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Former US diplomat charged with spying for Cuba for decades

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

By Joshua Goodman and Eric Tucker | Associated PressMIAMI — A former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been charged with serving as a secret agent for Cuba’s intelligence services dating back decades, the Justice Department said Monday.Newly unsealed court papers allege that Manuel Rocha engaged in “clandestine activity” on Cuba’s behalf since at least 1981, including by meeting with Cuban intelligence operatives and providing false information to U.S. government officials about his travels and contacts.The complaint, filed in federal court in Miami, charges Rocha with crimes including acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and provides a vivid case study in what American officials say are long-standing efforts by Cuba and its notoriously sophisticated intelligence services to target government officials who can be flipped.The 73-year-old Rocha, who was arrested at his Miami home Friday, was due in court later Monday a...

Strong atmospheric rivers are expected to wallop the Northwest with heavy rain and snow

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

By Allison Chinchar and Sara Tonks | CNNMultiple atmospheric rivers are expected to roll across the northwestern US over the next few days, bringing heavy rain, feet of snow and strong winds.In total, more than half a dozen western states are under some type of winter weather alert Sunday, as these atmospheric rivers spread from Washington and Oregon eastward into Colorado and Wyoming.An atmospheric river (AR) is a plume of moisture that helps carry saturated air from the tropics to higher latitudes, delivering unrelenting rain or snow.“The Winter Storm Severity Index (WSSI) shows major Impacts are possible in the highest elevations of the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, likely causing hazardous to even impossible travel conditions in these impacted areas,” the Weather Prediction Center cautioned.At least 5 to 10 inches of rainfall is forecast along the coastal areas of Oregon, Washington and northwestern California. For higher elevations, as much as 1 to 3 feet of snow is expect...

Agent for pro-Harry and Meghan author shared book draft naming ‘royal racists’: report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

A new report says that the agent for author Omid Scobie sent a Dutch publisher an earlier draft of his controversial new book “Endgame,” which identified King Charles and Kate Middleton as the two royals who allegedly expressed concern about the skin color of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son, Archie.The Times U.K. said that Scobie’s agent, United Talent Agency, also sent the Dutch publisher, Xander Uitgevers, a later, final version, which did not contain the names. Nonetheless, the Dutch translators apparently based the book’s Dutch-language interpretation on the earlier version, which contained the names of the king and the Princess of Wales, and that version was released in the Netherlands and Belgium last week.The Times report appears to answer some questions in the international mystery that erupted last week with the publication of Scobie’s book, whose Dutch-language version has once again thrust the British royal family into the center o...

Downtown San Jose stealth food hall work proceeds, may open in weeks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

SAN JOSE — A downtown San Jose food hall being developed in stealth mode by the Uber co-founder may open within weeks as fresh signs appear on the building and final touches are completed inside the hall site.The new signs show the food hall’s main entrance would be at 82 East Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose, while the food delivery entrance would be around the corner of the building on South Third Street.Signs for the main entrance to a Downtown San Jose Food Hall in a building at 82 East Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose. The food pickup entrance is around the corner on South Third Street. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)In recent days, people could be seen putting the finishing touches on sections of the food hall. Dining areas, seating sections, cooking stations and sinks were visible through uncovered windows of the building, a direct observation of the site by this news organization showed.Kalanick, former chief executive officer of ride-haili...

White House: US is running out of money for Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

By Zeke Miller | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress an urgent warning about the need to approve tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv’s war effort to defend itself from Russia’s invasion may grind to a halt without it.In a letter to House and Senate leaders and released publicly, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned the U.S. will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying that would “kneecap” Ukraine on the battlefield.She added that the U.S. already has run out of money that it has used to prop up Ukraine’s economy, and “if Ukraine’s economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop.”“We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” she wrote.President Joe Biden has sought a nearly $106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other needs...

