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The West supports Ukraine against Russia’s aggression. So why is funding its defense in question?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy issued a warning to allies as he hopscotched continents urging them to support his war-scarred country as it defends itself against the Russian invasion. Moscow’s “real target,” he said in Washington, “is freedom.”That idea functioned as a rallying cry as the West lined up behind Ukraine at the start of the war. But 21 months later, support for Ukraine has become complicated, especially when it comes to spending government money. Zelenskyy headed home Friday without billions in aid proposed in the U.S. and the EU, with those plans pushed into limbo. Here’s how it all unfolded:THE ASKZelenskyy received a hero’s welcome around the world from the start of the war, but now he’s having to make in-person appeals for aid as his country fights, he said this week, “for our freedom and yours.”“It’s very important,” he said in Washington, “that by the end of this year we can send very strong signal of our unity to the...

Shohei Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers could come with bonus of mostly avoiding California taxes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — If $700 million wasn’t enough, Shohei Ohtani’s record-setting contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers could also include a bonus: skipping most of California’s famously high income taxes.Not even the mighty Dodgers have the power to exempt Ohtani from paying his taxes. But they and the player can control when Ohtani gets paid. The Dodgers will pay Ohtani $20 million over the next decade, when the baseball star will be hitting and, health permitting, pitching for the National League powerhouse.It’s the decade after that when the Dodgers will really start to pay Ohtani — $68 million per year from 2034-43. Ohtani will turn 40 in 2034, an age when most Major League Baseball players have retired. By then, Ohtani could stop playing baseball and choose not to live in California, potentially avoiding for the bulk of his salary the state’s 13.3% income tax and 1.1% payroll tax for State Disability Insurance.With 97% of Ohtani’s Dodgers in...

Another beluga dies at Marineland, bringing total whale deaths to 15 since 2019

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

Another beluga whale has died at Marineland, bringing the number of whales that have died at the Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction to 15 over the past four years.The province’s Animal Welfare Services has been investigating Marineland since it took over animal cruelty enforcement in 2020.“The ministry is aware of the death of a beluga whale and a sea lion at Marineland,” Brent Ross, a spokesman with the Ministry of the Solicitor General, wrote in an email.Since January 2020, Marineland has made the ministry aware of the deaths of 14 beluga whales, one orca, one bottlenose dolphin, one harbour seal, one grey seal and two California sea lions, Ross added.Marineland did not respond to a request for comment.Marineland says on its website that it has a “strong record” of providing for the welfare of its animals and will “continue to prioritize their health and well-being.”The office of Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, which oversees the m...

$115 M funding deal could help build 40,000 homes in Vancouver over decade: Trudeau

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

VANCOUVER — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has reached a funding deal with the City of Vancouver that could see more than 40,000 new homes built over the next decade.Trudeau, attending an announcement with Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, Housing Minister Sean Fraser and others, says the deal will “fast-track” more than 3,200 new homes over the next three years.Fraser says the agreement will provide almost $115 million from the government’s Housing Accelerator Fund to cut barriers to building housing.A news release says the deal will allow for more high-density housing, speed up development processes, and put more housing near transit. It says Vancouver will streamline rezoning and expand affordable rental programs, and the initiatives will “significantly improve the way housing is built” in Vancouver.Sim says the deal is not a gesture, but a collective commitment to providing more housing.The Opposition Conservatives say in a news release th...

New York’s Metropolitan Museum will return stolen ancient sculptures to Cambodia and Thailand

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art said Friday that it will return more than a dozen pieces of ancient artwork to Cambodia and Thailand after they were tied to an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia. This most recent repatriation of artwork comes as many museums in the U.S. and Europe reckon with collections that contain objects looted from Asia, Africa and other places during centuries of colonialism or in times of upheaval. Fourteen Khmer sculptures will be returned to Cambodia and two will be returned to Thailand, according to the Manhattan museum. The repatriation of the ancient pieces was linked to well-known art dealer Douglas Latchford, who was indicted in 2019 for allegedly orchestrating a multiyear scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market. Latchford, who died the following year, had denied any involvement in smuggling. The museum initially cooperate...

