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EXPLAINER: Ukraine crisis tests China-Russia partnership

EXPLAINER: Ukraine crisis tests China-Russia partnership

Russia’s military buildup along its border with Ukraine is testing the possibility of a Moscow-Beijing axis lining up against the U.S. and its allies. Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing this month fed speculation that a new alliance could form between the two great powers as they face off with the U.S. over a range of issues. Russia and China…

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Biden announces sanctions against Russian oligarchs, banks

Biden announces sanctions against Russian oligarchs, banks

President Joe Biden announced the U.S. was ordering heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs on Tuesday, declaring that Moscow had flagrantly violated international law by invading Ukraine. “None of us will be fooled” by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims about Ukraine, the U.S. President said. And he said more sanctions could be on the way if Putin proceeds…

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Arbery killers convicted of federal hate crimes in his death

Arbery killers convicted of federal hate crimes in his death

The three white men convicted of murder in Ahmaud Arbery’s fatal shooting were found guilty of federal hate crimes Tuesday, validating the declarations of family members and civil rights activists who said they had no doubt the unarmed man was chased and killed because he was Black. The verdict — handed down one day before the second anniversary of Arbery’s death on Feb. 23, 2020 — was symbolic,…

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Prosecutor: 3 cops in Floyd killing ‘chose to do nothing’

Prosecutor: 3 cops in Floyd killing ‘chose to do nothing’

Three Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights sat by and “chose to do nothing” as Floyd pleaded for air and then went silent, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday at closing arguments in their trial. Prosecutor Manda Sertich singled out each former officer — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — as the government wrapped up its case in the monthlong…

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Ukraine crisis: Putin gets OK to use force outside Russia

Ukraine crisis: Putin gets OK to use force outside Russia

 Russian lawmakers on Tuesday authorized President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside the country — a move that could presage a broader attack on Ukraine after the U.S. said an invasion was already underway there. Several European leaders said Russian troops rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin recognized their independence. But it was unclear how large the…

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Crashed plane carried 4 teens who’d been on hunting trip

Crashed plane carried 4 teens who’d been on hunting trip

Four teenagers and four adults returning from a hunting trip were on board a small plane that crashed off the coast of North Carolina over the weekend, authorities announced Tuesday. One body has been pulled from the Atlantic Ocean by search crews combing the area and there is no indication that anyone survived the crash, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck said Monday. Everyone on board the plane…

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Man accused of blasphemy stoned to death by mob in Pakistan

Man accused of blasphemy stoned to death by mob in Pakistan

An enraged mob stoned to death a middle-aged man for allegedly desecrating the Quran inside a mosque in a remote village in eastern Pakistan, police said Sunday. Three police officers also were injured, and more than 80 men have been detained. The mosque’s custodian said he saw the man burning the Muslim holy book and told others before informing police, according to police spokesman Chaudhry…

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Indonesian principal given life term for raping 13 students

Indonesian principal given life term for raping 13 students

 An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to life in prison for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them. The principal of the girls school in West Java’s Bandung city, Herry Wirawan, pleaded guilty and apologized to his victims and their families during the trial. He was accused of raping at least 13 students between the ages…

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US could see a century’s worth of sea rise in just 30 years

US could see a century’s worth of sea rise in just 30 years

America’s coastline will see sea levels rise in the next 30 years by as much as they did in the entire 20th century, with major Eastern cities hit regularly with costly floods even on sunny days, a government report warns. By 2050, seas lapping against the U.S. shore will be 10 to 12 inches (0.25 to 0.3 meters) higher, with parts of Louisiana and Texas projected to see waters a foot and a half…

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The Symptoms of Kidney Infections in Women

The Symptoms of Kidney Infections in Women

Because of women’s anatomy, we’re more prone to kidney infections. Just a simple urinary tract infection can become complicated, travel to one of the kidneys, and cause the unpleasant consequences that some of us are unfortunate enough to already know about. In this article, we’ll take a look at the symptoms of kidney infections in women so you can be more prepared. What causes kidney…

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Colorado mom who abused 7-year-old to death faces sentencing

Colorado mom who abused 7-year-old to death faces sentencing

 In late summer 2017, Olivia Gant cheerfully sang Hakuna Matata from “The Lion King” as she was wheeled into hospice care in Denver wearing purple pajamas. “It means no worries for the rest of your days,” she sang. The 7-year-old died less than a month later. The video put out by her mother Kelly Turner is one of many clips highlighting the little girl’s battle with disease and death, which…

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Ex-candidate sentenced to year in prison for death threats

Ex-candidate sentenced to year in prison for death threats

A former Delaware political candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nominations for governor and U.S. Senate has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges of mailing threats to a lawyer who represented his wife in a divorce case. Michael Protack was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in August to two counts of mailing a threatening communication.…

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Statue of racist Mississippi ex-Gov. Bilbo stashed in closet

Statue of racist Mississippi ex-Gov. Bilbo stashed in closet

Mystery solved: The top administrator in the Mississippi House says he unilaterally made the decision to take a statue of a racist former Gov. Theodore Bilbo off public display and put it into storage. House clerk Andrew Ketchings spoke to reporters Wednesday, answering a question that has been all the buzz at the state Capitol: Where’s Bilbo? People starting noticing in recent weeks that a…

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Canadian provinces lift COVID restrictions, protests remain

Canadian provinces lift COVID restrictions, protests remain

A rapidly growing list of Canadian provinces moved to lift their COVID-19 restrictions as protesters decrying such measures kept up the pressure with truck blockades Wednesday in the capital and at key U.S. border crossings, including the economically vital bridge to Detroit. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Prince Edward Island announced plans this week to roll back some or all precautions,…

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Hospitals begin to limp out of the latest COVID-19 surge

Hospitals begin to limp out of the latest COVID-19 surge

As omicron numbers drop at Denver Health, Dr. Anuj Mehta is reminded of the scene in the 1980 comedy “The Blues Brothers” when John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd pile out of a battered car after a police chase. Suddenly, all the doors pop off the hinges, the front wheels fall off and smoke pours from the engine. “And that’s my fear,” said Mehta, a pulmonary and critical care physician. “I’m worried…

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COVID-19 protests threaten border trade between Canada, US

COVID-19 protests threaten border trade between Canada, US

Canadian lawmakers expressed increasing worry Tuesday about the economic effects of disruptive demonstrations after the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada became partially blocked by truckers protesting vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions. The blockade at the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, prevented traffic from entering Canada while some…

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Denzel Washington is the most-nominated Black actor in Oscar history

Denzel Washington is the most-nominated Black actor in Oscar history

Denzel Washington keeps making history. The iconic actor, known for his roles in movies like “Training Day” and “Malcolm X,” just picked up his 10th Academy Award nomination, this time for best actor in “The Tragedy of Macbeth” — making him the most nominated Black actor in Oscar history and breaking his own record. Even before Tuesday’s nominations were announced, Washington was the most…

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