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Israel’s crisis is just beginning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

JERUSALEM — It’s a strange experience to observe the place you live in slide from controlled crisis into utter chaos in just under 24 hours.Crisis is a fairly common situation in Israel. There is always something going on. Hamas launches rockets; Israelis enjoy brunch. Hezbollah threatens to annihilate the country; Israelis know their air force will chortle.This may be one of the reasons Israelis developed a “there he goes again” indulgence toward Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, and an eternal bad boy of local politics. Last November, he managed to pull off reelection, barely, while on trial for corruption.Yet this time — with skunk water cannons turned on peaceful protesters, army reservists resigning and global banks and credit ratings agencies downgrading Israel — Israel’s seven-month crisis is past and chaos has taken over. It feels as if the country’s DNA has been transformed. As always, it’s been a long time coming, but the change feels b...

Spain election: Feijóo’s numbers don’t add up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

MADRID — Alberto Núñez Feijóo may not want to admit it but his hope of being Spain’s next prime minister may have to be lowered. On Monday night, the leader of the center-right Popular Party, which won the most votes in last Sunday’s national election in Spain but fell short of securing a governing majority, was left without options to form a government after two key regional parties rejected his overtures.To become Spain’s prime minister, a candidate whose party has not secured a governing majority needs to either get the backing of 176 of the total 350 MPs in an initial vote in parliament or wait for a second round of voting to secure a simple majority. MPs can also abstain, which means it can be difficult to determine the exact number of seats needed for a successful bid to form a government.In a speech after a meeting of the Popular Party’s executive committee, Feijóo reaffirmed his determination to gather the support needed to advance with his candidacy,...

Mets get Subway Series win over Yankees after Pete Alonso hits two home runs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

Pete Alonso went 12 games without a home run. Then he uncorked two of them Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium to help the Mets defeat the Yankees, 9-3, in the third game of the Subway Series. The Mets have a 2-1 lead in the series, which started last month with two games at Citi Field and will conclude this week with two in the Bronx.The Amazins’ started the day 7.5 games back from an NL Wild Card playoff spot. The team knows they have a steep mountain to climb to get into playoff contention and that this is their last chance to stave off a fire sale. If they’re going to climb this mountain, they need their best players to play to carry them up.Alonso, who now has 29 home runs, has to be one of those players.It’s pretty wild to think that the team that boasts a historically high payroll is even contemplating selling talent at the deadline, but even wilder to think that the fate of the rest of the season is coming down to a few games, two of them against the Yankees. B...

Kyle Hendricks continues to find a rhythm calling his own game with PitchCom in Chicago Cubs’ 7-3 win over the White Sox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

Chicago Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki has thank-you gift headed his way courtesy of teammate Kyle Hendricks.Suzuki’s leaping catch robbed Yoán Moncada of a grand slam in the seventh inning as the White Sox threatened to put themselves back into the game with one swing. Suzuki’s well-timed snag stole the Sox’s mounting momentum as the Cubs held on for a 7-3 victory Tuesday in front of 37,079 fans for the first sold-out crowd of the season at Guaranteed Rate Field.The play earned Suzuki more than just praise from Hendricks. To show his appreciation, the veteran pitcher asked Suzuki whether he prefers liquor or beer.“He’s a big beer fan so easy for me,” a smiling Hendricks said after the game.Dansby Swanson, who produced his first multihomer game as a Cub, took a different approach.“I told him, ‘I’m not going to give you a high-five for it because that’s what I expect you to do,’” Swanson said with a grin. &...

Wrexham AFC beats Manchester United at Snapdragon Stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Wrexham AFC defeated Manchester United, 3-1, in front of a sold-out crowd Tuesday at Snapdragon Stadium.Elliot Lee, Aaron Hayden and Sam Dalby scored for Wrexham while United struggled to find the back of the net after the Red Devils' midfielder Daniel Gore was given a red card for his slide tackle on Wrexham's Andy Cannon.Marc Jurado scored the lone goal for United. San Diego homeless encampment ban begins Sunday, in certain areas The highly-anticipated game was a friendly pre-season match on Manchester United’s tour of the U.S. The tour marks the football club’s first stateside visit in more than five years.Welsh soccer club Wrexham recently gained the public's attention from its documentary "Welcome to Wrexham" about owners and actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds learning how to run the team.

