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Editorial: Congress should lose pay if gov’t shuts down

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

Rep. Matt Gaetz’s request to have his pay withheld during a potential government shutdown can be seen as pure political posturing, but the Florida Republican is on to something.The Hill reported on his letter to Catherine Szpindor, House chief administrative officer:“It is my understanding that pursuant to the Constitution, members of Congress will continue to receive their pay during a lapse in appropriations. Therefore, I am requesting that in the case of a lapse of appropriations beginning at 12:00 a.m. on October 1, 2023, my pay be withheld until legislation has taken effect to end such lapse in appropriations in its entirety,” he wrote.This should be the standard course of action for all in Congress – and the White House.If no consensus is reached on spending and there’s a government shutdown, millions of federal workers face delayed paychecks, including any of the 2 million military personnel and more than 2 million civilian federal workers.However, President...

5 easy school night dinners for busy cooks

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

Having to make dinner night after night can be a drag any time of year, but it can feel even more like a chore in the fall if you have kids in school.After the (relatively) relaxed days of summer, it can take a while to get back into the rhythm, routine and energy of a school year. In addition to making sure everyone gets fed, evenings bring homework, packing book bags and lunches, putting yet another load of laundry into the washer and laying out clothes for the next morning.But with a little planning, it’s possible to get a nutritious family meal on the table, at least some of the time, while also pinching your pennies. It’s even better if you can get family members to help with the chopping, stirring, plating and cleanup.The best weeknight dinners, of course, are ones that are easy to pull together and go from refrigerator or pantry to stove top in around a half-hour. The easiest way to achieve that is reaching for one of the most utilitarian pieces of kitchen cookwar...

Lowry: Why does Biden have a knack for lying?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

It’s almost always the case when the president of the United States says, “I give you my word as a Biden,” that whatever he’s about to say is untrue.Joe Biden’s incredible stories have finally generated more mainstream attention, particularly after he erroneously claimed to have gone to Ground Zero the day after Sept. 11 and stared into “the gates of hell.”The president even got an extensive, excoriating fact check from CNN — not usually known for humiliating Democratic politicians — about all his false and exaggerated yarns.So why does Biden do this? To understand the source of his constant flagrant departures from reality, it’s worth reverting to the late philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt’s analysis in his classic essay “On Bullshit.”“It is impossible,” Frankfurt writes, “for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction.” The pers...

AI sci-fi ‘The Creator’ tackles tech nightmare world

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

When Gareth Edwards began developing his AI sci-fi epic “The Creator,” he had no clue his film would arrive as a trending topic.“When I started writing this in 2018,” Edwards, 48, said from a London virtual press conference, “AI was up there with flying on the moon. Something you would see in your lifetime? Probably not.”“The Creator” stars John David Washington as Joshua, an ex-special forces agent, mourning the disappearance and presumed death of his wife (Gemma Chan). He’s on the front lines of a global war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence who occupy what is called New Asia.His mission: Hunt and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end not just the war but humanity.He is shocked to discover that the world-ending weapon he must destroy is AI in the form of a young girl called Alfie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles).“We were using AI as a kind of metaphor for people who are differe...

Dear Abby: After 15 years, pilot light of love’s gone out

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

Dear Abby: I have been married to a man I’ll call “Ed” for 15 years. We are seniors, but he is 17 years older than I am. I have three children from a previous marriage who are grown and on their own. I think my husband is gay but never came out of the closet. He watches gay porn and once confessed to me he had a fantasy about another man. For the last 10 years, he has refused to have sex and is always making excuses (“I’m old,” “I’m tired,” “Tomorrow”).Abby, I crave love and intimacy. Ed is cold, distant and a loner. He refuses to travel or do anything for fun. He’s well-off financially, never had kids and is a good provider. However, that is all he does. I want to leave him, but I feel guilty because of his age and because he has been a responsible provider over the years. I love him as a person, but not as a husband. Please advise. — Depressed and Stuck in PennsylvaniaDear D&S: There is more to marri...

