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Ask Amy: Reader remains in a COVID lockdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

Dear Amy: I’m stuck in a deep hole.I didn’t think the COVID lockdown would affect me much because I’m an introvert and a homebody, but I’m finding it difficult to make myself leave the house. I only go to the grocery store and to my doctors’ offices — and occasionally to a family member’s house.One factor is that I moved to a new town just a couple of months before COVID hit, so I don’t have any local friends.I’m retired, so I don’t have any work buddies.I know that joining groups is a good way to meet people.I joined a church, but rarely go. I “plan to” join a quilting club and to get together with a group that plays an AR (augmented reality) game I used to play all the time.My husband sometimes suggests we go somewhere, but when I think about going out my stomach tightens, and I feel like I want to cry.How do I get past this?— Want Out!Dear Want Out!: Your recognition that this is a problem, and your desire to change your situation, are very good signs that you can creep out of th...

France unrest: Riots spread, thousands march in memory of shot teenager

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

President Emmanuel Macron fought to contain a mounting crisis on Thursday (29 June) as unrest erupted for a third day over the deadly police shooting of a teenager of Algerian and Moroccan descent during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb.Forty thousand police officers were to deploy across France - nearly four times the numbers mobilised on Wednesday - but there were few signs that government appeals to a de-escalation in the violence would quell the widespread anger.In Nanterre, the working class town on the western outskirts of Paris where 17-year-old Nahel M. was shot dead on Tuesday (27 June), protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following a peaceful vigil.Protesters scrawled "Vengeance for Nahel" across buildings and bus shelters.Local authorities in Clamart, 8 km (5 miles) from central Paris, imposed a nighttime curfew until Monday (3 July).Valerie Pecresse, who heads the greater Paris region, said all bus and tram services would be halte...

Human Rights Watch reports new evidence of Ukrainian use of anti-personnel landmines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday (30 June) that it uncovered new evidence of the indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022.The group called on Ukraine's government to follow through with a commitment made earlier this month not to employ such weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold accountable those responsible."The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians," Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch's arms director, said in a statement.HRW said it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a May letter to which it received no response.Ukraine's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Ukraine in 2005 ratified a 1997 international treaty banning such mines and mandating the destruction of stocks of the weapons.Russia did not join ...

Single family residence sells for $1.5 million in Fremont

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

4924 Omar Street – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 4900 block of Omar Street in Fremont was sold on May 26, 2023. The $1,500,000 purchase price works out to $604 per square foot. The house, built in 1963, has an interior space of 2,483 square feet. The property features five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a garage. It sits on a 5,900-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:On Creston Street, Fremont, in May 2023, a 1,434-square-foot home was sold for $1,510,000, a price per square foot of $1,053. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 1,556-square-foot home on Creston Street in Fremont sold for $1,670,000, a price per square foot of $1,073. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,581-square-foot home on the 4800 block of Mauna Loa Park Drive in Fremont sold in February 2023, for $1,460,000, a price per square foot of $923. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

Horoscopes July 3, 2023: Olivia Munn, trust your instincts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Olivia Munn, 43; Andrea Barber, 47; Shawnee Smith, 54; Montel Williams, 67.Happy Birthday: Speak from the heart, and you’ll touch those who listen. A genuine approach to life, love and happiness will lead to the opportunities that help you turn your skills, knowledge and experience into something concrete. Refuse to be a follower when your heart is into following your dreams, hopes and wishes. Trust your instincts when it comes to partnerships and joint ventures. Believe in yourself and control your destiny. Your numbers are 9, 13, 22, 25, 33, 41, 48.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Words matter. Make sure you understand the consequences of your actions. A serious discussion may not be welcome, but it will resolve issues. Consider your options; you can stress over what to do or you can make things happen and move on. 2 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be receptive to people with something to offer, and you’ll learn something to help you advance. Com...

