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Lucas: As far as NATO is concerned, Biden’s made of Teflon

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

Despite his problems Joe Biden is still the man to beat.And the $72 million he just reported raising, or was raised for him, is a key reason why.It is more than the combined total of his two leading Republican opponents, Donald Trump, $35 million, and Ron DeSantis, $20 million.And Jill Biden will be at a Provincetown fundraiser Friday to raise even more.Unlike all the candidates running against him, including his two Democrat opponents, Robert F. Kennedy Jr and self-help author Marianne Williamson, Biden did not lift a finger to raise the cash.It was largely raised by the Democrat National Committee, which he controls. The sum adds to the $3 million Biden had on hand.And Biden has done this without opening a campaign headquarters, fleshing out a campaign re-election staff or holding campaign rallies.He does not have to. Instead, Biden is using his Delaware home as his campaign headquarters and the U.S. Justice Department to go after Donald Trump, his expected opponent.Also, he was a...

Soaring ‘Oppenheimer’ another triumph for director Christopher Nolan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

Christopher Nolan has done it again. He has assembled a great ensemble cast and made a visually lavish, state-of-the-art film you should see on the biggest screen you can find (I saw it in 70mm IMAX). “Oppenheimer” tells the mostly gripping story of the brilliant, fedora-and-pipe-adorned quantum physicist (Irishman Cillian Murphy in a definitive role), aka “the father of the Atomic Bomb.” Oppenheimer is an arrogant genius and the leader of the Manhattan Project. He brings together groundbreaking scientists, including Czech-American Lilli Hornig (Olivia Thirlby) and Edward Teller (Bennie Safdie). This motley band of brainiacs manufacture and test atomic weapons before the Nazis are able to, allowing the U.S. to use the weapons to force Japan to surrender.As the film tells us, Oppenheimer was an “American Prometheus,” who bestowed the the fire of the gods upon American forces. But, to paraphrase the first Morse Code message transmitted in1844, “what hath Oppenheimer wrought?” And what...

Dear Abby: Daughter’s pricey college strains family’s $$

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

Dear Abby: My daughter is attending a pricey college. She will be taking out the maximum of student loans, and we will slowly but surely eat through our entire savings to pay for it.Her college hires resident assistants (RAs) to help freshmen adjust to college life. In return, the RAs receive free room and board. This would be a tremendous financial help to our family and might also allow us to pay off some of her unsubsidized loans next year.My daughter has agreed to apply to be an RA for her junior year, but since then, she has become despondent. She says all her friends are moving off-campus and she’ll be “stuck” in a freshman dorm. I am sympathetic to her concerns since the social aspect of college life is important. On the other hand, my husband and I are making tremendous sacrifices so she can go to her dream school.She’s generally outgoing, likes socializing and is temperamentally well-suited to an RA position. So, to be completely honest, I’m an...

From parties to cocktails, Boston goes all out for ‘Barbie’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

Are you ready for a Barbie summer? Greta Gerwig’s movie about the style icon is hitting theaters, starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken,.As The New York Times puts it, Gerwig delivers “a very, very, very pink summer blockbuster that acknowledges Barbie’s baggage, unpacks that baggage and, also, sells that baggage.”There’s no reason we all shouldn’t take part in the all-things-Barbie celebration with a few themed activities around Boston, and a few Barbie-inspired tidbits of beauty and fashion, to boot.For starters, on Saturday from starting at 11 a.m.. in Cambridge, The Summer Shack is holding a Barbie Malibu Dream House Drag Brunch party. Join Neon Calypso, and pick out some serious brights, because costumes are encouraged.On Sunday night starting at 3 p.m., Shy Bird in South Boston throws a  Barbie Blowout Party (tickets are $58 on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/barbie-blowout-party-at-shy-bird-tickets-662635860697). Kens are welcome, and pink attire i...

Protesters storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad ahead of planned Quran burning in Stockholm

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Quran stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire. Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr ahead of a planned burning of the Islamic holy book Thursday in Stockholm. The videos showed dozens of men climbing over the fence at the complex, with the sound of them trying to break down a front door. Another showed what appeared to be a small fire being set. Other footage showed men, some shirtless in the summer heat, inside what appeared to be a room at the embassy, an alarm audible in the background.Others later performed predawn prayers outside of the embassy. As dawn broke, police and other security officials gathered at the embassy as small plumes of smoke still rose. Firefighters tried to douse the flames from the ladder of a f...

The wait is over as Powerball finally has a winner for its estimated $1 billion jackpot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth $1 billion, the 7th largest in U.S. history and the 3rd largest in the history of the game.The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24.The winner can choose either $1 billion paid out in yearly increments or a $516.8 million, one-time lump sum before taxes.The game’s abysmal odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to build big prizes that draw more players. The largest Powerball jackpot was $2.04 billion Powerball in November.The last time someone had won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one had won the grand prize. Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.The Associated Press

Stock market today: Asian shares mixed as Japan reports weaker than expected trade data

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday after Japan reported weaker than expected trade data for June, with imports falling nearly 13% from a year earlier. Shares rose in Sydney and Hong Kong but fell in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. U.S. futures slipped and oil prices were higher. Japan logged a trade surplus in June for the first time in nearly two years as imports sank, largely due to lower oil prices. Exports rose only 1.5% from a year earlier despite sharp increases in shipments of vehicles as supply chain problems eased. Economists say they anticipate weaker exports in coming months as demand in other major economies slows. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.1% to 32,542.52. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 7,335.70. South Korea’s Kospi edged down less than 0.1% to 2,606.81. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2% to 19,984.90, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,188.44. On Wednesday, Wall Street added to its big rally for the year fo...

Awash in pink, everyone wants a piece of the ‘Barbie’ movie marketing mania

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pink sauce on that Burger King burger? What about “Barbie-fying” your pet with sweaters and beds with Barbie motifs? If that’s too low-brow, perhaps you’d be interested in hot pink Barbie monogrammed knit leggings by luxury designer Balmain instead, selling at Neiman Marcus for a cool $2,150.Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of “Barbie” movie marketing. Ahead of Friday’s U.S. release of the “Barbie” movie, parent company Mattel has created a product marketing blitz with more than 100 brands plastering pink everywhere.There are pink benches at bus stops and pink clothing displayed in store windows. Microsoft’s XBox has come up with a Barbie console series and HGTV is hosting a four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. And then there are all the unofficial collaborators trying to grab a piece of Barbie craze. Restaurants across the country are offering special pink cocktails, while interior decorators are showing options like vib...

RFK Jr. is set to testify at a House hearing over online censorship as GOP elevates Biden rival

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will be delving into claims of government censorship of online speech at a public hearing, asking Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to testify despite requests from outside groups to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate after his recent antisemitic remarks.The Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is set to convene Thursday. Republicans claim conservatives are being unfairly targeted by technology companies that routinely work with the government to try to stem the spread of disinformation online. In announcing the hearing, the panel led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said it “will examine the federal government’s role in censoring Americans.” The panel said it will probe “Big Tech’s collusion with out-of-control government agencies to silence speech.”The hearing comes after a federal judge recently sought to halt the Biden administration from working with the social media companies to monitor misinf...

Hiker’s parents are retracing her final steps to raise money for safety education programs

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:31:01 GMT

BRETTON WOODS, N.H. (AP) — A young girl chatters to her mother as they descend Mount Pierce, her voice as bright and bouncing as her footsteps.“You’re amazing!” she calls out to a slower couple she passes on the trail.Until then, the couple has been focused on the physical effort of hiking, the precision required to step just so onto the rocks and around the roots. Motion, yes. Emotion, no.But just for a moment, watching the girl disappear from view reminds them of their daughter.How could it not?___No one would blame Jorge Sotelo and Olivera Bogunovic if they stayed as far away as possible from New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Less than a year has passed since their oldest daughter Emily died cold and alone on Mount Lafayette in her quest to hike all 48 of the state’s mountains taller than 4,000 feet (1,220 meters).Though she had only a handful of peaks left, Emily had almost no experience with winter hiking, and officials say she was woefully unprepared for the brutal conditions t...