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US, Qatar agree to hold back $6B from Iranian access

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

By Matthew Lee, Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The U.S. and Qatar have reached an agreement that the Qataris will not act on any request from Tehran for the time being to access $6 billion in Iranian funds that were unblocked as part of a prisoner swap last month, a U.S. official said Thursday.The move, which stops short of a full refreezing of Iranian funds in Qatar’s banking system, follows the deadly attacks by Hamas on Israel and continued Republican criticism of the Biden administration’s deal with Iran, in which $6 billion was unfrozen in exchange for the release of five detained Americans. The official who outlined the understanding between the U.S. and Qatar was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.U.S. officials have strenuously pushed back against the criticism, noting that the money had yet to be spent by Iran and can only be used for humanitarian needs.“None of the funds that have now gone t...

Q&A: California Rep. Jimmy Panetta was in the Middle East when Hamas attacked Israel. Here are his observations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, arrived in the Middle East last week with grand ambitions of helping Israel and Saudi Arabia inch one step closer to a peace deal that — just years ago — would have seemed inconceivable.He returned stateside Wednesday having watched all of those plans crumble in a single day.“We went on the trip to talk about peace, but we left the area talking about war,” Panetta said.The unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday played out while Panetta and a bipartisan group of U.S. representatives and senators were in nearby Saudi Arabia. Until that point, their goal had been to tour the Middle East as part of efforts by the United States to secure a string of peace deals in the region between Israel and several nearby nations, including Saudi Arabia. After the attacks, Panetta and his fellow members of Congress drove into Israel to meet with Americans impacted by the fighting, as well as Israeli leaders, including ...

Students evacuated at East Bay middle school following bomb threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

PLESANTON — Students at a middle school were sent home early after being evacuated from their classes because of a bomb threat at the school Thursday, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland police reveal name of teen who allegedly killed Uber driver last year Crime and Public Safety | Man fatally shot in Oakland’s 99th homicide of the year Crime and Public Safety | Teen arrested after cop stabbed Wednesday afternoon in East Bay Crime and Public Safety | Three possible shooting suspects arrested after East Bay chase, crash Crime and Public Safety | Bay Area woman gets probation, mental health treatment in attempted child abduction at knifepoint The call of the threat came into Hart Middle School in the 4400 block of Willow Road about 12:25 p.m., according to Sgt. Marty Billdt. Parents at the school said they were later notified that students were being sent home.School a...

Bay Area’s Jewish Community Federation opens an Israel Emergency fund

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

San Francisco, Calif. (KRON) – The San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund announced Thursday that it had opened an Israel Emergency Fund. The goal of the fund is to support emergency medical needs, relocation, unprecedented levels of trauma, and other services to victims of terror.According to the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, 100 percent of all donations to the fund will go directly to urgent humanitarian needs.   Blinken in Israel: At least 25 Americans killed in ‘heinous’ Hamas attacks Jewish Community Federation is collaborating with its longtime partners: Israel Trauma Coalition, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. “The Federation stands in solidarity with the people of Israel,” said CEO Joy Sisisky. “We are the central address in the Jewish community for support during humanitarian crises and emergencies. After these heinous attacks, our hearts break and we are called...

Jets’ Zach Wilson is taking the right steps in getting his footwork down in the offense

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Zach Wilson remembers looking across the New York Jets’ offensive line during a joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles as a rookie and seeing Fletcher Cox snarling.“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Fletcher Cox is yelling at me right now,’” Wilson said with a laugh Thursday. “It was right from the jump, so it was just a little welcome to the NFL moment.”Two years later, Wilson will get to hear Cox and the rest of Philadelphia’s loud and stout defense again when the undefeated Eagles take on the Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.“They talk a lot,” Wilson said. “As a quarterback, that’s exciting because those guys are getting after it. I specifically remember Fletcher Cox in our joint practice, just how excited he is to be out there and he always tries to get in your head and stuff like that. “But they make the game fun and they play hard, so it’s going to be a good matchup for us. I’m excited.”It’s a good approach...

