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Ukraine claims recapture of seven villages in early stages of counteroffensive

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

By JAMEY KEATEN (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops have retaken seven villages spanning 90 square kilometers (35 square miles) from Russian forces in the past week, the deputy defense minister said Monday as the early stages of Kyiv’s counteroffensive notched small successes.Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on the Telegram app that the Ukrainian flag was again flying over the village of Storozhov, in the eastern Donetsk province, and that her troops had also retaken three other nearby small villages and three in neighboring Zaporizhzhia province.“The battles are tough, but our movement is there, and that is very important,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.” He added that rainy weather is challenging his troops, and that he’s discussed with his military commanders “which points of the front we need to strengthen and what actions we can take to break more Russian positions.”O...

How Chicago football players’ mental health journeys led them to focus on wellness for Black communities

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

Darcel Rockett | Chicago Tribune (TNS)It’s been almost nine years since the life-changing event that forced Dwight White, then a defensive back on Northwestern University’s football team, to change his trajectory. White took a hit during practice that caused abdominal pain, which led to the revelation that he was born with one kidney, a condition called renal agenesis.Medical professionals, sports staff and his parents advised White against playing football, but he made the decision to continue to play — until three weeks later, when he was hit in that same spot and had internal bleeding due to a renal contusion. Having never been hit there before, to now take two hits in such a short period of time made White decide in his junior year to walk away from the sport to which he’d dedicated his entire life.“He said: ‘I can’t do this to my mom. I can’t have her worry at every game,’” White’s mother, LaWanda, said in 2014. “That touched me.”Giving up football was traumatizing, White said....

Enough steam: Fire meets Water in Pixar’s clever and increasingly charming ‘Elemental’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

For a while, “Elemental” feels like little more than a reasonably clever idea, the latest from Disney affiliate Pixar Animation Studios finding an unusual way to illustrate the differences — and, ultimately, similarities — among folks of various cultural backgrounds.However, this tale in which personified Fire, Water, Earth and Air residents live together in the metropolis Element City finds its footing as it leans on tried-and-true plot devices from romances featuring star-crossed lovers and stories about parents and their children.Related Articles What to watch: ‘Crowded Room’ a gripping true-crime story, thanks to Tom Holland ‘The Flash’ a fast-moving, Bat-tastic, universe-altering thrillfest Is it time for these film franchises to go away? ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ has little animal magnetism ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 finale: What a long, strange, uneventful season it’s been “Elemental” is inspire...

12 must-read mysteries for summer and beyond

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

Look sharp, folks. There’s a crime wave coming.On the bookshelves, I mean. Based on the novels I’ve got on my list to read in the next few months, it looks like it’s going to be a great summer.Check out the criminal pursuits we’ve covered just in the last few weeks. I got the opportunity to talk with “Razorblade Tears” author S.A. Cosby about his acclaimed new novel, “All the Sinners Bleed.” My colleague Samantha Dunn interviewed Eliza Jane Brazier about her murder mystery “Girls and Their Horses.” Regular contributor Michael Schaub talked to Ivy Pochoda about her hard-hitting novel “Sing Her Down.”It turns out I’m not the only one who thinks that this suggests even more fine work to come. Novelist Jordan Harper, who published the excellent “Everybody Knows” earlier this year, says it’s an especially good time for the genre.“This is a monster year for crime fiction, a monster year,” says Harper, who spoke by phone while walking a WGA picket line this week. “I think we’re in the midd...

Mac Jones reacts to DeAndre Hopkins’ reported Patriots visit: ‘Obviously we’d love to have him’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

FOXBORO — In a matter of days, maybe hours, Mac Jones could have a new No. 1 wide receiver.DeAndre Hopkins is expected to take a free-agent visit with the Patriots, though Bill Belichick cast doubt on the timing Monday morning. If Hopkins does visit, and sign, what would Jones think?Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick expresses uncertainty about DeAndre Hopkins’ Patriots visit New England Patriots | Mac Jones, Bill O’Brien and 5 things to follow at Patriots minicamp New England Patriots | Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson ready to be ‘the guy’ in 2023 after Damien Harris’ departure New England Patriots | Belichick: Patriots ‘moved on’ after losing 2 workout days for NFL rules violation New England Patriots | Sources: Patriots lost two OTA practice after Joe Judge-led meetings “Yeah, I think that’s definitely a hypothetical, but I think DeAndreR...

