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DeSantis knocks Trump, GOP moves on from Reagan and other presidential debate takeaways

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

Seven Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the Reagan Library in California on Wednesday for the second of the party’s primary debates. The contest’s dominant front-runner — former President Donald Trump — skipped the event again.With less than four months until the Iowa caucuses officially jumpstart the GOP nomination process, the pressure is building on Trump’s rivals to show they can emerge as a genuine alternative. Here are some early takeaways from the debate:DeSantis hits Trump Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had an aggressive start, using his first answer to criticize Trump for skipping the debate and for adding to the national debt while serving as president.“Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be here on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record,” DeSantis said.The Florida governor has been slow to attack Trump for most of the campaign, but as he’s struggled to maintain his position as a distant second, he’s started slowly sharpening ...

Race to replace Sen. Mitt Romney heats up as Republican Utah House speaker formally enters race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

DRAPER, Utah (AP) — Promising to fight against liberal activism in Washington if elected, Republican Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson formally announced Wednesday night that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mitt Romney, who recently announced he won’t run for reelection.Wilson repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden to the cheers of his supporters at a rally in a Salt Lake City suburb, blaming the Democratic administration for inflation, high gas prices and immigration problems at the U.S.-Mexico border. He vowed to lower taxes, help police enforce laws and protect gun rights. He lamented how “unelected experts and ”elitist experts” tried to impose lockdowns and vaccine mandates instead of letting people make their own decisions. “Joe Biden and radical leftists as well as ‘go along to get along’ Republicans are taking us down dead end streets . . . where schools are teaching our kids what to think, not how to think,” said Wilson, who was first elec...

High school teachers accept Ford government’s binding arbitration proposal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

High school teachers in Ontario have accepted the Ford government’s binding arbitration proposal, ending the threat of a possible strike for at least the next three years. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation says it’s members voted “overwhelmingly” to enter into a proposal to continue bargaining with the Ontario government until October 27, and if no deal is reached all remaining issues would be settled by binding arbitration. The approved proposal means there will be no strikes or lockouts during this round of bargaining.“Premier Ford can’t be trusted. For over 14 months, we have tried to engage the Ford government in good faith bargaining but we haven’t had a partner at the table that cares about safeguarding our public education system,” OSSTF President Karen Littlewood said in a statement. “Now we have the opportunity to bypass traditional bargaining pathways to secure a fair collective agreement.” The union says the ...

Mexican army sends troops, helicopters, convoys in to towns cut off by drug cartels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s armed forces sent troops, vehicle convoys and helicopters into remote towns near the southern border with Guatemala on Wednesday after drug cartels blocked roads and cut off electricity in some areas over the weekend. The drug cartels have taken control of so much territory in the rural southern state of Chiapas that some government workers had to be flown in by helicopter to repair power lines. A combined force of about 800 soldiers, National Guard officers and police fanned out around the township of Frontera Comalapa, after videos surfaced over the weekend of a convoy of heavily-armed gunmen from the Sinaloa cartel rolling into one town, drawing cheers from some inhabitants. Church groups complained supplies were running out because of the gang roadblocks.The government convoys Wednesday meet no armed resistance. But some locals are understandably skeptical about how long the peace will last. The army carried out a similar operation in the area i...

North Korean leader urges greater nuclear weapons production in response to a ‘new Cold War’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in a “new Cold War,” state media said Thursday.The Korean Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during a two-day session of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament which amended the constitution to include his policy of expanding the country’s nuclear weapons program.The Supreme People’s Assembly’s session on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visit military and technology sites.The trip sparked Western concerns about a possible arms alliance in which North Korea would supply Putin with badly needed munitions to fuel his war on Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and advanced Russian technologies to enhance North Korea’s nuclear and m...

Republican debate live updates: Rivals go after one another, Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

Republican presidential candidates jumped quickly to make an impression from the start of the second debate Wednesday night in Simi Valley, Calif. It started less than hour after the 2024 front-runner headlined an event in Michigan.Seven candidates, all polling well behind former President Trump, met the Republican National Committee criteria to participate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.Trump, meanwhile, again did not join the debate. Instead, he headlined an event of autoworkers near Detroit, amid the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.Find out how to watch the debate here.And follow along here through the night for live updates.

WATCH: At least 52 arrested after crowds ransack stores across Philadelphia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WPHL) – Philadelphia police announced Wednesday that 52 people have been arrested after a large group of looters ransacked various businesses in the bustling Center City neighborhood on Tuesday night. In the most recent update, police say 49 adults and 3 juveniles have been arrested. The counts filed include burglary and theft, among others, according to Jane Roh, spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney's office.Philadelphia Police say the crime spree began around 7:30 p.m. when officers received numerous 911 calls and reports of a looting happening at the Foot Locker on 1500 Chestnut Street. According to police, a large group of juveniles, possibly as many as 100, had ransacked the store in what police are calling "a coordinated attack". People stand outside an Apple Store in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 after it was ransacked the previous evening. Police say groups of teenagers swarmed into stores across Philadelphia in an apparently coor...

TCSO launches cold case webpage in hopes of finding answers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- The Travis County Sheriff's Office launched a cold case page on its website in hopes of reaching "people who can help solve these decades-old mysteries," according to a TCSO release. DNA technology helps solve 2004 San Marcos cold case The page, on the TCSO website, is organized by decade, the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and will periodically feature specific cases at the top, the release said.The categories include photos of each victim and a description of the case, TCSO said. An "unidentified" category is also listed for cases where the victim's identity is unknown.The featured cases will have video vignettes with additional information about the case. Those videos will be shared across TCSO's social media, TCSO said.“While these cases may have gone cold, the Cold Case Unit’s mission to solve them has not,” Sheriff Sally Hernandez said in the release. “We feel deep compassion for the loved ones of these victims. Some of them have gone most of ...

Woodbury man, 18, faces felony charge for allegedly stealing $20,000 from Egg Roll Queen food truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

An 18-year-old Woodbury man faces charges for allegedly stealing $20,000 to $30,000 in cash from the popular Egg Roll Queen food truck, which had been parked in South St. Paul.Frank Gums III was being held Wednesday at the Dakota County Jail in Hastings in lieu of $20,000 bail on a single county of felony theft.Frank Gums III, 18, of Woodbury, was being held on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 in the Dakota County Jail in Hastings. Gums faces a felony count of theft for allegedly stealing $20,000 to $30,000 from the Egg Roll Queen food truck when it was parked in South St. Paul on Sept. 13, 2023. (Dakota County book photo)According to charges filed by the Dakota County attorney’s office, the proprietor of the Egg Roll Queen called police on Sept. 13 to report that a man had opened the driver’s side door of her food truck and grabbed a backpack containing the previous month’s business proceeds, as well as two electronic boxes, jewelry and checkbooks belonging to her and th...

Narcan helped save a toddler in St. Paul. Anyone can carry it and health officials say they should.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:53 GMT

After an unresponsive 2-year-old was revived by St. Paul paramedics using Narcan, a public health official said Wednesday it highlights the need for community members to have access to the medication that can reverse opioid overdoses.There are places where people can pick up naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, for free, and St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health officials say they’re planning a pilot program to make it more readily available “for situations just like this.”Five children who were age 5 or younger died of fentanyl-involved overdoses in the state between 2017 and 2022, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The Minnesota Poison Control System was contacted about more than 60 children under the age of 3 who were exposed to opioids since 2022, the agency said in July.“With so much fentanyl out there on the street, obviously it’s very dangerous” if children are exposed, said Ryan Rasmussen, public health educator with St. P...