Death toll from Russian missile attack on Dnipro rises to 30; Vladimir Putin claims war on Ukraine is developing according to plan

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The number of people killed in a Russian missile attack on a residential block in Dnipro has risen to 30, according to Ukrainian officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest address that “the list of the dead includes 30 people, including one child – a girl, she was 15 years old”. At least 73 people were wounded and 39 people had been rescued as of Sunday afternoon. The city government in Dnipro said 43 people were still reported missing. “The chances of saving people now are minimal,” Dnipro’s mayor, Borys Filatov, told Reuters. I think the number of dead will be in the dozens.”

Claiming responsibility for the missile strikes across Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that it achieved its goal. A ministry statement posted on Telegram said: “All designated targets have been hit. The goal of the attack has been achieved.” However, it did not mention the attack on the Dnipro residential building.

President Vladimir Putin has told Russian state television that what he calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine has gained positive momentum. “The dynamic is positive,” he told Rossiya 1 state television. “Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the ministry of defence and the general staff.” Putin said he hoped soldiers would deliver more wins after Russia claimed control of the eastern Ukrainian salt-mining town of Soledar – a claim disputed by Kyiv.

Battle tanks from German industrial reserves wanted by Ukraine will not be ready to be delivered until 2024. The warning from arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will dampen Kyiv’s hopes that the UK’s promise to deliver Challenger 2 tanks would encourage other European nations to swiftly follow suit. “Even if the decision to send our Leopard tanks to Kyiv came tomorrow, the delivery would take until the start of next year,” Rheinmetall’s chief executive, Armin Papperger, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The UK prime minister has confirmed the country will provide 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks and other advanced artillery support to Ukraine in the coming weeks. Downing Street said Rishi Sunak made the pledge during a call on Saturday morning with Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a sign of the UK’s “ambition to intensify our support to Ukraine”. Russia’s embassy in Britain said the move would only “intensify” the conflict.

The UK foreign secretary has said “now is the time to accelerate and go further and faster” in giving Ukraine the support it needs. In a column for British tabloid the Sun on Sunday, James Cleverly writes that the Russian army is on the defensive and morale among its troops is pitiful, blaming the “shambolic state of Russian military logistics”.

Nato’s secretary general said Ukraine could expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from western countries soon. “The recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important – and I expect more in the near future,” Jens Stoltenberg told Germany’s Handelsblatt daily on Sunday. Western allies will consider sending battle tanks to Kyiv ahead of a meeting in Ramstein in Germany next Friday where governments are expected to announce their latest pledges of military support.

Belarus’s security council said on Sunday that joint air force drills with Russia, due to start on Monday, were purely defensive in nature and would focus on reconnaissance missions and how to thwart a potential attack. “The exercise is purely defensive in nature,” said Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of the Belarusian security council, according to a post on the Belarusian defence ministry’s Telegram app on Sunday. “It will be a set of measures to prepare our and Russian aviation to carry out the relevant combat missions.”

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Opera star Placido Domingo faced new accusations of sexual harassment from a fellow Spanish singer in a television programme broadcast on Sunday, three years after such claims prompted an apology and curtailed his career.

In a 2020 investigation, more than three dozen singers, dancers, musicians, voice teachers and backstage staff said they had witnessed or experienced inappropriate behaviour by Domingo, 83, over three decades. Domingo has not admitted any wrongdoing.

The latest accusation came from an unidentified singer in Spain’s La Sexta television channel. Appearing as a dark figure, she said Domingo allegedly asked to touch her at a theatre in Spain at the start of the 21st century. On another occasion, he tried to kiss her, she said.

“One of the first things they tell you is don’t go up in the lift alone with Placido Domingo,” the woman told La Sexta television channel.

She related how Domingo allegedly asked to touch her after a rehearsal.

“The first time that I felt unease was when we were rehearsing. He (Placido) told me in front of everyone: ‘Listen, can I put my hand in one of these lovely pockets of yours.’ I was wearing trousers with an embroidered back pocket,” she said.

“I had a bad stomach because I thought what can I say to (Domingo) in order to carry on normally. If I tell him no, there will be consequences and if I say yes, I don’t even want to think about it.”

The singer said she did not report Domingo to her bosses or the authorities.

“He is Domingo. He is untouchable. He should not be but I am in the shadows,” she added.

Representatives of Domingo did not respond to a request for comment.

The 2020 investigation by the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) concluded that Domingo had behaved inappropriately.

Domingo said in a statement at the time he respected the women’s decisions to speak out and that he was “truly sorry for the hurt I caused them.”

The findings prompted Spain to cancel planned performances by the tenor-turned baritone at publicly funded theatres. U.S. institutions including the Metropolitan Opera in New York and San Francisco Opera also scrapped planned engagements.

Domingo resigned as general director of the Los Angeles Opera, whose own enquiry found 10 allegations about him to be “credible.”

