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Pope Francis’ trip to Mongolia in September will be closely watched by Russia and China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis travels to the periphery of Roman Catholicism later this summer when he becomes the first pontiff to visit Mongolia, a Central Asian nation squeezed between Russia and China with just 1,500 Catholics.The visit is steeped in geopolitical significance as it will be closely watched by both Russia, which controlled Mongolia during the Soviet era, and China, which is seeking to exert its influence through the Belt and Road initiative.No pope has visited either of those nations, and the pope is likely to choose to fly over China on his way, rather than Russia, which is waging war in Ukraine. Following papal custom, Francis can be expected to send a brief telegram to Chinese authorities in recognition, from which a word or two of meaning could be parsed, said Giorgio Bernadelli, editorial coordinator of the missionary news organization Asia News.Francis has been trying to toe a diplomatic line with both countries, sending an envoy to Russia in a bid for a p...

Dog's body dumped on Boulder road, suspect wanted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police in Boulder are investigating an animal cruelty case after the body of a dog was found on the side of a private road.On June 23, a person found the body of a dog on the side of a road off Coal Creek Canyon Drive in unincorporated Boulder County and reported it to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office. Due to the condition of the dog, deputies are investigating it as an animal cruelty case. According to BCSO, the dog had sustained multiple injuries and was dumped sometime between June 13 and June 15. Teen boy killed, another teen wounded in Aurora shooting The dog was a young, neutered male German shepherd.BCSO said that a game camera on the property caught a suspicious vehicle in the area. Deputies believe it may have been driven by the suspect. The vehicle was a rented Home Depot van that had damage on the passenger side and rear tire.Anyone who may have information on this case, or who can identify the suspect, suspect vehicle or dog is asked to contact the B...

Colorado heptathlete Anna Hall has world record in sight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

Heptathlete Anna Hall isn't one to hold back her emotions. Those grimaces or dances reveal her precise thoughts about a particular jump, throw or run.She’s an open book, too — with her journal. The reigning world bronze medalist encourages her coaches to scan her entries for insight into her workout mindset (the doodles happen to be a nice bonus). Nuggets fans, it's already time to watch more basketball: When and where to watch Summer League The fun-loving, candy-chomping 22-year-old from Colorado who labels herself a “big goofball” is emerging as the next big name in track and field. She might even be the one to break Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s nearly 35-year-old world heptathlon record.“What I see are all the tools to rewrite the record books,” Joyner-Kersee said in a phone interview on the eve of the U.S. championships that start Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. “You’re seeing greatness in motion without even knowing the greatness is before you, because of her natural a...

Police arrest woman caught on camera stealing puppy from Doral pet store

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

A 31-year-old woman who was caught on camera stealing a pricey puppy from a pet store in Doral was arrested. Elizabeth Valdes, of Doral, was apprehended and taken into custody on Tuesday for the alleged theft of a teacup Yorkie puppy valued at $5,000 from World Famous Puppies located at 7870 NW 52nd Street. Employees with World Famous Puppies on Wednesday afternoon confirmed the dog was recovered and returned.According to the arrest report, City of Doral Uniformed Patrol responded to the pet store on June 30, 2023, around 12:00 p.m. after receiving a report of a stolen puppy. Staff told police that a female suspect, later identified as Elizabeth Valdes, entered the store, took a puppy from a kennel, walked past the sales register without paying, and exited the store to the parking lot.One employee said Valdes had been inside the store since approximately 10:00 a.m., engaging in erratic behavior such as dancing in the lobby, wandering in and out of the store, and entering the area wh...

DeSantis defends anti-LGBTQ video shared by his campaign and calls it a ‘fair game’ attack on Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending an anti-LGBTQ video his campaign shared online that attacks rival Donald Trump for his past support of gay and transgender people, despite some of his fellow Republicans calling it homophobic.DeSantis, in an interview Wednesday on the podcast of conservative commentator Tomi Lahren, did not address accusations that the video was homophobic but said the intent was “identifying Donald Trump as really being a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream where he was having men compete against women in his beauty pageants.”“I think that’s totally fair game because he’s now campaigning, saying the opposite, that he doesn’t think that you should have men competing in women’s things like athletics,” DeSantis said.His presidential campaign shared the video on Twitter last week, on the last day of June’s LGBTQ+ Pride Month, saying, “To wrap up ‘Pride Month,’ let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republica...

