
A Bomb Threat Prompted a Plane Evacuation at a Florida Airport. No Explosives Were Found
A bomb threat note found Friday on a plane at a Florida airport prompted the evacuation of the aircraft and a temporary closure, but no explosives were found, officials said.
A flight attendant on Allegiant Airways Flight 2006, heading from the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport to Cincinnati, Ohio, found the note about a bomb threat on a bathroom door, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office officials said.
The pilot then stopped the plane and evacuated passengers on the tarmac, The Associated Press reported.
Deputies were investigating the bomb threat, and no injuries were reported, officials said.
The threat came as recent polling by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that fewer Americans report feeling safe about flying this year.

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Saudi Gazette
4 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israeli military recovers two hostages' bodies in southern Gaza
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces have recovered the bodies of two Israeli-Americans taken back to Gaza as hostages during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, the Israeli military says. Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, who was also a Canadian citizen, and her husband Gadi Haggai, 72, were murdered by gunmen from the Mujahideen Brigades group when they attacked Kibbutz Nir Oz, a statement said. Their bodies were found in the southern Khan Younis area of Gaza overnight and brought back to Israel for forensic identification. There are now 56 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his wife sent their condolences to the families of Judi and Gadi Haggai. "Our hearts grieve over this terrible loss. May their memories be blessed," he added."I would like to thank, and express appreciation to, the fighters and commanders for this determined and successful operation. We will not rest, nor will we be silent, until we return home all of our hostages — the living and the deceased."The couple's families recalled how they "went out for a walk on the morning of that cursed Saturday and never returned"."We welcome the closure and their return to a proper burial at home, in Israel," they an English teacher, and Gadi Haggai, who used to work in Kibbutz Nir Oz's kitchen, were last seen alive in a video they shared with a group chat at the start of the 7 October attack. They were seen taking cover in a field as incoming rockets fired from Gaza streaked overhead and the sound of gunfire was later told friends and relatives they had been wounded, before ceasing couple's daughter Iris Weinstein Haggai said after the attack her mother had told her they had been "shot by terrorists on a motorcycle and that my dad was wounded really bad". She added: "Paramedics tried to send her an ambulance. The ambulance got hit by a rocket."In December 2023, the kibbutz announced that both Judi and Gadi were killed that day and their bodies were being held hostage in Wednesday, an Israeli military official said the couple's bodies were recovered from the Khan Younis area following an operation based on "precise intelligence" from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security said they could not disclose further details due to the sensitivity of the operation. However, Israeli Army Radio reported the intelligence was obtained through the Shin Bet's interrogation of a Palestinian fighter captured by Israeli troops in Gaza."We will keep doing the utmost for the mission of bringing our hostages back - the living, to reunite with their families, and the deceased to dignified burial. We will deploy all the methods and tools in our disposal for this goal," the military official Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged decision-makers to do everything they could to agree a new ceasefire deal with Hamas to secure the return of all the remaining hostages."There is no need to wait another 608 agonizing days for this," it said. "The mission can be completed as early as tomorrow morning. This is what the majority of the Israeli people want."US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was "united in prayer" for the Haggai family."Hamas must release all remaining hostages, including Omer Neutra and Itay Chen," he added, referring to two other Israeli-Americans who the Israeli military says were killed on 7 October while serving as soldiers and whose bodies were taken back to Prime Minister Mark Carney said: "The return of their remains is a time to begin to heal and to rest. We mourn with [Judi Haggai's] family. May her memory be a blessing."Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack almost 20 months ago, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken four people, two of them dead, were already being held captive in Gaza before the far, 199 hostages have been returned, 148 of them alive, mostly through two temporary ceasefire deals with least 54,677 people have been killed in Gaza during the war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health imposed a total blockade on Gaza on 2 March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month truce during which 33 Israeli hostages and five Thai hostages were freed. Israel said it wanted to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining 19 May, the Israeli military launched an expanded offensive that Netanyahu said would see troops "take control of all areas" of Gaza. Israel also partially eased its blockade, allowing some food into the territory amid warnings from experts of a looming than 4,400 people have reportedly been killed in Gaza over the past three months, while 640,000 others have been displaced again by Israeli ground operations and evacuation of a new ceasefire deal faded last week, with Hamas and Israel remaining at odds over the conditions of the latest US said it was prepared to release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead ones, which was the number specified in US envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal, in exchange for a 60-day truce and the release of Palestinian the group also repeated its demands for guarantees that the truce would lead to a permanent ceasefire, as well as a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the resumption of unrestricted aid called Hamas's statement a refusal of the proposal, and Witkoff said it was totally unacceptable. But a Hamas official insisted it had acted positively and responsibly. — BBC


