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Israel’s military orders civilians to evacuate Gaza City, ahead of a feared ground offensive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military directed the evacuation on Friday of all of the hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. The order comes after Hamas militants, and the United Nations said Israel has warned it wants the evacuation of all 1.1 million people from the northern part of the Gaza Strip.The directive, which comes on the seventh day of the war after a deadly Hamas assault on Israel, directs residents of Gaza City to flee deeper south into the Gaza Strip, a narrow coastal territory. Israel’s directive charged that Hamas militants were hiding in tunnels under the city.“This evacuation is for your own safety,” the Israeli military said, in a warning it said was sent to Gaza City civilians.The flurry of directives could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed such an appeal. On Thursday it said that while it was preparing, no decision has been made. Israel delivered an eve...

Biden is talking about green energy and jobs in Pennsylvania again. Will his message break through?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is returning to Pennsylvania to use the critical battleground state again as a backdrop for some of his favorite political themes, championing steep increases in public works spending and detailing how bolstering green energy can spur U.S. manufacturing. This time, he’ll be in Philadelphia to announce that it will be one of the regional hubs selected to produce and deliver hydrogen fuel that can run factories, ports and other facilities to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The program will eventually include hydrogen production hubs around the country — a key component of the Biden administration’s clean energy plan — and will be paid for using $7 billion from the sweeping infrastructure package that cleared Congress in 2021. The world has changed since Biden visited a familiar place to talk up familiar topics, though. The war between Israel and Hamas has scrambled geopolitics and potentially reshuffled a 2024 presidential race beginni...

A music festival survivor fleeing the attack, a pair of Hamas militants and a deadly decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

KIBBUTZ RE’IM, Israel (AP) — The two militants were just ahead of him, spraying gunfire from their motorcycle at passing cars. One militant was driving, the 50-year-old man said, and the other sat behind, shooting at any target he saw. At least one wore body armor.“He didn’t see me,” Michael Silberberg said. So Silberberg made a decision.He and two friends had already managed to escape the slaughter at the Tribe of Nova music festival, where hundreds of militants from the Palestinian group Hamas had swarmed through crowds, killing at least 260 people and taking an unknown number hostage.They survived another attack a few minutes later, with two hiding in a roadside air-raid shelter while the other hid outside.Soon after that they were driving away in Silberberg’s car, trying to get far from the massacre, when they saw the motorcycle.“I knew it’s either I hit him or I know I die, or other people die, or somebody will die,” Silberberg said.So he stepped on the accelerator and slammed ...

Castellanos hits 2 homers again, powers Phillies past Braves 3-1 and into 2nd straight NLCS

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Castellanos became the first player to hit multiple homers in consecutive postseason games, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-1 victory in Game 4 of their NL Division Series on Thursday night that knocked the 104-win Atlanta Braves out of the playoffs for the second straight year.Matt Strahm struck out pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom with runners at the corners to clinch the series and send the Phillies rushing the field in wild celebration. Fireworks went off at a frenzied Citizens Bank Park, the Liberty Bell rang and the reigning National League champions were ready to pop bubbly again.“These are moments I’m never going to forget,” Castellanos said.Bryce Harper gave the Phillies a scare when he clutched his surgically repaired right elbow after a collision in the eighth. Matt Olson’s left knee clipped Harper’s elbow on a play at first base that ended the inning. Harper, the two-time NL MVP, flexed his elbow after a quick examination fr...

2 off-duty police officers shot at Philadelphia International Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two off-duty officers were shot Thursday night at the parking garage at Philadelphia International Airport, it was reported.CBS News in Philadelphia reported the shootings, citing police, and said the conditions of the hospitalized officers weren’t immediately known.The suspects fled in a black sport utility vehicle, the station said.Fox29 reported that a massive police presence that included armored vehicles and SWAT teams gathered at the garage near Terminal D at around 11:30 p.m.The Associated Press

Some want to grant temporary House speaker more power as Republican gridlock stalls Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Rep. Patrick McHenry took the House speaker’s gavel for the first time, he slammed it down with such force at adjournment that it gained viral internet attention as the defining image of a House in turmoil.But since his abrupt appointment as speaker pro tempore last week following the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy from the top spot, the North Carolina Republican has wielded the gavel with extreme care, making no attempts to test the limits of his unusual role.Day after day, McHenry, in his signature bow tie, follows a standard routine — gaveling the House into session, receiving a prayer from the chaplain and having a lawmaker recite the Pledge of Allegiance, before quickly gaveling out again. In doing so, he is technically keeping the House active but in a suspended state as both parties wait for Republicans to reach consensus on who will be the next new speaker. But as the House nears a second week stuck on pause, and Republicans struggle to unite a...

The Supreme Court avoided disaster when a hunk of marble fell in a courtyard used by justices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court avoided a catastrophic accident last year when an enormous piece of marble at least two feet in length crashed to the ground in an interior courtyard used by the justices and their aides, according to several Supreme Court employees.The incident, which the court still fails to acknowledge publicly, took place in the tense spring of 2022, as the court already was dealing with death threats and other security concerns and the justices were putting the final touches on their stunning decision overturning Roe v. Wade.Justice Elena Kagan and her law clerks had been in the courtyard earlier in the day, the employees said. No one was injured when the marble fell, the employees said. The piece was easily big enough to have seriously injured someone, they said. It was much larger than the basketball-sized chunk that fell near the court’s front entrance in 2005.The weight of the marble that fell is unknown, but the Georgia marble used in the courtR...

After years of erasure, Black queer leaders rise to prominence in Congress and activism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington this summer, a few Black queer advocates spoke passionately before the main program about the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. As some of them got up to speak, the crowd was still noticeably small.Hope Giselle, a speaker who is Black and trans, said she felt the event’s programming echoed the historical marginalization and erasure of Black queer activists in the Civil Rights Movement. However, she was buoyed by the fact that prominent speakers drew attention to recent efforts to turn back the clock on LGBTQ+ rights, like the attacks on gender-affirming care for minors.And despite valid concerns around the visibility of Black queer advocates in activist movements, progress is being made in elected office. This month, Sen. Laphonza Butler made history as the first Black and openly lesbian senator in Congress, when California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed her to fill the seat held by the late Dianne Feinste...

Live updates | Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

The Israeli military prepared for a possible ground invasion in Gaza on Thursday as it pounded the tiny coastal strip in retaliation for the unprecedented weekend attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas. In a deliberate show of support for Israel, a U.S. official confirmed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to visit on Friday, a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Suffering in Gaza, meanwhile, rose dramatically with Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine and the territory’s only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed Thursday as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them. Israel said Thursday that a complete siege would remain in place until Hamas freed 150 hostages taken during its incursion. Egypt has engaged in intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing poin...

High school volleyball: East Ridge claims conference title with sweep over Stillwater

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:44 GMT

East Ridge laid claim to the outright Suburban East Conference volleyball crown in impressive fashion, sweeping its closest challenger Stillwater on Thursday night in Woodbury.East Ridge carried a 7-0 league mark into the match and Stillwater was 6-1, but the match seemed well in hand from start to finish for the hosts, who won 25-12, 25-11, 25-19. Stillwater held a lead in the third set until about the midpoint but couldn’t hang on long enough.East Ridge head coach Steve Anderson said his players did not come into the game underestimating their opponents.“I think we came into the game confident in ourselves, but I also think we respected Stillwater,” Anderson said. “They’ve had a great season, they’re very capable. It usually comes down to us and them, for the last however many years. I mean, we were confident, but there’s also a lot of respect. we don’t take them lightly.”Anderson said the conference title was a team goal, but the Raptors still have challenges ahead as the playoff...