Reward offered in 2018 Logan Heights cold case murder

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego County Crime Stoppers and the San Diego Police Department are offering $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest in a 2018 deadly drive-by shooting cold case.The gunfire occurred during the early morning hours on July 19, 2018 at 3000 Martin Avenue in Logan Heights, the two agencies said in a news release Tuesday.A 28-year-old, identified as Arthur Jordan, was a passenger sitting inside a vehicle when an unknown dark sedan-style vehicle drove by and the shooter(s) fired numerous rounds into the victim's car, according to authorities. 2 teens, 1 adult arrested after armed shoes robbery in North County Jordan's friends were able to drive away from the scene and call 9-1-1, officials said. Officers found Jordan and his vehicle at Park Boulevard and El Cajon Boulevard, where he was then taken to a hospital.Jordan later died at the hospital due to his injuries. "Despite an exhaustive follow-up investigation, including numerous witness interviews and forensic...

Climate change and the shift to cleaner energy push Southeast Asia to finally start sharing power

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

Hanoi, VIETNAM (AP) — The urgency for Southeast Asian nations to switch to clean energy to combat climate change is reinvigorating a 20-year-old plan for the region to share power.Malaysia and Indonesia inked a deal in Bali, Indonesia last month to study 18 potential locations where cross-border transmission lines can be set up. Those links could eventually generate power roughly equivalent to what 33 nuclear power plants would produce in a year. They are economically and technically feasible, and now are supported by regional governments, said Beni Suryadi a power expert at the ASEAN Centre for Energy in Jakarta, Indonesia.The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is a political and economic gathering of 10 countries across a vast region, from tiny Brunei and Singapore to military-controlled Myanmar and fast-rising economic power Vietnam.Experts describe imports by Singapore of hydroelectric-generated power from Laos via transmissions through Thailand and Malaysia as a “p...

Judge considers accusations that New Mexico Democrats tried to dilute votes with redistricting map

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — FROM MOVEMENT AT 12:30 AM ET WEDNESDAY. EDITED BY CBLAKEAccusations that New Mexico’s Democratic-led Legislature unfairly diluted the vote of a politically conservative oil-producing region with its redistricting map are heading to trial on Wednesday, despite a last-minute flurry of motions that included an effort by the governor’s attorneys to delay the proceedings.The outcome is likely to have a big influence on which party represents a congressional swing district along the U.S. border with Mexico where partisan control has flipped back and forth three times in three elections. New Mexico’s 2nd District is one of about a dozen that are in the spotlight nationally as Republicans campaign to hold onto their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024.Democrats got a potential boost for the 2024 congressional elections as courts in Alabama and Florida ruled recently that Republican-led legislatures had unfairly diluted the voting powe...

Expert ruling that Colorado supermarket shooting suspect is competent for trial set to be debated

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A hearing begins Wednesday to determine if the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 is mentally competent to stand trial. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 24, was found mentally competent by experts at the state mental hospital in August, but his defense attorney Kathryn Herold asked for the determination to be debated in court. Judge Ingrid Bakke was required to schedule the two-day hearing that will include testimony, but denied Herold’s requested for another evaluation from the mental hospital. Bakke’s ruling could come as soon as Thursday.Herold argued at the time that Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is not competent and cited the psychiatric evaluations describing him as “profoundly mentally ill.” Schizophrenia can shake someone’s grasp on reality, potentially interfering in a legal defense in court. Mental competency to move toward trial entails Alissa being able to understand court proceedings and help Herold with his...

Race to replace Mitt Romney heats up as Republican Utah House speaker readies to enter

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:59:10 GMT

Republican Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson is poised to formally announce at a Wednesday night rally that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mitt Romney, who recently announced he won’t run for reelection.Romney announced earlier this month that he won’t seek a second term, saying younger people needed to step forward. In so doing, he threw open a wider door for those seeking to enter the race and led to speculation about whether Utah voters will choose a politically moderate successor similar to him or a farther-right figure such as Utah’s other U.S. senator, Mike Lee, a Donald Trump supporter. Wilson would likely fall somewhere between Romney and Lee in that regard, said Damon Cann, head of Utah State University’s political science department.“I think most people are expecting Brad Wilson would govern somewhat more conservatively. I think he would be toward the political center from where Mike Lee’s at but I think he would be more conservative...