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Hong Kong plans electoral overhaul for district councils

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong is planning to overhaul its last major political representative body that is mostly comprised of popularly elected seats, its leader said Tuesday. The move ensures the municipal-level organization will be run by Beijing loyalists, quashing any future challenges.Chief Executive John Lee said at a press briefing that the government will not allow the district councils to become a platform for advocating Hong Kong independence or intervening in its administration. The race for the seats of the city’s district representatives usually gets little international attention as the councilors mainly handle municipal matters. But their election took on symbolic importance after the city’s pro-democracy camp won a landslide victory in the last poll at the height of the anti-government protests in 2019. In 2021, Hong Kong amended its electoral laws for its legislature, drastically reducing the public’s ability to vote and increasing the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers ...

Venezuelan Guaidó denounces being expelled from Colombia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said he was expelled from Colombia hours after he crossed the border from Venezuela to try to meet with some participants at Tuesday’s international conference to discuss his country’s political crisis.”In a video posted on Twitter, Guaidó said he entered Colombia trying to escape Venezuelan government persecution, but that now he also felt he was being persecuted by President’s Nicolás Maduro in Colombia. Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said late Monday in a press release that Guaidó was “irregularly” in the country so immigration authorities escorted him to the international airport to take a plane bound to the U.S. “The persecution of the dictatorship unfortunately spread to Colombia today,” Guaidó said on the video from inside an airplane. He added that he was on a commercial flight to the U.S and that he would say more on Wednesday.After the re-election of Maduro in 2018 was deemed a sham by dozens of countrie...

Jury selection set to start in rape lawsuit against Trump

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, former President Donald Trump has seemed to shake off allegations, investigations and even impeachments. Now his “Teflon Don” reputation is about to face a new test: a jury of average citizens in a lawsuit accusing him of rape.Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a trial over former advice columnist’s E. Jean Carroll’s claim that Trump raped her nearly three decades ago in a department store dressing room. He denies it.The trial is in a federal civil court, meaning that no matter the outcome, Trump isn’t in danger of going to jail. He isn’t required to be in court, either, and his lawyers have indicated he most likely won’t testify.But the trial, which comes as Trump is again running for president, still has the potential to be politically damaging for the Republican. The jury is poised to hear a reprisal of stories of sexual misconduct that rocked his 2016 presidential campaign, allegations he claimed were falseh...

Sony brings Spider-Verse, Denzel, ‘Napoleon’ to CinemaCon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sony chairman and CEO Tom Rothman did not hold back Monday on the opening night of CinemaCon in Las Vegas, reminding a crowd of theater owners and exhibitors that Sony is and was the “only major studio dedicated entirely to theatrical.”The studio’s motion pictures group president Josh Greenstein added that while other studios experimented with streaming and shortened theatrical windows over the past few years, Sony stayed the course. “Just two years ago in the throes of the pandemic, there was a lot of noise, a lot of talk about the death of exhibition,” Greenstein said on stage at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. “The future, everyone said, was streaming.”Now some of those studios who pivoted are “realizing the value of exclusive theatrical windows and reversing course,” he said. Some streamers are even getting into the theatrical game in a meaningful way.“Oh how the times have changed,” Greenstein said. “I say come on in, there’s room for everyone, the water is fi...

Avalanche-Kraken Game 4 Quick Hits: Alexandar Georgiev’s strong night not enough in OT loss

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken in Game 4 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.Georgiev’s strong night ends in tough fashion: Seattle put two past Alexandar Georgiev during its first-period onslaught, but even then the Bulgarian kept the hosts from pulling even further ahead as he got peppered by 18 shots in the first 20 minutes. Once Colorado wrangled the Kraken in, Georgiev settled in.He stopped 37 of 39 shots in regulation and turned in some of the best work of his postseason so far, including a Jaden Schwartz runout in overtime. Schwartz drew a penalty, though, and Jordan Eberle cashed in the winner not long after following a scramble that saw Cale Makar go down to a knee and perhaps inadvertently screen Georgiev’s vision.Georgiev is handling the primary goaltending duties for the first time in his career after backing up Igor Shesterkin the past four years for the New York Rangers. He stopped 28 of 30 over th...

