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Kremlin foe Navalny’s demands in prison: moonshine, a balalaika and a pet kangaroo — all denied

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released excerpts of his correspondence with prison administrators Friday, detailing his sarcastic demands for things like a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika and even a kangaroo. His requests were denied.Responses from prison officials, posted on his social media account apparently by his team, came after he has spent almost 180 days in solitary confinement since last summer at Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.Navalny, 46, is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and contempt of court — charges he says were trumped up for his efforts to expose official corruption and organizing anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.“When you are sitting in a punishment isolation cell and have little entertainment, you can have fun with correspon...

The Heat, like everybody else, had no answer for Nikola Jokic

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

Appreciate his precision or yawn at his pedestrian pace, you’ve never seen a basketball player like Nikola Jokic. One of one in the history of the NBA.There are shades of previous players, to be sure. Tim Duncan. Dirk Nowitzki. Larry Bird. Hakeem Olajuwon. Arvydas Sabonis.But there has never been such a massive man who dominates a league with his eyes. That vision and hand-eye coordination pushes the basketball to places that shouldn’t be possible when the player is both the slowest and least explosive on the court.It’s amazing and nowadays expected from Jokic, a two-time MVP who is three wins from securing an upper echelon legacy. In Thursday night’s 104-93 Game 1 victory over the Heat, it wasn’t just that Jokic finished with 27 points with 14 assists and ten rebounds — joining Jason Kidd as the only players to record triple-doubles in their NBA Finals debuts — it was that he dominated the opening quarter while taking just one shot.He defla...

US hiring jumped last month, but so did unemployment. So how healthy is the economy?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER (AP Economics Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of enduring strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool.Friday’s report from the government reflected the job market’s resilience after more than a year of aggressive interest rate increases by the Fed. Many industries, from construction to restaurants to health care, are still adding jobs to keep up with consumer demand and restore their workforces to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the report painted a mostly encouraging picture of the job market. Yet there were some mixed messages in the May figures. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since October. (The government compiles the unemployment data using a different survey than the one used to calculate job...

Cynthia Weil, Grammy-winning lyricist who helped write ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ and ‘On Broadway,’ dies at 82

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Cynthia Weil, Grammy-winning lyricist who helped write ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’ and ‘On Broadway,’ dies at 82.

AP Election Brief | What to expect in New Jersey’s primaries for state legislature

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

New Jersey voters will cast ballots in 21 primaries for state legislature on Tuesday.Democrats hold majorities in both chambers – 46-34 in the state Assembly and 25-15 in the state Senate. Without any statewide races on the ballot, turnout is expected to be low. Two races to watch: the Democratic primary in the 27th Senate District and the Republican primary in the 3rd Senate District.The 27th District features two longtime Democratic incumbents, Richard Codey and Nia Gill. They were drawn into the same district after the boundaries were redrawn following the 2020 census. Codey is the longest-serving state legislator in New Jersey history, having been elected to the state Assembly in 1973 and the Senate in 1981. Gill was elected to the Assembly in 1993 and the Senate eight years later.The Republican primary in the 3rd Senate District features incumbent Edward Durr, who shocked New Jersey in 2021 when he defeated Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney. Durr was a political newcome...

Vehicle sales rise in May, showing hope for strong summer: DesRosiers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says May brought hope after several years of disrupted sales patterns, as vehicle sales rose. The consultancy firm says total light vehicle sales in May were up 13.5 per cent from a year ago.Sales totalled 159,705 units in May, up 10.9 per cent from April. However, sales were still 21.0 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. But the firm says that with the economy proving resilient and a predicted recession not yet in sight, there is optimism that the market could see a stronger summer for sales. DesRosiers managing partner Andrew King says in a statement that the seasonally adjusted annual rate for May was 1.54 million units, breaking a three-month run of consecutive declines. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.The Canadian Press

Rescuers at site of Iowa building collapse complete search for survivors, move on to recovery

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa task force has completed a search for survivors at the site of a partially collapsed Davenport apartment building and is moving ahead to shore up the structure so it can begin recovery efforts, authorities said Friday. The state task force was mobilized and on site to first search for survivors and then secure the structure, said Rick Halleran, the chief of the task force’s Cedar Rapids division. He said the search for survivors was completed Thursday evening after electrical equipment connected to the building were controlled.“We do what the building tells us to do,” Halleran said of the delay in searching the building. He said the building “needed to settle” before rescuers could proceed.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Plans to demolish a partially collapsed six-story apartment building in Iowa could become clearer Friday, five days after much of the structure crumbled and left three tenants m...

S&P/TSX composite jumps more than 200 points, U.S. stock markets also climb

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index leaped more than 200 points in late-morning trading as gains in energy, industrials and base metal stocks drove the rise, while U.S. stock markets also shot up.The S&P/TSX composite index was trading up more than one per cent or 217.66 points to 19,889.91.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 505.32 points to 33,566.89. The S&P 500 index increased by 51.86 points to 4,272.88, while the Nasdaq composite grew 133.52 points to 13,234.50.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.39 cents US compared with 74.17 cents US the day before.The July crude contract was up US$1.57 at US$71.67 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up seven cents at US$2.22 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down US$14.30 at US$1981.20 an ounce and the July copper contract was up two cents at US$3.73 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited to address Congress

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. congressional leaders have invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint meeting of Congress during a visit to Washington later this month as the U.S. looks to deepen its bonds with India, the world’s most populous democracy, to counter China’s growing influence even as Modi has faced criticism for eroding India’s democratic traditions and human rights.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other leaders announced Friday that Modi has been invited to make the address on June 22, stating in a letter that the “partnership between our two countries continues to grow” and calling the address an “opportunity to share your vision for India’s future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face.”The U.S. is seeking to forge stronger ties overseas — especially in Asia — to counter China’s aggression in the region. Modi’s congressional address would come amid a state visit with ...

Cynthia Weil, Grammy winning lyricist who had hits with husband Barry Mann, dead at 82

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:05:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of notable range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82.Her death was confirmed Friday by Interdependence Public Relations, which represents Mann’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann. A spokesperson did not immediately have further details.Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, married in 1961, were one of popular music’s most successful teams, part of a remarkable ensemble recruited by impresarios Don Kirshner and Al Nevins and based in Manhattan’s Brill Building neighborhood, a few blocks from Times Square. With such hit-making combinations as Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building song factory turned out many of the biggest singles of the ’60s and beyond.Weil an...