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Gaetz launches effort to bring down McCarthy, but removing the House speaker is no easy task

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — “How would you be different as speaker, compared to Mr. Boehner?” a reporter asked then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in September 2015 as the California Republican pursued, and eventually gave up, his first attempt at the speakership. McCarthy laughed while standing next to outgoing Speaker John Boehner — who had just stepped down after facing a threat of removal — and joked that he was from a different generation and wouldn’t be as tan.Eight years later, McCarthy is finding that there are fewer differences between them as he faces a conservative revolt against his speakership.“If somebody wants to remove (me) because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy told reporters Saturday. And his critics, namely Rep. Matt Gaetz, are attempting to do just that. On Monday, the far-right Republican from Florida announced he was using a procedural tool — called a motion to vacate — to try to strip McCarthy of his office. In a speech...

11 people are dead after Mexico church roof collapses. No more people believed buried in rubble

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

CIUDAD MADERO, Mexico (AP) — Father Ángel Vargas was moving pew to pew baptizing children when a tie beam gave way bringing his church’s roof crashing down on dozens of people gathered there, killing at least 11 but sparing himself and some others.Vargas recounted Sunday’s harrowing collapse in northeast Mexico to Radio Formula Monday.“Some people could get out and others no,” said Vargas, who described how the roof did not collapse in some areas like around the altar, allowing himself and others to escape. “It is a terrible experience and it has been even worse because of the fact that people were lost.”Many of those gathered at the Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero Sunday afternoon were elderly and children, because there were about five baptisms taking place. The toll could have been much higher, because a short time earlier some 300 people had been in the sanctuary for Mass.State officials said Monday afternoon that 13 people remained hospitalized with two of those in serious c...

New Baltimore police commissioner confirmed by City Council despite recent challenges

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore City Council on Monday confirmed Richard Worley as the city’s new police commissioner, a leadership change that comes amid an ongoing push for reform of the embattled agency that began after Freddie Gray’s 2015 death.Mayor Brandon Scott nominated Worley to replace Michael Harrison, who announced his resignation earlier this summer, several months before his five-year contract was set to expire. Harrison led the New Orleans Police Department through a similar reform process before moving to Baltimore.While Harrison brought an outsider’s perspective to the job, Worley is a Baltimore native and a longtime department veteran. But critics have questioned whether he is too much of an insider, having served in supervisory positions during problematic periods in the department’s history.They have also expressed concern over two recent high-profile tragedies that unfolded since Worley took over as acting commissioner when Harrison left — including a block party...

Iowa promises services to kids with severe mental and behavioral needs after lawsuit cites failures

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

Iowa’s health agency will take steps to develop home and community-based services for children with severe mental and behavioral needs as part of an initial agreement with civil rights groups that filed a class action lawsuit.The lawsuit was filed in January on behalf of three children. It alleges that Iowa has for decades failed to meet its legal obligations to Medicaid -eligible children who should have access to individualized and coordinated care plans, in-home therapy and emergency services.The complaint includes children who have been institutionalized for services that they were previously recommended to receive — and say they were entitled to receive, given the Medicaid Act — in their communities or homes.“There was a desperate need to build a statewide children’s health system with an effective array of services,” said Catherine Johnson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa. “The complaint that we’ve filed alleges that these services are not available in...

Tropical Storm Philippe makes landfall in Barbuda as heavy rains drench northeast Caribbean

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Philippe made landfall Monday in the tiny island of Barbuda as it unleashed heavy rains and flash floods in the northeast Caribbean. The storm was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Antigua on Monday night. Top sustained winds were at 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts, and Philippe was moving northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). The storm is expected to eventually spin north into the open Atlantic, where it could strengthen into a hurricane around midweek, forecasters say.The twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda was under a tropical storm warning, with forecasters saying the strongest winds and heaviest rains were expected as the storm moved away from the archipelago.A tropical storm warning for Antigua and Barbuda was issued as the storm moved a bit further west than initially expected, with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology saying Philippe has not been a “well-behaved” storm or predictable in its trajectory. Initial...

