KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Competing claims emerged over a deadly attack on a boarding school in Sudzha, a city in Russia’s Kursk region that has been under Ukrainian control for five months, with Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of carrying out the strike.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Saturday night that four people were killed and a further four seriously wounded in the strike, with 84 people rescued by Ukrainian servicemen from the rubble of the building. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow had bombed the boarding school where civilians were sheltering and preparing to evacuate.
The General Staff said those in need of additional medical assistance were evacuated to medical facilities in Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed in the early hours of Sunday that it was Ukrainian forces that had launched a missile strike on the school, saying that the missiles were launched from Ukraine’s Sumy region.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Poltava on Saturday rose to 14, including two children, local officials said Sunday. Seventeen people were injured in the attack on the five-story building, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
Moscow sent 55 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 40 drones were destroyed during the overnight attacks. A further 13 drones were “lost”, likely having been electronically jammed.
Two people were wounded in a drone attack in the Kharkiv region, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Sunday.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said that five Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in five regions of western Russia: three over the Kursk region, and one each over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
A man was killed in a drone strike in the Belgorod region, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
In a recent incident that has heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, both countries are trading blame over an attack on a boarding school in Russia’s Kursk region. The attack, which occurred on Tuesday morning, resulted in the death of several students and teachers, as well as the destruction of the school building.
Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out the attack, citing evidence of missile fragments and other military equipment found at the scene. They have called the incident a “terrorist act” and have vowed to retaliate against those responsible.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack and has accused Russia of fabricating evidence to frame them. Ukrainian officials have called for an independent investigation into the incident and have called on the international community to condemn Russia’s actions.
The attack on the boarding school in the Kursk region has further escalated tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which have been at odds since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The international community is closely monitoring the situation and calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
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Russia, Ukraine, attack, boarding school, Kursk region, blame, conflict, international relations, Russia-Ukraine tensions, school violence, diplomatic tensions
Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for a deadly missile strike that killed at least four people in the dormitory of a boarding school situated in a part of Russia’s Kursk region held by Ukrainian forces.
Some of the war’s fiercest battles in recent months have been taking place in the Kursk region that borders Ukraine, where Kyiv forces have held swathes of the land since staging a major cross-border incursion last August.
Ukraine’s armed forces said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia launched an aerial bomb from Russian territory that struck a boarding school in Sudzha, killing at least four. The boarding school housed people preparing for evacuation.
As of 10pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday, 84 people had been rescued or received medical assistance, the statement said. Four of the injured were in a serious condition. Rescue efforts to clear rubble were proceeding.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the attack on Sudzha, about 7.5 miles (12km) from the border with Ukraine, showed how Russia fights the war.
“They destroyed the building even though dozens of civilians were there,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “This is how Russia waged war against Chechnya decades ago. They killed Syrians the same way. Russian bombs destroy Ukrainian homes the same way.”
Russia’s defence ministry said early on Sunday on Telegram that Ukraine’s forces launched “a targeted missile strike on a boarding school in the city of Sudzha” from the territory of Ukraine.
Russia’s acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, also blamed Kyiv forces for the strike and said there was no reliable information yet about the number of potential victims.
A Ukrainian military spokesperson, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, had earlier said in a video posted on Facebook that nearly 100 people were under rubble at the site, which he said housed mostly elderly and infirm people.
Reuters was not able to verify the claims by either side independently, and the scope of the attack remained unclear.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Thousands of civilians, however, have been killed, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
On October 14th, Ukraine and Russia found themselves at odds once again as a missile strike killed at least four people in a school in Kursk. Both countries have pointed fingers at each other, with Ukraine accusing Russia of orchestrating the attack and Russia denying any involvement.
The missile strike has further heightened tensions between the two neighboring countries, who have been embroiled in a long-standing conflict over territory and political influence. The casualties in the Kursk school tragedy have only added fuel to the fire, with both sides vowing to retaliate and seek justice for the victims.
As the international community watches with growing concern, the blame game between Ukraine and Russia shows no signs of abating. The tragic incident in Kursk serves as a stark reminder of the volatile nature of their relationship and the potential for further violence and bloodshed.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and we can only hope for a swift resolution to this escalating crisis. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story. #Ukraine #Russia #Kursk #MissileStrike #Conflict #Tensions
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“I won on groceries,” Trump told NBC last month. “When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that. We’re going to bring those prices way down.”
In response, White House press secretary Karolin Leavitt continued to blame former President Joe Biden Tuesday, saying that “we have seen the cost of everything — not just eggs; bacon, groceries, gasoline — [increase] because of the inflationary policies of the last administration.”
Why are eggs suddenly the hot topic in Washington, D.C.? And what — if anything — can be done to make them cheaper? Here’s everything you need to know about the Great Egg Debate of 2025.
