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European Commission ‘concerned’ by China’s military drills near Taiwan

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

The European Commission expressed concern and called for restraint on Saturday after China started three days of military exercises near Taiwan in retaliation for Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last Wednesday.The Taiwanese government on Saturday said it had spotted 42 Chinese aircraft as well as eight ships crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the unofficial border between the two countries. China considers Taiwan part of its territory, a claim rejected by Taipei. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned the incursions as “irrational actions” and pledged to “defend national security with solid combat readiness.”“We are concerned by the intensification of military activities of the People’s Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait and around Taiwan, with incursions in Taiwanese Air Defense Identification Zone and crossing of the median line,” a Commission spokesperson said in ...

US appeals court ruling puts hundreds of January 6 felony cases in limbo

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

Hundreds of Jan. 6 obstruction cases — one of the most commonly charged felonies against those who breached the Capitol or confronted police that day — are facing new uncertainty after a divided appeals court ruling Friday.The three-judge panel spared the Justice Department an immediate disaster by agreeing to permit three challenged Jan. 6 obstruction cases to continue. But the judges — one liberal and two conservatives — all raised serious questions about whether other Jan. 6 obstruction cases might face legitimate challenges.At the heart of the conflict is how to measure whether Jan. 6 rioters acted with “corrupt intent,” a central element in the crime of obstructing an official proceeding. The judges noted that the requirement of “corrupt intent” was meant to avoid inadvertently criminalizing traditional protest or lobbying activities that have been a feature of civic engagement throughout American history. Any decision on the meaning of corrupt intent would have to separate tho...

Leaked documents on Ukraine battlefield operations circulated as early as March

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

A tranche of leaked documents that detail plans about Ukraine’s spring military offensive circulated online as early as March — a month earlier than previously reported, according to researchers with Bellingcat and a review of social media postings.The batch includes more pages than originally known and also outlines sensitive information about other global hotspots.The Ukraine-specific documents, photographed and distributed on myriad social media sites, outline everything from Ukraine’s readiness and training capabilities to death tolls on the battlefield. They date from the end of February to the end of March — around the same time as senior American generals hosted the Ukrainian military at a U.S. base in Germany to wargame the spring operation.The materials that circulated in early March were uploaded on a Discord, an encrypted messaging app. They appear to be photos of slide deck printouts that were folded up and then smoothed out again. They have since been pos...

Firefighters come to the rescue of parachutist stuck in tree

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

(CNN) — Washington firefighters rescued an unlucky parachutist after he became stuck in a tree.The man landed in a tree in Central Mason County on April 1, according to a news release from Central Mason Fire and EMS.Luckily, the man avoided hitting the “high-capacity” power lines and was uninjured, the release says.The parachutist landed in a “swamp/drainage area,” so first responders had to use a 35-foot tall ground ladder rather than a ladder truck to reach him.“He just needed assistance getting untangled and down from the tree,” said Central Mason Fire and EMS in the release.The man was participating in a scheduled parachuting course at local business Skydive Kapowsin, Central Mason Fire and EMS told CNN in an email. He was meant to land in Sanderson Field, a public airfield in Shelton.

Tesla cuts prices on all models, 3rd cut this year

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla cut prices on its entire U.S. electric vehicle model lineup for the third time this year in an apparent effort to lure more buyers amid rising interest rates.The largest of the cuts that appeared Friday on Tesla’s website were $5,000 per vehicle for the company’s slower-selling more expensive models, the S large sedan and the X big SUV.The company lopped $2,000 off the price of the Y small SUV, its most popular model, and added a lower-cost dual-motor version priced at $49,990. The 3 small sedan saw a $1,000 price cut.The moves come as Tesla’s first-quarter sales grew 36% but fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company said Sunday that it delivered a quarterly record of 422,875 vehicles worldwide from January to March, up from just over 310,000 a year ago. But the increase fell short of analyst estimates of 432,000 for the quarter, according to FactSet.A message was left Friday seeking comment from the Austin, Texas-based ...

