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Debt limit deadline looms as Democrats, GOP spar on spending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats pressured Republicans on the increasingly menacing debt ceiling impasse Thursday, focusing on what they say will be painful reductions in government services if a bill the GOP recently pushed through the House becomes law.Republicans responded that they know the legal limit on government borrowing must be raised to avert a possible default. But they’re insisting it be coupled with cuts in what they consider bloated federal spending.No one expects that the House bill, which would importantly increase the nation’s borrowing authority as well as cut spending, will reach President Joe Biden’s desk. The Democratic Senate won’t let it.Many Republicans admitted so when passing the measure. But they said the House action was necessary to get Biden to the negotiating table with Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy. A meeting at the White House with congressional leaders of both parties is set for...

Mets blanked by Tigers in Justin Verlander’s debut, swept for 2nd time this season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

DETROIT — Justin Verlander jogged out to the Comerica Park mound in a familiar setting in front of familiar fans. They gave him a standing ovation. A few of them even chanted “M-V-P” as they did in 2011 when he was named the NL MVP and won the first of his three Cy Young Awards.Much like when his former Detroit Tigers teammate Max Scherzer did the same the night prior, it was the same, but different. Different because he promptly gave up two home runs in the first inning, unlike the version of Verlander that pitched in Detroit for 13 years.Verlander made his Mets debut in the third game of a three-game series in Detroit on Thursday afternoon and took the loss in a 2-0 defeat. The Mets (16-16) were swept for the second time this season and even worse, swept by a team with a losing record that isn’t expected to make the playoffs.Verlander (0-1) didn’t exactly look like the dominant ace of the mid-aughts in his Mets debut. He’s now 40 with a family a...

Quick Cook: A French lentil salad gets its oomph from grapes, fennel and dill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

This lentil salad is complex and bright, thanks to aromatics such as fennel, dill, celery and, most interestingly, Pernod. This anise-flavored liqueur both infuses the lentils during cooking and makes up the dressing, adding a subtle sweetness of licorice that compliments the fennel, grapes and dill. Enjoy a bowlful for a satisfying lunch or as a side to a larger entree, keeping in mind that it works wonderfully as leftovers.Pernod can be purchased in major grocery and liquor stores, or you can substitute other anise-flavored liqueurs such as pastis, ouzo or anisette.Pernod Lentil Salad with Grapes, Fennel and DillServes 6-8INGREDIENTS2 cups French green lentils, uncooked1 bay leaf½ cup Pernod, divided1 large fennel, tops separated from the bulb4 celery stalks, tops separated from the stalk1 large shallot, halved where it naturally separatesSalt and fresh cracked pepper¼ cup olive oil3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice2½ cups green grapes, halved¾ cup dried tart cherries2⁄3 cup chopped ...

Woman dies in-custody at East County detention faculty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A woman died while in-custody at the Las Colinas Detention Facility in Santee on Wednesday, said the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. According to authorities, Patricia Louise Adamson, 63, was arrested on Feb. 3 and booked into the East County facility on charges of vandalism. Border cities prepare for the end of Title 42 On Wednesday, the department said a sheriff's lieutenant noticed during a well-being check that the woman did not appear to be caring for herself or hygiene, so deputies offered her an opportunity to shower while her space was cleaned.SDSO officials said Adamson was helped to the shower area with the assistance of a wheelchair and then she began showing signs of medical distress. Life saving measures were immediately administered, according to authorities, and paramedics were called in to takeover. Despite their efforts, Adamson was pronounced dead at the facility. According to the department, the woman did not have a permanent residence and i...

Bask in it: Beautiful weekend on deck in Toronto, GTA after gloomy start to May

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

Good spring-like weather is finally on the horizon for southern Ontario after a dreary, cloudy and rainy start to May.Toronto and the GTA will finally break through the clouds on Friday, ahead of what is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend that will see daytime temperatures hover around 17 and 18 C.That’s a far cry from how May kicked off, as Toronto recorded just over 18 mm of rain from Monday through Wednesday.That doesn’t factor in the unseasonal temperatures, as the city averaged a daytime high of 9.6 C, well off Toronto’s seasonal average in May, typically around 18 C. The rain will persist through Thursday evening into the overnight, with residents waking up to a mix of sun and clouds and 6 C on Friday.RELATED: Miserable, wet start to May to give way to weekend sunshine“The low that’s been bringing cloud and showers since late last Friday is finally sinking to the south enough that we’ll have a dry end to the week,” said CityNews Chie...

