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EXCLUSIVE: Whelan fears ‘being left behind a third time’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

On the fifth anniversary of his arrest in Moscow, American prisoner Paul Whelan is worried the U.S. government will overlook him again.During one of several phone calls to this reporter over the Christmas holiday, he said, “at this point, the five year mark, I’m extremely concerned about being left behind a third time.”Admitting that he’s under physical stress, deeply concerned about his safety and worried he’ll never see his aging parents again, Whelan said the U.S. is not following the format that would trigger his release.“The Russians are adamant that they only want to do one for one exchanges. And as you know, there are two of us here, Evan (Gershkovich) and myself. I’m concerned that the Biden administration will work out a deal for Evan to be returned home, leaving me here a third time.”Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent, was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on espionage charges in March.Whelan said if Gerskovich is released ...

Kris Letang becomes 1st NHL defenseman with 5 points in a period, Penguins bury Islanders 7-0

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Kris Letang became the first defenseman in NHL history to record five points in a period with five assists in the second for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who scored six times in the period and beat the New York Islanders 7-0 on Wednesday night.Letang finished with six assists and was the first player at any position in Penguins history with five in a period.“That’s an unbelievable feat when you think about it,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “Especially in today’s game when the parity in the league is so high. Against a good team like the Islanders, it’s not an easy thing to do. Couldn’t be happier for him, obviously he’s an elite player for us.”Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin each scored twice in the second period for the Penguins, and Tristan Jarry finished with 21 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.Rickard Rakell, Radim Zohorna and Valtteri Puustinen also scored for Pittsburgh. Marcus Pettersson picked up four assists.Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves as the Is...

¿Llevar una dieta baja en carbohidratos a base de carne? Es posible que aumente de peso más adelante, según un estudio

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

(CNN) —  Si desea que su dieta baja en carbohidratos le ayude a perder peso y no recuperarlo, considere la calidad de los alimentos que consume, según una nueva investigación que comparó cinco tipos de dietas bajas en carbohidratos.El estudio encontró que las personas que consumían una dieta poco saludable y baja en carbohidratos a base de carne ganaron peso con el tiempo en comparación con aquellos que siguieron una versión más saludable a base de plantas.“Cuando las personas consumen dietas que enfatizan los carbohidratos de cereales integrales, aceites vegetales no tropicales saludables y proteínas vegetales, tienen más posibilidades de mantener a raya el exceso de peso”, dijo el autor principal del estudio, el Dr. Qi Sun, profesor asociado de nutrición y epidemiología en la Escuela de Salud Pública TH Chan de Harvard en Boston.El estudio encontró que las personas que consumían una dieta poco saludable y baja en carbohidratos a base de carne ganaron peso con el ...

In Moscow to meet Putin and Lavrov, India’s foreign minister praises growing trade

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — India’s foreign minister met Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said relations between the countries are progressing even amid turbulent times.Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s meeting was part of a five-day visit. At the start of the meeting, Putin said he would inform the Indian diplomat about the fighting in Ukraine, on which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a neutral stance.“I know about his desire to do everything to resolve this problem through peaceful means,” Putin said.India is increasingly important to Russia as a market for oil exports, the backbone of its economy, as Western sanctions curtail oil shipments.“It is very important to make our trade interaction more sustainable. We need to think about how to achieve this,” Jaishankar said, according to a Kremlin transcript of the meeting’s opening.Jaishankar also met with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who said they discussed “the prospects for military-technica...

‘It was a weird year’: 2023 on the Hill

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

Congress faces major challenges ahead in 2024, after a tumultuous year that included the ouster of the House Speaker, a self-imposed shutdown when Republicans were unable to choose a new leader and one of the most fallow legislative stretches in its history.The 118th Congress is widely considered one of the least productive ever.While the House conducted nearly 750 votes, only 27 became law.Creating more laws is of course not the only measure for assessing the productivity of Congress, but even in recent years of divided government, lawmakers have passed more than 70 bills into law.“It was a weird year,” said U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA., summing up a view held by many lawmakers.The critical view is held by Republicans as well as Democrats.“I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing — one — that I can go campaign on and say we did. One!” thundered Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX., as he vented his frustration on the House floor last month.House Speaker election f...

