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Salem church group recounts harrowing exit from Israel as war broke out

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

More than 30 travelers from the Mary Queen of the Apostles Parish in Salem have returned home safely after a trip to Holy Land left them uncertainly close to the outbreak of violence last week.“We feel very blessed that we that we were able to get out and get out,” said Fr. Robert Murray, the church pastor who led the group. “We’re very mindful the fact that we left behind people who are in the middle of a war or destruction and death suffering.”On Oct. 7 — the day Hamas terrorists launched attacks on hundreds of Israeli civilians — 32 members of the church began a “spiritual pilgrimage” in Jerusalem.That day, parishioners said, they heard bombs and sirens but were told not to worry, “‘This is what goes on.'”“But we could hear and see it right away,” said Murray. “And so the next day was Sunday, and that’s when it really became quite evident that it wasn’t stopping. And then it was ...

Biden considering trip to Israel, source

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days but no travel has been finalized, a senior administration official said Sunday.Biden has staunchly proclaimed his support for Israel, and a trip there would be the firmest signal yet but would come amid heightening fears that a looming Israeli move into Gaza could spark a wider war with devastating humanitarian consequences.The official could not publicly discuss internal deliberations about the potential presidential travel and spoke on condition of anonymity. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already been traveling around the Mideast this past week trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict.But Biden also made his strongest public effort yet to restrain Israel after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,300 people including at least 30 U.S. citizens, warning in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired Sunday that Israel should not reocc...

San Diego Wave FC clinches NWSL Shield for best season record in second year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Wave FC closed out their second regular season by securing the National Women's Soccer League Shield on Sunday after a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville at Snapdragon Stadium.The shield, which is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, marks the first regular season title for San Diego and the second consecutive season where the winner was decided in the final weekend of play.The Wave topped this year's standings with a 11-7-4 record and is entering the playoffs in the No. 1 overall seed.On Sunday, veteran striker Alex Morgan and 18-year-old Jaedyn Shaw made the goals that helped secure the club's victory. Morgan led the Wave in scoring with seven goals and four assists throughout the season. Shaw came close behind with six goals during regular play, setting a league record for the most goals by a teenager.Meanwhile, goalkeeper Kailen Sheriden had a league-leading nine clean sheets to keep San Diego's total goals allowed at 22 for the season -- a...

Man arrested after machete attack, SWAT standoff in Oceanside

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A man was arrested by Oceanside police in connection to a machete attack early Sunday morning that led to a SWAT standoff.Around 12:50 a.m., authorities were alerted to the stabbing that occurred outside a home on Leon Street near East Parker Street, the Oceanside Police Department said. When units arrived on scene, officers discovered an adult man with an apparent machete wound. According to OPD, he also had multiple cuts on his hand, back of the head and abdomen.The man was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. His injuries are not considered to be life-threatening at this time, police said. Ex-SDPD officer behind bars for years-long illicit massage business scheme Shortly after, officers determined that the incident was an escalation of a conflict between two neighbors over the last few days. Authorities then tried to contact the suspect, which prompted the SWAT standoff.After several hours, the suspect, identified as a 51-year-old man, safely sur...

Daniel Noboa, heir to banana fortune, seems likely winner in Ecuador’s presidential runoff election

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Daniel Noboa, an inexperienced politician and an heir to a fortune built on the banana trade, seemed headed to victory in Ecuador’s presidential runoff election Sunday.With 93% of the votes counted, electoral officials said Noboa held a 4 1/2-point lead over Luisa González, a leftist lawyer and ally of exiled former President Rafael Correa. González conceded defeat during a speech before supporters Sunday night and said she planned to call Noboa to congratulate him.The new president will lead Ecuador during a period marked by unprecedented violence that even claimed the life of a presidential candidate. Throughout the campaign, Ecuadorians, who now have to continuously watch their backs and limit how often they leave home, had a universal demand — safety.The nationwide uneasiness began when violence erupted about three years ago, but it reached an unthinkable level when Fernando Villavicencio was killed Aug. 9 as he left a campaign rally. Noboa’s political care...

