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Palestinian leader Abbas ends China trip after backing Beijing’s crackdown on Muslim minorities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas wrapped up a trip to China Friday after seeking economic aid and voicing support for Beijing’s repressive policies toward Muslim minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. During his four-day visit, Abbas met with Chinese President and head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping. The leaders then issued a joint statement endorsing Beijing’s domestic and foreign policies and repudiating Western concepts of human rights. In the statement, the Palestinian Authority said issues regarding China’s policy toward Muslims in Xinjiang have “nothing to do with human rights and are aimed at excising extremism and opposing terrorism and separatism.” “Palestine resolutely opposes using the Xinjiang problem as a way of interfering in China’s internal affairs,” the joint statement said. That echoes Chinese propaganda surrounding the detention of more than 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities in prison-like...

IMF head welcomes Europe’s interest rate hikes in campaign against inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund on Friday praised the European Central Bank’s decision to raise interest rates for the eighth time in a row and its pledge to keep going as long as needed to bring down high inflation.Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the IMF welcomed both the ECB’s quarter-percentage point rate hike Thursday and President Christine Lagarde’s vow that the ECB is “not thinking about pausing.” The bank is trying to lower inflation from 6.1% to its goal of 2%.“Monetary policy should continue to tighten and then remain in restrictive territory for some time until inflation expectations are firmly anchored and inflation trends toward target,” Georgieva said.“We welcome yesterday’s decision of the ECB to tighten, we also welcome the communication that surrounded this decision,” she added.The central bank for the 20 countries that use the euro currency is pressing ahead with rate hikes even as the U.S. F...

$930 million in grants announced in Biden’s effort to expand internet access to every home in the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

The massive federal effort to expand internet access to every home in the U.S. took a major step forward on Friday with the announcement of $930 million in grants to shore up connections in remote parts of Alaska, rural Texas and dozens of other places where significant gaps in connectivity persist.The so-called middle mile grants, announced by the Department of Commerce, are meant to create large-scale networks that will enable retail broadband providers to link subscribers to the internet. Department officials likened the role of the middle mile — the midsection of the infrastructure necessary to enable internet access, composed of high-capacity fiber lines carrying huge amounts of data at very high speeds — to how the interstate highway system forged connections between communities.“These networks are the workhorses carrying large amounts of data over very long distances,” said Mitch Landrieu, the White House’s infrastructure coordinator, in a media Zoom call. “They’re the ones t...

Herschel Walker enrolls at University of Georgia after 2022 election loss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

(The Hill) -- Former GOP Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker has re-enrolled at the University of Georgia, following his unsuccessful bid to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) last year.A university spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that Walker is enrolled as a student at the school where he played college football in the early 1980s. The former NFL star initially claimed during his Senate campaign that he had graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. However, Walker later acknowledged that he left the university during his junior year to join a professional football league.Walker’s Senate bid was also marred by allegations shortly before the election from two women who claimed that the anti-abortion candidate had encouraged and paid for them to obtain abortions during their relationships. He denied the accusations. Supreme Court set to rule on affirmative action in college admissions. Here’s what to know Citizens for Ethi...

Carrie Fisher's last film to finally be released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above is from the late actor's Walk of Fame star dedication.(WJW) -- The late Carrie Fisher is set to appear on the big screen for the final time."Wonderwell" was filmed in 2016, just weeks before Fisher's death at the age of 60.The film's distributor, Vertical, has acquired the rights to distribute the film in North America and the United Kingdom and Ireland, according to Deadline.LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 28: Actress Carrie Fisher signs copies of her new book "The Princess Diarist" at Barnes & Noble at The Grove on November 28, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Carrie Fisher attends the European Premiere of "Star Wars" The Force Awakens at Leicester Square on December 16, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Fred Duval/FilmMagic)NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 10: Actress Carrie Fisher attends the 54th New York Film Festival 'Bright Lights' screening at Alice Tully Hall on October 10, 2016 in ...

