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Editorial: US-Mexico must put aside animosity to stop fentanyl

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

A round of indictments against a major Mexican fentanyl trafficking ring recently presents an opportunity to hobble the multinational drug enterprise killing people on both sides of the border — but only if leaders in the United States and Mexico can stop sniping at each other and overcome a rift between them.U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, announcing the indictments against Sinaloa cartel leaders and other alleged drug traffickers, called it “the largest, most violent and prolific fentanyl traffic operation in the world.” But it didn’t take long for Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to question the investigation that led to the charges against Los Chapitos, four sons of the infamous drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, known as El Chapo and believed to have handed leadership of the Sinaloa cartel to his sons. López Obrador, widely known as AMLO, accused the U.S. government of spying and violating Mexico’s national sovereignty.Such discord is, unfortunately, not unexpected c...

Sports-loving Nicholas wants to be on a team

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

Nicholas is a sweet and polite boy. He loves pets and is compassionate to all who know him. He also has a very funny sense of humor and can joke around easily with others. Being well-groomed and clean is very important to Nick.In his free time, Nick loves to listen to hip-hop music and play basketball. He also enjoys video games but would prefer to be outside being active and burning off his energy. Nick has many friends, is very sensitive to others’ feelings, and tries to help out those who he feels are struggling. He is a role model in his program. When a new kid arrives, Nick takes them under his wing and mentors them. He comforts other kids when they are upset. He is very well-liked by both peers and adults in his living setting. Nick is a loyal friend.He receives support services in school to help with expressive and receptive language and reading. Nick performs very well in math. He recently moved in with a foster family and is doing great in a family environment.Nick wo...

Schoen: Thomas dispute plunges SCOTUS deep into party politics

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ failure to disclose his ties to billionaire conservative donor Harlan Crow has further tainted the integrity of the highest court in the land, plunging it deeper into party politics.Justice Thomas has come under fire for neglecting to report that he and his wife vacationed on Crow’s yacht and flew on Crow’s private plane to a resort in upstate New York and a private club in Northern California also owned by Crow. Justice Thomas also failed to disclose that Crow, who funds conservative groups like the Federalist Society and Club for Growth, bought property from him, including the house where Thomas’ mother currently lives.In response to these revelations, Senate Democrats want to investigate Justice Thomas and compel him to appear at a congressional hearing. While this extraordinary step might very well be appropriate and necessary, it would ultimately drag our nation’s “independent” judiciary further into the political fray.Our Founding Fathers...

Dear Abby: Worried as friend becomes widower’s 3rd wife

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

Dear Abby: My best friend, “Laura,” had an affair with a married man for 20 years. He had been married twice before, and both wives died. He’s only 50, so I find it odd that both of his previous wives died. His second wife passed while Laura was his mistress. She is able to be married to him only because of his second wife’s death — he was never going to leave her.I don’t trust this man, but I feel I must because Laura is married to him and so happy. I’m suspicious that he may have had something to do with his wives’ deaths, but I don’t know how to prove it. Am I overly suspicious for thinking this? I’m happy for my friend because she is very happy now. They are both retired and enjoying their lives. I’m just hoping he’s honest and truly loves her.I’m not sure how to feel about this cheater, but it does take two — and Laura stayed with him for 20 years as his mistress. Please advise me. — Suspi...

Police investigating after dead body found in East County

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

JAMUL, Calif. -- Authorities are investigating after a dead body was apparently found in the East County neighborhood of Jamul Saturday.The body was found near the intersection of Skyline Truck Trail and Lawson Valley Road, Chula Vista police confirmed to FOX 5.A witness at the scene spotted two CVPD cars, a coroner and two detectives among the responding authorities. Trailer fire in Ramona leaves one dead, one injured CVPD was not able to release any additional details about the incident.There is no information about the decedent or whether law enforcement will be investigating the discovery of the body as a suspicious death.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Kitties and cappuccinos: This Gaslamp spot was the first "cat café" in Southern California

