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Defense head calls out those who advocate isolationism and ‘an American retreat from responsibility’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday denounced those who advocate “an American retreat from responsibility” and said sustained U.S. leadership is needed to help keep the world as safe, free and prosperous as possible. He also urged Congress to end the partisan gridlock that has stalled the federal budget and war spending.The United States must reject calls to turn away from global interests and become more isolationist, he told an audience of lawmakers, corporate and defense leaders and government officials attending a security conference. Those who “try to pull up the drawbridge,” he said, undermine the security that has led to decades of prosperity.In his remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California’s Simi Valley, Austin delivered a lengthy defense of U.S. support to Israel in its war against Hamas and to Ukraine in its struggle to battle Russia’s invasion. He said “the world will only become more dangerous if tyrants and terror...

Racist remarks cited before cannabis regulator’s suspension, court documents say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ top cannabis regulator made race-based and “culturally insensitive” remarks, including referring to Asian people as “yellow,” before she was suspended, according to court documents.The allegations against Shannon O’Brien were included in a court filing she made in her Suffolk County Superior Court lawsuit against Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who suspended her as chair of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission. O’Brien also defended herself from the accusations, which were not previously public.O’Brien, a former state treasurer and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, said she wants a fair hearing process. “After a long career in public service, I deserve a legitimate opportunity and not a sham process, to defend my good name and reputation, which has been unfairly maligned,” she said.Goldberg issued a statement in September saying she suspended O’Brien based on “several serious allegations” in a report compiled by an ou...

Winter weather in Pacific Northwest cuts power to thousands in Seattle, dumps snow on Cascades

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Winter weather brought high winds and snow to parts of the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power in some areas and dumping fresh snow across the Cascade Range.Thousands of households were without power Saturday morning in the greater Seattle area after a night of rain and wind, the Seattle Times reported.Seattle City Light reported 17 outages affecting more than 1,700 customers as of late morning, roughly two-thirds of them in South Seattle, according to the utility’s outage map. The utility said it was investigating the cause.Smaller outages, some caused by fallen trees, were affecting other neighborhoods throughout Seattle, according to the Seattle Times.Communities across the region were affected. Puget Sound Energy reported 79 outages impacting more more than 4,700 customers as of about 11:30 a.m. The outages stretched from Kitsap County to as far south as the state capital Olympia, the news outlet reported. In Oregon, more than 2,000 cusotmers in the Portla...

Group of swing state Muslims vows to ditch Biden in 2024 over his war stance

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledged to withdraw support for U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday at a conference in suburban Detroit, citing his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.Democrats in Michigan have warned the White House that Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war could cost him enough support within the Arab American community to sway the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.Leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania gathered behind a lectern that read “Abandon Biden, ceasefire now” in Dearborn, Michigan, the city with the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the United States.More than 13,300 Palestinians — roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza — have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Some 1,200 Israelis have been killed, mostly during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.Biden’s unwill...

Ontario Liberal Party leadership down to Bonnie Crombie and Nate Erskine-Smith

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

The race for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party will go to a third and final ballot with Bonnie Crombie a stone’s throw away from emerging as the winner.After there was no clear winner on the first ballot, Crombie picked up 488 points on the second ballot to give her a total of 6,047 point, putting her at 46.7 per cent. Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith received 472 points for a total of 3,792 or 29.3 per cent. Yasir Naqvi picked up 341 points for 3,101, leaving him in third place which means he will drop off the ballot for the final vote. Naqvi’s supporter’s votes are now being tallied up and added to the points of the remaining two candidates to determine the next leader. The magic number to win the leadership is 6,471 points.Both Erskine-Smith and Naqvi previously endorsed each other as second choices in a bid to stop Crombie from becoming leader, though their supporters were not obligated to rank them that way on the second ballot.Under the ranked ballot s...

Did you know there's only one 'town' in Pennsylvania?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Pennsylvania is home to 2,560 municipalities, which can be boroughs, townships, cities, and towns. And though there are 956 boroughs, 96 townships, and 57 cities, there's only one town. Pennsylvania's only town is Bloomsburg, which is located in Columbia County and has a population of 12,730. As explained by Britannica, the town was founded by Ludwig Eyer in 1802 and was previously known as Eyersburg and Eyertown. In 1870, it was incorporated with Bloom township, becoming the only incorporated town. How many of these In-N-Out secret menu items do you know? When you visit Bloomsburg, you can take a photo with the welcome sign that reads, "Welcome to Bloomsburg - The only TOWN in Pennsylvania."WHTM previously reported that, per local "unofficial historian" Oren Helbok, the town designation is really just a municipal technicality. "In a borough, the mayor is the chair of the meeting but does not vote," Helbok said in August 2022. "[In Bloomsburg], the mayor c...

Texas blasts Oklahoma State 49-21 to win Big 12 title, Longhorns await CFP fate as other title games unfold

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas needed to finish off its Big 12 Conference era in style in hopes of impressing the College Football Playoff selection committee enough to have a shot at garnering a top-four ranking.The Longhorns certainly did that, pounding Oklahoma State 49-21 in the Big 12 title game Saturday at Cowboys Stadium. All the Longhorns can do now is wait until Sunday to learn its CFP fate. It's the fourth Big 12 title in the program's history.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersLonghorns quarterback Quinn Ewers had a career day to help his squad win the conference title, throwing for 452 yards on 35 of 46 passing with four touchdowns and an interception. He broke the Big 12 title game record for passing yards in a game previously held by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and tied the record for touchdown passes.Texas wideout Adonai Mitchell had 109 yards on six catches while tight...

What's Texas' most popular Christmas song?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — The holiday season is in full swing and that means most retail stores and radio stations are playing end-to-end Christmas music. And while we all have our favorites (and least favorites), have you ever wondered how it breaks down state-to-state?Recently, data outlet FinanceBuzz used Google Trends to determine which Christmas songs each state searched for the most over the past five years. Only data on the 25 highest-charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100 were used, FinanceBuzz says. Worst Christmas songs ever? Here are some of the internet’s most hated So what's the most popular Christmas song in Texas?Turns out, you could potentially guess it if you needed to. Given its proximity to the Mexican border and its high population of Latinos, it's no huge surprise that José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" ranks as the Lone Star State's favorite.Texas is one of only three states to claim this 1970 hit as their most popular. The other two states are Florida and New Mexico.Mariah...

Hidden history: People once sent flowers to insult enemies, compliment friends, propose marriage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – For a moment, pretend that you're living during the Victorian Era and the person you're crushing on has just sent you flowers. He must like you, right?Wrong.This artwork, which represents the meaning of the Yew, was included in Language of Flowers, 1884, printed in London.The Victorians were a bit dark. They didn't just send flowers to commemorate important events, as we do today. They also sent flowers to tell someone they hated them. Victorians were good at being passive-aggressive. The way they used flowers was often a polite way of being cruel, so if you're curious about the meaning of your favorite flowers, keep reading.The Victorians sent flowers with hidden meanings-- but here's the catch. You could only decipher the meaning of a bouquet if you had a flower dictionary. So if you didn't know there was such a thing as a flower dictionary, you could spend your whole life receiving flowers and thinking you were popular when, in fact, you were loathed...

New St. Paul school board — with 3 new members — will face challenges in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:34 GMT

When three new members join the board in charge of St. Paul Public Schools in January, they’ll face significant challenges right away.The school district, which has 33,000 students and a $1 billion budget, will face not only a $150 million shortfall in the coming year as federal pandemic aid ends but also contract negotiations with the St. Paul Federation of Educators.There’s already a major gap between what the union is asking for and what the district is willing to spend on pay in the future. SPPS says it’s set aside a little more than $12 million for increases, while an early, incomplete estimate from the district found union asks could total at least $106 million. Teachers nearly went on strike in 2022 when the union and district positions were closer together.“They’re not coming into this placid scene where they have time to absorb, to evaluate, to bring their own good judgment to the table and to try to figure these things out,” said former St. Paul school board member J...