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Harry Litman: Why Special Counsel John Durham’s report takes so long to say so little

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

Rarely has a government report taken so long — in years and pages — to tell the public so little as Special Counsel John Durham’s report to the Department of Justice this week.When then-Attorney General Bill Barr appointed Durham to investigate the department’s probe of connections between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, Trump and his true believers looked forward to revealing a criminal conspiracy within the FBI. Trump tweeted at the time that Durham would uncover the “crime of the century.”Instead, four years after Barr first ordered Durham to investigate the investigators, he produced a ponderous, 316-page tome that interminably chews over information that has long been in the public record.The bottom line awaiting the minuscule percentage of the country that has the time and patience to wade through the report is a handful of small and already familiar cavils about the procedural details of the FBI’s work. The bureau ...

Area community pools in need of lifeguards this summer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

ST. LOUIS - There's just over a week left until Memorial Day weekend, and pools are ramping up their search for lifeguards. This comes as they face the challenge of a nationwide shortage.Employees who work at public pools said they're planning to open on or before Memorial Day weekend, and although they have some lifeguards on staff, they say they need more."It is such an important job for everybody to have, and the training is pretty intense," said Kassi Baker, district aquatic director.Baker works with the YMCA at Carondelet Park in south St. Louis and said they have 30 to 40 positions open for the summer. She said it's critical to have a lifeguard on deck."You never know when somebody's going to get into distress with not being able to swim," Baker said. "Or if they would have like a heart attack or a stroke. So having somebody trained to take over that situation is very important." In-N-Out Burger poised for major expansion, including in Missouri The YMCA is offering a $200 si...

Windsor’s Cameron Thomas makes lasting impression in short time as state champion pole vaulter

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

LAKEWOOD – Cameron Thomas wasn’t feeling it. The Windsor senior walked around distraught, his jaw hanging and his hands over his head after the Class 4A boys pole vault competition at the CHSAA state track and field meet Thursday morning.“That was the worst meet ever,” Thomas repeated while pacing around the far left of the track at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood.He then plopped onto a metal bench and dropped his head before one of the officials approached him to offer encouragement.“You are the state champion,” she said, hoping to brighten the mood.Indeed, Thomas was the 4A boys pole vault champion — a fitting end to an impressive high school track career. But Thomas didn’t clear 17 feet as he did in April or surpass the 4A state meet record of 16 feet. He defeated his competition by reaching 15 feet, 6 inches, which made his stomach turn because he wanted to do so much better in his grand finale.“16 (feet), 5 (inches) is such a light bar for me that I do all the time,” he ...

Nuggets vs. Lakers: Live updates and highlights from Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

Live updates, tweets, photos, analysis and more from the Denver Nuggets’ Game 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena in Denver on May 18, 2023.Nuggets-Lakers Game 2: Must readsNuggets’ Bruce Brown: “Goal” was to take Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell out of the gameWhen Bruce Brown lowers his shoulder, not many defenders have the bulk to stop him.That’s especially true in transition, where Brown rumbled for five of his six made baskets against the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.When Brown picked his head up and saw Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell staring back at him, he took it as an invitation to engage.“I mean we got out in transition, we attacked them, we took D-lo out the game,” Brown said Wednesday after the Nuggets’ film session in the wake of their Game 1 victory. “That was our goal to get him involved in everything.” Read more…Nuggets vs. Lakers: Three keys to victory in Game 2 of Western Conference FinalsThe first chapter of the 2023 West...

Hancock blasts Texas governor for sending busload of migrants to Denver’s Civic Center Park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

More than 10,000 migrants have made their way to Denver since December, but on Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the first bus of arrivals that the state of Texas directed to Denver.Republican governors across the country, including Abbott, have been transporting migrants who arrive in their states to Democratic-led states and cities as a political statement.  Although hundreds of asylum seekers, mostly from Venezuela, have been coming to Denver each week by way of El Paso, Texas since early December, the migrants have come on commercial buses, seeking assistance to get to their final destinations.Colorado’s state and local officials have previously said that recent arrivals were not a result of political moves by GOP leaders and that the migrants were traveling to Denver on commercial buses, not coordinated by any state entities.That is, until now.In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Abbott said the first group of migrants chartered by his state to Colorado ...

