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Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreamsIn California's 'earthquake country,' a 7.0 temblor prompts confusion and a tsunami warningLOS ANGELES (AP) — Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell says it was a really easy decision to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the presence of three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani played a part, too. Snell was introduced Tuesday at Dodger Stadium accompanied by his agent Scott Boras. The left-hander finalized a $182 million, five-year contract last Saturday. “It was really easy just cause me and Haeley wanted to live here, it’s something we’ve been talking about for a while,” Snell said, referring to his girlfriend. “Then you look at the team. You look at what they’ve built, what they’re doing. It’s just something you want to be a part of.” Last month, Snell opted out of his deal with San Francisco to become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason after he was slowed by injuries during his lone year with the San Francisco Giants. Snell gets a $52 million signing bonus, payable on Jan. 25, and annual salaries of $26 million, of which $13.2 million each year will be deferred . Because Snell is a Washington state resident, the signing bonus will not be subject to California income tax. “It just played out the way that people around me felt comfortable with, I felt comfortable with, they felt comfortable with,” Snell said. “We talked and found something that could work for both of us. You want your worth, you want your respect, and you want enough time to where you can really make a name for yourself. I've made a name for myself outside of LA, but I'm going to be invested.” Two-way star Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal a year ago, had a historic first season with the Dodgers. He helped them win the franchise's eighth World Series while playing only as designated hitter and became MVP in the National League for the first time after twice winning the award while in the American League. “It helps with him in the lineup for sure. That’s big motivation,” Snell said. “You want to be around players like that when you’re trying to be one of the best in the game. Yeah, it played a big part.” Snell joins Ohtani and fellow Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto atop Los Angeles’ rotation. All-Star Tyler Glasnow will be back after having his first season in LA derailed by a sprained elbow. Ohtani didn’t pitch this year while recovering from right elbow surgery but is expected back on the mound in 2025. The rest of the rotation includes Tony Gonsolin, Landon Knack, Dustin May, Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan. “I pitched on six-man, five-man, four-man rotations,” Snell said. “I'm good with it all as long as we have a plan, we'll execute it.” Snell, who turns 32 on Wednesday, went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this year, throwing a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2 for one of only 16 individual shutouts in the major leagues this season. He struck out 145 and walked 44 in 104 innings. He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin. Snell won Cy Young Awards in 2018 with Tampa Bay and 2023 with San Diego. He is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine seasons with the Rays (2016-20), Padres (2021-23) and Giants. He has known Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, since he was 18. In the aftermath of winning the World Series and discussing how the Dodgers could repeat next year, Friedman said, “All conversations kept coming back to Blake.” “Usually in major league free agency, you're buying the backside of a guy's career, the accomplishments that they have had,” he said. “With Blake, one thing that's really exciting for us is, as much success as he's had, we feel like there's more in there." Snell was 2-2 against the Dodgers in his career. “We couldn’t beat him, so we’re going to have him join us,” Friedman said. .___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB Beth Harris, The Associated Press
Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreamsNASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was during the pandemic when the Rev. Kira Austin-Young and her puppet-maker husband, Michael Schupbach, were going a little stir-crazy that they came up with the idea. Instead of a star or some stylized humanoid angel to top their Christmas tree, why not create a biblically accurate angel? The result was a pink, blue and gold-feathered creature with six wings and dozens of eyes that went a little bit viral. "I think in, particularly, the times of the world that we're in, where things seem kind of scary and weird, having a scary and weird angel sort of speaks to people," she said. This Dec. 12, 2021, photo shows the biblically accurate angel Christmas tree topper created by the Rev. Kira Austin-Young and her puppet-maker husband, Michael Schupbach, atop the tree in their former home in Nashville, Tenn. There are a number of different kinds of angels that show up in the Bible, said Austin-Young, associate rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in San Francisco. For the most part, we don't get a lot of description of them, but both Revelations at the end of the Bible and some of the books of the prophets in the Old Testament describe