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Israel reopens the main Gaza crossing for Palestinian laborers after days of rising tensions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel reopened a main crossing with the Gaza Strip on Thursday to allow thousands of Palestinian laborers to enter the country for the first time in over a week, a move that eased tensions between Israel and the Palestinian enclave.The opening of the crossing was a sign of de-escalation after two weeks of violent protests along Gaza’s frontier with Israel, where Palestinian demonstrators have thrown explosives and rocks and launched incendiary balloons that have sparked fires in Israeli farmland. The outbreak of protests came as the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza, cash-strapped as its financial crisis worsens, slashed the salaries of its civil servants by nearly half this month. Political analysts have described the protests at the separation fence as an attempt by Hamas to wring concessions from Israel and the militant group’s financial patron, Qatar.Hamas insists that it never called for the protests, though it gave the rallies tacit...

Plane that crashed, killing Rep. Peltola’s husband, had over 500 pounds of meat and antlers on board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A small plane that crashed in rural Alaska earlier this month, killing the husband of U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was carrying more than 500 pounds of moose meat and antlers from a remote hunting camp when it went down shortly after takeoff, according to an investigation report released Thursday.Eugene Peltola Jr., 57, was the only person aboard the plane that crashed Sept. 12 about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of the small western Alaska community of St. Mary’s. He was found conscious but died at the scene, the initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board states.A final report with probable cause findings could take up to two years, the NTSB has said.According to the report, two days before the crash, Peltola took five hunters, a guide and equipment from Holy Cross to a site about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of the community, where the group set up camp next to a landing strip. The plan was for the group to hunt for moose and have it...

Menendez tells Senate colleagues he won’t resign, remains defiant amid bribery charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez remained defiant in the face of federal bribery charges on Thursday, telling a room full of his Senate Democratic colleagues that he has no plans to resign. Speaking behind closed doors at the Capitol, Menendez echoed his previous public statements in response to last week’s indictment, according to a person who attended the private luncheon and requested anonymity to discuss it. Menendez has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and pledged that he will beat the charges that he worked to secretly advance Egyptian interests and pressured prosecutors to help his friends. More than half of Democratic senators have said Menendez should step down. But none of them asked questions after he spoke and vowed to remain in office, according to several senators leaving the meeting. But Menendez’s remarks also appeared to win him no new allies, further isolating the New Jersey senator as his colleagues and Democratic leaders have wrestled ove...

Man shot and wounded at New Mexico protest over installation of Spanish conquistador statue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) — A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting and wounding a man at a protest Thursday in Española where officials had planned to install a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate, authorities said.Rio Arriba County sheriff’s officials said Ryan Martinez, 23, was taken into custody in connection with the shooting outside county offices where protesters had gathered and lingered after the instillation of a monument was cancelled.Authorities said they were not currently seeking any other suspects in connection with the shooting.The wounded man was shot in the upper torso and was being treated at a local hospital, according to sheriff’s officials.The names of the wounded man and the suspect were not immediately released. Authorities said a motive for the shooting was unclear.The Albuquerque Journal reported there was a scuffle among activists protesting the installation of the statue.Oñate, who arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598, is celebra...

Latest fight in the Alex Murdaugh case is over who controls the convicted murderer’s assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys for convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh want the federal government to take over whatever is left of the millions of dollars and other assets the convicted murderer stole and earned through his legal work.The assets have been under state control for nearly two years, but Murdaugh’s attorneys said the federal government won’t charge the hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees the people watching over the state’s work have been paid.“The United States, however, will perform the same function in ancillary proceedings for free,” Murdaugh’s lawyers wrote.The lawyers handlings the assets for the state, who are called receivers, shot back with demands that Murdaugh’s lawyers reveal how much they have been paid. The receivers have already denied a request from Murdaugh’s attorneys for more money to pay for his appeal of his life sentence without parole for killing his wife and son.The fight over Murdaugh’s money emerged after...

