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Mike Preston: Inconsistent Ravens are still struggling to be a top-tier team | COMMENTARY

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

It’s hard to tell where the Ravens fit in the NFL picture because there are few good teams.Maybe there are four, but three would be a safe bet right now. The San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are the top teams, and then there is a significant drop-off.The Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills might be in the next tier, and then there is another drop-off.Where are the Ravens? It’s yet to be determined.Right now, they are nomads in search of an identity. They have potential, but with the exception of the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals, so do 28 other teams.How good the Ravens look depends on the half. They totaled 242 yards of total offense and scored on their first four drives against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and then the offense disappeared in the second half before the team held on for a 24-16 victory.“Well, right now it’s a process,” Rav...

DA says arrests show ‘prime example’ of concentration of illegal guns; Two killed in shootings over weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

The arrests of two repeat offenders on firearm charges are a “prime example” of how a core group of people drive the “illegal gun possession menace” in Boston, said Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden on Sunday.His remarks follow a weekend that saw two more fatal shootings in the city.The repeat firearm offenders, Boston-residents Daniel Larkins, 40, and Jamison Gatson, 27, were arrested after separate traffic stops last weeks allegedly revealed illegal weapons in the vehicles.The arrests were made just days before two more men lost their lives to gun violence in Dorchester and Mattapan on Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning.“These cases also highlight the need for us as a society to recognize the concentration of guns among a core group of individuals—in this case, two repeat offenders—and to find ways to break the cycle, which so often leads to violence and tragedy, as we just witnessed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning,” Hayden said, referri...

Israeli rabbis work around the clock – even on the Sabbath – to count the dead from Hamas attack

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

SITRIYA, Israel (AP) — Rarely do rabbis spend the Sabbath counting bodies. But on Saturday, a week after Hamas militants blew easily past Israel’s fortified security fence and gunned down hundreds of Israelis — at music festivals, in their homes, in cars while trying to flee — Israel’s military rabbinate made an exception.At Shura military base in central Israel, bodies have been coming in faster than the rabbis can identify them. Hundreds of soldiers, women, and children in body bags line shelves of refrigerated trucks, awaiting examination. Identification teams gather on plastic stools opposite the trucks to take smoke breaks between shifts. They wear heavy gas masks — the smell of death is overwhelming.“Generally, Jewish law says that you cannot break the Sabbath for a dead person,” said Rabbi Israel Weiss, who is helping lead the operation. “The exception is when a family is in doubt, and the death is so crippling that it may risk the family’s lives. Then, you must work on the S...

Colorado train derails, spilling mangled train cars and coal across a highway

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — A train derailment Sunday spewed coal and mangled train cars across a highway near Pueblo, according to Colorado State Patrol. Photos and videos posted of the wreckage by state patrol and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office appear to show a partially collapsed bridge that runs over the interstate and a semi-truck caught beneath it. The site is about 114 miles (183 km) south of Denver.A Colorado State Patrol spokesperson told The Denver Post that first responders were trying to rescue the semi-truck’s driver from the cab. Law-enforcement have not offered more details on whether anyone was hurt.Officials are directing drivers to avoid the area. Associated Press, The Associated Press

Biden considering trip to Israel in the coming days, but travel isn’t final, according to AP source

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days but nothing has been finalized, a senior administration official said Sunday.The news comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been traveling around the Mideast this past week trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict. Biden has staunchly proclaimed his support for Israel and a trip there would be a firm sign of U.S. support following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The official could not publicly discuss internal deliberations about the potential presidential travel and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.Yet in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, the president warned Israel not to reoccupy Gaza, in his strongest public effort to hold Israel back after the attack that killed more than 1,300 people, including at least 30 U.S. citizens. “I think it’d be a big mistake,” Biden said. “Look, what happened in Gaza, ...

Banana empire heir holds lead with more than half the votes counted in Ecuador presidential race

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A young heir to a banana empire held the lead in early returns from Sunday’s presidential runoff election in Ecuador. Results from the National Electoral Council gave Daniel Noboa had 52.4% of of the vote with about 61% of the ballots counted. Leftist attorney Luisa González had 47.6% of the votes in an election held amid unprecedented violence on the streets and within prisons. Ecuadorians have a universal demand for the new president — safety. Noboa and González have limited governing experience and will undoubtedly have their work cut out.The election comes as more Ecuadorians become victims of drug-related violence that erupted roughly three years ago and intensified in August, when a presidential candidate was assassinated in broad daylight. People continuously watch their backs and limit how often they leave home. The uneasiness even pushed Noboa to add a bulletproof vest to his daily outfit.The election took place without any major incidents. After...

Egypt's leader criticizes Israel's Gaza operation as the top US diplomat extends his Mideast mission

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president criticized Israel’s military operation in Gaza in a stern pushback Sunday to the United States as America's top diplomat extended his frenetic travels across the Mideast trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict.With an Israeli ground offensive looming, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed in some of his strongest language to date that Washington would stand with Israel “today, tomorrow and every day” in a partnership of shared democratic values, but that Israel must take “every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.” He leveled no direct public criticism of Israel or its bombing campaign that has killed civilians in Gaza.From Cairo, where President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi conveyed his criticism, Blinken went to Jordan and planned to return to Israel on Monday, carrying to Israeli leaders the feedback he received in a rush of meetings with leaders throughout the Arab world.His second visit to Isr...

Shots fired at Kirkwood school’s trunk-or-treat event

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

KIRKWOOD, Mo. – One man is in custody after brandishing a handgun and firing shots at a trunk-or-treat event at North Kirkwood Middle School.In a letter sent to parents in the district, the shooting happened just before 5 p.m. Sunday.Tillman Elementary School organized the event, but due to construction projects, the trunk-or-treat was moved to North Kirkwood's school parking lot, in the 11200 block of Manchester Road.According to the school district, an adult began behaving erratically and causing a disturbance. When confronted by other parents, this person pulled out a gun and started shooting into the air. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Other parents tackled the armed man and detained him until police arrived. No one was injured in the...

Senator Laphonza Butler tests positive for COVID

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

(FOX40.COM) -- Two weeks after being chosen for a U.S. Senate seat by Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Laphonza Butler tested positive for COVID-19, according to a post she made on social media. To run or not to run? New California senator faces tough decision on whether to enter 2024 campaign "After a busy first week on the job, I have tested positive for COVID-19 and am experiencing mild symptoms," Butler said in a post on X on Sunday. "Per CDC guidelines I will be isolating while the Senate is in session and working remotely."Butler succeeded the late Dianne Feinstein after the former U.S. senator from California passed away in September.

J Street Alumni Condemn "Pro-Peace" Group for Opposing Gaza Ceasefire

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:00:26 GMT

While Israel continues its war against the Gaza Strip, over 100 former J Street staffers and representatives from its network of university groups are pushing their former organization to join mounting calls for a ceasefire.The letter comes in response to J Street’s push for a congressional resolution that pledges unconditional support to Israel’s war in Gaza. The group, according to a report in The Intercept, is threatening to withhold its endorsement from Democrats who refuse to sign on. The resolution — led by Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and now backed by more than 420 members of Congress — makes no mention of Palestinian civilians, of which Israel has now killed over 2600, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.“As former staff and student representatives of J Street — many of whom are mourning the losses of family and friends in both Israel and Palestine — we condemn the organization’s align...