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What being thrown out of Russia taught me about the Kremlin’s war on the media

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

During my 10 years as a Moscow-based journalist, I struggled to imagine how and when I would eventually leave Russia.  Half Russian myself, I had moved there in 2013, keen to learn more and report on a country that I felt was often misunderstood by many in the West.In the end, the decision was made for me last month when a representative of Russia’s foreign ministry called to tell me that my visa would not be renewed and I had six days to leave.The decision, I was told, had been taken by the “relevant authorities,” a term widely used to refer to the security services.After POLITICO published a news story on my expulsion, I received a message from a fellow journalist wishing me luck.“The same thing happened to me,” they wrote.In the days since, other colleagues have shared their stories about their de facto expulsions from Russia. Most have deep ties to Russia and speak the language fluently.Taken together, their cases illustrate a worrying trend: Journalists from Western c...

Munich car show a grim affair for European automakers

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

BERLIN — Consider this a final warning for Europe’s car industry.The IAA motor show gets up and running in Munich on Monday, but rather than purring Mercedes engines and silhouettes of sleek new Porsches wrapped under sheets of crisp satin cloth, the spotlight will be on Tesla and China’s insurgent all-electric brands.After a few years of sparring, this is where rivals to Europe’s legacy brands start landing punches.In a rare motor show appearance, Elon Musk’s Tesla is set to unveil an updated version of its best-selling Model 3 in Munich, while Shenzhen-based BYD — the country’s largest electric car company — will have a record six models on show in the IAA exhibition halls.The show’s organizers say 41 percent of those exhibiting will be Asian companies, which includes big battery-makers from South Korea such as LG and Samsung. The roster of Chinese companies has more than doubled since the last bash in 2021, and that includes market leaders in ba...

Jasson Domínguez belts second homer as young Yankees sweep Astros

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

HOUSTON — Having already homered off one Yankees killer in his major league debut, Jasson Domínguez teed off on another on Sunday.The 20-year-old, playing in just his third game, cranked his second home run in the sixth inning when Cristian Javier hung a slider over the inside part of the plate. The two-run blast broke a 1-1 tie, thus paving the way for a 6-1 win and series sweep for the Yankees.The Yankees had not swept the rival Astros in a three-game series since September 2013. Domínguez, who homered off the 40-year-old Justin Verlander on Friday, was just 10 years old at the time.The right-handed Javier entered Sunday’s start with a 1.83 ERA over 19.2 career innings against the Yankees, and he mostly cruised until the sixth. A DJ LeMahieu double got the Bombers on the board just before Domínguez’s blast.Javier totaled six innings, four hits, three earned runs, zero walks, eight strikeouts and 96 pitches.Gleyber Torres added a run in the ninth wh...

One dead in multi-vehicle crash in Caledon

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

One person is dead following a two-vehicle crash in Caledon. Provincial police were called to a crash on Highway 10 near Olde Base Line Road just before 7 p.m. Sunday evening. One person was pronounced dead at the scene while two others sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Francis opens clinic on 1st papal visit to Mongolia. He says it’s about charity not conversion

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up the first-ever papal visit to Mongolia on Monday by inaugurating a church-run homeless clinic and shelter, insisting that such initiatives aren’t aimed at winning converts but are simply exercises in Christian charity.Francis toured the House of Mercy, a three-story structure housed in an old school, which the local church has opened as an expression of the roots that it has taken in the three decades that the Catholic Church has had an official presence in Mongolia. It was the final event of an historic four-day visit to a region where the Holy See has long sought to make inroads.Several of the foreign-staffed Catholic religious orders in Mongolia run shelters, orphanages and nursing homes to care for a population of 3.3 million where one in three people lives in poverty. But the new clinic for homeless people, people with disabilities and victims of domestic violence is aimed at showing the outreach of the Mongolian Catholic Chu...

