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Chechen boss Kadyrov says ‘missing brother-in-law’ was hoax to troll media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov on Tuesday said his brother-in-law was not missing in action, but the earlier claim that he’d disappeared in Ukraine was designed to troll the media.In an initial statement issued on Telegram, Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s Chechnya region, said that he has lost communication with his “brother-in-law,” Adam Delimkhanov, after Ukraine hit a series of Russian positions as Kyiv’s forces step up their counteroffensive in the south and east of the country. “I have no way of contacting Adam Delimkhanov. He has not been in touch,” Kadyrov wrote. “I ask Ukrainian intelligence to provide information on the exact locations and positions that have been struck so that I can find my dear brother-in-law.”(A relative of Kadyrov’s, Delimkhanov has also been identified as his cousin despite varying descriptions from the strongman himself.)However, in a second message published later Tuesday, Kadyrov wrote that D...

Dog rescued after jump from state park tower in Connecticut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

WASHINGTON DEPOT, Connecticut (WFSB) — A dog that jumped and fell 34 feet from a tower at a state park in Washington Depot needed to be rescued by firefighters.The Bantam Fire Company said it was called in to help at Mt. Tom State Park on Monday around 3:35 p.m.Firefighters found that a dog jumped from the tower and was unable to move.“Litchfield Fire Department was requested for the stokes wheel and the Gator,” Bantam firefighters said. “Washington Volunteer Fire Department was requested for manpower. We also notified our local vet to await the arrival of the dog.”Firefighters said crews hiked to the top and met up with the dog and its owner.“The dog was stable but needed to be carried to the bottom,” they said.Crews left the woods at 4:40 p.m.“We transported the dog comfortably resting in the stokes basket on Rescue 38 and transferred care to the vet staff at Northwest Corner Veterinary Hospital,” firefighters said. “We’re happy to report the dog has been examined and has no...

Crash closes parts of Highway 410 in Brampton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

A truck rolled over on Highway 410 in Brampton on Wednesday morning.Ontario Provincial Police say the crash happened on the ramp from westbound Queen Street East to northbound Highway 410.All lanes in both directions were closed for a brief time but the southbound lanes have since reopened.An air ambulance was called to the scene but no details on injuries are available at this time.

Southern Baptists refuse to let Saddleback Church back into the denomination for women pastors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors.Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by a woman pastor.The results of the Tuesday votes were announced Wednesday morning on the concluding day of the the two-day annual meeting here of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, whose statement of faith asserts that only qualified men can serve as pastors.The convention hall packed with about 12,000 Southern Baptists was quiet after the announcement, appearing to have listened to the earlier urging by SBC President Bart Barber for them to show restraint.“I know sometimes there are churches where people wind up in biblical divorce,” he said. “But we don’t throw divorce parties at church...

Italian ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi is given a state funeral in the city where he made his billions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was honored Wednesday with a state funeral in Milan’s Duomo cathedral and a day of national mourning as his legacy — positive or negative — was being hotly debated among Italians.Thousands of people outside the Duomo, including fans from Berlusconi’s beloved AC Milan soccer club, erupted in applause as a sign of respect as his rose-draped casket was hoisted out of the hearse and into the cathedral for the funeral Mass. Inside, Italy’s business and political elite, including the president and three former premiers, gathered alongside Berlusconi’s children and companion, who openly wept as the casket was placed in front of the altar.Most Italians identify Berlusconi, a media mogul, soccer entrepreneur and three-time former premier, as the most influential figure in Italy over recent decades. But they remain sharply divided on whether his influence was for the better or worse, extending to whether the three-time former pre...

