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SpaceX to launch former astronaut, three paying customers to orbit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

(CNN) — SpaceX is set to launch four passengers — including three paying customers — toward a weeklong stay aboard the International Space Station. Their journey, put together by the Houston-based company Axiom, will be the second all-private mission to the orbiting outpost.The mission, called AX-2, will also make history as stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi is set to become the first woman from Saudi Arabia to travel to space.A live stream of the launch began on YouTube Sunday afternoon. And coverage will begin on NASA TV at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, with liftoff expected at 5:37 p.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Officials will be keeping a close eye on the weather. Brian Cizek, a weather official with the US Space Force, noted that Florida is entering the summer wet season when daily thunderstorms tend to roll through the area. Though, he added, Sunday’s weather is looking “pretty decent.”“Really the only thing we’re going to hav...

Man believed to be making fireworks seriously injured in explosion in Kingston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

A man who fire officials believe was making fireworks was rushed to the hospital on Sunday after suffering serious injuries in an explosion, officials said.Members of the Kingston police and fire departments, along with representatives of the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the State Police Bomb Squad responded to a home on Nobadeer Circle, according to the Kingston Fire Department.Residents are being urged to avoid the area while the investigation is conducted.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Chicago White Sox have won 5 of 6 after completing their 1st sweep of the season vs. the Kansas City Royals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

Sunday’s game was only the second this month that Romy Gonzalez has had an at-bat.The Chicago White Sox infielder made the most of the opportunity with three hits — including a go-ahead, two-run triple — in a 5-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals.“It’s tough when you’re not playing every day,” Gonzalez said. “But you’ve got to stay as ready as possible. I’ve done a lot of work in the cages with (assistant hitting coach Chris Johnson) and I prepare like I’m playing every day.“Baseball is definitely a long season. We play 162. You can’t dwell on what’s happened in the past. You just keep your head up and keep working. It’s all you can do. Keep grinding. It was definitely a good day and huge to get that sweep.”Lance Lynn continued a string of strong starting pitching as the Sox completed their first three-game sweep of the season in front of 23,556 at Guaranteed Rate Field.Gonzalez went...

NYC mayor says migrant crisis could cost Dems 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

NEW YORK — Amid reports the White House is angry about New York Mayor Eric Adams’ public criticism of President Biden, Adams warned Sunday that the migrant crisis could cost fellow Democrats at the polls.Speaking on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show With Jonathan Capehart,” Adams compared the migrant crisis to public safety, the central talking point of his 2021 campaign.“When I talked about public safety and the over-proliferation of guns in our country last year, many people were not listening to the concern of voters. And I am saying that again,” the mayor said.The president’s reelection campaign recently left Adams off a high-profile squad of surrogates, a move widely seen as resulting from of the mayor’s harsh criticism of Biden’s handling of waves of migrants reaching New York City.Adams’ accusations that the “national government has turned its back” on the city have enraged top Biden aides, according to the New York Times. They reportedly view Adams as grandstanding and trying to win ...

Biden, McCarthy to meet Monday as debt talks continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

The President and House Speaker will meet Monday to resume talks aimed at finding a solution to the looming risk of a national debt default and the potentially catastrophic consequences of the U.S. government not paying its bills.President Biden, according to the White House, on Sunday returned early from an abbreviated trip to Asia where he was attending a meeting of the G7. Biden cut the trip short amid ongoing negotiations on how the nation will see its borrowing limit raised.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose party is demanding spending cuts to go along with any increased debt allowance, spoke to Biden by phone as the President made his way back to Washington and arranged to meet the commander-in-chief at the White House first thing Monday morning.“I think we can solve some of these problems if he understands what we’re looking at,” McCarthy told reporters after the call, “But I’ve been very clear to him from the very beginning. We have to spend less money than we spent last ye...

