Alexander Usik: Heavyweight champion speaks exclusively to CNN after joining Ukrainian defense battalion

Among them, 35-year-old Usik and 34-year-old Lomachenko won three Olympic gold medals and have since established themselves among the world’s top boxers.

But now they face a very different battle – an existential one – for the very future of their country. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Usik and Lomachenko have gone to Ukraine, taken up arms and joined the Territorial Defense Battalion.
Speaking via video link from a basement in Kyiv, Usik told CNN exclusively that he should look for not only invading forces, but also robbers. He says he is ready to take his life if necessary.

“If they want to take my life or the lives of my loved ones, I will have to do it,” he said. “But I don’t want that. I don’t want to shoot, I don’t want to kill anyone, but if they kill me, I will have no choice.”

Usik’s manager, Egis Klimas, helped coordinate the interview and translated into non-English-speaking Usik. Despite the appalling situation in which many Ukrainians now find themselves, Usik says he is not afraid.

“It may sound sentimental,” he explained, “but my soul belongs to God and my body and my honor belongs to my country, my family. So there is no fear, absolutely no fear. There is a simple perplexity… – how can this be in the 21st century? “

He is not in Ukraine to box at the moment, but the noble art is still useful at the moment. “It helped me stay calm and mentally prepared,” he said, “and it helps me help others who are panicked and nervous.”

Alexander Usik told CNN that his "country and his pride are more important to me than the championship belt."

Both men were out of the country when Russia invaded; Usik was in London filming sequences for an upcoming video game.

He intended to fly home only hours after the start of hostilities, but after the airports were closed, he instead flew to Warsaw, Poland, and traveled nearly 500 miles back home and across the border to Kyiv.

Lomachenko was visiting a monastery in Greece and returned home the next day. Instead of flying directly to his hometown of Odessa, he traveled to Bucharest, Romania, then drove nine hours to the port and took a ferry to Ukraine.

The manager told CNN he did not know they were thinking of taking up arms until they enlisted in the defense battalion. Former world boxing champions Vitaly – who is also mayor of Kyiv – and Vladimir Klitschko have also taken up arms to defend their nation.
Elina Svitolina: Worried about her parents, Ukrainian tennis star says she suffers from sleepless nights

“The bomb around is crazy”

Lomachenko was scheduled to speak to CNN at the same time as Usik, but did not answer calls from his manager at the time. Early Wednesday morning, local time, Klimas confirmed to CNN that Lomachenko was alive and well.

He and Usik remain close: they are the godparents of their children and celebrate family birthdays together. Six days after the war, Usik knows that it is no longer safe anywhere in Ukraine.

“The bombing around is crazy,” Usik said. “They have just bombed the city of Mariupol, one of my friends put a rocket in his roof. [The Russians] don’t play games. ”

As the fighting rages, so is the debate over whether Russian athletes should be sanctioned for their country’s actions. Usik chose not to weigh directly, assuming there were innocent people on both sides of the conflict.

“The Russian people don’t really know what’s going on here. They do not see what is happening. They are victims of their president [Vladimir Putin]”

Usik won his heavyweight title in a superb match in September 2021 against former champion Anthony Joshua.

Usik has just become a world heavyweight champion at the IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO. In September, he defeated Anthony Joshua in London in a superb boxing game to take the belts. His manager says rematch talks this summer are at an advanced stage.

Lightweight Lomachenko has previously been a world champion in three different weight categories and planned to fight George Cambosos in Australia in June.

But it’s understandable that boxing is the last thing on your mind.

“I really don’t know when I’m going to step out of the ring,” Usik said, looking exhausted and emotional in an interview with CNN. “My country and my honor are more important to me than the championship belt.”

Usik has three children, and during the interview there was a sound of young voices playing behind him in the basement.

He says family, friends and neighbors have taken refuge together. “When there’s an air raid alarm, we hide. Of course, it’s fun when there’s a lot of us here – we’re having fun. But we’re being forced to have fun.” They try to keep the mood of the children.

But in a separate interview with CNN, Usik Klimas’ manager stressed the seriousness of the situation: “They are in great danger. When bullets start flying, the bullet doesn’t care if you’re a world champion. The bullet just goes through. “

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Some Takeaways from the 2022 Texas Primary

For nearly a decade, Texas Democrats have been saying they are on the verge of making their state competitive, even though no Democrat has won a statewide race since 1994.

Tuesday’s primary results showed Democrats still have a long way to go.

With more than three-quarters of the vote counted, the gubernatorial nominee voted nearly 800,000 more Republicans than Democrats—a gap much larger than in 2018, the last midterm primary in Texas.

