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Ask Amy: Neighbors’ plant is a Little Shop of Horrors

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

Dear Amy: We have lovely neighbors. They are great. We feel so lucky!I am a professional landscape designer, and just a little — uptight — about my own garden.I try not to impose my anal retentive obsessions upon others unless they are paying me to do so, but holy noxious weeds — my neighbors’ lesser celandine is taking over!This is a terrible, invasive weed that smothers other plants.Native plants and pollinators do not have a chance.I have put up a fence — the nicest one I can. But it is only a matter of time before this plant has spread everywhere. It doubles every year, spreading underground and on the wind and boots of others.Chemical control is the only realistic solution, even according to top, planet-loving experts.Should I offer to have my crew take care of it?These lovely people do not care at all about their garden. That is their prerogative.They have a crew who are the worst I have ever witnessed.They whack down the whole thing to the dirt every f...

Sweden expels five Russian diplomats, ministry says

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

The Swedish Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday (25 April) that it had expelled five Russian diplomats who were engaging in activities not compatible with their diplomatic status. It said the government takes the threat posed to national security by Russian intelligence gathering extremely seriously.The Russian embassy in Sweden has declined to comment.Since Moscow invaded Ukraine last February, Russia and Western nations have been expelled tit for tat. Russia refers to the invasion as a "special operation".Five people employed by the Russian embassy in Sweden have been asked to leave the country due to activities that are not compatible with the Vienna Convention of diplomatic relations, according a statement from the Swedish Foreign Ministry.The ministry refused to specify what activities were involved but stated that the Swedish security services had reported Russia's continuous involvement in gathering intelligence in Sweden.In an email, the government said that it takes this ...

$2.28 billion award in California child sex-abuse case could be largest ever

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

A Riverside County jury has awarded $2.28 billion — perhaps the largest amount in a child sexual-assault case in U.S. history — to the stepdaughter of a one-time Lake Elsinore church elder who admitted in his criminal trial decades ago to committing lewd acts on a minor.Before the jury on Tuesday, April 25, ordered the man to pay $836 million in general damages and $1.44 billion in punitive damages, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled out of court for $1 million and the woman’s mother agreed to pay $200,000, according to the attorney for the woman, who is now 41.The stepfather did not show up to the civil trial, said the lawyer, Gary A. Dordick. The jury returned the verdict on the third day of deliberations.The Southern California News Group is not identifying the relatives to protect the victim.“Mrs. Doe wants everyone to know there is no shame in being a victim of abuse,” Dordick said.The victim does not expect to receive much of the award, Dordick said, with ...

Man bites off part of California officer’s finger during altercation

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

A man bit off a chunk of an Los Angeles police officer’s finger at a Metro Red Line station on Thursday, April 27, authorities said.Officers assigned to the subway were patrolling the station at Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue at around 10 a.m. when they say they came across a man aboard the train who seemed to have illegal drugs.Police attempted to escort him off the train when they say he became violent. While attempting to restrain him, he bit off part of a sergeant’s finger.An officer then used undisclosed force against the man, who sustained minor injuries and was taken in custody to a hospital. The sergeant also went to a hospital.Police did not further describe what drugs the man was suspected of having. It is unclear how badly the suspect injured the sergeant’s finger.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Police investigating antisemitic flyers left on cars in Saratoga Crime and Public Safety | Former San Francisco city official attac...

California town declares bears a public safety threat

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

The Sierra Madre City Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday, April 25, declaring urbanized bears a threat to public safety, pointing to alleged mismanagement by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California Fish and Game Commission.The move includes a request for the Commission to formally address this issue.“We’re saying let’s look at current policies (about bear management) which tend to be statewide and not regional,” Mayor Edward Garcia said. “Public safety is paramount.”A copy of the resolution will be sent to the director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW); the secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, the Fish and Game Commission and elected state representatives. View this document on ScribdMayor Pro Tem Kelly Kriebs said the council is not advocating a particular fix.“But we want to find a better solution than what they’re currently employing,” she said. “This is an alarm to the agencies to pay attention to the severity of this prob...

