randy lol646 //
Democrat Derek Tran declared victory over incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel on Tuesday in the 45th Congressional District, even though there are still votes to be counted. Tran held a 581-vote lead over Steel in the latest count, a margin too large for her to overcome to win the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, he said. “Mathematically, it looks like it would be pretty hard for her to be able to take the lead and we feel confident and comfortable declaring victory,” Tran told LAist A phone call from LAist to Steel’s spokesperson went unreturned. The Associated Press has yet to call the race. The district straddles Orange and L.A. counties and includes the cities of Garden Grove, Cerritos, and La Brea. Tran’s campaign estimated 1,690 votes remain to be counted in the race. That includes vote-by-mail ballots in which the signature on the ballot did not match the signature on file with the Registrar of Voters. Each side has access to the contact information for each of those ballots and is frantically trying to contact the voters whose names show up on their list of supporters. “We are attempting to contact them five and six times to urge them to cure their ballot,” said Orrin Evans, a spokesperson for the Tran campaign. The votes that remain to be counted also include conditional and provisional ballots. “Every vote should be heard,” Evans said. Steel would need to win 68% of remaining ballots to make up her deficit, according to the statement from the Tran campaign. Tran’s victory would mean Republicans still control the House of Representatives but by a slimmer margin. Counting Tran, Democrats would hold 213 to Republicans 218. Two races have yet to be called — one in California and another in Iowa. Steel led Tran by 4.2 percentage points the day after the election. But her lead steadily eroded as vote counting continued. Tran pulled ahead of Steel by 36 votes on Nov. 16 and has led ever since. “It's been living on pins and needles,” Tran said Tuesday. “My faith in our democracy and how our voting system is set up has never been stronger.” The first-time candidate said his mother is “very excited and ready for us to start the next chapter.” Tran, a lawyer, army veteran and son of Vietnamese refugees, would become the first Vietnamese American to represent the district, which includes Little Saigon. “I am honored to be in this position,” he said, adding he will represent his community “in a way they’ll be proud of.” “It's not just the Vietnamese community that I am going to be representing," Tran said. "It's everybody in California’s 45th District and I will do so honorably and with character.” Tran acknowledged he’ll be a member of the minority party facing a Republican majority led by President-elect Donald Trump. “I am ready to tackle and take on anything that’s extreme,” he said. He also said he’d be willing to work across the aisle: “Whether it's working with an independent, a Republican, a fellow Democrat, I just want to get things done for the American people.” “It's very clear from my constituents that they want me to focus on inflation — making sure that working families can afford the groceries,” he added. In anticipation of a win, Tran attended freshman orientation for new members of the House of Representative in Washington, D.C. last week. He said he was presented with a whirlwind of information, and experience he said was almost like “drinking from a fire hose.”Seoul's First Vice Mayor Kim Sang-han, left, presents an honorary citizenship certificate to Ruslan Kairambayev, a staff member at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Korea, during a ceremony at Seoul City Hall, Friday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government By Kim Hyun-bin Ruslan Kairambayev, an employee at the Kazakh Embassy in Korea, has been named an Honorary Citizen of Seoul for 2024 in recognition of his heroic act of single-handedly extinguishing a car fire. According to the Seoul city government, last December, Kairambayev saw a fire on the hood of a vehicle as it was leaving the Kazakhstan embassy in Yongsan and rushed over to extinguish it. Using a nearby fire extinguisher, he put out the flames in about 20 seconds. The city said Kairambayev's action prevented the vehicle fire from escalating into a fatal accident. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Kairambayev's selection as part of a group of 16 foreigners from 14 countries honored for their significant contributions to the city. Since 1958, Seoul has been awarding honorary citizenship to exemplary foreigners and distinguished guests. Kairambayev's courageous act was highlighted during the selection process, which included nominations from embassies, public institutions, social organizations and endorsements from over 30 citizens between May 31 and June 28. The final selections were made after the Seoul City Council's thorough screening and approval. The honorary citizenship certificates were presented at a ceremony on Friday in the multipurpose hall of Seoul City Hall. Honorary citizens can also participate in Seoul city events and governance. "We sincerely thank Ruslan Kairambayev and the other 15 honorary citizens who have made Seoul a warmer and more vibrant city," an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.
