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Gaza death toll exceeds 20,000 as Israel expands ground war against Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 20,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas, health officials said Friday, the latest indication of the staggering cost of the conflict as Israel expands its ground offensive and orders tens of thousands more people to leave their homes.The deaths amount to nearly 1% of the territory’s prewar population.The 11-week conflict has displaced nearly 85% of Gaza’s people and leveled wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. And more than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday from the United Nations and other agencies.Israel has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is removed from power in Gaza and all the hostages taken during its Oct. 7 cross-border attack are freed.Despite the humanitarian emergency, a U.N. Security Council vote on aid deliveries and terms for a cease-fire was delayed again late Thursday, af...

Connecticut police dog killed in shooting after state troopers tried to serve an arrest warrant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

STONINGTON, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut State Police dog was killed in a shooting Thursday evening involving troopers and a man they were trying to arrest on a felony warrant, authorities said.State police said troopers went to the Pawcatuck section of Stonington, near the Rhode Island state line, at about 7:30 p.m. to serve the warrant and a shooting occurred.Authorities said there were “serious injuries,” but did not elaborate. It was not immediately clear if any troopers or the man they were seeking were injured. The names of the troopers and the man were not immediately released. Authorities said the arrest warrant was obtained by Norwich police, but did not disclose additional details.State police said in a statement that the dog, Broko, “courageously gave his life protecting his handler, fellow troopers, and our community.”“K9 Broko heroically served with unwavering dedication, saving lives by locating missing individuals, apprehending dangerous suspects, and providing a steadf...

Biden to commute sentences of 11 nonviolent drug offenders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

(CNN) — President Joe Biden will commute the sentences of 11 people serving “disproportionately long sentences for non-violent drug offenses” on Friday, according to a White House official.“I am commuting the sentences of 11 people who are serving disproportionately long sentences for non-violent drug offenses. All of them would have been eligible to receive significantly lower sentences if they were charged with the same offense today,” Biden said in a statement.The president is also pardoning “additional offenses of simple possession and use of marijuana under federal and D.C. law,” according to the White House.“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs,” Biden said.The president also touted his use of clemency power.“I have exercised my clemency power more than any...

Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge tumbles in November as prices continue to ease

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

By PAUL WISEMAN (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation fell last month in another sign that price pressures easing in the face of the central bank’s interest rate hikes.Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. consumer prices slid 0.1% last month from October and rose 2.6% from November 2022. The month-over-month drop was the largest since April 2020 when the economy was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation last month rose 0.1% from October and 3.2% from a year earlier. All the numbers show somewhat more progress against inflation than economists had expected. Inflation is steadily moving down to the Fed’s year-over-year target of 2% and appears to be setting the stage for Fed rate cuts in 2024.After nearly two years of Fed rate hikes — 11 since March 2022 — inflation has come down from the four-decade ...

Bicyclist killed in City Heights shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was killed in an apparent drive-by shooting in City Heights Thursday night, San Diego police said.Around 7:47 p.m., two SDPD officers assigned to the Mid-City Division were driving in the 4900 block of El Cajon Boulevard when they witnessed gunshots ring out from the passenger side of a dark colored SUV before speeding away.The officers reported seeing the victim, who appeared to have been a bicyclist on westbound El Cajon Boulevard, down in the street with at least one wound to his upper torso. According to SDPD, the two immediately stopping to render aid. Man stuck under concrete on side of cliff in Ocean Beach Paramedics transported the victim, identified as a man in his 20s or 30s, to a nearby hospital for treatment. He later succumbed to his wounds and was pronounced dead by hospital staff.SDPD's Homicide Unit was called to the scene to investigate. According to the department, preliminary findings indicate that there was some sort of interaction or argumen...

Greece says 81 people were rescued from a stranded ship along an illegal migration route to Italy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities in southern Greece have rescued 81 people stranded on a ship south of the mainland, on a route frequently used to take migrants illegally to Italy, local officials said Friday.Municipal officials in the southern Greek port of Kalamata said the city had provided a temporary shelter for the people rescued, who identified themselves as coming from Egypt, Pakistan and Syria.The rescue operation occurred just south of Greece’s search and rescue area, authorities said, without providing other details.In June, a fishing trawler traveling on the same route sank, killing hundreds of migrants. The coast guard rescued 104 people and recovered 82 bodies while hundreds of others crammed inside the vessel were never found. ___Follow AP’s migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.The Associated Press

The Dutch government has taken another step toward donating 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government announced Friday it is preparing to give 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, in a boost for the embattled nation that is growing increasingly anxious about aid from its Western allies.The Dutch defense minister, Kajsa Ollongren, sent a letter to parliament outlining the plan to donate the sophisticated jets that was first unveiled in the summer.Friday’s decision is a significant step toward sending the planes into the skies over Ukraine, but did not say when they will be delivered.The government said the move “allows personnel and budget to be allocated to prepare the devices” to be sent to Ukraine. “With F-16s, Ukraine can better defend itself against Russian attacks,” Ollongren said in a statement. She added that the planes are “extremely important because the ongoing Russian aggression shows no sign of ending. That is why we are continuing unabated with our support for Ukraine.”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a...

Man found sleeping behind wheel on Toronto road arrested for impaired driving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

Provincial police are reminding people not to drink and drive over the holiday season after a driver was found sleeping behind the wheel in the middle of a Toronto road.In a post on X, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say officers found a man sleeping in an SUV on Keele Street near Highway 401.A photo from OPP shows two police vehicles boxing in the SUV in a live lane of the roadway.Police say the driver was arrested and charged with impaired driving after he was found to have double the legal limit of alcohol.#TorontoOPP located a male sleeping behind the wheel on Keele Street near #Hwy401 in #Toronto. Male arrested for Impaired Operation. Blood Alcohol Concentration more than twice the legal limit. Charged with #ImpairedOperation #Over80 #Dontdrinkanddrive ^yb pic.twitter.com/losZL5MJTX— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) December 22, 2023

GDP unchanged for third straight month in October: Statistics Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the economy remained flat in October for the third straight month as services-producing industries edged 0.1 per cent higher, while goods-producing industries were unchanged.It also forecasts that real gross domestic product for November increased 0.1 per cent, with estimated gains in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting partially offset by decreases in retail trade.StatCan says that for October, the manufacturing sector declined 0.6 per cent and wholesale trade contracted 0.7 per cent, while retail trade grew 1.2 per cent and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction saw a one per cent gain.It says the transportation and warehousing sector declined 0.2 per cent in October as the St. Lawrence Seaway strike decreased activity in some transportation subsectors.That included a 3.7 per cent contraction in water transportation, which was down for the first time since the B.C. port strike in July, ...

19-year-old critical after car hits light pole on Southwest Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:36 GMT

CHICAGO — A 19-year-old woman is in critical condition following a crash Thursday on the Southwest Side.Authorities responded to the 2700 block of South Western just after 10 p.m. on the report of a crash.A Honda sedan, driven by a 20-year-old man, swerved into traffic and struck a light pole. A 19-year-old woman, who was a passenger, was transported to Mt. Sinai in critical condition.The driver and three other passengers refused care on the scene.