Bridge: April 28, 2023

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

This week’s deals treated declarer’s proper management of the trump suit. To test yourself, cover today’s East-West cards. You play at four hearts — as good a game contract as any. West leads the ten of trumps. How do you play?The actual declarer won the first trump with the king and took the A-Q. When West discarded, South couldn’t afford to concede the fourth trump since the defenders would run the diamonds. So South started the clubs, but East ruffed the third club, and the defense took three diamonds and also got a spade. Down two.WINNERSSouth has plenty of winners: three high trumps, five clubs in dummy and the A-K of spades. All he must do is take them. To keep control in case of a 4-2 trump break, South can let West’s ten of trumps win.If West shifts to a diamond, and East takes the A-Q and leads a third diamond, South ruffs in dummy, cashes the king of trumps, leads a spade to his ace and draws trumps. He has the rest.Did you duck the firs...

Word Game: April 28, 2023

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — EULOGIZING (EULOGIZING: YOOL-uh-jize-ing: Speaking or writing in high praise of.)Average mark 26 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 36 or more words in EULOGIZING? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — WRATHFUL waft wart wharf what wrath raft artful awful thaw trawl tufa turf haft half halt hatful haul hula hurl hurt fault flat flaw furl ultra lathTo 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].

Ben Smith on the Bust of the Digital Media Age

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

The media world over the last few week has been rocked by major disruptions: Fox ousts Tucker Carlson, CNN fires Don Lemon, BuzzFeed News is shutting down, Twitter has become a less reliable resource, and Vice Media shutters its flagship program “Vice News Tonight.” Over the last two decades, the media landscape has transformed with the advent of social media, and signs of another evolution are surfacing. This week on Deconstructed, Ryan Grim is joined by Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of Semafor, to talk about his new book “Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral.” They discuss the role social media played in transforming media and politics over the last 15 years, and how one of the most viral moments in history alarmed Facebook.Transcript coming soon. The post Ben Smith on the Bust of the Digital Media Age appeared first on The Intercept.

Gasly fire eats into scarce practice time for Azerbaijan GP

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Pierre Gasly was at risk of missing qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday after his car burst into flames, causing a red flag that ate into the little practice time available.Gasly tried to drive back to the pits with flames visible at the rear of the car before parking on the side of the track. Thick black smoke poured from under the engine cover of the Alpine as Gasly watched a group of track marshals douse the fire. They used several fire extinguishers, leaving the car’s cockpit full of foam.It was another setback for Gasly after he collided with teammate Esteban Ocon during the last race in Australia.The incident caused a red flag for about 13 minutes in the hour-long practice session of the F1 weekend. The clock doesn’t stop for red flags in practice sessions, meaning teams lost valuable time to perfect their setups before qualifying later Friday.There is only one practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix because of a new schedule t...

Bring on Philly! Celtics fend off Hawks, face 76ers next

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:10:55 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Bring on Philly.The Boston Celtics finally finished off the Atlanta Hawks, winning the opening-round series in six games with a 128-120 victory Thursday night. Now, the second-seeded Celtics can turn their attention to the well-rested Philadelphia 76ers for a matchup between the two highest-seeded teams left on the Eastern Conference side.Game 1 is Monday night in Boston.“We know they’re gonna bring the fight,” Boston star Jaylen Brown said. “It’s gonna be fun. They’ve (got) some great players in Joel Embiid and James Harden. It’s gonna be a test again. We have to be ready to fight again. I’m up for it. I can’t wait.”With top-seeded Milwaukee stunningly knocked out by Miami, the Celtics-76ers winner will surely be viewed as a big favorite to advance to the NBA Finals.The Celtics have essentially been in championship-or-bust mode since losing to Golden State in last year’s finals.That was evident in the closing minutes against ...