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Guatemalans head to the polls, hoping their new leader will bring real change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — After a tumultuous campaign, Guatemalans head to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president, hoping that the country’s next leader will provide relief from rising prices and get a handle on crime and corruption.The two candidates offer starkly different paths forward. Former first lady Sandra Torres became an ally of outgoing, deeply unpopular President Alejandro Giammattei in her third bid for the presidency. Her opponent, Bernardo Arévalo, with the progressive Seed Movement, rode a wave of popular resentment toward politics to his surprise spot in the runoff.Central America’s most populous country and the region’s largest economy continues to struggle with widespread poverty and violence that have driven hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans to emigrate in recent years.The first round of voting on June 25 went relatively smoothly until results showed Arévalo had landed an unexpected spot in the runoff. The fact that the preliminary results were dragged into ...

Are forced-reset triggers illegal machine guns? ATF and gun rights advocates at odds in court fights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

The internet videos are alarming to some, thrilling to others: Gun enthusiasts spraying bullets from AR-15-style rifles equipped with an after-market trigger allowing them to shoot seemingly as fast as fully automatic weapons.The forced-reset triggers so concerned the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that it ordered the company making them to halt sales only months after they began in 2020, declaring the devices illegal machine guns.Rare Breed Triggers, founded in Florida and now based in Fargo, North Dakota, said the ATF was wrong and kept selling its FRT-15 triggers, setting the stage for a legal battle now in federal courts in New York and Texas.The triggers are the latest rapid-fire gun accessories to draw scrutiny from government officials worried about mass shootings and police officer safety, joining bump stocks, which were banned by the Trump administration after the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 60 people, and cheap parts called auto...

Lotto 649 winning numbers for Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Saturday’s Lotto 649 draw for an estimated $5 million: 22, 23, 25, 35, 36 & 41.Bonus: 21The winning number for the guaranteed $1 million: 52109582-01In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail. The Canadian Press

Maui water is unsafe even with filters, one of the lessons learned from fires in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

The language is stark: People in torched areas of Maui should not try to filter their own drinking water because there is no “way to make it safe,” Maui County posted on its Instagram account this week.The message reached Anne Rillero and her husband Arnie in Kula, who were eating yet another meal of frozen pizza. The couple feels incredibly lucky they and their home survived the fires that raced across Maui in recent days, wiping most of Lahaina off the map. The number of confirmed fatalities was raised on Friday to 114 people.When a neighborhood organization alerted them not to drink their water and to air out the house even if they run the tap, the couple decided to eat off paper plates to avoid exposure. No washing dishes.“It’s alarming that it may be in the water system for awhile,” said Rillero, a retired conservation communication specialist who has lived on the island for 22 years.Brita filters, devices connected to refrigerators or sinks and even robust, whole-home sy...

Ecuadorians choosing a new president amid increasing violence that may scare away voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador is holding a special election Sunday to pick a new president, with police and soldiers on guard against unprecedented violence, including the assassination of a candidate this month. Front-runners include an ally of exiled former President Rafael Correa and a millionaire with a security background promising to be tough on crime.Authorities have deployed more than 100,000 police and soldiers to protect the vote against more violence. Some Ecuadorians still said they would not even leave home for the election, even though skipping the trip to the polls could result in a fine.“I don’t think the election will change anything,” said pharmacist Leidy Aguirre, 28, who has gradually stopped going out with friends over the past three years, out of fear of being robbed. “Not even politicians are safe.”Candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated Aug. 9 as he left a campaign rally in Quito, the capital of the once calm South American country. The killing ...

