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Review: A different kind of underdog story in ‘Air’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

The new movie “ Air ” is technically about a shoe. There is nothing especially extraordinary about this shoe. As the Q-like Nike designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) explains, the last significant change to footwear was made some 600 years ago when the decision was made to differentiate the right and left feet. The Air Jordan is, at the end of the day, just another shoe. No one coos about how comfortable it is. No one waxes poetic about its performance enhancing abilities or how many podiatrists recommend it for sporting purposes. No one even tries it on. That’s because “Air,” directed by Ben Affleck from a smart script by Alex Convery, is not really about the shoe at all. Nor is it about Michael Jordan, who has exactly one line in the film and is mostly seen from behind and in silhouette. It is about the men – and they were all men – of Nike who defied the odds and signed the rookie despite being a very distant third to Adidas and Converse in the basketball sneaker game in 1984. Th...

Spain: Alleged smugglers of defense material to Russia held

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police said Wednesday that they had detained one Russian national and one Ukrainian national for their alleged smuggling of defense material to Russia in defiance of European Union sanctions.The National Police said that the two people were arrested in Spain’s northern Basque Country region on an undisclosed date.Customs agents aided in the police investigation that started in June 2021 when police detected what they suspected was an illicit operation to send double-use aeronautical equipment to Russia.The police said in a statement that they suspected the smuggling ring was meant to help Russia elude the European Union trade sanctions imposed on it following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.“The smuggling ring that has been broken was designed to supply military equipment for the aeronautic sector,” the National Police said.The smugglers had developed a “sophisticated” system of evading international customs controls, police said, that made the shipments ...

CP NewsAlert: Vancouver asks police to end tent encampment in Downtown Eastside

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver says it has asked police to help bring a close to a tent encampment in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. It says in a statement that it decided to act due to “the growing public safety risk” posed by the encampment on East Hastings Street.More coming.The Canadian Press

Trump arrest prompts Jesus comparisons: ‘Spiritual warfare’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the most devoted Trump conspiracy theorists, there are no coincidences and timing is everything.So when ex-President Donald Trump was arraigned Tuesday on charges that he falsified business records to obscure hush money payments in an effort to influence the 2016 election, some of his most ardent followers quickly noted the court appearance came during Christianity’s most sacred week, Holy Week, when many Christians commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.“Seems there was someone else who was tortured and crucified this week,” read one post on Gab, a platform popular with Trump supporters. A similar post on Telegram put Trump’s case in apocalyptic terms: “Good vs Evil. Biblical times. Divine timing.”Comparisons likening Trump to Christ were among the top online narratives about the Republican former president and his criminal charges circulating in the last several days, according to an analysis of online and social media content conducted by Zi...

Global takedown of cybercriminals behind malware operation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An online marketplace that trafficked in stolen login credentials, email user names and passwords, bank account data and other sensitive information has been dismantled, law enforcement officials in the United States and Europe announced Wednesday.Officials also have seized 11 domain names tied to the Genesis Market and arrested about 120 users across the world, including some in the U.S., according to the FBI and Justice Department, which participated in the operation.The market “falsely promised a new age of anonymity and impunity, but in the end only provided a new way for the Department to identify, locate, and arrest on-line criminals,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.Genesis Market was created five years and since then has provided users with access to data taken from more than 1.5 million computers infected with malicious software, the department said.“Operation Cookie Monster,” the effort by law enforcement agencies in 17 countries, ...

UN: Ban on Afghan female staffers by Taliban unacceptable

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. said Wednesday it cannot accept a Taliban decision to bar Afghan female staffers from working at the agency, calling it an “unparalleled” violation of women’s rights.The statement came a day after the U.N. said it had been informed by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban that Afghan women would no longer be allowed to work for the world body. That announcement came after the U.N. mission in the country expressed concern that its female staffers were prevented from reporting to work in eastern Nangarhar province.The Taliban decision is “an unparalleled violation of women’s rights, a flagrant breach of humanitarian principles, and a breach of international rules,” Wednesday’s statement said. The Taliban have not commented publicly on the ban and have not released a statement.The U.N. statement said several U.N. national female personnel have already experienced restrictions on their movements, including harassment, intimidation and detention.“The UN...

Liberal MP slams own government’s ‘bland statements’ on Israel’s far-right crackdown

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

OTTAWA — Liberal MP Salma Zahid is criticizing her own government’s response to Israel’s administration amid police violence in Jerusalem.The Toronto MP says Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly needs to go beyond statements expressing concern.Zahid said on Twitter Tuesday evening that “Canada cannot stand by and issue bland statements anymore,” and “either we stand for human rights or we don’t.”The tweet includes a video of Israeli police storming the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City overnight, as police fired stun grenades at Palestinians who hurled stones and firecrackers.Zahid says there is a “direct line” between the violence and “provocations” by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is propped up by right-wing parties.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not asked about the situation during a news conference on Wednesday but volunteered a statement on the issue. “It&...

Bob Lee, Cash App founder and MobileCoin exec, slain at 43

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco early Tuesday, according to the cryptocurrency platform and police.The San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that officers responded to a report of a stabbing on Main Street at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday and found a 43-year-old man suffering from apparent stab wounds. The victim died at a hospital.Police did not identify the victim but MobileCoin confirmed Lee’s death in response to an email from The Associated Press on Wednesday.“Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators,” MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard said in a statement.Lee was “made for the new world,” Goldbard wrote.“From large contributions to Android at google, to being the first CTO of Square, in that time creating CashApp, and working...

WATCH LIVE: CFD holds update after firefighter critically injured

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Fire Department is currently battling a high-rise fire on inner Lake Shore Drive in the Gold Coast that has injured two firefighters, one critically.At around 7:20 a.m., CFD tweeted that they responded to the 1200 block of North Lake Shore Drive, which is near the intersection of Division, for a still-and-box response.Initially, CFD said two firefighters have been injured. Then a short time later, a mayday response was called for a firefighter down. One firefighter is in "very" critical condition and another is in fair condition.The fire department said the fire was initially out and they were just battling hot spots. However at around 8:55 a.m., the fire reignited and large flames are shooting out of another unit. Around 40 minutes later, the main body of the fire was put out with efforts being concentrated to one large apartment on the 27th floor.CFD has lost the ability to use elevators and said there are no sprinklers on the floor.On Tuesday morning, the de...

At least 6 wanted after back-to-back carjackings in Logan Square

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:52:01 GMT

CHICAGO — A group of at least six males conducted two carjackings back-to-back in Logan Square Wednesday morning. Just before 6 a.m., police said a 38-year-old man was walking to his parked grey Ford Fusion in the 2100 block of North Whipple when a black SUV and a white sedan approached. A group of approximately six to eight males exited both vehicles and demanded the man's sedan and personal property.Some of the suspects got into the Fusion and all three vehicles fled southbound, police said.At around 6:15 a.m., a 53-year-old man was inside his blue Honda Pilot when two vehicles approached. Firefighter ‘very critical’ as CFD battles Gold Coast fire A group of approximately six exited both vehicles and demanded the man's SUV. He was struck in the face before they left northbound, with one of the other vehicles following behind.No one is in custody and no suspect information was provided. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.