Home

Israeli airstrikes surge in Gaza, killing dozens at a time in destroyed homes, witnesses say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel escalated airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, crushing families in the rubble of residential buildings, as health officials said hundreds of Palestinians were killed in the past day and medical facilities were shut down because of bomb damage and lack of power.The soaring death toll from the bombardment is unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It augurs an even greater loss of life in Gaza once Israeli forces backed by tanks and artillery launch an expected ground offensive aimed at crushing Hamas militants.Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been running out of food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the territory following the devastating Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on towns in southern Israel.The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 704 people over the past day, mostly women and children. The Associated Press could not independently verify the death tolls cited by Ham...

Miners from a rival union are holding hundreds of colleagues underground in South Africa, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A group of miners from an unregistered, rival union are holding hundreds of their colleagues underground for a second day at a gold mine in South Africa over a union dispute, police and mine officials said Tuesday. Some 15 miners have been injured in scuffles, the head of the mine said.Details were sketchy and there were conflicting statements over what happened, with the unregistered union asserting it represents the majority of employees at the mine and it wants to be formally recognized. It said the workers underground were staging a protest and there was no hostage situation.According to Jon Hericourt, CEO of New Kleinfontein Gold Mine company, which manages the mine, the incident erupted early Monday when miners from the AMCU union prevented hundreds of others from leaving after their night shift ended at the Modder East mine in Springs, east of Johannesburg.Hericourt said there were 562 mineworkers underground, and the company had estimated that between 110...

Matthews scores his 7th of the season, Leafs beat the Capitals 4-1 despite Ovechkin’s goal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his seventh goal of the season, Joseph Woll made 36 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs handed the Washington Capitals their fourth loss in five games, 4-1 on Tuesday night.Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal this season and 823rd of his NHL career, moving 71 back of Wayne Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin, who would have tied a career-long season-opening goal drought if he hadn’t scored, had a game-high 14 shots, including a failed penalty shot.Ovechkin’s offensive contribution on the power play came too late, well after an early goal was disallowed because the league ruled he interfered with Woll and with the Capitals trailing 4-0. Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on the first 12 shots he faced and 17 overall.Washington’s only win so far came in a shootout last week at home against Calgary. This loss came against the team new coach Spencer Carbery spent the past two seasons with as an assistant.Matthews’ goal was his fi...

Nicaragua is ‘weaponizing’ US-bound migrants as Haitians pour in on charter flights, observers say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — More than 260 charter flights believed to be carrying migrants from Haiti have touched down in Nicaragua in recent months, according to flight data and experts in the region, adding to a historic crush of migration by people hoping to reach the U.S.The flow of migrants has left the Biden administration and Latin American leaders scrambling for solutions, and experts say it’s also being used as leverage by governments like Nicaragua’s to get concessions from the U.S. amid tightening sanctions.“The Ortega government knows they have few important policy tools at hand to confront the United States, … so they have armed migration as a way to attack,” said Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances and development program at the Inter-American Dialogue. “This is definitely a concrete example of weaponizing migration as a foreign policy.”Nicaragua has long been used as a migratory springboard for people fleeing struggling Caribbean nati...

Texas counties trying to prevent people from using roads to get an abortion grows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A Texas county near New Mexico — where abortion is legal — has banned helping people traveling to get an abortion in one of the newest ways conservatives are trying to restrict abortion access since the fall of Roe v. Wade. Lubbock County is the largest of four Texas counties that have now adopted a version of the measure, which would be enforced through lawsuits filed by private citizens against people who help women obtain abortions. It is the same legal mechanism Texas used to enact a strict abortion law in 2021 before the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the state last year to ban nearly all abortions entirely.Commissioners in the west Texas county adopted the measure 3-0 at a meeting Monday, rejecting some requests to postpone the vote.The ordinance “has many legal problems,” said Lubbock County Judge Curtis Parrish, the county’s top elected official. “This ordinance, however, does not have a problem with its intent or the intent of those who are pas...

