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Today in History: October 16, Cuban missile crisis begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

Today in History Today is Monday, Oct. 16, the 289th day of 2023. There are 76 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 16, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba. On this date: In 1758, American lexicographer Noah Webster was born in Hartford, Connecticut.In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded. In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what was then a part of western Virginia. (Ten of Brown’s men were killed and five escaped. Brown and six followers were captured; all were executed.)In 1934, Chinese Communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their “long march” lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China. In 1964, China set off its first atomic bomb, codenamed “596,” on the Lop Nur Test Ground. In 1968, American athletes Tom...

Vatrano scores 3 goals, Mintyukov gets first NHL goal as Ducks defeat Hurricanes 6-3 in home opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Frank Vatrano scored three goals for his fourth career hat trick, Pavel Mintyukov got his first NHL goal and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 Sunday for their eighth straight victory in a home opener. Anaheim is tied with Boston and Toronto for the longest active winning streaks in home openers. The Ducks have also earned points in each of their last 11 Honda Center debuts since 2013 (10-0-1).“It was awesome. Obviously it’s great to get a hat trick but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win the game,” said Vatrano, who had a career-high 41 points last season. “From top to bottom tonight, goaltending, defense, a lot of milestones tonight as well.” Cam Fowler had a goal and an assist, and Sam Carrick also scored as Anaheim took a 3-0 lead less than 13 minutes into the game. The Ducks were clinging to a one-goal lead late in the third before putting it away with a pair of empty-net goals, including Vatrano’s at 18:41.Ryan Stro...

Buffalo Bills hang on — barely — in a 14-9 win over the New York Giants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen patiently oversaw two lengthy second-half scoring drives, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Morris with 3:58 remaining, and the Buffalo Bills defeated the undermanned but gritty New York Giants 14-9 on Sunday night.What was anticipated to be a Bills blowout turned into a ground-it-out, yard-by-yard, chippy and occasionally sloppy thriller that wasn’t decided until the final play, and on an untimed down. Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s pass into the end zone glanced off Darren Waller’s finger tips facing first-and-goal from the 1. New York got an extra chance after linebacker Terrel Bernard was flagged for defensive interference on a pass intended for Waller as time expired on third-and-5 from Buffalo’s 10 The Bills (4-2) hung on, but barely, in outing they overcame being shut out in the first half of a game for the first time since a mean-nothing 2019 season finale — a 13-6 loss to the New York Jets, in which Buffalo rested Allen an...

Australian safety watchdog fines social platform X $385,000 for not tackling child abuse content

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s online safety watchdog said on Monday it had fined X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — 610,500 Australian dollars ($385,000) for failing to fully explain how it tackled child sexual exploitation content.Australia’s eSafety Commission describes itself as the world’s first government agency dedicated to keeping people safe online.The commission issued legal transparency notices early this year to X and other platforms questioning what they were doing to tackle a proliferation of child sexual exploitation, sexual extortion and the livestreaming of child sexual abuse.eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said X and Google had not complied with the notices because both companies had failed to adequately respond to a number of questions.The platform renamed X by its new owner Elon Musk was the worst offender, providing no answers to some questions including how many staff remained on the trust and safety team that worked on pre...

Live updates | Day 10 of the latest Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israel invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion. Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis.Israeli forces, supported by U.S. warships, positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished neighborhoods but failed to stop militant rocket fire into Israel.The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, with more than 4,000 dead. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 155 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel.Currently:1. Water has run out at U.N. shelters across Gaza and overwhelmed doctors at the territory’s ...

