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US military shoots down missiles and drones as it faces growing threats in volatile Middle East

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With tensions spiking in the Middle East, U.S. forces in the region are facing increasing threats, as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel Thursday and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks. The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. The action by the Carney potentially represented the first shots by the U.S. military in the defense of Israel in this conflict.Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the missiles were “potentially” headed toward Israel but said the U.S. hasn’t finished its assessment of what they were targeting. A U.S. official said they don’t believe the missiles — which were shot down over the water — were aimed at the U.S. warship. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations that had not yet b...

Pelicans exercise options on Murphy, Daniels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have exercised a fourth-year option on wing player Trey Murphy and a third-year option on guard Dyson Daniels, securing both former first-round draft choices through the 2024-25 season.Murphy was selected 17th overall in the 2021 NBA draft and has appeared in 141 games with 66 starts during his first two NBA seasons.He has averaged 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 23.5 minutes per contest while shooting 46% on field goals, 40% from 3-point range and 90% on free throws.Murphy also participated in the dunk contest during last season’s NBA All-Star weekend, finishing second.He is expected to be one of New Orleans’ premier scorers off the bench after he returns from minor meniscus surgery on his left knee, which is expected to cause him to miss the first month of the regular season. Daniels was selected eighth overall in 2022. He appeared in 59 games with 11 starts as a rookie for New Orleans, averaging 3.8 points, 3.2 ...

¿Quién es Joran van der Sloot, el asesino confeso de Natalee Holloway y Stephany Flores?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

(CNN Español) — Joran van der Sloot reconoció otro crimen. Confesó que había matado a Natalee Holloway, la joven desaparecida desde el 2005 en Aruba a pesar de que antes se había declarado inocente de extorsión y fraude hacia la madre de la joven.Así, Van der Sloot profundiza su prontuario criminal. Ya había confesado también haber matado a Stephany Flores de 21 años, en la habitación de su hotel de Lima antes de ser extraditado a Estados Unidos para enfrentarse a los cargos de extorsión y fraude.Tuvieron que pasar casi veinte años para que la familia de Natalee Holloway pudiese ponerle punto final a su pesadilla. El sujeto neerlandés, actualmente de 36 años, está cumpliendo 28 años de prisión por el crimen perpetuado en Perú.Lo planeó todo: no solo fue la última persona con la que vio a la víctima, junto a otros dos hombres en un club nocturno en Aruba, sino que no se había quebrado en ninguna de las detenciones que tanto él como los hermanos Deepak y Satish Kalpoe habían ten...

Aaron Donald is still a Steelers fan. He’ll try to beat them when his hometown team visits his Rams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kenny Pickett was an early-enrollee freshman at Pitt when he first met Aaron Donald, who still spends every offseason training at his alma mater.Although the teenage quarterback understandably didn’t become fast friends with the All-Pro defensive lineman, Pickett credits the Los Angeles Rams star with more help in his football career than even Donald realizes.“He kind of showed me the way, and showed me how to train and how to work,” said Pickett, now the Steelers’ starting quarterback. “From afar, I would just watch. I never really talked — just hellos — until I earned his respect to be able to talk to him a little bit more. But there’s a reason he is who he is, and he works hard. Showed me the ropes.”So if Pickett ends up becoming the 53rd NFL quarterback to be sacked by Donald on Sunday when Pittsburgh (3-2) visits Los Angeles (3-3), he might feel the slightest bit ambivalent about it.Donald might have the same mixed feelings during his third ...

Improved Raiders defense still has to prove itself against better offenses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Given the lack of explosive offenses the Raiders have faced, how much credit should be given to what suddenly has become a shut-down defense is debatable.Las Vegas’ defense, though, is at least getting the job done — something that wasn’t the case last season when it was among the NFL’s worst.It’s the defense, in fact, that sealed victories six days apart. Amik Robertson intercepted a pass in the end zone on Oct. 9 against Green Bay, and on Sunday, Maxx Crosby and Bilal Nichols combined on a sack for a safety against New England.“We talk about being the reason we win, and that’s our goal as a defense,” Crosby said. “We’re playing better complementary football for two weeks, so you’ve got to keep that momentum going.”Those game-saving plays weren’t one-offs. The Packers and Patriots combined to score 30 points against Las Vegas, and each team was held to fewer than 300 yards of offense.“I think we’re connected mor...

