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Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to return to Israel this week amid hopes for an extended cease-fire. The trip will mark his third visit to the region since the war between Israel and militant group Hamas broke out last month. During the visit, Blinken will “discuss Israel’s right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israel’s operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” the State Department said in a statement

Geneva, Switzerland: The United Nations chief hailed Monday's two-day extension of a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as a "glimpse of hope." Two-Day Extension Of Israel-Hamas Truce 'Glimpse Of Hope': UN Chief UN Chief hailed Monday's two-day extension of a truce between Israel and Hamas (File) Geneva, Switzerland: The United Nations chief hailed Monday's two-day extension of a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as a "glimpse of hope." Promoted Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com "It's a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war and I strongly hope...

Deadline is October 16, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments March 17, 2023 The IRS today announced that taxpayers in California affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides beginning March 9, 2023, now have until October 16, 2023, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. According to the IRS release—CA-2023-03 (March 17, 2023)—the tax relief is provided after a disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The declaration permits the IRS to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or...

The days before Thanksgiving are like free throws at the craps table for President Biden and his administration. If they win, great — and if they lose, or do something ridiculously hypocritical, almost nobody is paying attention. By Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, many of the regular White House correspondents have already left for the long weekend. Many of the big-time cable anchors are off as well, or working from their home studios. As for many newspapers, mostly canned pieces about Black Friday are being offered for print. Thus, Biden’s quiet Tuesday extension of the student loan payment holiday should come...

Monday on Fox News Channel’s “Outnumbered,” former Attorney General Bill Barr reacted to White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggesting Fox News reporter Peter Doocy came across as “a stupid son of a b****,” something that members of the mainstream media failed to speak out against. Barr said that former President Trump was elected “because the American people are sick and tired of the mainstream media and see the double standard.” He added the hypocrisy of the media complaining about how Trump treated them while allowing Psaki’s remarks was a result of the media being “largely an extension of the...

Jersey City officials and a coalition of Hudson County bike groups have opposed the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s plans to widen the Hudson County extension through Bayonne and Jersey City to the Holland Tunnel and replace the aging Newark Bay bridge. The opposition is based on concerns the project won’t alleviate congestion and would create more traffic and air pollution from vehicles cutting through Bayonne and Jersey City neighborhoods when traffic backs up on the extension. Bike advocates have a powerful ally, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who had a letter sent on the city’s behalf, asking the Turnpike Authority...

In a new letter to lawmakers, Yellen assured congressional leaders that she would extend extraordinary cash management mechanisms to ensure the U.S. government remains under the federal debt ceiling until Dec. 3.

Funders of a deep-pocketed new "rejuvenation" startup are said to include Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner.Last October, a large group of scientists made their way to Yuri Milner’s super-mansion in the Los Altos Hills above Palo Alto. They were tested for covid-19 and wore masks as they assembled in a theater on the property for a two-day scientific conference. Others joined by teleconference. The topic: how biotechnology might be used to make people younger. Milner is a Russian-born billionaire who made a fortune on Facebook and Mail.ru and previously started the glitzy black-tie Breakthrough Prizes, $3 million awards given each...

The Pentagon Tuesday evening announced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s approval of a request by U.S. Capitol Police for a two-month extension of National Guard troops through May 23. The number of troops will be reduced, however, from approximately 5,000 to 2,300 between mid-March and late-May.

ORLANDO, Fla., May 1 (UPI) -- The duration of SpaceX's first mission with astronauts on board -- planned to launch at May 27 from Florida -- has been extended from a few days to potentially weeks aboard the International Space Station, NASA said Friday. The mission was lengthened to ensure that the crew -- astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley -- can help maintain and operate the space station, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. "Among the work that will await their arrival is upgrading the space station's power system with new batteries due to arrive in May,"...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is taking on a familiar role as a thorn in the side of leadership as Congress barrels toward a surveillance deadline with no deal in sight. Paul, a libertarian-minded Republican, is pushing for broader surveillance court reforms to be included as part of any bill that reauthorizes or extends the expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 law that overhauled the country’s intelligence programs. "The time is ripe now. It’s an inflection point. You’ve got Republicans coming around to this," Paul said. "I think even the powers that be in the Senate, the Republicans...

