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Biden celebrates his 81st birthday with jokes as the White House stresses his experience and stamina

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated his 81st birthday on Monday by joking repeatedly about his advanced age, even as the White House strongly defended his stamina and batted away polling — and one prominent Democrat — suggesting that the issue could cost him votes in next year’s election. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president’s age should not be a primary focus.“Our perspective is, it’s not about age, it’s about the president’s experience,” she said while highlighting that Biden had successfully championed through Congress several major pieces of legislation — including a sweeping public works package and initiative on public health and combating climate change — and visited active war zones not controlled by the U.S. military in Ukraine and Israel. “What we say is we have to judge him by what he’s done, not by his numbers,” Jean-Pierre said. “I would put the president’s stamina, the president’s wisdom, ability to get this done on...

Did you lose half a kilogram of cocaine? Police in B.C. would like to help

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

MISSION, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Police in Mission, B.C., say they are seeking the owner of half a kilogram of cocaine that was hidden in a public restroom’s ceiling and anyone who wants to claim the drugs should bring “proof of purchase.”RCMP Cpl. Harrison Mohr says officers will be happy to set up an interview at the owner’s convenience.Mohr says in a news release that a maintenance worker found the drugs when they opened up a ceiling panel on Thursday morning. He says the drugs were divided into multiple packages, and it’s believed they were hidden for a drug dealer to pick up.Mohr says whoever hid the drugs hasn’t been identified, but “jail cell number three” is waiting for anyone who wants to claim them.The release warns about the danger of leaving drugs where a member of the public could be unknowingly exposed to them.“If the drugs are yours and you want to report them lost or stolen, please call Mission RCMP,” police say ...

Gun battles in Mexican city of Cuernavaca leave 9 dead, including 2 police, authorities say

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gun battles between police and armed civilians in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca on Monday left nine dead, including two police officers, authorities said.The Cuernavaca security agency said in a statement that two other police officers were wounded in shootouts that began after a convoy of gunmen opened fire on people who were drinking on the street and tried to abduct one person.Gunmen with rifles, ballistic vests and radios engaged with police in various parts of the city, including a central neighborhood. Cuernavaca lies 50 miles south of Mexico City and has been the site of violence from competing organized crime groups.The Associated Press

South Korea’s president to talk trade, technology and defense on state visit to the UK

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The leaders of Britain and South Korea will seek to strengthen trade and defense ties between their countries during a state visit to the U.K. by President Yoon Suk Yeol.Yoon landed at Stansted Airport near London on Monday. Britain hopes his formal three-day visit will help cement an “ Indo-Pacific tilt ” in its foreign and trade policy.During that time, the president will be treated to both royal and diplomatic pomp, including a ceremonial welcome with military honor guards, an opportunity to address Parliament and a state banquet hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.He’s also scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak focused on trade, technology and defense. The two countries will officially launch talks on an “upgraded” free trade agreement to replace their current deal, which largely replicates the arrangements the U.K. had before it left the European Union.Britain has launched trade talks with several countries since leaving the EU in 202...

Queen Camilla praises the role of journalists in society at Foreign Press Association’s awards event

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Queen Camilla, not always known for having an easy time with reporters, stepped into the lion’s den on Monday, praising the role of journalists in society as she delivered the keynote address at the Foreign Press Association’s annual awards ceremony in London.She shouldn’t have worried much. King Charles III’s consort was mobbed as she arrived for the event. London-based foreign correspondents surrounded her as she mingled with the finalists. With cellphones raised over their heads, glasses of Campari swishing, they jostled for a better view and a chance for a chat.Camilla, who was criticized by Britain’s tabloids during the breakdown of Charles’ first marriage, praised the work of foreign correspondents, particularly in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.She won laughter and appreciation when she took a self-deprecating swipe at herself.“There are journalists in my family, and I have even been the subject of one ...