Customer experience can be hard to define as we head into Black Friday and Small Business Saturday when local businesses depend on you to sustain them into 2025. Joe Hight Each of you is different in what you want, but I have found four main ingredients: — You want to be greeted even if you don’t need help. —You want to find your items quickly, so you can accomplish your next holiday task. —You want a good experience, including online if you need it. — You want a festive but uncomplicated in-person atmosphere. You may have other reasons and shop early because of them, The American Independent Business Alliance found that 59% of consumers today do early shopping. Reasons range from spreading out gift shopping budgets to alleviating stress to not missing out on specific items. My mother, Pauline Hight, was a pioneer in this technique. We knew as children to start searching our home in July for possible Christmas items that she had purchased on sale. However, she always needed additional items during the holiday season. If you’re like her but now turn to online to complete your shopping, you may be missing an experience. For example, nothing is more joyful than seeing a child talking to Santa at a holiday event or the joy in their eyes this season. And small businesses still need you. Kenton Tsoodle, president of The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, wrote in a recent Journal Record column that “nearly 90% of small retail businesses nationwide find the holiday season revenue critical to their bottom line, comprising 33% of their yearly revenue.” But do you need them, too? Yes, if you value customer experience. Customer experience has been ignored or neglected by larger businesses. One example is automated phone systems. How often do you call one and it takes minutes, maybe hours, before you talk to a real person? Or talking to a person or automated system unable to help you? During the holiday season, when you’re busy, the most frustrating experience can be navigating the phone systems or long lines. I don’t ever seem to have these problems with small businesses during regular business hours. In a recent story “What Business Leaders Need to Know To Have A Successful Holiday Season,” Forbes magazine emphasized that point. Businesses “should take a proactive approach to managing customer stress during this busy time. Offering responsive customer service, including access to support channels like live chat or social media, can help mitigate frustration and enhance the overall shopping experience.” Your experience should be a good one from before the time you enter a store to the time you leave it. I’ve been heartened by the growth of small independent bookstores in recent years in Oklahoma. But we should also be heartened by the growth of all small businesses, too. Tsoodle pointed to the 2024 State of Retail report in his column. For any business owner, it’s fascinating to read. It found that most “shopkeepers” are between the ages of 25 to 44, and 79% are women. It also showed that most small business owners are born in Oklahoma, but more than a third have moved here from out of state. “Local shops in Oklahoma have higher sales per square foot than many of the department stores and national chains that boomed in the 1990s and 2000s,” it said. “Beyond that, their year-over-year growth beats giants like Target and Walmart for the second year in a row.” That must be because of customer experience, the ingredients that cause you to return to small businesses and keep them open beyond the holiday season. Joe Hight is director and a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, an editor who led a Pulitzer Prize-winning project, the journalism ethics chair at the University of Central Oklahoma, president/owner of Best of Books, author of “Unnecessary Sorrow” and lead writer/editor of “Our Greatest Journalists.”\
Iranian economy minister to attend WAIPA Conference in RiyadhIt has been a year of adjusting for North Dakota State Junior Guard Brennan Watkins, who has found a new home in Fargo after two seasons at VMI. "It's different in the stand point that I get to just focus on basketball more. At VMI there was military, a lot of academics and then basketball was kind of an after thought. Obviously there is time for academics but I have more time to be in the gym and get more shots up," said Watkins looking back at his time out east. ADVERTISEMENT As the Missouri native navigates his first season with the green and gold, Watkins also has to adjust to some new headgear after a gruesome injury in the game against Weber State earlier this season. "I didn't even know where I got hit. I just knew there was pain radiating around my face. My reaction was to just put my hands to my face. I kind of took my hands away and my hands were just completely filled with blood and I was like oh no that's not good" he said. Watkins suffered a compound fracture breaking his nose in two places. "When I was at the game the team doctor readjusted it partially there and they said it was too swollen to completely adjust it. I think once I go back to the doctor they are going to adjust it a second time too. There is not pain but it is difficult to breathe. I'm not really getting as much airflow through my nose as I am used to" said Watkins describing his challenges with the broken nose. Despite the injury, Watkins hasn't missed a game or a beat becoming the "Masked Man" for the Bison. "It's completely different. I can't really see out of my peripherals. Once I start to sweat the clear mask starts to fog up so that creates another problem. It's truly difficult. I don't think people understand how much of a difference it makes," he said. "Brennan has always been a really talented basketball player. Gifted offensive player and we have challenged him on the little things, the winning plays and he is starting to understand those and execute those things and that's the next step for him," said NDSU Head Coach, Dave Richman. ADVERTISEMENT A warrior, Watkins is determined to stay on the floor and make those winning plays for North Dakota State. "Just do anything for my team and help them win that is just kind of the player I am. It doesn't matter if I have a broken nose. If I am able to play I'm going to be out there," said Watkins. The Bison Men's Basketball Team has one more non-conference match up against CSU-Bakersfield on Monday night before conference play begins on January, 2nd.
China Replaces General in Charge of Ground Force’s Political LoyaltyMarner scores twice as Maple Leafs win first meeting with Utah Hockey Club
The SEC has fined Auburn and Oklahoma a combined $300,000 for a violation of the league's access to competition area policy after fans from both teams stormed the field following Week 13 upsets. Both programs incurred a $100,000 fine as first-time offenders, but the Sooners were tagged with an additional $100,000 after fans stormed the field early, causing a delay. This has been a season of heavy fines for the conference. Most recently, LSU and Ole Miss were given hefty fines for different offenses. LSU became the second school fined $250,000 this season for fans throwing trash and debris onto the playing surface, while Ole Miss received a $350,000 fine for fans rushing the field after a win over Georgia . What a scene. What a night. pic.twitter.com/2Yv07y1is9 Fans throwing debris onto the field has become a recurring issue in college football since Texas fans caused a disruption in its 30-15 loss to Georgia. After the stoppage, the officials overturned a pass interference penalty that helped set up one of two touchdowns for Texas. Clemson and Michigan fans similarly threw trash onto the field to protest calls this season. A BYU cheer coach allegedly lost consciousness after getting hit by a water bottle while playing Utah earlier this month. Penalties for fans storming the field range from $100,000 for a first offense, $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for third and subsequent offenses by the SEC.
