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Iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center to be illuminated

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The iconic Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center will be lit Wednesday night by more than 50,000 multicolored lights as crowds gather in New York City for the holiday tradition. The massive tree — a 12 ton, 80-foot-tall Norway spruce from upstate New York — will be illuminated by about five miles (8 kilometers) of LED string lights and topped with a 900-pound star covered in 3 million gleaming crystals.An opening night ceremony in Manhattan will feature appearances by Cher, Barry Manilow and Kelly Clarkson, among others. The Radio City Rockettes will also perform.Starting in the 1930s, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition has drawn thousands of visitors to the city each year during the holiday season.Following its initial lighting on Wednesday, the tree will remain lit from 5 a.m. to midnight every day until Jan. 13. On Christmas day, it’ll be lit 24 hours.Police have warned of the potential for protesters to interrupt the event, as recent gatherings ...

Senator: White House not seeking conditions on military aid to Israel, despite earlier Biden comment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told lawmakers this week that the White House is not seeking to place conditions on U.S. military assistance to Israel, days after President Joe Biden signaled openness to the notion that was being pushed by some Democrats as the civilian death toll in Gaza from Israel’s war against Hamas climbed. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who was among lawmakers who met privately with Sullivan on Tuesday, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Sullivan “made it clear that the White House is not asking for any conditionality in aid. So I want to leave that very clear.” A second person directly familiar with the meeting confirmed the account.Sullivan was on Capitol Hill to discuss questions from Senate Democrats about how the administration would ensure that any U.S. weapons provided to Israel are used in accord with U.S. law.Some lawmakers have suggested that the U.S. place conditions on the types of military assistance and how ...

Iowa Lottery posted wrong Powerball numbers — but temporary ‘winners’ get to keep the money

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Powerball losers in Iowa were actually winners for about seven hours this week after the state’s lottery mistakenly posted the wrong winning numbers for the game.Lottery officials blamed an unspecified “human reporting error” for the wrong numbers being posted for Monday night’s Powerball drawing. The incorrect numbers were posted on the Iowa Lottery’s website about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and it took until 7:15 a.m. before anyone noticed the mistake, took down the numbers and halted payoffs.The lottery said the initial, incorrect numbers would have resulted in prizes ranging from $4 to $200 — officials didn’t specify how many people won. Anyone who got up early and cashed in a winning ticket will be able to keep the money.Monday night’s Powerball jackpot was for an estimated $355 million.The lottery had to work until 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to correct its system and resume cashing winning Powerball tickets. With the correct numbers, 3,998 ...

Officer and suspect killed in a shootout after a traffic stop in southwest Colorado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

CORTEZ, Colo. (AP) — A police officer and a suspect were killed in a shootout following a traffic stop in southwest Colorado on Wednesday, authorities said.Police say the officer, whose name has not been released, was shot after pulling over a vehicle shortly before noon in the rural town of Cortez in the Four Corners region, where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet. The suspects fled in their vehicle, and shots were exchanged with police a short time later.One of the suspects was shot and died at the scene. Another was taken into custody.The injured police officer was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. No other information has been released.The Associated Press

Candidates for Assembly of First Nations national chief face off in Winnipeg forum

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

WINNIPEG — The six candidates vying to be the next national chief of the organization that represents more than 600 First Nations in Canada explained how they would advocate for treaty rights, sovereignty and health issues during a forum a week before the election. Four of the major groups representing First Nations in Manitoba hosted the event in Winnipeg on Wednesday to hear from those running to lead the Assembly of First Nations. Chiefs or proxies attended and were given the opportunity to ask questions. The election follows the dramatic ouster of former national chief RoseAnne Archibald, who was voted out after colleagues accused her of creating a toxic work environment — an allegation she has denied. The candidates running to replace her are Reginald Bellerose, Craig Makinaw, Sheila North, David Pratt, Dean Sayers and Cindy Woodhouse. Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, said leaders are looking forward to a change at the national level. ...

