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Trump doesn’t thank ‘glaringly’ missing Melania in his post-arraignment speech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

Melania Trump was “glaringly” absent from Mar-a-Lago’s ballroom Tuesday night, and former President Donald Trump noticeably failed to praise her as he thanked other family members while making his first public comments hours after being arraigned on criminal charges.“I have a great family and they’ve done a fantastic job, and we appreciate it very much. They’ve gone through a lot,” Trump said to his crowd of supporters at his Palm Beach, Florida residence and private club, the New York Post and the Daily Mail reported.Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks off stage during an event at the Mar-a-Lago Club April 4, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) The 76-year-old Trump, who became the first president in U.S. history to be arraigned on criminal charges, then singled out some of those family members, including two of his children who also were not present — his beloved oldest daughter Ivanka Trump and his 17-year-...

Kurtenbach: The little things lifted the Warriors over the Thunder and hinted at bigger things in the postseason

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Basketball might be played by athletes of the highest order, but its games are still won with intelligence. And for most of the last decade, no NBA team has been more intelligent than the Golden State Warriors.This season, the Dubs’ basketball intelligence has ebbed and flowed — as evidenced by the team’s middling record. But with the team’s season on the line Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Warriors showed that they still have the kind of next-level thinking that makes them a formidable — if not nearly unbeatable — playoff foe.Two of these sparks of brilliance came from familiar sources: Draymond Green and Steph Curry.The third came from second-year wing Moses Moody.All three were critical in the Dubs’ 136-125 win over OKC, which kept the Warriors in the top six seeds of the Western Conference standings for another few nights ahead of the team’s final two games of the regular season.The little things that helped the...

Musk, tech leaders question safety in SF following Cash App founder's death

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Silicon Valley tech leaders are calling safety in San Francisco into question following the fatal stabbing of mobile payment service Cash App founder Bob Lee. "Very sorry to hear that. Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders," Elon Musk tweeted in reaction to Lee's death.This was a reply to UFC and MMA fighter Jake Shields' tweet about Lee's death."I just found out my good friend was killed last night while walking [home] in San Francisco. He was in the “good” part of the city and appeared to have been targeted in a random mugging/attack. F*** San Francisco," Sheilds said.Cryptocurrency MobileCoin--one of the companies Lee was involved in--founder Joshua Golbard remembered Lee in an emotional statement on Twitter where he also criticized the city for Lee's death."As a lifelon...

Trump (Allegedly) Broke the Law for No Reason

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen arrives for a second day of testimony before a grand jury on March 15, 2023, in New York.Photo: Mary Altaffer/APThere are many funny aspects to former President Donald Trump being arrested on Tuesday in Manhattan. But a little-noticed one is that if Trump had had better lawyers, he likely could have gotten away with his alleged schemes to cover up unflattering stories without any legal entanglements at all — including paying hush money to Stormy Daniels, the ultimate basis for all the charges he now faces.Moreover, with just a little bit of extra care, it might have gone completely unnoticed.The same things generally apply to the National Enquirer, which was forced to pay a fine for its own hush money payments to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal over her relationship with Trump.One thing to understand is that there’s a lot about McDougal in the prosecutors’ statement of facts, but none of the charges involve her. The N...

Idaho governor signs ban on gender-affirming care for youth

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho’s governor has signed a bill criminalizing gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.Idaho is at least the 12th state to enact a law restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors, and nearly two dozen more are considering bills that would ban or restrict the care. Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, signed the legislation Tuesday evening.The law is set to go into effect next January, making it a felony to provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. Opponents of the legislation have warned it will likely increase suicide rates among teens, but proponents of the bill said it was necessary to “protect children” from medical or surgical treatments for gender dysphoria. Still, supporters have acknowledged there has been no indication that gender-affirming surgeries are being performed on transgender youth in Idaho.“In signing this bill, I recognize our society plays a role in protecting mi...

