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Immigration scams are rampant. Here’s how to avoid getting taken

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

Jon Healey | (TNS) Los Angeles TimesLOS ANGELES — For several years, Oswaldo Rafael Cabrera touted his services as an immigration attorney in advertisements, social media posts and interviews with Spanish-language news outlets.Unfortunately for his many clients, Cabrera was not a lawyer. He wasn’t legally qualified to offer any kind of help on immigration matters despite the large fees he charged. Accused of grand theft and other violations, he pleaded guilty in 2017 and was sentenced to 62 months in state prison.Cabrera is just one example of the many people who prey on immigrants as they try to navigate the labyrinth of U.S. immigration law. Some pretend to be attorneys. Others offer supposedly expert guidance for a fee, even though they are not permitted to do so.Widespread lack of knowledge about U.S. immigration law and its many requirements makes immigrants vulnerable to being taken. Nearly half of immigrants in California, and 45% nationwide, feel they don’t have enough infor...

San Carlos: Fiddlers Green spins off an Irish fusion restaurant, Molly O’s

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

In San Carlos, the must-have condiments — HP Sauce, Colman’s Mustard and Heinz Malt Vinegar — are lined up and the Guinness and Smithwicks are flowing.There’s a new Irish pub and restaurant in town, courtesy of Millbrae’s venerable Fiddlers Green restaurant family.Molly O’s — named after 90-year-old matriarch Molly Mitchell — is now serving traditional Irish fare plus Cal-Mex and American favorites daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar is open nightly, until 2 a.m. on Friday-Saturday.For this venture, Mitchell’s daughter and son-in-law, Rose and Oliver McElhone, who own Fiddlers Green, are joined by two other partners, their son Ollie McElhone and Juan Angulo, previously the head chef at Fiddlers Green.Molly O’s is a new San Carlos restaurant from the owners of the longtime Millbrae favorite, Fiddlers Green. (Photo by Carly Hackbarth/Molly O’s) The massive brunch menu ranges from the traditional (Irish Breakfa...

Symphony San Jose concert heads for fanciful terrain

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya believes in exploring music from a full spectrum — beloved classics of the repertoire, as well as ink-still-wet new works.“Absolutely,” she says, “I think we look back and define eras based on the art that they produced — and what will define today for the people of tomorrow. It’s very important to keep the art form not just alive, but relevant.”With a strong commitment to innovation, Yankovskaya has become one of classical music’s essential artists. This week, the Russian-born, Chicago-based conductor comes to the Bay Area to lead Symphony San Jose’s new program. Titled “Myths, Fairy Tales and Legends,” it features Lera Auerbach’s “Icarus,” Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod from “Tristan und Isolde,” and a Suite from Prokofiev’s “Cinderella.”In a call from her home in Chicago, where she is music director of Chicago Opera Theater, Yankovskaya said she was looking forward to the sure breadth of this weekend’s performances.“It’s a range of the kin...

Antioch nanny charged with production of child pornography

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

(KRON) -- An Antioch nanny was charged for the production and distribution of child pornography, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, 28, of Antioch, was arrested at her home on Sept. 22 by the Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after a social media company notified authorities of child sexual abuse materials being shared on the platform. Hidalgo was working as a nanny for the victim’s family at the time of the arrest, according to the DA’s office.A search warrant served to Hidalgo at her home uncovered equipment used in the production and distribution of the pornographic images of minors, officials said. Young mother slain at Bay Area Toyota service center identified Hidalgo was charged in a seven-count complaint Tuesday and her bail was set at $700,000. The case is being prosecuted by the Sexual Assault Unit of the Contra Costa DA’s Office.Anyone with relevant information in the case is asked t...

Dialysis workers' strike enters its second day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

(BCN) -- Tuesday is day two of a strike by more than 500 dialysis caregivers over what they say are unfair labor practices at their clinics.Workers are rallying at Fresenius Kidney Care Brentwood Park in Brentwood and at Satellite Healthcare Blossom Valley in San Jose between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday, the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West union said in a news release.Since Monday, workers at nearly two dozen Satellite Healthcare and Fresenius Kidney Care clinics across California, including locations in Gilroy and San Jose, have rallied against management practices that union members allege are putting staff and patients at risk to increase profits while violating workers' rights. Biden tells striking auto workers to ‘stick with it’ in a historic visit to Michigan picket line The participants include registered nurses, patient care technicians, social workers, hemodialysis technicians and other caregivers who provide weekly dialysis treatments at the clinics. The strike also a...

