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Tensions build around Jerusalem shrine after Syria rockets

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes and artillery struck targets in Syria following rare rocket fire from the northeastern neighbor, as Jewish-Muslim tensions reached a peak Sunday at a volatile Jerusalem shrine with simultaneous religious rituals.Thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered at the city’s Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, for a mass priestly benediction prayer service for the Passover holiday. At the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a walled esplanade above the Western Wall, hundreds of Palestinians performed prayers as part of observances during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Hundreds of Jews also visited the Al-Aqsa compound under heavy police guard Sunday, to whistles and religious chants from Palestinians protesting their presence. Such tours by religious and nationalist Jews have increased in size and frequency over the years, and are viewed with suspicion by many Palestinians who fear that Israel plans one day to take over the site or partition i...

Quebec tragedies put mental health in spotlight, but expert warns of stigma

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

MONTREAL — A series of tragic incidents in Quebec has thrown the issue of the suspects’ mental health into the spotlight, but a Canada Research Chair holder says the debate risks unfairly stigmatizing those with mental illnesses.The killing of a Quebec provincial police officer on March 27 was the latest in a string of violent, seemingly random attacks in the province that have raised questions about the suspects’ mental health. The man who allegedly stabbed Sgt. Maureen Breau to death in a town 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal had a history of mental health issues and had been found not criminally responsible at least five times for past offences.Other recent incidents in the province include an alleged bus attack that killed two children at a daycare in Laval, Que.; the death of three pedestrians mowed down by a pickup truck in the eastern town of Amqui; and a Montreal teen charged in the stabbing deaths of three members of his family.In the wake of the tragedies, ...

Daily horoscope for April 9, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or major decisions from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. EDT today (2 a.m. to 6 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Scorpio into Sagittarius.Happy Birthday for Sunday, April 9, 2023:You are passionate and adventurous. Invariably, others are smitten with your charm. You will always speak your mind. This year is slower-paced. It’s OK to rest. Give yourself a chance to rejuvenate and focus on your needs and the kinds of relationships that make you happy.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★Don’t get your belly in a rash today. Take it easy and be laid-back. You have strong opinions today, especially about politics, religion, philosophy and racial issues. This could lead to a confrontation with someone older. Who needs this? Tonight: Stay quiet. This Week: It’s a happy week, especially Tuesday.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★You’re never casual about money because you’re the financial wizard of the zodiac. Avoid arguments about shared property, inheritanc...

Mischief-maker made whole: Meet the Monterey couple who got Dennis the Menace back on his feet

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

MONTEREY – He was sliced, stolen and submerged, only to turn up soggy – and footless. Dennis the Menace has gone through the wringer these past few months, getting a taste of his own devilment. And then some.But after a series of bad breaks, the bronze rascal is back on his feet – both of them – thanks to a local metal fabrication shop conveniently fit for bringing Dennis back to his full mischievous glory.Eric and Stacey Johnson are the owners and operators of Pacific Metalcraft, a small operation based out of Monterey that specializes in metalwork, unique furniture design, sculpture and sculpture restoration. Last month, the artistic team helped repair El Estero Park’s beloved Dennis the Menace statue, that was cut and stolen in August but found at the bottom of Roberts Lake in Seaside in February.Based on the Peninsula for the past 17 years, the pair know the life-sized rendering of Hank Ketcham’s cartoon creation well. So when the city of Monterey needed help welding Dennis back...

Jury: Man mostly at fault for his own death after being detained by California deputies

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

A federal jury in Riverside on Friday, April 7, awarded $7.5 million to the sister of a man who died while being detained by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies in Temecula in 2019. But jurors also found that Kevin Robert Niedzialek, 34, a methamphetamine addict, was 80% at fault for his own death.As a result, the sister, Tracey Alves, will receive $1.5 million in a decision that left her attorneys and Sheriff Chad Bianco debating exactly what the five-man, three-woman jury agreed upon.Alves sued after Niedzialek died after twice being incapacitated by a deputy’s stun gun and handcuffed on July 29, 2019. Court filings by the attorneys for Alves and the county tell much of the same narrative about the confrontation, but Alves’ attorneys say Niedzialek stopped breathing after a deputy knelt on his back as he lay face-down on the ground.Niedzialek did not recover and was pronounced dead the next day.The county’s attorneys wrote in a response to the lawsuit that the county was not respo...

