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Russians intensify blitzkrieg attacks in eastern Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

KYIV — Russian forces have launched a series of massive attacks involving thousands of troops as well as tanks and armored vehicles on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country in an effort to encircle Ukrainian forces.The Ukrainian side has lost control over some positions on the northern outskirts of Avdiivka, but the military says it is still holding on to key parts of the industrial city, only 20 kilometers west of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Avdiivka has been under continuous Russian attack for two days, and fires are burning throughout the shattered remnants of the city. Before the war, the city had a population of 32,000; some 1,700 civilians remain. “The situation is difficult. Intense fighting continues for the second day. The encirclement threat has existed for almost a year, but our forces keep holding defense lines,” Vitalli Barabash, Adviivka military administration head, told POLITICO in a quick message from the frontline.The Ukrainian military spelled ...

German antidiscrimination body ditches X

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

Germany’s Antidiscrimination Agency has announced it will no longer maintain a presence on X, the platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk. In a series of posts published on X, on Wednesday, the agency said it could no longer justify staying on the platform amid “the enormous increase in trans and queer hostility, racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and other misanthropic content,” adding “in our opinion, X is no longer an acceptable environment for the profile of a public body.”The federal agency also took a swing at Musk, saying hate speech and disinformation on the platform increased particularly after “the change in ownership.” Musk completed his purchase of X, then called Twitter, almost a year ago. The agency said that right-wing extremist accounts that were previously blocked have been reactivated on the platform. It also claimed in its posts on X that so-called troll factories that spread pro-Russian propaganda have apparently purchased v...

Quiet… For Now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

Despite some clouds and a few sprinkles/brief light shower across the region this morning, it’ll turn out to be a mainly dry day with partly sunny skies this afternoon. Temps do warm up into the mid to upper 60s, slightly above seasonable levels this afternoon. Tomorrow, it’ll be very similar with highs in the mid 60s to near 70 after a seasonably chilly start. Friday turns out to be slightly cooler, back into the lower 60s, but we’ll stay dry. We continue the cool down heading into the weekend with temperatures sliding back into the mid to upper 50s for highs. We’ll also watch the chance for rain moving in late Saturday into Sunday. How much rain depends on how far north and area of low pressure will track. That’ll be the difference from spotty showers to steady rain for Sunday, into early next week. The cool onshore flow prevails early next week as well.

Chicago Bears Q&A: What if Caleb Williams refused to come to Chicago? How many wins would it take to say the team is on the upswing?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

The father of USC quarterback Caleb Williams made some interesting comments in a magazine interview, leading to questions about the projected top draft pick’s options. What could that mean for the Chicago Bears?And injuries still are affecting the Bears lineup. What is the latest on Lucas Patrick, Darnell Mooney and Braxton Jones? Brad Biggs answers questions each week in his Bears mailbag.What if Caleb Williams refuses to come to Chicago? I’ve seen some reports that say he and his father are putting the word out they would refuse to sign if drafted by the Bears. — Jim Foley, Aiken, S.C.Talk about a doomsday predicament. Can you imagine if the Bears wound up in position to add potentially the best draft-eligible quarterback since Andrew Luck in 2012 — or perhaps longer — and he opted to remain at USC?For starters, it’s important to note that, to my knowledge, neither Williams nor his father, Carl, has said anything specifically about the Bea...

How did the Orioles get swept by the Rangers in the ALDS? Here are 4 explanations.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

The beautiful ride that had been the 2023 Orioles’ season — the modest expectations, the consistent dominance over ostensibly mightier foes, the historic avoidance of sweeps — sped forward all spring, all summer, and into the fall. It whistled and wowed and stormed past setbacks. But with a whimper in Texas, it stalled, finally to a halt.The Orioles’ 101 regular-season wins could not help them here, in the wilderness of the postseason, as the fragility of a best-of-five series quickly crashed down on what had been a dream season.Here’s a look at some of the reasons for the early exit after Tuesday night’s 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.Starting pitching strugglesKyle Bradish was one of the best pitchers in the American League during his emergent 2023. Grayson Rodriguez looked like the first-round talent he is since being called up in July. Dean Kremer, too, was strong in the second half, postin...

