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Israeli hostage crisis in Hamas-ruled Gaza becomes a political trap for Netanyahu

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The capture of dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians — elderly women, children, entire families — by Hamas militants has stirred Israeli emotions more viscerally than any crisis in the country’s recent memory and presented an impossible dilemma for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government.The Islamist militant group’s 2006 seizure of a sole young conscript, Gilad Shalit, consumed Israeli society for years — a national obsession that prompted Israel to heavily bombard the Gaza Strip and ultimately release over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had been convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis, in exchange for Shalit’s freedom.This time, Gaza’s Hamas rulers have abducted dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers as part of a multipronged, shock attack on Saturday. Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group smaller and more brazen than Hamas, said Sunday that it alone had seized 30 hostages.Their captivity raises the heat on Netanyahu ...

Maple Leafs trade Sam Lafferty to Canucks for 2024 fifth-round draft pick

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded forward Sam Lafferty to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft.Lafferty had 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists) in 70 games last season split between the Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks.The move removes Lafferty’s $1.15 million salary cap from the cap for Toronto, who are struggling to get under the $83.5 million cap for the upcoming season.Toronto had acquired Lafferty from Chicago shortly before the trade deadline. He had two goals and four assists in 19 regular season games with the Maple Leafs and added one goal and two assists in nine playoff games.The 28-year-old has 59 points (23 goals and 36 assists) in 210 career games over four seasons with the Penguins, Blackhawks and Maple Leafs.

Israeli and Palestinian supporters rally across U.S. as Israel declares war after Hamas attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Supporters of Israel and backers of the Palestinian cause rallied in American cities Sunday over the conflict that has killed hundreds and wounded thousands in the Middle East.Palestinian Americans planned to gather Sunday outside of the Israeli consulates in Atlanta and Chicago.“In recent years, we have seen the unified Palestinian resistance grow stronger,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, the national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and a spokesperson for the Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine, who has family in the region. “It really should be no surprise that this is happening.”Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was set to lead a Jewish community gathering in support of Israel at a synagogue in San Francisco.A pro-Palestinian march was planned for Times Square Sunday afternoon. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul called the anticipated gathering “abhorrent and morally repugnant.”On Saturday night in New York City, around 300 people, many in Jewish religious ...

‘The Exorcist: Believer’ takes possession of box office with $27.2 million opening

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Exorcist: Believer” spun heads and drove off all foes at the box office. Facing competition from no major new releases, the latest resurrection of the demonic franchise brought in $27.2 million in North America in its opening weekend for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was more than the weekend take of the next three films combined. But while it nearly earned back its reported budget of $30 million in just a few days, the take for “The Exorcist: Believer” was underwhelming after the two companies paid $400 million in 2021 for the rights to a new trilogy. Last week’s top film, “ Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” was a distant second, with $11.8 million, and has earned $38.9 million after two weekends for Paramount Pictures. Another horror sequel, “Saw X,” was third for Lionsgate Films, with $8.2 million, and has brought in $32.6 million after two weekends. The new “Exorcist” was released just shy of t...

Weekend Break: Latin Restaurant Weeks in Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Latin Restaurant Weeks are in full swing in Chicago though later this month.More than 30 restaurants, all with unique mouth-watering specials, are participating through Oct. 20. Head chef of Harrod’s in London on vegan baking One of those establishments is Savannah, a Latin fusion breakfast, brunch and lunch spot. "They can see Mexican dishes, something from Ecuador, something like French toast," Luis Calderon, the co-owner of Savannah, said. MORE STORIES: Weekend Break Calderon opened Savannah along with his brother in 2016 with inspiration from their homeland in Ecuador. They have since expanded to three locations and offer dishes with a Latin twist, like dulce de leche French toast. Creator of ‘Coffeecon’ on the best coffee "I think the most popular dish is the llapingacho benedict and the montepillo," Calderon said.The two weeks are meant to highlight the contributions of Latinos in the culinary industry by showcasing their business.You'll find Oaxacan, Puerto Ri...