Kraken strike back against Avalanche as Jordan Eberle’s game-winner ties series in heated Game 4

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

SEATTLE — Sticks lay slipshod on the sheet of ice that had just tilted in the one way that seemed impossible before this.All hockey equipment was neglected with no time remaining in the first period. Evading the forgotten twigs, skaters divided into three separate shoving matches within 20 feet of one another. A series that seemed tame into the second game and regularly chippy through three had finally crossed the line.The player who pushed it across was sitting on the bench, miraculously, Cale Makar.The Avalanche fell 3-2 to the Kraken in a Game 4 overtime thriller Monday night in the Pacific Northwest. Jordan Eberle delivered the game-winning goal, lifting the puck over Alexandar Georgiev’s right shoulder to net a power play tally and send Climate Pledge Arena into a frenzy.Josh Manson was whistled for tripping 1:59 into the extra frame to set up the man advantage.The series is now tied after a clash that might have transformed this matchup into a rivalry that will tra...

Axe-wielding man has Highland Park neighborhood on edge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

Some Highland Park residents are on edge after an axe-wielding man, who lives in a nearby homeless encampment, has been seen roaming the streets and destroying the sense of safety in their neighborhood.  Video shows the man attempting to cut down a tree in the front yard of one of the homes with his axe. According to the homeowner, the man also has a drum set that he sometimes uses to make noise at all hours of the day and night. “As a woman, I’m worried about walking through my neighborhood because I don’t know what kind of mood he’ll be in and I know that he’s armed,” the homeowner, identified only as Tracy, told KTLA.  A new mom, Tracy says she’s constantly worried about the safety of her family and has called the city’s 311 hotline dozens of times but has not received any help.  Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represent the neighborhood responded to KTLA’s request for comment with a statement that read in part: “We want to ensure that everyone in CD1 – ...

Chemical investigation underway in West Los Angeles; fire crews on scene

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Rancho Park Monday night after receiving reports of an “oil-like” substance seeping up from the ground, authorities said.  Calls about the incident, located in the 2800 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard, came in just before 6 p.m., according to an LAFD news release.  A portion of Sepulveda Boulevard under the 405 Freeway has been closed as a result of the cleanup and investigation. While officials called for a vacuum truck and sand, crews “used soil from the side of the road to control the spread of the yet-to-be-identified ‘oil like' substance that continues to seep out of the ground,” LAFD said.  Crews attempt to mitigate an "oil-like" substance seeping up from the ground in West L.A. April 24, 2023. (KTLA)Oil-like substance seen seeping up from the ground in West L.A. April 24, 2023. (KTLA)Oil-like substance seen seeping up from the ground in West L.A. April 24, 2023. (KTLA)Crews attempt to mitigate an "oil-like" ...

LeBron leads Lakers past Grizz 117-111 in OT for 3-1 lead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James made the tying layup with 0.8 seconds left in regulation before scoring four of his 22 points in overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.The 38-year-old James also grabbed a career playoff-high 20 rebounds and added seven assists and two blocked shots while committing just one turnover in his 270th playoff game, extending his own NBA record. He became the first Lakers player to put up 20 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Shaquille O'Neal in 2004.“He just took over down the stretch,” Anthony Davis said of James. “Got us a bucket to get to overtime. ... All our guys, it was a good team effort. This team is not going to go away.”Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Davis had five of his 12 in overtime for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who have won two straight home games to move to the brink of their first playoff series victory...

Oakland A’s hit five homers, make team history in win over Los Angeles Angels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:54 GMT

ANAHEIM — Ryan Noda hit a two-run double in the 10th inning, Brent Rooker and Jesús Aguilar became the first Athletics teammates to hit back-to-back home runs twice in one game and Oakland rallied for an 11-10 victory over the Los Angeles Angels after blowing an early six-run lead Monday night.The Angels got within a run on Brandon Drury’s two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th and had runners on first and second with two outs, but Mike Trout hit a grounder to third that ended the game.Adam Oller (1-0) got the win and Jeurys Familia earned his second save.With one out and runners at the corners, Noda lined a double down the left-field line off Jaime Barría (1-1) to make it 10-8. Noda, who came off the bench in the ninth and scored the tying run when Rooker walked with the bases loaded, then scored on Tony Kemp’s single.Aguilar had three hits and Rooker drove in three runs for the A’s, who had lost nine of 10. Kevin Smith also went deep as Oakland launched fi...