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McCarthy’s Republicans push debt ceiling talks to brink, lawmakers leaving town for weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are pushing debt ceiling talks to the brink, displaying risky political bravado as they prepare to leave town Thursday for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default that could hurl the global economy into chaos.A defiant House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the debt ceiling standoff was “not my fault” as Republican negotiators and the White House failed to finish out talks. He warned they need more time to try to reach a budget-slashing deal with President Joe Biden.But it’s clear the Republican speaker — who leads a Trump-aligned party whose hard-right flank lifted him to power — is now staring down a potential crisis.Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, just two days from June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could start running out of cash to pay its bills and face a potentially catastrophic default. Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States’ A...

Georgia nuclear rebirth arrives 7 years late, $17B over cost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

WAYNESBORO, Ga. (AP) — Two nuclear reactors in Georgia were supposed to herald a nuclear power revival in the United States. But the project is seven years late and $17 billion over budget as Georgia Power Co. announced the first new reactor at its Plant Vogtle could reach full electrical output by Saturday.They’re the first U.S. reactors built from scratch in decades — and maybe the most expensive power plant ever. Georgia electric customers have already paid billions, and state regulators will ultimately decide if they’re on the hook for billions more.Some of the key promises of Vogtle — like building modules offsite and shipping them for cheaper on-site assembly — did not pan out. Construction delays drove Westinghouse Electric Co., a titan of American industrial history, into bankruptcy when the company couldn’t absorb overruns.And the lessons could be important because government officials and some utilities are again looking to nuclear power to alleviate climate change by gene...

Look who’s talking: Biden goes quiet in debt-limit talks, while McCarthy can’t stop chatting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — There was Kevin McCarthy, saying the White House was refusing to give on spending as the speaker returned to the Capitol one morning this week. Just a few short hours later, there was McCarthy again, this time telling reporters that the sole concession that Republicans were making to the White House on the debt limit was in fact, raising the debt limit. As representatives from the White House and the GOP-controlled House race toward a deal that would pave the way for lawmakers to lift the debt limit, one side has been eager to speak publicly about the closed-door talks — trying to shape public perceptions of the negotiations. It’s not the side that typically wields the bully pulpit. President Joe Biden has made a deliberate decision to go quiet as his team gets down to the wire in the debt-limit talks, according to White House officials. It’s his deeply held view that speaking in public about negotiations does nothing to produce an outcome. The already ...

$50,000 reward offered in fatal South L.A. hit-and-run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

Authorities with the Los Angeles Police Department are asking for the public’s help in identifying the driver of a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run that claimed the life of a 23-year-old bicyclist in South Los Angeles last month.  The deadly crash occurred on April 13, at around 10:40 p.m., at the intersection of Main and 43rd streets, according to an LAPD news release.  The 23-year-old man, identified as Inmer Samuel Cruz, can be seen in surveillance video riding his bike westbound across Main Street on 43rd Street when he's struck by a silver sedan that was going southbound on Mainstreet. The driver, who failed to stop and identify themselves or attempt to render aid to the bicyclist, continued southbound on Main Street, fleeing the scene.  The hit-and-run suspect vehicle is described as a silver 2008-2013 Mercedes Benz C230 or C330, police said. The victim, 23-year-old Inmer Samuel Cruz, seen in surveillance video riding his bike moments before the fatal hit-and-r...

Teen found shot to death in San Bernardino County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

Authorities are investigating after a teenager was found shot to death in Highland on Tuesday.The victim was identified as Cesar Pineda, 18, from Redlands, by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.Deputies responded to an emergency call on the 26300 block of 9th Street around 6:19 p.m.When authorities arrived, they found Pineda suffering from a gunshot wound. Crews administered life-saving measures, but Pineda was pronounced dead at the scene. Man accused of attempted sexual assault on elderly woman in Ventura The suspect remains at large and no description was provided.Details remain limited and the events leading up to the shooting remain under investigation.Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Deputy Charles Lopez at 909-890-4904. Anonymous tips can be submitted to We-Tip at 800-782-7463 or online at wetip.com.

