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Balloons, bands and Santa: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ushers in holiday season in New York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Beloved characters like Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants soared through the skies above New York City Thursday while bands march along the streets below as the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ushered in the holiday season.The parade started on Manhattan’s Upper West Side making its way alongside Central Park in front of big crowds and a national television audience before ending in front of Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street.Among the big names performing is Cher, who just released her first Christmas album. The Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy Award-winner has a prime spot — performing just before the arrival of Santa Claus, which marks the end of the parade.Other celebrities and musical groups taking part include Jon Batiste, Bell Biv DeVoe, Brandy, Jessie James Decker, Pentatonix and Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke. The parade also includes performances from the casts of some Broadway shows.New balloons debuting this year include Leo the lizard, a chara...

Qatar says Gaza cease-fire will begin at Friday morning, with aid to follow ‘as soon as possible’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will began Friday morning, Qatar said, a day later than originally announced, as negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which is to lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.The deal appeared to hit a last-minute snag when Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced a one-day delay late Wednesday, without providing a reason. The cease-fire was originally set to begin Thursday morning.On Thursday, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the cease-fire will start at...

Police seek help from public in locating 12-year-old girl reported missing from Little Havana

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

Authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating 12-year-old Shirley Carcamo, who was reported missing from the Little Havana area. Shirley Carcamo was last seen Wednesday and is described as 5’1″ tall, approximately 110 pounds, with brown hair and black eyes. Anyone with information about Shirley’s whereabouts is urged to contact authorities at 305-603-6300 or 305-579-6111.

Jewish groups criticize pope over ‘terrorism’ comments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

Jewish groups criticized Pope Francis over his statements that the Israel-Hamas conflict has moved beyond war to terrorism.“The pope publicly accused both parties of terrorism,” the Assembly of Italian Rabbis said on Thursday, according to Italian news reports. “These stances at the highest level follow problematic statements by distinguished members of the Church in which either there is no trace of condemnation of Hamas aggression — or, in the name of supposed impartiality, they equate aggressor and aggressed,” they added.On Wednesday, Pope Francis met with two delegations — one of Israeli families of hostages held by Hamas, and the other of Palestinians from Gaza with relatives in Israeli prisons. Shortly after, he called on people to pray for both sides, as both are suffering. “This is what wars do,” the pope warned. “But here, we have gone beyond wars. This is not war. This is terrorism.”The American Jewish Committee cri...

Tensions rise over future of the world’s largest security body

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

Moscow has claimed another casualty in its invasion of Ukraine: the world’s largest security body. Since 2021, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been at a standstill, with Russia refusing to approve Estonia taking over as chair in 2024. Now a possible solution is emerging — but it is proving divisive for the EU. This week Russia (and Belarus) reiterated they are not willing to let Estonia take over running the OSCE for next year. Government officials from Estonia, which has been the candidate since 2020, did not hide their anger. “For years now, Moscow has prevented the organization from adopting its budget, holding official OSCE events, and extending foreign missions, resulting in the end of all OSCE foreign missions in Ukraine, which has been subjected to Russia’s aggression,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement on Tuesday. “As Russia is violating all fundamental principles of the OSCE with i...

Italian minister engineers unscheduled stop by public train

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

Italy’s agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, has been condemned by the country’s political opposition after a regularly scheduled high speed train made an unscheduled stop so he could disembark. Lollobrigida — the brother-in-law of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — was a passenger on a train on Tuesday that was delayed by about two hours. “I’m Minister Lollobrigida, they’re expecting me at 2:40 p.m. in Caivano, I need to get off,” the minister allegedly told the train conductor, according to the Il Fatto Quotidiano daily newspaper. Lollobrigida and his staff then got off the train some 20 kilometers south of Rome in Ciampino — a city not on the train’s schedule of stops — and continued their journey by car. The Italian opposition has censured Lollobrigida’s behavior, accusing him of abuse of power. “If Minister Lollobrigida really stopped a high speed train at a station on the Rome-Naples route and then got of...

Daryl Hall obtains restraining order against John Oates amid confidential lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

(CNN) — Daryl Hall filed a lawsuit Thursday against former bandmate John Oates in Nashville’s chancery court, according to court records.The two musicians are famous as the members of the eponymous Hall & Oates rock duo that had tremendous success in the early 1980s with hits like “Private Eyes” and “Maneater.”The suit by Hall against Oates as an individual and Oates’s trust is listed as a “contract/debt” dispute, but the details of the case are sealed, court records show.On Friday, the court granted Hall’s motion for a temporary restraining order to take effect November 30, according to records.Because the file is largely sealed, the nature of the restraining order is not apparent. Such an order might typically be entered in a business dispute to keep one party from harming the other party’s economic interests.CNN has reached out to representatives and attorneys of both Hall and Oates for comment and more information.The hitmakers me...

‘Everybody is pretty darn helpful’: Boat operators rescue about 20 people after deadly Alaska landslide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

(CNN) — After a Monday landslide that authorities say killed at least three people near a remote community in southeast Alaska, a group rescued about 20 people from the affected area, a resident involved in the effort said.Search efforts for three people who remain missing have finished for the evening, and a search strategy will be announced Thursday, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a Wednesday news release.The landslide was reported around 9 p.m. local time Monday on the Zimovia Highway near Wrangell and walloped three homes in its path, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said. The state’s transportation department said the path grew to an estimated 450 feet wide and had a significant debris field.A girl was found dead during initial search and rescue efforts Monday night, and the remains of two adults were recovered after they were located by a drone operator Tuesday, according to the department of public safety.Nearby r...

Sources: Deadly crash at US-Canadian border bridge involved husband and wife in a Bentley, investigators believe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

(CNN) — Investigators think a deadly crash Wednesday morning at the Rainbow Bridge, which links the US and Canada, involved a man who was traveling with his wife in a Bentley at a high rate of speed, law enforcement sources told CNN.The speeding vehicle hit a curb, then a guardrail that sent the vehicle airborne and into a secondary screening area, the sources said.The man, who lived in New York State, had plans to attend a KISS concert in Canada but when it was canceled, went to a casino in the US instead, investigators believe. The crash occurred after the couple left the casino, the sources told CNN.The vehicle had entering the bridge area on the US side, law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said. Earlier reports had indicated the car was traveling from Canada to the US.The explosion on the eve of the US Thanksgiving holiday led to closures and delays on a busy travel day and early on, prompted concerns it might be a terror attack, but the incide...

4 killed in Thanksgiving morning crash on SR-94

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:43 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Four people were killed in a crash on State Route 94 in Mount Hope Thursday morning, California Highway Patrol confirmed.First responders, including San Diego Police, San Diego Fire-Rescue and CHP, were dispatched to the scene around 2:30 a.m.The incident occurred eastbound near Home Avenue, prompting authorities to close the freeway and divert traffic to the Interstate 15 south. The section of the 94 freeway where the accident happened dips down underneath an overpass. A mangled up black car and debris could be seen in the area.No further information about the cause of the collision or vehicle involved is available at this time. Traffic investigators will release updates at a later time.Caltrans has since reopened all lanes in the area. Check back for updates.FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez contributed to this report.