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Boston city councilor’s description of Hamas attack as ‘massive military operation’ sparks outrage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson’s resolution calling on Boston to declare the Hamas terrorist organization a “militant group” that launched a “massive military operation” in Israel has infuriated some of her council colleagues.Her call for de-escalation and a cease-fire in Israel and “occupied Palestine” was introduced at a Wednesday City Council meeting in response to one filed earlier in the week by Councilor Michael Flaherty, who wanted to condemn “Hamas and their brutal terrorist acts against Israel.”“To call them a militant group that launched a massive military operation is completely absurd and disgusting,” Flaherty told the Herald. “That wasn’t a military operation. That was a terrorist attack — and it was the worst barbaric aggression towards innocent Jews and innocent Jewish people since the Holocaust.”Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.The City Council briefly discussed, but chose not to vote ...

Justin Fields won’t practice with the Chicago Bears today, leaving rookie QB Tyson Bagent in line to make his 1st NFL start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

As expected, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields will not practice Wednesday as the team continues preparing for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field. That leaves undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent in line to make his first start this week.Fields dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand while being sacked in the third quarter of last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. A timetable for his recovery and return remains cloudy.Coach Matt Eberflus reiterated Wednesday morning that Fields’ reduced grip strength remains the primary issue and the team is monitoring that as the week progresses.Eberflus said the swelling in Fields’ right hand continues to go down, but he didn’t dismiss the possibility of Fields opting to have surgery on the thumb.“I believe we’ll have some clarity later in the week hopefully,” Eberflus said. “Again, nothing is off the table and nothing is on the table with that. We just h...

Woman arrested after trying to get close to Donald Trump at New York civil fraud trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — A woman was arrested Wednesday after she stood up at former President Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial and walked toward the front of the courtroom where he was sitting.The woman, later identified as a court employee, retreated after a court officer told her to return to her seat. A short time later, officers escorted the woman out of the Manhattan courtroom and arrested her. She was charged with contempt of court for disrupting a court proceeding, state court spokesperson Lucian Chalfen said.Chalfen said the woman had been yelling out to Trump that she wanted to help, though reporters in the courtroom did not hear her raise her voice. She was later heard screaming in the courthouse lobby as officers removed her from the building.“None of the parties were ever in any danger,” Chalfen said.The woman, whom Chalfen did not name, works in a different state courthouse. She has been...

United Airlines rolling out plan that lets passengers in economy class with window seats board first

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and DAVID KOENIG (AP Business Writers)United Airlines will start boarding passengers in economy class with window seats first starting next week, a move designed to reduce the time planes spend sitting on the ground.The airline said in an internal memo that it will implement the plan on Oct. 26. The plan – called WILMA, for window, middle and aisle — was tested at several locations and deemed to shave up to two minutes off boarding time.Variations of the WILMA approach have existed for many years.“It spreads people out along the aisle of the airplane so that more people can put their luggage away at the same time. That’s the main thing that speeds up the boarding process,” says Jason Steffen, an associate professor of physics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who designed his own boarding model a decade ago.The change will begin with passengers in the fourth boarding group. Customers in first class and business class will se...

Body found as crews respond to brush fire off Interstate 5

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A vegetation fire off Interstate 5 led to the discovery of a dead body Wednesday morning, the Highway California Patrol confirmed to FOX 5.CHP says a call came in around 4:55 a.m. reporting a deceased individual was found in the area of the State Route 905 eastbound connector, near Beyer Boulevard. The southbound I-5 ramp to eastbound SR-905 is blocked as an investigation takes place, said Caltrans. The Tacoyo Avenue off-ramp is also closed due to this investigation.There's no word yet on how long the ramps will be closed. 1 person dead, another wounded in South Bay shooting San Diego Fire-Rescue crews are no longer on the scene.There is no further information at this time. CHP is handing the investigation.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Lawsuit dropped after school board changes course, adopts Youngkin’s transgender student policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Washington-based attorney confirmed Wednesday his firm was dropping litigation it filed last month regarding Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new policies on transgender students because the school board his firm sued has since adopted guidelines consistent with the governor’s. But the firm could potentially still bring other litigation in districts that are bucking the administration’s guidance, said Charles Cooper of Cooper & Kirk, which is widely known for its work on conservative legal causes.Attorneys from the firm represented two parents who sued the Virginia Beach School Board seeking the enforcement of Youngkin’s policies, which roll back many accommodations for transgender students urged by the previous Democratic administration.The policies have prompted an outcry from LGBTQ advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who say they codify discrimination and could harm an already vulnerable population. Republicans, religious groups and other...

