Ukraine says it has retaken territory near embattled eastern city of Bakhmut

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Ukraine says it has retaken territory near embattled eastern city of Bakhmut KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian military commanders said Friday that their troops had recaptured more territory from Russian forces at the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle, for the eastern city of Bakhmut, but it wasn’t clear if this marked the start of Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive. Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Kyiv had stepped up attacks north of the region.The 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of territory retaken by Ukrainian forces south of Bakhmut this week represented a significant gain and will protect an important supply chain, according to commanders of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit that led the attack.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with the top military commanders Friday, noting that he heard a report from Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi whose forces “stopped the enemy and even pushed him back in some directions.”In a statement on Telegram on Friday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar con...

Reports: NBC Universal executive will take over as the new CEO of Twitter

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Reports: NBC Universal executive will take over as the new CEO of Twitter Elon Musk said he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called, and multiple media reports identify her as Linda Yaccarino, an executive with NBCUniversal. Musk did not name Yaccarino, but on Friday NBCUniversal said that she would be stepping down from the company as chairwoman for global advertising and partnerships. Yaccarino interviewed Musk on a Miami stage last month in front of hundreds of advertisers. Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted he is not the company’s permanent CEO. The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter’s executive chairman and chief technology officer. In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.While testifying, Musk said “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”More than ...

Spain’s Supreme Court upholds 135-year child pornography sentence of teacher who changed name

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Spain’s Supreme Court upholds 135-year child pornography sentence of teacher who changed name MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the 135-year prison sentence of a British teacher and nanny who created and distributed pornography of children in his care after changing his name and country following previous convictions.Ben David Rose legally changed his identity after his conviction on child pornography charges in Britain, meaning that he didn’t appear as a registered sex offender during background checks in Spain. Rose, previously known as Ben David Lewis, received a two-year suspended sentence in June 2016 for the child pornography offenses in the English city of St. Albans. By August of the same year, with a new name and passport, he was working as a nanny in the Spanish city of Zaragoza. Rose then moved to Madrid and worked as a nanny there for two more young children before taking a job as an English teacher at a private school. When police later searched his phone, they found dozens of photos and videos of him with girls as young as age 6 i...

Marlins’ 20-year-old Eury Pérez to debut Friday as club’s youngest pitcher ever

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Marlins’ 20-year-old Eury Pérez to debut Friday as club’s youngest pitcher ever MIAMI (AP) — At 6-foot-8, Miami Marlins prospect Eury Pérez towers above most pitchers.The right-hander’s combination of size, control and maturity has made him one of the most intriguing prospects in baseball — a prodigy so young he was an infant when the Marlins last won the World Series in 2003, and so good he’s leaping from Double-A to the majors.Pérez will make his major league debut Friday when the Miami hosts Cincinnati. At 20 years, 27 days, he’ll become the youngest pitcher in the club’s history and the only MLB player born after 2002.“When you’re looking at him, he’s throwing all his pitches for strikes. He’s commanding his pitches,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said, “and so those are the things that you really make sure he can do before he gets here, and he’s shown that.”Injuries to left-hander Trevor Rogers and right-hander Johnny Cueto made room for Pérez, who is rated by MLB pipeline as the No. 10 overall prospect and third-best right-hander. He was called up from D...

FIFA fund for unpaid wages helps 225 players at clubs around the world

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

FIFA fund for unpaid wages helps 225 players at clubs around the world ZURICH (AP) — A FIFA fund to compensate for unpaid wages helped 225 players in the latest round of payments, including 61 in Portugal and 50 in Greece, the governing body of soccer said Friday.The $16 million FIFA Fund for Football Players was created in 2020 with the FIFPRO player union. Some clubs were suspected of closing down to avoid paying salaries and then re-started anew as a “phoenix” operation.FIFA allocated $4 million to applications for financial help from the 2021 calendar year.The payments included 22 for players from Greek club Doxa Drama, plus 19 from CD Aves and 18 from Uniao da Madeira in Portugal.Cases in China came from Shanghai Shenxin, Beijing Renhe, Taizhou Yuanda and Guangdong South China Tiger.“Given that it’s deeply frustrating for players not to receive their salaries, we’re pleased that the FIFA (fund) is again providing them with a safety net to ensure that they receive part of what they are owed,” FIFPRO legal director Roy Vermeer said in a statement.FI...

