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Wagner mercenary leader issues defiant audio statement as uncertainty swirls after mutiny

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

The leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful audio statement Monday, but uncertainty still swirled about his fate, as well as that of senior Russian military leaders, the impact on the war in Ukraine, and even the political future of President Vladimir Putin.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since the uprising that demanded his ouster, in a video aimed at projecting a sense of order after the country’s most serious political crisis in decades.In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted “to prevent the destruction of the Wagner private military company” and said he acted in response to an attack on a Wagner camp that killed some 30 of his fighters.“We started our march because of an injustice,” Prigozhin said in the recording that gave no details about where he is or what his future plans are.A feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia's military brass that has festered th...

DeSantis pitches crackdown on illegal immigration in first major policy proposal of his campaign

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Eagle Pass, Texas (CNN) — In his first major policy rollout of his 2024 presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday proposed a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, including sending the US military to the border and mass detention and deportation of undocumented people.DeSantis would also end birthright citizenship and build a wall at the southern border, resurfacing two ideas once championed by his chief rival for the GOP nomination, Donald Trump.The introduction of his immigration platform coincided with a visit here by DeSantis, where he is speaking at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post. Ahead of the event, DeSantis toured the border by boat with Fox News and his campaign released an ominous video touching on many of the Republican Party’s talking points about illegal immigration, including an influx of crime and drugs.As governor, DeSantis has often waded into the country’s immigration debate. Last September, he orchestrated two flights to carry migrants from...

Sports experts share thoughts on Messi’s move to Inter Miami

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Since Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami, it seems that South Florida is the center of the soccer world, but this type of excitement for soccer in the U.S. happened before. Pelé played for the Cosmos, David Beckham played for L.A. Galaxy, but Messi playing for Major League Soccer (MLS) is beyond anything the community has ever seen. One of the world’s greatest soccer players ever is about to play for Inter Miami in the MLS and the build-up for “Messi-Mania” is already underway. Sirius XM soccer host Ray Husdon said Messi playing for the Miami team could be equated to “Beatle-Mania” back in the 60s when they conquered the music world. “It’s similar to that but it probably eclipses even that,” he said. Hudson once played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the North American Soccer League and he was once the head coach of the MLS’s Miami Fusion. The former soccer player has covered Messi’s career as a broadcaster and radio host....

Mother let son take her place on doomed Titanic trip because he ‘really wanted to go’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

(CNN) — Christine Dawood, whose husband Shahzada and son Suleman died aboard the Titan submersible, has revealed that the 19-year-old was a Rubik’s Cube obsessive who could solve the puzzle in 12 seconds.“Suleman did not go anywhere without his Rubik’s cube,” Dawood told the BBC in her first interview since the tragedy.“He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 3,700 meters below sea at the Titanic,’” she added.“He was so excited about this,” Dawood said of her son, describing how he taught himself to solve the puzzle using YouTube videos.Dawood also revealed that she met husband Shahzada at university, and recalled how his great curiosity about the world meant he would make the family watch documentaries together.“He had this ability of childlike excitement,” she said.The family had been planning a trip on the Titan submersible for some time, Dawood said, but it was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic.She had originally planned to make the trip with her husband because...

Suspect pleads guilty in attack that killed 5 at Colorado Springs sanctuary for LGBTQ+ community

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The suspect in a mass shooting that killed five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub last year has pleaded guilty in the attack. Monday’s plea by Anderson Lee Aldrich comes just seven months after the shooting and spares victim’s families and survivors a long and potentially painful trial.The plea entered during a court hearing follows a series of jailhouse phone calls from Aldrich to The Associated Press expressing remorse and the intention to face the consequences for the shooting.Aldrich pleaded guilty to five counts of murder. The defendant faces life in prison on the murder charges under the plea agreement. The agreement also calls for Aldrich to plead guilty to 46 counts of attempted murder and 2 counts of bias-motivated crime.Several survivors told the AP about a planned plea agreement after being approached about Aldrich’s comments. They said prosecutors had notified them that Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they and them pronouns, ...