strange creatures around the throne of God. "Some of them have six wings with eyes covering the wings," she said. Others have multiple animal heads. "I think one of the delightful things about the Bible and the Scripture is just kind of how bizarre it can be and just how kind of out there it can be." About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted last year. Still, there's no agreement about what they look like or even exactly what they are. Social media is full of various interpretations of "biblically accurate angels" imagined not just in tree toppers but also drawings, tattoos, even makeup tutorials. The many-eyed creatures reject traditional portrayals of angels in Western art, where they often look like humans with wings, usually white and often blonde or very fair. Esther Hamori, a professor of Hebrew Bible at Union Theological Seminary, makes a distinction between angels and other "supernatural species" in the Bible like seraphim and cherubim, but she said she loves the biblically accurate angel trend, even if it conflates them. "It shows that people are thinking about ways in which the Bible contains far stranger things than what's often taught," the author of "God's Monsters: Vengeful Spirits, Deadly Angels, Hybrid Creatures, and Divine Hitmen of the Bible" wrote in an email. "The biblical heavens are filled with weird, frightening figures. In the Bible, God has an entourage of monsters." One of Austin-Young's favorite portrayals of the annunciation — a favorite theme of Christian art depicting the archangel Gabriel's appearance to Mary to announce that she is going to bear the son of God — is by Henry Ossawa Tanner. It conceives of Gabriel as a vaguely humanoid shaft of light. "It kind of makes you rethink, 'What would that be like to be approached by an angel?'" she said. "If it's somebody you don't know, or if it's a strange creature, or if it's just this kind of manifestation of God's message to you. ... That could be anything." ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Red Square, the GUM department store, center, and St. Basil's Cathedral, right, are decorated for the New Year and Christmas festivities, seen Dec. 13 through a window of the Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow in Moscow, Russia. Coco Jones performs Dec. 4 during the 92nd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York. A 42-meter-tall candle, which is actually an illuminated medieval tower, shines Nov. 30 in the historic city centre of Schlitz, Germany. A large inflatable Santa Claus decorates the stall of a Christmas tree dealer Dec. 3 on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany. People walk through the annual year-end illumination Dec. 16 in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. A woman looks at disco and Christmas balls illuminated with lights on display Dec. 18 for the Christmas Festival at a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing. A child plays Dec. 9 among space-themed holiday lights near a replica of shuttle Independence at Space Center Houston. A visitor takes photos of a Christmas tree Nov. 20 at the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea. The Los Angeles County Christmas Tree is lit up Dec. 2 at the Jerry Moss Plaza at Music Center in Los Angeles. People take pictures with Christmas decorations Nov. 22 at the waterfront of the Victoria Harbour in West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. The Kremlin Wall, the Spasskaya Tower, Red Square, the GUM department store, St. Basil's Cathedral and the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge over the Moscow River are decorated Dec. 13 for the New Year and Christmas festivities in Moscow, Russia. Visitors pose in a sledge for a picture Dec. 5 with Christmas lights and decorations in the background at Covent Garden in London. People look at the illuminations Nov. 16 at the Wiener Chritkindlmarkt, one of Vienna's most popular Christmas markets, in front of City Hall in Vienna, Austria. Visitors walk in front of an illuminated Christmas tree Dec. 16 at Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania. Christmas lights are displayed Nov. 20 on Regent Street in London. In this photo taken with a long exposure, a person walks a dog past Christmas lights in a park Dec. 15 in Lenexa, Kan. People ride a chain carousel Dec. 11 at the Red Square Christmas Fair in Moscow. A couple stops to view Christmas lights on the facade of a building Dec. 4 in downtown Lisbon. People stand on a bridge Dec. 9 as Christmas lights illuminate the Darsena dei Navigli, the neighborhood named for the canals that run through this area of Milan, Italy. The supermoon rises Nov. 14 behind street lights in Santiago, Chile. In a timed exposure, motorists pass a pair of cowboys boots, standing 40 feet tall and 30 feet long, that were decorated with lights for the holidays, on Dec. 10 in San Antonio. Visitors stand before an illuminated installation, one of many displayed across the Cologne Zoo as part of the China Lights Art Festival, on Dec. 20 in Cologne, Germany. Visitors walk through the "Cathedral" on the Christmas light trail Nov. 12 as it returns for its 12th year, with a showcase of new installations set within the UNESCO World Heritage Site landscape of Kew Gardens in London. People experience the holiday lights Dec. 11 at the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville, Tenn. A Christmas wreath and lights adorn the Windansea surf shack Dec. 12 on Windansea Beach in San Diego. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree after being lit Dec. 4 during the 92nd annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony in New York. Traditional luminarias, also known as farolitos, flicker Dec. 13 throughout the Jemez Historic Site during the annual Lights of Gisewa event in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Actors welcome visitors for the Christmas festival of lights Dec. 13 at a zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. Spectators walk on the Champs Élysées Avenue after attending the Nov. 24 illumination ceremony for the Christmas season in Paris. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!NEW YORK , Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rowley Law PLLC is investigating potential securities law violations by The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG ) and its board of directors concerning the proposed acquisition of the company by Omnicom (NYSE: OMC ). Stockholders will receive 0.344 shares of Omnicom common stock for each share of Interpublic Group stock that they hold. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025. If you are a stockholder of Interpublic Group and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, please visit us at: http://www.rowleylawpllc.com/investigation/ipg /. You may also contact Shane Rowley, Esq. at Rowley Law PLLC, 50 Main Street Suite 1000, White Plains, NY 10606, by email at [email protected] , or by telephone at 914-400-1920 or 844-400-4643 (toll-free). Rowley Law PLLC represents shareholders nationwide in class actions and derivative lawsuits in complex corporate litigation. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.rowleylawpllc.com . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. SOURCE Rowley Law PLLC
Article content Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says the two ridings covering the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region have some of the party’s lowest membership numbers. In an end of the year interview, Nenshi conceded this shows the NDP has a weak local presence. People can expect to see Nenshi at plenty of town halls, fairs, rodeos and other community events across rural Alberta. Nenshi said he regrets the Lethbridge West byelection kept much of his attention on southern Alberta. The new year will include visits north, including the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo region. “It’s fair to say the NDP has not always shown up everywhere in communities of every size,” he said. “We probably increased our membership by five to 10 times in Fort McMurray, but it was a very small number to start.” In Fort McMurray’s two provincial ridings, the NDP peaked in 2015 when both candidates won just more than 30 per cent. The party ran aggressive byelection campaigns in 2018 and 2022 . But the NDP barely ran any local campaign in the 2023 election . The NDP finished second with 24.5 per cent in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche and 19.7 per cent in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, while the UCP won 73.57 per cent and 67.7 per cent respectively. With the exception of some orange islands in Lethbridge West–which the party recently retained in a byelection earlier this month–and Banff-Kananaskis–which the NDP narrowly won from the UCP in the last provincial election–rural Alberta remains a deep shade of UCP blue. “We have a lot to say to people outside Calgary and Edmonton,” said Nenshi. Nenshi says the same concerns have been repeated to him during trips across Alberta: life is too expensive, more local health care workers and resources are needed, the schools need more funding, and more work needs to be done with improving safety and fighting crime. He accused the UCP of being in no rush to fix these problems. “The UCP takes rural Alberta voters for granted. They assume they are always going to vote for them and since they’re always going to vote for them, there’s no need to actually do anything for them,” said Nenshi. “People are really starting to see there are alternatives, that it is possible to do better than to elect a backbench UCP MLA who sits there like a trained seal collecting their salary, and actually elect someone who can make real positive change to make the community better.” Nenshi has visited the region in the past, and says he had positive relationships with former mayors Melissa Blake and Don Scott. Many students he taught at Mount Royal University’s business school also came to work in the oilsands. It was also as Calgary’s mayor where he met leaders in Canada’s oil and gas industry. He praised former premier Rachel Notley for lobbying for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which Nenshi called “the single most consequential thing that any premier has done for the Alberta economy in some time.” “You don’t get to be mayor of Calgary without really, really knowing the oil and gas industry in the oilsands very, very well,” he said. Nenshi also dismissed comments made by the UCP that he is a supporter of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and insisted the Alberta NDP has plenty of independence from their federal counterpart. Since he was elected leader of the party last June, Nenshi says he has spoken with Trudeau and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre more than NDP Leader Jaghmeet Singh. He also points to his experience as Calgary’s mayor in getting funding for different programs from prime ministers Trudeau and Stephen Harper, as well as six premiers from three different political parties. “This is going to be a big challenge for Danielle Smith. She makes so much of her entire image on fighting with Justin Trudeau. It’s almost certain that Justin Trudeau will not be the prime minister in a few months and Premier Smith has nothing else in her quiver,” he said. “When she has a Conservative prime minister, guess what? Alberta’s not automatically getting everything we need. We still need a government that can negotiate deals for Alberta. With that prime minister, she’s shown no ability to negotiate deals.” A priority for Nenshi will be winning a seat in the Alberta legislature. Nenshi has said he wants to represent a seat in Calgary or Edmonton, which is why he did not run in the recent Lethbridge West byelection. Notley has resigned her Edmonton-Strathcona seat, which will be vacant on Dec. 30. “To me, there really is a certain nice thing about a guy who’s known as being from Calgary getting to know Edmonton a lot better. Ultimately, that is a decision for the members of the party in that riding,” he said. “I’ll have a conversation with them about whether they’d like to have me as a candidate there and I’m sure that we’ll have a lot more to say about that very early in the new year.” Get the news and events of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo in your inbox every Friday morning by signing up for our newsletter . vmcdermott@postmedia.com
The number of children with complex needs across Wales has been rising steadily over the last 10 years, and if these trends continue it is likely that their numbers will double over the next 10 years. That is according to a new study by Sparkle, the disabled children’s charity. The report said the increase was largely driven by rising numbers of children with autism or other forms of social/emotional impairments and learning difficulties, which will place huge demands on schools, healthcare and organisations supporting families. It highlighted that one of the difficulties in estimating the numbers was the variation in how different organisations count children with disability. Although more boys than girls are disabled over all, there has been a bigger increase in the number of girls with a disability than boys, which is likely to reflect increasing diagnoses of autism in girls, particularly among teenagers. A volunteer statistician from Statistics for Society working on the Sparkle report has calculated the probable trends over the next 10 years. The birth rate is predicted to fall, particularly in Wales where the population of children aged up to 19 years is projected to drop by seven per cent compared to two per cent in the UK as a whole between 2023-2035. However, if disability keeps rising at the current rate, this means that by 2035, up to 17.5 per cent of children in Wales would be disabled. The report said policymakers should plan now for these projected increases, which will impact health, education and social care, with young people contining to need support as they move into adulthood.SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s governing party chief expressed support Friday for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol for imposing martial law this week, in a bombshell reversal that makes Yoon’s impeachment more likely. Opposition parties are pushing for a parliamentary vote on Yoon’s impeachment on Saturday, calling his short-lived martial law declaration an “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” But they need support from some members of the president’s People Power Party to get the two-thirds majority required to pass the impeachment motion. The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s nighttime martial law decree has frozen South Korean politics and caused worry among neighbors, including fellow democracy Japan, and Seoul’s top ally, the United States, as one of the strongest democracies in Asia faces a political crisis that could unseat its leader. During a party meeting, PPP leader Han Dong-hun stressed the need to suspend Yoon’s presidential duties and power swiftly, saying he poses a “significant risk of extreme actions, like reattempting to impose martial law, which could potentially put the Republic of Korea and its citizens in great danger.” Han said he had received intelligence that Yoon had ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities” when martial law was in force. “It’s my judgment that an immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official duties is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people,” Han said. Impeaching Yoon would require support from 200 of the National Assembly’s 300 members. The opposition parties that jointly brought the impeachment motion have 192 seats combined. PPP has 108 lawmakers. If Yoon is impeached, he would be suspended until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to remove him from office or restore his presidential power. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country’s No. 2 official, would take over presidential responsibilities. The Defense Ministry said it suspended the defense counterintelligence commander, Yeo In-hyung, who Han alleged had received orders from Yoon to detain the politicians. The ministry also suspended Lee Jin-woo, commander of the capital defense command, and Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the special warfare command, over their involvement in enforcing martial law. In a closed-door briefing to lawmakers, Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, said Yoon called after imposing martial law and ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and National Assembly speaker Woo Won Shik, said Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. Kim said Hong told lawmakers he ignored Yoon’s orders. The spy agency’s director, Cho Taeyong, questioned Hong’s account. Cho told reporters that such an order would have come to him, rather than Hong, and that he never received any orders from Yoon to detain politicians. Han earlier said he would work to defeat the impeachment motion even though he criticized Yoon’s martial law declaration as “unconstitutional.” Han said there was a need to “prevent damage to citizens and supporters caused by unprepared chaos.” Thousands of protesters have marched in the streets of Seoul since Wednesday, calling for Yoon to resign and be investigated. Thousands of autoworkers and other members of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, one of the country’s biggest umbrella labor groups, have started hourly strikes since Thursday to protest Yoon. The union said its members will start on indefinite strikes beginning on Dec. 11 if Yoon was still in office then. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho promised the ministry’s “active cooperation” with an investigation by prosecutors into the military’s role in Yoon’s martial law enforcement. He said military prosecutors will also be involved in the investigation. He denied media speculation that Yoon and his military confidantes might consider imposing martial law a second time. “Even if there’s a demand to enforce martial law, the Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff will absolutely not accept it,” Kim said. Kim became the acting defense minister after Yoon’s office on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who has also been banned from traveling while he is investigated over the imposition of martial law. Opposition parties and Han allege that it was Kim Yong Hyun who recommended that Yoon declare martial law. During a parliamentary hearing on Thursday, Kim Seon Ho said Kim Yong Hyun also ordered troops to be deployed to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Han leads a minority faction within the ruling party, and 18 lawmakers in his faction voted with opposition lawmakers to overturn Yoon’s martial law decree. Martial law ultimately lasted about six hours, after its quick overrule by the National Assembly forced Yoon’s Cabinet to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The main liberal opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said in a televised speech Friday that it was crucial to suspend Yoon as “quickly as possible.” Lee said Yoon’s martial law enforcement amounted to “rebellion and also a self-coup.” He said Yoon’s move caused serious damage to the country’s image and paralyzed foreign policy, pointing to criticism from the Biden administration and foreign leaders canceling their visits to South Korea. Yoon has made no immediate response to Han’s comments. He hasn’t made public appearances since he made a televised announcement that his martial law decree was lifted. Prosecutor General Shim Woo Jung told reporters the prosecution plans to investigate rebellion charges against Yoon following complaints filed by the opposition. While the president mostly has immunity from prosecution while in office, the protection does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. It wasn’t immediately clear how the prosecution plans to proceed with an investigation on Yoon. The Democratic Party is also considering filing a complaint against PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, whom the opposition party accuse of attempting to facilitate Yoon’s martial law enforcement. Choo, a Yoon loyalist, had asked party lawmakers to convene at the party’s headquarters rather than the National Assembly after martial law began. That meant fewer lawmakers were present for parliament’s vote on lifting martial law. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Kaun Banega Crorepati 16: Pregnant contestant Twinkle requests host Amitabh Bachchan to autograph 'onesie' for her unborn baby; Big B says 'Baby Rathore, Hello'WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin bucked his party in 2021 when he refused to support a $1.8 trillion bill on taxes, social programs and clean energy, thus dooming President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" initiative. Then this month, in one of his final actions as a member of Congress, he also bucked his party and voted against a nominee that would have continued the Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board once both he and Biden leave office. In between, Manchin played outsized roles in Biden's economic stimulus program and his infrastructure bill, as well as the smaller climate change and health care law that came out of the wreckage of Build Back Better. In exit interviews, Manchin, I-W.Va., said his former party had gone too far to the left and left him in a position he did not want — the one individual