US hits hard at militias in Iraq and Syria, retaliating for fatal drone attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. It is the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend. The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities. President Joe Biden says the strikes demonstrate to “all those who might seek to do us harm” that “if you harm an American, we will respond.”
Hamas says it’s studying Gaza cease-fire proposal, but appears to rule out key provisions
BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas officials say the group is studying a proposed cease-fire deal that would include prolonged pauses in fighting in Gaza and swaps of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, but the militants appeared to rule out some key components. A senior Hamas official in Beirut said the group remains committed to its initial demands for a permanent cease-fire. The official also said the group seeks the release of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, including those serving life sentences. He mentioned two by name, including Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is a popular Palestinian uprising leader seen as a unifying figure. The comments on the prisoners were the most detailed demands yet raised by the group in public.
Senators reach a deal on border policy bill. Now it faces an uphill fight to passage
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate negotiators have reached a deal on a proposal to overhaul the asylum system at the U.S. border with Mexico. It clears the way for Democratic and Republican Senate leaders to begin the difficult task of convincing Congress to pass a national security package that will include tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine and immigration enforcement, as well as funding for Israel and other American allies. Sen. Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator, posted on social media Friday that a deal had been reached and text of the bill would be released over the weekend.
Fani Willis acknowledges a ‘personal relationship’ with prosecutor she hired in Trump’s Georgia case
ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a court filing has acknowledged having a “personal relationship” with a special prosecutor she hired for the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump. But Friday’s court filing argues there are no grounds to dismiss the case or to remove Willis from the prosecution. Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade in November 2021 to assist her investigation into whether Trump and others broke any laws as they tried to overturn the Republican’s loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. An attorney for a Trump co-defendant has argued the case should be dismissed due to allegations of their relationship.
Federal judge in DC postpones Trump’s March trial on charges of plotting to overturn 2020 election
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington has formally postponed Donald Trump’s March trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as a key legal appeal from the former president continues to work its way through the courts. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday vacated the March 4 trial date but did not immediately set a new date. The postponement comes as a federal appeals court has yet to resolve a pending appeal from Trump arguing that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took in the White House.
The US didn’t just avoid a recession — it’s adding hundreds of thousands of new jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers delivered a stunning burst of hiring to begin 2024, adding 353,000 jobs in January in the latest sign of the economy’s continuing ability to shrug off the highest interest rates in two decades. Last month’s job gain — roughly twice what economists had predicted — topped the December gain of 333,000, a figure that was itself revised sharply higher. The unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%, just above a half-century low. Wages rose unexpectedly fast in January, too. The latest gains showcased employers’ willingness to keep hiring to meet steady consumer spending. It comes as the intensifying presidential campaign is pivoting in no small part on views of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship.
Biden is left with few choices as immigration takes center stage in American politics
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Almost immediately after Joe Biden walked into the Oval Office on his first day as president, he began rolling back his predecessor’s immigration policies, which he’d assailed throughout the 2020 campaign as inhumane. A lot has changed in three years. Biden now sounds increasingly like ex-President Donald Trump, pressing Congress for asylum restrictions that would’ve been unthinkable when he took office. Biden is doing it under pressure not just from Republicans but from fellow Democrats, including elected officials in cities thousands of miles from the U.S.-Mexico border who are feeling the effects of asylum seekers arriving in record numbers. The influx has strained social services in cities including New York, Chicago and Denver.
A fire set off by a gas explosion in Kenya kills at least 3 people and injures 280 others
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A truck loaded with liquid petroleum gas cylinders has exploded in a depot and set off a late-night inferno that burned homes and warehouses in Kenya’s capital. At least three people died and 280 were injured. Two dozen people were in critical condition. A government spokesman said Friday that a lot of people were home when the fire reached their houses in a Nairobi neighborhood late Thursday. The spokesman said the injured were rushed to several hospitals to be treated. Firefighters were searching the burned area later in the morning while a regulatory body said the gas depot didn’t have permits to operate in the area.
Towering over the Grammys is a Los Angeles high-rise tagged with 27 stories of graffiti
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Graffiti has risen to high art in downtown Los Angeles. An unfinished high-rise development in the city’s entertainment district has become the target of graffiti taggers who have struck dozens of floors. The vandalism is the latest twist in the saga of the three-tower project near Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Convention Center and the L.A. Live dining and events complex. The towers were going to house a hotel and luxury condos, but the project stalled in 2019 when the developer ran out of money. Police say they have met with the property management to ensure security measures will be implemented and the graffiti will be removed.
Carl Weathers, linebacker-turned-actor who starred in ‘Rocky’ movies and ‘The Mandalorian,’ dies
NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, has died. He was 76. His other major roles were facing-off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore.” Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as “Arrested Development,” Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s “Rocky,” starring Sylvester Stallone.