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Israel’s Netanyahu and allies pass new budget with sweeping grants for settlements, ultra-Orthodox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Wednesday passed a new two-year budget, a step that could bring some stability to his coalition and clear the way for it to press ahead with its religious, pro-settlement agenda.While the budget could buy Netanyahu some quiet inside his coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties, Israel’s most hard-line ever, it also was expected to deepen the divisions in Israel. Critics have accused Netanyahu of increasing spending on his ultra-Orthodox allies for religious programs that have little benefit for the economy and broader society.The vote dragged on overnight, with the budgets for 2023 and 2024 finally passing with a 64-56 vote in parliament after daybreak. It followed weeks of tense negotiations between Netanyahu and the parties in his coalition. “We have received the tools, we’re rolling up our sleeves and going to work,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said after the vote.” The new ...

Pills flowed for years as DEA dragged feet on disciplining opioid distributor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping highly addictive painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended it be stripped of its license for its “cavalier disregard” of thousands of suspicious orders fueling the opioid crisis.The DEA did not respond to repeated questions from The Associated Press about its handling of the case against Morris & Dickson Co. or the involvement of a high-profile consultant the company had hired to stave off punishment and who is now DEA Administrator Anne Milgram’s top deputy.But the delay has raised concerns about how the revolving door between government and industry may be impacting the DEA’s mission to police drug companies blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths.“If the DEA had issued its order in a timely manner, one could then credibly believe that its second-in-command was not involved despite an obvious con...

New Zealand’s central bank raises key interest rate to 5.5% but signals next move will be a cut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate again Wednesday to 5.5% but signaled its next move would be a cut, sparking a sell-off in the currency.Wednesday’s quarter-point rate rise was the 12th straight hike imposed by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand since October 2021. But for the first time since the tightening cycle began, the bank projected the next move would be a cut, which would likely come later next year. The projection was more dovish than markets had expected and caused the New Zealand dollar to drop by more than 1% to trade at a little below U.S. 62 cents. Like many central banks around the world, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has been raising rates to try and tame inflation, which in New Zealand has fallen from a recent peak of 7.3% last June to 6.7%.That remains well above the bank’s target inflation rate of around 2%.New Zealand’s unemployment rate remains low at 3.4%, putting upward pressure...

Big Temp Drop Wednesday—But Warmth Makes a Comeback for the Memorial Day Weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

HERE'S A PLOT OF ESTIMATED PEAK WIND GUSTS Wed through Wed night indicating local 30 mph peak gustsMuch cooler day expected Wednesday afternoon—nowhere more so than along Lake MichiganPredicted mid-afternoon Wednesday temperaturesHow much cooler than same period Tuesday afternoon??Longer Range: Developing Blocking Pattern Across The Eastern U.S. Traps High Pressure Responsible For The Cool-down Setting The Stage For The Warm-up Through The Memorial Day Weekend And Temps Which Near 90° Inland Next WeekThe chill (by May standards) due to sweep into the Chicago area behind the Wed morning frontal passage will hold several days. That's the period Chicago is to sit beneath the WINDY southern flank of a Canadian high pressure system. But this high stalls under the developing upper air blocking pattern and slow warming will begin beginning Friday afternoon and will continue into next week. The air mass is to remain dry here which means nights will be cool. But dry air heats nicely during t...

SKY5 LIVE: Authorities pursue suspects in Los Angeles County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

Authorities are pursuing a high-speed vehicle in Los Angeles County on Tuesday night.At least five occupants may be inside the vehicle. The suspects were initially pulled over for not having a license plate, according to the California Highway Patrol.When officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, they refused and sped off.The suspect was seen traveling at high speeds, hitting 125 miles per hour at times while swerving dangerously among freeway traffic.The vehicle suddenly stopped at a home near West 61st Street and South Grand Avenue when all occupants hopped out of the car and sprinted into the backyard patio door of a home in the neighborhood.Sky5 is overhead.

