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Putin’s not dying, Kremlin says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

The Kremlin has brushed off claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ill, after speculative media reports that he’d suffered a cardiac arrest. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also dismissed speculation that Putin has used body doubles to cover for him in public appearances.“Talk of Vladimir Putin’s health problems is another canard,” Peskov said, according to Russian state-owned news agency Ria.ru, adding that “everything is fine with him.”Reports, sourced to Telegram channel SVR General which has spread conspiracy theories about Putin’s health and public appearances, were published Monday in multiple British newspapers including the Daily Mirror and Daily Express. Putin — who has been waging a full-scale invasion against Ukraine since February 2022 — has appeared at meetings inside and outside of Russia in the past week, including at a two-day forum in Beijing which marked the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. On...

Healey: ‘Poor Judgment’ Of Baker Admin Kept GLX Issues Shrouded

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

Senior management at the MBTA displayed “poor judgment” in going ahead with the opening the new Green Line Extension last year despite knowing there were issues with the tracks, and in not disclosing those failures to Gov. Maura Healey’s administration, the governor said Monday.News came last week that more than half of the track on the T’s new 4.4-mile Green Line Extension into Somerville and Medford is too narrow, and will need to be “regauged” to increase space between the two rails.Healey’s appointed MBTA general manager, Phil Eng, said he only was informed of the problem “recently,” though senior officials under former Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration may have known about the problems as early as 2021.“What’s important is that it was not disclosed, and it was really not addressed,” Healey said to reporters Monday when asked if her administration has any answers as to why the problem was not di...

How QB Tyson Bagent rose from zero-star recruit to Division II record-breaker to Chicago Bears rookie starter

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

Tyson Bagent prides himself on his preparation.It is, he says, a big part of what has propelled him from being a zero-star high school recruit in West Virginia to the verge of his first NFL start Sunday at Soldier Field.So when the question came to Bagent on Wednesday during his first news conference as the Chicago Bears Week 7 starting quarterback, he responded as if he had prepared for this too.What was his backup plan if this dream to play in the NFL didn’t materialize out of his unusual path through Division II football?“I was going to basically just CrossFit my life away, get as ripped and jacked as I possibly could,” Bagent said without missing a beat. “And be a teacher at Martinsburg High School.”Martinsburg High, located in eastern West Virginia about 80 miles from Washington, D.C., will have to wait to hire its ripped alumnus.Bagent, 23, has more odds to defy.Five years ago, Bagent was beginning his collegiate career at Division II Shepherd, in...

Veterans Voices: Fighting for recognition

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Broken promises on the war front. Cenon Audencial was a guerilla with the Philippine Resistance Movement turned second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East in the early 1940s. Like many of the 260,000 Filipinos who fought and served under and alongside the U.S. military during World War II, Audencial may never be recognized for his war efforts because of lost documentation. This story dates back several decades. There was a call for Filipinos to serve under the U.S. Armed Forces in 1941 when the Japanese advanced on Philippine soil during World War II. Among the organized military forces were the young men and women in recognized guerilla units, The Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippines Scouts.  MORE: Veterans Voices “It wasn’t their war to fight,” recalled Cita Gruta, whose father worked as a spy for the U.S. during that time. Bienvenido Guiam disguised himself as a poker player who was well liked by the Japanese. His war stories w...

Canada’s defence minister says Hamas a threat to world, must be ‘eliminated’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Bill Blair says Hamas is a terrorist organization that is a threat to the whole world and must be “eliminated.” Blair also says he has no expectation that Hamas would respect international law, including any agreement on a ceasefire.His comments are the furthest any Canadian minister has gone in explaining why Canada does not support calls for a ceasefire.The defence minister also appeared unwilling to back more recent calls for a “humanitarian pause,” but says there are talks underway to get more aid into the Gaza Strip. More than one million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, and they face shortages of food, water and fuel.European foreign ministers agreed Monday that a temporary halt to fighting was needed to get aid into Gaza and French President Emmanuel Macron is in Israel pushing for such a pause today.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2023. The Canadian...