Mysterious, jelly-like creatures are invading some California beaches

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

If you head to the beach this weekend, you may come across a mysterious, unusual sea creature on Southern California’s shoreline.Hundreds of “by-the-wind sailors,” jelly-like creatures known for their beautiful blue hues, were spotted two miles from Orange County by Dana Wharf Whale Watching on Friday, April 7, with reports this weekend of some already washing up on shore in Huntington Beach, the South Bay and on beaches farther north.“Watch for them on the beaches, they are going to be washing shore pretty soon,” said Nona Reimer, known as Nona the Naturalist for Dana Wharf who explained the creature on a video posted to social media. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Dana Wharf Whale Watching (@danawharf)In Huntington Beach, Marine Safety Battalion Chief Doug Leach estimated his team spotted hundreds of them on Saturday, but he admitted they were hard to quantify.“We have a ton of them, mostly north of the pier, all over the high tide line as the tide was dropping this ...

California woman gets 4 years in prison for unwitting role in plot against Iranian opposition activist

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

NEW YORK  — An Iranian opposition activist who U.S. authorities said was the target of two thwarted kidnapping or murder plots urged a federal judge in New York on Friday to hand a tough prison sentence to a woman who unwittingly funded one of the planned attacks.Masih Alinejad, a onetime Iranian journalist, said her sense of safety has been shattered since authorities notified her in 2020 that she was being watched and that photographs were taken of her Brooklyn residence of 10 years. Since then, she has received U.S. government protection and has moved frequently between safe houses.“This crime left its mark. Every day when I go out in the street, I have to look over my shoulders. … I miss my tree-lined street and my neighbors who treated me as one of their own,” Alinejad told Judge Ronnie Abrams as she asked her to set an example by sending 48-year-old Niloufar Bahadorifar, of Irvine, California, to prison for as long as possible.Abrams did just that, announcing a four-year priso...

Woman dies after she and 2 grandchildren found unresponsive in California pool

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

A 65-year-old woman died Friday, April 7 after she and her grandchildren were found unresponsive in the swimming pool at her Murrieta home, police said.Officers responded to Spring Meadow Drive around 11:30 a.m. where the woman and her two grandchildren had been found unresponsive in the pool, according to Murrieta Police spokesperson Lt. Jeremy Durant. The children’s father and a neighbor were performing CPR on the children, a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old.Despite medical intervention, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.The children were hospitalized and remain in critical condition as of Saturday morning, Durant said.Murrieta Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the drowning, he said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | SF: World-champion cyclist killed in crash at Presidio Crime and Public Safety | Climber in Utah dies after pushing another climber out of the way of falling ice Crime and Public Safety | ...

Dear Abby: I don’t want my wife to be a stay-at-home mom to a dog

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My fiancee moved back in with me after living somewhere else for five months. She brought with her a puppy that will grow into a 50- to 75-pound dog.I made it clear to her that I wasn’t into raising a dog in my cramped space.She says she wants a house dog, but I think she wants an excuse to be homebound. How can I convince her that the consequences may end our relationship?NO WAY IN NORTH CAROLINADEAR NO WAY: Why was your fiancee living elsewhere for five months? Why did you allow her to move back in with a dog if you didn’t want one in your cramped space?A 50- to 75-pound dog needs exercise and a yard. It sounds like your place has neither. Unless you want a stay-at-home wife and a large dog, draw the line now.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: This toxic person put me in his will. What should I do? Advice | Dear Abby: She doesn’t know how cruel her new friend was to us Advice | Dear Abby: I’m still marr...

Estonia’s Kaja Kallas secures government coalition agreement

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:00:19 GMT

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has reached an agreement with two other political parties to form a coalition government, according to media reports. About a month after the elections, Kallas announced on Saturday a deal between her center-right Reform Party, the centrist Estonia 200 Party and the Social Democratic Party, the Associated Press reported. “This agreement ensures that Estonia is protected, that we can continue as an independent and self-sustaining country,” Kallas told a press conference, according to AP. The Reform Party — which was at the helm of a coalition government with the Social Democrats and the Fatherland party until now — comfortably won re-election in early March. Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister, is expected to keep the job she’s been holding since 2021. Her party will have seven ministerial portfolios, according to AP, including finance and defense. The former MEP, a long-standing critic of Russian President Vladimi...