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Trump defends controversial comments about immigrants ‘poisoning’ the nation’s blood at Iowa rally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

WATERLOO, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his comments about migrants crossing the southern border “poisoning the blood” of America, and he reinforced the message while denying any similarities to fascist writings others had noted.“I never read ‘Mein Kampf,’” Trump said at a campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa, referencing Adolf Hitler’s fascist manifesto.Immigrants in the U.S. illegally, Trump said Tuesday, are “destroying the blood of our country, they’re destroying the fabric of our country.”In the speech to more than 1,000 supporters from a podium flanked by Christmas trees in red MAGA hats, Trump responded to mounting criticism about his anti-immigrant “blood” purity rhetoric over the weekend. Several politicians and extremism experts have noted his language echoed writings from Hitler about the “purity” of Aryan blood, which underpinned Nazi Germany’s systematic murder of millions of Jews and other “undesirables” before and during World War II.As illegal ...

Storm preparations: City of San Diego provides tips on how to prevent flooding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego area is preparing for a storm that is expected to be at its strongest during the second half of the week.With heavy rain and strong winds in the forecast, crews have already placed "no parking" signs in low-lying or flood-risk areas, cleaning storm drains and inlets with a history of debris buildup and street sweeping to reduce trash and pollutants from entering waterways, the City of San Diego said in a press release Tuesday.The City's Storm Patrol will be keeping an eye on areas throughout the city, where there is flooding or downed trees/branches. Road closures may be implemented if necessary.Ahead of the storm, city officials advise residents to:Sweep and pick up trash, leaves, grass clippings and other debris that collect around storm drains and curb gutters near your home. Keep the lids securely closed on trash and recycle bins when placing them out on the street for collection. Place each bin approximately two to three feet away from the curb s...

Party of Pakistan’s popular ex-premier Imran Khan says he’ll contest upcoming elections from prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan will run in upcoming parliamentary elections from prison, his party said Wednesday, which legal experts said is possible while his appeal of his conviction in a corruption case is being considered.“Imran Khan has decided to contest elections for three seats in the National Assembly,” or the lower house of parliament, said Gohar Khan, head of the former premier’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI. In Pakistan, politicians usually run for a seat from more than one constituency to expand their chances of winning.The 71-year-old former prime minister, the country’s most well-known opposition figure, is serving at a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. He was removed as prime minister in April 2022 following a vote of no confidence in Parliament by his political opponents.Khan was disqualified from holding public office months ago. But he has challenged the ruling by the country’s election co...

Good news: We’re finally finding new antibiotics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

Before we break for the holidays, The Big Story team decided to try to end our year on a positive note with a week of good news stories. We hope this week brings you hope, light and laughter. It might be our job to often deliver bad news, but that doesn’t mean that’s all the world is.In today’s Big Story Podcast, “superbugs” are antibiotic resistant bacteria that have for years now been winning the war against medicine. Part of that is because we haven’t been able to find any new drugs that work against them. But a new antibiotic, and a new way of funding the creation of these drugs, may have just swung the war drastically in humanity’s favour.Dr. Gerry Wright is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University. “Zoliflodacin is really a great good news story in that it’s among the first new […] antibiotics that we’ve seen probably since the 1980s. So, you know, remember, heavy metal and big ...

What’s open and closed in Toronto over Christmas holidays 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

Christmas Day lands on Monday this year, which means an extra long weekend for many, including some businesses and services.Most city-run skating rinks will remain open through the holidays, including Nathan Phillips Square and the Bentway. Full schedules for city-run rinks can be found here.Most major movie theatres will operate every day through Christmas.Here is what else is open and closed in Toronto:AttractionsIn Toronto, almost all attractions will be closed on Christmas Day and open on Boxing Day.Exceptions include the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium and the Toronto Zoo, which will remain open every day over the holidays.CN Tower on Dec. 25 – 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.Ripley’s Aquarium on Dec. 25 – 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.Toronto Zoo on Dec. 25 – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.WinterFest at Canada’s Wonderland will be closed on Christmas Eve, in addition to Christmas Day.BanksSunday, Dec. 24 – Most locations CLOSED; check your local branchMonday, Dec. 25 – CLOSEDTuesday, D...

