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US designates Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained by Russia

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

(CNN) — The US State Department on Monday officially designated Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained by Russia.“Today, Secretary Blinken made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement.The designation gives further backing to the assertions by the US government and the Wall Street Journal that the espionage charges against the reporter are baseless. It will empower the Biden administration to explore avenues such as a prisoner swap to try to secure Gershkovich’s release.His case will now be handled at the State Department through the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which has played a key role in the release of US citizens held hostage and wrongfully detained around the world.Both of the Americans who have been recently brought home from Russia — Trevor Reed an...

Reinstated Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones says he’ll continue to call for gun reform

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

(CNN) — After being sworn back into the Tennessee House of Representatives Monday, a lawmaker who was expelled just days ago over a gun control demonstration on the chamber floor says he’ll continue to call for gun reform.“The first thing I do when I walk into this building as a representative is to continue that call for common sense gun legislation,” Democrat Justin Jones said as he stood on the steps of the Capitol after his reinstatement Monday.Jones and another Black Democrat, Justin Pearson, were forced out of the Republican-controlled legislature last week, after a protest on the chamber floor spurred by the mass shooting last month at a Nashville Christian school that left six people dead.A third Democrat who had joined them in protest, Rep. Gloria Johnson, avoided expulsion.The Nashville Metropolitan Council voted 36-0 Monday to reappoint Jones to the House of Representatives, making him once again the representative of ...

Dolphins NFL draft options: Tight ends

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

The South Florida Sun Sentinel continues its eight-part series previewing top players in the 2023 NFL draft (April 27-29) with tight ends. The Dolphins’ first pick in the draft is No. 51, a second-round selection.The Dolphins’ primary options at tight end are Durham Smythe, Tanner Conner and newly-signed Eric Saubert. Miami watched Mike Gesicki depart to New England via free agency and traded Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams in the deal for cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Tight end is considered among the top priorities for the Dolphins in the draft.Dalton Kincaid, UtahKincaid (6 foot 4, 246 pounds) is more of a slot receiver than an old-school in-line tight end. He was a matchup nightmare in college because he’s a polished route-runner and top-notch receiver (70 receptions, 890 yards, eight touchdowns). His skills should transfer well to the NFL.Michael Mayer, Notre DameMayer (6-4, 249), a physical sort, has a balanced game, meaning you can put him in-line or in the s...

With just three tight ends on the roster, Dolphins appear likely to draft another

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

The Miami Dolphins ended their marriage with Mike Gesicki but extended their connection to Durham Smythe after five seasons with each tight end that spanned three different head coaching regimes.What made Smythe fit coach Mike McDaniel’s offense more than Gesicki? To put it simply, he’s a better blocker.Smythe, who started 15 regular-season games plus last January’s wild-card round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, remains. Along with him, Eric Saubert was brought in as an affordable free-agent acquisition, and Tanner Conner returns for a second season after making the team as an undrafted rookie in 2022.Meanwhile, along with Gesicki’s departure, fellow tight end Hunter Long was traded to the Los Angeles Rams as part of the trade for elite cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Cethan Carter was released after spending most of the past season on injured reserve.With three tight ends on the roster this April, the position is one the Dolphins appear likely to address in the...

Ravens draft preview: In deep cornerback class, there’s talent across the board

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

The calendar has officially flipped to April, which can only mean one thing: It’s time to get ready for the NFL draft.The first round begins April 27 in Kansas City, but until then, the Ravens have plenty to figure out. Most notably, their contract stalemate with star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has requested a trade while under the $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag. If he gets his wish, the Ravens’ draft could look a lot different.Baltimore owns five picks: Nos. 22 (first round), 86 (third round), 124 (fourth round), 157 (fifth round) and 199 (sixth round). A blockbuster deal for Jackson would significantly increase the size of that haul, but the Ravens are guaranteed at least one additional first-rounder this year if Jackson signs an offer with another team before the draft and Baltimore declines to match it.As we get closer to the draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine which players at each position of need (quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, defensive l...

