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Adair: Increased security a must for election workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

A county election worker in Oregon recently found himself in an unsettling situation during his rounds collecting ballots from drop boxes. A disgruntled woman, driving erratically, had been following him for hours. As the situation escalated, the woman began shouting that she had a gun and would continue filming him doing his job. Unfortunately, this election worker is not alone.One in six local elections officials in America have experienced threats while on the job. The dedicated citizens who keep our elections running smoothly face an increasingly hostile political environment. While they’ve repeatedly sounded the alarm about the need for increased security funding, their calls for help have mostly fallen on deaf ears.Election workers serve on the front lines of our democracy, helping to ensure every American can exercise their freedom to vote. They do the often thankless work while acting as facilitators of our elections — from collecting ballots from drop boxes to opening polli...

Lucas: Transportation hires kick political drama into high gear

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

If Gov. Maura Healey did not have enough on her plate, she may now have State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to worry aboutIt is not that the active state auditor is conducting a special audit of the governor’s office, as she is attempting to do with the Massachusetts Legislature.DiZoglio is auditing everybody. She is conducting performance audits of all state agencies in relation to the use, or misuse, of severance settlements and non-disclosure agreements, (NDAs), over the past 12 years.It is just that, according to a Boston Globe story last week, DiZoglio appeared to have singled out the Healey administration and respected veteran transportation official Thomas P. Glynn, a close Healey advisor.Glynn is currently Healey’s chairman of the MBTA board of directors. The Globe story implied that Glynn was a target of the investigation over his separation policies for terminated workers at Massport when he headed the agency from 2012 to 2018.DiZoglio denied it. “No, absolutely not,” DiZoglio sa...

Here’s your sneak peek at beauty trends for fall

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

As seasonal shades turn from summer’s electric greens and bright florals to autumn’s rich foliage, other palettes are changing too. Cue the new beauty trends, straight from the runways, the editorial fashion pages, and the imaginations of makeup artists around the globe.And this year there’s a wide swath of new looks to try, from smoky eyes and holographic lip glosses to glowing skin and barely-there foundations that yield dewy complexions.Smoldering eyesFrom the catwalks at New York Fashion Week last spring (showcasing so many of this fall’s best looks) at shows like Alice + Olivia, came a bevy of smoky and big-drama eyes. Turn up the volume on yours by using this new technique: outline your eyes with liner, then when blending eyeshadow, add a bit more along your lower lash line to intensify the look for evening. For colors, check out Dior’s Show 5 Couleurs ($68 on dior.com) in Rouge Saga, a limited collection of five shades—matte, satin, and metallic finishes in deep copper ...

‘Blue Beetle’ soars as fun, family-focused superhero flick

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

An above-average origin tale with an appealing cast, Warner Bros.’s DC entry “Blue Beetle” has two things that differentiate it from other superhero movies. It’s a Latino story with a Mexican hero and his family, and it has a hissing Susan Sarandon as its super-villain. Jaime Reyes (a very likable Xolo Mariduena) is a recent college graduate who returns to the embrace of his family in fictional waterfront Palmera City only to learn that they are about to be evicted due to gentrification, that his beloved father Alberto (Damian Alcazar, “Narcos”) has had a heart attack, that his little sister Milagro (a very charismatic Belissa Escobedo, “Hocus Pocus 2”) has no ambition and that his Uncle Rudy Reyes (key to the ensemble George Lopez) is still crazy. The family is held together by Jaime’s mother Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo) and his beloved Nana (Mexican acting luminary Adriana Barraza).Jaime and Milagro get jobs taking care of the grounds of the powerful Kord Industries ...

Dear Abby: Life unbearable under neighbor’s stompathon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

Dear Abby: I am having an issue with the lady who lives above me. I moved into my apartment a month ago because it seemed so quiet in the complex. Before signing the lease, I asked my landlord if the tenant above me is quiet because when you live on the first floor, you can sometimes hear everything going on above you. The landlord assured me that it was pretty quiet. A couple of weeks went by, and it was quiet until one Friday I heard this stomping noise above me. I thought it would go away.Little did I know, the lady upstairs watches her two grandsons and another boy. Abby, this stomping around goes on all weekend, and it drives me crazy. I was tapping the ceiling to let her know it was getting too loud. She called our landlord and complained! My landlady is also a client of my daughter’s, who is a hairstylist, so I caught heck from my daughter, too. Must I just grin and bear it, or should I say something to the lady upstairs? — Can’t Live Like This in MichiganDe...

