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New Speaker Mike Johnson formally endorses Donald Trump, a step beyond predecessor Kevin McCarthy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Donald Trump for president on Tuesday, a move that was a symbolic departure from his ousted predecessor leading the House.Johnson, an ally and defender of the former president, said in an interview on CNBC Tuesday morning, “I have endorsed him wholeheartedly.”He added a bit later: “I’m all in for President Trump.”Johnson, a little-known Louisiana congressman, became speaker late last month when Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a hard-right band of their fellow Republicans. Though McCarthy was a longtime Trump ally and one of the first elected officials to publicly align himself with Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters, he had stopped short of formally backing Trump’s third White House bid.McCarthy had drawn the ire of Trump allies after he questioned in an interview this summer whether Trump was the strongest candidate among the then-crowded field of GOP rivals. The field h...

Vehicles with higher, vertical front ends raise risks for pedestrians

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

Motor vehicles with higher, more vertical front ends raise risks for pedestrians, according to a highway safety organization.The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said that whatever the nose shape, pickups, SUVs and vans with a hood height greater than 40 inches are about 45% more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes than cars and other vehicles with a hood height of 30 inches or less and a sloping profile.But among vehicles with hood heights between 30 and 40 inches, a blunt, or more vertical, front end increases the risk to pedestrians. The study released Tuesday arrives with roadway deaths in the U.S. mounting despite government test data showing vehicles have been getting safer. While the number of all car-related fatalities has trended upward over the last decade, pedestrians and cyclists have seen the sharpest rise: over 60% between 2011 and 2022.IHS researchers looked at 17,897 crashes involving a single passenger vehicle and a single pedestrian. Using Vehicl...

Semitrailer rear-ends bus carrying students in Ohio, killing 3 and sending 15 to hospital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

ETNA, Ohio (AP) — A charter bus carrying students from a high school was rear-ended by a semi-truck on an Ohio highway Tuesday, leaving three people dead and 15 others injured, according to an emergency official.The charter bus was transporting students from a school in eastern Ohio, Licking County Emergency Management Agency Director Sean Grady said. There were a total of 57 people onboard, he said.The accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. on Interstate 70 West in Licking County, near the Smoke Road underpass. The cause was not immediately known.The injured were being treated at five hospitals.Numerous emergency responders were at the scene, and Ohio Department of Transportation cameras from the area showed smoke coming from the crash site. The highway was closed in both directions and numerous traffic delays were being reported.Mickey Lymon, an investigator with the Licking County Coroner’s Office, said they had been called to the scene, but deferred other questions to the state...

Extremist-linked rebels kill at least 44 villagers in separate attacks in Congo’s volatile east

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Extremist-linked rebels have killed at least 44 villagers in separate attacks in Congo’s volatile east, local authorities and civil society leaders said Tuesday.The Allied Democratic Forces rebels with ties to the Islamic State group attacked Kishanga village in North Kivu province on Sunday night and killed 33 people including a member of the Congolese army, said a delegate of the provincial governor, Samson Simara.“The rebels executed them in the Virunga National Park,” Simara said.The rebels killed 11 other villagers in the province of Ituri on Tuesday, according to Samuel Ngunjolo, a civil society leader.“We are worried and … are asking the security services to urgently deploy security,” Ngunjolo said.Six of the rebels were killed by the army, according to Capt. Anthony Mulushayi, spokesman for the Congolese army in North Kivu. Some hostages were freed, Mulushayi said.Eastern Congo has been ravaged by conflict for decades as more than 120 armed group...

YouTube creators will soon have to disclose use of gen AI in videos or risk suspension

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

The Associated Press (AP) — YouTube is rolling out new rules for AI content, including a requirement that creators reveal whether they’ve used generative artificial intelligence to make realistic looking videos. In a blog post Tuesday outlining a number of AI-related policy updates, YouTube said creators that don’t disclose whether they’ve used AI tools to make “altered or synthetic” videos face penalties including having their content removed or suspension from the platform’s revenue sharing program. “Generative AI has the potential to unlock creativity on YouTube and transform the experience for viewers and creators on our platform,” Jennifer Flannery O’Connor and Emily Moxley, vice presidents for product management, wrote in the blog post. “But just as important, these opportunities must be balanced with our responsibility to protect the YouTube community.” The restrictions expand on rules that YouTube’s parent company, Google, unveiled in September ...