Used clothing from the West is a big seller in East Africa. Uganda’s leader wants a ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Jostling for space, people jam the crowded footpaths crisscrossing a massive open market in Uganda’s capital. They are mostly looking for secondhand clothing, sifting through underwear for pairs that seem new or trying on shoes despite getting pushed around in the crush.Downtown Kampala’s Owino Market has long been a go-to enclave for rich and poor people alike looking for affordable but quality-made used clothes, underscoring perceptions that Western fashion is superior to what is made at home. These clothes have been discarded by Europeans and Americans, then shipped to African countries by middlemen. It’s a multimillion-dollar business, with some two-thirds of people in seven countries in East Africa having “purchased at least a portion of their clothes from the secondhand clothing market,” according to a 2017 U.S. Agency for International Development study, the most recent with such details.Despite the popularity, secondhand clothes are facing ...

Daniel Noboa, political neophyte and heir to fortune, wins presidency in violence-wracked Ecuador

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Daniel Noboa has managed to do what his father failed at five times: Getting elected as Ecuador’s president.And he did it Sunday on his first attempt, winning a runoff election against a leftist lawyer on the resume of a 35-year-old who belongs to the South American country’s elite, which means some schooling in the U.S., some entrepreneurial work, some dabbling in politics.Now, he must answer the universal demand to make Ecuador safe again, which voters urged on all the candidates who originally jumped into the race amid a surge in unprecedented violence tied to drug trafficking. Noboa’s proposals to tackle the crucial issue have run the gamut. At one point in the campaign, he proposed turning ships into floating jails for the most violent criminals. At another, he simply promised more gear for police.Voters are increasingly frightened by the escalation of drug violence over the past three years. Killings, kidnappings, robberies and other criminal activi...

Major US pharmacy chain Rite Aid files for bankruptcy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Major U.S. pharmacy chain Rite Aid said Sunday that it has filed for bankruptcy and obtained $3.45 billion in fresh financing as it carries out a restructuring plan while coping with falling sales and opioid-related lawsuits. In 2022, Rite Aid settled for up to $30 million to resolve lawsuits alleging pharmacies contributed to an oversupply of prescription opioids. It said it had reached an agreement with its creditors on a financial restructuring plan to cut its debt and position itself for future growth and that the bankruptcy filing was part of that process. The plan will “significantly reduce the company’s debt” while helping to “resolve litigation claims in an equitable manner,” Rite Aid said. In March, the Justice Department filed a complaint against Rite Aid, alleging it knowingly filled hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances from May 2014-June 2019. It also accused pharmacists and the company of ignoring “red flags...

European Commission will immediately triple humanitarian assistance for Gaza to over €75 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

President Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) spoke to the Secretary General of the UN António Guterres, in the context of her on-going contacts with regional leaders.Following this call, she said: “The Commission will immediately increase the current humanitarian aid envelope foreseen for Gaza by €50 million. This will bring the total to over €75m. We will continue our close co-operation with the UN and its agencies to ensure that this aid reaches those in need in the Gaza strip. The Commission supports Israel's right to defend itself against the Hamas terrorists, in full respect of international humanitarian law. We are working hard to ensure that innocent civilians in Gaza are provided support in this context.”Commissioner Lenarčič said: “The Commission is doing everything in its power to provide humanitarian support to civilians in the Gaza strip. This tripling of EU humanitarian assistance will help ensure that civilians in Gaza can be provided with the basic necessities required. ...

Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams score 2nd-half touchdowns in Rams' 26-9 win over Cardinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:24 GMT

Although the Los Angeles Rams have played plenty of stellar offensive football over the past seven seasons, Sean McVay's team hasn't usually done it by simply squaring its shoulders and running the ball straight through opposing defenses.The Rams ran it relentlessly in the second half against Arizona on Sunday, and the result was a runaway win.Kyren Williams rushed for a career-high 158 yards and a touchdown, and Cooper Kupp made seven receptions for 148 yards and his first TD of the season in the Rams' 26-9 victory over the Cardinals.Williams produced the Rams' best individual rushing performance in nearly three years despite getting just 4 yards on two carries in the first half. McVay dramatically leaned into the running game after halftime, even calling eight consecutive runs to begin the third quarter, and his players responded superbly to the test of their toughness.“It's awesome. I love it,” said Matthew Stafford, who passed for 226 yards. “I was so fired up, stepping back int...