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Blinken in Israel: We will always have your back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

The United States will stand firmly by Israel as the nation continues to strike back against militants in the Gaza Strip following the attack on Israeli soil over the weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a press conference in Israel on Thursday.Since the Hamas militant group’s surprise offensive that killed over 1,200 Israelis, Jerusalem has bombarded the Palestinian territory and cut off food, water and medical supplies in retaliation.“The message that I bring to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to,” Blinken said while standing alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Blinken emphasized that Washington’s support will be unconditional: “We will always be there by your side.”“Your visit is another tangible example of America’s unequivocal support for Israel,” Netanyahu said.At least 25 Americans were killed in the Hamas attack, Blinken said, a number that has steadily...

Bullpen coach Chris Young and game strategy/catching coach Craig Driver won’t return to Chicago Cubs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

The Chicago Cubs are making changes to their coaching staff.While manager David Ross received support from Chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to return in 2024, the Cubs have parted with bullpen coach Chris Young and game strategy/catching coach Craig Driver.Both joined the organization as part of Ross’ original staff for the 2020 season after two years with the Philadelphia Phillies.Driver spent his first two seasons with the Cubs as the first base/catching coach. He took over game strategy duties following Mike Borzello’s departure after the 2021 season. Rookie catcher Miguel Amaya credited Driver this season for helping improve his defense and pitch calling.The Cubs bullpen was a strength for a key stretch of the season once Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay emerged as go-to high-leverage options. Each had been unproven in those roles, and all three finished with career highs in games. Merryweather and Leiter t...

4 things we learned about the Chicago Bears, including DJ Moore’s NFC award and Teven Jenkins’ search for Wendy’s alternatives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

The Chicago Bears returned to practice Wednesday to get ready for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.Here are four things we learned from Bears coach Matt Eberflus and players.1. Wide receiver DJ Moore was named the NFC offensive player of the week.DJ Moore never won an offensive player of the week award while with the Carolina Panthers.“Not when you’ve got Christian McCaffrey on your team,” Moore said. “A few times he outshined me. It was all good though.”In Thursday’s 40-20 win over the Washington Commanders, Moore left no doubt.He put together the second-best single-game performance by a Bears wide receiver, with his career-high 230 receiving yards on eight catches trailing only Alshon Jeffery’s 249 yards in 2013. Moore also had touchdown catches of 20, 11 and 56 yards, the latter sealing the Bears’ victory.That performance earned him the NFC offensive player of the week award.“It just...

Suspected DUI collision sends driver, passenger to the hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A driver and a passenger were sent to the hospital Thursday after a collision in the Allied Gardens neighborhood, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, a 38-year-old man was driving northbound on Princess View Drive in a grey 2015 Toyota Corolla around 2 a.m. Video shows police shooting of teen reaching for gun in truck Police say he rear-ended a parked tractor trailer. He and his passenger were both transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital following the incident.The driver sustained a laceration to his head, and the passenger sustained a fractured left arm as well as a fractured pelvis. Their injuries are considered non-life threatening. Overturned tanker truck prompts lane closure on I-5 According to SDPD, alcohol is suspected to be a factor in this collision. There is no word yet on whether the driver was arrested. SDPD's Traffic Division responded and is investigating. Anyone with information related to the incident is encouraged to call...

More than 90% of people killed by western Afghanistan quake were women and children, UN says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — More than 90% of the people killed by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in western Afghanistan last weekend were women and children, U.N. officials reported Thursday.Taliban officials said Saturday’s earthquake killed more than 2,000 people of all ages and genders across Herat province. The epicenter was in Zenda Jan district, where 1,294 people died, 1,688 were injured and every home was destroyed, according to U.N. figures. Women and children were more likely to have been at home when the quake struck in the morning, said Siddig Ibrahim, the chief of the UNICEF field office in Herat, said. “When the first earthquake hit, people thought it was an explosion, and they ran into their homes,” he said.Hundreds of people, mostly women, remain missing in Zenda Jan.The Afghanistan representative for the United Nations Population Fund, Jaime Nadal, said there would have been no “gender dimension” to the death toll if the quake had happened at night.“At that time of the day, ...

‘The Care & Keeping of You’ author and her podcast co-host break down puberty for today’s parents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The average onset of puberty is about two years earlier than a generation ago. Well over half of tweens and teens report body image issues. The average age of first exposure to porn is 12 for boys and not much later for girls. Those are just a few of the takeaways in a new book, “this is so awkward,” aptly lowercased and titled to break down all things puberty for today’s parents. The book, out this week from Rodale, is written by pediatrician Cara Natterson, whose “Care & Keeping of You” series has sold more than 7 million copies, and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, a puberty educator and Natterson’s co-host of “The Puberty Podcast.” Collectively, they have six kids ranging from 13 to 20. Here’s our interview with Natterson and Kroll Bennett. It has been edited for length and clarity.AP: Parents today have vast resources available to them. Why is this a moment for a good old-fashioned parenting book?NATTERSON: To cut through the noise, frankly. Th...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts after mixed reports on inflation and the economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting, and yields are climbing Thursday following mixed economic reports that offered no slam-dunk clues about where interest rates are heading.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 26 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was flat.The stock market has largely been taking its cue from the bond market recently, and rising yields tightened their squeeze after a report showed inflation at the consumer level was a touch higher last month than economists expected.That raises worries about the Federal Reserve keeping its main interest rate high for a long time, as it tries to undercut inflation by knocking down investment prices and slowing the economy.But the inflation report also had more encouraging nuggets for financial markets underneath the surface. After ignoring prices for food and fuel, which Fed officials see as a better predictor of where inflation ...

IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for incorporating Ukrainian sports regions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

MUMBAI, India (AP) — The Russian Olympic Committee was suspended by the IOC on Thursday for breaching the Olympic Charter by incorporating sports bodies in four regions in eastern Ukraine.IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the move by the Russian Olympic Committee on Oct. 5 violated the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian Olympic body.Adams said the suspension has not yet affected the possibility of neutral Russian athletes competing at next year’s Paris Olympics.___AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-gamesThe Associated Press

The US government sanctions two shipping companies for violating the Russian oil price cap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Thursday that it has imposed its first set of sanctions on two companies that shipped Russian oil in violation of a multinational price cap.The United States, along with the European Union, countries in the Group of Seven and Australia, imposed a $60 a barrel limit last year on what Russia could charge for its oil. The cap was designed to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, forcing the Russian government either to sell its oil at a discount or divert money for a costly alternative shipping network.The companies being penalized are based in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, the department said in a statement.A ship owned by the Emirates-based company Lumber Marine carried oil priced above $75 a barrel from a Russian port. Separately, a vessel owned by Turkey-based Ice Pearl Navigation ferried oil from Russia priced at $80 a barrel. Both companies relied on U.S. service providers. As a result of the sanctions, th...

Uber, Lyft warn of higher costs, long wait times as Toronto moves to cap drivers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:25 GMT

Rideshare companies are warning of costly rides and long wait times as Toronto moves to cap the amount of ridesharing vehicles on its streets.City council voted to freeze the number of Uber and Lyft vehicles on Wednesday. No new licences to private transportation companies will be issued until a staff report on regulating the industry is completed by the end of 2024.Mayor Olivia Chow says the move will benefit app company workers and help reduce emissions.“We need to put a good system in place so that drivers can make a living,” she says. “We will have a good system without contributing too much on the congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.”Opponents warn the move will only drive up prices and prompt legal challenges from ride-hailing companies. Related: Uber to allow Canadian teens to set up ride-share accounts this summer Canadians can rent cars through Uber starting Tuesday. Here’s how it works Uber issued a statemen...