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Egypt’s border crossing opens to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into besieged Gaza

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened on Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off in the wake of Hamas’ bloody rampage two weeks ago.Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. Israel is still launching waves of airstrikes across Gaza as Palestinian militants fire rocket barrages into Israel.The opening came after more than a week of high-level diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by U.S. President Joe Biden and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel had insisted that nothing would enter Gaza until some 200 people captured by Hamas were freed, and the Palestinian side of the crossing had been shut down by Israel...

Historic Justus Ramsey House finds new home at Minnesota Transportation Museum

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

The historic Justus Ramsey House may have found a new home in St. Paul.The small limestone residence, erected for the brother of territorial governor Alexander Ramsey, had stood for roughly 170 years off Walnut Street, at what is now the side patio of Burger Moe’s restaurant, not far from the Xcel Energy Center. It was removed in pieces by the restaurant owner last February after a wall partially collapsed, despite the objections of historic preservationists and other neighborhood residents eager to see it remain in place.Since then, the disassembled cottage-like structure has sat in a secure storage facility outside the city while community advocates searched for a new steward.Following a request for proposals, that steward has just been announced. The Minnesota Transportation Museum will lead the reconstruction effort, “an exciting development that promises to further enrich the historical narrative of St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood,” reads a written ...

Ask Amy: Spouses air (but don’t wash) dirty laundry

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

Dear Amy: For as long as I have known my wife (20 years), she has been reluctant to do the laundry.I politely ask her to do it, and she tells me that she will.However, two days later, dirty clothes are still piling up.To be fair, she follows through about 20 percent of the time.She works part-time outside the home, and I work full time from home.She has plenty of time in her day to do the laundry. Instead, she chooses to watch videos on her phone for hours on end.I used to think it was just a personality quirk. But after two decades, I feel she is taking advantage of me.The root of this issue is not laundry, of course. It is trust, which has been shaken to the point that it threatens the integrity of our relationship.How can we move forward?— Wits End in WisconsinDear Wits End: If your wife agrees to do something and then doesn’t do it, then I agree that she is at the very least unreliable. Some of your disconnect, however, might have to do with timing. She’ll do it when she w...

Parents step back on selling now in the Bay Area; is that a smart move?

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

Question: My parents planned to sell their Bay Area home. Their plans have changed. Their friends and neighbors told them to wait. Their seller’s agent agrees. They blame high interest rates. The advice is to wait until spring. “The interest rates will come down” is what they hear. It is shocking. My parents bought an out-of-state condominium near me. They need to relocate. I cannot help them long distance. Your column indicates a robust Bay Area seller’s market. You also claim a housing shortage. Is it necessary to sit out the home-selling market until spring?  Answer: No, it is not. The San Francisco Bay Area counties have enjoyed a seller’s market despite rising interest rates. Today, on a Realtor video call, the regional sales manager for a national bank claimed the interest rates are the highest of his career, yet “buyer demand remains high.” Robust home sales are proof.On Tuesday, on a Realtor video call, a manager at the National Association of Realtors showed a slide titled ...

Walters: California employers, unions enter a new labor law battle

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 365 this month, he opened a new chapter in a decades-long political and legal war over California laws governing relations between employers and their workers.Briefly, SB 365 declares that when an employer loses a civil suit seeking to compel arbitration in a labor law dispute with a worker, the employer is not automatically allowed to freeze proceedings in the underlying issue by filing an appeal.Thus, the measure weakens the long-standing ability of employers to require arbitration of such disputes, which flows from a pro-arbitration federal law, and is a significant victory for unions and lawyers who specialize in pursuing employment cases for workers.Ironically, however, as the bill was winding its way through the Legislature this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that appeals of disputes over the applicability of arbitration in federal courts should freeze (stay, in legal jargon) the underlying cases.In June, a legislative staff ana...

Word Game: Oct. 21, 2023

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — GRAPHICS (GRAPHICS: GRAF-iks: Reproductive methods such as engraving, etching, photography, etc.)Average mark 38 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 48 or more words in GRAPHICS? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — DECISION dice dine disc disco does done dose code coed coin cone cosine iced icon ides incise indie inside iodine ionic scion scone second send side since sine snide sonde sone sonic once onside nice node noes noise noseTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words...