Biden’s border asylum app has migrants waiting months in danger

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

Julia Love | Bloomberg News (TNS)Domiciano Estrada Cruz fled gang violence at his home in southern Mexico to seek asylum at the U.S. border crossing in Tijuana. He was prepared with a raft of papers documenting his family’s case. But Mexican officials explained that they would need to seek protection the digital way — using an app.He downloaded CBP One, the asylum solution rolled out by the U.S. government earlier this year, and made an account to request an appointment. At first, Estrada, 40, felt hopeful. Mexican officials told him he would likely receive a slot in two to four weeks. Nearly four months later, he is still waiting.“The days are long and full of faith — full of faith that it will be my turn, that they will give me an appointment,” said Estrada, staring down at a pair of dusty boots, a relic of the ranch he was forced to leave after he was violently attacked. “But they don’t.”The app displays the same message as the day he registered: “Please wait.”This is the slick, ...

Why long-term care insurance falls short for so many

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

Jordan Rau, JoNel Aleccia | (TNS) KFF Health NewsFor 35 years, Angela Jemmott and her five brothers paid premiums on a long-term care insurance policy for their 91-year-old mother. But the policy does not cover home health aides whose assistance allows her to stay in her Sacramento, California, bungalow, near the friends and neighbors she loves. Her family pays $4,000 a month for that.“We want her to stay in her house,” Jemmott said. “That’s what’s probably keeping her alive, because she’s in her element, not in a strange place.”The private insurance market has proved wildly inadequate in providing financial security for most of the millions of older Americans who might need home health aides, assisted living, or other types of assistance with daily living.For decades, the industry severely underestimated how many policyholders would use their coverage, how long they would live, and how much their care would cost.And as Jemmott belatedly discovered, the older generation of plans — t...

Michigan man headed to prison after concealing wife’s death for years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

A mid-Michigan judge on Tuesday ordered a man to spend two-to-eight years in prison for concealing the death of his wife while continuing to cash her Social Security checks.Terrell Lee York (Isabella County Sheriff’s Office) In handing down the sentence, Isabella County Circuit Judge Mark Duthie told Terrell Lee York that the facts of the case are horrible and that Patricia Marie York’s family and friends should have had the chance to get closure.“A body, after death, should be treated with respect,” Duthie said. “It shouldn’t be stuffed in the freezer like a piece of meat.”Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | UC Berkeley chef charged with filming explicit video chat with prepubescent girls Crime and Public Safety | Missing woman was killed by man who had a grudge, Mariposa County sheriff says Crime and Public Safety | California plastic surgeon ‘Dr. Laguna’ faces dozens of claims, from botched procedures to medical negligence ...

A guide to long-term care insurance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

Jordan Rau, KFF Health News | KFF Health News (TNS)If you’re wealthy, you’ll be able to afford help in your home or care in an assisted living facility or a nursing home. If you’re poor, you can turn to Medicaid for nursing homes or aides at home.But if you’re middle-class, you’ll have a thorny decision to make: whether to buy long-term care insurance.It’s a more complex decision than for other types of insurance because it’s very difficult to accurately predict your finances or health decades into the future.What’s the difference between long-term care insurance and medical insurance?Long-term care insurance is for people who may develop permanent cognitive problems like Alzheimer’s disease or who will need help with basic daily tasks like bathing or dressing. It can help pay for personal aides, adult day care, or institutional housing in an assisted living facility or a nursing home. Medicare does not cover such costs for the chronically ill.How does it work?Policies generally pay...

LEGO Store at San Francisco Centre mall closes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:33 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- In the latest retail closure in San Francisco's downtown and Union Square neighborhood, the LEGO Store closed its location at the San Francisco Centre last week, KRON4 has confirmed. A LEGO media spokesperson confirmed the closure but did not specify the reason behind it. 3 Bay Area cities named among CA towns with most holiday spirit "We are always reviewing our store portfolio to ensure that we can provide the best LEGO experience for shoppers and fans," the spokesperson said. "As a result, we recently made the decision to close our LEGO Store in the San Francisco Centre on November 30, 2023."LEGO said it will be providing employees who worked at the store with financial support through the holiday as they look for new jobs. There are three remaining LEGO Stores in the Bay Area, at the Hillside Shopping Center in San Mateo; Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, and Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara.KRON On is streaming live news now.embed-container { position...