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'Crunch' time in debt ceiling talks, as McCarthy and Biden reach for a deal with deadline looming

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his Republican debt negotiators hit “crunch” time Friday at the Capitol, straining to wrap up an agreement with President Joe Biden to curb federal spending and lift the nation's borrowing limit ahead of a fast-coming deadline. They hope to end weeks of frustrating talks and strike a deal by this weekend. Treasury says the government could start running out of money as soon as next Thursday, sending the U.S. into a potentially catastrophic default with economic spillover around the world.Anxious retirees and social service groups are among those already making default contingency plans. The next batch of Social Security checks are due to go out next week.“We made progress last night, we’ve got to make more progress now,” McCarthy said. "We know it's a crunch.”Democrat Biden and the Republican speaker are narrowing differences, laboring to lock in details on a two-year agreement that would restrain federal spending and lift the legal...

Albania’s First Green Agro-Tourism Business Kazerma e Cerenit Nominated for Prestigious Sustainable Tourism Award

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

 Kazerma e Cerenit, the first green agro-tourism business in Albania, has been nominated for the Sustainable Tourism Award at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2023. This nomination is a recognition of Kazerma e Cerenit’s commitment to sustainable practices in tourism and its dedication to preserving Albania’s cultural heritage.Established in 1975 as Army Barracks 3700, Kazerma e Cerenit was transformed in 2020 into a sustainable agro-tourism business that showcases Albania’s rich history and culinary artistry while promoting eco-friendly tourism. The site features solar panels throughout the area, demonstrating a commitment to renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.Ismet Shehu, the visionary owner of Kazerma e Cerenit, said, “We are delighted to receive this nomination for the Sustainable Tourism Award. We believe that tourism can and should be sustainable, and we are proud to be leading the way in Albania. Our mission is to create an exceptional d...

Improving Everyday Experiences – Natuzzi Editions Showcases Comfort and High-quality Designs at Shenzhen Creative Week

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

Natuzzi Editions was invited to participate in the 38th Shenzhen Creative Week, jointly held from May 25 to 28 this year at Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center.Natuzzi Editions focuses on comfortable-relaxed lifestyle sharing and consumer needs. The consistent natural comfort, high-end and uncomplicated design style of Natuzzi Editions’ products are an ideal fit for the theme of this exhibition, called “New Urban Life.”To bring visitors to the Shenzhen exhibition hall a feeling of comfort and relaxation, Natuzzi Editions covered the floor with organic log slats, and platforms of different heights are designed along contour lines, so that the entire display area is full of layered levels that can be adjusted in individual areas. As you can see, the design principle of the exhibition hall follows the organic principle, and there are almost no sharp right angles throughout the exhibition hall, because the brand believes that only roundness can bring real...

Queen Elizabeth faced assassination threat during 1983 San Francisco visit, FBI reveals

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

About a month before Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the Bay Area and Yosemite National Park in 1983 — dining with President Ronald Reagan and Joe Montana and enjoying a serenade from Tony Bennett — a San Francisco police officer received an ominous call from a man he met at a favorite Irish pub.As the officer told the FBI, the man told him he wanted to avenge his daughter who “had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet,” according to newly released FBI documents.In the call, dated Feb. 4, 1983, the man described how he would harm the British monarch during her California visit, the BBC and New York Times said, citing the FBI documents. The man said he would do this “either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the Royal Yacht Britannia when it sails underneath, or (he) would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite National Park,” the BBC reported.Responding to the threat, the Secret Ser...

Suspect charged in Oakland crash-related shooting death

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

OAKLAND — Charges including murder have been filed against a man suspected of fatally shooting another man whose vehicle the suspect’s brother had crashed into Sunday morning in East Oakland, according to authorities and court documents.Michael Guerra, 22, is accused in the killing of 45-year-old Misael Sanchez-Villegas, who was fatally shot about 3:22 a.m. Sunday outside his home in the 10000 block of C Street.The two men did not know each other; Guerra has denied shooting Sanchez-Villegas, authorities said.Guerra is also charged with possession of a machine gun and carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person in a city.Authorities said that before the shooting, Guerra’s brother’s vehicle had struck some parked vehicles on C Street, including one belonging to Sanchez-Villegas. Guerra was in another vehicle following his brother, who police identified as Bryan Guerra, 27; he is still being sought.Both brothers, who each had guns, exited their vehicles foll...