Pascal Siakam’s future with Raptors remains in question as camp begins

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

The last time the Toronto Raptors were relevant for playing basketball, as opposed to being relevant as a reliable content provider for the NBA’s never-ending off-season news cycle, things didn’t end well.To rewind: Toronto’s 41-41 regular season culminated with a ninth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, earning the Raptors the honour of hosting the first play-in game, which they promptly lost to the Chicago Bulls in large part because the home side shot an unfathomably inept 18-of-36 from the free throw line.The lasting image was Pascal Siakam finishing off an otherwise exemplary game — 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists on 13-of-22 shooting — by missing three free throws with 12 seconds left, and the Raptors trailing by two points.It was the Raptors’ season in a nutshell — and Siakam’s too. The team over-promised — the plan was to build on the 47-win season of 2021-22 — and under-delivered. Toronto’s year was mostly notable for being ...

'That’s going to be with her for life': Armed robbery in Frankfort caught on camera

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ill. — An armed robbery caught on camera in south suburban Frankfort has left some in the community feeling concerned. Police are now hoping anyone who recognizes the suspect will come forward.According to the Frankfort Police Department, the robbery took place around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night in a parking lot near West Nebraska Street while a 17-year-old girl was walking to her car. Police search for suspects in Near West Side armed robberies Community members say the girl had just left work at a local restaurant when it all unfolded. The teen girl, who was robbed at gunpoint, can be heard on surveillance video screaming for help before running away through a nearby alley.According to police, a dark sedan with one headlight quickly approached the victim before a passenger, who was wearing dark clothing and a mask, exited the vehicle and pointed a gun at her. Police described the suspect as a male who stands around 6 feet tall and weighs around 200 pounds.&n...

Missing 9-year-old girl in New York found safe, suspect in custody

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

MOREAU, N.Y. (AP) — A 9-year-old girl who vanished during a family camping trip in upstate New York was found safe Monday following a two-day search, authorities said.Charlotte Sena was located “in good health” and “a suspect is in custody” in connection with her disappearance Saturday evening, New York State Police said in a statement.Authorities didn’t immediately release further details.Hundreds of law enforcement officers, forest rangers and others searched a swath of upstate New York after the girl disappeared while riding her bicycle in Moreau Lake State Park, about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of Albany, according to state police.Police had said they were worried she was abducted.The girl’s family pleaded with the public for help in finding Charlotte, including providing any tips to the state police.“We just want her returned safely like any parent would,” the family said in a statement. “No tip is too small, please call if you know anything at all.”About 400 people to...

Missing New York 9-year-old Charlotte Sena found, suspect in custody

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- A 9-year-old girl who vanished during a family camping trip in New York two days ago has been found, police announced Monday evening. "Charlotte Sena has been located and in good health," New York State Police said in a short press release. "A suspect is in custody. This is still an active investigation." Sena, who went missing out of Saratoga County, was last seen at approximately 6:15 p.m. on Saturday. Sena disappeared while riding her bicycle in Moreau Lake State Park, about 35 miles north of Albany, according to authorities. Police feared she may have been abducted.The fourth-grader had been riding her bike around a campsite loop in the bucolic park with other children when she decided to ride around one more time by herself. Her parents became alarmed when she failed to return after 15 minutes, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a briefing Sunday.The girl’s mother called 911 after her bicycle was found at around 6:45 p.m. Saturday.About 400 search and rescue pers...

Hays CISD can remove students from school after 5 straight absences without notice

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:27:33 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for Oct. 2, 2023.HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Fewer students showing up to school prompted Hays CISD to change its attendance policy. This school year, the district decreased the number of consecutive days a student can be absent without giving notice to the district. "Anyone who sort of disappears, if you will, on us for five days, and they're gone, we can un-enroll them," Hays CISD spokesperson Tim Savoy said. Previously, the rule was 10 days. "If you have to be out for whatever reason, and you let us know, then you're not going to be taken off the books. This is just for people who we cannot reach after multiple attempts to try to reach," Savoy said. What prompted this?Hays CISD said it's making this change because it noticed more empty chairs in the classroom over the years. "Our average daily attendance before the pandemic, it was about 95%, 96%," Savoy said. "Since the pandemic, understandably, it's dropped a ...