Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

Liz Cheney to give Colorado College graduation speech as GOP campaign speculation persists Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney will give a graduation speech at her alma mater, an elite Colorado liberal arts college, amid questions about her political future and insistence that Donald Trump never become president again.At Colorado College’s commencement on Sunday, the Wyoming Republican is expected to touch on themes similar to those she has promoted since leaving office in January: Addressing her work on the House January 6 Select Committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol insurrection and standing up to the threat she believes Trump poses to democracy.Cheney’s busy speaking schedule and subject matter have fueled speculation about whether she may enter the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Declared or potential candidates ranging from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have calibrated their remarks about Trump, aiming to counter his attacks without alienating the supporters that won him the White House seven years ago.Though some have ...

‘Anatomy of a Fall’ wins Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or; 3rd time female director wins top honor

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

‘Anatomy of a Fall’ wins Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or; 3rd time female director wins top honor Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” won the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in a ceremony Saturday that bestowed the festival’s prestigious top prize on an engrossing, rigorously plotted French courtroom drama that puts a marriage on trial. “Anatomy of a Fall,” which stars Sandra Hüller as a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband’s death, is only the third film directed by a woman to win the Palme d’Or. One of the two previous winners, Julia Ducournau, was on this year’s jury. Cannes’ Grand Prix, its second prize, went to Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest,” a chilling Martin Amis adaptation about a German family living next door to Auschwitz. Hüller also stars in that film. The awards were decided by a jury presided over by two-time Palme winner Ruben Östlund, the Swedish director who won the prize last year for “Triangle of Sadness.” The ceremony preceded the festival’s closing night film, the Pixar animation ...

Indian official suspended after he drains reservoir to retrieve phone he dropped while taking selfie

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

Indian official suspended after he drains reservoir to retrieve phone he dropped while taking selfie NEW DELHI (AP) — A government official in India has been suspended from his job after he ordered a water reservoir to be drained so he could retrieve his smartphone, which he had dropped while taking a selfie.Food inspector Rajesh Vishwas dropped his Samsung smartphone in Kherkatta dam in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh last week, The Times of India newspaper reported.Vishwas first asked local divers to jump into the reservoir to find the device, claiming it contained sensitive government data. But after the initial efforts to retrieve his smartphone failed, he asked for the reservoir to be emptied using diesel pumps.Over the next three days, more than 2 million liters of water were pumped out from the reservoir, which is enough to irrigate at least 1,500 acres of land during India’s scorching summer, local media reported.In videos that went viral on social media, Vishwas is seen sitting under a red umbrella as diesel pumps run to drain water from the reservoir.Vishwas told...

Biden, GOP reach debt-ceiling deal, now Congress must approve it to prevent calamitous default

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

Biden, GOP reach debt-ceiling deal, now Congress must approve it to prevent calamitous default WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the nation’s legal debt ceiling, but now Congress must rush to approve the spending cuts package in a matter of days to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default. The agreement risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides as lawmakers Sunday begin to unpack the the concessions made to compromise. Negotiators agreed to some Republican demands for increased work requirements for recipients of food stamps that had sparked an uproar from House Democrats as a nonstarter. But they stopped short of greater spending cuts overall that Republicans wanted.Support from both parties will be needed to win congressional approval before a projected June 5 government default on U.S. debts.The Democratic president and Republican speaker reached the agreement after the two spoke Saturday evening by phone. The country and the world have been watching and waiting for a resol...

Colorado drops fourth league game in a row, fifth overall in 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

Colorado drops fourth league game in a row, fifth overall in 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati COMMERCE CITY — In the debut of their “New Day” jerseys, the Colorado Rapids committed the same old mistakes in another losing effort.The Rapids (2-7-6, 12 points) lost a fifth consecutive game across all competitions Saturday as it fell 1-0 to FC Cincinnati at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with a goal coming from none other than two-time Rapids striker Dominique Badji. The Rapids remained the last team in MLS without a win at home.Colorado hosted its Mental Health Awareness Night and wore the notable jerseys as part of its mission to support mental health efforts state-wide throughout the season.Rapids head coach Robin Fraser knows his team is in a “fragile” spot, and emphasized that they will need to lean on each other and not allow the locker room to fracture.“This is a very difficult situation, difficult run we’re in,” Fraser said in his postgame remarks. “We’re in a tough spot psychologically, but the only way we kn...

