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What we know — and don’t know — about the crash of a Russian mercenary’s plane

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

The head of a Russian mercenary group who launched a rebellion against Moscow’s military leadership in June is presumed dead after a mysterious plane crash.But much remains uncertain. Here’s what we know and don’t know. What happened to the plane?Authorities said the private jet that took off from Moscow and was headed for St. Petersburg was carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his top lieutenants from the Wagner private military company. It went down northwest of the capital — after what appeared to be an explosion — minutes after takeoff. Everyone on board was killed.Is Prigozhin dead?Presumably. There’s been no official confirmation, but Russian authorities investigating the crash found 10 bodies and will use DNA to confirm their identities. President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences about it.Is it possible he was targeted?No one knows — but many are speculating that he was. After Prigozhin staged his short-lived rebellion and Wagner forces made a dash toward Moscow, se...

Analysis: Prigozhin, dead or alive?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

In Russia’s murky world of war and espionage, nothing is as it seems.A plane dropped out of the sky on Wednesday near the village of Kuzhenkino, about 60 miles north of Moscow, at 6:11 p.m. local time. It plummeted from approximately 28,000 feet according to various flight-tracking organizations. It was missing a wing. There were seven passengers and three crew members aboard. All were killed in a fiery crash.Yevgeney Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary organization, was listed on the passenger manifest. That is where most of the certainty about that plane and its final flight ends, and the speculation begins.The Embraer Legacy 600 business jet was believed to have been shot down. Eyewitnesses said they heard two explosions. Video published by Russian state media showed a trail of smoke behind the plane as it fell from the sky.But many questions persist. Chief among them is this: Was Prigozhin really on that plane? We may never know.I have heard unsubstantiated reports that a...

Telecom companies in Haiti report severed fiber optic cables; gangs are suspected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Two telecommunication companies in Haiti said their fiber optic cables were severed this week, temporarily leaving customers without service in what were suspected acts of sabotage by criminal gangs.Digicel Haiti, one of Haiti’s biggest telecom companies, said one of its cables was cut on Thursday in the community of Martissant near the capital of Port-au-Prince, considered ground zero for warring gangs. The cable affects customers in Haiti’s western region, and it also had been severed earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Access Haiti said some its fiber optic cables were cut on Monday in what it described as an act of “sabotage.”The two companies, when contacted by The Associated Press, declined to say how many of their customers were affected. Gangs have grown increasingly powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, prompting Haiti to request the deployment of an international armed force to restore order.Source

Gun control already ruled out, Tennessee GOP lawmakers hit impasse in session after school shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican lawmakers hit an impasse Thursday just a few days into a special session sparked by a deadly school shooting in March, leaving little certainty about what they might ultimately pass, yet all but guaranteeing it won’t be any significant gun control change.After advancing a few bills this week, the Senate quickly adjourned Thursday without taking up any more proposals, promising to come back Monday. The announcement prompted booing and jeers from the crowd of gun control advocates watching in the galleries.Meanwhile, the House is continuing to churn through a full slate of other proposals, and the Senate has not promised to take any of those up.Senate Speaker Randy McNally told reporters Thursday that senators will consider any bills the House may amend but held off from promising to making a compromise with the other chamber.“We might be here for too long of a period of time,” McNally said. “We’re waiting to see what happ...

The return of Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee is a boon for US gymnastics. It’s created a logjam, too

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Joscelyn Roberson’s always had her eye on the 2024 Olympics. The math just sort of worked.The Texan is going to be 18 next summer, an age long considered an athletic sweet spot for elite female gymnasts, at least in the United States.Each of the six American women to become the Olympic all-around champion — from Mary Lou Retton in 1984 to Simone Biles in 2016 to Sunisa Lee in Tokyo in 2021 — were teenagers when gold medals were placed around their necks.So yeah, Roberson watched the end of the pandemic-delayed 2020 games and let her mind wander to what may loom for her in Paris. She knew she’d be old enough to compete. She figured a significant portion of the 2020 women’s team would move on to the next phase of their lives, ceding the spotlight to the next wave of elites.For quadrennium after quadrennium, that’s typically how things worked. Not in 2023.When Roberson walks onto the floor at the SAP Center on Friday night in the opening ...

