Waterville, West Canada Valley regional finals games postponed due to winter storm

AFP
Trump floats Ukraine 'may be Russian someday' ahead of Zelensky-Vance meeting
US President Donald Trump floated the idea that Ukraine "may be Russian someday", as his Vice President JD Vance gears up to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later this week.Both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin have previously ruled out direct talks with each other, and there appears to be little ground where the two could strike a deal.
AFP
Philippine divorce activists vow to fight on
In her bid to convince lawmakers to legalise divorce, Filipina fruit vendor Avelina Anuran has publicly testified about the abuse she said she regularly endured at the hands of her husband. Despite the opposition and failed previous attempts to legalise divorce, Anuran remains determined.
AFP
Pacific nation Vanuatu elects prime minister
Vanuatu's parliament resoundingly elected a former foreign minister as premier Tuesday, less than two months after a deadly earthquake rocked the Pacific nation.After entering parliament in 2016, he served in senior roles including as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.
TODAY
Crocs hunted: Why some schools are banning the popular shoe
School districts across the country are banning Crocs on campus, saying the popular shoes pose a safety hazard.
NBC News
White House officials bristle as the courts throttle parts of Trump's agenda
The nation may be edging closer to a constitutional crisis as senior White House officials bristle over a string of court orders stymieing Trump’s agenda.
Associated Press
Roses are red, violets are blue, 940 million flowers are traveling (through Miami) to you
In the run up to Feb. 14, agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport have processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Around 90% of the fresh cut flowers being sold for Valentine's Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10% pass through Los Angeles. Roses, carnations, pompons, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums and gypsophila arrive on hundreds of flights, mostly from Colombia and Ecuador, to Miami on their journey to florists and supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada.
Associated Press
Corruption survey gives many nations worst scores in over a decade. South Sudan slides to the bottom
Many countries had their worst showing in more than a decade in an index released Tuesday that serves as a barometer of public sector corruption worldwide, from leading powers such as the United States and France to authoritarian nations such as Russia and Venezuela. Transparency International, which compiles the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, found that 47 countries out of the 180 it surveyed had their lowest score last year since it started using its current methodology for its global ranking in 2012. It said of its 2024 survey that “global corruption levels remain alarmingly high, with efforts to reduce them faltering.”
Associated Press
Why are Ukraine's minerals key to keeping US military aid flowing?
Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump for continued American military aid in exchange for developing Ukraine’s mineral industry, which could provide a valuable source of the rare earth elements that are essential for many kinds of technology. Trump said he wanted such a deal earlier this month, and it was initially proposed last fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow. “We really have this big potential in the territory which we control,” Andrii Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.
Associated Press
A Hamas delay in Gaza's next hostage release brings fear on all sides for ceasefire
The Hamas announcement that it will delay the next planned release of Israeli hostages from Gaza has threatened a fragile truce that’s seen as having the potential to wind down 16 months of war. It has brought new dismay for Israelis who watched the latest Hamas handover of hostages in growing horror over the weekend as the three emaciated men came into sight. Of the hostages yet to be released from Gaza under this phase of the ceasefire, Israel has said eight are dead.
Associated Press
Some Israeli soldiers traveling abroad are targeted for alleged war crimes in Gaza
An Israeli army reservist's dream vacation in Brazil ended abruptly last month over an accusation that he committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Yuval Vagdani woke up on Jan. 4 to a flurry of missed calls from family members and Israel's Foreign Ministry with an urgent warning: A pro-Palestinian legal group had convinced a federal judge in Brazil to open a war crimes investigation for his alleged participation in the demolition of civilian homes in Gaza.
NBC News
Judge finds Trump administration violated court order halting funding freeze
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Monday said that the Trump administration had violated his order halting a sweeping federal funding freeze and ordered the government to “immediately restore frozen funding.”