To be sure, the Republicans had more competitive primaries than the Democrats. Gov. Greg Abbott’s contest with Republican rivals on the right may have been more of a draw than Beto O’Rourke’s smooth path to the Democratic nomination. And Democrats will quickly notice that primary voter turnout doesn’t always predict a big turnout in November.

However, the Republicans have shown to be full of energy – even when divided between the far right and mainstream factions – and hardly concede their power in the state.

Prior to this year, Mr. Abbott had never competed in a competitive Republican primary in his 25-year political career. But in a moment of conservative energy, with Republicans furious over the 2020 election and President Biden’s immigration policies, a section of Republicans bet that Mr. Abbott would be vulnerable to a challenger on the right.

It turns out they were wrong.

Armed with a $60 million war chest, Mr. Abbott made short work of seven Republicans with over two-thirds of the vote. It was a victory for which he had been preparing for a whole year. Mr. Abbott has spent most of the past year calming down the state’s conservative base by imposing new restrictions on abortion, relaxing gun laws and imposing new restrictions on how Texas schools teach the history of racism. Days before the primary, Mr. Abbott ordered state health authorities to classify the treatment commonly given to transgender teens as “child abuse.”

Mr. Abbott’s track record has been a stark demonstration of how a major threat can help the right wing of the Republican Party advance the agenda even in a Democratic-leaning state.

In the general election, Mr. Abbott will once again be the clear favorite, this time against Mr. O’Rourke, the Democrat and former congressman who narrowly lost the 2018 race to Senator Ted Cruz and then flopped in the 2020 presidential primaries.

Mr. Abbott is said to have presidential ambitions if Mr. Trump does not run again in 2024. The next step on this path for him will be a decisive victory in November. In a year in which the Republicans are expected to do well, he will need a show of force in Texas to prove he can appeal to voters across the country.

Four years ago, when he ran for the Senate, Mr. O’Rourke won just 61 percent of the vote in the 2018 Senate primary, even though he ran against little-known, poorly funded candidates.

Updated

March 2, 2022 2:06 AM ET

Now that Mr. O’Rourke has become the most famous figure in Texas Democratic politics, he has easily dominated a field of four major Democratic opponents.

Mr. O’Rourke garnered more than 90 percent of the primary vote, winning nearly all of Texas’s 254 counties after losing 76 of them four years ago.

Mr. O’Rourke’s sweeping victory was a reminder that he enters this race as a very different candidate than the plucky underdog who became a national star in 2018. Now Mr. O’Rourke is running for governor, has a big name and the largest foundation in the state. -uplifting network, but also baggage from his previous races. His call for the government to confiscate some of the firearms will continue to feature in Republican attacks on him, and he will also have to overcome the GOP’s significant statewide advantage.

As the first primary of 2022, Texas announced that it would be the dominant theme of the primary season: Can Donald J. Trump play a kingmaker?

Trump’s track record has been mixed. The former president endorsed 33 Texas Republicans ahead of their primaries, but many expected virtually all of them to win before Trump’s nod. As of early Wednesday morning, all of Trump’s congressional candidates were one step ahead to win their nominations.

But other races have raised doubts that only Mr. Trump’s approval can secure victory. Attorney General Ken Paxton, backed by Mr. Trump, and Dawn Buckingham, Mr. Trump’s choice for land commissioner, both went to a runoff in May after failing to win more than 50 percent of the vote.

“Big Night in Texas!” Trump said late Tuesday evening. “All 33 candidates supported by Trump either won the primary or are in a significant lead in the event of a runoff.”

There were also signs that it might be dangerous for Republicans to go against Trump. Rep. Van Taylor, a two-term Dallas suburb who voted to confirm the 2020 election results and for a commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol, was in danger of being forced into a runoff as votes were still counted at the start. environment. Mr. Taylor outperformed his competitors by almost 10 times.

The figure could spook incumbent Republicans, who will face more severe tests from Trump-backed adversaries in the coming months. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and impeachment Republicans from Michigan, South Carolina, and Washington State are all vulnerable and obsessed by Mr. Trump.

Jasmine Crockett, the state legislator who co-led the Texas Democrats’ flight to Washington last summer to delay Republican voting laws, has a big lead but looks destined for a runoff in the Dallas district. Ms. Crockett was endorsed by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, who has represented the district for 35 years. Miss Crockett succumbed to approval: her campaign slogan was: “Pass the torch, kindle the fire.”

Together, Mr. Casar, Ms. Cisneros and Ms. Crockett have revitalized the liberal wing of the House of Representatives and the Progressive Democrats. Last month, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez traveled to Texas to campaign for Mr. Casar and Ms. Cisneros.

