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Malaysian PM Anwar faces crucial test of support in state polls next month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Less than a year after taking office, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces a critical first test in state elections next month that pits his government against a powerful Islamic opposition. Election Commission chief Abdul Ghani Salleh said Wednesday that over 9.7 million voters will head to the ballot box on Aug. 12 to elect 245 assemblymen for six states. While state elections generally do not affect the federal government, it will be closely watched as a gauge of support for Anwar’s unity government that was f ormed after a divisive general election in November. Anwar’s multiethnic Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance won the most seats in November polls but fell short of a majority after many ethnic Malays threw their support behind the Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. The PN bloc includes the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), that unexpectedly rose to become the single largest party in Parli...

What to expect during the ranked choice voting count in New York City Council races

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City elections officials will begin releasing preliminary results Wednesday from ranked choice voting in last week’s City Council primaries — but those results may change in the coming days and weeks as additional ballots are tallied.Voting in the local primaries concluded last Tuesday, but winners have yet to be determined in some City Council contests. That includes several that could advance to ranked choice voting and be subject to subsequent rounds of ballot-counting, where voters’ second through fifth choices would be taken into account if no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes.The city is still in the process of tabulating first round results. Unlike in most other places that use ranked choice voting, the preliminary tabulation of ranked choice results will be released before that initial count is complete. The Board of Elections will continue to release updated preliminary results on a weekly basis until all outstanding ballots have...

Biden is hosting Swedish prime minister at the White House in a show of support for NATO bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to host Sweden’s prime minister at the White House on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the United States presses for the Nordic nation’s entry into NATO, a week before the alliance’s summit. Biden and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will “review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible,” the White House said a statement announcing the meeting. The leaders also will discuss the war in Ukraine and matters involving China.Sweden and neighbor Finland ended their longstanding policy of military nonalignment after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Both applied for NATO membership, seeking protection under the organization’s security umbrella. Finland, which shares a more than 800-mile or 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, joined NATO in April. But Sweden, which has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, has seen its ascension delayed by Turkey and Hung...

Conservatives go to red states, Democrats to blue as the country grows more polarized

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

STAR, Idaho (AP) — Once he and his wife Jennifer moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself.Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside of Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a Thin Blue Line banner representing law enforcement outside his house.“We were scared to put it up,” Jennifer Kohl acknowledged. But the Kohls knew they had moved to the right place when neighbors complimented him on the display.Leah Dean is on the opposite end of the political spectrum, but she knows how the Kohls feel. In Texas, Dean had been scared to fly an abortion rights banner outside her house. Around the time the Kohls were house-hunting in Idaho, she and her partner found a place in Denver, where their LGBTQ+ pride flag flies above the banner in front of their house that proclaims “Abortion access is a community responsibility.”“One thing we have really found is a place to feel comfortable being oursel...

The Texas shooter in a racist Walmart attack is going to prison. Here’s what to know about the case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A white Texas gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 returns to court Wednesday for sentencing in a mass shooting that targeted Hispanic shoppers in the border city of El Paso. Patrick Crusius, 24, is set to receive multiple life sentences after pleading guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Although the federal government did not seek the death penalty, Texas prosecutors have not taken lethal injection off the table under a separate case in state court.Investigators say the shooting was preceded by Crusius posting a racist screed online. The sentencing phase could last several days. It is the first time that relatives of the victims, who included citizens of Mexico, will have an opportunity to address Crusius face-to-face in court.Some things to know about the shooting and the case: WHO IS PATRICK CRUSIUS?Crusius was 21 years old when authorities say he drove more than 10 hours from h...

Stock market today: Asia sinks after survey shows China activity weakening

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets sank Wednesday after a survey showed Chinese industrial activity weakening.Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated. Oil prices were mixed.U.S. markets were closed Tuesday for a holiday.An index of service industry activity by a leading Chinese business magazine, Caixin, weakened sharply in June, adding to signs China’s recovery following the end of anti-virus controls on business and travel is cooling. Growth in factory activity also slowed.“Without policy support, there’s a risk that weakening growth expectations could become self-fulfilling,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management in a report.The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4% to 3,231.08 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 1.2% to 19,185.13.Caixin’s purchasing managers’ index for services fell to 53.9 from May’s 57.1 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity increasing. It was the weakest reading this year.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0...

4th of July temperatures reach 90s for a sixth time since 2000

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

Area maximum temperatures on July 4th reach as high as 94 degrees—heat indices top out at 98 degrees Wednesday to reach steamy 90s again threatening severe weather in parts of the area from 5 to 11 PM Wednesday; 20+ degree temp pullback hits Thursday; next rains due in clusters Saturday and Monday, ebbing SundayHighs reached 92 degrees at both O’Hare and Midway—2nd warmest day of 2023 to dateWarmest July 4th in five years—93 degrees in 2018“ACTINOFORM” cloudsThe reference to “ACTINOFORM” clouds appeared in a post by meteorological satellite researcher, Scott Bachmeier (https://twitter.com/CIMSS_Satellite) out of CIMSS (the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Studies) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Bachmeier had spotted these “FEATHERY APPEARING” clouds on animated satellite imagery riding the low level easterly trade winds toward the Hawaiian IslandsThe “TRADE WINDS” are the prevailing low-latitude winds for which Hawaii and tropical locations are so well known. These w...

Malibu resident found guilty of over $3 million Alibaba scam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

A former Malibu resident was found guilty of defrauding investors out of $3 million through false promises of pre-IPO stock shares of Alibaba.Frank Harold Rosenthal, 48, who currently lives in New York City, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, the U.S., Attorney’s Office announced Monday.Rosenthal is accused of scamming victims out of more than $3 million with “bogus claims he had access to stock shares of Alibaba prior to its initial public offering,” officials said.Rosenthal falsely told victims he had inside connections at Goldman Sachs that would give him special access to purchase discounted shares of Alibaba, a popular Chinese e-commerce company.With the help of a middleman, David Kunkle, Rosenthal made false claims and representations while also pressuring Kunkle to solicit funds from his relatives and acquaintances for the bogus investment opportunity, authorities said.“To lend legitimacy to his fraudulent scheme, Rosenthal negotiated and drafted loan agreements and ...

Palacios delivers a clutch double in the 9th as the Pirates rally past the Dodgers 9-7

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pinch-hitter Josh Palacios came through with a tiebreaking two-run double in a three-run ninth inning that rallied the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night to snap a three-game skid.Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips struck out Carlos Santana, then issued consecutive walks to Jack Suwinski and Nick Gonzales. Suwinski scored on Jared Triolo’s single that tied it at 7.Palacios batted for Rodolfo Castro and doubled into left field, scoring Gonzales and Triolo for a 9-7 lead.The Pirates bounced back after pinch-hitter Jonny Deluca’s solo homer in the eighth gave the Dodgers a 7-6 lead. David Bednar (3-0) got five outs for the win after being added to the NL All-Star roster earlier in the day as an injury replacement.James Outman slugged a pair of two-run homers, both times giving Los Angeles the lead, and Mookie Betts added his 23rd homer for the Dodgers. Jason Heyward went 2 for 3 and scored twice.Deluca batted for Heywa...

The Israeli military says its troops have withdrawn from a militant stronghold in the West Bank, ending a 2-day raid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:57 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says its troops have withdrawn from a militant stronghold in the West Bank, ending a 2-day raid.Source