February 2024

Latest News Headlines for Monday February 12, 2024 – Israel’s neighbors and key mediators caution of disaster if its military launches a ground invasion in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, where Israel states remaining Hamas strongholds are located — along with over half the besieged territory’s population. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 44 Palestinians — including more than a dozen children — in Rafah, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people ahead of an invasion. He gave no details or timeline. The death toll from a massive landslide that hit a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines has risen to 54 with 63 people still missing, authorities said. The landslide hit the mountain village of Masara in Davao de Oro province on Tuesday night after weeks of torrential rains. Davao de Oro’s provincial government said in a Facebook post that 54 bodies had been recovered. At least 32 residents survived with injuries but 63 remained missing, it said. Among those missing were gold miners who had been waiting in two buses to be driven home when the landslide struck and buried them. Russian forces launched 45 drones over Ukraine Sunday in a five-and-a-half-hour barrage, officials said, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued the reshuffle of his war cabinet as the war enters its third year. In a statement, the Ukrainian air force said it had shot down 40 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones over nine different regions, including on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Kyiv. The five-and-a-half-hour attack targeted agricultural facilities and coastal infrastructure, officials for Ukraine’s southern defense forces wrote on Telegram. A Brazilian judge has determined that a warrant should be sent to Interpol for the arrest of a man accused of hiring another man to kill his ex-husband, the prominent New York gallerist Brent Sikkema. Judge Tula Correa de Mello, the head of the third criminal court in Rio de Janeiro, officially ordered the arrest of Daniel Sikkema, the ex-husband of gallerist Brent Sikkema, the Folha de São Paulo newspaper reported. The news was confirmed by broadcaster Globo. A mother in Kansas City, Missouri, has been arrested and charged in the death of her 1-month-old infant after allegedly mistakenly placing the baby in an oven instead of a crib, the prosecutor’s office said. Mariah Thomas, 26, has been charged with a Class A felony, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, in the death of her baby, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Saturday. Thomas alleged she was putting the child down for a nap and accidentally mistakenly placed the child in the oven instead of the crib, according to the court documents. A man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing four workers at an Oklahoma marijuana farm in 2022. Chen Wu pleaded guilty at a court hearing Friday to four counts of first-degree murder and to one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the Nov. 20, 2022 killings, according to court records. Prosecutors say Wu, also known as Wu Chen in jail records, fatally shot three men and a woman in a garage at the farm west of Hennessey. A man whose family’s gender reveal photo shoot sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said. Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another. She was sentenced to a year of summary probation and 400 hours of community service. The couple was also ordered to pay over one point 7 million dollars in restitution. Off-duty officers responded as a woman began shooting inside pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday, killing the suspect. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference that a child was left in critical condition following the incident and a 57-year-old man was also shot in the leg. Finner said the woman, between the ages of 30 and 35 years old, entered the Lakewood Church on the west side at approximately 1:53 p.m. local time. Finner says she was armed with a long rifle and was accompanied by a 5-year-old boy. — Guinness World Records reignited a French man’s dreams by reversing its decision and conferring upon him the title for the world’s tallest matchstick sculpture. Richard Plaud invested eight years building a 23.6-foot model of the Eiffel Tower, crafted from 706,900 matchsticks. Despite initial disqualification for using matchsticks deemed not commercially available, the organization revisited the decision this week. The director of central records services, revealed that Plaud has now been granted the title. McKinley explained that they corrected inconsistencies within the rules, allowing matchsticks to be snipped and shaped according to the modeler’s vision.