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Cute momentary cat covers its ears with its paws to take a nap to a snoring owner in China [video]

Shhh … let me sleep! A cute moment cat covers its ears with its paws to take a nap next to the snoring owner

  • Footage taken in Fuzhou, Fujian Province on February 20 shows a sleeping cat
  • The three-year-old short-haired mogi plugged his ears next to the snoring owner
  • The owner’s daughter, Chen, said the family made him sleep on the couch because of the noise
  • The funny video was widely circulated on Chinese social media

It’s not just people who are tired of snoring, as this fun video shows.

Footage taken in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, Chinashows a cat named Bulb curled up with its paws over its ears to block the loud snoring and rumble coming from its owner.

He slept on the couch in the living room because his family could not cope with his snoring, said his daughter Chen, who recorded the footage.

Footage taken in Fuzhou, Fujian Province on February 20 shows a man sleeping on a sofa and snoring heavily.

Footage taken in Fuzhou, Fujian Province on February 20 shows a man sleeping on a sofa and snoring heavily.

A three-year-old British shorthair cat named Bulb was curled up near the sofa with one paw firmly pressed to his ear.

A three-year-old British shorthair cat named Bulb was curled up near the sofa with one paw firmly pressed to his ear.

She woke up to go to the bathroom and saw the comic scene, which takes place on February 20.

The three-year-old British shorthair cat, who was apparently disappointed by the noise, was located near his father, apparently trying to block the noise with his paw.

Chen approached his father to emphasize the absolute volume of his snoring, in shots he planned to show him the next day.

Ms. Chen posted the footage on Chinese social media, where it was widely circulated.

She said her father did not always snore so loudly, but he was so noisy that day that he was moved to the couch.

This is not the first time that footage of a cat’s disappointment with its owner has been a hit on social media.

A 2019 video taken in Chaozhou, China, shows an angry mogul having a hissing attack after his snacks were taken away.

The cat, named Chen Gudan, was calm while her food was suddenly taken away.

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Latest news about the war between Russia and Ukraine: Live updates on the invasion of Kyiv, Kharkov, Kherson

MUKACHEVO, Ukraine – Russia continued its attack on Ukrainian cities during the night with significant attacks on the capitals of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv in the northeast and the southeastern port of Mariupol, according to the British Ministry of Defense.

Russian state media, citing Russian defense officials, reported that Moscow’s troops controlled Kherson, a vital port connecting the Black Sea and the Dnieper River. But the mayor of Kherson, confirming that enemy tanks and troops are in the city, said it was still in Ukrainian hands. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced via WhatsApp that battles are currently being fought and “the city is not completely conquered.”

Russian troops continued to face unwavering resistance from Ukrainian military and civilian fighters, which, along with ongoing logistical struggles, limited their achievements over the past 24 hours.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, suffered another night of air strikes with videos on social media that could not be verified immediately, allegedly showing explosions at regional police headquarters and in residential areas. Russian paratroopers have landed and engaged Ukrainians in a shootout at a medical center, a regional official said.

A video released on March 1 shows Russian tanks and soldiers moving through a residential area in Kherson, Ukraine. (Twitter)

In Kherson, videos confirmed by The Washington Post show heavy fighting, with a blow to an apartment building, as well as Russian tanks moving in a residential area.

In a Facebook message, Mayor Igor Kolikhaev called on residents to stay indoors and promised the city would work. The first priorities, he said, are restoring electricity, water and heat where they were lost, and collecting the dead. “Last night, when my team and I were at the town hall, the building was shelled. “Everyone is alive,” he wrote. “But again, please don’t leave the house. Don’t provoke a shooting with your actions and behavior. We are in a very difficult situation, there is no need to make it worse.”

He concluded: “We are all waiting for a miracle. We need.”

Latest news about the war between Russia and Ukraine: Live updates on the invasion of Kyiv, Kharkov, Kherson Read More »

General Motors no longer invests in Lordstown Motors

General Motors no longer invests in Lordstown Motors as the Ohio-based electric vehicle startup continues to struggle to keep its doors open.

GM confirmed on Tuesday that it had sold its stake in Lordstown in the fourth quarter of 2021 after an “undisclosed blockade period”, spokesman Jim Kane told CNBC.

GM owned 7.5 million ordinary shares during the SPAC deal in Lordstown, which made the company public in late 2020. GM’s stake was approximately $ 75 million in initial equity. The shares were given to GM in exchange for $ 25 million in cash and in-kind contributions. The shares account for less than 5 percent of GM’s ownership in Lordstown.

