The Israeli government said a drone targeted the prime ministers house Saturday, though there were no casualties, as Irans supreme leader vowed Hamas would continue its fight following the killing of the mastermind of last years deadly Oct. 7 attack.Sirens wailed in Israel warning of incoming fire from Lebanon. The military said dozens of projectiles were launched. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said the drone targeted his house in the Mediterranean coastal town of Caesarea, though neither he nor his wife were home.The barrage comes as Israel considers its expected response to an Iranian attack earlier this month and presses its offensives against Hamas militants in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.In Gaza, Israeli forces fired at hospitals in the battered northern part of the Palestinian enclave, and strikes in the strip killed more than 50 people, including children, in less than 24 hours, according to hospital officials and an Associated Press reporter there.In September, Yemens Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport when Netanyahus plane was landing. The missile was intercepted.Barrages from Lebanon target northern IsraelIn addition to the drone launched at Netanyahus private residence, Israels military said some 180 projectiles were fired throughout the day from Lebanon on Saturday morning. A 50-year-old man was killed after being hit by shrapnel while sitting in his car in northern Israel, and four people were injured, Israels medical services said.In the northern city of Kiryat Ata, sirens blared as people ran for cover and intercepted missiles exploded in the sky. One rocket landed in the area, and Associated Press reporters saw burned cars and a damaged building. Itzik Billet, commander for the Haifa area, said nine people were lightly injured.The Israeli fire service also said it was battling several blazes resulting from missiles in the Shlomi area, less than a mile from the Lebanese border.Israel’s war with Lebanons Hezbollah a Hamas ally backed by Iran has intensified in recent weeks. Hezbollah said Friday that it planned to launch a new phase of fighting by sending more guided missiles and exploding drones into Israel. The militant groups longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in late September, and Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon earlier in October.Israel also said Saturday it killed Hezbollahs deputy commander in the southern town of Bint Jbeil. The army said Nasser Rashid supervised attacks against Israel.In Lebanon, the health ministry said an Israeli airstrike Saturday hit a vehicle on a main highway north of Beirut, killing two people. It was unclear who was in the car when it was struck.Israeli strikes pound Gaza as Hamas rejects hostage releaseA standoff is also ensuing between Israel and Hamas, which its fighting in Gaza, with both signaling resistance to ending the war after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar this week.On Friday, Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sinwars death was a painful loss but noted that Hamas carried on despite the killings of other Palestinian militant leaders before him.Hamas is alive and will stay alive, Khamenei said in his first comments on the killing.Since Israel claimed Sinwars death Thursday, confirmed by a top Hamas official Friday, Hamas has reiterated its stance that the hostages taken from Israel a year ago will not be released until there is a cease-fire in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli troops. The staunch position pushed back against a statement by Netanyahu that his countrys military will keep fighting until the hostages are released, and will remain in Gaza to prevent a severely weakened Hamas from rearming.Sinwar was the chief architect of the 2023 Hamas raid on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped another 250. Israels retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians but say more than half the dead are women and children.More strikes pounded Gaza on Saturday. The Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli strikes hit the upper floors of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, and that forces opened fire at the hospitals building and its courtyard, causing panic among patients and medical staff.At Al-Awda hospital in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, strikes hit the buildings top floors, injuring several staff members, the hospital said in a statement. Three houses in Jabaliya were struck overnight Friday, killing at least 30 people, more than half of them women and children, said Fares Abu Hamza, head of the health ministrys ambulance and emergency service. At least 80 people were injured.In central Gaza, at least 10 people were killed, including two children, when a house was hit in the town of Zawayda, according to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. Another strike killed 11 people, all from the same family, in the Maghazi refugee camp, the same hospital said. Associated Press journalists counted the bodies from both strikes at the hospital.The strikes knocked out internet networks in northern Gaza, said Paltel, the Palestinian communications company, on Facebook Saturday.The war has destroyed vast swaths of Gaza, displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people, and left them struggling to find food, water, medicine and fuel.Opportunity in Sinwar’s deathSinwars killing appeared to be a chance front-line encounter with Israeli troops on Wednesday, and it could shift the dynamics of the war in Gaza even as Israel presses its offensive against Hezbollah with ground troops in southern Lebanon and airstrikes in other areas of the country.Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas politically in Gaza, and killing Sinwar was a top military priority. But Netanyahu said in a speech Thursday announcing the killing that our war is not yet ended.Still, the governments of Israels allies and exhausted residents of Gaza expressed hope that Sinwars death would pave the way for an end to the fighting.In Israel, families of hostages still held in Gaza demanded the Israeli government use Sinwars killing as a way to restart negotiations to bring home their loved ones. There are about 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, at least 30 of whom Israel says are dead.
