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Biden to Russia on detained U.S. journalist: ‘Let him go’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after the country’s security service arrested him on espionage charges — allegations that the newspaper denies.“Let him go,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday morning when asked about his message to Russia on the arrest of Gershkovich. Russia’s Federal Security Service has accused Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, of trying to obtain classified information. It is the first time an American journalist has been detained on accusations of spying since the Cold War. The Journal has said it “vehemently denies” the charges. The Biden administration said Thursday that it was working to secure consular access to Gershkovich. Asked Friday morning whether he would expel Russian diplomats or journalists in the U.S., Biden responded: “That’s not the plan right now.” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the targeting of U.S. citizens in Russia “u...

Estonian diplomat expelled from Moscow in tit for tat move

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Russia is expelling an Estonian diplomat from Moscow in a tit for tat move following a similar action by Tallinn, Estonia’s foreign ministry said Friday.Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry had summoned Estonia’s charge d’affaires, who heads the European Union country’s mission in Moscow, to protest the expulsion this month of a Russian diplomat in Estonia and announce that an Estonian diplomat must leave Moscow.The Russian ministry warned that Moscow will also take other retaliatory action in response to the “persistently provocative anti-Russian actions by the Estonian authorities.”Estonia’s foreign ministry dismissed that charge as “ludicrous.” It said its diplomat has been given until April 5 to leave Russia, and added that the Estonian embassy in Moscow ”will continue to operate and the staff will continue their work.”On March 24, Tallinn said a Russian diplomat’s activities had violated international law, and gave the person five d...

Ottawa gives final approval for Rogers $26B purchase of Shaw

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc’s $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the final regulatory hurdle Friday, more than two years after the deal was first announced.Federal industry minister François-Philippe Champagne approved the transfer of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile’s wireless licences to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, which operates in Quebec and some border regions of Ontario., paving the way for the deal to be completed.It brings an end to a two-year process that began after Rogers announced its deal to buy Shaw in March 2021. The deadline to close the deal has been pushed back numerous times, with Friday the latest target.Champagne said Ottawa has secured 21 legally enforceable commitments from Rogers and Videotron to bolster competition in the sector and “actually drive down prices.” Rogers and Shaw had agreed in June 2022 to sell Freedom Mobile to Videotron for $2.85 billion in an attempt to ease competition concerns raised by ...

The $26-billion Rogers-Shaw deal: a timeline of key events

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

Rogers Communications Inc’s $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday, more than two years after the deal was first announced.Here’s a look at some key moments leading up to this point:March 15, 2021: Rogers announces an agreement to buy Shaw in a deal valued at $26 billion, including debt. Rogers says it will purchase all outstanding Class A and B shares of Shaw for $40.50 per share in cash, amounting to approximately $20 billion, and take on about $6 billion of debt owed by Shaw.The sale requires approval from shareholders and Rogers expects to close the deal in the first half of 2022.May 21, 2021: Shaw shareholders vote in favour of the proposed sale of the company to Rogers.Nov. 22, 2021: The CRTC opens a five-day hearing to consider the Rogers-Shaw merger.Nov. 25, 2021: BCE Inc. urges the CRTC to reject the proposed Rogers-Shaw deal, echoing concerns raised by broadcasters, producers and distributors about the market ...

Rosemont man, 21, faces felony for aggravated carjacking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

CHICAGO — A Rosemont man is facing a felony charge in connection with a carjacking incident that took place in the city Wednesday evening.According to police reports, 21-year-old Nicholas Kaehler is facing a felony of vehicular hijacking and aggravated firearm in connection to the incident. Thornton’s gas station robbed on Southwest Side Police say that Kaehler was arrested in the 5400 block of South Shore Drive Wednesday evening around 7:05 p.m. and was positively identified as the man who, less than ten minutes earlier, took a vehicle at gunpoint from a 23-year-old man in the 2300 block of North Lincoln Avenue. Kaehler was placed into custody and charged accordingly. There is no further information in the incident.

Dean's Reviews: 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

CHICAGO — Check out Dean's review for the latest adaptation of the popular video game full of magic and a twist of humor. Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

SCO Historic Acquisition Of The Hudson Bay Building, Comes Full Circle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

APD releases suspect images connected with May 2022 armed robbery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police released new photos Thursday related to a May 2022 armed robbery in downtown Austin. Detectives said the man and woman in the photos were suspects in the robbery, and APD was seeking help to identify the individuals.APD detectives said the robbery occurred at 5:51 p.m. May 23, 2022, in the 700 block of Trinity Street.According to police, the two suspects approached a man in a nearby parking garage and pointed a handgun at him while demanding his belongings.“One of the suspects chased the man on foot for several blocks in the downtown area before he could call the police,” APD said.The first suspect was described as a Black man between the ages of 18 and 35 and weighed between 140 and 180 lbs. Police said he had short black hair, as well as tattoos covering his entire back and shoulders and tattoos on his upper chest. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, pink/red underpants and white sneakers.The second suspect was described as a Black woman with a ...

These college majors are least lucrative in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

(Stacker) – College is an expensive endeavor. The average cost of attending a public school, living on campus and paying in-state tuition adds up to $102,828 on average nationwide, according to Education Data Initiative. Attending a private school or paying out-of-state tuition can double that cost. With such a high cost of earning a degree, students need ways to evaluate whether attending a university is worth the investment. One such measure is the median earnings of college graduates by field of study.On a national level, those who study nuclear engineering technologies or become technicians in that field have the highest median earnings three years after graduation at $107,804, followed by the fields of biomathematics, bioinformatics, and computational biology ($98,074), operations research ($96,452), marine transportation ($94,032), and petroleum engineering ($93,515).Yet, while it remains true that college graduates have higher lifetime earnings than noncollege gradu...

Minnesota United’s academy is growing, and players to watch are coming to forefront

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:26 GMT

Minnesota United has had one player from its youth academy contribute for the Loons in MLS. Across six-plus season, that’s it.The Loons are trying to change that.The club has committed more resources to the academy, and CEO Shari Ballard has put a bigger emphasis on building a youth development pathway to feed the first team. Amos Magee, who has been with the club since 2016, moved into a new leadership role of youth development last fall. And MNUFC2, the minor-league bridge between the academy and MLS, is off the ground in its second season.“We believe that in the future, as the club continues to evolve, (the academy is) going to be a really important pillar to what we do,” Magee told the Pioneer Press.While the Loons (2-0-2) face St. Louis City (5-0-0) in MLS play on Saturday night, two MNUFC academy teams, Under-15 and U17, will have litmus tests of their own in the Generation adidas (GA) Cup in Bradenton, Fla. Every MLS club will be represented, as well as top academies from aro...