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Russians take language test to avoid expulsion from Latvia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

In a Stalinist-style skyscraper that dominates the skyline in Latvia's capital city, dozens of elderly Russians await to take a Latvian language exam as a sign of loyalty to a nation where they have been living for decades.The participants, mostly female, read through their notes to make any last-minute revisions. They feared they would be expelled if they failed.The war in Ukraine has changed the situation. The election campaign of last year was dominated with questions about national identity and concerns over security.Dimitrijs Trofimovs is the state secretary of the Interior Ministry. He said that the government has now demanded a language exam from the 20,000 Russian passport holders in the country, most of whom are elderly women. The loyalty and commitment to Russia among Russian citizens was a concern."I would be deported if I was to leave, as I've lived here for over 40 years," said Valentina, a 70-year-old former English teacher, Riga guide, and Riga native, after her last ...

Bay Area family wins big on Family Feud

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

A concoction of luck and tequila may be the de Alba family’s recipe for reality television success.That’s how Jesus de Alba, a longtime Vallejo resident, ended up on last week’s airing of Family Feud, which featured him and his four siblings — the first time, Jesus said, Vallejo has been represented on the show.The de Alba siblings competed as a team under the direction of their mother. Jesus says mom wanted all of her children to be on a television show episode she could rewatch and come back to. Her children, in return, said they would give any earned money toward buying her a new home.To that end, the de Albas won $20,000.“It couldn’t have gone better considering how little we prepared,” said Jesus.Jesus said his family applied for the show on a whim — his sister drunkenly stumbled on the application last year and applied online without giving it further thought. She didn’t tell her siblings and mother until a month later, when she received a response inviting the family for prel...

Trial, prelim set for Martinez man charged with 2 fatal shootings

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

A 52-year-old Martinez man accused of an April 2022 killing in Fairfield and a second killing in December in Suisun City will face a June jury trial in the first case and a preliminary hearing setting in the coming days in the second.Richard Raymond Klein, who appeared Tuesday in Department 15, heard Judge Barbara Zuniga schedule the trial for the first fatal shooting at 9 a.m. June 28 and a preliminary hearing setting for the second at 9 a.m. May 30 in the Justice Building in Vallejo. Klein also will return for a trial confirmation in the first case at 9 a.m. May 30.The latest schedulings come several months after Klein appeared in Department 11 in Fairfield, where Solano County Superior Court Judge William J. Pendergast assigned the arraignment for the second killing to Department 15 and to Judge Robert Bowers.As previously reported, Pendergast, at a Jan. 17 proceeding, also reinstated no bail for Klein, who was released from custody Dec. 14 for the first killing, on bail reduced ...

Stinson Beach to begin study of sea-level rise defenses

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

As sea level rise threatens to inundate hundreds of homes, cut off roads and swallow the sands of Stinson Beach, Marin planners and town residents are preparing a new defense plan in an effort to save the popular coastal destination.Bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and Bolinas Lagoon, the town of about 500 residents is in the vanguard of Marin communities most vulnerable to rising ocean waters.Residents such as Jeff Loomans, who has owned a home in the town for 13 years, said the future their community faces is driven home by recent incidents such as the January winter storms that battered homes, broke pilings, flooded roads and washed away tons of sand.“I would say sea level rise is already here. It’s not something that is just coming,” said Loomans, who also serves on the Stinson Beach Village Association’s sea level rise committee.Marin County planners recently completed a six-month effort to update its sea-level rise projections that were first developed in 2016.The results sh...

California man convicted of deadly Thanksgiving day road rage shooting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

A Santa Ana driver was convicted of murder Tuesday for a Thanksgiving night road rage attack in which he opened fire on a group of men in Costa Mesa, killing one of them, as his girlfriend and young son sat in his pickup truck nearby.An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Lee Queuon Walker, 42, guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of 30-year-old Lucas Rivera-Velasco in the 300 block of West Bay Street on Nov. 24, 2022.Jurors also found Walker guilty of five counts of attempted murder related to five other men who Walker shot at, four of whom were struck by the gunfire and a fifth who escaped injury.The deadly confrontation came after the vehicle River-Velasco and the other men were traveling in apparently clipped Walker’s truck, briefly snapping out of place a side-view mirror that then popped back into place as designed.A frustrated Walker had been driving in his 2021 Chevrolet Silverado with his girlfriend and their 3-year-...

