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Live updates | Israel knocks out Gaza communications as protesters call for end to the war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

Israel knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information by striking targets in the Gaza Strip with stepped-up bombardment and artillery fire overnight and into Saturday.Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours after nightfall Friday as the Israeli military said it was expanding ground operations in the territory, signaling a move closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza meant to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.The Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused “complete disruption” of internet, cellular and landline services as the besieged enclave’s 2.3 million people were largely cut off from contact with the outside world. Some satellite phones continued to function. The Palestinian death toll passed 7,300. The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which tracks the toll, released a detailed list including names and ID numbers on Thursday. In the occ...

French Jewish groups set up a hotline for people in the community traumatized by Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French Jewish groups have set up a helpline to provide support to people in the community traumatized by the latest Israel-Hamas war — from families who have lost loved ones in the Middle East to parents anxious about their children’s reaction to the conflict and Holocaust survivors.Since it was launched a few days after the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas incursion into southern Israel, dozens of people have called in every day, organizers said.Fabien Azoulay, the deputy director general in charge of solidarity at the United Jewish Social Fund, or FSJU, which brings together many associations in France, said that over 60 psychologists, psychiatrists and child psychiatrists are volunteering to call back those who leave messages on the helpline number.People of all ages are seeking support, from teenagers to parents and elderly people, Azoulay stressed.For some survivors of the Holocaust, “it brings back childhood traumas they thought they’d never see again,” Azoulay said. “They see...

Winner of albinism pageant says Zimbabwe event made her feel beautiful and provided sense of purpose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A glittering crown on her head and a bouquet of flowers in her hands, Andreia Solange Sicato Muhitu beamed at being named the co-winner of the the inaugural Mr. and Miss Albinism Southern Africa pageant. The 28-year-old Angolan model has competed in beauty pageants in her home country since her teens and won some of them. But none made her feel more beautiful or purposeful as the pageant for people with albinism that was held this month in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.“I can be that inspiration for young girls, especially those with albinism, to feel comfortable and beautiful in their own skin,” Muhitu said. “That is the strong message we are hoping to send out there.”Albinism, an inherited genetic condition that reduces melanin pigment production, is “still profoundly misunderstood,” according to the U.N. human rights agency. People with the condition have pale-colored skin, hair and eyes, are vulnerable to sun exposure and bright light, and ...

Israeli military says warplanes are bombing Hamas tunnels in Gaza, signaling new stage in offensive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes bombed Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers in the northern Gaza Strip, the military said Saturday, signaling a further escalation in its campaign to crush the territory’s ruling militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago.Fighter jets hit dozens of underground targets, the military said. As part of the stepped-up bombardment, Israel also knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information, largely cutting off the 2.3 million people in besieged Gaza from contact with the outside world.The Israeli military said Friday it was expanding ground operations in the territory, another sign that it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza. Military officials have said a key target would be Hamas’ extensive network of tunnels and underground bunkers, much of it located under Gaza City in the north of the territory.Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for ho...

Cool under pressure: Los Gatos drives for late touchdown to edge Wilcox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

SANTA CLARA – There was no panic on the Los Gatos sideline Friday night.Down four points. Two minutes and change on the clock. Nearly 80 yards from the end zone.It was set up for a dramatic finish, one way or the other, and Los Gatos made sure it was the one celebrating when time ran out in its annual clash against rival Wilcox.The Wildcats needed eight plays to drive 79 yards, the final seven on a run across the goal line by running back Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung behind a convoy of blockers with 23.5 seconds left.When Jaylen Thomas intercepted a desperation pass on the last snap of the game, Los Gatos celebrated a 24-21 victory that clinched at least a share of the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division championship for the Wildcats.“It means so much,” quarterback AJ Minyard said amid the celebration. “We’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time. We always see this one on the calendar and are like, ‘This is the one. This is the one’ Now we’re one step closer to league champs....

