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California city calls for permanent cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war, urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland’s City Council on Monday passed a carefully crafted resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war after hours of hearing impassioned rhetoric about the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza.The council in the California Bay Area city voted 8-0 in favor of a motion supporting a congressional resolution for a permanent ceasefire, along with the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and a restoration of basic services, as well as “respect for international law” and the release of all hostages.Before the vote, the council voted 6-2 to reject proposed amendments by member Dan Kalb that specifically condemned killings and hostage-taking by Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attacks in Israel prompted the war that has devastated Gaza.The motion was met by boos and angry shouts from the packed chamber.Kalb later went on to vote with the majority, noting that the unchanged resolution also didn’t mention Israel.In fact, councilmem...

Russell Westbrook and fan engage in verbal exchange late in Clippers’ loss to Nuggets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Russell Westbrook got into an extended verbal exchange with a fan late in the Los Angeles Clippers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.Referee Lauren Holtkamp came over and stood between Westbrook and the seats in the final 30 seconds of the game. Two security personnel came on court while former Clipper DeAndre Jordan appeared to encourage an agitated Westbrook to move away from the situation.The male fan was in the row behind the courtside seats at Crypto.com Arena. He pointed his fingers at his head while yelling in Westbrook’s direction.“I’m not going to speak on it because it’s not appropriate,” Westbrook said when asked what the fan shouted at him.“It’s unfortunate today fans can say whatever they want,” he said. “I’m just protecting myself. Personally, I won’t allow it. I won’t stand for it.”Last season, Westbrook and a Phoenix Suns fan got into a heated exchange at halftime in a club area at Footprint Center during the Clippers’ p...

Regulators Probe Reports Of Underage Sports Betting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

Regulators at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission are taking an interest in whether people younger than the legal betting age of 21 are using mobile platforms to bet on sports and what the betting platforms operating here are doing to prevent that from happening.Commissioners raised the topic Monday as four sports betting companies presented quarterly reports to the commission. Commissioner Brad Hill mentioned meetings and conversations the Gaming Commission has had with “outside sources” that revealed “there is some concern that there are individuals who are under-aged using computers and passwords from people who are of-age to bet.”Massachusetts’ 2022 sports betting law requires that gamblers be at least 21 years old to wager at one of three physical sportsbooks or on one of eight online/mobile betting platforms that the commission licenses. The law also requires operators to “use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent a person under 21 year...

Housing Chief Sees Momentum Behind Shelter Exits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

About 450 families have left the state’s emergency assistance shelter system since Sept. 1, and the state’s top housing official says there could be momentum in moving even more families out of the strained system.“We think we can substantially increase that number, which is ultimately the goal,” Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said on WCVB’s “On the Record” program, which aired Sunday and was filmed Tuesday.The state’s HomeBASE cash assistance program has helped families grappling with homelessness, he said, but providing resources to new arrivals is “more challenging” since they lack a safety net, such as having friends or family who can assist them with temporary shelter.About 40 to 50 families are arriving in Massachusetts daily, Augustus said. But Gov. Maura Healey indicated last week the flow of migrants is slowing due to the colder weather.The secretary said migrants are fleeing “some...

Healey: “Fate Of Our Democracy” On 2024 Ballot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey is “absolutely” comfortable with President Joe Biden, who is already the oldest person to occupy the Oval Office, running for reelection in 2024 and said the fact that Donald Trump is consistently outperforming Biden in polling shows that next year’s election is about “the fate of our democracy.”“Donald Trump has been about Donald Trump. I mean, that’s the one thing that he’s been true about. He’s been about himself. And the level of selfishness, narcissism has revealed itself in really dangerous ways. And I think about this election, it’s really the fate of our democracy and what is happening with our democracy and the fraying of our democracy, which is fragile,” Healey said Monday in response to a question on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” program.The governor mentioned the surge of election results denial in the wake of Trump’s 2020 loss to Biden, the recent rise in activity b...

China warns Australia to act prudently in naval operations in the South China Sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A visiting Chinese official on Tuesday warned Australia to act with “great prudence” in deploying warships in the South China Sea after a recent confrontation between the two navies.Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Communist Party’s international minister, gave the warning while speaking at a Sydney university during a trip that paves the way for President Xi Jinping’s Australian visit, expected to take place next year.Bilateral relations had been improving recently, but took a downturn when Australia accused the Chinese destroyer CNS Ningbo of injuring Australian navy divers with sonar pulses in Japanese waters on Nov. 14. Australia said China disregarded a safety warning to keep away from the Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba.Liu reiterated China’s position that the encounter happened outside Japanese territorial waters and that the Chinese warship caused no harm.“We do urge the Australian government and also the military to act with great prudence in this area...

Winter arrives in Northern Europe, with dangerous roads in Germany and record lows in Scandinavia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Winter’s early onset has brought heavy snowfall and icy roads to Northern Europe, creating disruptions and dangerous driving conditions, with German media reporting Tuesday at least two deaths and children stuck overnight in a school.To the north, Scandinavia was also experiencing unusually cold temperatures for November. Temperatures were well below freezing in nearly all of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Several locations on Norway’s west coast recorded record lows for the month on Monday, according to public broadcaster NRK.Germany’s western state of Hesse was particularly affected by the snow and icy roads, with power cuts due to fallen trees in some places, the news agency dpa reported.Across Hesse, road accidents with injuries were reported and trees collapsed under the weight of snow. Drivers were stuck in their cars in the Rheingau-Taunus district and about a hundred people had to be rescued due to fallen trees near the town of Eltville.In the nearby c...

Philippine government and communist rebels agree to resume talks to end a deadly protracted conflict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Philippine government and the country’s communist rebels have agreed to resume talks aimed at ending decades of armed conflict, one of Asia’s longest, Norwegian mediators announced Tuesday. High-ranking delegations from both sides met in the Norwegian capital last week and agreed to a “common vision for peace” that sought to address key obstacles, according to Norway’s foreign ministry. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the deal was signed at “an important signing ceremony” on Thursday but was only made public Tuesday.The Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, have fought successive Philippine governments since 1969. The rebellion, which opposes the Philippines’ close ties with the U.S. and wants left-wing parties to be part of the government, has left about 40,000 combatants and civilians dead and has stunted economic development in the impoverished countryside. The military says ...

Jimmy Carter set to lead presidents, first ladies in mourning and celebrating Rosalynn Carter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Rosalynn Carter will be memorialized Tuesday with classical music and beloved hymns, some of her favorite Biblical passages, and a rare gathering of all living U.S. first ladies and multiple presidents, including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter.The funeral at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters’ native Sumter County and continued in Atlanta as she lay in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Center.President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, lead the list of dignitaries joining the widowed former president in Atlanta. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, will pay their respects, as will Georgia Gov....

US tells Israel any ground campaign in southern Gaza must limit further civilian displacement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group, senior U.S. officials said.The administration, seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or mass displacement like that seen before the current temporary pause in the fighting, underscored to the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, the officials said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.Amid mounting international and domestic pressure about the rising Palestinian death toll, the White House has begun to put greater pressure on Israel that the manner of the coming campaign must be “carefully thought through,” according to one of the officials. The Israelis have been receptive when administration officials have raise...