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Ukraine says 'biggest blow' in offensive is yet to come

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the "biggest blow" in Kyiv's military campaign is yet to come, but admitted the operation is difficult as Russia throws all it can to stop the offensive."The ongoing operation has several objectives, and the military is fulfilling these tasks," Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app. "They are moving as they should have been moving. And the biggest blow is yet to come."After months of acquiring Western weaponry, training and preparations, Ukraine began the first stage of its counteroffensive two weeks ago to reclaim the nearly fifth of its land now occupied by Russia."The enemy will not easily give up their positions, and we must prepare ourselves for a tough duel," Maliar said. "In fact, that is what is happening right now,"The Ukrainian military, which had maintained strict silence about the campaign for more than a week, has since claimed small victories, saying on Monday that it has liberated several small settlements since....

Miss Manners: Our dinner guests said everything was fine. Obviously, it was not.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife and I are vaccinated, boosted and get flu shots annually. We know COVID is still lurking and we are not reckless, but we have resumed many of our pre-pandemic activities. We don’t wear masks, but respect those who do. If we are not feeling well, we stay in and stay away from others.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: What I failed to teach my 5-year-old has become a problem Advice | Miss Manners: Why do they text me these boring pictures? Advice | Miss Manners: My party guest criticized my hosting to my face Advice | Miss Manners: Should I announce my tipping intentions upfront? Advice | Miss Manners: I was hurt that her caffeine fix was more important than my child’s party We invited another couple to our house for dinner. We had not seen them since before the pandemic began, and in the ensuing time, the husband had had a serious medical issue (unrelated to COVI...

Dear Abby: My wife demands compensation for housework and sex

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I met my wife in college. We have been married for 40 years and have two adult sons. My wife had a brief affair early in our marriage, but we have long since moved on from that.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: Should I tell her she crossed a line with her behavior toward my husband? Advice | Dear Abby: Must I consent to her odd hygiene requirements? Advice | Dear Abby: Our friendship ended badly. Should I discard his things that I still have? Advice | Dear Abby: I’ve reached my limit with this woman’s unprovoked attacks Advice | Dear Abby: His mother turns my husband into a bratty child However, increasingly over the last 15 years, my wife (career homemaker, her choice) has been aggressively making demands in exchange for anything she does for me — i.e., if I don’t buy her something, she won’t cook dinner, do laundry or have sex.I buy her things all the time, a...

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appears in Moscow court to appeal extended detention on spying charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appears in Moscow court to appeal extended detention on spying charges.Source

Building collapses, gas blasts, mine cave-ins and more. Deadly accidents are commonplace in China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — At least 31 people were killed and seven injured when cooking gas exploded at a restaurant in Yinchuan in northwestern China. It was the latest in China’s long history of deadly industrial accidents, which occur regularly despite government pledges to clamp down on lax standards, poor oversight and corruption frequently blamed for the collapse of buildings, mine cave-ins, explosions and other disasters. Here is a look at some of the worst in recent years.2023:— Open-pit mine collapses in February in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, burying dozens under rubble and killing 53. The company running the mine was fined the previous year for multiple safety violations.— A massive explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern China killed at least 13 people in January. Some 35 other people were injured in the blast in the outskirts of the city of Panjin east of the capital, Beijing.2022:— A fire caused by welding sparks that ignited cotton cloth...

Al menos 3 muertos en Texas tras las fuertes tormentas que provocaron tornados y granizo del tamaño de pelotas de tenis en el centro y oeste de EE.UU.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos tres personas murieron en un pueblo del noroeste de Texas tras el paso de un tornado este miércoles, informó un funcionario, en medio de las tormentas que azotaron partes del oeste y centro de EE.UU. y que provocaron al menos 11 informes de tornados en cuatro estados.Un tornado azotó este miércoles por la noche Matador, una localidad de unos cientos de habitantes situada a unos 280 kilómetros al noroeste de Dallas, Texas, según informó la oficina del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional en Lubbock.El alcalde de Matador, Pat Smith, declaró que se habían producido tres muertes. El número de víctimas incluye a una anciana que murió en su casa, dijo a CNN la alcaldesa pro tempore Dvonna Grundy; no se dispuso de inmediato de detalles sobre cuántos heridos hubo.El tornado destruyó la casa de Grundy —dejándola sin ropa ni medicinas— y dispersó o mató gran parte del ganado que tenía en su propiedad, dijo.“Ha desaparecido por completo”, dijo Grundy de su casa, a...

Virginia Gov. Youngkin’s PAC looks to general election with unified GOP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is seen in October 2022.(TNS/Virginian Pilot) Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is seen in October 2022.(TNS/Virginian Pilot) All 10 candidates backed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin dominated their primary races last night in the Virginia primary election, showing what the Republican party hopes will be a unified GOP front as the commonwealth heads toward the closely-watched state contests in November.Some of the seats where Youngkin’s endorsement weighed most heavily will be crucial to determining which party will control the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. Both parties nationally look toward Virginia’s off-year elections as a bellwether for the next year’s elections, wit...

MS-13 gang leader, 22 members indicted for ‘cold-blooded’ murders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged an alleged leader national leader and 22 members of the MS-13 gang with murder and other acts of violence.The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced a 48-count superseding indictment against Edenilson Velasquez Larin, “allegedly a national leader of the MS-13 and the Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (Fulton) clique, for his leadership role in allegedly ordering murders, drug distribution, and money laundering for the MS-13.”The indictment detailed a number of murders and attempted murders carried out by the gang against rival gang members as well as their own, often using guns and machetes.Prosecutors said that starting in late 2019 alleged Fulton clique leaders Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez ordered alleged MS-13 members, including Jose Arevalo Iraheta, Oscar Hernandez Baires, and Erick Zavala Hernandez, to scour the Elmont, New York, neighborhood in search of rival 18th Street members to kill for encr...

Nearly 40% of Marylanders can’t afford basic needs, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

Many Marylanders are struggling to support their families and a new study looked at just how widespread the problem is across the state.United Way of Central Maryland compiled the numbers from the latest data available in 2021. It measures what the nonprofit calls ALICE — asset limited, income constrained and employed — people who earn more than the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford the basics where they live.The study also looked at the cost of living, health care, housing and other necessities.The study identified households that are above the federal poverty line but below a survival budget, defined as about $91,000 a year to support a family of four in Maryland.The report showed 10% of Marylanders were below the poverty line in 2021, and 28% were below the ALICE survival budget, compared to 25% in 2014. The study points out that while many households work hard, there is a major disparity between what jobs pay and the cost of living.In Baltimore City, 53% of househo...

Tito’s is trolling canned cocktails with a $200 empty keg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:35:47 GMT

New York (CNN) — Tito’s Handmade Vodka is elevating its war against canned cocktails.For $200, the vodka maker is selling a “Tito’s in a Big Can,” which is a 128-ounce empty mini-keg that encourages drinkers to make their own cocktails rather than giving into the “canformity” (their word) of canned cocktails.“Last year, we drew a line in the sand while giving consumers the opportunity to make cocktails the way they like them, for themselves,” Taylor Berry, vice president of brand marketing for Tito’s, exclusively told CNN.This tongue-in-cheek stunt is a follow-up to its previous troll — called “Tito’s in a Can” — when it sold $20 refillable cans aimed at spurring people’s inner mixologists.The refillable mini-keg is now on sale for a limited time at Tito’s online store with net proceeds benefiting charity.Customers have been asking Tito’s to enter the canned cocktail space, Berry told CNN. It has resisted because Tito’s would rather focus on making vodka.“Tito’s was built on the ide...