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Multiple airlines cancel flights across Israel after government declares war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

(CNN) — Multiple airlines have canceled flights in and out of Tel Aviv, home to Israel’s largest international airport, after Israel formally declared war on Hamas.In a statement to CNN, American Airlines said it was suspending flights until Friday as it closely monitors the situation on the ground.The cancellations follow on the heels of a “do not fly” order from the president of the Allied Pilots Association, the union representing 15,000 American Airlines pilots.In a note on Sunday, Ed Sicher said that because Israel has declared that it is now at war, “it is not prudent or appropriate to knowingly put our flight crews and passengers in harm’s way by maintaining flights into a war zone.”He cautioned pilots to refuse any assignment into Israel and added that the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a notice to air personnel urging “extreme caution.”The US Embassy in Israel said in a security update Monday that it is continuing “to closely monitor the dynamic s...

New Pew survey shows how many men and women change their names when they get married

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

(CNN) — Now engaged to be married, Michelle Jin has been thinking a lot about last names.She hears about the unity and simplicity that comes with changing hers to her future husband’s, but she doesn’t want to erase her identity, family heritage and experience from her name, said Jin, 28, who lives in New York City.“My last name was called out at my middle, high school and college graduations and is on every single one of my diplomas,” she said. She is now in a doctoral program. “I do dream that my name will one day follow the address of ‘Doctor.’”Younger women such as Jin are more likely to keep their last name after marriage, according to new data.A new survey from the Pew Research Center published Thursday asked more than 2,400 married people and 955 people who have never been married about their stance on changing their names after marriage.This data was a small part of a larger survey into modern views of marriage and family, said Kim Parker, Pew’s director of social t...

4,000 more UAW workers on strike after rejecting deal with Mack Trucks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

New York (CNN) — The United Auto Workers union says nearly 4,000 members are on strike at heavy truck manufacturer Mack Trucks after voting down a tentative agreement reached a week ago.The union said 73% of its workers had voted against the proposed deal.“I’m inspired to see UAW members at Mack holding out for a better deal, and ready to stand up and walk off the job to win it,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement issued Sunday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.The union said the rejected contract included an immediate 10% pay raise, and 9 percentage points of additional pay increases over the five-year life of the contract, a $3,500 signing bonus, improved vacation and holidays and no increase in insurance premiums paid by members.Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks, said in a statement that he was “surprised and disappointed” that the union had chosen to strike.“The UAW called our tentative agreement ‘a record contract for th...

Report: Red Sox fire pitching coach Dave Bush, third base coach Carlos Febles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

Coming off a second straight last place finish, the Boston Red Sox are reportedly making a series of changes to their on-field coaching staff.According to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have fired pitching coach Dave Bush and third base coach/infield instructor Carlos Febles. Both coaches have been staples of the Red Sox staff through the majority of manager Alex Cora’s tenure but oversaw aspects of the club that fell short of expectations this past season.Bush took over as Red Sox pitching coach in October of 2019 and served in the role for the last four seasons. This year Boston’s pitching collectively underperformed, ranking below league average in team ERA (4.52, 21st in MLB), home runs allowed (208, 24th) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.9, tied 25th).Prior to taking over as pitching coach, the 43-year-old Bush pitched nine seasons in the big leagues for Toronto, Milwaukee and Texas. He started coaching following his retirement and joined the Red S...

Mayo Clinic expert: Joint replacement surgery, arthritis are not inevitable

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

Rhoda Madson | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkROCHESTER, Minn. — Don’t worry about your hips or knees as you age. Arthritis in those joints isn’t inevitable. Keep doing the activities you enjoy. Those hopeful words come from Rafael Sierra, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic specializing in hip and knee reconstruction. Dr. Sierra says there is no need to curtail your activities out of fear that you’ll wear out those joints as you age and need joint replacement.However, certain conditions, such as birth defects and anatomical issues, may predispose a person to have hip or knee problems. Untreated, hip dysplasia and hip impingement are leading causes of hip replacement in people under 50. Having bowlegs, knock knees — or other structural issues­ — can hasten the need for knee replacement.“But it’s not like the rest of us have to be worried and say, ‘OK, at age 50, maybe I should have my hips or knees examined by a doctor,'” Dr. Sierra sa...

