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Whitmer’s fight for abortion rights helped turn Michigan blue. She’s eyeing national impact now

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Ten years ago, as Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature was on the verge of passing one of the nation’s most restrictive anti-abortion laws at the time, a 42-year-old state senator from East Lansing took to the Senate floor to speak out against what she knew was about to happen.Minutes into her speech, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer tossed aside her prepared remarks and revealed for the first time publicly that she had been raped while attending college. Had she become pregnant, Whitmer said, she would not have been able to afford an abortion under the proposed law.The bill, which Whitmer had derisively called “rape insurance” because it required women to declare when buying health insurance whether they expected to receive an abortion, passed anyway. But Whitmer, now in her second term as Michigan’s governor after winning reelection by nearly 11 percentage points in 2022, this week removed the requirement from state law with the stroke of a pen after Michigan...

How the 2016 election could factor into the case accusing Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — To hear his lawyers tell it, Donald Trump was alarmed by Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, motivated as president to focus on cybersecurity and had a good-faith basis four years later to worry that foreign actors had again meddled in the race.But to federal prosecutors, 2016 is significant as the year that Trump spread misinformation about voter fraud and proved himself resistant to accepting the outcome of elections that might not go his way.Even though a trial set for next year in Washington is centered on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, lawyers on both sides have signaled their desire — for totally different purposes — to draw attention to the tumultuous presidential contest four years earlier as a way to help explain his state of mind after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. “When we’re talking about someone’s belief or mental state, there is usually no one piece of evidence that is dispositive,” said David Aaron, a former Just...

US inflation likely cooled again last month as Fed prepares to assess interest rates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — This year’s steady slowdown in U.S. inflation likely continued in November, though the latest data may also point to steadily higher prices in some areas of the economy. Tuesday’s inflation report from the Labor Department is expected to show that businesses kept overall prices unchanged for a second straight month.Falling gas prices, in particular, are thought to have offset a rise in food costs from October to November. And compared with a year earlier, inflation is expected to ease to 3.1% from 3.2% in October, according to a survey of economists by FactSet. But a closely watched category called “core prices,” which excludes volatile food and energy costs, is predicted to rise 0.3% from October to November — a monthly pace that far outpaces the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual inflation target. On a year-over-year basis, core prices are expected to increase 4%, the same as in October.The Fed considers core prices to be a better guide to the likely p...

Defensive issues remain, but Avalanche rallies for wild, much-needed victory behind Nathan MacKinnon game-winner

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

The Colorado Avalanche’s best players put the team in a big hole Monday night with some suspect work without the puck.Then they reminded everyone of how quickly they can turn a game with their offensive firepower.Colorado yielded four goals in an ugly second period, but rallied for a 6-5 victory that was far more about the result than the overall process. The Avs had lost five of six before this, and appeared to be headed for the worst defeat of the funk before one strong period bailed them out.The Avs scored three times in 4:10 during the third to erase a 5-3 deficit. Ross Colton scored on a broken play to pull the Avalanche within one.Mikko Rantanen scored a goal for the first time in 10 games to tie it up. It was a greasy one, a rebound of a Makar shot with multiple bodies around the crease. Then Nathan MacKinnon got in behind the Calgary defense and scored with 4:30 left.One of coach Jared Bednar’s talking points over the past two days was turnovers and yielding scor...

Glendale man accused of racially-fueled attack on street vendors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

A Glendale man was arrested in connection with a violent, racially-fueled attack on street vendors.The suspect was identified as Emanuel Gulakian, 36, by the Glendale Police Department.On Nov. 1, officers responded to a disturbance near Sonora Avenue and San Fernando Road at around 11:45 p.m.The victims, who are street vendors, told police Gulakian had approached them and “unleashed a barrage of racial slurs and profanity toward them.”The victims are of Hispanic heritage, police said.The suspect then found large pieces of concrete nearby and began throwing them at the victims. Some of the concrete pieces were as large as softballs. Mother speaks on being targeted in anti-Mexican rant at Disneyland Concrete pieces as large as softballs were thrown by the suspect during a racially-fueled attack on Glendale street vendors on Nov. 1, 2023. (Glendale Police Department)Emanuel Gulakian, 36, in a photo from the Glendale Police Department.One person was struck by the concrete, while parts...

