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Thomas Friedman: Putin is the world’s most dangerous fool

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

I have not written much about the war in Ukraine lately because so little has changed strategically since the first few months of this conflict, when three overarching facts pretty much drove everything — and still do.Fact No. 1: As I wrote at the outset, when a war of this magnitude begins, the key question you ask yourself as a foreign affairs columnist is very simple: Where should I be? Should I be in Kyiv, the Donbas, Crimea, Moscow, Warsaw, Berlin, Brussels or Washington?And from the start of this war, there has been only one place to be to understand its timing and direction — and that’s in Vladimir Putin’s head. Unfortunately, Putin doesn’t grant visas to his brain.That’s a real problem because this war emerged entirely from there — with, we now know, almost no input from his cabinet or military commanders — and certainly with no mass urging from the Russian people. So Russia will be stopped in Ukraine, whether it’s winning or losing, only when Putin decides to stop.Which lea...

Other voices: Leaders of Proud Boys join ranks of seditious conspiracists

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

Former Proud Boys headman Enrique Tarrio and three of his lieutenants have now joined the small and ignoble club of Jan. 6 defendants convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Good.The group’s lawyers attempted to deflect blame to Donald Trump, with attorney Nayib Hassan telling jurors that it was “Donald Trump’s words. It was his motivation,” and that prosecutors “want to use Enrique Tarrio as a scapegoat for Donald J. Trump and those in power.” Picking who is responsible here is a false choice: they both are.Trump made his antidemocratic entreaties to all his followers, but few decided to actually sack the Capitol, and fewer still did so as part of organized paramilitary groups with specific plans to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. That dubious distinction belongs predominantly to the Oath Keepers, whose chief Stewart Rhodes and another top official were found guilty of seditious conspi...

Letters: Protected bike lane on Summit Avenue? It’s not the end of the world

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

All of a sudden we’re LudditesI love St. Paul — it has been my home my entire life. I don’t just live here, I also had the honor to serve as a City Council member, Council President and Public Works director for a combination of 22 years.The reasons for my loyalty to our city have as much to do with the people as the amenities we have here. We are a progressive city — our policies and politics make that clear, and I love that about us as well. We are a city that routinely passes school district referenda and elects progressive leaders by large margins, but start talking about bike lanes and all of a sudden we are Luddites.You would think the proposed Summit Avenue reconstruction and safer bike lanes called for the elimination gas-powered vehicles! Summit Avenue desperately needs to be reconstructed — I don’t think there is any disagreement about that, and we don’t reconstruct roads simply to improve their surface, but to reconstruct and improve the infrastruc...

Shortage of chemo drugs could disrupt treatment, for some

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

CAPAITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Some local cancer patients are in danger of delaying treatment because of a shortage of chemotherapy drugs. NEWS10 shows you what could be behind the shortage, and what patients can do to make sure they don't skip any treatments.Susan Dyson, who is battling a reoccurring cervical cancer and has received the same chemo treatment for months, learned yesterday that she needs to look elsewhere. Hochul signs Executive Order ahead of Title 42 expiration “I was kinda in shock. I just kept asking how it could be possible that this happened, and you know I just couldn't believe it,” said Dyson.The FDA recently added four cancer drugs to their list of drugs in short supply, including Dyson’s.“It worked the last time. Unfortunately, this is the type of cancer that just keeps coming back so I'd like to stay with the same regiment,” said Dyson.New York Assemblymember and local pharmacist John McDonald says the government is cracking down on drug manufacturers n...

Police searching for missing Minnesota woman possibly in St. Louis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Police are asking for the public's help with finding a missing Minnesota woman who is possibly around the St. Louis area. Nakeita Campbell, 21, was last seen in Downtown St. Louis around two weeks ago on April 28. Her family members contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday to report her disappearance. Circuit Attorney refuses charges to woman arrested in Cherokee St. shooting SLMPD days that Campbell left her home in Maplewood, Minnesota on April 1, and she likely came to St. Louis to stay with a man she met online. Police say Campbell has a disability that makes her vulnerable. She also does not have a phone. When she was last seen, police said Campbell was wearing a pink tank top, blue jeans, a pink multi-colored jacket, with her hair in a ponytail “puff ball.” If you have any information on her whereabouts, contact SLMPD at 314-444-5738.

