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Greece’s ruling conservatives suffer setbacks in regional, municipal elections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s ruling New Democracy party suffered a setback in Sunday’s runoff elections for regional governors and mayors, losing the country’s two largest cities and five of the six regional contests.Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had explicitly said that his goal was to win all 13 regions plus the cities of Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus, “13 plus 3,” as he said.The results of the first round, last Sunday, appeared to consolidate New Democracy’s political dominance, already expressed in the double national election, last May and June. Its endorsed candidates won all seven regions whose result was decided in the first round, as well as Piraeus. This included two cases, Piraeus and the region of Crete, where New Democracy decided to hitch itself on the bandwagon of the incumbents, whom it had opposed in the previous local elections in 2019.But on Sunday, voters, at least those that bothered to turn out, inflicted a reality check on New Democracy’s triumphalis...

UN aid chief says six months of war in Sudan has killed 9,000 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Six months of war between Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary group has killed up to 9,000 people and created “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history,” the United Nations humanitarian chief said Sunday.Sudan has been engulfed in chaos since mid-April, when simmering tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open warfare.“For six months, civilians … have known no respite from bloodshed and terror,” U.N. Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths said in a statement marking the six-month anniversary of the war. “Horrific reports of rape and sexual violence continue to emerge.”The fighting initially centered in Khartoum, but quickly spread to other areas across the east African nation, including the already conflict-wrecked western Darfur region.Griffiths said the fighting reportedly killed up to 9,000 and forced millions of p...

Poland’s opposition leader Tusk declares win after exit poll shows ruling populists losing majority

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared the beginning of a new era for his country after opposition parties appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday’s election to oust the ruling populist party.That party, Law and Justice, has bickered with allies and faced accusations of eroding rule of law at home in its eight years in power. It appeared that voters were mobilized like never before, voting in even greater numbers than when the nation ousted the communist authorities in 1989.If the result predicted by an exit poll holds, Law and Justice won but also lost. It got more seats than any other party but not enough to build a government and pass laws in the legislature. The Ipsos exit poll suggested that Law and Justice obtained 200 seats. The far-right Confederation got 12 seats, a showing the party said was a defeat.It also showed that three opposition parties have likely won a combined 248 seats in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm. T...

Quebec Liberals won’t name new leader until spring 2025

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

The Quebec Liberals say they will not select a new leader until the spring of 2025, a decision that has split the party between backers of the only declared candidate and the rest of the general council.Nicholas Plourde, who chairs the provincial Liberals’ executive council, said an earlier vote would be “premature” and stressed the opportunity for more candidates — “from different horizons, including from the outside if possible” — afforded by a longer timeline.“Nobody wants this race to be a coronation. It would be the worst thing for our party,” Plourde told some 400 Liberals at a policy convention in Drummondville, Que., on Sunday.“This race must be the occasion for several candidates to debate on the ground and to go meet the members.”The eventual party chief will replace Dominique Anglade, who announced she was stepping down five weeks after the provincial election last year that returned Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec to the l...

Man killed Muslim boy, 6, in hate crime motivated by Israeli-Hamas war: Illinois police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

WILL COUNTY, Ill. (WGN) — A man accused of brutally killing a 6-year-old boy and seriously injuring a 32-year-old woman in Illinois is facing hate crime charges, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office.Authorities say 71-year-old Joseph Czuba has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement posted to social media. US working to assist Americans seeking to leave Gaza, West Bank The charges stem from a violent attack that occurred at a home in unincorporated Plainfield Township, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, just after 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.Will County deputies and officers from the Plainfield Police Department initial...

