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A look at the parties and issues in Thailand’s election on Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand votes Sunday in an election many see as an opportunity to break free from military-dominated governments that have held power for most of the nation’s modern history.THE BASICS:Some 52 million eligible voters will choose among candidates from 70 parties to serve a four-year term in the House of Representatives. It will have 400 members directly elected by constituencies and 100 chosen by proportional representation on a nationwide party preference ballot. Parties that win at least 25 seats are qualified to nominate a prime minister and can name up to three candidates.The prime minister is selected by a simple majority of a joint vote of the lower house and the Senate, whose 250 members were not elected but appointed by a military government. That means the winning candidate needs at least 376 votes.THE BACKSTORY:Political turmoil has persisted since the 2006 army coup ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The billionaire populist was accused of cor...

Trump’s sexual assault verdict marks a rare moment of accountability. And women are noticing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cassandra Nuñez and her grandmother cast their first ballots in a U.S. presidential election in 2016. She was a first-year college student; her grandmother, a newly minted citizen. They both hoped to elect the first woman president over a man who bragged about grabbing and kissing women at will.But Donald Trump became president, and it would be nearly seven years before a Trump accuser could press her claims at trial. This week, jurors in a New York civil case said they believed that Trump sexually assaulted writer E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room in the 1990s — making him the first U.S. president found liable by a jury in a sexual battery case. The panel awarded her $5 million in damages. “It’s a victorious moment, but why did the people of the United States let this happen?” said Nuñez, now 25, of Los Angeles, noting the number of sexual misconduct accusations against Trump during the campaign and since his election. “It’s kind of late.”The verdict — a rare m...

Thailand’s election may deliver mandate for change, but opposition victory may not assure power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Voters disaffected by nine years of plodding rule by a coup-making army general are expected to deliver a strong mandate for change in Thailand’s general election Sunday. But a predicted victory by the allies of Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ouster by coup 17 years ago plunged the country into prolonged instability, has caused concern for an unhindered democratic transition.Dissatisfaction with the incumbent prime minister running for reelection, Prayuth Chan-ocha, is high, due in part to a slumping economy and his government’s mismanaged response to the COVID-19 pandemic.But weariness and even anger at the military’s habitual interference in politics is a major factor. Thailand has had more than a dozen coups since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932, the last one in 2014 carried out by Prayuth when he was army commander. Prayuth’s governments slapped down democratic reforms and prosecuted activists.“The main factor could be that people are no longer willing...

Video: Smash-and-grab crew use car to plow into Corona store, steal $65K in merchandise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

Surveillance video captured the moment more than a dozen thieves used an alleged stolen vehicle to crash into a camera and electronics store in Riverside County and make off with thousands of dollars in merchandise.  The incident occurred on April 17, just before 6 a.m., at Mac Star Cameras & Electronics in Corona, according to the store’s management.  In the video, the vehicle’s revving engine can be heard just as the front of the store comes crashing inward. The driver of the vehicle then pulls forward and reverses again, crashing farther into the store, causing the corrugated security door to hit shelving along the wall.  Moments later, thieves come streaming in and begin ransacking the store, several of them wearing flashlights on their heads. The smash-and-grab crew is undeterred when the store’s alarm system goes off and the lights come on. They continue to systematically steal as many things as possible and carry them out the front of the store.  ...

Free summer concert series returns to the Getty Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

The Getty Center’s free concert series returns this summer, featuring a lineup of musicians spanning all genres taking the stage.“OFF THE 405” will take over the museum’s outdoor stage on select Saturdays beginning May 20. Tickets for the shows are free, however advance online tickets are required to attend.Five artists were announced for the series lineup:-SPELLLING - May 20-Makaya McCraven - June 24-Etran de L’Aïr - July 22-Rahill - July 29-Alabaster DePlume - Aug. 26All performances will be held in the museum courtyard and will begin with a DJ set at 6 p.m. before the main act kicks off at 7 p.m. Free tickets for future performances will be released online three weeks in advance. Food and beverages will be available for purchase onsite. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the Getty's exhibits and bring their own picnic items.Parking fees are still active for those driving to the Getty Center, with prices dropping later in the day — $20 all day, $15 after 3 p.m., and...

