Two informational plaques were stolen from a St. Paul park over the weekend and police are asking the public for tips.

The plaques, which contain valuable metals, are 18 inches by 24 inches and were taken from Summit Lookout Park at Summit Avenue and Ramsey Street.

“Not only is there a cost associated with replacing these plaques, it takes away from the public space,” police wrote on social media Tuesday, comparing the case to what happened in the spring on Harriet Island. At that time, a person or people tried to make off with a large, multi-piece metal sculpture. The attempts led the city to take down at least half of the sizable pieces of public art.

Police are asking anyone with information about the plaque thefts to call Sgt. Carlson at 651-266-5572.

Metal thieves have targeted streetlights and other infrastructure in recent years.

St. Paul spent more than $1.2 million last year to repair and replace street lights and traffic signals damaged by copper wire theft, according to the city.

This year, the city spent just over $1 million as of the beginning of September. The City Council approved an additional $500,000 for St. Paul Public Works for this year, which has included hiring a dedicated seasonal, full-time electrician crew to repair damaged street lights.

The problem has skyrocketed in recent years — restoring lighting from wire theft cost the city $98,588 in 2019, $104,595 in 2020, $294,494 in 2021 and $453,172 in 2022, including labor, materials and equipment.

St. Paul has “got really creative with strategies and techniques, some that are showing successes,” said Lisa Hiebert, Public Works spokesperson. She didn’t provide details for security reasons because, in the past, thieves have found a way around measures the city has taken.

But a downside has been thieves moving their attention to areas that weren’t previously targeted for wire theft, in more residential areas, Hiebert said.

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By SARAH PARVINI

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Social media platform X on Wednesday published its first transparency report since the company was purchased by Elon Musk. The report, which details content moderation practices, shows the company has removed millions of posts and accounts from the site in the first half of the year.

X, formerly Twitter, suspended nearly 5.3 million accounts in that time, compared with the 1.6 million accounts the company reported suspending in the first half of 2022. The social media company also “removed or labeled” more than 10.6 million posts for violating platform rules — about 5 million of which it categorized as violating its “hateful conduct” policy.

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Posts containing “violent content” — 2.2 million — or “abuse and harassment” — 2.6 million — also accounted for a large portion of content that was labeled or removed. The company does not distinguish between how many posts were removed and how many were labeled.

In an April 2023 blog post published in lieu of a transparency report, by contrast, the company said it required users to remove 6.5 million pieces of content that violated the company’s rules in the first six months of 2022, an increase of 29% from the second half of 2021.

Some have blamed Musk for turning a fun platform into one that’s chaotic and toxic. Musk has previously posted conspiracy theories and feuded with world leaders and politicians. X is currently banned in Brazil amid a dustup between Musk and a Brazilian Supreme Court judge over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

To enforce their rules, X said, the company uses a combination of machine learning and human review. The automated systems either take action or surface the content to human moderators. Posts violating X’s policy accounted for less than 1% of all content on the site, the company said.

When Musk was trying to buy Twitter in 2022, he said he was doing so because it wasn’t living up to its potential as a “platform for free speech.” Since acquiring the company that October, Musk has fired much of its staff and made other changes, leading to a steady exodus of celebrities, public figures, organizations and ordinary people from the platform.

By JENNIFER PELTZ

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s president urged global leaders Wednesday to stand with his country and not seek “a lull” instead of a “real, just peace” more than two years into Russia’s war.

At a time when he faces growing pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a cease-fire, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly there’s no alternative to the peace formula he presented two years ago. It seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine, accountability for war crimes, release of prisoners of war and deportees, nuclear safety, energy and food security and more.

“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve a lull instead of an end to the war,” Zelenskyy said, urging nations to “put pressure on” Russia.

“Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored. “And that will bring us peace.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Russia hasn’t yet had its turn to speak at the assembly’s annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other high officials. Low-level Russian diplomats occupied the country’s seats in the huge assembly hall during Zelenskyy’s speech.

President Vladimir Putin is not attending this year’s high-level meetings at the General Assembly; Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to give the nation’s address instead, on Saturday.

In Moscow on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov lambasted remarks that Zelenskyy made the day before, when the Ukrainian president told the U.N. Security Council that Russia needs to “ be forced into peace.” Dmitry Peskov called that position “a fatal mistake” and “a profound misconception, which, of course, will inevitably have consequences for the Kyiv regime.”

The war in Ukraine was center stage the last two times that world leaders convened for the U.N.’s signature annual meeting. But this year, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the escalating developments along the Israeli-Lebanese border have gotten much of the spotlight.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Ukraine and Russia, with one of the world’s most potent armies, are locked in a grinding fight along a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

The war began when Russia invaded in February 2022, claiming among other explanations that it was safeguarding Russian speakers in Ukraine.

During the fighting, Russia has gained momentum in Ukraine’s east. Ukraine, meanwhile, startled Russia by sending troops across the border in a daring incursion last month.

Ukrainian officials have rejected a Chinese and Brazilian peace plan, believing it would just buy Moscow time.

“When some propose alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles, it not only ignores the interests and suffering of Ukrainians who are affected by the war the most, it not only ignores reality, but also gives Putin the political space to continue the war,” Zelenskyy told the assembly Wednesday.

To proponents of alternative plans, he chided: “You will not boost your power at Ukraine’s expense.”

Zelenskyy is expected to present a victory plan this week to U.S. President President Joe Biden. While the plan haven’t been released, it’s aimed at laying out what Ukraine believes it needs — fast — from Western allies to win.

This story corrects one of Zelenskyy’s quotes. He said that alternative peace proposals seek “a lull,” not “an out,” in the war.