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Zelenskyy returns to Washington to face growing dissent among Republicans to US spending for Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returns to Washington on Thursday for a whirlwind one-day visit, this time to face the Republicans now questioning the flow of American dollars that for 19 months has kept his troops in the fight against Russian forces. Zelenskyy will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House, speak with U.S. military leaders at the Pentagon and stop at Capitol Hill to talk privately with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate as the world is watching Western support for Kyiv.It is Zelenskyy’s second visit to Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and comes as Biden’s request to Congress for an additional $24 billion for Ukraine’s military and humanitarian needs is hanging in the balance.National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the Ukrainian president “our best messenger” in persuading U.S. lawmakers to keep vital U.S. money and weapons coming. “It’s really important for mem...

Canada gets muted allied support after alleging India may have been involved in killing of Canadian

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood up in Parliament and said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen, the muted international response offered a lesson in modern geopolitics.India, it seems, may be too powerful to alienate.None of Canada’s most important allies — not the U.S., Britain, Australia or New Zealand, all knitted tightly together in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance — echoed Trudeau’s allegations.They’ve declared their concern. They’ve urged full investigations. But none have stepped up to condemn India for its alleged involvement in the June slaying on Canadian soil of a Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.Why? Mainly there’s China, and the priority among the allies to bolster ties with India as a counterweight to Beijing’s rising power and assertiveness. But it’s more than that. Modern India has a fast-growing economy that many analysts believe will overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-l...

Today in History: September 21, Senate confirms O’Connor as first female Supreme Court justice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Thursday, Sept. 21, the 264th day of 2023. There are 101 days left in the year.Today’s Highlights in History: On Sept. 21, 1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court. On this date: In 1792, the French National Convention voted to abolish the monarchy. In 1937, “The Hobbit,” by J.R.R. Tolkien, was first published by George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London. In 1938, a hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming some 700 lives. In 1957, the legal mystery-drama “Perry Mason,” starring Raymond Burr, premiered on CBS. In 1961, the first Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter made its first hovering flight. In 1973, the Senate confirmed Henry Kissinger to be Secretary of State.In 1982, National Football League players began a 57-day strike, their first regular-season walkout ever. In 1985, in North Korea and South Korea, relati...

Yankees manager Aaron Boone ejected for 7th time this season, tied for most in majors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t last very long on the bench Wednesday night.Boone was ejected in the second inning by plate umpire Lance Barrett for arguing balls and strikes against the Toronto Blue Jays.“I thought he called a lot of pitches (that were) low and I let him know that and I got thrown out,” Boone said following New York’s 6-1 loss.It was the seventh ejection this year for Boone, tied with David Bell of the Cincinnati Reds for most among major league managers. Boone has been tossed 33 times in six seasons as a big league skipper, all with the Yankees.Barrett had a wide strike zone from the start, according to the strike zone box displayed on YES Network. From the dugout, Boone almost immediately began voicing his displeasure with several pitches by Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman that were called strikes.Barrett warned Boone and the Yankees to knock it off. But when strike one was called against Oswald Peraza on a pitch that appeared off t...

Ferreira scores twice to rally Dallas to 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Jesús Ferreira scored two of three unanswered goals in the second half and FC Dallas rallied to defeat Real Salt Lake 3-1 on Wednesday night.Dallas (10-10-8) snaps a seven-match winless streak on the road (0-5-2) with the victory. The club had gone 15 straight matches on the road in the regular season without scoring multiple goals.Real Salt Lake (11-11-7) took a 1-0 lead two minutes before halftime when Cristian Arango took a pass from Braian Ojeda and scored for a fifth time in his sixth start and eighth appearance this season. Arango becomes the fourth RSL player to score in four straight regular-season matches. Arango has scored six goals in four matches against Dallas, including a hat trick in the first meeting.Dallas scored the equalizer in the 56th minute on Paul Arriola’s second goal of the season. Paxton Pomykal had an assist.Dallas took the lead for good on a penalty kick by Ferreira in the 62nd minute. Ferreira’s goal came after Jáder Obrian...

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scratched from Blue Jays’ lineup with sore right knee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was a late scratch from the Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup Wednesday night against the New York Yankees because of right knee discomfort.Guerrero had an MRI during the game, and the team expects to know more Thursday. “He didn’t feel quite right, his pregame hitting routine,” manager John Schneider said after Toronto’s 6-1 victory. “Just obviously want to be careful with him. So didn’t want to push it today.”The slugger had been slated to bat third as the designated hitter for the Blue Jays, who are in a tight playoff race. Toronto remained a game ahead of Texas and Seattle for the second of three American League wild-card spots.About two hours before Wednesday night’s game, Schneider said Guerrero’s sore right knee has been “barking” for a couple of days and he’s been “grinding” through it, but there’s nothing structurally wrong.Approximately 40 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, however, the Blue Jays announced Guerre...

Hollywood writers, studios nearing agreement to end strike: Report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

Hollywood writers and studios are nearing an agreement to end the months-long strike that has shut down the entertainment industry since May, sources tell CNBC.In a joint statement released after negotiations Wednesday, both sides stated, “The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow.”CNBC reports a deal will likely be finalized on Thursday. While negotiators were optimistic, sources also told CNBC that if a deal was not reached soon the strike could last through the end of the yearThe Writers Guild of America went on strike on May 2 and in a historic move, the Screen Actors Guild also joined writers on the picket line on July 14, marking the first time in over 60 years both unions have been on strike at the same time.For striking writers, the two sides have been divided on issues of pay, the size of writing staffs on shows and the use of artificial intelligence in scriptwriting. Nearly 20,000 writers have been without work or pay since May 2 as negot...

Russia strikes cities from east to west Ukraine, starting fires and killing at least 2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Air alerts sounded again and again in Kyiv and residents headed to shelters early Thursday morning, as a massive Russian attack on at least six cities across Ukraine killed at least two people, started fires and wounded at least 21.The attack carried out on the International Day of Peace coincided with the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech and presented a Ukrainian “peace formula.”The missile attack was Russia’s largest since August 15 and came a day after reports of sabotage at a Russian military airfield in Chkalovsk near Moscow.In the southern city of Kherson, near the front lines, two people were killed in Thursday’s attacks and at least five injured after a strike hit a residential building, said regional Governor Oleksand Prokudin.Seven people were injured in Kyiv, including a 9-year-old girl, reported Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, and some residential and commercial buildin...

‘Game of Thrones’ creator and other authors sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for copyright infringement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — John Grisham, Jodi Picoult and George R.R. Martin are among 17 authors suing OpenAI for “systematic theft on a mass scale,” the latest in a wave of legal action by writers concerned that artificial intelligence programs are using their copyrighted works without permission. In papers filed Tuesday in federal court in New York, the authors alleged “flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs’ registered copyrights” and called the ChatGPT program a “massive commercial enterprise” that is reliant upon “systematic theft on a mass scale.” The suit was organized by the Authors Guild and also includes David Baldacci, Sylvia Day, Jonathan Franzen and Elin Hilderbrand among others. “It is imperative that we stop this theft in its tracks or we will destroy our incredible literary culture, which feeds many other creative industries in the U.S.,” Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger said in a statement. “Great books are generally written by those who spend their careers ...

Syrian President Bashar Assad arrives in China on first visit since the beginning of war in Syria

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:02:26 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has arrived in China on his first visit to the country since the start of Syria’s 12-year conflict during which Beijing has been one of his main backers, state media reported Thursday.The Associated Press