The Twins have plenty to build on — and must get better if they want to beat the Astros

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Correa was blunt, disappointed and optimistic when he spoke to his Minnesota Twins teammates following their elimination from the playoffs. Harbor the bitter feeling as fuel for improvement when spring training starts next year, he told them, and remember who caused it. The Houston Astros — Minnesota’s newest postseason nemesis — are going to the AL Championship Series for the seventh straight year, and they are the standard the Twins have to exceed in order to make more than a brief appearance in October.“I wasn’t ready for this at all. I was expecting to go a few more weeks at least and then party into the offseason,” third baseman Royce Lewis said after Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Astros. “We’ll get ’em next year.”That won’t just happen by showing up in excellent physical shape. The hitters have to make some adjustments to their approach at the plate to truly make this a balanced, consistent and dangerous lineup on the postseason ...

“Son oportunistas y flexibles”: cómo Hamas utiliza criptomonedas para recaudar fondos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

(CNN) — Irán ha surgido como uno de los patrocinadores financieros más generosos de Hamas, proporcionándole al grupo extremista recursos cruciales que necesita para llevar a cabo actos terroristas. Sin embargo, investigadores estadounidenses y de todo el mundo han detectado otra fuente de ingresos que Hamas aprovecha: extensos donantes en línea que ofrecen su apoyo en criptomonedas.Incluso antes de que Hamas lanzara un ataque sorpresa contra Israel durante el fin de semana, funcionarios del Departamento de Justicia en Washington ya trabajaban en una investigación sobre el uso de criptodivisas por parte del grupo extremista a través de presuntos lavados de dinero, según se enteró CNN.Jóvenes israelíes de todo el mundo regresan a casa tras ataque de Hamas: “En realidad no hay otra opción”Abogados del Departamento de Justicia dieron a conocer pocos detalles de su caso de lavado de dinero, pues la mayoría de los expedientes judiciales están sellados, pero los que son ...

Walt Garrison, who played for Cowboys in college and NFL and was a real rodeo cowboy, dies at 79

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Walt Garrison, who led the Big 8 in rushing for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, won a Super Bowl as a fullback with the Dallas Cowboys and competed as a rodeo cowboy, has died. He was 79.The NFL team said in a story posted on its website Thursday that Garrison died overnight. It did not give a cause of death. A fifth-round draft choice out of Oklahoma State, the 6-foot, 205-pound Garrison played nine years in Dallas and retired in 1974 as the No. 3 rusher and No. 4 receiver in franchise history. He’s still fourth on Dallas’ career list with 4.32 yards per carry and ninth with 3,491 yards rushing.But it was Garrison’s rodeo career — which he called his first love — that made him the ultimate cowboy. He also was a longtime spokesman for U.S. Tobacco and its Skoal smokeless brand, with the catch-phrase “Just a pinch between your cheek and gum is all it takes” a staple of his 1970s television adds.As a little-used backup during his rookie season, the Cowboys said he woul...

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones misses his second straight practice with a neck injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — While the chances of star running back Saquon Barkley getting back on the field soon are increasing, the New York Giants may be without quarterback Daniel Jones on Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills.Jones missed his second straight practice with a neck injury on Thursday, and his chances of playing on Sunday night seemed less likely.Giants coach Brian Daboll did not say much about the injury before practice, adding the fifth-year quarterback’s status would be determined over the next few days.The Giants (1-4) have lost three straight games, and it will be hard to beat the Bills (3-2) with veteran backup Tyrod Taylor making his first start since late in the 2021 season. He was playing for Houston that season. He signed with New York in 2022.Jones had said on Wednesday he hoped to play in the game, but the final decision would be made by the team’s medical personnel. Jones will be familiar with the game plan, but making a start without prac...

Georgia wants to study deepening Savannah’s harbor again on heels of $973 million dredging project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:09:28 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Supersized cargo ships will need deeper water and a taller bridge to reach the Port of Savannah in the near future, the chief executive overseeing the major U.S. seaport said Thursday.Griff Lynch, president and CEO of the Georgia Ports Authority, said during his annual “State of the Ports” speech that the $1.9 billion his agency is investing to grow Savannah’s cargo handling capacity will need to be met with taxpayer-funded infrastructure upgrades.Lynch said his agency is seeking congressional authorization to study another round of deepening for the Savannah River shipping channel. The Army Corps of Engineers last year finished deepening the waterway by 5 feet (1.5 meters), a $973 million project that took 25 years to study and execute.Savannah has the fourth-busiest U.S. port for cargo shipped in containers — big metal boxes that transport everything including consumer electronics and frozen chickens. The port saw 5.4 million container units of imports a...