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Israel floods social media to shape opinion around the war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

BRUSSELS — A photo with a bloody dead baby whose face is blurred has been circulating on X for the last four days. “This is the most difficult image we’ve ever posted. As we are writing this we are shaking,” the accompanying message says. The footage is not from a reporter covering the conflict in Israel and Gaza, or from one of the countless accounts sharing horrifying videos of the atrocities. It’s a paid message from the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry.Since Hamas attacked thousands of its citizens last week, the Israeli government has started a sweeping social media campaign in key Western countries to drum up support for its military response against the group. Part of its strategy: pushing dozens of ads containing brutal and emotional imagery of the deadly militant violence in Israel across platforms such as X and YouTube, according to data reviewed by POLITICO.Israel’s attempt to win the online information war is part of a growing trend of governments around t...

Republicans reject Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on the first ballot, but more votes are ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on Tuesday on the first ballot, as holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the majority needed to seize the gavel.More voting is expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for the job and the leader of the GOP’s hard-right flank moves to take a central seat of U.S. power.But after two weeks of angry Republican infighting since McCarthy was removed by hard-liners, the House vote quickly has become a showdown for the gavel. Some 20 reluctant Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio congressman as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency.The holdouts are a mix of pragmatists, ranging from seasoned legislators and committee chairs worried about governing to newer lawmakers from districts where their voters back home prefer President Joe Biden to Trump.But ...

Hocus Pocus cast members to appear together at events in Salem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

Four actors from the movie Hocus Pocus will appear together at a pair of events in Salem later this week.The first of the two events is scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Bit Bar in Salem. It will feature actors Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, Thora Birch, and Jason Marsden at what organizers have described as the “most exclusive Halloween event in Salem.” The event is open to people ages 21 and older. Tickets cost $250 and will include entertainment, food, a chance at raffle prizes and a professional photo-op with the actors. Proceeds from the event will go to the North Shore Alliance of GLBTQ Youth (NAGLY).The weekend’s second event with Katz, Shaw, Birch and Marsden will take place on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. The actors will be available for autographs and photos at Salem Common. There are a series of ticket packages available for the autographs and photos event, ranging in cost from $60 to $300. More information and links to buy tickets are availabl...

Hocus Pocus screening, trick-or-treating planned at Fenway Park as part of Halloween Movie Night

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

Fans will have the chance to see the film Hocus Pocus and participate in trick-or-treating inside Fenway Park later this month as part of a planned Halloween Movie Night event at the stadium. The Red Sox announced the event on Tuesday. The event, itself, is scheduled for Oct. 27. Festivities will begin with a series of activities in Fenway’s Gate B concourse and trick-or-treating on the Fenway warning track from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., according to Tuesday’s announcement.Trick-or-treating and festivities in the concourse will be free. Fans will then need a ticket to stay in the ballpark for the Hocus Pocus screening scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets will cost $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under. Children under the age of 2 will be able to attend the screening for free. Tickets are available online through the Red Sox website.The Red Sox in their event announcement said costumes are encouraged for trick-or-treating. Masks, though, will not be allowed.

Bill O’Brien says Malik Cunningham’s role will evolve week to week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

When Malik Cunningham was elevated from the practice squad and signed to a three-year deal last week, it was hard not to be excited about how the talented rookie might be unleashed.Though Cunningham’s debut in Las Vegas was limited — he played only six snaps at quarterback, did not attempt a pass and was sacked once for five yards — the New England Patriots still have big plans for the versatile weapon.Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said Tuesday they anticipate using Cunningham in a variety of roles, with his usage evolving week to week depending on the matchup.“You could see him at different spots throughout the offense obviously other than offensive line, he can play a lot of different places,” O’Brien said on Tuesday. “So it will be week to week based on the gameplan and we’re pretty early in this week so I don’t think we have any idea where that will be this week.”During the preseason Cunningham demonstrated a knack for m...

