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Biden draws parallels between Putin, Hamas in Oval Office address

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

President Biden on Thursday used a primetime Oval Office address to argue U.S. support for Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars is vital to American national security, drawing parallels between the two conflicts ahead of a request for congressional aid.“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to annihilate a neighboring democracy,” Biden said, while adding that countries like Iran back both the U.S.-designated terrorist group and the Kremlin.“I know these conflicts can seem far away and it’s natural to ask, why does this matter to America?” he added.The president sought to make the case that America is the “essential nation” that can simultaneously support its allies, deter adversaries and rally other nations behind the cause of global democracies.“American leadership is what holds the world together. America’s alliances are what keep us safe,” Biden said. “American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to...

Austin City Council seeking to hold funding for I-35 Express Central project

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Thursday, the Austin City Council approved a resolution seeking a hold on funding for the Texas Department of Transportation's Interstate 35 Capital Express Central project pending the completion of two regional climate strategy plans, the City of Austin said in a news release.The resolution was authored by Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, according to the city.The I-35 Central project is an eight-mile project track running from U.S. Hwy. 290 East to SH 71 and Ben White Boulevard.The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) is currently developing a Regional Mobile Emission Reduction Plan and the city – in partnership with CAMPO, the Capital Area Council of Governments, and local municipalities in Travis, Hays, and Bastrop counties – are creating an Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area Climate Plan, the release said. Both share the common goal of strategically reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. The I-35 Central project would ultima...

Minnesota AG seeks dissolution of nonprofits allegedly connected to child food program fraud

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is seeking to dissolve 23 nonprofits his office says were created or revived to defraud the Federal Child Nutrition Program.In 23 separate civil lawsuits filed Wednesday, Ellison’s office alleges the entities collected reimbursements from the program for meals they never provided.Most of the “sham nonprofits” named in the suits were headed by people who have been indicted in the Feeding Our Future criminal investigation, Ellison’s office said in a news release.“An independent civil investigation conducted by the Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office also revealed that the nonprofits were all created or revived around the start of the pandemic to capitalize on the Federal Child Nutrition Program, did not appear to have legitimate nonprofit activities on site, showed evidence of misuse in bank records when located, were abandoned or gave false addresses, failed to comply with state and federal reporti...

Biden declares Israel and Ukraine support is vital for US security, will ask Congress for billions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

WASHINGTON — Declaring that “American leadership is what holds the world together,” President Joe Biden argued Thursday night that the United States must deepen its support of Ukraine and Israel in the middle of two vastly different, unpredictable and bloody wars.Acknowledging that “these conflicts can seem far away,” Biden insisted in a rare Oval Office address that they remain “vital for America’s national security,” and said he will ask Congress for billions of dollars in military assistance for both countries.“History has taught us when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction,” Biden said. “They keep going. And the cost and the threat to America and the world keep rising.”Biden’s speech reflected an expansive view of U.S. obligations overseas at a time when he faces political resistance to additional funding at home. He’s expected to ask for $105 billion on Fr...

Kiszla: All the shine is on Coach Prime, but is Tad Boyle’s CU basketball team closer to national championship contention?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

BOULDER — There’s a great experiment being conducted on the CU football and basketball teams, where the approaches of Deion Sanders and Tad Boyle to building a national champion are as different as Louis Vuitton and L.L. Bean.Coach Prime is too cool for school, the celebrity face of a football juggernaut he brashly intends to construct in a flash, underwritten by fine French luggage bursting with cash. Uncle Tad is content to kick it old school, betting that in these crazy days of name, image and likeness, his method of program building can still translate into a top 20 hoops program built to last.“I know it’s a different world out there today … but I still believe in recruiting real good high-school players, then developing and watching them grow … and try to stay out of the transfer portal,” Boyle said at the outset of his 13th season at the helm of a basketball program that has never embraced loftier goals.The CU football program is Coach Prime, who scares the sport’s...

