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Gaza is tiny and watched closely by Israel. But rescuing hostages there would be a daunting task

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Hamas-run Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave, measuring 25 miles long and no more than 7 miles wide, surveilled continually by Israel, surrounded by its guns. But rescuing — or even locating — more than 150 hostages hustled there by Palestinian militants who overran Israel’s southern border on Saturday will be a daunting task.Gaza’s densely populated terrain, its network of underground tunnels and the sheer numbers of men, women and children taken captive present Israel with the most complex hostage crisis that the country has ever faced.Mounting rescue operations in the midst of the massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza that followed the deadly Hamas rampage in southern Israel would only make an already difficult mission even more formidable.“The situation is unprecedented,” said Gershon Baskin, who helped to negotiate the 2011 release of Staff Sergeant Gilad Schalit after more than five years of Hamas captivity. “I think Hamas was surprised at the ease it was able to ...

Federal judge won’t block suspension of right to carry guns in some New Mexico parks, playgrounds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge cleared the way Wednesday for enforcement of a public health order that suspends the right to carry guns at public parks and playgrounds in New Mexico’s largest metro area.The order from U.S. District Judge David Urias rejects a request from gun rights advocates to block temporary firearms restrictions as legal challenges move forward.It marks a victory for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her advocacy for temporary gun restrictions in response to recent shootings around the state that left children dead.The standoff is one of many in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year expanding gun rights, as leaders in politically liberal-leaning states explore new avenues for restrictions.In New Mexico, the attempted restrictions have ignited a furor of public protests, prompted Republican calls for the governor’s impeachment and exposed divisions among top Democratic officials.Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, continued to argue this week that...

James McBride wins $50,000 Kirkus Prize for fiction for “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store”

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Three books that explore and celebrate the diversity of American culture were awarded Kirkus Prizes on Wednesday night, with each winner receiving $50,000. James McBride’s “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” a novel set in an eclectic Pennsylvania town in the 1930s, won in the fiction category. Héctor Tobar’s “Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of ‘Latino’” received the nonfiction award, and Ariel Aberg-Riger’s ”America Redux: Visual Stories From Our Dynamic History” won for young reader’s literature.The awards were presented by the trade publication Kirkus Reviews. “History and community emerged as central themes in the most outstanding works of literature published this year. We see these ideas come to life in wildly different ways in all three of this year’s winners, each one compelling from beginning to end, begging to be celebrated, discussed, and shared,” Meg Kuehn, publisher of Kirkus Reviews, s...

Auto workers escalate strike as 8,700 workers walk out at Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union significantly escalated its strikes against Detroit’s Three automakers Wednesday when 8,700 workers walked off their jobs at Ford’s Kentucky truck plant.The surprise move about 6:30 p.m. took down the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world. The sprawling factory makes pricey heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large Ford and Lincoln SUVs.UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement that the union has waited long enough “but Ford hasn’t gotten the message” to bargain for a fair contract.“If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it,” Fain said.The strike came nearly four weeks after the union began its walkouts against General Motors, Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis on Sept. 15, with one assembly plant from each company. In a statement, Ford called the strike expansion “grossly irresponsible” but said it wasn’t surprisi...

IRS says Microsoft may owe more than $29 billion in back taxes; Microsoft disagrees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service says Microsoft owes the U.S. Treasury $28.9 billion in back taxes, plus penalties and interest, the company revealed Wednesday in a securities filing. That figure, which Microsoft disputes, stems from a long-running IRS probe into how Microsoft allocated its profits among countries and jurisdictions in the years 2004 to 2013. Critics of that practice, known as transfer pricing, argue that companies frequently use it to minimize their tax burden by reporting lower profits in high-tax countries and higher profits in lower-tax jurisdictions. Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, said it followed IRS rules and will appeal the decision within the agency, a process expected to take several years. The company’s shares dropped slightly in aftermarket trading, falling $1.42 to $331.The Associated Press

Newsom signs laws to fast-track housing on churches’ lands, streamline housing permitting process

