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Live updates | Jordan loses 20 Republicans in speaker’s vote, creating uphill climb to win gavel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan lost 20 Republican votes Tuesday in his first round of balloting for House speaker, creating an uphill climb to win the gavel.Another vote is expected, although the timing of that is unclear.What to knowJim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far rightHow the vote for a new speaker worksScalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back himMcCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfallSpeaker McCarthy ousted in historic House voteJordan holdouts face ‘meat grinder’ of pressureRep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and Jordan ally who has resisted party leadership in the past, said the holdouts on the House speaker vote would now be put through a “meat grinder” of pressure.He predicted they would cave and support Jordan by the end of the week after pressure from conservative voters who are being told to call member offices and close friends.“I don’t think any of these 20 have the stomach f...

2 foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide killed in attack near Uganda’s popular national park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Two foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide were killed when assailants attacked their vehicle near a national park in southwestern Uganda, a wildlife official and the police said Tuesday.Bashir Hangi, spokesman for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, said the attackers set on fire the vehicle in which the group was traveling just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park. The security agencies are working “to establish who could have carried out this heinous act,” he told the AP. Fred Enanga, a police spokesman, said in a statement that extremist rebels usually based in eastern Congo had carried out the “cowardly terrorist attack,” adding that the security forces “responded immediately upon receiving the information and are aggressively pursuing the suspected ADF rebels.” The ADF, or Allied Democratic Forces, is a shadowy rebel group that originated in Uganda but whose fighters now operate in a lawless part of eastern Congo. The group has established ties with ...

BlackBerry aiming for June IPO for Internet of Things business: CEO

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

The head of BlackBerry Ltd. says he’s hoping for June timing on the initial public offering the company has planned for its Internet of Things business.The forthcoming IPO will carve BlackBerry into two business units, dividing its cybersecurity operations from its internet of things offerings.The Waterloo, Ont.-based technology company has been evaluating a range of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value since May.The company lost US$42 million in the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal year as revenue from Internet of Things rose four per cent while cybersecurity revenue was down 40 per cent.Speaking at an investors briefing, John Chen said he was aiming for June because he wants to avoid a summer IPO, when people are on holidays.He also wants to steer clear of September, which he considers a bad month for the stock market because people are coming back from vacation with a different mindset.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.Compa...

Congressional draft report in Brazil recommends charges for Bolsonaro over Jan. 8 insurrection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A draft congressional report on Brazil’s Jan. 8 riots on Tuesday accused ex-President Jair Bolsonaro of being the insurrection’s mastermind and recommended he be criminally charged with attempting to stage a coup.The report by Sen. Eliziane Gama followed months of hearings by a committee investigating the uprising in Brasilia, and cited evidence including phone records. It proposed charges against Bolsonaro including the violent overthrow of democratic rule. Bolsonaro, who lost his reelection bid last fall, has denied any involvement in the rioting, which took place after he had quietly left the country to stay in Florida while refusing to attend the inauguration of incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.A full panel of 32 lawmakers — most of whom are allied with Lula — are scheduled to vote on the inquiry report Wednesday and are seen as likely to adopt the measure, which would serve as a recommendation to prosecutors.On Jan. 8, one week afte...

Stellantis cancels presentation at Las Vegas technology show due to UAW strike impact

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Stellantis, the multinational maker of Jeep and Ram, said Tuesday that it is canceling its participation in next year’s CES technology show in Las Vegas citing the “mounting” costs of the ongoing auto workers strike in North America.The Europe-based company said its focus is on measures “to mitigate financial impacts and preserve capital,” during the ongoing negotiations with the United Auto Workers union. It said it would “demonstrate its transformation into a mobility tech company through other means” than participation in CES 2024.CES has increasingly become a forum for car news, as automotive and tech companies increase their cooperation. The next edition will be held Jan. 9-12.The strike by the United Auto Workers union has entered its fifth week with no end in sight. The union has targeted specific plants from each U.S. automaker, including Stellantis, General Motors and Ford. About 34,000 autoworkers are on strike against the three companies, and the union has th...

Putin meets with Hungary’s prime minister in rare in-person talks with an EU leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held talks on Tuesday with Vladimir Putin in a rare in-person meeting for the Russian president with a leader of a European Union country.Orbán and Putin met in Beijing before an international forum on one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature policies, the Belt and Road Initiative. Their meeting focused on Hungary’s access to Russian energy. EU and other Western leaders have largely eschewed contact with Putin over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in February. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Putin in person in April 2022.“Hungary never wanted to confront Russia. Hungary always has been eager to expand contacts,” Orbán told Putin, according to a Russian translation of his remarks broadcast on Russian state television.Bilateral ties between the two countries have suffered because of EU sanctions against Moscow, he said.Hungary’s stance on the war has confounded its European partners and led ...

Eviscerated goat found in passenger's baggage at O'Hare Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

WARNING: Photos below are extremely graphic and may be upsetting to some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.CHICAGO — A passenger's luggage was confiscated and destroyed at O'Hare International Airport after an inspection found 15 pounds of raw goat organs, among other items, inside of it.U.S. Customs and Border Protection said two passengers arrived to O'Hare from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Oct. 10, and were referred to agriculture specialists for inspection.According to a release, CBPAS (U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialists) found one pound of unknown meat, 2 pounds of garden eggs, and 15 pounds of raw goat viscera —including the trachea, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and entire digestive system. The luggage was seized and destroyed "to keep livestock diseases and plant pests out of the United States," according to CBP.“There are real dangers these items can have if they are introduced in the U.S. economy,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, CBP Di...

Jordan fails to win Speakership on first ballot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) failed to win the Speakership in the first round of voting Tuesday after 20 Republicans withheld support from his bid, denying him the votes needed to secure the gavel.The vote was 200 for Jordan, 212 for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), six for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and seven for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.).Seven voted for other candidates, including former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).The House is now expected to head to a second ballot, setting the stage for another protracted race to win the gavel. In January, it took McCarthy 15 ballots over the course of four days to be elected to the top spot.Tuesday marked exactly two weeks since eight Republicans joined with Democrats in ousting McCarthy from the Speakership, a historic vote ...

Arguments delayed in Amundsen Park migrant shelter legal battle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

CHICAGO —  A controversial migrant housing plan for Chicago's Northwest Side was the subject of a court hearing Tuesday morning. While neighbors in Galewood and North Austin hoped to have answers to arguments heard, unfortunately, that is not the case. The presiding judge said the issue did not constitute an emergency. At least not yet. As a result, the judge set a new date at the end of the month to hear arguments on whether or not migrants should be moved into Amundsen Park.  West Side residents demand return of programs to Amundsen Park The hearing also revealed that the city does not plan to move migrants into the park's fieldhouse for at least seven days. Last week, at least five residents filed an emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Oct. 10 to block the city from reneging on their word about moving migrants into the Amundsen Park fieldhouse. The court filing came after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office announced plans around turning Amundsen Pa...

Woman, 57, fatally struck by Metra train at North Chicago station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. — A pedestrian was struck and killed after attempting to cross the tracks at a north suburban train station, North Chicago police said Tuesday. According to police, around 9 a.m. Monday, authorities responded to the North Chicago Metra Station at 1633 Lakeside Avenue for a report of a pedestrian struck by a train. Pedestrian struck and killed on DuSable Lake Shore Drive Christina Egidi, 57, of Grayslake was pronounced dead at the scene.A preliminary investigation shows that the pedestrian was attempting to cross the tracks when she was struck by an express train she had mistaken for a train stopping at the station. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines The incident remains under investigation by the Metra Police Department and the Lake County Coroner’s Office.