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Dominican police arrest 19 in high-profile corruption case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Authorities in the Dominican Republic have arrested 19 people in a sweeping corruption case that accuses a well-known former presidential candidate and three former officials of embezzling nearly $350 million and illegal campaign financing.The arrests are the latest in a string of investigations that officials have launched in the past two years as part of a crackdown on rampant government corruption in the Caribbean country.Among those detained Saturday night is Gonzalo Castillo, a former public works minister who won 37% of the vote when he ran as presidential candidate for the Dominican Liberation Party in the 2020 general elections. Also arrested is a former treasury minister, Donald Guerrero; former comptroller general, Daniel Omar Caamaño; and former administrative minister to the presidency, José Ramón Peralta.Prosecutors said they are accused of paying bribes, laundering assets and illegally financing the previous electoral campaign o...

Elche fires coach Machín after poor Spanish league run

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Last-placed Elche fired coach Pablo Machín on Monday after he failed to halt the team’s poor run in the Spanish league.The announcement came a day after Elche lost at Real Sociedad 2-0 for its 10th loss in its last 15 league games. Elche was 14 points from safety after 26 rounds.Elche went winless in its first 19 league games before pulling off a victory against Villarreal in the 20th round.Machín took over the team in November and was in charge in two wins, three draws and seven losses in the league. It was eliminated by third-division club Ceuta in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey.Machín was Elche’s third coach this season. His replacement was not immediately announced.The club’s next match is at home against league leader Barcelona.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

EU’s top diplomat hails deal on artillery shells for Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries have endorsed a fast-track procedure aimed at providing Ukraine with sorely needed artillery shells to repel Russia’s invasion forces, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday, as Moscow maintains its focus on attacking the industrial east of the war-ravaged country.As he chaired a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels, Borrell took to Twitter to hail what he described as “a historic decision” for the 27-nation bloc and Norway to send Ukraine 1 million 155-milimeter artillery shells within 12 months.“We are taking a key step towards delivering on our promises to provide Ukraine with more artillery ammunition,” he said, and noted that 18 countries had signed up to a European Defense Agency, or EDA, project to place joint orders for ammunition with the defense industry.Borrell said that he had won approval for his proposal to provide 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to encourage member nations to provide artillery...

2023 U.S. Soccer Schedule

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

All Times EDT(Won 0, Lost 1, Tied 1)Wednesday, Jan. 25 — Serbia 2, United States 1Saturday, Jan. 28 — United States 0, Colombia 0a-Friday, March 24 — vs. Grenada at St. George’s, Grenada, 8 p.m.a-Monday, March 27 — vs. El Salvador at Orlando, Fla., 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, April 19 — vs. Mexico at Glendale, Ariz., 10 p.m.Thursday, June 15 — CONCACAF Nations League at Las Vegas/exhibition TBASunday, June 18 — CONCACAF Nations League at Las Vegas/exhibition TBAJune 26 to July 16 — CONCACAF Gold CupFriday, Sept. 8 — exhibition TBATuesday, Sept. 12 — exhibition TBAFriday, Oct. 13 — exhibition TBATuesday, Oct. 17 — exhibition TBAFriday, Nov. 17 — exhibition TBATuesday, Nov. 21 — exhibition TBAa-CONCACAF Nations LeagueSource

Researchers: Inbreeding a big problem for endangered orcas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — People have taken many steps in recent decades to help the Pacific Northwest’s endangered killer whales, which have long suffered from starvation, pollution and the legacy of having many of their number captured for display in marine parks.They’ve breached dikes and removed dams to create wetland habitat for Chinook salmon, the orcas’ most important food. They’ve limited commercial fishing to try to ensure prey for the whales. They’ve made boats slow down and keep farther away from the animals to reduce their stress and to quiet the waters so they can better hunt.So far, those efforts have had limited success, and research published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution suggests why: The whales are so inbred that they are dying younger and their population is not recovering. Female killer whales take about 20 years to reach peak fertility, and the females may not be living long enough to ensure the growth of their population.While ...

