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Live updates | Calls for a humanitarian pause increase as Palestinians in Gaza lack food and water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

Calls for a humanitarian pause increased with the United Nation’s agency for Palestinian refugees reporting the average Palestinian in Gaza is surviving on two pieces of bread a day, and only one of three water supply lines from Israel is operational. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, “We are going full steam ahead” unless the hostages held by Hamas are released. Israeli troops have further closed in on Gaza City, launching targeted attacks on militant cells there.The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,227, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under...

Right turn on red? With pedestrian deaths rising, US cities are considering bans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Sophee Langerman was on her way to a bicycle safety rally in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood in June when a car turning right rolled through a red light and slammed into her bike, which she was walking off the curb and into the crosswalk.The car was moving slowly enough that Langerman escaped serious injury, but the bicycle required extensive repairs. To Langerman, it’s another argument for ending a practice that almost all U.S. cities have embraced for decades: the legal prerogative for a driver to turn right after stopping at a red light.A dramatic rise in accidents killing or injuring pedestrians and bicyclists has led to a myriad of policy and infrastructure changes, but moves to ban right on red have drawn some of the most intense sentiments on both sides. Washington, D.C.’s City Council last year approved a right-on-red ban that takes effect in 2025. New Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition plan called for “restricting right turns on red,” but his ad...

Oregon Democratic US Rep. Earl Blumenauer reflects on 27 years in Congress and what comes next

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a quirky but deeply respected figure in Oregon politics for decades, has decided not to seek reelection after 27 years in Congress, citing turmoil on Capitol Hill and a desire to be more involved in addressing the challenges facing his hometown of Portland.Known for donning a bow tie and bicycle pin, Blumenauer, 75, has served roughly five decades in public office at the local, state and federal level. Emblematic of the cycling culture and green living that Portland has come to be known for, he worries that the city’s identity, which he helped forge during his time in City Hall, is being overshadowed by the homelessness and mental health issues gripping its streets.“We’ve got serious problems,” he told The Associated Press. “I spent a career working to make Portland the most livable city in the country. And I don’t think many people would say we’re the most livable city now.”Blumenauer said his decision to reconnect on a d...

The Trump-DeSantis rivalry grows more personal and crude as the GOP candidates head to Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — For Sat PMs—Former President Donald Trump is expanding his support in Florida as he seeks to bury the presidential ambitions of Gov. Ron DeSantis in their shared home state.Trump in recent days was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and state lawmaker Randy Fine, a longtime DeSantis ally who has advised him on Israel. He’d already secured the support of the majority of the state’s Republicans in Congress. And more Florida Republicans may soon follow.DeSantis is still a powerful governor who enacted policies long sought by conservatives and moved a traditional swing state increasingly to the right. But as the first nominating contests of the primary grow closer, DeSantis is well behind in the 2024 race and fighting a Trump campaign focused not just on winning the nomination, but on embarrassing him in his home state and nationally.“Weakening DeSantis’ standing in Florida is a clear objective of the Trump campaign,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strat...

Lack of affordable housing in Los Angeles’ Venice Beach neighborhood inspires activism and art

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As more and more of her friends and neighbors found themselves priced out of rental units in Venice Beach, Judy Branfman began photographing the dozens of houses, bungalows and apartments being sold, renovated and then relisted at double or triple the cost. Branfman started with only the vague idea that she should be documenting the growing problem of evictions and housing unaffordability in her beloved west Los Angeles neighborhood. The writer and activist lamented that Venice, where tourists flock to the famous boardwalk and Muscle Beach, has been slowly shedding its historically bohemian vibe and becoming another enclave for the wealthy. Word spread about her photo project and earlier this year Branfman started hosting community meetings where residents could share their experiences with evictions that forced them to move out of the area and, in some cases, into homelessness. Some people recited poems. Others expressed themselves through paintings. And the more...