Latest news headlines for Saturday February 10, 2024 – Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of at least 44 Palestinians, including over a dozen children, in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for the military to plan the evacuation of hundreds of thousands before a potential ground invasion heightened panic and drew diplomatic warnings. With more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents concentrated in Rafah, following Israeli evacuation orders covering two-thirds of the territory, the next safe destination remains uncertain. — At least seven people lost their lives in Russian drone strikes on a gas station in the frontline city of Kharkiv overnight Saturday. The attack sparked a massive fire, destroying 15 homes. Among the casualties were three children from the same family, including a 4-year-old boy and a 6-month-old baby. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported three additional injuries, prompting the establishment of an emergency operations center. The governor appealed for building materials, clothes, and personal hygiene products to aid the victims. — Amid public outcry over a controversial pardon, Hungary’s conservative president, Katalin Novák, resigned. The pardon, granted to a man convicted as an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case, triggered a political scandal for the long-serving nationalist government. Novák, 46, announced her resignation in a televised message, succumbing to over a week of public outrage following revelations about the pardon issued in April 2023. — Joel Greenberg, a former close associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz sentenced to 11 years in prison, is cooperating with the House Ethics Committee probe into the Florida congressman. Greenberg, a key witness in the Justice Department’s probe into Gaetz, which concluded without charges, has been in contact with the Ethics Committee for weeks. He has provided documents related to the case, according to sources familiar with the committee’s work. — A small plane crashed onto a Florida highway Friday afternoon, resulting in at least two confirmed fatalities. The crash occurred near Naples around 3:15 p.m. ET, following reported dual engine failure. The aircraft collided with a vehicle on Interstate 75, as stated by the Federal Aviation Administration and confirmed by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office reported the two fatalities. — An illness outbreak aboard a Cunard Cruise Line ship has affected at least 154 people with symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On the Queen Victoria cruise, 129 passengers and 25 crew members reported illness during the voyage, marking an increase of 15 since the initial report on Feb. 1. The cause of the gastrointestinal disease outbreak is currently unknown. — New data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank reveals that strong financial market performance, particularly in the stock market in 2021, further entrenched wealth inequality during the pandemic. The report indicates that the real net worth of white individuals outpaced that of Black and Hispanic individuals by 30 and 9 percentage points, respectively, from the first quarter of 2019 through the second quarter of 2023. — Nominees for the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction include Mariah Carey, Cher, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor, and Ozzy Osbourne, dubbed heavy metal’s Prince of Darkness. The diverse list also features Britpoppers Oasis, pop-soul sensation Sade, and others. Osbourne, a solo artist this time, had previously entered the hall with Black Sabbath. Ten of the 15 nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Carey, Cher, Foreigner, Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Kravitz, Oasis, O’Connor, Sade, and Osbourne. — In Britain, a doctor experienced a heartwarming reunion with her diamond ring after the valuable item embarked on an unexpected nearly 100-mile journey tucked away in the pocket of a pair of scrubs. Suraj Shah, an anesthetics registrar at the Royal Free Hospital in London, shared that he wore a freshly-laundered set of scrubs as he prepared for his shift. The hospital’s facilities team reached out to its laundry service and made a surprising discovery – a doctor had reported a missing ring after inadvertently leaving it in the pocket of her scrubs at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust in Bury St. Edmunds, nearly 100 miles away. Radhika Ramasamy, a consultant anesthetist, explained that she had placed the ring in her pocket approximately five days before its serendipitous discovery by Shah. Overjoyed at the reunion, Ramasamy expressed gratitude for the incredible team effort involved in tracking her down and returning the ring. “I know it’s been an incredible team effort, and I am so appreciative of how so many people have gone the extra mile to track me down and return it to me,” she said.

Unbiased headline news for Thursday February 8, 2024 – The U.S. killed a senior leader of the Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah in a strike in Iraq, a senior official confirmed. The individual targeted was a commander who was in charge of operations in Syria. U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East, said in a statement that the targeted commander was “responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.” — Following nearly five years of litigation and three trials, a 49-year-old man has been sentenced by a judge in far eastern Russia to eight years’ imprisonment for practicing his Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. Dmitriy Barmakin of Vladivostok was sentenced in a Primorye Territory courtroom, according to his church and the Moscow-based think tank SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, making it the second time in his three trials that he has been sentenced to a penal colony, after his original sentence was overturned last April. — Former Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson confirmed Tuesday that he will be interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin. He claimed to be the first person from Western media to do so since the start of Moscow’s invasion into Ukraine nearly two years ago, although the Kremlin disputed that he was the first one to try. In a statement posted to social media, Carlson said he will interview Putin “because it’s our job. We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people.” “Western governments will certainly do their best to censor this video … Because that’s what they do,” Carlson adds in the video. — Minnesota has reached a settlement with Eli Lilly and Co. in a price gouging lawsuit against the country’s three biggest insulin manufacturers that guarantees that Minnesotans can now buy Lilly-produced insulin for only $35 a month for the next five years, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced. The settlement is likely to benefit as many as 500,000 residents whether they have insurance or not, and it covers all Lilly brand-name insulin