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Leak suspect yearned to join military but then regretted it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

DIGHTON, Mass. (AP) — The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified documents had set his sights on joining the military from an early age. But more recently he had expressed disillusionment about having enlisted.Jack Teixeira, 21, was charged Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston with unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information — a breach that has caused an international uproar and exposed explicit U.S. assessments on the war in Ukraine and other closely held secrets. A magistrate judge ordered Teixeira held until a detention hearing next week.Teixeira grew up in Dighton, a rural community south of Boston that is dotted with single-family homes interspersed with small farms. His mother’s home sits down a long driveway in heavy woods. A florist, she sometimes puts out a flower cart by the side of the road, selling bouquets on the honor system. Two of his classmates told The Boston Globe that Teixeira rever...

City: Schwarzenegger repaired utility trench, not a pothole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The “giant pothole” that Arnold Schwarzenegger said he recently filled on a street in his Los Angeles neighborhood was actually a trench that had been dug for utility work, according to the city.Southern California Gas Co. had covered the trench with temporary asphalt that was to be replaced with a permanent surface, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works said in a statement.“We have notified the Gas Company of the issue and the need for them to maintain the site pavement until their permanent paving is constructed,” the statement said.After months of heavy rains that have turned roads into tire-popping swiss cheese for many commuters, Schwarzenegger struck a chord when he released a video of himself and a crew filling a depression on a street with packaged asphalt patch. “Today, after the whole neighborhood has been upset about this giant pothole that’s been screwing up cars and bicycles for weeks, I went out with my team and fixed it,” he wrote on Twitter. “...

Putin signs bill allowing electronic conscription notices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Putin has signed a bill allowing authorities to issue electronic notices to draftees and reservists amid the fighting in Ukraine. The bill signed into law by Putin was published Friday on the official register of government documents.Russia’s military service rules previously required the in-person delivery of notices to conscripts and reservists who are called up for duty. Under the new law, the notices issued by local military conscription offices will continue to be sent by mail but they would be considered valid from the moment they are put on a state portal for electronic services.In the past, many Russians avoided the draft by staying away from their address of record. The new law closes that loophole in an apparent effort to create a tool for quickly beefing up the military ahead of a widely anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive in the coming weeks.Recipients who fail to show up for service would be prohibited from leaving Russia, would have t...

There’s a reason every hit worship song sounds the same

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

(RNS) — On Easter Sunday, the worship band at Bethel Community Church in Redding, California, opened the service with “This Is Amazing Grace,” a 2012 hit that has remained one of the most popular worship songs of the past decade. Chances are thousands of other churches around the country also sang that song — or one very similar to it.A new study found that Bethel and a handful of other megachurches have cornered the market on worship music in recent years, churning out hit after hit and dominating the worship charts.___This content is written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. RNS and AP partner on some religion news content. RNS is solely responsible for this story. ___The study looked at 38 songs that made the Top 25 lists for CCLI and PraiseCharts — which track what songs are played in churches — and found that almost all had originated from one of four megachurches.All the songs in the study — which ranged from “Our God” and “God Is A...

Russian forces bear down on Ukrainian defenders in Bakhmut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The battle for Bakhmut is heating up again, analysts and Russian officials said Friday, as Ukrainian defenders of the devastated city resisted a coordinated three-pronged attack by the Kremlin’s forces and efforts to stop supplies from reaching them.“Russia has re-energized its assault” on Bakhmut, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said of recent developments in the eastern Ukraine city, which for eight and a half months has been the stage for the war ’s longest and bloodiest fight.“The Ukrainian defense still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours,” the ministry’s assessment said.Until recently, a notorious private Russian military contractor, the Wagner Group, spearheaded the campaign to take Bakhmut, making slow, grinding progress at the cost of thousands of lives on both sides. Now, regular Russian units have joined the thrust.Military analysts have said that s...

