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He couldn’t see his wedding. But this war-blinded Ukrainian soldier cried with joy at new love

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Blinded by a Russian mortar shell, Ukrainian veteran Ivan Soroka couldn’t see his bride when she walked into his family home in a shoulderless white dress, a bouquet of white flowers in her right hand. But when Vladislava Ryabets, 25, stepped toward him, Soroka wept with joy at the new chapter of life starting months after enemy artillery stole his sight. “The first thing I said after I was wounded was, who will want me now?” said Soroka, 27, sitting inside his family home in a village in the outskirts of Kyiv.“I succeeded in rebuilding myself,” he said. “I am seeing with my feelings, with my emotions.”Dozens sat around a garden table in Bortnychi village under a tent decorated with balloons and garlands for a day of festivity steeped in Ukrainian rural tradition. Folk songs and laughter filled the air as neighbors and friends poured into the humble pastoral home, gulped drinks and toasted the young newlyweds. A round loaf decorated with viburnum ber...

Donald Trump isn’t backing a national abortion ban. That’s not hurting him in the GOP primary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump is dominating the early stages of the Republican presidential primary even as he’s refused to endorse a federal ban on abortion, allowing some top rivals to get to the right of him on an issue that animates many conservative activists. Aiming to return to the White House, the former president often notes how his presidency advanced the cause of abortion opponents. He appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade, abolishing the federally guaranteed right to the procedure and fulfilling the decades-long aspirations of anti-abortion activists.But Trump has so far declined to go along with some of his rivals, most notably his onetime vice president, Mike Pence, who is pushing for national bans that would take effect relatively early into a pregnancy. He’s also warned Republicans against locking themselves into positions that are unpopular with a majority of the public, and has argued that the Supreme...

Hurricane Lee to strike weather-worn New England after heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After a deluge of rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes this week, New England is about to face Hurricane Lee. As the Category 1 system impacted Bermuda, Maine was under its first hurricane watch in 15 years and a state of emergency declared Thursday by Gov. Janet Mills. The water-logged region prepared for 20-foot (6-meter) waves offshore and wind gusts up to 80 mph (129 kph), along with more rain.The hurricane watch applied to eastern Maine, while the rest of the state and an area extending south through Massachusetts was under a tropical storm warning. Powerful winds and coastal flooding were expected to arrive Friday afternoon in southern New England and spread north.Although Lee did not contribute to the flooding that hit New England earlier in the week, it threatened to exacerbate conditions in a region that is already waterlogged.The Coast Guard and emergency management agencies warned New England residents to be prepared, and utility companies brough...

Kim Jong Un stops to see a fighter jet factory as Russia and North Korea are warned off arms deals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stopped in a far eastern Russian city Friday to see a factory that builds the country’s most advanced fighter jets on his extended trip that hints at his interest in sophisticated weaponry, as the U.S. and others warned Moscow and Pyongyang against making banned weapons transfer deals. Kim’s visits to Russian weapons and technology sites and meetings with President Vladimir Putin have raised speculation he will supply ammunition to Russia for its war efforts in Ukraine in exchange for receiving advanced weapons or technology from Russia as the two nations deepen their ties while both are increasingly isolated and sanctioned in separate confrontations with the West. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti published video showing Kim’s armored train pulling into a station in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Kim’s convoy sweeping out of the station shortly afterward. TASS news agency said Kim and local Russian offic...

What’s streaming now: ‘Barbie,’ Dan & Shay, ‘The Morning Show’ and ‘Welcome to Wrexham’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

Tunes from Dan & Shay and Vic Mensa plus a genre-blending Hulu series “The Other Black Girl” set inside the world of publishing are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near youAmong the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a joyous season two of “Welcome to Wrexham,” “Barbie” can be bought for $30 and Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon return for season three of “The Morning Show.”NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— “Barbie” is finally coming to the small screen, giving audiences everywhere the freedom to belt out “I’m Just Ken” along with Ryan Gosling without shame. It’ll come at a cost, though, at least for a little while. Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster is available to buy on video-on-demand for a cool $29.99. The film took on a life of its own after a wild marketing blitz and “Oppenheimer” proximity, inspiring moviegoers to don their pinkest, most sparkly ensembles for group trips to t...

