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Lowry: Anti-Florida smear wrong move by NAACP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

The NAACP is on high alert — a Republican governor, with an unabashedly conservative agenda and some chance of winning, is running for president.It has duly sprung into action with a travel advisory warning people what they’re getting into if they take the risk of visiting Florida’s sunny beaches or world-class attractions.“Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the statement says. “Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”The political play is obvious — use “travel advisory” to get attention and credibility that a mere harsh statement about Gov. Ron DeSantis wouldn’t garner, and hope the resulting media coverage helps drive negative associations with the state.The NAACP wants people to think of Florida as a h...

Kick off summer adventures at Cape Cod Pirate Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

Back in the day, pirates knew that landing in Boston would bring them a date with the hangman’s noose. But Cape Cod was a different story.That spirit is celebrated writ large in June when the Cape Cod Pirate Festival (https://www.capecodpiratefestival.com) returns for a third year.And this year, the shanty tunes, cannon firing, galley food and all kinds of swashbuckling fun come to the Cape for not just one but two weekends, June 3-4 and June 10-11.The Festival, which draws in thousands, is not a true “reenactment weekend,” event producer Chris Schultz (whose show name is Buck Kinnear) said, but rather a weekend of fun and learning mixed with historical accuracy.Each day, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., guests can take in music, magic, shows and more, all based on pirate life and lore.It’s an ideal location not just for the beauty of the Cape itself, Schultz said. In their heyday, famed pirates like Sam Bellamy and Blackbeard are said to have roamed the Cape. Plus, the Whydah Ga...

Sale stymies Diamondbacks as Red Sox bats come back to life

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

Boy, did the Red Sox need a game like this.After being outscored 20-4 over their four-game losing streak, which included two shutouts, the Boston bats finally came back to life on Friday night, combining for 14 hits in a 7-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.Even without Rafael Devers, who’s day-to-day with left calf muscle tightness, this version of the Red Sox offense was a sight for sore eyes. They collected nine 2-out hits, gave Chris Sale a 3-0 cushion in the second, which Kiké Hernández pushed to 5-0 with a 431-ft 2-run homer in the fourth.It was a multi-hit game for top third of the lineup; Raimel Tapia, Alex Verdugo, and Justin Turner combined for seven hits and an RBI apiece. Hometown kid Verdugo was a bit late to the party, but after going 0-for-2 in his first two at-bats, the Tucson native put together a 3-hit game with a run scored and RBI.It was encouraging to see Triston Casas looking significantly more comfortable at the plate, too. The rookie first baseman ...

Chicago White Sox collect 17 hits — including 3 triples — in a 12-3 win against the Detroit Tigers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

The first inning could have gotten away from Lance Lynn and the Chicago White Sox.First, there was a walk. Then left fielder Andrew Benintendi couldn’t come up with the catch on a nice diving attempt that resulted in a double. Finally, on a grounder to third Yoán Moncada was unsuccessful attempting to tag out the runner going back to bag.With that, the Detroit Tigers had the bases loaded with no outs.Somehow, Lynn limited the damage to one run. That was critical in a 12-3 victory in front of 21,701 on Friday at Comerica Park.“Walking the leadoff guy after getting three (runs) is not something you want to do,” Lynn said. “We were able to do some things and I was able to get out of it with just one, and the rest is kind of history.”Lynn allowed three runs, one earned, on three hits with five strikeouts and five walks in six innings.“Tremendous outing for Lance,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He was challenged on things that were out o...

Editorial: The bad news just keeps coming for the FBI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

Politicians and activists reacted with dismay this month upon the news that the FBI illegally tapped into foreign intelligence data looking for dirt on U.S. citizens. But given this news emerged just days after the release of the Durham report, which fingered the FBI as knee-deep in the bogus Russian collusion narrative that dominated Beltway politics during the Trump years, the outrage and surprise seem underwhelming.On May 19, the secret FISA court publicly released an opinion which found that the agency had no factual basis to comb through reports compiled under a law intended to combat foreign espionage in search of dirt on Jan. 6 protesters and those who took to the streets after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.“The revelations were contained in a heavily redacted opinion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which said the violations were significant,” The Wall Street Journal reported. The agency claimed to be operating under the authority of Section...

