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Biden defends calling Chinese leader Xi a ‘dictator’ and says he still expects to meet with him

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and SYLVIE CORBET (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his harsh public comments on China, including calling President Xi Jinping a dictator, saying his words would have no negative impact on U.S.-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi in the future. Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are “just not something I’m going to change very much.”At a campaign fundraiser on Tuesday, Biden also depicted the Chinese president as out-of-touch during last winter’s tumult over a Chinese spy balloon and dismissed China as having “real economic difficulties.”The remarks opened a new rift just after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that was meant as a step toward stabilizing ties and improving communications with China. But Biden was undeterred.“I expect to be meeting with President Xi sometime in the future, near-term. And I don&#...

Mayo Clinic Minute: Why Black women should consider screening for breast cancer earlier

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

DeeDee Stiepan | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkAge recommendations for when women should start yearly mammograms to screen for breast cancer vary. However, Mayo Clinic health care professionals have been firm for more than a decade that women should start breast cancer screening at age 40. Starting mammograms early is especially important for non-Hispanic Black women, who have higher rates of breast cancer compared to non-Hispanic white women.In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Sandhya Pruthi, with Mayo Clinic’s Breast Diagnostic Clinic and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, explains why Black women are at higher risk and should start screening for breast cancer earlier.“For years now we’ve known Black women tend to die of breast cancer 40% more often than white women. They also tend to have more aggressive cancers, known as triple-negative breast cancers,” says Dr. Pruthi.She says starting screening early may help reduce these disparities.“For Black ...

Live updates | 8-hour time delay to report missing Titan raises questions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow along for live updates on the submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.___8-HOUR TIME DELAY TO REPORT MISSING TITAN RAISES QUESTIONSQuestions remain about the eight hours between when the Titan lost communication with the surface and when its Canadian support vessel reported it missing to the U.S. Coast Guard.The time delay has yet to be explained by the company that owns the submersible, OceanGate Expeditions.Sean Leet, head of the company that co-owns the Titan’s support ship, has refused to discuss the timeline, saying only that “all protocols were followed for the mission.”But experts familiar with deep-sea exploration say those lost hours raise red flags.The submersible used a rudimentary system that basically communicated with the surface ship through text message, and likely lacked an emergency radio beacon that could have floated to the surface and started beeping if there was an emergency.The vessel ha...

House Republicans push off Biden impeachment move for now as hard-right clamors for action

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

By LISA MASCARO (AP Congressional Correspondent)WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager to impeach President Joe Biden, hard-right House Republicans forced a vote Thursday that sent the matter to congressional committees in a clear demonstration of the challenge that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces in controlling the majority party.The ability of single lawmaker, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to push forward the impeachment resolution caught Republicans off guard by the unscripted move this week. Many viewed it as a political distraction from other priorities. The measure charges Biden with “high crimes and misdemeanors” over his handling of the U.S. border with Mexico.Boebert, backed by her allies, showed how a lone lawmaker in the 435-member House could use the chamber’s rules to force a snap vote on such a grave constitutional matter. The 219-208 party-line vote sent impeachment to committees for possible consideration, like any other bill.“The House is taking historic...

Anxiety is being overlooked by doctors, expert panel says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

Matthew Griffin | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsDoctors should ask adult patients about signs of anxiety, an often-undiagnosed condition that can disrupt lives, U.S. government experts said.Anxiety afflicts about a quarter of U.S. men and 40% of women at some point in their lives, a panel of experts noted in recommendations that were published Tuesday. The ailment spiked worldwide, along with depression, during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a World Health Organization analysis. Yet primary-care providers often fail to recognize anxiety, and it can go untreated for decades, the experts say.“Undoubtedly, screening for the mental health topics that we’re releasing now is of extraordinary public health importance,” said Michael Silverstein, a health professor at Brown University and the vice chair of the panel that made the recommendation. “So I think the COVID-19 pandemic just laid bare how important this was.”The recommendation for primary-care providers from the U.S. Preventive Services ...

