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Ask Amy: Grandmother’s long-term patience pays off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

Dear Readers: Like you, I’m often curious about what happens to the advice I offer once it leaves my desk, and so I’ve asked readers to send in “updates” to let all of us know how my advice was received, if it was followed, and how things turned out.The responses have flowed in, and I’m interested and often gratified to learn what impact this experience has had on readers.This year I celebrate my 20th year of writing this column. Publishing these updates reminds me that we have been through a lot over these past decades. Some of these updates read like postcards from old friends, and I’m happy to share them.(It’s important to understand that most of these updates offer a positive outcome. I assume this is because when things go well, people are more willing to share their experience.)To refresh all of our memories, I’m running the original Q&A, followed by the update.Dear Amy: My 14-year-old granddaughter and I have become estranged. Her parents split up after 14 years of living...

'Vucic out': Serbian protesters keep heat on government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

Serbians paraded life-size figures of leading government figures in prison jumpsuits on Saturday (17 June) during a seventh week of protests since two mass shootings triggered nationwide protests.In the capital Belgrade, tens of thousands of demonstrators blocked a major highway and demanded that government heads roll for permitting a culture of violence they said was to blame for the killings of 18 people on 3 May and 4 May.In the first such coordinated events of the protest campaign, marchers also blocked streets in Novi Sad in the north, Nis in the south and Kragujevac in central Serbia."Vucic out!" chanted the crowd in Belgrade, referring to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, as his likeness was paraded alongside that of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other prominent figures in black-and-white jail garb.The protesters also demanded the resignation of Serbia's interior minister Bratislav Gasic and secret service chief Aleksandar Vulin whom they blame for failing to stop gangs.Ac...

Three-bedroom home sells in Palo Alto for $4.3 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

1424 Harker Avenue – Google Street ViewThe spacious historic property located in the 1400 block of Harker Avenue in Palo Alto was sold on June 1, 2023. The $4,330,000 purchase price works out to $1,982 per square foot. The house, built in 1905, has an interior space of 2,185 square feet. The property features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an attached garage, and one parking space. It sits on a 6,909-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:On Greenwood Avenue, Palo Alto, in August 2022, a 2,472-square-foot home was sold for $3,960,000, a price per square foot of $1,602. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,383-square-foot home on the 200 block of Walter Hays Drive in Palo Alto sold in August 2022, for $3,250,000, a price per square foot of $2,350. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 2,051-square-foot home on Channing Avenue in Palo Alto sold for $4,275,000, a price per square foot of $2,...

Drivers agree that Palou’s 74-point IndyCar lead isn’t insurmountable

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (AP) — Alex Palou isn’t taking anything for granted and his competitors aren’t conceding a thing.But someone’s going to have to make a heck of a charge in the second half of the season to prevent Palou from winning his second IndyCar Series championship in three years.Palou has won three of the last four IndyCar events and owns a 74-point lead over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson as the season approaches its midway point. That’s the biggest advantage anyone’s had eight races into the season since 2020, when Scott Dixon led the rest of the field by 117 points at this stage.“Yeah, I’m glad that we have those points in our camp and we don’t have to catch other people, but I’m not relaxed by the points gap at all because it’s IndyCar,” Palou said after winning Sunday at Road America. “If it was another series, yeah, maybe I would be a bit more relaxed. In IndyCar, you can’t.”The 2020 season provides evidence of that.Dixon seemed ready to breeze to the cha...

Reds’ streak leaves them on doorstep of first place in NL Central

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

Elly De La Cruz’s arrival gave fans in Cincinnati a reason to be hopeful about the future.Then the Reds started looking like they might be contenders — right now.It helps that they play in the NL Central, where everyone is one great week away from challenging for the division lead. And after eight straight victories, the Reds are only a half-game behind first-place Milwaukee. Cincinnati finished the week by sweeping a three-game series on the road against defending champion Houston. The Reds haven’t had a winning streak this long since 2012.Cincinnati is 10-2 since De La Cruz’s big league debut June 6. The 21-year-old shortstop already has six stolen bases to go with his .273 average. Jonathan India, the National League Rookie of the Year in 2021, has reached double figures in both homers and steals, giving the Reds an exciting young infield tandem.Although the mediocrity in the NL Central — where the top four teams are separated by only four games — is one reason ...

