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Hamas says it is releasing two US hostages from Illinois

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

JERUSALEM (WGN)— A mother and daughter from Evanston, Illinois, who were being held hostage have been released by Hamas, the family’s rabbi told Nexstar's WGN Friday. Hamas said Friday it was releasing two American citizens they were holding captive in Gaza since their Oct. 7 raid on Israel.The Palestinian militant group said in a statement that in an agreement with the Qatari government it was freeing a mother and daughter for humanitarian reasons.In this undated photo provided by Rabbi Meir Hecht on behalf of the Raanan family is Judith Raanan, left, and her daughter Natalie, 18, after Natalie's recent high school graduation. Judith and Natalie are missing while visiting relatives in Nahal Oz for Simchat Torah, a festive Jewish holiday that marks the conclusion of the annual reading of the Torah. (Raanan Family via AP)The family’s rabbi confirmed that Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natali have been released. They were visiting family in Israel were reportedly taken...

US judge unseals plea agreement of key defendant in a federal terrorism and kidnapping case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A U.S. district judge has unsealed a plea agreement for one of the key defendants in a terrorism and kidnapping case that stemmed from a cross-country search for a missing toddler that ended with a 2018 raid on a squalid compound in northern New Mexico. The documents were made public Thursday, just days after a jury convicted four other family members in what prosecutors had called a “sick end-of-times scheme.” Authorities said it was under Jany Leveille’s instruction that the family fled Georgia with the boy, ending up in a remote stretch of the high desert where they conducted firearms and tactical training to prepare for attacks against the government. It was all tied to a belief that the boy would be resurrected as Jesus Christ, and he would then explain which corrupt government and private institutions needed be eliminated.Leveille pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and being in possession of a firearm while unl...

Pink postpones two Vancouver concert dates due to respiratory illness

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

TORONTO — Pop superstar Pink is postponing two Vancouver concerts this weekend as she deals with a respiratory infection.The “Trustfall” singer says she won’t take the stage Friday and Saturday at Rogers Arena under her doctor’s orders.She added that concert promoter Live Nation is working on rescheduled dates for both shows.The Thursday announcement, made on her social media platforms, came after Pink postponed two dates in Tacoma, Wash., this week for what she described as “family medical issues” that required “immediate attention.”Her “Summer Carnival” tour, which is set to wrap up in Australia early next year, has attracted its share of attention in recent months.At one show, a fan threw a bag purported to be filled with their dead mother’s ashes onto the stage.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2023.David Friend, The Canadian Press

Canadian military preparing for possible evacuation from Lebanon

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Armed Forces says it is getting ready for the possibility that it will need to help bring Canadians out of Lebanon, with Global Affairs Canada advising against all travel to that country.Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah and allied Palestinian groups have launched daily missile strikes on northern Israel since the latest Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, with Israel shelling border areas in south Lebanon in return.Maj.-Gen. Darcy Molstad, deputy commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, says military officials are in Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus and Greece to prepare for a civilian evacuation if need be.The assistant deputy minister in charges of consular cases at Global Affairs Canada says about 1,450 Canadians are registered as being in LebanonBut Julie Sunday is urging those Canadians to get on commercial flights out of Beirut while they still can.She says she understands these are “really difficult decisions to make,” but the best ad...

Spirit Airlines cancels dozens of flights to inspect some of its planes. Disruptions will last days

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

Spirit Airlines canceled about 100 flights on Friday after pulling some planes out of service for inspections, and the airline expects the disruptions to last several days.Spirit did not describe the nature of the inspections and did not respond when asked for further information.By Friday afternoon, Spirit had canceled 11% of its schedule for the day, easily the highest percentage of scrubbed flights among leading U.S. carriers, according to tracking service FlightAware.“We’ve cancelled a portion of our scheduled flights to perform a necessary inspection of a small section of 25 of our aircraft,” Spirit said in a statement. “The impact to our network is expected to last several days as we complete the inspections and work to return to normal operations.”The Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of Spirit’s decision to pull the planes from service for a “mandatory maintenance inspection.” The FAA did not describe the inspections either, but said it “wil...