Haley Pullos from 'General Hospital' arrested for DUI after wrong-way crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

"General Hospital" actress Haley Pullos faces DUI charges after authorities said she was involved in a violent wrong-way crash in Pasadena late last month.The accident occurred on April 29 when, according to a California Highway Patrol report, Pullos drove the wrong direction on the 134 Freeway and collided head-on with another vehicle near the Orange Grove exit.Both Pullos, 24, and the other driver were hospitalized with serious injuries.Authorities say Haley Pullos was driving in the wrong direction on the 134 Freeway in Pasadena when she collided with another vehicle. April 19, 2023. (Pasadena Fire Department)Pullos was arrested at the hospital on suspicion of driving under the influence. CHP said she was also involved in a hit-and-run collision shortly before the freeway crash.According to Soap Opera Digest, General Hospital has recast her character, at least temporarily.

Dancers at NoHo bar to become only unionized strippers in US after 15-month battle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

Dancers at a Los Angeles bar could soon become the only unionized group of strippers in the U.S.The Actors’ Equity Association labor union says owners of the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood have withdrawn their opposition and agreed to recognize the strippers' union.For 15 months, dancers at the club have sought safer workplace conditions, better pay and health insurance, among other benefits. But their unionization drive was stalled by objections and legal challenges from the club's management.The union announced this week that management had agreed to a settlement. A formal vote count by the National Labor Relations Board has been set for Thursday. “We’re hoping what we’ve done to unionize this club will have laid the groundwork for any other stripper in the country who decides that they want to also have a voice in the way their workplace is run,” Lilith, a dancer at Star Garden, told The Associated Press. Lilith asked not to be identified by her legal name in thi...

INDIE SHOW ‘GREAT KILLS’ GOES VIRAL

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

Have you watched the cult TV series “Great Kills” yet? Season 2 of Great Kills (a Tubi original) is in the works, and if you have missed this gem of a show, it is time to catch up. Tubi is free so you have nothing to lose, especially if you have felt lately that the more there are streaming platforms, the less you can find good, bingeable TV shows. Sleeper hit indie TV show Great Kills is like if Barry had met Dwight from the office and the crew of What we do in the Shadows. This dark comedy mockumentary has become a cult viral sensation on Tubi through the power of word of mouth.Great Kills centers around Thomas Lynch (Steve Stanulis), an enigmatic and oddly endearing small-time hitman from Great Kills, Staten Island. The show adopts a mockumentary format, with a documentary filmmakers crew capturing every aspect of Tom’s life, including the violent murders he is hired to carry out. The bizarre contradiction between Tom’s personal life and his profession sets the stage ...

Ireland Baldwin guards new baby’s privacy, unlike dad Alec and stepmom Hilaria

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

In sharing news that she had given birth to a baby girl, Ireland Baldwin concealed her newborn’s face in a photo she posted on Instagram. This gesture that suggests she won’t be adopting the controversial social media habits of her father and stepmother, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, who keep their seven young children in the media spotlight by constantly posting photos and sharing private information about them.The photo that Ireland Baldwin, 27, posted Thursday showed her cuddling with her new daughter, Holland, and boyfriend RAC in the hospital, Page Six reported. Congratulations and heart emojis flooded in from some of Ireland Baldwin’s  celebrity friends,  including Rumer Willis and Sailor Lee Brinkley Cook. Word had yet to come from her father and stepmother. Notably, TV host Daphne Oz, the former co-host of Hilaria Baldwin’s long-shuttered mom podcast, also offered congratulations.Ireland Baldwin is a mama — see what she named her newborn baby! (via ...

Music returns to San Jose’s other park this weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:28 GMT

There’ll be music filling St. James Park for the next five Sundays, and the organizers behind the Levitt Pavilion Spring Concert Series are hoping that it’s just a sign of what’s to come.Following a successful first edition last fall, the free series kicks off May 21 with trumpet sensation Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, whose music glides between jazz, blues rock and hip hop. The headliners for future shows are Chicano soul group Los Yesterdays (May 28), bluesman J.C. Smith (June 4, with another local favorite, Noah and the Arkiteks opening), an East San Jose album release party and cumbia dance party (June 11) and the Los Angeles all-female rock band La Luz (June 18).The shows all start with openers at 3:30 p.m. and run until 7 p.m., with audiences invited to bring a blanket or lawn chair to enjoy the music. There’ll be a beer and wine garden — featuring Coterie Winery and local breweries — as well as food trucks, including Cali Cool Shave ...