UK ‘prepared’ for ‘range of scenarios’ in Russia, Rishi Sunak says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. is “prepared” for a “range of scenarios” in Russia, the British prime minister said Monday after an aborted mutiny that saw Wagner Group mercenaries advance quickly toward Moscow.Speaking to reporters, Rishi Sunak said the attempted rebellion, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group, exposed “real cracks” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership — echoing an assessment from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “It’s a situation that we’ve been monitoring for some time, in the instability that will be caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Sunak said during a visit to Nottingham.Prigozhin’s uprising ended Saturday after he agreed to go into exile in Belarus in exchange for the Kremlin dropping its criminal case against him and offering his troops amnesty. The warlord’s whereabouts and future plans, however, remain unknown. And Russian media reported Monday that the criminal case may still be active.Asked whether Prigozhin’s fail...

Belarus will let Wagner Group stay operational, Prigozhin says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Mutinous Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaced Monday to issue an impassioned defense of his mutiny against Russia’s army chiefs over the weekend and said Belarus was offering ways for his mercenary group’s “continued work.” The Wagner chief led an uprising against Vladimir Putin’s regular army from Friday night, declaring war on the military establishment, seizing the major southern city of Rostov and sending his mercenary forces on a “march” to Moscow during which their armored vehicles ended up 200 kilometers from the capital, before Prigozhin stood down Saturday evening. The abortive dash for Moscow fizzled out after an intervention by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who seemed to strike a deal in which the mutineers would be spared prosecution as long as Prigozhin went to Minsk and Wagner troops laid down their weapons or joined regular Russian forces. By Monday, however, the terms of the deal were hazy. Russian state media said Prigo...

Daily pill from Eli Lilly leads to 15% weight loss in midstage study, rivaling Wegovy results without the shot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

(CNN) — Eli Lilly’s experimental pill for weight loss helped people lose an average of 15% of their body weight after 36 weeks on the highest dose in a midstage trial, rivaling what’s seen with currently approved injectable therapies like Wegovy over longer durations.The drug, orforglipron, had similar side effects as others in the class, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists: primarily gastrointestinal events like nausea, constipation and vomiting, researchers reported in a study published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Results from the Lilly-funded trial were also presented at the American Diabetes Association conference in San Diego.Currently approved medicines for weight loss like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy are given as once-weekly injections. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, which contains the same key ingredient as Wegovy, called semaglutide, and Lilly’s Mounjaro are both approved for Type 2 diabetes but used off-label for weight loss. Orforglipron is part of a new...

Jordan Westburg’s time arrives as Orioles promote No. 4 prospect to majors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias often speaks of his desire to see prospects “graduate Triple-A” in terms of performance before promoting them to the majors. Jordan Westburg’s cap and gown at last came Monday.After more than a year of strong performances with Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles called up Westburg, a 24-year-old infielder Baseball America ranks as the No. 4 prospect in the organization and No. 46 in the sport, before Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. To create roster space for Westburg, the Orioles optioned infielder Joey Ortiz to Norfolk, while catcher José Godoy cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Norfolk, opening a 40-man roster spot.In 158 games with the Tides across the past two seasons, Westburg hit .283/.366/.533 with 36 home runs and 128 runs driven in. Promoted to Norfolk alongside eventual top overall prospect Gunnar Henderson early last June, Westburg had to wait much longer for...

Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ club shooting suspect pleads guilty to murder, no contest to hate crime charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS — A 23-year-old suspect pleaded guilty Monday to carrying out a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub last year that killed five people and injured 22 others.Anderson Aldrich pleaded guilty in the Nov. 19 attack at Club Q during his arraignment in El Paso County District Court on Monday. Aldrich pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and 46 counts of attempted first-degree murder.Aldrich also pleaded no contest to two counts of bias-motivated crime, acknowledging that prosecutors likely could prove Aldrich acted at least in part because Club Q was an LGBTQ bar and was patronized by people who identify as LGBTQ.Aldrich will be sentenced to five consecutive life terms.The 23-year-old originally was charged with more than 300 counts in connection with the massacre, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and bias-motivated crimes.Video surveillance footage played in court showed that Aldrich donned body armor and attac...