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Why state polls this Saturday are pivotal to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar’s rule

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — In the past two weeks, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has zig-zagged across the country on an election campaign that pitched the appeal of political stability and his concept of a progressive government. Just nine months into power, his nascent government will face its first test of popularity in pivotal state elections Saturday.The polls are widely viewed as an early referendum both for Anwar’s leadership and also the strength of the Islamist opposition after a divisive general election in November. The outcome of the state polls could influence the direction of national politics — and the country’s stability. Before Anwar, Malaysia had three prime ministers since 2018 after lawmakers switched support for political mileage. Here’s a look at the significance of the local polls and what it means for Anwar and the country.WHY ARE THE POLLS HELD NOW? Six of Malaysia’s 13 states are holding elections now because the local governments refused to call...

2 more arrested in Alabama riverfront brawl more that drew national attention

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Police in Alabama on Wednesday arrested two more boaters on misdemeanor assault charges in connection with a riverside brawl that drew national attention. Major Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department said the two men turned themselves in on Wednesday to be arrested. A total of three men are charged in connection with an attack on a riverboat captain and another dock worker that sparked a riverside brawl in Alabama’s capital city. One man turned himself in earlier in the week. The melee, where sides broke down along racial lines, began Saturday evening when a moored pontoon boat blocked the Harriott II riverboat from docking in its designated space along the city’s riverfront. The riverboat co-captain took another vessel to shore to attempt to move the pontoon boat and was attacked by several white people from the private boat, police said. Video showed him being punched and shoved. Crew members and others later confronted the pontoon boat part...

Mexico president asks why, if a woman criticizes him, he isn’t considered victim of gender violence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president posed a question Wednesday that nobody was really asking: why, if a woman criticizes him, he isn’t considered victim of gender violence. Mexico has strict political regulations that forbid questioning someone’s competence based on their gender. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador fell afoul of those rules when he suggested last month that opposition presidential hopeful Xochitl Gálvez was a puppet manipulated by powerful men. An electoral court decided on Aug. 2 that fit the definition of “gender violence,” and ordered López Obrador to stop it. But López Obrador — and surprisingly, his feminist wife — questioned the fairness of that, saying Gálvez has criticized the president, but he hasn’t been considered a victim of gender violence. “Everything that they say to me, isn’t that gender violence?” López Obrador said at his morning media briefing. “Or is gender only about women?”That ignored a couple of facts: Gálvez has never suggested Lóp...

US judge clears way for Nevada mustang roundup to continue despite deaths of 31 wild horses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Over the objections of wild horse advocates, a judge cleared the way Wednesday night for the U.S. government to continue capturing thousands of mustangs in Nevada despite the deaths of 31 horses during the weekslong roundup.In a ruling from the bench after a seven-hour hearing in Reno, U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks said he was denying Wild Horse Education’s bid for an emergency order to halt the roundup the nonprofit advocacy group argues is inhumane and illegal.“The fact is, I don’t have evidence that would support the granting of a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order,” Hicks said.The judge said the deaths of the horses were tragic. But he said that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management appears to be complying with the law and doing everything it can to gather the mustangs as humanely as possible from the range to cull the size of overpopulated herds.“These tragedies are going to occur when you have gathers, so I cannot find there are...

Gausman, relievers shut down Guardians in Blue Jays win

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

Kevin Gausman pitched seven scoreless innings, and the bullpen did the rest, as the Toronto Blue Jays shutout the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 on Wednesday.Gausman, who improved to 9-6 this season, went seven strong, allowing only four hits and striking out six batters. His 183 strikeouts lead all American League starting pitchers. His 3.04 ERA is fifth-best in the AL.Relievers Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza and Jordan Hicks, who picked up his 11th save of the season and third as a member of the Blue Jays, did their job out of the bullpen to secure the 1-0 win. Blue Jays pitchers did not issue a walk on Wednesday.Outfielder George Springer was the only source of offence with a solo home run, his 14th of the season, in the top of the first inning off Guardians starter Logan Allen. Springer would add two more singles on the night. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits, both singles.A THIRTEEN pitch at-bat ????The result: #SpringerDinger pic.twitter.com/775ReDT0DE— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays)...

South Side woman faced homeowner insurance issues after drive-by shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

CHICAGO — A South Side homeowner reached out to WGN Investigates after a drive-by shooting led her to question her insurance policy.A Chicago woman wasn't happy with the outcome when she went looking for help after she was the victim of a crime. Southwest suburban travel agent charged with identity and felony theft after alleged travel scams On April 4, Linda Bailey came downstairs to find glass all over her floors and bullet holes in the walls."They don't know if someone was coming through the alley or someone was driving through," Bailey said. Her front window was shattered by eight or nine bullets. Some of them hit two upstairs bathrooms."And for them to be that powerful to go through the wall and the siding and to hit the other two houses on the side of me too," Bailey said. After filing an insurance claim and paying the deductible, she said the money approved by the insurance adjuster wasn't nearly enough to cover the damageShe only got $2,700 for the windows. "I said that's ...

Sheriff: Inmate at Cook County Jail in Chicago beaten to death

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — An inmate was beaten to death Tuesday morning inside the hospital wing of Cook County Jail, the sheriff’s office said.Jail security responded to a disturbance shortly after 9 a.m. and found two inmates fighting, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.Staff immediately separated the men and began performing lifesaving measures on Johnny Hendrix, 29, of Rockford, the statement said, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. 4 dead, including suspected ‘aggressor,’ after shooting inside home in Crystal Lake: police He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died from his injuries, the statement and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said.The sheriff’s office is investigating the incident and has requested that the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force also begin an investigation. There was no immediate word on charges in the case.Hendrix was taken into custody Saturday on three outstanding criminal warrants and a charge of criminal trespass. e ...

Texas woman attacked by snake that fell from the sky, then a hawk hunting it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

SILSBEE, Texas (KETK) -- A Texas woman was mowing her lawn when the unthinkable happened: a snake fell from the sky and landed on her arm, then a hawk came after them both.After the snake fell, it started wrapping around Peggy Jones' arm and striking her glasses, the Silsbee Bee reports. ‘Red and yellow kill a fellow?’: How to actually tell which Texas snakes are venomous “The snake was squeezing so hard, and I was waving my arms in the air. And then, this hawk was swooping down clawing at my arm over and over,” Peggy Jones told KPRC. “I just kept saying, ‘Help me, Jesus, Help me, Jesus.’’A photo obtained by the Silsbee Bee shows Jones' arm bleeding profusely from jagged gashes crisscrossing her arm, from her wrist to her elbow.Jones told KPRC that the hawk swooped down on her at least four times trying to get the snake before ultimately ripping the snake off her arm and flying away with it.She said blood was everywhere and that her husband heard the noise and came running.“I was...

Wild mushrooms may have killed 3 who ate family lunch together in Australia: investigators

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police on Wednesday were trying to figure out how three people died and a fourth became critically ill after apparently eating wild mushrooms at a family lunch.Homicide detectives have been investigating the case. Police have interviewed the woman who they say cooked the meal at her home on July 29 but didn't become ill herself. Police released her without filing any charges but say she remains a suspect.The woman told media outside her home in the town of Leongatha, in Victoria state, that she didn’t know what had happened. Lil Tay, child rapper and YouTube personality, dies “I didn’t do anything,” she told Network Nine on Monday. “I loved them and I’m devastated they’re gone.”The woman declined to answer questions about what meals were served to which guests or the origin of the mushrooms.Victoria Police Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said it wasn't clear what type of mushrooms the guests had eaten, but their symptoms were consistent with those from a d...

Progress made in 37-acre Cedar Park brush fire; apartment building destroyed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:12 GMT

Editor's note: The City of Cedar Park has updated the location of Red Cross shelter operations to the Hill Country Bible Church CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Crews are making "significant progress" toward containing a wildfire still burning Wednesday in Cedar Park, city officials said.The fire near Parmer Lane and East Whitestone Boulevard destroyed a building containing 24 apartments and damaged two other apartment buildings, Cedar Park said. In total, 38 apartment units were damaged by the fire. WILDFIRE TRACKER: How many acres have burned in Central Texas this year? The city said the 37-acre fire was 70% contained as of 8 p.m. Texas A&M Forest Service said in a social media post on Wednesday morning that dozer crews made progress overnight with building a containment line. Cedar Park police said crews responded around 6:16 p.m. Tuesday to the four-alarm fire near 12820 West Parmer Ln., which is close to East Whitestone Boulevard. Residents at the Bexley at Silverado apartment ...