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Iowa Republicans pass bill banning most abortions after about 6 weeks, governor to sign Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Republican-led Legislature passed a bill banning most abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy during a marathon special session Tuesday that continued late into the night. Gov. Kim Reynolds immediately said in a statement she would sign the bill on Friday.The bill passed with exclusively Republican support in a rare, one-day legislative burst lasting more than 14 hours over the vocal – and sometimes tense – objections from Democratic lawmakers and abortion advocates protesting at the Capitol. Just after 11 p.m., lingering protesters in the gallery booed and yelled “shame” to state senators in the minutes after the bill was approved.Reynolds ordered the rare session after the state Supreme Court declined in June to reinstate a practically identical law that she signed in 2018.“The Iowa Supreme Court questioned whether this legislature would pass the same law they did in 2018, and today they have a clear answer,” Reynolds said in a statemen...

North Korea conducts its 1st ICBM launch in 3 months after making threat over alleged US spy flights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test in three months on Wednesday, two days after it threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory.Some experts say North Korea likely tested its developmental, road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM, a type of solid-fuel weapon that is harder to detect and intercept than the North’s other liquid-fuel ICBMs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un previously called the Hwasong-18 his most powerful nuclear weapon.A long-range North Korean missile fired from its capital region around 10 a.m. flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) at a maximum altitude of 6,000 kilometers (3,730 miles) before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. They said the missile was launched on a high angle, in an apparent attempt to avoid neighboring countries.South Korea’s military...

New NATO-Ukraine Council set to meet for the first time at leaders’ summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to sit down with Volodomyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit this morning, a day after the Ukrainian president blasted the alliance for failing to extend a clear invite to his country. While Trudeau praised the allies for coming together to bring Ukraine closer to membership on Tuesday, Zelenskyy called it absurd that the leaders did not set out a timeline for that to happen. The leaders say in a statement that Ukraine has some conditions to meet, including democratic reform and stamping out corruption. But above all, NATO says, the war with Russia must end first. Today also marks the first meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council, which will aim to deepen ties as Ukraine works toward meeting the alliance’s requirements. Trudeau and Zelenskyy last met in person in June when the prime minister made a visit to Kyiv.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2023.The Canadian Press

Giant panda gives birth to squirming, squealing healthy twin girls at South Korean theme park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A giant panda has given birth to squirming, squealing healthy twin girls at a South Korean theme park.Ai Bao gave birth to her cubs last Friday at the Everland theme park near Seoul, the park’s operator said Tuesday.It released video of the birth and the mother caring for her newborns, as well as veterinarians examining the tiny cubs.They are the first panda twins born in South Korea, Samsung C&T Resort Group said.Both Ai Bao and her newborns are in good health, the resort group said in the statement.Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the panda species native to China from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity. The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. The South Korean resort group said it will observe the cubs’ health and growth to determine when to unveil the...

Hollywood actors agree to mediation, but strike may be unavoidable

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Unionized Hollywood actors on the verge of a strike have agreed to allow a last-minute intervention from federal mediators but say they doubt a deal will be reached by a negotiation deadline late Wednesday.“We are committed to the negotiating process and will explore and exhaust every possible opportunity to make a deal, however we are not confident that the employers have any intention of bargaining toward an agreement,” the Screen Actors Guild -American Federation of Radio and Television Artists said in a statement Tuesday night.The actors could join the already striking Writers Guild of America and grind the already slowed production process to a halt if no agreement is reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The sides agreed to an extension before the original contract expiration date on June 30, resetting it to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.Growing pessimism surrounding the talks seemed to turn to open hostility when SAG-AFTRA released ...

Thai police detain 2 German suspects in the abduction and killing of German businessman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police have detained two Germans in connection with the abduction and slaying of another German, whose dismembered body was found in a freezer in a southern Thailand home, local media reported Wednesday.A 52-year-old German man was apprehended in Bangkok on Tuesday evening, and a 47-year-old German woman turned herself in to police earlier in the day, according to the Khaosod newspaper, citing Tawee Kudthalaeng, the police chief in the town of Nong Prue where the victim’s body was found.Tawee did not answer his phone seeking confirmation, but the broadcaster Thai PBS had a similar report. Tawee told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his office was looking into both German and Thai nationals as suspects in the case. The body of Hans-Peter Mack, a 62-year-old real estate broker, was found Monday night stuffed into a chest freezer in a home in Nong Prue, an upscale settlement popular with foreigners northeast of Pattaya in Chonburi province. He had been mis...

A Biden plan cuts student loan payments for millions to $0. Will it be the next legal battle?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration calls it a “student loan safety net.” Opponents call it a backdoor attempt to make college free. And it could be the next battleground in the legal fight over student loan relief.Starting this summer, millions of Americans with student loans will be able to enroll in a new repayment plan that offers some of the most lenient terms ever. Interest won’t pile up as long as borrowers make regular payments. Millions of people will have monthly payments reduced to $0. And in as little as 10 years, any remaining debt will be canceled.It’s known as the SAVE Plan, and although it was announced last year, it has mostly been overshadowed by President Joe Biden’s proposal for mass student loan cancellation. But now, after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s forgiveness plan, the repayment option is taking center stage.Since the ruling Biden has proposed an alternate approach to cancel debt and also shifted attention to the lesser-known initiativ...

Prosecutors set to present evidence against Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife’s shakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Investigators say a Colorado dentist accused of killing his wife researched how to poison her and get away with it, searching online for answers to questions like “Is Arsenic Detectable in Autopsy?”On Wednesday, prosecutors are set to present their evidence against James Craig to a judge to show that he should stand trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angela Craig in March.Police believe James Craig, 45, laced her pre-workout protein shakes with arsenic and cyanide, so he could be with a woman he was having an affair with, according to court documents. He has yet to be asked to enter a plea to the charge.James Craig’s lawyer, David M. Beller, declined to comment on the allegations against his client.Angela Craig died after being taken off life support during her third trip to the hospital in March. She was married to her husband for 23 years and the mother of six children, according to her obituary. As she languished in the hospital, with doctors ...

Budget troubles won’t change California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goals for 2nd term, he tells AP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Throughout the various crises in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first term — devastating wildfires, the bankruptcy of the nation’s largest utility, the deadly COVID-19 pandemic — the state’s record-smashing budget surpluses were always there to smooth things over.Now, as Newsom moves to build his national profile for political aspirations beyond the governor’s office, looming multibillion dollar deficits could threaten to unravel the things on which he’s staked his reputation, including free kindergarten for every 4-year-old and free health care for low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.On Monday, after signing a budget that cut, delayed and borrowed to cover a $31.5 billion deficit, Newsom convened hundreds of agency officials, department heads and deputies for an all-day meeting to stress the importance of protecting those commitments. “I have a sell-by date, three and a half years. The clock’s tic...

FBI director set to clash with Republicans on the Trump case, Hunter Biden and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:19:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the FBI will face some of his harshest critics in Congress on Wednesday as he testifies before a House committee that is leading several investigations into claims that the law enforcement agency unfairly targets conservatives.FBI Director Chris Wray’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee is expected to be contentious. Republicans are prepared to aggressively question the director on several fronts, including the recent indictment of former President Donald Trump, the ongoing investigation into President Joe Biden’s son and the push for a new FBI headquarters. It’s just the latest display of the new normal on Capitol Hill, where Republicans who have long billed themselves as the champions of police and “law and order” are growing deeply at odds with federal law enforcement and the FBI, accusing the bureau of bias dating back to investigations of Trump when he was president. The new dynamic has forced Democrats into a new posit...