Iconic rock act, legendary guitarist help kick off BottleRock in grand style

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

Downtown Napa was rockin’ on BottleRock eve, as the Smashing Pumpkins and Mike Campbell’s Dirty Knobs helped kick off the festival with winning “afterdark” shows on Thursday (March 25).The Smashing Pumpkins’ gig was the hottest ticket of the entire festival — which continues through Sunday — offering the chance to see one of the biggest rock bands of the ’90s perform not in some sports arena, but in the intimate 650-capacity Jam Cellars Ballroom at the Napa Valley Opera House.Not surprisingly, a capacity crowd turned out to see vocalist-guitarist Billy Corgan and company — guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist-keyboardist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Jack Bates and vocalist-instrumentalist Katie Cole — perform such fan favorites as “Tonight, Tonight,” “Today,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” and “1979.”The group opened the roughly 2-hour show with a powerful versio...

Feds arrest double homicide suspect in Aryan Brotherhood RICO case

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

FRESNO — Federal authorities have arrested a new suspect in a Los Angeles County double homicide that prosecutors contend was carried out by aspiring members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang.Evan “Soldier” Perkins, 38, was arrested May 24 and booked into the Fresno County Jail, where he faces charges of participating in a racketeering conspiracy involving the notorious prison gang. In an indictment unsealed Thursday, Perkins is charged with assisting Brandon “Bam Bam” Bannick in carrying out a March 2022 double homicide allegedly ordered by Aryan Brotherhood member Francis Clement.The victims of the double homicide are not named in the indictment, but the date corresponds with the killings of two men gunned down in a Los Angeles County City.At around 10 p.m. on March 8, 2022, Ronnie Paul Ennis Jr., 47, and James Yagle, 44, were killed on the 200 block of Ridgeway Street in Pomona, authorities say. They were the only double homicide victims on that d...

Supreme Court rules in favor of 94-year-old woman who got nothing when county took her condo and sold it

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN | Associated PressWASHINGTON  — A unanimous Supreme Court on Thursday gave a 94-year-old Minneapolis woman a new chance to recoup some money after the county kept the entire $40,000 when it sold her condominium over a small unpaid tax bill.The justices ruled that Hennepin County, Minnesota violated the constitutional rights of the woman, Geraldine Tyler, by taking her property without paying “just compensation.”“The County had the power to sell Tyler’s home to recover the unpaid property taxes. But it could not use the toehold of the tax debt to confiscate more property than was due,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.Tyler, who now lives in an apartment building for older people, owed $2,300 in unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties totaling $15,000, when the county took title to the one-bedroom apartment in 2015. The county said she did nothing to hold onto her one-time residence. The apartment sold the next year.Minnesota is among roughly a dozen s...

Rose Zhang leaves dominant amateur golf career at Stanford — topping even Tiger Woods — to turn pro

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

Rose Zhang dominated amateur golf like no other female in the modern game. Now the Stanford star is ready to take on the best.Zhang announced Friday she is turning pro, ending an amateur career in which the 20-year-old sophomore set the Stanford record with 12 wins — one more than Tiger Woods — in only 20 tournaments.She won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, followed that with her second straight NCAA titles and was No. 1 in the amateur world ranking for 141 weeks, another record.“Wow … it’s finally happening,” Zhang announced on Instagram. “The endless love, support and inspiration from so many people brought me to this point of my golf career.”She will have no shortage of opportunities — the remaining four majors, including the U.S. Women’s Open and the Women’s British Open — have given her special exemptions.The Women’s Open is at Pebble Beach, the most iconic of U.S. Open venues, for the first time. While no longer an amateur, Zhang is the first player to get a special...

Sale closed in Palo Alto: $2.3 million for a three-bedroom home

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:42:59 GMT

2410 Ross Road – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 2400 block of Ross Road in Palo Alto was sold on May 1, 2023 for $2,272,500, or $1,607 per square foot. The house, built in 1947, has an interior space of 1,414 square feet. The property features three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a garage, as well as a pool in the backyard and one parking space. The unit sits on a 6,954-square-foot lot.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:On Oregon Avenue, Palo Alto, in December 2022, a 1,160-square-foot home was sold for $2,112,500, a price per square foot of $1,821. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,576-square-foot home on the 2500 block of Ross Road in Palo Alto sold in November 2022, for $3,160,000, a price per square foot of $2,005. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In July 2022, a 1,868-square-foot home on Warren Way in Palo Alto sold for $3,160,000, a price per square foot of $1,692. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.