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It’s Israeli boy’s 9th birthday as he is held in Hamas captivity — and his family waits

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

KFAR SABA, Israel (AP) — Ohad Munder-Zichri’s ninth birthday is on Monday. But instead of celebrating at home with his family and friends, he is believed to be somewhere in Gaza, one of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas since the militants’ devastating Oct. 7 incursion.The fourth-grader from the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba was nabbed along with his mother and grandparents during a holiday visit to his grandparents’ kibbutz of Nir Oz along the border with Gaza.Ohad’s beloved uncle was killed in the attack. The boy, his mom and grandparents disappeared with the only thread of information about them coming from a cellphone signal traced to Gaza.It’s that uncertainty that has been most agonizing for Ohad’s grief-stricken father, Avi Zichri.“I keep imagining what he is going through. He’s a sensitive boy. Did he see dead bodies? He wears glasses. Did they take them from him? Can he see anything?” Zichri said as he nervously chain-smoked cigarettes on his front porch....

5th suspect arrested in 2022 ambush shooting outside high school after football scrimmage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal authorities have announced the arrest of the fifth and final suspect wanted in an ambush shooting that killed a 14-year-old and wounded several other teenagers outside a Philadelphia high school after a football scrimmage last year.U.S. marshals in Philadelphia said 17-year-old Dayron Burney-Thorn was taken into custody Monday in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood after more than a year on the run. Authorities said he jumped from a fourth-story window in an unsuccessful effort to elude capture and was taken to a hospital for treatment.Burney-Thorn, also wanted in a separate homicide a day before the September 2022 shooting near Roxborough High School, had been sought in the Atlanta area but deputy marshals later learned he might have returned to the city and tracked him to a Germantown apartment early Monday, officials said.The reward for information leading to Burney-Thorn’s capture had been increased to $50,000, the U.S. Marshals Eastern...

Warrant says Minnesota investigators found meth in house after gunbattle that wounded 5 officers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Investigators found methamphetamine and traces of the stimulant while searching the home of a Minnesota man who’s now charged with attempted murder in the shootings of five drug task force officers, a search warrant released Monday says.Investigators suspected Karl Thomas Holmberg, 64, and his wife of selling methamphetamine when they raided their house Oct. 12, according to a separate search warrant released last Wednesday. Five officers suffered nonfatal injuries when the gunfire broke out, while a sixth officer who was present in the home was unhurt. Holmberg was injured in his foot. He was charged the next day with six counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and six counts of first-degree assault of a peace officer. His wife has not been charged.Several agencies, led by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, are investigating, and many details remain sketchy about the incident at Holmberg’s home in Glendorado Township nea...

Montana man gets 18 months in federal prison for repeated racist phone calls made to a church

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for making repeated threatening and racist phone calls to a Billings church for two years after he went there seeking help and received a gift card from a Black employee, prosecutors said.Joshua Leon Hiestand, 41, was sentenced Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana. Hiestand pleaded guilty in June to making harassing telephone calls. A stalking charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.“When Hiestand, a white man, went to a Billings church looking for help, an elderly African American woman who worked there responded with kindness and assistance,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a statement. “In return and for nearly two years, Hiestand launched a barrage of harassing, hateful and racist calls and voicemails at her and the church. His racist conduct isn’t just abhorrent, it is illegal.”Prosecutors alleged Hiestand went to the Presbyterian churc...

TFI International Inc. reports US$133.3 million net income amid weaker demand

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

MONTREAL — TFI International Inc. says its net income for the third quarter was US$133.3 million, down from US$245.2 million a year earlier.The Montreal-based transportation company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was US$1.9 billion, down from US$2.2 billion last year. TFI says the decline in revenues was due in part to a reduction in volumes driven by weaker demand. Earnings per diluted share were US$1.54, down from US$2.72. Chairman, president and CEO Alain Bédard says the company executed well during a stretch of weaker demand.He says the company is well-positioned to capitalize on an eventual pick-up in demand. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:TFII)The Canadian Press

Liberals moving ahead on assault-style gun ban with legislation, regulation: LeBlanc

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

OTTAWA — The Liberal government is moving ahead with efforts to keep assault-style firearms out of the hands of Canadians, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday.LeBlanc, who assumed the portfolio over the summer, told a Senate committee the government will enact regulations to complement gun-control legislation being studied by members of the upper chamber.The government bill includes a ban on assault-style firearms that would apply once the legislation comes into force.LeBlanc said planned regulatory changes will ensure a mandatory physical inspection by the RCMP of all new firearm models before they enter the Canadian market. However, people can still buy many such guns currently for sale in Canada.LeBlanc reaffirmed federal plans to re-establish the Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee to independently review the classification of existing models that fall under the prospective new definition of a prohibited firearm in the bill.He said the exercise would identify gun...

Man shot, critically injured near Chicago's Magnificent Mile

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A person was shot Monday afternoon near Chicago's Magnificent Mile, according to police.The man, 37, was found with a gunshot wound in the hotel's lobby in the 500 block of North Michigan Avenue, according to the fire department. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Police said the man was near the sidewalk when someone came up to him, pulled out a gun and shot him. He was shot in the abdomen and thigh, police said. He was taken to Northwestern Medical Center in critical condition. No arrests have been made yet.Detectives are still investigating and anyone with information should call them.Additional details haven't been released.

'Superfog' made of fog and marsh fire smoke blamed for deadly multi-car crashes in south Louisiana

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is calling for prayers for the dead and injured following a series of multi-car accidents that left sections of Interstate 55 near the community of Manchac resembling a junkyard of mangled cars.The Monday morning crashes in south Louisiana were a result of a “superfog” of smoke from marsh fires and dense morning fog. New Trump ad claims Hilary Clinton wanted to brainwash voters Edwards is also asking for blood donations in the wake of the accidents.Officials say at least one person has died. But the final number of fatalities and injuries was still unavailable as of late Monday afternoon.

Where Connor Bedard's home debut stacks up with other Blackhawks' prospects

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Thanks to him, it was one of the most anticipated Blackhawks' games in a number of years, with high ticket demand to see the prospect in action against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. While the hosts as a whole didn't have the night they wanted on Saturday against the Golden Knights, Connor Bedard didn't disappoint. Just 1:30 into his first game at the United Center, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft got the first home goal as he fired his first shot of the night past Adin Hill. It got the 19,867 fans fired up as they got their first regular season glimpse of Bedard in a 5-3 loss to Vegas. It's the second goal of the center's career, with his first coming against the Bruins in his second overall game back on October 11.So how did Bedard's first game at home in Chicago compare to other highly-touted Blackhawks rookies? (AP Photo/Jerry Lai)Patrick Kane - October 6, 2007The only other No. 1 pick in Blackhawks' history made his debut against the team that would ...

State lawmakers return to Springfield Tuesday for fall veto session

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 09:29:53 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — On the eve of the start of the Springfield veto session — the first meeting in four months for state lawmakers — the race is on to determine what, if anything, legislators can pass. But several controversial topics and another election around the corner could halt action at the Capitol.What they’re likely not going to act on, according to a top Democrat, is an extension of a controversial tax scholarship program and supplemental money for communities struggling to deal with the influx of migrants. "The General Assembly will not do a supplemental budget to fund anything that will support ongoing funding for the migrants in Chicago," said State Rep. LaShawn Ford.MORE FROM TAHMAN BRADLEY: Illinois Congressman rips Texas governor for ‘man-made' migrant crisisFord says if state money is going to flow, it will have to come from funds that Illinois Governor JB Pritzker can use at his discretion. Finding additional cash in the budget is not sustainable."This is almo...