Lynx clinch playoff berth with 86-73 win over Phoenix; Cheryl Reeve gets 300th win as coach

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier have been the sparkplugs for much of the Lynx season.With the outcome in doubt, both did their thing Sunday.But so did many others in a second-half surge as Minnesota pulled away to beat lowly Phoenix 86-73 and secure a postseason berth.“This is a team that’s got a belief in themselves, and that third quarter I thought was really special the way we came out exactly how we needed,” said coach Cheryl Reeve, who earned win No. 300 in her 14th season as Lynx coach. Only Mike Thibault (379) and Bill Laimbeer (306) have more in WNBA history.Collier had eight of her 22 points, and McBride seven of her 23, in the deciding frame that saw the Lynx turn a halftime tie into a 15-point lead.“On the defensive end is where we stood out and that got us out in transition,” McBride said. “Then it became fun at that point. When we’re playing off our defense that’s the best version of us. We came out with a different fire, a different mentality.”But this one was far f...

You Paid For It: How Hazelwood got out of the financial hole

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

HAZELWOOD, Mo. - The city of Hazelwood was in a deep financial hole, but is beginning to see some light thanks to projects like the Aviator Business Park, a 155-acre development off North Lindbergh Boulevard at the site of the abandoned Ford plant.Hazelwood had been flirting with bankruptcy at one point.“It was a really big deal when the Ford plant closed and we had to figure out what we wanted to do, and we were able to come up with a development agreement with Panattoni for them to come in a clean up the site,” Hazelwood City Manager Matthew Zimmerman said.Ford employed more than 2,000 people at the Hazelwood plant and generated over $3 million a year in revenue for the city. Gateway Cup Cycling event takes center stage in The Hill neighborhood “To see all that close and leave was pretty scary for our community,” Zimmerman said. “But we’ve survived it, we’ve had a lot of success in a lot of areas. We were able to grow some of that revenue back and some of those jobs back.”And th...

Area pools set to close as summer comes to an end

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. - The last cannonballs and trips down the lazy river are happening this Labor Day weekend as area pools close on Monday.Aquaport in Maryland Heights had its busiest season on record, according to director Kate Fischer.“We’ve had the best season at Aquaport probably as long as I’ve been alive,” Fischer said Sunday.A busy last day as well as kids taking their second-to-last chance to go for a swim.“I think it’s sad; I like summer,” Natalie Benhoff said.Dillan Thompson, who just started his sophomore year in high school, added, “I’m going to miss it.”Trenton Vandoren told FOX 2 he’d come to the pool about 30 times this summer.“It’s sad,” he said. “I’m going to miss it a lot.” Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Even though t...

Benefit concert held for victims of Cook's Corner mass shooting

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

The band that was on stage at Cook’s Corner bar in Trabuco Canyon when a gunman opened fire, killing three people and wounding six others held a benefit concert Sunday to help victims of the tragedy.  The deadly shooting unfolded on Aug. 23 when retired Ventura police sergeant John Snowling walked directly up to his wife inside the popular bar and grill, and, without saying a word, shot her and a friend, according to witnesses.  He continued “randomly” shooting people both inside and outside the bar before being fatally shot in a gunfire exchange with seven deputies, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said at a news conference.   The mass shooting scene at Cook's Corner in Orange County is seen on Aug. 23, 2023. (OnScene.TV)The M Street Band was playing when the gunfire erupted. Two of the band members were injured, and while those members are on the mend, the band decided that as soon as they were physically and mentally ready, they would play ...

Oakland A’s solid two-week stretch helps to avoid ignominious MLB record

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 22:36:35 GMT

OAKLAND – Tony Kemp remembers talking with David Forst early in the season — when the Oakland A’s struggles were reaching historic proportions — and telling the general manager, “Don’t give up on us.”Kemp said Forst responded by saying, “We always come to the field believing something good will happen.”The A’s are going through one of those rare good stretches now, and it’s helped them avoid the possibility of setting Major League Baseball’s modern-era record for most losses in a single season.After being no-hit for five innings, the A’s scored four runs in the sixth and six more in the seventh on Sunday to earn a 10-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels and complete their third series sweep of the season.Ryan Noda and Seth Brown both hit two-run home runs in the sixth to give Oakland a 4-3 lead. After Angels outfielder Luis Rengifo hit a solo homer in the seventh to tie the game, a Kemp single to center, along with a Los Angel...