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Families of Israeli hostages reject a pause in war on Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

TEL AVIV — Some families of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are opposed to a cease-fire or a humanitarian pause in the fighting, as was advocated by United States President Joe Biden.And while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a series of meetings with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv on Friday — including the country’s full war cabinet — and pushed for a humanitarian pause nearly a month into Israel’s operations in Gaza, a number of relatives of hostages said there should be no letup or reduction in the intensity of Israel’s military campaign.They agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that continuing to pummel Gaza and degrade Hamas is more likely to secure the freedom of their loved ones. Netanyahu rejected Blinken’s plea for a cease-fire or pause, saying there can be no break in the fighting without the hostages being freed first — Israel now calculates there are 242 of them.“Our forces are operating in full force on all fronts,” he ...

US banks hit by deposit delays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

New York (CNN) — Multiple US banks have been hit by deposit delays on Friday caused by an error at a payment processing network, according to the Federal Reserve.Bank of America alerted customers that their deposits may be delayed due to a problem impacting multiple banks. A Chase spokesperson confirmed to CNN that some of its direct deposits haven’t updated.Customers at Bank of America, Chase, US Bank, Truist and Wells Fargo have complained of issues on Friday morning, according to Downdetector.The Federal Reserve told banks the problem was caused by a “processing issue” at the private sector operator of the Automated Clearing House (ACH), a national network for processing transactions.The Fed said an “error” in a batch of payments delayed the processing of payments.The Clearing House, the private sector operator of ACH, confirmed to CNN that it “experienced a processing issue” with a single ACH file.“TCH is working with impacted financial institutions on the ma...

What the Fed’s November rate pause means for homebuyers and sellers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

Jeff Ostrowski | Bankrate.com (TNS)The Federal Reserve has once again hit the pause button in its war on inflation. After raising rates 10 times in 10 meetings in 2022 and 2023, the central bank took a break in June, then again at its September meeting. After its Nov. 1 meeting, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell held pat, announcing no change in interest rates for the time being.Earlier in the inflationary cycle, the Fed had enacted increases of as much as three-quarters of a point. Now that inflation is down to 3.7% — not far off from its official target of 2% — some housing economists think we may be near the end of this round of tightening. “If the Fed does indeed move to cut rates next year and signals its intent to do so, mortgage rates should trend downward,” says Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Our forecast calls for this to happen, which would support a somewhat stronger spring housing market.”In an effort to rein in inflation, the Fed boosted...

Is it ‘science fiction’? No: Researchers want immune cells to find cancer and report back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

Our immune cells are constantly circulating through our bodies, killing off cancer cells before they grow into something worrisome.Now a consortium, including Yale University, underwritten by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, is focused on programming those cells to more efficiently prevent disease.It’s the country’s third BioHub, following San Francisco and Chicago, and it will combine the scientific resources of Yale, Columbia and Rockefeller universities, financed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.“It sounds a bit science fiction when you first hear about it, but at the same time it’s also very grounded in solid science,” said John Tsang, Yale’s lead on the project and director of the Yale Center for Systems and Engineering Immunology.Yale UniversityJohn Tsang of Yale University“Immune cells are unique in that they go around your body, they are circulating, they go into tissues, they can detect issues in your tissues, for example, without us knowing,”...

Bill Belichick pays tribute to late friend, basketball legend Bob Knight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

During his Friday morning press conference, Patriots coach Bill Belichick honored Bob Knight, a longtime friend and legendary basketball coach who died Wednesday at age 83.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | New Patriots cornerback arrives with Willie McGinest, Jack Jones ties New England Patriots | Patriots-Commanders injury report: Trent Brown, DeVante Parker miss second straight practice Thursday New England Patriots | Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte opens up about benching, indicates he’ll play Sunday New England Patriots | Source: Patriots signing Buffalo Bills draft pick to fill open 53-man roster spot New England Patriots | Can the Patriots’ young receivers finally help the offense open up? “I had a good relationship with Coach Knight. Very sad, the last few years have been tough,” Belichick said. “I met coach Knight when I was probably under 10, known him my whole adul...

