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Colorado artist flees Israel amid missile strikes and explosions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado artist spoke with FOX31 after fleeing Israel in the midst of this weekend’s attacks.Topher Straus flew to Israel for the first time of his life on Saturday. He said he wanted to immerse himself in Israeli sights and culture while working on a painting for the Jewish National Fund. ‘No warning, just booms in the air’: Colorado-raised woman caught in attack on Israel Upon arrival, he quickly experienced terror and fear as missiles started flying above him.'People are scared, people are very angry'Straus shared video from the beach on Saturday after just landing in Tel Aviv, about an hour northeast of Gaza. In it, explosions can be heard and missiles seen in the sky.“As an American, I've never experienced — we've never experienced — anything like this,” Straus said. “Being called into pharmacies as the air raid sirens are going off and people saying, 'Come, come,’ and being rushed down below two stories into a bunker where there’s gas masks. To say that the...

Train carrying military equipment derails in Colorado Springs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A train carrying military equipment derailed Monday evening in Colorado Springs, according to police.Officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department responded around 6:30 p.m., police said. They confirmed the crash happened in the 2700 block of East Las Vegas Street, near the El Paso County jail. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Photos showed train cars and equipment off the tracks and leaning precariously, FOX21 reported. Fort Carson confirmed the derailment to the news station but could not provide any additional details.Police said there were no known injuries.East Las Vegas Street was to remain closed in both directions "for the foreseeable future" from Janitell Road to Highway 85/87. Drivers were urged to use Interstate 25 or Academy Boulevard for north-south travel.

Denver announces grants to boost downtown foot traffic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has long said revitalizing Downtown Denver is a priority for him.He and Downtown Denver Partnership CEO Kourtny Garrett announced grant funding for businesses in the downtown area but said it would be for a very specific purpose. In order to get one, businesses would have to host a community event. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The grant program is called Dynamic Downtown Denver."We know as Downtown Denver succeeds in its economic and social recovery, so does the rest of the city and the rest of the region," Johnston said at a Monday news conference. "So we're very committed to making sure Downtown Denver is a place that feels vibrant and safe and welcoming to residents, to workers and to visitors all the time."$350K for Downtown Denver community eventsThe city is offering more than $350,000 in grant funding with the goal of getting members of the community engaged with downtown businesses by providing...

Blazing fire forces residents to evacuate NEMD apartment complex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

Residents of a Northeast Miami-dade apartment complex were forced to evacuate after a fire broke out.It happened near Northeast Miami Gardens Drive and 14th Avenue.Authorities said there was an issue with one of the electrical panels, sending smoke throughout the building and forcing residents out.“It was smoke in the elevator smoke in the building and just we had to evacuate it we didn’t have any choice,” said Oren Pinhas, one resident forced to evacuate. All the residents got out safely and no injuries were reported.

Cautious Keir Starmer tiptoes toward power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

LIVERPOOL, England — Keir Starmer is 17 points clear in the polls and seemingly cruising toward Downing Street. But it won’t be big spending pledges that get him over the line.The Labour leader and his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have one job to do at their annual party conference this week: Persuade British voters the party is finally ready to govern after 13 years in the wilderness.As Starmer edges closer to power, he is desperate not to put a foot wrong — and nowhere is this more obvious than in his approach to the country’s public finances.His leadership so far has focused on removing Labour’s glaring electoral vulnerabilities, exerting a tighter grip on party structures and honing a message of fiscal discipline. His strategy has been so deeply rooted in caution that anyone who shows a little verve, as Reeves did Monday, risks upstaging him — while questions about how Labour would mend Britain’s ailing public services without new spending remain unanswered...

