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‘Shrink the room:’ How Biden and McCarthy struck a debt-limit deal and staved off a catastrophe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was advice that Mitch McConnell had offered to Joe Biden once already: To resolve the debt-limit standoff, he needed to strike a deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — and McCarthy alone. But after a first meeting of the top four congressional leaders with the president in early May, the Senate minority leader felt the need to reemphasize his counsel.After returning from the White House that day, McConnell called the president to privately urge him to “shrink the room” – meaning no direct involvement in the talks for himself, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.That, McConnell stressed to Biden, was the only way to avert a potentially economy-rattling default. A week later, Biden and McCarthy essentially adopted that path, tapping a handful of trusted emissaries to negotiate a deal that would lift the debt limit. It was a turning point in an impasse that until then, seemed intractable. Having lived through the debacle...

As China cracks down on dissent, New York City gives refuge to exhibit remembering Tiananmen Square

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fangsuo Zhou, now in his 50s, remembers all too well that dispiriting spring day in 1989 when tanks rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. University students and others were beaten and bloodied when communist troops swarmed in to end a pro-democracy protest. Hundreds and possibly thousands died.For years, Zhou, who left China after the crackdown and now lives in New Jersey, has been collecting what he calls “evidence” of China’s brutality.Those items — blooded towels, blood-soaked banners that had been turned into tourniquets, newspaper clippings, letters and a tent used by student protesters during their seven-week demonstration — are now the centerpiece of the “June 4 Memorial Exhibit,” housed on the fourth floor of a New York City office building.It carries on the mission of a similar exhibit in Hong Kong shuttered by the communist government two years ago.“This is the most important legacy for China,” Zhou said during a preview of the collection, which op...

Peregrine falcons protecting chicks and dive-bombing Chicago pedestrians

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A pair of peregrine falcon parents are raising three chicks along Chicago’s busy Wacker Drive, and beware to any pedestrian who ventures too closely to their nest.Just ask Chuck Valauskas, who was struck by one of the falcons. The patent attorney was leaving work one day last week, walking below the nest situated on a seventh-floor ledge when he felt a thud on his head.“I thought, ‘What was that?’ It felt like a 16-inch softball,” Valauskas told the Chicago Sun-Times.He sustained a 1 inch (2.54-centimeter) gash on his head and now avoids the path beneath the nest altogether. Has has since gotten a tetanus shot to be safe.At least one other person has been clobbered by the birds, building security guards said.Building managers have put up two signs saying, “Warning! Beware of falcons. Parents will attack to protect babies on building ledge. Take a different path.” From his window across from the nest on the 10th floor, Ruben Guardiola has been monitoring the falc...

What to stream this weekend: Foo Fighters, ‘The Idol,’ LeBron James and ‘American Gladiators’ doc

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

There’s new music from Foo Fighters, the buzzy HBO series “The Idol” starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd and a documentary about the breakthrough TV show “American Gladiators” among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a LeBron James’s origin story and a TV show where contestants compete to transform nostalgia cars into life-sized Hot Wheels.NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— LeBron James’s origin story is dramatized in the new film “Shooting Stars,” debuting exclusively on Peacock on Friday. Based on the 2009 book, written by James and “Friday Night Lights” author Buzz Bissinger, the film looks at how he and his childhood friends (the self-anointed “fab four”) rose to basketball prominence on their high school team in Akron, Ohio. He and his friends would help lead their St. Vincent-St. Mary’s team to three state championships in four years. James is...

Louisiana ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill for public school classrooms advances in the legislature

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A bill that would broadly ban K-12 public school employees in Louisiana from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom is nearing final passage after securing the endorsement of a key Senate committee Thursday.Louisiana’s legislation, which already passed the House and advanced from the Senate Committee on Education to the GOP-dominated Senate floor on Thursday, is similar to a law enacted in Florida last year that critics dubbed, “Don’t Say Gay.” Florida’s law bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. As of March, at least 30 proposals similar to Florida’s law were filed in 16 states. At least three other states — Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky — have enacted similar “Don’t Say Gay” laws.“This is a hateful piece of legislation,” state Public Service Commissioner Deva...

