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The Chicago Bulls are in turmoil with seemingly little to build on. Is coach Billy Donovan’s job in jeopardy?

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

The Chicago Bulls are ready for change.Executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas made that clear this week. The 5-14 start entering their game Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center is a harsh wake-up call that the roster can’t continue as it stands. The Bulls are stuck in a holding pattern as they await the first checkpoint of the trade window in mid-December, when players will become available and a shake-up can begin.But would that include fourth-year coach Billy Donovan?If recent history is the only guide, it’s a fair assumption that the coach’s chair in Chicago is beginning to heat up. The last two coaches the Bulls released were in similarly bleak positions before they were fired during the season, prompting multiple upheavals in the last decade.The Bulls cut the cord on Fred Hoiberg after a 5-19 start in 2018, a move that “blindsided” the coach after four consecutive losing seasons. Jim Boyl...

Israel strikes Gaza after truce expires, in clear sign that war has resumed in full force

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE and JULIA FRANKEL, The Associated PressDEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli fighter jets hit Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday shortly after a weeklong truce expired, the military said, as the war resumed in full force.Airstrikes hit southern Gaza, including the community of Abassan east of the town of Khan Younis, the Interior Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said. Another strike hit a home northwest of Gaza City.Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.Loud, continuous explosions were heard coming from the Gaza Strip and black smoke billowed from the territory.In Israel, sirens blared at three communal farms near Gaza warning of incoming rocket fire, suggesting Hamas had also resumed its attacks.Related ArticlesWorld | Siggins: Polls confirm Israel winning PR war World | Israeli military confirms release of 8 more Israeli hostages from captivity...

$20K in stolen jewelry found in car of driver asleep at wheel: deputies

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Over $20,000 worth of jewelry stolen in San Diego County was found in a vehicle in Lake Elsinore, and the driver was arrested, authorities said.Riverside County Sheriff's Office deputies discovered the valuables around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday when they were inspecting a car that was stopped in traffic lanes, the agency said in a news release. Deputies found the driver asleep behind the wheel near Grape Street and Railroad Canyon Road.During their search, deputies also found $8,000 in cash, more than 80 grams of methamphetamine and "other items related to drug sales," the release said. Mikey Williams pleads guilty to single count of making criminal threats "The jewelry was later connected to a burglary in San Diego County with a victim being identified," the release stated.Deputies booked George Moore, a 59-year-old Wildomar man, into Cois Byrd Detention Center. He was facing charges of drug sales and possession of stolen property.

Five takeaways from the fiery DeSantis-Newsom debate on Fox

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) went head to head in a Fox News debate on Thursday as the governors — one a current presidential contender and the other seen as a future White House prospect — clashed over their records and policy.During the fiery 90-minute debate moderated by Sean Hannity and branded as “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate,” DeSantis and Newsom took jabs at each other over how they handled key issues like the COVID-19 pandemic, crime and abortion, at times reverting to personal attacks such as calling each other bullies.The debate came against the backdrop of DeSantis’s presidential campaign. The Florida governor was initially seen as a threat to Donald Trump but is now lagging in polls behind not only the former president but also former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.Meanwhile, Newsom has been widely floated as a presidential hopeful; while he has said he’s not interested in challenging President Biden next year, the Fox News ...

Nearly 2 months into the war, many Israelis have no idea if their relatives are dead or alive

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — There was no trace of Hanan Yablonka — not on the 42-year-old Israeli’s social media accounts nor on his phone, found in the bullet-riddled car he and three friends tried to flee in after Hamas militants attacked the music festival they were attending in southern Israel.The friends were killed in the Oct. 7 attack. But nearly two months later, Yablonka’s family still has no news about what happened to him. He is one of dozens of people still unaccounted for after Hamas infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.Some of the bodies of those who died were so badly burned in fires or explosions during the attacks that there’s little left to identify. Others who might still be alive haven’t been traced, forcing families to live in limbo. “It’s a big nightmare,” Yablonka’s niece, Emanuel Abady, told The Associated Press. “Is he alive, is he dead, or where is the body? Maybe he’s in Gaza. … Maybe he got hurt, m...