Wolves that nearly died out from inbreeding recovered, now helping a remote island’s ecosystem

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after authorities began a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from dying out on the Lake Superior island chain, scientists said Wednesday.Meanwhile, the park’s moose population continues a sharp but needed decline. Overpopulation of the lumbering mammals were causing their own starvation as they outstripped available balsam fir trees — their primary food during long, snowbound winters, Michigan Technological University biologists said.The trends appear to justify federal officials’ 2018 decision to airlift mainland wolves to Isle Royale, the researchers said, arguing that the predators’ return is helping rebalance an ecosystem knocked off-kilter as their number dropped to just two.The scientists’ annual report, based largely on aerial observations last winter, estimated the rebuilt population at 31 wolves— up from 28 last year. It said the wolves appeared to be ...

Woman comes forward to accuse lawyer of 2007 rape in Boston, wants to face him in court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A woman who has accused a New Jersey man of raping her 16 years ago in Boston says she felt that her freedom had been taken away from her that night, and she wants to face him in court.“It’s been horrible. A big part of my life stopped that day,” Lori Pinkham told ABC’s “Good Morning America” in an interview broadcast Wednesday. “I couldn’t work. I didn’t want to spend time with anybody. Every day, I’ve lived in fear.”Matthew Nilo, 35, a lawyer from Weehawken, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty in a Boston courtroom last week to several charges, including three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape and one count of indecent assault and battery. The charges stem from four attacks that happened in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood from August 2007 through December 2008 — a time that authorities say Nilo lived in the city.A prosecutor said authorities helped tie him to the attacks by getting...

Climate protesters throw paint and glue at Monet painting in Swedish museum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

STOCKOLM (AP) — Two women were detained in Stockholm after they threw “some kind of paint” at a painting by French artist Claude Monet and then glued themselves to the frame, Sweden’s National Museum said Wednesday.The painting, “The Artist’s Garden at Giverny,” was on display as part of an exhibition at the museum. Spokesperson Hanna Tottmar said artwork was encased in glass and “is now being examined by the museum’s conservators to see if any damage has occurred.”The exhibit, titled “The Garden,” was closed but expected to reopen to visitors on Thursday. ”We naturally distance ourselves from actions where art or cultural heritage risks being damaged … regardless of the purpose,” Per Hedström, the museum’s acting director, said.Before they were apprehended, the activists smeared red paint on the painting, according to a video of Wednesday’s incident. “The situation is urgent. As a nurse, I refuse to watch. The pandemic was nothing compared to the clima...

How Pennsylvania plans to fix collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro prepared Wednesday to announce how Pennsylvania plans to replace a collapsed section of an important East Coast highway as investigators look into why a truck hauling gasoline went out of control on an off-ramp and flipped on its side, igniting a fire.Three days have passed since the fire caused the collapse of the northbound lanes of I-95 and severely damaged the southbound lanes.It could take weeks, at least, to replace the damaged and destroyed section. Meanwhile the collapse is snarling traffic in Philadelphia as the summer travel season starts, upending hundreds of thousands of morning commutes, disrupting countless businesses and forcing trucking companies to find different routes.Pennsylvania’s transportation secretary, Michael Carroll, said demolition work is continuing around the clock on the roughly 100-foot (30 meter) section of I-95, and the Biden administration is pledging its aid.For now, I-95 will be closed in both directions. The...

Aurora Cannabis on the hunt for savings again, says Bevo deal boosted Q3 revenue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:33 GMT

Aurora Cannabis Inc. is on the hunt for more savings after wrapping a transformation plan that delivered at least $400 million in savings over the last three years.The Edmonton-based cannabis producer said Wednesday that it wants to uncover another $40 million in savings by the end of next March, which marks the end of the company’s fiscal year.“This incremental reduction puts us squarely on the path to reach our next financial milestone, which is positive free cash flow,” Miguel Martin announced on a call with analysts.Free cash flow is an indicator of a company’s financial performance because it encapsulates money a company makes after accounting for expenses that support operations.Profitability has been difficult across Canada’s cannabis industry, where a lack of demand, strict regulations and the strength of the illicit market have hampered the financial performance of most businesses. Many, including Aurora and its rivals, have resorted to layoffs...