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A man and a woman were found dead inside a home on Turbak Drive in Punta Gorda.Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell provided an update on the investigation in a video posted on CCSO’s Facebook.According to Prummell, one of the deceased was Rhonda Pope, a woman who was reported missing after her family in Wisconsin raised concerns.Pope’s family said they hadn’t heard from her since Hurricane Milton and CCSO began a missing person investigation on Wednesday, Oct. 16.According to Prummell, Pope, who lived at the home, and her boyfriend Scott Taylor were found dead on Thursday evening.Only residents have been allowed to go in or out of the neighborhood since the death investigation started.Prummell said Taylor’s cause of death appears to be self-inflicted, while Pope’s is undetermined due to the state of decomposition.The sheriff said this is an ongoing investigation.DOWNLOAD the free NBC2 News app for the latest alerts on this story
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Its a trend that has surprised many: Why, despite being squeezed by high prices, have Americans kept spending at retail stores and restaurants at a robust pace
Its a trend that has surprised many: Why, despite being squeezed by high prices, have Americans kept spending at retail stores and restaurants at a robust pace
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry says that he plans to call the Legislature into a special session in November, marking the third such gathering this year, with the hopes of overhauling the states current tax system that the Republican said is failing residents.Landry detailed his proposed tax plan during a news conference earlier this month, with a focus on reducing the income tax and charging sales tax for more items and services. Louisiana is the latest state in the Deep South to discuss tax changes, as Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves continues to push for his state to phase out the income tax and as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed measures earlier this year to significantly cut income taxes.Landry told WDSU’s Travers Mackel “We’re bringing them in, and I think that it’s important and I think it’s the first tax plan to reflect the people and not special interest.We, in this state, have been on the losing end of an economic game that other states are playing and beating us at today, Landry said. We offer an opportunity to change that playbook so Louisiana can start winning. According to information from the states revenue department, Louisiana residents currently pay a 4.25% tax rate on income $50,000 and above, 3.5% on income between $12,500 and $50,000, and 1.85% on income $12,500 and below. Landrys proposal would eliminate income tax for those making up to $12,500 and would set a flat income tax rate of 3% of those earning above $12,500.Landry touted the plan, saying it would provide an immediate increase in take-home pay for every Louisiana taxpayer. The governor said under that plan, he believes Louisiana will be on the road to reducing or eliminating the income tax by 2030, an idea that has been pushed by other Republican officials including State Treasurer John Fleming and Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson.Currently, there are nine states that do not levy an individual income tax. Among those are the nearby states of Florida, Tennessee and Texas.Landry said that while his plan does not include increasing the current rate of sales tax, he does believe the tax should be expanded to including other items and services such as lobbying, dog grooming and car washes. Currently, there are 223 sales tax exemptions, Nelson said. So your taxation will be driven by more about what you choose to buy, rather than by your labor, Landry said. I think thats fair. I hate the income tax … a man and womans labor should never be owned by the government.While Landrys full list of proposals, and additional details, were not immediately available, he said other changes could include repealing the corporate income tax, eliminating the tax on prescription drugs, making the partial business utility exemption permanent and modernize our constitutional funds and property tax exemptions to give our legislature more flexibility to meet budget shortfalls and future fiscal issues.Louisiana faces a looming estimated $700 million budget shortfall because of the expiration of some temporary sales taxes. Officials say the shortfall could result in budget cuts that threaten teacher pay, recent education reforms, higher education and health care infrastructure. Landry says that his tax plan would close out most of the shortfall. Additionally, he argues that it will make Louisiana more competitive with surrounding states that have seen substantial economic and population growth in recent years.This holistic plan is designed not only to address budget shortfalls, but to catapult Louisiana into the future with increased jobs and economic growth for years to come, he said.Landry said he plans on calling the GOP-dominated Legislature into a special session in November. If lawmakers pass any bills, final approval will be determined by voters in the March election.This will be Louisianas third special session held this year and since Landry took office in January. The legislature gathered in January to redraw congressional boundaries that included a second majority-Black district and returned to the Capitol again in February to pass tough-on-crime policies.Also this year, the GOP-dominated Legislature held its regular three-month-long session during which lawmakers pushed conservative priorities. Lawmakers couldnt vote on tax measures in this years regular session. The last time there were three special sessions in a year was 2018. During that time, the Louisiana Legislature spent more than $1.5 million on the sessions, with those costs including supplies, extra hours for staff, additional employees hired for the sessions and per diem and mileage for lawmakers.