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‘We are at war’: 5 things to know about the Hamas militant group’s unprecedented attack on Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Without warning on Saturday, Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers attacked Israel by air, land and sea. Millions of Israelis in the country’s south awoke to the searing sound of incoming rockets and the inevitable thud of impact. Air raid sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv. Israel’s anti-rocket interceptors thundered in Jerusalem. And in an unprecedented escalation, armed Hamas fighters blew up parts of Israel’s highly fortified separation fence and strode into Israeli communities along the Gaza frontier, terrorizing residents and trading fire with Israeli soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies were scrambling to respond to the rapidly changing events. Within just nine hours, some 40 Israelis and nearly 200 Palestinians were confirmed dead, with the numbers expected to rise.Here are some key takeaways from the multi-pronged attack that has suddenly plunged Israel into war.ISRAEL CAUGHT UNAWARE The shock that ...

Washington finalizing the hire of Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen, AP source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

Washington is working to finalize the hire of Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen to fill its vacant AD position, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of a deal were still being worked out. An official announcement was planned for Monday.Yahoo Sports was first to report Washington was targeting Dannen.He will replace Jen Cohen, who left Washington for Southern California in August, not long after the Huskies announced they would be following USC and leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten next year.Now Dannen will oversee that transition at Washington.The Iowa native has been with Tulane since 2015. He has served on various NCAA committees in recent years, including the Division I Transformation Committee and the Football Oversight Committee.During his time at Tulane, Dannen hired football coach Willie Fritz and helped turn the Green Wave into one of the strongest Group of Five pr...

Syria shells northern rebel-held region of Idlib, killing 7 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian and Russian bombardment of rebel-held parts of northwest Syria claimed seven more lives and wounded others Saturday, two days after one of the country’s deadliest attacks on a government target in years, a war monitor and a paramedic group said.Thursday’s drone strike on the Homs Military Academy killed 89 people, including 31 women and five children, and wounded as many as 277, according to the health ministry.The Syrian military accused insurgents “backed by known international forces” of carrying out the attack and said “it will respond with full force and decisiveness to these terrorist organizations, wherever they exist.” No one claimed responsibility for the attack that happened during a graduation ceremony at the academy.On Saturday, Syrian artillery pounded towns and villages held by rebels in Idlib province, killing seven and wounding 10, according to the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets.After more than 12 years of ci...

EU Mediterranean ministers call for more migrant repatriations and increased resources

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Migration and interior ministers from five European Union countries most affected by migration across the Mediterranean — Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain — hailed a new EU pact on migration but said more resources were needed. The ministers from the Med 5 group, who met in Thessaloniki, Greece on Friday and Saturday, took a hard line on returning migrants who have crossed into the bloc illegally to their countries of origin, arguing that if Europe does not tackle the problem decisively, more extreme voices will take over.Greek Migration and Asylum minister Dimitris Kairidis, who hosted the sixth meeting of the Med 5, and European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas congratulated the Spanish presidency of the EU for “doing what is humanly possible” to arrive at a compromise agreement.In a press conference Saturday, Schinas took issue with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who said Friday Hungary was “legally raped” by its fellow EU mem...

Lucinda Williams talks about writing and performing rock ‘n’ roll after her stroke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A little too country for rock ‘n’ roll, and a little too rock ‘n’ roll for country, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams has always played by her own rules. That’s never changed — even after November 2020, when she suffered a stroke. Williams underwent grueling rehabilitation, eventually leading to her memoir, “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You,” and her album, “Stories from a Rock N Roll Heart.” The latter, released earlier this summer, features contributions from Bruce Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa, Jesse Malin, Angel Olsen, Margo Price, Jeremy Ivey, Buddy Miller, and more.“The recovery part is really hard because you get impatient,” Williams told the Associated Press. “You want it to happen all at once.”On Saturday, Williams reaches another recovery milestone: her 2023 tour will kick off at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.In a phone interview earlier this year, Williams spoke to the AP about her recovery...

