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CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Ukraine's drones spark Moscow airport disruptions as deadly wave of Russian missiles pound major cities
New waves of deadly Russian missiles pounded Ukraine overnight Sunday while long range drone attacks by Kyiv sparked travel chaos at Moscow's airports. Residents of Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities faced another sleepless night on Sunday as Russia launched 450 missiles and drones overnight into Monday, Ukraine's Air Force said. The majority were shot down but 23 struck across three locations and debris from intercepted missiles landed in 12 areas, it added. Nationwide air raid warnings were issued, except in three regions, with local authorities reporting at least two people killed and 16 wounded in the past 24 hours. 'Russian strikes are always an assault on humanity — in Kyiv, a kindergarten caught fire, along with residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure,' Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said. In Kyiv, the alert was raised at 11pm Sunday local time and remained in place for eight hours, with one killed and six wounded, police said. Kateryna, who only gave her first name, was among residents who rushed into Lukianivska subway station for shelter, in the city's northwest, where the entrance was damaged in the strikes. 'It was very scary when the attack happened,' she told Reuters, sitting on the station escalator with her husband and pet dog which the couple carried over shards and splinters in the aftermath of the strike. 'There was lots of smoke and dust, we all got very scared. There was a little panic but, because life has taught us how to behave, we've all gotten used to it. We cared for each other and for the animals too,' she said. Fires broke out on the roof across several buildings and a supermarket in the city's southeastern Darnytskyi district. Fires were also reported in the more central districts of Shevchenkivskyi and Dniprovskiy, affecting two residential buildings and a shopping mall, with debris falling on a kindergarten in Dniprovskiy. In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, city mayor Ihor Terekhov reported 12 hits including one that ignited a blaze near a multistory residential building in the Kyivskyi district to the north. Elsewhere in the city, windows were blown out and there was damage to a road, tram tracks and electric wires. This latest attack includes cruise and ballistic missiles as well as powerful advanced Kinzhal missiles, which are difficult to intercept, Ukraine's Air Force confirmed. Russia has intensified its overnight strikes in recent weeks, targeting cities far from the frontline. Earlier this month it launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine involving 728 attack and decoy drones and 13 missiles, Ukraine's Air Force said. Kyiv's forces have also continued to find ways of striking deep inside Russia. Over the weekend thousands of passengers were forced to queue or sleep on the floor due to flight delays and cancelations at major Moscow airports sparked by long-range drone attacks, as seen in videos from Russian media. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the military downed 49 drones between Friday evening and Monday morning with no injuries or significant damage. Dozens more were intercepted in west and southwest regions including Kursk, Rostov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula and Lipetsk, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed. In his daily address on Saturday, Zelensky called for talks with Russia this week, to push forward ceasefire negotiations amid growing US pressure on Moscow to reach a deal. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was 'ready to move quickly' on achieving a peace deal with Ukraine, but its 'main goal' was to achieve its 'objectives'. The last round of ceasefire talks in Istanbul ended swiftly in early June, with Russian and Ukrainian delegates meeting for barely over an hour before calling it quits. Russia put forward maximalist territorial demands as part of preconditions for a ceasefire. Ukraine has previously refused to consider any territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
USA Today
12-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Connor Stalions fires back at TCU coach's sign-stealing narrative
Brett McMurphy has just started his new job at On3 and felt like he had a bit of a juicy story, even if it's one that's already been told. All the way back in October 2023, a TCU contingent told ESPN that the Horned Frogs were aware of Michigan football's Connor Stalions and his sign-stealing ways, and that they had devised a clever plan which made the Wolverines' machinations backfire on them. Now, years removed, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes is adding gasoline to the flames by telling McMurphy and On3 at Big 12 media days about the countermeasures that the Horned Frogs took against the Wolverines in that 2022 Fiesta Bowl. 'We had some intel that (the sign stealing) was going on,' Dykes told On3 from Big 12 media days. 'Look everybody does it to an extent, but we had some intel that it was kind of next level there.'Dykes' solution? 'We changed some signs, we left some the same,' Dykes said. 'We found out early enough (before the game) where we could change a lot of our signals and then we had some dummy signals and some things where we checked a dummy signal to a signal that we knew they knew. 