Bridge: Oct. 21, 2023

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.Nobody likes unpleasant guesses, but today’s declarer arranged matters so that he had one. Against 3NT, West led the jack of spades, and declarer won with the king and led a diamond to finesse with dummy’s queen. East took the king and returned a spade.Declarer then came to his hand with a high club and led another diamond. West followed low. South delayed the evil moment but finally played the ten from dummy. East produced the jack, and the defense ran the spades for down one.FOUR TRICKSSouth started with two spades, a heart and two clubs. Since he needed only four diamond tricks to make 3NT, he could play safe. South should take the ace of diamonds at Trick Two. If East-West played low, South would come to his hand to lead a second diamond toward dummy.A safety play is like buying insurance. You give up the chance to win the maximum number of tricks but guard against a damaging loss.DAI...

El incidente en el que un buque de guerra de EE.UU. interceptó misiles cerca de Yemen duró 9 horas

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

(CNN) — Un buque de guerra estadounidense que interceptó drones y misiles cerca de la costa de Yemen este jueves se encontró con un bombardeo mayor y más sostenido de lo que se conocía anteriormente, derribando 4 misiles de crucero y 15 drones en un período de 9 horas, según un funcionario estadounidense familiarizado con el situación.El USS Carney, un destructor de clase Arleigh-Burke que atravesó el Canal de Suez en dirección sur el miércoles, interceptó los misiles y drones mientras se dirigían hacia el norte a lo largo del mar Rojo. Su trayectoria dejaba pocas dudas de que los proyectiles se dirigían a Israel, dijo el funcionario, una evaluación más clara que la opinión inicial del Pentágono.Un bombardeo sostenido de drones y misiles dirigidos a Israel desde muy lejos del conflicto de Gaza es uno de una serie de señales preocupantes de que la guerra corre el riesgo de escalar más allá de las fronteras del enclave costero.Además de las protestas en las embajadas de Estados ...

Justin Suh takes his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour into final round of the Zozo Championship

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

INZAI CITY, Japan (AP) — Justin Suh shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to lead the third round of the Zozo Championship, the first time he’s the leader going into the final day of a PGA Tour event, and also looking of his first PGA Tour victory.Just one shot behind are fellow Americans Eric Cole and Beau Hossler, who are also seeking their first PGA Tour victories. Cole shot 66 and Hossler, the second-round leader, had a 68 on a sunny fall day at the Narashino Country Club just outside Tokyo.To make the three very uncomfortable, Collin Morikawa — the first-round leader — is just two shots back after a 66. Morikawa is looking to break a “mini-slump” since winning the 2021 British Open and the DP World Tour Championship later that year. He also won the PGA Championship in 2020.Suh played on the Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental feeder for the PGA Tour, and credits the experience there for his growing maturity.“Throughout this year I’ve put myself in this position a few times in some...

Los primeros camiones con ayuda entran en Gaza, pero el enclave asediado necesita desesperadamente más

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:14:49 GMT

(CNN) — Los primeros camiones que transportaban ayuda humanitaria entraron en Gaza este sábado, dos semanas después de que Israel lanzara un asedio completo del enclave en respuesta a los ataques mortales del grupo extremista islamista Hamas.Los camiones entraron por el cruce de Rafah, el único punto de entrada a Gaza no controlado por Israel, según lo visto por el equipo de CNN en el lado palestino de la frontera. El cruce se cerró rápidamente después de que pasaran 20 camiones.La gente en el lado egipcio de la frontera, donde las organizaciones de ayuda habían esperado durante días para recibir luz verde, estaban jubilosas cuando se abrió el cruce, celebrando con vítores y cánticos.Las oficinas de prensa del Gobierno controladas por Hamas dijeron que los camiones estaban cargados con medicinas, suministros médicos y una cantidad limitada de alimentos enlatados.Sin embargo, si bien estos suministros se necesitan desesperadamente, los trabajadores humanitarios dicen que son un...