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Takeaways on debt ceiling: McCarthy’s balancing act, Biden’s choice and the challenges ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a deal no one in Washington claims to really like. But after weeks of negotiations, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have struck an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and avert a potentially devastating government default.The stakes are high for both men — and now each will have to persuade lawmakers in their parties to vote for it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week that the United States could run out of cash to pay the bills and default on its obligations if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.The ultimate agreement, hammered out by Biden, McCarthy and a small group of their deputies, is a two-year budget deal that would essentially hold spending flat for 2024, while boosting it for defense and veterans, and capping increases at 1% for 2025. It would suspend the debt limit until January 2025, after the next presidential election. Republicans had insisted on reducing spending and had passed their own bill with much large...

Trump’s welcome of Scott into 2024 race shows his calculus: The more GOP rivals, the better for him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina launched his campaign for the White House last week, the notoriously prickly former President Donald Trump welcomed his new competitor with open arms.There were no accusations of disloyalty or nasty nicknames from the GOP front-runner like the barrage he unleashed when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered his leading rival, joined the race two days later with a bungled Twitter announcement. “Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race,” Trump said. “It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable.”The contrast underscores not only the fact that Trump sees DeSantis as his most formidable rival, but also basic math: He and his team have long believed the more candidates who enter the Republican primary contest, the better for Trump. They are operating under the assumption that no other candidate will...

China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030, another step in what looks like a new space race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, which would be another advance in what’s increasingly seen as a new space race. The U.S. aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency Lin Xiqiang confirmed China’s goal at a news conference Monday but gave no specific date. Lin also said China plans to expand its orbiting crewed space station with an additional module. A new three-person crew is scheduled to head to the Tiangong station on Tuesday aboard the Shenzhou 16 craft and will overlap briefly with the three astronauts already aboard. The fresh crew includes a civilian for the first time. All previous crew members have been in the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the country’s ruling Communist Party. Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing’s top aerospace research institute, will join mission commander Jing Haipeng and spacecraft engineer Zhu Y...

No deal on top property tax relief priority as session enters final day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas House adjourned just before 11 p.m. Sunday night without passing a compromise bill to lower property taxes, leaving a highly-anticipated deal to avoid a special session on the table.Texas lawmakers worked into the final hours of the legislative session to bring a deal that would lower property taxes and bridge intractable odds between top Republican leaders in the House and Senate.The House Speaker's Office confirmed just before 10 p.m. that House negotiators signed off on a deal. Lawmakers waited in a holding pattern for multiple hours as they waited for Senate negotiators to agree to the deal.Around 10:40 p.m., a Senate messenger announced the legislation with which the upper chamber had concurred. It did not include the conference committee report for the property tax legislation.It is not yet clear what a deal would bring. If lawmakers attempt a last-second deal on Monday, it would require suspending the rules around session deadlines and a notable a...

Texas A&M ends run through SEC tournament with 10-4 loss to Vanderbilt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Pinch-hitter Calvin Hewett's three-run double capped a five-run eighth inning and fourth-seeded Vanderbilt defeated 10th-seeded Texas A&M 10-4 on Sunday in the championship game of the SEC Tournament on Sunday.Enrique Bradfield Jr. opened the eighth with a double and reached third on a ground out before scoring on a wild pitch. Parker Noland then singled in Davis Diaz who walked after Bradfield's double. A single by Chris Maldonado and a walk to RJ Austin loaded the bases for Hewett, who ripped a double down the left-field line on a 3-2 pitch.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/newslettersTroy LaNeve went 2 for 4 with a three-run home run in the second for the Commodores (41-18) before being replaced by Hewett. Noland and Maldonado both had three hits.Patrick Reilly (5-3), the second of five pitchers, got the win, allowing three runs and five hits in four...

Authorities searching for at-risk 26-year-old woman missing out of Rancho Dominguez

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

Authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk 26-year-old woman missing out of Rancho Dominguez.  Lodeira Sierra “Dera” Kendrid was last seen May 27 on the 19000 block of South Laurel Park Road.  Kendrid is described as a Black female who is approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing around 115 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and a scar under right eye. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, pink pants and blue “Croc” style shoes.  The 26-year-old has a diminished mental capacity and has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. “Ms. Kendrid’s family is concerned for her well-being and are asking for the public’s help,” LASD officials said in the missing person's bulletin.  Lodeira Sierra “Dera” Kendrid was last seen May 27 on the 19000 block of South Laurel Park Road in the City of Rancho Dominguez. (LASD)Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323...

25 firefighters extinguish blaze at Oakland apartment building

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

(KRON) -- Crews extinguished an apartment fire Sunday around 4:09 p.m., the Oakland Fire Department announced on Twitter. Twenty-five firefighters had the blaze contained in under 30 minutes.The fire happened at an apartment building on the 1100 block of Foothill Boulevard. OFD said the fire extended to the second floor, and there was "minor damage" to the interior residential space.No injuries were reported. OFD did not say how many people, if any, were displaced. US Census breakdown: The largest racial group in each Bay Area county KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }OFD did not reveal the cause of the fire. Multiple fire trucks and engines were called to the scene.

What to stream this week: Foo Fighters, ‘The Idol,’ LeBron James and ‘American Gladiators’ doc

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

There’s new music from Foo Fighters, the buzzy HBO series “The Idol” starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd and a documentary about the breakthrough TV show “American Gladiators” among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a LeBron James’s origin story and a TV show where contestants compete to transform nostalgia cars into life-sized Hot Wheels.NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— LeBron James’s origin story is dramatized in the new film “Shooting Stars,” debuting exclusively on Peacock on Friday, June 2. Based on the 2009 book, written by James and “Friday Night Lights” author Buzz Bissinger, the film looks at how he and his childhood friends (the self-anointed “fab four”) rose to basketball prominence on their high school team in Akron, Ohio. He and his friends would help lead their St. Vincent-St. Mary’s team to three state championships in four years. ...

Today in History: May 29, Reagan and Gorbachev meet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

Today in History Today is Monday, May 29, the 149th day of 2023. There are 216 days left in the year. This is Memorial Day. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 29, 1988, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened their historic summit in Moscow. On this date: In 1765, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia’s House of Burgesses. In 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th original colony to ratify the United States Constitution. In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state of the union.In 1914, the Canadian ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sank in the St. Lawrence River in eastern Quebec after colliding with the Norwegian cargo ship SS Storstad; of the 1,477 people on board the Empress of Ireland, 1,012 died. (The Storstad sustained only minor damage.) In 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit. In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first woman to race i...

What Erdoğan does next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:44 GMT

After two decades in power, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consolidated his dominance over Turkish politics with victory in Sunday’s presidential election. The question now facing Turkey — and the wider world — is what the strongman leader will do next. As the head of a strategically vital NATO power, joining Europe to the Middle East, Erdoğan’s international influence is critical. At home, with an economy struggling to cope with rampant inflation, his domestic challenges are daunting. Sunday’s election represented one of the biggest threats to Erdoğan’s rule so far. He is Turkey’s most commanding leader since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the country 100 years ago — and he won, by 52 percent to 48 percent, with a campaign that reinforced his authoritarian creed. “The results show that the president can deploy identity politics to squeeze out a win despite the worst economic conditions since the 2001 financial crisis,” Emre Peker, director for Europe at the Eurasia...