Acalanes senior steps up late as ground game keys DAL Foothill victory: ‘They couldn’t freaking stop it’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — Acalanes’ passing attack has sliced and diced secondaries all season and entered Friday averaging over 300 yards per game.But in the Dons’ 34-14 victory over previously unbeaten Las Lomas, one that put Acalanes in first place in the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division standings, the Lafayette school didn’t need precision passing.It needed a sledgehammer to break down its Walnut Creek rival and found one in 190-pound linebacker-turned-running back Jack Giorgianni.“Our games have been blowouts, so we’ve never needed him that much until tonight,” Acalanes coach Floyd Burnsed said. “He showed how good he was tonight.”With the score tied at 14-14 entering the fourth quarter and starting RB Jack Miller out with injury, Giorgianni ran the ball five times for 60 yards on the Dons’ drive and punctuated the sequence with an 18-yard run through the heart of the defense.By the time the senior made it into the end zone, he had broken ankles, tackles and a lead with 10:1...

Doughty scores 2 as Kings rally from 3 goals down to beat Coyotes 5-4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Drew Doughty scored his second goal of the game with 1:59 remaining and the Los Angeles Kings rallied from three goals down and beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 on Friday night.Mikey Anderson, Quinton Byfield and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings, who got three goals in the third period to complete a comeback from a 4-1 deficit. Pheonix Copley was pulled after giving up three goals on six shots, and Cam Talbot finished with 17 saves.Coyotes forward Matias Maccelli scored 37 seconds into the game, and J.J. Moser, Jack McBain and Sean Durzi scored in a 69-second span later in the first for the three-goal lead. The Kings controlled play the rest of the way and finally caught up in the third period. Karel Vejmelka had 34 saves.“We were very confident that if we played the right way, took care of defense, that we could come back in that game,” Doughty said. “We just came out really flat early. We were determined to come back and we never game up. We know we can score...

Dominant throughout October, Diamondbacks bullpen falters in World Series Game 1 defeat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Paul Sewald watched the end of his first World Series game in the Arizona Diamondbacks clubhouse and the trainer’s room, not from the center of a celebration on the mound as he had imagined.“There’s no worse feeling in this game than being the closer and blowing the save opportunity at the last second,” he said after Arizona’s 6-5, 11-inning loss to Texas on Friday night. “This team battled for 8 1/2 innings and had the lead and my job is to finish games when I get in there and I did not, and it came back to bite us.”Sewald entered with a 5-3 lead against the Rangers in the ninth inning. He started No. 9 hitter Leody Tavares with a called strike but then walked him on four straight fastballs, the first high and the next three outside.After striking out Marcus Semien on a high fastball, Sewald tried to overpower Corey Seager at the top of the strike zone. The 2020 World Series MVP drove the 93.6 mph pitch about two dozen rows into the right-field s...

Maryland awards $4.7M in federal funds aimed at fresh fruit and vegetables for school children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

Maryland’s department of education is using $4.7 million in federal grant money to fund a program geared at expanding students’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables during the school day.The Maryland State Department of Education said it will distribute funds to 213 elementary schools statewide — up from 196 schools during the previous school year — from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.The program, which is intended to enhance school-based nutrition education initiatives, provides a variety of fresh produce at no charge and encourages students to snack on fruits and vegetables, according to a news release.The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program’s website said the program has been successful in “introducing elementary school children to a variety of produce that they otherwise might not have the opportunity to sample.”Dr. Carey M. Wright, interim superintendent of Maryland schools, said that improving access to fresh...

Postseason Hitting Streaks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:16 GMT

The longest consecutive-game hitting streaks in postseason history (x-active):Player, Team, YearsNo.Hank Bauer, New York (AL), 1956-5817Derek Jeter, New York (AL), 1998-9917Manny Ramirez, Boston (AL), 2003-0417x-Ketel Marte, Arizona (NL), 202317Michael Brantley, Houston (AL), 2020-2116Pat Borders, Toronto (AL), 1991-9316Alcides Escobar, Kansas City (AL), 201515Marquis Grissom, Atlanta (NL, 1995-9615Rickey Henderson, Oakland (AL), 1989-9015Source