Security risks in Sweden rise due to Quran desecrations and protests, security agency says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Security risks in Sweden rise due to Quran desecrations and protests, security agency says STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s security situation has deteriorated after recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world, both of which have negatively impacted the Nordic nation’s image, its domestic security service said Wednesday.The agency, known by its acronym SAPO, said the burning and desecration of religious books in Sweden, and ongoing disinformation campaigns on social media and elsewhere, have negatively affected Sweden’s profile.The image of Sweden has changed “from a tolerant country to a country hostile to Islam and Muslims, where attacks on Muslims are sanctioned by the state and where Muslim children can be kidnapped by social services,” SAPO said in a statement.This risks fueling threats against Sweden “from individuals within the violent Islamist milieu,” the agency said, adding the current risk of terrorism in Sweden remains at an elevated level, at three on a five-point scale.“It’s a serious situation that we’re in,” Susanna Trehörning, SAP...

These five American women will appear on new quarters in 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

These five American women will appear on new quarters in 2024 (The Hill) - The U.S. Mint has announced five new women who will be circulated on quarters in 2024 as part of the third year of the American Women Quarters Program. The circulation is an initiative of the U.S. Mint in consultation with the Smithsonian National Women’s History Museum, which was approved by Congress alongside the National Museum of the American Latino in 2020.The fate of the Latino Museum is up in the air amid a dispute in Congress, but thus far the women’s museum is moving forward and set to be built in the next 10 years — its backers hope on the National Mall.  Patsy Mink honored in U.S. quarter series highlighting the contributions of women “The idea for the museum has actually been decades in the making,” Melanie Adams, who is serving as the museum’s interim director following Nancy Yao’s departure from the position, told The Hill. “This was based on the belief that the country really needs and deserves physical National Museums dedicated to showcasing...

Nurses union to deliver petition to Ascension Seton hospital management

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Nurses union to deliver petition to Ascension Seton hospital management AUSTIN (KXAN) -- National Nurses United, the union representing registered nurses at the Ascension Seton hospital on 38th Street, announced it would be delivering a petition to hospital management Wednesday morning to demand urgent improvements. The union said in a news release that the short-staffing at the hospital is creating unsafe conditions for patients because nurses cannot spend as much time with each person. The union also said the short-staffing is creating an environment nurses do not want to work in. In the news release, the union said, "short-staffing also creates a revolving door of nursing staff, who suffer moral injury and distress because they can’t provide the care they know results in the best patient outcomes."The union said the hospital has enough financial resources to hire more staff. This petition comes a month after nurses organized a 24-hour strike. PAST COVERAGE: Ascension Seton Medical Center nurses on strike Tuesday An issue of staffing and culture Se...

Bret Stephens: What I learned in Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Bret Stephens: What I learned in Ukraine WARSAW, Poland — Last week, a friend asked me what I could learn from a four-day trip to Ukraine I was planning that I couldn’t glean just by reading the news. It was a fair question. With the trip now behind me, I can answer.I learned how strange it is to visit a country to which no plane flies and, as of last Monday, no ship sails — thanks to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s cruel and cynical withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative through which Ukrainian farm products reached hungry countries like Kenya, Lebanon and Somalia. The only feasible way for a visitor to get from the Polish border to Kyiv, Ukraine, is a nine-hour train ride, where the sign inside the carriage door urges, “Be Brave Like Ukraine.”I learned that you need to download the Air Alert! app to your smartphone as soon as you enter the country.It sounds an alarm every time the system detects drones, missiles or other incoming aerial threats in your vicinity, something that happened time and again during my...

Fast, summery, little effort: 5 perfect recipes for the heat wave

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Fast, summery, little effort: 5 perfect recipes for the heat wave There are times when you don’t want to cook, and there are times when you can’t bear to cook — that extra tablespoon of desperation keeps you from walking into the kitchen and turning on the stove. I feel that most acutely at the height of the summer, when it’s just too hot to do much of anything.So: Don’t cook! And if you do decide to cook, keep it minimal. The recipes below are fast, summery and require little in the way of effort.(And from now until Aug. 15, text a fruit or vegetable emoji to 361-COOK-NYT (361-266-5698) and get free recipes for your summer produce.)Chopped Salad With Jalapeño-Ranch DressingThis chopped salad is fresh, festive and excessive in a celebratory way. While most salads opt for the lightest layer of dressing to optimize the produce’s flavors, this one calls for the dressing to generously coat the crisp ingredients. Inspired by Caesar salad, ranch dressing and the dinner-worthy salads popularized at chain restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen, this...