Ylva Hagner: Search for long missing Palo Alto woman takes authorities to Redwood City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

REDWOOD CITY — The search for answers in the nearly three-decade-old missing person case of Palo Alto resident Ylva Hagner took authorities to Redwood City this week.On Wednesday, FBI agents and evidence technicians descended on Stulsaft Park in the 3700 block of Farm Hill Boulevard, according to media reports. News cameras also showed them removing paving stones in the yard of an adjacent home and preparing to dig.“The case has been refocused and we are conducting an investigation in Redwood City into the whereabouts of Ylva Hagner,” Belmont police Lt. Peter Lotti told CBS Bay Area.Lotti did not tell the news station what clues led authorities to the park and home or how they were connected to the case, but he confirmed the investigation was ongoing.Lotti did not return several messages this news organization left for him seeking details about the search.Reached by email, the FBI’s San Francisco office referred questions to Belmont police.“The FBI is assisting the Belmont (Police D...

$18K worth of goods stolen from Daly City auto repair shop, suspects at large

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

(KRON) -- The Daly City Police Department is looking for three people who allegedly stole $18,300 worth of equipment and $4,000 cash from an auto repair shop on March 3.According to DCPD, the burglary happened at about 4:18 a.m. at J and K Auto Repair, located at 280 San Pedro Road. One of the suspects obtained a key and was able to unlock the door. Video released of 2 men fighting over Costco parking space in Danville Police said the suspects took the cash tray from the register and entered the store multiple times to take equipment. DCPD provided descriptions of what the three suspects were wearing:Camouflage bucket hat, camouflage jacket, mask and blue jeansBlack sweatshirt with a white image on the hood, mask, black t-shirt with a white image, blue jeansBlack jacket with a security patch on the back and left shoulder patch, green hoodie, blue jeansDCPD is investigating the burglary.

From allies to foes: How uneasy relations between Sudan army, separate force exploded into violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Over recent years, Sudan’s military and a separate armed force accumulated power, each suspicious of the other, even as they worked together against the country’s pro-democracy movement. Officers inside both forces say it was a long-building recipe for disaster.Their tenuous alliance ended in mid-April, when they turned their guns on each other, sparking a conflict that threatens to engulf African’s third largest country.In interviews with The Associated Press, more than a dozen senior officers from Sudan’s military and the rival paramilitary known as the Rapid Support Forces described what led them to an all-out war. They, along with political activists and a U.N. official, recounted how both sides made power grabs, shifted alliances and moved to protect their interests under international pressure for a transition to civilian government.All spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal or because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Neither the R...

Reportan más de 90 tormentas en todo Estados Unidos este jueves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

(CNN) — Otro día de fuertes tormentas trajo informes de tornados, ráfagas de viento dañinas y granizo de gran tamaño a través de partes del centro de EE.UU. y también a través de partes del sureste este jueves. En total, hay más de 90 informes de tormentas.Hasta el momento, se han registrado más de 15 tornados en Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Luisiana y Oklahoma. Más reportes de tornados observados se produjeron a través de Oklahoma, por lo que es probable que se añadan más informes de tornados a este número total de Oklahoma.Las ráfagas de viento fuertes son el informe de tormenta más numeroso, ascendiendo ahora a más de 45. Aquí hay algunos informes notables:Kirk, Colorado: 104 km/hCampus, Kansas: 104 km/hWauneta, Nebraska: 97 km/hValentine, Nebraska: 93 km/hHubo más de 25 informes de granizo este jueves. Aquí están algunos informes notables de granizo:Cool Springs, Georgia: 6,3 centímetrosMineral Wells, Texas: 4,4 centímetrosHigh Springs, Florida: 4,4 centímetrosRoxie, Missis...

Nuggets head to Western Conference finals; Celtics, 76ers head to Game 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:52 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 32 points in another triple-double, Jamal Murray added 26 and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2020 by beating the short-handed Phoenix Suns 125-100 in Game 6 on Thursday night.Denver’s series victory comes two seasons after the Nuggets were embarrassed in a second-round postseason sweep by the Suns. This time, it was the Suns getting blown out on their home floor to end the season for the second straight year.The Nuggets will play in the conference finals for the first time since they lost to the Lakers in five games in the Florida bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have never reached the NBA Finals.The top-seeded Nuggets used a 23-2 run during the latter part of the first quarter to take a 44-26 lead and never looked back. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — averaging 9.5 points in the playoffs — scored 17 in the first quarter while Jokic added 14.Caldwell-Pope finished with 21 points. Jokic shot...