Driver involved in San Jose collision earlier this month succumbs to his injuries

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

(KRON) -- A driver who was involved in a collision in San Jose earlier this month has died in the hospital, the San Jose Police Department announced Tuesday. On Sept. 8 at around 8:23 a.m. SJPD officers responded to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Quimby Road and S. White Road.According to a preliminary investigation, a 2016 BMW sedan driven by a woman was traveling east on Quimby when the driver made an unsafe lane change into the left turn lane of northbound S. White. The BMW hit a 2003 Acura TL sedan driven by a man. Oregon man arrested for homicide of Vallejo child after cold case review The Acura was already in the left turn lane when it was hit. The collision caused it to hit the center median of S. White Road and ultimately, crash into a curbside tree.Both drivers remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, police said. The man driving the Acura was taken to the hospital with what police believed to be non-life threatening injuries.On Saturday, Sept...

Big Three Automakers’ Reputations Plummet as UAW Strike Rages

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

The Big Three automakers have taken a reputational hit amid a strike by the United Auto Workers union, according to a new survey conducted by the business intelligence firm Caliber. Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors have all seen significant decreases in several reputational metrics since the UAW strike began on September 15, with people saying they are less likely to consider the carmakers’ products, recommend them to others, or work for them.“87% of respondents told us they were aware of the strike,” Caliber CEO Shahar Silbershatz told The Intercept. “It’s clear the strike is not just causing commercial repercussions, but reputational repercussions as well.”The findings from the Caliber survey follow a recent Ipsos poll that found 58 percent of Americans say they support striking autoworkers. Seventy-two percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents share this sentiment, along with 48 percent of Republicans. The same poll also found that 60 percent of Americans supp...

U.S. General Met Notorious Libyan Warlord

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

The stony boom of artillery echoed across Tripoli as the forces of Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter laid waste to civilian neighborhoods. Later, as I walked through the ruins of shattered homes, battered apartment buildings, and wrecked shops, the unmistakable scent of death hung in the air.It was 2019, when attacks by Hifter, a onetime CIA asset, and his self-styled Libyan National Army killed, wounded, and displaced countless civilians. The following year, relatives of some killed by the LNA sued Hifter in U.S. federal court under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings and torture to hold perpetrators accountable. That case is now heading to trial.Meanwhile, Gen. Michael Langley, the four-star chief of U.S. Africa Command, met with Hifter last week during a visit “to further cooperation between the United States and Libya,” according to an AFRICOM press release. “It was a pleasure meeting with civilian and military leaders...

El Instituto Nacional de Migración de México instala campamento para agilizar trámite de migrantes que piden refugio en frontera sur

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

(CNN Español) — Ante el aumento de la llegada de migrantes a la frontera sur de México, el Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) colocó en Chiapas, en el parque ecológico de Tapachula, un campamento para que la Comisión Mexicana de Ayuda a Refugiados (Comar) pudiera agilizar la atención en la zona, según informó la autoridad migratoria este martes en un comunicado.En la nota de prensa, el INM detalló que reubicó además a unos 8.000 migrantes para impedir “situaciones que pongan en riesgo su integridad ante la aglomeración registrada días previos”.Para movilizar a los migrantes hacia varias localidades se utilizaron 189 autobuses y 73 camionetas, agregó el comunicado.En los primeros ocho meses de 2023, el número de personas solicitantes de reconocimiento de asilo ha aumentado un 28,9 %. Equivale a 22.412 pedidos más que en el mismo periodo del año anterior, al pasar de 77.469 en 2022 a 99.881 en este año, según cifras de INM.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Netw...

No. 22 Florida vows to take ‘road-warrior mentality’ to Kentucky as it leaves cozy Swamp

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:23 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s first three-game winning streak in three years happened at home, in the cozy confines of the Swamp.If the 22nd-ranked Gators (3-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) are going to accomplish anything beyond making a middling bowl, they need to find similar success outside Gainesville. Florida has lost 14 of its last 16 games away from Florida Field, a staggering stretch of futility for a program accustomed to competing for championships.Coach Billy Napier’s team will try to end a five-game skid in road or neutral-site games when it plays at Kentucky (4-0, 1-0) on Saturday. The Gators are 2 ½-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.“I do think there are challenges that come with going on the road and playing in this league,” Napier said.It’s not just the SEC.Florida struggled to stay organized and get off plays in its opener at then-No. 14 Utah last month. The Gators were penalized nine times, including seven pre-snap infractions. False starts. Il...