Moscow tries to project stability as Wagner chief remains defiant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Moscow tries to project stability as Wagner chief remains defiant Associated PressThe leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful, taunting audio statement Monday as the Kremlin tried to project stability, with authorities releasing a video of the defense minister reviewing troops in Ukraine.In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted to prevent the destruction of his private military company, Wagner, and wasn’t seeking to stage a coup. “We started our march because of an injustice,” he said, giving no details about where he was or what his plans were.The feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia’s military brass had festered throughout the war, erupting into a mutiny over the weekend when mercenaries left Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city. They rolled seemingly unopposed for hundreds of miles toward Moscow before turning around after less than 24 hours on Saturday.The Kremlin said it had made a deal for Prigozhin to mo...

Aston Martin strikes deal with Bay Area-based Lucid to help make EVs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Aston Martin strikes deal with Bay Area-based Lucid to help make EVs New York  — British ultra-luxury sports car maker Aston Martin has signed a deal with Lucid Group, the Newark, California-based electric luxury car startup. Lucid will provide electric motors under the arrangement and battery systems for Aston Martin’s future electric vehicles.Aston Martin announced last year that it plans to produce its first fully electric model by 2025. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is the largest shareholder in Lucid and the second-largest in Aston Martin, after billionaire chairman Lawrence Stroll. Chinese automotive conglomerate Geely, which owns Volvo and Lotus, among other brands, doubled its stake in Aston Martin last month to about 17%. And Lucid will take a 3.7% stake in Aston Martin as part of the newly announced arrangement.Lucid said it was selected by Aston Martin “through a competitive process” in its Monday announcement of the deal. In total, the contracts with Aston Martin are worth more than $450 million, according to Lucid. Aston Martin p...

Moments leading up to deadly Oakland Koreatown shooting caught on video

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Moments leading up to deadly Oakland Koreatown shooting caught on video (KRON) -- Surveillance video obtained by KRON4 captures the moments leading up to a deadly shooting in Oakland's Koreatown last week, in which a delivery person was killed. The shooting occurred just before 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the 400 block of 26th Street between Telegraph Avenue and Broadway, near a Target location.In the video, a man and a woman can be seen walking their dog past another man, who looks like he's trying to deliver flowers. The couple stops walking and pauses for a moment before the man hands the dog leash off to the woman. 15-year-old shot in Santa Rosa Saturday night has died, police say gang-related The man then walks over to the delivery man and the two begin fighting. He attacks the delivery man at one point, who responds by throwing his flowers. That's when the man who was walking the dog takes out a gun and shoots the delivery man.The man who fired the shot can be seen running away in the video.The delivery man later died at the hospital. Police say t...

Severe Thunderstorm Watch: When wind and hail are expected to hit DC area

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Severe Thunderstorm Watch: When wind and hail are expected to hit DC area Listen to WTOP on the 8’s for the latest weather updates. The D.C. region is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch as strong storms are expected to roll in Monday evening.The watch from the National Weather Service — which means conditions are favorable for severe storms — goes until 9 p.m. The watch covers D.C., all of Northern Virginia and Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland.The weather service said the storms could include scattered damaging wind gusts up to 65 mph and large pingpong ball-sized hail.The storms are expected to develop in West Virginia and move east-northeast toward the Interstate 95 corridor later Monday afternoon.Severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon with localized damaging wind gusts and large hail being the primary threats. Please stay weather aware, and be ready to seek shelter if warnings are issued. pic.twitter.com/cw9lnHTCmC— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) June 26, 2023“The evening com...

Montgomery Co. aims for security camera incentives by September

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Montgomery Co. aims for security camera incentives by September Security Camera on blue sky.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/vichie81) Security Camera on blue sky.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/vichie81) Leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland, plan to have a security camera incentive program up and running by September, according to law enforcement officials who spoke during a county council meeting on Monday.Under the program, an individual, business or nonprofit will be able to apply with the county’s police department to receive a voucher or rebate to offset the cost of a security camera on the applicant’s property.The department will reimburse eligible applications up to $250 for one camera per qualifying resident, and up to $1,250 for five cameras for qualifying businesses or n...