Trump pins egg prices on the Biden administration
Expensive eggs aren’t a new problem. Their average price hasn’t been below $3 per dozen since June — and it hasn’t been below $2 since the start of 2022. That’s when the current avian influenza outbreak started (which led to the death of more than 20 million egg-laying chickens in the U.S. during the last quarter of 2024 alone). Fewer chickens means fewer eggs, and fewer eggs means pricier eggs — especially as demand rises over the holiday season (all that baking) and in the lead-up to Easter (all that painting). Other factors — lingering COVID-era inflation, supply-chain issues, cage-free requirements and panic buying — have contributed as well.
All in all, the Department of Agriculture now estimates that egg prices will increase by another 20% or so in 2025, compared with about 2.2% for food prices in general.
For Trump’s 2024 campaign, eggs were the gift that kept on giving: an everyday grocery-store staple that was about three times more expensive on Election Day than it had been when Trump left office four years earlier — making it easy fodder for attacks on his Democratic rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Let’s talk about eggs,” Trump’s running mate JD Vance said at a September grocery store event in Reading, Pa. “Eggs, when Kamala Harris took office, were short of $1.50 a dozen. Now a dozen eggs will cost you around $4. … Looking at the prices here, things are way too expensive and they’re way too expensive because of Kamala Harris’s policies.”
Never mind that the eggs displayed behind Vance actually cost $2.99 per dozen; the broader message connected with swing voters.
“I hope that people can get over their own feelings about tweets and things [Trump] says and look at the bigger picture with where our economy is now,” one told a New York Times focus group. “When eggs are $6 for a dozen, how many feelings do you really need to have?”
“It used to be $1, or even 99 cents,” Samuel Negron, a Pennsylvania state constable, added in a BBC interview. “A lot of us have woken up, in my opinion, from Democratic lies that things have been better. We realized things were better then.”
In truth, no president can magically lower the price of eggs with the stroke of a pen. But Warren & Co. are arguing that Trump can do more to combat the bird-flu outbreak and help eventually ease prices by “encouraging competition and fighting price gouging at each level of the food supply chain.”
Not helping matters, they say, is the fact that the Trump administration has now “canceled a string of scientific meetings and instructed federal health officials to refrain from all public communications, including upcoming reports focused on the nation’s escalating bird flu crisis,” according to the New York Times.
“The Biden administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country,” Leavitt said. “This is an example of why it’s so incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of Agriculture.”
What’s next?
Elsewhere, the administration has pointed to Trump’s day-one executive order asking the “heads of all executive departments and agencies to deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people and increase the prosperity of the American worker.” Trump and Vance have also insisted that their plan to increase domestic energy production will eventually lower food prices.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Vance told CBS News on Sunday. “How does bacon get to the grocery store? It comes on trucks that are fueled by diesel fuel. If the diesel is way too expensive, the bacon is going to become more expensive. How do we grow the bacon? Our farmers need energy to produce it. So if we lower energy prices, we are going to see lower prices for consumers, and that is what we’re trying to fight for.”
“I think that energy is going to bring [prices] down,” Trump told Time magazine last month. “I think a better supply chain is going to bring them down.”
Yet when Time asked Trump if his second term would be “a failure” absent falling grocery prices, Trump said no.
“I’d like to bring them down,” he added, but “it’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.”
In a recent turn of events, Democrats have been quick to blame former President Donald Trump for the soaring prices of eggs, just like Trump previously blamed President Joe Biden for various issues. But the question remains: can anyone actually fix the problem?
The price of eggs has been steadily increasing in recent months, causing concern among consumers and politicians alike. Democrats have pointed to Trump’s policies and trade wars as contributing factors to the rising costs, while Trump himself has argued that Biden’s administration has mishandled the economy, leading to inflation and higher prices across the board.
But the reality is that the issue of soaring egg prices is a complex one that cannot be easily attributed to any single individual or policy. Factors such as supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and increased demand from consumers all play a role in driving up prices.
So, can anyone actually fix the problem? The truth is, there is no easy solution. It will likely require a combination of government intervention, market forces, and consumer behavior to address the issue and bring prices back down to a more reasonable level.
In the meantime, consumers may have to adjust their shopping habits and be prepared to pay a little more for their eggs. And politicians on both sides of the aisle will need to work together to find long-term solutions to prevent similar price spikes in the future. Only time will tell if the soaring egg prices can be effectively addressed and if anyone can truly fix the problem.
Drawn-out player-caddie deliberations do not help pace of play.
getty images
Golf-on-TV, a different sport than the one we all play, is at a tipping point. Golf-on-TV, which drives the business of golf in every possible direction, has become so mind-numbingly slow as to be completely out of step with the culture at large, which is built for speed.
If you own a phone, you know that.
I texted you, like 20 seconds ago. You didn’t respond!
Major League Baseball has done the same in recent years to improve the pace of its games, and the pastime is better for it. The pitcher is on a clock now and that has had a huge impact. But just as big if not bigger is that the batter gets in the batter’s box and stays there. The golfers-on-TV need to have a club in hand while their playing partners are playing. They almost never do.
Golf would be way better and faster and if golfers could read their putts only from behind the ball. It could be a rule.
