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Turkey’s Erdoğan set for election victory

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to win another five years as Turkey’s president after prevailing in divisive elections that at one point seemed to threaten his hold on power.The 69-year-old, who has dominated his country’s politics for two decades, was on track to win the run-off vote by 52 percent to 48 percent, with more than 98 percent of ballot boxes counted, beating opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, according to the country’s two main news agencies. In the first round of voting on May 14, the president also came out on top, defying the polls, but fell short of an outright majority, taking the election to a run-off. Turkey’s Supreme Election Council — the country’s highest electoral authority — said that, with 75 percent of the votes counted, Erdoğan was leading with 53 percent while Kılıçdaroğlu had received 47 percent. The government of Qatar and Victor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, congratulated Erdoğan via Twitter.  Erdoğan...

Biden and GOP rush to finalize debt ceiling deal, shore up support to prevent default

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, FARNOUSH AMIRI and MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — With days to spare before a potential first-ever government default, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday were finalizing a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling while trying to wrangle enough Republican and Democratic votes to pass the measure in the coming week.The compromise announced late Saturday includes spending cuts but risks angering some lawmakers as they take a closer look at the concessions. McCarthy and Biden were set to put the finishing touches on the agreement in a midafternoon call once the final legislative text was drafted. Biden told reporters at the White House upon his return from Delaware that he was confident the plan will make it to his desk and that no sticking points remained.The days ahead will determine whether Washington is again able to narrowly avoid a default on U.S. debt, as it has done many times bef...

Incumbent Erdogan claims victory in Turkey’s presidential runoff

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory Sunday in his country’s runoff election, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.With nearly 99% of ballot boxes opened, unofficial results from competing news agencies showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, compared with 48% for his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.In his first comments since the polls closed, Erdogan spoke to supporters on a campaign bus outside his home in Istanbul.“I thank each member of our nation for entrusting me with the responsibility to govern this country once again for the upcoming five years,” he said.He ridiculed his challenger for his loss, saying “bye bye bye, Kemal,” as supporters booed.“The only winner today is Turkey,” Erdogan said.In Istanbul, Erdogan supporters began celebrating even before the final results arrived, waving Turkish or ruling party flags, and honking car horns.The outcome could have implications far beyond Ankara. ...

Liz Cheney blasts GOP attorney for college campus voting remarks in graduation speech

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney implored new college graduates to not compromise when it comes to the truth, excoriating her House Republican colleagues for not doing enough to combat former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen.In a commencement speech at Colorado College, the Wyoming Republican repeated her fierce criticisms of Trump but steered clear of talking about his 2024 reelection campaign or her own political future.Cheney, who graduated from Colorado College in 1988, recalled being a political science student walking into a campus building where a Bible verse was inscribed above the entrance that read, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”“I had to choose between lying and losing my position in House leadership,” Cheney said Sunday in Colorado Springs, connecting her experiences as a student to her work in the U.S. House of Representatives. “As I spoke to my colleagues on my last morning as chair of the Republican Conference i...

Migrants with children stuck at Poland’s border wall; activists say Belarus won’t let them turn back

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A group of some 30 migrants seeking asylum, including small children, has been stuck at Poland’s border wall with Belarus for three days, Polish human rights activists said Sunday.Although the migrants were outside Poland’s border wall, activists from Grupa Granica (Border Group) said they were on Polish territory and Belarus was not allowing them to turn back.“In Belarus, they are not safe,” activist Marta Staniszewska said.“The Belarusian services, as this group has told us, threaten them that if they return, they will be beaten, or that they will kill them,” Staniszewska told The Associated Press.The migrants say that several among them are sick, one girl has a toothache, and the children have mosquito bites, according to Staniszewska.A representative of Poland’s ombudsman’s office visited and talked to the group on Sunday, but later told reporters that the decision about whether to allow them into the country belongs to the Polish Border G...

New Greek parliament convenes, only to be dissolved as early as Monday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

ATHENS (AP) — Newly elected Greek lawmakers were sworn in Sunday but the Parliament in which they sit may be dissolved as early as Monday, ahead of fresh elections on June 25. No party achieved an overall majority in the election on May 21, which was held under simple proportional representation. The ruling New Democracy, with 40.79% of the vote, won 146 seats, five short of an overall majority in the 300-member chamber. The main opposition Syriza, with 20.07% – almost 11.5 points lower than in the previous election – won 71. The socialist PASOK was third. There was no attempt to form a coalition and the leaders of the three main parties returned their mandates to form a government almost as soon as they got them. A constitutionally mandated meeting on Wednesday with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and all five leaders of the parties represented in parliament merely confirmed that a second election would take place. A caretaker government headed by a senior judge was sworn ...

Raccoon euthanized after woman brings it to pet store and other customers kiss it

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

AUBURN, Maine (AP) — A raccoon in Maine was euthanized and tested for rabies after a woman brought it into a pet store for a nail trim and some customers kissed it, state wildlife authorities said.The raccoon tested negative for the disease, and there is no rabies risk to the public, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti said Sunday. However, raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in the state, and bringing the wild animal into a pet store constituted an unnecessary risk to public health, Latti said.The woman, who has not been identified by authorities, brought the raccoon into an Auburn pet store on Tuesday, the wildlife department said. She was seeking to get the animal’s nails trimmed, which is a service the store does not provide to raccoons, the department said.Several different people handled the animal and some kissed it, the wildlife department said. The store’s manager then asked the woman to leave and contac...

Weekend Break: Of The Earth Exhibit at The Morton Arboretum

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

WGN Weekend Morning News took Weekend Break to the Morton Arboretum to check out the Of The Earth exhibit. MORE STORIES: Weekend Break Learn more by watching the videos above.

You've heard of an RV. Now, meet the $300K LV

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

(KTLA) – You’ve heard of an RV, but what about an LV?It stands for Living Vehicle, a company that makes luxury homes on wheels."We’re nomadic, we aren’t ... required to stay in one location anymore," explained Matthew Hofmann, designer and founder of Santa Barbarba-based Living Vehicle.Thanks to the internet, email, Zoom, and now AI, remote work is a reality for many. Hofmann said these LVs are adapted for that lifestyle. "Let’s change the way that we perceive traditional home environment and do something a little different," said Hofmann, who runs the company with his wife."My wife and I have been living in small spaces like this for the past couple of decades, we like living simply and living well, but we don’t need to live in large homes."Inside, you’ll find things are compact but luxurious. There's a dining area, a kitchen with appliances, a deck, a bedroom with a combo washer/dryer, and a bathroom with a good-sized shower.While RVs are typically designed for short-term use, lik...

Business People: Jodeen Kozlak to chair St. Thomas board of trustees

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:41 GMT

OF NOTEJodeen KozlakThe University of St. Thomas in St. Paul announced Jodeen A. “Jodee” Kozlak as chair of its board of trustees, effective July 1. Kozlak is founder and CEO at Kozlak Capital Partners and previously held executive positions at Alibaba Group, Target Corp., and Minnesota law and accounting firms, and is a 1985 graduate of the university.ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERINGGolden Valley-based engineering and consulting firm WSB announced that Steve Nelson has been promoted to director of water/wastewater. Nelson previously was a seniorproject manager at the firm.FINANCIAL SERVICESMinneapolis-based asset management firm Marquette Wealth Management announced the promotion of Valerie Thomas to managing director and chief client experience officer. Thomas is a member of the firm’s founding team. … The Minnesota Credit Union Network, a trade organization, presented the Outstanding Credit Union Director of the Year award to Tom Heinzen, chair of the Spire Credit...