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Opinion: Three factors could pose a threat to Biden’s reelection prospects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

President Joe Biden forged a unified NATO position on ultimate membership for Ukraine and continued military help abroad last week. At home, inflation fell to the lowest level in more than two years, outpaced by wage gains.A new poll showed him leading his two most likely Republican rivals. And the House GOP barely survived a legislative train wreck by passing a defense bill laden with unpopular social policy riders.It was a good week for Biden, accentuated by the contrast between his successes and the flailing of Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail.But three other factors could pose the biggest threats to the president’s reelection prospects.One was vividly illustrated when a pair of political mavericks, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and former Utah Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman, staged a New Hampshire event Monday touting a third-party option that polls show would hurt Biden and help the GOP.The other two are his age – he’ll be almost 82 when Americans vot...

Jurors convict man of 2018 California spa bombing that killed his ex-girlfriend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

A Long Beach rocket and explosives hobbyist was convicted Wednesday of crafting a homemade bomb that killed his ex-girlfriend, injured two other women and obliterated an Aliso Viejo day spa in a deadly explosion more than five years ago that shocked the quiet Orange County community.The Los Angeles jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Stephen Beal, 64, guilty of using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, among other explosives-related charges, in the May 15, 2018 killing of 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak.Just after federal prosecutors ended their closing arguments against him, Beal had been amiably chatting with his attorneys inside the courtroom. But he was quickly taken into custody after the jury’s verdict.Earlier Wednesday, Beal had listened quietly inside a Downtown Los Angeles courtroom as prosecutors accused him of building a simple but powerful bomb inside a cardboard box disguised as a package that Krajnyak opened at her desk at the Magyar Kozmet...

A small business was wrecked in raid by LAPD SWAT team, but city won’t pay for damage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

The first sign of trouble was the police helicopter thumping above Carlos Pena’s print shop in North Hollywood last August, an officer barking orders over a loudspeaker.Alarmed by the commotion, Pena peeked out the door — and was yanked from the business by a fugitive who barricaded himself inside the NoHo Printing & Graphics shop on Lankershim Boulevard.Pena, 56, was ordered by deputy U.S. marshals to stand aside. He watched from a neighboring restaurant during the 13-hour standoff as an LAPD SWAT team fired more than 30 tear gas canisters inside the store, smashing through walls, and permeating Pena’s expensive equipment and inventory with toxic chemicals.The fugitive ended up escaping, leaving damage to the print shop estimated at $60,000 — money that the city of Los Angeles has refused to pay, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, July 19, by Pena and the Institute for Justice, a libertarian, nonprofit public interest law firm based in Arlington County, Virginia. N...

Gov. Gavin Newsom sending textbooks — and possibly a $1.5 million fine — to Temecula

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

The feud between Gov. Gavin Newsom and conservative members of a southwest Riverside County school board intensified Wednesday, July 19, with news that the state will ship textbooks to Temecula and fine the school district $1.5 million.Newsom’s announcement came the day after the Temecula Valley Unified School District board voted 3-2 to once again reject a state-approved elementary school social studies curriculum.RELATED: Temecula school board again rejects social studies curriculumAn earlier rejection stemmed in part from concerns that the curriculum’s supplemental materials mentioned slain LGBTQ civil rights leader Harvey Milk, who was called a “pedophile” by two members of the board’s conservative majority.Newsom, a liberal Democrat who’s made a national name for himself by attacking Republican governors and the GOP agenda, vowed to send textbooks to Temecula if the board didn’t approve the curriculum in time for the mid-August start of the new school year. The textbooks will c...

Soak up summer vibes all year long

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

People from cooler climates — or even coastal Southern California, where they’re used to May Gray and June Gloom — may say that we in the Bay Area shouldn’t be frustrated by this year’s delay in the onset of summer weather. They’re not wrong.Few places have the kind of climate that doesn’t require checking the forecast at night to know if the next day would be good for the amusement park, pool or water park. There’s less than zero chance of a Nor’easter hitting the Bay Area this summer.But all this longing for real summerlike weather begs a question: How can a new-home buyer infuse summer into their home year-round?Builders here have already addressed that question. And unless these builders have added meteorological AI to their design and construction prowess, they did so without knowing the year would be soggier and grayer than usual.Start by touring new-home communities at times that ordinarily might have featured pool parties or coastal trips to beat the heat. Keep an eye on how...

