David Freese lives in the legend of the St. Louis Cardinals and their 2011 World Series, but he wants nothing to do with the team's Hall of Fame.There haven't been many things that St. Louis Cardinals fans will remember fondly about the 2023 season. Losses have been piling up as a Frid...

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie sharpened his attacks on former President Donald Trump on Sunday, calling his rival for the 2024 GOP nomination a "liar" and a "coward."

ROME Silvio Berlusconi, the four-time Italian prime minister and billionaire media mogul who died on Monday at the

Matthew Poitras scored his first two NHL goals in the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 for their season-opening fifth straight win

Ukraine’s ambassador in London has caused deep consternation in Kyiv after publicly criticising Volodymyr Zelensky’s conduct in a row with British defence secretary Ben Wallace, according to diplomatic sources. Vadym Prystaiko, who has been a key point of contact for the British government during the Ukraine war, accused Mr Zelensky of “unhealthy sarcasm” in his response to Mr Wallace saying Kyiv should not view the UK and Western allies as an “Amazon” delivery service. The Independent has been told that there were subsequently “very strong” telephone conversations between Mr Prystaiko and the government in Kyiv. There are also reports his remarks have been picked up by Russian media and presented, with words twisted, to show major splits between Ukraine and its Western allies at a time Mr Zelensky’s government is carrying out a major counteroffensive to reclaim occupied territory. Speaking at the Nato summit in Vilnius, the British defence secretary had said people expected Ukraine to show more gratitude for the huge help being given by allies. In a mocking response, Mr Zelensky said: “How else can we show our gratitude? We can wake up in the morning and thank the minister. Let him write to me and tell me how to thank him.” Mr Prystaiko responded on Sky News: “President Zelensky saying ‘each and every morning we’ll wake up and call Ben Wallace to thank him’ – I don’t think that kind of sarcasm is healthy. I don’t think we need to show the Russians there is something between us. We’re working together, Ben can call me and tell me anything he wants to.” It remains unclear what disciplinary measures Mr Prystaiko would face from his government. The decision is likely to be made by foreign minister Dmitry Kuleba, who was said to be in New York meeting UN officials earlier this week. Some senior Ukrainian officials accept that the ambassador – a veteran diplomat who had served in the past as his country’s foreign minister – was trying to soothe relations with the UK, but also point out that Moscow was always going to exploit such remarks. Ukrainian officials are regularly targeted by Russian trolls, with Mr Prystaiko himself having been a victim in the past. He gave an interview to Newsweek earlier this year in which he talked about heavy civilian losses due to Russian shelling, which was turned by a Russian website into “colossal losses by the Ukrainian army” with the invented phrase “people were dying in the interest of the West”. It is not just in Ukraine that the “Amazon” controversy lingers on. Some allies of Mr Wallace, who is due to step down from his post and leave politics altogether in the next election, feel that Rishi Sunak should have stood up more for the defence secretary. Asked about Mr Wallace’s remarks, the prime minister said that President Zelensky “had expressed his gratitude for what we’ve done on a number of occasions”. He added: “People across Ukraine are also fighting for their lives and freedom every single day and they’re paying a terrible price for it so I completely understand Volodymyr’s desire to do everything he can to protect his people and to stop this war.” Mr Wallace was not, however, the only Western official to raise the issue of Ukrainian gratitude at the Nato summit. The US’s national security advisor held that “the American people do deserve a degree of gratitude” after being questioned about US resolve. Ukrainian foreign minister Mr Kuleba, in his own response to Wallace’s comments, said: “I apologise, but we are at war. “Colleagues, ministers and foreign journalists often ask me if we are getting enough weapons. I tell them that as long as we are on the way to victory, we will not have enough weapons. When we win, we will say: Thank you, we had enough weapons. But as long as the struggle continues, we will not have enough”. The UK has been involved in training the Ukrainian military since the separatist wars seven years ago. Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion, Kyiv has been supplied with NLAW, Brimstone and Starstreak missiles as well as Challenger tanks. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Varadkar pledges unwavering solidarity with Ukraine on day-long visit to Kyiv Leo Varadkar meets Ukrainian actor in Kyiv after Dublin assault Varadkar to stress morale boost EU accession could offer to Ukraine’s soldiers

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Pope Francis told a young transgender person that “God loves us as we are”, comments that are being seen as his latest outreach to members of the LGBT+ community. The pope’s comment was in response to Giona, a young Italian individual “torn by the dichotomy between (their Catholic) faith and transgender identity”. The pope was responding to audio messages from young people in a podcast organized ahead of a Catholic youth festival in Portugal, which he is set to attend next week. The pontiff said “the Lord always walks with us.... Even if we are sinners, he draws near to help us. The Lord loves us as we are. This is God’s crazy love.” Pope Francis’s position on the LGBTQ community and gay marriage has been a subject of interest and discussion since he became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. While the pope has emphasised the importance of treating LGBTQ individuals with respect, dignity, and love, he upholds the traditional Catholic teaching that marriage is a sacred between a man and a woman. He garnered praise from the LGBTQ community in 2013 when he was asked about a gay priest in 2013 and he replied, “Who am I to judge?” During the course of his pontificate, he has met individually and in groups with transgender people. But at the same time, he has strongly opposed the so-called “gender theory” and upheld the teachings that hold that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”. In 2021, Pope Francis authorized the release of a Vatican document asserting that the Catholic Church is unable to bless same-sex unions because it is believed that "God cannot bless sin". In an interview with Associated Press, he declared that laws criminalising homosexuality were “unjust” and that “being homosexual is not a crime”. He later clarified that he was merely referring to official Catholic moral teaching that teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. In a note in Spanish, Francis reaffirmed that homosexuality “is not a crime,” adding that he spoke out “in order to stress that criminalisation is neither good nor just.” “When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” he said. Read More Vatican abuse investigators begin their audit of secretive Peru-based Catholic society The pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to Washington with the plight of children top of his agenda Pope says he knows what non-binary means, welcomes LGBT people to church: ‘All persons are children of God’ Vatican abuse investigators begin their audit of secretive Peru-based Catholic society Jesuits confirm expulsion of priest artist and lament Vatican norms preclude further sanction Vatican is moving ahead with plan to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia with their families

Two cable news personalities with little in common — Mark Levin and Jen Psaki — both learned on Thursday that they will be getting increased screen time on their respective networks