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Israel declares war, bombards Gaza and battles to dislodge Hamas fighters after surprise attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government formally declared war and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack, as the military labored into Monday to crush fighters still in southern towns and intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The toll passed 1,100 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.More than 40 hours after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion out of Gaza, Israeli forces were still battling with militants holed up in several locations. At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 400 have been killed in Gaza.Israel said it brought in special forces to try to wrest control of four Israeli sites from Hamas fighters, including two kibbutzim that militants entered earlier in their attacks. Footage released by Israeli police from one area showed forces kneeling in tall grass as they ex...

Coby White earns point guard start to open Chicago Bulls preseason, plus 5 other takeaways from 105-102 loss to Milwaukee Bucks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

Coby White made a strong impression in his first outing as starting point guard for the Chicago Bulls. It’s a position he hopes to hold on to for the rest of the season.Coach Billy Donovan emphasized he hasn’t decided who will start for the Bulls on Oct. 25 in the home opener against Oklahoma, adding that training camp did not create a clear distinction between White, Jevon Carter and Ayo Dosunmu.“To say that, ‘Hey, listen, this guy really separated himself’ — I don’t think that happened,” Donovan said. “Really all three of those guys played well.”But Sunday showcased White’s continued development as a playmaker, particularly in his ability to create opportunities for teammates by generating downhill movement as he logged six total assists. White showed improved skill with the ball in his hands while driving to the rim, building on his ability to pass through traffic and in the air after making an initial r...

Celtics takeaways: Kristaps Porzingis shines in debut as C’s win preseason opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

TD Garden is already buzzing.On an otherwise peaceful autumn Sunday afternoon in Boston, the volume inside the Garden was piercing. It was only their preseason opener. But the excitement for this Celtics team was clearly apparent as the ball tipped off for the first time this season.Maybe it helped that the lousy Patriots had just suffered another blowout loss mere hours beforehand, which put the spotlight solely on Boston’s lone championship favorite. The Celtics are the pride of the city right now, and they showed why on Sunday.The Celtics got a good look of their two prized additions, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, and Payton Pritchard, with the ink still drying on his contract extension, took over late, as the Celtics came from behind to beat the 76ers, 114-106, in their preseason opener.Some takeaways from the Celtics’ victory:– Kristaps Porzingis was feeling himself.The new Celtics big man, in the midst of a strong first quarter, finished a lob from Derrick White with au...

Wu indicates ‘very, very high’ likelihood of second mayoral run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

Nearing the halfway point of her first term, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu indicated Sunday she may well be seeking a second.“Before launching any official campaign, there are conversations that would need to happen with my family and in other spaces,” Wu said after a North End event Sunday afternoon, “but certainly we’re working on a lot of needed changes for the city that will take some time, and if given the chance, I hope to be able to continue having an impact.”Asked to characterize her odds of running for a second term on CBS’s Keller at Large segment Sunday morning, Wu answered “very, very high.”The former city councilor was elected to the corner office in 2021 — passing the two year anniversary of her election next month — and would run again on the 2025 ballot.The mayor responded to rumors she was looking into resigning to take another job at Harvard last month, stating there was “no chance” she would leave ...

Israelis taken hostage ripped from everyday activities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

Yoni Asher last spoke to his wife on Saturday morning, when she called from her mother’s home in southern Israel near the Gaza border. “She told me terrorists had infiltrated the home,” he said. “The phone got disconnected.”He last saw her later in the day — in a video circulating online. She and their daughters, 3 and 5 years old, were huddled with others on a flatbed in the back of a vehicle. Men with guns ushered them off.Asher’s wife, Doron Asher Katz, 34, is one of an unknown number of Israelis who have been captured and presumed to be held as hostages after an unprecedented invasion by Hamas militants of southern Israel, taking control for a time of multiple communities and at least two military camps, and killing hundreds. Videos posted online show armed men marching or dragging men and women through the streets, some elderly, some bloodied.Israeli authorities have responded with force in Gaza, killing more than 400 people and bombing buildings. On Sunday morning, Israel was ...

