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Zelenskyy makes first visit to US military headquarters in Germany, voices optimism about US aid

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first visit Thursday to the U.S. military headquarters in Germany where allied leaders coordinate the delivery of weapons and other aid to the war effort. And in a social media post after he left, he expressed optimism about getting additional American aid, which has been hung up for weeks in congressional gridlock.“We expect that the U.S. Congress will soon adopt the crucial decision to continue such vital support for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, after meeting for several hours with U.S. military commanders, including Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command, Gen. Darryl Williams, head of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, and Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto Jr., who leads the security assistance coordination.In a statement, U.S. European Command said they discussed efforts to meet Ukraine’s urgent battlefield needs and the ongoing training of Ukrainian forces. Training has been taking place in Germany and several...

‘He had the best smile’: Mom of alleged Kenneth Law victim mourns son, wants answers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

Kim Prosser was angry and consumed by grief when she learned that her son was one of the alleged victims of an Ontario man accused of selling lethal substances to people who took their own lives. Now, months after her son’s death in March, the 46-year-old said she’s reached a calmer space and is only seeking answers from Kenneth Law, who was charged this week with 14 counts of second-degree murder.“I have never experienced my heart break the way that it has this year … there was definitely anger and an onset of ‘who’s at fault for this,’ but now I want to sit in a place of forgiveness, not retribution,” Prosser said in a phone interview. “I actually would like to know more about (Law). What’s his story, how did he get there.”Police have alleged that 58-year-old Law, who is from Mississauga, Ont., ran several websites that were used to sell sodium nitrite and other items that can be used for self-harm, shipping them to...

Mark Wahlberg on his action-comedy ‘The Family Plan’ and his dreams for Hollywood 2.0

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

Mark Wahlberg knows as well as any parent that it’s hard to find a movie everyone in the household wants to watch – especially with teenagers around. It’s part of the reason he latched on to “The Family Plan,” a charming action-comedy about a former assassin turned suburban dad whose past catches up with him. It’s streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday.“You always have movies that parents can go to with the kids and they’ll tolerate them because the kids really want to see it or vice versa,” Wahlberg told the AP. “But this really felt like it was a movie that actually was for the whole family.”Early in “The Family Plan,” his character is attacked in a grocery store and he must fend off the assailant with his 10-month-old in a baby-carrier on his chest. With his minivan cover blown, he then must convince his wife and teenagers to embark on a cross-country road trip to outrun the danger that he’s also desperately trying to keep secret from them.The grocery store fight with the baby ne...

British teenager who went missing 6 years ago in Spain is found in southwest France, reports say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A British teenager who went missing six years ago on a family holiday in Spain has been found in southwestern France, French media reported on Thursday. Broadcasters BFMTV and TF1 cited the prosecutors’ office in Toulouse as saying that Alex Batty, 17, has been found. BFMTV said a delivery driver spotted the adolescent looking lost and haggard by the side of a road and drove him to a police station. TF1 said he was found on Wednesday.The Toulouse prosecutors’ office did not immediately respond to after-hours questions sent by email and text message by The Associated Press. In the United Kingdom, the Greater Manchester Police said officers from Batty’s hometown of Oldham are in contact with French authorities to establish the authenticity of the reports.The force said his mother, Melanie Batty, and his grandfather, David Batty, are wanted in connection with the teenager’s disappearance and that their whereabouts are unknown. He traveled with them ...

Court voids fine given to Russian activist for criticizing war and sends case back to prosecutors

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Russia on Thursday overturned a fine handed to a veteran human rights advocate for speaking out against the war in Ukraine and sent Oleg Orlov’s case back to prosecutors, who have sought to imprison him for three years instead. Orlov, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, was convicted of publicly “discrediting” the Russian military after he posted on Facebook an article he wrote that denounced the invasion of Ukraine. He has rejected the charge as politically motivated. The Moscow City Court’s voiding of the fine did not represent a decision in his favor bur rather another step in a years-long, unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that the Kremlin ratcheted up after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022. In October, a lower court fined Orlov 150,000 rubles (about $1,500 at the time), which is a significantly milder punishment compared to lengthy prison terms some other Russians have gott...

