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Senate takes first step in repealing Iraq War authorizations

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate took a first step Thursday toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal. The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement Thursday in support.“Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on curren...

NFL player armed in shooting but fired no shots: prosecutor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was armed with a legal weapon when a teenage boy was shot near the player’s home earlier this month but he did not fire the gun or do anything illegal, authorities said Thursday as they announced the indictments of Mixon’s sister and her boyfriend.Lamonte Brewer, whom authorities have identified as the shooter, remained at large Thursday, while Shalonda Mixon was apprehended Thursday afternoon by the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, citing U.S. Marshals supervisor Charles Sanso. Brewer fired several shots and is charged with felonious assault, tampering with evidence and two weapons counts, Prosecutor Melissa Powers said at a news conference Thursday. Shalonda Mixon is charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. Brewer faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts, while Shalonda Mixon faces up to four years. It was not known if eith...

Quick quotes: Reaction to two Edmonton police officers killed on duty

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

EDMONTON — Two officers were shot and killed while responding to a family dispute at an apartment complex in Edmonton on Thursday. The officers have been identified as Const. Travis Jordan, 35, and Const. Brett Ryan, 30. Police Chief Dale McFee said they were shot after they entered the building in the city’s northwest.Here are some reactions from across Canada: “Every day, police officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep people safe. The news that two Edmonton police officers have been killed in the line of duty reminds us of that reality. I’m sending my condolences to the officers’ loved ones and colleagues — we’re here for you.” — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau“Alberta would not be the great province it is today without the support of the courageous men and women who patrol our streets every day to keep our communities protected. The province is here to support the Edmonton Police Service during this tragic loss. To honour the service and de...

Fed lent $300B in emergency funds to banks in the past week

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cash-short banks have borrowed about $300 billion from the Federal Reserve in the past week, the Fed announced Thursday. Nearly half the money — $143 billion — went to holding companies for two major banks that failed over the past week, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, triggering widespread alarm in financial markets. The Fed did not identify the banks that received the other half of the funding or say how many of them did so.The holding companies for the two failed banks were set up by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which has taken over both banks. The money they borrowed was used mostly to pay their uninsured depositors, with bonds owned by both banks posted as collateral. The FDIC has guaranteed the repayment of the loans, the Fed said. The figures provide a first glimpse of the scale of the Fed’s assistance to the financial sector after the two banks collapsed this past weekend. The rest of the money was borrowed by banks seeking to ra...

Dozens of workers reject union at big Nissan Tennessee plant

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Several dozen workers among thousands at a Nissan factory in Tennessee voted not to unionize Thursday, another loss in tough territory for organized labor at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the traditionally anti-union South.The 62-9 vote against the union at Nissan’s Smyna plant followed two years of legal wrangling that spanned two presidential administrations.“Nissan respects this decision, and we remain focused on working with employees to drive our future forward together,” said Nissan spokesperson Lloryn Love-Carter.Organizers successfully argued that the group of 75 tool and die technicians were eligible for standalone representation because they have extremely specialized skills for a job that can’t be done by others at the facility. The Japan-based company contended the employees are not sufficiently distinct from other plant workers to be eligible for their own unionized bloc.In a statement, the union said the delayed decision from the board ...

Average long-term US mortgage rates come back down to 6.6%

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage inched back down this week after five straight weeks of increases, good news for homebuyers as the housing market’s all-important spring buying season gets underway.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate slid back to 6.60% from 6.73% last week. The average rate a year ago was 4.16%.The average long-term rate hit 7.08% in the fall — a two-decade high — as the Federal Reserve continued to raise its key lending rate in a bid to cool the economy and quash persistent, four-decade high inflation.At its first meeting of 2023 in February, the Fed raised its benchmark lending rate by another 25 basis points, its eighth increase in less than a year. That pushed the central bank’s key rate to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, its highest level in 15 years. Many economists expect at least three more increases before the end of the year, though some have dialed those expectations back due to the recently devel...

Iowa lawmakers send school bathroom bill to governor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Transgender students won’t be allowed to use a public school restroom in Iowa that aligns with their gender identity under a bill that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds was expected to sign into law after it got final legislative approval Thursday.The bill received support only from Republicans, who argued it was needed to protect children who might feel uncomfortable sharing a restroom with a student whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Opponents countered that the bill was unnecessary and could lead to harassment against transgender students.The House approved the measure 57-39, with five Republicans joining the 34 Democrats present in opposing the proposal. The vote came a week after the Senate approved the bill.Republican Rep. Steven Holt said the bill “applies to everyone equally.” Holt said children have long used different restrooms based on biological and physiological characteristics and this tradition should con...

Mississippi governor OKs longer postpartum Medicaid coverage

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation Thursday to solidify a full year of Medicaid coverage for women after they give birth, saying it’s part of a “new pro-life agenda” to help mothers now that abortion access is restricted.Mississippi usually allows two months of postpartum Medicaid coverage. The state has allowed a full year of the coverage since the COVID-19 public health emergency started in 2020, although many patients have said the state did little to let them know postpartum coverage continued after the usual two months.With national public health emergency set to expire in May, Mississippi officials intensified their debate over committing to a full year of postpartum benefits. Reeves is seeking reelection, and Democrats hammered him for his long refusal to support the extension. The governor endorsed the idea Feb. 26, even though he said he had not seen financial information he wanted to justify the roughly $7 million annual ...

Michigan adds LGBTQ protections to anti-discrimination law

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday codifying LGBTQ protections into the state’s civil rights law, permanently outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state.The legislation follows a state Supreme Court ruling last year that the Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which outlaws discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and education on the basis of sex, extended to sexual orientation as well.Whitmer’s signature Thursday ensures that the high court’s ruling cannot be reversed in the future and goes one step further in extending protections to include gender identity or expression. It comes at a time, Whitmer said, when there’s a “nationwide assault on our LGBTQ-plus community, especially our trans neighbors, family and friends.” “There are state legislatures across this country dedicating themselves to legalizing discrimination,” Whitmer said. “In Michigan,...

Feds spend $2.4 million on cloud seeding for Colorado River

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:44:48 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The Southern Nevada Water Authority on Thursday voted to accept a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fund cloud seeding in other Western states whose rivers feed the parched desert region. The weather modification method uses planes and ground-based cannons to shoot silver iodide crystals into clouds, attracting moisture to the particles that falls as additional snow and rain.The funding comes as key reservoirs on the Colorado River hit record lows and booming Western cities and industries fail to adjust their water use to increasingly shrinking supplies.“This money from Reclamation is wonderful, we just have to decide how exactly it’s going to benefit us,” said Andrew Rickert, who coordinates Colorado’s cloud seeding for the Colorado Water Conservation Board.The federal funding will go toward upgrading manual generators to ones that can be remotely operated, and using planes to seed clouds in key parts of the Upper Colorado Riv...