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Virginia Democrats sweep legislative elections after campaigning on abortion rights

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

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats who campaigned on protecting abortion rights swept Tuesday’s legislative elections, retaking full control of the General Assembly after two years of divided power.The outcome is a sharp loss for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who exerted a great deal of energy, money and political capital on an effort to secure a GOP trifecta.“It’s official: there will be absolutely no abortion ban legislation sent to Glenn Youngkin’s desk for the duration of his term in office, period, as we have thwarted MAGA Republicans’ attempt to take total control of our government and our bodies,” Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke said in a statement referencing Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.Virginia was one of just four states holding legislative races this year, and it’s something of a microcosm of other closely divided states that will be critical in next year’s presidential election. That fueled outsized interest in the legislat...

Kucherov scores early, Tomkins earns first NHL win as Lightning beat Canadiens 5-3

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

MONTREAL (AP) — Matt Tomkins waited a long time to earn his first NHL win. But he might not change a thing about the way it happened.The 29-year-old Tomkins was drafted in the seventh round in 2012 but only made his first start last month in Ottawa, making stops in the East Coast Hockey League, American Hockey League and the Swedish Hockey League along the way.On Tuesday night, he made 22 saves to backstop the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens for his first victory in an NHL net.“Everything’s been worth it to get to this point, a lot of questions along the way of ‘am I doing the right thing?’ and ‘is this for me?’ and there’s been a lot of stops in getting here,” said Tomkins. “It’s really special.”After losing in Tomkins’ first two starts, the Lightning did their best to secure a win in his third.A red-hot Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist, Nicholas Paul scored twice, and Alex Barre-Boulet and Michael Eyssimont also had goals for Tampa Bay, which j...

Longtime Assembly member Paul Moriarty has won open New Jersey state Senate seat, keeping it under Democratic control

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

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Longtime Assembly member Paul Moriarty has won open New Jersey state Senate seat, keeping it under Democratic control.Source

Democrat John Burzichelli recaptures New Jersey seat GOP won from Senate president in closely contested 2021 race

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

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrat John Burzichelli recaptures New Jersey seat GOP won from Senate president in closely contested 2021 race.Source

Houston mayor’s race heads to runoff between US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire

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

HOUSTON (AP) — The race for Houston mayor headed to a runoff Tuesday night between U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire, two Democrats who breezed past a wide field of candidates in a race dominated by issues of crime, crumbling infrastructure and potential budget shortfalls. If elected, Jackson Lee would be Houston’s first Black female mayor, a meaningful change for America’s fourth-largest city. Since 1995, she has represented Houston in Congress. Whitmire has lapped his rivals in fundraising after five decades in the Texas Legislature, where he has helped drive tough-on-crime policies while also casting himself as a reformer.The runoff will be Dec. 9. Jackson Lee told supporters Tuesday night that she’s focused on providing for the needs of families and children as well as prioritizing public safety, creating more jobs for residents and showing she can be a mayor “for all of the people.” Whitmire told his supporters that while he’s focused o...

Escondido working on short-term rental ordinance for early 2024

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

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The City of Escondido is working on an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals within the city and welcoming the community’s input.“We want to invite people to come to the city, but we also have to respect the people that are here and that is all we are looking to do,” Escondido Mayor Dane White said.According to the city, there are an estimated 181 short term rentals throughout Escondido operated without any rules. The city plans to have an ordinance in place by early 2024.“Number one, we are not benefiting from the transient occupancy tax that we could be and number two, we have received a large number of complaints, noise complaints, nuisance type complaints that we need to get addressed and we just need an avenue to make that happen,” White said.The city says its missing out on a potential of $300,000 or more in revenue from the transient occupancy tax, each year. Hop aboard for free train rides through Balboa Park Residents have been vocal about a select ...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly slip ahead of China-US meeting

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

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined in muted trading Wednesday as attention focused on prospects for improved China-U.S. relations from meetings next week on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meetings in San Francisco offer an opportunity for top leaders from the U.S. and China to mend troubled trade and political ties. Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are due to meet then, and White House officials expect to make some modest announcements as part of the tete-a-tete, but fundamental differences in the relationship will remain unchanged. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to meet Thursday and Friday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco before finance ministers of the APEC member nations officially kick off the summit Saturday.On Wednesday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.5% to 17,585.60, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.2% to 3,049.92. Gloom over worse-than-expected export data offset any positive ...

Growing numbers of Palestinians flee on foot as Israel says its troops are battling inside Gaza City

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

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing south on foot with only what they can carry after running out of food and water in the north, a U.N. agency said Wednesday, as Israel said its troops were battling Hamas militants deep inside Gaza City. Over 70% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have already fled their homes, but the growing numbers making their way south point to an increasingly desperate situation in and around Gaza’s largest city, which has come under heavy Israeli bombardment.The war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault inside Israel has entered a second month, with an increasingly dire humanitarian situation inside the besieged Palestinian enclave and no end in sight. Israel has said its war to end Hamas’ rule and crush its military capabilities will be long and difficult, and that it will maintain some form of control over the coastal enclave indefinitely.About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday, triple the nu...

Andy Beshear’s path to reelection as Kentucky governor went through Trump country

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won reelection to Kentucky’s highest office Tuesday by improving upon the path to victory he carved in his successful 2019 bid.That year, Beshear barely defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin, 49.2% to 48.8% — a margin of just over 5,000 votes. He did so by posting huge margins in the state’s Democratic strongholds, cobbling together wins or near-wins in a number of Republican-leaning areas, and minimizing the damage in traditionally safe Republican areas.Beshear appears to have carried 29 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, all but two of them in counties Donald Trump carried in the 2020 presidential election. In comparison, he won 23 total counties four years ago.Beshear was the overwhelming choice of voters who cast their ballots before Election Day, winning about 62%. Since the 2020 presidential election, Democrats tend to make up the lion’s share of pre-Election Day voting. More notably, Beshear held Republican nominee Daniel Camer...

Duluth refuses to give incumbent mayor a third term

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

DULUTH, Minn. — Roger Reinert will be the city’s next mayor after defeating the incumbent officeholder, Emily Larson, on Tuesday night.The two longtime DFLers squared off against each other in the tightest mayoral race since Don Ness faced Charlie Bell in 2007.Despite running against an incumbent, Reinert emerged as the political favorite in the race, after a strong primary performance, garnering 60% of the vote to Larson’s 40% in final but unofficial returns.Larson managed to narrow that gap slightly in the general election, shrinking the margin as Reinert received just 60% of the vote to her 40%, according to unofficial results released Tuesday.As far as the keys to the race, Reinert said: “I think it really was a couple things. It was how we approached it and being really thoughtful about getting out on the front end and meeting with people to have those conversations that really informed the five big issues that we just kept talking about.“And I think it was about staying the co...