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Belarus begins military drills near its border with Poland and Lithuania as tensions heighten

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus began military exercises Monday near its border with Poland and Lithuania, a move coming with tensions already heightened with the two NATO members over Russia-linked Wagner mercenaries moving to Belarus after their short-lived mutiny in Russia.Both Poland and Lithuania have increased border security since thousands of Wagner fighters arrived in Russian-allied Belarus under a deal that ended their armed rebellion in late June and allowed them and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to avoid criminal charges. Leaders of the two NATO nations have said they are braced for provocations from Moscow and Minsk in a sensitive area where both countries border Belarus as well as the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. They commented early in August after two Belarusian helicopters flew briefly at low altitude into Polish air space. Belarusian authorities denied their helicopters entered Poland. The Belarusian Defense Ministry said the drills that began Monday are base...

William Friedkin, Oscar winning director of ‘The Exorcist’ and The French Connection,’ dead at 87

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

William Friedkin, the Oscar winning director who became a top filmmaker in his 30s with the gripping “The French Connection” and the horrifying “The Exorcist” and struggled in the following decades to match his early success has died. He was 87.Friedkin, who won the best director Oscar for “The French Connection,” died Monday in Los Angeles, Marcia Franklin, his executive assistant for 24 years, told The Associated Press on behalf of his family and wife, former studio head Sherry Lansing.“The French Connection,” based on a true story, deals with the efforts of maverick New York City police Detective James “Popeye” Doyle to track down Frenchman Fernando Rey, mastermind of a large drug pipeline funneling heroin into the United States. It contains one of the most thrilling chase scenes ever filmed.Doyle, played by Gene Hackman in an Oscar-winning performance, barely misses making the arrest on a subway train, then hurries to his police car to follow the train as it emerges on an elevat...

Russia criticizes the talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war in Ukraine after Moscow not invited

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday chided efforts by international officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to find a peaceful settlement for the war in Ukraine, saying the talks don’t have “the slightest added value” because Moscow — unlike Kyiv — wasn’t invited.Senior officials from around 40 countries gathered Sunday in Jeddah for a two-day meeting that aims to agree on key principles about how to end the conflict that has raged for more than 17 months.But without Russia’s participation and without taking into account Moscow’s interests, the meeting was pointless, a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said. It repeated previous assurances that Russia is open to a diplomatic solution on its terms that ends the war and that it is ready to respond to serious proposals.But Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, ruled out Moscow’s previous demands that would give Russia time to dig in deeper in the parts of Ukraine it has occupied.He said on X, formerly known ...

Liberty freshman football player Tajh Boyd, 19, dies

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Liberty University says freshman football player Tajh Boyd, 19, has died.The school identified Boyd as an offensive lineman from Chesapeake, Virginia. It did not indicate when Boyd died or the cause, and calls and a text message were not returned.In the announcement, athletic director Ian McCaw and first-year football coach Jamey Caldwell said Boyd joined the football program “as recently as January” and added “Our thoughts and prayers are with Tajh’s family, his teammates and friends, our football coaching staff, as well as our entire athletics department and the greater Liberty University community. We grieve together as a family and will seek guidance, comfort and understanding from the Lord during these difficult times.”Conference USA, which Liberty is joining this season, also issued a release, saying “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of @LibertyFootball student-athlete Tajh Boyd. Our thoughts are with the Boyd family and Flames nation during...

Authorities assess damage after flooding from glacial dam outburst in Alaska’s capital

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Raging waters that ate away at riverbanks, destroyed at least two buildings and undermined others continued to recede Monday in Alaska’s capital city after a glacial dam outburst over the weekend, authorities said. Levels along the Mendenhall River had begun falling by Sunday but the city said the banks of the river remained unstable. Onlookers gathered on a bridge over the river and along the banks of the swollen Mendenhall Lake to take photos and videos Sunday. A home was propped precariously along the eroded river bank as milky-colored water whisked past. The city said it was working to assess damages.There were no reports of any injuries or deaths.Such glacial outburst floods occur when glaciers melt and pour massive amounts of water into nearby lakes. A study released earlier this year found such floods pose a risk to about 15 million people around the globe, more than half of them in India, Pakistan, Peru and China. Suicide Basin — a side basin of t...

President Biden hosts Astros, says he can relate to Dusty Baker, oldest manager to win World Series

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — At 73, Dusty Baker became the oldest manager ever to win the World Series when the Houston Astros took the title last year. On Monday at a White House celebration for the team, President Joe Biden said he could relate. “People counted you out saying you were past your prime. Hell, I know something about that,” joked Biden, who in 2020 became the oldest president ever elected, at age 77. Biden, now 80, is running for reelection in 2024. Baker has been around the game for decades. He won a World Series as a player with the Los Angeles Dodgers and had been to the Fall Classic twice before as a manager. He finally got his first title in his 25th season as a manager. The win came 20 years after a near-miss, when he came within five outs while guiding the San Francisco Giants.“I remember rooting for him as a kid, and I was older than he was,” Biden quipped. Baker, now 74, spent the past three seasons with the Astros after they hired him to help the team regain cred...

MedWatch Daily Digest: A new COVID variant has emerged — and more

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

For Monday, Aug. 7, WGN’s Dina Bair has new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch New COVID variant emerges prominent in UKThe variant, nicknamed Eris, is a descendant of omicron.  The World Health Organization has been monitoring it closely for two and a half weeks. The variant was first detected in the United Kingdom last Monday but now accounts for one in seven Covid cases. It's now the UK's second most prevalent variant.  The World Health Organization is urging countries not to let down their guard, even though vaccines and prior infection better protect people. New blood donation guidelinesMore gay men will be able to donate blood under new government guidelines the Red Cross is adopting beginning Monday, Aug. 7.Restrictions on donating blood date back to the early days of the AIDS epidemic, as they were designed to protect the blood supply from HIV.Since then, there have been advances in HIV detection, but restrictions remained and...

Mariame Toure Sylla: Missing Maryland teacher vanished after going on walk

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

GREENBELT, Md. (NewsNation) — An urgent search is underway for a beloved Maryland school teacher who has been missing for nearly 10 days. Mariame Toure Sylla, 59, disappeared on July 29 around 8 p.m. She was believed to have been last seen on a walk and hasn't been heard from since.Sylla's friends say her disappearance is just bizarre and out of the ordinary, which Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers said has police concerned. While police have not categorized her disappearance as anything other than a missing persons case, Bowers said they have not ruled anything out and continue to look at this case with an open mind.A vibrant and visible part of her neighborhood, Sylla is well-loved by her community, where she has been volunteering and teaching at a French immersion school for over a decade. Police believe body found is missing Maryland woman Rachel Morin Students, parents, friends and other members of the Greenbelt community came together at a vigil over the weekend, ...

Watch: Walrus calf needs 'round-the-clock cuddling' after being rescued

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

SEWARD, Alaska (WJW) -- Staff members at the Alaska SeaLife Center have been busy over the past week giving a Pacific walrus calf constant cuddles after he was recently rescued and brought to their facility.According to the Alaska SeaLife Center, the lost calf was spotted alone on Alaska’s North Slope, roughly four miles inland from the Beaufort Sea. Experts say walruses depend on their mothers during the first two years of life, so crews knew they had to step in to help. Coast Guard rescues man on partially submerged boat, 12 miles off Florida shore The calf was flown to the Seward Airport, where Alaska SeaLife Center staff met him for the first time on Aug. 1. Back at their facility, veterinarians learned that the month-old calf was malnourished, dehydrated and had a cloudy eye. The calf is now getting 24-hour care, which officials say is more than most marine mammals need. "Walruses are highly tactile and social animals, receiving near-constant care from their mothers during t...

It was a drama-filled weekend for the White Sox - even with 2 wins

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:23:58 GMT

CHICAGO — An unusual White Sox 2023 season got even weirder this past weekend - and it came when the team had success on the field.Yet few are talking about the White Sox winning their series against the Guardians at Progressive Field. Instead, two stories are dominating the conversation around the team, and neither one of them are good. The first came on Saturday when a boxing match broke out in the middle of a competitive baseball game. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)In the sixth inning, Jose Ramirez doubles in a run to get the Guardians within three runs of the White Sox. When he slid into second, he along with Tim Anderson started talking back and forth. Within a few seconds, both put their hands up and started throwing punches. Unfortunately for Anderson, he was caught with a punch right in the jaw, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. That moment has been played over and over against on social media since that happened, making for a difficult moment for the two-time All-Star ...