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Schoen: Winner of the Republican debate wasn’t even there

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

Without even participating in Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, former President Donald Trump walked away the clear winner, as none of the eight other candidates who were on stage in Milwaukee did anything to close the gap with the GOP frontrunner, who was barely even discussed. Put another way, the first Republican debate was more notable for Trump’s absence – both physically and as the target of attacks – rather than anything that other candidates did or said, as no candidate did anything to stand out from the pack or weaken Trump’s commanding lead over the rest of the field. And, while it is too early for post-debate polling, one should expect little, if any, decrease in Trump’s lead.Indeed, even when the candidates did discuss Trump – whose interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson aired at the same time on X (formerly Twitter) – they mostly offered weak criticism, clearly afraid of alienating the party’s base and drawing Trump’s ire. When asked whether they would ...

Patriots QB Bailey Zappe on re-entering preseason finale: ‘That was the head man’s decision’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe left Friday’s preseason finale at Tennessee midway through the second quarter.As the team’s No. 2 quarterback, Zappe’s exit seemed to indicate his preseason was over. Trace McSorley took the reins of the offense on the next series, and undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham waited for his turn. McSorley even took a knee on the following drive to run out the clock on the first half.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots have difficult decision to make with Malik Cunningham as cutdowns loom New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots’ preseason finale shouldn’t dampen a successful summer New England Patriots | Patriots fall to Titans in preseason finale as Bailey Zappe’s tepid summer continues New England Patriots | Patriots’ offensive line suffers another apparent injury in preseason finale New England Patriots | Patriots’ ...

Patriots have difficult decision to make with Malik Cunningham as cutdowns loom

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

Undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham provided a jolt for the Patriots’ offense in his most extensive work of the preseason two weeks ago. Top decision makers now must determine whether that was enough to keep him on the 53-man roster or risk losing him on waivers before he lands on the practice squad.The Patriots must trim their roster from 89 players down to 53 by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.Cunningham, a college quarterback, started the summer at wide receiver before taking more and more snaps at his natural position prior to Week 1 of the preseason. He scored the team’s lone touchdown against the Houston Texans in that game while showing some promise as a passer. The rookie only played wide receiver last week as the Patriots’ second preseason game was suspended after cornerback Isaiah Bolden suffered a concussion. Cunningham didn’t complete his two passing attempts Friday night in the Patriots’ preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans. He rushed once for 5 yards in the loss.Related Ar...

Dear Abby: Cousin considers beer a driving beverage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

Dear Abby: A cousin I hardly know (he’s 20 years older than I am and has lived hundreds of miles away my entire life) was visiting. He offered to drive me to his brother’s house out in the country, about 30 miles from here, for dinner.The last 15 miles were on narrow country roads. Five miles from our destination, he stopped to buy beer. As we drove off, he asked his girlfriend to pop one open for him and he drank it while he was driving. It never occurred to me that he, a well-off professional, would do something so stupid.If this were to happen again, I think I would politely ask, “Would you please wait until you’re not behind the wheel?” If he were unreceptive, I would add (truthfully), “I lost a friend to someone who drank and drove, so I would really prefer that you don’t.” However, had he refused, I would have been in a bind.I don’t want to be in a car with a drinker, and I wasn’t in a position to get out of the car. ...

USPS supervisor slashed outside of post office in North County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

CARMEL MOUNTAIN RANCH, Calif. -- A United States Postal Service supervisor was slashed in the head by one of his drivers Friday evening outside of a post office in Carmel Mountain Ranch, authorities said.The incident occurred around 5:47 p.m. outside of a United States Postal Service building at 11251 Rancho Carmel Drive, the San Diego Police Department confirmed with FOX 5.When police arrived on scene, they found a man with a deep cut to his head.“During our investigation, we came to learn that there was an argument between the supervisor and an employee of the USPS facility during that time a knife was produced," SDPD Officer Darius Jamset Jee said.Jee says the employee, a USPS driver, slashed the supervisor and then took off. Pilot killed in jet crash near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar The victim went to the hospital for a knife cut to the head, but he is no recovering at home, police said.Authorities are currently searching for the attacker who is described as a man in his ...