A Kentucky family gets an early gift: a baby owl in their Christmas tree

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — One Kentucky family got a little something extra when they picked out their Christmas tree this year: a baby owl.Lexington resident Michele White told WDKY-TV that it’s a tradition for the family to pick out a Christmas tree every year and this year seemed no different. They had the tree in their home for four days and didn’t notice anything unusual.“I have three dogs,” White said. “We use this room nonstop: watch TV; the kitchen’s right here; no indication.”Bobby Hayes, who owns Magic Carpet Cleaning and was at the home while the family was out, first noticed the bird after plugging in a piece of equipment and seeing the tree start to sway.“The owl was literally sitting on a lower limb here,” Hayes said.“It crawled up into the tree further,” Hayes said. “It took me several minutes to even find it.” He sent photos to White, who said she was glad he was there to deal with the animal. Hayes said he was able to safely release the owl in the family̵...

Violent crime spree ends in Bridgeport neighborhood, death of suspect

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

CHICAGO — A violent crime spree on the city's South Side ended in the Bridgeport neighborhood Friday morning with the death of a suspect.According to the Chicago Police Department, a suspect wanted for multiple crimes, including the sexual assault of a female victim, kidnapping and armed robbery, was killed in a car crash. The crash happened after the suspect hit a squad car then rolled into a field.According to police, an unidentified man entered a residential building in the 1500 block of South Wabash Ave. very early Friday morning. He approached a female, produced a knife and proceeded to batter and sexually assault the victim.Police say the offender then encountered two more female victims and forced them and the sexual assault victim into a residence, then robbed all three at knifepoint. A male then entered the residence and was also held at knifepoint and robbed. Body found in trunk of burning vehicle on South Side At this time, according to police, the sexual assault victim...

Man shot five times after basketball game in LA Fitness parking lot, shooter in custody: Tinley Park PD

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

TINLEY PARK, Ill. — A person is in custody after a man was shot five times in an LA Fitness parking lot following a basketball game in Tinley Park on Thursday night. The Tinley Park Police Department said a man from Richton Park is in custody for shooting another man five times in the parking lot of an LA Fitness location in Tinley Park. Tow truck driver shot multiple times on Eisenhower According to the Village of Tinley Park Public Safety, the incident took place near the 18400 block of Convention Center Drive around 8 p.m.Police said an argument ensued at a basketball game inside the gym that carried into the parking lot.Shortly after, the Richton Park man went to his car, retrieved a gun and walked back to the man and shot him five times. The victim was transported to a hospital and is in critical but stable condition, according to police.The shooter was taken into custody, and charges are pending.This was an isolated incident, and the scene is secure.

NASA scientists find evidence of ‘key ingredient for life’ on one of Saturn’s moons

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

(The Hill) - A new study spearheaded by NASA scientists discovered that there is “evidence of a key ingredient for life” on one of Saturn’s moons — meaning that the moon likely meets the basic requirements for habitability.The findings were published Thursday in the Nature Astronomy journal using data researchers collected from NASA’s Cassini mission. The researchers ultimately found that there is “strong confirmation” that hydrogen cyanide was present on Saturn's moon Enceladus, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Hydrogen cyanide is one of the essential molecules in forming amino acids, which are one of the most basic ingredients in life.This June 2023 image provided by the Space Telescope Science Institute shows the planet Saturn and three of its moons, from left, Enceladus, Tethys and Dione, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. In infrared, the planet appears dark because sunlight is absorbed by methane in the atmosphere. (NASA, ESA, CSA...

Former Austin ISD tutor was banned from working in state juvenile detention centers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:47:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The person accused of inappropriately touching a student during a tutoring session this semester at Akins High School was banned from working as a juvenile corrections officer for any Texas Juvenile Justice facilities after a 2022 investigation, according to agency officials. Isaiah Xavier Smith, 28, who is charged with indecency with a child by contact, was also a volunteer for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and juvenile corrections officer at the Giddings School from 2021 to 2022. The agency fired Smith after six weeks as a juvenile corrections officer and decided he could not be hired by the agency again after its Office of Inspector General investigated him, according to TJJD officials. The agency has not yet detailed or released the OIG findings to KXAN.  Man accused of molesting child while tutoring at Austin ISD Smith’s name was also put in the Integrated Certification Information System, or ICIS, which would prompt all county juvenile...