Supreme Court keeps FDA abortion pill rules in place for now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Friday it was temporarily keeping in place federal rules for use of an abortion drug, while it takes time to more fully consider the issues raised in a court challenge.In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the court asked both sides to weigh in by Tuesday over whether lower court rulings restricting the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug, mifepristone, should be allowed to take effect while the case works its way through federal courts. The order suggests the court will decide that issue by late Wednesday.The justices are being asked at this point only to determine what parts of an April 7 ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas, as modified by an appellate ruling Wednesday, can be in force while the case continues.The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the pill, asked the justices to intervene.The type of order issued by the court Friday, an administrative stay, or...

WATCH LIVE | Displaced Little Village Discount Mall vendors find new home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

CHICAGO — Dozens of vendors who lost the right to sell their goods at the Little Village Discount Mall will be able to reopen at a new location.The vendors were first notified in February that they had a little more than one month to pack up their shops and move out of the mall. However they did not go quietly, instead choosing to try and delay the eviction with the help of local leaders. El Chapo sons among 28 Sinaloa cartel members charged by US Just days before the scheduled eviction date of March 26 the group collectively petitioned a judge for an emergency injunction to stop the eviction. On March 24 the judge denied the petition.At the time, 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez had said they were working to secure another location for the vendors, though he would not state where.Friday he is expected to announce the "grand opening of a new location" for all of the displaced vendors, according to a release from his office.WGN plans to livestream the announcement in its entir...

Minnesota United’s attack is sputtering, with some set pieces slapdash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

Minnesota United’s attack in its 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire last Saturday had few bright spots, but one silver lining was the set-piece service from new forward Sang Bin Jeong.The South Korean provided quality delivery on free and corner kicks, but …“We had two occasions where we didn’t have people in the right spots,” manager Adrian Heath said Tuesday. “And that is something that we can’t have. … That sort of summed up the day for me in Chicago.”MNUFC has been boosted by set pieces and penalty kicks as the origin for five of their seven total goals across six matches this season. The Loons have scored three times on set pieces, twice on penalty kicks and twice during open play.The Loons’ one goal against Chicago was a gift from goalkeeper Chris Brady, who couldn’t catch Kervin Arriaga’s free kick from about 35 yards out. It bounced right off Brady’s hands and into the net.Minnesota (3-1-2) will play Orlando City (2-2-2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Allianz Field. The Lions also are n...

Stillwater orchestra marks 50th anniversary with celebratory concert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

Professional pianist Greg Anderson first played Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C Major, Opus 56, Movement I for then-Stillwater Area High School Orchestra Director Jim Hainlen when he was a junior.Anderson, who graduated in 2000, will return to the area on Tuesday to play it again in a concert to mark the 50th anniversary of the school district’s orchestra program.Anderson is an international touring pianist who performs in 80 to 100 shows a year. He also performs as part of the Anderson & Roe piano duo, whose self-made, Emmy-nominated music videos have been viewed by millions online and at international film festivals.The Stillwater Area High School orchestra program “helped me on a daily basis to recognize my own humanity and creative strengths at a young age and that is something that has served me my entire life,” Anderson said.The concert, which will feature the Stillwater Middle School Chamber Orchestra, the Oak-Land Middle School Sixth Grade Honors Orchestra and Sti...

Still dealing with downed branches? Washington County residents can drop tree debris at Belwin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:52:55 GMT

The Belwin Conservancy in southern Washington County will become a temporary tree debris drop-off site for county residents starting Saturday.Washington County residents can bring tree debris from the April 1 storm to the temporary site located at Lucy Winton Bell Athletic Fields at Belwin Conservancy, 15601 Hudson Road N., Lakeland. The late spring storm dumped more than 8 inches of snow at MSP International Airport and left nearly 70,000 Xcel customers without power.“We wanted to do this because we’re a part of the community, and this is a way Belwin can help out,” said Katie Bloome, Belwin’s executive director. “Washington County needed more space to collect and process storm debris, and we have that space.”There is no fee for residents to drop storm debris.The hours of operations for the site are: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.Related ArticlesLocal News | Stillwater orchestra marks 50th anniversary with celebratory concert Local Ne...