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Pope continues post-surgery recovery in hospital; faithful await his video message

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis spent another good night in the Rome hospital where he is recovering from abdominal surgery, the Vatican said Saturday.Francis, 86, underwent the operation on Wednesday to repair a hernia in the abdominal wall and to remove scar tissue that had formed following intestinal surgery in previous years. The Vatican said it would provide more details on the pope’s medical progress later in the day.Meanwhile, thousands of people were expected in St. Peter’s Square for a late-afternoon gathering at the Vatican to promote brotherhood — a quality so dear to Francis he wrote an encyclical on its importance in 2020. In that document, the pope explained his vision of a post-COVID world built on solidarity, fraternity and care for the environment.The crowd was expected to see a video message from the pope. It wasn’t immediately clear if Francis had recorded the message before his surgery or during the hospitalization.While in the 10th-floor apartment reserved for papal us...

Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano spews ash, lava in new eruption

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano has erupted, spewing ash as high as 3 kilometers (2 miles) into the air, officials said Saturday.The volcano island located in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands has erupted at least seven times since late Friday, Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center said. It was the longest eruption since the explosive collapse of the mountain caused a deadly tsunami in 2018 along the coasts of Java and Sumatra, the center said. There were no casualties reported in the latest eruption and no evacuation order was issued. The nearest settlement is 16 1/2 kilometers (10 1/2 miles) away.The center’s closed-circuit camera showed lava flares and the volcano continuously erupting until Saturday morning.The second-highest alert on a scale of four has remained in place since 2018. Authorities in May warned residents and tourists to stay 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the crater. Up till then, ...

French stabbing suspect faces charges as injured toddlers remain hospitalized

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The man suspected of stabbing four young children and two adults in a park in the French Alps is facing potential charges Saturday, after an attack that reverberated across France and beyond.The children, between 22 months and 3 years old, remain hospitalized, but the French president expressed hope after speaking to their doctors Friday that their conditions would continue to improve.The six victims came from four different countries: France, Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal.The suspect, a 31-year-old Syrian political refugee with permanent residency status in Sweden, was expected to appear before a judge Saturday, according to local officials. The regional prosecutor, Line Bonnet-Mathis, was scheduled to give a news conference later in the day.Police detained the suspect in the lakeside park in the town of Annecy after bystanders — notably, a Catholic pilgrim who repeatedly swung at the attacker with his backpack — sought to deter him.The motive behind Thursday&#...

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes surprise visit to Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for a surprise visit to show Canada’s solidarity with Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to push back against Russia more than a year after the invasion began.Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland joined him on the trip, which began with Trudeau laying a wreath at a memorial wall at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery to honour Ukrainians who have died while defending their homeland.Some media outlets, including The Canadian Press, were made aware of the trip ahead of time on the condition that it not be reported until it was made public, for security reasons.Earlier this week, a hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River ruptured, flooding a large part of the front line in southern Ukraine and worsening the humanitarian situation — including the need for drinking water — in an area that was already undergoing shelling.It remains unclear how the dam collapse happened. Kyiv has accused Russia of blowing...

Last reactor shut down at Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant as fighting, flooding continues

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency says it has put the last operating reactor at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant into a “cold shutdown” — a safety precaution amid catastrophic flooding from the collapse of a nearby dam as Russia’s war on Ukraine drags on through its 16th month.Russian forces continued pummeling the country with missiles and drones overnight, with Ukrainian officials reporting at least four deaths and damage to a military airfield.Five out of six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russian forces, are already in a state of cold shutdown, in which all control rods are inserted into the reactor core to stop the nuclear fission reaction and generation of heat and pressure.Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear agency, said in a statement late Friday that there was “no direct threat” to the Zaporizhzhia plant due to the breach of the Kakhovka dam further down the Dnieper River, which has forced thousands of peopl...