But more than anything, we want to tip our cap here to Dottie Pepper in her Howard Beale moment the other day. (The fictional anchorman Howard Beale, in the groundbreaking social-commentary movie Network: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”) Her use of the word respect was perfect.
The desire to make golf a faster-paced game is not only about catering to a world that spins at hyper-speed. It’s about golfers showing a sense of perspective. You’re playing golf, people. You’re not performing open-heart surgery. Players crawling around their putts are actually dissing the game’s fans, broadcasters and traditions. It’s so me-me-me. That’s ultimately why it is painful. Golf is meant to teach respect for others.
This was Pepper’s call-to-action commentary on live TV on Saturday, speaking to another player-turned broadcaster, Frank Nobilo. They both, as players, were part of the solution, not the problem. Dottie said:
“You know, Frank, I think we’re starting to need a new word to talk about this pace of play issue, and it’s respect. For your fellow competitors, for the fans, for broadcasts, for all of it. It’s just got to get better.”
Let’s spend just a second here considering the source and her medium. Yes, Pepper was a live-wire player in her long LPGA career. But she is also a figure of the golf establishment (former PGA of America board member) working for the ultimate establishment golf network (CBS). And she’s a reporter, not a polemicist. So her plea was unexpected.
At the Farmers Insurance tourney at Torrey Pines, she was covering a threesome that would need close to 5.5 hours to play a round of golf. The golf had no rhythm, the tournament, despite a clogged leaderboard, had no sense of urgency. It was hard to watch and care. Pepper sensed the moment. She didn’t have a tirade. But she had reached her breaking point.
The week before that, in perfect weather in the California desert at the American Express tournament, the last group needed 5 hours and 39 minutes to play 18 holes.
If you watch clips from the finale, the fans on hand looked to be crystalizing on their walking sticks.
If there are not revolutionary changes here, these high priests, the men and women who play golf on TV, will lose their high-priest status with us.
Since Major League Baseball instituted a series of rules changes in 2023, the average time of a game has gone from 3:03 in 2022 to 2:38 in 2024. Baseball! The most hide-bound sport of all-time! But it’s not just the half-hour lopped off the bottom that has made baseball a better game. It’s like all the parties on hand — players, umpires, fans, managers, bench players — are on their toes.
Golf was never meant to be an eat-the-day activity, not playing it, not watching it. But golf-on-TV is an all-day and into-the-night activity. And the kids coming up in the game, watching these high priests, take all their cues from what they see on TV. The affect is suffocating.
Have you played with any good junior golfers recently? They take off their gloves to hit chip shots. You might ask, Why?
If you really think you need to take off your glove to hit a chip shot, no matter who you are, have enough common sense to take it off while you are walking to your ball. Because, and this may shock you: Nobody wants to watch you take off your glove.
It’s another act of total self-absorption that is stealing air from the game and replacing it with goo so heavy it takes you a full minute to lineup and stroke a 40-inch putt.
Some of these golf telecasts have all the pacing of an underwater wheelbarrow race.
Three weeks into the TGL experiment, one thing is obvious: the best golfers in the world can easily play a shot in under 40 seconds if there’s a ticking clock, and peer pressure, to do so. Golf needs a shot clock. It won’t be hard for the players to adjust to it.
When three or four Tour players go out for a round of trash-talk golf at Medalist or Dye Preserve or the Bear’s Club, they play in well under four hours. Guy plays his next shot, next guy goes. Guy plays, next guy goes. They’re the best golfers in the world. They know what they’re doing!
Caddies should be required to walk directly to their player’s ball. Players don’t want to be far from their caddies and their bags. With the caddie at the ball, the player will want to get there faster. Players should have a plan in their heads and a club in their hands before the previous player’s shot comes to rest.
Bobby Jones and Mickey Wright and a hundred other golf legends did not think of a round of golf as an all-day activity. The game was better for it. As is often the case, you look back to look ahead. Supply your movie reference.
Michael Bamberger
Golf.com Contributor
Michael Bamberger writes for GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. Before that, he spent nearly 23 years as senior writer for Sports Illustrated. After college, he worked as a newspaper reporter, first for the (Martha’s) Vineyard Gazette, later for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has written a variety of books about golf and other subjects, the most recent of which is The Second Life of Tiger Woods. His magazine work has been featured in multiple editions of The Best American Sports Writing. He holds a U.S. patent on The E-Club, a utility golf club. In 2016, he was given the Donald Ross Award by the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the organization’s highest honor.
In today’s fast-paced world, it seems like everything is constantly speeding up. However, there is one activity that is actually getting slower: golf.
Golf has always been known as a leisurely sport, where players can take their time, enjoy the scenery, and focus on their game. However, in recent years, the pace of play on golf courses has been steadily increasing.
One of the main reasons for this slowdown is the rise of self-absorption among players. With the popularity of social media and smartphones, many golfers are more focused on taking selfies, updating their status, or checking their notifications than actually playing the game. This constant distraction leads to longer wait times between shots and slower overall rounds.