Drivers caught on camera traveling through flood waters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Drivers caught on camera traveling through flood waters DENVER (KDVR) -- If you are traveling in the Thornton area on Friday morning, your commute could be impacted by road closures.The Thornton Police Department said multiple roads are closed due to flooding in the area. See travel times and delays here What roads are closed?TPD said the following roads were closed as of 4:30 a.m. Friday:East 144th Avenue is closed between Washington and York StreetYork Street is closed between E-470 and East 156th AvenueEast 156th Avenue is closed between York Street and Colorado BoulevardOther road closuresPolice in Commerce City said flooding is also causing issues there. CCPD said East 96th Avenue is closed from Peoria Street to Potomac Street.Wildlife Drive is also closed at Rocky Mountain Arsenal due to flooding.Flooding at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Credit: Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR)Remember that if you come across a flooded roadway, “turn around, don`t drown.” It is never safe to cross a flooded road. Instead, it is always a better option to jus...

Denver's high earners dropped 90 minute commutes over the pandemic

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Denver's high earners dropped 90 minute commutes over the pandemic DENVER (KDVR) -- The same workers who can afford to live far from their city jobs are the same workers who stopped commuting entirely once the COVID pandemic hit. An ApartmentList study analyzed commuter trends in every U.S. metro area using U.S. Census data to measure the change through the 2010s and early 2020s. In particular, the study wanted to track the movement in so-called "super commuters," or commuters who spend more than 90 minutes one way traveling to work. ‘You won a million dollars!’; $20 scratcher makes Denver woman a millionaire There was a sharp decline in the number of super commuters during the pandemic. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of super commuters dropped 4%. It had been growing for a decade. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of these commuters had grown 44%. In the Denver metro, super commuting shrank as well but not quite as sharply. After growing 44% from 2010 to 2019, long commutes dropped. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of these commuters had ri...

Students evacuated from South Broward High School after threat of shooting reported to police

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Students evacuated from South Broward High School after threat of shooting reported to police Students at a South Florida school have been evacuated due to a threat. Hollywood Police arrived at South Broward High School, located at 1901 N. Federal Highway, Friday morning. According to police, they received reports of a threat to shoot up the school. They do not believe the threat is credible. Students were evacuated from the school to the campus baseball field as a precaution. An investigation is underway. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Sunrise man pleads guilty to threatening poll workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Sunrise man pleads guilty to threatening poll workers MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida man faces up to five years in federal prison for threatening election workers during the August 2022 primary.Joshua David Lubitz, 38, of Sunrise, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Miami federal court to threatening election workers, according to court documents. His sentencing is scheduled for July 25.According to court documents, Lubitz was at a Sunrise Senior Center polling station last August when he was heard counting election workers and saying, “Should I kill them one by one, or should I blow the place up?” Lubitz was also heard saying, “My dad would love this; it would be easy,” as well as, “This would be nice and sweet.”As Lubitz drove away from the polling site, he extended his arm toward two poll workers and made a threatening gesture toward them with his hand, prosecutors said.Sunrise is located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Miami.

Central Florida deputies rescue hawk that was being strangled by snake

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:12:30 GMT

Central Florida deputies rescue hawk that was being strangled by snake ALACHUA, FLA. (WSVN) — Deputies in Central Florida were surprised when they responded to what they thought was a hawk in distress. When they arrived, they found out that the hawk was actually being strangled by a snake.Officials were able to intervene on time. The hawk was freed and then flew away.