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DeSantis and Haley are battling to emerge in Iowa as the preferred Republican alternative to Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Second place in the Iowa caucuses is seldom so important.The rivalry between GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley has become a leading storyline before the first Republicans vote on Jan. 15. The two are in an increasingly testy contest to emerge in Iowa as the preferred alternative to former President Donald Trump for the party’s 2024 nomination. Florida Gov. DeSantis has said he expects to win Iowa despite trailing far behind Trump in polls. He portrays Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Trump’s U.N. ambassador, as a puppet of wealthy donors and someone who has flip-flopped on key issues. Haley, who hopes to edge the better-organized DeSantis in Iowa, has accused him of misrepresenting her record, especially on taxes, and of falsely portraying himself as tough on China.The stakes are enormous for both. DeSantis would upend the race if he were to beat Trump in the caucuses. Haley’s allies believe they could hobb...

A minibus explodes in Kabul, killing at least 2 civilians and wounding 14 others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A minibus exploded in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, killing at least two civilians and wounding 14 others, a Taliban official said Saturday, the first attack in the country in 2024. Police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion took place in the western part of the city, in the Dashti Barchi area. The cause remained unknown, but police launched an investigation, he said.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group’s affiliate in the region has in the past targeted Shiite schools, hospitals, and mosques in the same area.Last week during a press conference in Kabul, Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said there had been a 90% decrease in attacks by the IS affiliate in the past year. The IS affiliate has been a major rival of the Taliban since the latter seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021. IS militants have struck in Kabul, in northern provinces and especia...

Residents across eastern U.S. and New England hunker down as snow, ice, freezing rain approaches

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Residents across the eastern U.S., particularly in New England, are gassing up their snow blowers and dusting off their shovels as they gear up for a wintry mix of precipitation as a potent storm system bringing snow, freezing rain and ice bears down on the region.The system was expected to track along the northeastern coastline throughout the weekend, with the heaviest snowfall expected in Pennsylvania, parts of the Hudson Valley and portions of New England. Winter storm warnings and watches were in effect throughout the Northeast.In Massachusetts and portions of Rhode Island, the National Weather Service declared a winter storm warning from 4 p.m. Saturday through 1 a.m. Monday with snow accumulations of six inches up to a foot and winds gusting as high as 35 mph.The weather service is predicting much the same levels of snow in portions of Maine and New Hampshire with slightly less — three to six inches — in areas of Vermont.Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city was...

UN calls Gaza 'uninhabitable' 3 months into Israeli bombing from war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief is describing Gaza as “uninhabitable” three months into Israel’s war with Hamas. Martin Griffiths warns that famine is looming and a public health disaster is unfolding, in a grim assessment of the horrific impact of Israel’s bombings to the devastating Hamas attacks of Oct. 7. Griffiths says Gaza's 2.3 million people are witnessing “daily threats to their very existence.” He says tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, have been killed or injured, families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet, and areas where Palestinians were told to relocate have been bombed. Griffiths reiterated U.N. demands for an immediate end to the war.

5 signs it's a scam call before you even pick up, according to an expert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – One of the easiest things you can do to avoid being duped or defrauded by a phone scam: don't even pick up the phone. But how can you tell when an incoming call is a scam or legit?Carriers have rolled out some new tools to help warn people against scammers – you may see a warning like "scam likely" on your phone screen when it rings – but they aren't perfect. There are a few other things you can look for to tip you off that an incoming call probably isn't worth your time. The first major red flag is if the call is coming from an area code that hasn't been allocated, explained Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, a phone screening and blocking service. "Those area codes are 100% guaranteed to be a scammer. Like area code 300. There's not really a 300, so any calls coming it there are going to be a scam," Quilici said. Don’t fall for it: These 3 phone scams are most popular now In fact, any time the second and third digits of an area code are the same, it's designated an ...

