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As Israel pummels Gaza, families of those held hostage by militants agonize over loved ones’ safety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — In the hours after Hamas blew through Israel’s heavily fortified separation fence and crossed into the country from Gaza, Ahal Besorai tried desperately to reach his sister. There was no answer.Soon after, he learned from witnesses that militants had seized her, her husband and their teenage son and daughter, along with dozens of others. Now, aching uncertainty over their fate has left Besorai and scores of other Israelis in limbo.“Should I cry because they are dead already? Should I be happy because maybe they are captured but still alive?” said Besorai, a life coach and resort owner who lives in the Philippines and grew up on Kibbutz Be’eri. “I pray to God every day that she will be found alive with her family and we can all be reunited.”As Israel strikes back with missile attacks on targets in Gaza, the families grapple with the knowledge that it could come at the cost of their loved ones’ lives. Hamas has warned it will kill one of the 130 hostages every t...

Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial resuming with ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg on the witness stand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — As Donald Trump’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg helped spare the former president’s real estate empire from its last existential threat, staving off insolvency after casino bankruptcies and an airline failure in the 1990s.Now, after a recent jail stint for tax fraud, Weisselberg is front and center again — set to testify Tuesday in the civil trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud lawsuit against Trump and his company, the Trump Organization.Weisselberg, also a defendant in the lawsuit, is expected to testify about his role in preparing Trump’s annual financial statements — including conversations they had while finalizing the documents, which were given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.James’ lawsuit alleges that Weisselberg engineered Trump’s financial statements to meet his demands that they show increases in his net worth and signed off on lofty valuations for assets despite appraisals to the contrary....

Lawyers to deliver closing arguments in trial of 2 police officers charged in Elijah McClain’s death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Lawyers will deliver closing arguments Tuesday in the trial of the first two police officers to be prosecuted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a neck hold and pinned down by officers in a Denver suburb before paramedics injected him with a powerful sedative.McClain was stopped while walking home from a convenience store on a summer night, listening to music and wearing a mask that covered most of his face. A 911 caller reported him as suspicious and the police stop quickly became physical with McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist seemingly caught off guard, asking to be left alone. He had not been accused of committing any crime. Prosecution witnesses testified that the sedative ketamine killed McClain. But prosecutors also offered medical testimony that the restraint of McClain by Aurora officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt triggered a series of health problems that made it hard for McClain to breathe and more vulnerable to a ...

US Senate Majority Leader Schumer meets Xi and welcomes stronger Chinese statement on Hamas attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday he was grateful for a strengthened statement from China condemning the killing and kidnapping of Israeli and foreign civilians by Hamas, issued during a bipartisan congressional visit to Beijing that included a lengthy meeting with President Xi Jinping. Schumer led a delegation of six senators to China for talks aimed at stabilizing ties following a sharp deterioration in recent years over trade, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, human rights and other issues. The delegation, which included three Democrats and three Republicans, was the first visit by U.S. lawmakers since 2019 and came at a time of growing attacks on China in Congress as America contends with Beijing’s rise as a global power. Schumer told Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier in the day that he had been very disappointed by China’s failure to strongly condemn the attack on Israel and show sympathy for the country and its people. Chinese Foreign Mi...

Biden’s hopes for establishing Israel-Saudi relations could become a casualty of the new Mideast war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than three weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat beside President Joe Biden and marveled that a “historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia” seemed within reach — a diplomatic advance that he predicted could lead to lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.Biden was equally optimistic, telling Netanyahu during their meeting in New York, “If you and I — 10 years ago — were talking about normalization with Saudi Arabia, I think we’d look at each other like, ‘Who’s been drinking what?’”Now, the outbreak of war between Israel and the Palestinians after a devastating Hamas attack on Israeli soil is threatening to delay or derail the years-long, country-by-country diplomatic push by the United States to improve relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.The so-called normalization push, which began under former President Donald Trump’s administration and was branded as the Abraham Accords, is an ambitious effort to reshap...

