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Rescuing hostages in Gaza will be a daunting task

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

By Amy Teibel | Associated PressJERUSALEM — The Hamas-run Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave, measuring 25 miles long and no more than 7 miles wide, surveilled continually by Israel, surrounded by its guns. But rescuing — or even locating — more than 150 hostages hustled there by Palestinian militants who overran Israel’s southern border on Saturday will be a daunting task.Gaza’s densely populated terrain, its network of underground tunnels and the sheer numbers of men, women and children taken captive present Israel with the most complex hostage crisis that the country has ever faced.Mounting rescue operations in the midst of the massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza that followed the deadly Hamas rampage in southern Israel would only make an already difficult mission even more formidable.“The situation is unprecedented,” said Gershon Baskin, who helped to negotiate the 2011 release of Staff Sergeant Gilad Schalit after more than five years of Hamas captivity. ̶...

Map: Highway 101 to be closed in Redwood City all weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

All northbound lanes of Highway 101 will be closed in Redwood City this weekend, the second of two closures allowing the replacement of the bridge over Cordilleras Creek.Related ArticlesTransportation | CHP shuts down all lanes of northbound state Highway 242 Transportation | How motorcyclists can more safely split lanes: Roadshow Transportation | Woman killed, three injured in East Bay crash Monday night Transportation | These Bay Area cities ranked the worst for drivers in the U.S. Transportation | Caltrain hits, kills pedestrian near Skyway Drive in San Jose The closure is scheduled to run from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16.Northbound traffic will be routed off the highway at Whipple Avenue. The 2-mile detour follows Industrial Road and returns to the highway at Holly Street, in San Carlos.Redwood City officials are warning of heavier-than-usual traffic on El Camino Real, Woodside...

Hwy 242 in Concord reopens after person in distress shut down overpass

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

CONCORD, Calif. (KRON) -- A person in distress on Highway 242 in Concord Wednesday morning shut down northbound lanes of the highway overpass and Willow Pass Road. All roadways were reopened as of 11:09 a.m. after the situation was "safely resolved," according to the Concord Police Department.Willow Pass Road was closed in both directions from Market Street and Diamond Boulevard, police said. The California Highway Patrol closed northbound Highway 242 near Willow Pass Road. Concord police first announced the closures at 7:37 a.m. Woman who fell from SF rooftop at Fleet Week Blue Angels party ID’d According to KRON4 Reporter Philippe Djegal at the scene, there was a person in distress on northbound Hwy 242. The situation between police and the person did not appear tense, Djegal said.Concord police, CHP, and Contra Costa Fire Protection District firefighters and paramedics responded to the incident.

Alleged fraudulent roofers causing intentional damage to Bay Area homes of elderly residents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

(KRON) -- An emerging crime trend in the Bay Area involving unlicensed roofing contractors causing intentional damage and demanding payment for repairs is targeting elderly residents, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office warned Tuesday.According to the DA’s office, the suspects are men who sound and appear to be of Irish descent and use vehicles marked with fraudulent roofing service decals. The men make unsolicited contact with elderly residents at their homes and offer free roofing inspections or cheap repairs. Elderly man rescued from dwelling fire in Santa Rosa Incidents have been reported in San Mateo, Belmont, Palo Alto, Albany and San Francisco, the DA’s office said.Before agreeing to home repairs of any kind, residents can check if the contractor has a valid license on the Contractors State License Board website.

Middleburg Film Festival gives Virginia early look at future Oscar contenders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews the Middleburg Film Festival (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Are you looking for a special sneak peek at future Oscar contenders before they are even released nationwide?The 11th annual Middleburg Film Festival returns to Middleburg, Virginia, next week from Oct. 19-22 at the Salamander Resort & Spa and other cool venues around the rustic town of wineries and hors...

