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Angry Russia refuses to speak at UN meeting on its attacks on Ukraine’s key port city of Odesa.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In an escalation of Russia’s anger at Ukraine and its Western backers, Russia refused to speak at a U.N. Security Council meeting called to disuss Moscow’s recent devastating attacks on the key port of Odesa immediately following its refusal to extend the Black Sea grain deal.The confrontation began at the start of a council session called by Russia on the divided Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky ,protested that Britain, which holds the council presidency, was allowing only two briefers and Moscow wanted a third — Archbishop Gideon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.The Ukrainian government has cracked down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its historic ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leader, Patriarch Kirill, supported Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine.Polyansky accused the UK of bias, censorship and obstruction for limiting the number of briefers. Deputy British ambassador J...

Senate GOP leader McConnell briefly leaves news conference after freezing up midsentence

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell briefly left his own press conference Wednesday after stopping his remarks midsentence and staring off into space for several seconds. McConnell approached the podium for his weekly press conference and began speaking about the annual defense bill on the floor, which he said was proceeding with “good bipartisan cooperation.” But he then appeared to lose his train of thought, trailing off with a drawn-out “uh.” The Kentucky senator then appeared to freeze up and stared vacantly for around 20 seconds before his colleagues in Republican leadership, who were standing behind him and could not see his face, grabbed his elbows and asked if he wanted to go back to his office. He did not answer, but slowly walked back to his office with an aide and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a former orthopedic surgeon who is the No. 3 Republican in the Senate. After sitting down in his office for several minutes, McConnell later returned to the pre...

Samsung unveils foldable smartphones in a bet on devices with bending screens

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled two foldable smartphones as it continues to bet on devices with bending screens, a budding market that has yet to fully take off because of high prices.The clamshell-designed Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5, a larger device that opens and folds like a book, can be pre-ordered in certain markets including the United States and South Korea starting Wednesday.Built with 6.7-inch and 7.6-inch main screens, the phones have bigger displays than Samsung’s previous folding devices and are equipped with more advanced cameras, providing crisper visuals and more features for work, text and video chats, movies and games, the company said. Designed to be compact and easy to carry, the Flip 5 is also built with a 3.4-inch cover screen that allows it to be used folded in half.The phones, which run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor chips, are slightly sleeker and lighter than their predecessors but designed to be more ...

Mega Millions lottery jackpot nears $1B ahead of Friday drawing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The Mega Millions lottery jackpot is approaching $1 billion ahead of Friday’s drawing, driving first-time buyers and other hopefuls to stock up on tickets.Regeina Whitsitt, a lottery clerk for RED X Grocery Store in the Missouri city of Riverside near the border of Kansas, said she’s sold tickets to a number of new players trying to win the $910 million jackpot. Customers are buying $60 to $100 worth of tickets, Whitsitt said.The $910 million prize is one of the largest in U.S. lottery history and follows a $1.08 billion Powerball prize won by a player July 19 in Los Angeles. California lottery officials haven’t announced a winner for that jackpot, the sixth-largest in U.S. history.The largest U.S. jackpot was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize won in November 2022.The current Mega Millions jackpot is shaping up to be the fifth highest in Mega Millions history, with a one-time cash prize estimated at $464 million. The last winner took home $20 million in Apri...

Brampton man wanted in sexual assault, exposing himself to 11-year-old girl

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

Peel Regional Police are hoping to identify a man wanted in an alleged sexual assault after he exposed himself and touched an 11-year-old girl in Brampton.Investigators said the young girl was walking in the Dufay Road and Sandalwood Parkway area around 3 p.m. on Tuesday when an unknown man approached her.It’s alleged that the suspect attempted to sell her sunglasses, made physical contact with her, and exposed himself to the youth.Police described the male suspect as 20-30 years old with a thin build, approximately five-foot-nine, black hair and a full beard.He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a checkered shirt, a light blue backpack, and a fanny pack.Photos of the suspect have been released.

