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Biden says a deal to free hostages held by Hamas is ‘going to happen’ as officials say they are nearing an agreement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

(CNN) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he believes a deal can be reached to release hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, voicing optimism as officials tell CNN prolonged talks to free hostages are nearing an agreement.“I’ve been talking with the people involved every single day. I believe it’s going to happen. But I don’t want to get into detail,” Biden told reporters at the White House.A senior US official familiar with the talks told CNN on Tuesday that Israel and Hamas are moving closer to a deal to secure the release of hostages taken during the Hamas attacks on Israel in exchange for a sustained, days-long pause in fighting.The official stressed that while the parties have inched closer to striking a deal, the talks remained volatile and could still break down: “It’s closer but it’s not done.” One European diplomat on Monday expressed optimism that some hostages could be released in the coming days or weeks.The broad parameters that are currentl...

Government shutdown looms yet again: What you need to know

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

By Anna Helhoski | NerdWalletFour days are left until the government faces another shutdown.A government shutdown would stop or reduce operations for national parks, benefits verification, food inspections and more. It would also send millions of federal workers home without pay for the duration.All that is on the line unless Congress passes crucial budget appropriations or agrees on another funding extension. The latter may be more likely with this bunch.What you need to knowCongress must fund 12 key appropriation bills in order to fund the government for its new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.A last-minute stopgap was passed Sept. 30 and extended government funding through Nov. 17.Come Nov. 18, the government shuts down.The looming shutdown is a test for newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said at a press conference Tuesday that the House GOP conference “had a very refreshing, constructive, family conversation” on the options on the table to prevent a shutdown. He added...

Deadline looming for Scripps Health patients with Medicare Advantage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Scripps Health is dropping out of the Medicare Advantage program at the end of the year.It’s a move affecting 32,000 people in San Diego County who have Scripps Clinic and Scripps Coastal primary care doctors under several health plans.Patients recently received shocking notices and now have less than a month to decide what to do with their coverage.“We have till December 7th to make a decision. After December 7th, it's locked in for January 1st," said John Mendoza, an independent health insurance broker in El Cajon. "There's some PPO plans that will offer that availability to keep their doctors, if they're willing to pay out-of-network costs.”Mendoza says those typically range from $150 to $400 a month, depending on age.It’s a bitter pill to swallow for those who haven’t had to pay anything. Two popular ice-skating rinks opening this week for the holiday season “I have a list of people that have these networks and now they're pulling their hair out -- some of these p...

11 ex-police officers sentenced in 2021 killings of 17 migrants and 2 others in northern Mexico

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A court in Mexico sentenced 11 former police officers to 50 years in prison each for the 2021 slayings of 17 migrants and two Mexican citizens, authorities said Tuesday.The ex-officers were convicted earlier this year of homicide and abuse of authority. A 12th officer was convicted only of abuse of authority and sentenced to 19 years in prison, said Assistant Public Safety Secretary Luis Rodríguez Bucio.The officers were members of an elite police group in the northern state of Tamaulipas, across the border from Texas. They had initially argued they were responding to shots fired and believed they were chasing the vehicles of one of the country’s drug cartels, which frequently participate in migrant smuggling. Police had burned the victims’ bodies in an attempt to cover up the crime. The bodies were found piled in a charred pickup truck in Camargo, across the Rio Grande from Texas, in an area that has been bloodied for years by turf battles between the...

Curtis ClearSky appointed leader of new industry-supported Indigenous Music Office

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

TORONTO — A newly formed national organization designed to support and develop Indigenous musicians has found its leader.Curtis ClearSky, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur and music manager, has been chosen as executive director of the Indigenous Music Office.ClearSky, who is Nitsitapii and Anishinaabe, will establish and develop the operations with the goal of providing “a national voice for the Indigenous-owned music industry in Canada.”The IMO was created with the support of Factor, a private non-profit music organization, the government of Canada and the country’s private radio broadcasters.Its establishment has been guided by an Indigenous music advisory team that includes Indigenous music executives as well as musicians from the community.ClearSky has managed his band Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz for nearly a decade and headed the Indigenous Music Circle professional development project in Vancouver.This report by The Canadian Press was first publishe...