'We got some favorable matchups because of that and, yeah, there was some big plays in the game. No one who was a part of that Michigan football team had been able to fight back on the allegations publicly. But now, as he waits for the NCAA to levy its punishment for the advanced scouting scandal, Stalions isn't letting this one go by idly. Stalions took to X (formerly Twitter) to rebut McMurphy's story on Dykes, responding to the article post in great, great detail about why this account from the Horned Frogs coach is erroneous. To be 'tipped off' that your next opponent is good at stealing signals is like saying you were tipped off that you had an upcoming game. To save everybody's time so we can move on from the same recycled story from Coach Dykes, I'll provide some more details and we can wrap this up: We lost because we turned the ball over & had a poor game tackling. And TCU played well. Congratulations. The same way we won the Natty (when I was not with the program) because we blocked well, tackled well, and took care of the rock. Welcome to the game of football. Since people are so intrigued by signals…The entire Air Raid communication system is the offensive coordinator signaling to the QB, then the QB signaling to the Receivers. USC, TCU, etc. It's all the same. They're all the same signals too. And TCU kept everything from the coordinator to QB the same, but had dummy signals & some new signals from the QB to Receivers. But that didn't matter because I'm watching the coach and seeing what they changed in real time. Similar to Ohio State 'changing their signals.' They changed their route concepts & some run concepts — not their formations & pass protection signals, which is all I cared about. To say anyone 'fooled' me is admitting that you have no idea how signal deciphering & protecting works. No team has ever 'changed' signals — meaning they don't recycle the same signal to have a different meaning because that would confuse the 18-year olds on the field more than it would confuse me. They simply create new signals. And if I see a new signal, I'm not guessing what it means. There were games where I relayed information 0% of the time, all the way through 99% of the time. No one is forcing you to signal. Rutgers & Minnesota huddled (didn't signal). Nebraska didn't signal until the 2nd quarter when they were down 14-0. Even we, Michigan, didn't signal on offense. If you don't want teams to steal your signals, then don't signal. Any team that signals on offense is trying to force the defense to signal so they can steal it. There's really no other advantage unless you're trying to prevent a sub, or it's 2-minute. If that weren't true, you'd see the entire NFL go up tempo to find advantages. But you don't. And it's still going on today in college with coach comms. Notice how teams still signal — it's because they're going up tempo. The continuous attempt to correlate signals to any wins & losses at Michigan is funny. There were 7 games in my time at Michigan where I knew almost every signal the whole game: 2021 MSU, 2022 MSU, 2022 PSU, 2022 OSU, 2022 TCU, 2021 Georgia, and 2021 Wisconsin. We lost 3 of those games because we didn't tackle well, and Georgia was historically good. We won the four other games because we dominated the line of scrimmage & tackled well. Blocking, ball security, tackling, run fits & coverage tools. That's football. This is not rocket science. That is true -- it wasn't so much that TCU took great advantage of Michigan being in the wrong place throughout the game. The Wolverines struggled throughout the entire College Football Playoff semifinal with the fundamentals, and ultimately found themselves making mistake after mistake -- from J.J. McCarthy's two interceptions, to a fumble at the goal line, to running the Philly special on a fourth down. Then, when TCU had the ball, Michigan struggled to finish tackles or whiffed entirely. It wasn't a case of catching the Wolverines off guard; it was a case of Michigan not being able to get out of its own way. Even still, the game came down to the maize and blue's final possession. Of course, narratives will persist, regardless, especially since Stalions didn't start going on the record until Netflix's 'Sign Stealer' was released in August 2024. He's since made a trio of podcast appearances and is becoming more and more of a social media presence.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What will Oklahoma's offense look like in 2025?
Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables had to make a bold hire this winter. Venables knew he'd be looking for a new offensive coordinator just seven games into the 2024 season. He also knew at the end of the regular season that his back was going to be against the wall in 2025. So, Venables took a chance on a young up-and-comer from Washington State to revamp OU's offense. Ben Arbuckle will call the offensive plays in Norman after the Sooners lured him away from Pullman. Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach has total command of that side of the ball, and a relatively blank slate to work with after last year's dumpster fire. Arbuckle will turn 30 in September, making Venables' hire a pretty risky one. But what will the OU offense actually look like once the Sooners take the field in late August? Oklahoma has typically been at the forefront of offensive innovation over the years. Whether it was the Split-T, the Wishbone, the Air Raid, or the Spread, the Sooners traditionally have been early adopters. From Mike Leach through Jeff Lebby's tenure, the Sooners have regularly had some of the best offenses in college football. Each of the modern spread offenses has plenty in common with each other, but it's easy to see the differences on the field between the Veer-and-Shoot and the Air Raid, or the differences between the more traditional Spread schemes and an offense that runs multiple schemes. Tempo is another big factor. After Lebby's two years in Norman, the Sooners were lost on offense in 2024, posting their worst numbers on that side of the ball since 1998, the year before Leach was hired as the offensive coordinator. That brings us back to Arbuckle, who has a heavy Air Raid background. He'll get the Sooners back to a system that has brought them plenty of success in years past. The Canadian, Texas native played quarterback in high school in the Texas Panhandle. He initially wanted to play collegiately for UTSA, but ended up taking a two-year hiatus from the sport. Arbuckle returned to play two seasons (2016-2017) at Division