AP-Newswatch

Displaced Palestinians leave one of Gaza’s main hospitals after weeks of being isolated by fighting

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians have begun evacuating the main hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis after weeks of heavy fighting had isolated the medical facility and claimed the lives of several people inside it. The war between Israel and Hamas, now in its fifth month, has devastated Gaza’s health sector, with less than half of its hospitals even partially functioning as scores of people are killed and wounded in daily bombardments. Israel accuses the militants of using hospitals and other civilian buildings as cover. Khan Younis is the main target of a rolling ground offensive that Israel has said will soon be expanded to Gaza’ southernmost city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border.

GOP-led House impeaches Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas — by one vote — over border management

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House has voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S-Mexico border. In a historic rebuke of a sitting Cabinet secretary, the Republican majority was determined to try again to impeach Mayorkas after having failed last week. Tuesday evening’s vote was tight, even with the arrival of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who has been away from Washington for cancer care. Speaker Mike Johnson’s threadbare majority could not spare defections or absences in the face of staunch Democratic opposition. President Joe Biden called the impeachment of Mayorkas a “blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games.”

Democrat Tom Suozzi wins New York race to succeed George Santos in Congress

New York Democrat Tom Suozzi has won a special election for the House seat formerly held by George Santos. Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in a contest to represent a district that includes parts of Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens. Pilip is a Nassau County legislator. The win narrows an already-thin margin held by Republicans in the House. The race has been closely monitored for clues about suburban voter sentiment heading into the 2024 election campaign nationwide. Suozzi previously represented the district for three terms but gave up the seat during an unsuccessful run for governor in 2022. Santos was expelled from Congress after he was indicted. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and stealing from donors, among other crimes.

Airstrike from Israeli hostage rescue wipes out entire Palestinian family in Gaza border town

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Ibrahim Hasouna was staying with a friend when he heard about the Israeli airstrikes near the house where his family was staying. When he rushed home, he found his entire family dead — his parents, two brothers, a sister-in-law and their three children. The airstrikes early Monday provided cover for Israeli troops rescuing two hostages elsewhere in the city of Rafah. But the military operation took a heavy toll on displaced Palestinian civilians seeking refuge in the southern border city. At least 74 Palestinians were killed in the bombardment. Residents don’t understand why the strikes took place so far from the site of the raid.

Judge to consider whether to remove District Attorney Fani Willis from Georgia election case

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge has scheduled a hearing on a motion to bar Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from continuing to pursue her election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others. That hearing is slated for Thursday. A defense attorney in the case argued in a court filing last month that a romantic relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade disqualifies them both. The filing says Willis personally benefited from the prosecution when Wade paid for vacations for the pair, creating a conflict of interest. Willis has acknowledged the relationship but has said it has no bearing on the serious criminal charges against Trump and others.

Indonesian defense chief linked to past rights abuses claims victory in presidential election

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general linked to past human rights atrocities, has claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election based on unofficial tallies. The 72-year-old candidate told thousands of supporters that the victory on Wednesday was “the victory of all Indonesians.” There was no declaration by electoral officials and the two former provincial governors who also contested the election in the world’s third-largest democracy have not conceded defeat. Subianto was an army general during the brutal period of the Suharto dictatorship that ended just over 25 years ago. He has presented himself as an heir to immensely popular sitting President Joko Widodo, whose son he chose as his running mate.

Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea using naval drones, a report that has not been confirmed by Russian forces. Ukraine’s General Staff says the Caesar Kunikov large landing ship sank near Alupka, a city on the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, known as GUR, says its special operations unit “Group 13” sank the Caesar Kunikov using Magura V5 sea drones on Wednesday. The Russian military did not immediately comment on the claim, saying only that it downed six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea overnight.

Harvey Weinstein is appealing 2020 rape conviction. New York’s top court to hear arguments

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s highest court will hear arguments in Harvey Weinstein’s quest to overturn his 2020 rape conviction. Weinstein’s lawyers on Wednesday will ask the state’s Court of Appeals in Albany to dismiss the disgraced movie mogul’s conviction on charges of rape and criminal sex act. They argue that the judge in his Manhattan trial trampled his right to a fair trial by “succumbing to the pressure” of the #MeToo movement. The judge, James Burke, allowed testimony from three women whose allegations weren’t part of the case and ruled that prosecutors could confront Weinstein about other, unrelated misbehavior if he had testified, which he declined to do. The New York Court of Appeals agreed last year to take Weinstein’s case after an intermediate appellate court upheld his conviction.

Artificial intelligence, real emotion. People are seeking a romantic connection with the perfect bot

NEW YORK (AP) — The generative artificial intelligence boom has led to the emergence of more companion chatbots. Similar to general-purpose AI chatbots that answer typical questions, companion bots use vast amounts of training data to mimic human language. But they also come with features — such as voice calls, picture exchanges and more emotional exchanges — that allow them to form deeper connections with the humans on the other side of the screen. On online messaging forums devoted to such apps, many users say they’ve developed emotional attachments to these bots and are using them to cope with loneliness, play out sexual fantasies or receive the type of comfort and support they see lacking in their real-life relationships.

Chocolates, flowers and procrastination. For many Americans, Valentine’s Day is a last-minute affair

Valentine’s Day is meant to celebrate romance and the depths of feeling we have for loved ones. So it may be surprising how much Valentine’s shopping is done at the last minute. Nearly half of U.S. spending on Valentine’s Day flowers, candy and cards occurred between Feb. 11 and Feb. 14 in 2022 and 2023, according to Numerator, a market research company. Walmart says around 75% of its Valentine’s Day sales happen on Feb. 13 and 14. OpenTable says last year, 30% of Valentine’s Day dinner reservations were made the day before and 18% were made on the holiday itself.