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Debt limit talks resume at Capitol as Republicans, White House face ‘real differences’

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING, LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt limit talks resumed at the U.S. Capitol late Friday, a sudden turnaround after negotiations came to an abrupt standstill earlier in the day when Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it’s time to “pause” negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are “real differences.”A White House official confirmed late Friday the talks were back on. The official was granted anonymity to talk about the private discussions. Earlier in the day, McCarthy said resolution to the standoff is “easy,” if only Democratic President Joe Biden’s team would agree to some spending cuts Republicans are demanding. The biggest impasse was over the fiscal 2024 top-line budget amount, according to another person briefed on the talks and granted anonymity to discuss them. Democrats staunchly oppose the steep reductions Republicans have put on the table ...

Chicago White Sox minor-league report: Injury news on Colson Montgomery and Noah Schultz — and what’s next for Liam Hendriks

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

Colson Montgomery had a productive 2022 while playing for three teams in the Chicago White Sox system.A midback strain has delayed the top prospect’s start to 2023. The 2021 first-round pick continues to rehab, according to assistant general manager Chris Getz.“It has improved a good amount here in the last week or two,” Getz said Thursday afternoon. “And we are increasing his activities and look forward to getting him back.“He would have liked to be with an affiliate out of the gate, but this midback strain seems to be kind of in the rearview mirror and hope to get a good chunk of the season this year.”Three of the top four prospects in the Sox system are in various stages of coming back from injuries.Third baseman Bryan Ramos, the organization’s No. 3 prospect, is in extended spring training recovering from a groin-related injury.“He’s (been a designated hitter), played third base,” Getz said. “He’s got a coup...

Everett football stars giving back to community with youth football camp

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

Mike Sainristil was looking for ways to give back to Everett and resorted to his past to find a present solution.The former Everett High football star and current Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely are the headliners at this weekend’s Youth Football Camp at Everett Memorial Stadium. The camp is open to all youngsters in Everett as well as those in surrounding communities.On Saturday, the 9-to-noon session is for kids from kindergarten to fourth grade. There are two sessions on Sunday, with the early grouping (9-noon) consisting of kids from fifth to eighth grade, with the final session (12-3) for high school students.“The kids deserve all the credit, they put it all together,” said former Everett assistant coach Carlos Ruiz. “Mikey started it last year and he just wanted to give back to the community. Now more of his former teammates want to be a part of this and it’s an amazing thing to see.”According to Ruiz, in addition to Sainristil and Likely, other prior Ever...

Rachael Rollins resigns as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts in wake of scathing DOJ reports [+see letter]

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

The whirlwind week has ended with a thud for Rachael Rollins.The once-rising star of the progressive ranks has resigned as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts after being scorched in two separate federal reports, according to a statement from her former office.The statement goes on to say that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy has assumed the role of Acting U.S. Attorney, “in accordance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.”Levy, according to the statement, became First Assistant in January of last year following 25 years of legal experience, including previous experience in the U.S. Attorney’s office when he served as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division’s Economic Crimes Unit office from 1997 to 2004.“There, he prosecuted a wide range of white-collar crimes including health care fraud, securities and investor fraud, terrorism financing and environmental crimes,” according to the statement.The optics of the office were already changing before ...

Woman stabbed to death, man in custody in Brampton: police

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

A man is in custody after a woman was fatally stabbed in Brampton. Peel police say they were called to the area of Hummingbird Court and Cherrytree Drive, just west of Hurontario Street and Highway 407, on Friday afternoon. When they arrived they discovered a woman had been stabbed. She was pronounced dead. A man has been taken into custody but no further details have been released by police except that there is no further threat to the public. More to come

Utah police: Man admits killing wife, visiting in-laws, surrenders

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

LAYTON, Utah. (AP) — A Utah man killed his wife and her parents and then called police Friday to report and admit to the crime, authorities said.Jeremy Bailey, 34, surrendered without incident at the family home in Layton, just north of Salt Lake City, police said.The bodies of Bailey’s wife, Anastasia Stevens, 36; Becky Stevens, 61; and Donald Stevens, 73; were found inside the house. Becky Stevens was Anastasia Stevens’ stepmother and Donald Stevens was her father. Becky and Donald Stevens lived in Nevada and were visiting Bailey and Anastasia Stevens, who were living at the home where the bodies were found, police said in a statement.Motive and cause of death were still being investigated. Three of the family’s dogs also were killed.Bailey couldn’t be reached for comment and had no attorney listed to comment on his behalf. Layton is a city of about 82,000 people 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City.The Associated Press

How the US helping Ukraine acquire F-16s shows that for military aid, ‘no’ can become ‘yes’

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has once again buckled under pressure from European allies and Ukraine’s leaders and agreed to provide more sophisticated weapons to the war effort. This time it’s all about F-16 fighter jets.Ukraine has long begged for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge as it battles Russia’s invasion, now in its second year. And this new plan opens the door for several nations to supply the fourth-generation aircraft and for the U.S. to help train the pilots. President Joe Biden laid out the agreement to world leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday, according to U.S. officials.So far, however, the U.S. has provided no details and said decisions on when, how many, and who will supply the F-16s will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway. Details on the training are equally elusive. U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss decisions not yet made public.Still, with this decision, the Biden admini...

United States returns ‘Earth Monster’ Olmec sculpture to Mexico

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico announced Friday that a huge 2,500-year-old Olmec stone sculpture has been returned from the United States. The almost six-foot-tall (two-meter) “Monster of the Earth” sculpture appears to represent the gaping maw of a monster that is big enough to swallow people, and may represent a symbolic entrance to the underworld. Experts say the sculpture is important because of the insights it provides on the cosmological vision of the Olmecs, considered a founding culture of Meso-America.Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the sculpture was handed over at the Mexican consulate in Denver, Colorado, on Friday. Experts believe the sculpture was taken clandestinely in the 1960s from Chalcatzingo, a lesser-known ruin site south of Mexico City. “It was like an open wound, not having this artifact,” Ebrard said.The Associated Press

California governor seeks to speed up water, clean energy projects delayed by lawsuits, permits

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to fast-track hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of construction projects throughout the state, including a pair of large water endeavors that have languished for years amid permitting delays and opposition from environmental groups.For the past decade, California officials have pursued the water projects in the drought-prone state. One would construct a giant tunnel to carry large amounts of water beneath the natural channels of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to drier and more populous Southern California. The other would be a massive new reservoir near the tiny community of Sites in Northern California that could store more water during deluges — like the series of atmospheric rivers that hit the state earlier this year — for delivery to farmers.But neither project has been built, despite promises from multiple governors and legislative leaders. Environmental groups have sued to block the tunnel p...

Firefighters heard, couldn’t rescue 2 killed in massive North Carolina fire

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:00:19 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Crews searching the rubble of a massive construction fire in North Carolina on Friday found the bodies of two people who firefighters couldn’t reach to save before the flames became too intense.Authorities didn’t identify the victims, but officials said two workers were missing after the Thursday fire on the site of a new apartment building in the upscale South Park neighborhood of Charlotte.No one else was injured in the five-alarm fire, including more than 90 firefighters and a worker trapped for a time on top of a crane as a fire engine sprayed water on the metal to keep it from collapsing.“I’ve never ever seen a fire of this magnitude,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, a 31-year veteran of the force. “It’s devastating, heartbreaking.”Investigators think the fire started about 9 a.m. Thursday in a trailer used to spray insulation into the building’s walls, Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said.The c...