Hamas released the names of the final six living hostages set to be released from Gaza on Saturday under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The list includes Israeli citizens Omer Shem Tov, 22, Omer Wenkert, 23, Eliya Cohen, 27, and Tal Shoham, 30, all of whom were captured by terrorists on October 7 and have been in captivity for 505 days. Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, and Avraham (Avera) Mengisto, 39, who have both been hostages in Gaza for about a decade, will also be released. Shem Tov was kidnapped from the Nova Festival along with his siblings Itay and Maya Regev, who were released as part of the November 2023 hostage deal. His family was able to track his location through his phone as he was being forcibly driven to Gaza. According to his mother, Shem Tov has been observing the Jewish Sabbath in captivity. “I never stopped believing that the moment would come and you would return to us, and it will happen so soon,” Maya wrote on her Instagram upon news her brother was being released. Wenkert, who was also taken from the Nova Festival, suffers from an autoimmune disease that requires medication. One of his last messages to his parents on October 7 was “I’m dying from fear.” Wenkert was hiding in a shelter where terrorists threw eight grenades. Hamas later released a photo of Wenkert handcuffed in his underwear. Cohen was at the Nova Festival with his fiancée, Ziv Abud, her nephew, Amit, and Amit’s girlfriend, Karin. Ziv survived the attack in a shelter by hiding under Amit and Karin’s bodies. Cohen planned to propose to Ziv and has already purchased a ring, YNet reported. According to recently-released hostages, Cohen is unaware Ziv is still alive. Shoham, who holds Israeli, Austrian, and Italian citizenship, was in kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 attack. He was kidnapped alongside his wife Adi, their children Nave, 8, and Yahel, 3, his mother-in-law Dr. Shoshan Haran, Adi’s aunt, Sharon Avigdori, and her daughter Noam, 12, all of whom were released during the November 2023 hostage deal. Three other family members were murdered. Al-Sayed, an Arab-Israeli who suffers from severe mental health issues, wandered into Gaza on April 20, 2015, where he was kidnapped by Hamas. According to his family and Israeli officials, he had crossed the border multiple times before. “In Islam, people with mental illnesses are not held accountable under religious law. Even God does not judge them,” his father Shaabam said, according to YNet. Mengistu, who was born in Ethiopia, crossed into Gaza on September 7, 2014, near Zikim Beach when he was taken hostage. For nine years, his family was left in the dark about his condition until Hamas released a video of him in January 2023. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum celebrated the return of the group, stating there is “profound relief.” “As we embrace our returning family members, we must emphasize – Many hostages remain in captivity, and time is of the essence,” the forum wrote. “We call upon President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu to do everything in their power to advance the second phase of negotiations immediately. Every day matters for those still held captive.” The forum contrasted that feeling to the sad news that the remains of four hostages will be returned to Israel on Thursday. According to Hamas, the bodies of their two youngest hostages, Ariel and Kfir Bibas — who were four years old and nine months old at the time of their abduction — will be returned. So far, 19 of 33 hostages have been released during the first phase of the ceasefire, along with five Thai hostages who were released in a separate deal. Seventy-three hostages remain in captivity, 73 of whom were abducted on October 7. The fate of those not slated for the first phase will be negotiated in later phases. Negotiations for phase two of the ceasefire agreement are expected to begin in the coming days.

