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Israel-Hamas war’s staggering toll reaches a grim milestone: 20,000 dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

Israeli soldiers carry the flagged covered coffin of Sergeant Lavi Ghasi as family and friends follow during his funeral in Modiin, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Ghasi ,19, was killed during the Israeli military's ground operation in the Gaza Strip. while the army is battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)(AP/Ariel Schalit) Israeli soldiers carry the flagged covered coffin of Sergeant Lavi Ghasi as family and friends follow during his funeral in Modiin, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Ghasi ,19, was killed during the Israeli military's ground operation in the Gaza Strip. while the army is battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel...

Austin Peay defeats Ohio 71-67

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Demarcus Sharp scored 21 points as Austin Peay beat Ohio 71-67 on Friday night.Sharp was 8 of 15 shooting and 5 of 8 from the free throw line for the Governors (7-7). Isaac Haney scored 14 points while going 4 of 8 from the floor, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and 5 for 7 from the line, and added five rebounds. Dezi Jones had 11 points and was 5 of 10 shooting).The Bobcats (6-5) were led in scoring by Shereef Mitchell, who finished with 14 points. Elmore James added 13 points and eight rebounds for Ohio. AJ Clayton also put up 12 points.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Dog stolen from Franktown fire station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

​FRANKTOWN, Colo. (KDVR) — Firefighters in Franktown say their fire station canine was stolen from inside the building.They say the 12-week-old border collie, named Tuff, was taken from a crate inside Station 183 on Thursday."I'm stressing myself out, thinking of all I can do," resident firefighter Clayton Weldon said. ‘Babe, call 911, I just got shot’: Bullet barely misses sleeping kids, hits Aurora mom “Just to take somebody’s dog, right before Christmas. I'd just love to have my dog here, back home for Christmas," Weldon said.A reward is being offered. If you have any information, you are urged to contact the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

‘Die Hard,’ laugh harder at one-man parody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

British actor Darrel Bailey does a great German accent. This was a problem.While Bailey was rehearsing to perform “Yippee Ki Yay” — a one-person retelling of “Die Hard” — he kept crushing his German accent. Only Alan Rickman himself doesn’t actually do all that well with the accent of legendary villain Hans Gruber (note: I acknowledge there is vigorous debate around this subject).“There’s a joke very early on in the show about how Alan Rickman’s accent isn’t very good, how it’s very English,” Bailey told the Herald from London. “I struggled trying to nail down a bad German accent. Mine was too good. I have a good frame of reference because I have good German friends. But the director at the time was like, ‘Too German, make it more posh English.’”Eventually Bailey mastered along with the dozen of other voices he invented for “Yippee Ki Yay,” Dec. 27 to 31 at the Huntington Theatre. And the dozens of mannerisms. And the character ticks. And how to fight a teddy bear.If you celebrate e...

King: Why haven’t candidates embraced AI?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

Memo to presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump:Assuming one of you will be elected president of the United States next year, many computer scientists believe you should be addressing what you think about artificial intelligence and how you plan to deal with the surge in this technology, which will break over the nation in the next president’s term.Gentlemen, this matter is urgent, yet only a little has been heard from either of you who are seeking the highest office. President Biden did sign a first attempt at guidelines for AI, but he and Trump have been quiet on its transformative impact.Indeed, the political class has been silent, preoccupied as it is with old and — against what will happen — irrelevant issues. Congress has been as silent as Biden and Trump. There are two congressional AI caucuses, but they have been concerned with minor issues, like AI in political advertising.The AI tsunami is rolling in, and the political class is at play, unaware that it is about ...

