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Border crossings down since COVID rule ended, Mayorkas says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

The number of migrants seeking to cross the southern U.S. border has been “markedly down” despite an expected surge following the expiration of pandemic-era border restrictions, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Mayorkas said over the past two days, the U.S. Border Patrol “has experienced a 50% drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week,” before the border limits, known as Title 42, were lifted.While Mayorkas said it was too soon to say whether the surge has peaked, border agents reported about 6,300 encounters on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday. Authorities said early last week the number stood at an all-time high of 10,000 daily.An unprecedented surge of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border over recent months has been a political albatross for President Joe Biden, with Republicans and some fellow Democrats questioning if the White House was prepared to handle the influx.Republican...

Turkish news agencies offer different results from election deciding future of incumbent Erdogan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A pair of news outlets in Turkey provided different partial results from the country’s presidential election Sunday, with the state-run news agency indicating with three-quarters of ballot boxes counted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would squeak out a victory but an opposition-leaning agency saying the contest was headed toward a run-off.The state-run Anadolu Agency said Erdogan was leading with 51% of the vote, while Kemal Kilicdaroglu, his main challenger, had garnered 43% after 75% of ballot boxes were tallied. The ANKA news agency said that with ballots from 76% of boxes counted, Erdogan had won 48% compared to Kilicdaroglu’s 46%. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face a run-off on May 28. Further complicating the picture, the opposition candidate’s party accused Anadolu of manipulating results, insisting that Kilicdaroglu was narrowly leading with 47.42% to Erdogan’s 46.80%.Istanbul May...

Border crossings are off from last week’s highs as US pins hopes for order on mobile app

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Pandemic-era limits on asylum known as Title 42 have been rarely discussed among many of tens of thousands of migrants massed on Mexico’s border with the United States. Their eyes were — and are — fixed instead on a new U.S. government mobile app that grants 1,000 people daily an appointment to cross the border and seek asylum while living in the U.S. With demand far outstripping available slots, the app has been an exercise in frustration for many — and a test of the Biden administration’s strategy of coupling new legal paths to entry with severe consequences for those who don’t. “You start to give up hope but it’s the only way,” Teresa Muñoz, 48, who abandoned her home in the Mexican state of Michoacan after a gang killed her husband and beat her. She has been trying for a month to gain entry through the app, called CBPOne, while staying in a Tijuana shelter with her two children and 2-year-old grandson.U.S. Homeland Security Secretar...

Authorities assess damage after sidewalk sinkhole on New Mexico bridge; 2 pedestrians rescued

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

LOS LUNAS, N.M. (AP) — Authorities on Sunday were assessing the damage after a sidewalk sinkhole developed on a New Mexico bridge, resulting in the rescue of two pedestrians.Los Lunas police said the city’s Main Street bridge over the Rio Grande remained closed due to the sinkhole under a sidewalk on the east side of the bridge.Several media reports Saturday night said the bridge partially collapsed, but authorities said that was not accurate.New Mexico Department of Transportation officials were on the scene Sunday trying to determine the extent of the sidewalk damage, which is a main road in Valencia County.Los Lunas Fire Chief John Gabaldon said a water line had to be shut off to prevent more problems if a pipe running through the sinkhole broke.Gabaldon didn’t immediately know how many homes were affected by the water outage.Los Lunas is about 24 miles (38.6 kilometers) south of Albuquerque.The Associated Press

Texas mom welcomes 1st child days after completing breast cancer treatment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin mom has extra to celebrate this Mother's Day, just months after she successfully completed breast cancer treatment while pregnant with her first child.Emily Williams celebrated her 40th birthday last March and underwent her first routine mammogram, which came back clear. In May, she learned she was pregnant with her first child, after seven rounds of in vitro fertilization attempts. TRENDING NOW: San Antonio Zoo welcomes several baby endangered animals But come June 2022, she discovered a lump in her breast. After completing a biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage IIB breast cancer."It's almost like my happiness turned and went 180 [degrees]," she said. "Can I even keep this baby, after all that we went through? And so it was really — it was devastating to me."Austin resident Emily Williams has plenty to celebrate this Mother's Day, having given birth earlier this year to her first child just days after wrapping chemo treatment. (Courtesy: Cynthia Hamilton...

