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Summit with Arab leaders called off as President Biden heads to Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s efforts to tamp down tensions in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas faced massive setbacks even before he departed for the Middle East on Tuesday, as Jordan called off the president’s planned summit with Arab leaders after a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds. Biden now will visit only Israel and will postpone his travel to Jordan, a White House official said as Biden departed. The postponement of the Amman summit comes after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas withdrew from the scheduled meetings in protest of the attacks, which the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza blamed on an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military said it had no involvement and pinned the blame on a misfired Palestinian rocket.“This war and this aggression are pushing the region to the brink,” Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, told al-Mamlaka TV, a state-run network. He said Jordan would only host the summit when all participants agreed...

Former AP videojournalist Yaniv Zohar killed in Hamas attack at home with his family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Yaniv Zohar, a former Associated Press videojournalist and beloved colleague who covered conflicts and major news in his native country for three decades, was killed in his home during Hamas’ bloody cross-border rampage on Oct. 7 along with his wife and two daughters. He was 54.Zohar worked for the AP’s Israel bureau for 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, covering all the major news events in the country. But his area of expertise was the intermittent warfare on the doorstep of his home in the Nahal Oz kibbutz near the border with the Gaza Strip.Zohar was often the first to alert the news desk of violence nearby and the first to arrive on the scene.Most notably, he was deeply involved in coverage of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and was the first newsperson on the scene of the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit by Palestinian militants the following year.“Yaniv was AP’s eyes and ears in southern Israel, always among the first to respo...

Manitoba man found not criminally responsible for killing parents, attacking coworker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg woman who suffered life-threatening injuries after her coworker stabbed her more than a dozen times told a judge she is haunted by the attack and fears being in public nearly two years later. “My life was so very close to ending that day,” Candyce Szkwarek read from a victim impact statement in court on Tuesday. “I have a constant daily reminder when I look in the mirror and see all these scars from the stab wounds and surgeries. They all take me back to that day.”Court of King’s Bench Justice Kenneth Champagne found Trevor Farley not criminally responsible for killing his 73-year-old parents and attacking Szkwarek. Farley had pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of his mother Judy Swain, second-degree murder in the death of his father Stuart Farley and attempted murder in the stabbing of Szkwarek.Farley’s lawyer said his client acknowledges he committed the attacks, and the defence and Crown agreed he shoul...

Federal jury convicts two employees in fatal Wisconsin corn mill explosion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted two senior employees at a Wisconsin corn plant of falsifying records and obstructing an investigation into a fatal corn dust explosion in 2017, Justice Department officials announced on Tuesday.Corn dust is explosive, and high concentrations are dangerous. Federal regulations require grain mill operators to perform regular cleanings to reduce dust accumulations that could fuel a blast.Jurors found Derrick Clark, vice president of operations at Didion Milling, and Shawn Mesner, a former food safety superintendent at the company, guilty of multiple safety, environmental and fraud charges on Friday. The two men are the latest in a growing list of Didion employees found guilty in association with the 2017 explosion that killed five people at the company’s Cambria corn mill.Attorneys listed for both men did not immediately respond to voicemails seeking comment on Tuesday.Didion Milling pleaded guilty in September to charges that its...

Search underway for missing 61-year-old woman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

CHICAGO — A search is underway for a missing woman who was last seen on the city's South Side, police say. Chicago police say they are searching for 61-year-old Yolanda Lee, who was last seen in the 3500 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chatham.  Emergency crews respond to home explosion in DeKalb County Police notified the public about Lee's disappearance on Monday evening and did not provide details on how long she has been missing. Police say the missing woman, who has black hair and brown eyes, stands 5-foot-2 and weighs around 200 pounds. Lee was last seen wearing a blue hat with a beige jacket, black joggers and black and white shoes. Police say she was also carrying a black purse and had been spotted wearing a silver necklace with earrings. House fire reported in Hawthorn Woods According to police, Lee may be in need of medical assistance. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 61-year-old Yolanda Lee is asked to call CPD Area One Detectives at...

