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LIVE: Biden to give Memorial Day address after wreath-laying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is set to deliver a Memorial Day address after participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Monday morning. This marks the nation's 155th National Memorial Day Wreath Laying and Observance Program, meant to honor America's fallen soldiers, according to a press release from Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The events start at 11 a.m. ET. The president and first lady Jill Biden will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Maj. Gen. Allan M. Pepin, commanding general of Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, will host the wreath-laying ceremony. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to host the department's observance program in Memorial Amphitheater. A shattered soldier’s last act was protecting those he loved According to the amphitheater's website, many consider the services held there to be the nation's...

Gunman robs Mission Hills restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man robbed a Mission Hills restaurant at gunpoint Sunday night, getting away with cash.Just before 10 p.m., the thief walked into a restaurant in the 1800 block of West Washington Street, walked up to the counter and lifted his sweater to show an employee his handgun, San Diego police said in a news release. "The employee, knowing he was going to be robbed, opened the register, removed the drawer and placed it on the counter," SDPD said. 1 shot downtown; police searching for gunman The thief took money out from the drawer and ran westbound, police said. He was wearing a surgical mask, black hat, green hoodie, cream sweater, black pants, white shoes and gloves, police said.Anyone with information about the robbery was asked to call SDPD or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

No deaths reported after rescuers rush to save residents from Iowa building collapse, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters and other first responders are being credited with saving lives – at great risk to their own safety – after a six-story apartment building in Iowa partially collapsed, authorities said Monday.There were no confirmed fatalities and no known people still trapped the morning after a section of brick building in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport crashed to the ground. Mayor Mike Matson said members of the Davenport Fire Department and others went “literally into an unsafe building” to try to rescue residents.“When something like this happens here, and tragedy strikes, our responders immediately do their work and their job and I can’t thank them enough,” Matson said at a news conference Monday.Fire Chief Michael Carlsten said workers searched for survivors throughout the night and rescued one person from the six-story building — bringing the total number of people rescued by fire officials to eight. An additional 12 people were escorted ou...

With new mandate secured, Turkey’s Erdogan likely to continue engaging with both West and Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — After securing a strong new mandate in a runoff presidential election, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan could temper some positions that have irritated his NATO allies. But observers predicted that the country’s longtime strongman leader is unlikely to depart from his policy of engaging with both Russia and the West.Erdogan won reelection Sunday with more than 52% of the vote, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. He must now confront skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis and rebuild in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people and leveled entire cities.After failing to secure victory outright in the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan defeated opposition challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who had promised to put Turkey on a more democratic path and improve relations with the West.A divisive populist and masterful orator who transformed Turkey’s presidency from a larg...

Libyan court sentences 23 suspected Islamic State militants to death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan court Monday sentenced 23 suspected Islamic State group militants to death for launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of people, including Egyptian Coptic Christians.The appeals court in the western city of Misrata also sentenced 14 other militants to life in prison who were convicted on the same charges, which include destruction of police facilities and public property.The court sentenced nine defendants to between three and 12 years in prison. It acquitted five suspects.The court did not elaborate further details.The Islamic State and other extremist groups exploited the chaos that engulfed Libya after the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. They seized the coastal city of Sirte, Gadhafi’s birthplace, and other cities including Derna in eastern Libya. The militants were eventually expelled from Sirte in December 2016 by forces fighting for the former U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. Forces of east-...

Biden marks Memorial Day nearly 2 years after ending America’s longest war, lauds troops’ sacrifice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden lauded the sacrifice of generations of U.S. troops who died fighting for their country as he marked Memorial Day with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, for the 155th National Memorial Day Observance. He had a moment of contemplation in front of the wreath and later bowed his head in prayer.Monday’s federal holiday honoring America’s fallen service members came a day after Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached final agreement on a deal that would raise America’s debt limit and that now awaits approval by Congress.As it stands, the agreement would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year. The measure would allow for 3% defense growth in fiscal 2024, to $886 billion, and then another 1% in fiscal 2025, to $8...

4 dead after tourist boat capsizes in storm on Italian lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

MILAN (AP) — A body was retrieved early Monday in a northern Italian lake by police divers, raising to four the final death toll in the capsizing of a tourist boat a day earlier during a sudden, violent storm that included a whirlwind.Two bodies had been recovered by firefighter divers on Sunday evening, while the fourth victim had died shortly after being rescued following the capsizing of the houseboat, which the owners used as a tour vessel to take visitors around Lake Maggiore, police said.When the boat set out on Sunday, there were 21 tourists aboard plus a crew of two — a couple who lived on the boat.Police didn’t immediately release the names of the dead, but said they included an Italian man and an Italian woman, an Israeli man and a Russian woman, who was part of the live-aboard crew. Some reportedly managed to swim to shore, or were picked up by other boats. The houseboat sank, police said.Firefighter video released Sunday showed pieces of wood floating in the lake a...

Quebec actor Michel Côté, known for film and theatre roles, dead at 72

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

Quebec actor Michel Côté, who captivated audiences with his roles in the theatre piece “Broue” and films such as “Cruising Bar” and C.R.A.Z.Y.,” has died at 72.His family says in a statement that funeral details will follow.Côté retired from public life just over a year ago to undergo treatment for a bone marrow disease.The actor was a favourite in Quebec, and received a lifetime achievement award in 2013 at the Jutra awards.His career began in 1983 with a role in André Forcier’s film “Au clair de la lune,” starring Guy L’Écuyer.Côté appeared in at least 25 films and some 20 television series, as well as the theatre production “Broue,” which he performed for 38 years until 2017.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023The Canadian Press

Energy and financial stocks help boost S&P/TSX composite higher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up in late-morning trading as gains the heavyweight energy and financial sectors helped lift the Toronto market higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 40.46 points at 19,960.77.The gains came with U.S. stock markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.59 cents US compared with 73.41 cents US on Friday.The July crude contract was down 13 cents at US$72.54 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down six cents at US$2.35 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was up US$2.00 at US$1,965.10 an ounce and the July copper contract was down less than a penny at US$3.68 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Exclusive secrets of the National Spelling Bee: Picking the words to identify a champion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:27:25 GMT

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care.Before panelists can debate the words picked for the bee, they need to hear each word and its language of origin, part of speech, definition and exemplary sentence read aloud. Late in the meeting, lead pronouncer Jacques Bailly and his colleagues — so measured in their pacing and meticulous in their enunciation during the bee — rip through that chore as quickly as possible. No pauses. No apologies for flubs.By the time of this gathering, two days before the bee, the word list is all but complete. Each word has been vetted by the panel and slotted into the appropriate round of the nearly century-old annual competition to identify the English language’s best speller. For decades, the word panel’s work has been a closely guarded secret. This year, Scripps — a Cincinnati-based medi...