1 dead after tour boat capsizes in Erie Canal water tunnel cave in Lockport, New York

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.Police and fire crews were called to the Lockport Cave Tours, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Niagara Falls, at about 11:30 a.m. The tours take visitors on an underground boat ride illuminated only by small lights.“The boat did a 180-degree turn, so the bottom of the boat was upright in the water,” Lockport Fire Chief Luca Quagliano said at a news conference. “A number of victims were on top of that boat initially when rescuers got to them.”He said all 29 people on board the flat-bottom boat were thrown into water between 5 feet and 6 feet deep when the boat apparently became unbalanced and capsized toward the end of the roughly 300-foot tunnel.Some passengers were able to get to safety on their own...

Black Florida mother killed by white neighbor remembered for faith, devotion to 4 kids

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Civil rights leaders and ministers demanded justice for a Black mother who was fatally shot in front of her 9-year-old son by a white neighbor firing through the door of her central Florida home during a memorial service Monday in which Ajike Owens was remembered for her deep faith and devotion to her children.During a three-hour service at a church in Ocala, Florida, the Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and others connected Owens’ death to the killings of other Black Americans in recent years, such as Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida and George Floyd at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis.“You can’t kill our loved ones, just because of the color of their skin, just because they were living while Black,” Crump said. “We cannot let them kill our loved ones for just knocking on a door, for loving their children, while Black.”Owens, a 35-year-old mother of four who went by the nickname “AJ,” was killed J...

More than 45 people killed by militia groups in eastern Congo, says the United Nations

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 45 people have been killed and a dozen wounded by a militia group in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo on Monday. The attack, which occurred Sunday evening into Monday morning, is believed to have been perpetrated by the CODECO militia group, which massacred vulnerable displaced people at the Lala displacement site in Djugu territory, said the U.N. The peacekeeping mission “extends its condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. This attack constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and (the peacekeeping mission) wishes to recall that deliberate attacks against civilian populations can constitute war crimes,” said the statement. Fighting between CODECO, a loose association of various ethnic Lendu militia groups, and Zaire, a mainly ethnic Hema self-defense group, has been ongoing since 2017 but has worsened recently. Doze...

Raptors’ VanVleet declines player option, will become free agent: report

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

Toronto Raptors star point guard Fred VanVleet will become an unrestricted free agent in July after declining his player option of $22.8 million for the 2023-24 season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.Reporting on Fred VanVleet’s free agency for NBA Today pic.twitter.com/g6x6mymXBs— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 12, 2023Wojnarowski says VanVleet hasn’t ruled out working out a new deal with the Raptors, but he could become an attractive target for a contender. A sign-and-trade is also possible, Wojnarowski says, likely involving teams with limited cap space.In August of 2021, the Raptors worked a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat involving Kyle Lowry that saw Toronto acquire forward Precious Achiuwa and Goran Dragić.The undrafted VanVleet has played his entire seven-year career with the Raptors, helping Toronto win the NBA title in 2019.VanVleet, 29, was an all-star for the first time in 2021-22 before his numbers took a slight dip this past season. VanVleet...

Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher pleads guilty to using marijuana while having a firearm

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:44:11 GMT

The mother of a 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his teacher in Virginia has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of using marijuana while possessing a firearm.It’s a crime under federal law that’s facing increasing scrutiny as more states legalize the drug. Deja Taylor is accused of lying about her marijuana use on a form when she bought the gun, which her son later used to shoot Abby Zwerner in her classroom in Newport News.The first-grade teacher was seriously wounded and has endured multiple surgeries. Taylor’s attorneys agreed to a negotiated plea agreement with prosecutors that calls for a sentence of 18 months to 24 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 18.The federal case against Taylor is separate from the charges she faces on the state level: felony child neglect and reckless storage of a firearm. A trial for those counts is set for August.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot...