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Ask Amy: Newlywed struggles learning to say “no”

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

Dear Amy: I am in my first year of marriage, trying to navigate a tricky in-law situation.My mother-in-law does a lot of taking and not a lot of giving. This dynamic is increasing at a fast pace.Not only does she ask for my help constantly, but she also makes everything extremely complicated and frustrating for everyone involved. She will not tolerate being told no. She becomes passive-aggressive and at times has been mean enough to make me cry.In the last month I have (involuntarily) assisted her in planning a surprise birthday party for a woman I have never met.My husband and our toddler son even traveled four hours away to attend the party because she would not take no for an answer.Now she has asked that I help her make a scrapbook for this same stranger, using my wedding photos, which would involve hours of work.I have also helped her move furniture out of a storage unit.She never offers to help with our son, even though she lives five minutes away, is retired and in excellent ...

Zelenskiy accuses Russia of holding Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

Ukraine’s president stated that Russian troops held the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "hostage" while his forces closed the frontline town of Avdiivka to plan their next move.Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops have held the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and show no desire to surrender control.In his nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zilenskiy stated that "Holding a nuclear station hostage for over a year is certainly the worst thing ever done in the history of European and world-wide nuclear power."He called the Russian presence "radiation blackmail"He made these comments after meeting Rafael Grossi (director general of IAEA) at the Dnipro hydroelectric plant - northeastern of the Zaporizhzhia power plant.In comments posted to the presidential website, Zelenskiy stated that initiatives to restore safety and security are "destined for failure" without a withdrawal of Russian troops.Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each others of attacking ...

Fentanyl admonition blocked again in what father calls California Senate’s ‘disgusting display’

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

The Orange County D.A. does it. The Riverside D.A. does it. Heck, even the San Francisco D.A. does it. And if Sen. Tom Umberg and Co. had their way, every court in every California would do it, too.In an attempt to rein in the devastation wrought by fentanyl-laced street drugs, the stunningly bipartisan Senate Bill 44 would have required courts to issue warnings to convicted fentanyl dealers that their fake Oxycontin or Xanax pills can kill — and that if they keep selling the drugs, and someone dies from a fentanyl overdose, they could be prosecuted for homicide.A parade of anguished parents, carrying portraits of their dead children, implored the Senate public safety committee to approve the bill at a hearing on Tuesday, March 28, in Sacramento.People who’ve lost loved ones to fentanyl joined Matt Capelouto in his walk for justice in February. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG) Dubbed “Alexandra’s Law,” it was named after Alexandra Capelouto, who thought she was takin...

Some California ‘sweatshop’ garment workers paid as little as $1.58 an hour, says report

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

Southern California workers who make garments for many of the nation’s leading fashion retailers remain victims of wage theft and illegal pay practices, with some earning as little as $1.58 per hour, according to a new U.S. Department of Labor report.From July 31, 2021, to June 30, 2022, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division conducted 50 investigations of randomly selected garment contractors in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties to estimate the prevalence of violations within the industry.Violations were found for 80% of the contractors surveyed, resulting in more than $892,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 296 workers.Half of workers paid off booksIn more than half of the cases investigated by the Wage and Hour Division, employers illegally paid garment workers part or all of their wages off the books, with payroll records either deliberately forged or not provided, according to the Department of Labor report released last week.“Despite our effor...

California man gets 27-year sentence for sexually abusing vulnerable girls he targeted online, encouraging acts of self harm

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

A former Redondo Beach man who targeted girls online and had them engage in masochism for his sexual gratification was sentenced Tuesday, March 28, to 27 years in federal prison, federal prosecutors announced.Matthew Locher, 32, was arrested in January 2022 in Indiana after relocating following a search warrant at his Redondo Beach residence in the summer of 2021. He has remained in federal custody in California.Locher pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child for the purpose of producing a sexually explicit visual depiction in August 2022.From November 2020 to May 2021, Locher targeted girls suffering from mental health issues, the U.S. Justice Department said in a news release.He sent thousands of messages to children during this time looking for young girls who he could groom, prosecutors said.Locher convinced one of these girls to starve herself and film herself cutting her body if she disobeyed him, according to a news relea...

