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Russia says Wagner Group’s leader will move to Belarus after his rebellious march challenged Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

(AP) — The head of the private Russian military company Wagner will move to neighboring Belarus as part of deal to defuse rebellion tensions and the criminal case against him will be closed, the Kremlin said Saturday.Yevgeny Prigozhin’s troops who joined him in the uprising will not face prosecution and those who did not will be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.After the deal was reached, Prigozhin said he was ordering his troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian troops.The deal appeared to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.The deal was mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Putin ally.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.A rebellious Russian mercenary commander said Satur...

Kremlin says Prigozhin will depart for Belarus after his rebellion fizzles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced a deal late on Saturday that Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin would depart for Belarus in return for being spared prosecution, after an abortive rebellion in which his troops made a dash for Moscow. The announcement, carried by the Tass news agency, came shortly after embittered warlord Prigozhin announced his men were turning back from Moscow to avoid a devastating civil conflict. In a voice recording posted to his Telegram channel, Prigozhin said his troops would turn back after advancing within 200 kilometers of the capital.It was the culmination of an extraordinary day, in which Putin had accused the Wagner group of “treason” and said their uprising risked tipping Russia into civil war. Prigozhin, smarting over the Kremlin’s handling of the war in Ukraine, announced early on Saturday that his mercenaries had seized the major southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a logistics hub for Putin’s war, and threatened to pus...

Mets Notebook: Danny Mendick returns to the big leagues a year after ACL tear

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Exactly a year ago, Danny Mendick was on the ground at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. He didn’t immediately know what had happened after a collision with Adam Haseley and the Chicago White Sox removed him from the game with what the team called “right knee discomfort.”The diagnosis was a lot worse than just “discomfort.” Mendick tore his ACL and fractured his fibula. There was also a bone bruise on the side of his knee, which seemed like a meaningless injury compared to the others.Saturday, he was called up to the big leagues for the first time since he was shut down for ACL surgery. The Mets signed him to a free-agent deal over the winter and brought him up from Triple-A Syracuse to take the spot of Eduardo Escobar on the roster after the latter was traded to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.“The day after [the injury] happens and the day after the surgery, you’re sitting there like, ‘When is this ever go...

Titanic-bound OceanGate submersible implosion investigation launched by US and Canada authorities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.A formal inquiry has not yet been launched because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Debris was located about 12,500 feet underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.The U.S. Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission, which was a massive international effort that likely cost millions of dollars.It was not entirely clear Friday who would have the authority to lead what is sure to be a complex investigation involving several countries. OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned and operated the Titan, is based in the U.S. but the submersible was registered in the Bahamas. OceanGate is bas...

Canada is investigating why the Titanic-bound submersible imploded

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Saturday that it’s conducting an investigation into the loss of the Titan submersible and has been speaking with those who traveled on Titan’s mothership, the Polar Prince.The development comes as authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of probing the cause of the underwater implosion and grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded.Maritime agencies are searching the area in the North Atlantic where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.“We are conducting a safety investigation in Canada given that this was a Canadian-flagged vessel that departed a Canadian port and was involved in this occurrence, albeit in international waters,” said Kathy Fox, chair of the transportation board. “Other agencies may choose to conduc...

The mercenary chief who urged an uprising against Russia’s generals has long ties to Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

The millionaire mercenary chief who long benefitted from the powerful patronage of President Vladimir Putin has moved into the global spotlight with a dramatic rebellion against Russia’s military that has challenged the authority of Putin himself.Yevgeny Prigozhin is the 62-year-old owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, a hired private army of inmate recruits and other mercenaries that has fought some of the deadliest battles in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, Prigozhin abruptly escalated months of scathing criticism of Russia’s conduct of the war, calling for an armed uprising to oust the defense minister, and then rolling toward Moscow with his soldiers-for-hire. As Putin’s government declared a “counterterrorism” alert and scrambled to seal off Moscow with checkpoints, Prigozhin just as abruptly stood down. As he retreated with his forces, it was unclear what was next for Prigozhin, a former prison inmate, hot-dog vendor and restaurant owner who riv...

In ‘No Hard Feelings,’ Jennifer Lawrence relishes playing a ‘messy and chaotic’ character

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s a beloved rom-com trope: an irresponsible, irreverent and seemingly irredeemable man falls in love with a woman, setting him on the path to finally get his act together.But in “No Hard Feelings,” which hits theaters Friday, director Gene Stupnitsky sought to subvert those gendered expectations, with Jennifer Lawrence instead playing his dirtbag protagonist.“We always described her as someone who cuts corners, who is lazy, doesn’t have great nutrition, likes to smoke pot and drink and doesn’t take anything too seriously,” he said of the character he and co-writer, John Phillips, created. “A guy doing it, that is well-trodden territory. It’s not very interesting.”“No Hard Feelings” follows Lawrence’s Maddie as she conspires with the parents of an awkward 19-year-old (Andrew Barth Feldman) to have sex with him before he leaves for college in exchange for a car. He’s left in the dark about the scheme, leaving Maddie to try to seduce the shy brainiac m...

Russia says Wagner Group's leader will move to Belarus after his rebellious march challenged Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

The head of the private Russian military company Wagner will move to neighboring Belarus as part of deal to defuse rebellion tensions and the criminal case against him will be closed, the Kremlin said Saturday.Yevgeny Prigozhin's troops who joined him in the uprising will not face prosecution and those who did not will be offered contracts by the Defense Ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.After the deal was reached, Prigozhin said he was ordering his troops to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to field camps in Ukraine, where they have been fighting alongside Russian troops. The deal appeared to defuse a dramatically escalating crisis that represented the most significant challenge to President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power.The deal was mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Putin ally.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.A rebellious Russian mercenary commander said Saturday he ordered his...

Treasure-seekers in Utah still hunting for hidden $25K after nearly a month: These are the clues they're working with

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) – A hidden chest containing $25,000 remains undiscovered several weeks after the organizers of a Utah-wide treasure hunt presented the initial clues.Now, they're giving out yet another set of hints to help treasure-seekers locate the cash.The 2023 Utah Treasure Hunt, which marks the fourth annual such event, officially launched in late May. Organizers Dave Cline and John Maxim, both from Utah, presented the initial clues in the form of a poem:Begin your search where time was transcendentCrack open the books they’re independentLift up your eyes and look for the markHike to the tree that stands without barkPass the grain tower that looks out to the westNot more than an hour you’ll know by its crestLook down at your map to not wander with thirstRemember two less than on top of the firstYou’ll know you’re close where it’s time to frownWhat points towards heaven but is upside down?Get off the road at the airplane without wingsSearch from the shoulder and fortune it ...

One of America's oldest, largest Deaf Softball tournaments swings through Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – One of the largest and oldest Deaf softball tournaments held its 56th annual softball tournament in Austin Friday and Saturday. The Southwest Softball Association for the Deaf (SWSAD) is a nonprofit which hosts an annual tournament for men, women and co-ed teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. On Saturday, hundreds of deaf players and spectators from all over the U.S. came out in the triple-digit heat to play softball, buy goods from Deaf-owned vendors and connect with their community. “Deaf people don't see each other often,” said Paige Thompson, a SWSAD board member.“They like to get together, share memories, make new memories and meet old friends and new friends. That's the best thing that they can do because everyone is so spread out, and they're a small community,” she continued. Chad Bishop is the commissioner of the organization and said he was heartened by this year’s turnout. He said roughly 300 pe...