Amazon cuts 9,000 more jobs, bringing 2023 total to 27,000

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon plans to eliminate 9,000 more jobs in the next few weeks, CEO Andy Jassy said in a memo to staff on Monday. The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company’s history, adding to the 18,000 employees the tech giant said it would lay off in January. The company’s workforce doubled during the pandemic, however, in the midst of a hiring surge across almost the entire tech sector. Tech companies have announced tens of thousands of job cuts this year. In the memo, Jassy said the second phase of the company’s annual planning process completed this month led to the additional job cuts. He said Amazon will still hire in some strategic areas. “Some may ask why we didn’t announce these role reductions with the ones we announced a couple months ago. The short answer is that not all of the teams were done with their analyses in the late fall; and rather than rush through these assessments without the appropriate diligence, we cho...

Review: A boarding school whodunit fueled by feminist rage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

“Commitment,” by Mona Simpson (Alfred A. Knopf)Mona Simpson’s latest novel “Commitment” is a minimalist masterpiece, exploring the large and small ways that a diagnosis of mental illness affects a family. In a story utterly devoid of car crashes, murders, abductions and explosions, Simpson bears down on the truly important questions about life — home, work, love and family.At the center of the novel is Diane Aziz, a single mother struggling to raise three kids on a nurse’s salary in Los Angeles in the 1970s. She has lied to get them into an exclusive public high school in the Pacific Palisades, and it has paid off big for her two older children, Walter and Lina. When the novel begins, it is 1972, and Walter has just enrolled at UC-Berkeley. Soon after that, Diane spirals into a deep depression and is admitted to a state mental hospital. At that point, her best friend, Julie, a colleague at work, steps up to take care of Lina and younger brother Donnie.Lina, who is still in high scho...

Grains mostly lower, Livestock mixed

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Grain futures were mostly lower Monday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for May lost 8 cents at $6.9725 a bushel; May corn was off 2.50 cents at $6.3050 a bushel; May oats was up 3.75 cents at $3.51 a bushel; while May soybeans fell 6.75 cents at 14.7375 a bushel.Beef higher and pork lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.Apr. live cattle was up .43 cent at $1.6215 a pound; Mar. feeder cattle rose .58 cent at $1.8890 a pound; Apr. lean hogs was off .88 cent at $.7817 a pound.Source

Sports on TV for Tuesday, March 21

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsTuesday, March 21BASEBALL7 p.m.FS1 — World Baseball Classic: TBD vs. U.S., Final, MiamiBASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE12 p.m.NBATV — ABC Fighters vs. Stade Malien, Dakar, SenegalCOLLEGE BASEBALL7 p.m.ACCN — Florida at Florida St.8 p.m.PAC-12N — N. Colorado at UtahCOLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)7 p.m.ESPN — NIT Tournament: N. Texas at Oklahoma St., QuarterfinalESPN2 — CBI Tournament: TBD, Semifinal, Daytona Beach, Fla.9 p.m.ESPN — NIT Tournament: Wisconsin at Oregon, Quarterfinal9:30 p.m.ESPN2 — CBI Tournament: TBD, Semifinal, Daytona Beach, Fla.COLLEGE SOFTBALL7 p.m.SECN — McNeese St. at LSUFIGURE SKATING6 a.m. (Wednesday)USA — ISU: The World Figure Skating Championships, Women’s Short, Saitama, JapanNBA BASKETBALL7:30 p.m.NBATV — Cleveland at Brooklyn10 p.m.NBATV — Boston at SacramentoTENNIS11 a.m.TENNIS — Miami Open-WTA Early Rounds —Source

Man United forward Rashford pulls out of England squad

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:16:22 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Nick Pope have withdrawn from the England squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine, the Football Association said Monday. Manchester United forward Rashford suffered a knock during the 3-1 win against Fulham in the FA Cup on Sunday. Mount is recovering from a pelvic injury and the FA said Pope was hurt after Newcastle’s 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest on Friday. Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster has been called up as a replacement for Pope, but no other players have been added to Gareth Southgate’s squad. England plays European champions Italy in Naples on Thursday and Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday in the Three Lions’ first games since the World Cup. The squad met at England’s St. George’s Park training headquarters on Monday, with 23 players reporting for duty. ___James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https:/...