Lucas: Despite migrant $$ drain, Dems back Biden

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Lucas: Despite migrant $$ drain, Dems back Biden The trouble begins when politics overrules policy, especially bad policy.That is the case with the immigration disaster that threatens to tear the Democrat Party — and the country — apart.While big city Democratic mayors and governors are politically in lock step in their re-election support of President Joe Biden, they are at the same time hemorrhaging state taxpayers’ money taking care of migrants that Biden waved, and is waving, into the country. By the millions.But because Democratic politics trumps Democratic policy — even progressive policy — they are loathe to criticize the president for opening the borders even as they go around pleading with him for money to deal with the migrants who are destabilizing their cities. How bizarre.The latest is the example of big city mayors, all Democrats, begging Biden for federal dollars to deal with the uninvited “guests” from around the world who have swamped their cities.Most recently three of those progressive mayors — Eric Adams of New...

Jessica Chastain hits curveballs of “Memory’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Jessica Chastain hits curveballs of “Memory’ Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) and Sylvia (Jessica Chastain) meet again at a high school reunion. They have a complicated history. Saul lives in Brooklyn and is dealing with the onset of Alzheimer’s. Sylvia, a recovering alcoholic, agrees to be among his caretakers. What follows is a trip to the unexpected.“Memory” began with Chastain’s pursuit of Mexican director Michel Franco, known for dark portraits of dysfunctional families. “Michel wanted to work in New York and he’s so open to collaboration,” Chastain, 46, said in a Zoom press conference with her co-star. “He asked who I wanted to work with and Peter was my first choice.”“Michel really wants to get into a city,” Sarsgaard, 52, discovered. “A lot of my process was just taking him around the city. I’ve lived here for 30 years.”“I love movies that take place in New York and New York is really a character in this,” Chastain noted. “Michel, like his characters, wants to explore the unexpected. Like an apartment over a tire shop where some...

Local music stars shine in January shows

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Local music stars shine in January shows January is when a lot of touring acts stay home. Bad if you want to see Beyonce or Taylor in Boston. Great if you want to see all the locals sticking around and playing shows. The first month of the year is filled with returns, reunions, and all around amazing shows.Sarah Blacker, Jan. 5, Club PassimBlacker is back with a set of new songs including the tender, defiant, genius ballad “Walk On.” The singer-songwriter-guitarist-all-around-wonder celebrates the release of EP “Horizon Line,” three (mostly) recorded-live, very-stripped-down, and honest tunesBim Skala Bim, Jan. 6, the Crystal Ballroom, SomervillePut on your Docs and get ready to skank! The other ska band formed in Boston in 1983 celebrates with a well-deserved 40 year reunion show. The third wave ska kings bring the NB Rude Boys and Riki Rocksteady along for the party.O Positive: With A Little Help From My Friends Benefit Concert, Jan. 19, ParadiseAnother reunion from a 1983 Boston–born band, this one arrives with hopes of...

Editorial: Elderly poor in Mass. need funding, help too

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Editorial: Elderly poor in Mass. need funding, help too A report on the robust number of Massachusetts residents leaving the state revealed some jarring insights into who precisely is heading for the hills.Massachusetts was a top 10 state for outbound residents, according to United Van Lines’ 47th annual National Movers Study, State House News reported. The study found Americans “are moving eastbound and southbound – and relocating to less expensive areas with comparable amenities to larger metropolitans.”No surprise there. We’re among the top outbound states (along with New Jersey, Illinois, North Dakota, New York, Michigan, California, and Kansas).Among those making an exit from Massachusetts, 28.4% moved because of their job, 19.2% for family considerations, 18% for retirement, 16% for lifestyle, and less than 3% each for health or cost reasons, according to the study.We know the Bay State is tough on the wallet, thanks to sky-high housing prices. Since more businesses are letting employees work from home, cash...

Dear Abby: Daughters snub dad, but accept his $$

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Dear Abby: Daughters snub dad, but accept his $$ Dear Abby: I am the father of four, two boys and two girls, ranging in age from late teens to mid-20s. I was extremely close with all of them until my divorce seven years ago. Most would say they were closer to me than to their mom.My boys still talk to me, and we have a great relationship, but my two girls stopped talking to me. To this day, I send each of them a check for $150 on their birthdays and on Christmas. The girls sure do cash their checks, but they never send a text or email a thank you.My feelings border on deep hurt and anger. Should I send one last check explaining how they have hurt me and tell them goodbye, or continue sending checks, hoping they’ll contact me in the future? It isn’t easy for me to afford $150 eight times a year. — Deeply Hurt Dad in ArizonaDear Deeply Hurt: You have been generous with all of your children in spite of the fact it creates financial stress. Your ex may have turned the girls against you by telling them you had left TH...

Three suspects sought in felony hit-and-run

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Three suspects sought in felony hit-and-run CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Authorities on Wednesday are searching in Carlsbad for three men suspected of felony hit-and-run.Around 8:23 p.m., Carlsbad police posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, about a law enforcement helicopter looking for the three suspects in the area of El Camino Real and Carlsbad Village Drive. Truck driver killed in North County crash on New Year’s Day The first suspect is described as a man wearing a black hoodie and green baseball hat. Suspect two is described as a man wearing a black hoodie with white writing, white shoes and blue jeans. Suspect three is described as a man wearing a black hoodie, white shoes and black pants.If anyone has seen the three suspects, they are asked to call 911.Check back for updates on this developing story.

'All options on the table': New year brings continued push for IB sewage crisis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

'All options on the table': New year brings continued push for IB sewage crisis IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. -- Imperial Beach remains closed because of sewage pollution from Tijuana. FOX 5 talked with Mayor Paloma Aguirre about what their approach is this new year.Aguirre said all hands are on deck to get funding to repair and expand the San Ysidro Waste Water Treatment Plant. Aguirre also said she is not letting up the pressure on Mexico to fix their treatment plants.“We are in a crisis and it needs to be treated as such,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre.It’s a new year, but the same resolution in Imperial Beach is to stop Tijuana’s sewage from polluting and closing Imperial Beach. Aguirre said resolving the sewage issue is her highest priority.“All options are on the table, including seeking international relief because I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens, anything less is unacceptable,” Aguirre said.Imperial Beach was closed nearly all of 2023.“You are having gastrointestinal infections by people who are not even coming close to the coa...

South Korean opposition leader is recovering well from surgery after stabbing attack, doctor says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

South Korean opposition leader is recovering well from surgery after stabbing attack, doctor says SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s main opposition leader is recovering well from surgery after being stabbed in the neck earlier this week, his doctor said Thursday, as police seek a formal arrest warrant to extend the suspect’s custody.Lee Jae-myung, head of the liberal Democratic Party, South Korea’s biggest political party, was stabbed by a knife-wielding man who approached him asking for his autograph at an event in the southeastern city of Busan on Tuesday. The man was immediately detained by police.The assault left Lee, 59, bleeding and slumped on the ground. After emergency treatment, he was flown to a Seoul hospital for an operation that lasted about 100 minutes. After the surgery, Lee was placed an an intensive care unit at Seoul National University Hospital and then transferred to an ordinary ward on Wednesday evening, according to party officials.In his first briefing since the surgery, Min Seung-kee, a vascular surgeon at the hospital who performed the ...

A major storm sweeping the US is expected to bring heavy rain, snow to East Coast this weekend

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

A major storm sweeping the US is expected to bring heavy rain, snow to East Coast this weekend NEW YORK (AP) — A winter weather system moving through the U.S. is expected to wallop the East Coast this weekend with a mix of snow and freezing rain from the southern Appalachians to the Northeast — although it’s too early to say exactly which areas will get what kind of precipitation and how much. Details on the storm’s path should firm up this week as the Pacific system moves through Colorado and New Mexico Thursday and into Texas and the Southeast before moving up the East Coast, said Tony Fracasso, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. “It’s still a few days away, so we’ll have to hash out the storm track — where the precipitation falls, and how long the cold air can stay,” he said Wednesday. Major U.S. cities accustomed to white winters — such as Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia — didn’t receive much snow last year due to a lack of cold air.The National Weather Ser...

Pilot accused of threatening to shoot airline captain mid-flight to make first court appearance

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:58:49 GMT

Pilot accused of threatening to shoot airline captain mid-flight to make first court appearance SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A pilot accused of threatening to shoot a commercial airline captain who wanted to divert a flight to get medical attention for a passenger was set to make his first federal court appearance Thursday.Former Delta Air Lines pilot Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted by a grand jury Oct. 18 and charged with interfering with a flight crew during a trip from Atlanta to Salt Lake City in August 2022. Dunn, who was the first officer, or co-pilot, threatened to shoot the captain during a heated argument in the cockpit over whether to change course to accommodate a passenger’s medical issue.The captain had proposed diverting to Grand Junction, Colorado, if the passenger’s condition worsened, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges in court documents. Dunn objected and threatened multiple times to shoot the captain, whom he accused of “going crazy,” the documents state. Dunn could face up to 20 years in prison.The 42-year-old pilot from Rapid City, North Dakota, had been authorized...