Keilson & Seckel-Cerrotti: Fighting the epidemic of loneliness in U.S.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

Singer-songwriter Carole King had it right: It’s good to know you’ve got a friend. Especially now, in the midst of what the U.S. Surgeon General has called, in a 2023 report, “an epidemic of loneliness and isolation” in the United States. Research has shown that having friends is good for your health, staves off anxiety and depression, and even reduces the need for medical care. Any heavy lift is lighter when someone is lifting with you.The Surgeon General’s report warns that the physical consequences of loneliness and poor connection can be devastating and include a 29% increased risk of heart disease; a 32% increased risk of stroke; and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults. In stark terms, the report notes that lacking connection can actually increase one’s risk for premature death to levels that compare with smoking 15 cigarettes a day.To us, these findings were concerning but not surprising. We’ve seen what can happen to people who are without a friend or...

Editorial: Blinken gets it right in case against Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

In this space we do the talking, but today we are giving a good chunk of our space to Secretary of State Tony Blinken. America’s top diplomat gave his year-end press conference Wednesday before he left for another trip to the Mideast for the Israel-Hamas war that the terror gang launched from Gaza on Oct. 7.Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council postponed yet again a vote on an United Arab Emirates-drafted resolution calling for a pause in the fighting to bring in aid to Gaza and allow for the hostages kidnaped by Hamas to be released.The Monday vote became the Tuesday vote became the Wednesday vote and was delayed again because the U.S. is rightly insisting that Hamas be named as instigators of this awful war that has killed Israelis and Palestinians. Great credit to Blinken and President Joe Biden for demanding that the Security Council must call a terrorist a terrorist.Here is Blinken: “We’ve talked about Israel and Gaza. Let me just say this. We believe that, as we’ve sa...

Thornton: Holiday gift-giving turbocharges trash problem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

Every time I rip open a lovingly wrapped gift (and plenty of us will be doing a lot of that soon), one thing pops into my mind: trash.The wrapping paper, trash. The package hidden underneath it, trash. And the gift itself, in most cases, future trash, given enough time.Too harsh? Then ask yourself: Do you remember much of what you got last Christmas?Though I’d wager the answer is no, I’d also bet you do remember something: who gave you a present, and the love you felt because of it. Like it or not, giving our friends and family stuff between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is one of the most important bonding rituals we have.My wife puts a lot of thought into her gift-giving, and my children beam when they get something in the mail from their great-grandparents. I respect that — no matter how intractable our trash problem has become.And it is a monstrous problem, especially around Christmas. By one estimate, we generate more than 25% of our annual waste during the holidays. That mig...

Dear Abby: Forgive MIL for hitting children? No way

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

Dear Abby: My husband and I have been married for 25 years. Right now, our marriage is in trouble because I have been ordered to rekindle a relationship with his mother, whom I haven’t spoken to in six years.In my opinion, the woman is toxic. For 17 years, she has essentially stabbed me in the back. At my husband’s request, I forgave her each time. I love him, but I have come to realize he always takes her side. In his eyes, she can do no wrong.Six years ago, we had an issue regarding her spanking my children. I asked to meet in a neutral location to discuss it, but she and my husband’s stepfather refused. To resolve the situation, I agreed to meet at their home under one condition: If an argument began, my husband and I would leave. We even drove there separately.Upon our arrival, my father-in-law began screaming at me, so I left, and I’ve had no contact with my in-laws since. My husband says if his mother goes to her grave without this issue being resolved,...

Israel and Hamas measures get a look as most US state legislatures meet for first time since Oct. 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:25:00 GMT

Most U.S. state legislatures will reconvene in January for the first time since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war in Gaza and protests worldwide — and they’re preparing to take action in response, both symbolic and concrete.Legislatures in at least eight states that were in session late in 2023 have already condemned the attacks.“My worldview was shaped by the fact that my forbearers were not protected during the Holocaust, that no one came to their aid,” said Florida state Sen. Lori Berman, a Democrat who sponsored a resolution that passed unanimously last month in her state. “Silence and indifference are the reason why bad — evil — is able to prevail.”Measures have been introduced already for the 2024 sessions in states from New Hampshire to North Dakota, and more are likely.In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 others hostage. Israel responded with attacks on Gaza, leveling buildings, including hos...