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China’s president will visit Vietnam weeks after it strengthened ties with the US and Japan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Vietnam on Tuesday seeking to further deepen ties with its neighbor that is deepening diplomatic relations with Western-aligned countries.In his first visit since 2017, Xi will meet with Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnam’s foreign ministry said.“This reflects Beijing’s concerns about Hanoi’s advances with the West,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow with the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. “Concerns that Vietnam may join an anti-China alliance and gang up against China.”Xi’s visit marks 15 years of China being a “comprehensive strategic partner” of Vietnam, the highest official designation for a diplomatic relationship.Vietnam has an increasingly important strategic role in security and economy in southeast Asia.Ideologically, Vietnam is closer to Beijing. It is run by a Communist Party with strong ties to Chin...

Charges filed against 2 men allegedly caught stealing from Oak Brook Macy's

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Charges have been filed against two men accused in two separate retail thefts at a department store in Oak Brook, according to DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin.In a press release sent out on Monday afternoon, Berlin announced the charges against the two men, both migrants from Venezuela, for their alleged roles in two separate retail thefts at a Macy’s at 1 Oakbrook Center. Missing Carpentersville teen’s car pulled from pond in Vernon Hills Berlin said both men involved are facing one felony count of retail theft.According to Berlin, the first man, 30-year-old Jainer Efrain Guttierrez Quintero, was allegedly caught attempting to steal a backpack and two coats, worth about $459, just before 4:30 on Sunday afternoon.In an unrelated incident, another man, 28-year-old Martinez Artigas, was allegedly caught attempting to steal eight items from the store, worth about $1,173, only 30 minutes later. Berlin said Artigas is also facing an additional charge of m...

'We're searching for life': Residential building partially collapses in the Bronx

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

NEW YORK (WPIX) – A multi-story building in the Bronx partially collapsed Monday afternoon, and firefighters are now combing through the debris in search of potential victims, New York City fire officials said.The six-story structure at 1915 Billingsly Terrace in Morris Heights partially collapsed around 3:30 p.m., according to the FDNY.Citizen App video showed several stories of the building exposed with what appeared to be a home appliance, possibly a washing machine or dryer, visible on one of the floors. A pile of a debris could be seen around the base of the building after the partial collapse. So far, no injuries have been reported. FDNY members are searching for possible victims in the rubble. The FDNY is also using drones, K-9 units and tower ladders as part of its search.“This is an ongoing operation. Our members are still conducting search and rescue and will do so until we either find someone or confirm that there is no one under that rubble,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kava...

George Santos ‘presently engaged in plea negotiations,’ US attorney says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is “presently engaged in plea negotiations,” the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York revealed Monday.The announcement came one day before Santos is scheduled to appear in court on Long Island for a status conference. And it follows days of speculation regarding whether the New York Republican would take a plea deal after he was expelled from Congress in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.“The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial. The parties wish to continue those negotiations over the next thirty days and respectfully submit that the ends of justice served by such an excludable delay outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial,” the agenda for Tuesday’s status conference reads.Santos himself hinted at a potential plea deal over the weekend, telling CBS New York’s “The Point” in an interview that a plea deal with federal...

Texas Supreme Court issues ruling in Dallas woman's abortion case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The 31-year-old Dallas woman at the center of a challenge to Texas abortion ban was forced to leave the state for an abortion as she awaited action on her case in the state Supreme Court, the Center for Reproductive Rights said. On Monday evening, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion blocking the lower court's ruling the woman could get an abortion in Texas.Last week, a Travis County court ruled Kate Cox could receive an abortion under the medical exceptions in Texas' ban. Cox received a fatal fetal diagnosis at 20 weeks of pregnancy called trisomy 18. The fetus is unable to sustain life, and Cox argued her health and future fertility would be at risk if she gave birth."The exception requires a doctor to decide whether Ms. Cox’s difficulties pose such risks. Dr. [Damla] Karsan asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires," the ruling sta...

