Ukrainian president says counteroffensive won’t aim to attack Russian territory

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Ukrainian president says counteroffensive won’t aim to attack Russian territory BERLIN (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that his country is preparing a counteroffensive designed to liberate areas occupied by Russia, not to attack Russian territory.Speaking during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s goal is to free the territories within its internationally recognized borders.The Washington Post cited previously undisclosed documents from a trove of U.S. intelligence leaks suggesting that Zelenskyy has considered trying to capture areas in Russia proper for possible use as bargaining chips in peace negotiations to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022. This would put him at odds with Western governments that have insisted that weapons they provide must not be used to attack targets in Russia.Asked about the report, Zelenskyy said: “We don’t attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.”“We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),...

Family with disabled children among hundreds of Gaza’s homeless after latest fighting with Israel

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Family with disabled children among hundreds of Gaza’s homeless after latest fighting with Israel When Najah Nabhan learned that her home was about to be bombed by Israel, she knew she had to get out quickly. What she didn’t know was how she would get her four children with special needs out of the building in time.With the help of neighbors, her children, who are unable to walk on their own, were carried to safety. But the airstrike flattened the three-story building, leaving 42 members of Nabhan’s extended family homeless and leaving her children without the wheelchairs, crutches and medical equipment they need to move about.“I needed time to think what to take and what to leave. We have important documents and reports of the children’s conditions and history, medications and tools. All of them are gone,” said Najah, sitting on a mat in the debris-strewn front yard of what used to be her home in northern Gaza. On Sunday morning, the entire family gathered in the yard, sitting under the shadow of a tree and receiving visitors who came to show solidarity.Nabhan...

Israeli cease-fire with militants in Gaza appears to hold, despite new rocket launch

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Israeli cease-fire with militants in Gaza appears to hold, despite new rocket launch GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fragile cease-fire between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding on Sunday after a five-day clash that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel.In an early test for the truce, Palestinian militants fired a rocket into southern Israel on Sunday afternoon. Palestinian media said the launch was caused by a technical error as militants were trying to deactivate the rocket. The Israeli military said the rocket landed in an open area of southern Israel and did not immediately respond.The latest round of Gaza fighting was sparked Tuesday when Israeli jets killed three top commanders from the Islamic Jihad militant group in response to earlier rocket launches from Gaza. Those killings set off a barrage of militant fire and the conflagration threatened to drag the region into another all-out war until Egypt mediated a cease-fire that took hold late Saturday.While the calm appeared to bring a sense of relief to Gaza’s...

He likes to be, under the sea: Florida man sets record for living underwater

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

He likes to be, under the sea: Florida man sets record for living underwater KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — An underwater researcher broke a record for the longest time living underwater at ambient pressure this weekend at a Florida Keys lodge for scuba divers.Dr. Joseph Dituri’s 74th day residing in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, situated at the bottom of a 30-foot-deep lagoon in Key Largo, wasn’t much different than his previous days there since he submerged March 1.He ate a protein-heavy meal of eggs and salmon prepared using a microwave, exercised with resistance bands, did his daily pushups and took an hour-long nap.The previous record of 73 days, two hours and 34 minutes was set by two Tennessee professors — Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain — at the same location in 2014.But Dituri isn’t just settling for the record and resurfacing: He plans to stay at the lodge until June 9, when he reaches 100 days and completes an underwater mission dubbed Project Neptune 100.The mission combines medical and ocean research along with educational outreach and was or...

Wagner mercenary boss suggests Russia may have downed its own military aircraft

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Wagner mercenary boss suggests Russia may have downed its own military aircraft The head of Russia’s feared Wagner private army suggested Sunday that four Russian military aircraft that reportedly crashed in a region that borders Ukraine may have been shot down by Russia’s own forces.Russian officials have not commented on reports in Russian conventional and social media that two fighter planes — an Su-34 and an Su-35 — and two military Mi-8 helicopters crashed in the Bryansk region on Saturday.State news agency Tass cited unspecified emergency services sources as saying the Su-34 and one helicopter crashed. Other sources, including Vladimir Rogov, the head of a Russian collaborationist organization in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province, claimed four aircraft went down. All of them reportedly belonged to the same military air group.During the war, cross-border shelling has repeatedly hit Bryansk, which abuts Ukraine’s Chernihiv and Sumy provinces. Authorities there claimed that unexplained explosions also derailed two freight trains and tha...