CSIS whistleblower hopes they ‘lit a match’ with allegations of rape and harassment

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

VANCOUVER — A CSIS officer who is among a group of whistleblowers raising allegations of sexual assault and harassment in the spy agency’s British Columbia office says she hopes their actions have “lit a match” to change what she calls a “dark and disturbing place.”She says she and her colleagues want to “force change” at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, where they say they suffered abuse and ill-treatment at the hands of senior colleagues in the agency’s physical surveillance unit in B.C.Her comments come after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called their allegations “devastating,” and said everyone should feel protected at work no matter how secretive their duties. Trudeau said Thursday the “entire government” was following up “very directly” on the issues raised by the whistleblowers, who can’t be named because of a law against identifying covert officers.He was responding to an inv...

Meteorological Winter Opens With a Series of Wet Systems in Chicago; Atlantic Hurricane Season Ends—Record Warm Ocean Waters Win Over El Niño

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

Chicagoans basked in warmer Pacific air Thursday with high temps reaching 51 degrees at O'Hare and 55 degrees at Midway. This was the warmest day since the 54-degree high back on Nov. 19th.It's been a warmer-than-normal season in Chicago. Thursday marked the final day of the 3-month Meteorological/Climatological Season—and 2 of this season's 3 months have come in well above normal.Though 66% of November days have produced temps of 50-degree and higher this month—the fact is, only 26% of the past Nov. 30ths have generated temps 50-degrees or higher. So that places Thursday's high among the 16% warmest closing days of November in the 153 years since 1871.The final day of November finished close to 7° above normal—and in so doing, matched the ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS which have occurred 20 of the past 30 days.  Low pressure is developing on the Texas/Oklahoma border and ingesting a moisture-rich flow off the Gulf of Mexico which is to allow its precip shield to grow.  The northeast-bound sys...

Prospects for international co-operation in ensuring climate resilience in Central Asia

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

Central Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world to climate changes. The region, characterized by drought, sharp temperature fluctuations and low precipitation, as well as heterogeneous distribution of resources, is particularly vulnerable to climate change.According to the United Nations Development Program, the average annual temperature in Central Asia has increased by 0.5°C over the past 30 years and is projected to increase by 2.0-5.7°C by 2085. The increased frequency and speed of extreme weather events and natural disasters threaten physical security, critical infrastructure and access to health and education. Economic and social instability, low levels of research capacity, and high degradation of agricultural and natural landscapes also negatively affect the ability of Central Asian states to cope with climate change.1. Climate and related water, energy and other problems have a serious negative impact on all the countries in the region.First, climate change ...

Loved ones search for missing Palmdale boy with autism

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

Authorities are searching for a boy who disappeared in Palmdale on Thursday.The critically missing child was identified as Jonathan Burnside, 11, by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.Burnside was last seen on the 800 block of West Palmdale Boulevard around 5:15 p.m.His family said he has autism and other mental health issues. His loved ones are concerned for his well-being as he requires medicine.Burnside is described as a male standing 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair in a flat-top style. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, blue jacket, blue pants and a silver chain.Jonathan Burnside, 11, in a photo from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.A “critically missing person” is defined as:-A person in critical need of medical attention-A person who has no pattern of running away or disappearing-The victim of a crime or foul play-The victim of a kidnapping or parental abduction-A person who is mentally impaired to the exte...

Man arrested in connection with BART service disruption

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:30:31 GMT

OAKLAND — BART on Thursday said a San Francisco man was arrested in connection with a major service disruption a day earlier between Oakland and San Francisco.Related ArticlesNovember 30, 2023Crime and Public Safety | South San Francisco police say a man assaulted car passenger into critical condition, arrest made November 29, 2023Crime and Public Safety | East Bay businessmen sentenced to prison for tax fraud November 29, 2023Crime and Public Safety | East Bay Woman charged in connection to deadly wrong-way Peninsula crash November 28, 2023Crime and Public Safety | Daly City woman arrested on suspicion of robbery, child endangerment November 28, 2023Crime and Public Safety | Suspect arrested in double stabbing at San Mateo bar The man entered the Transbay Tube shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday by pulling the emergency door release of a train traveling through the tube, according to BART.“Our tube alarms w...