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The Gaza Cauldron

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu has initiated a total blockade of Gaza amidst a merciless scorched-earth bombing campaign. The country’s defense minister said Israel will operate with an iron fist in its war against “human animals” following the well-coordinated surprise attacks over the weekend led by Hamas. The unprecedented raids into Israel over the weekend killed scores of both Israeli military and civilians. Hamas has vowed to execute Israeli hostages in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of civilian sites in Gaza. This week on Intercepted, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a wide-ranging discussion on Hamas’s strategy, Netanyahu’s possible attempt to draw the U.S. into a war with Iran, and the prospects for a wider Middle East war. They also discuss the difference in media coverage of Palestinian and Israeli violence and the deaths of civilians, as well as the Biden administration’s role in the crisi...

What to know on the fifth day of the latest Israel-Palestinian war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The war between Israel and the militant group Hamas raged for a fifth day on Wednesday, as Israeli warplanes hammered neighborhood after neighborhood in the Gaza Strip, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety.As authorities in Gaza warned that rescue teams were unable to reach many areas and that electricity supplies would run out within hours, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors that would allow them to deliver aid.The war, which has claimed at least 2,100 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.Israel has vowed an unprecedented offensive against Hamas, after the Islamic militant group’s fighters broke through the border fence and stormed into the country’s south on Saturday, gunning down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday’s incursion. In Gaz...

M-DCPS board to address controversy over new social studies standards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

The Miami-Dade County Public School Board is set to convene to tackle a classroom controversy. In Wednesday’s meeting, board members are expected to approve new social studies books to align with recently adopted state standards.These standards were given the green light by the Florida Board of Education in July, marking a shift away from the Common Core curriculum. However, Florida’s new standards stirred national outrage due to their inclusion of teachings about how African Americans benefited from slavery.The pivotal meeting is scheduled to commence at 11 a.m., and it holds significant implications for the future of social studies education in the county.

Google looks to do away with passwords, making ‘passkeys’ the default option

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

New York (CNN) — Google is looking to make passwords obsolete by prompting users to create passkeys to unlock accounts and devices with a fingerprint, face scan or pin number.Google said Tuesday that passcodes are easier to remember, quicker to use and offer more security. The company unveiled support for passkeys in May but announced in a blog post that the technology will now become the go-to option during password creation.“[W]e’ll continue encouraging the industry to make the pivot to passkeys — making passwords a rarity, and eventually obsolete,” Google wrote.Google will continue to support traditional passwords, and users can dodge passkeys altogether by disabling their account’s “skip password when possible” option.Passkeys are now used as password alternatives for apps including YouTube, Search, Maps, Uber and eBay. WhatsApp is also adding capability, according to the blog.The FIDO Alliance, a security consortium that counts many tech firms as members, previously developed s...

Woman facing OUI charge after crash involving Dighton police cruiser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

A 30-year-old woman is facing a drunken driving charge after police say she crashed into a Dighton police cruiser in Taunton on Monday night.Officers responding to a reported crash at the intersection of Winthrop and Burt streets around 9 p.m. found a Dighton Ford Expedition Police Cruiser with its airbags fully deployed and a 2014 Honda CRV with damage to the driver’s side and airbags deployed, according to Taunton Police Chief Edward J. Walsh.Michelle Sousa, of Taunton, was arrested on charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.The officer was taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated and released.Police allege a half-empty bottle of liquor was found on the driver’s side of the car.Sousa is slated to be arraigned in Taunton District Court.

Animal Rescue League of Boston caring for 3 neonatal kittens after mother found injured in Fall River

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

The Animal Rescue League of Boston is currently caring for three neonatal kittens and their mother after a Fall River resident reported the mother cat was unable to care for the kittens due to severe wounds.Community cats can be found in any city or town in Massachusetts, and it’s estimated that there are 700,000 community cats living throughout the Commonwealth, 70,000 in Boston alone. ARL’s Field Services routinely works in the Fall River area, an area with countless community cats, and immediately responded when receiving the call about these three kittens.Due to her wounds, the mom cat was unable to care for her kittens, which drastically increased the urgency. At just 4 weeks old, the kittens would’ve been in grave danger without intervention and care.The kittens and the mom were trapped and transported to ARL’s Dedham Animal Care and Adoption Center, where they immediately received veterinary care. The mom cat, now named Kiki, was suffering from multiple puncture wounds, and w...