OceanGate suspends all exploration and commercial operations following Titan submersible implosion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

(CNN) — OceanGate – the owner of the Titan submersible that imploded during a voyage to the Titanic, killing five – says it has suspended its exploration and commercial operations, according to its website.“OceanGate has suspended all exploration and commercial operations,” the top of the company’s official website says.The website still features highlight reels of equipment and expeditions, and descriptions of expedition offerings, including to tour the Titanic wreckage.CNN is reaching out to OceanGate for more information.Its CEO, Stockton Rush, was among those who perished when the Titan submersible imploded.

EU border agency chief does not rule out suspending operations in Greece

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

BRUSSELS — The EU border agency’s chief left the door open to ending its operations in Greece during a parliamentary hearing on Thursday on a migrant shipwreck off the Greek coast in June which resulted in over 500 deaths.The incident raised questions about Greece’s human rights record, with criticism that the local coast guard did not do enough to save those onboard the ship.“We’re in the stage of asking for more information on a total of three incidents — two earlier and now this one — and define if they have any consequences on the cooperation with Greece,” executive director of Frontex Hans Leijtens told a packed session of EU lawmakers in Brussels.Tensions in the room flared when two right-wing MEPs suggested that immigration was responsible for the violent protests which erupted in France last week.“This is one of the results of uncontrolled migration, and let’s be honest migrants in France have a much better life than in Africa,” said Slovak non-aligned MEP Milan Uhrík, promp...

Keir Starmer’s got 5 missions. Can the UK Labour boss accomplish them?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

MEDWAY, England — Keir Starmer is a man on five missions. But the Labour leader’s big plan for government may soon have to contend with reality.Starmer launched the last in a five-strong list of “missions” for the U.K. on Thursday if — as current polls suggest — he becomes the country’s next prime minister at the upcoming general election.Speaking at a college in Gillingham, Kent, the opposition leader argued only his party could break the “class ceiling,” and vowed to put education at the heart of his governing plan.But while the promise of five “missions” might make for a snappy headline, converting them into actually policy could prove more tricky.Starmer’s not the first leader to give the pledges tactic a try. Labour’s last election-winner, Tony Blair, rode to power with five key promises — printed on physical cards — in 1997. Starmer’s Tory opponent Rishi Sunak is currently working his way through five key priorities, with limite...

Philadelphia mass shooting was ‘obviously planned,’ DA says. But investigation could still take months

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

(CNN) — The man facing murder charges in a mass shooting that left five people dead in a Philadelphia neighborhood Monday “obviously planned” the rampage, but the investigation could take months as authorities dig for more details, a district attorney said.Authorities believe Kimbrady Carriker, 40, acted alone when he carried out the shootings, but investigators are still combing through his social media history and looking into possible mental health issues, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told CNN on Wednesday. He is being held without bail and has not entered a plea.“I can certainly tell you that there are indications of mental health issues. There are indications of irrational behavior. There are indications of irrational statements and irrational acts,” Krasner told CNN.Krasner’s comments came as new details emerged Wednesday about a possible motive for the shootings in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood. Five people, including a 15-year-ol...

Will the doctor see you now? The health system’s changing landscape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:20 GMT

Julie Appleby, KFF Health News, Michelle Andrews | (TNS) KFF Health NewsLucia Agajanian, a 25-year-old freelance film producer in Chicago, doesn’t have a specific primary care doctor, preferring the convenience of visiting a local clinic for flu shots or going online for video visits. “You say what you need, and there’s a 15-minute wait time,” she said, explaining how her appointments usually work. “I really liked that.”But Olga Lucia Torres, a 52-year-old who teaches narrative medicine classes at Columbia University in New York, misses her longtime primary care doctor, who kept tabs for two decades on her conditions, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, and made sure she was up to date on vaccines and screening tests. Two years ago, Torres received a letter informing her that he was changing to a “boutique practice” and would charge a retainer fee of $10,000 for her to stay on as a patient.“I felt really sad and abandoned,” Torres said. “This was my PCP. I was like, ‘Dude, I t...