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5 Republicans will be on stage for the third presidential debate. Here’s who missed the cut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The field of candidates onstage for the third Republican presidential debate will be the smallest yet.Five hopefuls will participate in Wednesday night’s debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, according to the Republican National Committee.To have qualified for the third debate, candidates needed at least 4% support in two national polls or 4% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. All the polls used for qualification must have been approved by the RNC.The White House hopefuls also needed at least 70,000 unique donors, with at least 200 of those coming from 20 states or territories. Additionally, they had to sign an RNC pledge promising to support the party’s eventual nominee.The escalating qualification markers have become increasingly difficult for candidates to satisfy. One candidate, former Vice President Mike Pence, suspended...

22 UN peacekeepers injured when convoy leaving rebel area hit improvised explosive devices, UN says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Twenty-two U.N. peacekeepers in a convoy withdrawing from a rebel stronghold in northern Mali were injured when their vehicles hit improvised explosive devices on two occasions on Saturday, the United Nations said Monday.There have now been six incidents since the peacekeepers left their base in Kidal on Oct. 31 for the estimated 350 kilometer (220-mile) trip to Gao, injuring a total of at least 39 peacekeepers, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.Eight peacekeepers were injured by improvised explosive devices last Wednesday and seven early Friday, he said, and at least two peacekeepers were injured in two earlier IED attacks.Dujarric said the 22 peacekeepers injured Saturday had to be evacuated by air to receive treatment in Gao.In June, Mali’s military junta, which overthrew the democratically elected president in 2021, ordered the nearly 15,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA to leave after a decade of working on stemming a jihadi insurgenc...

UN Security Council fails to agree on Israel-Hamas war as Gaza death toll passes 10,000

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday failed again to agree on a resolution on the monthlong Israel-Hamas war. Despite more than two hours of closed-door discussions Monday, differences remained. The U.S. is calling for “humanitarian pauses” while many other council members are demanding a “humanitarian cease-fire” to deliver desperately needed aid and prevent more civilian deaths in Gaza.“We talked about humanitarian pauses and we’re interested in pursuing language on that score,” U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters after the meeting. “But there are disagreements within the council about whether that’s acceptable.”U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier Monday told reporters he wanted an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and a halt to the “spiral of escalation” already taking place from the occupied West Bank, Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen.Guterres said international humanitarian law, which demands protection of civilians and ...

Chicago suburb drops citations against reporter for asking too many questions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

CALUMET CITY, Ill. (AP) — Officials in a suburban Chicago community on Monday dropped municipal citations against a local news reporter for what they said were persistent contacts with city officials seeking comment on treacherous fall flooding. The reversal occurred days after officials in Calumet City mailed several citations to Hank Sanders, a Daily Southtown reporter whose job includes covering the suburb, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday. The Southtown is owned by the Tribune’s parent company,The tickets from the city of 35,000, located 24 miles (39 kilometers) south of Chicago, had alleged “interference/hampering of city employees” by Sanders.The Southtown published a story online Oct. 19 and in print Oct. 20 in which Sanders reported that consultants had informed Calumet City officials that their stormwater facilities were in poor condition before September’s historic rains caused flooding.A day after the story was published online, Sanders continued to report on the issue...

Indigenous men imprisoned for 18 years for Alaska murder settle for $5M after vacated conviction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

Three of the four Indigenous men who served 18 years in prison for a murder conviction in Alaska that was ultimately vacated will receive a total of nearly $5 million in a settlement confirmed by the city of Fairbanks on Monday.The convictions of the so-called Fairbanks Four in the 1997 death of Fairbanks teenager John Hartman were vacated in 2015 after a key state witness recanted testimony and following a weeks-long hearing reexamining the case that raised the possibility others had killed Hartman. The men — George Frese, Eugene Vent, Marvin Roberts and Kevin Pease — argued that an agreement that led to their release in which they agreed not to sue was not legally binding because they were coerced. The men also maintained there was a history of discrimination against Alaska Natives by local police. Pease is Native American; Frese, Vent and Roberts are Athabascan Alaska Natives.The legal fight over whether the men could sue the city despite the agreement has gone on for years. In 2...

