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Reservists flock to Gaza border as Israel preps ground invasion

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

By Jeremy Diamond Michael Schwartz | CNNThe signs of Israel’s massive mobilization for a potential ground invasion of Gaza are all around here.The highways are strewn with military vehicles – trucks full of ammunition, armored personnel carriers and tanks – as well as civilian cars and buses packed with reservists heading to bases to train and prepare for the next phase of Israel’s response to Hamas’s terrorist attacks. A formation of armored personnel carriers lies still in a field, facing Gaza, which lies just six miles away. Nearby, artillery guns deliver a steady thumping of strikes on Gaza.This is a country on a war footing.At a military base a dozen miles from the Gaza border, thousands of reservists flood through a narrow two-lane highway. They are answering Israel’s call for more than 300,000 reservists – one of the largest mobilizations in the country’s history – after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his country will “fight back with a force and scope that the enem...

Former SF Giants manager Bochy is back in a familiar place — deep in the MLB postseason

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

By STEPHEN HAWKINS | AP Baseball WriterARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bruce Bochy was home the past three Octobers, doing a little fishing and hitting a few golf balls after stepping away from a 25-year managerial career that included three World Series championships with the Giants.As enjoyable and relaxing as that all was, he found himself missing more and more where he preferred to be this time of the year.Bochy is back in the dugout for the postseason in his first season with the Texas Rangers, whose general manager is one of his former pitchers who lured him out of his brief retirement.“I’m having the time of my life,” said the 68-year-old Bochy, who is going to his first American League Championship Series.The Rangers were mired in a string of six consecutive losing seasons. With Bochy in charge, they went 90-72 before sweeping the first two rounds in these playoffs against the AL’s winningest teams this year — Tampa Bay in the Wild Card Series, then Baltimore in the Division Series....

Trump knocks Israeli PM Netanyahu, calls Hezbollah ‘smart’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

By Kaitlan Collins, Kate Sullivan and Shania Shelton | CNNFormer President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the Israeli prime minister was caught unprepared by Hamas’ attack and praising the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as “very smart.”The remarks reflect the soured relationship between the two men and are notable at a time when Trump’s Republican presidential rivals have uniformly sought to position themselves as steadfast supporters of Netanyahu during Israel’s war with Hamas.“(Netanyahu) has been hurt very badly because of what’s happened here. He was not prepared. He was not prepared, and Israel was not prepared,” Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade in an interview clip that aired Wednesday night.Trump went further at a campaign event in West Palm Beach, Florida.“When I see sometimes the intelligence, you talk about the intelligence, or you talk about some of the things that went wrong over the last week, they’ve got to straighten it out becau...

Vehicle hits pedestrian near Vineyard Avenue and Adams Way in Pleasanton

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

(BCN) -- A vehicle hit a pedestrian in Pleasanton on Thursday morning, according to police.Pleasanton police said shortly after 9 a.m. that the collision happened near Vineyard Avenue and Adams Way. Investigators were still on the scene and police said roads in the area are expected to be closed for "several hours." Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Orsted puts up $100M guarantee that it will build New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm by 2025

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Danish wind energy company Orsted has put up a $100 million guarantee that it will build New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm.But it will lose that money if the project is not operating by Dec. 2025 — a year after the deadline approved by state utility regulators.New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities approved an agreement Wednesday with Orsted under which the company would forfeit the money if the project is not up and running within 12 months of a series of deadlines previously ordered by the board.Those deadlines call for the project to reach commercial operation in stages by May 1, Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, 2024. But it would forfeit the guarantee money if the project is not operational by December 2025.The money put up on Oct. 4 by Orsted and placed in an escrow account was required under the terms of a law Gov. Phil Murphy signed in July allowing Orsted to keep federal tax credits that it otherwise would have had to return to New Jersey ratep...