Quebecer shot, facing weapons charge after allegedly threatening Trudeau, Legault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

SCOTSTOWN, Que. — A Quebec man who was shot by police Wednesday as they investigated threats against Premier François Legault and Prime Minster Justin Trudeau is facing a weapons charge.The provincial prosecution service said Thursday that Germain Lemay made a court appearance to face a charge of possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose.Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting, which left the suspect in hospital in stable condition.The agency, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, says the shooting by a provincial police tactical team occurred during an attempted arrest early Wednesday at a home in Scotstown, Que., about 180 kilometres east of Montreal.According to the BEI, an officer who was looking through a window shot the suspect when he saw him point a gun toward the door where officers were entering.Montreal police confirmed late Wednesday that the suspect had allegedly made threats against Legault and Trudeau.Legault’s office said in a ...

B.C. Rogers technicians give strong strike mandate amid concerns over Shaw job losses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

Nearly 300 former Shaw technicians absorbed by Rogers Communications Inc. during the companies’ merger have overwhelmingly voted to strike amid concerns over job security following recent layoffs and voluntary departures.The union representing the workers, who are based in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and Langley, B.C., said those job losses call into question Rogers’ commitment to create 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada over five years — a federally mandated condition of the $26-billion takeover.United Steelworkers union (USW) spokesman Jayson Little said the bargaining unit has seen declining membership over the past five years, which he blamed on the company increasing its reliance on contractors.“It’s not like the work has disappeared,” he said. “They’ve just started to rely more and more on contractors to do that work.”The members of USW Local 1944 Unit 60 are primarily technicians that support homes and businesses for internet, ph...

Bermuda probes major cyberattack as officials slowly bring operations back online

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Bermuda’s premier said Thursday that the government is slowly restoring operations after being hit by a “very sophisticated” cyberattack a week ago.An in-depth forensic audit is underway to determine how the attack occurred, and so far, experts have not uncovered evidence that sensitive data was stolen, Premier David Burt said.He declined to say whether it was a ransomware attack.“This remains a very sensitive matter,” he said.Some email functionality has returned, Burt said, adding that he expects the government switchboard to be fully functional by Monday.Services like the government payroll system, however, are still not running properly.“It’s been a challenge,” he said of efforts to restore government operations affected by the attack that occurred late at night on Sept. 20.Burt noted that while not all systems were affected, the government took everything offline out of precaution.He said the government is building a new network with help from overs...

Alleged prowler arrested, followed young girl home in east end: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

Toronto police have charged a man after he allegedly followed a young girl home and trespassed at another residence in the city’s east end.On Tuesday, investigators were notified of a reported harassment in the Queen Street East and Woodbine Avenue area.  It’s alleged a young girl was followed from a bus stop to her home by the accused.On Thursday, police said the accused was in the rear yard of a residence in the Queen Street East and Victoria Park Avenue area. Officers arrived at the scene and arrested the man.He was identified as 57-year-old Allan Jacobson of no fixed address. He’s facing multiple charges, including harassment by following, prowling by night and failing to comply with a release order.He was slated for a court appearance earlier this morning.Police have released his photo and say they’re concerned there could be additional victims.

6 women are rescued from a refrigerated truck in France after distress call to a BBC reporter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Six female migrants trapped inside a refrigerated food truck were rescued by French police after one of the women was able to make contact with a reporter, the BBC and French authorities said Thursday.The women — four Vietnamese and two Iraqis — hid for hours in a truck loaded with boxes of bananas in northern France, believing the vehicle was on its way to the U.K. or Ireland. When they realized that the truck was going in the wrong direction, they started to panic in the cold and cramped, dark space. One of them managed to reach a reporter with the BBC’s Vietnamese service in London who helped the women alert French police Wednesday.French prosecutor Laetitia Francart said the truck driver, who was in fact heading for Italy, was not at fault. The women told investigators that the driver wasn’t involved, “saying that they climbed aboard the truck thinking they were going to England because of the Irish registration plates,” Francart said in a statement. “After s...