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Christie calls Trump ‘Donald Duck,’ DeSantis knocks former president and other debate takeaways

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

Seven Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the Reagan Library in California on Wednesday for the second of the party’s primary debates. The contest’s dominant front-runner — former President Donald Trump — skipped the event again.With less than four months until the Iowa caucuses officially jumpstart the GOP nomination process, the pressure is building on Trump’s rivals to show they can emerge as a genuine alternative. Here are some early takeaways from the debate:DeSantis hits Trump Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had an aggressive start, using his first answer to criticize Trump for skipping the debate and for adding to the national debt while serving as president.“Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be here on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record,” DeSantis said.The Florida governor has been slow to attack Trump for most of the campaign, but as he’s struggled to maintain his position as a distant second, he’s started slowly sharpening ...

The candidates went after Biden – and Trump – at the second GOP debate. Follow live updates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

The seven candidates on stage for Wednesday night’s second presidential debate went after President Joe Biden, one another and the absent GOP front-runner.The at-times chaotic event featured staple questions about immigration, economics and abortion but also spawned a new nickname for Donald Trump, included some cringey sexual references and kept our fact-checkers busy.Here’s what to know— An overview of tonight’s debate, where candidates went after Biden — and Trump. — Christie calls Trump “Donald Duck,” DeSantis knocks former president and other debate highlights. — Trump again skipped the debate. Here’s what he was doing instead. — See more of our 2024 coverage. Who would you vote off the GOP island? As the debate neared its end, moderator Dana Perino asked the candidates to write down which of their on-stage competitors should be voted off the 2024 GOP island.But they didn’t bite. “With all due respect, I think that that’s disrespectful,” DeSantis said in response to...

FDA advisers vote against experimental ALS treatment pushed by patients

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers voted overwhelmingly against an experimental treatment for Lou Gehrig’s disease at a Wednesday meeting prompted by years of patient efforts seeking access to the unproven therapy.The panel of Food and Drug Administration experts voted 17-1 that drugmaker Brainstorm’s stem cell-based treatment has not been shown effective for patients with the fatal, muscle-wasting disease known as ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. One panel member abstained from voting.While the FDA is not bound by the vote, it largely aligns with the agency’s own strikingly negative review released earlier this week, in which staff scientists described Brainstorm’s application as “scientifically incomplete” and “grossly deficient.”“Creating false hope can be considered a moral injury and the use of statistical magic or manipulation to provide false hope is problematic,” said Lisa Lee, a bioethics and research integrity expert from Virginia Tech, who voted against...

Sri Lankan cricketer found not guilty of rape charges in Australian court case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Sri Lankan cricket international Danushka Gunathilaka has been found not guilty of raping a woman he met on a dating site during the south Asian team’s tour of Australia last November.Judge Sarah Huggett acquitted the 32-year-old player as he sat at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Thursday listening to the decision.Huggett found that the alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was an intelligent witness who did not deliberately give false evidence about the use of a condom but was motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavorable light.“I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence,” she said.Gunathilaka and the woman met for drinks at a bar before having pizza together in downtown Sydney and catching a ferry to the woman’s home in the city’s eastern suburbs.The woman accused him of various acts of aggression and violence. Police initially ...

Senators nix casual clothing as bipartisan resolution sets new dress code for Senate floor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — No shorts on the Senate floor. The Senate voted Wednesday evening to reverse an informal guidance issued by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week that senators could wear what they want when voting or speaking in the chamber. The resolution, passed by voice vote with no objections, requires that ”business attire be worn on the floor of the Senate, which for men shall include a coat, tie, and slacks or other long pants.” It did not specify what women should wear. The bipartisan resolution by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, comes after backlash to Schumer’s announcement that staff for the chamber’s Sergeant-at-Arms would no longer enforce a dress code on the Senate floor. The guidance came as Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has been unapologetically wearing shorts and sweatshirts around the Senate, voting from doorways so he didn’t walk on the chamber floor and get in trouble for his casual dress.“Though we’ve never had an official dres...

