AP News in Brief at 12:09 a.m. EDT

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

AP News in Brief at 12:09 a.m. EDT How a warrant for Putin puts new spin on Xi visit to RussiaWASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week highlighted China’s aspirations for a greater role on the world stage. But they also revealed the perils of global diplomacy: Hours after Friday’s announcement of the trip, an international arrest warrant was issued for Putin on war crimes charges, taking at least some wind out of the sails of China’s big reveal.The flurry of developments — which followed China’s brokering of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume diplomatic relations and its release of what it calls a “peace plan” for Ukraine — came as the Biden administration watches warily Beijing’s moves to assert itself more forcefully in international affairs.U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday he believes the decision by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to charge Putin was “justified.” Speaking to ...

Texas Longhorns face dangerous No. 10 seed in Penn State for spot in Sweet 16

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Texas Longhorns face dangerous No. 10 seed in Penn State for spot in Sweet 16 DES MOINES, Iowa (KXAN) — The Texas men's basketball team shined in its opening-round showdown of the NCAA Tournament, winning 81-61 over Colgate.The second-seeded Longhorns are now one win away from making the second weekend for the first time since 2008. Bracket data: Will Texas reach the Final Four? Making the Sweet 16 would be a meaningful feat for Texas as the previous five times they reached March Madness, the Longhorns fell in the first or second round. "It would be a surreal moment," Longhorns senior forward Timmy Allen said about potentially reaching the Sweet 16. "It would be exactly what we envisioned since the day we got here. We came here with a plan."MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersReaching that coveted second weekend will be no easy feat having to face one of the hottest teams in the country, Penn State. The Nittany Lions were seemingly fighting to eve...

Regulators, scientists insist leak of radioactive water at Xcel nuclear power plant posed no danger

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Regulators, scientists insist leak of radioactive water at Xcel nuclear power plant posed no danger Minnesota regulators knew four months ago that radioactive water had leaked from a nuclear power plant in Monticello — but they didn’t announce anything about the leak until this week.The delay in notifying the public about the November leak raised questions about public safety and transparency, but industry experts said Friday there was never a public health threat. They said Xcel Energy voluntarily notified state agencies and reported the leak of tritium to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission soon after it was confirmed and that the leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water never reached a threshold that would have required public notification.“This is something that we struggle with because there is such concern with anything that is nuclear,” said Victoria Mitlyng, a spokesperson with the NRC. “The concern is very, very understandable. That is why I want to make extra clear the fact that the public in Minnesota, the people, the community near the plant, was not and is not in da...

More rainfall headed to Southern California

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

More rainfall headed to Southern California After a break from the last storm system, more rainfall is on the way for Southern California next week.The heaviest rainfall period is expected to arrive early next Tuesday morning and will last through Wednesday.“This will be a soggy first half of the week, with many hours of light to moderate steady rain,” said the National Weather Service. “Expect plenty of water, rocks, mud on roads, and minor urban and creek flooding.”Chances of scattered showers and drizzling could begin as early as Monday for some areas.In Los Angeles and Ventura counties, rainfall is expected to begin Tuesday morning and continue through early Wednesday, NWS said.Total rainfall is expected to hit around 1-2 inches from Monday through Wednesday and up to 3 inches in the mountains.Forecasted rainfall totals for Southern California. (National Weather Service)Forecasted snow totals for Southern California. (National Weather Service)“The next storm is forecasted to be colder than the last one, so snow levels wil...

Mountain View art studio owner arrested on suspicion of molesting teen girl

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Mountain View art studio owner arrested on suspicion of molesting teen girl MOUNTAIN VIEW – A 55-year-old man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of molesting a teenage girl enrolled in a class at his Mountain View art studio, police said.The girl called police Wednesday to report she had been inappropriately touched on at least one occasion by Oleg Tumasov, the owner of Tumasov Fine Art & Gallery in the 800 block of West El Camino Real, the Mountain View Police Department said in a statement.Police said the girl attended art classes at the studio. Officers also learned Tumasov teaches private tennis lessons in the area.“Based on our ongoing investigation, we are concerned there may be additional victims,” police said.Officers arrested Tumasov just after 12 p.m. on Thursday. He was booked into Santa Clara County jail on charges of lewd acts with a minor, sexual battery and annoying or molesting a child.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Feds charge San Jose man in deadly fentanyl overdose in Fremont Crime and Public Safety | ...

