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Biden says Hamas attacked Israel in part to stop a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he thought Hamas was motivated to attack Israel in part by a desire to stop that country from normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.“One of the reasons Hamas moved on Israel … they knew that I was about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden said at a fundraising event. The U.S. president indicated that he thinks Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on Oct. 7 because, “Guess what? The Saudis wanted to recognize Israel” and were near being able to formally do so.Jerusalem and Riyadh had been steadily inching closer to normalization, with Biden working to help bring the two countries together, announcing plans in September at the Group of 20 summit in India to partner on a shipping corridor.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Biden on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September and told him, “I think that under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”...

Chicago and police union reach tentative deal on 20% raise for officers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The city of Chicago and the union representing its rank-and-file police officers have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that would provide about a 20% raise for officers, the two sides announced Friday.The deal, which would extend the current contract by two years through June 30, 2027, doubles from 2.5% to 5% the annual pay raise that officers are scheduled to receive in 2024 and 2025. Cost-of-living raises would follow in 2026 and 2027 and likely fall between 3% and 5%.A $2,000 annual retention bonus for officers with at least 20 years on the job would be replaced by a one-time bonus of $2,000 for all officers.The agreement also allows officers accused of serious misconduct to have their disciplinary cases decided behind closed doors, news outlets reported.Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a statement saying that “with this agreement in place, our administration can now direct our full focus on implementing accountability measures within the Chicago P...

$50,000 reward offered for info into death of 87-year-old Ontario man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has offered a $50,000 reward for information into the 2020 death of an 87-year-old man who went missing under unusual circumstances. The family of Oloferno (Frank) Chiappetta reported the Caledon man missing on October 1, 2019, after he failed to return home. It was later determined that Chiappetta was last seen on September 28, 2019, in the area of Olivers Lane and Walker Road.At the time of his disappearance, the man’s family said it was out of character for him to leave and not contact his loved ones. Members of the Caledon detachment of the OPP are appealing to witnesses in the disappearance and death of Frank Chiappetta. Photo: OPP.In March 2020, suspected human remains were found by a hiker in a wooded area near 4th Line East and 15th Side Road in Mulmur Township, roughly 40 kilometres and half an hour from Caledon. It was later determined that the remains were those of Chiappetta. OPP Const. Iryna Nebogatova said there is “no logica...

Evanston community reacts after release of mother, daughter taken hostage by Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — A mother and daughter from Evanston are free on Friday night after being held hostage by Hamas since its raid on Israel on Oct. 7.The two Americans, Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are the first hostages to be released by Hamas since the attack. Mother, daughter from Evanston who were held hostage by Hamas have been released Following their release there has been an outpouring of joy and excitement from many, especially those who knew them.“I am ecstatic. People I’ve spoken with are ecstatic because we’re so happy. This is a miracle of our times," Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein, from the Tannenbaum Chabad House, said on Friday.Klein said he never thought this day would come, but is glad that it did and believes it has a lot to do with Judith's positive optimism and faith. "If anyone was going to make it through alive it's Judith and Natalie. Because Judith has unbelievable hope, she's a person full of hope," Klein said.Natalie recently graduate...

Trump leads Biden, RFK Jr.: poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

(The Hill) — Former President Trump is leading President Biden and Democrat-turned-independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a three-way race, a new poll found.The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, shared with The Hill, showed Trump receiving 39 percent, Biden receiving 33 percent and Kennedy receiving 19 percent in a three-way race. A separate 9 percent said they did not know or were unsure.When those who were unsure were asked who they would vote for if they had to choose, Trump received 42 percent support, Biden received 36 percent and Kennedy received 22 percent.  New York judge hits Trump with $5K fine for violating gag order In a two-way race, Trump holds a 5 percentage-point lead over Biden, with the former president receiving 46 percent and Biden receiving 41 percent. Fourteen percent of respondents said they were unsure or didn't know. The survey noted that Biden gained 1 percentage point since a similar survey was conducted in September, while ...

