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Federal government begins initial communications to agencies on possible shutdown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

(CNN) — The White House Office of Management and Budget on Thursday began its initial communications to agencies on how to prepare for a possible government shutdown, a source familiar with the plans said, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill have yet to settle on a plan to avoid a shutdown by November 17.The communications are part of the standard procedure laying out the steps toward bringing non-essential government functions to a halt.“One week prior to the expiration of appropriations bills, regardless of whether the enactment of appropriations appears imminent, OMB will communicate with agency senior officials to remind agencies of their responsibilities to review and update orderly shutdown plans, and will share a draft communication template to notify employees of the status of appropriations,” a budget circular document from the Office of Management and Budget states.Every department and agency has its own set of plans and procedures. Those plans include information on how many emp...

Biden to press Xi on Iran in APEC meeting next week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

President Joe Biden’s concerns about the Israel-Hamas war will spill over into his long-awaited face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of APEC on Wednesday.When the two leaders meet at an undisclosed location in the San Francisco Bay area, Biden will urge Xi to use his influence with Tehran to prevent Iran and its proxies from exploiting the Israel-Hamas war to sow a wider regional conflict.Biden “will underscore our desire for China to make clear in its burgeoning relationship with Iran that it is essential that Iran not seek to escalate or spread violence in the Middle East,” a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday. Any “provocative actions” by Iran will spark a prompt U.S. response, the official said.Biden’s willingness to add Iran to an already packed meeting agenda with Xi underscores the administration’s concern that Iran’s Lebanon-based militant ally Hezbollah might respond to Hamas’s calls for the group to open a second ...

Poland’s opposition parties reach coalition agreement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

Poland’s three largest opposition parties signed a coalition agreement Friday laying out the fundamentals of the next government after the incumbent Law and Justice (PiS) party lost its parliamentary majority in the election last month.The three parties in the coalition agreement are Civic Coalition, led by Donald Tusk; the Third Way, itself a grouping of the Poland 2050 party and the Polish People’s Party (PSL); and the Left. According to the text of the agreement, the coalition will prioritize security “in the face of an unprecedented threat caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine.” The coalition also will work to restore rule of law, address the climate crisis, and improve Poland’s track record on women’s rights, according to the agreement. The group also will focus on education, health care, and combating hate speech.The opposition parties have to wait before taking power, as Polish President Andrzej Duda, a PiS loyalist, has given outgoing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawi...

18-year-old killed, several teens injured in crash on I-495 in Lawrence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

Authorities say an 18-year-old woman from North Andover was killed and several teenagers were injured Thursday night after a crash on I-495 North in Lawrence.According to Massachusetts State Police, the crash happened in the area north of Exit 100B, where a GMC Envoy driven by the 18-year-old was traveling.State police said it was around 9 p.m. when the Envoy appeared to veer into another lane at a high rate of speed and struck the side of a camper that was being pulled by a pickup truck.At that point, authorities said the Envoy’s driver then lost control and left the roadway, hitting a curb and guardrail before rolling over a steep slope.During the crash, police said the driver was ejected onto the road and struck by oncoming vehicles. A 17-year-old male passenger was also ejected and suffered minor head injuries.Meanwhile, two teenagers in the Envoy’s backseat, described as a 15-year-old female and 16-year-old female, suffered minor injuries. State police continued to ...

Judge declines to push back Trump’s classified documents trial but postpones other deadlines

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Florida on Friday declined to delay Donald Trump’s classified documents trial, calling a request by the former president’s defense lawyers to postpone the date “premature.” But she postponed other deadlines in the case and signaled that she would revisit the trial date later.The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is at least a modest victory for special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which had vigorously rejected efforts to push off the trial beyond its scheduled start date of May 20, 2024. Trump’s lawyers had argued that they needed more time to review the large trove of evidence with which they’d been presented and cited scheduling challenges resulting from the other legal cases against Trump, including three additional criminal prosecutions for which he is awaiting trial.Cannon signaled during a hearing this month, and again in her written order on Friday, that she was sympathetic to the defense argument...

The Ravens have the NFL’s best defense. Kyle Van Noy, a midseason signing, is a big reason why.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

Kyle Van Noy has the same question you do.How the heck was he available for the Ravens to sign in late September?Two months ago, before he became an unlikely sack machine for the Ravens, Van Noy was stuck waiting for a team to come calling.“I mean, what are we doing?” Van Noy recalls thinking as he sat at home with the NFL season beginning without him. “Are people watching the film and whatnot? Because I’ve produced and, you know, you get a little annoyed cause you’re, like, watching and you’re saying I can’t play?”Van Noy is on the wrong side of 30 and no longer in the prime he was in when he played for Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots teams in 2016 and 2018. But he ended last season with the Los Angeles Chargers on a high note and said it was “frustrating” when NFL teams didn’t seem interested in him this offseason.“I’ve made plays everywhere I’ve gone, doesn’t matter what team it̵...

Strikes at hospitals in Gaza trigger exodus of thousands sheltering there

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, ISABEL DEBRE and JACK JEFFERY (Associated Press)DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of Palestinians sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war at Gaza City’s main hospital fled south Friday after several reported strikes in and around the compound overnight. They joined a growing exodus of people escaping intense urban fighting in the north — including near other hospitals — as Gaza officials said the territory’s death toll surpassed 11,000.The search for safety across the besieged Gaza Strip has grown desperate as Israel intensified its assault on the territory’s largest city. The Israel army says Hamas’ military infrastructure is nestled amid Gaza City’s hospitals and neighborhoods. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its deadly Oct. 7 surprise incursion. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.The tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled south in the past...

Cabbage Patch Kids and the Fischer-Price Corn Popper are added to the Toy Hall of Fame

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Fans have pushed the Fisher-Price Corn Popper into the National Toy Hall of Fame, elevating it from perpetual finalist to 2023 inductee, alongside baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and NERF foam toys, the Hall of Fame announced Friday.The Fisher-Price push toy that encourages babies to walk was chosen by fans, who were invited to celebrate the Toy Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary by voting for one of five toys that had made it to the finals more than once but were passed over. The rest of the so-called “Forgotten Five” included the pogo stick, My Little Pony, PEZ dispensers and Transformers.Baseball cards, Cabbage Patch Kids and NERF toys were voted in in the usual way from among a field of 12 finalists, with input from a panel of experts. Those finalists included Barbie’s boyfriend, Ken, who didn’t make the cut despite a big boost in visibility from the summer “Barbie” movie. “These four deserving inductee...

More than $8 million worth of drugs seized at border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

CALEXICO, Calif. -- Over $8 million worth of fentanyl pills were seized last Friday at the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said.Around 9:55 a.m., U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers examined a 1995 pickup truck, driven by a 23-year-old man, that needed further inspection at the Calexico West Port of Entry, CBP said in a news release Wednesday.During the second examination, CBP officers found a total of 41 packages hidden in the spare tire and rear seat of the truck, containing around 840,000 blue pills that tested positive for fentanyl, according to border officials. Suspect posed as trick-or-treater still wanted in deadly 1995 Halloween Escondido shooting CBP confirmed the pills, which weighed 185.41 pounds, have an estimated street value of $8,400,000.“Fentanyl continues to be the deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered. This seizure is indicative of the exceptional performance our officers display day after day,” said Roque Caza, Calexico Area Port D...

CP NewsAlert: Allison Russell, Drake, among Canadians with Grammy nominations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:20 GMT

Roots singer Allison Russell, rapper Drake and classical conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin are among the Canadians who have snagged multiple Grammy nominations.More coming.The Canadian Press