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Russia’s plot to kill Zelenskyy foiled

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

Ukraine’s security service said Monday it had detained a Russian informant who planned to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month. The alleged informant “was preparing a Russian airstrike in the Mykolaiv region during the visit of the president of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said.The woman was “gathering intelligence” about the “the time and list of locations of the approximate route” of Zelenskyy’s visit to Mykolaiv at the end of July. Based on the information, a “massive” Russian airstrike would have assassinated Zelenskyy, the SBU said.The plotter was caught “red-handed,” according to the SBU, while giving information to the Russians. The SBU subsequently increased security measures after the informant’s “subversive activities” were uncovered. The informant, who has not been named, had previously worked as a saleswoman in a military store and lived in the southern Ukrainian city of Ochakov.

WATCH: Bear spotted drinking from hummingbird feeder in Rutland

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

A wild sight was recently caught on camera in Rutland as a local resident found a bear drinking from a hummingbird feeder in their backyard. The resident shared video of the encounter from Friday night. In the video, the bear can be seen finishing off one bird feeder before walking over to try another one. Common in western and central Massachusetts, black bears have been expanding their range east across the state, according to the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. There have been several bear sightings in recent months, including one situation where a bear was spotted swimming in a backyard pool in Hingham. A bear spotted in Arlington and Lexington prompted warnings from officials and delayed openings for Arlington schools in June. A matter of weeks later, in July, a Templeton family captured video of a group of bears in their backyard.Officials have shared tips on ways to avoid conflicts with bears available at the link here.

Chicago baseball report: Red-hot offense keeps carrying the Cubs, while the White Sox await the fallout from their brawl

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

The White Sox were in the national spotlight after a lengthy brawl Saturday with the Cleveland Guardians featuring Tim Anderson and José Ramírez. There was no announcement from Major League Baseball about discipline as of Sunday.The Cubs’ momentum continued over the weekend as they won their series against the Atlanta Braves — who are tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the most wins in the majors — to finish a 5-2 homestand before heading on a six-game trip.Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and Sox.Dansby Swanson faces his old team for 1st timePerhaps the experience will feel more surreal when the Cubs head to Atlanta in the final week of the season.Before his new team took two of three games from his former team over the weekend, Dansby Swanson said he cracked up when he saw the Cubs-Braves matchups this season, most notably a three-ga...

Howie Carr author page

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr’s columns are collected here.

Man hospitalized after crashing into tree

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was injured Sunday after crashing into a tree in the Mt. Hope area, San Diego police said.According to SDPD the crash happened around 10:40 p.m. when a 39-year-old man driving a Chevrolet Trax eastbound near the 3700 block of Market Street.The driver struck the raised center median and the collided with a tree, SDPD Watch Commander Robert Heims said in a news release. The circumstances that led to the crash are not yet known. Tropical Storm Eugene may bring isolated storms to San Diego County Police said that the man suffered multiple fractures in the crash and was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries, which were not considered to be life threatening.DUI was not suspected by police to have been a factor in the collision and SDPD's Traffic Division is investigating the incident.

‘Of course’ Trump lost the 2020 election, DeSantis says after years of hedging

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said definitively that rival Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, an acknowledgement the Florida governor made after years of equivocating answers. “Of course he lost,” DeSantis said an interview with NBC News posted Monday. “Joe Biden’s the president.”DeSantis has often sidestepped questions about whether he believes the 2020 election results were legitimate. But in recent days he has started publicly questioning the lies that Trump and his allies have made about the election’s legitimacy.Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general said there was no credible evidence the election’s outcome was affected by fraud. The former president’s allegations were also roundly rejected by courts at the time, including judges he appointed.Last week, Trump was charged by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith with four felonies related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 elec...

Canadian Armed Forces to phase out old housing benefit over three years

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s military has created a new program to gradually phase out its old housing benefit after hearing feedback from members who were set to lose the payments. The Armed Forces announced plans in March to create a new housing allowance that is based on salary, rather than where a soldier is posted. It was estimated the move would make thousands of people eligible for the new allowance while cutting off thousands of others.The military said that would result in a savings of $30 million a year.In an update to members, the director general of compensation and benefits says an interim program will phase out the old benefit with decreasing payments until July 2026. Brig.-Gen. Virginia Tattersall says eligible members will be enrolled automatically and should get a lump-sum payment to cover the summer months sometime in the fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2023.The Canadian Press

Stormy weather across northern Europe kills at least 1 person, idles ferries and delays flights

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Stormy weather across the Baltic Sea region Monday killed at least one person and caused airport delays, suspended ferry services and a train’s partial derailment.Three people had been taken to hospital in Sweden when two of the train’s passenger cars went off the tracks in Hudiksvall, a town 280 kilometers (174 miles) north of Stockholm, police said. The derailment happened because ”the embankment has been undermined by the heavy rain and landslides,“ they said, adding that the extent of their injuries is unclear. There had been 120 people on the train, Swedish media said.Ferries linking Poland to Sweden, two German islands to mainland Germany and Norway to Denmark remained in harbor. Ferries and water taxis to the German islands of Hiddensee and Ruegen were canceled for Monday and Tuesday morning, and vacationers were asked to change their travels plans to Wednesday. In Lithuania, a 50-year old woman was killed by falling trees near the Latvi...

Rebel attacks in restive northeastern Congo kill at least 21 people over the weekend, officials say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rebel groups, including one with ties to the Islamic State group, killed at least 21 people in restive northeastern Congo over the weekend, local officials said Monday.Isaac Kibira, deputy delegate of the governor in the Central African nation’s northeastern Bwito township, said the victims in one attack were shot and killed early Sunday by members of M23, a rebel group the United Nations says has links to neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda denies the accusation. In a second attack on Saturday, armed rebels with ties to the Islamic State group killed 10 civilians in a northeastern province, a local human rights activist said.Conflict has simmered in eastern Congo for decades as more than 120 armed groups fight for control of valuable mineral resources and some to protect their communities. Mass killings by rebel groups are frequent, and the violence has triggered an exodus of refugees.M23 rose to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s l...

Ex-Minneapolis officer receives nearly 5 years on state charge for role in George Floyd’s killing

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:17:12 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months — even as he denied wrongdoing.Thao had testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020.A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.”At the sentencing hearing, Thao spoke at length about his growth as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars. He said he was “distressed” by Floyd’s death but denied any role in it.“I did not commit these crimes,” Thao said. “My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.”Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill responded that he was hoping “for more than preaching” from Thao....