Titanic sub updates: A ‘debris field’ was found in the search for the missing OceanGate Expeditions submersible

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

A “debris field” has been found in the search area for the missing OceanGate Expeditions sub that explores the Titanic wreck site with five people aboard, according to the Coast Guard out of Boston.The 21-foot submersible has been missing in a remote area of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 900 miles off of Cape Cod, since Sunday. The 96-hour oxygen supply on board was expected to expire on Thursday.Early Thursday morning, a Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic deployed a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) — reaching the sea floor to search for the missing sub.“A debris field was discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic,” the First Coast Guard District tweeted a few hours later on Thursday.“Experts within the unified command are evaluating the information,” the Coast Guard added.Related ArticlesLatest Headlines | Live updates | 8-hour time delay to report missing Titan raises questions Latest Headlines | ...

Debris found near the Titanic during search for submersible, US Coast Guard says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

The search for a missing submersible with five people aboard took a bleak turn Thursday when the U.S. Coast Guard said a debris field was found at the bottom of the ocean near the Titanic, and the critical 96-hour mark passed when breathable air could have run out.The Coast Guard’s post on Twitter did not say whether officials believe the debris is connected to the Titan, which was on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic. It said the debris was discovered within the search area by a remotely operated underwater robot, and was being evaluated. The Titan was estimated to have about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic — but experts have emphasized that was an imprecise approximation to begin with and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. And it’s not known if they survived since the sub’s disappearance.Rescuers have rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the site of the dis...

Quebec wildfires: Dangerously dry weather to persist in fire regions until Monday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

MONTREAL — Hot, dry weather conditions were forecasted to continue through the weekend in regions of Quebec threatened by forest fires, complicating work for firefighters, provincial officials said Thursday.The weather was making it harder to maintain control fires that had been contained, Julie Coupal, assistant general manager of the province’s wildfire prevention agency, told reporters in Quebec City. Since the start of the week, four fires that had been contained were out of control again, she added.“Of course, there’s the risk of new fires breaking out, which is also serious,” she said. “The large amount of smoke can make tanker plane operations difficult, that was the case for the last two days.”Katia Petit, a senior Quebec civil security official, said no communities or essential infrastructure were immediately threatened by flames, but she added that heavy smoke had prompted voluntary evacuations in some municipalities.In the northern Queb...

Pop star Kesha and producer Dr Luke settle longstanding legal battle over rape, defamation claims

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pop star Kesha and producer Dr. Luke have settled their nearly decadelong legal battle over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and defamed him, they announced Thursday, with the singer saying that “only God knows what happened that night.”Dr. Luke, meanwhile, said he was “absolutely certain that nothing happened. I never drugged or assaulted her.”Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed as both she and he revealed on Instagram that they had agreed to “a resolution” of the case and to a statement from each of them. Messages seeking comment were sent to their attorneys. “I cannot recount everything that happened,” Kesha wrote, adding that she wishes “nothing but peace to all parties involved.” Dr. Luke, in turn, said he wished her well and wanted “to put this difficult matter behind me” after years of fighting to clear his name.The deal averts a trial that had been scheduled for this summer over allegations that becam...

India’s Modi meets the press at the White House – and takes rare questions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:35:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Narendra Modi did something very unusual on Thursday at the White House — he took questions from journalists.It’s a rare occurrence for the Indian prime minister who avoids unscripted moments and has presided over a steady decline in press freedom in his country. The news conference was more limited than the kind that U.S. presidents usually hold with foreign leaders, but even that wasn’t easy to arrange with Modi. Indian officials agreed to the event only the day before, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. Administration officials told Modi’s advisers that taking questions from the media was a standard part of how White House state visits are conducted, the person said.An Indian reporter asked about addressing climate change, and an American reporter pressed Modi on human rights concerns— a particularly delicate topic as the United States seeks closer ties with India as a b...