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Fuller picture emerges of the 13 federal executions at the end of Trump’s presidency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A day before the federal government executed a Texas man for the killing of an Iowa couple when he was 18, celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz pleaded with then-President Donald Trump — a former client — to call the execution off.During a Dec. 9, 2020, call to the White House, Dershowitz told Trump that Brandon Bernard, at 40, wasn’t the man he was when Todd and Stacie Bagley were killed in 1999 and that he deserved to have his sentence commuted to life in prison.Trump sounded sincere when he said he wished he could spare Bernard’s life, but he added apologetically that he’d already promised the victims’ relatives that Bernard would be put to death, Dershowitz said about the 20-minute call.“‘They’re on their way. They’re on their way,’” Trump kept saying, Dershowitz recalled. The relatives, Trump explained, were on the road to the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, where federal executions are carried out and it was “’too late to pull them back.’”Bernard was exe...

Powerball jackpot rises to $1.2 billion after another drawing without a big winner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

FILE - A display panel advertises tickets for a Powerball drawing at a convenience store, Nov. 7, 2022, in Renfrew, Pa. An estimated $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot will be up for grabs, tempting players to spend a couple dollars on a longshot chance at instant riches. The prize is the world’s ninth-largest lottery prize behind earlier drawings of Powerball and Mega Millions, the other nearly nationwide lottery game. The prize on the line Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 has grown so massive because there have been 32 consecutive drawings since someone won the jackpot. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)(AP/Keith Srakocic) FILE - A display panel advertises tickets for a Powerball drawing at a convenience store, Nov. 7, 2022, in Renfrew, Pa. An estimated $1.04 billion Powerball ja...

Trump turns his fraud trial into a campaign stop as he seeks to capitalize on his legal woes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s court appearances are no longer distractions from his campaign to return to the White House. They are central to it.The dynamic was on full display Monday as the former president and GOP front-runner returned to New York for the opening day of a civil fraud trial accusing him of grossly inflating the value of his businesses.Trump was under no obligation to appear Monday and did not address the court. But he nonetheless seized the opportunity to create a media spectacle that ensured he was back in the spotlight. And he once again portrayed himself as a victim of a politicized justice system — a posture that has helped him emerge as the undisputed leader of the 2024 GOP primary.The scene was much like the one that has played out over and over since the spring as Trump has reported to courthouses and a local jail to be processed in four criminal indictments. Once again, reporters waited in line overnight to snag seats in the courtroom; news helicopt...

Today in History: October 3, jury finds O.J. Simpson not guilty of murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

Today in History Today is Tuesday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2023. There are 89 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 3, 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles found the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. On this date: In 1941, Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been “broken” and would “never rise again.” In 1944, during World War II, U.S. Army troops cracked the Siegfried Line north of Aachen, Germany.In 1951, the New York Giants captured the National League pennant by a score of 5-4 as Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the “shot heard ‘round the world.” In 1961, “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” also starring Mary Tyler Moore, made its debut on CBS. In 1970, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was established under the Department of Commerce. In 1974, Frank Robinson was ...

American Black Film Festival founder launches new comedy festival at The Wharf

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews the Because They're Funny Comedy Festival (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); You’ll laugh so hard this weekend at The Wharf that you might fall into the Potomac’s Washington Channel. The Because They’re Funny Comedy Festival launches in Southwest D.C. this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.J...

El representante Henry Cuéllar sufre un robo a mano armada en Washington DC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

WASHINGTON DC – El representante Henry Cuéllar, de Texas, fue víctima de un robo a mano armada y lo despojaron de su auto cuando estaba estacionado en K St y New Jersey Ave, SE en Navy Yard, dijeron dos fuentes policiales a WRC, afiliada de NBC en DC. Esa ubicación está a una milla al sur del Capitolio de Estados Unidos.“Mientras el congresista Cuéllar estaba estacionando su auto esta noche, tres asaltantes armados se acercaron a él y le robaron su vehículo”, relató uno de los asistentes del legislador.“Afortunadamente, no resultó herido y está trabajando con las autoridades locales. Gracias a la Policía Metropolitana y a la Policía del Capitolio por su rápida acción y por recuperar el vehículo del congresista”.Oficiales tanto de la Policía del Capitolio como del MPD trabajan en la investigación y dijeron que actualizarán con cualquier información adicional que tengan.En un primer reporte, el MPD relató que “hubo un informe de un robo de auto a mano armada que se p...

Taiwan braces for strong wind and rain as Typhoon Koinu approaches the island

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan issued a weather alert on Tuesday as Typhoon Koinu is approaching and may make landfall later this week, bringing gales and downpours to the southeastern parts of the island.The weather bureau put out a land warning on Tuesday after issuing a sea alert late Monday. Koinu was moving northwest with sustained winds of 162 kph (101 mph) near its center, according to the bureau.Forecasters expected it to bring strong winds and downpours to southern and eastern parts of Taiwan early Wednesday and potentially make landfall in the southeastern part of the island on Thursday.Beaches in Kenting National Park, in the southern tip of Taiwan, were closed to the public on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the local authorities in the southeastern Taitung County listed several coastal and mountainous areas as potential hazard zones.Chinese weather authorities said Tuesday that Koinu may make landfall somewhere along Taiwan’s southern coast or pass the island without making landfall ...

How are ancient Roman and Mayan buildings still standing? Scientists are unlocking their secrets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — In the quest to build better for the future, some are looking for answers in the long-ago past.Ancient builders across the world created structures that are still standing today, thousands of years later — from Roman engineers who poured thick concrete sea barriers, to Maya masons who crafted plaster sculptures to their gods, to Chinese builders who raised walls against invaders.Yet scores of more recent structures are already staring down their expiration dates: The concrete that makes up much of our modern world has a lifespan of around 50 to 100 years.A growing number of scientists have been studying materials from long-ago eras — chipping off chunks of buildings, poring over historical texts, mixing up copycat recipes — hoping to uncover how they’ve held up for millennia. This reverse engineering has turned up a surprising list of ingredients that were mixed into old buildings — materials such as tree bark, volcanic ash, rice, beer and even urine. These unexpecte...

Syria says Israeli airstrikes in an eastern province wounded 2 soldiers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state media said Tuesday that the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in a strategic eastern province wounding two soldiers and causing material damage. There was no comment from Israel on the reported strikes.Syria’s state news agency, SANA, quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airstrikes late Monday targeted military positions in Deir el-Zour. The eastern Deir el-Zour province that borders Iraq contains oil fields and has been a strategic province throughout Syria’s conflict, now in its 13th year. Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area and have often been the target of Israeli war planes in previous strikes. Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and activist collective Deir Ezzor 24 said the airstrike targeted positions in the Boukamal region along the Iraqi border, a stronghold for Iran-backed militia groups. Both said they could not identify the source of the airstrike. Israel has...

Commissioner Simson participates in International Climate and Energy Summit in Madrid 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:31 GMT

On 2 October, Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson (pictured) was in Madrid, Spain, to attend the International Climate and Energy Summit: Building a Grand Coalition to keep 1.5°C within reach hosted by the Government of Spain and International Energy Agency (IEA). The Summit will bring together energy and climate ministers from around the world just weeks before the COP28 Climate Change Conference, to build a coalition to accelerate momentum towards reaching the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Commissioner Simson participated in ministerial sessions focused on enabling a just transition while moving away from fossil fuels, and how to rally countries around global targets for renewables and energy efficiency at COP28. The Commissioner also attended a roundtable conversation with representatives of governments, industry and civil society. Commissioner Simson also held a bilateral meeting with Teresa Ribera, Deputy Prime-Minister of the Spanish Government an...