No criminal case was brought to court over any of the claims.

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo in January 2022, Domingo denied harassing anyone and said he felt he had been convicted in the court of public opinion because he did not speak out.

AGMA’s investigation was partial, he said, and contained few concrete facts.

Domingo returned to Spain to perform in a charity concert in June after an absence of almost a year and a half, and has performed in other countries.

Two more people suspected of participating in the May murder of a Paraguayan prosecutor have been arrested, the Colombian prosecutor’s office said on Sunday.

Prosecutor Marcelo Pecci, 45, known for fighting organized crime, was shot dead on the island of Baru near the Caribbean city of Cartagena while honeymooning with his wife.

Four people have already been jailed in Colombia for their involvement in his killing, and a man in Venezeula was arrested in December.

In the latest arrests, brothers Andres Perez and Ramon Perez are accused of arranging the logistics behind the murder, including hiring hitmen, who they planned to pay large sums of money, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Attorneys for the Perez brothers could not be reached for comment.

“These two people, it appears, were the ones who were in charge of the logistics, which made the criminal act possible,” Colombian Attorney General Francisco Barbosa told reporters.

Officials seized documents, clothing and a car that had been used during the planning of the murder, the prosecutor’s office added in a statement.

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Zillow

• Three of the most iconic properties in Detroit were up for sale all at the same time.
• The Book, Kresge, and Whitney mansions were on the market until the Book finally sold.
• Because of the ongoing threat of a recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, selling them has been a long process. 

Detroit is known for its unique architecture, with homes built in the 19th and 20th centuries still standing today.

But three of the most iconic properties in Detroit were up for sale all at the same time for several months. The Book, Kresge, and Whitney mansions were on the market for months, with the Book finally selling at the end of 2022.

They have been restored through the years, but because of the threat of a recession and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, selling them has been a long process. 

The Book Mansion, sold for $1.2 million

James Burgess Book Jr. developed the Book Mansion, part of the historic Indian Village neighborhood, in 1911. The architect Louis Kamper took inspiration from the legendary Palace of Versailles in France while designing the property. It has seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, reception halls, and a grand marble staircase. The last owners lived there for a little over a decade, spending more than $4 million on renovating the home.

James Burgess Book Jr. developed the Book Mansion, part of the Indian Village neighborhood, in 1911.

Keller Williams Realty

The asking price was $3.5 million, but Matt Dillon and Steffanie Purdon of Windsor, Canada, bought it last fall for a little over $1 million.

The Kresge Mansion, for sale for $3.25 million, first on the market in 2019

The Kresge Mansion on Boston Boulevard is the largest residential property in Detroit at almost four acres and behind an iron fence, with 14 rooms, staff quarters in the back, and a carriage house with living quarters upstairs.

The Kresge Mansion has staff quarters and a carriage house with living quarters upstairs.

Zillow

Built in 1914, Sebastian and Anna Kresge owned the home. They divorced in 1924, and Anna Kresge added a billiards room and a conservatory. According to the Detroit News, in 1948 when Anna Kresge died, it was donated to the Catholic Church.

The Kresge was purchased again in 1993 to be renovated and used as housing and practice space for visiting symphony members while they played in Detroit. But the project fell through after Covid.

For almost 30 years, the home had been under restoration, and the chimney remains to be repaired. It is on the market for $3.25 million. 

The Whitney Mansion, for sale at $2.9 million, on the market since June 

Finally, the iconic Whitney Mansion, which the Michigan lumber baron David Whitney, one of the wealthiest men in Michigan at the time, built between 1890 and 1894.

The Whitney is a 52-room estate with Tiffany glass windows and a caged conservatory that is now a business.

Max Broock Realtors

Gordon W. Lloyd designed the 52-room estate with Tiffany glass windows and a caged conservatory. In 2013, Jim Jarmusch used the estate for his film “Only Lovers Left Alive.” At the time, the mansion was deteriorating, but it has since been restored.

The Whitney, on the market for $2.9 million, is currently a fine-dining restaurant and venue. 

A local myth that the Whitney is literally a “haunted mansion,” has intrigued some potential buyers — or at least curious minds.

Listing agent for the Whitney, Matt O’Laughlin of Max Broock Realtors, said the economy has made selling the property a struggle.

“Detroit has a challenge. Of right now, higher interest rates, higher taxes, and then you’ve got a job market that hasn’t fully returned yet. So that’s been a struggle,” he said.

There was out-of-state interest, but that ceased due to the pandemic, he said, and historically, house shopping is at a lull during Michigan winters.

O’Laughlin estimates that interest rates will stabilize in the spring, coinciding with house shopping ramping up again. 

Detroit’s future

The Kresge and Book are residential properties, while The Whitney is a business.

The three are considered historic city jewels, but hit the market for less than what they might have under normal circumstances partly because of a new drop in city residents.