II West Texas A&M, starting a few games. He got into coaching after that and spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at FCS Houston Baptist as an offensive quality control assistant. It was there that he met his biggest influence, Zach Kittley, who was the offensive coordinator for the Huskies. Kittley and Arbuckle coached quarterback Bailey Zappe together for those two seasons at HBU before Arbuckle returned to West Texas. He was Seminole High School's offensive coordinator for the 2020 season, before returning to the collegiate level in 2021. It was then that he reunited with both Kittley and Zappe at the FBS level at Western Kentucky. Arbuckle was a quality control coach for the Hilltoppers, as the offense put together an excellent year in Kittley's Air Raid scheme. Zappe moved on to the NFL and Kittley was hired as Texas Tech's OC after the season. Suddenly, Arbuckle was in the driver's seat in 2022, calling plays for the first time and serving as the co-OC for Western Kentucky. He and new starting QB Austin Reed had enough success that Arbuckle was hired as Washington State's offensive coordinator after the season. The Cougars wanted Arbuckle's Air Raid at WSU. In 2023 and 2024, Arbuckle called plays for the Wazzu, first with future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward under center, then with John Mateer at the controls last year. Arbuckle took the open job at OU after last season, brought Mateer with him, and now brings the Air Raid back to Norman. Kittley, now FAU's head coach, is clearly Arbuckle's biggest influence, and Arbuckle's system looks the most similar to what Kittley has done in his various stops along the way. But Kittley is a young coach as well, so the tree goes much further up for Arbuckle than just him. Kittley's coaching career began on Kliff Kingsbury's staff at Texas Tech from 2013 to 2017, before he landed the OC gig at HBU. For part of his time in Lubbock, Kittley worked with Patrick Mahomes as an assistant quarterbacks coach. Kingsbury (Washington Commanders' OC) is one of the Air Raid's most prevalent names, but that staff also included Sonny Cumbie, who worked closely with Kittley. Both Kingsbury and Cumbie (Louisiana Tech's head coach) played for Mike Leach, and Cumbie briefly coached under him. Both coaches are Air Raid disciples who had a big influence on Kittley. That Texas Tech staff in the mid-2010s also included Eric Morris (North Texas' head coach), another recognizable Air Raid figure. Kingsbury can trace his success back to coaches like Dana Holgerson, Kevin Sumlin (who is on a slightly different branch of the same connected tree), and, of course, Leach, who was one of the original pillars of the Air Raid along with Hal Mumme. That duo invented the offense in the 80s and 90s. As you can see, it's not that much of a stretch to say that Mike Leach, who brought the system to Norman 26 years ago, has influenced Ben Arbuckle's mentor and turned Oklahoma's new OC into the coach he is today. Arbuckle will have to learn the same lesson Riley did when he ran the Air Raid at OU. Running the football can't be an afterthought, as it often can be for Air Raid coaches. The sooner Arbuckle learns that lesson, the better, because it took Riley about half of his first season. But for OU fans wondering what their new offense will look like, it's something Sooner Nation has seen a couple of times before. Quick passes and deep vertical routes are the hallmarks of this system, with Arbuckle needing to bring some of the gap run schemes that made OU so fearsome in the late 2010s into the fold as well. The quarterback must be an accurate decision-maker who can also push the ball down the field. Great wideout play is paramount, and the offensive line has to be rock-solid. The Air Raid has more traditional WR splits than the Veer-and-Shoot. It's a scheme that will often feature four or five wide receivers. But, Arbuckle knows he has to mix things up and keep SEC defenses guessing. Simply throwing the ball on every down won't get the job done. While Mateer's presence will help, Arbuckle likely faces a learning curve in his first year on the job. However, we've seen the Air Raid work multiple times before at Oklahoma, and Arbuckle has three years of play-calling experience under his belt. While the job at OU is daunting, there's also more talent to work with than Arbuckle's ever had. One thing the Sooners won't lack is an identity. Arbuckle is an Air Raid guy through and through. He's running his own system that he's been calling for three years and was trained in by Kittley. None of those statements were true of Oklahoma offensively last year. After last season's offensive disaster, a coach with a distinct system, roots in a strong offensive coaching tree, recent play-calling experience, and a real plan for his offense is a welcome sight for Sooner fans who are ready to get the taste of 2024 out of their mouths as soon as possible. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Deadly new Russian drone and missile attack hits Kyiv
A massive overnight Russian attack has hit Ukraine's capital Kyiv, killing at least two people and injuring 16, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The attack involved 18 missiles and about 400 drones, primarily targeting the capital, Zelensky added. Authorities in Kyiv said drone wreckage hit the roof of a residential building in the central Shevchenkivskyi district and fires burned across the city. Residents' sleep was interrupted for three hours as drones and missiles converged on the capital, air defences went into action and explosions reverberated. Footage on social media, not yet verified by the BBC, showed blasts in the night sky. It followed what Ukraine described as the largest Russian aerial attack on Tuesday night, when 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles struck cities across the country. In the early hours of Thursday morning, Ukraine's police reported that Russian drone strikes had hit eight districts in Kyiv. "Residential buildings, vehicles, warehouses, office and non-residential buildings are burning," administration head Tymur Tkachenko said in a post on Telegram. