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A Trump-light, Ukraine-heavy Aspen Security Forum

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

ASPEN, Colo. — This year’s gathering of foreign policy elites in the Rocky Mountains drew big names, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.But who wasn’t there — and what wasn’t said — was perhaps as significant as the featured speakers and panels at the annual Aspen Security Forum.There were no big reveals — and no serious solutions are out there for the world’s biggest challenges. Ukraine and China were on everyone’s minds, but the Middle East wasn’t — highlighting how much U.S. national security priorities have changed from the days after Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorism was all anyone talked about.And everyone did their best not to talk about the ever-approaching elephant in the room: Donald Trump.Here are a few of our takeaways from four days of group discussions, one-on-one interviews and the occasional ambushing of officials in Aspen’s fancy hotels. (It was hard work, we promise.)The Middle East is an afterthoughtWhile the Middle ...

Six moments that define Spain’s chaos election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

Six moments that define Spain’s chaos electionThis campaign has had everything, from record-breaking heat to crazy billboards, a defunct terrorist group to drug traffickers.Tensions around Spain’s already high-stakes election have been heightened by a campaign full of surreal episodes | Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty ImagesMADRID — On Sunday, 37 million Spaniards are called on to vote to decide if their country will continue to be run by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, or if instead the reins of power will be handed to the center-right Popular Party’s Alberto Núñez Feijóo, a candidate who is open to forming a coalition government with the far-right Vox party.Polls indicate that the race is tight, with a relatively small number of votes likely to determine if the country remains on a progressive track or if it swings dramatically to the right.The tensions around such an already high-stakes vote have been heightened by a campaign full of surreal episodes. HereR...

Ohio’s Columbus Zoo thought this gorilla was a male – then it gave birth to a baby

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

(CNN) — Zookeepers at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium arrived to a pair of unexpected discoveries Thursday morning: a newborn baby gorilla and the news that its mother wasn’t a male gorilla.The gorilla, Sully, has lived at the facility with her mother since 2019 and was thought to be male until “the gorilla care team discovered her holding the unexpected baby gorilla early Thursday,” the zoo announced in a news release.But how could the facility not know 8-year-old Sully was actually a female? And that she was pregnant?Well, gorillas “don’t have prominent sex organs” and males and females look mostly alike until around age 8, the zoo said in the release, noting it’s only later in life that males develop their large size, silver backs and distinctive head bumps.Along with the hard-to-distinguish features, veterinarians at the zoo where the gorilla was born took a “hands-off approach” with their care and allowed the primate to be cared for by its mother, the Columbus...

Takeaways from police body camera footage of Councilor Lara’s JP crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

Boston police shared body-camera footage from different perspectives as officers rushed to Jamaica Plain on June 30 at 4:27 p.m. to untangle District 6 Councilor Kendra Lara’s crash that sent her 7-year-old son to Children’s Hospital with a gash over his eye. Here are some key takeaways:A line of little kidsAs the city ambulance was about to pull away from the crash scene, a line of children crossed on the opposite side of Centre Street in a daisy chain often used by daycare providers as an extra precaution to ensure the safety of the children. In this case, the footage shows about 10 kids dressed in floppy-yellow T-shirts happily strolling along linked together on the sidewalk with adults in front and back of the line.The T-shirts would make it easy to spot the kids. Yet, a few minutes earlier they all would have been dangerously close to the crash. They weren’t the only pedestrians. Parents could be seen walking with schoolchildren weighed down by backpacks; nume...

Entertainer Jamie Foxx tells fans in an Instagram message that he is recovering from an illness

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

Academy Award winning actor, singer and comedian Jamie Foxx said in an Instagram video that he is recovering from an undisclosed medical condition. “I went to hell and back, and my road to recovery has some potholes as well, but I’m coming back,” Foxx, appearing thin and wearing a dark pullover shirt, said in the three minute, 15 second video. “I’m able to work.”Foxx, 55, was hospitalized in April with what his daughter, Corinne Fox, described at the time as a “medical complication” and Foxx did not disclose the nature of his condition in his first public comments since being hospitalized.“I just didn’t want you to see me like that … I didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through,” Foxx said, thanking his daughter, sister, God and medical professionals for saving his life.“I went through something that I thought I would never, ever go through,” Foxx said.“Every once in a while I just b...