Man had strokes at ages 28 and 33, lives to warn others

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Man had strokes at ages 28 and 33, lives to warn others WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) -- A Kansas man thought he was too young to suffer a stroke, before he learned the hard way that strokes can affect anyone. "I just woke up on the floor and thought maybe I blacked out," Bill Ramsey said. "I was 28 years old. And I had the second one when I was 33 years old. The second time that I had one, I was completely blind."Not knowing what was wrong, he waited two days before going to the doctor."He told me he thought I'd had a stroke, and I was like, 'Doc, I'm 33 years old. I didn't have a stroke.' And sure enough, it turns out that I did," Ramsey said.Even though it happened years ago, Ramsey still has side effects from the strokes."About a year of battling short-term memory loss, struggles to have conversations with people where I would lose my place. I've lost a lot of feeling on the left side. My face droops when I get tired," Ramsey said. "I call them acceptable losses because it could have been so much worse."Ramsey didn't know he needed urgent med...

Austin mom welcomes 1st child days after wrapping breast cancer treatment

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Austin mom welcomes 1st child days after wrapping breast cancer treatment AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin mom has extra to celebrate this Mother's Day, just months after she successfully completed breast cancer treatment while pregnant with her first child.Emily Williams celebrated her 40th birthday last March and underwent her first routine mammogram, which came back clear. In May, she learned she was pregnant with her first child, after seven rounds of in vitro fertilization attempts. TRENDING NOW: San Antonio Zoo welcomes several baby endangered animals But come June 2022, she discovered a lump in her breast. After completing a biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage IIB breast cancer."It's almost like my happiness turned and went 180 [degrees]," she said. "Can I even keep this baby, after all that we went through? And so it was really — it was devastating to me."Austin resident Emily Williams has plenty to celebrate this Mother's Day, having given birth earlier this year to her first child just days after wrapping chemo treatment. (Courtesy: Cynthia Hamilton...

High School Musical Theatre Awards winners announced

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

High School Musical Theatre Awards winners announced SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Proctors Theatre and the Collaborative School of the Arts hosted the 2023 High School Musical Theatre Awards on May 13. The ceremony celebrated the achievements of dozens of Capital Region high school students, and highlighted the importance of musical theatre and arts education. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The evening began with a medley of “Another Opening, Another Show” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, followed by a welcome from Proctors Collaborative CEO Philip Morris. In between the various awards, each of the Best Musical nominees performed a song from their respective shows. The ceremony concluded with a performance of “Brand New Day” from “The Wiz”, featuring students from every participating high school. The winners of the Best Actor and Best Actress awards will travel to New York City on June 26 to take part in the Jimmy Awards, a live nationwide competition for hig...

Riverside County Sheriff's deputy dies following crash in San Jacinto

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Riverside County Sheriff's deputy dies following crash in San Jacinto A Riverside County Sheriff's Office deputy that was involved in an early morning crash on Friday has died from his injuries, Sheriff Chad Bianco announced Sunday.Deputy Brett Harris, who was assigned to the Hemet Sheriff's Station, was injured in a crash with another vehicle around 2:15 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Esplanade Avenue and State Street in San Jacinto.Harris, 26, suffered major injuries, including a "catastrophic brain injury," according to the Sheriff's Office.Riverside County Sheriff's deputy Brett Harris was fatally injured in a crash in San Jacinto on May 12, 2023. (OCHawk)Details about the crash itself are limited, but the Sheriff's Office confirmed that Harris was responding to a call for backup when the crash happened. The driver of the second vehicle, a 56-year-old Hemet woman, suffered moderate injuries and a second deputy suffered a knee injury while trying to remove Harris from the wreckage. It remains unclear what led up to the crash or which driver may...

Office of French president: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to make previously unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday night

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:52:44 GMT

Office of French president: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to make previously unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday night PARIS (AP) — Office of French president: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to make previously unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday night.Source