Christian group and family raise outcry over detention of another ‘house church’ elder in China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Ding Zhongfu was awakened by loud pounding on his door. Five policemen greeted Ding, an elder in a Chinese church.The officers pinned him to the wall that Thursday morning in November and interrogated him while searching the apartment he shared with his wife, Ge Yunxia, and their 6-year old daughter.Ding’s family now pleads for his release after he was taken from his home in China’s central Anhui province on suspicion of fraud. In their first public comments on the case, the family denies that Ding committed any fraud.Instead, they told The Associated Press in an interview, it is part of a wider crackdown on religious freedoms in China.Four others were detained, all senior members of the Ganquan church, a name that means “Sweet Spring,” according to the family. All were taken on suspicion of fraud, according to a bulletin from the church.“Under the fabricated charge of ‘fraud,’ many Christians faced harsh persecution,” said Bob Fu, the founder ...

A top French TV personality receives a preliminary charge of rape and abusing authority

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s most famous TV presenter has been handed a preliminary charge of rape by a person abusing his authority as authorities investigate complaints by about 20 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct over decades.Patrick Poivre d’Arvor denies wrongdoing, and has sued 16 of his accusers. A revered personality who hosted France’s most popular news program for more than two decades, he insists the sexual encounters were consensual.The prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre said Wednesday that Poivre d’Arvor was given preliminary charges of rape by a person abusing his authority for alleged actions dating from 2009. He was also named as an ‘’assisted witness’’ in another alleged rape from 2004.Both incidents involved author Florence Porcel, who filed legal complaints in 2021. The Associated Press generally does not identify those who say they have been victims of sexual wrongdoing, except when they publicly identify themselves.Under French law, preli...

US defense secretary makes unannounced visit to USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier defending Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

ABOARD THE USS GERALD R. FORD (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin flew out to the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier Wednesday to meet with the sailors he has ordered to remain at sea to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spilling over into a deadlier regional conflict. Austin was in the region to press Israel to shift its bombardment of Gaza to a more limited campaign and more quickly transition to address Palestinian civilians’ dire humanitarian needs. At the same time, the U.S. has been concerned that Israel will launch a similar military operation along its northern border with Lebanon to expel Hezbollah militants there, potentially opening a second front and widening the war. At a news conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, Austin didn’t say whether U.S. troops might be further extended to defend Israel if its campaign expands into Lebanon, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seemed to tone down recent rhetoric that a northern front was imminent, deferring to dipl...

Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka confronted by a fan on the field at Chelsea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka was confronted by a fan who ran onto the field during the English League Cup quarterfinal match at Chelsea. The supporter appeared to collide with Dubravka after Mykhailo Mudryk scored a stoppage-time equalizer for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. He then evaded a steward as he ran back into the crowd. Police and Chelsea are reportedly investigating the incident.The match ended 1-1 and Chelsea advanced to the semifinals after winning a penalty shootout 4-2. Afterward both managers voiced their concerns about player safety. “We need to be careful. The fans need to be careful with this type of thing because it’s a thing that can put in danger the players,” Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “I’m disappointed. I don’t agree with this type of thing that happened here in Stamford Bridge and in other stadiums in England or around the world. It’s always disappointing with this type of thing because it’s dangerous.”...

Study shows AI image-generators being trained on explicit photos of children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:57 GMT

Hidden inside the foundation of popular artificial intelligence image-generators are thousands of images of child sexual abuse, according to a new report that urges companies to take action to address a harmful flaw in the technology they built.Those same images have made it easier for AI systems to produce realistic and explicit imagery of fake children as well as transform social media photos of fully clothed real teens into nudes, much to the alarm of schools and law enforcement around the world.Until recently, anti-abuse researchers thought the only way that some unchecked AI tools produced abusive imagery of children was by essentially combining what they’ve learned from two separate buckets of online images — adult pornography and benign photos of kids. But the Stanford Internet Observatory found more than 3,200 images of suspected child sexual abuse in the giant AI database LAION, an index of online images and captions that’s been used to train leading AI image-ma...