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Latest News Headlines for Wednesday January 31, 2024 – In an early morning operation in the West Bank, three Palestinian men were fatally shot at Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin by Israeli special forces disguised as Muslims and medical staff, as reported by Palestinian officials. The Palestinian Health Ministry described the incident as “assassinations,” stating the individuals were asleep when the undercover Israeli Defense Forces entered the hospital. Surveillance footage circulating online showed about a dozen armed personnel, including three in women’s attire and two posing as healthcare workers, navigating the hospital’s hallways. — Following a drone strike at a Jordanian base that resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers, the U.S. is bolstering the base’s air defenses, a U.S. official has confirmed. The targeted base in northeast Jordan, previously not subjected to attacks, had weaker air defenses compared to U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, which have faced continual threats since October. The new air defense system being deployed is specifically designed to counter drone attacks. — A tragic incident off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, led to the deaths of four individuals, including a child, after a tourist boat sank. The 26-foot boat “La Diosa del Mar” (“Goddess of the Sea”) was carrying 16 tourists and three crew members from Isla Mujeres to Puerto Juárez along the Yucatan Peninsula when it encountered rough seas and began sinking. Following reports that the boat was over its legal capacity, the captain was arrested. — A Delaware judge has ruled against Tesla CEO Elon Musk retaining a compensation package exceeding $55 billion, stating Musk and Tesla failed to justify the fairness of the payout. This decision comes in the wake of a shareholder lawsuit filed five years ago, accusing Musk and Tesla’s board of breaching fiduciary duties, misusing corporate assets, and unjustly enriching Musk. Tesla’s stock fell 4% in after-hours trading following the ruling. — The New York City Council overruled Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes concerning a solitary confinement ban and a bill for documenting police stops, voting 42 to 9. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in policing, noting the disproportionate impact of unconstitutional stops on Black and Latino New Yorkers. “Public safety is a collective effort,” she stated in support of the bills. — Ohio legislators have proposed a bill permitting execution by nitrogen gas, a method facing criticism as unproven and potentially inhumane compared to lethal injection, following Alabama’s precedent-setting nitrogen gas execution. State Representatives Phil Plummer and Brian Stewart, both Republicans, introduced the bill, advocating for nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. “Nitrogen hypoxia is an alternative method for carrying out capital punishment that has been made available in other states,” Stewart said during a press conference on Tuesday. — Oregon’s top officials have declared a state of emergency in downtown Portland due to a public health and safety crisis exacerbated by fentanyl. Governor Tina Kotek, Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson announced the 90-day emergency, focusing on collaboration and response from a command center. The initiative aims to connect individuals with resources like drug treatment and intensify efforts to combat drug trafficking. — Missouri Representative Cori Bush is under investigation by the Department of Justice over allegations of misusing federal funds, with the probe reportedly linked to her campaign’s security expenditures. Responding to the initial news of the investigation, Bush firmly denied any wrongdoing. “I hold myself, my campaign, and my position to the highest levels of integrity,” she stated. She also mentioned that the Federal Election Commission and the House Committee on Ethics are currently reviewing the matter. — A woman from Everett, Washington, remarkably won five top prizes in a single lottery drawing, totaling $50,000, by purchasing four identical lottery tickets. Known only as K.L., she explained to Washington’s Lottery officials that the inspiration for her ticket numbers came from a blend of her and her mother’s birthdays, reflecting on her mother while making the purchase. The draw coincidentally fell on the anniversary of K.L.’s mother’s wedding, leading to a stroke of luck with each ticket securing a $10,000 top prize. Upon sharing the news with her husband, K.L. described his reaction as utterly speechless. K.L. plans to allocate a portion of her winnings to support local charities and animal welfare organizations.

