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Putinism’s demise will be chaotic and violent

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

Yevgeny Prigozhin’s aborted putsch has demonstrated the fragility of Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Or as Russian opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky puts it: “Now the country and the world know it’s possible to rebel against Putin.”Facing no resistance, the paramilitary boss’ band of heavily armed rogues, cut-throats and penal conscripts crossed into Russia from occupied territory in Ukraine, seized control of Rostov, a key logistical hub and military headquarters, then proceeded up the M4 highway towards Moscow, only facing opposition around Voronezh, a six-hour drive from the Russian capital, but still managing to come within 240 kilometers of the capital’s outskirts.On Saturday night, Putin might have thought he could sleep a little easier after a deal was struck under which Wagner Group’s mercenaries would disarm or be folded into the Russian army, while Prigozhin would be packed off to Minsk. But — to what must be Putin’s intense chagrin — even that ...

Prosecutors seeking death penalty against man accused of killing of 4 University of Idaho students

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death late last year.Bryan Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths at a rental house near the Moscow, Idaho, university campus last November. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson filed the notice of his intent to seek the death penalty in court on Monday.A not-guilty plea was entered in the case on Kohberger’s behalf earlier this year. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday.The bodies of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were found on Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home across the street from the University of Idaho campus. The slayings shocked the rural Idaho community and neighboring Pullman, Washington, where Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University.Police released few details about the investig...

‘All those moments mean everything’: Chicago White Sox reliever Keynan Middleton on his time with the Los Angeles Angels

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

The initial memory that popped in Keynan Middleton’s mind when asked to reflect on the first save of his major-league career wasn’t the last out — or any out recorded in that ninth inning while pitching for the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 8, 2017, against the Baltimore Orioles.“I gave up a home run, that’s pretty much all I remember,” the Chicago White Sox reliever told the Tribune before Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.“I wouldn’t talk to the media after the game. Everyone was wondering why, because I just got my first save, but I was upset I gave up a home run. That’s honestly what I remember most, not even the save part, all the other stuff.”Middleton, a key member of the White Sox bullpen, spent the first four seasons of his big-league career with the Angels (2017-2020). He was back at Angel Stadium on Monday as the Sox began a four-game series against the Angels.Some of his career...

Tax cut talks begin, again, as Legislature works to finish work abandoned last year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

Negotiators representing either chamber of the state Legislature met in public briefly before closing the door for a second year of secretive tax talks.A joint conference committee comprised of three state senators and as many representatives gathered at the State House Monday to begin again the process of ironing out the differences between their separate proposals to cut taxes in the Bay State. Members from both bodies acknowledged they had been in the same position before.“We want to make sure that we finish the job on this one, as we’ve obviously had some starts and stops over the last year or two related to these things,” House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz told his colleagues.For the second year running Michlewitz made the case for acting fast as he sat across the table from Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and after the pair called to order another attempt to make the commonwealth more affordable and competitive with other jurisdictions.This year’s ...

Ticker: Gas prices flat in Bay State; Feds dropping $1.7B on green buses 

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

The price at the pump held steady in Massachusetts during the first week of summer, remaining flat at $3.54 per gallon, the same as last week.The gas price here is running 3 cents below the national average. The price in the most recent survey by AAA is 3 cents higher than a month ago and a full $1.39 lower than a year ago, according to the survey.“The price of a barrel of crude oil has been in the 70s most days this year but is now hovering right at 70 dollars or even dipping into the high 60s,” said Mary Maguire, AAA Northeast’s Vice President of Public and Government Affairs. “This means the price at the pump is significantly lower than a year ago and is one reason AAA is projecting a record-breaking year for Fourth of July travel.”Feds dropping $1.7B on green busesThe U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding $1.7 billion in grants for buying zero- and low-emission buses.The money goes to transit projects in 46 states and territories, including Seattle and Washington, D.C. T...

