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Hunter Biden offers to testify publicly before Congress, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden on Tuesday offered to testify publicly before Congress in response to a subpoena from Republicans investigating nearly every aspect of his business dealings as they pursue an impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden.The Democratic president’s son slammed the inquiry as a “fishing expedition” and refused to give closed-door testimony but said he would “answer any pertinent and relevant question” in front of the House Oversight Committee next month, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, subpoenaed Hunter Biden in early November in the inquiry’s most aggressive step yet and one that tests the reach of congressional oversight powers. Comer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.So far, Republicans have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing. But lawmakers insist th...

Panama’s Supreme Court declares 20-year contract for Canadian copper mine unconstitutional

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional a 20-year concession for a Canadian copper mine that had sparked weeks of protests by environmentalists and others who argued it would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.The announcement by the nine-justice court, after four days of deliberations, set off cheers among demonstrators waiting outside and waving Panamanian flags.“This is what we had been waiting for,” demonstrator Raisa Banfield said after what she called an agonizing wait. “The president has to suspend (mine) operations today.”There was no immediate comment from Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals.The dispute over the open-pit mine led to some of Panama’s most widespread protests in recent years, including a blockade of the mine’s power plant. Protesters also blocked parts of the Pan American highway, including a stretch near the border with Costa Rica. Just before the ru...

Toronto woman wanted for allegedly using fake ID to access victims’ bank, wireless accounts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a suspect who allegedly used fake identification to take over several bank and wireless cellphone accounts.Investigators allege a woman attended a number of wireless cell stores and banks between June 2022 and November 2023, where she would use identification bearing the victims’ names to pose as an account holder.The suspect would then allegedly withdraw funds from the unsuspecting victims’ accounts. Police say the account takeovers occurred in Toronto and other locations in Ontario.Investigators say 47-year-old Toronto resident Nadia Campitelli is wanted on six charges, including three counts of fraud over $5,000.Campitelli is described as having a large build, long black curly hair and brown eyes. Police have released photos of the suspect.Anyone with information is asked to contact police. if (typeof window.rsm_galleries === 'undefined') { window.rsm_galleries = []; } window.rsm_galleries[0] = [{"html":"","src":"https:\/\/...

Erdogan to visit Budapest next month as Turkey and Hungary hold up Sweden’s membership in NATO

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Hungary’s capital in December, his second trip to Budapest this year at a time when both countries remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s accession into the trans-Atlantic military alliance.During his visit on Dec. 18, Erdogan will take part in a meeting of the Hungarian-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council, and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Bertalan Havasi, the press chief for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, told local news outlet ATV in a report broadcast on Monday.Havasi didn’t immediately respond to further questions from The Associated Press on Tuesday about the trip.It wasn’t clear whether Erdogan and Orbán would discuss Sweden’s NATO membership, which has been delayed for more than a year by Hungary and Turkey. All 31 NATO allies must endorse the accession of a new member. Erdogan...

WWE smashes its social media record with return of CM Punk

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

WWE crushed its social media record over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, with the return of wrestler CM Punk at Survivor Series garnering more than 71 million views across all of the sports entertainment company’s platforms. Survivor Series, a premium live event that’s been held for 37 years, took place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago on Saturday. While WWE’s fervent fans had been talking about the possibility of CM Punk returning to the organization for weeks, his appearance at the WWE event after nearly a decade away from the company surprised nearly everyone, and many took to social media to talk about it. WWE said Tuesday that the comeback moment has more than 71 million views across all platforms, making it the biggest social post in company history. The previous record was a handheld video last year from Logan Paul as he jumped from the ropes during a match. That video garnered more than 40 million views across Paul’s and WWE’s social platforms in less tha...

Baltic nations’ foreign ministers pull out of OSCE meeting over Russian foreign minister attendance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states have said they will boycott a meeting by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russia’s foreign minister.The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they “deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation” of Russia’s Sergey Lavrov. “It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity.”Lavrov said Monday he planned to travel to Skopje for the OSCE foreign ministers’ meeting, a trip which would mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Russia invaded Ukraine. In September, he was in New York to attend the United Nations’ annual gathering of world leaders. The 57-nation OSCE was set up during the Cold War to help defuse tension between East and West. North Macedonia currently holds the organization’s rotating presiden...

11 die in coal mine accident in China’s Heilongjiang province

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A violent rock burst in a coal mine killed 11 people in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province on Tuesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Mining work can release pressure from surrounding formations and trigger a literal explosion of rocks. An initial assessment determined that is what caused the fatalities in Heilongjiang province, CCTV said. The Shuangyashan Coal Company, which operates the mine, was fined in the past for violating several safety regulations, according to local media reports. This year alone, it was fined 10 times, according to a report from Shangyou News, a state-backed media outlet.China has been working on improving mine safety to combat accidents that happen with some frequency. In August, another coal mine explosion also killed 11 people in northern China’s Shaanxi province. A coal mine fire in southern China’s Guizhou province killed 16 people in September.Just a few weeks ago, a major fire at a coal mining company bu...

In new challenge to indictment, Trump’s lawyers argue he had good basis to question election results

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump had a “good faith” basis to question the results of the 2020 election, his lawyers said in demanding that prosecutors turn over any evidence related to voting irregularities and potential foreign interference in the contest won by Democrat Joe Biden.A defense motion filed late Monday in federal court in Washington asserts that Trump was not obligated to accept at face value the judgments of government officials who found no widespread fraud in the election. It raises the prospect that foreign actors might have influenced the race and alleges that the federal government gave “false assurances” to the public about the security of the election that exceeded what was actually known.“It was not unreasonable at the time, and certainly not criminal, for President Trump to disagree with officials now favored by the prosecution and to rely instead on the independent judgment that the American people elected him to use while leading the country,” the lawye...

The family of an infant hostage pleads for his release as Israel-Hamas truce winds down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Kfir Bibas has spent nearly a fifth of his life in Hamas captivity.The 10-month-old was abducted from his home in a southern Israeli kibbutz on Oct. 7, when Palestinian militants snatched about 240 people and dragged them to Gaza.Kfir, the youngest captive, was among about 30 children who were taken hostage in Hamas’ assault. Under a current temporary cease-fire, Hamas has released women, children and teens, but Kfir hasn’t been included on the lists of those set to be freed.With his red hair and toothless smile, Kfir’s ordeal has become for many a symbol of the brutality of Hamas’ attack. With most other young hostages already released, Kfir’s fate and that of his 4-year-old brother, Ariel, are now a rallying cry for Israelis seeking the speedy release of all the hostages. A demonstration in support of the Bibas family is being held in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.“There is no precedent for something like this, for a baby who was kidnapped when he was 9 months ...

Why are some tenants using the ‘last resort’ of rent strikes?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:50:44 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, there are several rent strikes happening in Canada right now, mostly in Toronto. Some of them have been going on for six months or more. Evictions have been long-threatened, but slow to happen. And most tenants haven’t seen any concession or negotiation, even when the mayor stepped in.Ricardo Tranjan is a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the author of The Tenant Class. He says these tenant actions are a response to an increasingly untenable situation for Canadian renters.“So that housing market, that is set up for profit creation … sometimes it goes too far and becomes a little bit too greedy, and starts squeezing too much out of tenants,” says Tranjan.  So what are rent strikes, how do they work, and what should you know about a renter’s “last resort”?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify.You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.