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Congress approves bill barring any president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

(The Hill) - Congress has approved legislation that would prevent any president from withdrawing the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) without approval from the Senate or an Act of Congress. The measure, spearheaded by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fl.), was included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which passed out of the House on Thursday and is expected to be signed by President Biden. The provision underscores Congress’s commitment to the NATO alliance that was a target of former President Trump's ire during his term in office. The alliance has taken on revitalized important under Biden, especially since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.“NATO has held strong in response to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine and rising challenges around the world,” Kaine said in a statement, He added the legislation “reaffirms U.S. support for this crucial alliance that is foundational for our n...

McCarthy gives farewell speech on House floor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) addressed fellow lawmakers on the House floor on his final day in Washington as a member of Congress on Thursday afternoon.“I had the privilege of being a leader for five years and I think about did I leave this place better than I received it?” McCarthy said.The former Speaker of the House announced he would not seek reelection earlier this month. He became the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job in October.McCarthy reflected on his time in Congress, thanked members on both sides of the aisle and offered up some advice.“Do not be fearful if you believe your philosophy brings people more freedom,” McCarthy said.McCarthy has been in Congress since 2007. He served as majority whip and Republican leader before being elected speaker in January 2023.McCarthy has not yet shared what he plans to do next.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FDA recalls cases of Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta from three southern states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

(The Hill) - Nearly 2,000 cases of Coca-Cola products were recalled in three southern states in recent weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged in an advisory this week.The 12-pack cases — 417 of Diet Coke, 14 of Orange Fanta and 1,557 of Sprite — were distributed across Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, but the company last month began voluntarily pulling them because of the potential presence of "foreign materials" in the drinks. The FDA didn't specify what the foreign materials may have been.Photo by Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe potentially affected items specifically include:Diet Coke: 12-pack fridge pack of 12-oz. aluminum cans. UPC: 49000028911, Best By 01/29/24; Fanta Orange: 12-pack fridge pack of 12-oz. aluminum cans. UPC: 49000030730, Best By 07/29/24; and Sprite packaged: 12-pack fridge pack of 12-oz. aluminum cans. UPC: 49000028928 Best By 07/29/24.NBC News reported that none of the affected sodas remain on the market.

How schools fought chronic absenteeism over the past year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

(NewsNation) — Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the country saw a huge increase in rates of chronic absenteeism where students racked up weeks of unexcused absences. For instance, almost half of the students in Washington, D.C., were considered chronically absent last year. These absences will help compound the impact of learning loss, where students fall behind because they're not getting quality instruction.As students transitioned out of pandemic protocols in 2023, educators and administrators got creative to bring down these high rates of absenteeism and return students to the classroom. Home visitsPonus Ridge STEAM Academy Middle School in Connecticut reduced chronic absenteeism from 32% during the 2021-2022 school year to around 10% the following year.They got there by streamlining their system for parent communication, which included home visits to families where children had seen many days out of school. ‘Crisis of vacancies’: Nevada teachers won’t ...

$2M winning lottery ticket sold in north Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A winning $2 million Texas Powerball ticket was sold in Austin, according to Texas Lottery.In Wednesday's drawing, there was one winner who got five out of five numbers correct with Power Pay, which doubles winnings. The winning numbers were: 3, 8, 41, 56, 64, and the Powerball number was 18. Almost 2,000 Texans have won more than $1 million in state lottery history The ticket was sold at Winners Corner TX LLC, located at 7817 Rockwood Lane Suite 101B.The next drawing will be held Saturday, with an estimated annuitized jackpot of $535 million, which has an estimated cash value of $257.6 million.