How to cash in the coins sitting around your house

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

(NerdWallet) - Coins are rarely used to make purchases in the U.S., but you probably have a container somewhere in your house that’s slowly accumulating the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters that you get in change.In fact, there was an estimated $48.5 billion in coins sitting in American households — such as in a piggy bank or junk drawer — according to a report issued by the government-led U.S. Coin Task Force during the COVID-19 pandemic. These dormant coins led to a disruption in coin circulation that is still affecting the U.S. economy, though to a lesser extent today than during the peak of the pandemic. The Federal Reserve is encouraging people to put their coins back into use by depositing or exchanging them for bills.If you’re looking for a way to make those coins easier to spend, there are several options.Where can I cash my coins?Your bank or credit unionMany banks and credit unions offer coin exchange services, including national banks such as Chase, Bank of America, W...

2 shot in Aurora during Sunday morning road rage incident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

Aurora officers are searching for suspects in an alleged road rage shooting that injured two people Sunday morning.The shooting happened early Sunday morning near East Mississippi Avenue and Chambers Road, according to a statement the Aurora Police Department.An unidentified third party transported the two victims to the hospital, where the police were called.#APDAlert Officers responded to a shooting early this morning that happened near E. Mississippi Ave and Chambers Blvd. Reports showed two individuals were shot during an apparent road range incident. The two victims were transported to the hospital by a third party and that’s… pic.twitter.com/yTpYmvFiQS— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) October 8, 2023Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Woman found dead in Westminster, police investigating as suspicious death Crime and Public Safety | Denver Sheriff Department staffing shortage worsens, overtime soars: “It’s never been this bad&#...

Bear that charged two boys in Colorado Springs put down by wildlife officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

A bear that charged two boys in a Colorado Springs open space Wednesday was euthanized, and its cubs tranquilized, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials announced Friday.At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, officers responded to reports of a bear attacking two boys in a heavily wooded open space in Colorado Springs, according to a Friday news release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.When officers arrived on the scene, they found that an adult, female bear had charged at the boys, ages 12 and 13, twice and caused one boy to run into a tree branch, the release stated.The Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers, alongside officers from the Colorado Springs Police Department, searched the open space for the 150-pound bear.According to the news release, when the bear was aggressive toward an officer, another officer euthanized the bear.“This was an unfortunate situation where a sow had become dangerously aggressive toward people instead of being scared of humans,” said Tim Kroenin...

Man riding bike with dog in front basket killed in crash; dog expected to survive 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

A man riding a bicycle with his dog was killed after being struck by a vehicle in Laguna Beach Saturday evening. According to information from the Laguna Beach Police Department, the unidentified man was struck at the intersection of Oak Street and Glenneyre Street just before 7 p.m. The bicyclist sustained “critical injuries” and was pronounced deceased at a local hospital. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.  11-year-old arrested for armed robbery in Santa Monica “We send our deepest prayers and condolences to the deceased male’s family and hope they find strength through this unfortunate event,” said Laguna Beach Police Department Captain Mike Peters. A dog – described by police as a small terrier – was sitting in the bike’s front basket when the collision occurred, officials said. The pooch was taken to a local animal hospital with minor injuries and is expected to recover. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and coope...

Dr. Greenthumb’s West LA Opens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:45 GMT

Dr. Greenthumb’s newest shop in West LA is two weeks old and marks the fifth shop from the LA-bred company founded by B-Real and Kenji Fujishima. The shop is located at 12235 Wilshire Ave. Fujishima is also the company’s director of cultivation and head of product development. He is also famously one of the earlier holders of OG Kush after its arrival in LA from Florida. We talked with Fujishima about the new shop this week. “Number five here, I think it feels good to have another shop in LA and especially on the west side,” Fujishima said. “People have been asking for a location over in that area for a long time. So it’s definitely you know, we’re all definitely excited for that to open up over there.”The process to get the shop open took over a year. We asked Fujishima how helpful it is as a cultivator to get another storefront to move his product during these dark times in the industry, especially for OGs like him. “I think as a cultivator, anybody who is cultivating,...