Latest News Headlines for Tuesday January 30, 2024 – The Defense Department has released the names of three U.S. service members who tragically lost their lives in a drone attack on a military base in northeast Jordan. In an official statement, the Pentagon identified the deceased as Sergeant William Jerome Rivers, 46, from Carrollton, Georgia; Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, from Waycross, Georgia; and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, from Savannah, Georgia. They passed away on January 28, 2024, in Jordan, following an attack by “a one-way unmanned aerial system (OWUAS)” on their living quarters. — The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for a significant case involving access to a medication commonly used in abortion procedures. The hearings, set for March 26, will focus on access to the abortion pill mifepristone. This follows an August 2023 appellate court decision that allowed the drug to remain legal in the U.S. but restricted patient access. A decision by the Supreme Court is anticipated later in the year. — Two brothers from New York City are facing charges for allegedly stockpiling explosives and untraceable firearms, along with possessing anarchist materials and a hit list. Andrew and Angelo Hatziagelis have been indicted on 130 counts, including weapon possession and sales, according to a statement by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. The brothers are currently in custody. — Following the United Auto Workers union’s endorsement of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump criticized the union’s president, sparking a sharp response from the Biden campaign as both sides seek union voter support. The endorsement by the UAW, crucial in battleground Michigan, intensifies the rivalry between Biden and Trump, with both 2024 campaign teams seemingly eager for a November showdown. — San Bernardino County officials in California have announced the arrest of five individuals in connection with the shooting deaths of six people in a desert community last week. During a Monday night press conference, officials stated that multiple search warrants were executed on Sunday, leading to the arrests of suspects aged in their 20s and 30s. All are being held without bail, and eight firearms were seized during the arrests. — Kentucky authorities reported the safe recovery of a missing 5-year-old girl, and the arrest of her father, who was wanted for the murder of the girl’s mother. An Amber Alert was issued Monday morning for Lela Black from Princeton, Kentucky, believed to be with her biological father, 42-year-old Byron Black. An arrest warrant for the murder of Lela’s mother had been issued for Byron Black. — The Justice Department has charged an Iranian and two Canadian nationals in an alleged assassination plot targeting Iranian dissidents residing in the U.S. Prosecutors allege that Naji Zindashti, along with two Canadians, conspired between December 2020 and March 2021 to kill two Maryland residents. The targets, former Iranian residents who fled to the U.S., were critics of the Iranian regime. — A woman in Sydney suffered severe leg injuries following a suspected bull shark attack while swimming in Sydney Harbor. The woman, in her late 20s, was bitten on her right leg at Elizabeth Bay on Monday evening. A witness recounted how a bystander provided immediate aid by applying tourniquets to control the bleeding until paramedics arrived at the scene. — The South Carolina Education Lottery announced an unprecedented number of top prize winners, totaling 3,351, following a Pick 4 drawing that produced the combination 4444. According to lottery officials, these winning tickets were bought for Friday night’s draw, resulting in a total payout of over $8.3 million in prizes. Depending on the ticket’s purchase price, Pick 4 winners receive either $2,500 or $5,000. This drawing marked the first instance in which a Pick 4 draw yielded a sequence of four 4s.

Latest News Headline for Monday January 29, 2024 – The Gaza Health Ministry is calling for the urgent evacuation of over 7,000 injured Palestinians from Gaza for medical treatment, as the conflict with Israel continues amid accusations of genocide. In a pressing statement, the ministry emphasized, “We urgently need 7,000 injured and sick people to leave for treatment abroad to save their lives.” Additionally, Palestinian authorities are advocating for secure transport of those requiring neurosurgery to the Jordanian Field Hospital nearby. — Following a missile strike by Houthi rebels, a British oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden reported that all crew members are safe and onboard fires have been successfully extinguished. Trafigura, the company operating the Marlin Luanda, stated, “We are pleased to confirm that all crew on board the Marlin Luanda are safe and the fire in the cargo tank has been fully extinguished. The vessel sailed towards a safe harbor. The crew continues to monitor the vessel and cargo closely.” — Iranian authorities have announced the successful launch of three satellites using a previously malfunctioning rocket, a move Western officials say enhances Tehran’s ballistic missile capabilities. While Iran insists the launch is part of its peaceful civilian space program, U.S. officials, citing a 2023 worldwide threat assessment, have expressed concern that such launches and satellite development “shortens the timeline” for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile due to the similar technology used. — In a tragic incident in Los Angeles, an elderly man shot and killed his wife and two adult children before taking his own life in their home. The Los Angeles Police Department reported a shooting around 7 p.m. in the Granada Hills area. Officers arrived at the scene, where a witness led them to four deceased individuals in a situation described by police as a murder-suicide. — In Pacific, Missouri, a car crashed into a nail salon, resulting in the death of a woman and injuries to three others. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the incident occurred Saturday afternoon, about 30 miles southwest of St. Louis. Jill Goddard, 61, who was in the salon, was killed, and the 57-year-old driver and two salon patrons were hospitalized with minor injuries. — Two individuals have been arrested in connection with the discovery of an abandoned newborn girl found behind dumpsters in Mississippi last week. