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Dangerous storms, tornadoes forecast for US Midwest, South

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Meteorologists are urging people in parts of the Midwest and southern U.S. to be ready Friday for dangerous weather including tornadoes, saying the conditions are similar to those a week ago that unleashed a devastating twister that killed at least 21 people in Mississippi.An outbreak of severe thunderstorms has the potential to cause hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes that could be strong and move on the ground over long distances, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.The major population centers at greatest risk for storms starting Friday afternoon include Memphis, Tennessee, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as of Thursday afternoon’s forecast. But people throughout eastern Iowa, western and northern Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas should also be prepared, said Northern Illinois meteorology professor and tornado expert Victor Gensini.“There will be lots of thunderstorms … tornadoes, damaging winds, a...

Japan FM to visit China amid friction over detained Japanese

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday he will visit China this weekend for talks with his counterpart Qin Gang, becoming Japan’s first top diplomat to do so in more than three years amid growing frictions between the two countries, including a recent flap over the detention of a Japanese national in Beijing. Hayashi hopes to “engage in a candid and in-depth exchange of views toward establishing a constructive and stable relationship” at his planned talks with Qin and other officials during his April 1-2 visit, he told a news conference.He is expected to demand the release of the detained Japanese national, discuss security concerns in the region and ask China to act “responsibly” on global issues including Russia’s war on Ukraine. Hayashi noted an agreement between the leaders of the two countries to build constructive and stable relations but said “Japan-China relations are facing many challenges and concerns, although there are various po...

China’s global influence looms over Harris trip to Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — When Vice President Kamala Harris touches down in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday for the final stop of her weeklong trip across Africa, she’ll see a glittering new airport that’s doubled in size. Rather than a symbol of promising local development, it’s a reminder of China’s deep influence there. Beijing financed the project, one of many that has expanded its footprint on a booming continent that’s rich in natural resources, often generating goodwill among its citizens. The global rivalry between the United States and China has been a recurring backdrop for Harris’ journey, and nowhere has that been more apparent than Zambia and her previous stop in Tanzania. Besides the airport, China built a 60,000-seat stadium in Lusaka, plus roads and bridges around the country. Zambia is on the hook for all of the development with billions of dollars in debt. Tanzania is a major trading partner with China, and it has a new political leadership school funded by the...

Court to weigh Baldwin codefendant’s plea on weapons charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A judge is scheduled to resolve a weapons-related charge Friday against a codefendant in the case against actor Alec Baldwin for the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on a movie set.Prosecutors announced in January a proposed plea agreement with safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls regarding his responsibilities in the Western movie “Rust” and the death of Halyna Hutchins.Halls has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent or unsafe use of a deadly weapon, pending a court review of the plea proposal. Complete terms of the agreement have not been made public. Halls is likely to be sentenced Friday if State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer authorizes the plea agreement.Baldwin and movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter that carry a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and fines. Hutchins died shortly after she was shot Oct. 21, 2021, during rehearsals at a ranch ...

Trump’s indictment in New York: Here’s what to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal.The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.Here’s what to know about the indictment and the case:THE FORMER PRESIDENT COULD HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORDTrump now faces threats to his freedom after decades of legal investigations that have never resulted in serious consequences. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said Thursday that prosecutors had reached out to Trump’s lawyers to arrange for him to surrender, which could happen early next week. Trump is expected to appear at the prosecutor’s office to be processed and fingerprinted and have a m...

405 Freeway in Hawthorne shut down to investigate shooting involving officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

All northbound lanes of the 405 Freeway in Hawthorne have been closed due to a shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on Thursday night.A SigAlert has been issued for lanes at Inglewood Avenue a little before 8 p.m., according to CHP.Authorities first received a call reporting a fire at a homeless encampment near the on-ramp to the northbound 405 Freeway at Rosecrans. When officers arrived, they found a person who became uncooperative and began throwing bricks at them.That’s when the suspect was shot by CHP, authorities said. Sky5 images show traffic was heavily backed up for at least a mile as officers shut down highway lanes to investigate.405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible shooting involving California Highway Patrol officers on March 30, 2023. (KTLA)405 Freeway lanes in Hawthorne shut down for a possible s...

Hit-and-run crash leaves 13-year-old boy hospitalized in Boyle Heights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

A hit-and-run crash left a 13-year-old boy severely injured with the loss of his right leg in Boyle Heights on Thursday afternoon.The boy was struck by a motorcyclist near the intersection of Whittier Boulevard and Orme Avenue around 3:27 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The impact left the boy hospitalized with severe injuries. It was later confirmed he had lost his right leg.The suspect, described as a white male, was riding his motorcycle when he struck the boy who was using a crosswalk at the time, authorities said.Instead of rendering aid, the suspect fled the scene, leaving the injured victim on the road.Locals in the area say the crash happened in an intersection that is known to be dangerous. The lone crosswalk boasts no signal lights or visible signs.A 13-year-old boy was left severely injured after a hit-and-run crash in Boyle Heights on March 30, 2023. (Los Angeles Police Department Central Traffic Division)A 13-year-old boy was left severely injured ...

Muller keeps pace with Ohtani, Oakland A’s rally past Angels for Opening Day win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

OAKLAND — Rookie left-hander Kyle Muller kept pace with Angels star Shohei Ohtani, and the A’s bats finally broke through in the eighth inning to rally for a 2-1 Opening Night victory on Thursday at the Coliseum.Ohtani, the Angels two-way star who earlier this spring was the MVP of the World Baseball Classic, struck out 10 in six scoreless innings. The A’s managed just two hits off Ohtani, but none of that mattered a few innings later before a crowd of 26,805.Fireworks shoot into the sky as the Oakland Athletics line up for the national anthem before the start of their MLB Opening Day game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 30, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) Rookie Esteury Ruiz led off the eighth with a single, then the speedy center fielder scored on Tony Kemp’s double off the fence in center. One out later, Aledmys Diaz, also making his A’s debut, singled to left to give the A’s a 2-1 lead.Diaz and Seth ...

Members of exiled Chinese church detained in Thailand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

Bangkok (AP) — More than 60 members of a Chinese Christian church have been detained in Thailand, supporters said Friday, raising fears they may be returned to their home country, where they face possible persecution.Deana Brown, one of two American supporters detained along with the church members, told The Associated Press that Thai authorities in the coastal city of Pattaya detained the 63 church members, many of whom are children, Thursday.Thirty-two adult Chinese nationals were charged with overstaying their visas, said Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station. Children were not charged, he said. The two American citizens were not placed under arrest, he said.Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organization whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue “the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries,” said the group had been told that they would be given a court date later Friday...

Pitch clock sparks Mariners rally for 3-0 win over Guardians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:24:25 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — J.P. Crawford was the beneficiary of a pitch-clock violation. One big swing from Ty France made certain it became noteworthy on opening day. Crawford’s walk helped by a timer infraction called on James Karinchak sparked an eighth-inning rally that was capped by France’s three-run homer, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 on Thursday night. “Obviously, there’s a lot of buzz around town about the expectations and what we hope to do this season and you can’t get off on a much better start than we did tonight,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.Opening day was a dramatic pitchers’ duel between Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and Seattle’s Luis Castillo that lacked any offense until the wild eighth inning. Crawford walked on a 3-2 pitch but only after being gifted a ball when Karinchak (0-1) committed the lone pitch-clock violation of the game with the count 0-2. The reliever was clearly rattled, firing the pitch after the violati...