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Army Special Operations Command mourns 5 US troops killed in helicopter crash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army Special Operations Command identified the five Army aviation special operations forces killed when their helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean over the weekend, calling each a “national treasure” whose loss cut deeply.The military’s European Command said the UH-60 helicopter went down during an air refueling mission as part of military training.The five service members who died were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota. They were all part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The commander of the Army Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, said the fallen soldiers “hail from rare patriotic families with dee...

South Carolina jumps to No. 1 in women’s AP Top 25 after chaotic week; Colorado crashes top 5

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

South Carolina vaulted up to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll on Monday after a chaotic opening week that saw nine of the top 14 teams in the preseason poll lose, including defending champion and preseason No. 1 LSU.The Gamecocks. who were sixth in the preseason poll, received 23 first place votes from the 36-member national media panel. Iowa was second with the other 13 first-place ballots. UCLA, Utah and Colorado rounded out the first five.LSU fell to seventh after losing its opener to then-No. 20 Colorado. The Buffaloes now have their best ranking since closing out the 1995 season at No. 2. UConn fell from second to eighth after losing to N.C. State, which jumped into the poll at No. 14. Despite the loss, the Huskies now have been ranked for 566 consecutive weeks, breaking a tie with Tennessee for the longest streak ever. “The consistency we’ve had over those 30 years despite how much the game has changed is quite remarkable,” UConn coach Geno Au...

AP Top 25 Reality Check: A top-five of perfect 10s has been unchanged for five weeks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

There are more perfect 10s at the top of the AP college football poll than there have been in 14 years.The top-five teams in the rankings Sunday are all 10-0. The last time there were at least five teams at 10-0 or better atop the rankings was 2009, when there were six.During the 10-year College Football Playoff era this the first time there have been five 10-0 teams from Power Five conferences.As the best teams in the country roll along in a season that has lacked big upsets, the top-five has been unchanged for five weeks: No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Washington.The last time the top five went that long unchanged was 2020 when it stayed the same for six week from Nov. 8-Dec. 13. Of course, that was anything but a normal season.Before then, 2013 was the last season the top five held steady for at least five weeks, going unchanged from Sept. 8-Oct. 6.It has also been three straight weeks of the same top eight, including No. 6 Oregon, No....

‘Dopamine Land,’ designed to trigger happiness, opens first US location in DC

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

New York-based experience entertainment company Fever is bringing the first Dopamine Land experience to D.C. next month. (Courtesy Fever) New York-based experience entertainment company Fever is bringing the first Dopamine Land experience to D.C. next month. (Courtesy Fever) New York-based experience entertainment company Fever is bringing the first “Dopamine Land” experience to D.C. next month. Tickets are on sale now.The one-hour walk-through experience is at 5333 Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest by the Friendship Heights Metro stop.There are other Dopamine Land experiences in London and Madrid.Why pick D.C. for the first Dopamine Land location?“Washington, D.C. is just an incredible cultural capi...

New HBO series to highlight Love Has Won cult headquartered in Colorado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — HBO is releasing a docuseries on Monday that dives into the world of the Love Has Won cult in Saguache County."Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God," will be released on the streaming platform on Nov. 13 at 9 p.m.According to HBO, the docuseries will chronicle the life and death of Amy Carlson, also known as Mother God. Carlson is described as a self-proclaimed spiritual savior who built a cult through her online manifestos and live-streaming sessions. Colorado professor breaks down cult behavior following ‘Love Has Won’ arrests The three-part docuseries is told through the eyes of Carlson's devotees and archival footage. Love Has Won Colorado connectionLove Has Won has been described as a cult by former members. Crestone in Saguache County would become the headquarters for Carlson's new group. According to her estranged son Cole Carlson, she left him when he was 10 years old to become the leader of Love Has Won.Carlson would produce daily videos talking about her ...

