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Humanitarian crisis deepens in Gaza as Israel warns ground invasion could be imminent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 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 deat...

Family in Plymouth searching for lost pendant holding 10-year-old boy’s late mother’s ashes 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

A search has continued in Plymouth in recent days after a 10-year-old boy lost a pendant with his mother’s ashes inside. Connor Datri lost the golden heart-shaped pendant to his necklace while on a soccer field at West School in Plymouth last week. While a few days have passed, the family was still holding out hope Tuesday they will find the pendant. Others have been helping, in the meantime.“We can always step over it and miss it, so there’s other people here trying,” said Marty Conceicao, one person looking for the missing item.  “It just made me cry,” Datri’s grandmother, Melissa Moriarty said of the help from others. “It makes me feel that people do still care.”Datri’s mother lost her life in a car crash in 2020. Datri has since relied on the pendant to keep his mom close to his own heart. Datri said he lost the pendant after his necklace fell off after he tripped over his soccer ball.“I’m kind of upset still,” Datri said. Moriarty initially took to...

Republicans nominate Mike Johnson for House speaker after Emmer's withdrawal, desperate to end chaos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for House speaker late Tuesday, hours after an earlier pick, Rep. Tom Emmer, abruptly withdrew in the face of opposition from Donald Trump and hardline GOP lawmakers.Johnson of Louisiana, a lower-ranked member of the House GOP leadership team, becomes the fourth nominee after Emmer and the others fell short in what has become an almost absurd cycle of political infighting since Kevin McCarthy's ouster as GOP factions jockey for power. Refusing to unify, far-right members won’t accept a more traditional speaker and more moderate members don’t want a hardliner. Johnson immediately faced a roll call behind closed doors to test his support ahead of a House floor vote, when he'll need almost all Republicans to win the gavel. Three weeks on, the Republicans are frittering away their majority status — a maddening embarrassment to some, democracy in action to others, but not at all how the House is expected to fun...

China said the US is a disruptor of peace in response to Pentagon report on China’s military buildup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — China said the United States is the “biggest disruptor of regional peace and stability” in the world in a scathing response Wednesday to a Pentagon report on China’s growing military buildup. The annual report that is required by Congress is one way the Pentagon measures the military capabilities of China, which the U.S. government sees as its key threat in the Asia-Pacific region and America’s primary long-term security challenge.The statement China’s Ministry of Defense issued in response called the Pentagon report’s findings false and used it in turn to hit back at the U.S.’ recent actions in helping Israel and Ukraine, as well as its buildup of military installations worldwide. “The U.S. has sent depleted uranium munitions and cluster bombs to Ukraine, sent its carrier battle groups to the Mediterranean and weapons and munitions to Israel, is this the so-called ‘gospel’ the ’human rights defender is bringing to the area?” said Wu Qian, the ...

Jury finds Baylor University negligent in Title IX lawsuit brought by former student

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

WACO, Texas (AP) — A federal jury on Tuesday found Baylor University negligent in a Title IX lawsuit and awarded $270,000 to a former student who alleged she was physically abused by a football player in 2014 during a period of wide-ranging scandal at the nation’s biggest Baptist school.In siding with former student Dolores Lozano, jurors in a Waco courtroom held that Baylor “maintained a policy of deliberate indifference to reports of sexual harassment” that put her at risk. The jury awarded her damages for negligence by Baylor but not for the Title IX violation. The verdict comes a month after Baylor settled a separate, years-long federal lawsuit brought by 15 women who alleged they were sexually assaulted at the school. That was the largest case related to a scandal that ultimately led to the ouster of the university’s president and football coach Art Briles. “It was never about the money, it was about justice,” Lozano said outside the courthouse after the verdict, accordin...