Additionally, many golfers seem to have forgotten the etiquette of the game, such as repairing divots, raking bunkers, and being ready to play when it is their turn. This lack of consideration for other players on the course only adds to the delay.
As a result, golf courses are implementing stricter pace of play policies and even resorting to using pace of play clocks to keep players moving. However, the root of the problem lies in the self-absorption of players who are more concerned with their own experience than the experience of others.
In order to combat this trend and keep golf moving at a reasonable pace, it is important for players to remember the etiquette of the game, put away their phones, and focus on playing efficiently. Only then can we ensure that golf remains the enjoyable and leisurely sport it was meant to be.
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golf, speed, self-absorption, slow pace, leisurely sport, society’s obsession with speed, golf culture, slow living, mindfulness in golf
As more than 60 square miles Los Angeles violently burned earlier this month, then-President Elect Donald Trump placed blame on a fish.
Trump falsely implied in a Truth Social post that Los Angeles lacked the water to put out the fires because Gov. Gavin Newsom chose to protect an “essentially worthless fish called a smelt,” which is only found in Northern California.
Trump took more shots at California in his inauguration speech, saying falsely the LA fires were still burning “without even a token of defense.” Later that day, he signed an executive action titled “putting people over fish,” ordering a re-routing of the state’s complex water system.
Newsom and California are frequently the target of Trump’s ire. Some of his most memorable criticisms of the state have been over how it manages its wildlands in the face of wildfire risk. In his first term, Trump suggested California should be “raking” their forests to clean up dead brush and trees.
But the jabs are more than sharp political rhetoric — they could have real consequences for disaster aid. As Trump blamed Newsom and smelt for LA fires, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican lawmakers suggested there should be conditions attached to aid with respect to “water resource mismanagement” and “forest management mistakes.”
Here’s the reality of how the state manages water and wilderness.
In pictures: Deadly wildfires in Los Angeles County
Crews in California and other western states have been treating forests and other vegetation for years, aiming to prevent wildfire. Armed with billions in federal funding, they have thinned out overgrown forests and shrub-lands and treat them with prescribed burns – using controlled fire to get rid of built-up brush and dried wood that can make wildfires catastrophic.
In 2023 alone, more than 1,500 square miles of state and federal land in California was, in a word, “raked” — underbrush and debris was removed, land was treated with prescribed fire, timber harvest or animal grazing with the goal to reduce wildfire fuel. That number is likely low, experts said, because it doesn’t account for the federal and state grants given to local organizations doing this work.
In 2024, the US Forest Service alone thinned out roughly 500 square miles, and the agency has treated nearly 80 square miles in Southern California since 2023, including some areas that overlapped with the Eaton Fire.
A Forest Service spokesperson told CNN that treatment on Mt. Wilson, northeast of Altadena, “played a significant role in avoiding damages” to critical communication infrastructure.
The scrubby landscape in Southern California is vastly different from Northern California’s forests. The mountains around Los Angeles are dominated by chaparral scrub — low trees and bushes that thrive in hot, dry conditions.
The combination of environmental regulations protecting chaparral, combined with the dense residential areas near it, mean that prescribed fire is very infrequently used in Southern California.
“There’s too much private property mixed in (making any prescribed burns a high liability for litigation if something goes wrong),” said Crystal Kolden, director of the University of California Merced Fire Resilience Center, in an email.
There is “a huge fear of fire” in this area and “too many hikers and other people recreating on public lands,” Kolden said. Instead, crews thin the brush using chainsaws or small tractors called “masticators” to turn brush into wood chips. They also use goat herds to trim the vegetation.
California wildfire expert Lenya Quinn-Davidson and other experts said California has made “major strides” on policies allowing more prescribed fires in the past several years.
Even so, “what we’re getting done in reality is a drop in the bucket with what the problem is,” said Quinn-Davidson a fire advisor and the Director of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
The extreme, 100 mph winds that drove the LA wildfires to rage out of control is a different kind of event than a fire driven by overgrown brush, Quinn-Davidson said. Extensive brush clearing and other treatments to prevent wildfire almost certainly could not have prevented the LA wildfires given the extreme winds and drought conditions that fed them, she said.
“With any ignition and the fuels being so dry, those wind-driven fires are almost unstoppable when the winds are that high,” said Quinn-Davidson. “For the fires we’re seeing – I think you’d have a hard time arguing those could be prevented with fuels treatments.”
Hydrants ran dry in the hilly neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, fueling speculation that there were larger problems with water availability.
Trump claimed in a social media post that Newsom had “refused to sign the water restoration declaration” – in effect preventing millions of gallons of water to flow from Northern to Southern California. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order directing his agencies to “to route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply.”
But experts previously told CNN there is no connection between water battles in Northern California and hydrants running dry during the LA fires.
The Los Angeles metro gets its water from two major sources: the state water project stemming from Lake Oroville and several other major state reservoirs; and the Colorado River, where it draws water from Lake Mead. Oroville still has plenty of water after two wet winters, and the Colorado is currently stable.