Oakland restaurant week is underway

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Oakland restaurant week is underway OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- East Bay foodies rejoice -- Oakland restaurant week is underway. The event began on March 16 and will go through March 26. Participating restaurants are offering specially-created lunch and dinner menus. Options range from food trucks to Michelin stars. "The community and fabric of Oakland is made up of culturally-distinct neighborhoods, inspiring an incredibly creative food scene of unexpected pairings and fusion-style flavors," a description on Visit Oakland's website reads. Participating restaurants will offer lunch and/or dinner menus at six different price points. Lunch will be $15, $25, or $35 and dinner will be $35, $45, or $65. The event stretches throughout Oakland, with restaurants in Jack London Square, Temescal and Fruitvale participating. Horn Barbecue, Lake Chalet and Shakewell are among the restaurants participating. For a full list, click HERE.

Jones’ breakaway goal leads Ducks past Blue Jackets 7-4

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Jones’ breakaway goal leads Ducks past Blue Jackets 7-4 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Max Jones scored the tiebreaking goal on a breakaway with 2:37 remaining and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 Friday night in a matchup of teams near the bottom of the NHL standings.Jones got the puck at center-ice and then beat Michael Hutchinson on his stick side for his seventh goal of the season.Scott Harrington had two goals for the Ducks, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Troy Terry and Ryan Strome each had a goal and an assist, Trevor Zegras and Max Comtois also scored and Simon Benoit had two assists for Anaheim. Lukas Dostal stopped 38 shots.Patrik Laine had a goal and an assist for Columbus, which has dropped two straight and became the first team eliminated from postseason contention. Nick Blankenburg, Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger also scored, and Hutchinson made 31 saves and also had an assist.Harrington and Strome added empty-netters in the final minute to seal the Ducks’ win.The Blue Jackets have a league-low 49 p...

Burling’s Kiwis take lead in SailGP regatta in home waters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Burling’s Kiwis take lead in SailGP regatta in home waters Peter Burling steered his Kiwi catamaran to finishes of second, first and second in home waters to take the lead in the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Christchurch on Saturday.Burling had a strong day in gusty conditions in front of thousands of Kiwi fans. He’s looking to solidify Team New Zealand’s spot in the Season 3 standings in tech tycoon Larry Ellison’s global league and earn a spot in the season-ending $1 million, winner-take-all, three-boat Grand Final in early May. The Kiwis scored 28 points, four ahead of Canada and its New Zealand-born skipper, Phil Robertson. Sir Ben Ainslie has Emirates Great Britain in third with 23 points while Quentin Delapierre’s French team is fourth with 21. Tom Slingsby and two-time defending champion Australia was fifth with 18 points and Jimmy Spithill of Team USA sixth with 16 points in the fleet of nine foiling 50-foot catamarans.There will be three more fleet races Sunday, with the top three teams advancing to the podiu...

Coles hits late floater, TCU edges Ariz St in March Madness

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Coles hits late floater, TCU edges Ariz St in March Madness DENVER (AP) — JaKobe Coles hit a floater from the lane with 1.5 seconds left and No. 6 seed TCU rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to beat 11th-seeded Arizona State 72-70 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coles took a pass Mike Miles Jr. from near the top of the 3-point circle, dribbled once and let go of the game-winner. Arizona State’s desperation heave at the buzzer missed.Miles, playing on a hyperextended right knee, finished with 26 points for the Horned Frogs (22-12). They advanced to a second-round matchup with No. 3 seed Gonzaga on Sunday in the West Region. DJ Horne had 17 for Arizona State (23-13). ___AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Source

Tatum scores 34, Celtics hold off Trail Blazers 126-112

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:53:38 GMT

Tatum scores 34, Celtics hold off Trail Blazers 126-112 PORTLAND, Ore (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics withstood a late Portland rally for a 126-112 victory over the struggling Trail Blazers on Friday night.Jaylen Brown added 27 points for the Celtics, who have won four of their last five after a three-game losing streak. Boston sits behind NBA-leading Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference.Damian Lillard finished with 41 points — including 25 in the fourth quarter — for the Blazers, who have lost five straight. At 13th in the West, Portland hasn’t yet been eliminated from the playoffs but time was running out with just 12 games remaining.Boston led by as many as 21 points in the third quarter. Lillard’s 3-pointer pulled Portland within 109-96 and he hit another 3 to close the gap to 111-103. The teams exchanged free throws before Brown dunked and Al Horford hit a 3-pointer to put Boston up 118-105 with 1:33 left and all but seal the win. Tatum (hip) and Marcus Smart (non-COVID illness) w...