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Need to leave kids home alone as the school year gets underway? A Fairfax Co. agency has some tips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

As the school year begins for some students in Northern Virginia, some parents may be considering leaving their child home alone before or after school for the first time.In Virginia, there are no specific rules about how old a child should be when they’re left alone. But, Twana Johnson, Program Manager for Fairfax County Children, Youth and Families Division said there are child supervision guidelines. She said children should not be left alone until they are at least nine and, if you are leaving an older child alone with younger siblings, the older child should be at least 10 years old.Johnson said parents should ask the question, “Is the child ready to be left home alone, and are you the parent ready to leave the child home alone?” If an older child is left with younger siblings, Johnson said to ask: “Is that child ready to watch that younger sibling, and is that sibling ready to listen to that older child.”She said parents should consider holding a ...

Today in History: August 21, Nat Turner launches rebellion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Monday, Aug. 21, the 233rd day of 2023. There are 132 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Aug. 21, 1831, Nat Turner launched a violent slave rebellion in Virginia, resulting in the deaths of at least 55 white people; scores of Black people were killed in retribution in the aftermath of the rebellion, and Turner was later executed.On this date:In 1858, the first of seven debates took place between Illinois senatorial contenders Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. (It was recovered two years later in Italy.)In 1944, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and China opened talks at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington that helped pave the way for establishment of the United Nations. In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order making Hawaii the 50th state.In 1991, the hardline coup against Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev collapsed in th...

Dynamo score 3 goals early, rout Timbers 5-0 to end skid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Amine Bassi, Nelson Quiñónes and Corey Baird scored goals in the first 14 minutes and the Houston Dynamo cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on Sunday night as league play resumed after a five-week hiatus for Leagues Cup play.Bassi’s goal was his ninth of the season and came on a penalty kick in the 5th minute after Griffin Dorsey drew a foul from Portland’s Claudio Bravo. Houston snapped a nine-match winless streak in all competitions. Four of the Dynamo’s previous five matches ended in draws.Quiñónes took a pass from Héctor Herrera and scored six minutes after Bassi for a 2-0 lead. It was the 21-year-old’s second netter of the season and the second of his career in 11 starts and 26 appearances over the past two seasons. Herrera has 10 assists in 21 appearances this season.Baird used an assist from Adalberto Carrasquilla to score his fourth goal the season. Baird picked up an assist when defender Franco Escobar notched his secon...

Orlando City uses second-half surge to beat Fire 3-1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Orlando City scored three times in the second half, rallying for a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday night as the league returned to action after a five-week layoff for Leagues Cup play.Chicago (8-8-8) used Mauricio Pineda’s first goal of the season to grab a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second half. Miguel Navarro assisted on the fourth-year defender’s sixth career netter.Wilder Cartagena scored the equalizer for Orlando City (11-6-7) three minutes later when took a pass from Facundo Torres and found the net for the first time this season.Iván Angulo gave Orlando City the lead in the 54th minute, scoring his fourth of the campaign. César Araújo had an assist.Torres added an insurance goal on a penalty kick in the 68th minute. He has eight goals and four assists this season.Spencer Richey finished with two saves in his fourth start for Chicago. Pedro Gallese saved three shots for Orlando City.Chicago entered play on a three-match win streak — al...

Southern California braces for more floods as tropical storm soaks region from coast to desert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to inland mountains and deserts Sunday evening, prompting rescues from swollen rivers and forcing some of the nation’s largest school districts to cancel Monday classes. Millions braced for more flooding and mudslides, even as the storm began to weaken.The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary brought intensifying rain to the region, with some mountain and desert areas seeing more than half an average year’s worth of rain come down in just one day, including the desert resort city of Palm Springs, which saw nearly 3 inches of rain by Sunday evening.Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and fire officials rescued a dozen people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water. Crews ...

