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Belarus political prisoners face abuse, no medical care and isolation, former inmate says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — During his three years in a Belarusian penal colony, human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka says he and other political prisoners were regularly deprived of family visits, phone calls and parcels. He nearly died when COVID-19 swept through the facility. And he was forced to spend the last nine days of his sentence in a damp punishment cell, sleeping on the concrete floor with a roll of toilet paper for a pillow.He had to wear a yellow tag on his uniform — as do all the estimated 1,473 political prisoners held in Belarus — so they’re easily identifiable to guards who he said routinely bullied, abused and humiliated them.“The Belarusian authorities deliberately create terrible detention conditions for political prisoners, which qualify as torture,” Sudalenka said in an interview with The Associated Press after he finished his time behind bars and fled to neighboring Lithuania.Belarus has cracked down on opponents of authoritarian President Alexander Lukas...

Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

Cydney Wallace, a Black Jewish community activist, never felt compelled to travel to Israel, though “Next year in Jerusalem” was a constant refrain at her Chicago synagogue.The 39-year-old said she had plenty to focus on at home, where she frequently gives talks on addressing anti-Black sentiment in the American Jewish community and dismantling white supremacy in the U.S.“I know what I’m fighting for here,” she said.That all changed when she visited Israel and the West Bank at the invitation of a Palestinian American community activist, along with two dozen other Black Americans and Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders. The trip, which began Sept. 26, enhanced Wallace’s understanding of the struggles of Palestinians living in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation. But, horrifyingly, it was cut short by the unprecedented Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas militants. In Israel’s ensuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, shocking images of destruction and death seen around ...

Chance of snow Sunday night into Monday; falling temps Monday night. Strong storm system moves up East Coast. Anniversary of the Dec. 17-18, 1924 Glaze Storm of west-central Illinois

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

A strong storm system is projected to leave northern Florida Sunday morning and move up the East Coast through Monday eveningThe storm will bring heavy rain, strong winds, and coastal impacts from Georgia to Maine.  Flooding is a concern in a few states.  Rainfall totals of 1-4" will be common with some locations possibly seeing more than 5".  Courtesy of the American Meteorological Society Monthly Weather Review Volume 52: Issue 12

Broncos report card: Nothing good vs. Lions for Denver, which now needs to ace a three-week run of final exams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

Offense – FThe Broncos went right down the field to start the game and turned it over at the edge of the red zone.  Later, they got stuffed in yet another goal-to-go situation. In between, they mustered a touchdown, a couple of big plays and zero semblance of rhythm. And these weren’t exactly the ’85 Bears they were going against, either. Detroit entered 24th in scoring defense and had given up an average of 29.8 points per game over their past five. All the same, the Broncos mustered just 75 first-half yards and didn’t get on the board until the third quarter.Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Russell Wilson have to find more consistent ways to move the ball. The powerful run game that developed midseason has backtracked. Denver’s too reliant on big plays. The red zone and goal-to-go situations continue to be a sore spot. Plenty to figure out and not much time to do so.Defense – FYeah, Vance Joseph’s group got hung out to dry in the first half. They had to defend 18-plus minut...

Denver fighter Brandon Royval loses rematch to Alexandre Pantoja in UFC flyweight title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

The city of Denver will have to wait for a hometown UFC champ.Brandon Royval lost to Alexandre Pantoja in the rematch between the two fighters on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Pantoja retaining the flyweight belt with a unanimous decision.Pantoja came out with a blistering pace and earned the bout’s first takedown. Royval spent a lot of time fighting from his back, with Pantoja clearly winning Round 1. That trend continued all night as Pantoja dominated with his grappling.It was the same story in Round 2, with Pantoja controlling ground time and also landing a couple of right-hand hammers to Royval’s jaw. Pantoja took Royval down again quickly in Round 3, and Rovyal reversed control at one point, but the Brazilian quickly escaped.Royval finally gained momentum with a couple of jabs to Pantoja’s nose, but Pantoja got another takedown to end the round on top of Royval and in control. Another takedown put Royval on his back again in Round 4 as the 31-y...