US legislators turn to Louisiana for experience on climate change impacts to infrastructure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — This summer — as blistering heat waves scorched the Southwest, wildfire smoke from Canada choked much of North America, a drought in the central U.S. devastated soybean and corn crops, and storms flooded parts of the Northeast — the perils of climate change weigh heavily across the country.While the human toll of these extreme weather events is at the forefront, the cost burden and questions about how to prepare for the future are also being considered.Lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget sat down Wednesday to discuss the fiscal impacts of climate change on the nation’s infrastructure. They turned to Louisiana for its hard-earned expertise. Gov. John Bel Edwards provided testimony on the struggles the often hurricane-riddled Deep South state has incurred and what investments have been made in attempt to protect infrastructure, avoid catastrophe and decrease preventable deaths.“We’ve experienced significant devastation in our recent history — f...

El Salvador plans mass trials for those imprisoned in gang crackdown

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — New rules passed by El Salvador’s congress Wednesday will allow courts to try accused gang members in mass trials, in an effort to expedite tens of thousands of cases for those detained under the country’s crackdown on street gangs.The changes to the country’s criminal code are just the latest in President Nayib Bukele’s war on the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs, which began last year when the leader declared a “state of emergency” in response to a wave of violence.His government suspended constitutional rights and has detained 71,976 people accused of being in gangs, or 1% of the country’s population. They have been jammed into prisons, fueling waves of accusations of human rights violations. As little as 30% of those detained have clear ties to organized crime, the human rights group Cristosal estimates.The new rules allow trials to be held for groups of defendants based on what area they lived in and what “clique” — a smaller group within a gang ...

Family and friends gather for funeral of five-year-old allegedly abused to death by grandparents

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. — Family and friends gathered in the southern suburbs for the funeral of five-year-old Jada Moore Wednesday. Described by family members as a loving and sweet child, Jada's life was cut short after she was allegedly physically abused to death at the hands of her grandparents.She was temporarily living with her grandparents since March while her mother got back on her feet and started a new job in Atlanta, and her mother had plans of picking her back up next month and enrolling her in school down south. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Suburban grandparents charged with murder in death of 5-year-old granddaughter Katherine Miles, a community member who attended the funeral, said when it comes to being human and dealing with this as a mother, it's an incredibly tough situation to handle."that’s [what] being human means to me. It’s being able to connect with someone outside of yourself and just a community coming together to support someone we don’t even know," Miles said....

Lampasas under Stage 5 water restrictions after main breaks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Due to a water main break Wednesday, the City of Lampasas is under Stage 5 water restrictions.According to a post on the city's website, the water main broke in Kempner, a town in between Lampasas and Copperas Cove in Lampasas County. Under the restrictions, "residents and businesses are required to limit all unnecessary use of water including no outdoor watering, and only using water to the extent of health and sanitation."The post said due to the size and depth of the water main, it could be more than 24 hours before it's fixed. The post also said the city will provide updates once more information is available.The city went to Stage 2 water restrictions July 11.

3M Open: North Oaks’ Frankie Capan III wasn’t sure if he’d play this week. But now that he is, he’s playing to win

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:35:42 GMT

Frankie Capan III is beyond excited for this week — his first regular PGA Tour event as a professional, played 15 minutes from the North Oaks native’s home.And yet he almost chose not to play. The 23-year-old got the call in the days leading up to the U.S. Open from 3M Open tournament director Mike Welch that he had received a sponsor’s exemption into this week’s tournament in Blaine. The obvious response is to take it, right? How can you turn down a chance to tee it up on the world’s top tour in your home state? It’s a dream come true.But Capan is also chasing the more permanent dream. In his first year as a pro, Capan is playing well on the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s feeder program. He currently ranks 34th in the season-long standings. The players in the top 30 at season’s end earn their PGA Tour cards for the 2023-24 season.Playing on the PGA Tour this week means Capan isn’t playing in the Korn Ferry Tour event in Illinois. He&...