Stock market today: World follows Wall St lower as Chinese leader meets top US diplomat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets followed Wall Street lower Monday after the top U.S. diplomat met China’s leader but the two sides gave no sign of progress on an array of conflicts.London and Paris opened lower. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong retreated. U.S. markets are closed Monday for a holiday. Oil prices fell.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index lost 0.4% on Friday after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark lending rate steady but warned it might be raised later if needed to cool inflation.Xi Jinping met Secretary of State Antony Blinken after what the Chinese government said were “candid and in-depth” talks with foreign affairs officials at a time when relations are at their lowest point in decades. They indicated willingness to cooperate on major issues.“Whether that will lead to any actual positive outcomes still awaits to be seen,” said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report. “Any inaction on that front could still see any optimism fizzle out eventually.”In early t...

Dutch soccer player Quincy Promes convicted of stabbing nephew, sentenced to 18 months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Netherlands forward Quincy Promes was found guilty Monday of stabbing his nephew in the leg and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.The Amsterdam District Court judges said the sentence for the offense would usually be a year but they gave Promes a longer sentence because “the suspect is a professional soccer player and Dutch celebrity, and therefore sets an example to others.”Promes was not in court for the verdict. He plays for Spartak Moscow in Russia.In a written summary of the verdict, the court did not identify the 31-year-old Promes by name, in line with Dutch privacy rules. But the case has been widely reported in Dutch media.Promes has scored seven goals in 50 international appearances for the Netherlands.He was convicted of stabbing his nephew in the knee at a family party in a town near Amsterdam in July 2020. Police learned of the incident because they were tapping Promes’ phone as part of an investigation into drug smuggling.At the time of ...

Denver weather: Monday could hit 90 degrees for first time this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — With plenty of sunshine in the forecast for the Front Range on Monday, highs will climb into the upper 80s and possibly hit 90 degrees for the first time this year in the Denver weather forecast.Weather today: Heat returns Denver will enjoy mostly sunny skies to kick off the workweek. Winds could pick up a little in the afternoon as highs may reach 90 degrees for the first time this year. Hot weather expected to increase creek danger Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on June 19. An air quality alert is also in effect today until 4 p.m. with high ground ozone levels.Pinpoint Weather: Advisories on June 19. Weather tonight: Mainly clearSkies stay mostly clear overnight Monday with a few clouds passing through. Lows tonight will dip into the upper 50s with lighter winds.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on June 19. Looking ahead: Storm chances and mild conditionsTuesday is still going to be above average with temperatures in the middle 80s with partly to mostly sunn...

Archaeologists find a 3,000-year-old sword so well preserved it’s still gleaming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

(CNN) — Archaeologists have found an octagonal sword dating from more than 3,000 years ago at a burial site in the state of Bavaria, southern Germany.The sword is so well preserved that it still gleams, according to a statement from the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments.It was discovered last week at a site in Donau-Ries, and researchers believe it was left in the grave as a burial gift.The sword is thought to date to the end of the 14th century BCE, the Middle Bronze Age. A sword like this, with an octagonal handle made entirely from bronze, is a rare find, according to the statement.“The sword and the burial still have to be examined so that our archaeologists can classify this excavation more precisely,” said Professor Mathias Pfeil, Head of the Bavarian State Office for the Preservation of Monuments.“The state of preservation is exceptional! A find like this is very rare,” he added.Researchers believe the sword was a real weapon. “The center of gravity in t...

Uruguay won’t melt huge bronze Nazi eagle into a dove, president says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:45 GMT

Uruguayan authorities walked back a plan to turn a 350-kilogram eagle statue found on a sunken Nazi warship into a dove to symbolize peace, Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou said Sunday after the idea was met with criticism within his own party.“There is an overwhelming majority that does not share this decision” to recast the statue, Lacalle Pou said at a press conference, according to local media.“If one wants to generate peace, the first thing one has to do is to generate unity, and clearly this has not been done,” the president added.The Uruguayan presidency initially announced on Friday that the bronze statue would be melted and recast into a dove by an Uruguayan artist — but critics within the president’s own party argue that destroying a historically significant piece is wrong, despite the Nazi links.“I do not understand the artist who accepts to destroy a piece like this to make something else,” said Aldo Lamorte, a member o...