Anchors aweigh party

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel was re-elected to her fourth term in a secret vote on Friday, defeating two far right-aligned challengers, including a former Trump campaign attorney and MyPillow CEO—and 2020 election denier—Mike Lindell, as frustration grows within the party after two consecutive underwhelming Republican election performances. Key Facts The RNC’s 168 members voted in a secret ballot Friday afternoon at a Southern California resort as McDaniel, the chair of the RNC since 2017, faced calls from inside—and outside—the committee for new GOP leadership. Harmeet Dhillon, a former Trump campaign attorney who also represented 2022 Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, threw her hat in the ring for the two-year position in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson last month, telling Semafor , “I think people are tired of waiting” for McDanniel to step down. … [Read more...] about Ronna McDaniel Hangs On As RNC Chair After Challenge From MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell And Former Trump Attorney

(Image: Congress) Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday hit out at the Congress over its Bharat Jodo Yatra, accusing the party of abdicating its responsibility by flouting Covid protocols when the pandemic was rearing its head once again. Thakur also sought to know whether Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, had undergone his Covid test as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who had walked alongside him last week, was infected with coronavirus. ''Covid cases are rising in China and Japan. There are long queues outside hospitals, dead bodies are piling up. But you are not bothered about the interests of the country. You are bothered about only one family. Congress has displayed this attitude time and again,'' the senior BJP leader said. He also claimed that members of the ''tukde-tukde'' gang were walking alongside Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered Delhi on Saturday. ''If any one is walking with the Yatra, they are the … [Read more...] about Congress flouting Covid protocols: Union Minister Anurag Thakur as Bharat Jodo Yatra reaches Delhi

The Indian hockey team in Bhubaneswar during the 2023 World Hockey Cup. (Twitter/@TheHockeyIndia) Last week India failed to reach the quarter finals of the World Cup Hockey tournament after losing to New Zealand , a team ranked six places below it. For the record India hasn’t entered the medals round of the quadrennial event for 48 years. But a bronze medal at the Olympics in 2021 and the privilege of playing at home cheered on by thousands of fans, gave rise to hopes that this time the well-trained team would go deep, at least into the last four stages . In the event, it struggled to beat a young Spanish side and later a Wales team playing in its first ever World Cup. Against New Zealand, the Indian team had a comfortable 3-1 advantage with 20 minutes left. But with the Kiwis capitalized on its opponent’s mounting anxiety and India just seemed to crumble. Not too long ago, the even more fancied Indian cricket team had lost to the same country in the finals of … [Read more...] about Hockey debacle highlights Indian sports teams’ tendency to choke

China doctors battle covid surge (Image: AFP) A furious, wide-ranging argument is unfolding on the internet in China over the reversal of the government’s strict pandemic policies and the massive COVID surge that followed. The divisions are challenging the Communist Party’s efforts to control the narrative around its pandemic pivot. Since the party abandoned “zero-COVID” last month, many online commenters have staked out opposing positions over seemingly all manner of questions. Who should be blamed for the explosion of cases and deaths? Is a top government-appointed health expert trustworthy? Is omicron really less severe, as Chinese officials now say, when hospitals seem to be filling up with sick patients? They are even arguing over whether people should be allowed to set off fireworks during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, after many did so during the New Year. The digital finger-pointing reveals a country that is deeply polarized, with each side distrustful and … [Read more...] about As China reopens, online finger-pointing shows a widening gulf

The World Bank slashed its growth forecasts for most countries and regions and warned that new adverse shocks could tip the global economy into a recession. Global gross domestic product will probably increase 1.7% this year, about half the pace forecast in June, the Washington-based lender said Tuesday. That would be the third-worst performance in the last three decades or so, after the contractions of 2009 and 2020. The bank, which also cut its growth estimates for 2024, said persistent inflation and higher interest rates are among the key reasons. It also cited the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a decline in investment. “The crisis facing development is intensifying” and the setbacks to global prosperity will likely persist, World Bank President David Malpass wrote in a foreword to the bank’s semi-annual Global Economic Prospects report. He said GDP in emerging-market and developing economies at the end of next year will be about 6% below the level … [Read more...] about World Bank cuts 2023 forecasts and warns of global recession

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Set on the Island of Montreal, the city of Westmount is home to some of Canada’s most affluent neighborhoods. But Westmount is not only home to wealthy residents. It boasts notable ones as well. The late singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen was born there, and United States Vice President Kamala Harris attended the local high school. Filled with stately multimillion-dollar houses representing a variety of architectural styles, the area’s tree-lined streets give way to parks and, in some parts, upscale shops and boutiques. Among the luxury residences now available for purchase in prestigious Upper Westmont, an enclave of large estate homes, is a fully renovated three-story built in 1988. Arch-topped dormer windows punctuate the stone-and-brick mansion’s mansard roof. Tuscan columns support a semicircular portico, which is flanked by bay windows. Shutters frame the second-level windows. Attention to detail is … [Read more...] about A Standout Estate Asks $13 Million In Quebec’s Prestigious Westmount

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Body-cam video and a 911 call released Friday of the hammer attack against Paul Pelosi in October showed alleged assailant David DePape attacking Pelosi as the cops arrived and served as proof against many of the conspiracy theories that proliferated among right-wing pundits and social media users after the attack. Key Facts The bodycam footage shows officers knocking on the front door of the Pelosi house, and when the door opens DePape is standing next to Paul Pelosi, each of the men has a hand on a hammer. When officers in the video see a hammer in DePape’s hand, they ask him to drop the weapon, and DePape says “nope” and begins attacking Pelosi. It does not appear that either officer knew they were responding to a call at the Pelosi residence. The footage supports the narrative from police and prosecutors, who have said the intruder was a stranger to the Pelosis and sought to hurt … [Read more...] about Body-Cam Footage From Paul Pelosi Attack Released

Last spring, Anthony Tabarez celebrated prom like many of today’s high schoolers: dancing the night away and capturing it through photos and videos. The snapshots show Tabarez, 18, and his friends grinning, jumping around and waving their arms from a crowded dance floor. But instead of using his smartphone, Tabarez documented prom night with an Olympus FE-230, a 7.1-megapixel, silver digital camera made in 2007 and previously owned by his mother. During his senior year of high school, cameras like it started appearing in classrooms and at social gatherings. On prom night, Tabarez passed around his camera, which snapped fuchsia-tinted photos that looked straight from the early aughts. “We’re so used to our phones,” said Tabarez, a freshman at California State University, Northridge. “When you have something else to shoot on, it’s more exciting.” The cameras of Generation Z’s childhoods, seen as outdated and pointless by those who originally owned them, are in vogue again. Young … [Read more...] about The hottest Gen Z gadget is a 20-year-old digital camera