Michigan boy uses slingshot to save sister from abduction, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

ALPENA, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan girl was able to escape an attempted kidnapping when her brother used a slingshot to strike the would-be attacker, authorities said this week.Mlive.com reports that the Michigan State Police arrested the accused assailant in the city of Alpena on Wednesday.The 17-year-old's name has not been released though he has been charged as an adult with one count of attempted kidnapping/child enticement, one count of attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery. ‘Unacceptable’: Video of TSA worker’s handling of bomb dog draws outrage Michigan State Police said in a news release that the 8-year-old girl was in her backyard when the alleged assailant came out of the woods, grabbed her and covered her mouth. Authorities said the girl's brother, 13, hit the alleged attacker in the head and chest using a slingshot.Police later arrested the 17-year-old based on another family member's description of the suspe...

First-generation college students earn less than graduates whose parents went to college

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

(The Conversation) - When discussions take place about first-generation college students, often the focus is on how disadvantaged they are in comparison to their peers whose parents went to college.Research we recently conducted shows that first-generation college students experience another form of disadvantage that lasts long after they graduate – and that is: how much they earn.We are sociologists who focus on topics of career progression and class inequality.Using data from the federal Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study for 1992-93 graduates, we found that first-generation college students earn substantially less 10 years after graduation than college graduates whose parents went to college. This is the most recent data available that follows young people for 10 years after they graduate – a time when young adults’ incomes typically become more stable.Substantial wage gapsOur research found that first-generation men and women go on to earn, resp...

South Carolina man sues after being shot 9 times during police welfare check

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

YORK COUNTY, S.C. (WJZY) — A South Carolina man who survived being shot nine times – including once in the backside of the head – during a welfare check, has filed a lawsuit against the county and sheriff's office over the incident, his legal team announced. Deputies with the York County Sheriff's Office (YCSO) responded to calls regarding a welfare check on May 7, 2021, along East Highway 324. The 2023 lawsuit is being filed by Trevor Mullinax and his mother, Tammy Beason. According to the family attorney and South Carolina House Representative Justin Bamberg, Mullinax was having a severe emotional breakdown and was suicidal. Bamberg states a family member had called 911 to report his mental health emergency. The family member reportedly provided the dispatcher with numbers for both Mullinax and his mother. Watch Tuesday's news conference with Bamberg and Beason here: Mullinax's mother was speaking to him through the driver's side window of his ...

24 dogs pulled from building fire in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

TEMPLE, Texas (FOX 44) - Dozens of dogs were rescued from a structure fire in Temple on Friday morning.Temple Fire and Rescue responded to the report of a structure fire in the area of S. 22nd Street and Heritage Street at approximately 11:38 a.m. The first crews on the scene found heavy smoke coming from a home located at 806 S. 22nd Street. The fire was called in by nearby workers who noticed smoke in the area.Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames and brought the incident under control at 11:50 a.m. However, tactics quickly turned to rescue when it was noted there were several animals in the house. Firefighters pulled 24 dogs from inside the structure. At first, only six were found to be alert and breathing on their own. Through vigorous stimulation, providing oxygen and some medical care, firefighters and EMS crews were able to successfully revive 14 of the 18 remaining dogs which suffered from smoke inhalation. No residents were home at the time of the call, and no other ...

Joey Gallo’s HR lands him in leadoff spot again, but not the Twins’ record book

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:36 GMT

Hitting leadoff seemed to agree with Joey Gallo on Saturday, so Rocco Badlelli penciled him atop the order for Sunday’s series finale against the Chicago Cubs at Target Field.“He was begging for it after the game yesterday,” Baldelli said.In his first career start batting leadoff, Gallo went 2 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs. That broke up a 3-for-32 skid over Gallo’s previous 12 games.“I think the initial shock of seeing his name there snapped him into a really good place,” Baldelli said.Gallo’s three-run home run off Cubs starter Hayden Wesneski in the third was celebrated for “breaking” StatCast because MLB’s stat-gathering system didn’t have an immediate read on it. With no official reading, social erupted into superlatives.But on Sunday, the homer officially came down in the second deck in right-center field, 421 from home plate. It came on a 94.1 mph fastball and traveled at 110.6 mph off the bat. Impressive by any standard, but not even among the longest 54 home runs hit ...