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Turkey’s elections for presidency, parliament set to begin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Voters in Turkey are heading to the polls on Sunday for pivotal parliamentary and presidential elections that are expected to be tightly contested and could be the biggest challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces in his two decades in power.The vote will either grant the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan a new five-year term in office or set the NATO-member country on what his principal opponent calls a more democratic path.For the first time in his 20 years in office, opinion polls indicate that the populist Erdogan, 69, is entering a race trailing behind an opponent. Opinion surveys have given a slight lead to Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the 74-year-old leader of the center-left, pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and the joint candidate of a united opposition alliance. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, the presidential race will go to a run-off on May 28.More than 64 million people, including 3.4 million overseas voters,...

A year after mass shooting at Buffalo supermarket, bells to toll for victims

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The city of Buffalo will pause Sunday to mark the passing of one year since a gunman killed 10 people and injured three others in a racist attack that targeted Black people at a city supermarket.A moment of silence followed by the chiming of church bells at 2:28 p.m. will honor victims of the massacre at the Tops Friendly Market on May 14, 2022. “The racially motivated mass shooting shook our community to its core. It was the day the unthinkable happened,” Mayor Byron Brown said in announcing plans for the commemoration, to be held at the now-reopened supermarket.Earlier in the week, panelists discussed ways to combat racism and social media radicalization and residents were invited to reflect at an outdoor community gathering.In the year since the shooting, relatives of the victims have spoken before Congress about white supremacy and gun reform and organized events to address food insecurity that worsened when the neighborhood’s only grocery store was inaccess...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Berlin to meet German leaders, discuss arms deliveries

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin early Sunday for talks with German leaders about further arms deliveries to help his country fend off the Russian invasion and rebuild what’s been destroyed by more than a year of devastating conflict.A Luftwaffe jet flew Zelenskyy to the German capital from Rome, where he had met Saturday with Pope Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni.On the eve of his arrival — which took place amid tight security — the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine with aid worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition.“Already in Berlin. Weapons. Powerful package. Air defense. Reconstruction. EU. NATO. Security,” Zelenskyy tweeted Sunday, in an apparent reference to the key priorities of his trip.After initially hesitating to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, includ...

NYC converts hotels to shelters as pressure mounts to accommodate asylum seekers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The historic Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan shuttered three years ago, but it will soon be bustling again — reopening to accommodate an anticipated influx of asylum seekers just as other New York City hotels are being converted to emergency shelters.Mayor Eric Adams announced Saturday that the city will use the Roosevelt to eventually provide as many as 1,000 rooms for migrants who are expected to arrive in coming weeks because of the expiration of pandemic-era rules, known collectively as Title 42, that had allowed federal officials to turn away asylum seekers from the U.S. border with Mexico.Across the city, hotels like the Roosevelt that served tourists just a few years ago are being transformed into emergency shelters, many of them in prime locations within walking distance from Times Square, the World Trade Center memorial site and the Empire State Building. A legal mandate requires the city to provide shelter to anyone who needs it.Even so, Adams says the...

Off-grid solar brings light, time and income to remotest villages

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

LAINDEHA, Indonesia (AP) — As Tamar Ana Jawa wove a red sarong in the fading sunlight, her neighbor switched on a light bulb dangling from the sloping tin roof. It was just one bulb powered by a small solar panel, but in this remote village that means a lot. In some of the world’s most remote places, off-grid solar systems are bringing villagers like Jawa more hours in the day, more money and more social gatherings.Before electricity came to the village a bit less than two years ago, the day ended when the sun went down. Villagers in Laindeha, on the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia, would set aside the mats they were weaving or coffee they were sorting to sell at the market as the light faded. A few families who could afford them would start noisy generators that rumbled into the night, emitting plumes of smoke. Some people wired lightbulbs to old car batteries, which would quickly die or burn out appliances, as they had no regulator. Children sometimes studied by makeshi...