American Airlines made $1.3 billion in the second quarter as travel booms and fuel prices drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines is reporting a $1.34 billion profit for the second quarter, boosted by strong ticket sales and a huge drop in the price of jet fuel, and the airline raised its profit expectations for the year.Revenue rose 5% to a quarterly record of $14.06 billion. International travel in particular is picking up, and that is helping American, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Thanks to lower fuel prices, the carrier’s spending at the pump plunged 32%, saving the American about $1.3 billion compared with a year earlier.American now expects to earn between $3 and $3.75 per share for the year. Analysts have been projecting $3.12, according to a FactSet survey.For the second quarter, excluding one-time items, American earned $1.92 per share, beating the analyst consensus of $1.59 per share. Revenue also beat Wall Street’s forecast of $13.74 billion. CEO Robert Isom called it a “fantastic quarter” for Fort Worth, Texas-based American, and said the airline ...

Philip Morris: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $1.57 billion.On a per-share basis, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company said it had net income of $1.01. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs and non-recurring costs, came to $1.60 per share.The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.48 per share.Philip Morris expects full-year earnings in the range of $6.13 to $6.22 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PMSource

Live updates | Scheffler makes 2 early birdies, reaches the turn at 1-under par at British Open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

SCHEFFLER MAKES THE TURN AT 1-UNDER PARHOYLAKE, England (AP) — Scottie Scheffler made the turn at 1-under par after two early birdies and a bogey in his opening round at the British Open.He missed a short putt to drop a shot at the eighth after having made birdies on the second and fourth holes. The world No. 1 was tied for ninth early on.Jordan Spieth, the 2017 champion, had two early birdies offset by a double bogey at the par-4 eighth. He made another birdie at the par-4 11th to stay at 1 under, also tied for ninth.There were two early eagles at the par-5 15th — by Lucas Herbert and Thomas Pieters. Pablo Larrazabal eagled the par-5 fifth.Pieters briefly took the lead after his eagle but immediately fell back following a double bogey on the par-4 16th. He was tied for fourth at 2 under.South African Christo Lamprecht was leading at 4 under through 17 holes.___WHAT TO KNOW— A brown British Open turns green— Rasmus and Nicolai first set of twins playing the British Open— New hole on...

The US and North Korea have no diplomatic ties — but they still have ways to talk about US soldier

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A pink phone. A New York mission. Swedish diplomats. A North-South Korean hotline.The United States and reclusive North Korea have no diplomatic ties — but they still have ways to contact each other. An American official said Wednesday that the U.S. government had reached out to the North as it tries to discuss a U.S. soldier who dashed into North Korea during a tour of a border area this week. The North has not yet responded, according to the U.S. Here’s a look at possible channels the rivals could use to discuss Pvt. Travis King, the first American held in North Korea in nearly five years.___PINK PHONEOne of the most reliable ways for the U.S. to reach North Korea is via a light pink-colored, touch-tone phone at the U.S.-led U.N. Command at the Korean border village of Panmunjom, the place where King bolted into the North on Tuesday. The telephone line connects the liaison officers from each side — whose offices are reportedly only 40 meters (130 fe...

Funcionarios estadounidenses intentan reconstruir por qué el soldado Travis King ingresó a Corea del Norte: “Iba tan rápido”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:28 GMT

(CNN) — Justo un día antes de cruzar a Corea del Norte, el soldado estadounidense Travis King envió un mensaje de texto a sus supervisores militares de EE.UU. para informarles que había llegado a su puerta en el aeropuerto de Incheon en Seúl y que se estaba preparando para abordar un avión de regreso a EE.UU.King, un soldado subalterno asignado a las Fuerzas Armadas de EE.UU. en Corea, había enfrentado cargos de asalto en Corea del Sur y estaba previsto que lo retiraran del ejército de EE.UU. a su regreso a Fort Bliss, Texas.Pero mientras pasaba por la aduana, no subió al avión como estaba previsto este lunes, dijeron funcionarios estadounidenses a CNN. Sus escoltas no pudieron acompañarlo hasta la puerta de embarque para verificar que había abordado. En cambio, había reservado una gira para el martes con una empresa privada del Área de Seguridad Conjunta dentro de la zona desmilitarizada, que divide a Corea del Norte y Corea del Sur.King se había registrado en un vuelo de Ame...