GOP prosecutor urges judge to toss Wisconsin abortion suit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys for a Republican prosecutor urged a judge Thursday to toss out a lawsuit seeking to repeal Wisconsin’s 174-year-old abortion ban, arguing that a newer state law permitting pre-viability abortions complements the ban rather than supersedes it, as Democrats maintain.Wisconsin lawmakers passed a law in 1849 that outlaws abortion except to save the mother’s life. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973 that legalized abortion statewide effectively voided the ban. It was held in abeyance for nearly five decades until the high court struck down Roe vs. Wade last year. The decision reactivated the ban.State Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit in Dane County circuit court last June seeking to repeal the ban. Kaul argues that the 1849 law is so old it was essentially adopted without the people’s consent; or alternately, that more permissive restrictions on abortion enacted in Wisconsin in 198...

Purple lanes: Minnesota highway signs to honor Prince

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The late pop superstar Prince will have a highway named after him in his home state, following a vote by Minnesota lawmakers Thursday.The Senate vote was 55-5 to rename the highway that runs past Prince’s Paisley Park museum and studios. Among those watching was his oldest sister, Sharon Nelson. The bill passed the House unanimously last month on the seventh anniversary of Prince’s death, and now goes to Gov. Tim Walz, who is expected to sign.Purple signs will soon go up along a seven-mile stretch of State Highway 5 in the Minneapolis suburbs of Chanhassen and Eden Prairie — designating it the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. Prince’s friends and fans are footing the bill, said the lead sponsor, Republican Sen. Julia Coleman, of Waconia.“Prince was a true genius, a visionary artist who pushed the boundaries of music and cultures in ways that will never be forgotten,” Coleman told her fellow senators. “His influence can be he...

B.C. flooding, mudslides prompt evacuation orders, highway closures in the Interior

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

The first spell of summer-like weather in British Columbia has accelerated Mountain snowmelt, causing flooding and mudslides that have prompted evacuation orders and highway closures in the province’s southern Interior.The mayor of Cache Creek said Thursday that it was “unbelievable the amount of water” that’s flowing over Highway 97 and down Highway 1 as the two routes intersect in the village west of Kamloops.John Ranta said many businesses have been devastated by the flooding and the floodwaters are running through the firehall. The mayor said he’s spoken with Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma, who offered support from the province, and several BC Wildfire Service crews are in the village to help distribute sandbags.But Ranta said there’s nothing they can do until the waters recede, then take steps to prevent similar extensive flooding from happening in the future.Ma told reporters in the legislature that temperatures are expected to rise...

In ‘No Hard Feelings,’ a comedy made for Jennifer Lawrence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jennifer Lawrence has wanted to do a big comedy for years. She has always been funny and vibrant in her television appearances. And while she has brought humor and physical comedy to many of her roles for David O. Russell and others, she also hasn’t exactly gotten the big, broad “Dumb and Dumber” or “Anchorman” experience, to cite some of her favorites (or at least the ones she’s memorized). That changes this summer with “ No Hard Feelings ” (in theaters June 23), a classic, raunchy R-rated comedy that was tailor made for her. “I’ve always wanted to do a comedy. And I’ve read a lot of them,” Lawrence told The Associated Press last week in Las Vegas. “I just didn’t read anything that was funny enough.”“No Hard Feelings” was inspired by a real Craigslist ad posted by parents who were seeking a woman to “date” their son to bring him out of his shell the summer before he went to college. There are debates over just how real the “real ad” was, but think...

US: ‘tangible progress’ in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:00:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that Armenia and Azerbaijan have made “tangible progress” in U.S.-hosted peace talks between the two former Soviet republics that have repeatedly clashed over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.The four-day negotiating session did not produce a peace agreement, but Blinken said he believed a deal could be “within sight, within reach” and praised the two sides for coming together to try to find common ground. He said reaching an agreement would be “not only historic but would be profoundly in the interests of the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia and would have very positive effects even beyond their two countries.”The closed-door discussions were held far from the media spotlight at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute in northern Virginia. The Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers, who led their delegations, did not speak at the closing ceremony.U.S. engagement in the conflict could be seen as...