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How the US keeps funding Ukraine’s military — even as it says it’s out of money

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has been increasingly pressuring Congress to pass stalled legislation to support Ukraine’s war against Russia, saying that funding has run out.On Tuesday, however, President Joe Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million for Ukraine.Money is dwindling. But the announcement of more weapons being sent to Kyiv just underscores the complexity of the funding. So has the money run out? Or are there still a few billion dollars floating around?It’s complicated. Store credit …In a Nov. 4 letter to Congress, White House budget director Shalanda Young said flatly: “We are out of money to support Ukraine in this fight. This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now.”Since then, the U.S. has announced three more aid packages totaling $475 million. That may seem contradictory, but it’s due to the complex programs used to send aid to Ukraine. There are two pots o...

Steven Stamkos scores 4 goals, Lightning end Oilers’ winning streak at 8 with 7-4 victory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored four goals, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 53 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Edmonton 7-4 on Thursday night to end the Oilers’ winning streak at eight.Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists to push his NHL-leading points total to 50. Tyler Motte and Anthony Cirelli also scored to help Tampa Bay improve to 14-12-5 with its fourth victory in six games.Darnell Nurse, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. The Oilers fell to 13-13-1, falling a victory short of matching the longest winning streak in franchise history.Tampa Bay got off to a quick start with a power-play goal 1:07 into the opening period when Nick Paul won a battle in front of the net and sent it over to Stamkos, who fired a snapshot past Stuart Skinner. It was Stamkos’ 200th career power-play goal, making him the 20th player in NHL history to hit the benchmark.The Lightning extended the lead seven minutes into the first when Motte p...

¿Estaba el líder de Hamas en Turquía durante el ataque del 7 de octubre? “Puede haber estado”, dice el principal asesor de seguridad de Erdogan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

(CNN) — El principal asesor de política exterior y seguridad del presidente de Turquía, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, defendió la decisión de su país de acoger a altos cargos de Hamas, afirmando que Turquía está involucrándose con Hamas “para lograr la paz”.Los miembros de Hamas pueden entrar y salir libremente de Turquía y tienen presencia permanente en el país.Sus altos cargos se han reunido periódicamente con el presidente Erdogan a lo largo de los años. El jefe de Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, se reunió con Erdogan en julio y hay informes no confirmados de que Haniyeh se encontraba en Turquía —y no en Qatar, su domicilio habitual— durante los ataques del 7 de octubre.En su primera entrevista en inglés desde que comenzó la guerra en Gaza, Akif Cagatay Kilic dijo que no sabía si Haniyeh estaba en Turquía el 7 de octubre, pero admitió que “podría haber estado”.Kilic defendió los antiguos vínculos de Turquía con Hamas, que muchos países consideran un grupo terrorista....

Stock market today: Asian markets churn upward after the Dow ticks to another record high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares powered higher on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record on excitement that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates several times next year. U.S. futures and oil prices also advanced. Hong Kong led Asia’s gains with property developers jumping after some Chinese cities eased buying restrictions.The Hang Seng surged 3% to 16,893.62. The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.3% at 2,968.49. Troubled developer Country Garden’s shares jumped 5.1%, while China Evergrande gained 3% and Sino Ocean Holding surged 5.7%. China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that factory output rose 6.6% in November and retail sales were up more than 10%, glimmers of improvement for the economy after the post-COVID recovery faded much more quickly than expected.However, investments in property weakened further, indicating that the crisis over excessive debt in that industry is far from resolved. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index g...

Today in History: December 15, the Bill of Rights takes effect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Friday, Dec. 15, the 349th day of 2023. There are 16 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Dec. 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, went into effect following ratification by Virginia.On this date:In 1890, Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, South Dakota, during a confrontation with Indian police.In 1939, the Civil War motion picture epic “Gone with the Wind,” starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, had its world premiere in Atlanta.In 1944, a single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces, disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris.In 1967, the Silver Bridge between Gallipolis (gal-ih-puh-LEES’), Ohio, and Point Pleasant, West Virginia, collapsed into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New ...