Column: Patrick Beverley has had a chip on his shoulder since his Marshall days. Can it help the Chicago Bulls survive?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

No one is quite sure which Chicago Bulls team will show up Wednesday night in Toronto for their play-in game with the Raptors.They’ve played much better since the arrival of Patrick Beverley in late February but not good enough to shrug off their 40-42 record or their tendency to put themselves into an immediate hole in the first quarter.“You can’t really predicate basketball off misses and makes,” Beverley said Monday after practice at the Advocate Center. “You can’t say a guy is not ready for it because he missed shots. It’s basketball. It’s a make-or-miss league. You really can’t control that.“What you can control is your effort on the defensive end. From that standpoint, I think everybody is ready and locked in.”The Bulls have no choice but to be locked in, knowing their season would come to an abrupt end with a loss in Toronto and questions about which players should return in 2023-24 would begin.Executive vice p...

Will your next car be electric? New poll has mixed results

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans aren’t yet sold on going electric for their next cars, a new poll shows, with high prices and too few charging stations the main deterrents. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults are at least somewhat likely to switch, but the history-making shift from the country’s century-plus love affair with gas-driven vehicles still has a ways to travel.The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago shows that the Biden administration’s plans to dramatically raise U.S. EV sales could run into resistance from consumers. Only 8% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases an electric vehicle, and just 8% say their household has a plug-in hybrid vehicle.Even with tax credits of up to $7,500 to buy a new EV, it could be difficult to persuade drivers to ditch their gas-burning cars and trucks for vehicles without tailpipe emissions. Auto companies are investing billion...

Court in Pakistan-held Kashmir removes Imran Khan’s protégé

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — In a blow to Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a top court in the Pakistani-administered section of Kashmir on Tuesday removed his protégé and head of the local government from office. The territory’s premier, Tanveer Ilyas, was charged and convicted of insulting judges in public remarks, officials and local media reported. The development appeared to be a spillover of the political crisis roiling Pakistan, where the 70-year-old Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote last April, has campaigned against his successor, Shahbaz Sharif. Khan claims his ouster was illegal and has been demanding early elections — which Sharif has rejected. Ilyas, an outspoken business tycoon known for outburst against judges and bureaucrats, has also lashed out at Sharif, when the prime minister visited Kashmir last December.Khan has backed Ilyas in the Pakistani-ruled part of Kashmir, where Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf opposition party has a simple ma...

Dana Nemcova, leading Czech anti-communist, dies at 89

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Dana Nemcova, one of the leading Czech dissidents and human rights activists from the communist era, has died. She was 89.She died on Tuesday morning, according to the Olga Havel Foundation, a charitable organization with which she was associated for many years. No details about the cause of death were given.Born on Jan 14, 1934, Nemcova was one of the first people to sign Charter 77, a human rights manifesto inspired by Vaclav Havel, a fellow dissident who later became president. Nemcova herself became one of the charter’s spokespersons.The document was a rare expression of resistance to the hard-line communist regime that took over after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia which crushed the liberal reform period known as the Prague Spring.The charter united opponents of the regime, including religious activists, ex-communists expelled from the party after the 1968 invasion, and also rock musicians, intellectuals and pre-World War II democrats.Its sig...

Risk firm: Pirates board Chinese-run ship in Gulf of Guinea

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:53:32 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Pirates boarded a Chinese-run oil tanker in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, a risk management company operating in the area told The Associated Press on Tuesday. It was the second such incident in a little more than two weeks. Pirates got on the ship, Success 9, approximately 300 nautical miles southwest of Ivory Coast’s capital on Monday, according to Martin Kelly, a senior analyst with the London-based EOS Risk Group.It’s unclear how many crew members were on the tanker or how many pirates boarded the vessel. “Whilst the details remain obscure, there are two possible plausible explanations,” Kelly said. “The first is that this incident could be a (kidnap and ransom) incident. … The second is that this could be cargo theft.”The Gulf of Guinea is the world’s most dangerous spot for attacks on ships. In June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution strongly condemning piracy, armed robbery and hostage-taking in ...