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Pakistan’s parliament is dissolved to pave way for elections as Imran Khan seeks release from prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s president on Wednesday dissolved the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, a first step in the countdown to a general election by mid-November. The move came as the country’s top opposition leader is fighting to overturn a corruption conviction that landed him in a high-security prison over the weekend.A statement from President Arif Alvi’s office said he acted on the advice of the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in disbanding the lawmakers as the assembly’s five-year term is ending. Usually, such a step is a formality and a general election would typically have to be held within 90 days. But this year there’s a twist. A delay until the spring is possible if Pakistan’s election commission opts for redistricting ahead of an election, based on the results of a recent census.The uncertainty over the election date coincides with the legal and political drama surrounding Sharif’s predecessor and nati...

Utah man suspected of threatening President Joe Biden shot and killed as FBI served warrant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man accused of making threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said. Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement. Biden is scheduled to fly to Utah late Wednesday. The shooting is under review by the FBI. Court documents allege Robertson referenced a “presidential assassination” and also allege threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York AG Letitia James. “The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents. Biden is in the middle of a trip to the Western...

A lawsuit accuses a Georgia doctor of decapitating a baby during delivery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A doctor used too much force and decapitated a Georgia woman’s baby during delivery, according to a lawsuit attorneys said was filed Wednesday. The baby’s mother and father, Jessica Ross and Treveon Isaiah Taylor Sr., attended a news conference in Atlanta where their attorneys announced the lawsuit against Dr. Tracey St. Julian and Southern Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Riverdale, Georgia, where Ross went on July 9 to have her son. Riverdale is about 13 miles (20 kilometers) south of Atlanta. “They were so excited about the birth of their first child,” said attorney Cory Lynch. “Unfortunately, their dreams and hopes turned into a nightmare that was covered up by Southern Regional Medical Center.”Calls to St. Julian’s office went unanswered, and an email message was not immediately returned. The Associated Press was not able to determine whether she had an attorney.Southern Regional said in statements it could not discuss treatmen...

3 dead in a Russian attack on a Ukrainian city while a blast near Moscow kills 1 and wounds dozens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian rocket attack on Wednesday killed three people and wounded at least seven others in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, which is near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials said. The number of victims could rise in the attack, which damaged a residential area, regional Gov. Yuriy Malashko said on Telegram. The city lies about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since the early weeks of the war. Shelling in the plant’s surroundings have raised persistent fears of a nuclear accident.In Russia, an explosion on the grounds of a factory that makes optical equipment for Russia’s security forces north of Moscow killed one person, wounded 60 others and left at least eight people unaccounted for, officials said.Russian officials did not provide a suspected cause of the explosion in the city of Sergiev Posad, which produced a tall plume of bl...

Vehicle strikes 3, fatally injuring 1 in service area of Los Angeles car dealership, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A vehicle driven by a customer struck three people Wednesday in the service area of a Los Angeles auto dealership and fatally injured one of them, a woman who was briefly trapped beneath the vehicle, authorities and witnesses say. The vehicle, driven by a female customer, struck another female customer and two workers in the service center before coming to rest in a customer reception area, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Brian Humphrey said.Bystanders freed the badly injured woman from beneath the vehicle and an off-duty nurse who was present administered CPR before she was rushed to a trauma center, Humphrey said in a statement.The woman later died, Humphrey said.Two men who work at the dealership and were struck by the vehicle were taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, including a head wound, Humphrey added. The driver had no obvious injury and remained at the scene, speaking with police officers.The dealership is in the M...

Kidnappers in Haiti release US nurse and her young daughter nearly 2 weeks after their abduction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Kidnappers in Haiti released a U.S. nurse and her daughter Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were snatched at gunpoint from the campus of a Christian-run school near Port-au-Prince, underscoring the severe security risks for visitors to a capital city largely controlled by gangs.The July 27 abduction of Alix Dorsainvil and her child happened the very day the U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens to leave “as soon as possible” and ordered the departure of nonemergency U.S. government personnel from Haiti because of security concerns. The country remains under a U.S. “do not travel” advisory.In the days following the kidnapping, El Roi Haiti, the Christian group founded by Dorsainvil’s husband, asked people to pray and said it was working on their safe return. Hope waned among some. Gang warfare has increasingly plagued Haiti since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Gang members regularly kill, rape and hold residents for ransom. ...

Satellite images show historic Maui town engulfed by wildfire. Follow along for live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

Follow along for live updates of wildfires that are racing across part of Maui in Hawaii, destroying sections of a historic town on the island and forcing some to flee to the relative safety of the ocean, where the Coast Guard rescued them. The fires forced evacuations in some areas, including the popular tourist spot of Lahaina Town. The National Weather Service says Hurricane Dora, which is passing south of the island chain at a safe distance, was partly to blame for strong winds driving the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters. SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW ACTIVE FLAMES THROUGHOUT HISTORIC TOWNOfficials have released very little information about the scope of damage caused by the wildfires, but satellite images from NASA appeared to show active flames throughout much of the historic town of Lahaina. Another Maui wildfire was burning near the town of Kihei. The satellite images seemed to support some videos and photos posted to social media sites that showed ...

This Illinois highway named most feared in the state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

(WTVO) — A recent survey has unveiled which route Illinois drivers are most scared to take.The survey by Gunter Mitsubishi complied the results from 3,000 road trippers. They said that US Route 24 is the worst in Illinois, ranking number 19 out of 50 overall across the country.The road runs 255 miles from the Mississippi River to the Indiana border. People are scared to take the route since improvements and maintenance has fallen behind, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.The route eventually narrows from an undivided four-lane highway to a two-lane road, leaving cars being very close to each other while passing at high speeds.This stretch of the road saw 23 left turn crashes between 2010-2015, according to the Peoria Journal Star, resulting in 30 injuries.The 2024-2029 Rebuild Illinois Highway Improvement Program includes over $33 billion into different infrastructure improvements over the six years. This includes an 8.6-mile stretch of Route 24 just outside of Peoria that w...

Credit card skimmer found at Des Plaines grocery store

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

DES PLAINES, Ill. — A credit card skimmer was discovered Saturday morning at a grocery store in Des Plaines.Just after 8:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to Shop & Save Market, located in the 500 block of Metropolitan Way, on the report of a suspicious incident.A manager of the store reported that he found a skimming device placed on one of the credit card machines at a cash register. Niles introduces feral cat program for rat control Police believe the device was installed at around 6:30 a.m. on Friday.No suspects are in custody.Skimmers typically attack the most vulnerable cards which require the swipe of a magnetic strip.Earlier this year, FICO released the following tips.What should consumers look out for?When consumers go to make a payment, they should take a close look at the part of the device where they insert their card. If anything about it seems loose or looks disconnected from the actual system, that should be a red flag. If something looks suspicious, you should ...

'Protect our carriers': Chicago postal workers call for end to violent attacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Postal workers in Chicago called for an end to violent attacks against them amid a rally Tuesday night. Already a week into August, a mail carrier was shot in Kilbourn Park. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) involved.In other recent incidents, postal workers were robbed in Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Berwyn. SEE ALSO | CPD: 24 armed robberies throughout Northwest Side since SaturdayOfficials with the National Association of Letter Carriers say postal workers have been targeted in more than 90 reported incidents this year. Rally-goers on Tuesday sought public support, in addition to added resources from law enforcement and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Demonstrators also seek harsher penalties for offenders. "Rain, sleet, or hail, but we don't do bullets," said Mack Julion with the National Association of Letter Carriers. "Somebody is going to have to figure it out. Someb...