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Meet the Republicans running for Speaker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

WASHINGTON — Nine Republicans have announced that they will run for speaker, after the party cast aside Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as its latest nominee for the leadership post.A flood of lawmakers began campaigning just hours after Republicans voted in a closed-door meeting to restart the nomination process after Jordan, his support ebbing, failed on a third floor vote to win the speakership. The vote essentially ensured that the office of the speaker would remain empty for a third week.The lawmakers vying for the job include veterans of the House, committee chairs, a top member of Republican leadership and a sophomore. Virtually none have the kind of commanding national profile normally required of the speaker, who is not only second in line to the presidency but a key fundraiser for their party’s efforts to protect and expand its majority.They will have to navigate the same treacherous dynamics of a bitterly divided conference that the three men before them could not, leaving some R...

Israel orders more evacuations amid fears of conflict widening

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

As Israeli forces massed along the border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday before an expected ground invasion of the enclave, escalating clashes on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon along with strikes in Syria and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank intensified fears of a widening regional conflict.Israeli authorities said they were expanding a state-funded evacuation plan to move residents from an additional 14 Israeli villages near the border with Lebanon to safer areas. The move came as Israel’s military said Sunday it was contending with increasing attacks from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that controls southern Lebanon, that have resulted in civilian and military casualties.Amid concerns the conflict could spill over, the Pentagon said late Saturday that it was sending an anti-missile battery and battalions of the Patriot ground-based air defense system to the Middle East following “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces.”U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ...

Inmate found dead in his cell at Redwood City jail — the second death in two days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

Redwood City — A 34-year-old inmate of the Maguire Correctional Facility was found dead after a suspected suicide on Saturday night, though investigations into the cause of death are still underway.It was the second death to occur at the Redwood City jail within two days, after a 64-year-old was found dead in his cell on Friday afternoon.The 34-year-old was housed in the facility’s behavioral health unit, which provides support and services for those suffering from mental illness issues.At approximately 9:18 p.m. Saturday, correctional officers found the individual unresponsive in his cell during a regular hourly check-in, according to a statement from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The man was immediately given life-saving support, the statement said, until medical staff arrived. Soon after, he was pronounced dead by the Redwood City Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services.San Mateo County’s sheriff’s office, District Attorney’s Office a...

Kareem Hunt’s late TD helps Browns rally past Colts 38-33 in topsy-turvy game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kareem Hunt scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge with 15 seconds left Sunday, capping an 80-yard touchdown drive that gave the Cleveland Browns a 39-38 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.P.J. Walker used all but 15 seconds of the final 2:35 to rally the Browns for the second consecutive week, this time taking advantage of debatable back-to-back defensive penalties against the Colts, an illegal contact and a defensive pass interference call on cornerback Darrell Baker Jr.The first call nullified a fumble recovery by the Colts. The second put the ball at the 1-yard line, setting up Hunt’s fourth-down score. He had 10 carries for 31 yards and two TDs.It’s the second straight week Walker has rallied Cleveland (4-2). This time it was in relief of Deshaun Watson, who started his first game since Sept. 24 but left in the first quarter after taking a big hit that left him sprawled on the turf for several minutes.Watson was cleared after being evaluated for a ...

Koo’s game-ending 51-yard FG helps Falcons overcome Ridder’s mistakes, beat Buccaneers 16-13

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Younghoe Koo’s third field goal of the game, a 51-yarder as time expired, bailed out Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder and gave the mistake-prone, but now first-place Falcons a 16-13 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.The Falcons (4-3) snapped an eight-game road losing streak and moved atop the NFC South ahead of the Bucs (3-3) despite Ridder losing three fumbles inside Tampa Bay’s red zone, including one that cost him a 12-yard touchdown run that would have put Atlanta up 10 points with less than four minutes to go.Ridder’s fumble on a sack stopped the Falcons from breaking a 10-10 tie just before halftime. The young quarterback lost another fumble in the third quarter, one play after Drake London’s 13-yard reception gave the Falcons a first down inside the Bucs 1.The receiver nearly scored on the play, although he appeared to lose possession as he stretched out for the goal line. The Bucs challenged the ruling on the field that Lo...