Michel: China gets help from its friends – on the Supreme Court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

China is overtaking America in a variety of high-tech industries — thanks to some inadvertent help from the U.S. Supreme Court.According to a brand-new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the communist nation has outstripped America in 37 out of 44 key technologies, including advanced aircraft engines and hypersonics, 5G and 6G, and quantum communications.This Chinese high-tech renaissance is no accident. It springs from the regime’s deliberate policy of incentivizing research and development, both through subsidies as well as extremely strong patent protections. In recent years, the Chinese government has greatly strengthened IP laws and established new IP courts and tribunals across major cities. Authorities tasked with patent-related disputes completed nearly 50,000 cases in 2021, up almost 20% from the year before.With this robust patent system, China has seen an explosion of innovation. In 2021, Chinese researchers filed 1.59 million patent reques...

Dear Abby: Lewd comment to woman roils pool hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

Dear Abby: My wife and I play on a pool team. About a year ago, the team captain looked at my wife and said, “So, can I play with your lower private area?” (He didn’t use those words.) My wife, who is very shy, was shocked.He has made dumb comments before, and I’ve warned him several times. This time when I told him, he was dumb enough to invite me outside. I slapped him around a bit. We are both big guys. I’m 6-foot-4, 300 pounds. He’s as tall, maybe a few pounds lighter.Now the members of the league here have shunned my wife and me. Was I wrong? Should I have let that guy talk to my wife like that? — Second-Guessing in the SouthDear Second-Guessing: Violence is never the answer. You and your wife should have left as soon as those words were uttered. As for the rest of the league shunning you, I think it’s time you found another league to play pool with — one with nice people to compete with, rather than animals.Dear Abby: A fri...

Memorial Day: Where to honor the fallen around San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Memorial Day is Monday, May 29, and there's no shortage of events around San Diego County to honor the fallen.At Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, the 123rd Memorial Service and Day of Remembrance starts at 10 a.m. View the schedule here.In Coronado, a Memorial Day service is planned for 10 a.m. at Star Park, with Rear Admiral Keith B. Davids as the guest speaker. After the event, the public is invited to head to VFW Post 2422 on Orange Avenue for refreshments. Veterans share what Memorial Day means to them At 11 a.m. at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, a ceremony will include speakers, musical performances, a wreath laying and a missing-man flyby. Learn more here.The USS Midway Museum is hosting several events during its Legacy Week. A wreath ceremony will take place at 9 a.m., during which a memorial wreath will be tossed over the side of the ship. The event will include guest speakers and a flyover. If you can't make it in person, you can livestream the cere...

Le Mans 24-hour race to include hydrogen-powered vehicles starting in 2026

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

OYAMA, Japan (AP) — The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most famous endurance race, will be open to hydrogen-powered cars starting in 2026, Pierre Fillon, the president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said Saturday.Fillon spoke at Japan’s Fuji Speedway, which is holding a 24-hour race that includes hydrogen power.The vehicles for Le Mans will include both fuel cells and hydrogen combustion engines, Fillon said. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest organizes the race in Le Mans.“The 24 hours of Le Mans regulations have always advocated for freedom and variety,” Fillon said. “As such I can officially announce today that both technologies will be accepted and authorized for manufactures which seek to enter the 24 hours of Le Mans in the hydrogen class.” Toyota Motor Corporation President Koji Sato said he hoped to make an announcement “in the near future” about Toyota’s participation in Le Mans.___AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and ...

At West Point, Vice President Harris to make history as first woman to deliver commencement speech

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday will become the first woman to deliver a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy, an institution that has made slow progress diversifying its ranks in the four decades since the first class of female cadets graduated.This year some 950 men and women are expected to take part in the graduation ceremony in West Point, New York.While Harris visits West Point, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) north of Manhattan, President Joe Biden heads to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday to address graduates at the U.S. Air Force Academy.Vice presidents typically travel to one of the federal service academies to address graduating classes. Harris’ visit will be her first to the U.S. Army academy.Today, about one quarter of the student body are women. Only a few dozen graduates each year are Black women, like Harris, though the number has ticked up in recent years. The academy didn’t admit women until 1976 and had its f...