Robbery suspect shot by Southern California police wanted suicide by cop, his father says

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

A 48-year-old Whittier man shot and killed by Fullerton police in February wanted to die by suicide by cop, authorities said in a video released by Fullerton police that includes dispatch calls, body-worn camera video and helicopter footage.The shooting occurred after a short pursuit that started in Fullerton about 1 a.m. on Feb. 10 and ended with a crash at Beach Boulevard and Imperial Highway in La Habra.Austin Heiselman got out the rear of his overturned SUV and briefly hid behind a wall.When officers spotted him, body-worn camera shows, Heiselman took a shooting stance, with his hands clasped and extended toward officers, and his head tilted behind his hands as if aiming a weapon. At least one officer opened fire in response as a K9 unit approached.Heiselman died at the scene. Police found he was not armed with a gun but had a pocket knife in his pocket. Two replica handguns were found inside his SUV, along with replica ammunition, Capt. Jon Radus said in the 14-minute video rel...

Single family residence sells for $2 million in Palo Alto

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

240 West Charleston Road – Google Street ViewA house located in the 200 block of West Charleston Road in Palo Alto has a new owner. The 1,080-square-foot property, built in 1951, was sold on March 13, 2023, for $2,000,000, or $1,852 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, one bathroom, a garage, and one parking space. There’s also a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on a 5,668-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:A 1,866-square-foot home on the 4100 block of Wilkie Court in Palo Alto sold in August 2022, for $2,850,000, a price per square foot of $1,527. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Juniper Lane, Palo Alto, in December 2022, a 2,873-square-foot home was sold for $2,800,000, a price per square foot of $975. The home has 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In October 2022, a 1,488-square-foot home on Redwood Circle in Palo Alto sold for $2,950,000, a price per square foot of $1,983. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bath...

Bob Myers reminds Warriors of his rare value with contract set to expire this summer

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — It most likely didn’t even cross his mind when Bob Myers left his seat Tuesday night to talk to Draymond Green during a heated moment.But that in-game encounter was another example of how invaluable the Warriors general manager and president of basketball operations is to the organization.Myers stepped down to the court in the fourth quarter and helped an irate Green refocus his attention to the task at hand.After getting whistled for his fifth foul of the night, Green was visibly frustrated near the Warriors’ bench when the coaching staff decided not to use its challenge to review the call that left him with no foul to give with 4:48 remaining in a seven-point game.Myers, standing behind the team’s bench, got Green’s attention and shared some words of encouragement. Video of the brief encounter showed Green shaking his head side-to-side when Myers started to talk. By the end of their conversation, though, Green seemed to nod in agreement befo...

Word Game: March 29, 2023

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — LIKELIHOOD (LIKELIHOOD: LIKE-lee-hood: Something probable.)Average mark 26 wordsTime limit 35 minutesCan you find 34 or more words in LIKELIHOOD? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — SCURRILOUS scour silo slur soil solus soul sour coil coir coulis cross curio curious curl curr cursor cuss uric roil locus loss luscious oculus oursTo 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 are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at [email protected].

The Atlantic Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Iraq War With Lavish Falsehoods About Iraq War

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:42 GMT

The U.S. media has recently been filled with retrospectives on the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War. Most of these outlets eagerly helped the George W. Bush administration sell the war, publishing lavish falsehoods about how Iraq posed a terrible danger to the U.S. (It did not.)So you might hope that in the past two decades, the same publications have learned the most basic facts about Iraq — and would steer clear of publishing obvious and stupendous errors yet again. You would hope in vain.One incredible example appeared in a March 13 article in The Atlantic by David Frum, who is best known for serving as a speechwriter for President Bush and coming up with the phrase “axis of evil” in the 2002 State of the Union address. Frum is now a staff writer at The Atlantic, which is probably the most prestigious magazine in America behind the New Yorker. The Atlantic is forthrightly endorsing Frum’s fabrication and will not respond to basic questions about it.As you may hav...