The initial lack of fire-fighting planes in the air due to dangerous winds meant municipal water was the primary source firefighters had during the worst of the wildfires. The sheer amount of water needed to battle massive wind-driven fires put a huge strain on the system and caused outages as water levels in massive tanks dropped and firefighters lost pressure to their firehoses, experts and LA officials said.
A small reservoir that could have provided some water to the Palisades neighborhood had also been drained for repair. Newsom has called for an independent investigation into the dry hydrants and the fact that the local reservoir was offline during the blazes.
While working hydrants and extra reservoir capacity could have helped contain some of the damage, multiple experts told CNN the fire was simply too powerful for the tools firefighters had. The sheer magnitude of hurricane-force winds combining with flames made it impossible for even fully functioning hydrants to successfully battle the blazes.
In a recent statement, former President Donald Trump blamed California’s mismanagement of forests and water for the devastating wildfires that have been raging across the state. However, the reality is far more complex than Trump’s simplistic claims.
While it is true that forest management plays a role in wildfire prevention, experts agree that climate change is a major factor driving the increase in wildfires. Warmer temperatures, prolonged droughts, and changing weather patterns have created the perfect conditions for wildfires to spread quickly and uncontrollably.
Furthermore, California’s water management is also a contentious issue. The state has long struggled with water scarcity, leading to conflicts over water rights and allocation. However, blaming water mismanagement for wildfires ignores the larger environmental and climate factors at play.
It is important to address the root causes of wildfires, including climate change, land use planning, and community preparedness. Instead of pointing fingers and playing politics, we must come together to find sustainable solutions to mitigate the impact of wildfires and protect our communities and natural resources.
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Trump, California wildfires, forest mismanagement, water mismanagement, wildfire reality, natural disasters, climate change, environmental impact, disaster prevention, forest conservation, water conservation.
With federal elections on the horizon, German politicians on Thursday were assigning blame to opposing parties following the fatal stabbing of two people, including a two-year-old boy, on Wednesday.
Police took a 28-year-old Afghan man into custody. He is suspected of having attacked a kindergarten group in a park in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg, killing a 2-year-old Moroccan boy as well as a 41-year-old passerby who had attempted to intervene. Three others were wounded, including a 2-year-old Syrian girl.
A court on Thursday ordered the suspect to be temporarily placed in a psychiatric hospital.
The attack came just one month after a deadly car-ramming attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg and six months after similar knife attacks in the western cities of Solingen and Mannheim.
And with just one month to go until Germany’s federal elections, the incident has further enflamed an already heated immigration debate in the country.
Deadly knife attack in Aschaffenburg, Germany
AfD backs CDU demands for deportations, border checks
Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and favorite to become Germany’s next chancellor, vowed on Thursday to order permanent controls at all German borders on the first day of his term in office, if elected.
“We are faced with the ruins of a 10-year-long misguided asylum and immigration policy in Germany,” he told reporters, criticizing European Union migration rules as “dysfunctional” and insisting all “illegal immigrants” should be turned away at the border, including those seeking protection.
“There will be a de facto ban on entry into the Federal Republic of Germany for all those who do not have valid entry documents,” he said.
Merz’s suggestion received support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, currently polling second behind the CDU.
In a social media post, AfD co-chairwoman and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel called for “border closures and the deportation of illegal [immigrants]” and demanded “no more firewall deaths.”
With that, she was referring to the conventional refusal of Germany’s other parties to enter into coalitions with the AfD, known as the Brandmauer, or firewall.
Merz has also ruled out forming a government with the AfD, that’s a step the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) hopes will bring it back into the government. Traditionally, the FDP has been a natural coalition partner for the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union. Demands from the FDP were at the heart of what broke up a three-party coalition government in November, prompting February’s snap election.
“Merz is calling for a radical change, of course,” FDP leader Christian Lindner wrote on social media. “But he won’t be able to do that with the [ruling SPD] or [the Greens].”
On the other side of the political spectrum, Sahra Wagenknecht of the self-titled, left-wing, migration-sceptic, populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also called for a “real U-turn in refugee policy.” She told Welt TV that the authorities had “lost control” over those traveling to Germany.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU and favorite to become Germany’s nect chancellor, has called for rigorous action on immigrationImage: Hannes P Albert/dpa/picture-alliance
Scholz government blames Bavarian authorities …
While opposition parties tried to position themselves as the best potential candidates for a post-election coalition with the CDU, the country’s governing parties have also been apportioning blame, as have the relevant security authorities, at Bavarian state leaders, especially since the Aschaffenburg suspect was already subject to a deportation order.
“There are clearly enforcement deficits, especially within the Bavarian authorities in this case, which are a massive problem,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a Social Democrat (SPD) campaign event in the eastern German city of Erfurt. He insisted that his federal government had taken measures to facilitate deportations.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, also of Scholz’s SPD, pointed out that deportations were the responsibility of Germany’s 16 states and said Bavarian authorities needed to “explain why the attacker was still at large despite [having committed] several violent crimes.”