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed that a 68-year-old woman and a 22-year-old police officer at a metro station had been killed. In Kyiv's Podilsky district, a primary healthcare centre was "almost completely destroyed", Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. City residents were urged to shelter until the air raid siren was lifted, and also close windows when they returned to their homes because there was a "lot of smoke" in Kyiv. Overnight, Ukraine's air force reported a threat of Russian drone attacks in a number of regions. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties outside Kyiv. Russia's military has not commented on the reported latest attack. In other developments: Ukraine's emergency service DSNS said late on Wednesday that three people had been killed in a Russian air strike in the town of Kostiantynivka - close to the front line in eastern Ukraine The US resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine, Reuters reported late on Wednesday, days after it halted shipments of some critical air defence arms "Russia is obviously stepping up terror," Zelensky said. "It is necessary to be faster with sanctions and pressure Russia so that it feels the outcomes of its own terror. Our partners need to act faster investing in weapons production and developing tech." He said that on Thursday, he would be speaking to partners about additional financing for producing interceptor drones and air defence supplies. The latest attack underlines just how remote the prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough seem to have become. On Wednesday, Germany's Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said diplomacy had been exhausted. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, spoke in similar terms earlier in the week. And US President Donald Trump seems increasingly impatient with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless." Peskov said Moscow was "pretty calm about this. Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses". The two leaders have been in regular contact, but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine - something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day. Trump has been threatening sanctions on Russia since taking office in January but has so far not imposed any. A bipartisan bill is working its way through Congress which would penalise countries such as China and India that continue to buy Russian oil and gas. Trump said he might support it. The focus among Kyiv's allies has now shifted back to how to protect Ukraine and punish Russia, with Europe working on a new package of sanctions. All this is likely to be discussed in Rome, where a two-day conference attended by delegates from 77 countries on Ukraine's recovery is due to start on Thursday. With Russia's drone attacks on Ukraine increasing in frequency and scale, renewed attention on how to protect Ukraine's airspace could also be on the agenda. Later on Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a summit in Malaysia. Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia's summer push in Ukraine targets three fronts but faces stern resistance Steve Rosenberg: Moscow shrugs off Trump's irritation with Putin Why did Putin's Russia invade Ukraine?
USA Today
06-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN thinks this Oklahoma player could be a sleeper this year
The Oklahoma Sooners are in desperate need of a bounce-back campaign in 2025. A dismal offensive showing in OU's first season in the SEC led to a 6-7 overall record and a 2-6 mark in conference play. One of the many reasons that Oklahoma had so much trouble moving the ball on offense was the wide receiver play. OU's top five projected receivers missed all or most of the 2024 season due to injury. That forced backups and true freshmen to step into roles they weren't ready for, and the Oklahoma passing game crumbled. Wide receiver certainly wasn't the only problem on an offense full of them, but it's an area that has to improve along with the rest of the offense in 2025. ESPN believes there's a player at this position on the Sooners roster who isa bit under the radar that can help OU right the ship. A handful of ESPN's college football writers identified sleeper players for each of their preseason top 25 teams. For Oklahoma, who came in at No. 25 in the rankings, they chose sophomore wide receiver Zion Kearney. The Sooners were besieged with injuries at the receiver position last season, and some of their more talented pass catchers hit the transfer portal, including Nic Anderson. With new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and his Air Raid offense coming to Norman, that means Oklahoma will utilize even more receivers. Kearney, a true sophomore, has a chance to make a big jump after playing as a backup in 11 games as a freshman. He has the size (6-1, 207 pounds) and speed (4.28 40-yard dash in high school) to be a staple in the Sooners' passing game, especially with John Mateer stepping in at quarterback. - Chris Low, ESPN. Kearney wasn't ready to play the kind of snaps he did in 2024, but all of that experience is a good learning opportunity for him. The Sooners and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones remade the position group in the transfer portal this offseason, and Kearney was one of a handful of players who decided to stick around in Norman. Kearney also had a nice performance in OU's Armed Forces Bowl loss against Navy. He posted his most receiving yards of the season and his only career touchdown on a scramble drill play from Michael Hawkins Jr. He also managed four catches against Texas back in October. With a lot of question marks and some lingering injury concerns for OU's wide receiver group heading into fall camp, Kearney could be a surprise player to watch in his second season as a Sooner. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