New Speaker puts MPs on notice over unruly, toxic behaviour in House of Commons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

OTTAWA, Ill. — Speaker Greg Fergus is warning MPs that he will use all powers available to him to maintain order and decorum in the House of Commons if they can’t do it themselves. Fergus rose before question period today to declare his intention to bring down the temperature during parliamentary proceedings.He says behaviour in the House has deteriorated over the years, and heckling from MPs intended to intimidate and drown out others has become boorish, rude and insulting. Fergus, who was elected Speaker at the beginning of October, says he’s committed to protecting MPs’ freedom of speech, but questionable language and provocative statements will not be tolerated.He says there’s a growing tendency for MPs to make pointed criticisms as a way to bully or attack each other’s integrity, and that’s introducing toxicity to question period and other proceedings. The official Opposition tried to prevent Fergus from delivering his speech, with Conservati...

As Canada evacuates citizens in Israel, some Israeli-Canadians want to stay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

As Shawna Goodman-Sone spoke to a reporter from a suburb of Tel Aviv Wednesday, she had to end the call abruptly and seek refuge in her home’s safe room as an air raid warning went off.Before fleeing into the reinforced room, she spoke about moving to Israel from Montreal nine years ago — and why she has decided to stay in the country despite the war with Hamas.“We’re taking a leap of faith that this is where we belong,” Goodman-Sone said. “This is where we chose to live, this is where our home is, our community, our friends, and all of our friends’ kids are serving in the army. I’m so grateful we made this decision.”Global Affairs Canada estimates that roughly 35,000 Canadian citizens live in Israel, which allows people with at least one Jewish grandparent, and their spouses, to quickly obtain citizenship. Since Israel declared war on Hamas on Sunday, more than 1,300 Canadians have left the country on military flights organized ...

Movie Review: Cornwell/le Carré, through Errol Morris’ lens, in riveting ‘The Pigeon Tunnel’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

Errol Morris’s conversation with the late David Cornwell in “ The Pigeon Tunnel ” is fascinating even without the filmmaking flourishes.Cornwell, better known by his pen name John le Carré, was the spy-turned-novelist whose tales of espionage and betrayal defined an era, gave literary heft to a genre and inspired numerous adaptations. And here, Morris challenges him to reflect on his unconventional childhood — his con-man father, his mother who left him at 5 never to return — on through his time in the secret services and beyond. You hear how he quite literally began life on the run, how he learned to be a “little spy” from quite a young age, how his father loomed so large in his imagination and how untrustworthy his own memory even turned out to be.It could have been just a transcript; It would have been a must-read.Cornwell died in 2020 at 89, and this film which will be streaming on Apple TV+ Friday, is said to be his final and “most candid” interview. That might simply be market...

Financial pressures could impact Canadians’ holiday spending: survey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:13 GMT

New survey data suggests that Canadians are planning on reining in their holiday spending this year.Deloitte’s fifth annual holiday retail outlook survey has found that Canadians are expected to spend 11 per cent less for the holiday season than compared to last year, for an average of $1,347 per person.The findings show that growing financial pressures may be the cause for this drop. Two-thirds of respondents said they’re concerned about a recession, while 55 per cent are worried about rent and mortgage increases.“You add all those things together which are obviously grounded in inflation, economic risk, and whatnot, they’re feeling extreme pressure,” said Marty Weintraub, National Retail Leader with Deloitte.It’s not just the holiday season that may suffer from these fears, as Weintraub says Halloween also falls under the umbrella of the holiday spending season.“Halloween, I would say, is sort of encompassed in the holiday shopping season ...