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A bomb at a political rally in northwest Pakistan kills 10 people and wounds more than 50

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful bomb ripped through a rally by supporters of a hard-line cleric and political leader in the country’s northwestern Bajur district that borders Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 10 people and wounding more than 50, police said.Senior police officer Nazir Khan said the workers convention of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party was taking place on the outskirts of Khar, the capital of Bajur district, when the explosion took place.He said some of the wounded were taken to the city’s main hospital in critical condition and the death toll could increase. Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad. It is not known whether Rehman was present. Meetings are being organized across the country to mobilize supporters for the coming elections. ___Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan contributed to this report. Anwarullah Khan And Riaz Khan, The Associated Press

Summer McIntosh wins second gold medal at world championships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

Canada’s Summer McIntosh won the gold medal in the women’s 400-metre individual medley for the second year in a row at the world aquatics championships on Sunday in Fukuoka, Japan.McIntosh, the world record holder in the event, captured her third medal of the event after taking gold in the 200-metre butterfly and bronze in the 200-metre freestyle last week.McIntosh finished in four minutes, 27.11 seconds, more than four seconds ahead of runner-up Katie Grimes of the United States.The 16-year-old Toronto native also won the 400 IM at last year’s world championshipsMcIntosh now has seven career medals at the worlds, all in the last two years.

Joe Biden, America’s oldest sitting president, needs young voters to win again. Will his age matter?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

At 24, Alberto Rodriguez has grandparents younger than Joe Biden. But he’s more interested in the 80-year-old president’s accomplishments than his age. “People as young as me, we’re all focusing on our day-to-day lives and he has done things to help us through that,” Rodriguez, a cook at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, said of Biden’s support among young voters. Rodriguez pointed specifically to federal COVID-19 relief payments and government spending increases on infrastructure and other social programs.Voters like him were a key piece of Biden’s winning 2020 coalition, which included majorities of young people as well as college graduates, women, urban and suburban voters and Black Americans. Maintaining their support will be critical in closely contested states such as Nevada, where even small declines could prove consequential to Biden’s reelection bid. His 2024 campaign plans to emphasize messages that could especially resonate w...

Four women whose lives ended in a drainage ditch outside Atlantic City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The four women whose bodies were found in a drainage ditch just outside Atlantic City in November 2006, in the order that they were identified:KIM RAFFO, 35. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she met her future husband, Hugh Auslander, when they were both teenagers living there. They got married and moved to a four-bedroom home Florida in the 1990s, and had two kids. She led what relatives said appeared to be a tranquil domestic life with her husband, who worked as a carpenter. A sister described her as a “mom of the year”-type. She volunteered with the Girl Scouts and PTA. A relative said Raffo “was like Martha Stewart” before growing bored with life as a housewife. She enrolled in a cooking class at a technical school, and met a drug user who introduced her to cocaine and heroin. Her husband took the kids and left; Raffo and her boyfriend settled in Atlantic City, where she worked as a waitress before turning to prostitution. She was clad in a Hard Rock Cafe t...

Breakthrough in Long Island serial killings shines light on the many unsolved murders of sex workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The discovery of four dead women in a drainage ditch just outside Atlantic City was shocking news in 2006.International media flocked to the seaside gambling resort. More than 100 detectives and prosecutors were assigned to investigate. Casino guests worried about safety, and the victims’ fellow sex workers began carrying hidden knives.But as the years passed, the public’s attention and fear faded, and the case of the “Eastbound Strangler” – so named for the direction the victims’ heads were facing – remained unsolved.The arrest earlier this month of a man charged with killing three women whose remains were found on a Long Island beach in 2010 has breathed fresh life into another long-dormant case with obvious parallels; the Gilgo Beach serial killings involve a total of 11 victims, most of whom were young, female sex workers. Yet the recent breakthrough, and the rekindling of public interest, only highlights a painful truth: Many similar cases – like the ...

The French embassy in Niger is attacked as protesters waving Russian flags march through the capital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France. The protesters marched through the city to the French Embassy, where a door was lit on fire, according to someone who was at the embassy when it happened and videos seen by The AP. Black smoke could be seen rising from across the city. The Nigerien army broke up the crowd of the protesters. Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country’s influence in the region. However, it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders will move toward Moscow or stick with Niger’s Western partners. Days after the coup, uncertainty is mounting about Niger’s future, with some calling out the junta’s...

Manitoba woman suspected of abducting daughter may be in Stratford

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

A woman and her three-year-old daughter who are wanted by RCMP in Manitoba may have fled to Ontario. Police in Stratford, Ont. say they have received information that 35-year-old Holly Malleck and her daughter, Amelia Deonaraine, may be in the southwest Ontario city. St-Pierre-Jolys RCMP says Malleck is wanted for parental abduction of a person under the age of 14.Police say they were notified of a potential custody dispute back on July 7 after Malleck took custody of the child with the intent of depriving the child’s father of his parental rights. RCMP say they have no reason to believe the child is in any danger.Malleck is described as being five-foot-three, approximately 200 pounds with red hair and brown eyes. Police add her appearance may have changed. Deonaraine is described as being three-foot-two, approximately 35 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyne with information is asked to contact St-Pierre-Jolys RCMP at 204-433-7433, their local police agency or Crime St...

5 killed, 6 wounded in overnight clashes in crowded Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Overnight clashes Sunday in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon left 5 dead and 6 others wounded, Palestinian officials said.The ongoing clashes are taking place as Palestinian factions in Ein el-Hilweh for years have cracked down on militant Islamist groups and fugitives seeking shelter in the camp’s overcrowded neighborhoods. In 2017, Palestinian factions engaged in almost a week of fierce clashes with a militant organization affiliated with the extremist Islamic State group. The Palestinian officials, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the clashes broke out after an unknown gunman tried to assassinate Islamist militant Mahmoud Khalil, killing a companion of his instead. Factions used assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers in the overcrowded camp, as ambulances zoomed through its narrow streets to take the wounded to the hospital. Several resi...

Who’s in, who’s out: A look at which candidates have qualified for the 1st GOP presidential debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — With less than a month to go until the first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 campaign, seven candidates say they have met qualifications for a spot on stage in Milwaukee.But that also means that about half the broad GOP field is running short on time to make the cut.To qualify for the Aug. 23 debate, candidates needed to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.A look at who’s in, who’s (maybe) out and who’s still working on making it:WHO’S QUALIFIED DONALD TRUMP The current front-runner long ago satisfied the polling and donor thresholds. But he is considering boycotting and holding a competing event.Campaign advisers have said the former president has not made a final decision a...

A boom in apartment construction is helping to curb rents but not all renters will benefit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:30:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When viewed through a wide lens, renters across the U.S. finally appear to be getting some relief, thanks in part to the biggest apartment construction boom in decades.Median rent rose just 0.5% in June, year over year, after falling in May for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. Some economists project U.S. rents will be down modestly this year after soaring nearly 25% over the past four years.A closer look, however, shows the trend will likely be little comfort for many U.S. renters who’ve had to put an increasing share of their income toward their monthly payment. Renters in cities such as Cincinnati and Indianapolis are still getting hit with increases of 5% or more. Much of the new construction is located in just a few metro areas, and many of the new units are luxury apartments, which rent for well north of $2,000. Median U.S. rent has risen to $2,029 this June from $1,629 in June 2019, according to rental listings company Rent, which tracks rents...