WBZ-TV CBS Boston headquarters vandalized with red paint, taggers wrote ‘Free Palestine’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

WBZ-TV CBS Boston is the latest victim of blood-red paint vandalism amid the Israel-Hamas war, as taggers overnight wrote “Free Palestine” on the Allston headquarters.Boston Police are investigating after the news station was covered in red paint early Friday morning.The blood-red paint was all over the CBS Boston company sign on Soldiers Field Road, along with red paint covering the front wall of the WBZ headquarters.The words “Free Palestine” were painted in black on the property.“The exterior of our building was vandalized shortly after midnight this morning,” WBZ President and General Manager Justin Draper said in a statement.“Our employees are safe,” Draper added. “We have filed a report with the Boston Police Department.”Related ArticlesLocal News | Healey says no sign Baker knew of Green Line problems A security guard at the building at around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday did his normal building check, and ...

Supreme Court will rule on ban on rapid-fire gun bump stocks, used in the Las Vegas mass shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether a Trump era-ban on bump stocks, the gun attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns, violates federal law.The justices will hear arguments early next year over a regulation put in place by the Justice Department after a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017.Federal appeals courts have come to different decisions about whether the regulation defining a bump stock as a machine gun comports with federal law.The Supreme Court already is weighing a challenge to another federal law that seeks to keep guns away from people under domestic violence restraining orders, a case that stems from the landmark decision in 2022 in which the six-justice conservative majority expanded gun rights.The new case is not about the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms,” but rather whether the Trump administration followed federal law in changing the bump stock regulation.The ban on bump stocks too...

Section of Bloor downtown shuts down starting Nov. 8 for construction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

The City of Toronto is accelerating construction on a portion of Bloor Street West downtown, but for drivers, it means a major closure until the end of the year.Starting on Wednesday, Nov. 8, the westbound lanes of Bloor will be closed between Avenue Road and Spadina Avenue. Only one eastbound lane will be open to motorists.The City recommends drivers using Dupont, Harbord, or College streets to navigate around the closure.The closure is scheduled to remain in effect until the end of December.The westbound closure of Bloor between the two major intersections also impacts cyclists, as officials say only one eastbound cycle track will be available.“During this phase, there will be signage noting a cycling detour for westbound travel on Bay Street, Wellesley Street, Hoskin Avenue/Harbord Street and Brunswick Avenue,” the City says in a release.The sidewalks will remain open on both sides of the streets for pedestrians Related: Construction ongoing along stretch ...

Belarus sentences independent newspaper editor to 4 years in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Friday convicted the chief editor of a prominent independent regional newspaper of “discrediting the Republic of Belarus” and sentenced him to four years in prison, as the country continues its crackdown on dissent.A court in Molodechno, a city in central Belarus, also ordered Aliaksandr Mantsevich, chief editor of the popular Regionalnaya Gazeta newspaper, to pay a fine of 94,000 Belarusian rubles (about $30,000), the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported.The authorities accused Mantsevich and his newspaper of using content that had been declared extremist — a label loosely applied in recent years to any materials critical of the Belarusian government.Belarus was rocked by mass protests after a disputed presidential election in which authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner, giving him a sixth term in office. The protests lasted for months, the largest and most prolonged show of dissent since Luk...

Emotional outburst on live TV from Gaza over death of reporter encapsulates collective grief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:32 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The on-air outburst of grief by TV correspondent Salman al-Bashir seemed to channel the mood of all Gaza. From the crowded halls of Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip late Thursday, al-Bashir was reporting on the waves of wounded and dead Palestinians arriving from Israel’s heavy bombardment on the southern strip. One of the victims, loaded into the hospital morgue with 10 of his family members, was his own colleague, veteran Palestine TV correspondent Mohammed Abu Hatab, 49. A mere hour earlier, Abu Hatab had delivered a live report on the Israel-Hamas war’s casualties from that very location for Palestine TV, a network owned by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, Hamas’ political rival.Searching for words to describe what Abu Hatab’s loss meant to him and to the network, al-Bashir cracked with emotion. He broke down, his voice holding sorrow and weariness in gruff, pleading phrases.“We cant take it anymore, we a...