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up NEW YORK (AP) — Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up.When the 48-year-old conductor leans forward to extend his arms and emphasize vibrato or stretches high for a fortissimo during an orchestra concert, the red soles of his patent leather Christian Louboutins become visible. He nearly leaves the ground, a visual contrast to the final years of predecessor James Levine, who conducted while seated from 2001 on and from a motorized wheelchair during his final five seasons because of Parkinson’s disease. “I still feel that we are at the beginning of our journey together,” Nézet-Séguin said during a rehearsal break last week. “I can appreciate maybe the growth in our understanding of music, common understanding and the trust, so it feels much more like — I hate to say Yannick’s orchestra, because it’s not what it’s about — I’m there to just curate.”Finishing his fifth season as music director, he takes the Met on its first tour since 2011 and th...

The Titan implosion will be investigated by an international group of agencies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

The Titan implosion will be investigated by an international group of agencies FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. The wrecks of the Titanic and the Titan sit on the ocean floor, separated by 1,600 feet (490 meters) and 111 years of history. How they came together unfolded over an intense week that raised temporary hopes and left lingering questions. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)(AP) FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. The wrecks of the Titanic and the Titan sit on the ocean floor, separated by 1,600 feet (490 meters) and 111 years of history. How they came together unfolded over an intense week that raised temporary hopes and left lingering questions. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, Fi...

5,000 US flights delayed or canceled due to severe storms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

5,000 US flights delayed or canceled due to severe storms New York (CNN) — More than 5,000 flights across the United States were delayed or canceled Monday after powerful storms ripped through the parts of the country, mainly in the Southeast and the Ohio Valley.Data from FlightAware showed that on Monday afternoon, 3,825 flights within, into or out of the US were delayed and another 1,304 were canceled.United Airlines (UAL)was faring the worst of the American domestic airlines. About 8% of its schedule, or 244 flights, was canceled and another 17%, or 502 flights, was delayed as of 2 pm ET. Delta (DAL) wasn’t far behind, with 5% (182 flights) of its schedule canceled and 13% (465 flights) delayed.Two commuter airlines also had their schedules disrupted. Republic Airways, which operates short-haul flights for American Airlines, Delta and United, had 23% of its schedule canceled (218 flights) and 15% (147 flights) delayed. Endeavor Air, a Delta-owned carrier, experienced a similar number of delays and cancellations.The delays and cancellati...

Dolphin moms use baby talk to call to their young, recordings show

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

Dolphin moms use baby talk to call to their young, recordings show WASHINGTON (AP) — You know instantly when someone is speaking to an infant or small child. It turns out that dolphin mothers also use a kind of high-pitched baby talk.A study published Monday found that female bottlenose dolphins change their tone when addressing their calves. Researchers recorded the signature whistles of 19 mother dolphins in Florida, when accompanied by their young offspring and when swimming alone or with other adults.The dolphin signature whistle is a unique and important signal — akin to calling out their own name.“They use these whistles to keep track of each other. They’re periodically saying, ‘I’m here, I’m here’,” said study co-author Laela Sayigh, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution marine biologist in Massachusetts.When directing the signal to their calves, the mother’s whistle pitch is higher and her pitch range is greater than usual, according to the study published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences....

White Florida woman charged with manslaughter in shooting of Black neighbor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:53:05 GMT

White Florida woman charged with manslaughter in shooting of Black neighbor A white woman accused of firing through her door and fatally shooting a Black mother in front of her 9-year-old son in central Florida was charged Monday with manslaughter and assault.Susan Lorincz was arrested earlier this month following the fatal shooting of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida. She was formally charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault.State Attorney William Gladson said his office contemplated filing a second-degree murder charge but prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence that Lorincz had “hatred, spite, ill will or evil intent” toward Owens.“As deplorable as the defendant’s actions were in this case, there is insufficient evidence to prove this specific and required element of second-degree murder,” Gladson said in a statement.Amanda Sizemore, Lorincz’s attorney from the public defender’s office, said she had no comment at this time. An email seeking comment was sent to attorney Ben Crump, wh...