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Candidates in the second GOP debate attack each other and Trump – even though he’s absent

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Donald Trump’s rivals were quick to lay into him during the second presidential debate on Wednesday, ripping the former president for skipping the event as they sought to blunt the momentum that has seen him build a commanding early lead in the Republican primary. “He should be on this stage tonight,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was at center stage despite recent struggles to emerge as the field’s top Trump alternative. “He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation we have now.”Seven GOP candidates squared off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California for an event hosted by Fox Business Network. Trump was in Michigan, delivering a prime-time speech that continued through the start of the debate, attempting to capitalize on the Auto Workers Union strike and trying to appeal to rank-and-file union members in a key state that could help decide the general el...

The candidates are going after Biden – and Trump – at second GOP debate. Follow live updates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

Follow along for live updates on the second 2024 Republican presidential debate. The field’s early front-runner, Donald Trump, is skipping the event, just as he did the first. He is 2,000 miles away trying to woo union workers in Michigan amid a labor strike.The candidates on stage are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.What to know— 7 candidates qualified for the second debate. Here’s who missed the cut — Here’s how to watch tonight’s debate — Republicans face growing urgency to stop Trump ahead of debate — Trump is in Michigan to compete with Biden for union votes — Who’s running for president? See a rundown of the 2024 candidatesTrump gets a nickname of his own: Donald DuckChristie has a new name for Trump — Donald Duck.A former ally who broke with Trump ove...

Trump rails against electric cars in Michigan while his GOP challengers debate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MICH. (AP) — As his Republican rivals gathered onstage in California for their second primary debate, Donald Trump was in battleground Michigan Wednesday night working to win over blue collar voters by lambasting President Joe Biden and his push for electric cars in the midst of an autoworkers’ strike.“A vote for President Trump means the future of the automobile will be made in America,” Trump said at Drake Enterprises, a non-unionized auto parts supplier in Clinton Township, about a half-hour outside Detroit.The Republican front-runner’s trip came a day after Biden became the first sitting president in U.S. history to walk a picket line as he joined United Auto Workers in Detroit. The union is pushing for higher wages, shorter work weeks and assurances from the country’s top automakers that new electric vehicle jobs will be unionized.The dueling appearances preview what will likely be a chief dynamic of the 2024 general election, which increasingly looks li...

Trading of shares of debt-laden property developer China Evergrande suspended in Hong Kong

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Share trading of debt-laden Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group was suspended in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to a notice on the Hong Kong stock exchange.The suspension comes after Bloomberg News reported that the chairman of Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, had been taken away earlier this month and placed under police watch according to people with knowledge of the matter. Shares of Evergrande closed at 32 Hong Kong cents on Wednesday.Zen Soo, The Associated Press

DeSantis knocks Trump, GOP moves on from Reagan and other presidential debate takeaways

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

Seven Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the Reagan Library in California on Wednesday for the second of the party’s primary debates. The contest’s dominant front-runner — former President Donald Trump — skipped the event again.With less than four months until the Iowa caucuses officially jumpstart the GOP nomination process, the pressure is building on Trump’s rivals to show they can emerge as a genuine alternative. Here are some early takeaways from the debate:DeSantis hits Trump Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had an aggressive start, using his first answer to criticize Trump for skipping the debate and for adding to the national debt while serving as president.“Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be here on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record,” DeSantis said.The Florida governor has been slow to attack Trump for most of the campaign, but as he’s struggled to maintain his position as a distant second, he’s started slowly sharpening ...

Race to replace Sen. Mitt Romney heats up as Republican Utah House speaker formally enters race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

DRAPER, Utah (AP) — Promising to fight against liberal activism in Washington if elected, Republican Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson formally announced Wednesday night that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mitt Romney, who recently announced he won’t run for reelection.Wilson repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden to the cheers of his supporters at a rally in a Salt Lake City suburb, blaming the Democratic administration for inflation, high gas prices and immigration problems at the U.S.-Mexico border. He vowed to lower taxes, help police enforce laws and protect gun rights. He lamented how “unelected experts and ”elitist experts” tried to impose lockdowns and vaccine mandates instead of letting people make their own decisions. “Joe Biden and radical leftists as well as ‘go along to get along’ Republicans are taking us down dead end streets . . . where schools are teaching our kids what to think, not how to think,” said Wilson, who was first elec...

High school teachers accept Ford government’s binding arbitration proposal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

High school teachers in Ontario have accepted the Ford government’s binding arbitration proposal, ending the threat of a possible strike for at least the next three years. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation says it’s members voted “overwhelmingly” to enter into a proposal to continue bargaining with the Ontario government until October 27, and if no deal is reached all remaining issues would be settled by binding arbitration. The approved proposal means there will be no strikes or lockouts during this round of bargaining.“Premier Ford can’t be trusted. For over 14 months, we have tried to engage the Ford government in good faith bargaining but we haven’t had a partner at the table that cares about safeguarding our public education system,” OSSTF President Karen Littlewood said in a statement. “Now we have the opportunity to bypass traditional bargaining pathways to secure a fair collective agreement.” The union says the ...

Mexican army sends troops, helicopters, convoys in to towns cut off by drug cartels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s armed forces sent troops, vehicle convoys and helicopters into remote towns near the southern border with Guatemala on Wednesday after drug cartels blocked roads and cut off electricity in some areas over the weekend. The drug cartels have taken control of so much territory in the rural southern state of Chiapas that some government workers had to be flown in by helicopter to repair power lines. A combined force of about 800 soldiers, National Guard officers and police fanned out around the township of Frontera Comalapa, after videos surfaced over the weekend of a convoy of heavily-armed gunmen from the Sinaloa cartel rolling into one town, drawing cheers from some inhabitants. Church groups complained supplies were running out because of the gang roadblocks.The government convoys Wednesday meet no armed resistance. But some locals are understandably skeptical about how long the peace will last. The army carried out a similar operation in the area i...

North Korean leader urges greater nuclear weapons production in response to a ‘new Cold War’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an exponential increase in production of nuclear weapons and for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in a “new Cold War,” state media said Thursday.The Korean Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during a two-day session of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament which amended the constitution to include his policy of expanding the country’s nuclear weapons program.The Supreme People’s Assembly’s session on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visit military and technology sites.The trip sparked Western concerns about a possible arms alliance in which North Korea would supply Putin with badly needed munitions to fuel his war on Ukraine in exchange for economic aid and advanced Russian technologies to enhance North Korea’s nuclear and m...

Republican debate live updates: Rivals go after one another, Trump

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:26:29 GMT

Republican presidential candidates jumped quickly to make an impression from the start of the second debate Wednesday night in Simi Valley, Calif. It started less than hour after the 2024 front-runner headlined an event in Michigan.Seven candidates, all polling well behind former President Trump, met the Republican National Committee criteria to participate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.Trump, meanwhile, again did not join the debate. Instead, he headlined an event of autoworkers near Detroit, amid the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.Find out how to watch the debate here.And follow along here through the night for live updates.