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Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah leader threatens escalation with Israel as its war with Hamas rages on

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his powerful militia is already engaged in unprecedented fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border and threatened a further escalation as Israel’s war with Hamas nears the one-month mark. In televised remarks — his first since the Palestinian militants’ deadly Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel — Nasrallah stopped short of announcing that Hezbollah would fully enter the war, a move that would have devastating consequences for both Lebanon and Israel.The United States, Israel’s strongest backer, has warned Hezbollah and its patron Iran against entering the fray and has sent warships to the Mediterranean, a move Nasrallah said “will not scare us.” Hezbollah is prepared for all options, he declared, “and we can resort to them at any time.” The fighting would “not be limited” to the scale seen so far, he added. In recent weeks, Hezbollah has fired rockets across the border daily, mainly hitting military...

Meloni pushes change to let voters directly elect Italy’s premier in bid to make governments last

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s Cabinet on Friday approved her proposal to make the office of the prime minister directly elected by voters in a bid to end the country’s chronic ailment of short-lived, unstable governments. Changing Italy’s Constitution would allow voters to elect a premier who would serve five years — to coincide with Parliament’s full term. The far-right leader insisted at a news conference that what she called the “mother of all reforms” will guarantee more stability in a nation where government coalitions sometimes last only months, even weeks. But there’s no guarantee the reform will become reality. It’s likely voters would have the final say. A referendum would take place if two-thirds of lawmakers fail to approve the reform. Although Meloni’s government, with the help of its right-wing coalition partners, commands a comfortable parliamentary majority, it would need opposition forces to reach the two-thirds margin. Italy...

Serbia’s pro-Russia intelligence chief sanctioned by the US has resigned citing Western pressure

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s intelligence chief, who has fostered closer ties with Russia and is under sanctions by the United States, resigned Friday after less than a year in the post, saying he wanted to avoid possible further embargos against the Balkan nation.In July, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Aleksandar Vulin, accusing him of involvement in illegal arms shipments, drug trafficking and misuse of public office.The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. Vulin is also accused of involvement in a drug trafficking ring, according to U.S. authorities.Vulin became the director of Serbia’s intelligence agency BIA in December 2022. The close associate of populist Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić had previously served as both the army and police chief. Vulin is known for advocating close ties with Russia instead ...

El Niño en EE.UU.: nuevos mapas revelan dónde podría nevar más este invierno

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

(CNN) — Mientras EE.UU. se prepara para un invierno muy marcado por el primer fenómeno fuerte de El Niño en años, los científicos de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA, por sus siglas en inglés) presentan mapas que ofrecen información sobre dónde podría acumularse la nieve.Se prevé que El Niño, un patrón oceánico y meteorológico natural en el Pacífico tropical, alcance el nivel más significativo desde que un El Niño muy fuerte en 2015-2016 fomentó el invierno más cálido jamás registrado en todo el territorio contiguo de Estados Unidos, según la NOAA.¿Cómo afectará El Niño a EE.UU. en invierno y qué se espera?Aunque no hay dos inviernos de El Niño iguales, el patrón suele traer un clima más húmedo y frío al sur de Estados Unidos, mientras que el norte se vuelve más seco y cálido. Y eso es exactamente lo que se espera este invierno.Sin embargo, un tiempo más húmedo no significa necesariamente más nieve. Y cuando lo hace, las cantidades pueden variar mucho de...

Officials identify two workers — one killed, one still missing — after Kentucky coal plant collapse

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

Officials have released the names of two workers trapped when a coal mine preparation plant collapsed earlier this week in eastern Kentucky as the search continues to find one of those workers still missing in the rubble. Martin County Judge Executive Lon Lafferty identified the men as Billy Ray Daniels and 57-year-old Alvin Nees, news outlets report. Daniels died amid rescue efforts at the scene, and Nees has not yet been located. The men from neighboring Pike County were doing contracting work as part of the building’s demolition. Lafferty said Friday that the families of both men have been to the site. His team spent time with the families Thursday, which he described as a “very, very tough emotional day. ” He said the Nees family is “still holding out hope and prayer” he will be found alive. “They are very strong in their faith and their convictions in God,” he said, adding: “Obviously, it’s a very, very trying time.” Crews have begun removing layers of rubble ...