Canada’s dramatic summer weather has altered the fall colours this year: researchers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

HALIFAX — The customary reds, oranges and yellows of the trees, marking the arrival of fall, may have appeared early this year, or not at all.The dramatic summer weather that brought wildfires in some parts of the country and heavy rain in others is being reflected in fall colours across Canada, researchers say.In Nova Scotia, where summer started with forest fires and ended with stretches of overcast and stormy days, dull brown has replaced the vibrant hues usually seen this time of year in much of the province.Mason MacDonald, an assistant professor of environmental sciences and agriculture at Dalhousie University, said the colours he’s seen so far this autumn don’t compare to the brilliant reds and oranges Nova Scotians are used to.“What you’re probably seeing is a lot of really dull-looking colours this year. Even the reds are probably more of a dull, darker red, or rust colour,” MacDonald said in a recent interview. “I’ve heard it from a lot of people this year, esp...

SIU investigating after police shoot at man during arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

The province’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate after a police officer fired his gun during a struggle with a 21-year-old suspect in Brampton. The Special Investigations Unit says just before 9 p.m. Friday, a Peel police officer stopped the driver of a car in the area of Chamney Court, west of Kennedy Road, for having no rear licence plate. Police determined the vehicle had previously been stolen and while attempting to arrest the driver, he fled the scene on foot. Following a pursuit, the officer caught the man and a struggle ensued with the suspect biting the officer several times, according to the SIU.The officer fired his weapon at the man, who was not struck. Another officer then deployed a taser to subdue the suspect. The man was taken to hospital but was found to have no serious injuries. The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the disch...

Drop boxes have become key to election conspiracy theories. Two Democrats just fueled those claims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A woman approaches a drop box in the dark with what appears to be handfuls of ballots. At a different drop box, someone else is seen making multiple trips to insert ballots. At yet another, the same car stops on at least three separate occasions, with different people stepping out and heading to the box.It’s not a trailer for the latest conspiracy movie about rigged elections. Instead, the video footage has become central to a real-world controversy over potential fraud involving ballot drop boxes, a favorite target of right-wing conspiracy theorists since former President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.The accusations of drop box fraud are not coming from those pushing fringe election claims or from skeptical Republicans who have long favored eliminating or severely restricting use of the boxes. They are being made by Democrats — two candidates vying for mayor in Connecticut’s largest city, in a heavily Democratic state that began allowing dro...

The 'most popular' Halloween candy in Illinois, according to online sales data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Which kinds of hardened candy residue will your child’s dentist be scraping from their teeth at the next visit?Well, it might depend on where you live.CandyStore.com, an online candy retailer specializing in wholesale and bulk orders, has sought to determine the “most popular” Halloween candies in each state, based largely on the past 16 years of the company’s sales data in the months leading up to Halloween. Distributors and manufacturers who work with CandyStore.com also “chipped in” to provide additional stats, according to CandyStore’s analysts.While the top candies vary from state to state, CandyStore estimates that Reese’s Cups, M&Ms and Hot Tamales are the country’s three “most popular” candies overall (and in that order) based on sales per pound between 2007 and 2022. McDonald’s ‘Boo Buckets’ are back, and with a new color But which sweets, specifically, might your local dentist find lodged between your children’s sensitive, especially vulnerable teeth in t...

$361 million Mega Millions jackpot won by single ticketholder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:20 GMT

(WFLA) – The winning ticket for the $361 million Mega Millions jackpot has been sold after 15 drawings.The ticket, which was sold in Texas, matched all five white balls — 12, 24, 46, 57, 66 — as well as the gold Mega Ball 22. The $361 million prize ($157.3 million cash) is also the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won in the Lone Star State, according to Mega Millions. (The last jackpot won in Texas, in Sept. 2019, was valued at $227 million.) Why a Florida Powerball jackpot winner won’t get $1.4 billion In addition to the jackpot, six ticketholders for Friday's drawing won second-tier prizes worth $1 million or more: Winners in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington purchased tickets worth $1 million each, while ticketholders in Michigan and New Jersey, who purchased the optional $1 Megaplier, earned $3 million apiece.Prior to Friday's drawing, a Mega Millions jackpot hadn't been won since Aug. 15. Still, Friday's drawing marked the ninth Mega Millions jackpot won...