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Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden for 1st time since full-scale war with Russia

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting Sweden on Saturday — his first visit to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the Swedish government said.It said Zelenskyy will meet Swedish government officials in Harpsund, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Stockholm. He will also meet Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area.Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. It also applied for NATO membership but is still waiting to join the alliance.Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited top military officials in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border.The Kremlin said that Putin listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the commander in charge of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and other top military brass at the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District.Th...

United owner Bill McGuire paints new vision for development around Allianz Field

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

A real estate adviser with the Tegra Group submitted an updated block diagram to the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Commission on July 14, 2023, showing an updated plan for development near Allianz Field at Snelling and University avenues in St Paul. (Courtesy of United Village)When Minnesota United team owner Bill McGuire persuaded the city of St. Paul to move forward with a 19,400-seat professional soccer stadium in the Midway in 2016, he presented a real estate development vision that would overhaul the surrounding Midway Shopping Center with new retail, housing and perhaps a movie theater.With construction largely funded by backers lined up by McGuire himself, the city’s $250 million stadium opened in 2019, replacing an outdated supermarket, a dance studio, liquor store and the nearby Midway Pro Bowl bowling alley. But the promised real estate around it never followed. In fact, just the opposite.Of the 28 or more retail tenants that once surrounded the Loons’ stadium ...

Xcel Energy to build underground barrier to further contain radioactive water at Monticello nuclear plant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

The utility responsible for leaking radioactive water from its nuclear plant in Monticello, Minn., in recent months has announced that it will build an underground metal barrier to keep affected groundwater away from the nearby Mississippi River.Xcel Energy said construction will last several weeks and should begin by Monday, according to a statement posted on the city of Monticello’s website Thursday.“Constructing the barrier wall is another step the company is taking to try and ensure that the small amount of tritium still present in the groundwater remains within the plant boundaries and can be safely recovered, stored and reused on site,” Xcel said in the statement.Xcel discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons of water containing tritium — a radioactive isotope of hydrogen — had leaked from a faulty pipe. The utility made a temporary fix but learned in March that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water had leaked, leading to a dayslong shutdown to fix the pip...

Ask Amy: A mistaken recipient reposted my email about a friend, and now it’s loose on the internet

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

Dear Amy: My friend “Tyler” and I decided to try a yoga class. As we were doing the first position, he passed gas. Very audibly!It was super-awkward, but then he said, “Excuse me! Sounds like I started things with a bang.”People chuckled and the class went on.I thought Tyler’s recovery from an ultra-embarrassing moment was great, so I mentioned it in an email to a mutual friend of ours, but I stupidly and accidentally sent it to the wrong person (a near-stranger I’d exchanged a couple of emails with a couple of years ago).The person who received the email posted a screenshot of it on social media with the message: “I got an email about a dude who farted!”Her posting was reposted many times by her impressive number of followers. The email had Tyler’s actual first and last name and some details about where we live.I was horrified and insisted that she delete her posting, and she did – but of course it is still “out there,” floating around on the internet.Should...

Harriette Cole: This disagreement over my luxury car might break our engagement

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My fiance is 24, and I am 33. I met him last year at a restaurant, and we have been together ever since. He recently proposed! We are both excited to get married and start a life together.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: We went on one date, and he’s so gross every time I see him Advice | Harriette Cole: I learned that my new friend used to badmouth me. What should I do? Advice | Harriette Cole: Was it rash to choose this job over my boyfriend’s objections? Advice | Harriette Cole: What does it mean that my boyfriend’s sister called me by this name? Advice | Harriette Cole: Our guest walked through a closed screen door. Is it our problem? I am in the process of looking to buy a home, and this week I found one that I could see myself in for a long time. My financial adviser told me that I was $15,000 short of making a down payment. I didn’t want to ask my fi...