Soaring rhetoric: NASA mission will carry Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s words to Jupiter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A new work by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, written for an upcoming NASA mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, is a glance at outer space that returns back to Earth.Limón’s “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” which she read Thursday night during a ceremony at the Library of Congress, is part of NASA’s “ Message In a Bottle Campaign ” as the aeronautics and space administration prepares for a years-long journey. The Europa Clipper is expected to launch in October 2024, with “In Praise of Mystery” engraved on the spacecraft.“Writing this poem was one of the greatest honors of my life, but also one of the most difficult tasks I’ve ever been assigned,” Limón said in a statement released through the Library of Congress. “Eventually, what made the poem come together was realizing that in pointing toward other planets, stars and moons, we are also recognizing the enormous gift that is our planet Earth. To point outward is also to point inward.”During a ...

Evanston residents weigh in on slow-moving reparations plan 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite obstacles, Evanston officials say the city's reparations program is moving forward though some residents say it’s not fast enough. Anthony Swope was one of many who gave a testimonial at the Evanston Reparations Committee meeting on Thursday. The Evanston resident shared how he convinced his wife, Eleanor, to apply. Unfortunately, she’s one of several approved applicants who died before receiving benefits. The issue is another that the city's groundbreaking reparations program is facing. Yet, Swope says he is helpful. RELATED: Black Californians could receive up to $1.2 million in reparations payments, task force says"I’m exceedingly full of joy to see that there are people who are recognizing people of color," he said. Sixteen people were selected for the first round of benefits, but hundreds of others continue to wait, leaving some residents frustrated."You spend a lot of time on dinners, stale tactics, showboating, canceling meetings and ti...

Former Stagg star Max Strus helps Heat reach NBA Finals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

PALOS HILLS, Ill. - The road to the NBA Finals begins in several places for a number of different players. For Max Strus, it started at Stagg High School, where his brother Marty is now the head coach of the Chargers. "The biggest knock on why he didn't get all of these huge offers out of high school was just his size, and those are all fair. He wasn't the prototypical size," Marty Strus said. "But his athletic ability overcame a ton of that."Max made leaps and bounds on the court, with his brother, Marty, taking notice."I was doing my own thing in college and when I came back, all of a sudden, he's flying through the air and dunking. 'Where did that come from?'" he said. Strus' journey to Miami was a long one. Beginning as a 5-foot-9-inch sophomore to a 6-foot-6-inch senior, he took his talents to Lewis University, then to DePaul University for two seasons before going undrafted and signing two-way deals with the Celtics and Bulls. He would eventually land in South Beach. "It...

See where the Blackhawks will hold a pair of 2023 NHL Draft night parties

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

CHICAGO — Blackhawks fans will have two places in which they can watch one of the most anticipated NHL Drafts in franchise history. One is going to be in Chicago while another is in the city where the selections will be made. The Blackhawks have announced plans for NHL Draft night parties in both Chicago and Nashville for Wednesday, June 28..The team will have the No. 1 overall pick for just the 2nd time in team history..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/0axAuZGFne— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) June 1, 2023On Thursday, the Blackhawks announced that they'll have a fan watch party at the Salt Shed, 1357 N. Elston Ave., on Wednesday, June 28, when they'll make just their second No. 1 overall selection in team history.The party is first-come, first-serve until capacity is reached, and the only thing needed for entry is to download and show the Blackhawks' app when entering the facility. This event will include live music, food and beverage options, along with a few giveaways, one of which ...

Man fatally shot by police in Blue Island following well-being check

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:32:27 GMT

BLUE ISLAND, Ill. — An investigation is underway after a man was fatally shot by police following a well-being check in Blue Island.Around 2 a.m. Thursday, police responded to the area of Broadway and Division for a suspicious vehicle and well-being check of a man, identified as 21-year-old William Burruss, of Olympia Fields, who was unresponsive in the driver's seat.Upon arrival, police said officers observed an AR-15 pistol on the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Additional officers arrived at the scene as attempts were made to wake up Burruss.According to police, when Burruss finally woke up and saw the officers, he reached for the front passenger seat.Police said one officer then fired one round and shot Burruss in the torso area. He was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. Off-duty Chicago police officer shot on city’s Near West Side Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services responded to the scene to process evidence an...