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Russian mercenary leader’s exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin’s power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

The greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power fizzled out after the rebellious mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow abruptly reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.The brief revolt, though, exposed vulnerabilities among Russian government forces, with Wagner Group soldiers under the command of Yevgeny Prigozhin able to move unimpeded into the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and advance hundreds of kilometers (miles) toward Moscow. The Russian military scrambled to defend Russia’s capital.Under the deal announced Saturday by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighboring Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Charges against him of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped. The government also said it would not prosecute Wagner fighters who took part, while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the Defense...

BET Awards return Sunday night, celebrating 50 years of hip-hop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The BET Awards return Sunday night, with a performance-filled show that promises to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop.The show, which takes place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, will feature a tribute to hip-hop’s most significant moments, as curated by Kid Capri. Patti Labelle will also pay tribute to the late Tina Turner.The show begins at 8 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on BET, BET HER and numerous Paramount channels including Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1. It was also livestream on BET.comDrake leads the nominations, with seven: He’s up for best male hip-hop artist and male R&B/pop artist, as well as a few shared titles, including best collaboration and viewer’s choice with Future and Tems for their song “Wait for U.” Drake is also nominated for album of the year and best group for his collaboration with 21 Savage, “Her Loss,” and viewer’s choice for their hit “Jimmy Cooks.”Lizzo and 21 Savage are tied for the second-most...

As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile instead of the tank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Evan Burroughs has spent eight years touting the virtues of an Oregon pilot program charging motorists by the distance their vehicle travels rather than the gas it guzzles, yet his own mother still hasn’t bought in.Margaret Burroughs, 85, said she has no intention of inserting a tracking device on her Nissan Murano to record the miles she drives to get groceries or attend needlepoint meetings. She figures it’s far less hassle to just pay at the pump, as Americans have done for more than a century.“It’s probably a good thing, but on top of everybody else’s stress today, it’s just one more thing,” she said of Oregon’s first-in-the-nation initiative, which is run by the state transportation department where her son serves as a survey analyst.Burroughs’ reluctance exemplifies the myriad hurdles U.S. states face as they experiment with road usage charging programs aimed at one day replacing motor fuel taxes, which are generating less each year, in ...

Greeks vote in second general election in 5 weeks, with conservative party favored to win majority

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Polls have opened in Greece in the second general election in less than two months, with the conservative party in power for the last four years a strong favorite to win with a wide majority.The 55-year-old conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis is eyeing a second four-year term as prime minister after his New Democracy party won by a huge margin in May but fell short of gaining enough parliamentary seats to form a government. With a new electoral law now favoring the winning party with bonus seats, he is hoping to win enough seats to form a strong majority in the 300-member parliament.His main rival is Alexis Tsipras, the 48-year-old head of the left-wing Syriza party who served as prime minister from 2015-2019, during some of the most turbulent years of Greece’s nearly decade-long financial crisis. Tsipras fared dismally in the May elections, coming a distant second, 20% behind New Democracy. He has been trying to rally his voter base, a task complicated by ...

Sao Paulo’s downtown takes a turn for the worse, with wandering drug addicts harassing residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — The decline of the downtown area of Sao Paulo, Brazil has accelerated over the last year. Crack users seem to be everywhere, roaming the central streets of South America’s biggest city. Shop owners worry about robberies and residents fret about muggings. And with a haphazard effort by the city to turn things around, it’s no wonder that for the first time in years locals are moving out. Here are some of the people affected by the crisis:THE SHOP OWNERSBalduino Alvares has worked for about three decades in Sao Paulo’s city center. Recently, he has been forced to arrive at 6 a.m. — an hour earlier than before — so that he can clean the human waste from the curb outside his jewelry shop. It is the worst hour of the 62-year-old’s workday.Alvares sprays a pressure washer, scatters powdered soap and sweeps intensely for about 20 minutes. He steps away to rest his tired back as the sickening result marinates. Then he returns with full energy for another 10 minutes. Th...