Ryan McMahon’s homer lifts Rockies to wild win over Mets

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

Ryan McMahon’s homer lifts Rockies to wild win over Mets With one massive swing of his bat, Ryan McMahon shut up the vocal contingent of Mets fans at Coors Field on a rainy Saturday night.The Mets had taken a 7-6 lead in the seventh and the shouts of “Let’s Go Mets!” took over the LoDo ballpark. But in the bottom of the frame, the Rockies’ third baseman, who’s been mired in a deep slump for much of the season, hit a two-run homer deep into the second deck in right field off right-hander Jeff Brigham for the go-ahead run in Colorado’s 10-7 victory.McMahon’s home run was his second in the last two games, that after going 103 at-bats without a homer.“Anytime you feel like you haven’t been coming through for the team a lot lately … it’s indescribable,” McMahon said. “It’s a really good feeling.”Manager Bud Black was happy, not with McMahon’s big at-bat, but with the approach McMahon had displayed in recent games.“He can be productive like he has been (lately),” Black said. “What I liked was seei...

Video captures road rage fight in Pasadena

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

Video captures road rage fight in Pasadena A video captures the moment a road rage incident turned into a violent fistfight in Pasadena.The witness who captured the video, Charlie Salinas, said the altercation happened on Fair Oaks Avenue and Holly Street, in front of Torta’s Mexico on May 19. According to Salinas, the motorcyclist was racing up and down the street and weaving in and out of traffic while swearing at the drivers he cut off.After the male biker cuts off an elderly Tesla driver, they eventually end up next to each other at a red light. That’s when the biker and the driver exit their vehicles and began yelling at each other on the street, said Salinas.At one point, the biker sticks his head inside the Tesla to yell at a woman sitting inside.The male driver slaps the biker’s helmet and a fistfight breaks out between the men. Video shows the men eventually falling to the ground with the biker using his leg to pin down the driver, said Salinas.Video captured the moment a road rage inc...

CCS baseball playoffs: Valley Christian celebrates its 11th section championship

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

CCS baseball playoffs: Valley Christian celebrates its 11th section championship SAN JOSE — It never gets old for Valley Christian.Not for longtime coach John Diatte. Not for the powerhouse program he built and has maintained. And certainly not for the players, who cherish every minute of the big-game experience.There they were again Saturday night, in their element on the Central Coast Section’s biggest baseball stage, doing what Valley Christian players have done for decades under Diatte.The San Jose school captured its 11th CCS championship, blanking red-hot Hollister 5-0 at Excite Ballpark behind more brilliance from senior Michael Castaneda, who pitched 6 1/3 innings and drove in two runs to lead the way.“It doesn’t get old,” said Diatte, whose team is 11-2 in section championship games. “I had the same nerves, the same anxiety, the same intensity, the same passion to be in the game. It was fun.”It helps to have polished players and Valley certainly has its share of them, starting with Castaneda, the big-game pitche...

CCS softball playoffs: Live Oak stays in ‘a groove,’ captures Division IV title

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:45 GMT

CCS softball playoffs: Live Oak stays in ‘a groove,’ captures Division IV title SAN JOSE —The Live Oak softball team has gone through plenty of ups and downs this season. The Acorns won their first five games, lost their next seven and finished the regular season 10-11.But no team has been better in the playoffs.Seeded No. 2 in Division IV, Live Oak beat Menlo-Atherton 16-0 in the quarterfinals and Piedmont Hills 16-1 in the semifinals. Both of those games were halted after three innings due to the 10-run rule.Then on Saturday the Acorns held on to defeat Pacific Grove 4-0 and capture the Central Coast Section championship at San Jose City College.“They definitely found their stride and felt unstoppable,” Live Oak coach Sarah Porras said. “They got into a groove.”Senior shortstop Dre DeJesus was the offensive star, hitting a double and a triple in three at-bats, scoring two runs and driving in two. Her two-run double in the third gave Live Oak the lead. Ava Chapman’s double brought DeJesus home and made it 3-0.DeJesus tripled in th...