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Association of Governments will partially close a section of Interstate 5 in La Jolla Tuesday evening to continue construction of a future trolley bridge. Work crews will close all northbound lanes of I-5 from state Route 52 to La Jolla Village Drive from 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday morning to pour concrete for the future bridge. Motorists on northbound I-5 will be detoured to I-805 via state Route 52, according to SANDAG. SANDAG crews completed similar closures of southbound I-5 last week to pour concrete for the future trolley bridge, which will cross...

A summer getaway along Interstate 95 in Virginia could include extra backups the next few years now that construction is ramping up on a 10-mile extension of the HOV or toll 95 Express Lanes. Virginia and Transurban, the private builder and operator of the toll lanes, held a ceremonial groundbreaking Wednesday at the Stafford Regional Airport for the 95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg extension, a project they believe could significantly alleviate some regular backups from Garrisonville Road to the Rappahannock River. Until the $565 million project is finished in about three years though, hundreds of workers on the project mean drivers...

Extending Virginia’s 495 Express Lanes to the Legion Bridge will require widening the Capital Beltway, but would also bring new sidewalks or bike paths in the area between the Dulles Toll Road and the Potomac River. The Virginia Department of Transportation will present preliminary designs for the toll lane extension Monday night. The extension is intended to connect to toll lanes Maryland plans to allow a private company to build over a rehabbed Legion Bridge. Construction on Virginia’s extension could begin late next year and open to traffic in 2023. Maryland has yet to formally select its toll lane designs...

Northern Illinois has its share of public works projects that have languished in the “planning stages” for years without ever seeing an inaugural bucket of concrete poured. Millions spent, nothing delivered. A third airport in Peotone comes to mind. So do the Illiana toll road and, for those with long memories, the Crosstown Expressway proposal of the 1960s and ’70s. You probably can put the Route 53 extension on the same dusty shelf. Proposals for an expressway that would extend Route 53 into Lake County stretch back to the 1960s. ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads But now the Chicago Metropolitan...

WASHINGTON — Some rush-hour commutes on Interstate 95 have been better since a 2-mile extension of the 95 Express Lanes opened to reduce backups in the regular and toll lanes at the original southern merge, but others have been slower, according to analyses by VDOT and the Express Lanes’ operator.Transurban said average afternoon rush hour tolls for trips from anywhere in the lanes that end at or south of Garrisonville dropped by 8.2 percent — from $21.52 between Nov. 1, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2017, to $19.76 in the period between Nov. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018.The one-lane extension...

UPDATE: Approximately 90 minutes after the expiration of the 10:00 p.m. deadline, Chairman Grassley took to Twitter, where he made clear that, despite his repeated extensions, he is offering yet another extension to Christine Blasey Ford’s legal team, presumably until Saturday, for her to decide whether to testify, in line with attorney Deborah Katz’s demands:

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Beginning on Jan. 30, 2017, federal agencies are prohibited from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards that were issued by non-compliant states for “official purposes.” In other words, if you do not have a form of identification that complies with the Real ID Act, you will not be allowed to enter a federal building, facility, military base or courthouse. Beginning on Jan. 22, 2018, a driver’s license or state ID from a state that is not compliant with the Real ID Act will not be accepted to board a commercial aircraft within the United States.

President Obama on Friday will sign a two-month extension of highway funding into law, the White House said. The measure prevents a sudden halt in infrastructure funding that was slated to begin May 31. But White House press secretary Josh Earnest criticized the stopgap bill as a punt and urged Congress to pass a long-term measure to fund road projects. “It’s the president’s view that the era of short-term patches ... must come to an end,” Earnest told reporters. Earnest noted it was the 33rd temporary fix for highway funding since 2008. The uncertainty caused by that approach has led...