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Los hermanos ucranianos -excampeones mundiales de boxeo- están dispuestos a pelear contra las tropas rusas

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Los hermanos ucranianos -excampeones mundiales de boxeo- están dispuestos a pelear contra las tropas rusas

Ambos ganaron varios campeonatos mundiales de boxeo de los pesos pesados. Fueron conocidos por su suave juego de piernas y sus feroces jabs. Uno nunca fue derribado en el ring. El otro estuvo invicto durante una década.

Ahora, después de sus trayectorias en el boxeo del Salón de la Fama, los hermanos Vitali y Wladimir Klitschko están de nuevo en la escena mundial, unidos en la lucha de Ucrania contra la invasión rusa.

En los días transcurridos desde que comenzó el asalto a su país natal, ambos han dicho que piensan tomar las armas para defenderse de los militares rusos a medida que se acercan a Kiev, la capital ucraniana.

El viernes, combatientes voluntarios patrullaron las calles de Kiev. El presidente Volodymyr Zelensky instó a los ucranianos a levantarse y defender a su país. El mensaje llegó mientras que los ataques aéreos rusos comenzaban a bombardear la capital.

“Nuestro ejército está aquí, nuestros funcionarios defienden nuestra independencia y nuestro Estado, y queremos que siga siendo así”, dijo Zelensky.

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Durante gran parte del viernes, las imágenes desgarradoras de ucranianos haciendo fila para recibir armas inundaron las redes sociales, junto con retratos de residentes preparando cócteles molotov.

Vitali Klitschko, de 50 años, que desde su retirada del boxeo en 2013 ha sido alcalde de Kiev, expuso en una entrevista en el programa “Good Morning Britain” de ITV que se quedaría a pelear.

“No tengo otra opción. Debo hacerlo. Voy a luchar”, expresó. “Es una guerra sangrienta”.

El mes pasado, Wladimir Klitschko, de 45 años, se alistó en la reserva del ejército ucraniano en Kiev.

“Ahora, el presidente ruso [Vladímir Putin] utiliza una retórica de guerra… deja claro que quiere destruir al Estado ucraniano y la soberanía de su pueblo”, escribió Wladimir en LinkedIn el jueves. “A las palabras les siguen los misiles y los tanques. La destrucción y la muerte vienen sobre nosotros. … Nos defenderemos con todas nuestras fuerzas y lucharemos por la libertad y la democracia”.

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Los hermanos han hablado a menudo públicamente de política. Durante años, incluso antes de su retirada oficial del boxeo tras ser campeón de los pesos pesados, Vitali Klitschko tenía ambiciones por gobernar, a pesar de haber perdido las elecciones municipales en Kiev.

Con 1.90 metros y 250 libras, Vitali, con un récord de boxeo de 45-2 que incluye 41 nocauts, ganó la alcaldía de Kiev en 2014 y ha ocupado el cargo desde entonces. Es el mismo año en que Rusia invadió el este de Ucrania y se anexó Crimea.

En ese tiempo, ha sido un firme partidario de que Ucrania se distancie de Rusia y cree relaciones más fuertes con la Unión Europea y la OTAN. También ha criticado a Putin durante estos años.

“Nuestro vecino del este no está contento con nuestra decisión de formar parte de la familia europea”, expuso Vitali Klitschko a la cadena británica Channel 4 Information el mes pasado. “No queremos volver a la URSS y vemos nuestro futuro en la UE”.

Tom Loeffler, que dirige la compañía de los hermanos Klitschko, K2 Promotions, mencionó que habló con Wladimir el jueves. El expúgil, que se retiró en 2017 con una marca profesional de 64-5, estaba acorralado en Kiev y listo para resistir la invasión de las fuerzas rusas, dijo el ejecutivo.

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“Me siento impotente”, indicó Loeffler, que tiene su sede en Los Ángeles. “¿Quién iba a pensar que volveríamos a ver una guerra en Europa? Esto es algo que ninguno de nosotros esperaba”.

Loeffler dijo que ha mantenido la comunicación con ambos hombres.

“Todos estamos rezando para que superen esto”, detalló. “Debemos estar con Ucrania”.

En los últimos días, Loeffler, que ha visitado Ucrania docenas de veces a lo largo de los años, señaló que ha recordado los buenos momentos que todos compartieron en Los Ángeles.

Rezando por mis chicos @Vitaliy_Klychko y Wladimir @Klitschko y toda la gente de #Ucrania. Increíble que esto le esté pasando a su país después de todas las lecciones que hemos aprendido en el pasado: pray::skin-tone-3::flag-ua: (Handout Tweet from Tom Loeffler)

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(Handout Tweet from Tom Loeffler)

Como cuando nacieron los hijos de Vitali Klitschko en el Centro Médico Cedars-Sinai de Los Ángeles. Su entrenamiento corriendo por Venice Seaside, o el combate de pesos pesados de 2003 entre él y Lennox Lewis en el Staples Heart. Lewis venció después de que el ojo del alcalde de Kiev quedara demasiado dañado para continuar. Aun así, en el momento en que se detuvo el combate, Vitali iba ganando en las tarjetas de puntuación de los jueces.

Ahora, quiere que Estados Unidos haga más para apoyar al pueblo ucraniano.

“Las sanciones deben ser más duras”, dijo. “El mundo está mirando y debemos ayudar”.

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.” 

“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote. 

Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.

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It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.

U.S. Border Patrol agents cut an opening through razor wire after immigrant families crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.

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Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.

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TEXAS BORDER RAZOR WIRE

A Venezuelan immigrant asks Texas National Guard troops to let his family pass through razor wire after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.” 

“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”

Texas border

Migrants attempt to cross the southern border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in February. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration. 

In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.

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The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”

Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”

Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.

In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.

She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”

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“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.

Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.

Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.

The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.

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Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.

Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”

The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”

Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.

One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.

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Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.

Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously. 

“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family. 

“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”

Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump. 

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President Elect Donald Trump, left, and new appointed Tom Homan, right (Getty)

“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”

Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.

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Donald Trump in a blue suit and red tie pumps his fist in the air and looks up

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

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“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.” 

Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted. 

Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family. 

Trump holds fist

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.  Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”

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“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”

Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”

“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”

The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report

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