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Italian lawmakers urge policy changes to support Iran’s pro-democracy opposition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

A multi-partisan group of Italian senators and members of parliament held a conference on Wednesday to express support for Iranian protesters and pro-democracy activists, and to call for changes in Italian and European Union policies toward the Islamic Republic. The conference coincided with the release of a statement, signed by a majority of Italian senators, “supporting the Iranian people in their struggle for a secular and democratic republic.”Both the statement and conference made explicit reference to the National Council of Resistance of Iran as the prospective guarantor of that future system of government. The lawmakers also pointed to a “ten-point plan” for transition to this system, authored by Maryam Rajavi, the individual designated by the NCRI to serve as transitional president when the current regime is overthrown.In advance of the conference, former Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, now head of the Senate European Union Affairs Committee, led an Italian delegation in meet...

Deadly clashes in Karabakh can trigger new conflict escalation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

The ongoing tensions in the Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Armenia threaten post-conflict stability and reconciliation. The unwillingness of Armenia to sign a post-war peace treaty with Azerbaijan recognizing the territorial integrity of both states increases future conflict risks in the region. During the post-war period, several deadly clashes happened in the Karabakh region and at the Azerbaijani-Armenian border - writes Shahmar Hajiyev, Senior Advisor at the Center of Analysis of International Relations.The end of the long-lasting war between Armenia and Azerbaijan opened up new opportunities for both countries to start economic cooperation and reconciliation. After signing the November Declaration and agreeing to a ceasefire, the key challenge became a post-war peace treaty between two South Caucasus countries. However, all recent developments show that Yerevan is seemingly unable to accept that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, as it is recognized in UN resolutions.It is...

Floating home at Barnhill Marina

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

This spacious, two-story floating home in the Oakland-Alameda estuary offers a unique, comfortable and affordable home in the central Bay Area.Enjoy the water lifestyle with beautiful sunrises and sunsets plus inviting space. The lower level includes a spacious living room with stove/fireplace, dining area, kitchen and a half bathroom.The upstairs features a large bedroom and full bathroom suite with lots of closet space. Sliding glass doors lead to a balcony, along with many windows and skylights creating a light and inviting space.The property is near shopping at Alameda Landing and Marina Village.Location: 2394 Mariner Square Dr #B-8Offered at: $415,000Listing agent: Ela Strong, Realtor DRE #00890577 (510) 579-4179 [email protected] provided by: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Drysdale Properties BHHSDrysdale.com

Marin-based furniture retailer RH (Restoration Hardware) cutting over 400 jobs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

RH, the company formerly called Restoration Hardware, has announced plans to lay off about 440 employees, including 58 at its headquarters in Corte Madera.The local layoffs will take effect May 24, according to a notice sent to the California Employment Development Department, the Marin County Board of Supervisors, the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay and the mayor of Corte Madera.The company outlined its plans in a quarterly filing late last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It reported that net revenue for the 2022 fiscal year was $3.59 billion, down from $3.759 billion the prior year. Fourth-quarter net revenue fell from $903 million in 2021 to $772 million last year.Gary Friedman, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer, said the retail furniture industry is battling against lingering effects of the pandemic, inflation, rising interest rates, a dip in home values, a depressed stock market and the banking crisis.“It’s times like these that businesse...

Marin County to factor racial equity in road paving plans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

As part of its new commitment to have racial equity shape how county funds are spent, Marin County will use the racial demographics of neighborhoods to determine which roads to repair first.“Our proposal is to prioritize benefits to underserved communities when developing an annual paving plan,” Pauletta Jordan, an assistant director in the county public works department, told the Board of Supervisors during a recent budget workshop.The plan was unveiled as an example of how county departments are working closely with the county’s Office of Equity to recalibrate their priorities to focus on equity.Jamillah Jordan, the county’s equity director, told supervisors that her office has developed a race equity budget tool that all of the county’s departments will eventually be expected to use.She said the tool will “help our departments think through how they can allocate resources in an equitable and equity-centered way.”“We know that resources are finite and we want to do things differen...

