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Texas National Guard denies ignoring a migrant’s call for help

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

(CNN) — The Texas National Guard Thursday denied claims from an immigration activist that it ignored a migrant calling out for help as she struggled to cross the Rio Grande with a child in her arms.Video footage obtained by CNN shows a woman holding a crying baby in her arms in the Rio Grande yelling for help, as members of the Texas National Guard watch from two nearby boats, but do not intervene.The video was shot by Priscilla Lugo, a justice advocate coordinator with the non-profit, Latino Justice PRLDEF, a civil rights organization.Lugo told CNN she witnessed the incident on Tuesday, December 12, while she was on the Rio Grande, in Eagle Pass, with a colleague and a boat guide working on a digital media project related to public safety and Operation Lone Star, a Texas state government initiative to curb illegal immigration.The entire incident lasted about seven minutes according to Lugo, and began when a group of four people, which included two...

Vin Diesel accused of sexual battery in lawsuit brought by former assistant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

(CNN) — “Fast & Furious” franchise star Vin Diesel has been accused of sexual battery and creating a hostile work environment in a lawsuit filed by a former assistant.The civil suit, filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by CNN, stems from a 2010 incident in which Diesel’s former assistant, Asta Jonasson, alleges Diesel forced himself on her in a hotel suite in Atlanta and masturbated in front of her.The complaint states Diesel ignored Jonasson’s “clear statements of non-consent,” and after she “screamed and ran towards the nearby bathroom,” he “pinned her against the wall with his body.”“Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety,” Bryan Freedman, attorney for Diesel, wrote in a statement to CNN later on Friday. “This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13 year old claim made by a purportedly 9 day employee.”Jonasson is suing Diesel, along with his company One Race Productions, and Diesel’s sister Samantha Vincent for ...

Jake Gyllenhaal is ripped in first look at remake of Patrick Swayze classic ‘Road House’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

(CNN) — Jake Gyllenhaal is taking a tip from the late, great Patrick Swayze and bringing the brawn in the first look at a buzzy new movie.An Amazon Studios sizzle reel released on Thursday included an intense glimpse Gyllenhaal in “Road House,” the remake due next year of the 1989 action movie starring his “Donnie Darko” costar Swayze.The brief clip shows Gyllenhaal shirtless, with huge rippling muscles, in what appears to be a boxing ring with rowdy onlookers cheering (or catcalling) behind him.The reimagined film follows a former UFC fighter (Gyllenhaal) who “takes a job as a bouncer at a rough-and-tumble roadhouse in the Florida Keys, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems in this tropical paradise,” according to a press release distributed by the streamer last year.The Swayze film costarred Kelly Lynch, and in it, the “Ghost” actor played a bouncer who must tame outlaws at a wild Missouri nightspot called The Double Deuce.The n...

Report: Yoshinobu Yamamoto signs historic deal with Los Angeles Dodgers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

A couple of weeks ago the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to the largest contract in MLB history. Now they’ve added one of his Japanese countrymen to another historic deal.According to multiple reports, the Dodgers have signed right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal. The deal is the largest in MLB history for a pitcher, exceeding Gerrit Cole’s record $324 million deal, and Yamamoto has never even thrown a pitch in the big leagues.Los Angeles will also pay a $50.6 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes on top of their investment in Yamamoto. Factoring in Ohtani and fellow new acquisition Tyler Glasnow, the Dodgers have now committed more than $1 billion in new player salary this offseason.Yamamoto earned the monster deal thanks to his mind-boggling numbers and sky high potential. The 25-year-old has posted video game numbers in Nippon Professional Baseball, recording a 1.82 ERA in seven professional seasons, and he has also won MVP and ...

North Korea’s reported use of a nuclear complex reactor might be an attempt to make bomb fuels

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea may have started operating a light-water reactor at its main nuclear complex in a possible attempt to establish a new facility to produce bomb fuels, the U.N. atomic agency and outside experts said.If correct, the assessment would show that North Korea has taken a step to implement leader Kim Jong Un’s repeated vows to build more nuclear weapons in response to what he described as intensifying U.S.-led military threats.The International Atomic Energy Agency has observed increased levels of activity at and near the light-water reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex and since mid-October, a strong water outflow from its cooling system, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Thursday.The observations were consistent with the commissioning of the reactor, Grossi said.“The LWR, like any nuclear reactor, can produce plutonium in its irradiated fuel, which can be separated during reprocessing, so this is a cause for concern,” he said. “I repeat that...

