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Blinken calls for protection of civilians as Israel prepares for expected assault on Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Saturday for protection for civilians in both the Gaza Strip and Israel as the Israeli military ordered half of the Palestinian territory’s population to evacuate in advance of an expected ground assault. Blinken met his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Riyadh as he began a third day of intense Middle East diplomacy aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a regional conflict and fueling a humanitarian crisis.Both stressed the importance of minimizing the harm to civilians as Israel prepared for an anticipated incursion against Hamas a week after the militant group’s unprecedented attack in Israel. “As Israel pursues its legitimate right, to defending its people and to trying to ensure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians, and we’re working together to do exactly that,” Blinken said before heading to ...

Pinkett Smith discusses Oscar slap in new interview

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

(WCMH) — Another exclusive preview from Hoda Kotb’s in-depth interview with Jada Pinkett Smith aired on NBC’s “Today” show Friday morning.In the new clip, which is part of an hour-long special scheduled to air October 13 at 8 p.m. on NBC4, Pinkett Smith discussed the 2022 Academy Awards, when Will Smith slapped Oscar host Chris Rock on stage.During the 2022 ceremony, Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith, who has been dealing with hair loss due to alopecia and had a shaved head. In response to the jab, Smith approached the stage, slapped Rock, and then turned and sat back down in his seat.In the segment, Kotb observed that Pinkett Smith seemed visibly perturbed when Rock initially made a comment about her hair.Pinkett Smith then explained why she reacted with an eye roll at the time.In an NBC News Special, Jada tells TODAY's Hoda Kotb her side of the story about the infamous episode at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony when her husband, Will Smith, struck comedian Chris Rock after a j...

Gunfire from hunting can hurt hearing forever

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

HERBSTER, Wis. — The first thing you notice about Mike Amman’s new grouse hunting gun is that it doesn’t look anything like a grouse hunting gun.Far from a fancy Italian double-barrel with fine wood and an ornately carved receiver (he has something like that), his new pump gun is black and plastic and made in the U.S. And it has this thing on the end of the barrel that looks very strange.Mike Amman, of Ashland, Wis., has developed serious hearing loss and profound ringing in his left ear after years of shooting shotguns. He recently purchased a custom-made noise suppressor for his shotgun that dampens the noise of the blast. He also wears an electronic hearing protection ear bud that amplifies ambient sounds but cuts off shotgun blasts. (John Myers / Forum News Service)That thing is a suppressor, a device that quiets the blast noise, just part of the concerted effort Amman is making after suffering hearing loss due to shotgun blasts while hunting.Amman, 45, of Ashland, a county fore...

Metro Transit hosts hiring event in East St. Louis for mechanics and operators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Metro Transit is hosting a hiring event at the Illinois Metro bus facility in East St. Louis. Metro is actively seeking mechanics, bus operators, and Metro Call-A-Ride operators to join their team on-site. Interviews will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. These positions are all eligible for Metro Transit's $5,000 signing bonus, which was temporarily implemented this past summer and has now been extended through the end of the year. Qualified applicants may receive instant job offers on the spot. Metro Transit has extended more than 240 same-day job offers during hiring events over the last four months. 

Grading The Week: Broncos coach Sean Payton is as paranoid as a fox squirrel, and twice as secretive. So Thursday Night Football revealing his play-call sheet was comedy gold

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

No wonder Russell Wilson looks confused sometimes.Eagle-eyed viewers of Thursday Night Football — and/or “X,” the platform formerly known as Twitter — got a good look at one side of Broncos coach Sean Payton’s play sheet during a 19-8 loss to the Chiefs.And cripes, is it a mess.The kids on the Grading The Week staff took a screen cap, naturally. The two-minute plays were the easiest for the layman to understand, as they appear to be one- or two-word codes. “CONVERSE” = quarterback sneak. “CLOCK IT” = a spike (duh). “SPECIAL” = a halfback option. “FLUTIE” = presumably involves going long and hoping for the best.We’re also assuming the numbers before most of the plays shown are code for personnel groups — “11” personnel, for example, means a formation with one running back and one tight end, “12” is one running back and two tights, etc.But that’s not the funny part. Oh, no...