Playwright Theresa Rebeck is busy in NYC this fall, with plays uptown and on Broadway

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re ever tempted to offer playwright Theresa Rebeck an idea for a new play, maybe hold off. She has quite enough of those as it is. “A play is like a license to explore things that my curiosity is really piqued by. I have a lot of curiosity,” she says. “I have a lot of things on my mind and a lot of curiosity.” This fall, New York City has become Rebeck’s playwriting playground. She’s directing her own work “Dig” at 59E59 Theaters, and her “I Need That” has landed on Broadway starring Danny DeVito and his daughter Lucy.“I Need That” is Rebeck’s 21st professional production in New York and her fifth on Broadway, making her easily the most-produced female playwright of her generation on Broadway.“A friend of mine said to me one time, ‘Well, there’s no question the muse is with you.’ And I thought, ‘That’s an interesting way to put it,’” says Rebeck, laughing.“Dig” opened just before rehearsals began in earnest for “I Need That” a doz...

Pennsylvania counties tell governor, lawmakers it’s too late to move 2024’s primary election date

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Counties in Pennsylvania have told Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers that it is too late to move up the state’s 2024 presidential primary date if counties are to successfully administer the election.In a letter, the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said there is no longer enough time for counties to handle the tasks associated with moving next year’s primary election from the current date set in law, April 23.The counties’ association drafted the letter after weeks of efforts by lawmakers to move up the primary date, in part to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday of Passover. That became embroiled in partisan and intraparty disagreements after Senate Republicans then touted moving up the date as a way to give the late primary state more say in deciding 2024’s presidential nominees.County officials say they are planning for 2023’s election, less than five weeks away, and already spent many months of pl...

Five officers shot and wounded in Minnesota confrontation, authorities say; suspect arrested

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

Police lights are seen in this stock photo.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/welcomia) Police lights are seen in this stock photo.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/welcomia) PRINCETON, Minn. (AP) — Five drug task force officers were shot and wounded Thursday while serving a search warrant near the Minnesota city of Princeton, authorities said. The suspect was arrested after a standoff that lasted several hours.A news release from Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said the officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect when they were confronted by the man, who was injured in the incident and was taken away for treatment after his arrest. The cause and extent of his injuries were not immediately known, the sheriff said.The officers̵...

TikTok and content creators challenging Montana’s ban face off with the state in federal court

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — TikTok and Montana faced off in federal court on Thursday in a case filed by the video sharing app and five Montana content creators who want the court to temporarily block the state’s ban on the platform before it takes effect Jan. 1. Attorneys for TikTok and the content creators argued that the state has gone “completely overboard” in trying to regulate TikTok and is essentially trying to implement its own foreign policy over unproven concerns that TikTok might share user data with the Chinese government. Christian Corrigan, the state’s solicitor general, said Montana’s law was less a statement of foreign policy and rather addresses “serious, widespread concerns about data privacy.”U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said he would rule on the motion for a preliminary injunction as quickly as possible.In May, Montana became the first state in the U.S. to pass a complete ban on the app, based on the argument that the Chinese government could gain access to user ...

‘Ready to hit the ground running’: Caps goalie more comfortable in 2nd year in Washington

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:57:59 GMT

“Do your job.”This simple phrase has become the mantra of the Washington Commanders’ season, with head coach Ron Rivera taking a page out of Ted Lasso’s book and hanging a sign reading “DO YOUR JOB.” inside the team’s locker room.But could it be the motto for the Washington Capitals, too?As the Caps prepare to start their season against the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night, goalie Darcy Kuemper said the message carries over to the ice.“I think there’s a lot of wisdom behind that,” he said during an interview on WTOP Thursday. “It takes a full team to go out and win, but for that to be possible, each player has to do their part and I think that’s what they’re trying to get at with that.”Going into his second season in Washington, Kuemper said he feels like he’s able to better focus on doing his job. The 32-year-old netminder signed a five-year deal with Washington as a free agent ahead of last y...