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Walters: Truancy in public schools is reaching crisis levels in California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

Gadflies – people obsessed with righting some perceived wrong and pester politicians and journalists to take up their causes – are a constant feature of politics.One of the state’s more persistent gadflies these days is Thomas Carter, an accountant in Sherman Oaks who sends out almost daily barrages of emails about truancy in public schools, demanding that authorities recognize and address what he regards as a crisis.“From what school will come the next ignored student to commit crimes, including a mass gun shooting, or be an ignored child abused at a school or in a home, or to become homeless, if a dropout?” is a typical heading on one of Carter’s lengthy emails.Carter, in an interview, said he became concerned about the issue more than 30 years ago when, as a single parent, he discovered that his son had been missing school and he was not informed of the absences.“Since then, I’ve been asking the questions,” Carter said. His complaints include sections of the education code that p...

Woods withdraws before completing 3rd round of Masters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Tiger Woods withdrew from the Masters before the resumption of the third round Sunday, ending his streak of completing all 72 holes of every tournament he has played at Augusta National as a professional.The tournament said about 90 minutes before play was to begin that Woods, who is still hobbled by the effects of a 2021 car accident that nearly cost him his right leg, had withdrawn with an injury. He had limped through practice rounds early in the week and again during the first and second rounds, but it had become more pronounced as the weather worsened.The five-time champion finished his second round in cold, driving rain on Saturday to make the cut on the number at 3 over, extending his Masters streak to 23 straight and tying Fred Couples and Gary Player for the longest in history.The 47-year-old Woods headed back out for the start of the third round as temperatures struggled to reach 50 degrees, and it wound up being a water-logged slog. Wearing a gray wint...

Lime Cracker Pie / Belkys

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

Ingredients:2 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk1-pint heavy cream1/2 cup lime juice plus 1 tbs. lime zest2 1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackersMethod of Preparation:Combine milk and heavy cream in a large bowl. Add the lime juice and whisk until thickened, about 1 minute. Spread one cup of filling on the bottom of a deep-dish pie plate or 11-inch oval casserole. Top with a single layer of Ritz crackers. Repeat, alternating layers of filling and crackers until the pie plate is full. Finish with a layer of filling. Sprinkle top with grated lime zest. Refrigerate for at least two hours or up to overnight.Enjoy!

’A whole appeasement psychology’: How America let Putin off the hook after Crimea

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

Jack Hanick spent years openly helping a Russian mogul who had been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 set upa pro-Kremlin TV empire, raising suspicions about whether the American was violating U.S. law. And yet, for most of the past decade, the Justice Department didn’t appear to consider the ex-Fox News staffer too important a target, at least not enough to indict him.But Hanick’s luck — and that of numerous other people suspected for years of violating U.S. laws penalizing Russia — started to change in fall 2021.That season, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin prepared his troops for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States secretly indicted Hanick. A few weeks before Russian missiles rained across Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, U.S. officials quietly had Hanick arrested in Britain. On March 2, 2022, the Justice Department unveiled its main weapon to enforce U.S. sanctions on Russia: Task Force KleptoCapture. The very next day, the department publicly announce...

Newborn lambs are newest addition to Sterling petting zoo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

Peter Cottontail and Smiley are the newest additions to Davis Farmland in Sterling, just in time for spring. The two lambs will be interacting with guests at the farm beginning April 13. “You just have to see them to believe them because they’re just simply the cutest things in the world,” co-owner Larry Davis said.Peter Cottontail, a Olde English Babydoll lamb, and Smiley, a Navajo-Churro lamb, are great with petting zoo guests. The petting zoo is the largest sanctuary of endangered farm animals in North America, Davis said. Smiley is the newest addition to a dwindling Navajo-Churro population. There are fewer than 10,000 in the world today.“When the guests come to pet, cuddle and feed them, they are just so excited to see them,” Davis said.

