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Hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of victims in Prigozhin’s plane crash, Putin says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of people who died in the Aug. 23 crash of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane.Experts investigating the crash found no indication the private jet had suffered an “external impact,” he said. Prigozhin and two of his top lieutenants of the Wagner private military contractor were among the 10 people killed when the jet came down as it flew from Moscow to St. Petersburgh.There was no way to independently verify Putin’s statement.A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin foes who have been assassinated. The Kremlin called allegations he was behind the crash as an “absolute lie.”A Russian investigation was launched but no findings have been released. Moscow rejected an offer from Brazil, where the Embraer business jet was built, to join the inquiry...

Hailie Deegan gets promotion to NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series for 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hailie Deegan will make the move to NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series next season in a multi-year deal with AM Racing announced Thursday. The 22-year-old Californian is the only woman competing full-time at NASCAR’s national level and has spent the last three seasons in the Truck Series. Deegan has been in the Ford Performance development program since 2020 and Ford has entered her in a variety of different disciplines, including the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, the ARCA Series and trucks. She’s now getting her promotion to the next level and has backing from Ford, as well as new sponsors Airbox and Viva Tequila Seltzer. She said she is excited about the opportunity.“From the start, the team has been nothing but great to work with, and the vision that (team president) Wade (Moore) has for the team to accomplish align with my values perfectly,” Deegan said. “Through the support of Ford and the AM Racing team, I feel that we wil...

North Carolina WR Tez Walker eligible to play after school provides ‘new information,’ NCAA says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

The NCAA accepted Tez Walker’s transfer waiver on Thursday, making the wide receiver eligible to play for the 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels after the university fought for months to get him on the field.The NCAA released a terse statement saying its staff received new information that had not been made available by North Carolina previously, despite the school’s multiple chances to do so.“It is unfortunate that UNC failed to provide this important information previously,” NCAA President Charlie Baker and Division I Board of directors chair Jere Morehead said in a joint statement. “While we must be careful not to compromise a student-athlete’s right to privacy when it comes to sensitive issues, we want to assure the Division I membership and everyone watching how the new transfer rules are applied, that this meets the new transfer waiver standards.”The NCAA also criticized the Tar Heels’ behavior and “decision to wage a public relations campaign,” calling it “inapp...

A man was encouraged by a chatbot to kill Queen Elizabeth II in 2021. He was sentenced to 9 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A Star Wars fanatic who was encouraged by a chatbot “girlfriend” to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for taking his plot to Windsor Castle, where he scaled the walls and was caught with a loaded crossbow nearly two years ago.“I’m here to kill the queen,” Jaswant Singh Chail, wearing a metal mask inspired by the dark force in the science fiction and fantasy franchise, declared on Christmas Day in 2021 when a police officer on the grounds of the castle asked, “Can I help, mate?” As a Sikh Indian, Chail wanted to kill the monarch to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians gathered in Amritsar and killed hundreds, a judge said in reciting the facts of the crime. Chail said the assassination was his life’s mission, something he’d thought about since adolescence, but had only shared with Sarai, the artificial intelligence-generated “girlfriend” he created ...

11-year-old accused of shooting 2 at Apopka football practice sobs in court; lawyer says he was bullied

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

APOPKA, Florida (WESH) — The 11-year-old boy accused of shooting two 13-year-olds after a football practice in Apopka appeared in court on Wednesday.“He is traumatized; this is going to change his life,” the child’s defense attorney, Robert Mandell, said.Mandell asked for his release to his grandparents, saying the 11-year-old already deals with emotional issues requiring counseling and that older boys were bullying him in the rec center parking lot.“You can count more than six people running after him after they attacked him,” Mandell said.The arrest report says that just before the 11-year-old grabbed his mom’s gun from under the front seat of her car, others were “hitting and chasing the shooter, just prior to the shooting” and that he “fired a single shot at the back of victim 1.”The state said his actions that night should keep him in detention.“This is life-changing to my victim who is in the hospital, with extensive injuri...

Indianapolis police capture a cheeky monkey that escaped and went on the lam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Momo the monkey’s taste of freedom is over.The primate spurred an hourslong search on Indianapolis’ east side after he escaped Wednesday evening from his owner’s property. But the male patas monkey was finally captured safely Thursday morning, police said.Momo was captured by the brother of the monkey’s owner after police tracked the primate to the bathroom of a house under construction, said Lt. William Carter of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.“That was more than enough monkey business for us,” the department said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce Momo’s capture.Carter said police were called to the city’s east side about 6 p.m. Wednesday on a report of “an aggressive animal” that turned out to be the monkey on the run.After his capture, Momo was taken into the care of Indianapolis’ Animal Care Services, which turned him over to staff at the Indianapolis Zoo for now, said Katie Trennepohl, ...

BSO search for missing 13-year-old girl in North Lauderdale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

The Broward Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 13-year-old girl.Nasheba Goring was last seen around 5 p.m. on Saturday near the 6200 block of Southwest 17th Street. She was wearing a black shirt and black shorts.Goring stands at about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs about 130 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information on Goring’s whereabouts should contact BSO Detective Chris Blankenship at 954-321-4268 or the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-HELP (4357).

Cocaine and hand grenades: Putin reveals theory on Prigozhin plane crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

The plane crash that killed Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin could have been the result of intoxicated fighters letting off hand grenades, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Thursday.Speaking surrounded by oligarchs and apparatchiks at a meeting of the Valdai Club in the Black Sea city of Sochi, Putin insisted “there was no external influence” on the Embraer Legacy 600 jet, which came down while flying between Moscow and St. Petersburg on August 23.“The head of the Investigative Committee reported to me just the other day that hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of those killed in the plane crash,” the Russian president added.In an apparent explanation for the crash, Putin said that 5 kilograms of cocaine had been found among Prigozhin’s stacks of cash, weapons and fake documents when police raided the Wagner Group’s St. Petersburg headquarters.“Unfortunately, no tests were carried out for the presence of alcohol and drugs in ...

Scholz cites risk of ‘escalation’ as reason not to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought to justify his reluctance to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles on Thursday by naming constitutional constraints and the risk of an “escalation of the war.”However, Scholz did announce additional military support for Kyiv in the form of another “Patriot” air defense system “for the winter months” and argued that “this is what is most needed now.”The chancellor has come under increased pressure from allies like the United Kingdom — but also from within his own ruling coalition — to hand over the German long-distance, high-precision Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, especially as the U.K. and France have already supplied Kyiv with their “Storm Shadow” and “Scalp” cruise missiles.Yet Scholz continues to rule out delivery of the Taurus “for now,” a German official told POLITICO on Wednesday, confirming a report by Bild. And when asked by reporters on Thursday...

Missing 5-year-old boy reunited with family after search in Warren

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:59:25 GMT

A 5-year-old boy was reunited with his family Thursday afternoon after he went missing from a local home in Warren. Massachusetts State Police in a post on X said numerous units were assisting Warren police in the search after the child, identified as Zachary White, wandered away from a residence on Southbridge Road around 12:45 p.m.In an update around 2:45 p.m., state police said White had been found in a wooded area near his home. Police said white appeared to be okay. SKY7-HD was over the scene moments after the state police announcement and captured the moment White appeared to be brought out of the woods near Southbridge Road.