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

SAN DIEGO – Cat cafes have become a widespread phenomenon, with over 200 spots in the United States alone that allow people to sip on coffee or tea while hanging out with friendly felines. However, a coffee shop right here in the Gaslamp Quarter, called "The Cat Cafe," was one of the first in the country to bring together this purrr-fect combination.Owner Tony Wang founded The Cat Café after being inspired by the first cat café in Paris that opened 2013. A life-long animal lover, he was interested in bringing something like it to America’s Finest City.“The idea just kind of caught our attention and we decided, ‘Hey, you know what, let’s make a go of it here,’” Wang told FOX5SanDiego.com. Freeway, the SeaWorld sea lion fond of roaming San Diego’s roads, has died The Cat Café opened up in 2015 after about a year of planning. It was only the fifth spot for sipping on coffee while hanging with feline friends in the U.S. and the very first in Southern California.It quickly took off in ...

Special forces rescue U.S. embassy staffers in warring Sudan

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. special operations forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the American embassy violence-torn Sudan, U.S. officials said late Saturday, sweeping in and out of the capital, Khartoum, with helicopters on the ground for less than an hour. No shots were fired and no major casualties were reported.With the last U.S. employee of the embassy out, Washington shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely. Left behind are thousands of Americans remaining in Sudan, with officials saying it would be too dangerous to carry out a broader evacuation mission.In a statement thanking the troops, President Joe Biden said he was receiving regular reports from his team on efforts to assist those remaining Americans in Sudan “to the extent possible.”He also called for the end to “unconscionable” violence there as two rival commanders battled for power in the African country.About 100 U.S. troops in three MH-47 helicopters carried out the operation as fighting between tw...

Venezuela hosts event of sports, table games and geopolitics

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Manuel Diaz dreams of representing Venezuela in the Olympics but thinks he needs to improve his times and get more international experience. So he is among dozens of swimmers competing in a multi-sport event being put on by Venezuela this month that is part athletics and part geopolitics. The 16-year-old Diaz will swim the 200-meter individual medley and 200-meter butterfly for the experience more than to earn any medal at the fifth edition of the Alba Games, whose participants represent Latin American and Caribbean nations in the left-leaning Alba alliance and this year’s guest country, Russia. “For us, it’s more like political games. They are more, hmm, among countries, hmm, you understand me?” Diaz said Saturday, standing by a pool and hesitantly moving his hands back and forth. “For me, it is an opportunity to swim in the best pool in the country and lower my times.”Hundreds of people from 11 countries are participating in 33 events, among them bo...

Indian police arrest Sikh separatist leader after long hunt

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police on Sunday arrested a separatist leader who has revived calls for an independent Sikh homeland and the secession of India’s northern Punjab state, which has a history of violent insurgency.Amritpal Singh had been on the run since last month after capturing national attention in February, when hundreds of his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnala, a town in Punjab state, with wooden batons, swords and guns to demand the release of a jailed aide.Punjab state police tweeted Sunday that Singh was arrested in Moga, a town in the state. It gave no details but appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony.A Sikh religious leader, Jasbir Singh Rodde, said Singh surrendered to police after offering morning prayers at a Sikh shrine in Moga. Police then arrested him and took him away, he said. Punjab suffered a bloody insurgency in the 1980s that led to the killing of India’s then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards at her official...

The front door, threshold of welcome – and perilous border

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:25:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The American front door is a place where the welcome mat offers friendly greetings, where affable neighbors knock or ring, where boxes brimming with possibility are delivered. It is where home meets a world full of potentially good things. The American front door is a place where signs trumpet words of warning, where cameras monitor visitors in high definition, where intruders find an entry point. It is where only a hunk of wood or metal separates the innermost spaces of home from a world full of chaos.Both conceptions are real. They can and do exist together — usually peacefully but sometimes, particularly of late, contentiously.In a land where private property is venerated and “get off my lawn” has become a mantra of jokey crankiness, the American front door is the landscape’s most intimate and personal of borders, the place where the public sphere encounters private space — occasionally with disastrous results. Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot April 13 at Andrew Lester...