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Editorial: Spending splurge caused exploding budget deficit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

The deficit — a problem almost no one cares about — is getting worse. Unfortunately, both a majority of political leaders and the public continue to prefer ignorance over potential solutions.In 2022, the U.S. federal government ran a $1 trillion annual deficit. Yes, you read that correctly. In just one year, the federal government spent $1 trillion more than it took in.That will soon be considered the good ole days. This year, the annual budget deficit is expected to double to around $2 trillion. It’s one thing for deficits to spike during a major national crisis — like the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic or a world war — or an economic downturn. The country hasn’t experienced those during the past year.That’s left some supposed experts mystified.“To see this in an economy with low unemployment is truly stunning. There’s never been anything like it,” Jason Furman, once a top economist in the Obama administration and now a Harvard economics professor, told The Washington Post. ...

Lucas: Voter ID laws don’t suppress election turnout

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

In a month dedicated to the virtues of voter registration, it’s worth noting the success of voter ID, one of the few areas where the data and public opinion firmly align.State and local election officials nationwide are promoting National Voter Registration Month in September, established in 2002 by the National Association of Secretaries of State.As noted in my book, “The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Left’s Assault on Clean Elections,” polls consistently show that about 60% of Democrats, about 70% of non-white voters support voter ID, and about 80% overall support voter ID.It’s only controversial among some in the political class, including President Biden, and certain special-interest groups such as the Brennan Center for Justice, the ACLU, and Stacey Abrams’ organization, Fair Fight Action.These opponents contend ID requirements, or practically any other election integrity law, are a barrier to voting. Even though credible research shows ID doesn’t deter turnout, it is, in fact...

Dear Abby: Hurt when sister keeps romance on the QT

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

Dear Abby: My sister likes a childhood friend of ours and is hiding the fact that they are together, even though everyone in the family already knows they are living together. She clearly doesn’t want me to know, and always finds a way to not be truthful with me.This guy and I were friends, but whatever my sister said to him made him cut our friendship off. I’m hurt that she needs to lie to me about their relationship, because it doesn’t matter to me. I’m happy she has found someone who makes her happy. She even has our mom covering for her. Should I say something, or just let it be? — Hurtful and Sad SisterDear Hurtful: Did you and your sister’s boyfriend ever have a romantic relationship? If the answer is yes, it may explain your sister’s strange behavior and your mother’s willingness to cover for her. Because the cat is out of the bag and “everyone” knows the truth, I see no reason why you shouldn’t talk to your si...

Louisiana governor candidates face off in debate highlighting abortion ban and police brutality

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, the early GOP front runner in the state’s governor race, attended his first major-televised gubernatorial debate Friday evening, opening the door to political attacks from a crowded room of candidates.With Louisiana’s election just a month away, the seven candidates hoped to break through the pack and appeal to voters ahead of the Oct. 14 open primary. The candidates outlined how they plan to address pressing issues and where they stand on some of the state’s most talked about topics, including the near-total abortion ban, crumbling roads and bridges, the property insurance crisis and the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene.The seven candidates who participated included GOP state Sen. Sharon Hewitt; Landry, a conservative backed by former President Donald Trump; Hunter Lundy, a Lake Charles-based attorney running as an independent; Republican state Rep. Richard Nelson; Republican state Treasurer Joh...

No winning ticket sold for Friday’s $10 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

There was no winning ticket sold in Friday’s Lotto Max $10 million draw.The jackpot for the next draw on Sept. 19 will be an estimated $15 million.The Canadian Press

Lotto Max winning numbers for Friday, Sept. 15, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Friday’s Lotto Max draw for an estimated $10 million: 01, 02, 11, 27, 31, 35 & 44. Bonus: 18In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail.The Canadian Press

Auto worker strike creates test of Biden’s goals on labor and climate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of President Joe Biden ‘s top goals — fighting climate change and expanding the middle class by supporting unions — are colliding in the key battleground state of Michigan as the United Auto Workers go on strike against the country’s biggest car companies.The strike involves 13,000 workers so far, less than a tenth of the union’s total membership, but it’s a sharp test of Biden’s ability to hold together an expansive and discordant political coalition while running for reelection. Biden is trying to turbocharge the market for electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent China from solidifying its grip on a growing industry. His signature legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes billions of dollars in incentives to get more clean cars on the roads. However, some in the UAW fear the transition will cost jobs because electric vehicles require fewer people to assemble. Although there will be new o...

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un inspects Russian nuclear-capable bombers on a visit to Russia’s Far East

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russian nuclear-capable bombers and other warplanes in Russia’s Far East on Saturday as he continued a trip that has sparked Western concerns about an arms alliance that could fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.After arriving in the city of Artyom by train, Kim traveled to an airport just outside the seaside city of Vladivostok where Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military officials gave him an up-close look at Russia’s strategic bombers and other warplanes. Seemingly all of the Russian warplanes shown to Kim on Saturday were among those that have seen active use in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers that have regularly launched cruise missiles. Shoigu, who had met Kim during a rare visit to North Korea in July, also showed Kim one of Russia’s latest missiles, the hypersonic Kinzhal carried by the MiG-31 fighter jet, according to Russia’s De...

Military officers begin to speak out on the harm done by Sen. Tuberville’s holds on promotions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the months since a single senator froze military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy, the uniformed officers affected have been largely silent, wary of stepping into a political fray. But as the ramifications of Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s freeze have grown, more of them are speaking out.This week, some of the military’s most senior leaders took the issue head on and voiced their concerns. They said the damage the holds will do to the military will be felt for years, as young talented officers decide they’ve had enough and choose to get out. “We’re on the fringe of losing a generation of champions,” Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, the head Air Combat Command, told reporters this week at a defense conference in Maryland. Kelly said he’s talking to his junior officers, many with families, and they are “people who will take a bullet for the nation, the Constitution.” But when it comes to dragging their family through this, “there’s a red line.”...

A preacher to death row inmates says he wants to end executions. Critics warn he’s only seeking fame

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:58:30 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — With just weeks left before his scheduled execution, Oklahoma death row inmate Anthony Sanchez took the unusual step of firing his attorneys and skipping a clemency hearing that many viewed as the last chance to spare his life.Sanchez’s decision, and his relationship with an activist pastor who is a spiritual adviser to death row inmates across the country, has drawn fierce criticism from capital defense attorneys and anti-death penalty groups. They say the Rev. Jeff Hood is turning desperate inmates against their lawyers, who are often the last line of defense in a state with one of the busiest death chambers in the country.Hood is a death row minister associated with national anti-capital punishment organization Death Penalty Action. He says his intention is to raise the profile of inmates and draw public attention to their cases to stop executions. Critics say Hood is in it to keep himself in the limelight and raise money for Death Penalty Action.Sanche...