Texas high school football scores for Thursday, Sept. 14

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thunderstorms rolling through Central Texas led to the postponement of two area games and the delay of others Thursday night.Pflugerville and Bastrop, along with Seguin and Lehman, are backing their games up due to Thursday's lightning that came with some nasty thunderstorms. Pflugerville and Bastrop will move their game to Smithville and play at 7 p.m., Friday while Seguin and Lehman will try again at 11 a.m., Saturday at Bob Shelton Stadium.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteThe KBVO Game of the Week started an hour and 30 minutes later than scheduled, but the Class 4A Lampasas Badgers kept their undefeated season intact, holding off Connally 36-28 at The Pfield.Lake Travis blanked Akins 37-0 and LASA also had a shutout 47-0 over Eastside. McCallum topped Crockett 37-22 and Hutto fell to Converse Judson 29-19.Scores from...

Lampasas remains undefeated, holds off Pflugerville Connally 36-28

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Pflugerville Connally roared back in the second half, but Lampasas made the final key play of the game to win 36-28 on Thursday at The Pfield.On the final drive of the game, Connally quarterback Kaden Nguyen dropped back to pass and the ball squirted out of his hands as he was drawing it back to throw. The ball fell to the turf and the Badgers alertly jumped on it with 18 seconds left in the game to clinch the win.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteLampasas led by a point 29-28 before running back Jett Walker scored his second touchdown of the night, a 4-yard run with 49 seconds left in the game. The extra point gave the Badgers an 8-point lead, and Connally was moving the ball down the field with relative ease until the costly turnover.The Cougars had a shot to tie the game after wide receiver Landon Bradley made one of t...

2 new invasive insects confirmed in Minnesota, state Department of Agriculture says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

Two new invasive insects have been found in Minnesota, according to the state Department of Agriculture.The MDA said Wednesday that “vigilant homeowners” spotted the insects separately and reported them to the agency’s “Report a Pest” service in August.They were then confirmed as the elm seed bug (Arocatus melanocephalus) and Asiatic garden beetle (Maladera formosae).Asiatic garden beetle (U.S. Department of Agriculture)Elm seed bug (Utah State University)MDA said the elm seed bug primarily feeds on elm seeds but can also feed on linden and oak. The elm seed bug is mostly considered a nuisance pest like the box elder bug, as they can enter homes in large numbers. Box elder bugs are active in late summer and fall, but the elm seed bug is active in mid-June.Native to Europe, elm seed bug was first confirmed in the United Stated in 2012. It is established in several Western states, such as Oregon, Washington and Utah.The Asiatic garden beetle feeds on over 100 hosts, including fruit, v...

Shmuly Yanklowitz: This Rosh Hashana, let’s commit to repairing the injuries of injustice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

All around the world, in preparation for the High Holy Days, Jews are doing the inner spiritual work right now of cheshbon hanefesh, or accounting of the soul. This typically entails examining ourselves for all our moral failures and ethical shortcomings and planning how we might do better in the new Jewish year to come.This kind of practice isn’t unique to the Jewish community. We all in one way or another look to improve ourselves and our actions, and sometimes we even succeed at it. As difficult as self-improvement is, even greater is the task of collective teshuva, or repentance. (The English word “repentance” often carries a heavy connotation. Teshuva in Hebrew describes more of a return. When we change our behavior for the better, we return toward our best, truest selves.)On Yom Kippur, which this year begins on the evening of Sept. 24, the congregation all stands together and recites a confession that goes, “We have trespassed. We have betrayed. We hav...

Regional tribes urge feds to reject new power plant on shores of Lake Superior

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:21 GMT

MADISON, Wis. — Indigenous tribes in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have asked federal officials to deny a utility’s request for a loan to help build a natural gas-fired power plant on the shores of Lake Superior, calling the project unthinkable in the face of climate change.Chippewa tribes located across the northern third of the three states sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture officials on Sunday asking them to deny Dairyland Power Cooperative’s request for a $350 million public loan. The request is intended to cover the utility’s share of the cost of building the Nemadji Trail Energy Center power plant.“As our shared climate rapidly continues to destabilize, it is unconscionable that Dairyland Power Cooperative has not canceled its request for a $350 million public loan and permits to build Nemadji Trail Energy Center,” the tribes said in the letter. It added later, “In short, this location was never the place, and now is obviously not...