products, Ellison said at a news conference. Litigation remains pending against two other manufacturers named in the 2018 lawsuit, Sanofi-Aventis and Novo Nordisk. — Two officers were shot while responding to an emergency call about an injured minor at a Pennsylvania residence, officials said Wednesday. A 911 caller reported that an 11-year-old girl had been shot at the residence in East Lansdowne, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. While responding to the home Wednesday afternoon, the officers were “immediately met by gunfire,” Stollsteimer told reporters during a press briefing. The two male officers, who were with the East Lansdowne and Lansdowne police departments, each sustained a single gunshot wound, Stollsteimer said. — The ride-sharing company Uber has posted a profit for the first time since going public in 2019, the company announced. The company posted a net income of $1.43 billion in the fourth quarter after the benefit of $1 billion from investors, Uber said in a statement. This marks the first time that Uber has earned money from its operations. The company reported $595 million in profit during the same period last year, and the profit announcement was higher than Wall Street had anticipated. — American and Chinese officials committed Tuesday to working together to stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States, the head of a visiting U.S. delegation said. Their meeting was a hopeful sign of cooperation as the two global powers try to better manage their contentious ties. The U.S. is seeking more information sharing and law enforcement cooperation and the designation and control of made-in-China chemicals that are ingredients for fentanyl made elsewhere, said Jen Daskal, a deputy homeland security advisor in the White House. — For the first time in more than two decades, Mexico last year surpassed China as the leading source of goods imported to the United States. The shift reflects the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing as well as U.S. efforts to import from countries that are friendlier and closer to home. Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department show that the value of goods imported to the United States from Mexico rose nearly 5% from 2022 to 2023, to more than $475 billion. — Motorists on a Nevada highway encountered an uncommon traffic disruption as an overturned truck scattered cans and bottles of Dr. Pepper and 7Up across the roadway. According to the Nevada State Police, the incident occurred on Interstate 80, between Mogul and Garson in the Reno area. The truck, overturning on its side, spilled crates filled with Dr. Pepper and 7Up containers onto the road. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries resulting from the truck crash or the subsequent soda spill.

Unbiased headline news for Wednesday February 7, 2024 – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak informed BBC News that King Charles’ cancer was “detected early,” and the monarch is expected to recover. Sunak, who stays in regular contact with the king, expressed shock and sadness during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He conveyed his well wishes, stating, “All of our thoughts would be with His Majesty, and we wish him a speedy recovery.” — Seaborne Houthi rebels targeted a British cargo ship sailing in the Red Sea off Yemen, causing minor damage without injuring crew members. The incident unfolded when the ship’s master observed a small craft alongside just seconds before a “projectile” was fired at the Port side. The Royal Navy’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported slight damage to the windows of the bridge in an attack alert. — Florida Representative Matt Gaetz announced a resolution asserting that former President Donald Trump did not engage in insurrection on January 6th, 2021. The nonbinding resolution could influence legal efforts to remove Trump from primary ballots due to the 14th Amendment. Gaetz, a fervent Trump supporter, shared that the ex-president is “thrilled” with 63 Republican lawmakers supporting the measure. — Four bolts designed to secure the door plug on a Boeing 737 Max 9 were missing before it detached during an Alaska Airlines flight last month, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report. Boeing records reviewed by the NTSB revealed that damaged rivets on the edge frame were replaced by Spirit AeroSystems employees at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, on Sept. 19, 2023. — A Tennessee legislative staffer has been placed on leave after an incident involving Democratic state Representative Justin Jones, who claimed the staffer yelled at him in a hallway. Jones, known nationally for being one of two Democrats expelled for participating in a protest on gun control, filed a complaint recounting the staffer confronting and yelling at him in the hallway until another lawmaker intervened. — A deputy shot and killed a man Tuesday after he took people hostage and claimed to have a bomb at a Florida bank, according to authorities. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a Bank of America branch in Fort Myers shortly before noon. Sheriff Carmine Marceno, during a news conference, mentioned the deployment of a robodog, the SWAT team, electronic surveillance, and drones. Fortunately, no injuries were reported to any hostages or deputies. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert for recalled cheeses, yogurts, and sour creams potentially linked to a multistate outbreak of listeria that has sickened 26, hospitalized 23, and left two people dead. Rizo-López Foods issued a voluntary recall on Monday for all cheeses and other dairy products made in its Modesto facility due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The company provided a contact number, 1-833-296-2233, monitored 24 hours a day for consumer inquiries. — ESPN, Warner Discovery, and Fox Sports announced Tuesday a partnership to create a massive new streaming network dedicated to sports. The service, scheduled to launch in the fall, will include broadcasts from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and other professional sports leagues. According to a joint news release by the three companies, the streaming service will be available via an app, with customers having the option of bundling it with Disney+, Hulu, and/or Max. — After being lost for four decades, a wallet was reunited with an Ontario family when it was discovered in an air duct at a storage facility. Andrew Medley, working on a storage unit at Eaton Centre in Toronto, found the wallet and traced its owner through Facebook. Despite initial attempts to contact the woman and her daughter, Vanessa Austin, being unsuccessful, Medley, before leaving town, located Austin on LinkedIn and personally delivered the well-preserved wallet to her workplace. Austin marveled at the wallet’s condition, noting that it appeared untouched for the entire 40-year period. Among its contents were precious items such as photographs, Austin’s birth certificate, and immigration paperwork from the family’s arrival from El Salvador.