“Serial” Podcast's Adnan Syed Might Go Back to Prison Because of Toxic Maryland Politics

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

Even if you’ve never heard “Serial,” the true crime podcast that went viral in 2014, you’ve probably heard about the case it made famous. Adnan Syed was 17 years old when he was arrested in 1999 for killing 18-year-old Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore. A jury found Syed guilty the following year, and he was sentenced to life in prison.After “Serial” premiered in 2014 and raised questions about the case, a Maryland court heard Syed’s appeal and he was awarded a new trial. Holes in the original prosecution were established, new suspects were identified, and DNA evidence was newly tested. After a long fight, his conviction was overturned last year, and the charges against him were officially dropped in October 2022.In March of this year, though, Syed’s conviction was reinstated. Lee’s family had filed an appeal and argued that the state’s attorney — what the state of Maryland calls its local prosecutors — hadn’t given adequate notice for them to attend the September hearing ...

England reaches the Women’s World Cup final despite key injuries

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

There were some doubts about England’s squad leading into the Women’s World Cup because a trio of dominant players — Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby — weren’t with the team because of injuries.Then there were questions about how they would handle the absence of forward Lauren James, who was suspended for both England’s quarterfinal and semifinal matches.But the Lionesses, led by coach Sarina Wiegman, have shown they are adept at adjustments — and it’s gotten them all the way to the title match.England plays Spain on Sunday for the World Cup trophy. The Lionesses defeated Australia 3-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday.“The commitment of this team, the willingness to become better and to win games is so high. I haven’t seen any moment that’s any different. There’s never any complacency in the team,” Wiegman said. “Of course, we’ve had a lot of things thrown at us, with injuries. We had to find a way, ‘OK, what fits best now? How to play?’”En...

Your pet is priceless to you, but the law says they’re property

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

The deaths of 10 dogs in a flood at a dog day care in Northeast D.C. on Monday has left some owners angry, as well as grief-stricken.When a dog — or any pet — dies in the care of a veterinarian, boarding facility or groomer, or even a dog walker, an owner may want to sue, but an attorney says they can find their options are limited.While laws vary from state to state, typically, a pet is seen as property.In Maryland, “you can recover the market value of the pet before the injury, or the cost of veterinary care,” attorney Daniel Miller of the Miller Stern law firm in Baltimore told WTOP.He explained that, under a Maryland law known as the pet damages statute, the current cap is $10,000.Punitive damages are “extremely hard to get in Maryland,” according to Miller, because a pet owner would have to show “deliberate actions” or “willful intent” led to the death of the animal.And when it comes to trying to recover damages for the anguish caused by the loss of a pet, Miller said, “T...

Tropical Wave to Unleash Tropical Downpours this Weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

South Florida has been caught up in a rather unsettled and damp weather pattern the past few days from an earlier tropical wave and then leftover moisture trapped across Florida. Now a more robust tropical wave is set to track across the state this weekend, elevating rain chances some more.Out of the two weekend days, Saturday looks to be the stormier half with a rain chances up to 70%. Given how fickle tropical waves are and the setup in place, the exact timing of when to expect rain is rather difficult to forecast. We’re expecting there to be anytime showers and storms as a result with rounds of rain tracking onshore.Areas that see repeated rounds of heavy rain could see flooding, with a widespread 1-2 inches forecast through Monday.By Sunday, the tropical wave will be to our west and over the Gulf of Mexico. Moisture will remain in place, so times of additional showers and storms will be likley. At the same time, some Saharan dust will try to settle in overhead. This could ...

Von der Leyen condemns Turkish Cypriot attack on UN peacekeepers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:51:20 GMT

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined the U.K., France and the U.S. in expressing shock and disapproval over an assault on U.N. peacekeepers on Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots.“I strongly condemn the attacks on @UN_CYPRUS peacekeepers by Turkish Cypriot personnel. Threats and assaults on UN peacekeepers are unacceptable,” von der Leyen said late Friday on social media.U.N. forces on the divided Mediterranean island on Friday morning blocked Turkish Cypriot construction workers who were building a road near the village of Pyla/Pile that encroached on the U.N. enforced buffer zone. The zone divides the southern half of the island, which is controlled by Greek Cypriots, from the breakaway Turkish north.Video obtained by the Telegraph showed bulldozers picking up U.N. vehicles and tossing them across the landscape. Angry physical clashes reportedly left three U.N. personnel — two Brits and a Slovak — in need of hospital treatment.“Threats to the safe...