The 10 most expensive reported home sales in Milpitas the week of April 24

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

A house in Milpitas that sold for $1.9 million tops the list of the most expensive real estate sales in Milpitas in the past two weeks.In total, 14 real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past two weeks, with an average price of $1.2 million. The average price per square foot ended up at $760.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded from the week of April 17 to the week of May 1 even if the property may have been sold earlier.10. $976,000, condominium in the 1500 block of Bond StreetThe property in the 1500 block of Bond Street in Milpitas has new owners. The price was $976,000. The condominium was built in 2018 and has a living area of 1,449 square feet. The price per square foot is $674. The condominium features 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.Bond Street9. $990,000, condominium in the 800 block of Abbott AvenueThe property in the 800 block of Abbott Avenue in Milpitas has new owners. The price was $990,000. The condominium was ...

Word Game: May 10, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — CHAGRIN (CHAGRIN: shuh-GRIN: A feeling of unease caused by failure.)Average mark 23 wordsTime limit 35 minutesCan you find 30 or more words in CHAGRIN? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — CEREMONY cero come comer cone core corm corn corny coyer crone crony eery emery encore enemy erne mercy mere money more moreen morn omen once norm yeomen yoreTo 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].

Bridge: May 10, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

“Got a question for you,” Cy the Cynic said to me.“Sure,” I said, expecting a query about a deal.“Do you understand cloning?” Cy asked gravely.“Not at all.”“Well,” the Cynic chortled, “that makes two of us.”It’s hard to understand how South went down at today’s 3NT; some processes are mysterious. He won the first spade with the ace and let the jack of hearts ride. If the finesse won, South expected three hearts, three clubs and at least three spades. And the finesse did win: East followed with the eight.EIGHT TRICKSSouth then led a heart to dummy’s queen, and his second finesse didn’t win. East took the king and led a third heart. South had only eight tricks, and East got in with the ace of diamonds to cash two more hearts.Losing 3NT wasn’t easy. South should lead the queen of diamonds at Trick Two. If East wins and returns a spade, South wins and leads the jack of diamonds. He sets...

Horoscopes May 10, 2023: Kenan Thompson, focus on what’s important

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Missy Franklin, 28; Kenan Thompson, 45; Bono, 63; Donovan, 77.Bono (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP) Happy Birthday: Do your best to fulfill your dreams, act aggressively to ensure you are seen and heard by those who can benefit from the outcome, and make a lasting impression on those you care about most. Your destiny depends on your willingness to incorporate compassion and understanding with your will to do what’s right and best for everyone. Focus on what’s important. Your numbers are 6, 13, 19, 24, 32, 39, 46.ARIES (March 21-April 19): You will be held responsible for any deviation from the truth. Don’t try to impress with words. Let your actions be your voice, and you will maintain credibility and receive the accolades you deserve. Take care of your health and emotional well-being. 2 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Consider what you can do to make life better. Share your insight with those able to provide you with the momentum...

Frank Church, Deep State: The True Story of the Senator Who Took on the CIA and Its Corporate Clients

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:11:59 GMT

Nearly 50 years ago, the Church Committee began holding hearings to investigate the CIA and U.S. intelligence agencies’ lawless and secret efforts to spy on and plan assassination plots. This week on Intercepted, Jeremy Scahill is joined by James Risen and Thomas Risen to discuss how the CIA — without oversight from Congress and at times behind the backs of U.S. presidents — orchestrated coups against popular democratic governments from Guatemala to Iran and spied on anti-war activists and Black Power leaders inside the U.S. It was not until the Democratic Sen. Frank Church decided to take on this unaccountable, powerful, covert force within the U.S. national security apparatus that some of the CIA’s crimes and abuses came into public view. Sen. Church chaired a committee in 1975 that sought to reign in the CIA and impose laws and rules for their conduct. A new book by James Risen and Thomas Risen, called “The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, and the Kennedys — and One ...