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Amanda Little: Ukraine has given the world a blueprint to fight hunger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year triggered tumult across global grain markets. As the cost of corn and wheat surged, panic spread about instability in countries from Yemen to Bangladesh that depend on the warring region for low-cost grains. Would famine worsen? Would civil unrest ensue?While food-insecure countries have suffered keenly from high grain prices over the past year, some of the consequences we feared most have been avoided. Even as the conflict continues to rage, grain markets have calmed down considerably, with prices close to pre-invasion levels — a better outcome than many expected.Astute diplomacy, next-level technologies, a resilient distribution infrastructure and efficient trading strategies were key elements of coping with these disrupted markets. The world acted quickly to leverage those strengths across global networks, moving grain from regions where it’s cheap and plentiful to those where it was scarce and costly.Imagine what would be ...

Andrew Bacevich: Eisenhower’s misgivings about military power still ring true

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

As an orator, Dwight D. Eisenhower was not in the same league with Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. His roster of memorable speeches numbers a grand total of two, a paltry total for someone who served eight years as U.S. president. Yet some five decades after his death, those two speeches retain at least as much salience as anything Lincoln or FDR ever said.The second and more famous of those speeches was his Farewell Address in which Ike warned against the danger posed by what he called the “military-industrial complex.” The first, arguably less well remembered, became known as his “Cross of Iron” speech.Ike used his Farewell Address, televised nationally on Jan. 17, 1961, to offer his final reflections on his public life. “Cross of Iron,” delivered 70 years ago this month, on April 16, 1953, was his first formal presentation following his inauguration. So the two presentations book-ended his presidency.Together, they addressed a common the...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: My Complaint Got Someone Fired; Should I Have Kept Quiet?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma came from Kaylee and it's about complaining. Here's her email: Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I'm feeling pretty bad about something that happened, and I'm hoping you can use this as your dilemma so I can find out if others would have done what I did. I enjoy going to my regular coffee place all the time. It's a local spot, and I go in at least three to four times a week. Usually I have a great experience until about two weeks ago. Apparently they hired a young woman who does not like her job. Almost every single time that she's handled my order it's been wrong. And a couple of times, the way she handed my coffee to me made it spill over my hand, and it's hot. After these things happened several times, I had to say something. First to her, and then when I didn't get a good response, I spoke to the manager. Long and the short of it, the young woman got fired...

Ballston Spa resident pleads guilty to catalytic converter theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Ballston Spa resident pleaded guilty in connection to catalytic converter thefts and will face one to three years in jail, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office. Penny Richards, 48, was arrested in November 2022. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! State Police received multiple complaints of catalytic converters being cut and stolen from parked vehicles at Clifton Park and Halfmoon businesses. In assistance with the Saratoga Springs Police Department, state police say their investigation revealed Trever Murphy removed and stole the parts with Richards as an aid. The damages caused were estimated to be north of $30,000.Richards was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty in February.

Drunk driver gets one year for crashing into patrol car

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Albany woman pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, after crashing into a state trooper patrol car in February 2022, according to the Office of the District Attorney of Saratoga County. In doing so, Allison Bechtold will serve one year in jail. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On Sunday, February 21, 2022, around 12:34 a.m., a troop car was at a traffic light on Vischer Ferry Road at the intersection of Crescent Road in Halfmoon. When the trooper’s car was stopped, it was struck from behind by another car. No one was injured in the crash.At the time, police said they could smell alcohol while speaking with Bechtold, who was identified as the driver. Bechtold took a roadside sobriety test and was taken into custody for driving under the influence. She was taken to Clifton Park State Police and provided a breath sample of .19% B.A.C. Elevator door-close buttons don’t do anything According...

Ask Amy: Very long marriage now haunted by DNA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife and I have been married for 57 years. We love each other very much and demonstrate this every day.We have a daughter and a son in their 50s. Both are very successful. Our son has three adult children, and our daughter is single without children.I am not my daughter’s biological father.My wife and I have known each other since childhood and dated after high school. My job took me to another state for about a year. I returned home to a pregnant girlfriend.I loved her so much that I never asked one question about the affair, and I can honestly say that I never cared or thought about it.We have had a fantastic marriage. We love our daughter dearly and she and I have a great relationship!These days there is strong encouragement to do DNA and family research testing by you and others in the media.Every time I think about it, I get sick to my stomach. I am so afraid that if my daughter found out that I am not her biological dad, it would destroy her. I have actually cried...

Gender pay gap in Europe: Facts and figures 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

Find out about the economic inequalities that continue to persist between women and men in the EU, Society.It has been more than 25 years since the adoption of the UN’s Beijing Declaration, which aims to promote equality between men and women. The same goal lies behind the creation of UN Women - dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women - and the inclusion of gender equality in the Sustainable Development Goals.So where do we stand? Progress has been made, but inequality between men and women persists, including on the labour market. On average, women in the EU are paid less than men.Check out what the Parliament is doing to narrow the gender pay gap.Understanding the gender pay gap The gender pay gap is the difference in average wages between men and women The unadjusted gender pay gap is the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of men and women expressed as a percentage of male earnings. It does not take into account education, age, hours ...

Single-family residence sells for $5.4 million in Palo Alto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

2323 Louis Road – Google Street ViewA 1,988-square-foot house built in 1973 has changed hands. The property located in the 2300 block of Louis Road in Palo Alto was sold on March 17, 2023. The $5,400,000 purchase price works out to $2,716 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a carport, and two parking spaces. There’s also a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on an 8,050-square-foot lot.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:In December 2022, a 1,160-square-foot home on Oregon Avenue in Palo Alto sold for $2,112,500, a price per square foot of $1,821. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Blair Court, Palo Alto, in November 2022, a 2,594-square-foot home was sold for $3,460,000, a price per square foot of $1,334. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,868-square-foot home on the 800 block of Warren Way in Palo Alto sold in July 2022, for $3,160,000, a price per square foot of $1,692. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

Bay Area volleyball mentor pleads guilty in player abuse case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

A volleyball coach accused of slapping a teenage player at a sports program in Marin pleaded guilty Tuesday to a child abuse charge.Konrad Ott, a co-founder of the Absolute Volleyball Club in San Rafael, admitted to a misdemeanor count of inflicting unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering on a child. Ott, a 52-year-old Petaluma resident, was not required to attend the hearing in Marin County Superior Court, and his lawyer entered the plea on his behalf.The maximum sentence under the plea agreement is four years of probation, said Judge Roy Chernus, reading the offer sheet from the bench. Chernus set the sentencing for May 15.The victim, Grace Hodges of Novato, said she approves of the outcome, even without a potential jail sentence. She said the fact there was a criminal investigation should make Ott understand that he needs to change.“It is a relief to know he’s not going to be back in the club having the same impact on other girls that he did on me,” said Hodges, 17, a sen...

Court rules California charter cities can implement sugary drink tax without penalty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:52 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — In a ruling at the end of March, the California Third District Court of Appeals found that charter cities such as Santa Cruz cannot be financially penalized by the state for lawfully implementing a sugary drink tax, or soda tax, on residents.“The appellate court ruling means that cities across California can once again enact public health policies like sugary drink taxes without fear of financial ruin,” said Santa Cruz City Councilmember Martine Watkins, who was a plaintiff in the case. “We’re now one step closer to more California residents being able to reap the benefits of these types of policies.”In early June 2018, a 1.5-cent-per-ounce sugary drink tax ballot initiative, championed by Watkins and others, had been approved by the Santa Cruz City Council to go to a vote by city residents that November, but the initiative was brought to an abrupt halt when then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Keep Groceries Affordable Act into law June 2018, months before the election.The...