2 weeks Ago By AP
Democrats confront limits of their minority power after bruising shutdown vote WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats were grim Friday as they left Washington after a brutal 10-week stretch that consistently showed the limits of their new minority and culminated with a deeply personal rupture over how to best counter President Donald Trump. Internal dissension burst into the open Thursday evening after Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced he would vote to move forward on the the Trump-backed spending measure. Schumer and Democrats in his caucus say they believe they will eventually gain more political ground as members of their party become more motivated, and as they unite around an economic message.
Appeals court lifts blocks on Trump's orders restricting diversity, equity and inclusion programs WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court has lifted a block on executive orders seeking to end government support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, handing the Trump administration a win after a string of setbacks defending President Donald Trump’s agenda against dozens of lawsuits. The decision from a three-judge panel allows the orders to be enforced as a lawsuit against them plays out. The judges halted a nationwide injunction from U.
S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore. Two of the judges on the 4th U.
S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged the anti-DEI orders could raise concerns about First Amendment rights, but said the judge’s sweeping block went too far. Abelson had found the orders violated free-speech rights and are unconstitutionally vague.
After Columbia arrests, international college students fall silent International students and foreign faculty have watched the crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University with apprehension. Some say they are familiar with government crackdowns but never expected them on American college campuses. Federal immigration agents have arrested two foreigners who took part in protests last year at Columbia.
They’ve revoked the visa of another student, who fled the U.S. Agents also searched the on-campus residences of two Columbia students on Thursday but did not make any arrests there.
International students say they feel afraid to voice opinions or stand out on campus for fear of getting kicked out of the country. SpaceX launches a new crew to the space station to replace NASA's stuck astronauts CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The replacements for NASA's two stuck astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station.
SpaceX launched the new crew from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Friday night. The four astronauts should reach the space station the next day. That will pave the way for next week's return of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
The two have been living at the space station since June, ever since their Boeing Starliner capsule malfunctioned and had to leave without them. What should have been a weeklong test flight turned into a nine-month mission with a SpaceX ride home. Threat of tornadoes moves to US South after big storm unleashes winds and fans wildfires OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The threat of tornadoes is moving east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South a day after a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up dust storms that caused deadly crashes and fanned more than 100 wildfires in several central states.
Multiple tornadoes were reported in Missouri, and threats of more loomed on Saturday. The National Weather Service predicted extreme weather across a vast swath of the country that is home to more than 100 million people. Powerful winds gusting up to 80 mph were forecast from the Canadian border to Texas.
UK's Starmer convenes 'coalition of the willing' for second meeting to discuss Ukraine LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is convening a meeting of global leaders to discuss the developments regarding the war in Ukraine, following another frantic week of diplomacy aimed at getting Russia to back a 30-day ceasefire. Unlike a previous summit on March 2, the meeting Saturday of what Starmer has termed the “coalition of the willing” will be conducted virtually. The call is expected to delve into how countries can help Ukraine militarily and financially as well as gauging support for any future possible peacekeeping mission.
Starmer’s office said around 25 countries will be involved in the call, including European partners and Ukraine. Turkey and Israel face mounting tensions over future of post-Assad Syria ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has aggravated the already tense relations between Turkey and Israel, with their conflicting interests in Syria pushing the relationship toward a possible collision course. Turkey, which long backed groups opposed to Assad, has emerged as a key player in Syria and is advocating a centralized and united Syria.
Israel on the other hand, remains deeply suspicious of Syria’s interim government and Turkey's influence over Damascus. It established a buffer zone in southern Syria and targeted military assets with airstrikes. Turkey's president issued a thinly veiled threat against Israel last week, saying those who seek to “exploit instability” in Syria would not be able to achieve their goals.
Vatican switchboard nuns field growing calls about pope — but no, you can’t speak with him directly VATICAN CITY (AP) — The nuns who operate the Vatican’s switchboard are fielding a growing number of calls. Many want to know how Pope Francis doing, and some ask to speak with him as the head of the Catholic Church remains hospitalized in Rome. The Vatican’s number is public, and the sisters of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master order make sure all who call it get a real person instead of an automation.
They also take pride in the fact that it’s a woman’s voice that answers the line, providing the mother church's comfort and aid instead of simply patching through a call. Cuba suffers another massive power outage leaving millions in the dark HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has suffered a massive power outage affecting Havana and the country’s provinces that has left millions in the dark. Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines said at around 8:15 p.
m. local time a power outage at the Diezmero substation on the outskirts of Havana had caused “a significant loss of generation in western Cuba and, with it, the failure of the National Electric System.” The ministry said it is “working on the recovery process.
” The streets of Havana were dark and empty, with light coming only from the windows of hotels that had generators. People in provinces as far away as Guantánamo, Artemisa, Santiago de Cuba, and Santa Clara reported experiencing blackouts. A river ‘died' overnight in Zambia after an acidic waste spill at a Chinese-owned mine KITWE, Zambia (AP) — Authorities and environmentalists in Zambia fear the long-term impact of an acid spill at a Chinese-owned mine that poisoned a major river and could potentially affect millions of people after signs of pollution were detected at least 100 kilometers downstream.
The spill happened on Feb. 18 when a tailings dam which holds acidic waste from a copper mine in the north of the country collapsed. It allowed some 50 million liters of waste to flow into a stream which links to the Kafue River, Zambia’s most important waterway.
An environmental activist called it a "disaster really of catastrophic consequences.”.