Elderly man killed, child hurt in Scripps Ranch crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An 82-year-old driver was killed while his 6-year-old passenger was hurt in a crash Thursday when their vehicle hit multiple trees in the Scripps Ranch area, authorities said.The collision occurred around 5:40 p.m. at Spring Canyon Rd. and Scripps Poway Pkwy., the San Diego Police Department confirmed to FOX 5.The 82-year-old man was driving a 2023 Tesla Model Y eastbound on 10400 Scripps Poway Pkwy, when police say he "failed to negotiate the right bend in the road and struck the south curb of the center island.""The Tesla continued onto the island striking multiple trees," SDPD Officer Robert Heims said in a news release. Deadly SR-905 crash near border prompts lane closures The impact of the crash caused the driver to be ejected from the vehicle, according to authorities. He was pronounced dead at the scene.A 6-year-old passenger in the Tesla was taken to the hospital for minor injuries after suffering a laceration to his head, Heims said.Authorities temporarily sh...

Liberian-flagged cargo ship hit by projectile from rebel-controlled Yemen, set ablaze, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Liberian-flagged cargo ship caught fire in the Red Sea on Friday after being hit by a projectile launched from rebel-controlled Yemen, a U.S. defense official said. The attack on the Al Jasrah further escalates a campaign by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have claimed responsibility for a series of missile assaults in recent days just missing shipping in the Red Sea and its strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the assault.The Al Jasrah is operated by German-based shipper Hapag Lloyd, which declined to immediately comment about the attack. It wasn’t immediately clear if any of the crew on board the vessel had been hurt in the attack, which may have come from either a drone or a missile.Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press

515 injured in a Beijing rail collision as heavy snow hits the Chinese capital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Two subway trains collided in heavy snow in Beijing, sending 515 people to the hospital, including 102 with broken bones, authorities said Friday.The accident occurred Thursday evening in Beijing’s mountainous west on an above-ground portion of the sprawling subway system’s Changping line. Slippery tracks prompted automatic braking on the leading train. A train following from behind was on a descending section and went into a skid and was unable to brake in time, the city transport authority said in a statement Friday on its social media account. Emergency medical personnel, police and transport authorities responded, and all passengers were evacuated by about 11 p.m., it said. Twenty-five passengers were under observation and 67 remained hospitalized on Friday morning, the authority said. Unusually heavy snow that began falling on Wednesday has prompted the suspension of some train operations and school closures. Alerts remain in place for icy roads, extreme cold and...

Commission renews its policy against psychological and sexual harassment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

The European Commission has revised its policy against psychological and sexual harassment, streamlining and modernising formal and informal redress mechanisms for victims. The renewed policy is based on a comprehensive approach further building on the strong harassment prevention measures already in place. It will also establish the post and the figure of the ‘Chief Confidential Counsellor' to oversee the policy on prevention and fight against harassment while ensuring its greater visibility within the institution. Moreover, the reform improves procedures in terms of awareness-raising as well as early detection of risks conducive to harassment and bystander interventions. Training will continue to be an essential component of the harassment prevention activities: all current and newly appointed managers will have to follow a mandatory training on prevention of and the fight against harassment.Budget and Administration Commissioner Johannes Hahn said: “There is no place for harassme...

Ultra-rare Nikes worth $10K found in shelter donation bin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:39 GMT

In 2019, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee hired famed Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield to create a custom set of Jordan 3s for a small group of people in honor of his 2019 Oscar nomination for “BlacKKKlansman.”Years later, a pair of those sneakers tumbled down the donation slot at the Portland Rescue Mission and into the hands of a former homeless man and recovering addict James Free. Free, who was undergoing worker training at the Portland Rescue Mission warehouse in West Portland, found the sparkling gold shoes and brought them to the staff’s attention.“He was sorting through a large crate of backlogged donations when he saw the shiny pair of gold Nike Air Jordan 3 sneakers,” the Portland Rescue Mission said. “After gathering second opinions from sneaker-heads and experts, staff members realized what they had on their hands.”$10,000 shoes sitting in a bin at the Portland Rescue Mission. (Photos courtesy of the Portland Rescue Mission)James Free poses with the shoes outs...