I-5 to undergo major closures next month for maintenance: Caltrans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Major closures will be implemented along the Interstate 5 for two weekends in September to complete emergency repairs on the bridge deck over State Route 163, Caltrans said.Crews will close the lanes to repair the bridge deck in both directions of I-5 near the Fifth Avenue on-ramp for about 56 hours each on separate weekends. Messaging signs will be in place throughout the duration of each closure to help advise motorists of detours, as well as encourage alternate routes. Man hit, killed by car in downtown San Diego parking garage identified Closure and detour for the southbound I-5 emergency bridge repair. (Courtesy of Caltrans)According to Caltrans, the first closure will begin at the southbound connector to Interstate 8 on Friday, Sep. 8 at 9 p.m. and will last through Monday, Sep. 11 at 5 a.m. During this time, all traffic will be detoured to the eastbound I-8, while one lane of southbound I-5 will remain accessible from on-ramps south of I-8 for limited local and...

Schoolkids in 8 states can now eat free school meals, advocates urge Congress for nationwide policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — When classes resume after Labor Day, Amber Lightfeather won’t have to worry about where her children’s next meals will be coming from. They’ll be free.Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, Vermont, Michigan, and Massachusetts will make school breakfasts and lunches permanently free to all students starting this academic year, regardless of family income, following in the footsteps of California and Maine. Several other states are considering similar changes and congressional supporters want to extend free meals to all kids nationwide.Lightfeather, who has four kids who attend public schools in Duluth, Minnesota, said her family has sometimes qualified for free or reduced-price meals but would have had to pay in the upcoming school year if Minnesota had not made the change. Her earnings as a hospital worker and her husband’s as a tribal employee would have put them over the limit. Last year, the family was paying over $260 a month for school ...

Tens of thousands expected for March on Washington’s 60th anniversary demonstration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Martin Luther King III, along with his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and their 15-year-old daughter, Yolanda, have developed a set of traditions for this time of the year. Each August, they rewatch the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s rapturous address to the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Even if the civil rights icon’s legacy is closer to the Kings than it is for most other families, they see march anniversaries as a teaching moment.“We are like any other family, in the sense that we want to teach our daughter about this moment in history,” Arndrea said. “And then we also try to connect it with movements or people that are doing things in the present.”This year, the Kings will join an expected crowd of tens of thousands of people, who are gathering Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial in the nation’s capital to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the late reverend’s “I Have A Dream” speech.The event is convened by the Kings’ Drum Major Institute and the Nat...

Beloved wild horses that roam Theodore Roosevelt National Park may be removed. Many oppose the plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The beloved wild horses that roam freely in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park could be removed under a National Park Service proposal that worries advocates who say the horses are a cultural link to the past.Visitors who drive the scenic park road can often see bands of horses, a symbol of the West and sight that delights tourists. Advocates want to see the horses continue to roam the Badlands, and disagree with park officials who have branded the horses as “livestock.”The Park Service is revising its livestock plans and writing an environmental assessment to examine the impacts of taking no new action — or to remove the horses altogether.Removal would entail capturing horses and giving some of them first to tribes, and later auctioning the animals or giving them to other entities. Another approach would include techniques to prevent future reproduction and would allow those horses to live out the rest of their lives in the park.The horses h...

Ramaswamy faces curiosity and skepticism in Iowa after center-stage performance in GOP debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:50 GMT

PELLA, Iowa (AP) — Vivek Ramaswamy has charged back into Iowa, stoking curiosity and skepticism after his attention-grabbing performance in the first Republican presidential debate. The charismatic 38-year-old businessman was met Friday by hundreds of GOP activists in small central cities near Des Moines, with more events planned in the coming days. He is drawing new interest from Republicans who will participate in the nation’s first caucuses next year, but also apprehension from attendees at his events and pointed criticism from a former GOP governor. Much of the negative feedback is about his foreign policy ideas, notably his argument that the U.S. should stop providing arms and funding to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion.“I like that he’s young and energetic, and wants to tear the whole thing down,” said Thomas Bean, a 23-year-old who attended a morning event south of Des Moines. He was referring to Ramaswamy’s goal of reducing the federal bureaucra...