Leason gets his first 2-goal game in NHL, Drysdale ends goal drought in Ducks’ 5-2 win over Knights

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Brett Leason scored twice for the first time in his NHL career, Jamie Drysdale put in his first goal in nearly 21 months and the Anaheim Ducks used a four-goal first period to propel them to a 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night.“I thought we started strong. As a line and individual we were playing fast, shooting pucks and getting lots of chances,” said Leason, who has six goals and 11 points this season.Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry also had goals for Anaheim, which found the back of the net four times in the opening 12 minutes. It was the 16th time in franchise history they have scored at least four times in the first period and the first since March 16, 2021, against Colorado. Mason McTavish had three assists, Cam Fowler had two and John Gibson stopped 30 shots.Alec Martinez and Mark Stone scored for the Golden Knights, who have dropped four straight. Logan Thompson made 21 saves.“I just don’t think we were ready to play, myself incl...

USC’s Moss throws Holiday Bowl-record 6 TD passes in 42-28 victory over No. 16 Louisville

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Southern California Trojans bid farewell to the Pac-12 Conference with a six-pack to go and an eggnog bath to toast an otherwise unremarkable season.With Caleb Williams watching from the sideline, Miller Moss threw a Holiday Bowl-record six touchdown passes in his first college start and USC ended a frustrating season by beating No. 16 Louisville 42-28 Wednesday night. Afterward, coach Lincoln Riley had a tub of eggnog poured over his head.Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner who opted out of the game, watched from the sideline with his No. 13 jersey hanging around his neck. He ran onto the field and jumped on Moss in celebration after the redshirt sophomore twice took a knee in victory formation at Petco Park.While Williams and several other Trojans sat out, others, like redshirt senior receiver Tahj Washington, who caught two touchdown passes, showed up to play.“From a leadership standpoint, we had a really strong senior group that wanted to come back and ...

Moscow warns Finland will ‘suffer,’ in latest round of saber rattling

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

Finland would be “the first to suffer” if war broke out between NATO and Russia, one of Moscow’s top diplomats said.“Since they are our neighbors, if, God forbid there is some escalation, they will be the first to suffer,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, told Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti in an interview published Thursday.Finland joined NATO in April this year, becoming the alliance’s 31st member, in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, the longest of any NATO member.Ulyanov also hit out at Finland’s decision to sign a Defense Cooperation Agreement with the U.S. in December, giving American troops access to Finnish bases and allowing the U.S. to store military equipment on Finnish soil.“This is already a serious challenge,” he said.Finland this month temporarily closed its land border with Rus...

Celebrated South Africa playwright Mbongeni Ngema dies in car crash at 68

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema has died in a car crash at the age of 68, his family said.“Ngema was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral he was attending in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape this evening,” his family said in a statement Wednesday. The celebrated playwright was a passenger in the vehicle involved in the crash. He was best known for creating the hit Sarafina! which first premiered on Broadway in 1988. It was adapted into a musical drama starring Whoopi Goldberg in 1992 which became an international success and was nominated for the Tony and Grammy Awards. Sarafina! told the story of a young student and how she inspired her peers to fight against racial segregation in apartheid South Africa after her teacher was thrown in jail. Apartheid was an institutionalized system that discriminated against non-whites and ensured South Africa was ruled by the minority white population from 1948 ti...

Precipitation moves in from the east; periods of chilly rain and breezy Thursday with possible wet snow in N/NW Suburbs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:48:06 GMT

Easterly upper steering winds on north side of system will sweep moisture westward into Illinois, including the Chicago areaRain should be overspreading the metro area in the 5 to 8 a.m. Thursday. The westward-moving precipitation moves into a colder atmosphere—so it is likely to occur as wet snow over west and northwest sections of the metro area Thursday morning. There may even be some wet snowflakes mixed over sections of the city—but with the best chances of some wet snow from near the Fox Valley and to the west.Southeast-bound weather system could bring some periods of light snow New Years Eve Sunday or Sunday nightWHAT A CHANGE IN THE DECEMBER TEMP TREND THIS YEAR VERSUS LAST YEAR!DECEMBER 2023's opening 27 days will be running 8.5 degrees warmer by the close of today (Wednesday) compared to the same period a year ago. What a difference! We've logged ONLY 2 BELOW NORMAL DAYS in Chicago during the Dec. 1-27 time frame this year versus 14 BELOW NORMAL DAYS in the same period a ...