Former Twins star Joe Mauer maintains strong Hall of Fame support

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

The wait is on.Eligible members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America have submitted their Hall of Fame ballots and in just a few short weeks, Joe Mauer will know if he has been elected on the first ballot.Mauer has been holding steady in ballots tracked by X user Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs). As of Saturday morning, he currently has support on 82.1 percent of ballots. An estimated 32 percent of all ballots are known. Players need to garner votes on 75 percent of the ballots to be elected to the Hall of Fame.Mauer, a former Cretin-Derham Hall three-sport star and longtime St. Paul icon, is one of five players currently above that threshold, along with Adrián Beltré (98.4), Todd Helton (82.1), Billy Wagner (80.5) and Gary Sheffield (75.6).Just 58 players ever have been inducted as a first-ballot hall of famer. Beltre seems to be well on his way, and Mauer could join the exclusive club, as well.Mauer’s percentage is likely to dip into the 70s and could be very close to 75 pe...

Gateway Arch plays pivotal role in Percy Jackson Disney + adaptation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The iconic St. Louis Arch takes center stage in a Disney+ TV show, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," adapted from the book series of the same name. In the first book, and episode, the Gateway Arch plays a significant role.Walker Scobell, from left, Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri from "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" visit the Empire State Building on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)Functioning as the catalyst for the main character Percy Jackson's discovery of his true powers as the son of Poseidon, the arch becomes a focal point in the narrative. The central characters include Percy, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood. Percy and Annabeth are offspring of gods, Poseidon and Athena, respectively, while Grover is a Satyr, a creature with features of both goat and humanoid. SUV drives through home in south St. Louis County The trio, en route to the Underworld, takes a detour to the Arch as Annabeth expresses a desire to ...

Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. on his shot attempts decreasing throughout games: “Sometimes you go a long stretch without really touching the ball”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

A familiar trend resurfaced Friday night as the Nuggets let a home game slip away against the depleted Orlando Magic.When Michael Porter Jr. drained his second 3-pointer in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, Denver stretched its lead to a game-high 74-56. Porter led the team with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting at that point.The Nuggets went on to lose 122-120. The red-hot Porter attempted one shot in the last 18 minutes of game time, resting eight of those minutes. He was in the closing lineup but didn’t attempt a shot in the last seven minutes after draining one more three. The Nuggets scored 25 points in the fourth quarter on 36.4% shooting from the field and 14.3% shooting beyond the arc (0% excluding Porter’s three).It continued a pattern of Porter tending to disappear from Denver’s offense after getting off to fast starts in games. When asked about it, Porter pondered the topic through not just the lens of his own involvement, though. He pointed out mor...

Blinken meets with Turkish, Greek leaders as he tries to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

By MATTHEW LEE (AP Diplomatic Writer)CHANIA, Greece (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the leaders of Turkey and Greece on Saturday during the opening stops of his latest Mideast diplomatic mission as fears grow that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza may expand into a broader conflict. Blinken’s fourth visit in three months comes as developments in Lebanon, northern Israel, the Red Sea and Iraq have put intense strains on what had been a modestly successful U.S. push to prevent a regional conflagration since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and as international criticism of Israel’s military operation mounts.Blinken held talks with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, in Istanbul about what Turkey and others can do to exert influence, particularly on Iran and its proxies, to ease tensions, speed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza and begin planning for reconstruction and governance of postwar...

Canadian skier Grenier takes rain-marred World Cup GS for 2nd career win. Shiffrin finishes 9th

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:28 GMT

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Valerie Grenier has made a triumphant return to the resort of her first World Cup victory.The Canadian skier won a giant slalom Saturday on the same hill in Slovenia where she celebrated her maiden career win a year ago.“I’m not really sure why it seems to be a really good hill for me, and that last pitch is always one of my best parts,” Grenier said. “I’m not really sure why it just seems to be fitting for me, but I will take it.”In the rain-marred race, Mikaela Shiffrin finished in ninth position, nine days after the American won the previous GS in Austria.Saturday’s result was the American’s worst in 15 giant slaloms since finishing 13th in Killington, Vermont, in November 2022.Looming in fourth, Grenier posted the best time in the second run on a course set by Canadian coach Pierre Miniotti and saw the three fastest racers from the opening leg all fail to beat her.“I feel like I have no wo...