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John Kerry faces heat from House Oversight Committee chair

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

The House Oversight Committee is attempting to siphon details of the inner workings of John Kerry’s super-secret Climate office in a move being hailed by one watchdog.Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust, said he’s had to take Kerry to court over his lack of transparency.Now House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is threatening his subpoena power to see exactly what Kerry, the special envoy for climate, is up to.“The work of the American public is supposed to be performed in the open and that obligation should apply above all to an office with the power of John Kerry’s Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate,” Chamberlain told the Herald Tuesday.Kerry has told the Herald a listing of his entire staff will not be shared until October of 2024 — a month before the next presidential election. The Herald made that request via the Freedom of Information Act.Comer doesn’t want to wait that long.In...

Yosemite closes over flooding threat as huge snowpack melts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

By AMY TAXIN and JAE C. HONG (Associated Press)LEMOORE, Calif. (AP) — Ron Caetano is packed and ready to go. His family photos and valuables are in the trailer and he’s put food in carry totes. He moved the rabbits and chickens and their automatic feeders to higher ground.He and his family and dogs could get out in less than an hour, they figure, should more heavy rain or hot weather melt so much mountain snow that gushing water overwhelms the rivers and channel that surround their tight-knit, rural Central California community and give it its name, the Island District.“The water is coming this way,” said Caetano, who started a Facebook group to help organize his neighbors. “I am preparing for the worst and praying for the best and that’s all we can do.”After more than a dozen atmospheric rivers dumped epic rain and snowfall on California, a reservoir that stores water upstream is expected to receive three times its capacity in the coming mo...

Trial opens in E. Jean Carroll’s rape lawsuit against Trump

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — A former advice columnist’s nearly 30-year-old rape claim against Donald Trump went to trial Tuesday as jurors in the federal civil case heard her allegation of being attacked in a luxury department store dressing room. The former president says nothing happened between them.E. Jean Carroll will testify that the assault that happened in a few minutes in a fitting room in 1996 “would change her life forever,” one of her lawyers, Shawn Crowley, said in an opening statement.“Filled with fear and shame, she kept silent for decades. Eventually, though, silence became impossible,” Crowley said. And when Carroll broke that silence in a 2019 memoir, the then-president “used the most powerful platform on Earth to lie about what he had done, attack Ms. Carroll’s integrity and insult her appearance.”Trump wasn’t in court, and his lawyers haven’t yet preview...

What you need to know about COVID variant arcturus — and a new, odd symptom

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

Cindy Krischer Goodman | South Florida Sun SentinelA new omicron subvariant is spreading across the country with an odd potential symptom: conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye.Helix, a surveillance company that tracks emerging variants across the nation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discovered the variant known as XBB.1.16 or arcturus makes up as much as 5% of new COVID cases in Florida. Arcturus appears to be more contagious than other subvariants, and doctors are reporting the strain may be linked to a rise in red itchy eyes.Health experts say it’s unlikely conjunctivitis would be the only symptom associated with a COVID-19 infection, and note that allergy season is here, too. However, doctors are reporting that along with cough and cold symptoms associated with COVID, children are coming in with “itchy conjunctivitis with sticky eyes, not seen in earlier waves.”Conjunctivitis is a swelling of the thin layer that lines the white part of the eye and can caus...

How Dolphins’ tampering in pursuit of Tom Brady cost them 1st-round pick in Thursday’s draft

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

Amid an abundance of excitement surrounding the Miami Dolphins’ offseason, the 2023 NFL draft is a painful reminder that the team was stripped of its first-round pick due to tampering violations.That’s why Thursday night’s first round will only consist of 31 picks, instead of the usual 32 — one for every NFL franchise. The league found Miami had “impermissible communication” with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton while they were employed by other teams.The NFL, in August, docked the Dolphins their 2023 first-round draft selection and 2024 third-round pick. Owner Steve Ross was fined $1.5 million and suspended for the first six weeks of the 2022 regular season for the tampering findings.The Dolphins once held two first-round selections in the 2023 draft. They had another one from a previous trade with the San Francisco 49ers, but that one was later sent to the Denver Broncos at last season’s trade deadline for Pro Bowl outside lineb...

