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Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza for the 3rd day in a row as West Bank violence intensifies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

NOUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Israeli airstrikes struck militant sites in Gaza on Sunday for the third straight day, the Israeli military said, after Palestinian militants near the border fence launched incendiary balloons into Israel and threw an explosive at soldiers. The strike came on the heels of an Israeli military raid in the northern West Bank that Palestinian health officials said killed two Palestinians. It was the latest bloodshed in a surge of violence during a sensitive Jewish holiday period. A series of violent escalations on the border between Israel and Gaza over the past week has raised the specter of an escalation for the first time since a brief round of conflict last May between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. It comes at a fraught time. Jews are set to mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day on their calendar, on Sunday night followed by the weeklong Sukkot festival later in the month.There were no reported casualties from the strik...

Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles dies after a motorcycle crash in Nashville. He was 29

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former NHL player Nicolas Kerdiles died Saturday after a motorcycle crash in Nashville, according to police. He was 29.The one-time hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks drove his motorcycle through a stop sign early Saturday and hit the driver’s side of an SUV, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department. The SUV’s driver immediately stopped, and there were no signs of impairment in either driver, police added. Kerdiles died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Police don’t anticipate any charges in the crash.The Ducks drafted Kerdiles in 2012 and he spent two seasons with the team, appearing in three games combined in the 2016-17 and the 2017-18 seasons. He was traded in 2018 to the Winnipeg Jets and played for the Manitoba Moose in the minor leagues. More recently, he had worked in real estate in Nashville.“We’re heartbroken to hear the news about Nic Kerdiles,” the Ducks posted on social media Saturday. “An Irvine native, Nic be...

Quebec public security probes domestic violence bracelet failure near Montreal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec’s Public Security Department will probe why a tracking bracelet system deployed in the province to prevent domestic violence suspects from approaching complainants did not work earlier this month in a town south of Montreal.The department said in a statement last week that on Sept. 9, an offender managed to get close to the victim in a suspected domestic violence case without the alarm triggering in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montreal.Authorities say normally when an offender gets too close, it sets off an alert to the monitoring centre and triggers a series of protocols ensuring the victim’s safety, but in this case the suspect was arrested by police after a 911 call.The department says regular followups are being provided to the victim and corrective measures were quickly put in place to prevent such a situation from recurring.It calls the situation a “deplorable and isolated event” and the department says it remains convinced the bra...

Hazing lawsuit filed against University of Alabama fraternity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A student and his parents have filed a lawsuit against a University of Alabama fraternity, saying he suffered a traumatic brain injury while being hazed as a fraternity pledge earlier this year. The lawsuit filed last week accuses Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and others associated with it of fraud, negligence and assault and battery. The lawsuit was filed by the teen, referred to only as H.B. in the filing because he is a minor; and his parents, who live in Texas. The lawsuit says H.B. was repeatedly punched, sprayed with a water hose, told to yell a racial slur at a nearby Black student and hit in the head with a basketball, which caused him to lose consciousness, see stars and suffer a traumatic brain injury.The student left the fraternity house on his own, but later went to a hospital emergency room. The lawsuit says he has a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury and post-concussive syndrome. “As the direct and proximate result of defendant’s negligence, p...

Weakening Ophelia still poses a risk of coastal flooding and heavy rain in some parts of the US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — After being downgraded from a tropical storm, Ophelia on Sunday still posed a risk of coastal flooding and heavy rains from Washington, D.C. to New York City, with coastal flood warnings remaining in effect for parts of the Mid-Atlantic region, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.But as Ophelia weakens, a new tropical storm — Philippe — is brewing in the Atlantic.As of 5 a.m. Sunday, the hurricane center said Ophelia was located about 85 miles (135 kilometers) south of Washington, D.C., with maximum sustained winds of 25 mph (35 kph) and higher gusts. The storm is expected to continue moving north-northeast before turning east on Sunday night, then continue weakening over the next two days.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Philippe was 1,155 miles (1,860 kilometers) west of the Cabo Verde Islands, which are off the west coast of Africa. That storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph).Even though Ophelia has been downgraded, the center warned Sunday that swells...