Report: Child neglect filings on the rise in Massachusetts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

The state released a report that shows a 21% increase in child neglect cases from last year.The report says the state received 519 cases through its complaint line, and the Office of the Child Advocate also received 300 reports involving 588 kids, the highest number in a few years.Maria Mossaides, director of the Office of the Child Advocate, said the COVID-19 pandemic marked the beginning of this trend.“That’s where we’ve seen the increase in cases … from the beginning of the pandemic, and that trend has unfortunately continued,” Mossaides said.The disappearance of then-5-year-old Harmony Montgomery was also highlighted in the report. She disappeared in 2019 wasn’t reported missing until 2021. The state granted custody to her father Adam Montgomery from the care of the Department of Child and Families.The state said Montgomery was unfit to care for her and was not vetted properly.Mossaides said they have been working with DCF to ensure children are rep...

Police investigate ‘hate-motivated’ attack at Markham mosque

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

One person is in custody following a hate-motivated incident at a Markham mosque last week. The Islamic Society of Markham (ISM) says on the morning of April 6 an individual came to the mosque on Denison Street and upon entering, apparently tore a copy of the Qur’an while directing racist and Islamophobic rants toward worshippers. According to officials, the centre was much busier than usual due to Ramadan. “The individual, upon exiting the mosque, then attempted to run over or strike worshippers with his vehicle,” the society said in a statement. According to the ISM, York regional police have arrested and charged someone in connection with this incident. There is no word on what charges have been laid but the ISM has asked police to treat this as a hate-motivated crime. “We are deeply troubled by this incident, especially as we near the anniversary of the London Terror Attack, where a family in London was run down in an act of hatred,” ISM said.

Official: Afghan special forces kill 2 IS fighters in raid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s special forces killed two Islamic State fighters and arrested a third during an operation in the country’s west on Sunday, a regional official said.The raid on the hideout in the district of Sayed Abad in Nimroz province sparked a clash lasting 30 minutes, said Mufti Habibullah Ilham, the province’s information and culture director.Ilham said there were no casualties among the troops or civilians and that some military equipment was seized.The regional affiliate of the IS group — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — has been the key rival of the ruling Taliban since the religious group’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.IS has increased its attacks in Afghanistan, targeting both Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority. On Friday, security forces killed an IS fighter during an operation in northern Parwan province. They also arrested three women and seven children, said Hikmatullah Shami...

Tiger Woods withdraws before completing 3rd round of Masters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

Tiger Woods withdrew from the Masters before the resumption of the third round because of an injury Sunday, ending his streak of completing all 72 holes of every tournament he has played at Augusta National as a professional.The tournament announced about 90 minutes before play began that Woods, who is still hobbled by the effects of the 2021 car accident that nearly cost him his right leg, had withdrawn. He’d limped through practice rounds early in the week and again during the first and second rounds, but the limp had become more pronounced as the weather worsened.“I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis,” Woods said on Twitter. “Thank you to the fans and to (at)TheMasters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!”The five-time champion finished his second round in cold, driving rain on Saturday to make the cut on the number at 3 over, extending his Masters streak to 23 s...

Ilhan Omar embarks on new path no longer defined by ‘firsts’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden was winding up for a speech at a Minnesota clean energy facility when he spotted a lawmaker in the crowd whom he wanted to recognize. “I want to thank you for being here,” Biden said, gesturing toward Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during his recent visit. “You never stop working to level the playing field for everybody.”For Omar, the quick flash of praise from Biden — who was neither her first nor second choice to be the party’s 2020 White House nominee — was more than just a courtesy shout-out during a presidential visit to her suburban Minneapolis district. It was a recognition of how far Omar has come after a rocky start to her political career that at times made her standing with Democrats appear tenuous.As she settles into her third term, Omar is no longer defined by the “firsts” that accompanied her arrival in Congress: one of the first Muslim women in the House, the first refugee from Africa elected to the House, the first lawmaker to ...