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Belarus’ Lukashenko: ‘The only mistake we made’ was not finishing off Ukraine with Russia in 2014

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

“The only mistake” Russia and Belarus made was “that we didn’t resolve this issue in 2014-2015, when Ukraine had no army and wasn’t prepared,” Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said.In 2014, Russia illegally invaded Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine, and Kremlin-backed fighters seized territory in eastern Ukraine.Lukashenko’s comments, which according to Minsk were delivered Thursday during a meeting with the heads of security agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States, made up of former Soviet countries, indicate that Lukashenko has fully embraced his transformation into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s puppet.Lukashenko has had a love-hate relationship with Putin over his nearly three decades in power. But after the Kremlin helped him see off massive street protests following a fraudulent presidential election in 2020, the Belarusian dictator went all-in on Putin, helping Moscow launch its full-scale invas...

Days before apartments crumbled, repair work started on a building wall that later collapsed. Now officials ask for help with 3 missing men

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

(CNN) — Just days before part of an Iowa apartment building came crashing down, inspectors noticed a brick façade had separated from the interior wall and appeared “ready to fall imminently,” according to a letter from an engineer.The engineer said the “brick façade is unlikely to be preserved in place, but it can be brought down in a safe, controlled manner,” the May 24 letter said. The engineer also said the interior wall of the downtown Davenport building appeared to be losing stability and is “causing deformation.”A repair permit was issued the same day, according to Davenport city records. And a May 25 site visit confirmed repair work had started.Just three days later, the same part of the wall that was under repair collapsed, according to a CNN review of photos of the property released by the city.The disaster crushed apartments in the six-story building and turned residents’ homes into heaps of rubble.While no deaths have been confirmed, three residents who lived in...

Robert De Niro reacts to Al Pacino becoming a father again at 83

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

(CNN) — Robert De Niro sounds excited for his friend and former co-star Al Pacino to be joining him in the senior dad’s club.De Niro, who is 79, welcomed a daughter named Gia in April with girlfriend Tiffany Chen.During a press junket Wednesday for his Tribeca Film Festival, De Niro was asked about the news that Pacino, 83, is set to become a father again with Noor Alfallah, who is 29.“What a guy,” People reported De Niro as saying. “Go Al, God bless him.”But it appears De Niro may have misunderstood the question as the next day during an appearance on “Today,” the actor seemed to have believed Baby Pacino had already arrived.“Listen, Al Pacino just had a baby, I was told yesterday morning,” De Niro said. “He’s a few years older than me. God bless him. Very happy for him,”There is no indication that the baby has been born.De Niro and Pacino have starred in several projects together over the years, including “The Godfather II,” “Heat” and “The Irishman.”

Kremlin foe Navalny’s demands in prison: moonshine, a balalaika and a pet kangaroo — all denied

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released excerpts of his correspondence with prison administrators Friday, detailing his sarcastic demands for things like a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika and even a kangaroo. His requests were denied.Responses from prison officials, posted on his social media account apparently by his team, came after he has spent almost 180 days in solitary confinement since last summer at Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.Navalny, 46, is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and contempt of court — charges he says were trumped up for his efforts to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.“When you are sitting in a punishment isolation cell and have little entertainment, you can have fun with correspon...

The Heat, like everybody else, had no answer for Nikola Jokic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

Appreciate his precision or yawn at his pedestrian pace, you’ve never seen a basketball player like Nikola Jokic. One of one in the history of the NBA.There are shades of previous players, to be sure. Tim Duncan. Dirk Nowitzki. Larry Bird. Hakeem Olajuwon. Arvydas Sabonis.But there has never been such a massive man who dominates a league with his eyes. That vision and hand-eye coordination pushes the basketball to places that shouldn’t be possible when the player is both the slowest and least explosive on the court.It’s amazing and nowadays expected from Jokic, a two-time MVP who is three wins from securing an upper echelon legacy. In Thursday night’s 104-93 Game 1 victory over the Heat, it wasn’t just that Jokic finished with 27 points with 14 assists and ten rebounds — joining Jason Kidd as the only players to record triple-doubles in their NBA Finals debuts — it was that he dominated the opening quarter while taking just one shot.He defla...

US hiring jumped last month, but so did unemployment. So how healthy is the economy?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of enduring strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool.Friday’s report from the government reflected the job market’s resilience after more than a year of aggressive interest rate increases by the Fed. Many industries, from construction to restaurants to health care, are still adding jobs to keep up with consumer demand and restore their workforces to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the report painted a mostly encouraging picture of the job market. Yet there were some mixed messages in the May figures. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since October. (The government compiles the unemployment data using a different survey than the one used to calculate job...

Cynthia Weil, Grammy-winning lyricist who helped write ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ and ‘On Broadway,’ dies at 82

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Cynthia Weil, Grammy-winning lyricist who helped write ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ and ‘On Broadway,’ dies at 82.

AP Election Brief | What to expect in New Jersey’s primaries for state legislature

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

New Jersey voters will cast ballots in 21 primaries for state legislature on Tuesday.Democrats hold majorities in both chambers – 46-34 in the state Assembly and 25-15 in the state Senate. Without any statewide races on the ballot, turnout is expected to be low. Two races to watch: the Democratic primary in the 27th Senate District and the Republican primary in the 3rd Senate District.The 27th District features two longtime Democratic incumbents, Richard Codey and Nia Gill. They were drawn into the same district after the boundaries were redrawn following the 2020 census. Codey is the longest-serving state legislator in New Jersey history, having been elected to the state Assembly in 1973 and the Senate in 1981. Gill was elected to the Assembly in 1993 and the Senate eight years later.The Republican primary in the 3rd Senate District features incumbent Edward Durr, who shocked New Jersey in 2021 when he defeated Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney. Durr was a political newcome...

Vehicle sales rise in May, showing hope for strong summer: DesRosiers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says May brought hope after several years of disrupted sales patterns, as vehicle sales rose. The consultancy firm says total light vehicle sales in May were up 13.5 per cent from a year ago.Sales totalled 159,705 units in May, up 10.9 per cent from April. However, sales were still 21.0 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. But the firm says that with the economy proving resilient and a predicted recession not yet in sight, there is optimism that the market could see a stronger summer for sales. DesRosiers managing partner Andrew King says in a statement that the seasonally adjusted annual rate for May was 1.54 million units, breaking a three-month run of consecutive declines. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.The Canadian Press

Rescuers at site of Iowa building collapse complete search for survivors, move on to recovery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:20 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa task force has completed a search for survivors at the site of a partially collapsed Davenport apartment building and is moving ahead to shore up the structure so it can begin recovery efforts, authorities said Friday. The state task force was mobilized and on site to first search for survivors and then secure the structure, said Rick Halleran, the chief of the task force’s Cedar Rapids division. He said the search for survivors was completed Thursday evening after electrical equipment connected to the building were controlled.“We do what the building tells us to do,” Halleran said of the delay in searching the building. He said the building “needed to settle” before rescuers could proceed.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Plans to demolish a partially collapsed six-story apartment building in Iowa could become clearer Friday, five days after much of the structure crumbled and left three tenants m...