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America's Unwavering Support for Israel Fuels Iran-Backed "Axis of Resistance"

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

On the day meant to honor Hezbollah’s own martyrs, the group’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, dedicated a considerable portion of his speech to fighters elsewhere in the region. In a televised address on November 11, Nasrallah praised not just Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel launched from southern Lebanon, but also “supporting fronts” in Iraq and Syria, where armed groups have carried out more than 60 attacks on American troops in the past month.“These actions reflect great courage because it is the Americans they are fighting, the Americans whose fleets, aircraft carriers, and bases fill the region,” Nasrallah said of his Iraqi allies. “If you Americans want these operations on the supporting fronts to stop, if you don’t want regional war, you must stop the aggression and war on Gaza.”Nasrallah’s words indicate growing unity among the so-called axis of resistance, a network of Iran-backed actors in the Mideast that includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Syrian government, the Houthis i...

Busy, historic library on Capitol Hill closing to undergo 2-year renovation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

The 101-year-old Southeast Library near D.C.’s Eastern Market will close early next year for a nearly two-year renovation. The one-story brick building is one of three library buildings in the District funded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.The D.C. Public Library plans to modernize the building at 40 Seventh Street in Southeast in a $33 million renovation project that will expand the space while preserving and restoring the building’s historic elements.There’s some concern in the Capitol Hill neighborhood for patrons of the library which has been one of the D.C. Public library system’s busiest since it opened in 1922.The Northeast Library at 330 Seventh Street in Northeast — about one mile away — has been designated as the interim library for Southeast during its closure.“We’re thrilled and happy that there’s going to be a new library. This is the second oldest library in the system. It was definitely in need of renovati...

Stock market today: World shares are mixed in cautious trading following a weak close on Wall Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Wednesday in cautious trading after Wall Street’s rally ran out of momentum.Benchmarks rose in Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo but fell in London and Shanghai. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices edged lower.Trading was tapering off ahead of holidays in the U.S. and Japan on Thursday, with few data releases to drive activity. But news that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI’s ousted CEO, Sam Altman, was going to return to the company could spur some fresh movement in technology shares. Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and has rights to its technology, quickly moved to hire Altman, though its CEO Satya Nadella said the company was open to having him return to OpenAI. Altman said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “with the new board and (with) Satya’s support, I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with (Microsoft).”Meanwhile, Broadcom announced that it expected t...

A hand grenade explosion triggered by a quarrel at a market injured 9 people in southern Kosovo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A hand grenade exploded in an animal market in a southern city in Kosovo on Wednesday, injuring nine people, police said. Three suspects are at large following the explosion in Prizren, 85 kilometers (52 miles) south of the capital Pristina, police said. One of them hurled the grenade after a quarrel in the market, Prizren police spokesman Shaqir Bytyqi was quoted as saying by the Gazeta Express portal.The injured were hospitalized but their condition was not life-threatening. Five of them were discharged later Wednesday. An investigation is ongoing. Prizren, Kosovo’s second biggest city along the Prizren River, is a tourist attraction for its medieval castle and cobblestone streets.Source

Denver weather: 1 more warm day before cold, snow arrives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — There will be plenty of sunshine and comfy temperatures across the Front Range Wednesday before cold and snow push in for Black Friday. With the freezing temperatures and snow on Friday, it will be a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day in the Denver weather forecast.Weather today: Sunny and comfortableWith the abundant sunshine Wednesday, high temperatures will climb into the middle 60s with a few spots across the plains nearing 70 degrees. Urban heat islands: Map shows the hottest neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado Springs Winds will stay light for most of the day.Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on Nov. 22Weather tonight: Clouds increaseClouds will slowly increase overnight and into Thursday morning. Winds are light Wednesday night with lows dipping to the 30-degree mark.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on Nov. 22Looking ahead: Cloudy Thanksgiving, cool and snowy FridayThanksgiving Day will be overcast for the entire state, with cooler highs in the low 40s for Denver....

