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Biden endorses F-16 training for Ukrainians as Zelenskyy set to take part in G7 summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

By ZEKE MILLER, FOSTER KLUG, JOSH BOAK, and ELAINE KURTENBACH (Associated Press)HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden told allies Friday he was approving plans to train Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, according to two people familiar with the matter, as leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies worked to toughen punishments on Russia for its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.The Group of Seven leaders are meeting in Hiroshima, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to take part in their summit on Sunday.The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The U.S. has insisted that it is sending weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory.The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanct...

Hot-hitting Seiya Suzuki is getting locked in and doing damage as Chicago Cubs offense tries to get on track

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

The home run power the Chicago Cubs expected from Seiya Suzuki is finally emerging.Finding his timing has been a work in progress for Suzuki after not appearing in a spring training game because of an oblique strain that caused him to begin the season on the injured list. 129 plate appearances later, Suzuki, 28, is heating up at a time the offense desperately needs some punch.Suzuki’s stellar performance Wednesday in Houston — hitting two home runs and reaching base five times — was overshadowed by the Cubs’ implosion en route to their fifth consecutive loss. Suzuki became the first Japanese player in MLB history to hit a home run in three consecutive plate appearances. He was the first Cubs hitter to do so since Kris Bryant on May 17, 2019.In the past week, the outfielder is 10-for-25 with three doubles, four home runs, five walks and six strikeouts. Among Cubs hitters, his .372 on-base percentage is third best while his 134 OPS+ trails Christopher Morel (22...

Debt limit talks stall as Republicans ‘press pause,’ White House says real differences

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING, LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt ceiling talks came to an abrupt standstill Friday after a top ally to Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it’s time to “press pause” on negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are “real differences” that are making talks difficult.Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., tapped by McCarthy, R-Calif., to lead the talks, emerged from an hourlong session and said gaps remained between House Republicans and the Democratic administration.“It’s time to press pause because it’s just not productive,” Graves told reporters.He added that the negotiations have become “just unreasonable” and that it was unclear when talks would resume. A White House official, who was granted anonymity Friday to discuss the private conversations, said there are “real differences” between the parties on the budget issues and furt...

Young adults are vacationing on financial thin ice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

Prices for travel remain stubbornly high. The cost of airfare in February was 27% higher than the same month a year earlier, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. And rental car prices — having shot up during the pandemic — remain high today, as they’re 37% pricier in February than they were in the same month in 2019.Yet costlier travel is not deterring younger Americans who are eager to hit the road (and the skies) this year.A whopping 87% of 18-to-29-year-olds and 90% of 30-to-44-year-olds intend to travel this summer, according to a March survey by The Vacationer. If the economy is slowing, younger travelers aren’t heeding the memo.“When I meet with folks, they’re not budgeting,” says Dylan Snowden, a financial coach. “Most will just think about hotels and flight, but not the fact that they need to feed themselves three times a day.”Ignoring the broader economic trends (like the rising cost of eating out) could mean stormy financial waters ahead for these vacat...

Judge blocks release of video, records in Tyre Nichols beating death investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge on Friday continued to temporarily block the release of more video footage and records in the investigation into Tyre Nichols’ death, but said he does want to make public as much information as possible that would not interfere with the rights to a fair trial for five Memphis police officers facing charges.Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones Jr. asked prosecutors to outline the information they think should and should not be be released to the public, and then give the list to defense attorneys. Jones set deadlines in June for prosecutors to hand over to defense lawyers the information from existing video footage and about 2,500 pages of documents that should be be released and for the defense to raise their objections.Prosecutor Paul Hagerman and defense attorneys agreed that they have no objection to the release of most police personnel records that pre-dated Nichols’ beating. But they both also agreed that the release of so...

Milan’s La Scala and Paris Opera commission opera based on Umberto Eco’s ‘The Name of the Rose’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Italian composer Francesco Filidei has been commissioned by Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Paris Opera to write a new opera based on Umberto Eco’s most famous novel “The Name of the Rose,” the opera houses announced Friday. The world premiere has already been scheduled, at La Scala on April 27, 2025, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher and starring mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsay and baritone Lucas Meachem. La Scala’s general manager, Dominique Meyer, called the new commission “a very important opera.” “The Name of the Rose” was Eco’s debut novel, a medieval thriller set in a monastery. It catapulted him to international celebrity and was made into a 1986 film starring Sean Connery. Eco died at home in Milan in 2016.Filidei is working on two versions, one in Italian and one in French, the second to premiere at the Paris Opera. The 50-year-old Filidei has composed two previous operas: “Giordano Bruno,” which premiered in Porto, Portugal in 2015 and ...

Sean Penn, backing WGA strike, says AI dispute is ‘a human obscenity’ at Cannes Film Festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Sean Penn strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over artificial intelligence is “a human obscenity.” Penn addressed the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in a press conference for his new film, “Black Flies,” director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s harrowing, gritty drama about New York paramedics. Asked about the strike, Penn said “the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time.” “There’s a lot of new concepts being tossed about including the use of AI It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers,” said Penn, a veteran writer-director in addition to being an actor. Film and TV screenwriters earlier this month began striking after talks with producers broke off. The WGA is seeking better pay, new contracts for the streaming era and safeguards against the use of AI-scripted work-ar...

Johnston’s advice on public inquiry about foreign interference expected Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

OTTAWA — Special rapporteur David Johnston is expected to release his decision next Tuesday on whether the federal Liberals should hold a public inquiry on foreign interference. The recommendation is anticipated to be included in an initial report about how the government should proceed with allegations that Canada’s last two federal elections were subject to meddling by other countries.Opposition parties’ calls for a public inquiry into Chinese meddling have grown louder throughout the year amid a series of media reports shedding light on Beijing’s alleged attempts to influence the 2019 and 2021 elections.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped the former governor general to assess the extent and impact of such interference in Canada’s electoral process, including by reviewing the response to threats in the past two elections.The government said Johnston has been given access to relevant documents, records and classified information, and security services are p...

Federal Reserve Chair Powell hints at a pause in rate hikes when central bank meets next month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell indicated Friday that the Federal Reserve will likely forgo an increase in its benchmark interest rate when it meets in June for the first time since it began raising its key rate 14 months ago to fight high inflation.In signaling so, Powell provided some clarity about the Fed’s likely next policy move after a cacophony of speeches this week by central bank officials had clouded the picture. “Having come this far, we can afford to look at the data and the evolving outlook and make careful assessments,” Powell said, referring to the Fed’s 10 straight rate hikes, which have elevated its key short-term rate from near zero a year ago to about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years. Speaking at a Fed conference in Washington, Powell said the central bank’s benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, is now high enough to restrain borrowing, spending and economic growth. Fed officials hope that slower growth will coo...

Jordan Neely, NYC subway rider choked to death, is mourned at Manhattan church

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Friends, family members and civil rights leaders gathered at a Harlem church on Friday to mourn Jordan Neely, whose chokehold death on the New York City subway set off a debate about vigilantism, homelessness and public safety.A former Michael Jackson impersonator who had been struggling with mental illness and homelessness in recent years, Neely died May 1 when a fellow subway rider pinned him to the floor of a subway car in a chokehold that lasted several minutes.The fatal struggle was recorded on video by an onlooker who said Neely had been yelling at other passengers as he begged for money, but hadn’t attacked anyone.Last week the man who pinned and choked Neely, Daniel Penny, was charged with manslaughter by the Manhattan district attorney. Penny’s lawyers say he was acting to protect himself and other passengers after Neely made threatening statements.The Rev. Al Sharpton told worshippers that Neely’s life should be celebrated, “but we should not ig...