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Bret Stephens: What I learned in Ukraine

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

WARSAW, Poland — Last week, a friend asked me what I could learn from a four-day trip to Ukraine I was planning that I couldn’t glean just by reading the news. It was a fair question. With the trip now behind me, I can answer.I learned how strange it is to visit a country to which no plane flies and, as of last Monday, no ship sails — thanks to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cruel and cynical withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative through which Ukrainian farm products reached hungry countries like Kenya, Lebanon and Somalia. The only feasible way for a visitor to get from the Polish border to Kyiv, Ukraine, is a nine-hour train ride, where the sign inside the carriage door urges, “Be Brave Like Ukraine.”I learned that you need to download the Air Alert! app to your smartphone as soon as you enter the country.It sounds an alarm every time the system detects drones, missiles or other incoming aerial threats in your vicinity, something that happened time and again during my...

Fast, summery, little effort: 5 perfect recipes for the heat wave

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

There are times when you don’t want to cook, and there are times when you can’t bear to cook — that extra tablespoon of desperation keeps you from walking into the kitchen and turning on the stove. I feel that most acutely at the height of the summer, when it’s just too hot to do much of anything.So: Don’t cook! And if you do decide to cook, keep it minimal. The recipes below are fast, summery and require little in the way of effort.(And from now until Aug. 15, text a fruit or vegetable emoji to 361-COOK-NYT (361-266-5698) and get free recipes for your summer produce.)Chopped Salad With Jalapeño-Ranch DressingThis chopped salad is fresh, festive and excessive in a celebratory way. While most salads opt for the lightest layer of dressing to optimize the produce’s flavors, this one calls for the dressing to generously coat the crisp ingredients. Inspired by Caesar salad, ranch dressing and the dinner-worthy salads popularized at chain restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen, this...

Kingston man sentenced 9 years on child pornography charges

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Kingston man was sentenced to serve just over nine years in prison on Tuesday for distributing and possessing child pornography. Thomas O'Bryan, 41, previously pleaded guilty in February. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! As part of his guilty plea, O'Bryan admitted that between March 19 and September 22, 2020, he had traded child pornography on a social media app using the screenname “irishbstrdinc”. According to the Department of Justice, O'Bryan also admitted to possessing child pornography that included depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct, as well as the sexual abuse and exploitation of toddlers on September 22, 2020. O'Bryan is set to serve a 15-year term of post-release supervision. He is ordered to pay $3,000 restitution to a child victimized in some of his child pornography and must forfeit the laptop and cell phone that he used to commit his crimes.

VSP: 19-year-old tried to bribe off-duty trooper after crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

POWNAL, Vt. (NEWS10) -- A 19-year-old was arrested after a rollover crash led to significant property damage, where he allegedly tried to pay off an off-duty trooper to not contact police, according to Vermont State Police. Police did not release the name of the 19-year-old. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On Sunday around 12:54 a.m., Vermont State Police responded to a one-car rollover accident on S Stream Road in Pownal, Vermont. Police say the occupants of the scene left before troopers arrived with the crash causing significant property damage. According to the Vermont State Police, an-off duty trooper stopped to check on the occupants when the defendant offered the trooper money to not contact police. Once police showed up, they say the driver showed multiple indicators of impairment and was arrested for suspicion of DUI and operating with a criminally suspended license. UAlbany football reports for training camp Charges...

Ask Amy: Neighbor slices open misdirected mail

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Dear Amy: In my mailbox today was a credit card bill addressed to my husband with a sticky note attached.Our next-door neighbor (she has a mailbox next to ours at the end of our driveway) explained that the piece of mail had been misdirected and she sliced open this bill, not knowing it belonged to my husband.The last time a piece of mail was misdirected it happened to be my husband’s paystub. This was also sliced open with a sticky note attached, apologizing.What is so dismaying is that we have received our neighbor’s mail but we do not open it — we are quite careful about scanning the front of the envelope before opening.This neighbor now knows my husband’s salary and also how much he owes.How should we handle this?— Frustrated in ColoradoDear Frustrated: My first suggestion is that you and your husband should go “paperless” and switch all of your financial records, banking, and bill paying to online.You should both get fresh credit reports and monitor thes...

German government convenes crisis meeting over Rhodes wildfires

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

The German government convened a crisis meeting on Monday (24 July) to discuss the impact of wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes on German holidaymakers, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson.Speaking during a regular news conference in Berlin, the spokesperson said the crisis meeting at 1100 GMT will allow the German government to "coordinate with our colleagues on the ground and then decide on possible further measures".An interior ministry spokesperson said that German federal police and fire fighters were already assisting Greek authorities in bringing affected people back to the mainland.Fires burning since Wednesday (19 July) have forced tens of thousands of tourists and residents to flee the island, with many evacuated on private boats as flames threatened resorts and coastal villages.

Sale closed in Fremont: $1.6 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

38357 Acacia Street – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 38300 block of Acacia Street in Fremont was sold on June 20, 2023 for $1,600,000, or $999 per square foot. The house, built in 1963, has an interior space of 1,601 square feet. This single-story house offers a capacious living environment with its four bedrooms and two baths. In addition, the home comes with a garage. The lot of the property is substantial, measuring 6,380 square feet.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:In September 2022, a 2,098-square-foot home on Cabot Court in Fremont sold for $1,699,000, a price per square foot of $810.On Acacia Street, Fremont, in November 2022, a 1,919-square-foot home was sold for $1,385,500, a price per square foot of $722. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,515-square-foot home on the 38000 block of Parkmont Drive in Fremont sold in March 2023, for $1,680,000, a price per square foot of $668. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Word Game: July 26, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — VAGARIES (VAGARIES: VAY-guh-rees: Erratic or unpredictable actions or notions.)Average mark 30 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 38 or more words in VAGARIES? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — BENIGNLY begin being belying benign bile bilge binge bling byline eying nine inly gibe glen gley glib lien line linen ling liny lyingTo 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].

Horoscopes July 26, 2023: Sandra Bullock, self-reliance will build confidence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Bianca Santos, 33; Kate Beckinsale, 50; Sandra Bullock, 59; Helen Mirren, 78.Happy Birthday: Take your time, get things right the first time and avoid emotional turmoil and opposition. Plan your adventures intelligently, and look at every aspect of a situation before you act. How you approach everyday issues will determine how the year unfolds. A steady pace forward will lead to results that give peace of mind. Self-reliance will build confidence. Your numbers are 9, 11, 23, 27, 33, 36, 41.ARIES (March 21-April 19): If you don’t contribute, you won’t have a say. Stand up for your beliefs and adjust your life and how you live it to benefit you. Reevaluate your associates and how you spend your time. Happiness is a choice, and it begins with you. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Declutter your life, and you’ll eliminate tension, stress and complaints. Restructure how you spend your time to ensure you take a path that leads to better heal...

Bridge: July 26, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, July 26. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the Daywatch out of Bunco. My partner’s Bill Gannon. He’s a good player. My name’s Friday.We got a call about a scam at a Hollywood club. We checked it out. The suspect was still playing. One of his opponents spoke with us.“It was terrible, officer.”“Just the facts, ma’am.”“I was East. South swindled us out of a slam!”South had blasted into six hearts with no idea if he could make it. West led the ten of spades, and South took the K-A and ruffed a spade with his nine of trumps.GOOD SPADES“My partner naturally overruffed with the ten,” East said, “and led a trump. South drew trumps with his ace and dummy’s seven and took the good spades. What a scammer!”We let South off with a warning. He said he’d bid slam because he’d seen West defend before. The opening lead was indeed poor, and overruffing the third spade — when...