A presidential runoff is likely in Ecuador between an ally of ex-president and a banana tycoon’s son

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorian voters looking for a new leader to help curb the country’s unprecedented violence will have to head to the polls again in October for a runoff that is likely to see the ally of a convicted former president vie against the principal heir of a banana growing and exporting empire.No candidate in Sunday’s special presidential election received enough support to be declared winner. The election process took place under the watch of tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed across the country, partly in response to the assassination of a presidential candidate earlier this month.With more than 85% the votes counted late Sunday, results from the National Electoral Council had leftist Luisa González in the lead, with about 33% of support. She had been the frontrunner heading into the contest, but the Election Day’s surprise came from former lawmaker Daniel Noboa who received about 24% votes even though he never placed above fifth place i...

Guatemala elects progressive Arévalo as president, but efforts afoot to keep him from taking office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A progressive from outside Guatemala’s power structure was resoundingly elected the country’s next president Sunday in a reprimand to the governing elite over widespread allegations of corruption.Despite preliminary results showing a potential landslide for anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arévalo, the attention immediately turned to whether he would be allowed to assume power as the current administration attempts to suspend his party’s legal status.With more than 99% of votes counted, preliminary results gave Arévalo 58% of the vote to 37% for former first lady Sandra Torres in her third bid for the presidency. The official results will still have to be certified.“We know that there is a political persecution underway that is being carried out through the institutions and prosecutor’s offices and judges that have been corruptly co-opted,” Arévalo said Sunday night. “We want to think that the force of this victory is going to make it clear that there is no pl...

New faces in Cambodia’s parliament as king welcomes incoming lawmakers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s king congratulated the country’s new lawmakers on Monday, urging them in his traditional speech to the National Assembly on its first day following elections to promote economic growth and equality. The Cambodian People’s Party under longtime authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen won a landslide victory in elections last month, taking 120 of 125 seats in the lower house of Parliament after successfully stifling all credible opposition.The new government is undergoing a generational change, however, as Hun Sen hands off the premiership to his eldest son, Hun Manet, and many key Cabinet ministers are being replaced — most also by the children or relatives of incumbents. In Hun Sen’s nearly four decades in power, Cambodia saw a dramatic increase in its standard of living, though the gap between the wealthy and poor has increased. King Norodom Sihamoni, Cambodia’s largely symbolic figurehead, told lawmakers he hoped the next ...

Dentist convicted of killing wife on African safari set to be sentenced to life in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A wealthy dentist convicted of killing his wife at the end of an African safari in Zambia is expected to be sentenced to life in prison Monday for a murder prosecutors say capped off a lifetime “spent seeking domination and control over others through wealth and power.”At the hearing in a Denver federal court, U.S. government prosecutors will also seek to get an estimated $25 million in restitution, seized property and fines from Larry Rudolph. He was also found guilty in federal court last year for mail fraud for cashing in nearly $5 million in insurance policies for his wife, Bianca Rudolph.Larry Rudolph has claimed throughout the case that his wife’s death in the southern African nation in 2016 was an accident. His lawyers plan to appeal the conviction. Prosecutors say Rudolph, who owned a Pittsburgh-area dental franchise, shot his wife of 34 years in the heart with a shotgun on her last morning in Zambia, and then put the gun in its soft case to make it look ...

St. Louis City strengthens hold on top spot in West after 6-3 win over Austin FC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nicholas Gioacchini and Samuel Adeniran both scored twice, Eduard Löwen had three assists and St. Louis City breezed to a 6-3 victory over Austin FC on Sunday night as the league returned to action after a five-week layoff for Leagues Cup play.Defender Tim Parker scored his fourth goal of the season, using an assist from Löwen in the 22nd minute to give St. Louis City (14-8-2) a 1-0 lead.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersGioacchini stretched the lead to 2-0 at the half when he scored in the second minute of stoppage time with an assist from Löwen.Gioacchini scored his 10th goal of the season — unassisted — five minutes into the second half to push the expansion club's lead to 3-0.Austin (9-10-5) got on the scoreboard in the 61st minute on a penalty kick by Sebastián Driussi. It was Driussi's sixth goal this season.Adeniran answered in the 72nd minute for...