Claims about fraudulent results in Alberta referendum false, expert says

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian attacks on Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles and drones overnight into Thursday killed one person and wounded 22, Ukrainian authorities said. The strikes in Kyiv came hours after the Kremlin agreed to restart U. S.-brokered talks aimed at ending the war. The attack damaged homes, transportation infrastructure and other civilian sites in several districts of the city, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said. In the Dniprovskyi district, on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, one person was killed and six were wounded, including a child, as fires broke out. On Wednesday, Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed “in principle” to resume three-way negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine after Nov. 10, a week after the U. S. midterm election. Putin had met with U. S. envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy backed the push for new talks, but was cautious. “We’ll see what happens this time,” he said shortly before missile alerts sounded over Kyiv.

The tech industry says it has gotten the message. In addition to ramping up financial incentives, officials with Google and Meta said in interviews with The Associated Press they are trying to address mistrust by being more transparent with communities where they would like to build. Get Power PlayA twice-weekly dive into the power players and moves driving business in Massachusetts, authored by long-time business columnists Shirley Leung and Jon Chesto. Enter EmailCompanies are also making pledges to reduce their impact on the environment and offering assurances that data centers will boost local property values — all while maintaining AI is a positive force for the American economy, despite its skeptics. Tech giants pledge more transparency Devi Thomas, Google’s global head of community development and engagement, told AP that she wouldn’t call resistance to data centers a “backlash,” but that “there are often community questions to be addressed.”“Early public consultation is increasingly a very important part of the process. We have done as much as we can to make sure communities are involved early on,” Thomas said.

RUPERT, Vt. (AP) — Carrying a large pump spray bottle and a small, sturdy brush, Caitlin Abrams stood before two starkly contrasting graves in a modest cemetery in western Vermont. Overcast skies hung low over a nearby hillside in full autumn color. Last year, Abrams had delicately cleaned the tombstone of Mary Bailey, who died in 1852 at just 21 years old. The still-pristine white marble stone stood out compared to the neighboring grave, holding Bailey’s sister Eliza, covered in grime and moss collected over the decades. Working in quick, gentle strokes, Abrams used her brush and sprayer to peel away dirt hiding the floral details on Eliza’s grave before moving to the next. “Sometimes you can definitely see a difference right away,” she said. “Other times, it’s a month later you’ll come back and go ‘oh my gosh, it’s beautiful.’”Abrams is one of the many social media creators who have found success posting videos of themselves cleaning graves. They can attract large audiences, often including those looking for cleaning content or videos with repetitive and subtle sounds known for their calming effect.

One of the most comprehensive studies of California’s multibillion-dollar investment in early education programs offers evidence that the funding is paying off in academic achievement years later. Children who enrolled in school under California’s first transitional kindergarten programs, made possible by a 2010 law, scored 11 months ahead in reading and eight months ahead in math by third and fourth grade compared with children born in the same months but in years before the program began, according to a study by UC Berkeley researchers commissioned by Stanford University. The law, which took effect in 2012, allowed a limited number of children with fall birthdays to attend a full year of school before kindergarten, called transitional kindergarten. At the same time, the law changed when children became eligible for state-funded preschool, allowing more to enroll at age 3. Researchers found that this extra early education helped children perform better years later. The findings come as California enters its second year of offering free transitional kindergarten, called TK for short, to all 4-year-olds, fully expanding the earlier and smaller program.

Iran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers were either struck by attacks or hit naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz overnight Thursday, possibly making this the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the Iran war started on Feb. 28. Here is the latest news from the Middle East.7 oil tankers damaged in Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state television reportsIran’s state television reported that seven oil tankers have caught fire and were damaged overnight Thursday after being targeted or striking naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. If verified, it would be the largest single-day number of vessels damaged in the waterway since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 when the United States launched joint strikes against Iran. Quoting a statement by the Revolutionary Guard’s navy, the Iranian report said that four of the tankers were transferring oil when they were targeted and caught fire. Another three were damaged and immobilized when they hit naval mines. The report didn’t provide details about possible casualties or the flags of the tankers. The statement also warned that any U. S.

Boston’s chefs aren’t the only ones doing their part to highlight flounder on their menus (“Underfished for decades, flounder gets a new PR campaign,” Food, Sept. 23). At Community Servings in Jamaica Plain, Brian Hillmer, chief culinary officer, and Dianna MacPhee, executive chef, regularly use locally sourced flounder as part of the made-from-scratch, medically tailored meals they provide weekly to more than 1,900 clients living with serious medical conditions in Greater Boston and Rhode Island. Inspired by their mission that food is medicine, Community Servings puts nutrition research squarely into practice to support our most vulnerable neighbors while also partnering with local farm and seafood vendors. Now that’s a great catch! Bev Leute BruceScituateThe writer is a volunteer with Community Servings.