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Israeli forces rescue soldier held by Hamas in special operation, IDF says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

(CNN) — An Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas has been rescued in a special joint operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN, the first successful hostage extrication since the militant group’s October 7 rampage.In its initial announcement, the IDF said Pvt. Ori Megidish was “released.” But that was a translation error, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday.Megidish was among over 200 hostages held by Hamas and was “actively rescued” with “boots on the ground” in a joint operation between the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) which is also known as Shin Bet, Conricus said.With Israel declaring a “new phase of war” as it started ground operations last Friday, Conricus said that “based on intelligence” the Israeli special forces went into northern Gaza knowing her whereabouts and rescued her.“It indeed was a special operation that was targeted in specifically getting her out,” he said.“They were in there for a jo...

Mary Lou Retton thankful for support as she slowly recovers from pneumonia

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

(CNN) — Olympic gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton expressed thanks Monday for those who have supported her during a scare with pneumonia.“I am overwhelmed with the love and support from the world as I fight,” Retton, 55, said in an Instagram post. “I am forever grateful to you all! I’m with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process.”The family last week said Retton had been released from the hospital. The former gymnast had a rare form of pneumonia that made her unable to breathe on her own and left her fighting for her life. She is now recovering at home after weeks in the hospital.“I’m beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement,” Retton wrote.One of the athlete’s children started an online fundraiser on behalf of Retton’s four daughters to help support the medical costs, noting Retton is uninsured.Retton captured American hearts in 1984 when she was the first US ...

Pilot eyed to introduce traffic enforcement by camera

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

Lawmakers were cool last session to Gov. Charlie Baker’s idea to allow red-light cameras in any interested city or town, but supporters are hopeful that a more narrow version that would limit the idea to a handful of communities will get a more favorable reception.A bill filed by Rep. Steven Owens (H 3393) would launch a pilot program allowing up to 10 municipalities to install a limited number of cameras to monitor for certain traffic violations, such as failing to stop at a right light or blocking an intersection.Cities and towns would need to present crash data at proposed locations and consider the social and racial equity impacts of the cameras before launching the system. The bill would also require pictures of the back of a car, not the front, which Owens said would prevent drivers from being racially profiled.Owens, a Watertown Democrat, told his colleagues that “the time has really come for Massachusetts to join the 26 other states that allow some sort of automa...

Brush fire erupts near I-805 in Kearny Mesa

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A brush fire erupted early Tuesday near Interstate 805 in Kearny Mesa.The fire broke out around 6:25 a.m. near the northbound I-805 onramp and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. Video shows moments before shots fired in South Bay restaurant Check back for updates on this developing story.

Prosecutors in Manny Ellis trial enter its 5th week by questioning his closest allies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Five weeks into the trial against three Tacoma, Washington, police officers charged in the death of Manny Ellis and prosecutors will build upon their case by questioning some of Ellis’ closest allies in court Tuesday.On Monday, Cedric Armstrong, the man who ran the sober-living home where Ellis lived, said he was happy earlier on the night he died, adding, “he didn’t seem like he was off in any way.”Also Monday, a lieutenant with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that his agency failed to find or collect witness cellphone videos before ending their investigation into Ellis’ death.The videos and witness statements are critical pieces of evidence in the case. They show Ellis with his hands up in a surrender position as the officers shoot a Taser at his chest and wrap an arm around his neck. The officers later told investigators that Ellis attacked them and was violent, something not shown in the videos or seen by witnesses.Ellis die...

War plunged Israel’s agricultural heartlands into crisis, raising fears for its farming future

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

ASHKELON, Israel (AP) — The soldiers guarding Avi Chivivian’s organic vegetable farm in southern Israel must first scour every corner of his fields for militants before they give him the all clear: He has six hours to work.It’s potato planting season for the farms of southern Israel, a region near the Gaza border that the Agriculture Ministry calls the country’s “vegetable barn” because it supplies at least a third of Israel’s vegetables. But Chivivian — one of the few remaining farmers in the area since the brutal Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas militants — no longer lives by the harvest cycle. He’s on the military’s timetable.“If we don’t plant potatoes now, there won’t be any in the spring,” said Chivivian, who lives in the small village of Yated. “If we put our hands up, we will have a food crisis in Israel.”The Israel-Hamas war has plunged Israel’s agricultural heartlands, located around the Gaza Strip and in the north near the Lebanese a...

