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Philippines confronting Chinese diplomats over sea disputes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Filipino diplomats are expected to unleash a slew of protests over China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, including targeting a Philippine coast guard ship with a powerful military laser, when they meet with Chinese officials Friday, an official said.Territorial disputes in the busy waterway have long loomed as a potential flashpoint in Asia and have become a sensitive front in the regional rivalry between China and the United States.Washington lays no claims on the contested waters but has challenged Beijing’s extensive claims including by deploying its warships and fighter jets and repeatedly warning that it would help defend the Philippines — a treaty ally — if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft are attacked. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the seaway, which sits atop vast deposits of oil and gas.A Chinese delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong has been holding two days of talks sta...

GOP sets vote on ‘parents rights’ in clash over schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will press forward Friday with a midterm campaign promise by voting on legislation to give parents greater say in what is taught in public schools, even as critics decry the “parents’ rights” bill as a burdensome proposal that would fuel a far-right movement that has resulted in book bans, rewrites of history curricula and raucous school board meetings across the country.Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has made the bill — labeled the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act — a top priority during the early weeks of his tenure atop the House. It will be an early test of unity for the chamber’s 222 Republicans, who have a thin majority.Even as House Republicans returned this week from a retreat where they insisted they are unified, lawmakers have proposed a score of potential changes to the bill, adding a degree of uncertainty to Friday’s vote.It showed how the adoption of an open amendment process in the House — a concession McC...

What to stream this weekend from ‘Top Gun’ to Lana Del Rey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.MOVIES— The Oscar-nominated “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” was one of the high points in documentary in the past year. In it, Laura Poitras chronicles the pioneering photographer Nan Goldin, juxtaposing an intimate survey of her groundbreaking work in 1970s and 1980s New York and her contemporary crusade against the Sackler family, owners of the Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma. Goldin, who has herself wrestled with addiction, led the campaign to eradicate the Sackler name from many of the world’s top museums. Though the film didn’t win at the Oscars — something Goldin told me she was surprised to find she wanted — it took the top prize of the Venice Film Festival. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called the film” a “holistic portrait of an artist’s battle cry.” After debuting Sunday, March 19, “All the Be...

Trudeau, Biden agree to end ‘loophole’ in Safe Third Country Agreement: sources

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada and the United States have agreed to have asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.The U.S. will agree to extend a bilateral treaty known as the Safe Third Country Agreement to apply along the 8,900 kilometres of the shared border, according to an official with the administration of President Joe Biden, who arrived in Ottawa Thursday evening.In exchange, Canada will agree to welcome an additional 15,000 migrants from across the Western Hemisphere over the next year on a humanitarian basis, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.A Canadian government official with knowledge of the talks, granted anonymity to discuss matters not yet made public, also said Thursday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Biden would discuss the issue during a bilateral meeting Friday.The official said details were still being negotiated, but the leaders agreed in principle.The agreement follows talks betwe...

State basketball: Wayzata holds off Lakeville North to set up Class 4A title game rematch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

With fewer than two minutes to play in a tie game in the Class 4A semifinals, both Lakeville North and Wayzata tried to milk the clock to take the final shot of regulation.The Panthers faltered in their attempt, throwing the ball away with 1 minute, 7 seconds to play. The Trojans would make no such mistake.Wayzata successfully drained the clock down to approximately 10 ticks remaining before star guard Hayden Tibbits made his move. Tibbits knifed into the middle of the paint and drilled a mid-range jumper with 1.1 seconds to play to secure Wayzata’s 79-77 victory and send the Trojans back to the state title game for the third time in as many seasons.The Trojans will meet Park Center in the Class 4A championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday at Target Center in a rematch of last year’s title bout won by the Pirates.“You don’t win at this level in March … without veteran guards,” Wayzata coach Bryan Schnettler said. “You have to have veteran guards. In high school, you’ve got to have junior...