Hungry, thirsty and humiliated: Israel’s mass arrest campaign sows fear in northern Gaza

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military has rounded up hundreds of Palestinians across the northern Gaza Strip, separating families and forcing men to strip to their underwear before trucking some to a detention camp on the beach, where they spent hours, in some cases days, subjected to hunger and cold, according to human rights activists, distraught relatives and released detainees themselves.Palestinians detained in the shattered town of Beit Lahiya, the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya and neighborhoods of Gaza City said they were bound, blindfolded and bundled into the backs of trucks. Some said they were taken to the camp at an undisclosed location, nearly naked and with little water.“We were treated like cattle, they even wrote numbers on our hands,” said Ibrahim Lubbad, a 30-year-old computer engineer arrested in Beit Lahiya on Dec. 7 with a dozen other family members and held overnight. “We could feel their hatred.” The roundups have laid bare an emerging t...

Set of 6 Messi World Cup shirts sells for $7.8 million at auction in New York

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Six jerseys worn by soccer superstar Lionel Messi during Argentina’s winning run at last year’s World Cup sold Thursday for $7.8 million, the auction house Sotheby’s announced.The final price for the shirts, each worn during the first half of one of Argentina’s games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, is the highest price for an item of sports memorabilia this year, Sotheby’s said.Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw in the World Cup final, winning its third World Cup.The victory, in which Messi scored two of Argentina’s three goals, represented a crowning moment for one of the sport’s greatest-ever players.“These historic shirts are not only a tangible reminder of one of the most important moments in the history of sports, but are principally connected to the pinnacle moment in the career of the most decorated football player in history,” Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of modern collectible...

Former Michigan GOP chair testifies in false electors preliminary examinations

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s former state GOP chair testified Thursday that she approved a document saying the state’s Republican electors would cast votes for then-President Donald Trump if Michigan’s 2020 election results were overturned.But Laura Cox said that document was ceremonial in nature and required a triggering event such as a court overturning Joe Biden’s win.Cox’s testimony came on the second day of a preliminary hearing in the case against 15 of the Republicans, who face charges including forgery for allegedly serving as false electors. A state police captain and Michigan’s elections director testified on Wednesday. Investigators say the group signed a document during a meeting at the Michigan GOP headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020, falsely stating they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors.” Cox testified that conversations about assembling a slate of Republican electors began early that December, and that she approved anot...

Former NFL player Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones reaches plea deal over airport incident

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

BURLINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Former NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones reached a plea agreement on a disorderly conduct charge Thursday after he was removed from a plane before takeoff at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport in September.Jones, who played most of his career as a defensive back for the Cincinnati Bengals, was sentenced to 30 days in jail as part of the deal but that time is suspended as long has he has no unlawful conduct at the airport for two years, according to media reports.Jones was charged in September on misdemeanor counts of alcohol intoxication, disorderly conduct and terroristic threatening. Police were called to the airport at 6 a.m. after crew members complained of an unruly passenger on a departing flight.Jones told WKRC-TV that he asked to be moved to another seat because a phone charger wasn’t working. He denied being intoxicated.Jones played 12 seasons in the NFL, first with the Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys and Bengals. He was suspended for the entire 2...

17-year-old charged in crash that killed 2 South Elgin High School students

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:42:28 GMT

KANE COUNTY, Ill. — A 17-year-old has been charged in a crash that killed two Elgin teens in August.The Kane County State's Attorney's Office announced Thursday 17-year-old Aanomeya Jacquline D. Henry has been charged with aggravated DUI and reckless homicide.The State's Attorney's Office said Henry was driving herself and three passengers in a Honda Civic around 7 a.m. on August 31 near the intersection of Route 25 and Kenyon Road in Bartlett. Related: ‘I’m still trying to cope’: Family member of South Elgin teen killed in crash speaks out According to a statement from the state's attorney, Henry failed to yield and collided with a truck, which struck the Honda and pushed it into a cornfield. Two of the passengers were killed. The Kane County coroner identified the victims as 16-year-old Tahlulay Henry and 17-year-old Kamorra Campbell. The teens were students at South Elgin High School.The third passenger was injured. Previous Coverage: 2 South Elgin High School students kille...