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Al-Jazeera Gaza correspondent loses 3 family members in an Israeli airstrike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Al-Jazeera’s chief correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Wael Dahdouh, was helping broadcast live images of the besieged territory’s night sky when he received the devastating news: His wife, son and daughter had all been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.Moments later, the Qatari-based satellite channel switched to footage of Dahdouh entering al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza before giving way to grief as he peered over the body of his dead son.“They take revenge on us in our children,” he said, kneeling over his son’s bloodied body, still wearing his protective press vest from that day’s work.The video was sure to reverberate across the Arab world, where the 53-year-old journalist is well-known as the face of Palestinians during many wars. He is revered in his native Gaza for telling people’s stories of suffering and hardship to the outside world.According to Al-Jazeera, Dahdouh’s family members were killed by an Israeli airstrike that hit Nuseirat...

Hyundai to hold software-upgrade clinics across the US for vehicles targeted by thieves

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hyundai said Wednesday that it will set up “mobile clinics” at five U.S. locations to provide anti-theft software upgrades for vehicles now regularly targeted by thieves using a technique popularized on TikTok and other social media platforms.The South Korean automaker will hold the clinics, which will run for two to three days on or adjacent to weekends, in New York City; Chicago; Minneapolis; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Rochester, New York. The clinics will take place between Oct. 28 and Nov. 18. Hyundai said it will also support single-day regional clinics run by dealerships before the end of 2023, although it didn’t name locations or dates.The automaker listed the affected vehicles as the 2018-2022 Accent, the 2011-2022 Elantra, the 2013-2020 Elantra GT, the 2013-2014 Genesis Coupe, the 2018-2022 Kona, the 2020-2021 Palisade, the 2013-2022 Santa Fe, the 2013-2018 Santa Fe Sport, the 2019 Santa Fe XL, the 2011-2019 Sonata, the 2011-2022 Tucson, the 2012-20...

Michigan State hearing officer rules Mel Tucker sexually harassed Brenda Tracy, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

A Michigan State University hearing officer has determined that former Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker sexually harassed rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy, a person familiar with the ruling told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The hearing officer ruled Tucker was in violation of several terms of his contract, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly on the investigation.Tucker, who was fired nearly a month ago after initially being suspended, has 10 days to file an appeal.“My first reaction was tears of relief,” Tracy told USA Today, which first reported details of the decision. Messages seeking comment were left by AP with Tucker, his attorney and agent as well as with Tracy and her attorney.Tucker was suspended and later fired for acknowledging he had consensual phone sex with Tracy, who was a vendor once paid to speak with the Spartans football team about how to prevent sexual abuse and misbe...

Who is Mike Johnson? New House speaker is a strong Trump ally and a quiet force among Republicans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

A low-key lawmaker in Congress for less than a decade, new House Speaker Mike Johnson isn’t recognizable to most Americans. But the social conservative and devoted ally of former President Donald Trump has been a quiet force within the Republican conference he now unexpectedly leads. Most important, for now, he was able to get all of their 220 votes to become speaker on the House floor. That’s something none of his more well-known colleagues were able to do, as Republicans struggled for more than three weeks to pick a replacement for ousted Kevin McCarthy. Colleagues say the Louisiana Republican who calls himself a servant will be a steady hand and give them a fresh start. Many hope they will finally be able to move past the seemingly intractable divisions within their conference that have felled every House GOP leader in the past decade.“A friend to all and an enemy to none,” Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik said when nominating Johnson ahead of the speaker vot...

Oregon Supreme Court to decide if GOP senators who boycotted Legislature can run for reelection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court will decide whether Republican state senators who carried out a record-setting GOP walkout during the legislative session this year can run for reelection.The decision, announced Tuesday, means the lawmakers should have clarity before the March 12 deadline to file for office, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.The senators from the minority party are challenging a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment that bars state lawmakers from reelection after having 10 or more unexcused absences. Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved the ballot measure that created the amendment following Republican walkouts in the Legislature in 2019, 2020 and 2021.In an official explanatory statement, as well as in promotional materials and news coverage, the measure was touted as prohibiting lawmakers who stay away in order to block legislative action from seeking reelection.That’s the meaning that state elections officials have chosen to adopt. Earlier th...