FBI agent carjacked in Washington, latest in string of high-profile carjackings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI agent was carjacked Wednesday in Washington, D.C., a theft that comes amid a sharp increase in the number of carjackings in the nation’s capital.Two people carried out the midafternoon armed carjacking, police said. The car was found about 30 minutes later about a mile away, Metropolitan Police said. The FBI’s Washington field office and the Metropolitan Police Department’s carjacking task force are investigating, the FBI said in a statement. Carjackings in the nation’s capital have more than doubled this year, up 104%. Recent victims include a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas. He was carjacked near the Capitol in October by three armed assailants, who stole his car but didn’t physically harm him.Earlier this month, Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle. No one was struck.Violent crime in ...

Vaughan residents, business owners want City to crack down on illegal land use

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

A group of Vaughan residents and business owners are calling on the City to put the brakes on illegal land use in agricultural areas, saying it’s out of control, especially in the Kleinburg area.If you drive along Cold Creek Road in the Kleinburg area of Vaughan you’ll notice trucks and sea containers being stored up and down the street.“I see lands being used for truck yards, rather than for agriculture,” said Ron Sant, co-owner of George Sant and Sons Greenhouses on Cold Creek Road. “This land is zoned agriculture right now.”John Bartella lives just north of the area. He says the illegal land use and illegal dumping in Vaughan is affecting his quality of life in King.“We have construction yards setting up shop in these areas making noise continuously throughout the day. “There’s a lot of dust going into the air from all the gravel and other materials being moved.”Bartella says the City has done little to help resolve the issue, but area councill...

Congress is eying immigration limits as GOP demands border changes in swap for Biden overseas aid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As record numbers of migrants surge at the southern U.S. border, many seeking asylum, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has told Congress the country’s “broken” immigration system is in need of a top-to-bottom update.But rather than undertake a comprehensive immigration overhaul, Congress is scrambling in a few short weeks for a deal that would greatly restrict the asylum and humanitarian parole process used by thousands to temporarily stay in the U.S. while their claims are being processed in the backlogged system.Pushed to the negotiating table by Republicans, the Biden administration is considering the long-shot effort as the price to be paid for the president’s $106 billion year-end request for Ukraine, Israel and national security needs. It comes as Mayorkas, the face of the administration’s immigration policy, bears down the threat of impeachment proceedings from House Republicans over what they view as failed border policies.“We’re n...

Opponents gave input on ballot language for abortion-rights measure, Ohio elections chief says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose consulted with three prominent anti-abortion groups while drafting the contested ballot language used to describe Issue 1, an abortion-rights measure overwhelmingly approved by voters earlier this month, cleveland.com reported Wednesday. The Republican elections chief and 2024 U.S. Senate candidate revealed having help with the wording while speaking at a Nov. 17 candidate forum hosted by the local Republican club Strongsville GOP, according to the news organization.The constitutional amendment’s backers blasted the ballot summary offered by LaRose, in his role as chair of the Ohio Ballot Board, as “rife with misleading and defective language” intended to encourage “no” votes. LaRose’s wording substituted “unborn child” for “fetus” and suggested the measure would limit “citizens of the State” from passing laws to restrict abortion access when it actually limited state government from doing so. The pro-...

Bernardo transfer should be ‘turning point’ on better informing victims: ombudsman

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:41:40 GMT

OTTAWA — Three childhood friends say they were forced to relive the anguish and fear of losing Kristen French when Correctional Service Canada decided to transfer her killer to a medium-security prison. The women testified at a parliamentary committee today about how it felt to learn that Paul Bernardo was being moved out of his maximum-security prison in late May. Bernardo is serving an indeterminate life-sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.Benjamin Roebuck, the federal ombudsman for victims of crime, says the legislation that governs the prison system “is failing victims of crime” as it places too many limits on what can be shared with victims. He told the committee that his office has been raising concerns about prison transfers since 2010, and he hopes that the Bernardo decision becomes a “turning point.”The correctional service concluded in...