Brookfield Zoo animals enjoy Halloween-themed pumpkins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

BROOKFIELD, Ill. — Halloween season wouldn't be the same without animals at the Brookfield Zoo enjoying some Halloween-themed treats!Tuesday, several animals were treated to seasonally carved pumpkins, including Sophia and Heidi (orangutans), Banana (pigmy hippopotamus), Sheba (binturong), Fisher (grey seal), and the zoo's Galapagos tortoises.Guests can see additional animals receive Halloween-themed pumpkins during the final weekend of Boo! at the Zoo on Oct. 21 and 22 at 10:30 a.m., where Axhi the brown bear and Hudson the polar bear will receive their pumpkins on Saturday, and the zoo's western lowland giraffes will receive their pumpkins on Sunday. Sarah Jindra Tries Marine Mammal Animal Care At Brookfield Zoo Additional activities during the Halloween celebration include sweet treats for guests, pumpkin decorating, magic show, memorable photo opportunities, and Zoo Chats about not-so-creepy critters.

Common childhood disorder could lead to an adult mind-robbing disease — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

For Tuesday, Oct. 17, WGN’s Dina Bair has new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch ADHD linked to dementiaRutgers University researchers linked attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with dementia in a new study. Adults with ADHD are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than those who do not have ADHD. The results come after studying more than 100,000 people over 17 years.  The research also revealed treatment using psycho-stimulants appears to reduce the risk of dementia. The drugs alter the trajectory of cognitive impairment. Experts say based on the study, clinicians and patients should discuss the management of ADHD to not only treat current symptoms but to possibly protect memory and cognition later in life. Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to health problemsB12 is a critical nutrient when it comes to fighting inflammation and staying healthy. A new study reveals that B12 deficiency is associated wit...

Florida man hides in chest, uses whiteboard in attempt to evade arrest: deputies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man tried to evade deputies through unconventional means before they ultimately arrested him on a charge of aggravated battery, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.The sheriff's office said at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday, deputies went looking for Johnny Yates, 41, at a home in Lakeland, only to be greeted by a whiteboard with the message "Johnny Yates does NOT live here!” Reports: Former Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown arrested in Florida Seems legit, right? Well, the deputies didn't think so."Gee…a dry-erase board never lied to us before—should we believe it?" the sheriff's office later joked in a news release.Credit: PCSODeputies saw a person leaving the home, who told them that Johnny was inside with several other people, according to the release. Rite Aid plans to close over 150 stores after bankruptcy filing: Is yours on the list? The deputies used a loudspeaker to command Yates to leave the home, but after about an hour, they used smoke ...

Martin Schram: It’s even worse than you thought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

Life in Qatar is serene and frequently lavish, and it is easy to adjust to the Persian Gulf lifestyle of Doha’s magnificent glass and steel skyscrapers, fine restaurants and posh comforts.And on Friday it was also a symbol of just how mondo-bizarro the world of the Middle East has become. Two men of state, wearing the fashions of their respective trades — one in a dark blue business suit, the other in the white flowing robe and headdress — stood side by side at lecterns in the posh, modern comfort of a grand room of Qatar’s capital. They talked to reporters in subdued tones about the horrific hell and inhumane human conduct that was being allowed to happen a thousand miles away, in a people-packed soda straw of a place called Gaza and its larger neighbor, Israel.America’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani had been talking privately of their multiple efforts to end the I...

Hundreds in Ramsey County mistakenly double billed for property taxes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:37 GMT

Hundreds of Ramsey County residents and business owners who paid their property taxes online recently were mistakenly charged twice for the amount they owed, county officials say.An issue with the county’s electronic payment system affected 678 taxpayers who used the online portal to pay their property tax bill between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2, causing their bank account to be charged a second time for the same amount two weeks later, according to Ramsey County spokesperson Rose Lindsay.The duplicate charges, which amounted to $3.75 million, have since been reversed, and affected taxpayers should have refunds in their accounts within two business days, Lindsay said.“The county was made aware of this issue yesterday and we immediately went to work investigating the issue with our electronic payment system vendor, CORE,” Lindsay said in an email Tuesday, adding that county officials have determined it was an isolated incident.“This is a new electronic payment system...