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Russian doctors call for release of imprisoned artist who protested Ukraine war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — More than 100 Russian doctors signed an open letter published Saturday that demands the immediate release of an artist and musician who was sentenced to seven years in prison for swapping supermarket price tags with antiwar messages. The letter calling for Sasha Skochilenko to be freed was addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned that time in prison could lead to a “significant deterioration” in the 33-year-old artist’s health. Skochilenko was “diagnosed with a number of severe chronic diseases that require proper medical supervision and a special diet,” states the letter, which goes on to note the doctors’ indignation at the “obvious injustice of the verdict.” A Russian court sentenced Skochilenko on Thursday. She was arrested in her native St. Petersburg in April 2022 and charged with spreading false information about the military with her messages opposing the war in Ukraine.“The Russian army bombed an arts school in Mariupol. Some 400 people ...

Cheers! Bottle of Scotch whisky sells for a record $2.7 million at auction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A bottle of Scotch whisky billed as “the most sought-after” in the world sold Saturday for almost 2.2 million pounds ($2.7 million), an auction record for a bottle of wine or spirits.The Macallan Adami 1926 sold at Sotheby’s in London, after a bidding war between would-be buyers on the phone and in the room.Just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were bottled in 1986 after being aged in sherry casks for 60 years. Twelve of the bottles, including the one sold Saturday, had labels designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami.Another bottle from the same cask was sold by Sotheby’s in 2019 for almost 1.5 million pounds, until Saturday a record for wine or spirits.“The Macallan 1926 is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own,” said Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits.The bottle sold Saturday is the first to have undergone reconditioning by the distillery ahead of auction. This included replacing the cork and applying new glue ...

Maldives new president makes an official request to India to withdraw military personnel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu officially requested India to withdraw its military personnel from the archipelago on Saturday, a day after being sworn in.The president’s office said in a statement that Muizzu made the request when he met Kiren Rijiju, India’s minister for earth sciences. He was in the Maldives for the presidential inauguration.“The president noted that at the presidential election held in September, the Maldivian people had given him a strong mandate to make the request to India and expressed hope that India will honour the democratic will of the people of the Maldives,” the statement said.Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, campaigned on a promise to evict Indian military personnel and balance trade, which he said was heavily in favor of India under his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.The election was seen a virtual referendum on which regional power — China or India — should have the biggest influence in the Indian Ocean a...

Fears of political violence are growing as the 2024 campaign heats up and conspiracy theories evolve

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

The man who bludgeoned former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer last year consumed a steady diet of right-wing conspiracy theories before an attack that took place with the midterm elections less than two weeks away.As the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, experts on extremism fear the threat of politically motivated violence will intensify. From “Pizzagate” to QAnon and to “Stop the Steal,” conspiracy theories that demonized Donald Trump’s enemies are morphing and spreading as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination aims for a return to the White House.“No longer are these conspiracy theories and very divisive and vicious ideologies separated at the fringes,” said Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on domestic terrorism. “They’re now infiltrating American society on a massive scale.”A federal jury on Thursday convicted David DePape of attacking Paul Pelosi at his San Francisco home on Oct. 28, 20...

2 critically injured in 'major' northwest Austin collision

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services responded to a major collision between two vehicles in northwest Austin Saturday morning just after 8 a.m., ATCEMS said on X. The collision happened at 10100 Decker Ln and caused one person to eject from a vehicle, ATCEMS said. ATCEMS transported one adult patient to Dell Medical Center and one teenager patient to Dell Children’s Medical Center both with critical and life-threatening injuries.