Beverly Hills man charged with scamming victims over $9 million for fake hemp farm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

A Beverly Hills man was charged Tuesday for allegedly soliciting more than $9 million from investors for a nonexistent hemp farm.The suspect, Mark Roy Anderson, 68, is a disbarred attorney who is currently serving an 11.5-year sentence for an unrelated crime at the time of the indictment.In 2012, Anderson was found guilty of running an “investment scheme that collected more than $9.5 million from victims who were falsely promised huge profits through investments in various oil companies and oil ventures,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.In the current case, Anderson faces five counts of wire fraud alleging he tricked investors into providing funds for his company, Harvest Farm Group, to harvest and process hemp that would be turned into medical-grade CBD isolate and sold for a substantial profit.Anderson allegedly used the stolen funds for personal expenses including over $650,000 worth of luxury and vintage vehicles, over $142,000 in retail purchases and other expenses, wit...

NCS baseball playoffs: De La Salle holds off Pittsburg to reach title game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

CONCORD — What seemed like a quick and comfortable playoff victory for De La Salle on Tuesday turned out to be anything but quick and comfortable.The top-seeded Spartans led by 10 runs after four innings.They were three outs from winning by mercy rule when Pittsburg showed why it reached the North Coast Section Division I semifinals as a No. 12 seed.The Pirates simply wouldn’t stop fighting.They scored two in the top of the fifth to extend the game. They added two more in the sixth, three in the seventh and were one batter from sending the tying run to the plate when a called third strike propelled the home team to the championship game.Final: De La Salle 12, Pittsburg 9.“We got a little too comfortable,” DLS left fielder Kai Smith said. “But it’s baseball. It happens. We’re definitely going to get back to practice. Now we have two more practices left. We get back to everything that went wrong today. We’re going to be much better for t...

A’s lose again, their 10-40 start worst since 1932 Red Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

SEATTLE — The A’s lost for the sixth consecutive game and the 14th time in 16 games after J.P. Crawford and Ty France hit back-to-back home runs in a three-run fifth inning to help Seattle beat Oakland 3-2 Tuesday night.Oakland dropped to 10-40, which projects to a 32-130 record. That would the most losses for any team in a season since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.The A’s matched the 1932 Boston Red Sox and 1897 St. Louis Browns for the fourth-worst 50-game start in big league history at 10-40, ahead of only the 1897 Louisville Colonels at 7-43, and the 1899 Spiders and 1904 Washington Senators at 9-41.A controversial fan interference call hurt the Mariners in the eighth. After France was hit on the left hand by a Trevor May pitch leading off and replaced by pinch-runner Sam Haggerty, Julio Rodríguez hit foul fly down the line near the right-field seats.Ramon Laureano settled under the ball and was about to catch it but a fan raised an arm out of the stands and over...

NCS baseball playoffs: Clayton Valley rocks SRV early, punches ticket to title game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

DANVILLE – One Clayton Valley Charter leadoff single turned into two straight hits. Then three, then four singles in a row. Every other swing by a visiting batter pinged the ball into a gap in the San Ramon Valley defense. By the time the top of the first ended, the statline read six singles, two doubles and seven Ugly Eagles runs. “We put our foot on the gas in the top of the first,” senior Ryder Oakley said. The Wolves had gained a reputation for winning tight games and extra-inning contests, but there would be no comeback on Tuesday night as CVC triumphed 10-1. “It was bound to run out at some point, and it did today,” SRV shortstop Luke Baker said, referring to what he called ‘late-game magic.’DANVILLE – San Ramon Valley shortstop Luke Baker jumps for an RBI line drive in the first inning as a CVC runner advances. San Ramon Valley and Clayton Valley Charter played a high school baseball game in the North Coast Section Playoffs at San Ramon Valley high school in Danvi...

$40K stolen as Marina eyeglasses store burglarized for 6th time in 6 months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:22 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The owner of a designer eyewear shop in San Francisco is pleading for justice after his store continues to be robbed. The latest incident happened Tuesday, and it’s all caught on video.The owner of Veo Optics in the Marina has been robbed six times in six months, causing an estimated loss of $200,000, so he is understandably devastated. On Tuesday, two people stole an estimated $40,000 worth of designer eyeglasses."It's been an emotional day,” said Ryan Restua, the owner of the store. “We are just local business owners, just trying to serve our community, feed our families and take care of our loved ones." 1 killed, 4 injured in SF bus stop crash involving carjacked vehicle This location has been open for ten years on the corner of Union and Octavia Streets."I saved up working two jobs just to be a part of this amazing organization that I truly believe in,” Restua said. Surveillance video of Tuesday’s incident shows two people hopping over the half-open...