All students injured in New York bus crash are expected to recover, superintendent says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — All the high school students who were injured in an upstate New York charter bus crash on the way to a band camp are expected to recover, according to their school superintendent.The bus, one of six carrying students from Farmingdale High School on Long Island, veered off Interstate 84 and rolled over in the center median Thursday in the town of Wawayanda, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of New York City. Two adults died and other passengers were seriously injured.Paul Defendini, superintendent of Farmingdale schools, said in a statement Saturday that some of the injured students were still struggling but all are expected to recover, Newsday reported.“I know that they appreciate all the well wishes you are sending and we can’t wait to welcome them back when they are ready to return,” Defendini said.The bus that crashed was carrying 40 students and four adults to a band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania, about a 30-minute drive from the accident site.It ...

Missing toddler found sleeping on her dog, miles from Michigan home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

FAITHORN, Mich. (WJMN) — It was a normal evening in Faithorn, Michigan for the Chase family on Wednesday that quickly turned into an extensive search-and-rescue operation for a toddler. Brooke Chase was home with her son and 2-year-old daughter, Thea. Her husband Alex was at work. Also at the house was Marcus Christy, Alex's brother-in-law.“She is her uncle’s shadow and is constantly with him, that's why it's such a shock to us that she left his side,” Brooke Chase told Nexstar's WJMN.Christy said he had been taking a break from pressure-washing the side of the home when he told Thea to go into the house because it was getting late. “We thought she went back in the house," Christy explained. A little while later, Brooke and Christy realized neither knew where Thea was. That's when the search began. 6 dead after train crashes into family’s SUV in Florida After their initial search, they noticed she wasn't the only one missing.“We were searching all around the yard up and down the ...

6 dead after train crashes into family's SUV in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Six people, the youngest just 9 years old, are dead after a tragic crash between a freight train and an SUV in Florida. died Sunday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the crash happened at about 6:45 p.m. after a Cadillac Escalade carrying a family and a friend of theirs was struck by a train traveling 55 mph in Plant City. The family was heading to a quinceañera at the time of the incident, according to authorities. Alligator killed after human body pulled from Florida waterway Deputies said video they obtained from the crash shows the SUV slowly moving across the railroad but never coming to a stop. The train's conductor tried signaling to the driver with a horn, authorities added, and was unable to slow the train. "As you can imagine, the carnage that's created when these two collide," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "The SUV, we can see from the video begins to catapult and flip violently sev...

Traffic tickets can be profitable, and fairness isn't the bottom line in city courts where judges impose the fines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

(The Conversation) - When city governments spend more money than they take in, officials often search for ways to generate revenue. One increasingly common source of money is traffic tickets. And research shows police officers issue more traffic tickets when cities are financially in a deficit.But police represent only one aspect of this revenue-generating system. Judges and their courts also use traffic citations to generate money for the cities that employ them.As scholars of public finance, we study how cities raise money to pay for their operations. Our new research indicates that judges in cities facing red ink often use their positions to maximize revenue from traffic tickets. They can do this by adding financial penalties to unpaid tickets. Judges often use the extra penalties to encourage people to pay.The process of generating dollars through traffic tickets, though, begins with the police.Revenue-motivated policingTraffic violat...

VIDEO: Otters spotted at Granger Lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:00 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Otters are usually shy, inconspicuous creatures that are rarely seen, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. But on Saturday, a KXAN viewer was lucky enough to spot a few.The viewer said the otters were seen swimming at Granger Lake, a reservoir on the San Gabriel River in Central Texas."Their short legs and long, slender physique makes their movements on land seem awkward, but they are graceful and nimble in the water," TPWD said.This story came from a ReportIt story tip. Send your own story ideas to [email protected] or through KXAN's contact page.