Candlelight vigil held for 4 Pepperdine students killed in crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

Community members were expected to gather Thursday evening to remember the four Pepperdine University students who were hit and killed by a vehicle on the Pacific Coast Highway. The candlelight vigil was part of a day of mourning that began with a prayer service on campus Thursday morning. The four Pepperdine University students, Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams, were killed Tuesday evening after authorities say a speeding driver hit them on PCH roughly four miles east of the school around 8:30 p.m. Pepperdine students killed by driver on PCH in Malibu identified Students, faculty, friends and loved mourned the four young women who were seniors at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts.“This morning, we gather as a community in grief,” said Dr. Tim Spidey, Associate Vice President for Spiritual Life at Pepperdine. “The only words I have for you in the midst of this terrible storm are his words, peace I leave you, my peace I give you.”During the pra...

Mysterious white powder found at L.A. City Hall not hazardous, officials say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

A hazardous materials investigation turned out to be a false alarm after authorities swarmed Los Angeles City Hall following the discovery of a mysterious white powder.The Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police and LAPD's HazMat Units responded to the scene around 2 p.m. after the unknown substance was found in a first floor mailroom.Two city hall workers were evaluated by paramedics and transported to a hospital for further evaluation as a precaution after opening a package containing the unidentified substance. The workers didn’t show any signs or symptoms of illness, authorities said.Footage from Sky5 showed a large number of first responders at the scene.The mailroom and a few nearby businesses were evacuated by LAPD personnel and the LAPD Bomb Squad was also on the scene assisting authorities. Los Angeles Street between Temple and First streets was shut down due to the investigation. Around 6:15 p.m., LAFD officials said the scene was being cleared after it was determi...

Single-family residence sells in San Ramon for $1.8 million

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

233 Veritas Court – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 200 block of Veritas Court in San Ramon has new owners. The 2,246-square-foot property, built in 2004, was sold on Oct. 2, 2023. The $1,839,500 purchase price works out to $819 per square foot. This two-story home boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and three baths. The property is equipped with central A/C. Additionally, the home includes an attached two-car garage.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:A 2,246-square-foot home on the 3900 block of Veritas Way in San Ramon sold in August 2022, for $1,800,000, a price per square foot of $801. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In July 2023, a 2,683-square-foot home on Adriatic Court in San Ramon sold for $1,950,000, a price per square foot of $727. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Middlebrook Way, San Ramon, in May 2023, a 3,173-square-foot home was sold for $2,120,000, a price per square foot of $668. The...

What does Powell’s Georgia plea deal mean for Trump?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

By Marshall Cohen | CNNFormer Donald Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell’s stunning plea deal in the Georgia election subversion case on the eve of her trial will significantly change the landscape of the ongoing state and federal prosecutions against the former president.As recently as Tuesday, Powell was still posting false claims on social media that said the 2020 election was rigged against Trump. But on Thursday, she walked into an Atlanta courtroom and admitted that she was guilty of trying to interfere with the 2020 election.Her plea deal with Fulton County prosecutors will require her to testify truthfully against her co-defendants at any upcoming trials, including against Trump himself.“This is a really big breakthrough for prosecutors,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday on “News Central.” “There’s no such thing as halfway cooperation.”Here’s a breakdown of how this could impact the cases going forward.Why did she plead now?There’s nothing like an impending ...

President Biden: Support for Israel, Ukraine both ‘vital’ to US

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:30:48 GMT

By Chris Megerian and Seung Min Kim | Associated PressWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden declared it is “vital for America’s national security” for Israel and Ukraine to succeed in their wars, making the case Thursday night for deepening U.S. involvement in two unpredictable foreign conflicts as he prepared to ask for billions of dollars in military assistance for both countries.If international aggression is allowed to continue, Biden said in a rare Oval Office address, “conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world.”“Hamas and Putin represent different threats,” Biden said. “But they share this in common. They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”He said he would send an urgent funding request to Congress, which is expected to be $105 billion for the next year. The proposal, which will be unveiled on Friday, includes $60 billion for Ukraine, much of which is for replenishing U.S. weapons stock...