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office reported the arrests last Friday on social media but did not provide further details. The infant was discovered wrapped in blankets in a car seat behind dumpsters at the Grove of Cayce mobile home park, near the Tennessee border. — An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, who was violently knocked to the ground during a traffic stop, expressed his gratitude for surviving the ordeal. The patrol shared dashcam footage on Facebook, showing the moment Trooper Jesse Gregory was struck by another vehicle while he was attending to a stopped car on Interstate 40 near Yukon on January 18th. — Two activists protesting for sustainable food systems attacked the “Mona Lisa” at the Louvre Museum in Paris by throwing soup at its protective glass. A social media video showed two women, wearing T-shirts with “FOOD RIPOSTE” inscribed, crossing a security barrier to approach Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting and launching soup at its glass shield. — Police and sheriff’s officials say they rescued circus animals including zebras and camels on Saturday when a tractor-trailer hauling them caught fire while traveling on an Indiana highway. Traffic on northbound Interstate 69 near Marion, Ind., was blocked when the vehicle hauling the animals caught fire at 2 a.m., according to the Grant County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department. Officials said Indiana State Trooper Edward Titus and Grant County Deputy Joshua Kennedy entered the trailer and were able to rescue the animals. The pair along with a worker for the Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne, Ind., rescued five zebras, four camels and a miniature horse from the trailer. No animals were injured or missing, but Titus and Kennedy were treated for smoke inhalation. The preliminary crash investigation by State Police revealed that an equipment failure was the cause of the fire.

Latest News Headlines for Saturday January 27, 2024 – Ukrainian officials have refuted Russian claims that Ukrainian forces downed a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian POWs for an exchange, stating Russia has not provided convincing proof. The Ukrainian entity responsible for prisoner swaps reported that Russia belatedly shared a list of 65 Ukrainians alleged to have perished in the plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region on Wednesday, but the evidence supporting the crash’s circumstances remains unsubstantiated. — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall described the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen hypoxia as “textbook” in a recent news conference. Conducted on Thursday night, this execution was the first instance of using nitrogen hypoxia, a method designed to induce asphyxiation by inhaling pure nitrogen or high concentrations of it. The process was carried out with a gas mask. — International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies took place worldwide on Saturday, amid ongoing anti-far-right protests in Germany and pro-Palestinian marches in Italy. The U.S. State Department, in a Saturday statement, honored the memory of six million Jews and others, including Roma, Sinti, political dissidents, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ persons, who were victims of the Holocaust. — A bill to modernize the regulation of the booming oil industry in New Mexico, the nation’s second-largest oil producer, has successfully passed its initial legislative committee review. The proposed legislation aims to update the state’s 1930s-era Oil and Gas Act, addressing the industry’s rapid expansion and increasing demands for environmental accountability, including air pollution, spills, and the cleanup of equipment and abandoned wells. — A significant multi-vehicle collision on the U.S.-50 Bay Bridge in Maryland Saturday morning resulted in multiple injuries. The crash occurred around 8 AM on the bridge’s westbound span, spanning the Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland Transportation Authority Police reported that several individuals were transported to hospitals, though the severity of their injuries has not been disclosed. — Mike Weber of Sunrise Farms faced a poultry farmer’s worst nightmare last month when his chickens tested positive for avian flu. In compliance with government regulations, Weber’s farm in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, had to cull its entire flock of 550,000 egg-laying hens to prevent the disease’s spread. “It’s a trauma. We’re all going through grief as a result of it,” Weber remarked, standing in an empty hen house. — The family of Nicholas Overfield, a 39-year-old California man with HIV, has filed a lawsuit alleging he was denied essential medication while in jail, leading to his death. Arrested in February 2022, Overfield passed away in June at a hospital after, as claimed by his family, being deprived of his prescribed antiretroviral medication during his two-month detention at El Dorado County Jail. The lawsuit was filed last week. — Tennessee District Attorney Glenn Funk has dismissed charges against country singer Chris Young, following an incident involving Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents. Funk announced on Friday that the charges, which included assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, were dropped after a thorough review of the evidence. Young’s arrest, which occurred last Monday night, was previously reported by various news outlets. — A passionate Taylor Swift fan from Pakistan set a new Guinness World Record by accurately recognizing 34 of Swift’s songs solely from their lyrics in just one minute. 20-year-old Bilal Ilyas Jhandir faced the challenge of identifying each song based on lyrics read to him without any background music. The songs chosen for the attempt were Swift’s 50 top-selling tracks, presented in a random sequence. Jhandir succeeded in naming 34 songs within a minute, surpassing the previous record of 27, held by Dan Simpson since 2019. Speaking to Guinness World Records, Jhandir expressed his lifelong admiration for Swift, saying, “I have been a fan of Taylor Swift since my childhood. I am a die-hard fan. I have listened to every one of her songs and can identify almost any of them just from the lyrics.”