“The continuing investigation must quickly show why this criminal was still in Germany and how the police and justice system on the ground have been dealing with him,” Faeser said. “The rule of law must show strength, and that includes authorities, police and courts.”
Olaf Scholz (center) and Nancy Faeser (right) have blamed the Bavarian authorities for failing to deport the Aschaffenburg attack suspectImage: Jesco Denzel/BPA/dpa/picture alliance
… while Bavaria blames Berlin
However, the state of Bavaria‘s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann of CSU, blamed Berlin and accused the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) of “failure.”
According to Herrmann, the suspect should have been deported to Bulgaria in the summer of 2023, but the relevant order was issued to the Bavarian authorities several weeks too late, by which point the legal deadline to enforce the deportation had expired.
Herrmann claimed it then took until December 2024 for BAMF to process the man’s asylum application.
“The responsibility lies solely with BAMF,” he said, calling on Scholz to “concern himself with his own [federal] authorities.”
Bavarian Premier Markus Söder (CSU) also looked to absolve his state’s authorities of blame.
“That’s enough, that’s enough, that’s enough,” said Söder said in Munich. “How many more? Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg. What’s next?”
He also pointed his finger at the federal government, “These aren’t coincidences but the result of a chain of bad immigration policies over years.”
“Immigration is overwhelming our country,” he added, agreeing with Merz that “the guidelines of any future immigration policy must be zero-tolerance and no compromises.”
Bavarian Premier Markus Söder (right) and state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (left) have blamed the federal government in BerlinImage: Lukas Barth/dpa/picture alliance
Greens’ Habeck: ‘Clearly something went wrong’
Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck called for a “self-critical” evaluation within Germany’s administrative bodies.
“Self-critical doesn’t mean that every department says: ‘Well, we did everything right,’” the Green Party‘s chancellor candidate said. “Because clearly something went wrong. This perpetrator should have either been deported or at least checked up on and perhaps detained. Mistakes have been made.”
The thicket of German bureaucracy
Reem Alabali-Radovan, an SPD lawmaker, said that the case of the Aschaffenburg attacker represented “yet another catastrophic administrative error.” He said the deportation back to Afghanistan of an “evidently violent and psychologically instable” person had become entangled in a “thicket” of bureaucracy.
Andreas Rosskopf, chairman of the German Police Union (GdP), said the case had revealed administrative failures and a lack of options for action. In his view, “too many bodies are operating alongside rather than with each other.”
mf/sms (dpa, Reuters, AFP)
The recent attack in Aschaffenburg has sparked a heated political blame game, with leaders from various parties pointing fingers at each other in the aftermath of the tragedy. The attack, which left several people injured and one dead, has reignited debates about security measures and immigration policies in Germany.
Members of the ruling party have been quick to condemn the opposition for their lax stance on immigration, arguing that stricter border controls could have prevented such a tragedy. On the other hand, opposition leaders have criticized the government for failing to address the root causes of violence and extremism, calling for more social integration and support for marginalized communities.
As the investigation into the attack continues, politicians are using the incident to score political points and push their own agendas. However, many are also calling for unity and solidarity in the face of such senseless violence, urging all parties to work together to prevent future attacks and ensure the safety of all citizens.
The Aschaffenburg attack serves as a stark reminder of the complex challenges facing Germany and the need for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to addressing them. Only by coming together and finding common ground can we hope to prevent such tragedies in the future.
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Jeopardy! fans had choice words for President Donald Trump after his inauguration affected the beloved game show’s schedule.
Like always, longtime Jeopardy! fans tuned in on Monday to see a new episode of the trivia contest, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST. Several fans shared online that they were excited to see Jeopardy! champion Drew Goins compete for the win in what would’ve been tonight’s Champions Wildcard episode . Supporters were crushed when instead of a new Jeopardy! being aired, Trump’s inaugural festivities after being sworn-in as president Monday were premiering during the show’s time slot.
Countless watchers voiced their outrage on social media as they shared how they were disappointed they couldn’t watch their “fave” contestant Drew.
“Can’t watch on my local ABC affiliate due to the inauguration, which really sucks, cause Drew is my fav [sad face emoji],” one person wrote on Reddit. “I was already bummed about today for obvious reasons but now it feels personal.”
Drew has become the “It” guy on Jeopardy! due to his sharp game strategy, entertaining stories, and fun fashion outfits.
Another Redditor ranted: “I just wanted my 30 f–kng minutes of escapism today and couldn’t even get that because of the inauguration.”
Even more raged on X, formerly Twitter, outright blaming Trump for Jeopardy! not airing when it was supposed to on Monday.
“Among all the other things, tonight Trump f–ked up Jeopardy airing. God dammit,” one slammed on X. A plethora of others just ranted, “Where the f–k is Jeopardy @ABC7NY,” as they insisted the network didn’t “cut in” to the show.