General Motors to close information technology center near Phoenix and eliminate 940 jobs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors says it will close a large computer center near Phoenix at the end of October, eliminating 940 jobs.The information technology center in Chandler, Arizona, opened in 2014 as part of a blitz by GM to attract software designers and other employees in metro areas with high numbers of technical workers.Similar centers in Warren, Michigan, near Detroit, suburban Atlanta, and in Austin, Texas, will remain open.The Arizona center has just over 1,000 workers now, and most of the eliminated jobs deal with information technology support for consumers, dealers and the company itself. Employees at the other three IT centers will take over that work, GM said Wednesday. A small number of employees working on software for vehicles will stay in Arizona, spokesman Kevin Kelly said. Laid-off workers will be able to apply for other positions in the company, he said. Some will get severance pay and outplacement services.Last week GM also eliminated about 200 engineering po...

FBC Glance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

All Times EDTAMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCEConferenceAll GamesWLPFPAWLPFPACharlotte000000 East Carolina000000 FAU000000 Memphis000000 Navy000000 North Texas000000 Rice000000 SMU000000 South Florida000000 Temple000000 Tulane000000 Tulsa000000 UAB000000 UTSA000000 ___Saturday’s GamesNotre Dame vs. Navy at Dublin, 2:30 p.m.Thursday’s GamesArk.-Pine Bluff at Tulsa, 8 p.m.NC A&T at UAB, 8 p.m.Saturday’s GamesLouisiana Tech at SMU, NoonEast Carolina at Michigan, NoonAkron at Temple, 2 p.m.South Florida at W. Kentucky, 3:30 p.m.Rice at Texas, 3:30 p.m.California at North Texas, 4 p.m.Monmouth (NJ) at FAU, 6 p.m.SC State at Charlotte, 6 p.m.Bethune-Cookman at Memphis, 7 p.m.UTSA at Houston, 7 p.m.South Alabama...

AP Top 25 Schedule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

All Times EDTSaturday, Aug. 26No. 6 Southern Cal vs. San Jose St., 8 p.m.No. 13 Notre Dame vs. Navy at Dublin, 2:30 p.m.Thursday, Aug. 31No. 14 Utah vs. Florida, 8 p.m.Saturday, Sept. 2No. 1 Georgia vs. UT Martin, 6 p.m.No. 2 Michigan vs. East Carolina, NoonNo. 3 Ohio St. at Indiana, 3:30 p.m.No. 4 Alabama vs. Middle Tennessee, 7:30 p.m.No. 6 Southern Cal vs. Nevada, 6:30 p.m.No. 7 Penn St. vs. West Virginia, 7:30 p.m.No. 10 Washington vs. Boise St., 3:30 p.m.No. 11 Texas vs. Rice, 3:30 p.m.No. 12 Tennessee vs. Virginia at Nashville, Tenn., NoonNo. 13 Notre Dame vs. Tennessee St., 3:30 p.m.No. 15 Oregon vs. Portland St., 3 p.m.No. 16 Kansas St. vs. SE Missouri, 7 p.m.No. 17 TCU vs. Colorado, NoonNo. 19 Wisconsin vs. Buffalo, 3:30 p.m.No. 20 Oklahoma vs. Arkansas St., NoonNo. 21 North Carolina vs. South Carolina at Charlotte, N.C., 7:30 p.m.No. 22 Mississippi vs. Mercer, 2 p.m.No. 23 Texas A&M vs. New Mexico, 7 p.m.No. 24 Tulane vs. South Alabama, 8 p.m.No. 25 Iowa vs. Utah St., ...

What to expect from Friday's rainstorm in Denver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After a long streak of 90-degree days, the remnants of Tropical Storm Harold will bring big temperature drops and heavy rain to the Front Range.Friday is a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day. Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels said the biggest impacts will be heavy rainfall throughout the day and 15-20 degree temperature drops.TimingThe storm system will move into Colorado by Thursday evening. Showers and storms will be in the high country first and then move into the Denver metro and Front Range by early Friday morning.The morning commute will be a wet one. Rain will linger through the mid-morning in Denver before showers lighten up by the mid-afternoon. Denver resident dies from West Nile virus The heaviest rainfall could be towards the Fort Collins and Greeley area. According to Colorado's Most Accurate Forecast, the storm will begin to pick up by midday and produce 1 to 2.5 inches of rainfall.Pinpoint Weather: Rain outlook for the next five daysThe storms ar...

Potential threat at Civic Center Plaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:28:49 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- On Thursday afternoon, the Denver Police Department was on the scene at the Civic Center Plaza where the RTD Station was evacuated and closed due to a security issue. The threat was made to 1560 Broadway, which is the building above Civic Center Station. Denver PD says the threat is unspecified. The bus station inside the Civic Center was closed as well as the MallRide shuttle loop at the station.As of 1:40 p.m., the Civic Center resumed to normal. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox There is no other information at this time. FOX31 will update this when there is more information.