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AP PHOTOS: Israeli families of hostages taken to Gaza caught between grief and hope as war rages on

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — As the weeks wear on and new horrors from the Israel-Hamas war dominate TV screens, families whose loved ones were killed or abducted by militants in the terrifying Oct. 7 raids on southern Israel say it is their mission to ensure the hostages are not forgotten.Those whose relatives remain in Hamas captivity, hidden in Gaza’s tunnels or exposed to the threat of Israel’s unprecedented bombardment of the besieged strip, have become tireless advocates for securing the hostages’ release. “My whole life stopped,” said Keren Scharf Schem, whose 21-year-old daughter Mia, a French-Israeli citizen, was seized by Hamas gunmen during the assault on a freewheeling outdoor music and dance festival in southern Israel. Over 260 attendees were killed. “My every waking hour is spent going, going, going, doing everything and anything I can to bring her back,” Scharf Schem told The Associated Press. “When I stop or sit down, I cannot breathe. At night, I take ...

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor sues Republican Legislature over blocking basic functions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday sued the Republican-controlled Legislature, arguing that it is obstructing basic government functions, including signing off on pay raises for university employees that were previously approved.Evers is asking the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, bypassing lower courts. Evers said it was “a bridge too far” and “just bull s—” that Republican state lawmakers were telling 35,000 University of Wisconsin employees who were expecting pay raises to “stick it.”“You can’t do that,” Evers told reporters at a news conference. “That’s why we’re suing and that’s why we’re going to win.”Evers argues in the lawsuit that committees controlled by a few Republican lawmakers are being used by the Legislature to “reach far beyond its proper zone of constitutional lawmaking authority.”Republican legislative leaders, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, did not ...

From inventing the huddle to trying a new helmet, Gallaudet is home to a proud football tradition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Goldstein has not used a whistle to coach football in more than a decade. It has become commonplace for him.Since arriving at Gallaudet University as an assistant in 2009, Goldstein has embraced coaching a team of Deaf and hard-of-hearing players and the adjustments that go with it. He learned American Sign Language as the primary method of communication. At practice, he started to move to where the sun was in his eyes so players could see him signing, not the other way around. During games, he still worries about opponents being injured because his players can’t hear whistles when a play is stopped.“Those are the challenges we face year to year, but we overcome them,” Goldstein said. “We play football.”Gallaudet has been playing football since 1883, when it was known as the National Deaf-Mute College, and invented the huddle just over a decade later. The school added a drum to replace whistles in 1970, and players and coaches carry on the program...

Buffalo Bills sign running back Leonard Fournette to their practice squad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills replenished their running back depth by signing Leonard Fournette to their practice squad on Tuesday.Fournette, a six-year NFL veteran, has been out of football since being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February. The 28-year-old fills a spot left open when the Bills signed running back Ty Johnson to their active roster after Damien Harris (neck) was placed on injured reserve 10 days ago.In a corresponding move, the Bills released defensive tackle Kendal Vickers.Aside from Johnson, the Bills are carrying only three running backs, rounded out by starter James Cook and backup Latavius Murray. Buffalo (5-3) has been off since beating Tampa Bay on Thursday and is preparing to play at Cincinnati (4-3) on Sunday night.Fournette is a rugged-running player with dual-threat abilities as a receiver. He has yet to play to the expectations that led to Jacksonville selecting him with the fourth pick in the 2017 draft.He spent three seasons wit...

Sheriff: Florida couple arrested after 14-month-old overdoses on cocaine pills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (WSVN) – A 14-month-old child’s accidental overdose on cocaine pills has led to the arrest of a Bonita Springs couple on charges of child neglect and drug possession, according to officials.According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a medical assistance call at a Bonita Springs residence on Sunday, October 29, where they found an unresponsive 14-month-old child. The child was transported to a local hospital.Courtesy Lee County Sheriff’s Office33-year-old Diego Tzoy Pu and 30-year-old Santa Lux Pu De Tzoy reportedly informed authorities that the infant had ingested several pills described as oxycodone. Diego presented a baggie containing pills from his pocket, which later tested positive for cocaine.According to authorities, the child had access to Diego’s wallet, which was placed on a bedside table. Prior to calling 911, the child was reportedly seen with a blue pill in her teeth. Fortunately, the child is n...