Telus partners with electric vehicle chargers producer Flo to provide real-time data

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

QUEBEC — Telus Corp. is partnering with electric vehicle charging network operator Flo to help improve reliability as adoption of clean vehicle technology is expected to ramp up.The Vancouver-based telecommunications company says Flo will use its internet of things connectivity platform to provide real-time visibility on at least 60,000 chargers in Canada and the U.S. over the next five years.That will allow Flo to monitor public and commercial charging stations, using data it receives to conduct diagnostics remotely and provide support when the products aren’t working as they’re supposed to.Flo says its charger network is functional about 98 per cent of the time, while Telus says its network is 99.99 per cent reliable.Telus vice-president of commercial sales for Quebec and Atlantic Ali Barakat says that with all light-duty vehicles sold in Canada required to be zero-emission by 2035, the company is aiming to support the development of critical infrastructure.Earlier thi...

Cyprus proposes to establish a sea corridor to deliver a stream of vital humanitarian aid to Gaza

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is working out with partners in the European Union and the Middle East the logistics to establish a sea corridor to deliver a stream of vital humanitarian aid to Gaza from the island’s main port of Limassol once the situation on the ground permits it, authorities said Tuesday.A senior government official — who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to publicly discuss details of the proposal — said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “wasn’t opposed” to the idea pitched by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides last week.Gaza’s humanitarian needs have escalated after the Israel-Hamas war erupted following the Palestinian militant group’s surprise Oct.7 attacks in Israel which left nearly 1,400 Israelis dead and at least 240 taken hostage. Israel retaliated with a military operation that has so far left over 8,000 Palestinians dead. The underlying premise of Cyprus’ proposal is to have a constant ...

Toyota more than doubles investment and job creation at North Carolina battery plant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Toyota will invest an additional $8 billion in the hybrid and electric vehicle battery factory it’s constructing in North Carolina, more than doubling its prior investments and expected number of new jobs, the company announced Tuesday.The Japanese automotive manufacturer projects the new investment will create about 3,000 additional jobs, bringing the total to more than 5,000 jobs, when its first U.S. automotive battery plant begins operations near Greensboro in 2025. The plant will serve as Toyota’s epicenter of lithium-ion battery production in North America and will be a key supplier for the Kentucky-based plant tasked with building its first U.S.-made electric vehicles, the company said.Toyota’s fourth and largest investment in the North Carolina facility brings its total investment to about $13.9 billion to help meet its goal of selling 1.5 million to 1.8 million electric or hybrid vehicles in the U.S. by 2030. It will also add eight new ...

‘My heart was always just with the sheep.’ One Navajo’s push to keep tradition vibrant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:55:17 GMT

GANADO, Ariz. (AP) — Growing up in Ganado, a small town in Navajo Nation in eastern Arizona, Nikyle Begay always wanted to visit their grandmother’s sheep. Begay’s parents had grown up raising livestock, and their dad had always wanted to raise sheep and cattle, but it was a hard way to make a living. In a family with seven children, Begay and their younger sisters were the ones who felt drawn to the sheep. And as a kid, Begay, who is non-binary and uses the pronoun they, always felt connected to their grandmother. While she worked, carding and spinning wool outdoors, Begay would play with Hot Wheels cars, carving little roads in the sand and clay. “You can never say that you’re broke, that you’re hungry, that you’re bored, that you don’t know what to do, because you have two hands,” Begay remembered their grandmother saying while teaching them to weave. It was a sentiment passed through the generations, one Begay says their great-grandmother had proven by wi...