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Putin claims fighting intensifies in southeastern Ukraine, with Russia inflicting heavy losses

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fierce fighting raged Thursday in southeastern Ukraine, where a Western official said Kyiv has launched a major push and Russian President Vladimir Putin said “hostilities have intensified significantly.”Battles in recent weeks have taken place on multiple points along the over 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line as Ukraine wages a counteroffensive with Western-supplied weapons and Western-trained troops against Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago.Putin praised the “heroism” with which Russian soldiers were repelling attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region of the southeast, claiming Moscow’s troops not only destroyed Ukraine’s military equipment but also inflicted heavy losses to Kyiv’s forces.He insisted on state TV Ukraine’s push in the area “wasn’t successful,” although it was not possible to independently verify his report. Putin was in St. Petersburg at a summit of African leaders.Ukrainian troops have made only incremental gains since launching a co...

Nassar survivors sue Michigan State, saying it made ‘secret decisions’ about releasing documents

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Women who were sexually assaulted by former Michigan State University sports doctor Larry Nassar filed a lawsuit Thursday saying school officials made “secret decisions” about releasing documents in the case.The group of survivors and parents says the lawsuit seeks accountability — not money — from the university. They say the school refused to give the state attorney general’s office more than 6,000 documents for an investigation into how Nassar was allowed to get away with his behavior, and later wouldn’t turn over emails about the board of trustees’ decision-making. The school has said the documents are protected by attorney-client privilege.Nassar was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison after he admitted to molesting some of the nation’s top gymnasts for years under the guise of medical treatment. He was accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of women and girls.Michigan State has been criticized for its handling of the Nassar in...

LeBron James sends thanks, says family is ‘safe and healthy’ after Bronny’s cardiac arrest

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James said his family is “safe and healthy” three days after his oldest son, Bronny, went into cardiac arrest.The top scorer in NBA history posted the message of thanks on social media Thursday. Bronny, his 18-year-old son, was hospitalized Monday morning after a basketball practice with his team at the University of Southern California.“I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers,” LeBron James wrote. “We feel you and I’m so grateful. Everyone doing great. We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we’re ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!”He concluded his message with the hashtag “JamesGang,” his nickname for the tightknit family unit built around their three children by James and his wife, Savannah.Bronny James spent only a brief time in intensive care, a positive sign for his long-term recovery after the episode at USC’s Galen ...

Trump lawyers meet with Jack Smith’s team ahead of possible 2020 election indictment, AP source says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump were meeting Thursday with members of special counsel Jack Smith’s team ahead of a potential indictment over the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter.The meeting included Trump lawyer John Lauro, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to describe a private gathering.Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, earlier this month was informed by Smith’s office that he was a target of the Justice Department’s investigation, suggesting that an indictment could be soon.The investigation has focused on the turbulent two month-period after the November 2020 election in which Trump refused to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and spread lies that victory was stolen from him. The turmoil resulted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when Trump loyalists violently b...

Montreal police investigate double homicide after mother, daughter found dead in home

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

MONTREAL — A 911 call about missing persons led officers to discover the bodies of a mother and daughter inside a Montreal home early Thursday in what police said was a double homicide.The bodies of the 56-year-old mother and her 12-year-old daughter were found inside a property in a residential area of the southwest borough of Lachine.Police have not released details about who they suspect committed the murders — the city’s 17th and 18th homicides of the year — nor have they made arrests. Const. Mariane Allaire Morin said police received a call around 12:15 a.m. Thursday about missing people, adding that a short investigation led officers to the residence about 75 minutes later.“At the beginning, we were talking about multiple people reported missing, we weren’t talking about one, two, or three people,” Allaire Morin said.“There is a suspect in the case, there are important witnesses we want to meet and that will depend on the evidence we gather and a ...

A car-carrying cargo ship burning near a Dutch bird habitat stokes environmental worries

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A cargo ship packed with cars burned close to a world-renowned bird habitat off the Dutch coast Thursday as firefighters and salvage crews waited for the flames from a fire that started more than a day earlier to subside before attempting to board the vessel.The Fremantle Highway was sailing from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore when it caught fire in the North Sea shortly before midnight Tuesday about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, sparking fears of an environmental disaster.One crew member died and others were injured early Wednesday. The entire crew, made up of 21 Indian nationals, has been evacuated from the ship. The cause of the fire hasn’t been established.The coast guard of the Netherlands said “the situation at the moment is stable.” The agency released a photo after a flyover Thursday that showed smoke still pouring from the ship and drifting low over the slate-gray sea.The coast guard said late Thurs...

US prosecutors accuse ex-Tennessee lawmaker of delaying sentencing

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused a former Tennessee state senator of intentionally delaying his sentencing after the Republican unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw his guilty plea to federal campaign finance laws.Earlier this spring, Brian Kelsey announced that he pleaded guilty with an “unsure heart and confused mind” due to events in his personal life — his father had abruptly died in February, and he and his wife were caring for their twin sons born in September. He has since replaced his legal team and sought to prove that he was given bad legal advice. Kelsey had entered a guilty plea before a federal judge in November in the case related to a failed 2016 congressional campaign. Kelsey had previously pleaded not guilty — often describing his case as a “political witch hunt.” But he changed his mind shortly after his co-defendant, Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith, pleaded guilty to one count under a deal that required him to “c...

Nearly two months into his term, Nigeria’s leader finally proposes his Cabinet to legislators

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Thursday forwarded 28 ministerial nominees to federal legislators for confirmation as he seeks to finally set up his Cabinet to lead Africa’s most populous country.The long-awaited list featuring six women was presented to the Nigerian Senate by Tinubu’s chief of staff Femi Gbajabiamila, a day before the deadline and nearly two months after the Nigerian leader took office. On the list with no assigned portfolios are four former governors and three presidential aides. It also features prominent professionals such as Muhammed Ali Pate, a former Nigerian health minister and former director at the World Bank who recently turned down an appointment to lead the global vaccine alliance Gavi.Tinubu on May 29 took the reins of Africa’s largest economy, a nation of more than 210 million people, after promising to build on the achievements of his successor and end chronic bad governance that has stifled development. In addition to ...

Supreme Court allows construction to resume on the Mountain Valley Pipeline

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed construction to resume on a contested natural-gas pipeline that is being built through Virginia and West Virginia.Work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline had been blocked by the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, even after Congress ordered the project’s approval as part of the bipartisan bill to increase the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in June.The high court’s order came as a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was hearing arguments in the case.The Biden administration backed the company in calling for the Supreme Court’s intervention.“All necessary permits have been issued and approved, we passed bipartisan legislation in Congress, the president signed that legislation into law, and now the Supreme Court has spoken: construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline can finally resume, which is a major win for American energy and American jobs,” West Virginia ...

Justice Dept announces broad investigation of Memphis police practices after Tyre Nichols death

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:02:48 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday it is investigating the patterns or practices of the police department in Memphis, Tennessee, seven months after the violent beating of Tyre Nichols by five officers after a traffic stop.Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division made the announcement in Memphis. The investigative tool can look collectively at an agency’s stops, searches, or arrests; use of excessive force; possible discriminatory policing; potential violations of suspects’ constitutional rights; and more.Clarke said the probe will look into the city and its police department. She mentioned Nichols’ death, but said the investigation is not based on a single event, or a single unit with the police agency.The five officers have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including second-degree murder in the Jan. 7 beating of Nichols after a traffic stop — and his death three days later. Caught on police video, ...