Celebration at California dance ballroom a sign of healing following Lunar New Year shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) — A weekend celebration at a Southern California dance ballroom was hailed by organizers as the latest sign of healing within the Asian American community following the Lunar New Year shooting that killed 11 people at a nearby dance studio. One of the hosts of Saturday’s event at Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra was Brandon Tsay, who on Jan. 21 famously wrestled a semi-automatic weapon away from the gunman who had earlier shot up Star Ballroom Dance Studio in neighboring Monterey Park. Tsay, whose family has owned Lai Lai Ballroom for years, said the celebration is an example of the community standing strong and moving forward after the tragedy. “If you have these strong connections with one another, you’ll be able to support each other, lift each other up, even through times of crisis such as what happened earlier this year,” Tsay said, according to ABC 7. The event, part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, featured dancing, live music p...

Debt ceiling talks resume as Biden, McCarthy prepare to meet Monday to resolve standoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt ceiling talks between the White House and House Republicans resumed Sunday at the Capitol as Washington races to strike a budget compromise along with a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and avert an economy-wrecking federal default.President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke by phone Sunday while the president was returning home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. Upbeat, McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol that the call was “productive” and that the on-again, off-again negotiations between his staff and White House representatives are focused on spending cuts.Biden and McCarthy are set to meet for a pivotal meeting Monday at the White House.Negotiators for the Democratic president and Republican speaker met as talks appear to be narrowing on a 2024 budget year cap that would be key to resolving the standoff. They face a deadline, as soon as June 1, when the government could run out of c...

Vinicius Junior says Spanish league ‘now belongs to racists’ after enduring more abuse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Vinícius Júnior was subjected to racist abuse yet again on Sunday with the Brazil star saying the Spanish league “now belongs to racists.”The latest abuse against Vinícius came in Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia, a match that had to be temporarily stopped after the Brazil forward said he was insulted by a fan behind one of the goals at Mestalla Stadium.“It wasn’t the first time, or the second or the third. Racism is normal in LaLiga. The competition thinks it’s normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it,” Vinícius said on Instagram and Twitter. “The league that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi now belongs to racists … But I’m strong and I will fight until the end against the racists. Even if far from here.”The 22-year-old Vinícius, who is is Black, has been subjected to racist abuse since he came to play in Spain five years ago.Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti ...

8-year-old girl sought medical help 3 times on day she died, US immigration officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) — An 8-year-old girl who died last week in Border Patrol custody was seen at least three separate times by medical personnel on the day of her death — complaining of vomiting, a stomachache and later suffering what appeared to be a seizure — before she was taken to a hospital, U.S. immigration officials said Sunday.The girl’s mother had previously told The Associated Press that agents had repeatedly ignored her pleas to hospitalize her medically fragile daughter, who had a history of heart problems and sick cell anemia. Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez, whose parents are Honduran, was born in Panama with congenital heart disease.“She cried and begged for her life, and they ignored her. They didn’t do anything for her,” Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, the mother of Anadith, had previously told The Associated Press during an interview Friday.In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it knew about the girl’s medical history when personnel began treating her for ...

A first-time filmmaker makes a mark in Cannes competition with a Senegalese drama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:19 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Most filmmakers in the Cannes Film Festival’s top-rung competition lineup are well-known directors who have been around for decades. One dramatic exception this year is Ramata-Toulaye Sy, a French-Senegalese filmmaker whose first film, “Banel & Adama,” landed among the 21 films competing for the Palme d’Or. “It’s only now that I realize that being in competition means being in a competition,” Sy said, laughing, in an interview shortly after “Banel & Adama” premiered in Cannes. “Now that we’re really in the middle of it, I realize there’s a lot of passion going around.”Sy, 36, is the sole first-timer in Cannes’ main lineup this year. She is also only the second Black female director to ever compete for the Palme, following Mati Diop, also a French-Senegalese filmmaker, whose “Atlantics” debuted in 2019. For the Paris-raised Sy, it’s not a distinction of significance. “I’m a filmmaker and I really wish we stopped being counte...