Latest News Headlines for Thursday January 25, 2024 – The Federal Aviation Administration has issued comprehensive guidelines for airlines to initiate inspections of their seven-thirty-seven Max-9 aircraft, a step towards resuming their operation. Following an incident where an Alaska Airlines flight lost a door plug mid-air, the FAA had grounded nearly 200 planes of this model. Alaska Airlines announced its intention to reintegrate some of its seven-thirty-seven MAX planes back into service on Friday after meticulous inspections. — A Russian military aircraft transporting 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war was downed in Russia’s Belgorod region, near the border with Ukraine, as confirmed by Russian authorities. The Ukrainian POWs were being moved to the Belgorod region for an “exchange,” per a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Il-76 aircraft also carried six crew members and three Russian military personnel. — The Hoo-thee rebels’ recent attack on a U.S.-registered commercial vessel indicates their determination to persist with their assaults despite multiple U.S. military airstrikes. The group targeted the U.S.-owned, flagged, and operated commercial ship Maersk Detroit with anti-ship ballistic missiles while it navigated the Gulf of Aden. This information was disclosed in a statement by the U.S. Central Command. — Johnson & Johnson has consented to a $149.5 million settlement with the state of Washington, addressing a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Ferguson unveiled the settlement, revealing that Johnson & Johnson is set to pay the total amount in a single payment within the current fiscal year. Out of the settlement, $123.3 million is earmarked for addressing the state’s fentanyl crisis. — In a remote area of the Mojave Desert, deputies discovered the remains of six individuals at a dirt crossroads. The scene was so grim that local TV stations in Southern California chose to blur parts of the images taken from their helicopters. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies, conducting a welfare check, arrived at the location off Highway 395 near El Mirage at approximately 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. They found five bodies initially, with a sixth body discovered on Wednesday morning, as relayed by sheriff’s spokesperson Mara Rodriguez. — In Northern California, a woman was rescued after spending nearly 15 hours stranded atop her overturned pickup truck amidst rushing waters of a swollen creek. The California Highway Patrol Air Operations helicopter team safely transported the woman to shore after she attempted to cross the flooded creek in a park. Shaun Bouyea, a flight officer and paramedic with the California Highway Patrol, remarked on the woman’s incredible survival throughout the 15-hour predicament. — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has labeled social media a “public health hazard” and an “environmental toxin,” advocating for the protection of youth from online harms. A city advisory highlighted a decade-long decline in the mental health of New York’s youth. Data from 2021 indicates that 77% of the city’s high school students spend over three hours daily on screens for non-homework-related activities during weekdays. — A groundbreaking gene therapy study has restored hearing in children with a hereditary form of deafness. Co-conducted by researchers at Mass Eye and Ear, a specialty hospital in Boston, the clinical trial focused on six children with DFNB9 genetic deafness. This condition arises from OTOF gene mutations that prevent the production of otoferlin, a crucial protein for conveying sound signals from the ear to the brain. — Employees at a library in Maryland were astonished to discover an unexpected item in their return box: a Pink Floyd CD borrowed in 1989. The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System revealed that the Laurel Branch Library staff were taken aback when they found a Wish You Were Here CD, overdue by 35 years, in their returns. The CD, which had been missing for so long that it no longer appeared in the library’s digital records, was anonymously returned, leaving the identity of the patron who brought it back unknown. Despite the significant delay in its return, the library confirmed that no fines would be imposed, as the institution has adopted a policy of not charging late fees.

