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Editorial: Joe Biden, deficit slayer? Not so much

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

As the White House and House Republicans play chicken over the debt ceiling, it might be relevant to consider numbers released this week by the Congressional Budget Office that highlight Washington’s spending addiction.The CBO figures show federal revenue coming in at lower-than-expected levels in April, a massive 36% drop when compared with a year earlier. This is bad news for future red ink — April is traditionally a strong month given that federal income taxes are due. The deficit for the first seven months of the current fiscal year now sits at $928 billion and rising quickly.Remember last year how President Biden bragged that his administration had cut deficits by historic amounts? Most of that was misleading hogwash and reflected emergency COVID expenditures coming off the books. Biden promised falling deficits in the future, but with revenues lagging, the deficit for the current fiscal year will almost certainly exceed last year’s $1.4 trillion. It’s no wonder that the presid...

Dear Abby: Lovestruck daughter missing the big picture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

Dear Abby: My 23-year-old daughter and her first and only boyfriend have begun to talk marriage. Although I think he’s a wonderful, smart, compassionate young man who seems to adore my daughter, I have one major concern: his unhealthy habits.When my daughter introduced him to us seven years ago, he was a little overweight. Since then, I’ve watched him pack on at least 25 pounds a year, and he’s now morbidly obese. His diet is horrible, and he never exercises. He also drinks and smokes, although not excessively.My daughter, on the other hand, is petite, athletic and clean-living. Her habits haven’t rubbed off on him. I know enough about weight gain and health to be deeply concerned about the trend I’m seeing. Her boyfriend is fast approaching the super-morbidly-obese range and has limited mobility. He graduated near the top of their college class, but hasn’t had a stable job since. I’m afraid it’s only going to get harder for him to get...

Warm up on the way through Mother’s Day weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It may be a good idea to take your mom to the beach as lots of sunshine is expected for Mother’s Day weekend.Strengthening high pressure over the west will keep the inland areas warm through early next week. Highs expected to be 5-10 degrees above average by Sunday. The coastal areas will be cooled by sea breezes and an eddy even as the marine layer shrinks.  New In-N-Out Burger opens in South Bay However, "May gray" is being pretty stubborn at the coast.Moisture from an easterly flow will bring higher clouds and chances for afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms starting Tuesday.A slightly higher chance is expected later in the week, but precipitation chances will remain mostly in the mountains, but could stay into the inland areas.

Humanitarian groups scramble to help migrants at border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of migrants at the border wall in San Ysidro continue to endure difficult conditions, pleading with humanitarian workers and volunteers to pass them food and other supplies.Pedro Rios with the American Friends Service Committee has helped oversee the distribution of aid and says it’s a challenging collaborative effort, as groups try to provide what’s needed most by the migrants."Definitely need a hot meal, which is more challenging for 400 to 500 people. Things such as toilet paper -- medical needs that arise with the children brought here -- and blankets, especially at night," Rios said.Local minister Omega Burckhardt passed out food to a family with a baby from India after arriving at the wall to help other humanitarian groups. New In-N-Out Burger opens in South Bay “It's heartbreaking, it's untenable, it's unsafe and it's unhealthy. So we're here to offer assistance in whatever way we can to make sure that they're safe and they feel cared for and witnessed...

G7 finance leaders vow to contain inflation, strengthen supply chains but avoid mention of China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — The Group of Seven’s top financial leaders united Saturday in their support for Ukraine and their determination to enforce sanctions against Russia for its aggression but stopped short of any overt mention of China. The finance ministers and central bank chiefs ended three days of talks in Niigata, Japan, with a joint statement pledging to bring inflation under control while aiding those suffering the most from surging prices. They also committed to collaborating to build more stable, diversified supply chains for developing clean energy sources and to “enhance economic resilience globally against various shocks.” The statement did not include any specific mention of China or assertions regarding “economic coercion” in pursuit of political objectives, such as penalizing the companies of countries whose governments take actions that anger another country. Talk this week of “economic coercion” by China had drawn outraged rebukes from Beijing. Officials attending ...

On the front lines of the writers strike, meet the true rat czar of NYC: Scabby the Rat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, a giant, inflatable rat with beady eyes, sharp teeth and a pustule-covered belly has loomed over union protests, drawing attention to various labor disputes.As New York City deals with an influx of actual rats, Scabby the Rat has become that rare thing, like Pizza Rat or Buddy the Rat — a rodent New Yorkers can rally behind.But in the era of TikTok and influencer culture, middle-aged Scabby faces a new challenge: staying relevant.“It’s kind of unfortunate, changing times, older members of the public know exactly what the rat is for,” said James Smith, union activity administrator for the NYC District Council of Carpenters. “The newer generation sometimes doesn’t — one person thought that we were protesting a building that needed an exterminator.”Nevertheless, Scabby’s not collecting hard-won retirement benefits just yet. Most recently, Scabby has been making the rounds at various picket lines in New York for the Hollywood writers strike organized b...

DeSantis, Trump look to sway Iowa GOP activists at dueling events

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump will share the spotlight in Iowa on Saturday, providing a chance to sway influential conservative activists and contrast their campaign styles in Republicans’ leadoff voting state.DeSantis, expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign any day, is set to wade into Iowa’s hand-to-hand politicking at a congressman’s annual picnic and an Iowa Republican Party fundraiser, while Trump, a candidate since November, hopes to show strength with an outdoor rally with supporters. Although the two men will be hours away from each other, the split-screen moment in Iowa is a first for the two national Republican powerhouses. It’s an early preview of a match-up between the former president, well ahead of his party rivals in early national polls, and DeSantis, who is viewed widely as his strongest potential challenger. It will be DeSantis’ first trip to the early testing ground si...

North Carolina governor to veto abortion limits, launching override showdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Democratic governor will veto legislation Saturday that would ban nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, capping a week of attempting to generate enough opposition to block the Republican measure he said is much more restrictive than meets the eye.Abortion-rights activists plan to gather on a plaza in Raleigh near Gov. Roy Cooper’s office and the Legislative Building to see him veto the bill, which also would place additional duties upon physicians, abortion clinics and the women seeking the procedure.The veto will launch a major test for leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly to attempt an override vote after they recently gained veto-proof majorities in both chambers.Cooper, a strong abortion-rights supporter, has until Sunday night to act on the measure that would tighten current state law that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Override voting could begin next week.Party-line votes for passage last week in t...

Debt ceiling talks push Washington toward new era of deficit cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — One outcome is clear as Washington reaches for a budget deal to end the debt ceiling standoff: The ambitious COVID era of government spending — to cope with the pandemic and rebuild in its aftermath — is giving way to a new fiscal focus on tailored investments and stemming deficits.President Joe Biden has said that recouping unspent COVID-19 funds is “on the table” in budget talks with Congress. And while the White House has threatened to veto Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill with its “devastating cuts” to federal programs, the administration has signaled a willingness to consider other budget caps.The end result is a turnaround from just a few years ago, when Congress passed and then-president Donald Trump signed the historic $2.2 trillion CARES Act at the start of the COVID crisis in 2020. And it’s a dramatic realignment even as Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act are now investing billions of dollars into ...

Brittney Griner plays in first WNBA preseason game since detainment in Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:25 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Brittney Griner strolled down the sideline about 1 1/2 hours before the Phoenix Mercury played Friday night and hugged and high-fived her teammates, coaches and opposing players.Then it was a little stretching, a little shooting and a little agility work to prepare for a basketball game.Just like old times.Griner returned to game action for the first time since a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges ended with a prisoner swap in December. The seven-time All-Star, who missed the entire 2022 season because of the detainment, finished with 10 points and three rebounds in a WNBA preseason game against the Los Angeles Sparks.The 6-foot-9 Griner looked good, especially considering the long layoff, casually throwing down a one-handed dunk during warmups. She received a loud ovation from the home crowd when she was introduced before tipoff.Once the game started, the 32-year-old immediately went to work, scoring on a turnaround jumper early in the first...