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Waiting for news, families of Israeli hostages in Gaza tell stories of their loved ones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

They range from babies to the elderly. Most are civilians. Israel says at least 199 people taken during the Hamas attack are being held captive in Gaza. Some of their families received frantic phone calls or texts during the attack. Others heard nothing and later saw video evidence their loved ones were taken. For now, they wait, desperate to find out whether the hostages are even alive. And they tell their stories. Here are some of them.YAFFA ADARYaffa Adar loved reading, writing and keeping connected. Even at 85 she often sent her family messages and GIFs on WhatsApp. She was active on Facebook, her granddaughter recalls.Keeping in close touch online became especially important in recent years as she found it harder to walk beyond her home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. Amid that physical struggle, she kept her mind busy and knew what she wanted, her granddaughter said.“She loved reading,” Adva Adar recalled. “So we were like, ”We’re going to get you a Kindle.” What did...

Soccer match between Belgium and Sweden suspended after a gunman kills 2 Swedes in Brussels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thousands of soccer fans were kept inside Belgium’s national stadium for about 2 1/2 hours Monday after a game between Belgium and Sweden was suspended at halftime following a gunman fatally shooting two Swedes in Brussels before kickoff.The European Championship qualifier was being played some 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the shooting in the center of the Belgian capital, and more than 35,000 fans attended the match. With the suspect still at large and going after Swedes, Belgian authorities kept fans inside the venue for security reasons before they started the evacuation around midnight local time.Fans chanted “All together, All together” inside the King Baudouin Stadium after the match was halted, with thousands of supporters from both sides also shouting “Sweden, Sweden!” Manu Leroy, the CEO of the Belgian soccer union, said he discovered 10 minutes before kickoff that “something serious” had happened in downtown Brussels.“It was decided in the first place ...

In Brazil’s Amazon, rivers fall to record low levels during drought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The Negro River, the Amazon’s second largest tributary, on Monday reached its lowest level since official measurements began near Manaus 121 years ago. The record confirms that this part of the world´s largest rainforest is suffering its worst drought, just a little over two years after its most significant flooding.In the morning, the water level in the city´s port went as low as 13.5 meters (44.3 feet), down from 30.02 meters (98.5 feet) registered in June 2021 — its highest level on record. The Negro River drains about 10% of the Amazon basin and is the world’s sixth largest by water volume.Madeira River, another main tributary of the Amazon, has also recorded historically low levels, causing the halt of the Santo Antonio hydroelectric dam, Brazil´s fourth largest.Throughout Brazil´s Amazon, low river levels have left hundreds of riverine communities isolated and struggling to get access to drinkable water. The drought also has disrupted commercial n...

Feds, two Atlantic premiers agree to ‘modified’ Atlantic Loop project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

OTTAWA — Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are scaling back plans for the Atlantic Loop electricity grid to expanding just one existing connection between their two provinces.What they are now calling a “modified Atlantic Loop” is part of a joint policy statement agreed to Monday in Ottawa during a meeting between federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and the premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says the smaller project will cost between $1 billion and $2 billion and can be finished by 2029. The joint policy statement has both provinces and the federal government agreeing to co-operate on planning to ensure both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick eliminate coal power from their electrical grids by 2030 and to a fully greenhouse-gas emission-free grid by 2035.Last week, Nova Scotia pulled back from the full Atlantic Loop citing ballooning costs and a lack of commitment from Quebec to share more power.The Atlantic Loop was intended to build...

Prayer vigil and solidarity rally for the victims in Israel underway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

WHEELING, Ill. — Hundreds of people are expected to gather Monday evening for a prayer vigil and solidarity rally for the victims in Israel. Rabbi Sholom Notik is organizing the event, which will begin with a prayer vigil for those held hostage, murdered, wounded and displaced during the Israel-Hamas war. MORE STORIES: Israel and Hamas conflict "I like to say at the beginning of an event like this that it’s not about politics, it’s not about a demonstration, it’s about supporting each other, especially supporting the victims," Notik said. "Supporting really our brothers and sisters over in Isreal who are going through all of this. And about encouraging all of us that you can do better."At the local level, people will be thinking about the safe return of Evanston natives Judity Ra'anan and her 19-year-old daughter Natalie, who were visiting family in Israel when they were taken hostage by Hamas, according to the family's rabbi who is a colleague of Notik.