Tired of what she says is oppression, woman in Zimbabwe challenges a law banning sex toys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Sitabile Dewa was content with her sex life when she was married, but after her divorce, she found her prospects for erotic pleasure rather bleak.In socially conservative Zimbabwe, divorced women and single mothers are often cast as undesirable partners for men, and in her frustration Dewa decided she wanted to use sex toys.The problem is sex toys are against the law in Zimbabwe.“I should not be deprived of self-exploration and indulgence in self-gratification,” said Dewa, 35.Part of Zimbabwe’s “censorship and entertainments control” law makes the importation or possession of sex toys illegal as they are deemed “indecent” or “obscene” and harmful to public morals. Owning sex toys can put a woman in prison.Dewa said the law is “archaic” and is challenging part of it in court on the basis that it is repressive and infringes on her freedom. She filed court papers in March suing the Zimbabwe government and seeking to have parts of the law repeal...

Party and protest mix as LGBTQ+ pride parades kick off from New York to San Francisco

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the world’s biggest celebrations of LGBTQ+ pride are set to kick off Sunday, with thousands expected to march in New York, San Francisco and other North American cities in parades that will be part party, part protest.Entertainers and activists, drag performers and transgender advocates are among the grand marshals in parades embracing a unity message this year, as new laws targeting the LGBTQ+ community take effect in several U.S. states.The parades and marches are among a range of events the roughly 400 Pride organizations across the U.S. are holding this year, with many offering programs focused specifically on the rights of transgender people. “The platform will be elevated, and we’ll see communities across the country show their unity and solidarity through these events,” said Ron deHarte, co-president for the U.S. Association of Prides.Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle are scheduled to hold their annual pride parades on Sunday. At the parad...

With record heat and drought-stricken woods, Spain’s Catalonia faces perfect wildfire conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

SOLSONA, Spain (AP) — Surveying the hills covered with near bone-dry pines stretching to the Pyrenees in the distance, Asier Larrañaga has reason to be on guard.This part of northeast Spain is, like large swaths of the Mediterranean country, braced for wildfires due to the lethal combination of a prolonged drought, record-high temperatures and increasingly dense woods unable to adapt to a fast-changing climate.Larrañaga is one of the top fire analysts for the firefighters of Catalonia charged with safeguarding the region’s homes and landscapes. While grateful that some desperately needed rain has finally fallen in recent weeks, he is ready for the worst — unless July and August buck Spain’s historic trend of being the hottest and driest months of the year.“If we have a normal summer … and conditions of low humidity combined with high temperatures, then we will see fires that quickly expand beyond our extinction capacity. And for areas where it has not rained in May and this mo...

Guatemalans to elect a new president after a tumultuous electoral season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalans will elect a new president and vice president Sunday as well as fill all congress seats and hundreds of local posts after one of the most tumultuous electoral seasons in the Central American nation’s recent history.A little more than 9 million people were registered to vote, but many Guatemalans expressed disappointment with their presidential choices after three opposition candidates were excluded by authorities. A large number of null ballots were expected, and experts said a low turnout was likely.With none of the 22 presidential candidates polling near the required 50% threshold for winning outright, a second round of voting on Aug. 20 between the top two finishers was almost certain. President Alejandro Giammattei, who could not seek re-election, made a push Friday to ease doubts about the electoral process and the widespread complaints, saying the elections are “one more sign that we live in a stable democracy, something that is consolid...

Rockies trade Mike Moustakas to Angels in exchange for right-handed prospect Connor Van Scoyoc

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

The Moose Experiment was short-lived in LoDo.Colorado traded infielder Mike Moustakas to the Angels in exchange for right-handed prospect Connor Van Scoyoc on Saturday night. The trade was announced minutes after Los Angeles blasted the Rockies 25-1 in Colorado’s worst defeat in franchise history.In 47 games this season, Moustakas hit .270 with four homers, 17 RBIs and a .795 OPS. He appeared at first, third and DH for the Rockies, who signed the veteran to a minor-league deal in spring training.In the deal for Van Scoyoc, the Rockies add another starting pitching prospect to a farm system that has a dearth of them. The 23-year-old, an 11th-round pick by the Angels in 2018 out of Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has a 4.40 ERA over four minor-league seasons.After getting bombed in the Arizona Fall League to the tune of a 7.62 ERA in seven starts, Van Scoyoc’s faring well in High-A this season, with a 2.76 ERA in 11 starts. He’s like to start his Rockies...