Saudi Gazette
26-05-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Thousands remember George Floyd on fifth anniversary of death
HOUSTON — Americans across the country remembered George Floyd five years after he was killed by police, with special gatherings in the city where he grew up and the one where he died. The murder of Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis by police officer Derek Chauvin led to nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. On Sunday, Floyd's family gathered in their hometown of Houston near Floyd's gravesite for a service led by the Rev Al Sharpton, while Minneapolis held several commemorations. What many hailed as a national "reckoning" with racism after Floyd's death, though, seems to be fading as President Donald Trump starts to roll back police reforms in Minneapolis and other cities. The Associated Press reported that thousands of people, including police reform and civil-rights activists, gathered on Sunday for the anniversary. In Minneapolis, a morning church service and evening gospel concert were part of events to mark the events of 25 March 2020, at the annual Rise and Remember Festival in George Floyd Square, the intersection where Floyd was murdered and which has since been named to honor him. "Now is the time for the people to rise up and continue the good work we started," Angela Harrelson, Floyd's aunt and co-chair of the Rise and Remember nonprofit, said in a statement about the festival. In Houston, where Floyd grew up and where he is buried, local organizations held poetry sessions, musical performances and speeches by local pastors. Rev Sharpton, a civil rights leader, held a press conference and memorial service with Floyd's family, as well as elected officials and friends. They called for changes begun in the wake of Floyd's to continue, especially pushing President Donald Trump to keep up federal police reform agreements. Floyd was murdered in 2020 during a police arrest in Minneapolis when Chauvin, a white police officer, stood on his neck for more than nine minutes. The killing — captured on a bystander's phone camera — sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force. Chauvin has been serving a 22-year prison sentence after he was convicted of murdering the 46-year-old. Other officers were convicted for failing to intervene in the killing. In a post on X, Rev Sharpton said Floyd's death had "forced a long overdue reckoning with systemic racism and galvanized millions to take to the streets in protest". "The conviction of the officer responsible was a rare step toward justice, but our work is far from over," he said. In the wake of Floyd's death, under former President Joe Biden, the justice department opened civil investigations into several local law enforcement agencies, including Minneapolis, Louisville, Phoenix and Lexington, Mississippi, where investigators found evidence of systemic police misconduct. The department reached agreements with both the Louisville and Minneapolis police departments that included oversight measures like enhanced training, accountability, and improved data collection of police activity. But last Wednesday, the Trump administration said those findings relied on "flawed methodologies and incomplete data". Administration officials said the agreement were "handcuffing" local police departments. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, though, said this week that his city would still "comply with every sentence, of every paragraph, of the 169-page consent decree that we signed this year". Since returning to office, Trump has also taken aim at Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) measures intended to reduce racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. Early in his tenure, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate DEI policies in the federal government, some of which were the result of protests during what is often called "Black Lives Matter Summer", held after the deaths of Floyd and others, Critics including Trump say such programs can themselves be discriminatory. Addressing West Point on Saturday, he said that in ending DEI in the military the administration was "getting rid of the distractions" and "focusing our military on its core mission". Meanwhile, the mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, removed Black Lives Matter Plaza, a strip of road that was emblazoned with the phrase near the White House. This week, a famous mural of Floyd in Houston was destroyed as part of a building demolition, as well, according to Houston Public Media. Recent surveys suggest Americans believe there have been few improvements for the lives of black people in the US five years after Floyd's passing, including a May survey from Pew Research Center in which 72% of participants said there had been no meaningful changes. The number of Americans expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement has also fallen by 15% since June 2020, the same survey suggests. — BBC


Saudi Gazette
26-05-2025
- Saudi Gazette
American charged with plot to throw Molotov cocktails at US embassy office in Israel
NEW YORK — An American man was arrested Sunday after allegedly plotting to throw Molotov cocktails at a branch office of the US embassy in Israel, according to the US Justice Department. Officials arrested the man, 28-year-old Joseph Neumayer, at John F. Kennedy airport in New York after being deported from Israel to the US, according to a Justice Department news release. The DOJ says Neumayer, who is also a German citizen, had allegedly arrived at the US embassy office in Tel Aviv on May 19 and spat on an embassy guard without provocation. Neumeyer managed to break free as the guard attempted to detain him, leaving behind his backpack, the DOJ said, citing a complaint. Guards found three Molotov cocktails in the backpack, the department said. Law enforcement tracked down Neumeyer to his hotel in Israel, where he was arrested. Authorities searched Neumayer's social media, which allegedly included a post from earlier that day that said 'join me as I burn down the embassy in Tel Aviv.' His page also allegedly included the phrases, 'Death to America, death to Americans' and threats to assassinate US President Donald Trump. 'This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and President Trump's life,' said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. FBI Director Kash Patel said: 'This despicable and violent behavior will not be tolerated at home or abroad, and the FBI, working with our partners, will bring him to face justice for his dangerous actions.' Neumeyer had allegedly arrived in Israel last month. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, according to the Justice Department. The revelation of Neumayer's charges comes shortly after the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC. The killings are being investigated as an act of terrorism after the man suspected of carrying out the shooting yelled 'Free Palestine' and told law enforcement he 'did it for Gaza,' according to police. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is in Israel today meeting with senior government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of the shooting. — CNN