Police searching for 3rd suspect wanted in Holyoke shooting that claimed infant’s life

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

State and local police are turning to the public for help as they work to track down a third man wanted in connection with a shooting in Holyoke last week that left a pregnant woman hospitalized and her infant dead, officials said.Kermith Alvarez, 28, of Holyoke, is being sought on a murder charge in connection with the Oct. 4 shooting on Sargent Street, according to a statement issued by the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.If you have any information about Alvarez, you are asked to contact the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit at (413) 505-5993 or the Massachusetts State Police: Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section at 1-800-KAPTURE (1-800-527-8873).Police say he should be considered armed and Dangerous.   Johnluis Sanchez, 30, of Holyoke, has been ordered held without the right to bail on a murder charge for his suspected involvement in the shooting. Alejandro Ramos, 22, of Holyoke, was also arraigned on a murder charge and is being held without the ...

Spin Master signs deal to buy Melissa & Doug for US$950 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

TORONTO — Spin Master Corp. has signed a deal to buy U.S.-based toy company Melissa & Doug for US$950 million in cash.Spin Master chief executive Max Rangel says Melissa & Doug is a trusted brand of early childhood toys with an evergreen portfolio.Rangel says the addition of Melissa & Doug will expand Spin Master’s presence in new categories, providing immediate revenue growth.Spin Master is best known for its Paw Patrol, Bakugan, Hatchimals, Rubik’s Cube and Gund brands.It says it plans to finance the purchase price with about $450 million in balance sheet cash and $500 million in debt financing.The agreement also includes up to an additional US$150 million that is subject to achieving certain financial targets for 2024 and 2025. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:TOY)The Canadian Press

Exxon Mobil buying buys Pioneer Natural in $59.5 billion deal with energy prices surging

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

Exxon Mobil is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, its largest buyout since acquiring Mobil two decades ago, creating a colossal fracking operator in West Texas. The transaction’s value, including debt, is about $64.5 billion. Pioneer shareholders will receive 2.3234 shares of Exxon Mobil for each Pioneer share they own.Exxon purchased XTO Energy in 2009 for approximately $36 billion. In the late 1990s, the merger between Exxon and Mobil totaled more than $80 billion.The deal with Pioneer Natural gives Exxon Mobil more access to the Permian basin, which runs through parts of Texas and New Mexico. Exxon has been flush with cash. The company posted record annual profits in 2022, bringing in $55.7 billion in annual profits, exceeding its previous record of $45.22 billion in 2008.Exxon has been using some of that cash on acquisitions. In July the company announced that it was buying pipeline operator Denbury in an all-stock deal valued at...

Populist former prime minister in Slovakia signs a deal to form a new government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A former prime minister of Slovakia who plans to end the country’s military support for Ukraine is poised to return to office after his political party signed a deal Wednesday with two other parties to form a coalition government. The leftist Smer, or Direction, party captured 22.9% of the vote in Slovakia’s Sept 30 parliamentary election. The party’s leader, populist former Prime Minister Robert Fico, needed to find coalition partners to rule with a majority in the country’s 150-seat Parliament.The memorandum signed Wednesday provides for a coalition of Smer, which holds 42 seats; the left-wing Hlas, or Voice, party, which placed third in the election and has 27 seats; and the ultra-nationalist and pro-Russia Slovak National Party, which has 10 lawmakers in the new parliament. Fico’s former deputy in Smer, Peter Pellegrini, is the leader of Hlas. Pellegrini parted ways with Fico after the scandal-tainted Smer lost the previo...