“The exodus to the suburbs is real simple. It’s COVID. COVID taught us we need to change our lifestyle,” Steve Katsaros, a broker with Keller Williams Realty, told Insider.

The pandemic started the exodus from Detroit with the advent of the working-from-home movement.

“It was fun and cool to live downtown. Downtown shut down. It was a ghost town. And it still hasn’t bounced back for office buildings and so forth,” Katsaros said.

The Whitney Mansion was built between 1890 and 1894 for the Michigan lumber baron David Whitney.

Max Broock Realtors

It’s been pretty much proven that just about every Republican accusation is a confession. Whether it’s about sex, finances/business dealings or just about anything else for that matter. And electoral fraud is no exception to that rule. For example, here in Iowa the wife of a one-time Republican congressional candidate and current Woodbury County supervisor is in a spot of trouble with the law.

Kim Phuong Taylor of Sioux City was arrested on January 12 and charged with the following: (a) 26 counts of providing false information; (b) three counts of fraudulent registration; and (c) 23 counts of voting fraudulently. She faces up to five years in prison is convicted. Taylor is alleged to not only have submitted dozens of falsified affidavits, ballots, and voter registrations but got others to do the same.

Republicans love to talk about how every Democratic voter registration or vote is somehow fraudulent – especially when their candidates lose elections. They have accused others of voter fraud without any solid evidence over and over and are usually laughed out of court. I don’t see these same Republicans running to condemn what Ms. Taylor did. I don’t see the MyPillow Guy, Rudy, MTG, or any other of the Branch Trumpvidians calling Taylor out for her crimes.

As I said, nearly every accusation of wrongdoing that Republicans make are confessions. This is not the first-time a Republican has been arrested for voter/electoral fraud, and I somehow doubt it’ll be the last. And this is not the first time Republicans scream about voter fraud when a Democrat gets any votes but fail to say a word when a Republican is arrested for fraud. Nor will it be the last.

The post Republican busted for voter fraud appeared first on Palmer Report.

(Reuters) — U.S. Representative George Santos, who lied about much of his resume and life story, will be removed from Congress if found to have broken campaign finance laws, fellow Republican and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Sunday.

“He’s a bad guy,” Comer said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “It’s not up to me or any other member of Congress to determine whether he can be kicked out for lying. Now, if he broke campaign finance laws, then he will be removed from Congress.”

Santos has repeatedly refused to resign, even as pressure has grown within his own party for him to do so. On Thursday, he said he would vacate his New York City-area seat only if he loses the next election.

More than a dozen Republicans officials, many of them from Santos’ district, which covers parts of Queens and Long Island, have demanded the resignation of the newly elected congressman. At least six of his fellow Republican representatives from New York have joined the calls for him to step down.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said he will leave Santos’ fate to the Ethics Committee and voters.

Democratic Representative Dan Goldman said he wrote on Sunday to McCarthy, Representative Elise Stefanik, the Republican conference chairwoman, and Dan Conston, head of the Congressional Leadership Fund, a House Republican fundraising group, about a New York Times report that they were aware of Santos’ fabrications before the November election. He urged them to cooperate with any ethics investigation into the matter.

“It is one thing for a candidate such as Mr. Santos to induce voters to support him based on a web of lies,” Goldman wrote in his letter. “But it is altogether something else if the top levels of Republican leadership knew about Mr. Santos’ lies during the campaign and chose to be complicit.”

McCarthy, Stefanik’s office and the Congressional Leadership Fund did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Economic terrorism? That is what the GOP is being accused of. Allow me to explain. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that we are likely to reach our borrowing limit in the next week or so. Congress must raise the debt limit.

Yellen wrote a letter to Congress underscoring the importance of what’s going on and reminding Congress to “meet its obligations.” and “act in a timely manner.” Only Kevin McCarthy and some of his klan do not seem to want to do that. Instead, they want to hold the government hostage unless democrats agree to a series of outlandish demands.

Many suspect Kevin promised members of the alt-right caucus he’d hold the government hostage to get their votes on his House Speaker position. After all, the crazy right wants to do things like shred social security.

One thing I want to stress. That will never happen. If Kevin McCarthy thinks the Democrats would EVER agree to do that, he is a bigger fool than even I thought. None of the bizarre things the GOP wants will happen.

But that does not mean they will not make lots of mischief in the meantime. The House is currently held hostage by a bunch of radical right-wing insurrectionists and economic terrorists whose motto seems to be “burn it all down.” They love to create mayhem and will not go quietly.

Luckily, some of the more moderate members of the House are said to be mighty uneasy about what the more crazy members want to do.

And all of this underscores what Palmer Report has said from the beginning. The GOP can’t do even the most basic of things. They have different factions at war with each other, which will shine brightly with every bumbling decision the Republican-led House makes.

The post “Burn it all down” appeared first on Palmer Report.