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Religious institutions and nonprofit colleges in California will be allowed to turn their parking lots and other properties into low-income housing under a new law aimed at combating the ongoing homeless crisis.The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, rezones land owned by nonprofit colleges and religious institutions, such as churches, mosques, and synagogues, to allow for affordable housing. Starting in 2024, they can bypass most local permitting and environmental review rules that can be costly and lengthy. The law is set to sunset in 2036. California is home to nearly a third of all homeless people in the U.S. The crisis has sparked a movement among religious institutions, dubbed “yes in God’s backyard,” or “YIGBY,” in cities across the state, with a number of projects already in the works.But churches and colleges often face big hurdles trying to convert their surplus land and underutilized parking lots into housing because their land is not zon...

After delays, California unveils first site of state tiny home project to relieve homelessness

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An abandoned office park in Sacramento will be the site of the first group of 1,200 tiny homes to be built in four cities to address California’s homelessness crisis, the governor’s office announced Wednesday after being criticized for the project experiencing multiple delays.Gov. Gavin Newsom is under pressure to make good on his promise to show he’s tackling the issue. In March, the Democratic governor announced a plan to gift several California cities hundreds of tiny homes by the fall to create space to help clear homeless encampments that have sprung up across the state’s major cities. The $30 million project would create homes, some as small as 120 square feet (11 square meters), that can be assembled in 90 minutes and cost a fraction of what it takes to build permanent housing. More than 171,000 homeless people live in California, making up about 30% of the nation’s homeless population. The state has spent roughly $30 billion in the last ...

3 people wanted in alleged assault investigation near Broadview station

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

Toronto police are looking for three suspects, two men and a woman, as well as an outstanding suspect who are wanted in an aggravated assault investigation.On Oct. 8, at approximately 8:16 a.m., police responded to a call for an assault in the Broadview Avenue and Pretoria Avenue area.Allegedly two men and two women entered a residential apartment unit, and once inside attacked the people in the unit. Two victims sustained serious, but not life threatening injuries.Toronto police have identified three of the four suspects. Patrick Allan Dunn, 38, Jahmal Justin Brown, 29, and Michelle Leeann Matheson, 36, all of Toronto, are wanted for two counts of forcible confinement, five counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of threatening bodily harm, threatening death and two counts of aggravated assault.Investigators ask for the public’s assistance identifying the outstanding fourth suspect. She is described as 5’4″, slim to medium build, with red hair, wearing a pink ...

Woman accused of falsely reporting she was abducted after seeing child on road seeks to avoid jail

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama woman accused of falsely telling police she was abducted after stopping to check on a toddler wandering along the highway is appealing her municipal court conviction in an effort to avoid a yearlong jail sentence sought by prosecutors. A municipal judge on Wednesday found Carlee Russell, 26, guilty of misdemeanor charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. The guilty judgement came after Russell’s attorneys agreed to “stipulate and appeal” the case — a legal maneuver to move the case to circuit court where proceedings will start anew.Russell’s summer disappearance — and her story of being abducted after stopping her car to check on the child — captivated the nation before police called it a hoax. Flanked by her family and attorneys, Russell made her first court appearance Wednesday amid a heavy media presence, news outlets reported. Defense attorney Richard Jaffe said in a telephone interview they do not...

New York officer fatally shoots man in fencing mask who charged police with 2 swords, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:01 GMT

ELWOOD, N.Y. (AP) — A police officer fatally shot a man who charged at authorities with two swords on Long Island, New York, and the police commissioner said Wednesday that the shooting appeared to be justified.Alan Weber, 54, was pronounced dead at a hospital after Tuesday night’s shooting in Elwood.Police responded to a 911 call reporting a man acting violently inside a home. Weber was screaming and breaking items when officers arrived and refused to come outside, police said in a statement.The Suffolk County officers entered and Weber confronted them with the swords while wearing a fencing mask, Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said, adding that Weber did not obey commands to drop the swords and an officer shot a stun gun at him but it had no effect.Weber then charged, and one officer fired several shots, Harrison said. The officer’s name was not released.“I feel the officers had no other choice but to use what they had to use to stop the threat,” Harrison said.Nei...