Worker falls off roof in west-end Toronto, rushed to hospital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

One person has been rushed to hospital following an industrial accident in Toronto’s west end.Emergency crews responded to the St. Clair Avenue West and Laughton Avenue area, near Davenport and Caledonia roads, just before noon on Tuesday.Police say a worker fell off a roof.Paramedics transported the worker to hospital via an emergency run. The extent of their injuries is not yet known.No further details have been released.More to come. Developing story.

German union calls on train drivers to strike this week in a rancorous pay dispute

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A labor union representing German train drivers said Tuesday that it’s calling its members out on a 20-hour strike later this week as a bitter round of pay negotiations with the country’s main rail operator gets under way.The GDL union called on drivers, guards and others with Germany’s state-owned railway operator Deutsche Bahn to walk off the job from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 6 p.m. Thursday. Limited “warning strikes” are a common tactic in German pay negotiations.Deutsche Bahn has in the past run much-reduced services during GDL strikes.GDL is seeking a raise of 555 euros ($593) per month for employees plus a payment of up to 3,000 euros ($3,257) to counter inflation. It also is calling for working hours to be reduced from 38 to 35 hours per week without a pay reduction.Negotiations started last week and are scheduled to resume on Thursday. Deutsche Bahn said it has made an offer that amounts to an 11% raise. Deutsche Bahn personnel chief Martin Seiler said ...

Teenager charged with manslaughter in fatal shooting of Ontario man: WPS

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

Winnipeg police say a teenager has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of an Ontario man downtown Sunday.The Winnipeg Police Service says it responded to a shooting at Bannatyne Avenue near Isabel Street around 8:40 p.m.A man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have identified the victim as 20-year-old Pharell Asare of Brampton.Police say an injured boy was also at the scene. He was in stable condition.A 15-year-old boy has since been charged with multiple offences, including manslaughter, causing death by criminal negligence, and discharging a restricted firearm.The WPS homicide unit is investigating.

A man convicted in the 2006 killing of a Russian journalist wins a pardon after serving in Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

A man convicted in the 2006 killing of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya received a presidential pardon after he did a stint fighting in Ukraine, his lawyer said.Sergei Khadzhikurbanov was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2014 for his role as an accomplice in the killling of Politkovskaya, 48. She worked for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and wrote stories critical of Kremlin policies during the early years of President Vladimir Putin’s term, the war in Chechnya and human rights abuses.She was shot and killed in the elevator of her Moscow apartment block, triggering outrage at home and in the West, and emphasizing the dangers faced by independent journalists in Russia. Her death on Oct. 7, Putin’s birthday, led to suggestions the shooting — in which the Kremlin denied any role — was done to curry favor with the president.Four others also were convicted in the killing: gunman Rustam Makhmudov and his uncle, Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, who received life in p...

Amtrak touts proposed Toronto-Chicago rail corridor, as Via tempers expectations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:13 GMT

Amtrak is making a sales pitch to connect its lines in Detroit to Via Rail tracks across the border, hoping to lay the ground for passenger service between Toronto and Chicago.Drew Dilkens, mayor of Windsor, Ont., is touting the economic benefits of the proposal, which would link two of North America’s biggest cities by 2027 as well as 21 other communities in between — 10 of them in Ontario — according to the pitch.Via Rail confirmed it is in private discussions with Amtrak and other partners about the possibility of connecting Windsor and Detroit to re-establish the corridor, but says it is premature to discuss the project in public.While Dilkens said Amtrak and Via would pay for the $44-million project, Via says it has made no funding requests or commitments to finance the undertaking.Amtrak first sought to restore a connection between Toronto and Michigan via the 113-year-old Detroit River Rail Tunnel in 2019, with the US$1.2-trillion infrastructure bill breathing new life ...