ERCOT CEO: Power grid 'ready and reliable' ahead of winter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

Editor’s note: The above video shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023.HOUSTON (Nexstar) — State and industry leaders assured Texans on Thursday morning that the state's energy grid is sufficient for the cold months ahead, comforting concerns still lingering among many Texans since the devastating blackout of 2021."The power grid is as ready and reliable as it has ever been for the winter season," Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) CEO Pablo Vegas said. "We have more generating and dispatchable resources available to the grid than we have had in any prior winter in history. So we are ready for that." Virtual power plants to provide power to ERCOT grid for the first time, PUCT says Vegas said ERCOT has performed more than 1,500 inspections of power plants in the last two years and expect to complete 500 more this winter."The power plants are ready," he said.Gov. Greg Abbott echoed that confidence, saying Texas is "better prepared than we've ever been" ...

City looks to provide financial assistance for additional dwelling units

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council passed a resolution Thursday that directs the City Manager and his staff to explore options that would give financial assistance to low and moderate-income homeowners who are renovating their home or adding an additional dwelling unit. This resolution comes a week after council passed phase 1 of the H.O.M.E. initiative which now allows people to build up to three structures on a single-family lot. The resolution calls for access to down payment assistance for Austinites who qualify. What is the HOME initiative? What to know about Austin’s latest push for more housing The resolution was brought forward by district 3 council member José Velásquez. His resolution also directs the Manager to come back next year with an update on two prior resolutions that deal with ADUs. "I am very proud of the work this dais has accomplished and the sense of urgency we've moved to make Austin more affordable for all," Velásquez said before the vote Thursday. "Thi...

Texas men charged in Roseville ATM ‘hook and chain’ heist, a growing problem across the U.S.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

Five Texas men are accused of using a stolen pickup and a chain to yank an ATM from its foundation outside a Roseville bank early Tuesday in a heist that was foiled by an alarm and an officer who pulled up to the scene.Law enforcement and banking security officials say these “hook and chain attacks” are gaining in popularity among thieves in the U.S. and rising to unprecedented numbers.Roseville Deputy Police Chief Joe Adams said Thursday the FBI is among law enforcement agencies working to see whether the Roseville suspects are tied to a Texas-based organized group known as the “Hook and Chain Gang” carrying out the thefts across the U.S.“The hard part is going to be whether these five guys are the gang or whether there are like 100 guys doing this,” Adams said.In the Roseville attack, one suspect was captured after he sped away from Great Southern Bank, across from Rosedale Center, in the stolen pickup and crashed. The others were tracked back to a nearby h...

St. Paul Coastal Seafoods moving, adding dive bar and classrooms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

Coastal Seafoods’ St. Paul location is moving a few blocks down to 286 S. Snelling Ave., and the new location will feature a dive bar as well as an enhanced market.The market is set to open Monday, but the bar, which will be called Coastal Dive Bar and Oyster Palace, won’t be ready for service until sometime in January, said Keane Amdahl, Coastal’s director of culinary marketing and retail operations.The historic, stand-alone building dates to 1907 and has been fully renovated. Front and center will be the new market, which will sport a new lobster tank, a case for dry-aging fish and other new equipment, Amdahl said.The back of the first-floor space will house the bar, which will seat about 30 inside. There will also be a “big patio for spring, summer and fall,” Amdahl said. Upstairs, there will be classroom space for seafood-centric classes.The menu at the bar and restaurant will be similar to what Coastal Seafoods sells from a little counter-service operation at its Minneapolis lo...

Men charged with killing 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, to sell on black market

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:12 GMT

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Two men killed about 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, during a “killing spree” on Montana’s Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere, then sold eagle parts on a black market that has been a long-running problem for U.S. wildlife officials, a federal grand jury indictment says.The men worked with others to hunt and kill the birds, according to the indictment, and in at least one instance used a dead deer to lure in an eagle that was shot. The two defendants conspired with others who weren’t named to sell eagle feathers, tails, wings and other parts for “significant sums of cash” across the United States and elsewhere, the indictment said.Simon Paul, 42, of St. Ignatius, Montana and Travis John Branson, 48, of Cusick, Washington, face 13 counts of unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles and one count each of conspiracy and violating wildlife trafficking laws.Text messages obtained by investigators s...