With grisly evidence, trial begins for the suspect in St. Paul quadruple homicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

Dennis Scheffler was driving a tractor in Dunn County, Wis., on a Sunday afternoon in September 2021 when he noticed cornstalks had been knocked down by vehicle tires. He soon came across a dark-colored SUV parked in the cornfield.The 63-year-old farmhand told a Ramsey County courtroom on Thursday that he walked over to the SUV, which had Minnesota license plates, and peered inside. He said he saw a woman slumped over and a man with his “head tipped up and a blank stare in his eyes.”Investigators would find in the Mercedes-Benz SUV the bodies of four people who prosecutors say were fatally shot in the SUV in St. Paul by Antoine Darnique Suggs, who now stands on trial for their murders.Antoine Suggs (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)“This is a case about a night that was supposed to be fun, but turned into a grisly horror show,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Andrew Johnson said in his opening statement in Suggs’ quadruple-murder trial. “Four senseless murders, ...

Florida Atlantic makes first Elite Eight, bounces Tennessee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

By RALPH D. RUSSO (AP College Sports Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Florida Atlantic, playing in just its second NCAA Tournament, moved within a victory of the Final Four by using a second-half push led by Michael Forrest to beat fourth-seeded Tennessee 62-55 on Thursday night.The ninth-seeded Owls (34-3) will play third-seeded Kansas State in the East Region final at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Even before the tournament started, this was the unquestionably the greatest season in FAU history. Now the Owls are one of the biggest stories in all of sports.“We’re just a scrappy group,” FAU guard Nick Boyd said. “Unbreakable.”Johnell Davis led the Owls with 15 points and Forrest finished with 11, including eight in a crucial second-half run where FAU took control.The Volunteers (25-11), who were looking for just the second Elite Eight appearance in program history, shot just 33% — including 6 of 23 from 3-point range. Josiah-Jordan James and Jona...

LAUSD classes to resume Friday as 3-day strike ends; still no deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

Classes will resume for hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District students on Friday after a planned three-day strike by union employees ended with no new agreement.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is actively involved in the negotiations between the district and the Service Employees International Union, Local 99, which represents around 30,000 teachers’ aides, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and other support staff.Rallies were held across Los Angeles on Thursday, including a large gathering at the L.A. Historic State Park.Around 60,000 Los Angeles Unified School District employees on strike, calling for higher wages and better working conditions on March 23, 2023. (KTLA)Around 60,000 Los Angeles Unified School District employees on strike, calling for higher wages and better working conditions on March 23, 2023. (KTLA)Around 60,000 Los Angeles Unified School District employees on strike, calling for higher wages and better working conditions on March 23...

SF Giants: Alex Cobb’s swollen knee puts opening series start vs. Yankees in jeopardy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — While Alex Cobb initially seemed to avert the worst-case scenario when he took a hard-hit line drive off his left knee in a spring start almost two weeks ago, the Giants’ No. 2 starter is still dealing with swelling in the knee that could put his first turn through the rotation in jeopardy.“I think until we have that swelling out of there and he feels really confident that he can complete his work off the mound, it still may be a couple days,” manager Gabe Kapler said Thursday. “We had him slated for the second game of the season. We may need to push that start back. We’ll see.”After suffering the injury on March 11, Cobb made his next scheduled start and threw another bullpen. But almost two weeks later, the knee is still bothering him, Kapler said. On Thursday, he threw off flat ground, but the Giants are going to be cautious with Cobb, 35, who is expected to fill a significant role on the starting staff.Cobb said he was R...

Gonzaga beats UCLA 79-76 in Sweet 16 on Strawther’s shot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Julian Strawther hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left to answer a 3-pointer by UCLA’s Amari Bailey, lifting Gonzaga to a wild 79-76 NCAA Tournament win over UCLA Thursday night in the Sweet 16.The Bruins (31-6), the West Region’s No. 2 seed, stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the final 1:05 and took a 76-75 lead on Bailey’s 3-pointer with 12.2 seconds left.The Zags (31-5) brought the ball up the floor and Strawther stepped into a 3-pointer, sending Gonzaga fans to their feet.Gonzaga’s Malachi Smith stole the ball from UCLA’s Tyger Campbell, but Strawther only hit 1 of 2 free throws at the other end, giving the Bruins a chance.Campbell’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the back of the rim, sending the Zags rushing off the bench and into the Elite Eight against UConn on Saturday.Strawther’s shot, off a drop pass, was reminiscent of the one Villanova’s Kris Jenkins made to clinch the 2016 national championship. It’s the second time Gon...