Latest News Headlines for Wednesday January 24, 2024 – Turkish legislators endorsed Sweden’s membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country’s entry into the military alliance. The legislators ratified Sweden’s accession protocol by 287 votes to 55, with four abstentions. The ratification will come into effect after its publication in the Official Gazette, which is expected to be swift. Hungary then becomes the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden’s accession. — Egyptian officials have lashed out over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that Israel will have to take control of a roughly 100-yard buffer zone on the Gaza side of the war-torn Palestinian territory’s 9-mile-long border with Egypt. Israeli officials have said smuggling across that buffer, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, both above ground and through tunnels, has provided Gaza’s Hamas rulers with weapons and other supplies — allegations that Egypt vehemently denies. “The Philadelphi Corridor — or to put it more correctly, the southern stoppage point of the Gaza Strip— must be in our hands. It must be shut,” Netanyahu said. — At least six people were killed and more than 60 were injured in a wave of Russian missile strikes against cities in eastern and central Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv. Five of the deaths were in the frontline city of Kharkiv in the northeast of the country after residential buildings were hit in attacks that also injured 51, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a social media post. Mount Sinai doctors are seeing an increase in heart problems prompted by respiratory infections, and it’s happening across all age groups — Flu and COVID-19 are sweeping across the country, posing a particular hazard to people at risk for heart disease. These respiratory infections can trigger heart complications from fever, dehydration and inflammation, experts from Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital say. — A New York man has been found guilty of fatally shooting a 20-year-old woman who was in the passenger seat of a friend’s car when they turned into the wrong driveway,WTEN TV. On the night of April 15, 2023, Kaylin Gillis and her friends mistakenly pulled into the long, dark driveway of 65-year-old Kevin Monahan in rural Hebron, New York, while they were looking for a friend’s house, authorities said. Monahan, standing on his deck, fired at least two shots toward the group and fatally hit Gillis in the neck, authorities said. — An elderly man fatally shot his wife and then himself at an assisted living facility in Florida, police said Tuesday. Staff at the Addington Place at College Harbor facility found the couple dead in the woman’s room around 10 a.m., the St. Petersburg Police Department said in an email. The 81-year-old man was visiting his 76-year-old wife when the shooting happened, investigators said. — The Los Angeles Times said it planned to lay off at least 115 employees — more than 20% of the newsroom — starting Tuesday, one of the largest staff cuts in the newspaper’s 143-year history. The announcement came after the LA Times Guild walked off the job last Friday to protest the imminent layoffs, the institution’s first ever newsroom union work stoppage. Matt Pearce, president of the Media Guild of the West, which encompasses the Times’ union, called Tuesday a “dark day.” — With tax season set to kick off next week, the IRS is launching a new initiative to redesign and simplify common tax documents. The changes will eventually apply to around 170 million letters that are sent out to individual taxpayers every year. The notices, for example, remind taxpayers of how much they owe, that they have made an error on their returns, or that they have been victims of identity theft. — An upstate New York feline shelter is witnessing a surge in donations as football enthusiasts rally to support Tyler Bass following his critical missed field goal, contributing to the Buffalo Bills’ departure from the NFL playoffs. Ten Lives Club, a no-kill cat rescue organization located in Buffalo, reported receiving over $25,000 in contributions on Monday, with the total soaring to $90,000 by Tuesday afternoon. In the pivotal game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park, N.Y., Bass’s attempt veered wide right in the closing moments, concluding in a 27-24 defeat for the Bills. Bass, who serves as a brand ambassador for Ten Lives Club, displayed visible disappointment as he retreated from the field, his face concealed within his jersey collar after the disheartening game outcome.