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DeSantis is sending some weapons to Israel in move that could bolster him in the GOP primary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he’s arranged to send drones, weapons, and ammunition to Israel as it prepares for an incursion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack. It’s the latest official response DeSantis has taken to back Israel as he competes in the 2024 Republican primary.Florida has sent cargo planes with healthcare supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets, said Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for the governor’s office. The state also worked with private groups to supply weapons and ammunition at the request of Israel’s consul general in Miami, Redfern said.Redfern would not disclose the type or amount of ammunition and weaponry, referring questions to the consul general, who could not immediately be reached for comment.DeSantis has often applied his official powers to take actions that coincide with his larger political goals. Florida used state funds to fly migrants from Texas to Democratic-led areas such as Martha’s Vineyard...

Brightline plans to add stop between South Florida and Orlando

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Officials with Brightline said Thursday that they plan to add a stop somewhere along the newly-opened extension between South Florida and Orlando.Brightline officials said they were soliciting site proposals for a station along Florida’s Treasure Coast in Martin or St. Lucie counties. The proposed stop would open the train service to an area of Florida that is less densely populated and hosts fewer tourists than South Florida and the Orlando area.“Expanding Brightline into the Treasure Coast region will make Brightline one of the most accessible forms of transportation in Florida, giving access to nearly half of the state’s residents,” said Michael Reininger, Brightline’s CEO.Brightline opened its extension connecting Miami and Orlando last month. The company reported that more than 17,500 long-distance passengers had ridden along the extension during the first four weeks since its opening.The extension made Brightline Brightline the first priv...

Spain’s Sánchez demands Israeli-Palestinian peace summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday called for an international peace summit to find a long-term solution to the Israel-Hamas crisis.“It’s important that we have on the horizon a peace summit where we can channel the engagement of the international community to reach a final agreement, a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine with the two-state solution,” Sánchez said on arrival at the European Council summit in Brussels.Sánchez has been notably vocal in calling for a cease-fire in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Palestinian-controlled territory, in contrast to other EU leaders who have shied away from that demand. Israel continues to retaliate for a violent attack by Hamas militants earlier this month which killed more than 1,400 Israelis. “As prime minister of Spain, I would like to see a cease-fire for humanitarian purposes,” Sánchez said. “But if we don’t have that condition, at least a humanitarian pause in order to channel all the human...

China promises to help with gas pipeline probe, Finnish PM says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said he could ask for EU funding to repair the undersea Balticconnector pipeline, as a probe continues into the potential role of a Chinese ship in the damage.“We have a clear picture of what has happened. Now we are cooperating with China to find the role of the Chinese ship which was in this area at the time the damage happened,” Orpo said on arrival at the European Council summit in Brussels. “They have promised to do good collaboration.”Earlier this month, the 77-kilometer Balticconnector gas pipeline  — located in the Baltic Sea and linking NATO members Finland and Estonia — suffered from an unusual drop in pressure due to a leak. The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation found a large anchor close to the damaged pipeline, with the Chinese ship now under the investigation spotlight.To help repair the damaged pipeline, Orpo plans to ask for EU funding for countering hybrid threats. “The EU has been closely...

Australia pushes for EU deal at upcoming trade meeting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

Canberra is playing the now-or-never card with Brussels ahead of a meeting between Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell and the EU’s trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis in Japan. Hopes are rising that the two can bridge the remaining gaps when they meet in Osaka on Monday, at the tail end of a weekend meeting of G7 trade ministers. Australia is ready to politically seal the deal if Brussels budges a bit on agricultural concessions. Failure to sign now could mean having to wait until the next European Commission is appointed after European elections next June.“If we haven’t got a deal, the Europeans move into their electoral cycle for elections next year,” Farrell said in a podcast on Wednesday. “I think we will have lost the opportunity for two, perhaps three years to come back and resolve this.”Australia performed a theatrical walk-out in July, as Canberra felt that the offer on the table wouldn’t open the EU market sufficiently to Australian farm produce.“If the offer is th...