Biden makes case for wartime aid for Israel, Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — President Joe Biden in his fourth prime-time address to the nation Thursday night pitched the American public on the need to continue funding the wars in Israel and Ukraine.Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge. The long-expected ground invasion has not yet happened, but the country's defense minister has told troops to “be ready” to invade.Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel on Thursday from Gaza and Lebanon, and tensions flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Jim Jordan to support empowering temporary speaker Patrick McHenry: source Biden’s funding request is likely to be around $100 billion over the next year, according to people directly familiar with the proposal who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.A senior White House official told The Associated Press that Biden continued to develop his remarks on Thursday after working with...

'Gruesome' scene where woman found dismembered shocks neighbors at Aurora condos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — The people who live at the Aurora condominium complex where a woman was found dismembered told FOX31 it’s usually a quiet place.But on Wednesday night, a gunshot broke the silence, and what followed was what Aurora Police say is one of the most disturbing things investigators have seen.“This is one of the most gruesome crime scenes they have had to respond to,” said Agent Matthew Longshore, public information officer for the Aurora Police Department.Parts of 62-year-old Elena Vonfeldt’s body were found both inside and outside the condo in a nearby dumpster. The condos are in the 18300 block of East Kepner Place. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Police had gone to the unit looking for Vonfeldt. Police say her son told them she had gone to the privately owned condo on the second floor for work as a housekeeper and never to her other appointments later in the day.“So, her son drove to this condo, because he knew that’s where s...

In prime-time address, Biden declares support for Israel and Ukraine is ‘vital’ for U.S. security

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden declared it is “vital for America’s national security” for Israel and Ukraine to succeed in their wars, making the case Thursday night for deepening U.S. involvement in a rare Oval Office address as he prepared to ask for billions of dollars in military assistance for both countries.If international aggression is allowed to continue, Biden said, “conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world.”“Hamas and Putin represent different threats,” Biden said. “But they share this in common. They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”He said he would send an urgent funding request to Congress, which is expected to be roughly $100 billion over the next year. The proposal, which will be unveiled on Friday, includes money for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, humanitarian aid and border management.“It’s a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations,” Biden said.Biden ...

Police: Driver, 17, killed in rollover crash after fleeing police, slamming into Florida City home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

A chaotic chain of events in Florida City left a teenage driver dead after, police said, he slammed into a home while fleeing from officers.Miami-Dade Police units arrived at the scene of the rollover crash in the River Oaks townhome community, near Southwest 336th Street and 180th Avenue, Thursday afternoon.According to investigators an officer with MDPD Robbery Intervention Detail was at a gas station, located about 10 blocks away from the crash scene, and attempted to speak with the driver for an unknown reason.Police said the driver slammed the door of his car on the officer’s hand and fled, in the process striking a car in the parking lot. The woman behind the wheel is OK.Investigators said another RID officer tried to stop the driver, who was traveling at a high rate of speed.Moments later, the motorist made a U-turn, lost control of the vehicle and ran up in the grass outside of a home, flipping over several times before slamming into the wall of the home.The driver was...

Biden makes the case for wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine in primetime address

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:13 GMT

(CNN) — President Joe Biden tied the wars in Ukraine and Israel together during a primetime Oval Office address Thursday, making an impassioned appeal to the American people to support two fellow democracies that he says are facing existential threats.The president warned that the US and democracies around the world are at an inflection point amid a rising tide of threats from autocrats and terrorist groups. The United States plays a central role in allowing democracy to stand firm and the wars in Israel and Ukraine – while very different in the ways they are being fought and the history behind them – share critical factors in common.“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, completely annihilate it,” Biden said.“We can’t let petty partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation. We cannot and will not let terrorists like...