Busiest holiday travel season in years is off to a smooth start with few airport delays

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday travel rush hit its peak Friday as mild weather and lower flight cancelation rates raised hopes for merrier drivers and airline passengers than last year.U.S. airlines are predicting a blockbuster holiday season and have projected confidence they can handle the crowds after hiring thousands of pilots, flight attendants and other workers, seeking to avoid the delays and suspensions that marred travel last year and culminated with the Southwest Airline debacle that stranded more than 2 million people.Airlines have canceled just 1.2% of U.S. flights so far this year, the lowest in five years, but bad weather is always a threat. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has warned the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions. Earlier this week, Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for its meltdown last year. Early Friday, there ...

Ash from Indonesia’s Marapi volcano forces airport to close and stops flights

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Volcanic ash spewing from Indonesia’s Mount Marapi shut down airports and blanketed nearby communities on Sumatra island Friday.The nearly 2,900-meter (9,480-foot) volcano in the Agam district of West Sumatra province is about 113 kilometers (70 miles) north of Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, the provincial capital.On Dec. 3, Marapi shot thick columns of ash as high as 3 kilometers (more than 9,800 feet) that killed 23 climbers and injured several others who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption.Smaller eruptions since then spewed more ash into the air, and on Friday the volcano began belching ash that reduced visibility hundreds of kilometers away, said Indra Saputra of Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.Minangkabau airport was closed Friday afternoon after ash, which can pose a deadly threat to aircraft, reached its airspace.Airport authority head Megi Hemiadi said two international flights from Ku...

SIU investigating after man shot by officer’s less-lethal firearm in Toronto’s west end

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

The province’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate after a man was struck by an officer’s non-lethal weapon in Toronto’s west end on Thursday.The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says Toronto police officers were called to Roncesvalles Avenue south of Dundas Street around 3:40 p.m. for reports of a man who was threatening people walking by.Responding officers deployed a taser at the man before an officer fired a less-lethal weapon at him.The man was arrested and taken to hospital to be checked out. The SIU says the man was not injured in the incident.“The man did not sustain any serious injury, but the SIU’s mandate was invoked because a police officer discharged a less-lethal weapon, which is classified as a firearm,” reads a release.The police watchdog’s mandate is invoked anytime an officer discharges a firearm of any kind.

Biden set to sign executive order aimed at financial facilitators of Russian defense industry

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order giving the U.S. Treasury Department the authority to target financial institutions that facilitate Russia’s efforts to bolster its defense industry.The new sanctions authority is meant to gum up the Kremlin’s push to restock the Russian military’s depleted arsenal after nearly 22 months of fighting in Ukraine. Russia has already lost over 13,000 pieces of equipment, including tanks, drones and missile systems, according to a U.S. assessment.The White House said Biden plans to sign the order later on Friday.“We expect financial institutions will undertake every effort to ensure that they are not witting or unwitting facilitators of circumvention and evasion,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement announcing the order. “And we will not hesitate to use the new tools provided by this authority to take decisive, and surgical, action against financial institutions that facilitate ...

Gymnastics star Simone Biles named AP Female Athlete of the Year a third time after dazzling return

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:37 GMT

There were jitters, of course. Considering all that happened, how could there not be?When Simone Biles walked onto the floor at a suburban Chicago arena in late July for her first gymnastics competition in two years, she knew plenty of people were wondering how it was going to go. “I thought that too, don’t worry,” Biles said with a laugh.By the end of one rotation, the most decorated gymnast of all time realized she was back in her safe space. By the end of August, she was a national champion. Again. By October, she was a world champion. Again.And by December, she was The Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year.Yes, again.Her triumphant return that included her record eighth U.S. national championship and a sixth world all-around gold made Biles the sixth woman to claim the AP honor for a third time. The 26-year-old seven-time Olympic medalist was followed by Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati of the World Cup champion Spanish ...