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Ukraine President Zelenskyy to replace defense minister Oleksii Reznikov this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that defense minister Oleksii Reznikov will be replaced this week with Rustem Umierov, a Crimean Tatar lawmaker.Zelenskyy made the announcement on his official Telegram account.“I have decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war. I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large. Now Rustem Umierov should lead the Ministry,” he said.Umierov, 41, a politician with the opposition Holos party, has served as head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine since September 2022. He was involved in the exchange of prisoners of war, political prisoners, children and civilians, as well as the evacuation of civilians from occupied territories. Umierov was also part of the Ukrainian delegation in negotiations with Russia over the U.N.-backed grain deal.The announcement came after two peop...

Death toll of Kirkuk clashes rises to 4 as transfer of police headquarters to Kurdish party halted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — The death toll from clashes that broke out Saturday in the disputed city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq has risen to four, medical officials said Sunday.Meanwhile, the country’s top court issued an order halting the planned handover of the Iraqi federal police headquarters in Kirkuk to the Kurdish Democratic Party, which had sparked tensions in the city which is home to a mixed population of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.Federal forces seized Kirkuk and the surrounding oil fields in October 2017 after Kurdish regional authorities organized a referendum for Kurdish independence. The KDP vacated its headquarters in the city at the time.The agreement to form the current government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, included a provision for the return of the KDP to the province, which sparked backlash from some communities in Kirkuk.Last week, a group of local Arab residents closed the Kirkuk-to-Erbil highway in protest over the re-opening of th...

Minnesota prison on lockdown after about 100 inmates ‘refuse’ to return to cells amid a heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota prison has been placed on emergency lockdown after about 100 inmates in one housing unit facing dangerously high temperatures would not return to their cells Sunday in what one former inmate there called an act of “self-preservation.”The situation is “currently stable” and the reason inmates “are refusing to return to their cells remains unclear,” a Department of Corrections spokesperson said. But advocates positioned outside of the Stillwater prison, some of whom have family members inside, said inmates are fed up from the excessive heat, limited access to showers and ice, and unclean drinking water.Inmates have been on intermittent lockdowns since Friday because of staffing issues, they said, meaning they are kept in their cells, which reportedly don’t have air conditioning. The prison is in Bayport about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Minneapolis, which was under an afternoon heat advisory for temperatures approaching 100 d...

2048 Wine Shop opens in Ukrainian Village

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A new wine shop in Ukrainian Village is offering low or non-alcoholic wines, and on Sunday, 2048 Wine Shop owner Quenjana Adams joined Gaynor Hall to talk about the business and the products they offer. Sunday Brunch: Hampton Social 2048 Wine Shop can be found at 2048 West Chicago Avenue in Ukrainian Village, online at their website, 2048wineshop.com, or on social media via Instagram or Facebook.

Will mail be delivered on Labor Day?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Will mail be delivered on Labor Day?Residents expecting mail or packages on Monday will have to wait an extra day as deliveries will be put on pause for Labor Day.The United States Postal Service recognizes Labor Day on Sept. 4 as one of 11 federal holidays and is closed. There is no mail delivery, caller service, or Post Office Box service. All services resume on Tuesday.UPS locations are also closed, and delivery service is not available, except for Express Critical. FedEx offices and services are closed as well on Monday, except for FedEx Custom Critical. What stores, restaurants are open on Labor Day? Amazon delivery services are also suspended on Labor Day.Customers needing USPS services can use the self-service kiosk available at select offices. The kiosk accepts debit and credit cards and can handle 80% of all transactions conducted at the retail counter, such as buying stamps, mailing a package, or shipping a letter by express or priority mail....

Minnesota prison on lockdown, inmates 'refuse' to return to cells amid heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota prison has been placed on emergency lockdown after about 100 inmates in one housing unit facing dangerously high temperatures would not return to their cells Sunday in what one former inmate there called an act of “self-preservation."The situation is “currently stable" and the reason inmates “are refusing to return to their cells remains unclear,” a Department of Corrections spokesperson said.But advocates positioned outside of the Stillwater prison, some of whom have family members inside, said inmates are fed up from the excessive heat, limited access to showers and ice, and unclean drinking water.Inmates have been on intermittent lockdowns since Friday because of staffing issues, they said, meaning they are kept in their cells, which reportedly don't have air conditioning. The prison is in Bayport about 25 miles east of Minneapolis, which was under an afternoon heat advisory for temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit.“My organization ...

Record heat makes a September comeback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We're watching slim rain chances in the Hill Country through early this evening, but most areas don't get a drop of rain. Tonight will be mostly clear with lows dropping into the mid 70s by the time you start Monday morning.Labor Day Monday should be the "coolest" day of the week ahead with sunshine and scattered clouds. Less than 10% rain chances exists for our eastern counties, but generally it's another hot day with higher humidity.Labor Day forecastHumidity kicks up even more heading into Tuesday with more widespread morning clouds to begin the day. Humidity forecastA few spotty showers and storms are possible later in the day on Tuesday, but rain chances barely rise to 10%.Heat builds by the end of the week with highs up near 103-104º, which is hot enough to tie or break records this time of year.Highs this weekIf there's a positive to the forecast it's that rain chances are back in the forecast for next weekend, especially Sunday. Spotty showers and storms pos...

Texas State stuns Baylor 42-31 for first-ever win over Power 5 program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The GJ Kinne era at Texas State started with one of the biggest wins in program history Friday in Waco.The Bobcats beat the Big 12 Conference's Baylor Bears 42-31 at McLane Stadium for the program's first-ever win over the Power 5 school behind a potent offensive attack led by quarterback TJ Finley.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersFinley threw for 298 yards with three touchdowns and added a score on the ground. The Bobcats put an exclamation point on the big win with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Finley to Joey Hobert with 13:52 left in the game to take a 42-24 lead. Hobert finished with 105 receiving yards on six catches to lead the Bobcats' pass catchers."That was pretty fun," Kinne said after his first game as the Bobcats head coach. "I'm really proud of everyone involved, and we couldn't have done it without them. This is a big-time win for our progr...

Stillwater prison on lockdown after 100 inmates reportedly refuse to return to their cells

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

The Stillwater prison was placed on emergency lockdown Sunday after about 100 prisoners in a living unit declined to return to their cells, according to a Minnesota Department of Corrections press release.No injuries have been reported.Staff have been removed from the housing unit’s common areas at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater. Two correctional officers are safe in the unit’s secure control area and “in communication with facility command personnel,” the press release said.The department said it has activated a crisis negotiation team and deployed a special operations response team “out of an abundance of caution.”Representatives for the inmates say the prisoners are peacefully protesting because recent conditions have become intolerable.David Boehnke, a spokesman for the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, said that prisoners are protesting because they have no air conditioning and fresh water in their cells, are not allo...

Dying and disabled Illinois prisoners kept behind bars, despite new medical release law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Phillip Merritt’s dementia is so advanced he’s lost the ability to speak. But with the help of his cellmates at Western Illinois Correctional Center, the 71-year-old still manages to get on the phone with his brother every few weeks.“He has to have someone call me, and then I don’t know what to say to him because he can’t understand anything, so I’ll just talk,” said Merritt’s brother, Michael Merritt, in an interview. “All he can say are two words. … I mean, he’s just gone.”Merritt’s deteriorating condition makes him a prime candidate to get out of prison under the Joe Coleman Medical Release Act, a pivotal criminal justice reform bill touted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats as an effective way to alleviate the state’s decrepit prison health care system, reduce the “staggering” costs of caring for ailing people in prison, and reunite families with frail loved ones.Under the act — named after a decorated Army veteran who died of prostate cancer while ...