As Palestinians flee, Bay Area residents with relatives in Gaza wake up to texts of death and loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

All week, Wael Buhaissy has been up late at his home in San Ramon. He can’t take his eyes off his phone, waiting for messages from his extended family 7,000 miles away.This is what life has become for thousands of Palestinian Americans in the Bay Area whose loved ones and friends are under siege in Gaza.Buhaissy, 55, can barely speak of the devastation described in the messages he’s received so far as Israeli bombs rain down in retaliation for the deadly terror attacks last week by Hamas that killed hundreds inside Israel. Buhaissy learned that one of his cousins, Mohamad, was killed along with Mohamad’s son, Hamdan, and 2-year-old granddaughter, Nour.Another cousin sent a message on Facebook that Buhaissy, a 35-year Bay Area resident, read aloud: “I am speechless at what’s happening,” his cousin, Mazoza, wrote. “Every little while, there is a nearby massacre.”A week after Hamas launched the deadliest attack on Israel in its 75-year history and Israeli forces slammed bac...

Menlo’s quarterback duo shines as Knights stay perfect: “They can each bring something different”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

ATHERTON — Neither of these teams were expected to do much this season. Menlo School, which perennially has a small number of players on its roster (28 this year), lost 16 seniors off last year’s team. Hillsdale, the third-place team in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division a year ago, still made the move up to the PAL De Anza Division, rather than the first- or second-place Ocean teamsMenlo was picked fourth and Hillsdale sixth in the six-team De Anza Division prior to the season by, ahem, yours truly, for the Bay Area News Group.But like the saying goes, that’s why they play the games.Hillsdale and Menlo were both 6-0 and tied for first place when they met Friday afternoon at Menlo. Coming off a shutout win over Palo Alto, Menlo had a 19-0 lead at halftime. But the Fighting Knights of Hillsdale made a game out of it in the second half before falling short as Menlo ended up celebrating a 19-13 victory.“I think it really speaks to the amount of...

Ex-California cop admits seeking bribes from Colombian art dealer for immigration help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

A former Murrieta Police Department detective pleaded guilty on Friday, Oct. 13, to soliciting bribes from a Colombian art dealer in exchange for helping him enter and work in the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice said.Paul John Gollogly, 74, of Temecula, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery in U.S. District Court in Riverside.Gollogly began working for Murrieta police in March 2013 to lead its anti money laundering program, according to his plea agreement. He handled confidential informants registered with the department, including non-U.S. citizens who needed authorization from the U.S. government to enter and work in the country.In April 2013, Gollogly registered a Colombian national and wealthy art dealer who owned art galleries in New York and Spain and a hotel in Mexico as a confidential informant with the Murrieta Police Department. Gollogly had registered that dealer as a confidential informant when Gollogly worked at a Florida police department.From April 2013...

Opinion: Universities must stand against extremism of Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

Leadership matters. Especially in academia. Our education leaders do not simply educate the next generation of Americans but they also inculcate the values for our future leaders in this country. Now is a moment when their voice is essential — and their silence is destructive.In recent days, the world has witnessed horrific and unimaginable acts of brutality and violence committed by Hamas, a terrorist organization. The killing of countless innocent civilians, including children and the elderly, the beheadings of soldiers and the abduction of many others as hostages can only be condemned.What we have seen extends beyond an issue in Israel to one that the region also faces. We need to recognize that millions of innocent Palestinians have also suffered under brutal Hamas leaders who have had a vested interest in maintaining the squalid conditions of those in Gaza. Instead of investing in the quality of life for those in Gaza, Hamas leaders have instead focused on building rocket...

Granderson: Can Americans have a not-racist conversation about border security?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:50 GMT

I don’t understand the stripe of Americans whose first response to Hamas’ recent attack on Israel is “yeah, but ….” Hundreds of attendees at a music festival murdered. Children and elderly people taken hostage. Civilians shot dead in the streets. When it comes to war there are no angels, but there are demons, and what Hamas did last weekend represents the latter — full stop.However, I do understand the many Americans who see what Hamas did and think about the danger at our southern border — the Americans who are genuinely worried about the drug cartels’ growing influence in border towns and beyond. I do understand the part of America who saw last weekend’s horror and wondered how vulnerable we are to infiltration and attack, given the surge of asylum seekers and the U.S.’s inadequate systems for processing them.I do not agree with Nikki Haley, the GOP presidential candidate and former ambassador to the U.N., on much. However, I found a lot o...