After the Titan implosion, the US Coast Guard wants to improve the safety of submersibles

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT, PATRICK WHITTLE and HOLLY RAMER (Associated Press)As an international group of agencies investigates why the Titan submersible imploded while carrying five people to the Titanic wreckage, U.S. maritime officials say they’ll issue a report aimed at improving the safety of submersibles worldwide.Investigators from the U.S., Canada, France and the United Kingdom are working closely together on the probe of the June 18 accident, which happened in an “unforgiving and difficult-to-access region” of the North Atlantic, said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, of the Coast Guard First District. Salvage operations from the sea floor are ongoing, and the accident site has been mapped, Coast Guard chief investigator Capt. Jason Neubauer said Sunday. He did not give a timeline for the investigation. Neubauer said the final report will be issued to the International Maritime Organization.“My primary goal is to prevent a similar occurrence by mak...

Ohio mom charged in death of toddler left alone for 10 days, prosecutors say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Prosecutors in Ohio have announced murder charges against a woman in the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who authorities say was left alone for 10 days while the woman went on vacation.The Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office said Monday that Kristel A. Candelario, 31, was indicted last week on one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder and one count each of felonious assault and endangering children.Prosecutors alleged that Candelario left the child “alone and unattended” at her Cleveland home June 6 to vacation in Detroit and Puerto Rico and didn’t return until the morning of June 16. Authorities say she called police after finding the child unresponsive upon her return.Cleveland police and fire personnel responded and the victim, who was described as “extremely dehydrated,” was pronounced deceased. “It is unfathomable that a mother would leave her 16-month-old child alone without any supervision for 10 ...

Celtics’ pick Jordan Walsh knows defense his foundation in NBA: ‘That’s what my game is’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

For a few minutes early Monday afternoon, Jordan Walsh stood at midcourt of the newly renovated gym at the Cambridge Community Center holding a microphone and instructed dozens of young campers on some defensive fundamentals.Over and over, Walsh – the Celtics’ draft pick last week – pushed the kids lined up in front of him to do an array of defensive drills such as getting into a stance, sliding and even diving on the floor for a loose ball. The 19-year-old Walsh may have been drafted less than five days ago, but the campers had a great teacher.In his lone season at Arkansas, Walsh – with his 7-foot-2 wingspan and relentless approach – showcased his advanced defensive skills that made him an NBA prospect. And as he enters the league, the 38th overall pick fully understands it’s defense that will not only represent his path to playing time, but also endear himself to Celtics fans.“A guy who harps on defense, who plays super-hard, who’s tough, who’s going to be consistent in that aspe...

VP Harris visits historic LGBTQ+ landmark, decries flurry of anti-trans bills in state legislatures

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Stonewall Inn national monument on Monday to pay tribute to activists at the site of a watershed moment in the gay rights movement. And she spoke out as state lawmakers around the U.S. have introduced or passed hundreds of bills this year that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights.That tally includes a recent flurry of bills that affect transgender people, including legislation recently passed by Republican governors vying for the 2024 presidential nomination.The vice president’s surprise visit to Stonewall in New York City comes just days ahead of the 54th anniversary of the police raid and the rebellion it sparked on June 28, 1969, as patrons and others fought back against officers and against a social order that kept gay life in the shadows. The uprising is widely seen as one of the most pivotal moments in the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.Harris, in brief remarks, paid tribute to the “courage and determination and the inspir...

First Nations in B.C. call on minister to resign over horrific child abuse case

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:00:42 GMT

CHILLIWACK, B.C. — For months, an Indigenous boy and his little sister were subjected to what a British Columbia judge called “incomprehensible” abuse from the foster parents who were supposed to care for them and instead meted out torture, starvation and assaults that culminated in the boy being beaten to death.Now the horrifying case has triggered a call for the resignation of the children’s minister, a vow from the children’s commissioner to conduct an inquiry, and a promise from the premier that his government would do better.Provincial court Judge Peter La Prairie in Chilliwack, B.C., sentenced the foster parents this month to 10 years in prison after they pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and manslaughter of the First Nation boy, 11, and aggravated assault of his sister, aged eight.The violence was captured in hundreds of hours of video footage filmed inside the home.“It is incomprehensible how someone can inflict such pain, suffering and viole...