War in the Middle East upends the dynamics of 2024 House Democratic primaries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — For Sat PMs—Most members of Congress have stood firmly behind Israel since the Hamas attack last month, but not Cori Bush. The Missouri Democrat called Israel’s response a “war crime” and an “ethnic cleansing campaign,” and was among the few House members who opposed a resolution supporting Israel.Her unwavering stance has angered some in her district. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell on Monday dropped a U.S. Senate bid to challenge Bush in next year’s 1st District Democratic primary, and moderate Democrats believe he could win.Bush isn’t alone. She’s among a small group of Democrats viewed by critics as insufficiently supportive of Israel — both long before and now after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel — or insufficiently critical of Hamas. Across those districts, moderates like Bell are being encouraged to run. In particular, Summer Lee in Pennsylvania, Jamaal Bowman in New York, Ilhan Omar in Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib in Michigan probably will f...

North Carolina’s voter ID mandate taking effect this fall is likely dress rehearsal for 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s voter photo identification law, enacted nearly five years ago by the Republican-controlled legislature but blocked by litigation, is just now getting implemented with local elections that wrap up next week. Statewide and county officials say carrying out the photo ID requirement has gone well during three tranches of contests that began with mail-in absentee voting in mid-August, even though they’ve had few resources with which to communicate the changes to the public. A very low percentage of ballots cast has failed to count based on the rules.The process is going well, said Mecklenburg County elections director Michael Dickerson, “much better than I expected.” Voters within North Carolina’s second-largest county are choosing leaders for Charlotte, the local school board and other municipalities.Some voter education and civil rights advocates, however, remain concerned the new process is impeding voting. “It’s crucial to understand ...

Her daughter was killed in the Robb Elementary shooting. Now she’s running for mayor of Uvalde

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — On a sticky Texas morning, Kimberly Mata-Rubio is lacing up her running shoes ahead of two races she is running in Uvalde in tribute to her daughter Lexi, who was killed in the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting.First up is a charity run honoring Lexi’s life. Then it’s back to a tougher contest: Campaigning to become mayor of Uvalde, a town still divided after one of America’s deadliest mass shootings and a botched police response that is still under investigation. “One thing I hear with all of my children, and it echoes my own belief, is that right now Lexi’s legacy is our priority and we just want to honor her with action,” Mata-Rubio said.On Tuesday, Uvalde voters will pick a new mayor for the first time since the May 2022 attack that killed 19 students and two teachers. The election is a test of how the town chooses to move forward from a tragedy that some residents are ready to put in the past while others are still demanding answers. Ac...

Israel’s fortified underground blood bank processes unprecedented amounts as troops move into Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

RAMLA, Israel (AP) — Hours after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, the country’s new fortified, subterranean blood bank kicked into action. Staffers moved equipment into the underground bunker and started saving lives.The Marcus National Blood Services Center in Ramla, near Tel Aviv, had been scheduled to open within days, but with more than 1,400 people in Israel killed since the Hamas raids — most killed during the initial attack — the timeline changed.“It became very clear we needed to move with the war plans because this was exactly the moment, the event it was built for,” said Dr. Eilat Shinar, director of the national blood services division of Magen David Adom — Israel’s medical emergency, disaster, ambulance and blood service.Nestled some 15 meters (50 feet) underground at its lowest level, the $135-million, 6-story, state-of-the-art facility is protected from rockets, missiles, chemical attacks and earthquakes, ensuring blood processing can con...

Ken Mattingly, astronaut who helped Apollo 13 crew return safely home, dies at age 87

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:11:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who is best remembered for his efforts on the ground that helped bring the damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to Earth, has died, NASA announced. He was 87.“We lost one of our country’s heroes on Oct. 31,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a Thursday statement.Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II “was key to the success of our Apollo Program, and his shining personality will ensure he is remembered throughout history,” Nelson said.NASA didn’t mention where or how Mattingly died. However, The New York Times reported that Mattingly died in Arlington, Virginia. A former Navy pilot, Mattingly joined NASA in 1966. He helped with development of the spacesuit and backpack for the Apollo moon missions, NASA said. However, his own first spaceflight only came in 1972 when he orbited the moon as pilot of the Apollo 16 command module, while two other crew members landed on the moon’s surface.On the trip back to Earth, Mattingly ...