Bridge: June 10, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.You’re declarer at today’s 3NT. West leads a spade, East plays the ten and your queen wins. You count six top tricks: two spades, two hearts, a club and a diamond. You can win three more — nine in all — if a minor-suit finesse wins. Which finesse should you try first? One is just as likely to work as the other.The lead is in your hand, so say you finesse in diamonds as a matter of convenience. East takes the king and returns a spade. You take your ace, go to dummy and let the jack of clubs ride. But West wins — unlucky! — and runs his spades.THREATSince West’s spades are a threat, you should force out his possible entry early, before the spades are set up. Lead a heart to dummy at Trick Two and return the jack of clubs.If West wins and leads another spade, you win and finesse in diamonds. That finesse loses, but as you hope, East has no more spades. You will ...

Ask Amy: Stranded bicyclist has an opinion on the coldest generation

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

Dear Readers: A recent query from “Perplexed in Suburbia” asked why people under the age of 50 don’t return friendly “hellos.”I posited that this might be a regional issue but also asked readers if my generation has raised a generation of “rude-niks.”The responses flowed in, and I am sharing a representative sample.While every theory suggested is valid, I think it’s vital to understand that we never really know what others are going through, which is a great reason to be friendly, regardless of the reaction.Dear Amy: One Sunday I was riding my bike far out on a bike path, towing my toddler behind me, when I got a flat tire.I started walking us toward the car, tight to the far side of a wide path.There was a definite age graduation in the (all-male) bikers who passed us. Forty- and 50-year-olds stopped and made sure we were OK.Thirtysomethings asked if I was OK as they zoomed past.Twentysomethings were visibly and verbally annoyed at us for existing.– Home SafeDear Home Safe: When/if...

Harriette Cole: I’m afraid her fashion choice is dangerous

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have an older friend who is trying too hard to stay young. I have noticed that she wears stilettos when she goes out to events. That could be fine, except I have seen her hobbling around, nearly falling down on more than one occasion.I think she is holding on to visions of her youth, and it is unsafe.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Was committing to this Midwestern university a mistake? Advice | Harriette Cole: How could I have kept this dorm situation from escalating? Advice | Harriette Cole: Should I cut my parents off because they can’t shut up about my life? Advice | Harriette Cole: This clumsy woman wrecks my house and acts like it’s a joke Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m afraid this exciting job will make me faint frequently This woman is well into her 80s. She still looks fly, but I think she needs to rethink some of her choices so that she can remain heal...

Acusan a una mujer de Tennessee de intentar contratar a un sicario para matar a la esposa de un hombre que conoció en Internet

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

(CNN) — Una mujer de Tennessee fue acusada tras presuntamente intentar contratar a un asesino a sueldo para matar a la esposa de un hombre que conoció en un sitio de citas.Melody Sasser, de 47 años y residente en Knoxville, Tennessee, fue detenida el mes pasado por supuestamente intentar organizar el asesinato. El 7 de junio fue acusada de “uso de medios de comercio interestatal en la comisión de un asesinato por encargo”, según un comunicado de prensa de la Fiscalía del Distrito Este de Tennessee.Según los documentos judiciales, Sasser se enfadó cuando se enteró de que un hombre al que había conocido en un sitio web de citas se había prometido, y más tarde intentó asesinar a su nueva esposa utilizando un mercado en línea.Los investigadores de Alabama tuvieron conocimiento por primera vez de la presunta trama de asesinato a sueldo el 27 de abril, tras recibir información de una agencia de seguridad extranjera, según una denuncia penal presentada ante el Tribunal de...

Giants play the Cubs after Pederson’s 4-hit game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:03:39 GMT

Chicago Cubs (27-36, fourth in the NL Central) vs. San Francisco Giants (32-31, third in the NL West)San Francisco; Saturday, 7:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (0-0); Giants: TBDFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Giants -118, Cubs -101; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants play the Chicago Cubs after Joc Pederson had four hits against the Cubs on Friday.San Francisco has a 17-16 record in home games and a 32-31 record overall. Giants hitters have a collective .323 on-base percentage, the eighth-ranked percentage in the NL.Chicago has a 27-36 record overall and a 12-20 record in road games. The Cubs are ninth in the NL with 70 total home runs, averaging 1.1 per game.Saturday’s game is the second time these teams meet this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Conforto ranks fifth on the Giants with 15 extra base hits (three doubles and 12 home runs). Blake Sabol is 8-for-34 with two home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.Nico Hoerner has a .28...