Long a city that embraced cars, Paris is seeing a new kind of road rage: Bike-lane traffic jams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Ring, ring! It’s rush hour on Paris’ Sébastopol Boulevard, and the congestion is severe — not just gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing, horn-honking snarls but also quieter and greener bottlenecks of cyclists jockeying for space.Until four years ago, motorists largely had the Paris thoroughfare to themselves. Now, its bike-lane jams speak to a cycling revolution that is reshaping the capital of France — long a country of car-lovers, home to Renault, Citroen and Peugeot. This revolution, like others, is also proving choppy. A nearly decade-long drive by Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo to turn Paris from a city hostile for cyclists — except those racing the Tour de France — into one where they venture more safely and freely has become so transformative that bikes are steadily muscling aside motor vehicles and increasingly getting in each other’s way. And more bike lanes are coming for next year’s Paris Olympics — part of an effort to halve the event’...

Powerball: Here are the winning numbers for the $850M jackpot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Did you win? Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot is a massive $850 million — the fourth largest in the game's history. Winning numbers for the jackpot are: 47, 63, 1, 46, and 7.  The Powerball number is 7. PowerPlay Multiplier is 3X.The jackpot is the second-largest prize this year and increased from $835 million Wednesday morning after strong ticket sales, Powerball says. Shrek’s Swamp now an Airbnb stay in Scotland Despite its growth, the jackpot still comes in behind a $2.04 billion jackpot hit last November in California; a $1.586 billion jackpot split by three tickets (California, Florida, Tennessee) in 2016; and a $1.08 billion jackpot won by a California ticket in July.Jackpot winners can receive the prize as an annuity (30 graduated payments over 29 years) or as a lump sum. According to Powerball, the jackpot has a cash value of $397.4 million. Under the annuity plan, winners will receive an immediate p...

Evanston residents protest Ryan Field renovations for 2nd straight day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — One day after protesters marched to Evanston City Hall to rally against renovations to Northwestern University's Ryan Field, Evanston's Land Use Commission heard from residents again Wednesday about their concerns regarding the university's football stadium rebuild project.At least 45 people signed up for public comment during the land use commission meeting Wednesday night, the second of such meetings so far where residents have expressed their thoughts and concerns on Northwestern's planned renovations of Ryan Field.Some residents were supportive, while others were less so."In six blocks surrounding where I live, there are 13 vacant businesses, we would like some traffic, we would like some business in our downtown," said Susan Barrett-Kelly. "There are plenty of neighbors who are very supportive of this project, I cannot wait to see an architectural gem in our backyard.""Northwestern is asking permission to invite over 30,000 people into our city," said David Coo...

The candidates went after Biden — and Trump — at the second GOP debate.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

The field's early front-runner, Donald Trump, is skipping the event, just as he did the first. He was 2,000 miles away trying to woo union workers in Michigan amid a labor strike.The candidates on stage are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.What to know— 7 candidates qualified for the second debate. Here’s who missed the cut — Here's how to watch tonight's debate — Republicans face growing urgency to stop Trump ahead of debate — Trump is in Michigan to compete with Biden for union votes — Who’s running for president? See a rundown of the 2024 candidatesDeSantis rejects idea that anti-abortion stance costs GOP electionsDeSantis is rejecting the idea that Republicans have been losing elections because of their opposition to abortion, and he says his reelection as Florida governor...

DeSantis decries 'hoax' narrative about Florida Black history curriculum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:10:45 GMT

(The Hill) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defended his state's updated and controversial Black history curriculum during the second GOP debate, decrying the "hoax that was perpetuated by Kamala Harris" regarding the new educational standards."So first of all, that's a hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris. We are not going to be doing that," DeSantis said when asked about backlash over Florida's Black history curriculum, which suggests to students that slavery offered benefits."Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves. These are great Black history scholars. So we need to stop playing these games," he continued. "Here's the deal: Our country's education system is in decline because it's focused on indoctrination, denying parents rights. Florida represents the revival of American education."The contested line in the educational curriculum is part of a benchmark clarification that "instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could b...