Avoid this highway in Colorado during Thanksgiving weekend, AAA says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- On Monday, AAA released its travel forecast for Thanksgiving, specifically naming one Denver road to avoid during holiday traffic.Thanksgiving travel this year is expected to be one of the highest on record, according to AAA. It expects 55.4 million travelers across the nation, which ranks third as the busiest Thanksgiving on record, just behind 2005 and 2019. Guide to DIA: Travel tips during the holidays With millions of travelers and the Denver International Airport being the third-busiest airport in the world, Denver traffic won't be taking the holiday off.In the forecast, AAA specifically names Interstate 25 south from Fort Collins to Denver as one of the busiest places to drive. But it's not all weekend.AAA specifically names Friday at 5:45 p.m. as the worst time with an estimated travel time of one hour and 37 minutes. See the latest traffic conditions in Denver on FOX31 AAA also lists the best and worst times to drive during Thanksgiving weekend.‘Bes...

Spain’s governing coalition files amnesty bill for Catalan separatists

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

BARCELONA — The left-wing and separatist political parties backing Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday jointly filed a controversial bill to grant an amnesty to all persons prosecuted for their involvement in the Catalan separatist movement over the past decade.The bill presented by Sánchez’s Socialist Party and most of the political groups expected to back his bid to form a new, minority government on Thursday argues amnesty is justified to guarantee “coexistence.”The granting of blanket amnesty was a key factor in resolving months of political paralysis in Spain, which has been without an effective government since last summer’s national elections resulted in a hung parliament. The presentation of the bill was the main demand of the Catalan separatist Junts party, whose backing will now permit Sánchez to form a new government.The legislative proposal does not modify laws for which individuals were prosecuted, which means similar judicial pro...

Ukraine charges Rudy Giuliani’s top local ally with Moscow-linked treason

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

KYIV — A Ukrainian MP who in 2019 helped former U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani in his search for dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden has been charged with treason.Oleksandr Dubinsky, together with ex-Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach and ex-prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk, had joined an organization formed by chiefs of Russia’s Military Intelligence (GRU), Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said in a statement on Monday.Although SBU did not name the MP in the statement, the photos and video materials attached to it identify Dubinsky, whose alias, “Buratino,” was taken from a 1930s Soviet “Pinocchio” knockoff.Dubinsky met Giuliani during his visit to Kyiv in December 2019 while the former New York City mayor and failed U.S. presidential candidate was filming a documentary aimed at discrediting an impeachment probe into Trump.“The main task of this organization was to take advantage of the tense political situation in Ukraine and discredit our state in the internati...

Croatia names new defense chief after ex-boss fired over fatal car crash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

The Croatian government has named a new defense minister after his predecessor was sacked for being involved in a deadly car accident, the country’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced Monday. “We have completed the consultations regarding the new candidate for the minister of defense. The proposal … is Ivan Anušić, the former prefect of Osijek-Baranja County,” Plenković’s statement said. Former Defense Minister Mario Banožić was fired Saturday after authorities said he caused a road traffic accident in which one person died and another was seriously injured. According to the authorities, Banožić crashed into a van that was coming from the opposite direction, killing the vehicle’s driver. Banožić was reportedly taken to the hospital with what were described as serious injuries. A letter will be sent to the president of the Croatian parliament and Anušić’s nomination will be put to a parliament plenary vote Thursday “Gi...

The comeback kids: 13 best political resurrections ever

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:47 GMT

Thought you’d seen the last of David Cameron? Think again! The former British prime minister’s jaw-dropping return to front-line politics on Monday morning was up there with the most Lazarus-like comebacks ever seen. Cameron, however, certainly isn’t the first political big beast to salvage their career when all looked lost.  From Lenin to Napoleon to Silvio Berlusconi, we’ve rated the best political resurrections of all time. *****Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ‘Lenin’Exiled to Siberia for sedition, with a decade spent in Western Europe observing Russian politics from a distance, only to return, win a civil war, have an entire royal family shot, and found one of the two superpowers that defined the 20th century: Lenin may be the biggest comeback king (czar?) of all. Cunning, ruthless, and with an impeccable sense of timing, Lenin dramatically changed the course of history. The events he set in motion reverberate to this day — just...