Former LASD deputy sentenced for falsely detaining man

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to two years in prison after he falsely imprisoned a victim and attempted to cover up his crime. On April 13, 2020, Miguel Angel Vega, 33, of Corona, and his then-partner, Christopher Blair Hernandez, 38, approached two young Black males in Wilson Park in Compton and demanded to search them for firearms. An additional victim, identified in court documents as “J.A.”, began yelling at the officers to release the young men and soon after, Vega and Hernandez unlawfully arrested him, without informing him of his rights, or securing his seatbelt in the LASD SUV.While still detained, J.A. suffered a cut above his eye after Vega crashed into a wall while pursuing another young male on a bicycle whom he believed possessed a firearm. He then instructed J.A. to run away. When responding officers arrived, Vega initially told them that no one else was in the patrol car during the crash. He later switched his story and told offi...

Investigation underway into Castro Valley road-rage shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

CASTRO VALLEY – Authorities on Monday were investigating a road-rage shooting in Castro Valley.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland: Shooting near Castlemont High triggers lockdown Crime and Public Safety | Motorist arrested on suspicion of DUI after Brentwood crash Crime and Public Safety | Pleasant Hill leaders defend police decision to ‘disengage’ with barricaded ex-detective Crime and Public Safety | Security guard slain at Oakland convenience store is remembered; suspect still sought Crime and Public Safety | Driver arrested after a three-county chase across the Bay Bridge The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said the 70-year-old victim and his dog were not injured.The incident began around 12:40 p.m. Monday when the suspect tried to pass the victim near Foothill Boulevard and Castro Valley Boulevard, according to the sheriff’s office. It continued onto eastbound Castro Valle...

Man's truck shot twice in East Bay road rage incident

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

(KRON) -- A vehicle was struck twice by gunfire on Monday in what the Alameda County Sheriff's Office called a road range shooting. ACSO said a 70-year-old man and his dog were riding in a pickup truck when the truck was passed by another vehicle in the area of Foothill Boulevard and Castro Valley Boulevard. One dead in SF crash at Folsom Street parking lot The suspect shot the pickup truck twice, ACSO said. A photo from the Castro Valley News showed two apparent bullet holes on the truck's bed. Police did not release additional details surrounding the shooting. The victim pulled over to a CHP station on Redwood Road. He was unharmed. No suspect is in custody. The suspect was driving a white or light-colored sedan, ACSO said. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call ACSO at (510) 667-7721.

Luka Doncic scores 35 points, Mavericks beat Grizzlies 120-113 for 3rd straight win

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 35 points, Dereck Lively II added 16 points and 16 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-113 on Monday night.Jaden Hardy scored 19 points off the Dallas bench and Dante Exum had 16 points for the Mavericks, who have won three straight. The win came despite the Mavericks being short a handful of players due to injuries, including Kyrie Irving, the team’s second-leading scorer.“Obviously, we had a lot of people out,” Doncic said. “I said before the game: ‘Everybody be ready.’ The trust factor was huge this game.”Hardy’s night included 7 of 15 from the floor, and 5 of 7 from outside the arc. Hardy said it was a matter of confidence to convert from distance.“When I’m out there and the ball is finding me, it’s just being ready to shoot,” Hardy said. “I feel like if I’m open, I feel like it is going to go in every time I shoot. Just having the confidence when I’m out there.”Jaren Jacks...

Live updates | Israel says it’s ready to fight for months to defeat Hamas as deaths surpass 17,700

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:11 GMT

Israel says it’s prepared to fight for months or longer to defeat Gaza’s Hamas rulers, as its ground offense intensifies with more airstrikes and artillery fire.Israel faces international outrage after its military offensive has killed more than 17,700 Palestinians in Gaza, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where United Nations agencies say there is no safe place to flee. With only a trickle of humanitarian aid reaching a small portion of Gaza, residents face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods. Some observers worry that Palestinians will be forced out of Gaza altogether.Israel says 97 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. Qatar, which has played a key m...