Lawmakers look to expand capital gains tax exemptions as housing prices soar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

A million dollars couldn’t entice a Fountain Valley woman to sell her house of 40 years even though she’d rather down-size and move closer to her children and grandchildren.It’s not because of the sentimental value of the family homestead. And it’s not because she still needs four bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms and a big backyard.“Why don’t I sell?” said Sue, who lives alone and doesn’t feel safe using her last name in print. “(A sale) leaves many homeowners, like me, with a huge capital gains tax.”Also see: It’s a ‘bubbly’ housing market, says 2008 bank regulatorCapital gains — a term most commonly associated with investment property — has seeped into the vocabulary of residents living in long-held suburban tract homes.In the past, most homeowners were sheltered from the tax on their primary residences. The first $250,000 in value gains are excluded from the tax for single taxpayers while $500,000 in gains are excluded for married couples filing joint returns.But skyrocketing home values ...

Time is running out for Wall Street’s ‘year of the bond’ as losses mount

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

The tagline from Wall Street was that 2023 was the year of the bond. Instead, fund managers are coming to terms with one of the toughest years ever.Lacy Hunt, Hoisington Investment Management Co.’s 81-year-old chief economist, who’s been analyzing markets, Federal Reserve policy and the economy for around a half-century, says it’s been the hardest of his entire career.At HSBC Holdings Plc, Steve Major says he was “wrong” to assume the U.S. government’s growing supply of bonds didn’t matter. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley finally joined Bank of America and moved to a neutral position on Treasuries.“It’s been a very, very humbling year,” Hunt said. A 13% year-to-date loss for the firm’s Wasatch-Hoisington U.S. Treasury Fund comes on top of 2022’s 34% drop, data compiled by Bloomberg show.Treasuries declined on Monday as concerns eased that the Israel-Hamas war would escalate to engulf other countries in the Middle East. The yield on 10-year U.S. notes rose nine basis points to 4.7...

Appeals court allows Alex Murdaugh to argue for new trial because of possible jury tampering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

By JEFFREY COLLINS (Associated Press)COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An appeals court in South Carolina is allowing Alex Murdaugh to ask a judge to throw out his murder convictions and life sentence and get a new trial after his lawyers accused the court clerk in his trial of influencing the jury.The one-paragraph decision Tuesday likely opens the door for a full hearing where witnesses who would have to testify under oath could include Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, the jurors who deliberated a few hours after the six-week trial and even Judge Clifton Newman, widely praised for overseeing the case.A time and place or the scope of the hearing will be determined later.But even if his conviction is overturned, Murdaugh won’t walk out of prison. He pleaded guilty last month to financial crimes for stealing millions of dollars from needy personal injury clients and a settlement for the family of his longtime maid who died in a fall at his home.Murdaugh is awaiting a jud...

Hundreds killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City hospital, Health Ministry says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMYA KULLAB, RAVI NESSMAN and MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press)KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike Tuesday hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.Photos from al-Ahli Hospital showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area. The ministry said at least 500 people had been killed.Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for hundreds of people, hoping they would be spared bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and surrounding areas to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip.Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said there were still no details on the hospital deaths: “We will get the details and update the public. I don’t know to say whether it was an Israeli air strike.”In...

NCAA president shifts focus to employment status of college athletes during Senate hearing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:25 GMT

By RALPH D. RUSSO (AP College Football Writer)At a Senate hearing Tuesday, NCAA President Charlie Baker shifted the focus of college sports’ needs toward the looming possibility of athltes being deemed employees of their schools and away from federal legislation to regulate how they can be compensated for their fame. Baker, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick were among the witnesses appearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee, the 10th hearing on college sports to be held on Capitol Hill since 2020.Also appearing were former Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas; Walker Jones, who runs the booster-funded collective that supports University of Mississippi athletes; St. Joseph’s athletic director Jill Bodensteiner; and Ramogi Huma, a longtime advocate for college athletes.Baker said in his opening statement that college sports are “overdue for change.”“But I am proud to say we are doing something about th...