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Texas AG Ken Paxton pleads not guilty at impeachment trial then leaves as arguments get underway

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

By JAKE BLEIBERG and PAUL J. WEBER (Associated Press)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton began Tuesday and hurtled Republicans into a reckoning over whether to oust a prominent member of their party after years of alleged corruption or stand with one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest defenders. The historic trial — the first impeachment proceedings in Texas in nearly a half-century — is the gravest threat to date for Paxton, who has spent nearly his entire three terms in office under felony indictment on securities fraud charges and, later, the clouds of an ongoing FBI investigation.In an era of bitter partisanship across the U.S., the trial is a rare instance of a political party seeking to hold one of its own to account for allegations of wrongdoing. For years in Texas, many Republicans have resisted criticizing or facing head-on the litany of legal troubles surrounding Paxton, who has remained popular am...

Opinion: Dems despise market economy

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

In last year’s scramble to include government price controls on prescription drugs in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats were willing to say almost anything. They reassured us that their scheme applied only to Medicare and would phase in slowly, with ample opportunity for stock-taking.That was so 2022. This year, Democrats are letting the cat out of the bag. They want big government to set the prices for most new medicines, including those covered by private insurance plans. And they want it starting now.They hate the market economy and are willing to gut private-sector development of new breakthrough medical treatments.They don’t have the votes in Congress to pass their latest plan. Still, their willingness to propose such a measure with formal legislation should be a wake-up call to everyone opposed to Medicare for All and socialist healthcare.First, Senate Democrats brought forth their Strengthening Medicare and Reducing Taxpayer Prices Act, which would expand t...

Don’t poo-poo these states’ pleas to keep the parks pristine

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

Erika Bolstsad | (TNS) Tribune News ServiceDENVER — Earlier this summer, Adam Ducharme made an unpleasant discovery while helping volunteers install signs telling visitors where to camp, park or launch boats near Leadville, a mountain town surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks in central Colorado.“We were digging holes, putting in signs, and then backfilling the holes with rocks and sort of compounding it with dirt,” Ducharme said. “And every third rock that I picked up to put into the hole had human waste on it.”Ducharme, the region’s first tourism director, was hired last year to not only market the area, but also to help manage the effects of throngs of visitors who have descended on the scenic state after outdoor recreation boomed during the pandemic.To address sustainability concerns, Colorado is the first state to fold what tourism officials call a “destination stewardship” department into its state-level tourism office, said Hayes Norris, the communications manager at the Colorado ...

After United Airlines stopped all departures, flights resume as airline fixes ‘technology issue’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

After all United Airlines’ departures were stopped across the U.S. on the day after Labor Day, flights resumed as the airline fixed a “technology issue.”Shortly after 1:30 p.m., United sent out an alert of a nationwide ground stop.“We are experiencing a systemwide technology issue and are holding all aircraft at their departure airports,” United tweeted. “Flights that are already airborne are continuing to their destination as planned.“We will share more information as it becomes available,” the airline added. “Thank you for your patience as we work on a resolution to get you on your way as soon as possible.”United asked the Federal Aviation Administration to pause the airline’s departures nationwide, according to the FAA.Then less than a hour later, United lifted the ground stop for the U.S. and Canada.“We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed,” United tweeted. “We&...

Silverglate: Robert Kennedy Jr’s political crucifixion

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

Having attained the age of 81 and being both a criminal defense and civil liberties lawyer and a writer for my entire career, I have lived through many difficult, contentious and divisive periods. Indeed, I was a journalist before I became a lawyer, having covered the now-famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom organized by the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in August 1963.  I am a self-described “newspaper junkie,” reading five major daily newspapers plus many weeklies as well as serious magazines.Never, however, can I recall a period when I have, sadly, concluded that I am unable to believe much of what is reported in the media on certain topics.  These involve two major areas: (1) any and all matters relating to former President Donald Trump, and (2) certain aspects of the upcoming presidential election. I am not at all a Trump fan, but I do get uncomfortable by the grain of truth in his ranting and railing at “fake news.” But now I want to focus upon my second gripe....

Advances in surgery are improving survival for people with melanoma

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

Mayo Clinic Staff | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkThe National Cancer Institute estimates that 97,610 people will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2023, making up 5% of all new cancer diagnoses. Fortunately, screening and treatment have improved, allowing care teams to catch melanoma earlier when it’s easier to treat. As a result, the number of people who survive the disease has steadily increased.Tina Hieken, M.D., a Mayo Clinic surgical oncologist with a particular interest in melanoma, answers questions about treatment and advances in surgery that are helping to improve outcomes for people diagnosed with the disease:Who is diagnosed with early-stage melanoma?We have seen a shift over the last several decades to an increase in people being diagnosed with earlier-stage disease, along with an overall increase in the incidence of melanoma. Melanoma has historically been one of the most rapidly increasing cancers, but this has varied by age. In adults age 50 and older, rates contin...

Americans love guacamole and avocado toast. Are they ready for avocado brownies?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

Jonathan Roeder, Leslie Patton | Bloomberg News (TNS)Avocados’ rise to stardom in the U.S. may seem improbable: It’s a relatively expensive fruit that’s delicate and has a limited shelf life.That’s proven little obstacle, however, as avocados’ popularity is only growing. U.S. imports of fresh Hass avocados from Mexico climbed to $2.7 billion last year, up about 38% from 2018, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the fiscal year ended in June, Mexico exported nearly 2.5 billion pounds of the fruit — a record high. It’s a testament to the enduring appeal of guacamole and avocado toast — and an unorthodox arrangement between Mexican growers and packers and U.S. importers.Avocados From Mexico, created about 10 years ago to market the fruit to U.S. consumers, works with companies including Potbelly Corp., Walmart Inc. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. to get more avocados into restaurants and onto dinner tables. It buys up Super Bowl ads, operates a kitchen to test...

Investigator and Author Says People Are Mysteriously Missing in National Parks

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

People are going missing in national parks and North American wilderness areas. A 2019 documentary, Missing 411: The Hunted, reports as many as 1,200 individuals have disappeared, but also admits that number may be under-reported.David Paulides, a former police detective turned private investigator, is the author of the popular Missing 411 series and documentaries of the same name, as well as the CanAm Missing Project. He said, “We don’t know how many people go missing from these locations because the USFS [United States Forest Service] and NPS [National Park Service] refuse to release a list of these missing people.”Several Hundred Cases a YearPaulides is dedicated to investigating missing persons in national parks and forests. When asked how many cases he typically researches in a year, he responded, “We probably research several hundred people per year.”One thing is certain: people who hike and camp in national parks or hunt in national forests and wilderness areas have vanished....

United flights briefly grounded nationwide due to technology issue

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

United Airlines flights in Denver and nationwide were briefly grounded today due to a global problem with the airline’s computer system, according to Denver International Airport.The problem temporarily impacted at least 35 flights that were trying to land at the airport, said spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa.We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed. We’re working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible.— United Airlines (@united) September 5, 2023The Federal Aviation Administration announced the ground stop was lifted for the United States and Canada at 11:50 a.m.Denver International Airport reported 175 delays and two cancelled flights as of 12:50 p.m., according to FlightAware. Of those, United Airlines had 78 delays and one cancellation. SkyWest, which operates flights for United and other airlines, reported 39 delays.This is a developing story.Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile...

New book details Biden-Obama frictions and says Harris sought roles ‘away from the spotlight’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:13:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new book about Joe Biden portrays the president as someone whose middle-class upbringing helped foster a resentment of intellectual elitism that shaped his political career and sometimes caused strain with his onetime boss, Harvard-educated Barack Obama. Biden, who spent eight years as Obama’s vice president, told a friend that Obama couldn’t even curse properly, according to “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.” Released Tuesday and written by Franklin Foer, a staff writer for “The Atlantic,” the book says Biden said Obama was unable to deliver a “f—- you” with “the right elongation of vowels and the necessary hardness of consonants; it was how they must curse in the ivory tower.”Now, as the president runs for reelection, the early frontrunner among Republicans is former President Donald Trump, whose supporters can sometimes resent the perceived elitism of Washington’...