Spain’s acting government to push for a 37½-hour workweek. That’s if it can remain in power

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

MADRID (AP) — The parties forming Spain’s acting government said Tuesday that they will push for a 37 1/2-hour workweek as part of an agreement the coalition partners struck as they try to remain in power following an inconclusive election in July.Spain has had a 40-hour workweek for the past two decades. Now, the government wants to move toward a shorter workweek like in neighboring France, where the workweek is 35 hours. The proposal is for Spain to have a 38 1/2-hour workweek next year and for that to fall to 37 1/2 hours in 2025.Spain’s Socialist Party and its junior coalition partner, the leftist Sumar (Joining Forces), have until Nov. 21 to earn the backing of the majority of Spain’s Parliament to form a new government. If not, a new national election will be held in January.Tuesday’s agreement was the first, and likely the easiest, step that the two parties face ahead of what promises to be a difficult task of earning the support of myriad smaller parties. The Socialists and ...

UAW strikes at General Motors SUV plant as union starts targeting profit centers or automakers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union has turned up the heat on General Motors as 5,000 workers walked off their jobs Tuesday at a highly profitable SUV factory in Arlington, Texas.The move comes just a day after the union went on strike at Stellantis’ pickup truck factory in Sterling Heights, Michigan, north of Detroit.The Texas strike brings the total of UAW members that have walked off their jobs to 46,000 in a series of strikes that is entering its sixth week.UAW President Shawn Fain last week threatened further strikes in an effort to get GM, Ford and Stellantis to increase their pay offers.But GM CEO Mary Barra said on Tuesday morning’s earnings conference call that the company already has made a record offer and won’t agree to a contract that jeopardizes the company’s future.The Associated Press

‘Torontohenge’ phenomenon to offer striking sunset views tonight

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

Torontonians who find themselves in the downtown core on Tuesday evening will get an opportunity to catch a glimpse of a local solar phenomenon.It’s the time of year for ‘Torontohenge,’ an event when the sun lines up perfectly with the city’s east-west downtown streets at sunset.CityNews 680 meteorologist Jill Taylor says the clear sky conditions on Tuesday evening should cooperate and allow for a good view of the sunset at 6:20 p.m. The sun will line up again at 6:18 p.m. on Wednesday but the forecast is calling for cloudier skies.People will be able to view the solar event by looking west down skyscraper-lined streets in the city’s downtown core during the sunset.“Just a caution for drivers that the glare could be intense,” Taylor says. “Pedestrians should be careful as well.” Related: Toronto to see big warmup on heels of coldest morning of the fall so far The best streets to view ‘Torontohenge’ ar...

Young women should invest differently — and more seriously — than men, experts say

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

Ageand income are usually the biggest factors in determining one’s investment strategy, but some personal finance experts believe it’s time for gender to become a larger part ofthe decision-making process.Women are more likely than men to experience a wide range of life and career events, making a gendered approach to investing key for young women looking to build a comfortable retirement fund, said Zena Amundsen, a certified financial planner at Astra Financial with a largely female clientele.“It’s generally women who are expected to take time off from work for child care, or to care for an elderly parent,” said Amundsen. “With that comes an earlier career plateau and the gender pay gap, and with that pay gap comes lower (Canadian Pension Plan) contributions, as well as a lower likelihood of being able to max it out and have as much in our pockets during retirement.”This is exacerbated by women’s longer average lifespan, she added, which is likely to extend five years beyond the av...

Love it, or hate it? Feelings run high over candy corn come Halloween

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:36:07 GMT

Cruel joke for trick-or-treaters or coveted seasonal delight? The great Halloween debate over candy corn is on.In the pantheon of high-emotion candy, the classic shiny tricolour kernels in autumn’s white, orange and yellow are way up there. Fans and foes alike point to the same attributes: the plastic or candle-like texture (depending on who you ask) and the mega-sugar hit it packs.“I am vehemently pro candy corn. It’s sugar! What is not to love? It’s amazing. It’s like this waxy texture. You get to eat it once a year. It’s tricolour. That’s always fun,” comedian Shannon Fiedler gushed on TikTok. “Also, I know it’s disgusting. Candy corn is objectively kind of gross, but that’s what makes it good.”Or, as Paul Zarcone of Huntington, New York, put it: “I love candy corn even though it looks like it should taste like a candle. I also like that many people hate it. It makes me like it even more!”Love it ...