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Texas releases another audit of elections in Harris County, where GOP still challenging losses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A second Texas audit in as many years of elections in Harris County, the third-most populous county in the U.S., called for improvements but does not suggest that race outcomes in 2022 were impacted by issues that Republicans have used to contest losses and take more control over voting in the Democratic stronghold. The preliminary report by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, a Republican, was released days before Houston residents begin early voting for a new mayor. It also follows Republicans increasingly targeting elections in the county of nearly 5 million people, a size that makes Harris politically significant as Democrats try to end decades of GOP dominance in the state. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law this year that removed Harris County’s elections administrator and transferred the responsibility to other local officials. One is County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, who in response to the audit said her office is working to make sure “past i...

Movie Review: Netflix’s ‘Old Dads’ is a recycling of PC grievances and a Bill Burr career nadir

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

The new Netflix movie “Old Dads” has a title problem. It really should be called “Old Dads Yelling at Clouds” or “Old Dads Raging at QR Codes.” It’s designed for people who find it hard to navigate the Netflix scroll and so blame millennials for being woke.Bill Burr, who directs from a script by him and Ben Tishler, leads a meandering, unfunny assault on PC culture that would seem perfectly in place in the 1990s alongside “Illiberal Education” by Dinesh D’Souza and the rantings of Pat Buchanan. It’s so dated there’s even a mention of Halliburton.The whiff of deep, old school morass about modern life comes from the moment the movie begins with the Miramax logo and a rock guitar solo, two clear signals we’re going back in time when making fun of Starbucks cup sizes was funny. Burr, who plays a 51-year-old dad with a young son and another child on the way, is immediately ranting about the lack of parking spots, mechanical scooters, pre-school etiquette, Twitter, emoti...

Biden says support for Israel and Ukraine is 'vital' for US security, will ask Congress for billions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden declared it is “vital for America's national security” for Israel and Ukraine to succeed in their wars, making the case Thursday night for deepening U.S. involvement in a rare Oval Office address as he prepared to ask for billions of dollars in military assistance for both countries.If international aggression is allowed to continue, Biden said, “conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world.”“Hamas and Putin represent different threats," Biden said. "But they share this in common. They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.” For more coverage of the Israel and Hamas Conflict, click here He said he would send an urgent funding request to Congress, which is expected to be roughly $100 billion over the next year. The proposal, which will be unveiled on Friday, includes money for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, humanitarian aid and border management.“It’s a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American se...

Alderman: Shots fired near Mather High School in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Shots were fired near Mather High School on Thursday afternoon, 40th Ward. Ald. Andre Vasquez said.In a public safety notice, Vasquez said after-school activities were happening when the shots were fired. Chicago delegation tours migrant situation at Texas border No injuries were reported.According to Vasquez, several cars in the parking lot were damaged.Vasquez said his office continues to monitor the situation and school officials are working to review the incident.

Biden warns Hamas against blocking aid deliveries to Palestinian civilians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

(The Hill) — President Biden on Thursday warned Hamas against diverting humanitarian shipments to the Gaza Strip, saying its sustained delivery was dependent on goods reaching Palestinian civilians.“If Hamas does not divert or steal these shipments, we're going to provide an opening for sustained delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians,” the president said in a rare prime-time address. Biden, who returned Thursday from a one-day trip to Israel, said an agreement to begin shipments of humanitarian supplies into besieged Gaza was secured following talks he held with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and after a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Biden draws parallels between Putin, Hamas in Oval Office address Biden had earlier committed $100 million in humanitarian support for Palestinians and spoke to civilian casualties amid the outbreak of war, including an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that was...

Biden to send Congress ‘urgent’ aid request for Israel, Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

President Biden said he is sending to Congress an urgent budget request for military assistance for Ukraine and Israel, in a primetime speech Thursday night laying out the stakes for American leadership on the world stage.The president held back giving a dollar number, but the request is expected to be around $100 billion with the bulk of the funds expected to be for Ukraine, but also include a significant amount for Israel. Biden laid out the argument for the American people that supporting Ukraine and Israel funds “America's national security needs.” “It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” the president said. “Help us keep American troops out of harm's way. Help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful and more prosperous for our children and grandchildren.”The U.S. has so far provided $113 billion in military and economic assistance for Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in Feb...

Biden condemns antisemitism, Islamophobia amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

President Biden on Thursday used an Oval Office address to condemn Islamophobia and antisemitism in the aftermath of the killing of a Palestinian-American boy and amid broader concerns about rising violence after terrorist attacks in Israel.Biden spoke in primetime about the Israel-Hamas conflict and Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia, making the argument that supporting both the Israelis and Ukrainians is in America’s interest. But he also spoke about the fear that has seeped into Muslim and Jewish communities in the wake of Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.“Today, Jewish families worried about being targeted in school, wearing symbols of their faith walking down the street or going out about their daily lives,” Biden said.“And I know many of you in the Muslim-American community, the Arab-American community, the Palestinian-American community, and so many others, are outraged, saying to yourself, here we go again with Islamophobia and distrust we saw after 9/11,” he added.The pr...

Florida Halloween display turns heads, stirs debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — Over the last few years, a Halloween display in one Florida neighborhood has been raising eyebrows — it's composed of about 100 bald, unclothed dolls dangle from a tree in resident Kenneth Cain’s front yard.“It does freak some neighbors out. But I’m right here if they want to ask. I’ll be more than glad to tell them,” said Kenneth Cain. These are the scariest non-horror movies, according to Reddit Cain said it's a reference to “The Island of the Dolls” in Mexico. Legend has it a man who lived in isolation found the body of a young girl floating in water. In honor of her, he collected dolls.(WFLA)“[It is in] observance or attention to child neglect, child abuse, child abandonment, child slave labor. Anything to do with kids that’s wrong or bad,” said Cain.But neighbor Mack Milner, who contacted WFLA News in Tampa, said he's concerned the display "is promoting this kind of violence and crime."Milner said he tried to get officials to force Cain to take the do...

Biden draws parallels between Putin, Hamas in Oval Office address

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

President Biden on Thursday used a primetime Oval Office address to argue U.S. support for Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars is vital to American national security, drawing parallels between the two conflicts ahead of a request for congressional aid.“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to annihilate a neighboring democracy,” Biden said, while adding that countries like Iran back both the U.S.-designated terrorist group and the Kremlin.“I know these conflicts can seem far away and it’s natural to ask, why does this matter to America?” he added.The president sought to make the case that America is the “essential nation” that can simultaneously support its allies, deter adversaries and rally other nations behind the cause of global democracies.“American leadership is what holds the world together. America’s alliances are what keep us safe,” Biden said. “American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to...

Austin City Council seeking to hold funding for I-35 Express Central project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Thursday, the Austin City Council approved a resolution seeking a hold on funding for the Texas Department of Transportation's Interstate 35 Capital Express Central project pending the completion of two regional climate strategy plans, the City of Austin said in a news release.The resolution was authored by Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, according to the city.The I-35 Central project is an eight-mile project track running from U.S. Hwy. 290 East to SH 71 and Ben White Boulevard.The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is currently developing a Regional Mobile Emission Reduction Plan and the city – in partnership with CAMPO, the Capital Area Council of Governments, and local municipalities in Travis, Hays, and Bastrop counties – are creating an Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area Climate Plan, the release said. Both share the common goal of strategically reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. The I-35 Central project would ultima...