Here's when 90º days usually end in Austin

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Triple digit days are firmly in the past for 2023, but we've still got 90s in the forecast.Typically our average last 90-degree day of the year comes around the middle of October. The 30-year average final 90º day in Austin is on October 19, which is this Thursday.Average final 90º day in Austin (1991-2020)Still, we've got 90s in the forecast beyond that into the weekend.It turns out, we can get 90º heat very late in the year.The latest 90º day during a calendar year was on Christmas Day, December 25, 1955. On other years we've had the final 90º day of the year stretch deep into November. In 1951, we had 90º heat twice in the month of November! Usually these are low 90s. We haven't been hotter than 91º after October 27 in any year.Latest final day of 90ºs in AustinIn recent years, we've typically had our final 90º day around the middle or end of October. Recent final 90º daysWhat about this year?We've got 90s in the forecast as late as October 22. It's not out of the...

Two women shot in cemetery during Saturday night memorial celebration

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

St. Paul police are investigating the shooting of two women inside a cemetery Saturday night.Just after 7 p.m. officers responded to reports of a shooting inside the Oakland Cemetery, according to police spokesperson Molly McMillen.Police say an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old woman were both shot.“While the injuries were severe, they are not said to be life-threatening, and for that, we are certainly grateful, McMillen said.Investigators were told that a van of people showed up to release balloons and hold a memorial at the cemetery when another group open fired on the van, hitting the two women and a nearby vehicle.“It’s unfortunate this situation occurred during what appears to be an already difficult time for those involved, given they said they were at the cemetery to remember a lost loved one,” McMillen said.Investigators are talking to people who were at the cemetery at the time but do not yet have details of a suspect or vehicle that they can share, she said....

Fort Collins council members question East Mulberry plan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

Members of the Fort Collins City Council gave a lukewarm reception Tuesday night to staffers’ multifaceted plan for the Mulberry Street corridor, the city’s often-neglected eastern gateway.At a council work session in which city staffers hoped to shape an ordinance to be presented to the council for first reading on Nov. 21, senior policy manager Sylvia Tatman-Burruss and senior long-range planner Megan Keith presented a vision for upgrading the area bounded by Interstate 25 to the east, Vine Drive to the north, Lemay Avenue to the west and the Cache la Poudre River to the south to the point where it could be annexed into the city.“The Mulberry corridor’s built environment spans multiple jurisdictions and more than 70 years of varying development standards,” the 212-page planners’ document states, and “still lacks a consistent pattern of development, and in many locations, basic health and safety infrastructure such as sidewalks, curb and gu...

“There’s a calling for a safe place”: Boulder programs and law enforcement tackle increasing fentanyl overdoses

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

Ian Boyd stands in the shade of the public bathrooms on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder on a calm, sunny September afternoon. Around him, a number of unhoused Boulderites lie sleeping in the sun in front of the Boulder County Historic Courthouse.The area is popular among unhoused communities as well as the Central Park area, where people are commonly seen sleeping and talking on the grass. But the area has also drawn attention from local law enforcement for drug use and overdoses.According to a number of Boulder police tweets, the department made at least 11 arrests in connection to drug possession from Aug. 31 through Sept. 7, including six arrests on Sept. 6 in the Central Park and Pearl Street Mall areas.The sweep was an effort by police to crack down on the immediate distribution and use of fentanyl after police responded to two overdoses within the same hour, according to Boulder Deputy Police Chief Stephen Redfearn.Despite the surge, Redfearn said arrests aren’t the long-term...

Boulder JCC continues Holocaust education with child survivors presentation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:36:49 GMT

A Holocaust history expert used old newspaper articles and testimonies from child Holocaust survivors to explain their postwar experience at the Boulder Jewish Community Center Sunday morning.Beth Cohen speaks during her Child Survivors of the Holocaust presentation at the Boulder Jewish Community Center Sunday. (Andrea Grajeda/ Staff Writer)Beth Cohen presented her “Child Survivors of the Holocaust” talk at the center, 6007 Oreg Ave. Cohen received her doctorate’s degree in Holocaust history from Clark University and she has written two books about Holocaust survivors’ postwar experience in the United States. She is also currently working on developing a permanent exhibit on the Holocaust for the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.Cohen said it was “fated” that she would study the Holocaust. She explained when she first joined a JCC in Rhode Island, the local survival community expressed to her how difficult their postwar experience had...