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Pro-war Putin critic Igor Girkin arrested

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

Igor Girkin, a former soldier-spy and critic of President Vladimir Putin’s conduct of the war against Ukraine, was arrested on Friday after the latest in a series of diatribes against the Kremlin chief appeared to go too far.Girkin, who goes by the nom de guerre Strelkov (“Shooter”), gained notoriety in 2014 when he led a band of irregular troops into Eastern Ukraine and briefly became the breakaway region’s defense minister. He was convicted in absentia of murder by a Dutch court over his role in shooting down a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet, a tragedy that cost 298 lives.The 52-year-old has since reinvented himself as an ultra-nationalist military commentator and has delivered a series of withering critiques of Russia’s war aims and strategy in Ukraine.In a statement posted to Girkin’s Telegram channel, his wife Miroslava Reginskaya said that representatives of Russia’s Investigative Committee — an anti-corruption and crime-fighting agency — had taken ...

Boston police arrest North End restaurant owner who had been on the run following shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

The owner of a North End restaurant police had considered “armed and dangerous” was taken into custody after going on the run for nearly a week.The Boston Police Department announced that officers assigned to its Fugitive Unit arrested Patrick Mendoza on Friday morning. The owner of Monica’s Trattoria had been wanted in connection with a brazen shooting in the North End that happened the night of Wednesday, July 12.The shooting had left a bullet hole in the window of Modern Pastry on Hanover Street and led to a warrant being issued for Mendoza’s arrest on charges that included:Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon (Gun)Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous WeaponAssault and BatteryVideo from that night obtained by 7NEWS showed a man police say was Mendoza as he rode up on a bicycle and opened fire on a man. The victim could be seen running away after taking cover behind a nearby vehicle. No injuries were reported.Mendoza’s arrest came after the c...

Wanted North End restaurant manager in police custody

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

Patrick Mendoza is in custody, according to police.Mendoza, 54, was wanted by police for allegedly shooting at a man outside Modern Pastry last Wednesday. He faces an array of charges, including assault to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and multiple firearms offenses, according to the Boston Police Department.Mendoza was apprehended in Falmouth down on Cape Cod, according to a source with knowledge of the case.Police said in a statement, “On Friday, July 21, 2023, Officers assigned to the Boston Police Fugitive Unit arrested Patrick Mendoza on a warrant issued out of Boston Municipal Court for: Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon (Gun), Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, and Assault and Battery, in relation to an incident that occurred on July 12, 2023 at 257 Hanover St., Boston.”He is expected to be arraigned in court today.A police report said a suspect identified as Mendoza fired “three shots” at a man and then fled on “...

Where to eat and drink near Del Mar Racetrack this season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Time to bust out your finest attire and biggest hats because horse racing season is set to begin in Del Mar Racetrack this week.Opening Day -- set for Friday, July 21 -- will feature 10 races, the Opening Day Hats Contest and "all the fanfare that makes it an unofficial San Diego holiday," said the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Opening Day at Del Mar Racetrack: What to know before you go Attendees can expect world-class racing on top of luxury food and drinks. From steak dinners to picnic lunches, there are options for everyone to create a memorable experience during the 2023 racing season.Here are some go-to restaurants and bars near the Del Mar Racetrack for pre-race libations, or post-race dinner celebrations after a big win.One PaseoThis urban shopping and dining hub is just a short drive from the excitement at the Del Mar Racetrack. This area is a great pre-race spot to grab a drink and a bite, or even grab last minute attire at one of many boutiques for the occasio...

Fire damages building that houses office of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — A fire has caused heavy damage Friday morning to a building that houses the Bowling Green office of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as well as a local law firm.Fire crews were called to the building on State Steet around 2 a.m. Friday and found a heavy blaze that required additional units, Bowling Green Fire Department spokeswoman Katie McKee told the Daily News.Six units worked for hours to extinguish the flames, with firefighters manning aerials to get at the blaze from above. The fire caused a roof collapse and a plume of heavy gray smoke rose from the top of the building at sunrise, the newspaper reported.No injuries were reported, McKee said. The cause and origin of the fire were under investigation.Paul said in a statement that he was thankful for first responders who arrived quickly to extinguish the blaze. He said his office is working with authorities to assess damages and determine a cause and will continue to operate for constituents.“We have a very well...

