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Editorial: Biden can’t spin his way out of migrant crisis

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

President Biden and his White House handlers are nothing if not masters of spin.He insisted his Build Back Better agenda, which called for trillions in government spending, would cost “zero dollars.”As the country reeled from brutal inflation spurred by all that spending, Biden termed it “transitory,” and when that didn’t work, blamed inflation on Donald Trump (“It was already there when I got here, man,” he said).Now Biden’s having his Katrina moment, running damage control with a trip to Maui to see the devastation caused by the massive wildfires there. His earlier, dismissive “no comment” take on the disaster casts a pall on any words of comfort from him.Yet Democrats are still backing Biden for re-election, despite his dismal poll numbers. A Morning Consult survey found 77% of potential Democratic primary voters saying they would opt for Biden.The spin is strong.But it may be hitting a snag.The immigration crisis has sp...

Dear Abby: Hubby thinks it’s fun to talk dirty to women

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

Dear Abby: My husband has, for years, felt the need to talk filthy and ask sexual questions of other women. It bothers me something terrible. He’s upset that I ruin his “fun,” and insists he isn’t hurting anyone and that he likes being the life of the party. We have fought over this for years, and I’m exhausted from it.I told him I don’t see the need for him to do this, and he continues to tell me I need to quit being so unreasonable. I don’t know what to do, and I’m ready to just give up. It doesn’t make me love or respect him. I actually loathe him when he does it. Please help. — Repelled in IowaDear Repelled: It’s sad that your husband would continue to do something he knows embarrasses you. You can’t change him, so it’s time to change the way you react to his outrageous behavior. Try ignoring him and distancing yourself when it happens.It would be interesting to know how his questions affect the women ...

Over 7,000 impacted in San Diego power outage

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An outage in three San Diego neighborhoods left over 7,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers without power Tuesday evening, according to the utility company.The outage, which started at 4:38 p.m., impacted four circuits in the neighborhoods of Logan Heights, Mountain View and Lincoln Park. A total of 7,117 people are estimated to be without power at the beginning of the outage.According to SDG&E, electricity was expected to be resorted at 10 p.m. As of 9:40 p.m., all of the customers have had their power restored.The cause of the outage has not yet been determined by the utility company.This comes several days after Tropical Storm Hilary brought widespread power outages to SDG&E customers in the region, due to heavy rain and wind.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Man, 86, accused of assuming dead brother’s identity in 1965 is convicted of several charges

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An 86-year-old man accused of assuming his brother’s identity decades ago and using it to double dip on Social Security benefits has been convicted of several charges, caught by facial recognition technology that matched the same face to two different identities, authorities say.Napoleon Gonzalez, of Etna, assumed the identity of his brother in 1965, a quarter century after his sibling’s death as an infant, and used the stolen identity to obtain Social Security benefits under both identities, multiple passports and state identification cards, law enforcement officials said.A U.S. District Court jury in Bangor on Friday convicted him of mail fraud, Social Security fraud, passport fraud and identity theft. Mail fraud carries the greatest potential prison sentence, up to 20 years.His attorney said Tuesday that he intends to appeal and will seek to keep Gonzalez out of prison until the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issues a ruling.Gonzalez’s benefits wer...

In deadly Maui fires, many had no warning and no way out. Those who dodged barricades survived

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety.And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30. One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their 4-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape. One man took an dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety.But dozens of others found themselves caught in a hellscape, their cars jammed together on a narrow road, surrounded by flames on three sides and the rocky ocean waves on the fourth. Some died in their cars, while others tried to run for safety.“I could see from the bypass that people were stuck on the balconies, so I went down and checked it out,” said Kekoa Lansford, who made several...

Taiwan’s president renews her pledge to stronger self defense during visit to war memorial

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen renewed her pledge to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense on Wednesday as she visited a war memorial from the last time Taiwan and China battled. Tsai, visiting the outlying islands of Kinmen where the conflict was fought 65 years ago, commemorated those who died in the conflict. She was accompanied by Minister of Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng and the head of the National Security Council, Wellington Koo.“In order to keep the peace, we need to strengthen ourselves,” said Tsai. “As such, we need to continue to reform the national defense, push for self-reliance, strengthen our defense capabilities and resilience.” Taiwan’s government on Monday revealed plans for the 2024 budget that had a 3.5% increase in the defense budget, a record $606.8 billion New Taiwan Dollars ($19 billion), according to the semi-official Central News Agency. The proposed budget must be submitted to the Legislature for approval.Tsai’s words have par...

Thaksin moved from prison to a hospital less than a day after he returned to Thailand from exile

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was transferred from prison to a hospital early Wednesday, less than a day after he returned from an extended exile and started serving an 8-year sentence.He had returned to Thailand after 15 years abroad on the same day a party linked to him won a parliamentary vote to form a new government. Thaksin was then sent to prison to serve sentences from several criminal convictions made in absentia that he had decried as politically motivated.The prison reported Thaksin had high blood pressure and low oxygen, he could not sleep and felt tightness in his chest, according to a statement from Sitthi Sutivong, deputy director-general of the Corrections Department.Doctors at the prison’s hospital said he should be transferred to prevent life-threatening risks, the statement said. Corrections officials previously had said Thaksin, 74, was considered vulnerable due to his age and chronic conditions of his heart and...

Putin denounces sanctions on Russia during his speech for a South Africa economic summit

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin took multiple shots at the West on the opening day of an economic summit in South Africa, using a prerecorded speech that was aired on giant screens Tuesday to rail at what he called “illegitimate sanctions” on his country and threaten to cut off Ukraine’s grain exports permanently.Putin, the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant related to the war in Ukraine, did not travel to Johannesburg for the summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies. Instead, he plans to participate remotely in the three-day meeting of the bloc that encompasses Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. His 17-minute speech recorded in advance centered on the war in Ukraine and Russia’s relationship with the West — even though South African officials had said East-West frictions should not dominate the first in-person BRICS summit since before the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped to guide the conversation away from the d...

Tropical Storm Franklin nears Haiti and the Dominican Republic bringing fears of floods, landslides

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin roared toward the island of Hispaniola shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti early Wednesday amid fears it would trigger deadly landslides and heavy flooding in both countries. Franklin was expected to swirl above the island for most of Wednesday, with forecasters warning the storm could dump up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, with a maximum of 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas.By Tuesday night, the storm was located 175 miles (280 kilometers) southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had maximum winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving northward at 9 mph (15 kph). Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Harold weakened into a tropical depression Tuesday night after making landfall in South Texas, bringing strong winds, rain and leaving thousands of homes without power.In the Caribbean, officials were most concerned about the storm...

MLK’s dream for America is one of the stars of the 60th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:55:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last part of the speech took less time to deliver than it takes to boil an egg, but “I Have A Dream” is one of American history’s most famous orations and most inspiring.On Aug. 28, 1963, from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. began by speaking of poverty, segregation and discrimination and how the United States had reneged on its promise of equality for Black Americans. If anyone remembers that dystopian beginning, they don’t talk about it.What is etched into people’s memory is the pastoral flourish that marked the last five minutes and presented a soaring vision of what the nation might be and the freedom that equality for all could bring.As participants prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, that five-minute piece of King’s 16-minute address is the star of that day and today it is the measuring stick of the country’s progress. How did that memorable moment come to be? Were there oth...