How Trump’s MAGA movement helped a 29-year-old activist become a millionaire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Charlie Kirk’s $4.75 million Spanish-style estate is tucked away in a gated Arizona country club that charges nearly a half-million dollars for a golf membership. It boasts a guest casita, “resort-style” pool and striking views of the Sonoran Desert.The Make America Great Again political movement has been lucrative for Kirk, the 29-year-old CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization, Turning Point.The nonprofit rocketed to prominence by latching on to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and has raised roughly a quarter-billion dollars since, much of it spent cultivating conservative influencers and hosting glitzy events. The organization also enriched Kirk and his allies, according to an Associated Press review of public records, which found top Turning Point officials collected pricey salaries, enjoyed lavish perks and steered at least $15.2 million to companies that they, their friends and associates are affiliated with.But for all that money, the group h...

Rochester high school student killed in crash over homecoming weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

A 16-year-old Rochester high school student was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Cascade Township just outside the city on Saturday.According to the Olmsted County sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a crash at Broadway Avenue North near Woodridge Lane Northeast around 2:30 p.m. Saturday.Century High School student Davin Tukua was pronounced dead at the scene.While the cause of the crash is under investigation, preliminary reports show that Tukua was headed southbound on Broadway when his vehicle crossed the center line and crashed into another vehicle going northbound. A third vehicle rear-ended the other vehicle going northbound.A 64-year-old Wabasha man and a 32-year-old Rochester man were driving the other vehicles; they weren’t seriously injured.A GoFundMe page has been started by the family to help cover funeral expenses“Davin was an incredible young man: an amazing son and brother, an adventurous cousin, kind, gentle & fun with his younger cousins and a wonder...

Smash-and-grab thieves fired on by jewelry store employee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

One of five smash-and-grab suspects has been arrested after the group hit a Manhattan Beach jewelry store in broad daylight last Friday, prompting a store employee to fire a gun inside the shop to scare the suspects off, authorities announced Monday.  Officers with the Manhattan Beach, Gardena and El Segundo police departments responded to the robbery at Prestige Jewelers in the 3000 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard at around 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 6 on reports of the robbery.  “Five suspects, who were described as wearing hooded sweatshirts, used hammers to smash jewelry showcases, and an employee of the store responded by using a firearm to shoot toward the suspects,” Manhattan Beach police said in a news release. The group of robbers fled the store and were last seen traveling southbound on Sepulveda Boulevard.  While no one was injured during the incident, the suspects were able to make off with some of the store’s merchandise, police said.  This is not the first time the sto...

$1 million Powerball ticket sold in Orange County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

While no one matched all six numbers in Monday’s record setting $1.56 billion Powerball drawing, a ticket with more than $1 million was sold in Orange County, and the next jackpot climbs to $1.73 billion. The winning numbers for the $1.56 billion Powerball jackpot, drawn on Monday, Oct. 9, were: 67, 34, 46, 55, 16. The Powerball number is 14, and the PowerPlay Multiplier is 3X. Only one ticket matching five of those numbers was drawn. It was sold at a Lake Forest 7-Eleven and is worth $1,064,543, according to the California Lottery.  There has been no winner for 35 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the top prize on July 19. That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022. The largest jackpot ever was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize hit by a player in California in November 2022. The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million. The $1.73 billion prize is for a sole winner who...

Bicyclist dead after fatal hit-and-run in Rialto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:43 GMT

A bicyclist is dead after a fatal hit-and-run collision on Saturday in Rialto. At approximately 7:05 p.m., Rialto police responded to reports of an unknown traffic collision involving a vehicle and a bicyclist in the area of 2400 South Riverside Avenue. The vehicle involved fled before officers arrived. Paramedics performed life saving measures on the bicyclist, who was pronounced dead several minutes later. According to a Rialto Police Department news release, the suspect, identified as 46-year-old Santos Lopez-Rosales of San Bernardino, was driving southbound in the #2 lane of Riverside Avenue approaching Santa Ana Avenue when he crashed into the rear of the bicyclist who was southbound in the middle of the #2 lane approaching Santa Ana Avenue. After hitting the bicyclist, Lopez-Rosales then fled.After an extensive investigation, authorities located the suspect vehicle, a white 2008 Hyundai Elantra, in the city of Bloomington. The vehicle contained evidence that tied the 46-y...