Judge in Missouri transgender care lawsuit agrees to step aside but decries ‘gamesmanship’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A judge agreed Friday to step aside in a lawsuit challenging a new Missouri law restricting gender-affirming health care for minors, despite what he called “gamesmanship” from the plaintiffs’ lawyers for requesting a new judge.St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer was appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to preside over the lawsuit that seeks to overturn the Missouri law. The lawsuit was filed in July by the ACLU of Missouri, Lambda Legal and the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner on behalf of families of three transgender minors, a St. Louis health care center and LGBTQ+ organizations.Ohmer said at a hearing that assigning a new judge will delay resolution of the case, possibly into next year. It’s unclear when the state Supreme Court will make the appointment.“And the wheels of justice keep spinning in the mud,” Ohmer said.Ohmer in August denied the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to block the new law, days before it went int...

Teen seriously injured when struck by car in Vaughan last week has died; SIU investigating

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

A 17-year-old has died from injuries sustained after being struck by a vehicle in Vaughan a week ago.According to the province’s Special Investigations Unit a York region police officer was patrolling the lot of Canada’s Wonderland on the evening of Oct. 13 when he observed a 17-year-old male behaving suspiciously.When the officer exited his vehicle to investigate further, the teen fled on foot and the officer pursued him on foot as well.The teen made his way to Jane Street near Norwood Avenue, south of Major Mackenzie Drive, where he was struck by a vehicle. He was taken to hospital in serious condition.In an update on Friday, the SIU said the teen died of his injuries in hospital on Oct. 19.The SIU is continuing to investigate the incident while the York Region Major Collision Investigation Unit conducts its own parallel investigation.The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assau...

Spain’s royals honor Asturias prize winners, including Meryl Streep and Haruki Murakami

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

OVIEDO, Spain (AP) — American actor Meryl Streep on Friday received Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Arts Award at a ceremony presided over by the Spanish royal family in the northern city of Oviedo.During her acceptance speech, Streep spoke about the empathy actors must feel for their characters and which people in cinemas and theaters feel for people on screen or stage that look — or sound — different to themselves, as something that could be useful in everyday life too.“Empathy may be a radical form of outreach and diplomacy useful in other theaters of endeavor” she said. “In our world, in our increasingly hostile, volatile world, I hope we might take to heart another rule every actor is taught, that is: it is all about listening.”The prize was one of eight awarded this year in areas covering the arts, literature, science and international cooperation among others. The annual awards are among the most important in the Spanish-speaking world.Others honored at the ceremony ...

Alberta livestock producers affected by drought to receive aid to offset costs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

The governments of Alberta and Canada are to provide $165 million to support livestock producers affected by drought and extreme weather conditions.The Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance program is aimed at livestock producers with grazing animals.Alberta Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson says it will allow those in need to apply for financial support to cover losses they incurred to manage and maintain their breeding herds.He says eligible producers could access up to $150 per head for breeding animals.Under the cost-share deal, the federal government is providing $99 million and Alberta is to chip in another $66 million.Sigurdson says it has been a rough year for many livestock producers and he’s hopeful the program will tide them over until next season.“This year’s drought and excessive heat has resulted in our ranchers facing extra costs due to lost grazing days. We recognize their stress as the winter-feeding months approach,” Sigurdson said....

Navigator cancels proposed Midwestern CO2 pipeline, citing ‘unpredictable’ regulatory processes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:24 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A company on Friday said it would cancel its plans for a 1,300-mile (2,092-kilometer) pipeline across five Midwestern states that would have gathered carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol plants and buried the gas deep underground.Navigator CO2 Ventures’ Heartland Greenway project is among a handful of similar ventures supported by the renewable fuels industry and farming organizations, but many landowners and environmental groups oppose the pipelines and question their safety and effectiveness in reducing climate-warming gases.In a written statement, the company said the “unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes involved, particularly in South Dakota and Iowa” were key to the decision to cancel the project.Navigator’s pipeline would have carried planet-warming CO2 emissions from more than 20 plants across Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota for permanent storage deep underground in Illinois.Iowa Renewab...