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Russian citizens lead anti-Putin protest in the Loop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

CHICAGO — A small, but powerful protest took place on Michigan Avenue Sunday near the Chicago River, directed at Vladimir Putin and Russia's repressive tactics trying to silence dissenting viewpoints in his war on Ukraine."We are here to stand against Putin and his regime," said Elena Kaspirovich. "We are protesting against his war in Ukraine."Many of those who gathered were members of the organization 'Voice of Free Russia' and are Russian citizens, like Ana Voronovsky, who originally came to the United States as a student."Russians in Russia who are against Putin’s regime, they can't come to the streets to protest," Voronovsky said. "They will be imprisoned, they can face a life in prison. That’s why we are here, we are speaking for them as well."Meanwhile, the 14-month-long war continues to rage in Eastern Europe.On Friday, a missile attack on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Uman left at least 20 people dead, including six children. AP: Relatives bury children ki...

Twins to shut down Tyler Mahle for at least a month due to elbow injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

When the Twins dealt for Tyler Mahle at last year’s trade deadline, they imagined him as a rotation stalwart for their 2022 playoff push in addition to being an important piece of their rotation for this current season.But instead, his early tenure with the Twins has been marred by injury and the latest, a posterior impingement and flexor pronator strain in his right elbow, will shut him down for the next month at least, the club announced on Sunday.“He’s going to be down and resting for four weeks and then he’s going to be re-evaluated at that point,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.In the early period after he was forced to exit his start early — Mahle experienced soreness in his fourth inning of work on Thursday night along with dramatic dips in his velocity — the starter said “no one’s really concerned about it” and that he thought he would be OK after sitting back and letting it calm down over the next few days.But testing — the Twins sent Mahle for both magnetic resonance imaging ...

Napheesa Collier ready to lead Lynx ‘in the right direction’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

There is no more living in the past for the Minnesota Lynx.The 2022 Lynx were put together with the hopes of one last championship run with future Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles. That didn’t go so well, as Minnesota stumbled badly out of the gate and ultimately had to watch the postseason, rather than participate.The 2023 version is expected to focus around a core player who’ll be available all season.There is no doubt that this is Napheesa Collier’s team.A two-time All-Star, she became a mother last May and pushed hard to return for the season’s final few games. Now, the Olympian has a full offseason of conditioning under her belt and is ready to be the focal point.“I feel like it’s a good pressure,” she said after the team’s first practice Sunday. “Obviously this is a dynasty organization so to have that be on my shoulders now I take it really seriously and I definitely want to appreciate the people who came before me and make sure I’m leading the team in the ...

Pope speaks of secret peace 'mission,' help for Ukraine kids

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia's war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war.“I’m available to do anything,” Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.”Francis gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary.Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Francis said the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families.“All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don’t help,” F...

Remains found last week identified as missing Missouri man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

ELSBERRY, Mo. - The family of a Pike County, Missouri, man who went missing nearly four years ago received word last week that his remains had been discovered and identified. On the afternoon of April 24, a field hand working south of Elsberry contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office after discovering partial human remains.Authorities brought the remains to the Lincoln County Coroner's Office for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, a K9 unit and drone were used to search the area for addition remains, to no avail.On April 26, a forensic odontologist successfully identified the remains belonging to Timothy Padfield.Padfield was reported missing on May 31, 2019, by his wife. Kim Gardner wants new judge in effort to remove her from office At the time, Mrs. Padfield told the sheriff's office she last spoke with Timothy the day before around 5 p.m. He'd attempted to retrieve items from their home in Annada, which had been rendered inaccessible due to flooding.During the call, Timothy to...

Missouri lawsuit isn’t the only defamation case against far-right site Gateway Pundit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

Soon after the 2020 election, Eric Coomer’s name started trending on Twitter, often accompanied with the hashtag #ArrestEricCoomer.At the time, he was living in Colorado and working as director of product security for Dominion Voting Systems, the company ensnared in unfounded election fraud conspiracies following former President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden. Coomer found himself at the center of the conspiracy after a right-wing podcaster named Joseph Oltmann claimed without evidence that he’d infiltrated an antifa conference call in which a Dominion employee named Eric allegedly said: “Trump is not gonna win. I made f-ing sure of that.”A series of Coomer’s Facebook posts making disparaging comments about Trump soon surfaced, including a satirical manifesto that he didn’t write that was signed by “antifa.” Oltmann’s theory was picked up by other right-wing media and shared on Twitter by one of Trump’s sons. It eventually found its way to the St. Louis-based the Gatewa...