Former US Rep. Mark Walker drops North Carolina gubernatorial bid to run for Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Just after the North Carolina General Assembly gave final approval Wednesday to a new congressional map favoring Republicans, a former congressman announced he is dropping out of the Republican primary for governor to try to win back his seat in the U.S. House.Ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, a former Baptist pastor from Greensboro, launched a bid Wednesday to reclaim the district he had represented on Capitol Hill for six years. He held the seat until a previous redistricting cycle opened the door for Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning to take office. “I didn’t really leave voluntarily,” Walker said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Now that the General Assembly has restored the 6th District to how it’s historically been represented, which is conservative Republican, it felt like this was the right time to reengage with everything going on in the country.”The Republican-led General Assembly approved a plan Wednesday for North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House seats,...

Turbocharged Otis caught forecasters and Mexico off-guard. Scientists aren’t sure why

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

Hurricane Otis turned from mild to monster in record time, and scientists are struggling to figure out how — and why they didn’t see it coming.Usually reliable computer models and the forecasters who use them didn’t predict Otis’ explosive intensification, creating a nightmare scenario of an unexpectedly strong storm striking at night. Acapulco was told to expect a tropical storm just below hurricane strength, but 24 hours later, Otis blasted onto the Mexican coast with 165 mph (266 kph) winds, the strongest landfall of any East Pacific hurricane.In just 12 hours, Otis’ strength more than doubled from 70 mph (113 kph) winds to 160 mph (257 kph), also a record, as it neared the coast. And it got even stronger before it struck. Storms typically gain or lose a few miles per hour in 12 hours, though some outliers gain 30 to 50 mph (48 to 80 kph) in a day.What happened with Otis was just plain nuts, said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. But it coincides with ...

Kansas court system down nearly 2 weeks in ‘security incident’ that has hallmarks of ransomware

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident” and, while they had not provided an explanation as of Wednesday, experts say it has all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack.The disruption has left attorneys unable to search online records and forced them to file motions the old fashioned way — on paper. Courts are limping along, although the growing piles of paper are a mess that will have to be sorted and scanned eventually. “It’s really just slowed the whole system down,” said Chris Joseph, a Lawrence-based criminal defense attorney. Since 2019, ransomware groups have targeted 18 state, city or municipal court systems, said analyst Allan Liska of the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. That includes one in Dallas, where some jury trials had to be canceled this year. But state-focused attacks have been much less frequent, and have not yet rivaled what is happeni...

No criminal charges in sandwich shop car crash that killed 14-year-old in Hinsdale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

HINSDALE, Ill. — No criminal charges will be filed against the teenage driver who crashed into a Hinsdale sub shop this summer, killing a 14-year-old boy. Sean Richards was critically injured and later died after being struck by a jeep driving out of Fuller’s Car Wash on July 21. The car crashed into Fontano’s Subs near the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Lincoln Street in Hinsdale. Three other people were hurt. MORE WESTERN SUBURBS NEWS: Swastika found carved into playground equipment at Downers Grove schoolA joint investigation with the Hinsdale Police Department found the 16-year-old was working at Fuller's Car Wash across the street. The investigation found that the teenager was pulling out of the car wash tunnel when he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake. Calling the death of Sean Richards a "horrible accident," a joint statement from DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Hinsdale Chief of Police Brian King concl...

Magnet schools families struggle as bus shortage continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:25 GMT

CHICAGO — For thousands of Chicago Public School families, it’s been a tumultuous school year. The loss of bus service for close to 5,500 magnet and selective enrollment students due to a shortage of drivers has created a hardships for many. The key component that makes magnet and other selective-enrollment schools work is busing.  For decades now, magnet school children have had to crisscross Chicago and travel from far away neighborhoods in order to foster diverse student bodies and equitable access. But the drastic curtailment of bus service this year plunged a significant number working-class CPS families into crisis.   Rosana Tanon’s 9-year-old twins have attended Inter-American Magnet School near Wrigley Field since kindergarten.“There‘s no way I can get the kids to school because they don’t open the door until 15 minutes before 9 a.m.,” she said. CPS seeking bus drivers as shortage leaves students finding other ways to get to, from school The family lives in Hermosa Park an...