Mike Lupica: Aaron Rodgers is worth the wait because he will make the Jets matter again

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

The Jets and the Packers are still hitting the pause button on Aaron Rodgers. It means that Jets fans are still waiting — while hoping that something doesn’t go wrong, just because these are the Jets we’re talking about here — for what would be the biggest thing to happen to them since Bill Parcells. And understand that Parcells was the biggest thing to happen to them since Joe Namath.You see where we’re going with this. Big things hardly ever do happen to the Jets, all the way back to when they were the Titans.This isn’t to diminish those two AFC championship games under Rex Ryan, when Mark Sanchez was the hot kid at quarterback, and had enough game to go with Rex’s defense to put them within a game of going back to the Super Bowl. And, let’s face it, the Jets getting Brett Favre did feel big when it happened, even though you always had the nagging feeling that Favre was only here to change planes, as if he were the Durant and Kyrie o...

Ira Winderman: At late-season loss in big moments, Heat in need of postseason redemption

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

The narrative about this Miami Heat regular season that ends Sunday against the visiting Orlando Magic is that the season got away because of losses to bottom feeders such as the Magic, Pistons, Pacers, Trail Blazers, Spurs and, twice apiece to the Wizards.But the reality entering the weekend is that those teams this season have won a combined 200 games. So the Heat hardly were alone in that regard. Bad teams win games.A far more significant narrative, one that is so critical in the postseason, is that the Heat did not step up to many of the most meaningful challenges over the second half of their schedule, games that not only could have swung the standings, but also instilled the type of confidence needed for what comes next.As in performances such as Thursday night in Philadelphia, when the Heat showed the potential of their possibilities.What long has defined the Heat under Erik Spoelstra have been the big-game moments over the first 82 that set the stage for the days, weeks and ...

Nearly 300,000 customers still without power in Quebec after ice storm

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

Hydro-Quebec says the pace of restoring power to nearly 300,000 customers will slow down now that crews have addressed the biggest outages caused by this week’s deadly ice storm.Director of Energy System Control Maxime Nadeau says crews are now tackling the smaller, trickier outages, so the “rhythm of the restoration” won’t be as fast as it was on Friday.Nadeau says he hopes almost everyone will have their lights on by Sunday, but it may take a little longer for some customers.Most of Quebec’s 290,000 customers without power are in Montreal, Monteregie, Laval and Outaouais.Quebec Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon says grocery stores in affected regions will remain open tomorrow, despite the Easter holiday.In eastern Ontario, Hydro One says nearly 25,000 of its customers are still in the dark, while Hydro Ottawa says 5,000 customers were awaiting power as of Friday night.The storm is being blamed for three deaths, with the most recent a 75-year old man i...

Community groups putting on "Love Albany Egg Hunt"

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- This weekend you might be looking for something fun and festive for the whole family to enjoy together. An egg hunt in Albany put on by over a dozen local organizations might be the perfect start to your Easter celebrations. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Saturday starting around 11:00 A.M. there will be games, music, and free food provided by the Albany Police Department.To learn more about the event, check out the interview with event emcee Paul Collins-Hackett in the video player above. Easter preparations at City Rescue Mission

These are the best MLB ballparks, according to Yelp

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:38:42 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — The major league baseball season is back. If you plan to head to the stadium to support your favorite team, or to finish the common bucket list task of visiting all 30 parks, you may find yourself favoring some aspects more than others. Maybe you prefer the food (or the home team) at one park and the outfield view of another. Or maybe you enjoy reminiscing on the historic moments that have happened at the park. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! To help settle a debate among MLB fans, Yelp analysts have compiled a list of the 20 top-ranked MLB stadiums listed as businesses in the Stadiums & Arenas category on its platform based on multiple factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews left by its users. Overall, Yelp reviewers declared PNC Park, home to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the top MLB ballpark in America. Opened in 2001, PNC Park is located along the Allegheny River, giving fans a view of down...