Israel’s Netanyahu says Gaza offensive has ‘only started,’ attacks will reverberate for years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

By JOSEF FEDERMAN and ISSAM ADWAN (Associated Press)JERUSALEM (AP) — BodyIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel has “only started” a fierce offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack.Netanyahu delivered the pronouncement in a nationally televised address as Israel pressed ahead with a third day of heavy airstrikes in Gaza.“We have only started striking Hamas,” he said. “What we will do to our enemies in the coming days will reverberate with them for generations.”THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel increased airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed off the Palestinian territory from food, fuel, and other supplies in retaliation for a deadly incursion by Hamas militants, as the toll rose to nearly 1,600 dead on both sides. Hamas mounted its own escalation on Monday, pledging to kill captured Israelis if its attacks targete...

Lawyer: Tyre Nichols had stolen items, hallucinogenic in car during fatal encounter with police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A lawyer for one of five former Memphis officers charged with fatally beating Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop said in court documents that investigators found a hallucinogenic drug and stolen credit cards in the Black man’s car when he was pulled over, but authorities have not confirmed the claims. A lawyer for Justin Smith said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s inventory of Nichols’ car showed he had psilocybin, a substance found in mushrooms, when police stopped him Jan. 7 for an alleged reckless driving violation before he was beaten during a confrontation caught on police video.The lawyer, Martin Zummach, said the ex-officers’ attorneys learned from a review of the inventory that Nichols had stolen credit cards, debit cards and photo identifications in his car. Zummach made the claims in a court filing joining another officer’s request for prosecutors to give them Nichols’ cell phone records as part of the federal...

South Carolina nuclear plant gets yellow warning over another cracked emergency fuel pipe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

JENKINSVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Federal officials have issued a warning about a substantial safety violation at a South Carolina nuclear plant after cracks were discovered again in a backup emergency fuel line.Small cracks have been found a half-dozen times in the past 20 years in pipes that carry fuel to emergency generators that provide cooling water for a reactor if electricity fails at the V.C. Summer plant near Columbia, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.The agency issued what it calls a preliminary “yellow” warning to plant owner Dominion Energy last week. It is the second most serious category and only seven similar warnings have been issued across the country since 2009, nuclear power expert David Lochbaum told The State newspaper after reviewing records from federal regulators.The commission’s ruling is not final and Dominion will have a chance to explain what happened, utility spokesman Darryl Huger told the paper in an email.Dominion has already st...

Nigerian court sentences policeman to death for killing a lawyer in a rare ruling

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian court sentenced Monday a police officer to death for shooting and killing a lawyer in the commercial hub of Lagos. Many applauded the rare sentence as a punitive measure against rampant cases of police abuse.After nearly a year, Justice Ibironke Harrison of the Lagos High Court found police officer Drambi Vandi guilty of one count of murder of Bolanle Raheem, who was pregnant at the time when she was shot dead Christmas Day last year. Local reports said Raheem was in her early forties.Vandi shot the lawyer after her vehicle in the town of Ajah in Lagos failed to stop at a checkpoint, local media reported at the time.He had denied opening fire at Raheem, but one of his colleagues who testified during the hearing confirmed hearing the gunshot. Vandi has a right to appeal the ruling.“You will be hanged by the neck till you are dead,” the judge told the police officer who had pleaded not guilty.The death sentence was lauded by many in Africa’s most popul...

UN airs concerns for civilians as Israel steps up military response in Gaza to deadly Hamas attacks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:32 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations on Monday expressed growing concerns about humanitarian needs in Palestinian areas as Israel ratchets up a muscular military riposte and lockdown of Gaza, after the weekend attack by Hamas militants who killed and kidnapped hundreds of civilians in Israel.U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres led the clarion call Monday, putting the focus on civilians in both Israel and Gaza and renewing his condemnation of the fatalities and hostage-takings by Hamas. He also warned of the prospect of more innocent lives lost.Guterres said in a statement that over 137,000 people in Gaza – or about 6% of its population – were now sheltering in sites run by UNRWA, the aid agency for Palestinians. He cited reports of Israeli missile strikes on places like schools, health facilities and high-rise apartment buildings.“I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in –- no electricity, food, o...