Ticker: Ice cream mogul launches ‘joint’ venture; Consumer confidence falls again

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

One of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s has gone from ice cream to ‘blunts,’ promising a line of marijuana products with a social mission.Ben Cohen has started Ben’s Best Blnz, a nonprofit cannabis line with a stated mission of helping to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. The company says on its website that 80% of its profits will go to grants for Black cannabis entrepreneurs while the rest will be equally divided between the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and the national Last Prisoner Project, which is working to free people incarcerated for cannabis offenses.“The War on Drugs (first so named by President Richard Nixon) has targeted lower income Black and Brown people thru over policing, discriminatory prosecution, and discriminatory sentencing,” the website states. “That’s why despite using pot at the same rate, Black people are 4 times more likely to be arrested than Whites.”Consumer confidence falls againConsumer c...

Column: If Jalen Carter remains available at No. 9, could the Chicago Bears pass on drafting him?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

Bryce Young appears ticketed to be the first pick in the NFL draft Thursday night by the Carolina Panthers, who acquired the pick from the Chicago Bears in March.But what will happen with the No. 1 pick remains up in the air, as does much of the top half of the first round. It’s a draft with a ton of intrigue, in part because few positions have a consensus top prospect.The unknowns extend to the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles, who moved down to No. 9 in the trade with the Panthers. Conventional thinking puts the Bears in play for an offensive lineman, maybe a cornerback — or perhaps Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter if he slips through the top eight picks.Teams picking in the top 10 have been working overtime to understand Carter. He has evidence on film of his ability to be a game wrecker. There are also lapses in play on film, and teams had lots of homework they wanted to complete on his character and makeup even before his involvement in a road-racing incide...

New Google Maps features aim to make it easier to explore national parks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

Before you hit the trail, it’s always smart to be prepared and have maps handy. Now, Google Maps is making some upgrades to help people be better prepared to travel to America’s national parks.Ahead of National Park Week, which kicked off April 22 and runs through April 30, Google announced four new updates for Maps on iOS and Android that the tech company hopes will help users navigate park trails and help them discover things to do and see.The first update allows hikers to find popular spots in a park, including attractions, campgrounds, visitor centers and trailheads. Google’s example uses Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park.“Search for the park and you’ll see photo highlights for key attractions, like Old Faithful,” the company said in its statement. “Tap on any of the photos to get even more details — like videos and reviews — from people who have been there before, so you can decide whether to add it to your itinerary and plan a trip that rocks.” View this post on Insta...

Past Fox firings carry lessons for network after Carlson

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Before ousting Tucker Carlson, Fox News had twice fired wildly popular hosts – and both times the network recovered better than the stars it cut loose.Fox’s dismissals of Glenn Beck in 2011 and Bill O’Reilly in 2017 offer lessons in what the post-Carlson fallout might be. Carlson was let go on Monday, less than a week after Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million for airing bogus claims of voter fraud following the 2020 election.Fox’s two most popular programs last year — Carlson’s being one of them — were the replacements for Beck and O’Reilly.“It seems like the parts are interchangeable,” said SiriusXM and CNN personality Michael Smerconish. “They’ve built a machine over there that seems to function even when the pistons are replaced.”Still, Carlson’s ability to connect with supporters of former President Donald Trump could benefit him wherever he lands. Beck was a sensation at Fox during the first term of fo...

S&P/TSX composite falls more than 200 points led by energy, U.S. markets also slide

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:47:57 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points Tuesday with broad-based losses led by energy, while U.S. markets also fell. “We’re now entering the heart of earnings season,” said Angelo Kourkafas, an investment strategist at Edward Jones, adding that Canadian earnings also start ramping up this week.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 236.87 points at 20,439.87, with the TSX energy index down more than two per cent. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 344.57 points at 33,530.83.The S&P 500 index was down 65.41 points at 4,071.63,while the Nasdaq composite was down 238.04 points, or almost two per cent, at 11,799.16.Tuesday’s swing comes after a long stretch of unusually low volatility as investors anticipated an avalanche of earnings, said Kourkafas. Results have been mixed so far, he said.“I think the theme of a slowdown is emerging.” Investors were more defensive Tuesday, said Kourkafas, with bond yields moving lower. “I think ...