A trip to Yosemite led to a fresh look at John Muir in ‘Guardians of the Valley’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

In 1998, journalist Dean King went on a family trip to Yosemite National Park for the first time. “Inspiration Point, true to its name, was incredibly inspiring,” King recalled recently in a video interview about his new book, “Guardians of the Valley: John Muir and the Friendship that Saved Yosemite.” “The magnificence and the scale really redefined how I thought about America. I knew at that moment I wanted to write about Yosemite.”It took years as King worked on other projects. His research led him to John Muir, who is heralded as the man who helped save Yosemite. As he dug deeper, however, he realized that Muir’s work was really done in tandem with Robert Underwood Johnson, who was in many ways Muir’s opposite – an urbane New York publisher who worked with everyone from President Ulysses S. Grant to Nikola Tesla. The two men became fast friends – it was Johnson who encouraged Muir to form the organization that became the Sierra Club – and it was their work together that both cem...

Anti-LGBTQ threats to dictionary publisher get California man a year in prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

By Mark Pratt | Associated PressA California man who made violent anti-LGBTQ-related threats against dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster Inc. over its updated gender definitions was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison.The sentence imposed on Jeremy Hanson, 35, by a federal court in Massachusetts also included 30 days of home confinement, three years of probation and mental health treatment.Hanson pleaded guilty last year to interstate transmission of threatening communications in connection with threats made to the Springfield, Massachusetts-based dictionary publisher and to the president of the University of North Texas.In court documents, prosecutors said the Rossmoor man has a history of making “threatening communications, nearly all of which were motivated by … biases based upon race, gender, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation.”Those other communications were directed at the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O’ Lakes Inc., Hasbro, a nonbinar...

2 Southern California cops indicted in 2018 fatal shooting of Black man

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

Two Torrance police officers were indicted Thursday, April 13, in the fatal shooting of a Black man sitting in a suspected stolen car in 2018, a killing that sparked months of protests in the community by Black Lives Matter activists, according to a defense attorney for one of the officers.Attorney Tom Yu confirmed that a Los Angeles County grand jury returned the indictments, but he said he wasn’t aware of the specific charges against Officers Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon in the killing of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell.Yu, who represents Chavez, said both men are scheduled to be arraigned Monday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.The grand jury convened in March to consider evidence against Chavez and Concannon presented by special prosecutor Lawrence Middleton.Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey previously found that the officers acted legally and in self-defense in the Mitchell shooting. However, the investiga...

Horoscopes April 14, 2023: Adrien Brody, take care of loose ends

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Abigail Breslin, 27; Sarah Michelle Gellar, 46; Adrien Brody, 50; Brad Garrett, 63.Happy Birthday: A positive attitude will help set the stage for a prosperous year. Being a good Samaritan will offer emotional rewards and opportunities. Channel your energy into home improvement projects, and take care of loose ends. Love and romance are favored and will motivate you to sport a trendy new look. Your numbers are 3, 12, 24, 29, 32, 36, 45.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stick to your plan, regardless of what others do or say. Do your own thing and you’ll be happy with the results. An opportunity will require you to adjust your lifestyle to meet the demands needed to be successful. Romance is favored. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): The changes happening around you will result in an emotional trade-off. Have a backup plan to ensure you can live up to your promises, regardless of how things unfold. Put your energy where it counts, and positive results will...

UnitedHealth tops 1Q forecasts, raises 2023 outlook

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:54 GMT

UnitedHealth beat first-quarter forecasts and hiked its 2023 guidance for the first time, propelled in part by more growth from its Optum care segment.The health care giant said Friday that revenue jumped 25% from its Optum segment, which provides care and manages prescription drug benefits. Operating earnings from that part of the business also grew 19% to $3.7 billion. The Optum business runs a growing number of clinics and urgent care and surgery centers.Overall, UnitedHealth’s profit climbed more than 11% to $5.61 billion, as the company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance business also added more than 2 million customers compared to last year.Outside Optum, UnitedHealth also runs one of the nation’s largest health insurers, covering more than 50 million people mostly in the United States. That business added customers in commercial coverage, Medicare Advantage and through Medicaid coverage that it manages for states. UnitedHealth now expects adjusted earnings this year to ...