Signature-gathering starts anew for mapmaking proposal in Ohio that was stalled by a typo

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Backers of a proposal to reform Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system will finally be able to start gathering signatures, after clearing a second round of state approvals Monday.Citizens Not Politicians now has until July 3 to collect roughly 414,000 signatures required to put its constitutional amendment before voters in November 2024. Supporters are expected to fan out across the state beginning this week to try to make next fall’s statewide ballot.Their proposal would replace the current Ohio Redistricting Commission, made up of three statewide officeholders and four state lawmakers, with an independent body selected directly by citizens. The new panel’s members would be diversified by party affiliation and geography.The effort has experienced repeated delays. It began with two early rounds of objections to their petition language by Republican Attorney General Dave Yost before wording was initially certified. The Ohio Ballot Board then unanimously clea...

Police in Haiti detain a new suspect in the 2021 slaying of President Jovenel Moïse

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Authorities in Haiti on Monday arrested a new suspect in the July 2021 slaying of President Jovenel Moïse.Macky Kessa, a former mayor of the southern coastal city of Jacmel, was detained but has not been charged, his attorney, Jimmy Jean-Baptiste, told The Associated Press.He said Kessa is being held in Haiti’s notorious National Penitentiary in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and that he plans to seek his release.It wasn’t immediately clear why Kessa was detained. Jean-Baptiste declined further comment, noting that the investigation is ongoing.The arrest occurred after Kessa met with Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire, who is investigating the case and has interviewed several other suspects who have been languishing in jail for more than two years. Voltaire is the fifth judge to be appointed to the case, with previous judges stepping down for various reasons, including fear of being killed. Voltaire did not immediately return a message requesting comment. He ha...

A man is charged with threatening a Palestinian rights group as tensions rise from Israel-Hamas war

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Utah man has been charged with threatening a Palestinian rights organization in Washington in a case that was unsealed Monday as tensions rise in the U.S. from the devastating war between Israel and Hamas. Kevin Brent Buchanan, 62, of Tooele, Utah, called the unidentified group at least five times in three days and left profanity-laced messages such as “You’re the enemy,” “you’re being tracked” and “dead person walking,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. The organization reported the messages with the help of another anti-discrimination group. FBI agents tracked the phone number to Tooele, located about 34 miles or 55 kilometers west of Salt Lake City, and linked him to the phone through purchase records, prosecutors said. No attorney was immediately listed for Buchanan. A message seeking comment left at a phone number associated with him was not immediately returned. The threats began Oct. 31 and continued through Nov. 2, two days before the grou...

Kansas oil refinery agrees to $23 million in penalties for violating federal air pollution law

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas refinery has agreed to pay more than $23 million for violating the federal Clean Air Act and breaching a 2012 settlement for earlier pollution problems, the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.The federal agencies said the violations by Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing and its affiliated companies, collectively known as CRRM, resulted in illegal emissions from 2015 to 2017 that included an estimated 2,300 excess tons (2,000 metric tons) of sulfur dioxide from its oil refinery in Coffeyville in southeastern Kansas.But CRRM’s efforts to come into compliance with federal requirements since the investigation began have already eliminated more than 39,000 tons (35,000 metric tons) per year of carbon dioxide emissions that can contribute to climate change, the agencies said in a joint news release. That’s equivalent to using nearly 4 million fewer gallons of gasoline per year, they said.The EPA al...

Big game trophy hunters among targets of new ban on importing raw ivory into Canada

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:27:24 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian trophy hunters will be barred from bringing home elephant tusks or rhinoceros horns as Canada adopts new trade controls to help stop the critical decline in the animals’ populations.Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says that as of January 8, raw ivory will only be allowed to be imported into Canada for research and scientific purposes or for use by law enforcement.Canada currently allows raw ivory to be imported for personal reasons, including as trophies from hunting.Elephants and rhinoceros have become critically endangered, in large part because of the demand for their ivory tusks and horns.Kelly Butler, campaign manager for Humane Society International/Canada, says more than 400 elephant tusks were legally imported into Canada between 2010 and 2019, and 95 per cent of them were for personal use, including as the trophies of big game hunters travelling back from Africa.Butler says more than 700,000 people petitioned Canada to make this change, and ad...