who could make or break legislation. "I did not run for that position," Manchin told the Washington Post. "I did not try to wedge myself in that and be the deciding vote." He said he made it clear once the Democrats won the trifecta of the White House, Senate and House in 2021 that he was not going to be a guaranteed "yes" vote. "I don't work for you," he said he told his colleagues, according to the Post interview. "You didn't hire me and you can't fire me. I work for the people of West Virginia on behalf of the United States government. That's who I have to answer to, and if this stuff doesn't make sense no matter how bad you want it, I can't vote for it." None of Biden's major accomplishments — the economic stimulus package, the infrastructure law, the climate change and health care measure, and the funding to bring manufacturing, including those of computer chips, back to the U.S. — would have passed without Manchin's vote. "Each of these victories required senators to come together from both sides of the aisle to find solutions for Americans," he said on the Senate floor earlier this month in his farewell speech. "These were bills that just made common sense. And when each side could take just a little step to find common ground, powerful things have happened." In his closing weeks as a senator, he touted funding in those bills for clean energy manufacturing in West Virginia coal communities, for a new hanger at a small West Virginia airport and for a carbon storage hub in the state. He singled out the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (Arch2), which will receive up to $925 million in federal funding for projects in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. "You can't eliminate your way to a cleaner environment, you can innovate it," Manchin said in his floor speech. "That's why we funded the development of regional hydrogen hubs and made sure one of them would be in the Appalachia region." His closing words on the Senate floor also talked about the need for lawmakers to work together, and his support for the filibuster that requires 60 votes — support from both parties — to pass legislation. But it didn't always work, he said. Popular legislation such as overhauling immigration laws and expanding background checks for guns failed, he said. "These opportunities were missed because we've let politics get in the way of doing our job," he said in his floor speech. "I am not saying that dealing with politics is easy. It's not. It's messy. I've had my share of tough votes. At times, I have felt like the whole Senate was united — in being upset with me. So sometimes I guess we did come together." Harsh words for Democrats Manchin officially left the Democratic Party in May and registered as an independent. He continued to caucus with his fellow Democrats until the end. But he's leaving office with some harsh words for the party he left behind. After all, he said, he wasn't the only person who left the Democratic Party. "The brand got so bad. The 'D' brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of — it's just — it's toxic," he said in the CNN interview. He said Democrats have been telling people what they have to believe in and what they have to do, no matter how outrageous. "The Democrat I grew up being, they wanted to make sure that people had an opportunity for a good job, a good pay," he told CNN. "I will protect you. Just don't try to mainstream it. And the Democratic Party, the Washington Democrats, have tried to mainstream the extreme. ...They have — they have basically, expanded upon thinking, well, we want to protect you there, but we're going to tell you how you should live your life." He never endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024, and said the election results showed that Americans didn't want someone on the left. He said it was "nuts" and "completely insane" to say Harris lost because she wasn't progressive enough. The problem was that her liberal voting record made it hard for her to pivot to the center in the fall campaign, he said, "They're saying if Kamala would have been who she always has been, pretty far to the left, it would have been better for her. That's crazy," Manchin told CNN. "Basically, she was having a hard time trying to come back to the middle and then speak about it with any conviction. If you try to be somebody you're not, it's hard." Manchin resisted entreaties that he run for president as an independent in 2024, lest he be a spoiler. But he said there was room for a real third party. "The centrist part of both parties," he said on CNN. "So the centrist moderate vote decides who's going to be the president of the United States. And when they get here, they don't govern that way. Neither side does. They go to their respective corners. So if a centrist had a voice and had a party that could make both of these, the Democrat and Republican Party come back, OK, that would be something." Manchin told CNN that the new organization would be called the American Party, and while he wouldn't lead it, "I'll be the best cheerleader they've ever had." (c)2024 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Crypto poised for uptick through 2025