Lordstown has been experiencing significant difficulties since last year, delaying the launch of its first pickup and revealing to investors that it has no cash. Last year, he told shareholders there were “substantial doubts” that the company would open in June 2022. Foxconn, a Taiwanese-based electronics maker, bought Lordstown’s Ohio plant, providing a joint venture between the two companies that ultimately The bill will provide for the production of the all-electric Endurance pickup. The partnership is still being finalized, although the plant is already owned by Foxconn. CEO Dan Ninivagi said the partnership is key to Lordstown’s future endeavors.

Lordstown Motors slows down the Endurance truck, sells the Ohio plant to Foxconn

The uncertainty was enough for GM to get out. Kane declined to disclose the exact timing of GM’s sale of Lordstown shares, nor could he commit to net income or market value of the shares, as the total was not a significant figure. GM’s investment was seen as a “gesture of goodwill” as Lordstown struggled to keep cash flow from investors. GM and LG have built a $ 2.3 billion joint-stock battery plant in Lordstown, but it was not known whether the plant would supply cells for the Endurance pickup.

It seems that GM’s plan has always been to give up its investment in Lordstown. “Our goal in investing was to allow them to complete the purchase of the plant and restart production,” Kane said.

Yesterday, during a conversation about Lordstown’s profit for the fourth quarter of 2021, company executives confirmed that there are several pre-production vehicles already in production. These cars are used for various validation activities to achieve full homologation, said President Edward Hightower. “Despite ongoing challenges in parts supply and other supply chain issues, we continue to focus on commercial production and sales in the third quarter of 2022.” GM sales. Shares of Lordstown rose more than 3.5% at the time of writing, trading at $ 2.66 per share.

Disclosure: Joey Klender is not a shareholder in Lordstown.

I will be glad to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns or questions, please email me at [email protected]. You can also contact me on Twitter @KlenderJoeyor if you have news tips, you can email us at [email protected].

General Motors no longer invests in Lordstown Motors






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Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Future to Headline Rolling Loud Miami

Shortly afterwards, Future contacted Kanye West as executive producer Donda 2 and Kendrick Lamar introduced themselves together with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige in the Super Bowl halftime show, the three rap giants will now head this year’s Rolling Loud Miami.

The festival shared the elite list of performers on social media, along with when tickets will go on sale.

The ridiculously arranged arrangement also includes artists such as Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, such as Don Toliver, Baby Keem, City Girls and others. Future was one of the headliners of the latest Rolling Loud festival in California last December, and Ye joined him on stage as a surprise guest during their set.

The last time Kendrick participated in Rolling Loud was in 2017, when he left his own damn it album. Since then, the giant TDE has been sparingly playing music, making two appearances on his cousin’s album Baby Keem The melodic blue, as well as leading the Super Bowl.

The news about Rolling Loud also follows in the footsteps of Kanye West, who organized his own concert in the form of his Donda 2 an event that took place in Miami last week on February 22nd. Despite some technical difficulties, the performance includes songs from his new album and artists such as Migos, Jack Harlow, The Game, Playboy Carti and others who appear for performance.

Rolling Loud Miami 2022 will be held in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens from July 22-24. Tickets go on sale on March 7.

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A woman claims to have found a “spy” in the room of a former roommate who looks directly at the bathroom

An Ohio a woman claims to have found a spy in her old roommate’s bedroom – who was looking directly into the bathroom with a full view of the shower.

A paradise that passes @ xx.ryry On TikTokshe shared her shocked reaction to the discovery of the hole shortly after her former roommate Jacob moved out.

“This is Jacob’s room.” He just brought out all his stuff. I have a panic attack. This is our shower, ”she said, approaching a hole that runs clearly through the wall.

Rai’s video went viral, terrifying viewers who are convinced that the former roommate was a pervert and that Rai should call the police.

But other commentators are less convinced that something scary happened, pointing out that there are other holes in the wall and it looks like Jacob may have made a mistake while hanging something.

Rai claims to have found a single little spy who goes from the bedroom to the bathroom

Rai claims to have found a single little spy who goes from the bedroom to the bathroom

The room belonged to a friend of her boyfriend, who had just left the house

The room belonged to a friend of her boyfriend, who had just left the house

It seems that Rai has just discovered the whole thing when her first video on TikTok starts, as she says emphatically: “It’s so weird.”

She then overturned the camera, asking her boyfriend – who also lives in the house – to get out of the way, revealing several holes in the wall.

But one of the holes goes through the other side – this is where the bathroom is.

Rai moves his camera close to the hole, showing how it is possible to see the shower from the other side.

Then her boyfriend goes to the bathroom, proving that it is possible to see someone bathing through the hole.

Rai gave more details in the comments, explaining why they had not noticed the hole before.