Heroes and Zeros from Broncos’ loss to Detroit Lions: Jerry Jeudy one of Denver’s few bright spots in rout

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

Here are the heroes and zeros from the Broncos’ 42-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Saturday night at Ford Field.HeroesD.J. Jones: Despite a poor performance from Denver’s defense, Jones stood out. In the first quarter, Jones sacked quarterback Jared Goff on third down, forcing Detroit to punt after Russell Wilson’s fumble helped put the Lions in solid field position. Jones made another big play in the second quarter when he stopped Lions running back David Montgomery for a loss of six yards.Related ArticlesDenver Broncos | Broncos four downs: Sean Payton might want to stop yelling at Russell Wilson and start screaming at himself Denver Broncos | Road-weary Broncos turned to road kill in blowout, prime-time loss at Detroit Denver Broncos | PHOTOS: Denver Broncos take on the Detroit Lions in NFL Week 15 Denver Broncos | Broncos S P.J. Locke active, ready to roll vs. Lions after throat injury last week Denver Broncos...

Road-weary Broncos turned to road kill in blowout, prime-time loss at Detroit: “In the NFL sometimes you just get your (butt) kicked”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

DETROIT — The Broncos hoped to prove themselves road warriors in the Motor City.Instead, road kill.Sean Payton’s team, playing its third straight December game away from home, ran out of gas in the first half Saturday night and watched the Lions roll on by, clear into the postseason.The Broncos have a lot of work to do in order to reach the same destination after a 42-17 loss here.They’re going to have to find offensive consistency, which has disappeared in recent weeks.They’re going to have to find better ways to combat speed, which the Lions flashed in spades.Put simply, they’re going to have to win their final three games from 7-7.That’s not impossible by any stretch of the imagination, considering they will come against teams with losing records, back-up quarterbacks and little to play for.But the margin for error is now reduced to zero.“We’ve got three more games to go and if we win those three I think we’ll be in pretty good position,” right tackl...

PHOTOS: Denver Broncos lose to the Detroit Lions in NFL Week 15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

The Denver Broncos were defeated by the Detroit Lions in week 15 of 2023 NFL season at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on December 16, 2023 with a score of 17 – 42.Related ArticlesDenver Broncos | Heroes and Zeros from Broncos’ loss to Detroit Lions: Jerry Jeudy one of Denver’s few bright spots in rout Denver Broncos | Broncos four downs: Sean Payton might want to stop yelling at Russell Wilson and start screaming at himself Denver Broncos | Road-weary Broncos turned to road kill in blowout, prime-time loss at Detroit Denver Broncos | Broncos S P.J. Locke active, ready to roll vs. Lions after throat injury last week Denver Broncos | How it happened: Broncos clobbered by Lions as Jared Goff throws five touchdowns Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.

Here's how much rain Southern California could get over the next 7 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

Southern California’s weather is about to take a turn for the wet.An atmospheric river event will arrive on Sunday and bring the potential for rain each day through next week, meteorologists say.The first and the weaker of two storms arrives on Sunday and, according to the National Weather Service, will bring light rain to the Central Coast and into Ventura County through Monday. Los Angeles County is expected to see little to no rainfall at first. California Weather Radar The low-pressure “event,” however, will bring more widespread rain to a broader area starting on Wednesday, says KTLA 5 weather anchor Kaj Goldberg.“At that point, the next wave of energy arrives and we’ll have a much greater chance of substantial, measurable rainfall and even thunderstorms in Southern California,” Goldberg says.A satellite and radar composite view of North America as an atmospheric river moves toward the Pacific coast on Dec. 16, 2023. (KTLA)The likelihood of rain extends from the coastal ...

Today in History: December 17, the Wright Brothers’ first flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:52 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Sunday, Dec. 17, the 351st day of 2023. There are 14 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Dec. 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conducted the first successful manned powered-airplane flights near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.On this date:In 1777, France recognized American independence.In 1933, in the inaugural NFL championship football game, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants, 23-21, at Wrigley Field.In 1944, the U.S. War Department announced it was ending its policy of excluding people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.In 1957, the United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.In 1969, the U.S. Air Force closed its Project “Blue Book” by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.In 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced in Sacramento, Cal...