‘A light to everybody’: Student from Chicagoland killed in shooting at Jackson State University

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. — A shooting at an apartment complex on the Jackson State University campus in Mississippi left a student from Chicagoland dead over the weekend.Jaylen Burns, 21, graduated from Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, before going on to JSU, where he was a senior majoring in industrial technology. Mayor Johnson reverses course on plans for southern border trip “We were all so proud of Jaylen,” La’Trice Wright, Burns’ mother, said.According to JSU officials, Burns was transported to the hospital Sunday night from campus after reports of shots fired at the University Pointe Apartment Complex. Few details on the shooting have been released and JSU said the Jackson Police Department and Capitol Police are working together on the investigation.“To whoever took my son, they didn’t just take him from me, they took him from the world,” Wright said.Wright said some of their family traveled to Jackson for homecoming weekend to celebrate everything her son had accomplishe...

New bar honoring Rocky Wirtz coming to United Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

CHICAGO — The United Center has unveiled new food and beverage options ahead of the approaching Blackhawks and Bulls seasons and among the new offerings is a bar honoring late Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz.A tasting event was held on Monday to showcase some of the big changes coming for the upcoming seasons. ‘You get butterflies’: Rookie Tyson Bagent gets his chance after Justin Fields injury Fans can soon expect to see new checkout-free retail experiences and a new beer developed in collaboration between Goose Island Beer Company and the Chicago Bulls.The new 4.8% ABV brew, which is called "Bull andtaGoose," is advertised as a light and crisp ale.But the changes don't stop there. A new premium area called "Rocky's Bar" will soon open in the arena’s main concourse."Welcome to the future home of Rocky's Bar," Danny Wirtz, the son of Rocky Wirtz, said during Monday's event. Bears update Justin Fields’ status after thumb injury Danny has assumed many of his father's roles and res...

'An incredible find': 1800s shipwreck unearthed in Florida during road project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (WFLA) — Construction crews in Florida unearthed a shipwreck from the 19th century while working on a road project in downtown St. Augustine last week. According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), crews discovered the nearly intact wooden vessel while working on State Road A1A near the Bridge of Lions for a draining improvement project that began earlier this year.FDOT archeologists and experts believe the well-preserved boat is from the mid-to-late 1800s.Artifacts found inside the wreck were mixed into the sediment and shells that buried it, as well as in a thin layer of mud that coated the hull. A wooden handle and the remains of a leather shoe are shown here as excavated. Credit: Daniel Fiore (SEARCH, Inc.) & Florida Department of Transportation, District Two.Crews painstakingly removed mud layer-by-layer to expose the vessel.Credit: Florida Department of Transportation, District Two.The archaeological team laid recovered planks on a st...

Suzanne Somers' husband gave her a heartfelt love poem hours before she died: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

(KTLA) -- Suzanne Somer's husband, Alan Hamel, gave the beloved actress a heartfelt poem just hours before she passed away Sunday, PEOPLE reported. Hamel posted the poem, along with three photos, on Somers' Instagram account on Monday, which would have been his wife's 77th birthday. Somer's publicist, R. Couri Hay, told PEOPLE that Hamel gave it to her "a day early and she read the poem and went to bed and later died peacefully in her sleep.”"Love," he started the poem with. "There is no version of the word love that is applicable to Suzanne.""The closest version in words isn’t even close. It’s not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction. Unconditional love does not do it. I’ll take a bullet for you doesn’t do it," he continued. "I weep when I think about my feelings for you. Feelings… that’s getting close, but not all the way." Alan Hamel (L) and Suzanne Somers attend the 29th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala at Palm Springs Convention Center on Janua...

CNN anchor incredulous after GOP rep blames Speaker chaos on Biden

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:01:24 GMT

(The Hill) -- CNN anchor Boris Sanchez fired back at Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) in a Monday interview after the House Republican suggested President Biden was to blame for the chaos in the House around electing a new Speaker.“Well, the chaos today is because of the weakness in the Biden administration,” Self said, responding to a question about how he thinks authoritarian leaders perceive Congress’s inability to elect a Speaker. “How? It’s your party,” Sanchez responded, cutting Self off. “It’s members of your party that ousted Kevin McCarthy.”Self continued, citing unrelated issues Biden has dealt with during his presidency that Self suggested demonstrated Biden’s “weakness.”“The southern border is absolutely in chaos. The inflation that is—,” he said, before he was cut off again. House Speaker vote slated for Tuesday, Democratic Rep. says “Congressman,” Sanchez said, “Respectfully, the reason the House doesn’t have a Speaker is not because of Joe Biden. It’s because of membe...