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What to know about the Morocco earthquake and the efforts to help

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

An earthquake has sown destruction and devastation in Morocco, where death and injury counts continue to rise as rescue crews dig out people both alive and dead in villages that were reduced to rubble.Law enforcement and aid workers — both Moroccan and international — have arrived in the region south of Marrakech that was hardest hit by the magnitude-6.8 tremor Friday night and several aftershocks. Residents await food, water and electricity, and giant boulders now block steep mountain roads.Here’s what you need to know:WHAT ARE THE AREAS MOST AFFECTED?The epicenter was high in the Atlas Mountains about 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Marrakech in Al Haouz province.The region is largely rural, made up of red-rock mountains, picturesque gorges and glistening streams and lakes. For residents like Hamid Idsalah, a 72-year-old mountain guide from the Ouargane Valley, it is unclear what the future holds.Idsalah relies on Moroccan and foreign tourists who visit the region due to its pro...

Pennsylvania Republicans have the candidate they want for US Senate. They just need him to run.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans trying to recapture the U.S. Senate majority have the candidate they want in Pennsylvania. Now they just need David McCormick to run.Almost since the moment he lost last year’s Senate GOP primary, McCormick has floated the possibility that he would again seek the party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate, this time to challenge three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.McCormick has shown up at local party events, raised money for Republican candidates, hired staff, done a publicity tour for his new book and made the rounds of conservative podcasts. In short, everything a candidate might do — except announce his candidacy.“At this point, if Dave McCormick doesn’t run, it’ll be the biggest head fake in Pennsylvania political history,” said Vince Galko, a Republican campaign strategist based in northeastern Pennsylvania.Republicans, perhaps, have done just about everything they can think of to entice McCormick to join a 2024 ticket th...

McCarthy juggles government shutdown and Biden impeachment inquiry as House returns to messy fall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is a man who stays in motion — enthusiastically greeting tourists at the Capitol, dashing overseas last week to the G7 summit of industrial world leaders, raising funds back home to elect fellow Republicans to the House majority.But beneath the whirlwind of activity is a stubborn standstill, an imbalance of power between the far-right Republicans who hoisted McCarthy to the speaker’s role yet threaten his own ability to lead the House.It’s a political standoff that will be tested anew as the House returns this week from a long summer recess and McCarthy faces a collision course of difficult challenges — seeking to avoid a government shutdown, support Ukraine in the war and launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.“They’ve got some really heavy lifting ahead,” said the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, John Thune of South Dakota.McCarthy is going to “have his hands full trying to figure out how to navigate a...

UK leader Sunak chides China after a report that a UK Parliament staffer is a suspected Beijing spy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chastised China’s premier on Sunday for “unacceptable” interference in British democracy, after a newspaper reported that a researcher in Parliament was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of spying for Beijing.Sunak said he raised the issue with Premier Li Qiang when the two met at a Group of 20 summit in India. He told British broadcasters in New Delhi that he’d expressed “my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.”The two men met after the Metropolitan Police force confirmed that a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s were arrested in March under the Official Secrets Act. Neither has been charged and both were bailed until October pending further inquiries.A Chinese Embassy statement called the allegations “completely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander.” China urges “relevant parties in the U.K. to stop their anti-China political manipulation,” the statement ...

Small island states lead the world in historic climate justice case to protect oceans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

A landmark international climate justice case will begin hearings in Hamburg today (11 September), as small island nations seek to clarify the obligations of States to prevent the catastrophic damage caused to our oceans by carbon emissions.The case has been referred to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) by The Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS), asking the court to determine whether CO2 emissions absorbed by the ocean should be considered pollution, and if so, what obligations countries have to avoid such pollution and protect the marine environment.The ocean generates 50% of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90% of the excess heat generated by these emissions. Excessive carbon pollution CO2 causes harmful chemical reactions such as coral bleaching, acidification and deoxygenation, and jeopardises the ocean’s ongoing ability to absorb carbon dioxide and safeguard life on...