Too early to celebrate – Arne Slot keeps leaders Liverpool focusedIsrael strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while WHO chief says he was meters awayThe Middle East is no longer a predictable chessboard where moves can be studied and anticipated. Instead, it resembles a hurricane, unpredictable in both timing and direction. This is the reality we face. The danger posed by the political and military vacuum following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria lies not only in its timing but also in the speed and far-reaching consequences of this shift, even for the powerful regional actors involved. The Syrian scene in recent days has been rife with contradictions that defy explanation. While global media broadcast celebrations of the regime’s fall, Israeli airstrikes target all aspects of the Syrian army—from equipment and weapons to laboratories and factories. Every day, Israel conducts over 350 airstrikes on what remains of the national army, and at day’s end, announces the details of its operations with complete transparency. As Syrians celebrate, the Israeli occupation army advances deep into the Golan Heights, including Mount Hermon, claiming an additional 250 square kilometers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared the Golan permanently Israeli and vowed to double settlement activities in the plateau. On Syria’s northern front, a parallel scenario unfolds. Turkish forces have invaded the north, occupying multiple cities and regions, all while denouncing Israel’s expansion in the Golan. Simultaneously, they destroy Syrian army weapons depots in these newly seized areas and prepare to attack the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to tighten control over the Kurds. Meanwhile, Ahmed al-Shara, also known as Muhammad al-Jolani, the general commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which played a major role in toppling the regime, appears to be taking a calculated approach. Recognizing that emulating ISIS’s brutality would be counterproductive, he refrained from wreaking havoc in Damascus. Instead, he launched a media campaign, calling for reconciliation and unity, proclaiming, “I am Syrian, you are Syrian. I oppose Assad, not the country or its people.” He even announced on Al Arabiya that compulsory conscription would be abolished, relying instead on volunteers, signaling a shift in the willingness of Syrians to bear arms. On the eastern front, American forces raised their flag over the Kurdish city of Kobane to secure it, while continuing to control Syria’s vital oil fields. The final outcome in Syria appears stark: Assad’s regime has fallen, and the Syrian army has been entirely dismantled—an unprecedented event even compared to the 1967 war. Israel now firmly controls the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. Turkish forces have seized more than 13 cities, cementing their influence. The United States has solidified its presence in oil-rich regions while extending legal protection to the Kurds and the SDF. Syria, like Iraq and Lebanon, is a mosaic of sects, religious, ethnic, and political groups formed over centuries. Its future, therefore, cannot be disentangled from its complex regional environment. Yet the dominance of extremist jihadist currents at the core of Syrian geography suggests that the nation’s future will be marked by sectarianism and politicization, aligned with the interests of powerful regional players. Such a scenario is unsustainable. Syria’s plight stems from more than seven years of cumulative failures. Israeli attacks, initially tactical, have had profound strategic repercussions, weakening the resistance axis and claiming key leaders. U.S. sanctions and support for armed groups exacerbated the situation, while internal Syrian conflicts and the Iranian regime’s flawed strategies further undermined resistance. The assassination of Qasem Soleimani marked a turning point, emboldening Israel to act unchallenged in Syria, with the consequences now reaching Iran’s doorstep. With Assad gone, Syrians celebrate in Damascus while opposition groups scramble to organize a political transition. Yet the administrative failures of Syrian rebel factions, proven during their governance of large territories, cast a long shadow over these efforts. Western observers speculate that HTS might take charge, but their track record suggests otherwise. Even when controlling two-thirds of Idlib province, HTS struggled with governance and showed little commitment to political pluralism. Past attempts by opposition groups to govern areas like southern Syria, Damascus’s outskirts, and Turkish-controlled regions in the north often resulted in militia rule and infighting, with efforts to unite factions repeatedly failing. The greatest danger facing Syria is not solely Islamic extremism but the chaos likely to follow the opposition’s victory. Regardless of the form of future governance, the challenges are immense, and the risks are imminent. Syria’s social and economic crises, already overwhelming, are poised to worsen. According to the United Nations, 16.7 million Syrians need humanitarian aid, and 12.9 million suffer from food insecurity. Even after the conflict ends, Syria will require between $200 billion and $400 billion to rebuild, a figure far beyond the willingness of the US or the West to contribute. The road ahead for Syria is fraught with uncertainty and peril. The fall of Assad is not the end of the story but the beginning of a new and turbulent chapter in the region’s history. Dr. Hatem Sadek – Professor at Helwan University
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