Polish-Ukrainian friendship masks a bitter, bloody history

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has emerged as one Ukraine’s most ardent supporters during Russia’s invasion despite historical grievances between the neighboring nations that stir up bad feelings to this day.The tensions between the country at war and its staunch ally were acknowledged Wednesday when Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a state visit to Poland, where President Andrzej Duda received him with honors.Duda promised that Poland would keep helping Ukraine fight off Russia’s agression, but he also acknowledged at a joint news conference with Zelesnkyy that the relationship was complicated. ”There are still open wounds in the memory of many people,” Duda said, an obvious reference to the massacres of some 100,000 Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during the 1940s. Poland considers the killings genocide.The difficult past in Poland-Ukraine relations goes back even further than than. In a part of Europe where entire nations have disappeared fro...

No Russians, Belarusians expected at swimming worlds in July

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — No Russian or Belarusian athletes are expected to compete at this year’s swimming world championships in Japan because the sport’s governing body isn’t expected to rule on their eligibility until it’s too late for them to enter.World Aquatics said Wednesday it will create a task force to look at how Russia and Belarus could return to swimming, diving and water polo as neutral athletes. The update is expected in July, the same month of the world championships in Fukuoka.Entry deadlines for swimming and diving is June 27. For water polo, the entry deadline is July 3. The championships start on July 14.Governing bodies like World Aquatics were asked by the International Olympic Committee last week to look at ways of reintegrating Russian and Belarusians with neutral status ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.Swimming is one of the three biggest sports on the Olympic program. Track and field has already excluded Russia and Belarus from its world championships this...

No driver? No problem. Robotaxis eye San Francisco expansion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two trailblazing ride-hailing services are heading toward uncharted territory as they seek regulatory approval to transport passengers around the clock throughout one of the most densely populated U.S. cities in vehicles that will have no one sitting in the driver’s seat.If Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, and Waymo, a spinoff from Google, reach their goal before year’s end, San Francisco would become the first U.S. city with two totally driverless services competing against Uber, Lyft and traditional taxis — all of which depend on people to control the automobiles.But Cruise and Waymo still must navigate around potential roadblocks, including complaints about their vehicles making unexpected, traffic-clogging stops that threaten to inconvenience other travelers and imperil public safety.Cruise already has been charging people for driverless rides in less congested parts of San Francisco during night-time hours since last June. Waymo has been giving...

The ultimate guide to mid-Maryland’s Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

This content was provided by the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area.Above the Potomac River and below the Mason Dixon Line, a visit to mid-Maryland’s Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area may tick off a few items on your must-do life list. Whether you base your stay in Frederick, Hagerstown or Westminster – or any of the nearby towns and hamlets – a diverse array of experiences assures there is something for all kinds of travelers.Explore Civil War battlefieldsHome to three major Civil War battlefields (Antietam, Monocacy and South Mountain), and a stone’s throw from several others, there may be no better location to check battlefields off your bucket list. Maryland’s Civil War Trails guide travelers to battlefields along driving routes that are rich with stories offering glimpses into the impact of war in our border state.In 2023, follow the Gettysburg Invasion and Retreat route on the 160th anniversary of the battle, tracing the path of war through Maryland. Family-friendly event...

Swiss to end auto import tax exemption for electric cars

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:55 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss government said Wednesday that it plans to impose an automobile import tax on electric cars, which so far have been exempted from the charge, starting next year.The governing Federal Council said the move was meant to counter a fall in income from the auto tax and is part of a wider plan to bolster public finances.The auto tax is a levy of 4% on the import value, rather than the final sales price, of vehicles. Electric cars have been exempted since it was introduced in 1997 in an effort to make them an attractive option.The government said the exemption is no longer necessary in view of a steady rise in the number of electric cars and the fact that their prices have come closer to those of cars with combustion engines.It said that the number of electric cars imported annually increased from about 8,000 to over 45,000 between 2018 and 2022, and they made up nearly one-fifth of all auto imports last year.That has meant a decrease in income from the auto tax — t...