Associated Press
Haitian migrants share harrowing stories of abuse as Dominican Republic ramps up deportations
A crowd of 500 descended from dusty trucks on a recent morning and shuffled through a tiny gap in a border gate separating Haiti from the Dominican Republic. Under a broiling sun, the migrants recounted what they said were mounting abuses by Dominican officials after President Luis Abinader ordered them in October to start deporting at least 10,000 immigrants a week under a harsh new policy widely criticized by civil organizations. “They broke down my door at 4 in the morning,” said Odelyn St. Fleur, who had worked as a mason in the Dominican Republic for two decades.
Associated Press
Iran loosens import restrictions on foreign cars and iPhones, trying to mask its economic woes
All architecture student Amirhossein Azizi wanted for his 19th birthday was the latest iPhone — and for Iran's cash-strapped theocracy, it was just the gift they needed as well. An additional 450 million rials ($530) is required for import fees and registration on government-managed mobile phone networks. The purchase is only possible after Iran lifted import bans on expensive goods like foreign cars and new iPhones, yielding to public demand for the products while also trying to mask the dire straits of its economy.
Associated Press
Testimony in trial of man accused of trying to kill Salman Rushdie heads into 2nd day
Testimony is set to continue Tuesday in the trial of the man charged with stabbing famed author Salman Rushdie in a frenzied knife attack on a western New York stage. Jurors in the trial of Hadi Matar, 27, on Monday heard from staffers at the arts institution where Rushdie was set to give a speech in August 2022, when authorities say the Fairview, New Jersey man attacked the author on stage and stabbed him more than a dozen times. Rushdie himself is expected to testify during the trial.
Associated Press
How Elon Musk's crusade against government could benefit Tesla
Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles. Now, Musk’s close relationship with President Donald Trump means many of those federal headaches could vanish within weeks or months. On the potential chopping block: crash investigations into Tesla’s partially automated vehicles; a Justice Department criminal probe examining whether Musk and Tesla have overstated their cars’ self-driving capabilities; and a government mandate to report crash data on vehicles using technology like Tesla’s Autopilot.
Associated Press
Migrants stranded in Mexico try to restart life after Trump eliminates legal pathway to US
Margelis Rodriguez and her two children took selfies on their flight to Tijuana, showing off the T-shirts she had custom-made to mark what she expected to be her family's life-changing moment. The celebratory words now sting — driving home how close they came without making it and how precarious their lives are with their future more uncertain than ever, Rodriguez said while standing near the tent her family lives in at a shelter in Tijuana, a block from the towering wall marking the U.S. border. The family is among tens of thousands of people who had appointments into February, many of them left stranded in Mexican border cities after President Donald Trump took office.
Associated Press
Trump's education chief comes from the boardroom, not the classroom. Backers say that's her strength
Linda McMahon once described herself as an outsider stepping into the world of education, a business leader with an “inquiring mind” who would challenge the status quo and demand more for students. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he told McMahon closing the department would be a “disaster” for students nationwide.
Associated Press
America's kids are still behind in reading and math. These schools are defying the trend
Math is the subject sixth grader Harmoni Knight finds hardest, but that's changing. In-class tutors and “data chats” at her middle school in Compton, California, have made a dramatic difference, the 11-year-old said. Since the pandemic first shuttered American classrooms, schools have poured federal and local relief money into interventions like the ones in Harmoni's classroom, hoping to help students catch up academically following COVID-19 disruptions.
CNN
FDA’s plan to propose ban on formaldehyde in hair-straightening products remains in limbo under Trump administration
A plan for the US Food and Drug Administration to propose banning formaldehyde and certain formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from being used in hair-straightening products remains in limbo under President Donald Trump.
Associated Press
Trump will host Jordan's King Abdullah II as he escalates pressure on his Gaza resettlement plan
President Donald Trump will host Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East. The visit is happening at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as Hamas, accusing Israel of violating the truce, has said it is pausing future releases of hostages and as Trump has called for Israel to resume fighting if all those remaining in captivity are not freed by this weekend. Trump has proposed the U.S. take control of Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” with Palestinians in the war-torn territory pushed into neighboring nations with no right of return.

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