Authorities will look into numerous potential causes after a Delta Air Lines plane rolled upside down and burst into flames when it landed in Toronto on Monday. As Canadian and American investigators begin to look into the cause of the crash, video footage of the crash-landing has given some aviation experts a good idea of what likely led to the frightening incident. The CRJ900, operated by Endeavor Air — a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines — departed from Minneapolis with 76 passengers and four crew members on board. A video posted on social media showed the plane approaching Toronto Pearson International Airport before hitting the runway at an odd angle and smashing its right wing into the ground. The plane then turned upside down as it skidded across the runway before coming to a stop. Other videos showed Delta crew members helping passengers evacuate onto the runway as first responders extinguished the flames. Everyone on the plane survived, with 21 people requiring medical attention. Two people remain hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon. A clear visual of the the Delta CRJ900, operated by Endeavor Air as Flight DL4819 from Minneapolis St. Paul, crash-landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday, flipping onto its side on the snow-covered Runway 24R, but miraculously, all the occupants survived. ?… pic.twitter.com/5iFPTe2M2O — FL360aero (@fl360aero) February 18, 2025 Did snow or wind play a role? During a Tuesday press conference, Canadian authorities discussed the major snowfall the area has experienced in recent days. Since last Thursday, Toronto Pearson International Airport has been hit by two snowstorms that dumped around 20 inches of snow on the area, and the video of the landing showed snow drifting across the runway. Crosswinds at the time of the CRJ900’s landing were between 29 and 38 mph. But Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said that the runway was dry, and that there were no crosswind conditions when the plane landed around 2:15 p.m., according to the Associated Press. When asked on Tuesday about the condition of the runway and the cross-wind possibly causing the crash, the fire chief said he didn’t want to speculate and directed any questions about the cause of the crash to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The board will lead the investigation into the crash, with the National Transportation Safety Board from the United States assisting in the investigation. A retired Delta captain, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Daily Wire that the crosswind was not strong enough to be a major factor in the crash-landing. “Keep in mind ’40 mph’ winds doesn’t mean the wind was a direct crosswind or a direct headwind,” he added. “Most likely from what I gathered yesterday at the time of the incident, the wind was approximately 40 degrees from center, so the crosswind component was around 20 knots and the headwind was around 23.” “I do not believe that weather was a factor,” the retired aviation expert said, adding, “Any pilot should be able to handle that. It’s no big deal.” Are the pilots at fault? The investigation will also seek to determine if the crash was the result of human error. The retired Delta captain said that the airplane appeared to be “coming down at a pretty good clip,” meaning the pilot possibly did not “flare,” the technique pilots use to achieve a proper rate of descent before touching down. “Normally, it would be coming down, prior to landing, somewhere in the order of 600-700 feet per minute,” the captain added. “However, as you get closer to the runway, you must reduce that rate of descent such that when you touch down, you are not going 700 feet per minute in the down direction. You’re touching down very gently.” The pilot landing the CRJ900 in Toronto on Monday “hit the right main landing gear with such force that it snapped the gear off.” “I hate to say it,” the captain said. “This is pilot error.”

CNN anchor Dana Bash spoke to a network aviation expert on Tuesday, who explained that there was no “common thread” linking recent plane crashes despite the repeated attempts of Democrats and media to create one. Bash even repeated the statement aloud before pivoting to suggest that there was one. Bash spoke with aviation correspondent Pete Muntean on “Inside Politics” just ahead of a panel discussion on the issue, and he confirmed reports that a landing gear malfunction was the likely cause of the most recent crash in Toronto. Repeating Muntean’s statement that there was “no common thread” connecting the crashes, Bash then executed a 180-degree turn and added a “but …” “I’m back here with our fantastic panel. Let’s broaden it out a little bit to talk about what is going on here in Washington. As he said, there’s no thread between all of those except the obvious, which is that planes are crashing, which is frightening,” she began. “But this is happening against the backdrop of massive cuts across the federal government, including at the FAA.” WATCH: Politico's Eli Stokols adds "You know, you see planes crashing left and right…at some point people may connect the dots and they may come to blame this administration, this government, if they have just bulldozed their way through government, taken out a lot of expertise… pic.twitter.com/HL5DUg865Q — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 18, 2025 Panelist Eli Stokols, White House and foreign policy correspondent for Politico, also weighed in on the issue. “You know, you see planes crashing left and right … at some point people may connect the dots and they may come to blame this administration, this government, if they have just bulldozed their way through government, taken out a lot of expertise because people don’t really know what government does or is until it’s doing something for them or until it’s not there,” he said. CNN is far from alone in the attempts to blame the Trump administration for recent crashes — and they’re only too happy to loop in billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) whenever possible as well, arguing that staffing reductions played a role in the recent tragedies. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was confirmed just a day before the first major crash involving a military helicopter and a commercial plane near Reagan National Airport, has said unequivocally that recent cuts would have had no effect. “Here’s the truth: the FAA alone has a staggering 45,000 employees,” Duffy said. “Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go.”

