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US intel confident militant groups used largest Gaza hospital in campaign against Israel: AP source

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is “confident” that Palestinian militant groups used Gaza’s largest hospital to hold “at least a few” hostages seized during their bloody Oct. 7 attack and to house command infrastructure, an American intelligence assessment declassified Tuesday and shared by a U.S. official found.The assessment offers the firmest U.S. support for Israeli claims about the Shifa hospital complex, which was raided by Israeli forces in November in an operation decried by global humanitarian organizations and some members of President Joe Biden’ s party. Yet the information released doesn’t fully back some of Israel’s most significant allegations that the hospital served as the central node for activities by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The U.S. official shared the assessment on the condition of anonymity.“The U.S. Intelligence Community is confident in its judgment on this topic and has independently corroborated information on HAMAS and PIJ’s ...

Sheikh Hasina once fought for democracy in Bangladesh. Her critics say she now threatens it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is facing a general election Sunday, a vote she is all but certain to win. Critics say it could further tighten her grip on power after a 15-year-rule that turned a politician who once fought for democratic freedoms into an increasingly autocratic leader. Hasina’s main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is boycotting the polls, claiming her government cannot ensure a fair vote, and making it increasingly likely the 76-year-old premier will secure her fourth consecutive and fifth overall term in office. Her supporters say Hasina — the longest-serving leader in Bangladesh’s history — and her Awami League have given them a country with a growing industry and humming development projects. The stability has staved off military coups that have shaken the young, predominantly Muslim nation strategically located between India and Myanmar. But Hasina’s political life, like her country, began with...

Investigation underway after 2 women killed in shooting in Cicero

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

CICERO, Ill. — Two women are dead and an investigation is underway after a shooting in Cicero on Tuesday night, police say. According to police, the deadly shooting happened in the 1800 block of South 48th Court just after 7:40 p.m.  2 adults, toddler pulled to safety after crashing car into pond in Naperville Officers say a 19-year-old woman and a 29-year-old woman were both badly injured in the shooting and were taken to the hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.Officers did not provide details on what led to the shooting but said the incident appeared to be domestic-related.According to police, no arrests have been made in connection with the deadly shooting, but officers are searching for a person of interest.  Chicago firefighter charged in connection with apparent road rage shooting in Andersonville An investigation is now underway and anyone with information is asked to call the Cicero police confidential hotline at 708-863-COPS.Tips for police can also be filed...

Several Chicago suburbs discuss ongoing issues associated with migrant arrivals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

HINSDALE, Ill. — The Village of Hinsdale is clamping down on the arrival of migrants. On Tuesday night, the village approved new regulations that will require an application from those who want to bring busloads from the border.The ordinance will go into effect immediately and will require an application to be submitted for any vehicle coming to the village with asylum seekers. That application would have to show things like the identification and phone numbers of those on board, and if anyone makes a drop-off without approval going forward, they could be hit with thousands of dollars in penalties.The village has seen the arrival of hundreds of migrants in recent weeks, and the city wanted to put a plan in place before the next bus arrives. Hinsdale was among several Chicago suburbs that held meetings on Tuesday night in an effort to tackle the ongoing issues associated with migrant arrivals.At least 11 buses carrying around 450 people have arrived in recent weeks. Video taken on Mo...

As snow fails to fall on North Shore, organizers cancel John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — For the third time in its history, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has been canceled.Amid nearly snowless conditions in northern Minnesota, organizers canceled the 2024 edition, slated to be the North Shore race’s 40th, in a news release on social media posted late Tuesday.“This was not an easy decision,” according to the release. “But with concerns over the weather, safety of the dogs, mushers and volunteers, it was the only decision we felt comfortable with.”Much of the region experienced the warmest December in recorded history, 13 degrees above normal, prompted by strong El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean and the effects of climate change. There were no days with subzero temperatures and rain fell on Christmas Eve, only the third such holiday with no snow on the ground in 82 years.Only 7.8 inches of snow have fallen since the beginning of the season, the lowest total at the National Weather Service’s Duluth office on...