“Hey @ABC7NY, don’t cut into @Jeopardy with late-day inauguration crap. Your viewership would rather watch an intelligent quiz show,” an X user suggested.
Jeopardy! didn’t inform viewers that they potentially wouldn’t air a new episode on January 20 or even if it would be delayed. This is why unsuspecting viewers were shocked to find out when they tuned in that instead of a new Jeopardy! episode, they’d be getting news coverage of Trump’s inauguration day.
While some parts of the country got to see Monday’s episode of Jeopardy!, for most, Trump’s inaugural footage bled into Jeopardy!’s hour.
Jeopardy! fans are fuming after a delay in the airing of their favorite game show, and they are placing the blame squarely on President Trump. Fans took to social media to express their frustration, with many claiming that the President had somehow “f–ked up” the show’s schedule.
One fan tweeted, “Thanks a lot, Trump. You couldn’t even let us have Jeopardy! on time. Is nothing sacred anymore?”
Another fan wrote, “I can’t believe Trump managed to mess up the airing of Jeopardy! What a disgrace.”
While it is unclear exactly how President Trump could have been responsible for the delay in the show’s airing, fans are convinced that he had a hand in it. Some have even started a petition demanding an explanation from the White House.
In the meantime, fans are left waiting anxiously for their beloved show to return to its regular schedule. Let’s hope that President Trump stays out of the way next time.
While most players on the team had a memorable game, Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht had another off night with just two points to his name while shooting 0-4 from the field.
LeBron James receives blame for Dalton Knecht’s slump
Knecht quickly climbed the NBA Rookie of the Year ladder, thanks to his incredible shooting prowess from beyond the three-point line.
The 23-year-old guard received immense praise for his early season success, even getting compared to Larry Bird. However, DK has slowed down in recent weeks.
In fact, he has made just 12 out of his last 63 three-point attempts, or in simple terms, Knecht is shooting an abysmal 19% from deep.
Upon learning about Knecht’s poor form, NBA fans claimed it’s the LeBron James effect.
“I thought Lebron made his teammates better lmao,” one fan wrote. “LeBron’s next scapegoat,” another added.
“It’s called the LeBron James effect,” one more fan stated.
“The dysfunction of the Lakers. They have no identity outside of the team LeBron is on. They just have an assortment of players that don’t really blend well together,” another fan added.
But a few fans were level-headed about the situation.
“Scouting and tighter defense got him mentally fatigued. He’ll be alright, it’s growing pains.”
“Rookie wall.”
“Man I remember when Dalton Knecht was really good. What the heck happened these last few weeks,” another asked.
It makes no sense to blame James for the rookie’s poor shooting performance. In fact, fans should wait a few weeks and allow Knecht to find his rhythm before writing him off.
The King went as far as calling out fans who call him a liar for appreciating Knecht’s game from his NCAA days. Keeping that in mind, it’s hard to see how the 4x NBA MVP is holding back the rookie.
As a few fans have mentioned, Knecht is simply taking his time to make adjustments for more smothered coverage on the court.
After all, opposing teams quickly took notice of DK’s talent and have seemingly developed a game plan to counter his skills.
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NBA fans have been buzzing about Dalton Knecht’s recent cold streak on the court, with many pointing fingers at his LA Lakers teammate for contributing to his struggles.
Knecht, known for his sharp shooting and clutch performances, has hit a rough patch in his game, shooting below his usual percentages and struggling to find his rhythm. While some fans have been quick to criticize Knecht for his performance, others have been quick to point out that his teammate’s lack of support and chemistry on the court may be a contributing factor.
Many fans have taken to social media to express their frustration and disappointment, with some even calling for changes in the team’s lineup to help Knecht break out of his slump. It remains to be seen how the Lakers will address this issue and support Knecht as he works to bounce back from his cold streak.
In the meantime, NBA fans will continue to watch closely and offer their opinions on the situation, eager to see how the dynamic between Knecht and his teammate evolves as the season progresses.
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The Manhattan slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson lit a fire under many Americans who are furious with their insurance carriers and the cost of premiums and denial of coverage.
Murder is not a respectful way to get a point across. But it apparently is effective. Much has been said about runaway insurance costs and respective denials for years. And has anyone listened until Thompson was assassinated outside a hotel in New York?
“At a panel at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Wednesday, executives from Pfizer and Amazon said health care companies are taking a step back to better understand patients’ experiences.”
In the same story, insurance leaders are justifying the high costs of premiums and consistent denials by claiming that fees from doctors and hospitals are increasing, and that it is their job to negotiate those fees “as well as costly prescription drugs and medical devices.” It’s like the out-of-control alcoholic who blames everyone else for his troubles. They’re not listening.
Insurance giants are now beginning to surround themselves with weaponized bodyguards to prevent another death at the hands of a vigilante. What are they doing to protect the cube farm worker whose job it is to deny the claims? Does that employee need to watch every step she takes to make sure there’s not an upset insurance client with an AR-15 waiting for her in the parking lot, at the stop light, or pulling into her driveway at home?
