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House makes history, removes McCarthy as Speaker

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is no longer Speaker of the House.A small group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) joined with Democrats to oust him in a 216-210 vote.Tuesday marks the first time the House has ever voted to remove a sitting Speaker, a historic development that will catapult the chamber into another chaotic Speaker’s race following January’s marathon election.The House is now in uncharted territory.The chamber will be run by an acting Speaker — Speaker pro tempore — chosen from a list designated by McCarthy and shared with the House clerk, a process implemented for continuity of government reasons after 9/11. Members in both parties expect that the Speaker pro tempore has the chief responsibility of presiding over a new Speaker election.Until then, House aides expect the House to be able to do little else — creating a repeat of McCarthy’s historic 15-ballot election in January.His ouster on Tuesday is inextricably linked to that four-day, 15-ballot ...

Stock market today: Wall Street buckles under higher bond yields as Dow wipes out gain for the year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street fell sharply Tuesday as it focused on the downside of a surprisingly strong job market. The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% to its lowest point in four months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 430 points, or 1.3% and wiped out the last of its gains made for the year so far. Some of the heaviest losses came from Big Tech stocks, which sent the Nasdaq composite to a market-leading loss of 1.9%.Stocks fell as the pressure on them cranked even higher from rising Treasury yields in the bond market. Such weight has been the main reason the S&P 500 has lost more than 40% of its value since the end of July, after charging higher for much of the year. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed again Tuesday, up to 4.79% from 4.69% late Monday and from just 0.50% early in the pandemic. It touched its highest level since 2007 and rose after a report showed U.S. employers have many more job openings than expected.When bonds are paying so much more in interest, they pull...

Independent MP Han Dong says he’s still awaiting word if he can rejoin Liberal caucus

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

OTTAWA — Independent MP Han Dong says he’s still waiting for word on whether or not he can return to the Liberal caucus, but he hopes it will happen as soon as possible. The Toronto-area MP resigned from the government caucus in March saying he wanted to clear his name following allegations published in media reports.Global News had reported, citing unnamed national security sources, that Dong told a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that releasing Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from detention would benefit the Conservatives.David Johnston, the former special rapporteur on foreign interference, deemed the claim “false” in a May report, and the Liberals launched a process to determine whether Dong could return to caucus. Dong says he met with Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc about three weeks ago and they had a good and constructive conversation. A spokesperson for LeBlanc says the government will have more to say on the matter in due ...

Fatal shooting by police draws protests and raises questions in north Alabama

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — Family members of a Black man fatally shot outside his home by Alabama police are seeking more information about what happened and to see body camera footage of the shooting.Police shot and killed Stephen Perkins, 39, last week in Decatur, Alabama, in what began in a confrontation Friday morning with a tow truck driver trying to repossess a vehicle, police said. Perkins’ family said that he was not behind on payments and the vehicle should not have been repossessed. The Decatur Police Department said in an initial public statement that officers were called to the scene by the tow truck driver, who said the homeowner pulled a gun. Police said that the man, identified as Perkins, later threatened the driver and “turned the gun toward one of the officers.” The Perkins family issued a statement to news outlets requesting body camera footage and an investigation. They questioned what they called an “unjust excessive amount of force.” Perkins was sho...

A bus crash in a Venice suburb kills at least 21 people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

ROME (AP) — A bus crashed near the Italian city of Venice after falling from an elevated street, killing at least 21 people and injuring several others Tuesday, authorities said.Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said that 21 people were killed, including two children, and that there were 15 survivors from the crash in the Mestre suburb of Venice. He said it was a regular bus line, but that tourists were aboard, though there was no immediate word on the nationalities of the victims. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the scene of the crash was “apocalyptic” and that he had already declared the “city’s mourning” for the “numerous victims” who were on the bus. According to local media, the bus fell a few meters before crashing close to Mestre’s railway tracks, where it caught fire. Emergency crews were on the scene.Premier Giorgia Meloni expressed her “deepest sorrow” after the crash.The Associated Press

Azerbaijan arrests several former top separatist leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

Authorities in Azerbaijan arrested several former separatist leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday after reclaiming control of the Armenian-populated breakaway region in a lightning military operation last month, a top Azerbaijani news agency said.Arayik Harutyunyan, who led the region before stepping down at the beginning of September, was arrested and was being brought to the Azerbaijani capital, the APA news agency said.Arkadi Gukasian, who served as the separatist president from 1997 until 2007, and Bako Sahakyan, who held the job from 2007 until 2020, also were arrested Tuesday along with the speaker of the separatist legislature, Davit Ishkhanyan, APA said.The wave of arrests come as Azerbaijani authorities move swiftly to establish their control over the region after a blitz offensive that triggered an exodus of over 100,000 people — more than 80% of its ethnic Armenian residents.While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, most of them have rushed...

Former VP Pence talks national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President and GOP candidate Mike Pence on Tuesday warned of the consequences of U.S. withdrawal from the world stage as he continued to criticize the growing tide of isolationism in his party.“America is the leader of the free world. If we’re not leading the free world, the free world is not being led,” Pence said at a national security and foreign policy forum at Washington’s Georgetown University. The appearance was the first in a series of conversations with 2024 Republican presidential candidates on the topic co-hosted by The Associated Press and Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.Pence has positioned himself as a foreign policy hawk in his party’s crowded primary, advocating for “peace through American leadership” on the world stage. He has railed against the growing populist tide in the party, accusing rivals like former President Donald Trump and his followers of abandoning U.S. allies.The contrast has been pa...

Grizzly that killed two in Banff National Park was old, had bad teeth: Parks Canada

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

BANFF, Alta. — Parks Canada says a grizzly bear that killed a couple and their dog in Banff National Park on the weekend was old, underweight and had bad teeth.Two people were attacked and killed by a bear in a remote wilderness area — the first recorded fatalities in Canada’s busiest national park in decades.The federal agency has not responded to interview requests since the attack, but it issued another statement Tuesday.It says a necropsy has been completed on the bear and it was determined to be a non-lactating female estimated to be more than 25 years old.Parks says the bear was in fair body condition, but that her teeth were in poor condition and she had less than normal body fat for this time of year.DNA samples from the bear confirm it was responsible for the attack.This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 3, 2023.The Canadian Press

S&P/TSX composite closes down along with U.S. stock markets

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index closed at its lowest point since October last year as part of a pullback that saw sharper drops in U.S. markets.The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 156.26 points at 19,020.92.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 430.97 points at 33,002.38. The S&P 500 index was down 58.94 points at 4,229.45, while the Nasdaq composite was down 248.31 points at 13,059.47.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.93 cents US compared with 73.96 cents US on Friday.The November crude contract was up 41 cents at US$89.23 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up 11 cents at US$2.95 per mmBTU.The December gold contract ended down US$5.70 at US$1,841.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down two cents at US$3.62 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

North Dakota lawmakers offer tributes to colleague, family lost in Utah plane crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:08 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota lawmakers on Tuesday remembered a late Senate colleague, who died in a plane crash along with his wife and two children, for his service to others and love of hosting events.State Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife Amy and their two young children died Sunday in a plane crash near Moab, Utah. The plane crashed shortly after taking off from Canyonlands Airfield near the desert recreation town, according to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. The senator was the pilot, according to the sheriff’s office.The National Transportation and Safety Board is investigating the crash of the single-engine Piper plane, with a preliminary report expected in two weeks.The weather at the time was mild, with scattered light showers, wide visibility and gentle winds in the area around the airport, according to the National Weather Service.State Rep. Paul Thomas and state Sen. Cole Conley offered tributes Tuesday to Larsen before a routine meeting of an interim stud...