Latest News Headlines for Tuesday February 6, 2024 – Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has requested Secret Service protection due to a rise in security threats, as reported in several sources this week. The request follows two recent “swatting” incidents at Haley’s residence on Kiawah Island, one of which occurred while her elderly parents and their caregiver were present. In these incidents, police arrived with drawn guns in response to false reports of violence, known as “swatting.” Haley’s call for protection underscores the escalating security concerns for public figures. — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a crucial four-day Middle East trip focused on resolving the hostage situation in Gaza and seeking a prolonged ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. In Riyadh, Blinken highlighted the need to address Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and prevent further escalation of the conflict, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. The trip, which runs through Thursday, includes visits to Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank, marking Blinken’s fifth trip to the region since the conflict began on October 7th. — An Iraq-based militia group, supported by Iran, took responsibility on Monday for a drone attack on an eastern Syrian base used by U.S. forces, which resulted in the deaths of six allied Kurdish fighters. This attack, which did not result in American casualties, is seen as the first major retaliation by Iran-backed groups against U.S. airstrikes in the region. The U.S. initiated these strikes on Friday against militias within the Islamic Resistance in Iraq as a response to escalated attacks on American bases. — A group of migrants was arrested in the Bronx late Monday night for a spree of citywide crimes, including the theft of women’s phones, as reported by the New York Police Department. The police executed a search warrant at a suspected hideout and apprehended seven suspects. These individuals are expected to face multiple robbery and grand larceny charges. The suspects, believed to be from Venezuela, are linked to at least 62 cases of women being robbed of their pocketbooks and phones, according to police statements. — An Oklahoma jury awarded $25 million to Scott Sapulpa after finding a local newspaper guilty of defaming him by mistakenly identifying him as the announcer who made racist comments during a 2021 girls basketball game broadcast. The Muskogee County jury granted Sapulpa $5 million in actual damages and an additional $20 million in punitive damages. Sapulpa’s attorney, Michael Barkett, expressed relief and hope for his client’s reputation restoration. The jury determined that the newspaper acted with actual malice, which allowed for punitive damages to be considered. — South Dakota prosecutors have charged a man with first-degree murder and aggravated eluding in connection with the death of a deputy during a high-speed chase. Joseph Gene Hoek, 40, is accused of killing Moody County Chief Deputy Ken Prorok, 51, while evading police using tire spikes. At his first court appearance, Hoek was held without bail. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is personally prosecuting the case, mentioned the need for further investigation into mitigating factors. — A McDonald’s franchisee agreed to a $4.4 million settlement with a teenage girl who sued over sexual assault by a restaurant manager, a registered sex offender, in Pittsburgh, as announced by the victim’s lawyers on Monday. The agreement compensates the girl, who was 14 at the time of the 2021 assault by Walter A. Garner in the restaurant’s bathroom. Garner, now 44, had previously been imprisoned and was listed on the Megan’s Law website for sexually assaulting a minor. — The San Francisco 49ers have expressed concerns about the state of their practice field assigned for the Super Bowl week, citing it as too soft. An inside source revealed the team’s worries, particularly since sod was recently placed over the turf field at UNLV for their use this week. The source, choosing to remain anonymous, shared this information amid the absence of official statements from the NFL or the 49ers on the matter. — In Michigan, firefighters successfully saved two deer that had fallen through weak ice on a frozen lake. The incident, reported by the Plainfield Township Fire Department on Facebook, involved collaborative efforts with the Cannon Township Fire Department. The deer were found stranded on the ice of Versluis Lake at Versluis Park in Grand Rapids. Rescue efforts were captured in a video, showing firefighters employing a hovercraft to access the deer floundering in the icy waters. Once brought to shore, local residents from Waterford Condos assisted in drying and warming the deer, taking measures to avert hypothermia.

