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Marine Le Pen courts French Jews as far left refuses to condemn Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

PARIS — Given the antisemitic pedigree of France’s far-right National Rally, it is a remarkable turn of the political tides that party leader Marine Le Pen now sees a prime electoral opportunity in pledging to protect the country’s fearful Jewish community. The moral vacillations of France’s hard left, which is refusing to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization, have horrified French Jews, just as they face a surge in antisemitic offenses, ranging from death threats to graffiti on Jewish shops. And that spells an opportunity for Le Pen. She can seize on a clear anti-Islamist agenda, while the extreme left relies heavily on a support base in immigrant and Muslim communities, where a robust defense of Israel would play badly. Supporting France’s Jews against antisemitism is probably less a play for votes from the world’s third biggest Jewish community than another major step by Le Pen to try to normalize the party and break from its toxic past. &#...

Family members asking for help as officials work to free those kidnapped from Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Family members are urging people to step up and help them a they work to free their loved ones who have been kidnapped by Hamas.Kinneret Stern, whose cousin was kidnapped by Hamas from the Nova music festival, is making a desperate plea for help.“Just help us,” she said. “And help us help them as soon as possible.” Stern said Moran Yaini was kidnapped when Hamas attacked the festival without warning.“We’re shattered,” Stern said. “Seeing her sitting on the ground, praying, asking them, begging them not to do anything to her.”Stern is asking the United States government to do everything they can to release all of the some 200 hostages still held by Hamas.

Michigan State shows Hitler’s image on videoboards in pregame quiz before loss to No. 2 Michigan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State showed Adolf Hitler’s image as part of a pregame quiz on videoboards before playing No. 2 Michigan on Saturday night, and later apologized for the inappropriate content provided by an outside source.Hitler and Austria, his birthplace, flashed on the videoboards long enough for some on social media to share what was seen by some fans more than an hour before kickoff. “MSU is aware that inappropriate content by a third-party source was displayed on the videoboard prior to the start of tonight’s football game,” Michigan State spokesman Matt Larson said. “We are deeply sorry for the content that was displayed, as this is not representative of our institutional values. MSU will not be using the third-party source going forward and will implement stronger screening and approval procedures for all videoboard content in the future.”The pregame quiz provides content well before games on videoboards.Michigan routed Michigan State on ...

Bradley exits on a losing note as Toronto FC loses 2-0 to Orlando in season finale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Captain Michael Bradley, in his final game before retirement, exited on a losing note Saturday as Toronto FC was beaten 2-0 by Orlando City SC in its regular-season finale.While Toronto had most of the play against a second-string Orlando lineup, substitute Duncan McGuire put Orlando ahead in the 63rd minute. The Orlando rookie forward clearly hadn’t read the script, beating Bradley on the play. And McGuire did it again in the 74th minute.It was a game that meant nothing in the standings, with Toronto (4-20-10, 22 points) mired in the league basement and Orlando (18-7-9, 63 points), having already locked up second place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.The loss confirmed the 2023 season as Toronto’s worst-ever.It also marked the third time TFC has finished last in the standings, having done so in its inaugural 2007 season (6-17-7, 25 points) and in 2012 (5-21-8, 23 points).Toronto ends the season on a seven-game losing streak, having won just one of its ...

Police offer warning after string of 6 armed robberies in under 30 minutes on Southwest Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are offering a warning to the public after a string of armed robberies unfolded in only 25 minutes on the city's Southwest Side.According to Chicago police, the robberies happened between 7:30 a.m. and 7:55 a.m. in Archer Heights, New City and Brighton Park on Saturday morning.Police say in each instance, four men between the ages of 16 and 18, armed with handguns, approached the victims in a silver Infinity and demanded property.  13-year-old boy injured in shooting in Grand Boulevard Officers say the four men are believed to stand between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 and weigh between 150 and 175 pounds. According to police, the men were spotted wearing red hooded sweatshirts, red shorts, black sweatshirts and gray pants while wearing sunglasses and ski masks. Chicago police provided the following timeline of the robberies that took place on Saturday morning:7:30 a.m. in the 3800 block of West 47th Street in Archer Heights.7:43 a.m. in the 2800 block of...