The chances of a building-sized asteroid hitting the Earth in the next decade has risen in small increments multiple times since it was first detected months ago. AFP reported on Tuesday that new data from NASA gave the asteroid known as 2024 YR4 a 3.1 percent chance of striking the planet in December 2032. It was only last week that NASA was saying there was a 2.3% chance the asteroid would slam into the Earth, up from a 1.2% estimation in late January, per NBC News. While still an extremely low possibility, asteroid 2024 YR4's impact probability with Earth has increased from about 1% to a 2.3% chance on Dec. 22, 2032. As we observe the asteroid more, the impact probability will become better known. More: https://t.co/VWiASTMBDi pic.twitter.com/Z1mpb4UPaC — NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) February 7, 2025 NASA says 2024 YR4 is believed to be roughly 130-300 feet wide, large enough to “cause localized damage in the unlikely event that it should impact Earth.” Media reports have been published over the past week branding the asteroid, which was first detected by a station in Chile last December, as a potential “city killer.” However, Royal Astronomical Society Deputy Executive Director Robert Massey told Newsweek that he is “not really concerned at all” about 2024 YR4. “It’s the kind of thing that should concern policymakers and astronomers, particularly, whose job it is to track these things and refine orbits,” Massey said. He added, “The odds are very, very low and as observations get better, it’s very likely that the probability will drop to zero, so I don’t think the public should be unduly concerned.” Ground-based telescopes will continue observations “while the asteroid is still visible through April, after which it will be too faint to observe until around June 2028,” NASA says. The agency says its James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021 and orbiting the Sun a million miles away, “will also observe the asteroid in March 2025 to better assess the asteroid’s size.” With more study, NASA notes it is possible 2024 YR4 will be “ruled out as an impact hazard” like other objects that previously appeared on its asteroid risk list, or the probability will rise. Humanity has been working on ways to stave off asteroids to avoid devastating impacts, such as the Tunguska event in which one exploded over Siberia in 1908. In 2022, NASA conducted a test in which it directed a spacecraft to crash into a target asteroid, Didymos. A data analysis showed the kinetic impact successfully altered its orbit.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday from Mar-a-Lago that is focused on expanding access to IVF (in vitro fertilization). Trump’s executive order calls for policy recommendations to make it easier for families to access IVF and to “aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, one cycle of IVF in the United States costs around $15,000. “Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall submit to the President a list of policy recommendations on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment,” the order states. The order also emphasizes the need of addressing policies that increase the costs of IVF treatments, and it stresses the importance of family formation and public policy that makes it easier for mothers and fathers to have children. “Today, many hopeful couples dream of starting a family, but as many as one in seven are unable to conceive a child,” reads the order. “Despite their hopes and efforts, infertility struggles can make conception difficult, turning what should be a joyful experience into an emotional and financial struggle.  My Administration recognizes the importance of family formation, and as a Nation, our public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children.” “In vitro fertilization (IVF) offers hope to men and women experiencing fertility challenges,” it continues. “Americans need reliable access to IVF and more affordable treatment options, as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000.  Providing support, awareness, and access to affordable fertility treatments can help these families navigate their path to parenthood with hope and confidence.” “PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT,” tweeted Leavitt, referencing Trump’s campaign vow to do his best to make the fertility treatments more widely available to women. IVF became heavily part of the national conversation when, last February, an Alabama court ruled on a case dealing with the topic. Media outlets launched a frenzied news cycle by inaccurately suggested that the Alabama Supreme Court banned IVF, though in reality, Justice Jay Mitchell ruled in favor of protecting embryonic human life, writing in his opinion that “unborn children are ‘children’” under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. Trump described himself as the “father of IVF” during a Fox News town hall with women on the campaign trail, calling the Republican Party “the party for I.V.F.” His campaign has approached the controversial IVF issue from the stance that the Republican Party supports women, supports fertility, and supports more babies. “We are going to be, under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment,” Trump told NBC News in August, adding: “We’re going to be mandating that the insurance company pay.” “Because we want more babies, to put it very nicely,” he explained on another occasion. “And for this same reason, we will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes, so that parents that have a beautiful baby will be able, so we’re pro family. But the IVF treatments are expensive. It’s very hard for many people to do it and to get it, but I’ve been in favor of IVF, right from the beginning.” US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) At a rally in Michigan in August, Trump promised that under a future Trump administration, “your government will pay for or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment.” The former president added: “We want more babies!” It’s a topic that some on the Right have serious moral and ethical qualms with, given the expendable way in which human embryos are often treated. Experts like The Heritage Foundation’s Emma Waters have argued that the Alabama ruling brings “much-needed regulation” to the fertility industry in the United States, arguing in favor of conscience protections and reporting requirements for the process, such as how many embryos are created. In October, Trump said that he was open to religious exemptions to his proposed in vitro fertilization (IVF) mandate that would require insurance companies to cover the costs of IVF treatments, telling EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo: “It sounds, to me, like a pretty good idea, frankly.” Arroyo had pointed out to Trump that many Catholics and Christians object to the fertility treatments on moral grounds. The Catholic Church is opposed to IVF and says that it is “morally unacceptable.” “As you know,” Arroyo pointed out, “some Catholics feel, and the Church believes, that when you implement this technology, you’re killing embryos. Will you have a religious exemption to your IVF mandate for religious organizations and businesses that feel, ‘This violates my religious principles?'” “I haven’t been asked that, but it sounds like a pretty good idea, frankly,” Trump responded at the time, adding: “Even Catholics, a lot of them, they want IVF. It’s fertilization, basically, they view that as helping the family, helping parents have a child, and it’s a very popular thing, but certainly if there is a religious problem, I think people should go with that. I really think they should be able to do that. But we’ll look into that.”