The Orioles, swept in ALDS, weren’t ‘overrated.’ They were overmatched. | ANALYSIS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

Amid a constant stream of noise from the sold-out crowd at Globe Life Field on Tuesday, chants of “overrated” briefly leaked out. Regardless of whether the jeers were directed at rookie Gunnar Henderson, who stood in the batter’s box at the time, or the Orioles at large, who spent 2023 largely as the opposite, they were misguided.The Texas Rangers’ American League Division Series sweep didn’t prove the Orioles were overrated. It simply showed them to be overmatched.“They outplayed us,” backup catcher James McCann said. “It’s just that simple. I don’t think you can really point to experience in this case. They just outplayed us, and you’ve got to tip your cap to them.”Across the three games against Texas, Baltimore led for about 10 minutes, spending much of the rest of the series facing insurmountable deficits. All 16 of manager Brandon Hyde’s pitching changes came with the Orioles losing. They...

The Supreme Court weighs whether South Carolina targeted Black voters in redistricting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up a new congressional redistricting case, this time from South Carolina, that could shape the fight for partisan control of the House of Representatives.Arguments taking place at the high court on Wednesday will focus on a coastal district that is held by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. In January, a lower court ordered the district redrawn after finding that Republicans who control the state Legislature improperly moved Democratic-leaning Black voters into another district to make the seat safer for Mace in 2022. When Mace first won election in 2020, she edged Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Cunningham by 1%, under 5,400 votes. In 2022, following redistricting driven by the 2020 census results, Mace won reelection by 14%. She is one of eight right-flank Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker.Democrats could have a shot at picking up the seat in 2024 if the district is redrawn. With Republicans holding a thin margin in the U....

In the news today: Health ministers in Charlottetown and Joly talks Israel airlifts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Joly to provide update on Canada’s Israel airlift plansForeign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly will hold a news conference to explain how the federal government will help get Canadians out of harm’s way as a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages on for a fifth day.Joly announced Tuesday that Ottawa is planning to airlift Canadians out of Tel Aviv in “the coming days” using military aircraft.She also urged all Canadians in Israel to register with Global Affairs.Israel has vowed unprecedented retaliation against the Hamas militant group ruling the Gaza Strip after its fighters stormed through a border fence Saturday and gunned down hundreds of Israelis.Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip are struggling to find any safe area, as Israeli strikes demolish entire neighbourhoods, hospitals run low on supplies and a power blackout is ex...

Ontario NDP leader calls on MPP to retract Israel-Hamas statement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

Ontario’s NDP leader is calling for one of her MPP’s to retract a controversial social media post made about the Israel-Hamas war.Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama posted a two-paragraph statement under Ontario NDP letterhead that made no mention of the past weekend’s surprise attack by Hamas. The Tuesday afternoon post instead chose to focus on the decades-long struggle of Palestinians under Israeli occupation, which she referred to as “apartheid.”“I call for immediate ceasefire and de-escalation,” Jama wrote. “We must look to the solution to this endless cycle of death and destruction: end all occupation of Palestinian land and end apartheid.”The social media post included the hashtag “FreePalestine.”NDP Leader Marit Stiles released her own statement in response to Jama’s comments, saying the MPP’s message was not approved by her caucus and asked her to retract the statement. Stiles called on Jama to instea...

Exxon Mobil buys Pioneer Natural in $59.5 billion deal with energy prices surging

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:53 GMT

Exxon Mobil is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, its largest buyout since acquiring Mobil two decades ago, and creating a colossal fracking operator in West Texas. Including debt, Exxon is committing about $64.5 billion to the acquisition, leaving no doubt of the Texas energy company’s commitment to fossil fuels as energy prices surge. Pioneer shareholders will receive 2.32 shares of Exxon for each Pioneer share they own.Exxon purchased XTO Energy in 2009 for approximately $36 billion. In the late 1990s, the merger between Exxon and Mobil was valued around $80 billion.The deal with Pioneer Natural expands Exxon’s presence in the Permian basin, a massive oilfield that straddles the border between Texas and New Mexico. Drilling the Permian accounted for 18% of all U.S. natural gas production last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.Pioneer’s more than 850,000 net acres in the Midland Basin will be...