Suspect arrested in fatal downtown L.A. Metro stabbing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

Authorities with the Los Angeles Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old man on a Metro train late last week.  The deadly encounter occurred on Sept. 7 around 5:20 p.m. Transit Services Division Officers were on the platform at the station when they were alerted to the stabbing, which happened on the Metro B (Red) Line train, according to an LAPD news release. L.A. County Metro security seen outside Metro's Pershing Square station in downtown L.A. where a stabbing occurred on Sept. 7, 2023. (KTLA)Officers located the victim, identified as Jesse Rodriguez, who was suffering from a stab wound. They attempted to render aid until medical personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded and took the 23-year-old to the hospital, where he later died of his injuries.  On Sept. 8, police released a photo of the suspect, now identified as Randy Nash.  LAPD released an image of a man wanted in connection ...

Los Gatos: 9/11, Flight 93 hometown heroes remembered 22 years later

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

LOS GATOS — The names of the 40 passengers and crew members killed on Sept. 11, 2001, when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, were read out on the eve of the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack — making special mention of two local men who for years have been hailed as hometown heroes for their actions on that day.The Flame of Liberty Memorial, situated among the redwoods next to the Los Gatos Civic Center, served as a backdrop for Sunday’s Remembering 9/11 ceremony, where a crowd of veterans and local residents paid their respects as a 21 gun salute rang out.Though thousands of miles from Ground Zero, the tragedy has always felt close for the town of Los Gatos — even 22 years later — since Los Gatos High School alumni Mark Bingham and Todd Beamer were two of the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001.More than two decades later, Los Gatos Mayor Maria Ristow thinks about her former one-year-old who is now 23.̶...

Woman dead, suspect arrested after Saturday shooting in NE

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

Police in the District say they have arrested a suspect for a Saturday afternoon shooting in Northeast that left a woman dead.In a news release, the Metropolitan Police Department said that around 3:13 p.m. Saturday, they responded to the 1200 block of Duncan Place for reports of a shooting. On the scene, officers found the victim, 21-year-old Jordan Coates, in front of an apartment building with injuries from gunshot wounds.Coates was transported to a hospital, where she died of her injuries.Police said that, during the investigation, they located the suspect, 24-year-old Damion Brown of Southeast D.C., in an apartment nearby. After a brief barricade at the apartment, Brown surrendered to MPD and was arrested.Brown is charged with Second Degree Murder while Armed. Police said the incident appears to be domestic in nature.Approximate location of Saturday’s shooting in Northeast D.C.Source

Sept. 11 remembrance events in the DC area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

American Flag on Flagpole by Evening Sunset Sky, USA(Getty Images/iStockphoto/mirza kadic) American Flag on Flagpole by Evening Sunset Sky, USA(Getty Images/iStockphoto/mirza kadic) Monday marks 22 years since terrorist attacks took thousands of lives in New York City, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Here are a few events in the D.C. area that will be commemorating the 9/11 day of service, remembrance and reflection.Washington, D.C.9/11 Meal Pack A Day of Service | 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.Walter E. Washington Convention Center801 Mount Vernon Place NW,Washington, D.C. 20001This year’s event will take place with a goal to pack at least 310,000 meals for families in the D.C. community. It’s go...

Cinco conclusiones del viaje de Joe Biden al G20 y Vietnam

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:21 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente Joe Biden se acerca al final de un viaje relámpago a India y Vietnam para una serie de reuniones de alto perfil destinadas a contrarrestar la influencia de China en el mundo en desarrollo.En el G20 en Nueva Delhi y nuevamente en Hanoi, Biden aprovechó su paso por Asia para defender que Estados Unidos es un socio más confiable que Beijing, aunque enfatizó que no quería una nueva Guerra Fría con los chinos.“No quiero contener a China, solo quiero asegurarme de que tengamos una relación con China que esté en alza y que todos sepan de qué se trata”, dijo Biden. “Tenemos la oportunidad de fortalecer alianzas en todo el mundo para mantener la estabilidad. De eso se trata este viaje, de que la India coopere mucho más con Estados Unidos, esté más cerca de Estados Unidos y Vietnam esté más cerca de Estados Unidos. No se trata de contener a China. Se trata de tener una base estable, una base estable en el Indo-Pacífico”.Al hablar este domingo con el secretario gene...