Stained glass window shows Jesus Christ with dark skin, stirring questions about race in New England

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

WARREN, R.I. (AP) — A nearly 150-year-old stained-glass church window that depicts a dark-skinned Jesus Christ interacting with women in New Testament scenes has stirred up questions about race, Rhode Island’s role in the slave trade and the place of women in 19th century New England society.The window installed at the long-closed St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Warren in 1878 is the oldest known public example of stained glass on which Christ is depicted as a person of color that one expert has seen.“This window is unique and highly unusual,” said Virginia Raguin, a professor of humanities emerita at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and an expert on the history of stained-glass art. “I have never seen this iconography for that time.”The 12-foot tall, 5-foot wide (3.7 meters by 1.5 meters) window depicts two biblical passages in which women, also painted with dark skin, appear as equals to Christ. One shows Christ in conversation with Martha and Mary, ...

Concert review: Luke Combs lacked in stage presence, but delivered the hits at U.S. Bank Stadium

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

No one is more surprised by Luke Combs’ rapid rise to the top of country music than Combs himself.The 33-year-old from North Carolina filled U.S. Bank Stadium Saturday night and turned in what’s likely the least assuming performance the Vikings stadium has ever seen.Before Combs took the stage with “Lovin’ on You,” the large screens showed a brief video of Combs, his friends and family all earnestly explaining the many reasons Combs shouldn’t have made it and marveling at the fact he did.Combs introduced “Houston, We Got a Problem” with a story about growing up in a poor family. He took an airplane for the first time in 2015 and, the following year, a visit to Texas inspired the song. “Here we are eight years later,” he said, gesturing out to the stadium crowd. “This is unbelievable.”I’m sure he tells a variation of that tale every night, but he sure sounded like he meant it. Combs repeatedly thanked the audience and seemed overwhelmed by the adoration....

Rapids give up second-half goal in 2-1 loss to Philadelphia Union, remain winless at home in MLS play

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

COMMERCE CITY — In a week that started off so well for the Colorado Rapids, it all boiled over late Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.A 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union took a turn in stoppage time, with a shoving match between both teams breaking out after Michael Barrios sprinted for a ball that went out-of-bounds for a goal kick and pushed Union goalkeeper Andre Blake to the ground. Even Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough joined the fray from the other end of the field.It ended in a red card for Braian Galván and, not long after, another home loss for the Rapids — just days after they won at Sacramento Republic FC in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32.Colorado (2-4-6, 12 points) is winless in MLS play at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this season, with the only win at home this season coming in the second-round of the U.S. Open Cup.It was the first time Colorado played since midfielder Max Alves was removed from team activities after he was implicated in an...

Video captures gunman opening fire as man arrives home in Northridge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

Video captured the terrifying moment a gunman opened fire as a man pulls up to the driveway of his Northridge home.Police received reports of an assault with a deadly weapon at a home on the 9600 block of Texhoma Avenue around 6:30 p.m. Friday night.Home security video seen below captured the victim pulling up to his circular driveway as a brown Kia sedan was parked on the street nearby. “I noticed a suspicious vehicle parked in front of our neighbor’s house, parked pretty far away from the curb, so it was very unusual to see a vehicle parked that way,” recalled the victim, who did not want to be identified.The victim parked near his front door and was about to exit his car when he noticed the suspicious vehicle suddenly drive up to the curb in front of his house.That’s when a gunman hopped out of the car and began firing.“A gentleman jumped out from the backseat wearing a hoodie and a bandana," recalled the victim. “I just saw him lift up and point a ...

Evander scores twice in Timbers’ 3-1 win over Whitecaps

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:26:15 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Evander scored twice and the Portland Timbers defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in a Cascadia Cup rivalry match on Saturday night.The loss snapped Vancouver’s eight-game unbeaten streak. The Whitecaps had three wins and five draws entering the match. Portland (4-5-3), which extended its unbeaten streak to three games, opened the scoring on Franck Boli’s goal just 79 seconds into the match, the fastest goal in Major League Soccer this season. Evander scored off a cross from Juan Mosquera to make it 2-0 for the Timbers in the 18th minute. But the Whitecaps (3-3-5) closed the gap on an own goal off Portland’s Zac McGraw in the 24th. The Timbers went up 3-1 in the 54th minute when Evander spun around a defender and blasted his shot into the bottom left corner, out of the reach of diving Vancouver goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka. The Whitecaps beat Portland 1-0 earlier this year in Vancouver. They’ve won two or more straight games in the series o...