Ingrid Jacques of USA TODAY wrote in a column that the “callous disregard for human life is alarming to witness.” She was writing about Thompson’s murder. But if the sentence were read without the intent, you could swear that line refers to the millions of people who have faced financial disaster and further health problems because an insurance company refused to pay up for something the patient thought was covered. Cutting off anesthesia halfway through surgery is about as “callous disregard for life” as I can think of. I can remember the day when someone didn’t want to report an accident or an injury because their “insurance premiums might go up.” Now, even if you make no claims, insurance premiums continue to rise at an alarming rate.
We have all laughed at the cartoons wherein a doctor is speaking to a patient who is obviously in excruciating pain, wrapped up in bandages, with IVs going into each arm, a counterweight holding up a leg, and hoses going into the mouth and nose. “The insurance company says you can go home now.” Today, it’s not a laughing matter. They’re still not listening.
“Our health system needs to be better. … There’s a lot of things that should cause a lot of outrage,” Amazon Pharmacy Chief Medical Officer Vin Gupta said. Health system? It’s that alcoholic again, blaming the system, and not taking responsibility for our system of health insurance. They refuse to listen.
It’s time to cut down this behemoth beanstalk called health insurance and go to a system that has been successful in other First World countries; single payer health care. But it won’t happen because lawmakers are listening to the insurance industry demands and not their constituents’ heath care needs.
Health insurers and Congress are quick to point fingers and assign blame when it comes to the rising anger among Americans over their healthcare costs. But the truth is, both parties are just as much to blame for the current state of the healthcare system.
Health insurers constantly raise premiums, deny coverage, and limit access to care in order to maximize profits. They prioritize their bottom line over the well-being of their members, leaving many Americans struggling to afford necessary medical treatments.
Congress, on the other hand, has failed to pass comprehensive healthcare reform that would address the root causes of rising costs and ensure access to affordable care for all. Instead, lawmakers are often swayed by powerful lobbying interests and prioritize the interests of the healthcare industry over the needs of their constituents.
Rather than pointing fingers and deflecting blame, health insurers and Congress need to take responsibility for the role they have played in creating a broken and unsustainable healthcare system. Until they do, Americans will continue to be left frustrated and angry at the lack of progress in addressing their healthcare needs.
If Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles is on the hot seat, then you can consider wide receiver DJ Moore as being surprised regarding that update.
When asked about Poles’ job status being in flux during his weekly radio hit on 670 The Score, Moore essentially gave Poles a vote of confidence with his attempt to flip the narrative.
I’ll admit that I was not expecting that response from DJ Moore. Hearing the Bears wide receiver fall on the sword and accept blame and accountability on behalf of the players for the team’s shortcomings isn’t what I have become accustomed to with Chicago’s football team in 2024. These Bears (players, coaches, etc.) have so often pointed the finger outward when — in reality — finding the answers to so many problems begins by looking inward. In a way, I find Moore’s comments to be refreshing. But I hate that he had to say it in the first place.
I don’t think DJ Moore is too far off base in believing that the Bears have a talented roster. After all, ESPN’s analytics team had the Bears roster ranked 17th coming into the season. And if you’ll recall, the ESPN coaching staff rankings had Matt Eberflus and his collection of coaches ranking 25th overall. Given the benefit of hindsight, maybe we should have seen a disappointing season like this coming because of the difference between where the talent was forecasted to be and what analysts thought of the coaches.
As for what kind of coach DJ Moore and the Bears are looking for as an Eberflus replacement, this is what the team’s leading receiver had in mind:
“We’re all on the same page as far as getting somebody in here who’s going to lead this team in the right direction, have a solid game plan week in and week out and is just going to let it loose no matter what.”
I know everyone wants an offensive wizard to come in and clean up Halas Hall. After all, I am one of those people. But the Bears need someone who exudes leadership. It won’t be easy finding the type of coach who can thread that needle, but nothing worth anything ever comes easy.
For more from DJ Moore, you can watch his full segment on 670 The Score’s Mully and Haugh Show here
In a recent interview, star wide receiver DJ Moore spoke out in defense of Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles amidst the team’s struggles in the 2024 season. Moore emphasized that the blame should not be placed solely on Poles, as building a successful team takes time and patience.
Moore praised Poles for his dedication to improving the team and his strategic approach to player acquisitions. He also highlighted the challenges of navigating the competitive landscape of the NFL and the unpredictable nature of injuries and other factors that can impact a team’s performance.
Despite the Bears’ disappointing record this season, Moore expressed confidence in Poles’ ability to turn things around and build a winning team in the future. He urged fans and critics to be patient and trust in the process that Poles has put in place.
As the Bears continue to strive for success on the field, Moore’s words serve as a reminder to not jump to conclusions or place blame prematurely. With Poles at the helm, the Bears are poised for a bright future, and Moore believes that it’s only a matter of time before they reach their full potential.
