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As Putin signs new law on draft, Russia says spring call-up is proceeding as scheduled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

Russia's regular spring military draft campaign is proceeding as scheduled and there are no plans to send out mass electronic notices under a new system just signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, a top official said on Saturday (15 April).The announcement by Colonel Andrei Biryukov, an official in an armed forces department responsible for the draft, appeared aimed at quelling speculation that Russia may quickly use the new system to launch another mass call-up for the war in Ukraine.Russia is currently in the process of calling up 147,000 men aged 18 to 27 between 1 April and 15 July to perform compulsory military service as part of its longstanding twice-yearly conscription cycle.Biryukov said the first conscripts would be dispatched to "permanent deployment points on the territory of the Russian Federation" from April 20.He emphasized that some people were still entitled to defer their military service, and said there would be no mass mailings of new electronic summonses t...

Deposit Bonus vs Free Spins: What to Choose?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

Online casinos and sportsbooks are a fairly recent development coming from the gambling industry. Their popularity has made them one of the leading factors in it. This popularity is well deserved and it comes thanks to many different factors, of which the accessibility perks are the biggest attribute. In-person casinos and sportsbooks require a lot of time from their users, sometimes even an entire day. The online medium has circumvented this by allowing users to play and bet whenever and wherever they are. This streamlines the medium and also opens it up to newcomers through many great systems. One of these systems is gambling bonuses, which are free perks players can claim upon signing up for a select service. Find the best Swedish free spins offers before you select a service to have the option to choose what kind of gambling bonus you would like.How to claim a Gambling Bonus?Whether it is a casino or sportsbook bonus, to get access to it you first need to sign up for your select...

Chucky Stunt Actor Ed Gale Allegedly Caught Trying To Meet With Minor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

Ed Gale, best known for his physical portrayal of Chucky, was confronted by a vigilante group who posed as a minor in alleged online conversations with him.The meet occurred Friday, April 14, and the group, who call themselves the “Creep Catcher Unit,” (CC Unit) confronted Ed Gale with a folder containing printouts of alleged conversations he had with what he thought was a minor.While LAPD was called to the scene, Gale was not arrested, with CC Unit citing his health condition as the determining factor.The CC Unit group is led by a person who goes by the name “Ghost” to protect their identity on camera.The group has been known to livestream its “catches” on YouTube or Instagram, but did not stream the Friday interaction.The group says Gale was their 353rd “catch” since starting their “To Catch a Predator” style stings in 2018.Ghost has explained in the past that the group will pose as underage girls and have conversations w...

Miss Manners: I was offended by the artist’s name, but nobody would hear me out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was at an art show with my husband and mother-in-law that featured a 19th-century female artist. A brochure was given to us at entry that listed the artist’s name as “Mrs. John Smith,” with no first name given.As an avid art lover and a feminist, I was taken aback, and said as much to the others. They both defended the practice, saying that that was the name she used when she was alive and that the writer of the brochure probably felt they were honoring her by using her husband’s name.I would have been grateful had my husband been willing to hear me out as to why this offended me, but he wasn’t interested. Both he and his mother shut me down.How should I have handled this — should I have kept my mouth shut? Also, did the use of the artist’s husband’s name “honor her,” or should the writer have been more cognizant of today’s sensibilities?GENTLE READER: Shouldn’t you be more cognizant of past...

Dear Abby: Who brings a husband to a playdate?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I’m in my early 30s, married and juggling a full-time job and caring for my children, ages 3 and 6.I live in an affluent area where people have more free time than most. When I’m able to squeeze time in for a playdate with local mom friends, I find it annoying when they bring their husbands.I’m all for double dates, but I feel like a third wheel when they bring their spouses along for playdates. A handful of women do this at every single get-together with the kids. Their husbands don’t need to work as much as mine does.I crave being able to talk freely with other mothers. Even if my husband were available, he wouldn’t want to join, and I wouldn’t want him to, either.When I invite a woman and her kids to my home, I end up having her husband show up at my door, too. I feel like I’m entertaining their whole family instead of just a simple playdate.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I saw security video of my fiance, and m...

George Stevens Jr. pens autobiography about founding American Film Institute, Kennedy Center Honors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

Hear our full conversation on my podcast “Beyond the Fame.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley chats with George Stevens Jr. (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); George Stevens Jr. helped his Oscar-winning father create some of Hollywood’s greatest movies before moving to Washington to influence presidents, invent the American Film Institute and create the annual Kennedy Center Honors.Now, at 91 years old, he p...

Mets seek to continue win streak, play the Dodgers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

New York Mets (10-6, second in the NL East) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (8-8, second in the NL West)Los Angeles; Tuesday, 10:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Tylor Megill (3-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 13 strikeouts); Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 3.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 17 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -165, Mets +141; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets are looking to build upon a five-game win streak with a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.Los Angeles has an 8-8 record overall and a 5-5 record in home games. The Dodgers have the sixth-ranked team on-base percentage in the NL at .339.New York is 10-6 overall and 7-4 on the road. The Mets are 7-0 in games when they out-hit their opponents.Tuesday’s game is the second time these teams square off this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Freddie Freeman has four doubles and three home runs while hitting .343 for the Dodgers. Max Muncy is 8-for-30 with five home runs over the past 10 games.Pete Alonso leads New ...

Brisbane Olympics leader marks 1 year in long run up to 2032

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — In the 12 months since his appointment as the inaugural president of the organizing committee for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, Andrew Liveris has refined his vision of what the Summer Games will look like in nine years.He foresees a bit of Barcelona, a little dose of London and lot more of what makes Australia and the Oceania region tick.As well as helping establish a board containing 22 people, including stakeholders from three tiers of government, and recruiting CEO Cindy Hook, Liveris has been asking plenty of questions and “benchmarking” previous Olympic hosts to get a sense of where Brisbane will be similar and where it’ll be very different from other Summer Games.“A year in, I see we’ll use the best of Barcelona and the best of London, but we are developing something which actually is going to be very unique and hopefully seen as very much us,” Liveris said in an interview with The Associated Press. Liveris, a former chairman of the Dow Ch...

Scottish National Party treasurer arrested amid party finances probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

LONDON — Colin Beattie, the Scottish National Party’s treasurer, has been arrested as the fallout continues from the police probe into the party’s finances.In a statement released Tuesday morning, Police Scotland said a 71-year-old man was arrested “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.” The man is Beattie, who has responsibility for the party’s accounts and represents Midlothian North and Musselburgh as a Scottish parliament lawmaker for the pro-independence SNP.The force added: “The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.”Beattie is the second person to be arrested in connection with the finances probe, which has been ongoing for almost two years. The former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was taken into custody earlier in April, after officers turned up at the house he shares with his wife, the former SNP leader, Nicola Stu...

Police: Suspect in custody following Quincy home invasion that left multiple people injured

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:57 GMT

A suspect is in custody and expected to face charges after three people were injured in a home invasion in Quincy Sunday night, according to police.7NEWS later spoke with a victim who asked that his name and face not be shown and who described the moment he said a gunman barged into the house. “We don’t know who he was,” the man said. “This was completely random. It’s terrifying.”Officers responded to 400 Block of Granite Street just after 8:30 p.m. after receiving reports that gunshots were fired and multiple people were stabbed.Upon arrival, police said officers located four people, three of whom were suffering from non-life-threatening stab wounds. The three victims were taken to the hospital for treatment and were later released.The victim said he and his roommates had been getting ready for dinner when they heard a knock at their door. What they thought was their food delivery, the man said, soon took a terrifying turn.“He asked for someone’s name that didn’t live her...