Paradise demonstrates how one can look through the hole and see a soul and explain that it is hidden under a shelf on the side of the bathroom

Paradise demonstrates how one can look through the hole and see a soul and explain that it is hidden under a shelf on the side of the bathroom

54806899 10564979 d a 13 1646145896331 54806909 10564979 d m 12 1646145892524

“I know a lot of people say it’s impossible to see through the hole, but I was shocked to see the full view of the soul when I looked through it,” she said.

“The only hole that went all the way was perfectly hidden under a corner shelf, no, I didn’t see it,” she said.

She also noted that she no longer lives in the house because “this is a dangerous environment.”

The video garnered over a million views in just two days, and the comments had mixed reactions.

Many are upset on behalf of Paradise, certain that the former roommate did spy on her.

“Submit a police reporter [for real] that’s not right, “one wrote, and another commented,” Oh, hell, no, that was intentional. “

Some have suggested that Jacob may have put a camera in the hole and warned her that there may be recordings.

54807891 10564979 image a 15 1646146573515 54807899 10564979 image a 18 1646146590842 Some commenters are horrified and encourage the woman to call the police, with some suggesting he may have put a camera there

Some commenters are horrified and encourage the woman to call the police, with some suggesting he may have put a camera there

However, some are not so sure that Jacob spied and think that all this may be just a misunderstanding.

“Well, to say just that, he probably had shelves or something drilled in the wall before he moved?” wrote one.

“Well, there are so many holes, so what was hanging there,” wrote another, while a third agreed, “There seemed to be something hanging over the wall to cover it.”

“Honestly, I think this is a big misunderstanding,” wrote another. “It looks like the TV was installed there and probably broke a place too far.”

Another said that if the hole had actually been drilled for espionage, Jacob would probably cover it to hide what he had done before leaving.

Rai responded to comments and posted a follow-up video in which she remains convinced that Jacob used him as a spy.

54807901 10564979 image a 19 1646146597406 54807895 10564979 image a 17 1646146587438 54807889 10564979 image a 16 1646146581347 Others point to other holes drilled in the nearby wall and say it looks like the old roommate just made a mistake hanging the shelves.

Others point to other holes drilled in the nearby wall and say it looks like the old roommate just made a mistake hanging the shelves.

“I know a lot of people say it’s impossible to see through the hole, but I was shocked to see the full view of the soul when I looked through it,” she said.

“This is not the first really scary thing he has done,” she added.

Rai explained that there was a TV on the wall, but it was on a swivel stand that could move, allowing someone to spy.

“There was definitely something in front of him that was blocking him,” she said.

“I don’t want to guess the worst, but after seeing so many people say it looks like there’s a camera with holes, I just can’t get it out of my head and it makes my skin crawl,” she said. .

I think it really reveals a common theme with most men, how they believe that women are just objects of pleasure that owe them warmth, sweetness and love, and if you treat them neutrally and [if you] you have strong boundaries, you are an evil witch.

Rai also noted that her boyfriend confronted Jacob after the hole was discovered, but Jacob insisted it was an accident.

“He said it was just a missed spike or whatever, but again, I don’t know why he wouldn’t cover it up,” she said.

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Lions plan to detain Jeff Okuda in CB on his return from torn Achilles

Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions

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The Lions passed in the draft of Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert in 2020 and instead chose cornerback Jeff Okuda with the third overall choice. Okuda played 10 games in two seasons, with groin surgery ending his new season before tearing Achilles to just 48 games in 2021.

The Lions plan to keep Okuda in the corner when he returns from injury this summer, still believing that Okuda can stand out.

“Right now we see it as a corner, but again a lot of it will be as we keep discussing and depending on who we add or how we add, you never know,” Lions coach Dan Campbell told Dave Birkett of Detroit Free Press. “We are constantly talking about our staff and what is best for them to move forward. What is best for us.

“Should this man go to safety?” Should this man go for nickel? Do we have to push this man back into the corner? How are our injured boys? What do we add? So we’re just going to have a dialogue about that all the time, but yeah, we see Jeff there, and what we need to do is just keep adding pieces that can compete. ”

Okuda posted a video on social media on Monday showing him training on the field, including spinning his back. The one-minute video was titled “169 days. February was special! The Lord is Great. “

Campbell said Okuda and the protected area of ​​Romeo Okvara, also recovering from torn Achilles, must return to participate in at least part of the training camp.

“Both of the guys we think are right where they need to be right now are probably the best way to describe it,” Campbell said. “And while everything is going well with their recovery, we hope to have them in the training camp, at least on a limited basis, which would be good. So we hope for the season for both of them if they are ready. “

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