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Introducing: An Outperforming Investment Tool to Help You Game the MarketNEW YORK (AP) — Free agent pitchers Luis Gabriel Moreno and Alejandro Crisostomo were suspended for 80 games each by Major League Baseball on Friday following positive tests for performance-enhancing substances under the minor league drug program. Moreno tested positive for Nandrolone, and Crisostomo tested positive for Boldenone and Nandrolone, the commissioner’s office said. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Given how events unfolded, it was never going to be easy for Kamala Harris. Many Democrats are convinced her campaign saved the party from an even worse result. To be fair, it achieved some real highs: she won the debate. But she never won the argument, at least not with the voters who mattered most. The US election triggered a scary deja vu moment for those of us who had watched the 2019 UK general election from behind our sofas, hands over our eyes. The Democrats lost votes with almost everyone, almost everywhere, but, like Labour in the “red wall”, most dramatically with traditional heartland voters: working-class, low-paid, non-graduates. And, like Labour back in 2019, that lost connection with core voters had not happened overnight. Working with the DC-based Progressive Policy Institute, we conducted post-election polling and focus groups with past Democrat voters who voted for Trump on 5 November. The work laid bare an anxious nation desperate for change. Be in no doubt, this was a change election: any candidate failing to offer the change the electorate craved had become a risky choice. Asking how voters felt about the results on 6 November, “relieved was the word we heard most often. Overwhelmingly, change focused on two issues: inflation and immigration. Trump enjoyed a clear lead on both. Sure, Harris had some popular policies (anti price-gouging, tax cuts, help for first-time buyers and small businesses), but these seemed sidelined in an overcrowded campaign, with voters concluding that she was not on their side and was too focused on “woke” issues. Among working-class voters, 53% agreed the Dems had gone “too far in pushing a woke ideology”. They’ve “gone in a weird direction”, said one, “lost touch with our priorities”, said another. Worse still was the sense that any voter who disagreed with them was “a bad person”. American liberals were out of step with these voters’ views – most importantly, on loving their country. As many as 66% of Americans say theirs is the greatest country in the world, rising to 71% of working-class voters. Liberals were the only group who disagreed. What this patriotism means matters. Voters expressed it in terms of putting US interests ahead of others – it also meant recognising that change is needed and being prepared to act. As one voter put it: “If you’re not championing change, you’re not patriotic.” Hungry for that change, voters yearned for a shake-up in the way that both government and the economy operates. Just 2% said the system needed no change, while 70% believed the country was heading in the wrong direction. The Democrats did not seem to hear this - some even interpreted Harris’ pledge to “protect democracy” as “protecting the status quo”. By contrast, Trump’s appetite for disruption, coupled with his contempt for Capitol Hill sacred cows, seemed to promise change that for once might actually deliver for working class voters. Are there things the Harris campaign could have done differently? Of course. Joyful celebrities seemed tin-eared to an electorate feeling worried, pessimistic, even scared. But what should really trouble the Democrats now is the sense that the party – not just the candidate or the campaign – has, since 2020, parted company with the voters that its electoral success depended on: millions of Americans who work hard, pay their taxes, do the right thing and now feel they are not getting a fair deal. The Democrats can only win by putting those back at the centre of their politics. The same was true for Labour in 2024 and is true for centre-left parties elsewhere. That requires a course correction which needs to start now. As Democrats absorb the result, without an immediate leadership contest to provide direction, local leaders must be prepared to step up, flex their muscles and challenge Trump. Change demands strong leadership – all the more so when voters feel vulnerable. Polling gave Trump a 28% lead on strength. Described as a “powerhouse”, he was likened to “neat whisky – gives it to you straight” while Harris was a “watered down cocktail”. Imagined as a car, he was a “sturdy dump truck owning the road, not to be argued with” while she was a “flimsy Kia”. The grit that took a mixed race woman tantalisingly close to the top job in world politics was just not evident to voters. Having absolute clarity of conviction is a must for tomorrow’s aspiring candidates – and showcasing that must start today. This is eerily familiar ground to those of us who worked hard to distance Labour from what led to catastrophic loss in 2019. It remains to be seen if the Democrats embrace the change their party needs as courageously as Keir Starmer did over the past four years. But there is food for thought for the new Labour administration, too. Labour must continue to channel its powerful change message in government, reflecting the anti-establishment mood that now exists both sides of the Atlantic. It must be prepared – enthusiastic even – about disrupting rather than defending old, tired institutions. It needs a strong overarching narrative and a plan to reform government and the economy so it can truly deliver back to the hero voters that delivered its electoral success in July. That work started last week with the launch of Starmer’s with its powerful emphasis on working people being better off, but there remains much to do.
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Road weariness preceded the holiday break for the Kings and now their rest will come to an abrupt close as they hit the ice for a rare pair of consecutive home games in which they’ll host their arch nemeses Saturday and a fellow “Expansion Six” franchise Sunday. First up, it’ll be the Edmonton Oilers, who took the crown of the hottest team in the NHL from the Kings as they vaulted from fifth to second in the Pacific Division in two and a half weeks’ time. Then, the Kings will welcome the Philadelphia Flyers, who still play on Broad Street but have been decidedly less bullyish of late, having dropped four of their past five decisions to slip back into the mushy middle of the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers most recently lost to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins by a 7-3 score, the same count that the Kings beat them by on Dec. 19 in Philly. For the Kings’ part, they wrapped up their second seven-game road trip of the season Sunday, finishing with the same 3-2-2 mark they did on their season-opening swing. They rallied for a point in Nashville and then endured a regulation defeat in Washington after what Capitals goalie Logan Thompson described as a “playoff-style game” concluded the Kings’ journey with losses on back-to-back dates. “I thought (the trip) wasn’t bad. We battled back in Nashville to get a point, which was good to get a point after coming into the third [period] down two,” defenseman Mikey Anderson told reporters. “Overall, you’re proud of the effort. All in all, it wasn’t a terrible road trip.” Phillip Danault missed that finale but participated fully in Friday’s practice, per Hockey Royalty’s Russell Morgan, who also reported that Trevor Moore and Trevor Lewis skated in red non-contact jerseys. Danault missed just one game while Moore has been out for the past five. Already missing top defender Drew Doughty, the Kings will need every healthy hand on deck this weekend. While Philly’s Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov will present challenges Sunday, Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and captain Connor McDavid entered Friday’s slate of games tied for the second-longest active scoring streak (nine games) while having the two most prolific surges. Draisaitl’s 20 points and McDavid’s 18 over the past nine games have helped the Oilers to an 8-1-0 record in those outings as part of an 11-2-0 display that’s propelled them above the Kings as well as the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers have allowed three or fewer goals in 12 of their past 13 games, falling 6-5 to the Florida Panthers in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final after their only other loss in that span came 1-0 to Pacific-topping Vegas. Both McDavid and Draisaitl have turned in a four-point performance during their active scoring sprees. Zach Hyman has returned to form, piling up 10 of his 13 goals this season in his past nine games. Former Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Ottawa, which marked his third game back from a lower-body injury. Related Articles Edmonton has eliminated the Kings from three straight postseasons, with special teams taking on an outsized role, particularly last spring when the Oilers were all but automatic on the power play and were perfect on the penalty kill. The Kings entered the finale of their road trip in an 0-for-10 funk but converted on the power play for their only goal against Washington, while the Oilers have had a top-five power play since Dec. 1, cranking at a 30.8% clip with the extra man. When: 1 p.m. Saturday Where: Crypto.com Arena How to watch: FDSNW When: 6 p.m. Sunday Where: Crypto.com Arena How to watch: FDSNW
LONDON — A woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor "brutally raped and battered" her in a Dublin hotel penthouse was awarded nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) on Friday by a civil court jury in Ireland. Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex. His lawyer had called Hand a gold digger. The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but now past his prime, shook his head as the jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after deliberating about six hours in the High Court in Dublin. He was mobbed by cameras as he left court but did not comment. He later said on the social platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the "modest award." Hand's voice cracked and her hands trembled as she read a statement outside the courthouse, saying she would never forget what happened to her but would now be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, the judge and all the supporters that had reached out to her online, but particularly her daughter. "She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing forward for justice," she said. "I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and justice will be served." The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have been granted in a criminal proceeding and was named publicly throughout the trial. Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about a fight he had lost in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client. "He's not a man, he's a coward," attorney John Gordon said in his closing speech. "A devious coward and you should treat him for what he is." Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was only looking to have fun when she sent McGregor a message through Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they had grown up in the same area. She said he picked her and a friend up in a car and shared cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court, on the way to the Beacon Hotel. Hand said she told McGregor she didn't want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him "no" as he started kissing her but he eventually pinned her to a bed and she couldn't move. McGregor put her in a chokehold and later told her, "now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times," referring to a UFC match when he had to admit defeat, she said. Hand had to take several breaks in emotional testimony over three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the encounter and she feared she would never see her young daughter again. Eventually, he let go of her. "I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn't tell anyone so he wouldn't hurt me again," she testified. She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her. A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never before seen someone with that intensity of bruising. A doctor told jurors Hand had multiple injuries. Hand said the trauma of the attack had left her unable to work as a hairdresser, she fell behind on her mortgage and had to move out of her house. Police investigated the woman's complaint but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely. McGregor, in his post on X, said he was disappointed jurors didn't see all the evidence prosecutors had reviewed. He testified that the two had athletic and vigorous sex, but that it was not rough. He said "she never said 'no' or stopped" and testified that everything she said was a lie. "It is a full blown lie among many lies," he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. "How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings." McGregor's lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter. "You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise," attorney Remy Farrell said. "I'm not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch." The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor's arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked "happy, happy, happy." McGregor said he was "beyond petrified" when first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions. The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregor's friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in the hotel without consent. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted. Casey’s concession comes more than two weeks after Election Day, as a grindingly slow ballot-counting process became a spectacle of hours-long election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials were openly flouting the law.
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By Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions and warn against using such products. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere , experts from the nonprofit Toxic-Free Future said they detected flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in 85% of 203 items made of black plastic including kitchen utensils , take-out containers, children’s toys and hair accessories. The study initially said the potential exposure to chemicals found in one of the kitchen utensils approached the minimum levels the Environmental Protection Agency deemed a health risk. But in an update to the study, the authors say they made an error in their calculations and the real levels were “an order of magnitude lower” than the EPA’s thresholds. The error was discovered by Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society in Canada. In a blog post, Schwarcz explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it’s actually about one-tenth of that. Though Schwarcz said the risks outlined in the study aren’t enough for him to discard his black plastic kitchen items if he had them, he agreed with the authors that flame retardants shouldn’t be in these products in the first place. “The math error does not impact the study’s findings, conclusions or recommendations,” said Megan Liu, a co-author of the study who is the science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future . She added that any traces of flame retardants or toxic chemicals in cooking utensils should be concerning for the public. Flame retardants are getting into commonly used items because black-colored products are being made from recycled electronic waste, such as discarded television sets and computers, that frequently contain the additives. When they’re heated, the flame retardants and other toxic chemicals can migrate out. If you’re wondering whether your old black plastic spoon or other utensils are a part of this group, Liu shared some more guidance. Generally, how do I know a product is harmful? It’s nearly impossible to know whether a black plastic product is contaminated. That’s because these products that include recycled e-waste don’t disclose a detailed list of all ingredients and contaminants in the product. Liu said it’s also unclear how many types of flame retardants are in these black plastic products. Some of the products that researchers tested in this recent study “had up to nine different harmful chemicals and harmful flame retardants in them,” she said. How can I find out if black plastic food trays are made with recycled contaminated plastic? Anytime you’re looking for the type of recycled plastic a product is made of you’re going to look for a number within the chasing arrows (that form a triangle) logo. Recycling symbols are numbered 1 to 7 and we commonly associate the numbers with what we can toss in our blue recycling bins. The 1 through 7 numbers stand for, respectively, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene or Styrofoam, and miscellaneous plastics (including polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene, styrene, fiberglass and nylon). The study found higher levels of toxic flame retardants in polystyrene plastic, which is labeled with the number 6, said Liu. When did recycled e-waste begin contaminating black plastic products? There isn’t a definitively timeline of when recycled electronic-waste started to be incorporated into black plastic products specifically, but e-waste started to get recycled in the early 2000s, Liu said. The way computers, cellphones, stereos, printers and copiers were being disposed of previously was to simply add them to a landfill without reusing salvageable parts. But as the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, electronics production required a significant amount of resources that could be recovered through recycling. Recovering resources such as metals, plastics and glass through recycling used a fraction of the energy needed to mine new materials. However, the study pointed out that flame retardants and other chemical contaminates have been detected in and near e-waste recycling facilities, in indoor air and dust at formal e-waste recycling facilities in Canada, China, Spain and the U.S. It also noted contamination in soil samples surrounding e-waste recycling sites in China and Vietnam. What are safer alternatives? The safest nontoxic material options for kitchen utensil are wood and stainless steel. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.You cannot always blame the “evil” people; often it us not acting that allows evil to happen! These are the times that try men’s souls, leading us into the best of times or the worst of times. I warned in a previous letter that the current administration is trying to leave a destroyed republic or a world at war for the next president. Hillary Clinton and the FBI, CIA, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and Paul Ryan told the Hillary supporters to “resist.” Donald Trump, she told them, stole her election. The young, the dedicated Democrats believed her. Noise came from TV and social media. Citizens, even I, in 2020 wanted the “noise “stop. Let us move on, move back to the future. In 2021, we certainly did move on – to attempts to target citizens. The Department of Justice investigated people for speaking words in the dictionary – screaming at school board meeting? This was right out of Hitler and Stalin’s playbooks, designed to control every word you used. Don’t forget Jan. 6 protesters are still in jail four years later for doing less than Black Lives Matter did. Why the selective prosecution persecution? Our world from 2021 to today has been turned upside down, inside out. What was America isn’t America. Every truth was a lie, and every lie was a greater lie. It appeared Joe and Jill Biden or Barack Obama and Susan Rice only knew how to lie. Gen. Mark Milley, the greater liar, created an arguably treasonous phone call to China saying: If he’s about to start war – I’ll warn you. Think of McArthur using those words to Japan’s Tojo. How would FDR have reacted? Since Trump won the 2024 election, Biden et. al. have been doing their best to destroy him and America. Each action to begin World War III affects you and yours. Wake up and scream to the press, to Congress, to the DOJ: Stop this president and his morally demented generals before we are fried by nuclear weapons. Don’t blame Putin; this is America starting a war, again! Let there be peace. Don’t let your kids join or be drafted for another war. Say, “No, we won’t go.” Send telegrams to Biden, Milley, the Pentagon! Let freedom and tranquility rule the days to come. George Lampron Watertown