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Lowry: GOP race not quite as over as it looks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 GMT

If it “got late early” in the old majestic Yankee Stadium with its long shadows, as the famous Yogi Berra quote had it, it’s gotten late before about the fourth inning in the Republican presidential race.A new national CBS poll has Donald Trump leading second-place Ron DeSantis by 46 points, 62-16. The latest Fox News poll had a more modest 37-point Trump lead. (Vivek Ramaswamy is third in both surveys, at 7 and 11% respectively.)It’s sometimes said that Trump is the de facto incumbent in the race, and indeed these are the kind of numbers you’d expect of a sitting president who is sweeping marginal opponents to the side as he secures his party’s renomination.The top-line results aren’t that different from the primacy race — such as it is — on the Democratic side. The Fox poll has Joe Biden beating Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 64 to 17, with Marianne Williamson at 9.Is there a mercy rule in presidential politics?Trump could be forgiven ...

Watermelon’s the star of this steakhouse wedge salad

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 GMT

Steakhouse fans eagerly anticipate digging into the savory cuts of sizzling beef waiters serve up. The precursor to that portion of the meal is often a wedge salad, which offers a crisp complement to the richness of the steak.Wedge salads are traditionally made with iceberg lettuce and drizzled with a flavorful dressing – often blue cheese. However, there’s no set rules when it comes to wedge salads. With this recipe for “Watermelon Wedge Steakhouse Salad,” courtesy of the National Watermelon Promotion Board and 2018 Watermelon Recipe Contest Winner Chauna Havey, diners can skip the lettuce altogether.TAG GOES HEREWatermelon Wedge Steakhouse SaladINGREDIENTSFor the dressing:1/3 cup finely diced watermelon1 cup sour cream1/3 cup peeled and finely diced watermelon rind1/4 cup watermelon juice1 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon black pepperFor the salad and toppings:4 thick wedges of watermelon4 tablespoons real bacon crumbles4 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles2 tablespo...

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

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:25 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...