UN expert decries the practice of taking boys from their mothers at detention camps in Syria

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A U.N.-backed human rights advocate says hundreds of boys — some as young as 11 — held in detention camps run by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria have been wrongly separated from their mothers on the “unproven” belief that they pose a security risk.Fionnuala Ni Aolain, an independent U.N. rapporteur on the protection of rights while countering terrorism, aired concerns Friday about lingering “mass arbitrary detention” in the infamous al-Hol camp and others like it that she saw during her trip to the region this week — billed as the first visit of its kind by an independent human rights expert.For years, human rights advocates have been calling on foreign countries — in Europe, north Africa and beyond — to repatriate their nationals from the camps housing family members of Islamic State group militants, especially children who were not involved in the atrocities carried out by the extremist group.The group rose to power amid an uprising-turned...

New report points to homicide rate declines in U.S. cities after pandemic-era spike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homicides are declining in a cross-section of American cities, though their numbers remain higher than before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, according to a new report analyzing data from 30 U.S. cities. Homicides on average dropped 9.4% during the first half of 2023 as compared to the same period last year, the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice found in a report released this week.The numbers remained about 24% higher than they were in 2019, and motor vehicle thefts were up sharply in the analyzed cities. “We’re seeing a continuing decline in homicides, but most cities are not back to levels that prevailed prior to the pandemic,” said Richard Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and co-author of the report.The report is based on crime data posed online by police departments in 37 cities of varying sizes around the country. Several of the nation’s largest cities, including New York, Los A...

British balloonists’ transatlantic quest thwarted as troubles force landing in N.L.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Two ballooning Brits have abandoned their quest to fly across the Atlantic after technical issues forced them to land in Newfoundland this morning.U.K. residents Mike and Deborah Scholes lifted off from a New Brunswick field on Thursday morning in a Rozier hot air balloon, bound for the other side of the ocean.They hoped to cross the Atlantic in about six days, with the balloon’s trajectory and landing spot determined by the direction and speed of the winds.But their Facebook page says they had to land unexpectedly in central Newfoundland after just 19 hours of flight because of an unspecified technical problem.The post says it would have been unwise for them to continue their journey but adds that the “setback” has not dampened the couple’s adventurous spirits.If their mission had been successful, Deborah Scholes would have been the first woman to captain a balloon across the Atlantic and her husband the first registered blind person...

Alabama GOP shows little willingness to follow court orders for 2nd Black congressional district

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers faced a deadline Friday to draw a new congressional district that would give a larger voice to Black voters, but they have shown little willingness to create a district with as many Black voters as courts have suggested.The Republican-controlled state House and Senate planned to meet Friday and could reach an agreement on increasing the share of Black voters in southeast Alabama’s 2nd District. Experts say the two current GOP proposals fall short of what the Supreme Court said last month is required by law.Neither plan comes close to creating a second Black majority district in a state that is 27% Black. Both plans preserve the current Black majority of the 7th District.A leading GOP lawmaker said the Senate proposal places heavier emphasis on a district’s shape and keeping communities together than on racial composition.The debate in Alabama is being closely watched across the nation, and could be mirrored in fights in Louisiana, Geor...

Man with nearly 2,000 bullets and a grenade attacked police in ‘absolute ambush.’ What was his plan?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:24 GMT

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — What started as a routine collision on a busy Fargo street ended in bloody mayhem and tragedy, after a local man armed with 1,800 rounds of ammunition, guns and a grenade opened fire, killing one of the police officers who responded to the crash and wounding two others, as well as a woman who was involved in it.Last week’s attack by 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat has left investigators wondering what further carnage he might have been planning.Zach Robinson, the only officer in the melee who was not wounded, shot and killed Barakat as bystanders crouched nearby. Authorities are expected to release further details of the attack at a news conference later Friday.Barakat, who briefly trained as an emergency responder at a nearby community college, had no criminal record or apparent social media presence.On the day of the attack, July 14, Barakat brought a suitcase stuffed with weapons and ammunition from his apartment to his car and set off on a drive, state Attor...