Trump's promise of payback for prosecution follows years of attacking democratic traditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

As Donald Trump became the first former president to face federal charges, he and his supporters went through a familiar routine of mounting a victimhood defense in the face of unprecedented allegations of wrongdoing. But this time, the stakes are higher.Trump upped the level of his claims and threats as he faces the potential of years in prison if convicted on 37 charges of obstruction, illegal retention of defense information and other violations. Hours after pleading not guilty, Trump claimed he is being targeted by the special prosecutor, who is nonpartisan, for political reasons and vowed to retaliate against President Joe Biden if he is elected president in 2024. E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against Trump will head to trial in January “There was an unwritten rule” to not prosecute former presidents and political rivals, Trump told supporters in a speech at his golf club in New Jersey. “I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in th...

Cosby accusers seek to expand time frames for lawsuits by sex-assault victims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A group of women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault and were dismayed when he had his conviction overturned and left prison are trying again to seek justice in the courts, by urging states to give them more time to pursue civil damages.More than a dozen women have sued the actor and comedian since his June 2021 release, including nine who brought cases Wednesday in Nevada, weeks after successfully lobbying to eliminate the statute of limitations for adult survivors in the state.They join advocates who battled the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts and other institutions in the debate over how long adult victims should have to file suit. That debate has intensified in the years since the #MeToo movement exploded onto the national scene, as some states extend deadlines for lawsuits, eliminate them altogether or enact so-called lookback laws establishing windows of a year or two to sue.Nevada dropped its statute of limitations on May 31. In New York, la...

Excessive heat for all, low storm risk for some

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Same song, different verse. Get ready for another day of intense heat and humidity across Central Texas. Scratch that -- many days of intense heat and humidity. Expert: Texas heatwave 'driven by climate change' This week's Heat Advisory has been expanded to now include most of the Hill Country and extended through Sunday evening. Dangerous heat and humidity will continue to be the top concern areawide - be sure to frequently check in on friends, family and neighbors, particularly seniors, children, etc.Heat Advisory in effect through 8 p.m. Sunday for most of Central TexasA few isolated storms will attempt to develop late this afternoon into the evening hours. Although they'll need to overcome quite a bit to even get going, once formed, there won't be much to hold 'em back from dropping hail and kicking out strong winds.Partly sunny & very hot for Father's Day SundayHigh humidity mixing with residual smoke brought in by seasonal burns in Mexico are creating ha...

Daughters of Gloria Lofton decry Austin Police for its handling of their mother's death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – In 2019, days after her mother – Gloria Lofton – died, Sonia Houston said Austin Police handed the keys to her late mother’s house and was told nothing about what she would find inside.“They released the house to me with blood splattered down the hallway. They released the house to me in what was a crime scene,” Houston said. “That's the house I grew up in. That's my mother,” she continued. “I wasn't prepared for it, nor did they even have the decency to say to me, Miss Houston, you're gonna walk into something we don't know if you're prepared for,” she continued. Austin Police told Houston and her sister, Christina Fultz, that Lofton’s cause of death was “undetermined,” Houston recalled. Houston said, based on the blood on the walls, she always wondered if there was more to the story. Then in 2023, Houston got a call from APD telling her someone had been arrested for her mother’s murder. “I called my sister and told her, ‘We were right,’” Houston said...

Best in Austin: KXAN named best in TV news; Washington wins critics award; Yeomans, Wallace named best weather, sports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – KXAN News took top honors Thursday in the Austin Chronicle 2023 TV News Reader Poll for Best TV News in Austin.KXAN News Today Weekend anchor Jala Washington won the critics award for TV Reporter on the Case for her coverage of the Daniel Perry trial.Jala WashingtonDavid YeomansRoger WallaceChief Meteorologist David Yeomans won for Best Weatherperson and Sports Director Roger Wallace won for Best Sportscaster. Among the finalists were Jennifer Sanders for Best Anchor, Tahera Rahman for Best Reporter and Jonathan Thomas for Best Sportscaster.