Affidavit: 3 arrested in connection with Austin street takeover

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Three people were arrested in connection with a street takeover event that happened in Austin last week, according to an arrest affidavit.Aiden Rojas, 20, Jonas Gonzales, 19, and a 17-year-old were taken into custody and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, which is a class A misdemeanor, court documents said.On Dec. 8, the Austin Police Department was made aware of a group who planned to meet at the Home Depot, located at 3600 North Interstate Highway 35 Service Road southbound, according to the affidavit. Police saw "several hundred cars fill the parking lot, and the participants were asked to leave by management."As the night progressed, court records said the group "relocated to several locations throughout Austin." APD saw videos of those groups blocking off an intersection for "vehicles to do donuts on the public roadway." One person from the group was live on their Instagram and posted multiple confirmed locations before other ve...

No. 5 Texas puts undefeated mark on the line in first true road game vs. Arizona

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The No. 5 Texas Longhorns play their first true road game of the season on Wednesday when they take on the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson, and head coach Vic Schaefer is excited to see how the team reacts to a less-than-hospitable crowd."I'm excited to take our team on the road, and we'll go into a place with a lot of people and be challenging for us," he said. "This will be good for us. You always find out about your team when you play good teams on the road."MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersArizona is 7-2 with losses to current No. 23 UNLV and Ole Miss, ranked No. 23 at the time the teams played. The Wildcats clobbered UC-San Diego 81-38 on Dec. 7 with five players scoring in double figures. Longhorns guard Shaylee Gonzales is from Gilbert, Arizona, a southeast suburb of Phoenix about a 2-hour drive to the McKale Center, and Schaefer said it'll be nice for...

Dane Mizutani: Josh Metellus is the queen on the chessboard for Vikings’ defense

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

Josh Metellus got his flowers on Sunday afternoon with the Vikings locked in a stalemate with the Las Vegas Raiders. It came in the form of a graphic that popped up during the television broadcast detailing all the positions Metellus has played for the Vikings this season amid a breakout campaign.The list was so long it almost didn’t fit on the screen.As the most versatile player on the defense, Metellus has proven he doesn’t have a true position, playing strong safety, free safety, slot cornerback, outside cornerback, inside linebacker, outside linebacker, defensive end and defensive tackle. Sometimes all in the same game. He joked that he should be listed simply as “athlete” on the gameday roster for the VikingsTo say that Metellus has carved out a niche for himself under defensive coordinator Brian Flores would be putting it lightly. After starting his career as an ace on special teams, Metellus has developed into an irreplaceable player on defense, moving...

Anoka County jail inmate found dead in cell, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

An inmate at the Anoka County jail was found dead in his cell Saturday morning, officials say.A sheriff’s deputy doing rounds at the jail discovered the man unresponsive in his cell about 11:36 a.m., according to a news release issued by the county Monday afternoon.Medical personnel from Allina EMS and private contractor Advanced Correctional Healthcare responded and provided first aid to the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office will lead the investigation into the man’s death, along with the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.“The responsibility to provide care and supervision to all those legally confined to the Anoka County Jail is one I take very seriously,” Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise said in the news release. “In-custody deaths bring profound impacts to many people including the individual’s family, friends, those housed with them, and detention staff. Both the staff of the Anoka County Jail and I continue...

Roseville teen acquitted by reason of mental illness in killing grandmother, beating mother and sister

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:02 GMT

A teen has been acquitted by reason of mental illness in an attack that left his grandmother dead and mother and sister with serious injuries last year in the family’s Roseville home.Ramsey County District Judge JaPaul Harris found 18-year-old Matthew Francis Hill not guilty due to his mental illness, writing in an order last week the “weight of the evidence, closest in time to the offense, suggests (Hill) was suffering from a psychosis or other symptoms that would render him incapable of knowing right from wrong.”In the first phase of the bench trial, Harris found in September that Hill was guilty of beating his 88-year-old grandmother, Patricia Maslow, with a baseball bat and fatally stabbing her, then striking his mother, 56-year-old Mary Hill, and 24-year-old sister, Anna Hill, with the bat.Prosecutors by juvenile petition had charged Hill, who was 17 at the time, with second-degree intentional murder and first- and second-degree assault in the Oct. 25, 2022, attack in the...