The Marine Room is one of the most popular US restaurants on TikTok: Thrillist

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Have you ever experienced fine dining on a cruise ship? Well that's what The Marine Room in La Jolla offers, but on land.Diners are able to catch satisfying sights of the ocean, cove or sunset.The uniqueness of The Marine Room's atmosphere helped make it to No. 3 on Thrillist's top 10 most popular TikTok restaurants in the U.S.With more than four million views on TikTok, the coastal eatery is famous for its eye-level dining view of waves crashing against the restaurant's windows."The high tide dinner was super special, we had a blast and enjoyed the show with the sunset and the waves!! Amazing staff made the night very enjoyable. Great drinks at the bar and during dinner! Fun times were had to celebrate a great time with family!!" Yelper Sean G. commented. UCSD ranked 7th best public university in US: CWUR "The marine room is a beautiful experience. The best view in all of San Diego probably," Yelper Danielle A. said.Built in 1916, the structure was originally a four-...

A nation of new Matildas fans salutes Australia’s run to the Women’s World Cup semifinals

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Sam Kerr looked up at the Stadium Australia crowd for the last time at this Women’s World Cup, and it just compounded the gnawing disappointment that she and her Matildas had fallen one game before the final.In what has been an immense shift in the Australian public’s sporting consciousness, nine out of 10 people who watched domestic television on Wednesday night tuned in to see the national women’s soccer team’s 3-1 loss to England in the semifinals.That figure — an audience reach of 11.5 million and an average audience of 7.13 million reported by the free-to-air host broadcaster — excludes those who gathered at dedicated fan zones, where some over-exuberant revelers let off flares, and in pubs and clubs around the country. “We’ve kind of captured the nation,” a visibly dejected Kerr said after walking off the pitch. “The support we’ve had has been amazing and we’ll do everything we can on the weekend to get them a third place.”The 29-year-old Kerr has won the g...

Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston found not guilty of concealing his father’s child sex crimes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston was ruled not guilty Thursday of an Australian charge of concealing his father’s child sex crimes.Houston, 69, was the Sydney-based church’s senior global pastor when police charged him two years ago with concealing a serious indictable offense. He resigned from his church roles months later.Sydney Magistrate Gareth Christofi ruled Brian Houston had a reasonable excuse for not reporting Frank Houston’s offenses to police. Christofi accepted that Houston believed the victim did not want the abuse in the 1970s reported to police.Brett Sengstock testified in the trial that began in December that he never told Houston not to report the abuse.Sengstock told reporters outside court that the verdict blamed him for the church’s failure to report the elder Houston to police.“Frank Houston was no pioneer for Christianity. His legacy remains a faded memory of a pedophile,” Sengstock told reporters.The Associated Press does not us...

Lotto 649 winning numbers for Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Wednesday’s Lotto 649 draw for an estimated $5 million: 02, 03, 06, 07, 17 & 27.Bonus: 24The winning number for the guaranteed $1 million: 29325338-01In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail. The Canadian Press

Hawaii governor vows to block land grabs as fire-ravaged Maui rebuilds

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:28:37 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green vowed “to keep the land in local people’s hands” after a deadly wildfire that incinerated a historic Maui community, as the island’s schools began reopening and traffic resumed on a major road. Green said at a Wednesday news conference that he had instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina, which he acknowledged will come with legal challenges. “My intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimized from a land grab,” Green said. “People are right now traumatized. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying they’ll be much better off if they make a deal. Because we’re not going to allow it.”Also Wednesday, the number of dead reached 111, and Maui police said nine victims had been identified, and the families of five had been notified. A mobile morgue unit with additional coroners arrived Tuesday t...