Kingston man sentenced 9 years on child pornography charges

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Kingston man sentenced 9 years on child pornography charges ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Kingston man was sentenced to serve just over nine years in prison on Tuesday for distributing and possessing child pornography. Thomas O'Bryan, 41, previously pleaded guilty in February. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! As part of his guilty plea, O'Bryan admitted that between March 19 and September 22, 2020, he had traded child pornography on a social media app using the screenname “irishbstrdinc”. According to the Department of Justice, O'Bryan also admitted to possessing child pornography that included depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct, as well as the sexual abuse and exploitation of toddlers on September 22, 2020. O'Bryan is set to serve a 15-year term of post-release supervision. He is ordered to pay $3,000 restitution to a child victimized in some of his child pornography and must forfeit the laptop and cell phone that he used to commit his crimes.

VSP: 19-year-old tried to bribe off-duty trooper after crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

VSP: 19-year-old tried to bribe off-duty trooper after crash POWNAL, Vt. (NEWS10) -- A 19-year-old was arrested after a rollover crash led to significant property damage, where he allegedly tried to pay off an off-duty trooper to not contact police, according to Vermont State Police. Police did not release the name of the 19-year-old. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! On Sunday around 12:54 a.m., Vermont State Police responded to a one-car rollover accident on S Stream Road in Pownal, Vermont. Police say the occupants of the scene left before troopers arrived with the crash causing significant property damage. According to the Vermont State Police, an-off duty trooper stopped to check on the occupants when the defendant offered the trooper money to not contact police. Once police showed up, they say the driver showed multiple indicators of impairment and was arrested for suspicion of DUI and operating with a criminally suspended license. UAlbany football reports for training camp Charges...

Ask Amy: Neighbor slices open misdirected mail

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Ask Amy: Neighbor slices open misdirected mail Dear Amy: In my mailbox today was a credit card bill addressed to my husband with a sticky note attached.Our next-door neighbor (she has a mailbox next to ours at the end of our driveway) explained that the piece of mail had been misdirected and she sliced open this bill, not knowing it belonged to my husband.The last time a piece of mail was misdirected it happened to be my husband’s paystub. This was also sliced open with a sticky note attached, apologizing.What is so dismaying is that we have received our neighbor’s mail but we do not open it — we are quite careful about scanning the front of the envelope before opening.This neighbor now knows my husband’s salary and also how much he owes.How should we handle this?— Frustrated in ColoradoDear Frustrated: My first suggestion is that you and your husband should go “paperless” and switch all of your financial records, banking, and bill paying to online.You should both get fresh credit reports and monitor thes...

German government convenes crisis meeting over Rhodes wildfires

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

German government convenes crisis meeting over Rhodes wildfires The German government convened a crisis meeting on Monday (24 July) to discuss the impact of wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes on German holidaymakers, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson.Speaking during a regular news conference in Berlin, the spokesperson said the crisis meeting at 1100 GMT will allow the German government to "coordinate with our colleagues on the ground and then decide on possible further measures".An interior ministry spokesperson said that German federal police and fire fighters were already assisting Greek authorities in bringing affected people back to the mainland.Fires burning since Wednesday (19 July) have forced tens of thousands of tourists and residents to flee the island, with many evacuated on private boats as flames threatened resorts and coastal villages.

Sale closed in Fremont: $1.6 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 08:36:34 GMT

Sale closed in Fremont: $1.6 million for a four-bedroom home 38357 Acacia Street – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 38300 block of Acacia Street in Fremont was sold on June 20, 2023 for $1,600,000, or $999 per square foot. The house, built in 1963, has an interior space of 1,601 square feet. This single-story house offers a capacious living environment with its four bedrooms and two baths. In addition, the home comes with a garage. The lot of the property is substantial, measuring 6,380 square feet.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:In September 2022, a 2,098-square-foot home on Cabot Court in Fremont sold for $1,699,000, a price per square foot of $810.On Acacia Street, Fremont, in November 2022, a 1,919-square-foot home was sold for $1,385,500, a price per square foot of $722. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,515-square-foot home on the 38000 block of Parkmont Drive in Fremont sold in March 2023, for $1,680,000, a price per square foot of $668. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.