College football picks: Ducks-Huskies play 1st top-10 matchup; angsty games for ND, USC, Miami, A&M

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

The week after the biggest Big 12 game matched a couple of soon-to-be Southeastern Conference teams, the Pac-12’s marquee matchup is between teams that will be in the Big Ten in 2024.Maybe new Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti will show up at Husky Stadium in Seattle for No. 8 Oregon at No. 7 Washington on Saturday, similar to the way SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey attended the Red River Rivalry in Dallas.A case can be made this is the most significant Ducks-Huskies game in the 107-year history of their series. It is the ninth matchup where both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 but it is the first with both in the top 10.Washington won a thriller last year in Eugene with two late scores after Ducks quarterback Bo Nix injured his foot.“It can serve as a motivator or it can get you down,” Bix told reporters this week. “It’s one I’ve been looking forward to just because of last year and how it ended.”Hard to say the winner takes control of the Pac-12 because the ...

Byeong Hun An gets drug suspension from PGA Tour for substance in cough medicine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Byeong Hun An has been suspended for violating the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy because of a banned substance found in cough medicine sold over the counter in South Korea.The PGA Tour announced the three-month suspension Wednesday and said the 32-year-old An cooperated during the process and accepted his suspension.He is believed to be the eighth player suspended since the PGA Tour began drug testing in 2008, and the first since Matt Every in 2019.An finished 44th in the FedEx Cup this year, so he is qualified for all of the $20 million signature events in 2024. The suspension is retroactive to Aug. 31, meaning he will be eligible to return on Dec. 1.He has not played since the BMW Championship in August. The FedEx Cup fall swing is primarily for players trying to secure their PGA Tour cards for next season.An, who at 17 became the youngest U.S. Amateur champion in 2009 at Southern Hills, has yet to win on the PGA Tour. He won the European tour&...

Rare birdwing butterflies star in federal case against NY man accused of trafficking insects

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Birdwing butterflies are among the rarest and largest to grace the planet, their 10-inch wingspans flapping through the rainforests of Southeast Asia and Australia. Their sheer size can make them hard to miss.But the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn says Charles Limmer made tens of thousands of dollars over the past year by illegally trafficking scores of flying insects, including endangered birdwings — whose numbers have fallen because of diminishing habitat and illegal poaching.The six-count indictment against Limmer, 75, accuses him of working with overseas collaborators to smuggle some 1,000 lepidoptera, including some of the rarest and most endangered moths and butterflies in the world.Federal authorities in New York say the Long Island man smuggled dried specimens of the species, circumventing U.S. laws by labeling shipments as “decorative wall coverings,” “origami paper craft” and “wall decorations.”Attempts to reach Limmer by phone and email were unsu...

Missouri teacher who performed on website known for explicit content has resigned, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri high school teacher who was suspended after officials discovered that she had performed on a subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content has resigned, a school district official said.St. Clair High School English teacher Brianna Coppage was placed on leave last month after school officials discovered her page on the OnlyFans website, which she said she joined to supplement her teaching salary. She recently tendered her resignation, Superintendent Kyle Kruse told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 28-year-old teacher was not asked to resign, and district officials took “all possible steps to ensure confidentiality” after Coppage’s page was discovered through social media posts, Kruse said. Last month when she was placed on leave, Kruse said in a statement that “an employee may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.”When she was suspended, Coppage told the newspaper she had joined the site over the ...

Birkenstock stumbles on Wall Street as traders find sandal maker’s shares too pricey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:41:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Birkenstock shares are stumbling in their debut on the stock market as Wall Street trades in its wingtips for sandals for a day. The 249-year-old German maker of upmarket sandals set a price of $46 per share for its initial public offering of stock, valuing the company at $8.64 billion. The stock opened for trade at $41, which was below the range of $44 to $49 it had been expected to price just a week ago. Birkenstock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the “BIRK” ticker symbol. Birkenstock Holding Ltd. sold about 10.8 million shares in the offering, raising about $495 million. Its shareholders sold an additional 21.5 million shares.The company’s footwear was first cobbled together by Johann Adam Birkenstock in Germany in 1774. The sandals have long been derided as the antithesis of high fashion but have a cult following and this year got a plug in the blockbuster film “Barbie.”“Through the strong reputation and universal appeal of our brand — enabling ext...