In Sanctuary a Dom and Sub Work the Kinks out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

The remaining film year isn’t likely to bring an action movie or thriller with turns of plot as exhilarating as those that fill director Zachary Wigon’s Sanctuary, a two-character, one location battle of wits between a sex worker and her longtime client. Already, we’ve given away a plot point, but Wigon and screenwriter Micah Bloomberg make it clear right off that there’s something performative in the way Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) strides into the small but luxurious Denver hotel suite of late 30s-ish Hal (Christopher Abbott).Hal’s hotelier father has just died and he’s about to take over as CEO, a role for which he may lack the killer instinct. Rebecca is here with a legal questionnaire, but her questions turn weirdly personal  even as Hal seems to be playing a game of his own in his replies. Who’s lying? They both are, or rather, they’re following a script Hal wrote out in advance. He always writes a script for a visit from Rebecca, a dominatrix specializing in humiliation (not i...

Person detained, gun recovered after East Oakland shooting, search at strip mall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

OAKLAND — Police took a person into custody and recovered a firearm Wednesday after an investigation of a shooting in an East Oakland neighborhood led to a search that briefly cleared a grocery store and disrupted a strip mall in another neighborhood, authorities said.In an e-mailed statement, a police spokesperson said officers on patrol learned of a gunfire-detection alert in the 1200 block of 90th Avenue shortly before 5:15 p.m.When officers arrived there, they learned a shooting had happened, and tracked an associated car to a shopping mall in the 3000 block of East 9th Street.In that neighborhood around 5:30 p.m., other officers set up a perimeter around several outlets and carried out a search for the car’s driver. That search led at least one outlet, a grocery store, to close its doors and clear out staff.Police said an individual, who they did not identify, was later taken into custody and a firearm was recovered. Police did not confirm preliminary details shared...

Ohtani, Trout homer in Angels’ 7-3 win, completing sweep of slumping Red Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout homered in the same game for the 26th time, leading the Los Angeles Angels to their fourth straight win and a sweep of the Boston Red Sox with a 7-3 victory Wednesday night.Rookie Zach Neto hit a three-run homer during the Angels’ four-run second inning and added a double in his first three-hit game for Los Angeles, which has won six of seven overall.The Angels’ MVP duo came through in the early innings. Ohtani connected in the third for his team-leading 12th homer of the season, taking James Paxton (1-1) to the opposite field with his fourth shot in 10 days. The pitch was 3.74 feet above the ground, making it the second-highest pitch on which Ohtani has ever homered.Trout followed in the fourth with a two-run shot off Nick Pivetta, matching Ohtani’s season total with his fourth homer in seven days. The three-time AL MVP also passed Joe DiMaggio with his 362nd career homer.Connor Wong homered for the Red Sox, who have l...

Tina Turner remembered by local DJ, fans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado fans and acquaintances of singer/performer/actress Tina Turner are reflecting on her legacy.It was announced, on Wednesday, the international star had passed away at the age of 83.Local, legendary disc jockey, Jim Walker, known during his days on KDKO Radio as “Dr. Daddio,” said Turner, born, Anna Mae Bullock, was more than just an entertainer.“She was a queen, she was a star and she was a fighter,” he said. “And, she did great things, with her life.” Iconic rock and soul singer Tina Turner dies Walker was instrumental in bringing Turner to the state for performances.A quick internet search shows Turner played then-McNichols Arena, in December 1987.At places like Angelo’s CDs & More on South Broadway in Denver, a handful of fans had arrived to buy Turner merchandise.“I’m sure after her passing, she will get a lot more recognition for how influential she really was,” general manager Sean Batz said.

POLITICO Pro Morning Health Care: WHO replenishment model? — US hoarding Ebola drugs — Barriers to care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:10 GMT

Presented by PPTABy HELEN COLLISwith ASHLEIGH FURLONG, CARLO MARTUSCELLI, SARAH-TAÏSSIR BENCHARIF and JOANNA ROBERTSPRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— At the World Health Assembly today, countries will speak about how to more sustainably finance the World Health Organization. — The U.S. has stockpiled Ebola treatments, preventing access in countries that desperately need them, argues Doctors without Borders.— Access to health care varies across Europe, but the Czech Republic is doing well on several fronts, the EU Observatory on Health Systems and Policies says.Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Health Care! We all try to live sustainably. Now you can continue in the afterlife. A Dutch company is growing coffins in a mold with mycelium — the root-like structure of mushrooms — and hemp fiber. They take just a week to grow and, once six feet under, 45 days to biodegrade – compared with years to grow and rot for wooden coffins. Nearing the end? AP has more...