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Sasha Solomon, a software engineer, joined others in the media business who lost their jobs this year after publicly taking on their employers. In the middle of a workday, Sasha Solomon, a 34-year-old software engineer in Portland, Ore., put her French bulldog, Bosworth, on a leash and walked down a leafy street to a favorite coffee shop. It seemed like an ordinary November afternoon, or as ordinary as it could be for someone working at Twitter under its mercurial new owner, Elon Musk. Ms. Solomon ordered a latte for herself and a drip coffee with cream for her husband. Then...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russian shells pummeled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Saturday, killing seven people and injuring 58 more in the city that Moscow’s forces were forced to abandon last month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, just back from his quick trip to Washington, posted photos of the wreckage on his social media accounts. He noted the destruction came as Ukrainians were beginning Christmas celebrations that for many Orthodox Christians will culminate in the traditional celebration on January 7th.

A Chicago man slammed his boyfriend’s miniature Goldendoodle against a CTA station wall and threw it to its death during an argument early Thursday in Lakeview, prosecutors said. Demetrice Spencer, 43, was allegedly seen arguing with his boyfriend, who was holding the dog, as they waited for a train at the Paulina Brown Line station around 12:01 a.m. According to prosecutor Sarah Dale-Schmidt, the video shows Spencer throwing items from the platform, including his own phone and a backpack. At one point, Spencer picked up the dog, slammed it against the train station wall, and tossed it from the platform...

Ottawa, Canada - Fresh on the tail of banning handguns, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has initiated a ban on poutine. Poutine, a staple in Canadian diets, is French fries covered in gravy and cheese curds.A spokesman for Trudeau issued the announcement, "Now that we've eliminated handguns, we need to look at the real big killer in Canada, eh. Far more people are dying of poutine-related heart disease than were ever killed by guns. We Canadians are usually too polite to shoot each other, but we're also too polite to say 'no' to a second helping of poutine."Opposition leader Pierre...

Election denialism runs rampant in the U.S. Some deniers claim all the ballots weren’t counted. “Once we have that full and accurate account of the ballots casted, then we will know who our next president is and our country can move forward.” Others have said that they should delay conceding a lost race. “[He] should not concede under any circumstances, because I think this is going to drag out, and eventually I do believe he will win if we don’t give an inch.” And, “I did win my election. I just didn’t get to have the job.” And “We were...

Consultor For Francis' Banana Republic: Francis' Friends Are Above Francis' LawsFrancis kept Father Marko Rupnik SJ as a consultor at several Vatican Congregations after he was excommunicated for sexual abuse.Italian media report that the May 2020 excommunication was pronounced because of the sacramental absolution (2015) to one of his sexual accomplices, a religious novice.Most accusation stem from thirty years ago and regard Slovenian sisters whom Rupnik served as chaplain. Rome Auxiliary Bishop Daniele Libanori who investigated the accusations called them true.The Jesuits admitted to know about the accusations at least by 2019. They claim that Rupnik’s ministry was “restricted” in...

A St. Louis County woman is charged with two counts of first-degree murder after she tracked down her stolen car and allegedly killed two men outside a gas station, police said. The video shows Coleman opening the car door with her gun raised, while the man opens another door, also with his gun raised. Coleman opened fire and sparked the shootout, police said.

Pope Francis claims it’s ‘heresy’ not to ‘translate’ Gospel into modern ‘ways of thinking’The Pontiff echoed some of his regular talking points during his Christmas address, including his praise for Vatican II and the process of synodality.In his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis claimed that “true heresy” involved not only “preaching another Gospel” but in neglecting to “translate it into today’s languages and ways of thinking.”The 86-year-old Pontiff made his comments to the assembled members of the Roman Curia – both clerical and lay – on Thursday morning in the Vatican. Some of his regular themes...

This is a fiction Christmas story I wrote years ago: Joe walked into the living room brightly decorated for Christmas. The tree glittered with all the decorations and packages underneath. He thought it odd how the Gold Star on the tree matched the star on the window as the snow fell silently in the background. The dull pain in his chest returned as he looked at the lone gold star stuck on the window. Joe looked at his lovely wife of 27 years, wondering when he would ever see that smile light her face again. He walked into the room...