Experts reconstruct the face of Peru’s most famous mummy, a teenage Inca sacrificed in Andean snow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The possible living face of Peru’s most famous mummy, a teenage Inca girl sacrificed in a ritual more than 500 years ago atop the Andes, was unveiled Tuesday.The silicone-made bust portrays a young woman with pronounced cheekbones, black eyes and tanned skin.Produced by a team of Polish and Peruvian scientists who worked with a Swedish sculptor specializing in facial reconstructions, it was presented in a ceremony at the Andean Sanctuaries Museum of the Catholic University of Santa Maria in Arequipa.“I thought I’d never know what her face looked like when she was alive,” said Johan Reinhard, the U.S. anthropologist who found the mummy known as “Juanita” and the “Inca Ice Maiden.”Reinhard discovered the mummy in 1995 at an altitude of more than 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) on the snow-capped Ampato volcano.“Now 28 years later, this has become a reality thanks to Oscar Nilsson’s reconstruction,” he said.Nilsson, a Swedish archaeologist and sculptor who specializes in 3...

'Shaft' star Richard Roundtree dies at 81: reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Actor Richard Roundtree, who broke barriers and reached international stardom as the titular character in the "Shaft" film franchise, died Tuesday after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.Roundtree died surrounded by family about two months after being diagnosed with the disease, according to TMZ, citing the actor's longtime agent.Actor Richard Roundtree stars in the movie "Shaft," which premiered June 16, 2000. (Photo by Eli Reed/Paramount Pictures Corp. via Online USA)Roundtree is best known for his portrayal of Detective John Shaft in the iconic 1970s "Blaxploitation" film series and TV show. He returned to the series for two films in the new millennium, reprising the character he originated, and portraying the uncle of the new "Shaft," portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson. Rock star Bret Michaels adopts hero rescue dog named after him "Shaft" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation due to its status as a "culturally, historically or aestheti...

APD investigating southeast Austin homicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred in southeast Austin on Tuesday, Senior Patrol Officer Demetri Hobbs said during an APD media briefing posted to the agency's social media.At 5:06 p.m., a call came from the 11200 block of Mickelson Drive for a person with injuries, Hobbs said. APD arrived on the scene shortly after and found a person inside a residence with injuries that were "incompatible with life." One person was pronounced dead on the scene.Hobbs said the injuries of the person who died were all over their body.Homicide detectives were on the scene attempting to figure out more details. One person of interest was detained and being interviewed by police, Hobbs said.It was not immediately clear what led to the homicide, which remained under investigation Tuesday, according to police.

Unseeded Park’s Cinderella story continues with defeat of Minnetonka in Class 3A boys soccer quarterfinal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

The Park Wolfpack took down the Minnetonka Skippers 1-0 in the final minutes of the Class 3A state tournament quarterfinals matchup Tuesday night.Defense and conservative strategies were the story of most of the game. Both teams had a couple of shots on goal in the first half, but the game went into intermission with no score. Mother Nature provided a steady drizzle for most of the night, making footing and catching the ball more difficult than usual.The second half was filled with more defense, both teams getting within a few feet of breaking the tie but failing to score.Finally, in the 74th minute, the tense stalemate was broken when Wolfpack senior Brayden Kortus scored on a header off of a corner kick. From there, with only five minutes left to play, Park bolstered its defense and played it safe with its one-goal lead.The win for the Wolfpack comes as the second installment of their Cinderella story. The unseeded team came into the state tournament with an upset win last week. T...

Downpour can’t dampen outcome for Hill-Murray in win over Mahtomedi in Class 2A boys soccer quarterfinal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:36:57 GMT

Longtime Hill-Murray boys hockey coach Bill Lechner has a motto: “It’s always 70 and sunny.”The Pioneers boys soccer team has adopted that as their mantra as well, even on nights like Tuesday when the weather is anything but.A chilly late October downpour didn’t slow down senior midfielder Jacob Dinzeo and his teammates as No. 2 seed Hill-Murray scored five second-half goals en route to downing unseeded Mahtomedi 6-2 in a Class 2A state boys quarterfinal at White Bear Lake Area High School’s North Campus Stadium.“I love it,” Dinzeo — who scored his team’s final two goals — said of the weather. “Everybody on this team loves it. These are our favorite nights. It doesn’t bother us at all.”The Pioneers (15-3-2) advance to meet the winner of today’s quarterfinal between No. 3 seed Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (16-2) and unseeded St. Cloud Tech (8-7-3) in a semifinal matchup scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 at U.S. Bank Stadium.The Lumberjacks/Tigers matchup is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today at W...