Multilateralism is broken

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

Nathalie Tocci is director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and a part-time professor at the European University Institute. Her latest book, “A Green and Global Europe,” is out with Polity.No major European foreign policy speech or document has ever neglected to mention the existential importance of multilateralism and the rules-based order. The rhetoric remains unscathed to this day, and multilateralism is still the knee-jerk corollary to anything Europeans say about their role in the world.But in practice, Europe is doing little to prevent the tragic death of global governance.At various junctures throughout its history, Europe stood out as multilateralism’s staunchest defender. And at no point was this clearer than during the most recent Republican administrations in the United States, when Washington turned its back on international rules, regimes and organizations in favor of unilateral action.During former U.S. President George W. Bush’s first administration, Europeans pr...

Hamas’ gift to Vladimir Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor and Christian Oliver is head of news at POLITICO Europe.Hamas’ brutal assault against Israel came on Vladimir Putin’s birthday. Such a catastrophic security shock in the Middle East was probably a welcome surprise for a Russian president whose strategic priority is to divert Western support and attention away from Ukraine. A massive conflagration in Israel risks doing exactly that. The big question is how much credit to give the Kremlin for the perfect storm of mounting crises — in Israel, Kosovo, the Caucasus and Africa — that are rearing up on America and Europe. For many, it’s tempting to see Putin as a mastermind or puppetmaster, stirring up more conflicts than the West can cope with. In truth, Putin didn’t ignite all these crises, but he’s now happy to slosh fuel on the fire, and play them to his advantage. He’s relishing the chaos. The Kremlin’s crowing propagandists are already spreading a narrative tha...

Israel’s ambassador in Brussels calls on EU allies to help contain war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

BRUSSELS — Israel’s top diplomat in Brussels said he wanted support from EU countries to keep his country’s war against Hamas in Gaza from spreading elsewhere, days after more than 900 people died after Hamas’ attacks.“We hope and we ask the EU or international community to pass a strong message to Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, this is [only] with Gaza,” Haim Regev, the Israeli ambassador to the EU and NATO, told POLITICO in an exclusive interview. Since then, Israel engaged in retaliatory strikes in Gaza and Israel’s defense minister imposed a “complete siege” on the Hamas-led territory, cutting off electricity, fuel and food to 2 million residents. The war’s death toll on both sides totaled nearly 1,600 people Monday evening. The Israeli army continued to exchange fire with gunmen on its northern border with Lebanon since Sunday. Hezbollah — a Lebanese militant group and political party — denie...

GOP braces for messy fight over speakership as McCarthy doesn’t rule out a return to power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

(CNN) — House Republicans remain badly divided over their two choices for speaker in the aftermath of the ouster of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership – and are bracing for the possibility that neither House Majority Leader Steve Scalise nor House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan can get the 217 votes needed to be elected speaker.The deep uncertainty has heightened talk in GOP circles that a dark-horse candidate could emerge, as McCarthy himself refused on Monday to rule out a return to the speakership if Scalise or Jordan fail to win the votes to assume the most powerful position in Congress.“I’m going to allow the conference to do their work,” McCarthy said repeatedly at a Monday news conference, refusing to publicly endorse Scalise or Jordan for the job.The comments – and the 11th-hour talk of a McCarthy comeback, which is still seen as a long-shot – underscore the deep turmoil that exists this week as Republicans struggle to coalesce behind ...

10 buildings damaged, 8 displaced after home explosion in Woodstock

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:43:24 GMT

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — Emergency response teams were still on scene in Woodstock Monday night, hours after an explosion reduced a home to ruble and caught nearby structures on fire. Officials say it was around 2:40 p.m. when the two-story home exploded, damaging 10 buildings and displacing eight people."The house is burned to the ground and there’s nothing left," said Becky Bosowski, the homeowner's sister. Bosowski said her bother shared the home with his wife, their roommate, two dogs and a cat. According to Bosowski nobody was home at the time of the explosion. "All three of them were at work," Bosowski said. Officials say the gas company was working in the area when a gas main was struck shortly before the explosion happened. Woodstock Fire and Rescue District Fire Chief Brendan Parker said crews were notified about the smell of natural gas in the area around 12:35 p.m. after the two-inch gas line was hit."The explosion instantly leveled a home and...