Vince Guaraldi Trio’s evergreen soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas hits a new peak on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the set rises 5-2 (on the list dated Dec. 24). That surpasses its previous high, notched just a week ago, when the album rose 7-5, beating its earlier peak of No. 6, achieved last holiday season (Dec. 18, 2021). The companion album to the 1965 animated TV special sold 17,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 15 (up 24%), according to Luminate. Most of that sum (14,000) is driven by vinyl album sales. A Charlie Brown...

Mercedes Benz W123 is the best-selling Mercedes-Benz of all time - 2.7 million made. It radiates old-school spirit of quality engineering.

ALBANY, NY (WRGB) — Gas prices continue a downward trajectory -- a national average is $3.09, New York has an average of $3.43, and the Capital Region is averaging $3.41 a gallon, all of these numbers coming from AAA. We’ve seen local prices below $3. And a statewide gas tax suspension, as well as some local price cuts -- set to expire at the end of the year. “I wanted to make sure we had a long ramp to make sure before it’s resumed to what it had been, that we knew with certainty the prices would not continue to...

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WFFT) - Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) and PJM, – the regional power grid operator, are urging people to reduce their use of electricity as the severe weather has led to an extraordinary strain on the power system. I&M is asking businesses and the public to help by setting thermostats lower than usual (if health allows), postponing the use of major electric appliances such as clothes dryers, stoves, and dishwashers, and turning off non-essential lights, equipment, and appliances. These steps should be taken as long as safety is not sacrificed. I&M and PJM ask that these measures be...

Brighton, N.Y. — It's a sustainable energy showdown in Brighton. Town Supervisor Bill Moehle said the town is suing so-called renewable energy company Source Power, which he said cost 10,000 Brighton customers more than $1 million in just six months. "In June of this year, June of 2022, without warning, we were notified that Source was unilaterally terminating their contract and discontinuing providing electricity to Brighton customer as of June 15, 2022," Moehle said. The town began a two-year contract with Source in December 2020, according to Moehle. The company claimed it supplied renewable energy, locking customers in at paying...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ֎ Featuring 29 Paintings, 2 Reliefs, 1 Statue and 8 Windows ֎ G A B R I E L A N N O U N C E S T O M A R Y 1 HENRY OSSAWA TANNER "The Annunciation" 2 WILLIAM BRASSEY HOLE "The Annunciation" 3 JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE "The Annunciation" 4 ARTHUR HACKER "The Annunciation" 5 SIMON BENING "The Annunciation" 6 GODFRIED SCHALCKEN "The Annunciation" 7 OSCAR ALONZO "The...

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 1862. To the Army of the Potomac: I have just read your Commanding General's preliminary report of the battle of Fredericksburgh. Although you were not successful, the attempt was not an error, nor the failure other than an accident. The courage with which you, in an open field, maintained the contest against an intrenched foe, and the consummate skill and success with which you crossed and recrossed the river in the face of the enemy, show that you possess all the qualities of a great army, which will yet give victory to the cause of...

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemMatthew 21Jesus Curses a Fig Tree 18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only...

For years, two administrators at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) have been withholding notifications of National Merit awards from the school’s families, most of them Asian, thus denying students the right to use those awards to boost their college-admission prospects and earn scholarships. This episode has emerged amid the school district’s new strategy of “equal outcomes for every student, without exception.” School administrators, for instance, have implemented an “equitable grading” policy that eliminates zeros, gives students a grade of 50 percent just for showing up, and assigns a cryptic code of “NTI” for assignments not turned...

@DaveAtherton20 Meet Mahmood Malik 42 living in Bournemouth, who arrived in Britain 25 days ago from Pakistan. He groomed what he thought was a 13yr old girl. Obscene sexual chat & asked for indecent images. Prior to sexual activities he fanaticised about covering her in chocolate & cream.

Disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried appears to be living a life of luxury, after pictures of him in an American Airlines lounge and business class seat emerged following his $250 million bond release. Photos show the accused fraudster Bankman-Fried relaxing at JFK's American Airlines Flagship lounge and later, without shoes, in a business class seat on a AA flight. The pictures, posted to social media on Friday show two snaps in the lounge with a caption saying that he was there 'with his parents, FBI and lawyers.' The person taking the lounge pictures said that they had asked if they could take...