Latest Headline News for Monday February 5, 2024 – In a dispute with the Biden administration over border crossings, Texas Governor Greg Abbott affirmed the state’s authority to secure its borders. During a press conference in Eagle Pass, Texas, alongside several GOP governors, Abbott urged President Biden to take decisive action on migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, which peaked in December. He accused President Biden of neglecting his duty to uphold U.S. laws, stating, “Mr. Biden has completely abdicated and abandoned his responsibility to enforce the laws of the United States.” — An Israeli far-right minister openly criticized President Joe Biden, expressing a preference for Donald Trump’s presidency to freely combat Hamas. The remarks caused a stir among Israeli leaders, especially during U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region. Despite controversy, the Biden administration has bypassed Congress to expedite arms shipments to Israel and shielded it from international demands for a cease-fire since the October 7th Hamas attack. — Patrick Mahomes Senior, father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was arrested in Tyler, Texas, on charges of driving while intoxicated, just days before the Super Bowl. Mahomes Senior, 53, faced his third DWI charge, according to Smith County records, and received a $10,000 bond. His release status was unclear. He is known for his Major League Baseball career from 1992 to 2003. — Chile’s wildfire death toll has climbed above 65, prompting the government to implement curfews and establish shelters. President Gabriel Boric announced two days of national mourning starting Monday, stating, “It is Chile as a whole that suffers and mourns its dead.” The emergency escalated rapidly with a red alert in the Valparaíso region on Friday, followed by fires in the Lago Peñuelas National Reserve. — In Omaha, Nebraska, two off-duty police officers fatally shot two men in an SUV under circumstances that remain unclear. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. Saturday while the officers were working at a local business. The victims, Fernando Rodriguez-Juarez, 26, and Jonathan Hernandez-Rosales, 28, were critically injured and later died in a hospital. The officers are on paid leave pending an investigation. — Indianapolis police are probing the homicides of two women, found killed in a similar manner near each other within days. Interim Police Chief Christopher Bailey acknowledged similarities between the two cases, saying, “We’re here out of an abundance of caution to share information with the community.” Bailey appealed for public assistance at a press briefing to advance the investigations. — Namibia’s president and founding prime minister, Hage Geingob, passed away at 82 while undergoing cancer treatment. His deputy was swiftly sworn in to complete the term. Geingob, a pivotal figure in one of Africa’s most stable democracies, returned from exile in Botswana and the U.S. as an anti-apartheid activist. He led Namibia since its 1990 independence after a long period of German and apartheid South African rule. — A collection of sneakers worn by Michael Jordan during his six NBA championship wins with the Chicago Bulls sold for $8 million at auction, a record for game-worn sneakers, according to Sotheby’s. Brahm Wachter of Sotheby’s remarked, “Serving as both a reminder of Michael Jordan’s lasting impact on the world and a tangible expression of his recognized legendary status, its significance is further validated by this monumental result.” Wachter is responsible for modern collectibles at Sotheby’s. — A collective of 30 current and past employees at a middle school in Kentucky recently won a $1 million Powerball jackpot, using a set of numbers they’ve consistently played for years. The winning ticket, cleverly concealed in a math textbook, led to their big win. This group from Rector A. Jones Middle School in Florence had been participating in the lottery together for a long time, sticking to the same numbers since 2019. The organizer of the group realized that their ticket for the January 27 Powerball draw had secured the $1 million second prize and decided to hide it in a math textbook for safekeeping. She joked, “No one looks in a math book. I knew it would be safe there … on page 200. I have checked this a thousand times.” The group members, who selected their numbers randomly, each received $24,000 after tax deductions. Their plans for the prize money vary, ranging from investments to home improvements and travel.