank used “was not at all aligned with reality.”The timeline that Barr laid out for when the Fed had alerted Silicon Valley’s management to the risks it faced is earlier than the central bank has previously said the bank was on its radar screen.Tuesday’s hearing was the first formal congressional inquiry into the March 10 collapse of Silicon Valley Ba...

Stocks edge lower as some calm remains on Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged lower in relatively quiet trading on Tuesday, and Wall Street is regaining some cool at the tail end of what’s been a turmoil-filled month.The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower in afternoon trading, with slightly more losers than gainers within the benchmark index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 126 points, or less than 0.4%, at 32,306 as of 2:14 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower. There was calm even in the bond market, which has been home to some of Wall Street’s wildest moves since fears flared about the banking system earlier this month. Yields were moving only modestly following their historic-sized moves in prior weeks. This month has been dominated by worries that banks around the world may be cracking under the pressure of much higher interest rates. In the U.S., investors have been on the hunt for smaller and midsized banks that could see a quick exodus of customers akin to the run that toppled Silicon Valley Bank. In...

NASCAR makes major announcement on Chicago Street Race Tuesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

CHICAGO - As the inaugural event in downtown Chicago gets closer and closer, more and more about the Chicago Street Race is being announced.That included Tuesday, when another founding partner has come on board for the event in early July.Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois announced that they will be one of the founding partners for the event, doing so at a news conference in downtown Chicago. They will join McDonald's, who announced their founding partnership last week. What tickets are for sale for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race? Both companies will have official presenting, marketing and promotional rights for the Xfinity Series "The Loop 121" race on Saturday, July 1 and the Cup Series "Grant Park 220" on Saturday, July 2. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is part of the fabric of Chicago and Illinois. The NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend is taking place on the doorstep of our headquarters building and we expect it to be an exciting addition to Chicago’s sports legacy...

Highest-rated things to do in Chicago, according to Tripadvisor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:57 GMT

Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated things to do in Chicago on Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor rankings factor in the average rating and number of reviews.#30. The Art Institute of Chicago- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (24,407)- Type of activity: Art Museums- Address: 111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603-6110- Read more on Tripadvisor#29. Millennium Park- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (25,010)- Type of activity: Points of Interest & Landmarks • Parks- Address: 201 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601-6530- Read more on Tripadvisor Chicago suburbs’ most expensive home for sale #28. Cloud Gate- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (18,210)- Type of activity: Points of Interest & Landmarks • Monuments & Statues- Address: not available- Read more on Tripadvisor#27. The Magnificent Mile- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (15,769)- Type of activity: Neighborhoods • Points of Interest & Landmarks- Address: North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611- Read more on Tripadvisor#26. Inside Chicago Walking Tours- Rating: 5.0 / 5 (1,713)- ...