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European Council updates: EU leaders discuss Ukraine accession and aid

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

EU leaders are in Brussels for a summit and the focus is on Ukraine — and Viktor Orbán.The leaders want to approve two key support measures for Kyiv: A €50 billion lifeline for Ukraine’s war-struck economy, and starting EU accession talks. But Orbán is blocking both. If they can’t strike a deal, this could be a long summit that, whisper it, could run into the weekend.Also on the agenda will be the EU’s long-term budget, defense, Russia sanctions, the Middle East — and anything else the leaders decide to talk about. Follow along here on our live blog, where POLITICO’s cast of thousands will bring you all the quotes, observations and pithy asides they can manage from the summit.

Hundreds of residents without water, part of Route 28 closed in Brockton after overnight water main break

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

An overnight water main break in Brockton sent water flowing down Montello Street and forced crews to close part of Route 28 to make repairs.Officials with the Brockton Department of Public Works said the break happened around 1 a.m. on Wednesday and involved a pipe that was believed to be around 100 years old.Water access for hundreds of residents was shut down as crews began repair work, with DPW crews seen tearing up asphalt and cleaning up the roadway throughout the morning.“Right now, we probably have about 200 or 300 customers impacted, about a mile of pipe is shut off – but it’s only the pipe on the main road, it’s not any of the side streets,” said Commissioner of Brockton Public Works Patrick Hill.A portion of Route 28, from Lawrence Street to Allen Street, was closed as crews continued to work.Officials estimated the work would likely go on through the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, with the Brockton DPW stating water service may ...

Pope Francis takes on unprecedented attacks from American opponents

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

(CNN) — In one corner: Pope Francis, who insists on a merciful Catholic Church open to everyone, a “field hospital” ready to bind up the wounds of a suffering humanity. In the other corner: a small but vocal minority that has set itself against the Pontiff and his reforms.A showdown between the two is underway.The unofficial leader of the opposition is US Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the church’s legal experts and a figure whose style and approach harken back to the church of a different era and whose views closely align with those in its traditionalist wing. Francis, while maintaining he upholds the church’s doctrine and principles, has tried to move the church on from some of those customs he sees as hampering its mission.Those who oppose Francis say they are deeply concerned about his openness to giving communion to divorced and remarried Catholics, along with his pastoral welcome to LGBTQ people. They don’t like his focus on migrants and...

Hunter Biden slams GOP investigators outside US Capitol ahead of deposition deadline

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

(CNN) — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter rebuked Republican investigators outside the US Capitol on Wednesday, the same day that a GOP-led investigation has given the president’s son a deadline to appear for a closed-door deposition.“I’m here today to make sure that the House committee’s illegitimate investigations of my family do not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies,” Hunter Biden said. “And I’m here today to acknowledge that I have made mistakes in my life and wasted opportunities and privileges I was afforded. For that I am responsible.”Hunter Biden’s lawyers have told the House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary committees that he’s willing to testify by the December 13 deadline – but only if he can do so publicly. House Republicans are insisting they want to talk to him behind closed doors first.CNN reported Tuesday that Hunter Biden was in Washington, DC, but it was unclear up until minutes before the scheduled deposition whether the presiden...

Hamas not responding to attempts to get hostage negotiations back on track

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

(CNN) — Hamas has been unresponsive to overtures made in recent days to try to restart hostage negotiations, a source familiar with the efforts told CNN, as the US and other mediators try to resurrect talks that would see more hostages who were abducted on October 7 be released from captivity.Qatar – which continues to play the role of interlocutor – has relayed to Hamas new ideas to try to get more hostages out of Gaza, including a potential deal that would include the release of not just the remaining women hostages, but men as well, according to one source familiar with the efforts and a senior US official.“There’s not an active negotiation, but there’s a real exploration of ideas for how to get this going,” the senior US official said.But Hamas has not been responsive to the outreach, the source familiar said.Qatar speaks with Hamas political officials in Gaza who then relay messages to the group’s leadership inside the stri...

The Supreme Court will rule on limits on a commonly used abortion medication

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year.The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and the maker of the drug mifepristone asking the high court to reverse an appellate ruling that would cut off access to the drug through the mail and impose other restrictions, even in states where abortion remains legal. The restrictions include shortening from the current 10 weeks to seven weeks the time during which mifepristone can be used in pregnancy.The nine justices rejected a separate appeal from abortion opponents who challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s initial approval of mifepristone as safe and effective in 2000. The case will be argued in the spring, with a decision likely by late June, in the middle of the 2024 presidential and congressional campaigns.Mifepristone, made...

Swedish authorities broaden their investigation into a construction elevator crash that killed 5

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

A Swedish prosecutor said Wednesday that a preliminary investigation into the crash of a construction site elevator that killed five people has been expanded to include two more possible workplace violations.The elevator mounted on the outside of a unfinished building plummeted 20 meters (66 feet) to the ground in a Stockholm suburb on Monday. The cause has not been determined yet but construction at the site has stopped.Gunnar Jonasson, the senior prosecutor in charge of the case, said in a statement that the scope of the preliminary investigation was broadened with information about “two people (who) avoided going with the elevator” that ultimately crashed.The prosecutor declined to give further details.The manufacturer of the elevator, Alimak Group, said it had representatives at the construction site after the crash who noticed that two mast sections were not bolted correctly. The company said it did not install the elevator.“Two of the mast sections holding the hoist in p...

6 killed in reported shootout between drug cartels in northern Mexico state of Zacatecas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Six people have been killed in a shootout between drug cartel gunmen in the northern Mexico state of Zacatecas, authorities said late Tuesday.The Zacatecas state security council said the bodies were found in a rural area known as Boquilla del Carmen.It said the dead appeared to belong to one of the gangs but did not mention its name.Police and soldiers also found two people wounded, as well as one armed suspect and guns and a grenade. The wounded were taken for treatment.They also found a kind of rural camp often used by cartels for training and operations like holding kidnapping victims. The council said the camp was destroyed to prevent it being used againZacatecas has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels, which often operate through local gangs.The Associated Press

Trump makes third Iowa trip this month in final weeks before GOP voting starts in caucuses

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump is making his third trip to Iowa this month as he increasingly turns his attention to the state where Republicans will cast the first presidential nomination votes in a little more than a month. The former president, who has remained far ahead of his rivals in national polls and those of likely Iowa caucus goers, campaigned regularly in the state throughout the autumn, far more than in any other early-voting state for the 2024 Republican nomination. Wednesday marks his 11th visit since September, Trump’s “Commit to Caucus” event in the eastern city of Coralville near Iowa City is part rally, part “caucus 101.” Besides Trump’s address, it’s expected to feature videos instructing Iowa Republicans how and where to participate in the in-person meetings.“President Trump of course has a tremendous lead in the polls, but we cannot leave anything to chance,” his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, says in one of the campaign’s videos explaining the ...

Heard at UN climate talks: Quotes that tell the story

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Over 14 days of U.N. climate talks, delegates from nearly 200 countries debated, made proposals, lobbed criticisms and did their best to convince each other how best to stop the planet from warming at a dangerous pace. Much of the discussion at COP28, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, was technical, on subjects ranging from climate science to sustainable development. But ultimately the summit was about people— tens of thousands who came to have their voices heard. Here is a sampling of quotes that tell the story. “These allegations are false, not true, incorrect and not accurate.” — COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber on Nov. 30.On the first day of the summit, al-Jaber denied a BBC report that said the oil-rich United Arab Emirates planned to make deals for oil and renewable energies during the negotiations. Al-Jaber runs both the UAE’s national oil company and a renewable energy firm. Leading up to the talks, many environmentalists and even po...