Month: February 2023

A former security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for putting U.K. diplomats at “maximum risk” by selling secret information to Russia. David Ballantyne Smith admitted spying but claimed he was driven by depression and a desire to “teach the embassy a lesson” because he felt badly treated at work. But Judge Mark Wall said Smith was motivated by hatred of the U.K. and support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. David Ballantyne Smith was secretly working for Russia. (AP) READ MORE: Spy balloon launched from tropical paradise “He was paid for his treachery, and he was motivated by his antipathy towards this country and intended to damage this country’s interests by acting as he did,” Wall said. Passing sente...

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs awoke Monday still reveling in the glow of their second Super Bowl title in a four-year span, while the Philadelphia Eagles were left to lament how close they came to winning another Lombardi Trophy of their own. The rest of the league? Well, they’ve been looking toward the future for a while now. The day after the Super Bowl represents the first day of the offseason, though that’s a bit of a misnomer — nobody around the NFL takes any time off. There are some hard business decisions to be made with current players, scouting that needs to be wrapped up and a game plan to formulate before the league holds its annual draft at the end of April. The draft, coincidentally, will be in Kansas City this year. Here’s a look at what comes next now tha...

QUEBEC CITY (AP) — The boys’ hockey team of Ukrainian refugees extended its celebrated stay in Canada for a few more days, at least. Maksym Kukharenko scored a power-play goal and Matvii Kulish earned the shutout in the Ukrainian Selects 2-0 victory over Team Romania Wolves in an elimination game at the International Peewee Tournament in Quebec City on Monday night. The Ukrainians, who have been celebrated around town since their arrival some two weeks ago, are three wins from clinching a spot in the tournament Class AA championship on Sunday. They advanced to play the Vermont Flames Academy on Friday. Appearing more accustomed to playing in front of large crowds after a slow start in winning their opening game two days earlier, Kukharenko scored 4:37 into the 10-minute first period off...

WASHINGTON (AP) — While some Republicans blame the COVID-19 vaccine or “wokeness” for the Army’s recruiting woes, the military service says the bigger hurdles are more traditional ones: Young people don’t want to die or get injured, deal with the stress of Army life and put their lives on hold. They “just don’t see the Army as something that’s relevant,” said Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, head of Army marketing. “They see us as revered, but not relevant, in their lives.” Addressing those longtime issues has taken on greater urgency as the Army tries to recover from its worst recruiting year in decades, a situation aggravated by the tight jobs market. The Army is offering new programs, advertising and enticements in an effort to change perceptions and reverse the decline. One incentive gives recr...

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes was magical when the Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed him to pull off another Super Bowl comeback. Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and scrambled 26 yards on the go-ahead drive before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. The Chiefs won their second NFL title in four years and two-time NFL MVP Mahomes earned his second Super Bowl MVP award. “I thought guys just embraced the moment,” Mahomes said about rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit. “In that first half, we were playing and doing some good stuff, but I felt like the guys were getting consumed by everything around us.” Mahomes...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The head of a union representing most of the Memphis Fire Department said three employees who were fired after the death of Tyre Nichols weren’t given enough information as they responded to the call for medical help. Thomas Malone, president of the Memphis Fire Fighters Association, also wrote in a letter to city councilmembers that information was withheld from those first responders by people on the scene. Nichols, who is Black, was beaten by Memphis police after he was pulled over Jan. 7 for an alleged traffic violation. However, police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis has said publicly released footage failed to show why Nichols was stopped at all. The union leader came to the defense of the fire department as a whole, saying its more-than-1,600 employees “serve this ...