Shake Shack giving away chicken sandwiches if an NFL player does this on Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

(WHTM) - A certain NFL touchdown celebration could mean the chance to add a free chicken sandwich to your Shake Shack order.The burger chain says if an NFL player celebrates a touchdown with the chicken dance in the end zone on Nov. 12, they'll be giving away free Chicken Shack sandwiches. The giveaway is not without fine print however – you'll have to spend at least $10 to score the free sandwich."Our Chicken Shack is a sleeper in the chicken sandwich game and surpasses all the others, but you can be the judge of that," said Shake Shack.The chicken breast used in the sandwich is crispy, fresh and has no hormones or antibiotics, Shake Shack says. The sandwich comes with lettuce, pickles, buttermilk herb mayo and a toasted potato bun. Why does my arm hurt after a vaccine, and will moving it really fix it? If you see a chicken dance on Sunday, Shake Shack says you can go to a participating Shake Shack location or place an order on their app from Nov. 12-19 using the code "CHICKENDAN...

Timberwolves played all three centers together Saturday. Don’t expect that to happen often

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said this summer that he may roll out Minnesota’s three centers — Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid — together in a lineup at some point this season.Finch was then asked a couple times about that potential lineup during training camp, and noted it was said in jest.And yet, in the fifth game of the regular season, Reid, Towns and Gobert shared the floor for roughly a minute in the second quarter of Minnesota’s win over Utah on Saturday.Though it was almost as though it never happened, as none of the three big men recalled those possessions.“No, I was just playing basketball,” Reid said. “I was just playing basketball where I’m comfortable. So for me, I wasn’t even thinking about it.”Towns did say there was a point where he noted Gobert took a specific matchup, and moments later he was bumping into Reid out on the defensive perimeter. But he didn’t truly connect the dots until after the game.“Just trusting t...

Sean Payton on Broncos coming out of bye: “We’re a better team today than four or five weeks ago”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

The Broncos’ confidence is as high as it has been all season.It was noticeable after Denver stood pat at the trade deadline and on Monday morning when head coach Sean Payton continued to preach optimism in the wake of back-to-back wins entering his team’s bye week.“I feel like we’re a better team today than four or five weeks ago,” Payton said.After Denver’s deflating 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, Payton said the team needed to look inward to climb out of the 0-3 hole they dug for themselves. Since then, the Broncos are 3-2 with a home victory over the Kansas City Chiefs — which snapped a 16-game losing streak to the reigning Super Bowl champs.Still, the Broncos are not out of the woods just yet. At 3-5, they still have a ways to go to put themselves back in the playoff discussion, and a difficult matchup at Buffalo looms next Monday night. But Denver’s rushing attack, red zone defense and encouraging play from quarterback Russell Wilson are reasons for hop...

Elderly Jewish man dies after incident at pro-Palestinian rally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

A 65-year-old Jewish man has died after an altercation at a pro-Palestinian rally in Thousand Oaks, Jewish community leaders announced on Monday.The incident unfolded around 3:15 p.m. near the busy intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Road where, according to fire officials, authorities first received a call of a "fight in progress" with an elderly man "down."According to the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the victim was "struck in the head by a megaphone wielded by a pro-Palestinian protestor."Video posted to social media shows an elderly man lying on the ground after purportedly being struck with a megaphone at a pro-Palestinian rally in Thousand Oaks, California. Nov., 5, 2023. A video posted to social media shows the man lying on the ground with an obvious head injury as two people, including a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, try to help.He was transported to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, the Federation said.The victim's name was not imm...

SAG-AFTRA reviews “last and final” offer from studios

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:39 GMT

After 116 days on the picket lines, SAG-AFTRA actors are still unsure when a final agreement will be reached. Deadline reports that negotiations could resume Monday evening between SAG-AFTRA and the major studios.The latest demonstration comes three days after the major studios presented the Guild with what they called their “last, best and final offer.” Industry analysts warn, however, that “last, best and final” doesn’t mean the offer is solidified. Negotiating parties have been known to make adjustments after one side proclaims that they are done bargaining. “School of Rock” actor and comedian, Jack Black told KTLA that because of the strike he is unable to talk about upcoming projects he’s working on. “Can’t talk about any of that!” Black said. “Man, I would love to be singing you special songs. I’d love to be doing some promo, but I can’t, and I won’t! I don’t have any insider information, but the word on the street is that we’re close and I’ll believe when I see it.”...