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Brooks: Why Joe Biden isn’t getting the credit he deserves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

The misery index is a crude but effective way to measure the health of the economy. You add up the inflation rate and the unemployment rate. If you’re a president running for reelection, you want that number to be as low as possible.When Ronald Reagan won reelection, it was about 11.4; when George W. Bush did so it was 9; for Barack Obama it was 9.5; and today, as Joe Biden runs for reelection, it’s only 7.7.Biden should be cruising to an easy reelection victory. And that misery index number doesn’t even begin to capture the strength of the U.S. economy right now. There are a zillion positive indicators right now, as the folks in the administration will be quick to tell you. The economy has created 13 million jobs since Biden’s Inauguration Day. According to The Conference Board, a business research firm, Americans’ job satisfaction is at its highest level in 36 years. Household net worth is surging.We learned Thursday that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized 2% rate in the first...

Pope appoints bishop from his Argentine homeland to lead powerful Vatican doctrinal watchdog office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday chose a bishop who is a trusted theological advisor from his Argentine homeland for one of the Vatican’s most powerful positions — head of the watchdog office that ensures doctrinal orthodoxy. Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernández, now serving as archbishop of La Plata, Argentina, is tapped to head the Department for the Doctrine of the Faith. The new doctrinal prefect, or chief, has been nicknamed the “pope’s theologian,″ since he is widely believed to have helped author some of Francis’ most important documents. The office enforces orthodoxy of church teaching and disciplines theologians deemed to have strayed from Catholic doctrine in their lectures or publications. But the office has taken on considerably more importance in recent decades to rank-and-file faithful as the stain of pedophile priests spread across the globe. Among the department’s duties are evaluating and processing sex abuse allegations against clergy.Fernández is wi...

Planning to party this Fourth of July? You have a free ride home in the DC area!

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

Everyone in the D.C. area has access to a designated driver this Fourth of July, thanks to the Washington Regional Alcohol Program’s SoberRide program.The nonprofit is paying up to $15 on the Lyft app for residents celebrating with alcohol on July Fourth to get home safely. The program will begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday and will run until 4 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5.Kurt Erickson, president of WRAP, said the $15 should cover the estimated cost of most rides around the region.“But let’s say your fare is $20, we’re still going to pay for the first $15 and the passenger will simply be on the hook for the remaining $5,” Erickson explained.The program is meant to keep roads safe from impaired drivers that account for 39% of U.S. traffic deaths during the Fourth of July holiday, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s estimates from 2021.The charity offered its SoberRide program last Independence Day as well as on St. Patrick’s...

Verstappen qualifies in first place for the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen continued his dominant form when he qualified in first place for the sprint race which takes place later Saturday at the Austrian Grand Prix.The runaway championship leader, who had already secured pole position for Sunday’s GP, was .49 seconds quicker than his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and .57 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Nico Hulkenberg qualified in fourth place ahead of Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc.“It was good, the track was drying up,” Verstappen said. “I think we did well. We got the car in the right window.”The shortened qualifying format — known in F1 as the “sprint shootout” — set the grid for a 17-lap sprint race later, where seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton starts from 18th place after being knocked out of the first part of sprint qualifying. Hamilton looked pensive as he walked back through the paddock to rejoin his team’s garage.Charles Leclerc jus...

Lo más insólito: abandonó a su bebé para ir a vacaciones, y chimpancé ve el cielo por primera vez

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

Si crees que ya lo viste todo, estás equivocado. Estas son las noticias más insólitas de esta semana.ACUSAN A HISPANA DE ABANDONAR A SU BEBÉ PARA IR DE VACACIONESUna madre hispana fue acusada de cuatro cargos graves después de que su bebé muriera trágicamente tras haber sido abandonada por más de una semana en un apartamento de Ohio.Kristel Candelario, de 31 años, dejó sola a su hija de 1 año y 4 meses mientras iba de vacaciones a Detroit y Puerto Rico, según autoridades. Ahora enfrenta cargos de homicidio agravado y asesinato.Fue la misma madre de la bebé que la encontró inconsciente en su hogar. Según investigadores, la menor estaba “extremadamente deshidratada”.CHIMPANCÉ VE EL CIELO POR PRIMERA VEZ EN CASI 30 AÑOSComo si fuese una película de ciencia ficción donde un humano llega a un planeta extraterrestre, un video captó la emotiva reacción de una chimpancé que vio el cielo por primera vez tras 28 años en un laboratorio.En el video, publicado por el santuario de chi...

