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Brazil’s economy improves during President Lula’s first year back, but a political divide remains

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likes to boast he had a good first year after returning to the job. The economy is improving, Congress passed a long-overdue tax reform bill, rioters who wanted to oust him are now in jail, and his predecessor and foe Jair Bolsonaro is barred from running for office until 2030.Still, the 78-year-old leader has struggled to boost his support among citizens and lawmakers. Some major setbacks, including a series of votes by Congress to override his vetoes, signaled that Lula’s future could be less productive in a Brazil almost evenly split between his supporters and Bolsonaro’s.“Brazil’s political polarization is such that it crystallized the opinions of Lula and Bolsonaro voters beyond the economy,” said political consultant Thomas Traumann, the author of a recent best-selling book on Brazil’s political divisions. “These groups are separated by very different world views, the values that form the identity ...

Ex-gang leader makes his bid in Las Vegas court for house arrest before trial in Tupac Shakur case

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Los Angeles-area gang leader charged with killing hip-hop music icon Tupac Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas plans to ask a judge on Tuesday to release him to house arrest ahead of the trial in June.Court-appointed lawyers for Duane “Keffe D” Davis say their 60-year-old client is in poor health, poses no danger to the community and won’t flee to avoid trial. They want the judge to set his bail at not more than $100,000.Davis has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge and has remained jailed without bail since his arrest Sept. 29 outside his home in suburban Henderson, where Las Vegas police had served a search warrant in mid-July. He is the only person ever charged with a crime in the shooting that also wounded rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight.Prosecutors allege in a court filing submitted last week that jail telephone recordings and a list of names provided to Davis’ family members show that there are witnesses at risk of harm if Davis was released.They also ...

A missing person with no memory: How investigators solved the cold case of Seven Doe

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Buried at the edge of a Chicago Catholic cemetery are an elderly person’s remains marked only by a cement cylinder deep in the ground labeled with the numbers 04985. The person died in 2015 at a nursing home not remembering much, including their own name.They went by Seven. Now police specializing in missing people and cold cases have discovered Seven’s identity in one of the most unusual investigations the Cook County sheriff’s office has pursued and one that could change state law. Using post-mortem fingerprints, investigators identified Seven as 75-year-old Reba C. Bailey, an Illinois veteran missing since the 1970s.The breakthrough is bringing closure to generations of relatives and friends. But whether they knew the name or the numeral, the investigation has unearthed more mysteries about how Reba, a Women’s Army Corps veteran raised in a large family, became homeless with no recollection, aside from wanting to be identified as a man called Seven.Public records, ...

Biden and Trump are poised for a potential rematch that could shake American politics

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — U.S. presidential elections have been rocked in recent years by economic disaster, stunning gaffes, secret video and a pandemic. But for all the tumult that defined those campaigns, the volatility surrounding this year’s presidential contest has few modern parallels, posing profound challenges to the future of American democracy. Not since the Supreme Court effectively decided the 2000 campaign in favor of Republican George W. Bush has the judiciary been so intertwined with presidential politics. In the coming weeks, the high court is expected to weigh whether states can ban former President Donald Trump from the ballot for his role in leading the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court is weighing Trump’s argument that he’s immune from prosecution. The maneuvers are unfolding as prosecutors from New York to Washington and Atlanta move forward with 91 indictments across four criminal cases involving everything from Trum...

States and Congress wrestle with cybersecurity at water utilities amid renewed federal warnings

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international cyberattack.It had never had outside help in protecting its systems from a cyberattack, either at its existing plant that dates to the 1930s or the new $18.5 million one it is building.Then it — along with several other water utilities — was struck by what federal authorities say are Iranian-backed hackers targeting a piece of equipment specifically because it was Israeli-made.“If you told me to list 10 things that would go wrong with our water authority, this would not be on the list,” said Matthew Mottes, the chairman of the authority that handles water and wastewater for about 22,000 people in the woodsy exurbs around a one-time steel town outside Pittsburgh. The hacking of the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa is prompting new warnings from U.S. security officials at a time when states and the federal government are wrestling with how...

Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty to sedition and collusion charges

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to three charges of sedition and collusion with foreign countries in a landmark national security trial in Hong Kong.Lai, a media tycoon who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, faces one count of conspiring to print seditious publications to incite hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, as well as two counts of collusion with foreign countries to call for sanctions and other hostile actions against China and Hong Kong.Flanked by three prison officers, Lai formally pleaded not guilty to the charges read to him, shortly after the court rejected a last-ditch attempt by his counsel to throw out a sedition charge against him. The court began hearing opening statements from the prosecution on Tuesday.Dressed in a navy blazer and a white shirt, Lai smiled and waved at his family members as he entered the courtroom ahead of the start of the court session.Lai, 76, was arrested ...

Colder temps in coming days, week to average 11 degrees lower than last week

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

Tuesday night/Wednesday plus possible flurries; more significant winter system early next weekWGN WEATHER HEADLINESPOTENTIALLY INTERESTING WINTER STORM SYSTEM COMING TOGETHER EARLY NEXT WEEKIt's hardly time to reach for the shovels yet. But, I first mentioned to you we had some agreement in the medium range (the 1- to 2-week period) from a series of ENSEMBLE FORECASTS last week on a potential precip system early next week. These models have continued on this line of reasoning, even taking it to the next level by picking up on a potentially well developed surface system. To be sure, this forecast is hardly carved in stone — modifications and updates will come. But, as is said, where there's smoke, there's possibly fire, and this is a situation we'll be monitoring and providing updates. We've got plenty of time to do that. Any impact it may have on the Midwest is a good week away. A lead storm will pass to the region's south this weekend and may produce flurries or a bit of light snow...

Washington beats Texas 37-31 at the Sugar Bowl, advances to face Michigan in College Football Playoff title game

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Washington beats Texas 37-31 at the Sugar Bowl, advances to face Michigan in College Football Playoff title game.

Powerful earthquakes leave at least 15 dead, destroy buildings along Japan’s western coast

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

A building falls on the ground following an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. A series of major earthquakes started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. (Kyodo News via AP) A building falls on the ground following an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. A series of major earthquakes started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. (Kyodo News via AP) WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — A series of powerful earthquakes hit western Japan, leaving at least 15 people dead and damaging buildings, vehicles and boats, with officials warning people in some areas on Tuesday to stay a...

Today in History: January 2, John F. Kennedy launches bid for presidency

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:18:00 GMT

Today in History Today is Tuesday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2024. There are 364 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 2, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts launched his successful bid for the presidency. On this date: In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. In 1811, Sen. Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, became the first member of the U.S. Senate to be censured after he’d improperly revealed the contents of an executive document. In 1900, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the “Open Door Policy” to facilitate trade with China.In 1929, the United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.In 1967, Republican Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as the new governor of California in a ceremony that took place in Sacramento shortly after midnight. In 1971, 66 people w...