Saturday Forecast: Mostly cloudy & a chance of showers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy & a chance of showers. WNW 5-10 mph. Low in the lower 40s.Sunday: Mostly sunny, breezy & seasonal temps. W 10-15, G25-30 mph. High: 58Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Extended outlook calls for a few scattered showers on Monday with a high of 63. Warmer for Tuesday with highs in the mid to low 70s with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of showers/thunderstorms. Near 70 on Wednesday with clouds and a chance of showers along with falling afternoon temps. Temps finish out the week in the mid to low 60s with lots of clouds and a few showers. 

Non-profit hosts youth summit, looks to inspire POC children to pursue careers in health care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

CHICAGO — According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), only 5.7% of physicians identify as Black or African American. A non-profit organization was on the Near West Side Saturday, hoping to plant the seeds that help improve the number in the future.Black Men in White Coats hosted a youth summit at Malcolm X College, where the goal was to inspire children of color to consider pursuing careers in health care."So when I started medical school, there were two Black men in my medical school class. One of my best friends and myself were the only two Black men. It was a class of about a humdred, so about 2%," Dr. Dale Okorodudu said. More from Judy: West Side residents demand return of programs to Amundsen Park Okorodudu founded Black Men in White Coats ten years ago, when the AAMC reported the number of Black men applying to medical schools around the country was declining.This year, Black men in White Coats has continued to raise awareness by making videos and laun...

Kerry Wood helps 'pitch in' for kids mental health around Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

CHICAGO — A program launched by a former Chicago Cubs star pitcher is helping mentors become champions for hundreds of middle schoolers in Chicago.In 2014, Kerry Wood and his wife, Sarah, founded a program through the Wood Family Foundation (WFF) aptly named 'Pitch In,' an after-school mentoring program for middle school students.The first Pitch In program was founded in North Lawndale and in the nine years since, the program has expanded to five schools throughout Chicago, the latest being in the Englewood neighborhood."Our mentors at Pitch In talk to us as a friend," said Mark Dumas, an eighth grader at Sumner Math and Science Middle School in Lawndale. "One time in fifth grade I was feeling down, grades weren't the best I could do and Mr. Al, he helped me and he encouraged me to keep trying and do better." Center for Native Futures aims to honor past, while building future for indigenous peoples According to Chicago Public School dropout statistics, the most pivotal years for h...

Instant Analysis: What does Quinn Ewers' shoulder injury mean going forward?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 8 Texas escaped Houston with a 31-24 on Saturday but starting quarterback Quinn Ewers left the game at the end of the third quarter with a shoulder injury.He tried to play through the injury he suffered after taking a big hit from Houston's David Ugwoegbu who was also injured on the play. Ewers threw two incomplete passes after that before Bert Auburn kicked a 25-yard field goal with 3:17 left in the third. Maalik Murphy played the entire fourth quarter and completed 1 of 2 passes for seven yards.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersIn his postgame press conference, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said he wasn't sure about the severity of Ewers' injury but would know more in the next few days. He's set to do his weekly press conference with media members on Monday, so more information may come then.Jonathan Thomas and Billy Gates discuss the injury ...

Wild erase two deficits but fall to Blue Jackets in OT

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Before the Wild’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night, coach Dean Evason mentioned that he and his staff weren’t crazy about the team’s starts in the season’s first four games.They couldn’t have been happy with Saturday’s start, either.After essentially chasing the puck for half an hour, the Wild woke up and started taking the initiative and erasing two-goal and one-goal deficits to force overtime. Still, it wasn’t enough.Jack Roslovic skated between three Wild players to score the winner, with less than two minutes left in overtime to lift the Blue Jackets to a 5-4 victory and drop the Wild to 2-3-0 this season.Marcus Johansson tied the game, 4-4, late in the third period, and Filip Gustavsson, under siege all night, extended the game into OT and finished with 49 saves.Mats Zuccarello scored his first goal of the season — and had another erased by an offsides challenge — and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Daktoa Mermis also scored for the Wild, who improved to 3-2...