Flight attendants sue United Airlines for discrimination on Dodgers charter flights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KCAL) — A pair of longtime flight attendants for United Airlines have filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that based on a request from the Los Angeles Dodgers, they use almost exclusively younger White attendants on charter flights for the team.The lawsuit, filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that United removed minority female flight attendants from Dodgers charter flights, replacing them with “young White thin women who did not have to interview for the highly coveted positions,” and thus engaging in discrimination.Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that White employees of United Airlines engaged in blatant racism, discrimination and antisemitism towards minority counterparts on those charter flights, of which there are around 60 per season.One plaintiff in the suit, identified as Darby Quezada, is of Black, Mexican and Jewish descent. She claims that she was referred to as the “flight’s maid” because they ne...

Where trick-or-treaters will face snow or chilling temperatures this Halloween

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

(CNN) — Millions of trick-or-treaters across the US will be reaching for extra layers, not umbrellas, this Halloween as temperatures fall to “scary” levels for October.Much of the contiguous US will remain dry as people go door-to-door Tuesday evening in search of candy, with a couple of exceptions.A storm off the mid-Atlantic coast will bring showers from the Carolinas to southern New Jersey just in time for trick-or-treating Tuesday evening.Check your local forecast hereA few snow showers will also spread across portions of the Great Lakes on Tuesday. Flakes began to fall early Tuesday morning across portions of Wisconsin and Illinois and will spread east into parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio by Tuesday night. The first snow of the season could arrive in Chicago on Tuesday, but very little accumulation is expected.Conditions across the rest of the US will range from chilly to downright cold by Tuesday evening with about 120 million people under freeze watches and warnings.A sho...

After catching no migrants, Slovakia cancels snap border controls with Hungary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

Slovakia on Tuesday canceled border controls on its frontier with Hungary just a day after enacting them — following a failure to catch any undocumented migrants.The country’s new government sent hundreds of police officers, troops and dogs to its border with Hungary on Monday afternoon, ostensibly to prevent undocumented migrants from entering the country. The forces were deployed on routes believed to be used most frequently by migrants, not on the entire 677-kilometer length of the border. “This demonstration of strength, which is being shown on the entire green border, is intended to make it clear to everyone, especially smugglers and organizers of illegal migration, that Slovakia is ready and will protect its own territory from illegal migration,” Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said.The display lasted about 12 hours — from 7 p.m. on Monday until 5 a.m. on Tuesday.“During this entire time, we have not recorded any arrests,” interim police chie...

‘Putin will be successful’ if lawmakers cut Ukraine funding, top leaders warn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

Top Biden administration officials warned senators on Tuesday that if they approve aid to Israel but cut out funding for Ukraine, Vladimir Putin will win.Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin argued against decoupling President Joe Biden’s $106 billion supplemental request for Israel, Ukraine and the Pacific while testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The pair warned Russia would prevail without continued U.S. assistance and would have implications outside of Europe.“I think it would do both terrible harm to our values, but also to our core interests,” Blinken said of leaving out Ukraine aid.“We are much better sustaining our effort now, seeing this to success, than having to pay a much higher price later when we have to deal with a world full of aggression,” he said.Austin also argued that not sending aid to Ukraine increases the likelihood that American troops might one day face combat against Putin’s forces in defense of a NATO ally...

Sheriff’s department reports show law enforcement was alerted to danger posed by alleged Maine gunman months before shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:12:59 GMT

(CNN) — New details are emerging about the US Army reservist who authorities say killed 18 people and wounded 13 others in Lewiston, Maine, last week – including previous warnings about him from the Army and his family, and two attempts by law enforcement to check on him weeks before the rampage.The Army in July said that Robert Card, 40, “should not have a weapon, handle ammunition, and not participate in live fire activity,” after he was seen “behaving erratically” and sent for an evaluation at an Army hospital, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro said.About two months later, a deputy was sent to check on Card twice in mid-September after a soldier became concerned the reservist would “snap and commit a mass shooting,” according to a document from the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department. An alert was then sent to law enforcement warning that Card was “armed and dangerous.”That was less than six weeks before the terror unfolded in Lewiston on Wednesday evening, when ...