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that threatens to cut off annexed peninsula from Putin's reinforcements A huge explosion has hit the only bridge between Crimea and Russia, a crucial supply line for Putin's forces Footage shows the blast following the rail bridge engulfed in flames and the road bridge next to it collapsed The cause of the explosion is not known but Ukraine has been targeting Russian logistics in recent weeks Footage appears to show a truck exploding on the road section of the bridge as sabotage is suspected A crucial bridge linking Russia and Ukraine has caught fire in a spectacular explosion in a...

According to Yanushevich, Ukrainian strikes have completely decommissioned almost all the major bridges in the region - Antonivskyi (road and railway), as well as the Nova Kakhovka Dam Bridge. “As a result of these actions, the Russian army was cut off from the supply of weapons and personnel from the territory of Crimea and the left-bank part of Kherson Oblast,” Yanushevich explained. He also confirmed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched an offensive in all directions in southern Ukraine, but added that the authorities can only provide official information from the military. “We must remain calm and not...

Breaking: The Kerch Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea to Russia, is on fire.

The Kerch bridge from Russia to Crimea, a hated symbol of the Kremlin’s occupation of the southern Ukrainian peninsular, has been hit by a massive explosion on the span that carries railway traffic. Images from the bridge showed a fiercely burning fire engulfing at least two railway carriages from a train on the bridge, accompanied by a vast column of black smoke. The explosion, which witnesses said could be heard kilometres away, took place around 6am on Saturday while a train was crossing the bridge, although it was not immediately clear what caused it. Some images appeared to show a...

<p>"Let her be a civilian for a while," Larry Rudolph tells Variety. "She's given so much. Give her time."</p> <p>Britney Spears’s longtime manager Larry Rudolph says the singer may never perform again. Speaking to TMZ, Rudolph said, “As the person who guides her career — based on the information I and all of the professionals who work with her are being told on a need-to-know basis — from what I have gathered it’s clear to me she should not be going back to do this Vegas residency, not in the near future and possibly never again.”</p>

DES MOINES – Presidential contender Rick Perry said there are eight Supreme Court justices, not nine, and flubbed Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s (SOHN’-ya soh-toh-my-YOR’) name in an editorial board meeting at The Des Moines Register. Perry met with the board Friday. He struggled for six seconds to come up with Sotomayor’s name, then initially called the justice “Montemayor.” A member of the newspaper’s editorial board helped him out with the correct name.

Jamie Lynn Spears, 16, has confirmed to OK! Magazine that she is pregnant. Oh. My. God. A source tells us the interview, which hits stands tomorrow, is six pages and is on the record with Jamie Lynn and her mother. She tells the mag that the father is Casey Aldridge, who she has been dating for some time and first met at church. Brit's younger sister, star of Nick's "Zoey 101," says she's keeping the baby.

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show. ADVERTISEMENT In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews. The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in...

HOUSTON — Shuttle astronauts spotted three pieces of debris floating in space outside Atlantis early Wednesday, a day after the discovery of two other mysterious objects forced a postponement of the landing. Atlantis commander Brent Jett described the objects as two rings and a piece of foil. He told Mission Control the first object, about 100 feet from the shuttle, was "a reflective cloth or a mechanic looking-cloth. ... It's not a solid metal structure." "It doesn't look like anything I've seen outside the shuttle," Jett said. ... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214645,00.html

Sioux Falls, S.D. - When 20-year-old Courtney found out three weeks ago that she was pregnant, it hit the single mother - already struggling with a 1-year-old - like a brick. She cried, she talked to friends, and she came to a heart- wrenching decision: She wanted an abortion. Then the real work began. She had to take off two days from her mechanic's job in a small South Dakota town, find a ride and travel six hours one way to the state's only abortion clinic. Some friends in her place had left the state. Others kept a baby they...

June 26, 2005 Guest Viewpoint: The party's over for betrayed Republican By James Chaney As of today, after 25 years, I am no longer a Republican. I take this step with deep regret, and with a deep sense of betrayal. I still believe in the vast power of markets to inspire ideas, motivate solutions and eliminate waste. I still believe in international vigilance and a strong defense, because this world will always be home to people who will avidly seek to take or destroy what we have built as a nation. I still believe in the protection of individuals and...

Gay-rights opponent Santorum stands by outed aide BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - (KRT) - The senior spokesman for Sen. Rick Santorum, R- Pa., Friday confirmed to a web log that he is gay. According to PageOneQ, an online gay and lesbian publication, director of communications Robert L. Traynham, said that he was an "out gay man who completely supports the senator." Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate leadership has been an outspoken opponent of homosexual rights and a leading proponent of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Santorum, who was traveling in Pittsburgh, released the following...

t will cost more than $11 billion to pay for the 14-mile monorail Green Line project and the debt to finance it, according to documents made public yesterday. That's more than triple what Sound Transit will pay for construction and debt service for its 14-mile light rail line from downtown Seattle to Tukwila. The total also is more than five times the construction tab alone for the monorail, a ratio that troubles state Treasurer Mike Murphy. "You've got to be kidding me," Murphy said yesterday. "That's ludicrous." He said the typical principal and interest payments on a state project amount...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Pop star Britney Spears has tied the knot -- again. Entertainment Tonight is reporting the 22-year-old Spears married her fiance, dancer Kevin Federline, last night at a private home in Studio City. Only a couple dozen friends and family members were in attendance. Spears announced her engagement to the 26-year-old Federline in June. He has appeared in the movie "You Got Served" and performed as a backup dancer for Spears' ex, Justin Timberlake. It was the second marriage in nine months for Spears. In January, she got hitched to childhood friend Jason Alexander in a surprise...

<p>May 13, 2004 -- WASHINGTON - Shocking shots of sexcapades involving Pfc. Lynndie England were among the hundreds of X-rated photos and videos from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal shown to lawmakers in a top-secret Capitol conference room yesterday.</p> <p>"She was having sex with numerous partners. It appeared to be consensual," said a lawmaker who saw the photos.</p>

<p>September 11, 2003 -- DEMOCRATIC 2004 front-runner Howard Dean is starting to get a reputation for talking out of both sides of his mouth - and not just on Israel.</p> <p>That could become a big problem for a guy who's running on a "tell it like it is" platform - it may be the first hint of an Achilles heel that might slow Dean's surge to the Democratic nomination.</p>

It was a mistake, I swear. I didn't even like it. I'll never do it again. I'm sorry.

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Sons of drowned family members sue county for negligence The surviving sons of a family that drowned in Lake Isabella last summer are suing the county. The Bakersfield Californian reports that Jeremy and Cody Skaggs, and their grandparents, filed a claim late last month against the county. It claims the county negligently built, operated and maintained the lake. The suit is asking for $1 million dollars per victim. Last July, six members of the Skaggs family drowned, including four children. An autopsy revealed the two parents, Martin Skaggs and Charlotte Whittington, were under the influence of methamphetamine when they...