Mintió sobre un supuesto intento de secuestro de sus hijos y fue sentenciada a prisión

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

(CNN) — Una mujer de California fue sentenciada a 90 días de cárcel después de mentirle a las autoridades sobre que una pareja intentaba secuestrar a sus hijos, según la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Sonoma.Kathleen Sorensen, de 31 años, fue sentenciada a prisión este jueves por un solo cargo de hacer un informe falso de un delito a sabiendas. La condena surgió de un incidente en diciembre de 2020, cuando Sorensen y sus dos hijos estaban comprando en una tienda de artesanías Michaels en Petaluma, California, a unos 48 km al norte de San Francisco.Después de comprar varios artículos, Sorensen se fue con sus dos hijos y salió del estacionamiento, según un comunicado de prensa de los fiscales del condado de Sonoma. Varios minutos después, Sorensen llamó al Departamento de Policía de Petaluma para informar que una pareja intentó secuestrar a sus hijos.Además, Sorensen grabó y publicó un video viral en Instagram sobre el supuesto incidente aproximadamente una semana...

Sri Lanka’s Parliament to vote on debt restructuring plan in an attempt to overcome economic crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s Parliament will vote on a proposal to restructure staggering domestic debt in a special session on Saturday as the country struggles with an unprecedented economic crisis.Sri Lanka’s total debt has exceeded $83 billion, of which $41.5 billion is foreign and $42.1 billion is domestic. The proposed restructuring plan is part of the prerequisites of a bailout package approved by the International Monterey Fund — which has described Sri Lanka’s debt as unsustainable — to help alleviate the country’s humanitarian crisis.Under the proposed domestic debt restructuring program, the bulk of the debt will be shared by the Central Bank and superannuation funds from which the government already borrowed money, while national banks will be spared because of possible negative ramifications on deposits, according to top government officials.Central Bank governor, Nandalal Weerasinghe, previously said the treasury bills owned by the bank would be converte...

Migrante que murió bajo custodia fue retenido durante meses, a pesar de la recomendación de liberación, dice el Southern Poverty Law Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

(CNN) — Un ciudadano nicaragüense que murió la semana pasada bajo custodia federal de inmigración había pasado más de un año detenido. A pesar de haber sido recomendado para su liberación hace más de siete meses, continuó bajo custodia de inmigración, según el Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)Ernesto Rocha-Cuadra, de 42 años, falleció el pasado viernes. Su causa preliminar de muerte fue un paro cardíaco, según un comunicado del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU.En noviembre de 2022, un panel de ICE recomendó que se liberara a Rocha-Cuadra, pero los funcionarios de la instalación se negaron a liberarlo, según un comunicado del SPLC.“Los detalles que condujeron a esta trágica muerte aún no están claros, y sus abogados dicen que Ernesto nunca mencionó tener, ni sus registros médicos reflejaron, ningún problema médico relacionado con el corazón”, dijo un comunicado del SPLC.El SPLC dijo que la muerte de Rocha-Cuadra fue la quinta desde 2016 en las instalacione...

Police investigating shooting in Mission Hill that left two with life-threatening injuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

Two people were shot in Mission Hill early Saturday morning, and both victims have life-threatening injuries, officials said.Police, including the homicide unit, responded to 27 McGreevey Way around 12:11 a.m. and shut down part of the street to search for evidence and put down evidence markers.Both victims were transported to the hospital.No other information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara, son involved in car crash in Jamaica Plain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:57 GMT

A Boston city councilor was involved in a car crash Friday in Jamaica Plain that sent her son to the hospital.Councilor Kendra Lara, who represents Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury, released a statement that said the crash took place “near the Monument” by South and Centre Streets.Her office also said her son was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital where he received several stitches.“It was a scary situation for everyone involved but thankfully Councilor Lara and Zaire are expected to make a full recovery, ” the statement said. “She asks for privacy at this time.”They are both expected to make a full recovery.