Costa Rica y Honduras llegan a un acuerdo y suspenden solicitud mutua de visa

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

(CNN Español) — Luego de un encuentro bilateral, Costa Rica y Honduras acordaron eliminar el requisito de visa consular mutua. La decisión la tomaron representantes de ambos países en una reunión que se llevó a cabo en la Casa Presidencial costarricense este martes.En una conferencia de prensa, donde se firmó el acuerdo entre ambas naciones, el presidente de Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, dijo que el problema se había solucionado y que ni hondureños ni costarricenses requerirán visas, “sea viajero por avión, transportistas, diplomático, sea quien sea de ambos pueblos”, explicó el mandatario.Chaves agregó que el marco para el acuerdo lo había conversado este lunes con la presidenta de Honduras, Xiomara Castro, y que una comitiva de alto nivel de ambos países lo concretó este martes.Con la decisión, se pone fin a un problema bilateral que comenzó a principios de octubre cuando Costa Rica, argumentando razones de seguridad, empezó a exigir visa a los hondureños y este país respondió...

China replaces its defense minister months after its foreign minister was removed from office

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

TAIPEI. Taiwan (AP) — China has replaced Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, who has been out of public view for almost two months, state media reported Tuesday. No further information was given. Li is the second senior Chinese official to disappear this year, following former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who was removed from office in July with no explanation offered. Li, who became defense minister during a Cabinet reshuffle in March, hasn’t been seen since giving a speech on Aug. 29. There is no indication that the disappearances of Qin and Li signal a change in China’s foreign or defense policies, although they have raised questions about the resilience of president and ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s circle of power. Xi has a reputation for valuing loyalty above all and has relentlessly attacked corruption in public and private, sometimes in what has been seen as a method of eliminating political rivals and shoring up his political position amid a deteriorating economy a...

Menor es herido de bala en el condado Fairfax

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

Un menor fue herido de bala la tarde del martes en el área de Lincolnia en el condado Fairfax en Virginia. La edad exacta de la víctima no estuvo inmediatamente disponible, pero la policía del condado Fairfax dijo que un “menor” recibió múltiples impactos de bala en la parte inferior de su cuerpo. La víctima fue llevada al hospital con heridas que no amenazan su vida, según las autoridades. De acuerdo a la policía, la balacera se registró en la cuadra 4600 de N. Chambliss Street sobre las 4:20 p.m.No estuvo claro de inmediato qué llevó al tiroteo, pero las autoridades dijeron que no había una amenaza para el público. Varios sospechosos huyeron en un BMW blanco. Cualquier persona con información debe llamar al 911. Source

Nuggets celebrate first championship with banner, rings and win over the Lakers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

The Denver Nuggets raised their championship banner Tuesday night, then they dropped the hammer on the Los Angeles Lakers with a 119-107 victory fueled by Nikola Jokic's triple-double.Jokic had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the NBA's season opener. Jamal Murray added 21 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20, Aaron Gordon had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. had 12. Get a look at the Denver Nuggets’ lavish championship rings All of LA's starters also scored in double figures, led by LeBron James' 21 points in 29 minutes — his playing time is being monitored at the start of his 21st season.Taurean Prince scored 18 points his debut for the Lakers, his fifth team in nine seasons, Anthony Davis had 17 points, Austin Reaves 14 and D'Angelo Russell 11.The Lakers trailed by 18 early but trimmed that deficit to 63-54 at halftime and used a 13-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to pull within 87-84 before Aaron Gordon stopped the run with a 3-pointer.The Lakers never got ...

Couple takes legal action against MDPD after officer threatens to shoot man

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:56:42 GMT

It’s been over a month since the day that a man and his family in Southwest Miami-Dade won’t ever forget. Now, they’re taking legal action against a police department.“More than anybody, I want answers because it was my life, I was the one facing the barrel of the gun,” said the victim.On Sept. 20, 7News broke the story of a man who said he’d just pulled into his complex from work when he realized he was being followed by an unmarked police SUV — and before he knew it, he said he was held at gunpoint and had his life threatened by an officer.He then sped off at the sight of the video-taking wife, of the man who was just pulled over.“It’s just not fair that a police officer threatens to take somebody’s life,” said the victim’s wife.Cohen has put Miami-Dade Police on notice.“My clients were terrified,” said Brandon Cohen, the family’s attorney. “We have every intention of filing a civil suit agai...