SpaceX launched its giant new rocket but explosions end the second test flight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship but lost both the booster and the spacecraft in a pair of explosions minutes into Saturday’s test flight. The rocketship reached space following liftoff from South Texas before communication suddenly was lost. SpaceX officials said it appears the ship’s self-destruct system blew it up over the Gulf of Mexico. Minutes earlier, the separated booster had exploded over the gulf. By then, though, its job was done. Saturday’s demo lasted eight or so minutes, about twice as long as the first test in April, which also ended in an explosion. The latest flight came to an end as the ship’s engines were almost done firing to put it on an around-the-world path.At nearly 400 feet (121 meters), Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, with the goal of ferrying people to the moon and Mars.“The real topping on the cake today, that successful liftoff,” said SpaceX commentator John Insprucker, noting that all 33 booster engines fired as desi...

Highs near the normal this afternoon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The dry cold front that moved through Central Texas Friday has made it to the lower valley. North winds left behind will lead to cooler temperatures today and tomorrow. There won't be any highs in the 80s today as there were Friday.The day dawned overcast with most lows in the middle and upper 50s to low 60s. The low at Camp Mabry was 60°. The airport's minimum temperature this morning was 61°.Today's normal high is 71°Highs will be warming tomorrow and Monday before the next front arrives.The next cold front provides a chill for Thanksgiving DayThe overcast sky this morning will clear in the afternoon to a partly cloudy sky. Look for a partly cloudy evening followed by increasing cloudiness overnight. Much of Sunday will be gray with very little clearing. There were also be a very low chance of a few isolated areas of rain.An upper-level low this morning is moving towards the California coast north of San Francisco. It will move into the northern half of the plains...

These are the 10 fastest-declining Texas cities, analysis shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — What does it mean for a city to be declining?A recent analysis by data outlet FinanceBuzz aimed to track the growth (or decline) of several U.S. metros from 2019 through the end of 2022. To do this, FinanceBuzz analysts looked at cities that had populations of 200,000 or more as of 2019 and then weighed a variety of factors, including population growth/decline, unemployment, income, percentage of vacant homes, and number of residents with collections debt. Wild hogs still going wild in Texas — what can be done? All-in-all, 117 U.S. cities were ranked on a 100-point scale, with "high" scores meaning a greater scale of decline. These are the top 10 fastest-declining in Texas.Fastest declining citiesCorpus Christi — Population change: -3.17%. The seaside city received an overall Decline Score of 64.9, with an unemployment change of -0.60%, home value growth rate of -32.4% and 46% of residents with debt in collections.Laredo — Population change: -2.40%. Decline Score: 62.2...

St. Paul library book checked out more than 100 years ago finally returned

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

A 1902 edition of “Famous Composers Vol. 2” by Nathan Haskell Dole last checked out in 1919 was recently returned to the St. Paul Public Library, according to a Facebook post by the library Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. (Courtesy of the St. Paul Public Library)A library book about famous composers believed to have been checked out in 1919 was turned into the St. Paul Public Library this week.The 1902 edition of “Famous Composers Vol. 2” by Nathan Haskell Dole was found by a person in Hennepin County who was sorting through their mother’s belongings, library officials said on their Facebook page.St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said in a tongue-in-cheek post on X that the late fees would have been very hefty if the library sought them.“At the 1919 rate of a penny per day, that would have been a $36k fine… but #SaintPaul is a #FineFreeLibrary system so no charge!” Carter tweeted.Library officials did some sleuthing and believe that the book most likely also survived a fir...

U of M police seek help finding missing man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:59 GMT

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Steven Skinaway, 33, who was last seen early Saturday leaving M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center on the 500 block of Harvard Street southeast in Minneapolis.Steven Skinaway (Courtesy of the Minnesota BCA)The University of Minnesota Police Department said Skinaway was last seen at 2 a.m. wearing a dark colored Minnesota Vikings pullover with yellow sleeves, dark colored jeans and carrying a plastic bag.Skinaway is described as 6 feet tall and 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.They ask anyone who has seen him or knows of his whereabouts to call 911 or the University of Minnesota police department at 612-624-2677.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Cottage Grove selects deputy chief as new fire chief Crime & Public Safety | Pedestrian struck, trapped under light rail train on University Avenue in St. Paul Crime & Public Safety | Man charged i...