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McCarthy juggles a government shutdown and a Biden impeachment inquiry as the House returns for fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 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, of California, is going to “have his hands full trying to figure out ...

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

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 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...

Fukushima nuclear plant’s operator says the first round of wastewater release is complete

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said Monday that it has safely completed the first release of treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea and will inspect and clean the facility before starting the second round in a few weeks.The Fukushima Daiichi plant began discharging the treated and diluted wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 24. The water has accumulated since the plant was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, and the start of its release is a milestone in the plant’s decommissioning.The discharge, which is expected to continue for decades until the decommissioning is finished, has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and by neighboring countries. China has banned all imports of Japanese seafood in response, hurting producers and exporters and prompting the Japanese government to compile an emergency relief fund.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, at summits last week of Southeast Asian countries and the ...

9/11 events to be held across Chicago area in honor of 22 years since attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

CHICAGO -- Dozens of first responders from Chicago headed to New York City 22 years ago to help with the aftermath of 9/11.At 7:35 a.m. Monday morning, the mayor and others will come together outside the home of Engine 42 to remember the victims, including fallen heroes. Chicago firefighters went to Ground Zero to dig through rubble where the former World Trade Center stood. People will gather at the firehouse, city hall and memorials to commemorate the anniversary. Many people will also do volunteer work on this Patriot's Day.Nearly 3,000 people were killed when terrorists associated with Al-Qaeda flew two planes into the World Trade Center. 9/11 victims to be honored at memorial ceremony in Lower Manhattan A third plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth went down into a Pennsylvania field when passengers intervened and confronted the terrorists. There will be an event taking place at Malcom X College and 15,000 volunteers will help pack meals at Union Station, all benefiti...

Woman charged after transit employee battered on far South Side: CPD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 44-year-old woman is facing felony charges after a transit employee was battered and threatened in South Chicago Sunday night. Police said Shavon D. Gayden is facing a felony charge of aggravated battery to a transit employee and a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault. Police investigate string of armed robberies at liquor stores, bar on Northwest Side She was arrested and identified as the woman who moments earlier, battered and threatened a 45-year-old woman in the 3000 block of East 91st Street around 9:02 p.m. Gayden was placed into custody and charged accordingly.There was no other information provided and police are investigating the incident.

Duckworth tests positive for COVID-19 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) will be absent from the Senate in the coming days after testing positive for COVID-19, she announced Sunday. "After experiencing mild symptoms, I tested positive for COVID-19 today," Duckworth said in a statement. "I will continue working for the people of Illinois in isolation and follow medical guidance on when to return to the Senate chamber."The Illinois Democrat is the latest senator to test positive for COVID-19, with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) each doing so in recent weeks. The U.S. overall has experienced an uptick in cases.Duckworth had also tested positive for the virus in December. The news means that Senate Democrats will be down a vote on the floor this week as the upper chamber is set to kick off consideration of the first batch of spending bills and continue work on nominations. The Senate is expected to move on three bipartisan spending bills in the coming weeks: Agriculture-Food and Drug Administration, Milita...

22 years later, teachers reflect on how 9/11 is remembered in the classroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

***Related 9/11 video above***(The Hill) -- More than two decades after Sept. 11, 2001, educators who watched the terror attacks unfold live on TV see slow changes in how the tragic day is honored in classrooms. Teachers are forced to walk a fine line, facing the emotions from a day that no one in their generation will forget while educating kids who see the deadliest foreign attack on U.S. soil as a distant historical event.“It was actually my first year teaching, and we had only been in school a couple of weeks when it happened, so I was very brand new still,” said Shannon Seneczko, who was teaching fifth grade in a suburb of Chicago. “And so that kind of really hits me. That was one of my very first teaching experiences, dealing with my own emotions that day and then being there for the kids too.”Seneczko recalled the nervousness of students who had parents in the city on the day of the attack, as no one knew where could be targeted next. Some were even closer to the site of...

Rocks, insects, plastic: Why are 'foreign objects' common in food recalls?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

Rocks in Trader Joe’s cookies. Insects in its broccoli-cheese soup. Pieces of plastic in Banquet frozen chicken strips.In recent weeks, U.S. consumers have seen high-profile food recalls for an unappetizing reason: They're contaminated with foreign objects that have no place on a dinner plate. And while no one wants to bite down on stainless steel in peanut butter or bone fragments in smoked sausage, this type of contamination is one of the top reasons for food recalls in the U.S.Food safety experts and federal agencies use the terms “extraneous” or “foreign” materials to describe things like metal fragments, rubber gaskets and bits of bugs that somehow make it into packaged goods.“Extraneous materials” triggered nine recalls in 2022 of more than 477,000 pounds of food regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service — triple the number of recalls tied to food contaminated with toxic E. coli bacteria.And the...

WATCH LIVE: Texas Republicans weigh in on Paxton impeachment after week one of trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Republicans from Texas are weighing in on the evidence outlined during the first week of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial, with a range of opinions on the allegations.In Washington, D.C. Thursday, Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, expressed grave concern for what he heard during the trial, telling a group of reporters he has been listening to proceedings when he can."It's deeply disturbing — the allegations that are made, some of the evidence," he said. Cornyn implied that the trial is warranted based on the facts of the case thus far, drawing contrast to the federal House impeachments of former President Donald Trump."Having been a veteran of two impeachment trials myself here recently, it's a unique process, but I think it's unfolding the way it should," he said. "I think the lieutenant governor has done a good job, making sure that it's not an overly politicized process and that Attorney General Paxton gets a fair hearing but also the ...

Nightmare fuel: Introducing the Texas Toe-Biter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:28 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Now for some news you'll wish you didn't know. A creepy, skin crawling insect is getting some extra attention this summer: the Texas Toe-Biter.The insect, considered a Giant Water Bug and part of the Belostomatidae family, can be found on land and in the water across the state.KXAN's Rich Segal spoke with Wizzie Brown, an entomologist with the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Office, about the critters. Why they're so scary and whether they're actually dangerous. You can read that transcript, edited for clarity, below.WIZZIE BROWN: These are fairly large insects. The larger species can get anywhere from two to four inches, but that's in the adult stage. So they can be rather alarming if people see them.They're a brown color, kind of oval shape. And they have swimming hind legs, and then their front legs are going to be capable of pinching. Their front legs are actually used for grabbing onto their prey.I think what everyone is so disturbed by other than their size, I...