Five killed in Russian missile attack as Ukraine’s ‘Harry Potter castle’ goes up in flames

At least five people were killed and more than 30 injured in a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa on Monday, Ukrainian authorities say.

Dramatic video footage of the attack, released by the office of Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, showed dozens of bomblets exploding within seconds of each other in an area close to the seafront.

Other videos and pictures shared by officials showed flames engulfing the cone-shaped towers and roof of an educational institution known locally as “Harry Potter castle” due to its resemblance to a Scottish baronial pile.

Ukrainian authorities believe Russia used an Iskander ballistic missile and cluster munitions to carry out the attack.

Minnesota House approves 1 gun bill, tables 2 others

State lawmakers have advanced one piece of gun legislation and tabled two others following a gun owners’ rally at the Capitol over the weekend.

Monday, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved a bill that requires gun owners to report a lost or stolen gun to law enforcement within 48 hours of discovering that it’s missing. It now heads to the Minnesota Senate.

The legislation would make it a petty misdemeanor for failing to promptly report a missing or stolen gun, a misdemeanor for a second offense and a gross misdemeanor for all additional violations. Petty misdemeanors in Minnesota are punishable by a fine of up to $300; misdemeanors carry up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000; and gross misdemeanors have a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

House officials say 14 other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws and hope it will cut down on gun trafficking by more quickly recovering missing guns.

Hamas to consider ceasefire-hostage release proposal that Israeli sources say could avert Rafah invasion

Hamas is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that calls for the group to release as many as 33 hostages kidnapped from Israel in exchange for a pause in hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations and a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.

The latest proposal, which Israel helped craft but has not fully agreed to, is laid out in two phases, the first of which calls for 20 to 33 hostages to be released over several weeks in exchange for the pause and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is what sources described as the “restoration of sustainable calm,” during which the remaining hostages, captive Israeli soldiers and the bodies of hostages would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.

The diplomatic source familiar with the talks said the reference to sustainable calm was “a way to agree to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that.”

After months of deadlock, agreement from both sides would be a major step toward ending the war. But a failure to agree could deepen Israel’s presence in Gaza — if no deal is made, Israel is likely to launcha large-scale ground invasion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering. Israel’s allies, including the United States, have warned against the operation due to the potential for large-scale civilian casualties.

A school principal faced threats after being accused of offensive language on a recording. Now police say it was a deepfake


The recording went viral in January, provoking rage in suburban Baltimore. It seemed that Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert had been caught making racist and antisemitic comments. Angry phone calls overwhelmed the front desk. Employees felt afraid. Security was tightened.

Eiswert was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. He received various threats of violence. A police report said one person told him the “world would be a better place if you were on the other side of the dirt.”

All along, Eiswert denied making the offensive remarks. He said that wasn’t his voice on the recording. He believed it was an AI deepfake. And on Thursday, law-enforcement authorities announced they believe he was right.

The recording was indeed a fake, according to the Baltimore County Police Department. And the man accused of making it — a school employee who had clashed with the principal — was arrested on charges that included disturbing the operation of a school.

Hamas official who sought endless war after Oct. 7 says it could put down arms for 2-state deal

A senior member of Hamas’s Qatar-based politburo said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the terrorist group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.

However, in separate comments published by the London-based Arabic paper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the same official, Khalil al-Hayya, indicated this would only be a temporary stance and that the Palestinians retain their “historic right to all Palestinian lands.”

Al-Hayya also specified in the AP interview that the envisaged Palestinian state would necessitate “the return of Palestinian refugees” to today’s Israel. The Palestinian demand for a so-called “right of return” provides for up to six million descendants of refugees entering Israel — a demand dismissed by Israel as seeking to destroy it as a Jewish majority state.

Al-Hayya’s comments came amid a stalemate in months of talks for a truce and a hostage release. The suggestion that Hamas could disarm appeared to mark a potential departure by the terror group, which is officially committed to Israel’s destruction.

New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes convictions and orders a new trial

The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the sex crimes conviction against Harvey Weinstein, the powerful Hollywood producer whose downfall stood as a symbol of the #MeToo movement.

The court, by a 4-3 vote, ordered a new trial.

“We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” the ruling, written by Judge Jenny Rivera, states.

“The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light. The synergistic effect of these errors was not harmless.”

Still, Weinstein is not a free man. Last year, he was sentenced in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for charges of rape and sexual assault.

Legendary Minnesota hockey broadcaster Al Shaver dies

The legendary “voice of hockey” in Minnesota has died.

KSTP Sports confirmed Wednesday that Al Shaver has died. He was 96.

Shaver worked in many roles during his 48-year broadcasting career but is most commonly known as the voice of the Minnesota North Stars.

He came to the Twin Cities in 1967 to call North Stars games, which he did for 26 years until the team moved to Dallas in 1993. He then broadcast Gophers hockey games until his retirement in 1996. His son, Wally, is now the voice of Gophers hockey.

Shaver is a 10-time Minnesota Sportscaster of the Year and received numerous awards over his career. He’s also in the Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Biden’s planned commencement speech sparks concern at Morehouse College


A commencement speech that President Joe Biden is expected to deliver at Morehouse College next month has sparked some concern among the school’s faculty amid heightened tensions on college campuses across the country over the US’ continued support for Israel in its war in Gaza.

The White House on Tuesday formally announced that Biden will deliver the May 19 commencement at Morehouse, but faculty at the school – one of the nation’s preeminent historically Black colleges – expressed concerns about Biden’s presence on campus after hearing rumors that he would deliver the commencement earlier this week, according to an email from Morehouse Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Kendrick Brown, which was obtained by CNN.

In the email, Brown writes that the concerns “prompted me to consult with elected faculty leaders” and those leaders “expressed clearly that providing such a forum for discussion would be valued by many faculty.”

The forum is scheduled for April 25, according to the email and will just be for faculty, though Brown notes “students also will engage” with college President David Thomas on the issue.