NFL upholds 4-game suspension of Broncos safety Kareem Jackson, costing him $558K in lost wages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

DENVER (AP) — This time, Kareem Jackson caught no breaks from the NFL, which denied his appeal of his four-game suspension for a high hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs that came on his third playback from his first suspension.Hearing officer Derrick Brooks, jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, upheld the punishment handed down a day earlier. Brooks also heard Jackson's last appeal, for an illegal hit on a Green Bay tight end last month, and cut that four-game suspension in half.Jackson will miss games against the Browns, Texans, Chargers and Lions, the last three on the road, before he's allowed to return against New England on Christmas Eve.His suspension comes at a critical time for the Broncos (5-5), who own the league's longest active winning streak at four games as they try to become just the fourth team to reach the playoffs after starting 1-5. Broncos safety Kareem Jackson disqualified for hit in end zone Complicating matters is the ankle injury suffered ...

Where can you shop on Black Friday? Here’s what’s open — and when

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Black Friday is almost upon us, when retailers kick off the holiday season with offers meant to get customers in the shopping mood.The term “Black Friday” in relation to shopping the day after Thanksgiving is most often traced to Philadelphia where police had to deal with large crowds who thronged the streets of the city before the annual Army-Navy game and to take advantage of sales. According to the Dec. 18, 1961, issue of Public Relations News, a newsletter, it became customary for police to refer to post-Thanksgiving shopping as Black Friday and Black Saturday because of the headaches they created.Retailers began taking ownership of the term in the late 1980s as the opening bell for the holidays. Of course Black Friday has morphed more accurately into a month of offers that begin in October, when Halloween jack-o’-lanterns are still flickering.A number of stores that were closed on Thanksgiving, including Walmart and Target, reopen early Friday as the holiday shopping seas...

Chicken wings are on Popeyes menu for good

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Popeyes wants to recapture some of the magic from its chicken sandwich debut with a new line of wings.Starting Wednesday, customers will be able to get Honey BBQ wings, Roasted Garlic Parmesan wings and Signature Hot wings at Popeyes locations across the country, along with the Ghost Pepper and Sweet N’Spicy wings that Popeyes says proved popular when they were sold earlier this year. They go for $5.99 for a pack of six.Back in 2019, Popeyes’ chicken sandwich created a frenzy in the fast food industry, prompting a wave of copycats and became a barometer for success.With wings, Popeyes thinks it can rekindle that enthusiasm, at least in part. And, chicken sandwich aside, it’s a good time to get into the wings game, with cheap eats gaining ground as some customers rein in spending.Wings are here to stayOver the past few years, Popeyes has brought wings to the menu on a limited-time basis. But customer interest has earned the items a lasting place on the menu, Sami Siddiqui, presi...

EU risks coming back empty-handed from China summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

The European Union and China are so far not planning to issue a joint statement following their much-anticipated summit in December, two European diplomats and an EU official told POLITICO. Although no decision has officially been taken yet, the lack of joint diplomatic commitment would lay bare deepening rifts between the two sides, after the European Commission launched an investigation into subsidies for made-in-China electric vehicles and as it eyes other sectors such as medical devices and wind energy.Since China is hosting the summit, Beijing is supposed to propose the first draft, one of the diplomats said, echoing common practice in international diplomacy (the diplomat, like others in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak freely about the summit). But with only two weeks to go to the gathering and no draft yet in sight, it looks increasingly unlikely that the two sides will arrive at joint commitments by then.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Euro...

European lawmakers give green light to ‘model’ NZ trade deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:52 GMT

Lawmakers in the European Parliament on Wednesday signed off on the bloc’s free trade agreement with New Zealand, heralded as Brussels’ gold standard for making its trade deals greener. “This is the most modern agreement that we as a European Union have concluded,” German MEP Daniel Caspary of the center-right European People’s Party, who led work on the deal in the Parliament, told reporters ahead of the vote. “We want to ensure that in the future such high standards will be complied with across the board,” he said, arguing that the agreement should be a “model” for other deals. MEPs approved the agreement by an overwhelming majority of 524 votes in favor, 85 against and 21 abstentions. Brussels and Wellington signed the deal — the first free trade agreement to include the EU’s ambitions on sustainability — in early July. In economic terms, the agreement is relatively small for the EU, but it represents a symbol...