Indiana attorney general reprimanded for comments on doctor who provided rape victim’s abortion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) — Indiana’s attorney general violated professional conduct rules in statements he made about a doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, according to a court opinion filed Thursday. The case sparked national attention after Dr. Caitlin Bernard discussed providing the 10-year-old girl with a medication-induced abortion during a July 1, 2022, interview with the Indianapolis Star. At the time, Ohio law prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but the girl could still be provided a legal abortion in Indiana.The Indiana Supreme Court’s disciplinary commission found Todd Rokita, a Republican who opposes abortion, “engaged in attorney misconduct” during an interview he gave on a Fox News show in July 2022 about Bernard, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist.The opinion specifically faulted Rokita for describing Bernard on the show...

4 Virginia legislative candidates, including ex-congressman, are accused of violence against women

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Garrett was only months into his second year in Congress in 2018 when he announced he would drop his bid for reelection to seek treatment for alcoholism.Garrett kept a low profile for the next four years until he announced last November that he would run for the Virginia House of Delegates. But his political comeback has been marked by allegations of abuse in a bitter divorce. His estranged wife, Flanna Sheridan Garrett, has accused him of “a long line of physical and emotional abuses,” including an allegation that he strangled her while she lay in a hotel bed with their infant daughter beside her. Garrett, who denies the accusations, is among four candidates for state legislative seats in Virginia this year who have been accused of physical violence against women — two during divorce proceedings, one in a pending criminal case and one in criminal cases decades ago that ended with charges being dismissed. One of the four men lost h...

Serbian police say some 3,400 migrants, weapons, ammunition found in week-long raids

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian police said Friday they have found some 3,400 migrants and seized weapons and ammunition during a days-long crackdown on irregular migration in the wake of a shooting last week near the border with Hungary that killed three migrants and wounded one.Earlier on Friday, police also said they arrested seven people smugglers in the capital Belgrade and in Subotica, a city near the border with Hungary.Reports of violence and gun battles between people smuggling gangs have become common in the border zone between Serbia and Hungary, a European Union member state. Migrants have been camping in the area while looking for ways to cross into Hungary. After the shooting last Saturday, police dispatched hundreds of officers to the forested border zone while pledging to curb irregular migration and restore security. Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic even warned authorities could send in the military to deal with the problem.Serbia lies at the heart of the s...

Dimitrov beats Hurkacz to reach Paris Masters semifinals for second time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Grigor Dimitrov booked his spot in the semifinals of the Paris Masters on Friday with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz that ended his rival’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals.Despite hitting 19 aces, the 11th-seeded Hurkacz dropped his serve three times. He can no longer finish among the top eight players of the season. The 32-year-old Dimitrov reached the last four at the indoor tournament for the second time in his career.It’s the first time since 2017 — the year he won the ATP Finals — that Dimitrov has reached 40 tour-level wins in a season. The Bulgarian will have the chance to improve that record either against seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas or Karen Khachanov. Dimitrov has been enjoying a good run of form, also reaching the semifinals at the Shanghai Masters last month.“My body is feeling well for now, that’s the most important thing,” said Dimitrov, who converted all three break points he had. “My head is good. If I’m able to play lik...

Outgained and outplayed but typically not outscored, the Steelers are somehow in the mix in the AFC

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:05:55 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Technically, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t getting it done with smoke and mirrors.It only feels like it. And at times, it certainly looks like it.The weeks go by and the on-field product looks underwhelming for long stretches. The offense running in place. The defense susceptible to big plays. The coaching seemingly incapable — or maybe unwilling — to make substantial adjustments, unless of course, you count the not-exactly novel approach of practicing in pads.Yet the Steelers find themselves at 5-3 anyway as the season nears the midway point after Thursday night’s 20-16 victory over Tennessee which had all the hallmarks of so many other wins in recent memory.Pittsburgh trailed entering the fourth quarter. Quarterback Kenny Pickett and his aching ribs ran hot/cold from series to series. The defense bent and bent and bent but rarely broke.Strip away the uniforms and the Titans could have been the Browns. Or the Ravens. Or the Rams. All of them had the S...