Bridge: July 3, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

As I began to write this set of columns, a garden spider set up shop outside my office window and waited with grim patience for a bug to be caught in her web.As declarer, regard the spider’s patience. Don’t stake your contract on one line of play when others are available. Try to combine your chances.In today’s deal, West led a diamond against six spades. Declarer took the ace, drew trumps and tried a heart to dummy’s queen. East won and returned a heart. South then tried for his 12th trick by finessing with the jack of diamonds, but East produced the queen.Did South play to best advantage?CLUB RUFFAfter South draws trumps, he can finesse in diamonds. East wins and returns a diamond, and South takes the king, pitching a club. He cashes the A-K of clubs and ruffs a club, and when the suit breaks 3-3, dummy’s fourth club is good for the 12th trick.If the clubs fail to break, South has one chance left: He can finesse in hearts.This week: which finesse?DAIL...

Former WNBA star wants to help Maryland kids chase their dreams through sports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

This is part of WTOP’s continuing coverage of people making a difference from our community authored by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant. Read more of that coverage.As president and CEO of the Chase Your Dreams Initiative, Sonia Chase runs a basketball camp that hopes to teach kids about more than sports.For over a decade, this Maryland native has helped youths chase their dreams. Now, she’s started a summer program that will help them take their futures into their own hands.Sonia Chase is the president and CEO of the Chase Your Dreams Initiative, which is based in Prince George’s County, Maryland.“What we really want to teach [the youth] and talk to them about is life lessons such as teamwork, sportsmanship, work ethic, communication,” Chase told WTOP.Chase was one of the pioneers of the WNBA and said through the basketball programs that began in the Prince George’s County’s Parks and Recreation Department in 2009, she’s been able to teach lessons t...

ANÁLISIS | Esta es la agenda política y las propuestas de campaña que los republicanos están impulsando para 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

(CNN) — ¡Enmendar la constitución! ¡Suicidio político! ¡Piensa en grande y mejora las cosas!Este es el período de las grandes ideas de la política estadounidense, un momento que ocurre aproximadamente cada cuatro años antes de una elección presidencial, cuando los candidatos impulsan propuestas amplias, generalmente con pocos detalles.Si bien las grandes ideas generalmente tienen pocas posibilidades de convertirse en ley, hablan de lo que las personas que quieren ser presidente piensan que moverá a los votantes de las primarias.Con el presidente Joe Biden actualmente asegurado para la nominación demócrata, la mayor parte de la acción intelectual este año es entre los republicanos.A continuación te presentamos algunas de las grandes ideas del momento, que generalmente son exclusivas de uno o dos candidatos en lugar de posiciones que son estándar para el partido. Veo estos como distintos de los temas políticos cotidianos, como el derecho al aborto, la política exterior, la segur...

Las 5 cosas que debes saber este 3 de julio: Zelensky teme perder apoyo bipartidista en EE.UU.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

El presidente de Ucrania expresa sus dudas sobre si seguirá el apoyo bipartidista de EE.UU. Francia se enfrenta a nueva noche de disturbios tras la muerte de adolescente por la policía. ¿Cambia el fuera de juego? Cómo ver la superluna de julio. Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.1. Zelensky teme perder apoyo bipartidista en EE.UU.Al menos 21.000 mercenarios de Wagner murieron combatiendo en Ucrania, dijo el presidente Volodymyr Zelensky en una conferencia de prensa. El líder ucraniano afirmó también que teme perder el apoyo bipartidista de Estados Unidos tras los “peligrosos mensajes procedentes de algunos republicanos”.El director de la CIA se reunió con Zelensky en un viaje a Ucrania, según un funcionario estadounidense2. Francia arde en nueva noche de protestasLa muerte de un joven de 17 años por los disparos de un agente de policía en un suburbio de París ha dejado seis noches consecutivas de disturbios y protestas en Francia, que han ...

Nats Notebook: Baseball’s biggest month could help Washington for years to come

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:49 GMT

Washington Nationals' Lane Thomas hits a two-run double against the Seattle Mariners during the 11th inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Seattle. The Nationals won 7-4. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)(AP/Lindsey Wasson) Washington Nationals' Lane Thomas hits a two-run double against the Seattle Mariners during the 11th inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in Seattle. The Nationals won 7-4. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)(AP/Lindsey Wasson) July is baseball’s fulcrum month. There may be as many days as May and August and just one more than April, June and September, but the stretch before the trading deadline can be the most franchise-altering month of the regular season.A bad July can end e...