Another day, another northern Minnesota ice rescue: This time, 50 stranded anglers brought to shore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

WILLIAMS, Minn. — Curt Quesnell was fishing east of Long Point on the south shore of Lake of the Woods on Monday afternoon when he got a message with a short video from a buddy that a large crack had opened up less than a mile off Long Point, and several anglers were stranded on the north side of the crack.While Quesnell wasn’t far from the crack, he was on the shoreline side of the fissure set up over about 25 feet of water. It wasn’t where he wanted to be fishing, Quesnell said, but the crack that opened up at about 3 p.m. Monday, driven by strong south winds, had prevented him from fishing where he wanted to fish pretty much all winter.“I put the phone down, and then I got another message saying that a crack opened up, and people are stranded on the other side,” said Quesnell, who lives near Long Point and fishes the big Canadian border lake nearly every day, posting regular updates on his popular NCOR Outdoors YouTube Channel.In a news release issued late Tuesday afternoon, the ...

Missing injured firepower, Wild lose ground in 3-1 loss to Calgary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

Facing injury absences by a large handful of his best players on Tuesday, Wild coach John Hynes stressed the team dynamics he has been building since replacing Dean Evason on Nov. 28. The Wild have won 11 of 16 games since then, and Hynes said he expects his healthy players to continue the team’s turnaround from a 5-10-4 start.“The strength is in the pack,” he said before Tuesday night’s game against the Calgary Flames at Xcel Energy Center.The pack, however, is thinning.Unavailable because of injuries after Tuesday’s morning skate were points leaders Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, top pair defenseman Jonas Brodin and No. 1 goaltender Filip Gustafsson. Later, veteran wing Marcus Foligno was scratched, as well, and the Wild called on three forwards with a combined six NHL games this season — Nic Petan, Jake Lucchini and Sammy Walker — to fill in some gaps.The Wild recovered from a weak first period to give themselves a chance but clearly missed the firepower watching from...

North Greenbush PD searching for vulnerable adult

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A developmentally disabled woman has been reported missing out of Rensselaer. Police said Kathryn Malek was last seen Tuesday morning.Police said Malek was supposed to board a bus to a local mall and return within a few hours but did not and has not contacted family all day. Albany Police Union responds to review board lawsuit She is 66 years old and may be in need of medical attention. She is 4'11" and 110 lbs. She has black hair and hazel eyes and was last seen wearing a black jacket and black leggings. Anyone with information is asked to contact the North Greenbush Police Department at 518-283-5323. 

Belleville City Council moves forward on plan to buy troubled cemetery for solar farm project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – In a unanimous vote, the Belleville City Council said that the city can push forward to the next phase in a plan to buy an embattled cemetery in town and turn a large wooded area on it into a solar farm. But as one councilman said, nobody's breaking out the chainsaws just yet.The council voted to allow the city to submit a plan to the state of Illinois to purchase Mount Hope Cemetery.The 120-plus-acre cemetery has been at the center of controversy for decades now. Parallels between a 1994 St. Louis plane crash and recent Japan airline tragedy It was first abandoned; now, the state controls it. But the city has spent more than a million dollars maintaining it over the past 20 years.Now, the city wants to buy the cemetery, clear 25 acres of trees, and lease that land to a solar panel company.City leaders say the solar farm would help cover the ongoing taxpayer burden.Still, some neighbors are not thrilled.

Bi-State Development takes exterior ads off buses and trains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:40 GMT

ST. LOUIS – As of New Year’s Day, advertisements on the outside of Metro buses and trains are a thing of the past. The Bi-State Development Agency has dropped it, even though it generated millions of dollars per year.One in four Metro buses, trains, and Call-A-Ride vans had advertising on the outside, with some vehicles having two different sets of ads on them. Bi-State signed a contract with a firm for five years to secure that advertising. The deal has proven profitable, with Bi-State making between $1.3 million and $2 million per year.But Bi-State Development CEO Taulby Roach said the agency opted to end that program as of January 1.“Really, we’re kind of reflecting a successful pilot that’s been done in St. Clair County,” he said. “St. Clair County took the advertising off of the trains and buses in that county successfully over the past two years. And what we found is that the community likes it a little bit better; it has a more professional and more profound imagery out to th...