$13,000 in hair stolen from Tennessee store

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Police are looking for two men who broke into a South Memphis hair store and stole $13,000 worth of merchandise.Memphis Police Department says officers responded to a burglary at Angel Beauty Supply on East E.H. Crump Boulevard a little after 2 a.m. The business owner gave police video footage which showed a white Cadillac SUV pull up to the store. One of the suspects pulled a chain from the trunk and tied it to the door. The other suspect reportedly put the SUV in drive and ripped the front door off. What is ‘funflation’? And what does Taylor Swift have to do with it? Together, the suspects used bolt cutters to cut the remaining locks off the door. They then entered the store and grabbed multiple hair products, reports state.The owner said the front door damage cost $7,000. He also claimed the men stole bundles of hair, totaling $13,000, and his Sony laptop, worth $2,300.What’s left of the front double doors was propped open Friday afternoon welcoming cust...

DOJ: Man sentenced for illegally producing, selling Texas paper license plates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A New York man was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for illegally producing and selling hundreds of thousands of Texas paper license plates in a nationwide scheme netting more than $200 million. ‘Used Car King’ awaits sentencing for fraudulent Texas vehicle tag sales According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 52-year-old Octavian Ocasio, who advertised himself as the "Used Car King of New York", pleaded guilty to using fake car dealerships to generate and sell Texas paper tags without selling any cars.Ocasio will also have to pay the Texas DMV more than $320,000 in restitution.Federal officials said the tags were bought and sold online. KXAN Investigates: Risky Rides “Ocasio was one of several who, for too long, allowed thousands of drivers across the country to ride around with fraudulent paper license plates—all just to save a few dollars. Now, he’ll have to park himself inside a federal prison to pay for his crimes,” said Acting Special Ag...

LIVE: No. 4 Westlake takes on Austin High Maroons at House Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Westlake can take one more step to another district championship with a win over Austin High at House Park on Friday.The No. 4 Chaparrals take on the Maroons at 7:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed for those in the KXAN viewing area on KXAN.com/Westlake and in the video player above. For those outside of the KXAN viewing area, NFHS Network will carry the game as our official high school football streaming partner. There's a subscription pricing guide on the website if you're not already subscribed.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteJoe Taylor and Ricky Doyle will be on the call when the broadcast begins at 7:20 p.m.Westlake is coming off a hard-fought 27-14 win over Dripping Springs last week, and sophomore quarterback Rees Wise proved he's more than just a dropback passer. He threw for 209 yards, but he also rushed for...

Women’s hockey: Four-goal first period helps Ohio State dispatch Tommies, 6-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

The Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the country in women’s college hockey, but they stand alone when it comes to their aggressive, pushing-the-envelope physical style of play.Opponents can try to simulate in practice what a meeting with the Buckeyes is like, but the only way to get the full impact is to line up against the real thing. The youthful St. Thomas Tommies found that out Friday afternoon at St. Thomas Arena, falling to the Buckeyes, 6-2.“The mark of a good team is to be able to compete so hard in practice that the game feels normal,” St. Thomas coach Joel Johnson said. “There might be some truth in that for us.”The Tommies appeared overwhelmed at times in the first period, falling behind 4-1. They were able to hold their own from that point on, but too much damage had been done.“You can’t give up four (in the first period),” Johnson said, “whether it’s the forwards blocking shots, the defense covering people, the goaltending making saves, whatever it is. We just ha...

In St. Paul, Jewish groups rally for Palestinians and call for a ceasefire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:54 GMT

Carrying the Palestinian flag and handwritten signs for peace, more than 100 Jewish protesters gathered outside state Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party headquarters in St. Paul on Friday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to what they described as the genocidal bombings of innocent Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government.“I am a descendant of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust,” said Iris Brilliant, 35, of Minneapolis, as the crowd around her broke into a peace song. “Genocide of Palestinians does not make me feel more safe.”The protesters — organized by the Jewish advocacy coalition If Not Now and the progressive anti-Zionist organization Jewish Voice for Peace — called upon state DFL Chair Ken Martin to condemn the bombings that have killed some 4,000 Palestinians, more than 1,000 of them children, and work to curb U.S. military aid to the Israeli government.On Oct. 13, Israel alerted the more than 1 million residents of northern Gaza that bombings...