Rep. Jamaal Bowman pleads guilty to misdemeanor for falsely pulling fire alarm in House office building

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

(CNN) — Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge for falsely triggering a fire alarm in a House office building.Bowman struck a deal with the Washington, DC, Attorney General’s office, in which he pleaded guilty to the single misdemeanor offense.According to the terms of the deal read aloud in court, Bowman’s sentencing will be deferred for three months. During that time, Bowman will be on probation, will pay a $1,000 fine and will write an apology letter to the US Capitol Police.If he fulfills these terms, prosecutors will drop the charge at his sentencing hearing on January 29.Bowman was caught on tape pulling the fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building in late September, shortly before the House was scheduled to vote on a government funding bill. The building was subsequently evacuated.It’s still possible for Bowman to face federal prosecution over the incident, though it is unclear clear whether Justice D...

Israeli troops briefly raid northern Gaza to ‘prepare’ for an expected full-scale incursion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and AMY TEIBEL (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops and tanks briefly raided northern Gaza overnight, the military said Thursday, engaging with Hamas terrorists and targeting anti-tank weapons in order to “prepare the battlefield” before an expected ground invasion.The raid came after after more than two weeks of devastating airstrikes in the small, densely-populated territory — with more than 250 in the past 24 hours — and as the U.N. and other world leaders warn of a dire humanitarian crisis getting worse.Israel has imposed a suffocating siege on Gaza since Hamas’ bloody rampage and hostage-taking across southern Israel ignited the war. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union. Residents are running out of food, water and medicine, and U.N. workers have barely any fuel left to support their relief missions across Gaza, where more than 1 million Palestinians have b...

Massachusetts State Police detail efforts working with Maine on manhunt for mass shooting suspect Robert Card

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

Massachusetts State Police are in regular contact with authorities in Maine as the manhunt for Robert Card, wanted in connection with a massacre in Lewiston, Maine, continues.At least 18 people were killed in locations that include a bowling alley and local pub.“Massachusetts State Police Colonel John Mawn has been in contact with his counterparts from Maine and the other New England states to assess and coordinate capabilities for providing mutual aid to the Maine State Police,” according to an MSP statement released Thursday morning. “The full complement of Massachusetts State Police assets stand ready for deployment if requested, as necessitated by the evolving investigation and fugitive apprehension mission.”The trooper deployed, a member of the MSP bomb squad, was sent in along with his K9 partner as a member of a federal ATF task force, according to the MSP.State police are also continuing to probe whether or not Card, 40, has any connections to to Mass...

Hurricane Otis caused 27 confirmed deaths and left 4 missing, Mexican authorities report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

By MARK STEVENSON (Associated Press)ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Mexican authorities on Thursday gave the first human toll for Hurricane Otis’ destruction along the country’s Pacific coast: at least 27 dead and four missing.Tens of thousands of residents in damaged homes without electricity awaited help more than a day after Otis roared ashore in Acapulco. The municipal water system wasn’t functioning, because there was no electricity to run the pumps.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said at his morning news briefing that the deaths occurred around Acapulco, but provided few details. He acknowledged that the government was late in arriving because of the havoc Otis left behind.López Obrador, who made it into Acapulco late Wednesday, said the destruction was so complete in the impact zone that not a single power line pole remained standing. Outside the city, small farmers had their corn crops devastated by Otis’ wind and pounding rain, he said. Restoring power...

Canada Border Services Agency issues alert about man wanted for Maine mass shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:12 GMT

The Canada Border Services Agency has issued an “armed and dangerous” alert to its officers stationed along the Canada-U.S. border, warning them to be on the lookout for the man suspected of fatally shooting at least 18 people in southern Maine.The shootings were reported Wednesday night in Lewiston, about 260 kilometres southwest of the New Brunswick border.A police bulletin identified the suspect as 40-year-old Robert Card, a firearms instructor believed to be in the U.S. Army Reserve and assigned to a training facility in Saco, Maine.As a massive search continued today for Card, residents of southern Maine were told to lock their doors and remain inside.The CBSA says it is working with Canadian and U.S. law enforcement partners, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and RCMP to “protect Canada’s borders against any threat or attempt at illegal entry.”The Canadian border agency said its “Armed and Dangerous – Firearms lookout”...