Georgia made it easier for parents to challenge school library books. Almost no one has done so

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

CUMMING, Ga. (AP) — When Allison Strickland urged a suburban Atlanta school board in June to remove four books from school libraries, she was following a path cleared by Georgia’s Republican lawmakers.But after the bitterly debated Georgia law took effect Jan. 1, The Associated Press found few book challengers are using it.One key element restraining complaints: The law only allows parents of current students to challenge books. Although not new, book challenges have surged since 2020, part of a backlash to what kids read and discuss in public schools. Conservatives want to stop children from reading books with themes on sexuality, gender, race and religion that they find objectionable. PEN America, a group promoting freedom of expression, counted 4,000 instances of books banned nationwide from July 2021 to December 2022. But while fights are ongoing in Forsyth County, where Strickland was protesting, at least 15 other large Georgia districts surveyed by AP said they have received n...

Tribal courts across the country are expanding holistic alternatives to the criminal justice system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

Inside a jail cell at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, Albertyn Pino’s only plan was to finish the six-month sentence for public intoxication, along with other charges, and to return to her abusive boyfriend.That’s when she was offered a lifeline: An invitation to the tribe’s Healing to Wellness Court. She would be released early if she agreed to attend alcohol treatment and counseling sessions, secure a bed at a shelter, get a job, undergo drug testing and regularly check in with a judge. Pino, now 53, ultimately completed the requirements and, after about a year and a half, the charges were dropped. She looks back at that time, 15 years ago, and is grateful that people envisioned a better future for her when she struggled to see one for herself.“It helped me start learning more about myself, about what made me tick, because I didn’t know who I was,” said Pino, who is now a case manager and certified peer support worker. “I didn’t know what to do.”The concept of treating pe...

Chad Brown sweeps Alabama, Lake Placid Stakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Mechanicville-native trainer Chad Brown put his stamp on the final Saturday at Saratoga Race Course before Travers Day, earning victories in both stakes races on the card: the grade one Alabama, and the grade two Lake Placid.The $600,000 Alabama Stakes - the premier race of the Spa season for fillies - featured a 10-horse field, headlined by trainer Brad Cox's Wet Paint, winner of the grade one Coaching Club American Oaks back on July 22.Wet Paint entered the race favorited at 9-5 odds, but found herself trailing the eight-horse, Brown's Randomized, who closed at 7-1, heading around the final turn.The gap between the two, Wet Paint, and the eight would only widen, though, down the home stretch. Randomized opened up three-length lead by the 1/8th pole, and just pulled away from there.The three-year-old finished sixth in the only other grade one start she's ever had - the Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park on June 9. But Saturday she ran arguably the race ...

Patriots-Packers preseason game ended early after injury to Isaiah Bolden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

By The Associated PressGREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — New England’s preseason game with the Green Bay Packers was called off early Saturday night after Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field in the fourth quarter.Bolden, a seventh-round pick from Jackson State, appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Green Bay’s Malik Heath. As medical officials treated Bolden, both teams left their respective sidelines and got on the field, with some players getting on one knee.After Bolden was carted off the field, the teams conferred and decided not to continue the game. The game stopped with the Patriots leading 21-17 with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter. Both teams are 1-1.Before Bolden’s injury, New England’s Mac Jones made his first appearance of the preseason before Bailey Zappe took over and rallied the Patriots to the lead.CHIEFS 38, CARDINALS 10GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes saw his first extended a...

Broncos Preseason Stock Report: Who’s up, who’s down after 21-20 loss against San Francisco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:04 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The initial stock report of the preseason after the Broncos’ 21-20 loss to San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.Stock UpJonathon Cooper: It might be time to buy stock in third-year outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper. In his second straight start of the preseason, Cooper was flying into the backfield. During the 49ers’ first drive of the game, Cooper sacked quarterback Brock Purdy for a loss of eight yards. San Francisco had to settle for a 20-yard field goal after casually marching down the field.Cooper made another big play in the second. He burst off the edge as he, outside linebacker Randy Gregory and inside linebacker Josey Jewell stopped quarterback Sam Darnold for a nine-yard loss. Cooper finished the evening with four tackles (one for loss), a sack and a quarterback hit.Pass Rush: Cooper’s was one of a few highlights from a promising pass rush. They generated pressure on San Francisco’s quarterbacks, especially in the first half when they totaled three ...