Neither rain nor shine stop ebullient Venezuelans from voting in opposition’s presidential primary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Ebullient Venezuelans were choosing the candidate they think can end the decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolás Maduro, lining up under a scorching sun and torrential rain to cast ballots in a primary election that the opposition independently organized despite government repression.Holding Venezuela’s first presidential primary since 2012 required the deeply fractured opposition to work together. Venezuelans, in turn, showed up at voting centers in and outside of their homeland to make it count, but it could still prove an exercise in futility, if Maduro’s government so wishes.While the administration agreed in principle to let the opposition choose its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, it also has already barred the primary’s front-runner, Maria Corina Machado, from running for office. Maduro’s government has in the past bent the law, retaliated against opponents and breached agreements as it sees fit.Hundreds of people gathere...

No evidence of hate crime, police say as slain Detroit synagogue president mourned as devoted leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

(AP) — A Detroit synagogue president who was fatally stabbed at her home was remembered Sunday by family, friends and top Michigan officials as a generous, thoughtful leader who built bridges between communities.As mourners gathered to pay respects to Samantha Woll, police said their ongoing investigation of her killing found no evidence of antisemitism as a motive.The 40-year-old Woll, or “Sam” as she was known to friends and family, led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, and was a campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel and former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin.“You so deeply wanted peace for this world. You fought for everyone regardless of who they were or where they came from,” said Monica Woll Rosen, directly addressing her late sister before mourners at the Jewish funeral home. “You were the definition of a leader. Our world is shattered without you.”Woll’s body was found at her home Saturday morning after a caller alerted officers to a pe...

Missing Tennessee man found alive nearly three days after motorcycle crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

(CNN) — Friends and family of a Tennessee man who went missing after a motorcycle crash last week say they never gave up hope that he’d be found.Taylor Boyle and the motorcycle he was riding were discovered down an embankment between 30 to 50 feet off a back road in a rural area of Powell nearly three days after his family filed a missing person’s report with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Boyle’s friend, Cameron Williams, told CNN in a phone interview Sunday.“He’s extremely lucky to be alive,” Williams said.Before he was found on the evening of October 17, Boyle’s family had last spoken to him on October 15 at around 10 a.m., according to the missing person’s report.Williams said the family grew concerned when they didn’t hear from him and began monitoring his phone and bank accounts or signs of any activity.Groups of friends began searching possible routes that Boyle may have taken – but they didn’t find him, according to Williams.“On Tuesday evening, there were proba...

Vermont State Police searching for 2 young men who disappeared

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

DERBY, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police are searching for a pair of 21-year-old Massachusetts men who disappeared under “suspicious circumstances” while traveling through several communities. Efforts to find them included a weekend search with dogs.Jahim Solomon of Pittsfield and Eric White of Chicopee were reported missing on Oct. 15 after falling out of touch with their families for several days, state police said. They’d previously been in Burlington, Lowell, Morrisville and Stowe, officials said.Vermont State Police said investigators are concerned about the well being of the pair.Searchers spent part of a rainy Saturday searching the area around Albany and Lowell. A spokesperson on Sunday confirmed that the Vermont State Police Search & Rescue Team and New England K-9 participated in the search. The spokesperson declined to provide additional details, including why searchers focused on that area.

6 killed in Russian rocket strike on Ukraine mail depot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine — A missile strike on a mail depot in the eastern city of Kharkiv killed six people, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, as Ukraine reported a record number of bomb attacks in the southern Kherson region.A further 17 people were wounded in the blast late Saturday, which is believed to have been caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on social media. All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta.The Ukrainian-held front-line city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February last year.In a statement, Nova Poshta said the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter. It announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning for the firm.Ukrainian President ...