Bicyclist seriously hurt in downtown San Diego crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A bicyclist is fighting for her life after being hit by a vehicle Tuesday in the Gaslamp Quarter neighborhood, authorities said.The crash occurred around 11:13 a.m. on 400 Market Street, Officer David O'Brien with the San Diego Police Department said in a news release.A 56-year-old woman riding an electric bike and 58-year-old man driving a silver 2006 Chevrolet Silverado were stopped in traffic, when the light turned green and the Silverado sideswiped the bicyclist, according to police. Powerball ticket with 5 numbers sold in Spring Valley The bicyclist was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, O'Brien confirmed.Police say the driver of the Silverado remained at the scene and cooperated with officers.Anyone with information related to the above incident is encouraged to call the listedCommand handling the investigation or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Dolce & Gabbana, Craft House among stores coming to Fashion Valley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Shoppers wanting more retail and food offerings at Fashion Valley will get their wish come next year as part of a multi-million-dollar revitalization project.The open-air shopping center in Mission Valley is adding new first-to-market stores including Bottega Veneta, David Yurman, Dolce & Gabbana, Tudor, Veronica Beard and Zimmerman, mall officials said.Fashion Valley will be adding new stores and renovating certain parts of the mall as part of a multi-million-dollar revitalization project.(Fashion Valley)Fashion Valley will be adding new stores and renovating certain parts of the mall as part of a multi-million-dollar revitalization project.(Fashion Valley)Fashion Valley will be adding new stores and renovating certain parts of the mall as part of a multi-million-dollar revitalization project.(Fashion Valley)Fashion Valley will be adding new stores and renovating certain parts of the mall as part of a multi-million-dollar revitalization project.(Fashion Valley)Fash...

Mega Millions jackpot rises to $910 million after no one wins top prize

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $910 million after Tuesday night’s drawing produced no big winners, extending a stretch of bad luck dating back to April.The numbers drawn were: 3, 5, 6, 44, 61 and the yellow ball 25The absence of a winner for the estimated $820 million jackpot brings the count of fruitless drawings to 28, at least for the big prize.The new $910 million prize is among the largest in U.S. lottery history and follows a $1.08 billion Powerball prize won by a player July 19 in Los Angeles. California lottery officials haven’t announced a winner for that jackpot, which was the sixth-largest in U.S. history.The largest U.S. jackpot was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize won in November 2022.Jackpots in the two lottery games grow so large because the steep odds make winning so unlikely, allowing the grand prize to roll over again and again. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.The game pays out many more smaller prizes, which s...

‘Our own front line’: Ukrainian surgeons see wave of wounded soldiers since counteroffensive began

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP) — The horrors of war arrive through the night at a hospital in eastern Ukraine, a procession of stretchers bearing limp bodies whisked from the front line.The soldiers come with bandaged limbs soaked in blood, faces blackened with shrapnel fragments and stunned eyes fixed on the ceiling, frozen in shock. Lately, they’ve been coming with ever-greater frequency.“Pain!” shrieks a serviceman with a gaping thigh wound as medical workers move him to a surgical gurney.Evacuated from trenches in the east, forests in the north and the open fields of the south, wounded soldiers begin showing up at the Mechnikov Hospital in late afternoon, and dozens more in desperate need of surgery are wheeled in before the sun rises the next day.The surge of wounded soldiers coincides with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched in June to try to recapture its land, nearly one-fifth of which is now under Russian control. Surgeons at Mechnikov are busier now than perhaps at any other...

Belgium’s 'newest resto' flies the flag for environmentalism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:25 GMT

It’s (probably) the newest restaurant to open in Belgium – and it’s already set a marker down for its environmental credentials.Tenshi, a fusion of Asian cuisines, is the “new kid on the block” in a smart commercial centre at Rixensart, which is located very close to the delightful Genval lake in Brabant Walloon.For those living in Brussels the whole area makes for a lovely day out this summer and it is easily accessible, being located just off the Brussels Ring.The restaurant opened just a month ago and is, in fact, the latest in a mini “chain” (the others are located in Uccle, Woluwe St Pierre, Brussels Docks and Charleroi).It is the same “family” of restaurants as Thai Café which may be familiar to readers and which also has a branch on the same site in Rixensart.The owners deserve plaudits not just for the lovely food served here but also for the efforts they are making to rid society of potentially damaging plastics.They are taking concrete action to replace plastic wherev...