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Former Pentagon official: US ‘actions matter more’ when it comes to Israel-Hamas, Ukraine wars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

The Israel-Hamas war continues as more U.S. forces are sent to the Persian Gulf amid “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region,” according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin.“These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel,” Austin said in a statement.The announcement followed a visit by President Joe Biden to Israel in the wake of Hamas’ deadly terrorist attack and what has been deemed an imminent ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli Defense Forces.This week, WTOP’s Luke Lukert spoke with Mario Mancuso, a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, about how the U.S. is managing its stake in war-torn Israel and Ukraine. toggle audio on and off change volume ...

Consulados de El Salvador abren hasta tarde para registar votantes para las elecciones presidenciales

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

Participar de las próximas elecciones presidenciales será más sencillo para los salvadoreños que viven en Estados Unidos ante una iniciativa de los consulados. Las embajadas de El Salvador en el DMV trabajarán hasta las 10 p.m. para asegurarse que sus connacionales tengan lo necesario para ejercer su derecho. La fecha límite para registrarse es el 5 de noviembre. “Ahora se está ofreciendo dos modalidades: presencial y en línea, para que realmente sea un derecho. La gente está muy entusiasmada en votar, en participar en las elecciones presidenciales y también de los diputados porque realmente son votaciones claves para las decisiones en nuestro país”, explicó la embajadora Milena Mayorga. Para las elecciones presidenciales en el país centroamericano, se espera la participación de al menos tres millones de salvadoreños que viven en Estados Unidos. Para votar desde el exterior, deberán tener el Documento Único de Identidad (DUI) o el pasaporte salvadoreño. Adicionalmente, deberán de ha...

Autoworkers strike at Stellantis plant shutting down big profit center, 41,000 workers now picketing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

The United Auto Workers union has once again escalated its strikes against big Detroit automakers, this time adding a factory that makes Ram pickup trucks for Stellantis.The union says that 6,800 members walked out Monday morning and shut down the Sterling Heights, Michigan, Assembly Plant, a huge profit center for the company.The newest strike action comes just three days after union President Shawn Fain reported progress in talks with General Motors and Stellantis but said the companies will have to make better offers. No progress was reported with Ford, which last week said it had the best offer of the three.The union went on strike Sept. 15 at one assembly plant from each company. About 40,800 workers are now on strike against all three automakers. The strikes, now in their sixth week, cover seven assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses. About 28% of the union’s work force at the three company’s are now on strike.General Motors, which increased its offer last week, a...

Heavy rains drench northeast Caribbean as Hurricane Tammy spins into open waters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Tammy unleashed heavy rain in the northeast Caribbean on Monday as it spun over open waters after making landfall in Barbuda.The storm was located about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Anguilla. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and was moving north at 7 mph (11 kph). Tammy was expected to strengthen slightly in upcoming days and then weaken, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.The storm was forecast to drop up to three inches (eight centimeters) of rain in the Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, with meteorologists warning of mudslides and isolated flash flooding.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Otis whirled through open waters in the Atlantic on a path toward Mexico’s southern coast.The storm was located about 375 miles (605 kilometers) south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico. It had winds of up to 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving north at 7 mph (11 kph).A tropical storm watch was in effect from...

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wants his wax figure improved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

(CNN) — Dwayne Johnson has heard the complaints about his wax figure and says he’s doing something about it.The Musée Grévin, a museum in Paris, France, that specializes in wax figures of famous people, came under fire recently for a sculpture of Johnson that many found to be too light skinned to represent the actor, who is multi-ethnic.Some people took to social media to accuse the museum of “white washing” the figure of the “Black Adam” star, commenting that the recently unveiled likeness suffered from a “melanin deficiency.”Johnson, whose late father, the wrestler Rocky Johnson, was of Black Nova Scotian descent and his mother, Ata Maivia, is Samoan, saw the outrage and addressed it Sunday on social media.Johnson posted a video of comedian James Andre Jefferson talking about the wax figure and wrote in the caption, “I knew my boy @jamesjeffersonj had this Rock wax statue in his roasting crosshair.”“‘Is this how y’all felt when you lost the Little Mermaid?’” he quot...