Bruce Willis is 'not totally verbal' amid health battle, 'Moonlighting' creator says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

(KTLA) -- Bruce Willis is struggling with communication while battling frontotemporal dementia, his friend and "Moonlighting" creator, Glenn Gordon Caron, said in a recent interview.Caron made the statement while discussing the popular 1980s television show, which is now streaming on Hulu.“I know he’s really happy that the show is going to be available for people, even though he can’t tell me that,” Caron, 69, told The New York Post in an interview published Wednesday. “The process has taken quite a while and Bruce’s disease is a progressive disease, so I was able to communicate with him before the disease rendered him as incommunicative as he is now," Cameron said. Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia. What is FTD? The "Die Hard' and "Pulp Fiction" star stepped away from acting in March 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia that has since progressed to frontotemporal dementia (FTD).FTD is caused by damage to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, according ...

Alexandar Georgiev, new-look Avalanche penalty killers are off to a perfect start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

It’s still a tiny sample size, but what a difference a year makes, so far, for the Colorado Avalanche penalty killers.The entire Avalanche team got off to a slow start a season ago before a huge run to the finish line secured a Central Division title. Nowhere was that more evident than the penalty kill. The Avs allowed nine power-play goals in the first six games of last season, including two in each of the first three contests.Colorado is two games into its 2023-24 campaign, and the PK has been a perfect 9-for-9 so far.“They’re doing a good job,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I mean, that’s a key penalty kill in overtime. We were pretty disciplined tonight, but we got called for a few and they were at key times. You have to be sharp. We’ve been rotating some of more experienced guys that have been with us and have earned that trust, and we’re spotting in some other guys. Everyone seems to be doing a good job, and we have lots of optio...

Actress Suzanne Somers dies day before 77th birthday 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

Iconic actress Suzanne Somers has died of cancer just one day shy of her 77th birthday, her publicist confirmed to Page Six. Somers, known for her roles in the sitcoms “Three’s Company” and “Step by Step,” had been battling breast cancer for over 23 years. She was diagnosed a second time in July following her first diagnosis in 2000, according to People Magazine. According to her publicist, she passed away peacefully at her home early Sunday morning surrounded by her husband and other immediate family members.  Bruce Willis rendered ‘incommunicative’ by disease, ‘Moonlighting’ creator says People reported on Somers’ 77th birthday plans on Sunday morning, saying that she was planning on spending the day with her “nearest and dearest” family, including her six grandchildren. Fellow entertainers took to social media to express their condolences, including "Bewitched" actress Erin Murphy -- who said Somers inspired her to get a Ford Thunderbird due to her appearance in ...

Man booked for murder after apparent intentional crash in Long Beach 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

A woman was killed after a driver slammed into her, several other pedestrians and occupied cars in Long Beach on Saturday evening, and new information from police indicates that the crash may have been intentional. Officers first responded to the area of Aquarium Way and Shoreline Drive at 6:34 p.m. on reports of a collision involving multiple vehicles and pedestrians. Upon arrival, first responders discovered a woman lying in the roadway “who appeared to have been struck by a vehicle,” the Long Beach Police Department said. Long Beach Fire Department personnel rendered medical aid to the woman, but she succumbed to her injuries at the scene.  3.5 magnitude earthquake strikes near Ojai She was identified as Romelia Cuarenta Aguilar, 60, of Long Beach. Several other individuals were injured as a result of the possibly intentional crash, and although authorities would not elaborate on how many victims were transported to nearby hospitals, they did say that they w...

49ers talk “learning experience” and close calls after loss to Browns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:04 GMT

The 49ers suffered their first loss of the 2023 season, a 19-17 defeat Sunday in rainy Cleveland.Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey both were ruled out for the game due to injuries, and Brock Purdy struggled without them, going 12-for-27 for 125 yards, one touchdown and one interception.The offense stalled after a first-drive touchdown by McCaffrey on a shovel pass, rookie kicker Jake Moody went 1-for-3 on field-goal attempts (including a miss to win the game), and two late penalties on close calls harmed their chances of winning.Here is what the 49ers had to say after the game:Kyle ShanahanOn Moody’s missed kick to win the game:It’s always tough to miss that last kick but that happens in football. They played better than us today. That was the last play, but there was a lot more to today than just that.On the sequence before the kick:Just trying to get more yards and letting it go down, and then we wanted to leave it thereOn his message to the team:My message to them was re...