Dozens of police, first responders take part in active threat training at Busch Stadium

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS – After a weekend of gun violence in downtown St. Louis, the Cardinals are working with several first responder agencies to ensure fan safety.The team hosted an active threat training session Wednesday at Busch Stadium.Between 80 and 100 officers from different police agencies reported to Busch Stadium to prepare for different emergencies they hope to never encounter.The drill included simulated emergencies inside the ballpark. Police, fire, and EMS practiced tactical moves, hostage negotiations, and for a mass casualty event.Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX flew over the area as officers were getting ready.03Eleven Tactical organized the exercises. Sgt. Brian Rossomanno of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office owns the company."It was kind of a dynamic event that we really wanted to present to the first responders to see, kind of just evaluate what their response looks like,” he said. “What protocols do they have in place for something like this.”Rossomanno said the goal...

Police: Maplewood officer found with more than 700 images of child porn

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. – A Maplewood police officer has been suspended with pay and is behind bars amid a child pornography investigation.The suspect, Cory Younger, is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond at the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton.Prosecutors charged Younger, 45, with possession of child porn. Court documents allege Younger had more than 700 images of the illicit material on his electronic devices.St. Louis County Prosecuting Wesley Bell said authorities received a tip from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding Younger's cellular cloud account. Circuit Attorney refuses charges to woman arrested in Cherokee St. shooting “These things are happening right here in our backyard, so it’s important if you see something, say something,” Bell said. “To those who are committing these kind of crimes, we are going to get you, and we hope this serves as a deterrent to those who would consider doing these kinds of acts to children.”Maplewood Police Chief Mat...

Guilty plea in 2019 fatal DWI crash along N. Broadway

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office accepted a plea deal Wednesday in a 2019 fatal DWI crash.The crash happened on North Broadway and Chambers Street, in the Near North Riverfront neighborhood, on May 4, 2019.Investigators said Bert Rhodes was turning left from Broadway onto Chambers when he was struck by a speeding vehicle, driven by Jessie Williams.Rhodes died at the scene. A passenger in Rhodes' car was injured. St. Louis man says American Airlines lost prosthetic leg, won’t reimburse him Williams was traveling approximately 75 miles per hour at the time of the collision. His blood alcohol level was above the legal limit of .08.Lawyers for the defense and the circuit attorney's office agreed to a plea bargain in exchange for a recommended five-year sentence.Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and DWI-death of another. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge accepted the agreement and will sentence Williams on July 20.

PHOTOS: Coloradans react to large hail storm Wednesday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

On Wednesday, Coloradans moved their cars to cover, watched out windows and refreshed their weather apps as a severe weather storm rolled across the state.Tornado warnings were issued for a wide section of the Front Range Wednesday afternoon. Denver and northeast Colorado are under a tornado watch until 9 p.m. And large hail is predicted to fall, up to ping-pong ball-size in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.RELATED: Why is Colorado one of the most susceptible places in the world for large hail?As hail pelted Coloradans, some took to social media to share the size of precipitation in their neighborhoods.1/2" diameter hail in Roxborough right now. #cowx pic.twitter.com/659P3wVet1— ░L░E░E░ (@Lee_Walinchus) May 10, 2023@DaveFraserWX #cowx @BianchiWeather @DaveCBS4 @theWXwoman @LaurenCBS4 Hail in @RoxboroughPark flooding happing to. pic.twitter.com/Dl5ut6bqQi— x – Monica Bowles #goavsgo (@monicabowles) May 10, 2023Some pretty good hail coming d...

Boulder owner of 108 Hardee’s files for bankruptcy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:30:32 GMT

A Boulder-based constellation of 108 Hardee’s restaurants has gone bankrupt.Six LLCs that are part of Capstone Restaurant Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 4 and recently closed 39 of their 147 Hardee’s locations, bankruptcy filings show. “Together, the debtors constitute one of the largest current franchisees of Hardee’s restaurants,” said Daniel Dooley, a financial advisor to the companies, in an affidavit May 4.The companies, headquartered at 7490 Clubhouse Road in Boulder, employ 2,250 people across eight states, most of them part time, according to their bankruptcy paperwork. The companies have $1 million to $10 million in assets but owe north of $28 million.No company is owed more than their primary lender, Cadence Bank, which lent them $21.5 million in late 2020 and is now owed $22.1 million, plus interest. Another $6 million is owed for franchise payments and rent at the 108 stores, according to Dooley.“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, franchisees sys...