An off-duty pilot tried to take control of Alaska Airlines flight before being subdued

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

(CNN) — An off-duty pilot riding as a passenger in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight tried to seize control of a plane headed from Seattle to San Francisco on Sunday, the airline and a source familiar with the matter said.A pilot assigned to the flight told air traffic controllers a person riding in the cockpit of flight 2059 attempted to turn off the aircraft’s engines in flight. Pilots will occasionally ride a cockpit “jump seat” when traveling in an official capacity or commuting to another airport.Joseph Emerson, 44, has been arrested by the Port of Portland Police Department and charged with 83 felony counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft, online booking records show.Emerson is an off-duty pilot who is accused of trying to seize control of the Alaska Airlines flight, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The airline he works for wasn’t immediately known.The plane took off from Seattle Paine Fiel...

Erdoğan, at last, sends Sweden’s NATO bid to Turkish parliament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

BRUSSELS — The Turkish government on Monday submitted Sweden’s NATO accession bid to the country’s parliament for ratification, ending a months-long guessing game over whether Ankara intended to postpone its approval process further.“The Protocol on Sweden’s NATO Accession was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on October 23, 2023 and referred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,” the presidency posted on social media platform X.Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed the move. “Welcome that President Erdoğan signed Sweden’s ratification protocol to NATO and submitted it to the Grand National Assembly of [Turkey]. Parliamentary procedures will now commence. We are looking forward to becoming a member of NATO,” his office posted on the same platform.Turkey has long blocked Sweden’s bid, criticizing Stockholm for harboring members of Turkish opposition groups that Erdoğan’s government considers to be “terrori...

Leave or comply with EU law: EU digital chief warns X chief Elon Musk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

X owner Elon Musk will have to comply with European Union law and clamp down illegal content on the social network if it wants to keep on doing “good business” in the region, the EU’s digital chief Věra Jourová said today.“With Mr. Musk, the dialog doesn’t go well, very simply,” Jourová told reporters in the wake of an EU probe into how the platform shows graphic illegal content and disinformation linked to Hamas’ attack on Israel. The tech mogul denied a report last week that he was considering pulling X out of Europe to avoid new requirements for digital platforms. X is used by over 101 million Europeans in the bloc. Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the company must swiftly take down content and ensure the network limits disinformation and cyberviolence. Musk does “good business in [the] European Union, but it will be his decision and if he decides to stay in as well, he will have to comply with the EU law,” Jourová s...

‘Be on alert’: Authorities identify woman found dead at Gardner home as search for her potentially armed husband continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

Authorities are warning the public to be on alert as they search for an “armed and dangerous” man in connection with the death of a woman in Gardner, who was found in a home Sunday after their young children sought help from a neighbor, officials said.Massachusetts State Police said Aaron Pennington, 33, of Gardner, was being sought in connection with the homicide death of his wife, Breanne Pennington, 30.According to an arrest warrant, Breanne was found Sunday morning after police were called to the couple’s Cherry Street home. The warrant described how a neighbor had called 911 after the couple’s children ran to their house, stating that their father was missing and that their mother had been crying inside of a bedroom.Arriving officers later found Breanne in the room she shared with her husband, suffering from a gunshot wound to the face.The four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9 were inside the home at the time of the incident and are now in the custody of th...

Jury finds Logan Clegg guilty on multiple murder charges for 2022 deaths of Concord, NH couple

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:07 GMT

A man accused of killing a retired couple in Concord, NH, a year ago was found guilty of all the charges he faced after jurors spent less than two days deliberating.Logan Clegg had been charged in connection with the deaths of Djeswende and Stephen Reid, who authorities say were shot to death while out on a hiking trail in Concord, NH, in April 2022.The retired couple was initially reported missing after they left their home in Concord for a walk on April 18. Their bodies were found days later, both with multiple gunshot wounds, setting off an investigation that ended when police arrested Clegg in Vermont in October that year.It took investigators six months before Clegg was taken into custody in a library in South Burlington.He was later arraigned on charges that included four counts of second degree murder, four counts falsifying evidence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Monday, Oct. 23, a jury returned a guilty verdict on all nine...