Wanted sex offender Randall Hopley arrested in Vancouver, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

VANCOUVER — Police say high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley has been arrested in Vancouver.A statement from police says Hopley was picked up at about 6 a.m. on the city’s Downtown Eastside and he is in custody.The arrest ends a 10-day search for Hopley, who walked away from his Vancouver halfway house on Nov. 4., and cut off his electronic monitoring device a short time later.At the time, police said they believed the 58-year-old was worried about an upcoming court appearance and feared he would be returned to custody.Hopley had completed a six-year prison term for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy in southeastern B.C.He was released in 2018 and was living at the halfway house under a 10-year long-term supervision order but was arrested in January for allegedly violating conditions of the order.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

German government grants Siemens Energy a loan guarantee to help secure the company

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Tuesday it is granting a 7.5 billion-euro ($8 billion) loan guarantee to energy technology company Siemens Energy as part of a 15 billion-euro package to help the firm, an important player in the transition to renewable energy sources.Siemens Energy sought help from the government as it struggles with problems at its Gamesa wind energy subsidiary, including quality issues with previously installed wind turbines.The company said on Oct. 26 that “the strong growth in order intake, particularly in the former gas and power business areas, leads to a rising need of guarantees for long-term projects.” It said it was in talks with partners, including the government, to ensure access to guarantees “to facilitate the anticipated strong growth.”The government held talks with Siemens Energy, industrial conglomerate Siemens AG — which spun off Siemens Energy in 2020 and retains a minority stake in the company — and with private banks. The Eco...

Satellite photos analyzed by the AP show Israeli forces pushed further into Gaza late last week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli tanks and armored vehicles pushed further into the Gaza Strip late last week as part of an offensive squeezing Gaza City as fighting raged between its forces and Hamas militants in the coastal enclave, satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press show.Images from Planet Labs PBC taken Saturday showed Israeli forces just south of the marina in Gaza City, with over three dozen vehicles positioned on the beach. Some stood behind sand berms likely providing some cover.That position corresponds with AP reporting, as well as an analysis by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. The institute attributed those vehicles as belonging to an Israeli push that saw troops cut off Gaza City to the south before reaching the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and moving north toward the marina.That apparent forward operating base of Israeli forces resembled a similar defensive position seen last week to the north of the marina in imag...

Teen, 16, faces first-degree murder, sex assault charges in killing of Quebec woman

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

Quebec City police say they have arrested a teenager in the sexual assault and killing of a 19-year-old woman on Oct. 26.The 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday and faces a first-degree murder charge and one count of armed sexual assault of Daphnée Jolivet.The suspect also faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault of a 16-year-old.Police say the teen is the same suspect who was charged with impaired driving and vehicle theft and whose arrest led police to a home on Oct. 26 in the city’s Limoilou district, where Jolivet was killed.The teen was questioned by investigators and is expected to appear before a youth division Quebec court judge later today.Police say the teen appears to have acted alone and that there was no link between the suspect and the two victims.Jolivet’s death is the sixth homicide reported in the provincial capital in 2023, with police having made arrests in five of those cases. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. ...

Parents sue Volkswagen following carjacking, kidnapping of toddler in Libertyville

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:35:42 GMT

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. — The parents of a toddler who was kidnapped during a carjacking are suing the automaker.Attorneys for the family claim Volkswagen refused to assist authortities in tracking the car until payment of their tracking system was paid and activated.The incident happened last February in the 16000 block of Route 137 in unincorporated Libertyville when Taylor Shepherd, who was pregnant at the time, was returning home.When Shepherd went to retrieve her 2-year-old son from the car, an assailant pulled up behind her 2021 Volkswagen Atlas, beat her and knocked her to the ground.According to the lawsuit, the assailant then stole the Volkswagen Atlas, with the 2-year-old boy inside, and fled — running Shepherd over and causing serious injuries to her pelvis and extemities. She immediately called 911 and first responders arrived to the scene shortly after. The lawsuit claims a deputy from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office contacted Volkswagen and requested the GPS tracking locat...