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Far from Israel, Jews grieve and pray for peace in Shabbat services held as Israel-Hamas war rages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

Jews in communities far from Israel gathered at synagogues this weekend for Shabbat services held amid the ongoing war ignited by Hamas militants’ attack on Israel a week earlier. Rabbis led prayers of peace and shared grief with their congregations. At many synagogues security was tight.PITTSBURGH RABBI SAYS HAMAS ATTACK RESURFACES GENERATIONS OF TRAUMA FOR JEWISH PEOPLEThe deadly Hamas attack is not just another geopolitical event for Jewish people, explained one U.S. rabbi. It is drudging up generations of visceral trauma, especially in Pittsburgh – the city scarred by the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.“More Jews were killed last Shabbat … than on any other day since the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Daniel Fellman during a service at Temple Sinai. “It isn’t that Hamas wants the destruction of Israel. It’s that Hamas wants the destruction of you and me.”“The world deserves better, the Palestinian people deserve better and we need to do better.” Despite that anguish,...

3 dead after a shooting at a party at a Denver industrial storefront

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Three people are dead after a shooting early Saturday at a party in Denver, police said. Denver police were called to a party at an industrial storefront where officers found someone dead with gunshot wounds, police said. Another five shooting victims were taken to local hospitals, where two of them where pronounced dead, police said. Police didn’t immediately provide information about the identities of the shooting victims. Evidence showed that there were shots fired from at least two firearms at the party, police said. “At this point, investigators are working to determine the circumstances that led up to the shooting as well as who was involved,” the Denver Police Department said in a statement. The Associated Press

Weekend Break: Coffeecon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

Join WGN Weekend Morning News with Erik Runge at Coffeecon!Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

State Department urges non-essential personnel to depart Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

(The Hill) — The Biden administration released an updated travel advisory for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday as the ongoing conflict in the region persists.The State Department authorized the departure of all "non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members for U.S. Embassy Jerusalem and U.S. Branch Office Tel Aviv." "Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza," the advisory states. "Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities." Biden’s Israel response creates sharp contrast with Trump The updated guidance comes as Israel is expected to launch a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, a region which Palestinian militant group Hamas operates. Israeli officials gave Palestinians in the area just over 24 hours to evacuate —...

Civil rights activist and photographer to win award for advocacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

Civil rights activist and photographer Bernie Kleina is expected to win award for advocacy starting with a special photo he took of Martin Luther King Jr. at Soldier Field in 1965.

Alarms sound over high turnover among election workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

Experts are sounding alarms just over a year out from November 2024 that the presidential election could suffer from chaos and confusion after high turnover of local election officials and workers in key states. Threats and scrutiny often linked to false claims of voter fraud have contributed to a surge of local election officials leaving their posts in recent years. The exodus could mean understaffed and inexperienced teams are left to grapple with continued conspiracies and misinformation surrounding the election process in 2024, with some running a high-stakes presidential election for the first time. Richard Hasen, an election law expert and a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, said he’s “quite worried” about the attrition of election officials and workers nationwide but argued it’s “not surprising” given the threats and harassment lobbed at many in the jobs. “Some of the language that's been used against these officials has been...

Head into shopping season ready to manage your spending and debt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

(NerdWallet) - Retailers once again have begun their bid for consumers’ attention with big sales early in fall, such as what amounts to a second Amazon Prime Day sale. A longer holiday shopping season lets you spread out expenses, but it also could lead to overspending.Danetha Doe, founder of financial education company Money & Mimosas, said in an email, “It's easy to go into unplanned debt during this time because many of us show love to those we care about by buying gifts or by spending money on travel to be with loved ones.”NerdWallet’s 2023 holiday shopping report bears that out: 52% of Americans incurred credit card debt from holiday shopping last year, and 31% of them still have lingering balances. Survey results also show that nearly 2 in 5 2023 holiday shoppers (39%) feel pressure to spend more on buying gifts than they’re comfortable spending this year, and 12% of 2023 holiday shoppers say they will likely use some of their emergency savings to buy gifts.Whether you’re ...

PHOTOS: Solar eclipse passes over Austin area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An annular solar eclipse passed over Central Texas on Saturday.Many KXAN viewers shared their eclipse photos with us. Here's some of their pics:Photo of annular eclipse taken in northwest Austin on Oct. 14, 2023. (Courtesy Debbie Herrington)Photo of annular eclipse taken in northwest Austin on Oct. 14, 2023. (Courtesy Debbie Herrington)Photo of annular eclipse taken in northwest Austin on Oct. 14, 2023. (Courtesy Debbie Herrington)Comet looks at eclipse shadows in Round Rock on Oct. 14, 2023. (Courtesy Candida Wydra)Solar eclipse photo from Elgin, Texas, on Oct. 14, 2023. (Courtesy Cirilo Laura Alicia Kai Almanza)Eclipse pattern shows on Kiwi the dog in the North Shoal Creek neighborhood of Austin. (Courtesy Catherine Kelly)Eclipse view through binoculars on Oct. 14, 2023. (Courtesy Kim Yarbrough)Dripping Springs eclipse watch party Oct. 14, 2023. (KXAN Photo)Dripping Springs eclipse watch party Oct. 14, 2023. (KXAN Photo)Dripping Springs eclipse watch party Oct. 14,...

The 'most popular' Halloween candy in New York, according to online sales data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Which kinds of hardened candy residue will your child’s dentist be scraping from their teeth at the next visit? Well, it might depend on where you live. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! CandyStore.com, an online candy retailer specializing in wholesale and bulk orders, has sought to determine the “most popular” Halloween candies in each state, based largely on the past 16 years of the company’s sales data in the months leading up to Halloween. Distributors and manufacturers who work with CandyStore.com also “chipped in” to provide additional stats, according to CandyStore’s analysts.While the top candies vary from state to state, CandyStore estimates that Reese’s Cups, M&Ms and Hot Tamales are the country’s three “most popular” candies overall (and in that order) based on sales per pound between 2007 and 2022. Castle of Terror coming to Schenectady Armory But which sweets, specifically, might your local dentist...

Three metros on the verge of passing St. Louis in size

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:40 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area’s population hasn’t changed much in recent history. Around 2.8 million residents call the metro home in the present day, a number that's increased modestly by 12% over the last half-century.The St. Louis bi-state region is currently 21st largest in size among US metros and the largest consisting of Missouri, according to U.S. Census figures. That said, recent population trends reveal that three U.S. metros are on the verge of potentially passing the population of Greater St. Louis within the next few years if regional population trends continue in a similar direction as they have since 2020. St. Louis football coach shot by parent shares his comeback story The next three closest metros are within 150,000 people of St. Louis. All three have gained around 100,000 people since the start of a new decade. Greater St. Louis, meanwhile, has lost around 20,000 residents within the same time span.Keep an eye on these three metros...Orlan...