U.S. aid for Israel announced, unclear what action can occur in ‘paralyzed’ Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

The U.S. will come to Israel’s aid as it fights to defend itself from an attack by Hamas linked militants from Gaza, according to the Biden Administration.Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Sunday that, in addition to moving the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean, the U.S. will “rapidly” provide Israel with “additional equipment and resources, including munitions.”“The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days. Strengthening our joint force posture, in addition to the materiel support that we will rapidly provide to Israel, underscores the United States’ ironclad support for the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli people,” Austin said in a statement.On Saturday, more than 700 Israeli civilians and military personnel were killed when Hamas launched a surprise attack from Gaza. Israel’s Security Cabinet would declare war with the militant group in the following hours.On Sunday, the U.S.S. Ge...

US demands condemnation of Hamas at UN meeting, but Security Council takes no immediate action

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors Sunday, with the United States demanding all 15 members strongly condemn “these heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas,” but it took no immediate action.U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said afterward that “a good number of countries” did condemn the Hamas attack but not all council members. He told reporters they could probably figure out one of them.Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told The Associated Press the Americans tried to say during the meeting that Russia isn’t condemning the attacks, but “that’s untrue.”“It was in my comments,” he said. “We condemn all the attacks on civilians.”Nebenzia said Russia’s message is: “It’s important to stop the fighting immediately, to go to a cease-fire and to meaningful negotiations, which were stalled for decades.”Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun voiced a similar position earlier, as he headed into the meeting. He said Beijing conde...

California governor vetoes bill to make free condoms available for high school students, citing cost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a bill on Sunday that would have made free condoms available all public high school students, arguing it was too expensive for a state with a budget deficit of more than $30 billion.California had about 1.9 million high school students enrolled in more than 4,000 schools last year, according to the California Department of Education.“This bill would create an unfunded mandate to public schools that should be considered in the annual budget process,” Newsom wrote in a message explaining why he vetoed the bill, known as Senate bill 541.The bill is one of hundreds passed by California’s Democratic-dominated state Legislature before lawmakers adjourned last month. Newsom has been signing and vetoing legislation since then, including rejecting bills on Saturday to ban caste-based discrimination, limit the price of insulin and decriminalize possession and use of some hallucinogens.The bill would have required all public schoo...

Police search for 14-year-old girl missing from Garfield Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

CHICAGO — A search is underway on Sunday for a teen girl missing from Garfield Park, according to Chicago police. Police say they are searching for 14-year-old Kimmora Price who has been missing from the 3500 block of West Lexington Street since Monday, Oct. 2. According to police, the teen girl was last seen in the 2900 block of West Polk Street while wearing a black sweater and blue pants with black, gold and white shoes. 10 people, including 4 police officers, injured in crash, shooting on South Side Police say Price, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs around 98 pounds, has black hair, brown eyes and a nose piercing. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 14-year-old Kimmora Price is asked to call CPD Area Four Detectives at 312-746-8251.Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.

Inches away from scoring at critical moment, Longhorns have plenty to think about during bye week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — "We gotta let this sting a little bit."Longhorns offensive lineman Christian Jones said after the 34-30 loss to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday that it's on the players to think about what they could have done differently to turn the heartbreak into celebration. Instant Analysis: Sooners QB Dillon Gabriel created many of Texas’ problems Perhaps the biggest sequence of the game was the Longhorns getting the ball down to Oklahoma's 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter and getting stuffed four consecutive tries. Jones was in the middle of that, along with defensive linemen Byron Murphy and T'Vondre Sweat in the Longhorns' jumbo goal line package. Not being able to move the ball three feet for six points with about 11 minutes left in the game loomed very large with how the game played out.Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said the team takes a lot of pride in the situational package with the 300-pounders leading the way. They've scored every drive t...