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When a conservative podcaster came to campus, students did not want to listen

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

(CNN) — At sunset on a beautiful spring evening on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh last week, conservative podcaster Michael Knowles was burned in effigy. Police lights flashed on several street corners, and a firetruck waited nearby. Protesters chanted, backed by drummers. An incendiary device was set off.The cause of the furor was an event set for later that evening, when Knowles was invited to debate, “Should Transgenderism Be Regulated By Law?”Student protests like this one have prompted older generations to question whether kids these days no longer have the appetite to debate controversial issues on campus and whether these protests are somehow different than those of the past over the Iraq War, the Vietnam War, gay rights, civil rights and women’s suffrage.Knowles is best known for a single line delivered in a speech at CPAC earlier this year: “Transgenderism needs to be eradicated in public life entirely.” Knowles asserted that ...

Biden approves Florida Disaster Declaration following historic flooding in Broward County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

BROWARD COUNTY. Fla. (WVSN) — President Joe Biden declared the major disasters that struck Broward County were enough to order federal aid to the area. This comes after the historic flooding that drenched the county over a matter of days damaged several homes and businesses.According to a press release by the White House press office, federal aid will be available to affected individuals in Broward County.Assistance will include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses, and other programs for residents and business owners.After the announcement was made, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said in a statement that she was grateful for the support.“So many people and businesses are still struggling with the impacts of this historic storm event, and this federal declaration to provide financial and loan assistance is the commitment they need right now,” the statement read. “This timely response by the President will help unleas...

Pro-Kurdish party rallies behind main opposition candidate in Turkish election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey on Friday called on its supporters to vote for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main opponent in next month’s presidential election, widely expected to be the most hotly contested race in Erdoğan’s 20-year rule.The opposition candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, is supported by a wide-ranging coalition from across the political spectrum.“At this breaking stage of Turkish politics, we have come together to fulfill our historic duty, both as part of our tradition and our debt to future generations” ahead of the “historic election” on May 14, the HDP said in a statement.“In this context, we share with the public our decision to support Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential elections,” it added. The vote of the Kurdish population, which makes up around a fifth of Turkey’s 85-million population, is set to be a decisive factor in the presidential race, as Kılıçdaroğlu and Erdoğan are...

Football agents complain to EU over FIFA’s fee crackdown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

The world’s top football agents have complained to the European Commission that new FIFA rules will unfairly harm their earning potential.They have accused the world football governing body of showing “gross disrespect for applicable competition law,” according to a confidential complaint seen by POLITICO, as FIFA moves to cap fees that agents can earn from player transfers.In the complaint, addressed to the Commission’s powerful competition department, the agents say FIFA’s rules will “restrict competition within the internal market by fixing purchasing prices.”Adopting the regulations would also “constitute an abuse of FIFA’s dominant position by directly and indirectly imposing unfair trading conditions, including purchasing prices,” they add.FIFA has brought in new regulations for agents, some of whom make huge sums of money brokering transfer deals between clubs — from Europe’s megabucks top divisions all the way down the football pyramid.FIFA said the rules have the “objective...

‘Put it on me’: Chicago White Sox GM Rick Hahn takes responsibility for the team’s worst start since 1950

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

Rick Hahn made it clear.“Put it on me,” the Chicago White Sox general manager said Thursday when asked about the team’s rough start. “That’s the job. It’s the absolute gig.”Entering the opener of a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Sox found themselves with their worst 25-game start since 1986 at 7-18.“Put it on me,” Hahn continued. “I’ll tell you this, let’s make this real clear, it sure as heck isn’t on (manager) Pedro (Grifol) and his coaching staff. They are doing everything in their power to prepare, focus on what’s controllable, what’s fixable, addressing the problems as they arise. And are really doing everything in their power to get this thing right. It’s absolutely not on the manager and the coaches.“Ultimately it’s the players who play the game, and when they don’t achieve at the level we’ve projected, they certain...

High Court dismisses Crown appeal in ‘Surrey Six’ 2007 gang murder case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the Crown’s appeal in a 2007 gangland murder case, where two men argued police misconduct tainted their convictions. Gangsters Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston were both found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy in 2014, seven years after the executions of six people in a highrise apartment building in Surrey, B.C.Their lawyers argued before the high court last October that the judge in their initial trial erred in not allowing the men to provide evidence about allegations of “egregious” police conduct and their treatment in solitary confinement.The Supreme Court says in a unanimous decision today it agrees with the B.C. Court of Appeal that it was a mistake to dismiss the applications to have all of that evidence heard.The Supreme Court says Haevischer should have “a full chance to re-litigate all the issues.” Johnston died in prison last December after the matter was argued before the Supreme Court. This...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises at close of bumpy week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is climbing Friday, as the market winds down a week of sharp swerves with another batch of corporate profit reports that mostly topped expectations. The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in morning trading. Despites its big swings earlier this week, it’s still on track to close out April with a gain. Markets have been churning amid unanswered questions about where the economy and corporate profits are heading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 138 points, or 0.4%, at 33,967, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.Exxon Mobil was doing some of the market’s heaviest lifting after it rose 2.2%. It reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than forecast. Intel jumped 6% after reporting a milder loss than expected and stronger revenue for the latest quarter. Mondelez International, the food giant behind Oreo and Ritz, rose 5.2% after topping Wall Street’s estimates. It also raised its forecast for reve...

Canada won new Volkswagen battery plant despite ‘way, way more’ money from U.S.: PM

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

NEW YORK — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a number of U.S. jurisdictions outbid Canada in the recent race to secure Volkswagen’s new battery plant. But Canada prevailed, he says, because of its clean energy supply, educated workforce, critical minerals riches and investments in the middle class.Trudeau made the admission in remarks today at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The plant, to be built near St. Thomas, Ont., is drawing some criticism because Ottawa offered up to $13 billion worth of production subsidies to make the deal happen. Trudeau says the economic and social benefits of the facility will vastly outweigh the cost because Volkswagen is committed to be a major employer in the hard-hit manufacturing community for decades. It was part of his sales pitch to convince investors, business leaders and venture capitalists in New York and around the world that Canada has a firm grip on the future. “I’ll be honest: there were places in the Unite...

Russian missile and drone attack in Ukraine kills 22 people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

UMAN, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 22 people, almost all of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in a terrifying nighttime attack, officials said. Three children were among the dead.The missile attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv. The strikes on the nine-story residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv. Twenty people died in that attack, according to the Interior Ministry. They included two 10-year-old children and a toddler. Another of the victims was a 75-year-old woman who lived in a neighboring building and suffered internal bleeding from the huge blast’s shock wave, acc...

Recent U.S. military helicopter crashes in training missions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:27 GMT

The collision of two helicopters in Alaska was the latest in a series of military helicopter crashes this year whose causes are still being investigated.The crashes and a rollover involved Black Hawk and Apache helicopters on training missions. A total of 14 soldiers have died and three have been injured. Black Hawk and Apache helicopters are among the models analyzed in a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report of Army and Air National Guard accidents from fiscal years 2012 through 2021. Among its eight recommendations to military leaders, GAO advised they ensure that National Guard helicopter units continuously update risk management worksheets and remove barriers to pilot training.___ALASKATwo U.S. Army helicopters collided and crashed Thursday in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth.Two of the soldiers died at the scene of the daytime crash near Healy, Alaska, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbank...