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Big money, fancy homes, old jokes — inside Joe Biden’s fundraisers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — If you’re a Democrat with money to burn and friends in high places, you can spend thousands on tickets to a fundraiser with President Joe Biden. If not, keep reading to see what you’re missing. With an election year around the corner, Biden is accelerating his fundraising to prepare for an astronomically expensive campaign. (Think billions, not millions.) In this rarefied world, money equals access, and supporters regularly pay top dollar for a personal glimpse of the world’s most powerful man. Biden is collecting cash across the Los Angeles area this weekend, and his first stop was a sprawling estate where the host joked “it’s just a normal Friday at our house” as hundreds of donors sipped wine in the backyard.“You’re the reason why we’re gonna win, God willing, in 2024,” Biden told the audience.Each fundraiser is a little different, but they generally follow a similar script. Here’s what it’s like inside the presidential...

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 38 as Thunder top Warriors, 138-136 in overtime

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander believes the Oklahoma City Thunder have made a statement with the way they’ve handled the Golden State Warriors this season.Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points, and the Thunder defeated the Warriors 138-136 in overtime on Friday night.Jalen Williams scored 28 points and Chet Holmgren added 21 for the Thunder, who beat the Warriors for the third straight time in the last of four matchups between the teams this season. Despite the Warriors’ 10-12 record, Gilgeous-Alexander said the win felt important. He still sees the same Warriors that won NBA titles in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. They remain an important measuring stick for a young Thunder team that sits in second place in the Western Conference standings.“We’ve got a bunch of competitors on the team, guys that don’t back down, guys that want to be great at the end of the day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And we all know that to be great, you got to test yourself aga...

Las relaciones entre Israel y la ONU alcanzan un mínimo histórico luego de que Guterres invocara una medida diplomática poco habitual

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

(CNN) — Las relaciones de Israel con las Naciones Unidas alcanzaron un mínimo histórico tras la escalada de tensión entre ambos organismos esta semana.El secretario general de la ONU, António Guterres, invocó este miércoles una herramienta poco utilizada pero poderosa en su decidida apuesta por un alto el fuego en Gaza, suscitando la indignación de los diplomáticos israelíes.Guerra entre Israel y Hamas en vivo: combates en Gaza, situación de los civiles y másEl Artículo 99 de la Carta de la ONU permite al jefe de la ONU llamar la atención del Consejo de Seguridad sobre “cualquier cuestión que pueda agravar las amenazas existentes para el mantenimiento de la paz y la seguridad internacionales”. Guterres, en una carta al Consejo de 15 miembros, utilizó esa herramienta diplomática e instó al organismo a “presionar para evitar una catástrofe humanitaria” y unirse en un llamamiento a un alto el fuego humanitario total.Israel se ha opuesto firmemente a los ll...

Israel presses on with Gaza bombardments, including in areas where it told civilians to flee

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip overnight into Saturday in relentless bombardments, including some of the dwindling slivers of land Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the territory’s south.The latest strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, despite it being backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.“Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said before the vote. Gaza residents “are being told to move like human pinballs – ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.”Guterres told the council that Gaza was at “a breaking point” with the humanitarian support system at risk of total collapse, and that he feared...

A fire in a hospital near Rome kills at least 4 and forces the evacuation of facility and patients

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

ROME (AP) — A fire broke out in a hospital on Rome’s outskirts, killing at least four people and forcing the evacuation of the facility and its patients, officials said Saturday.Patients in intensive care at St. John the Evangelist hospital in Tivoli were transferred immediately to other hospitals via ambulance, the Tivoli mayor’s office said in a statement. Less-critical patients were moved into a nearby municipal gymnasium pending transfer to other facilities.The blaze began late Friday and was eventually brought under control and four people were confirmed killed, the fire department said in a statement. Video — released by the department — showed fire crews on ladders trying to reach the upper floors of the hospital as smoke billowed out.Tivoli, which is located about 35 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of the center of Rome, is a popular tourist destination. It is best known for the archaeological sites of Villa d’Este and Villa Adriana, both of which are UNESCO Worl...

Observers see OPEC ‘panicking’ as COP28 climate talks focus on possible fossil fuel phase-out

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The oil industry is starting to sweat as United Nations climate talks heat up and threaten to plug fossil fuel-belching wells for good, veteran negotiation observers say.A reported letter from OPEC’s leader pleading with the oil cartel’s member countries to block any language in an agreement at climate talks that would phase out or phase down fossil fuels hit negotiations like a thunderclap. Host and fellow petrostate United Arab Emirates is trying to tamp down its reverberations in a process where one or two key nations can block everything.Environmental activists, still smarting from 30 years of soft power from oil interests keeping such discussions from seeing the light of day, smirked at signs that the mighty cartel was circling the wagons.“I think they’re panicking,” said E3G analyst Alden Meyer. “Maybe the Saudis can’t do on their own what they’ve been doing for 30 years and block the process.”Former Ireland President Mary Robinson said...

Daily horoscope for December 9, 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Scorpio.Happy Birthday for Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023:You are energetic, passionate and imaginative. You are a born leader who wants to make a difference in the world. This year is the beginning of a new nine-year cycle for you, which means you need to be flexible and courageous. Explore new avenues. Open any door!ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★If you’re making decisions about shared property, mortgages, banking issues or debt, take time to read the fine print and make sure you have all the facts. That’s because it’s easy to gloss over things today or assume things are better than they are. Tonight: Flirtations!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★This is a good day to make plans for travel or further education, or for exploring opportunities in the law, medicine, publishing and the media. You will do your due diligence. Nevertheless, don’t make a promise to someone close to you if...

Dear Abby: Do I need to be honest about what happened to their gift?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

DEAR ABBY: Shortly after my daughter’s surgery, I got a text that I had received a food delivery gift from a friend.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: If my friend dies without revealing the truth, should I tell what I know? Advice | Dear Abby: The grandkids were upset by the fight, and now my husband is barred from their home Advice | Dear Abby: We learned the truth about our daughter when her fiance ditched her Advice | Dear Abby: His ex-wife is coaching her children to be mean to this little girl Advice | Dear Abby: My boyfriend doesn’t want this woman to know about me The text came from the delivery service, with a photo of the package sitting at the front door. The trouble was, it wasn’t my front door — the package had been delivered to the wrong address.What would be the polite way to address this? Of course I want to thank the gift-giver, but should I let them know I never...

ANÁLISIS | El primer ministro del Reino Unido eligió dar una pelea sobre inmigración que probablemente no podrá ganar

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

(CNN) — El primer ministro británico, Rishi Sunak, tiene un problema grave.Mientras su gobernante Partido Conservador se prepara para entrar en lo que probablemente será un año electoral en 2024, languidece semana tras semana por detrás del opositor Partido Laborista en las encuestas.Los conservadores están en el poder desde 2010, periodo durante el cual han pasado por cinco primeros ministros y prácticamente todas las iteraciones posibles de conservadurismo imaginables. Y después de 13 años en el poder, es justo decir que el partido parece un poco cansado y sin ideas.Por eso Sunak se apoya en la baza histórica de los conservadores: la inmigración.Sunak, hijo de inmigrantes, está poniendo todo su empeño en reducir la inmigración neta en el Reino Unido, que alcanzó la cifra récord de 745.000 personas en 2022.Esa elevada cifra existe por varias razones: en los últimos años, el Reino Unido ha aplicado políticas generosas para acoger a personas que huían de Ucrania y Hong Kong.Des...

La primera “Bachelorette” y su esposo celebran 20 años de matrimonio. Ha sido “desafiante”, dicen

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:23 GMT

(CNN) — Trista Sutter, la primera “Bachelorette”, y su marido Ryan Sutter celebraron 20 años de matrimonio.La pareja, que se prometió en la serie y luego se casó en un especial televisado, es una de las pocas historias de éxito matrimonial de la franquicia.Ryan Sutter celebró su aniversario en Instagram, escribiendo: “Nunca dijeron que sería fácil, pero este año ha sido fácilmente uno de los más locos, desafiantes e impredecibles de los 20 que llevamos juntos”.“Grandes cambios y pérdidas desgarradoras pusieron a prueba nuestra determinación. Dejamos una comunidad, unos amigos y un estilo de vida —un puerto seguro— para emprender una nueva aventura y crear un nuevo hogar. Luchamos y lloramos”, escribió. “Reímos y amamos. Lo hicimos todo y lo hicimos juntos, como siempre lo hemos hecho”.En agosto, Trista Sutter compartió en las redes sociales que la familia se mudaba de su querida Vail, Colorado, para trasladarse a Denver. A lo lar...