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Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves at least 250 dead in fighting, retaliation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Backed by a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns and occupied a police station in a third.Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 250 people were killed and 1,500 w...

Airlines cancel flights to Israel amid attacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

New York (CNN) — Airlines scrambled to cancel flights into Israel early Saturday after Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns during a Jewish holiday.As of Saturday afternoon, about 16% of flights were canceled and 23% were delayed to Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s international hub, located just outside of Tel Aviv.Some Israel-bound flights were diverted to other airports around the globe. United Airlines flight 954 left San Francisco International Airport on Friday night and diverted over Greenland about seven hours into the more than 13-hour-long journey, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. The flight would later return to San Francisco.“The safety of our customers and crews is our top priority,” the airline said in a statement. “We are closely monitoring the situation and we are adjusting flight schedules as required.”FlightAware data also show Delta Air Lines and American Airl...

Israel’s Netanyahu vows ‘mighty vengeance’ against Hamas after attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “mighty vengeance” against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive surprise attack on Saturday, killing more than 250 Israelis and taking numerous captives.In a brief video address late Saturday, Netanyahu said Hamas would be held responsible for the well-being of the captives and said Israel would settle the score with anyone who harmed the country or its citizens. Israel already started launching retaliatory air strikes on targets in Gaza early Saturday.“We will take mighty vengeance for this black day,” Netanyahu said. “All the places where Hamas hides, operates from — we will turn them into cities of ruins.” He said Israel is preparing for a long conflict. The massive assault unleashed by Iran-backed Hamas early Saturday combined a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel and dozens of heavily armed gunmen attacking the country’s south from Gaza. It came a da...

Mass. state trooper injured in crash with suspected DUI driver released from hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

Massachusetts State Trooper Matthew McRae was released from the hospital Saturday as he continues to recover after being critically hurt while visiting family in Salt Lake City in August when a suspected drunken driver slammed into a rideshare car he was in.McRae was flanked by several state police officials as he left Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.McRae broke several bones in the crash, including a broken neck and a spinal injury.McRae has only been with the Massachusetts State Police since 2020.The union is currently working to make sure McRae and his family are financially taken care of during his recovery.There is a GoFundMe campaign set up to help McRae’s family. Learn more here.

Orioles drop ALDS opener to Rangers, 3-2, as bats go cold in first playoff game at Camden Yards since 2014

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

Baltimore fans on Saturday witnessed their first postseason game at Camden Yards since 2014. They’ll have to wait at least one more day to celebrate.In front of a sold-out crowd, the Orioles lost to the Texas Rangers, 3-2, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, as Baltimore’s bats mustered only five hits and couldn’t come through in the clutch late. The loss puts the Orioles in an early hole in the series, now needing to win three of the next four games to advance to the AL Championship Series.Aside from Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI double in the fourth and Anthony Santander’s solo homer in the sixth, the Orioles couldn’t break through on offense. Kyle Bradish was dominant through three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth as the Rangers gained a 2-0 lead.The Orioles went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and grounded into two double plays, including a back-breaking one by Santander in the eighth. With the Orioles trailing ...

Boston exam school admissions policy ire hits school committee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

Five months have passed since exam school admission under the district’s new policy came out, but parents aren’t moving on.“You know how hard it is, not to be angry at you for willing to continue with this policy as it is?” said BPS parent Mano Katsompenakis. “This is my daughter you’re talking about. First you call her an unintended consequence — she’s a human. And now this proves that all her hard work was for nothing.”BPS adopted a new exam school admissions policy in the last year, intending to increase diversity and opportunity in the schools.On top of a student’s testing score and GPA points, the new system awards 10 additional points to students who attend a school enrolling 40% or more economically disadvantaged students and 15 points to students who are in state care, in affordable housing or homeless. Students are broken into eight socioeconomic tiers based on the demographics of where they live, and each tier is alloca...

10 people, including 4 police officers, injured in crash, shooting on South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

CHICAGO — Fire officials say ten people, including four Chicago police officers, are injured after a shooting and crash on the city's South Side on Saturday.Fire officials say the shooting happened near the 7100 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Grand Crossing and the crash happened near East 54th Street and South State Street in Washington Park. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines According to the Chicago Fire Department, a male is in critical condition and a woman is in fair condition after they were shot near the Third District police station on Saturday afternoon and eight others were injured following a crash in Washington Park.Fire officials say four people were taken to the hospital in fair condition and the three officers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Fire officials added that a fourth officer who was injured transported themselves to an unknown location.Currently, it is unclear what led to the crash, and fire officials did not pr...

Affy Tapple hosts family fun day in Niles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

NILES, Ill. — The World renowned Affy Tapple company hosted a family fun day in celebration of its 75th anniversary Saturday in Niles. More from Sean: Co-founder of Go brewing with non-alcoholic drinks WGN's Sean Lewis travelled to the Northwest Suburbs to see what all the caramel apple anticipation was about at the time of year where the time is just right to indulge in one of Chicagoland's favorite fall treats.

Coolest night since April coming before a Sunday warmup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Highs today in the mid 70s were the coolest since May and tonight's lows should be the coldest since April!We'll have a partly cloudy to mostly clear sky tonight as some of the clouds we've had on Saturday thin out. Still, it will be clear enough with light enough winds to allow temperatures to drop into the low 50s with some Hill Country spots starting Sunday morning in the 40s!Sunday morning low temperaturesAs winds swing around from the northeast to the southeast we'll notice warmer temperatures on Sunday with highs near 80º in the afternoon, it's fair to say ACL Weekend One will end without any weather worries.Sunday forecast at ACLTemperatures warm into the mid 80s on Monday.Three features we're watching this week. Tropical Storm Lidia in the eastern Pacific, a cold front and a Pacific Low.Tropical Storm Lidia will try and throw moisture and potentially some rain and storms our way Tuesday into Wednesday. Tropical Storm Lidia may throw rain into Texas next we...

Instant Analysis: Sooners QB Dillon Gabriel created many of Texas' problems

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel didn't play in last year's Red River Rivalry due to a concussion, so this year was his time to give the Longhorns headaches.Gabriel rushed for a career-high 113 yards and engineered the go-ahead drive late in the fourth quarter to lift the No. 12 Sooners to a 34-30 win over No. 3 Texas on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.Gabriel drove Oklahoma 75 yards in about a minute to set up a 3-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Nic Anderson with 0:15 left in the game. Texas had a chance with a hail mary at the end of the game, but Quinn Ewers' pass was batted down at the goal line.Jonathan Thomas and Billy Gates discuss the game in this edition of Instant Analysis.