North Dakota officer killed in Fargo ambush is to be laid to rest in Minnesota

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The Fargo police officer who was responding to a routine traffic crash when he was ambushed and fatally shot by a heavily armed man will be laid to rest Saturday. Jake Wallin, 23, was killed July 14 when a man armed with 1,800 rounds of ammunition, multiple guns and explosives began firing. Two other officers and a civilian were wounded before a fourth officer returned fire, killing gunman Mohamad Barakat. Police said the actions of that fourth officer likely spared the city from a bigger, bloodier attack. Wallin, who had been sworn in as a Fargo police officer in April and was still in field training, was cremated in his uniform. On Saturday, the Fargo Police Department will escort his cremains to Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, where a funeral service will be held. A military veteran, Wallin served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021, according to a spokesperson for the Minnesota National Guard.H...

Malaysia cuts short music fest after British band slams anti-gay laws, singer kisses male bandmate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government Saturday cut short a music festival after the lead singer of British band The 1975 slammed the country’s anti-gay laws and kissed a male bandmate during their performance.Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil slammed Matty Healy’s conduct late Friday at the start of the Good Vibes Festival as “very rude.” Healey used profanity in his speech criticizing the government’s stance against homosexuality, before kissing bass player Ross MacDonald. Footage of the fiasco was posted on social media and sparked a backlash in the predominantly Muslim nation.After meeting the festival organizers Saturday, Fahmi said the festival, which was scheduled to go on this weekend, will be canceled.“There will be no compromise with any party that challenges, belittles or violates Malaysian laws,” he said in a statement on Facebook. Homosexuality is a crime in the country that is punishable by up to 20 years in pri...

Saturday Forecast: Increasing clouds, chance of showers, storms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

Saturday: Sunny start, increasing clouds with chance of PM iso. showers/thunderstorms. SW 5-15 mph. Air quality is Moderate around Chicagoland. High: 86Saturday Night: Decreasing clouds. Partly cloudy overnight. SW 5-10 mph. Low mid 60s. Sunday: Increasing PM clouds & chance of iso. PM showers/thunderstorms. SW 5-15 mph. High 87, not much cooler by the lake. Weather Blog | Chicago | WGN TVExtended outlook calls for temps to get very warm to hot and humid as we get into the week ahead. Starting Monday we'll see the heat dome invade bringing temps in the mid to low 90s and perhaps on Thursday close to 100. Each day has a chance of afternoon showers/thunderstorms with the humid environment. 

US opens Women's World Cup with 3-0 victory over Vietnam

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Fresh-faced newcomer Sophia Smith teamed with captain Lindsey Horan to give the United States a balanced performance as the Americans breezed to another opening victory at the Women’s World Cup.Smith scored twice and the two-time defending champions beat tournament first-timers Vietnam 3-0 Saturday for the Americans’ 13th straight victory in a World Cup match. Smith, who turns 23 next month and is playing in her first tournament, is the second-youngest U.S. women's player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game.Horan, the team’s co-captain with Alex Morgan, added a goal for the favored Americans, who have won four World Cups overall and are vying for an unprecedented three-peat in this year’s tournament.“I love playing with Lindsey, she’s such a great player. She has such a good eye for things that a lot of players don’t see,” Smith said. “She understands my game. She understands the runs I’m making before I even make them.” Nearly 70% of MLB playe...

Jamie Foxx addresses health scare in Instagram video: 'I went to hell and back'

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:55:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Jamie Foxx addressed his recent medical issues in an Instagram video, telling his followers he “went to hell and back” during the unspecified health scare.“I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through. And I know a lot of people were waiting, you know, or wanting to hear updates,” Foxx said in the video, which he posted on Friday night. “But to be honest with you, I didn’t want you to see my like that, man. I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, a television show. I didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through.” Video captures Jamie Foxx on Chicago River in first public sighting Foxx’s daughter, Corrine, had originally revealed in April that her father suffered a “medical complication.” At the time, she said he was “already on the road to recovery.”Weeks later, Foxx wrote on Instagram that he was “feeling blessed,” but did ...