Broncos still have holes to fill on roster with 2023 NFL draft in the books

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

The NFL Draft is over, but Broncos general manager George Paton knows there’s more work to be done.“We’re going to keep looking for certain positions,” Paton said. “That’s part of what you do. When you’re in my seat, you’re always looking to help your football team.”Denver used the draft to give quarterback Russell Wilson another weapon in the passing game while adding depth at inside linebacker and the secondary. Still, there appear to be glaring holes on both sides of the ball that need to be addressed. Here are a few needs for the Broncos after the draft.Offensive tackleThe Broncos haven’t drafted an offensive tackle since 2017. Selecting a developmental tackle in the later rounds of this year’s draft seemed logical. However, the Broncos went in a different direction.Newly acquired Mike McGlinchey and holdover Garett Bolles, who sustained a season-ending leg injury in October, will be Denver’s starting right and left tackles. The concern is the...

SF Giants’ games in Mexico City have been ‘electric.’ Is it a viable option for MLB expansion?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

MEXICO CITY — Major League Baseball’s first regular-season foray into North America’s largest market has been a rousing success, with sold-out crowds, passionate fans and rave reviews from players (yes, even the pitchers). So, with commissioner Rob Manfred already outspoken about expansion, why not Mexico City?The atmosphere, with a cacophony of noisemakers, crowd karaokes that put “Sweet Caroline” at Fenway Park to shame and alternating chants of “Let’s go Giants!” and “Let’s go Padres!”, has been second to none, and not even a pair of losses to the Padres — dropping Sunday’s finale, 6-4 — could spoil the Giants’ perception of the trip.“I think it’s great,” infielder J.D. Davis said. “It’s a little bit of a launchpad and everything. Obviously the pitchers probably don’t like it as much. It’s fun. The atmosphere is great. I think it’s electric. It’s just a great place to play. I have nothing ba...

A’s end ugly month of April with walk-off win over Cincinnati

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

OAKLAND – The ugliest April in the history of the Athletics franchise had a most pleasant ending Sunday.Esteury Ruiz singled to center in the bottom of the ninth to score Jace Peterson from third base as A’s beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4, snapping a five-game losing streak before a Little League player-fueled crowd of 18,271 at the Coliseum.A’s reliever Zach Jackson got out of a jam in the top of the ninth, stranding Reds runners on second and third base by retiring three straight batters. In the bottom half, Oakland had runners on first and third before the heroics by Ruiz, who collected his first career walk-off hit.The A’s win snapped a nine-game home losing streak and allowed them to finish April with a 5-23 record.The A’s had already set a Major League record for most losses in April, as they dropped to 5-23 overall with a 3-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday, eclipsing a mark set by the Baltimore Orioles, who went 1-22 in 1988.The A’s coughed up a two-run lead in the sixth inning s...

Vaughn, White Sox stop slide with wild 12-9 win against Rays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — On the very last day of a mostly miserable April, Andrew Vaughn and the Chicago White Sox finally got to celebrate again.Vaughn capped Chicago’s seven-run ninth inning with a three-run homer, and the White Sox stopped a 10-game losing streak with a wild 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.Yasmani Grandal also homered and Adam Haseley had four hits as Chicago won for the first time since April 18. It was the longest slide for the team since it also dropped 10 in a row in 2013.“That felt like a huge weight off our shoulders,” Vaughn said. “You know April showers bring May flowers, so here we go.”Chicago finished with a season-high 18 hits. It was the franchise’s biggest ninth-inning comeback since it trailed 10-4 against Minnesota on Sept. 7, 2007, before winning in extra innings.“We’ve got some fight in that clubhouse,” first-year manager Pedro Grifol said. Jake Burger sparked the winning rally with a one-out RBI double against Jalen Beeks (0-2)....