Team USA hockey would like to see President Donald Trump in attendance when they take on Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday night. The Stars and Stripes secured their spot in the championship game with a thrilling win against Canada in their round-robin game on Saturday, and Canada set up a rematch with the U.S. after defeating Finland 5-3 on Monday. Bill Guerin, the general manager for Team USA, invited Trump to watch the game in person in Boston, telling Fox News on Monday, “We would love it if President Trump was in attendance. We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff. And listen, we’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can.” Team USA’s Saturday matchup against Canada in Montreal was embroiled in bad blood from the very beginning as Canadian fans continued their trend of booing the U.S. national anthem. Immediately after the opening face-off, American players Matthew and Brady Tkachuk and JT Miller dropped their gloves with Canadian players in three consecutive fights, setting the tone for what would be a fast and physical game. After going down 1-0, the U.S. scored three unanswered goals and beat Team Canada 3-1, handing the Canadians their first loss in best-on-best international hockey in 15 years. Asked if the anthem-booing or the current political climate between the U.S. and Canada had any effect on the game, Guerin said he believes the American players used the “political flare” as “inspiration” in their game against Canada. “Canada-U.S. is a huge rivalry in hockey,” he said. “I think there was a little bit of a political flare to it. It’s just the time that we’re in. I think our guys used that as inspiration. If you let it get the better of you, then you’re in trouble. But I really do think the players used it as inspiration.” Trump has already attended multiple major sporting events in the first month of his second term. Earlier this month, he attended Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, and on Sunday, he was driven around the track at the Daytona 500.

It appears Kate Middleton and her children share a love for the arts and creating. On February 17, the princess posted a photo on Instagram of four self-portraits. Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis all sat down to create, and the proud mother shared their artwork. She wrote on Instagram, “The @earlychildhood Shaping Us Framework describes the social and emotional skills which start to develop in early childhood. These skills are key throughout our lives, shaping who we are, how we manage our thoughts and emotions, how we communicate with and relate to others, and how we explore the world around us.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Prince and Princess of Wales (@princeandprincessofwales) Kate Middleton Encouraged Parents To Get Creative With Their Children She added, “Drawing portraits with children can provide a moment of connection as you spend time looking at and focusing on one another, as well as being creative and – most importantly – having lots of fun together!” Kate Middleton and her children’s creations impressed fans of the royal family. Prince George, in particular, seems to have his mother’s flare. This person noticed writing, “aww this is adorable.Prince George is really talented, I would never have been able to make such an elegant portrait at 11 years old.” “A simple activity, but very important for developing children’s skills. The portraits are beautiful. Prince George is a very talented artist,” another agreed. This person loved seeing Kate Middleton taking such an interest in her children’s passions. “Thank you so much. I’m an advocate for art and children’s health and I know the joy and improvement it brings to their lives.” “So much interpersonal connectedness can be developed in this activity! Love it Catherine, Princess of Wales,” someone agreed. “Aw this is such a cool activity to do with kids. And I absolutely love the drawings but Prince George’s is so good.. a young artist! All 3 kids are artsy just like their mummy,” a follower shared. This story’s featured image is by Phil Noble-WPA Pool/Getty Images. The post Kate Middleton Shares 4 Gorgeous Portraits Hand-Drawn By Her Children appeared first on InspireMore.

Riley and Jennifer ain't playing no games