Special counsel moves to dismiss election interference and classified documents cases against TrumpA former US lawmaker who was Donald Trump's first pick to run the Justice Department regularly paid for lurid sex sessions at drug-fueled parties, including with a 17-year-old school girl, according to a scathing congressional report released Monday. Matt Gaetz also regularly used cocaine and ecstasy, and bought marijuana from his Capitol Hill office, said the 37-page document, the culmination of a long-running probe by the House Ethics Committee. "The committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress," panel investigators wrote. Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing -- pointing to the Justice Department's decision not to bring charges against him in 2023 after a criminal probe -- and the report came out as his lawsuit to block its release was denied. Congressional investigators found that the 42-year-old Republican broke multiple Florida laws on sexual misconduct, although they cleared him of federal sex trafficking violations. The report listed payments by Gaetz totaling more than $90,000 to 12 women "likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use" between 2017 and 2020. They focused on a 2018 trip to the Bahamas during which Gaetz is alleged to have had sex with four women and to have taken party drug ecstasy, a Schedule I substance in the same legal category as heroin. The ex-congressman is an incendiary figure with few friends on Capitol Hill, but was a staunch Trump loyalist and a favorite of the president-elect's ardent supporters. Tech billionaire Elon Musk -- who is Trump's incoming "efficiency czar" but has inserted himself into all manner of decision-making in the presidential transition process and in congressional politics -- lauded Gaetz as America's "Hammer of Justice" when he was nominated. "Matt Gaetz has 3 critical assets that are needed for the AG role: a big brain, a spine of steel and an axe to grind," Musk posted on his social media platform, X. "He is the Judge Dredd America needs to clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison." Gaetz resigned from Congress in November after Trump nominated him for US attorney general -- but that was after he had just been reelected for the session beginning in January and there is nothing to stop him taking up his seat. The allegations against Gaetz had been openly discussed for years before he was tapped by Trump, and he withdrew from consideration when it became clear he lacked the backing from Republicans to win Senate confirmation. Gaetz posted a series of tweets refuting some of the report's allegations, including that he paid for sex. "Giving funds to someone you are dating -- that they didn't ask for -- and that isn't 'charged' for sex is now prostitution?!?" he posted on X. "There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses." Women told congressional investigators they were paid for sex at parties and other events by Gaetz and his friend Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector in Florida who was jailed for 11 years. One encounter allegedly involved a 17-year-old, who told the committee she had sex with Gaetz twice at a July 2017 party. "Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex. At the time, she had just completed her junior year of high school," the report says. All the women who testified said the sexual encounters with Gaetz were consensual. Gaetz denied having sex with a minor in written responses to the committee. ft/mlm
Former Boise State coach Chris Petersen still gets asked about the Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma on the first day of 2007. That game had everything. Underdog Boise State took a 28-10 lead over one of college football's blue bloods that was followed by a 25-point Sooners run capped by what could have been a back-breaking interception return for a touchdown with 1:02 left. Then the Broncos used three trick plays that remain sensations to not only force overtime but win 43-42. And then there was the marriage proposal by Boise State running back Ian Johnson — shortly after scoring the winning two-point play — to cheerleader Chrissy Popadics that was accepted on national TV. That game put Broncos football on the national map for most fans, but looking back 18 years later, Petersen sees it differently. “Everybody wants to talk about that Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl game, which is great how it all worked out and all those things,” Petersen said. “But we go back to play TCU (three years later) again on the big stage. It's not as flashy a game, but to me, that was an even better win.” Going back to the Fiesta Bowl and winning, Petersen reasoned, showed the Broncos weren't a splash soon to fade away, that there was something longer lasting and more substantive happening on the famed blue turf. The winning has continued with few interruptions. No. 8 and third-seeded Boise State is preparing for another trip to the Fiesta Bowl, this time in a playoff quarterfinal against No. 5 and sixth-seeded Penn State on New Year's Eve. That success has continued through a series of coaches, though with a lot more of a common thread than readily apparent. Dirk Koetter was hired from Oregon, where Petersen was the wide receivers coach. Not only did Koetter bring Petersen with him from Oregon, Petersen introduced him to Dan Hawkins, who also was hired for the staff. So the transition from Koetter to Hawkins to Petersen ensured at least some level of consistency. Koetter and Hawkins engineered double-digit victory seasons five times over a six-year span that led to power-conference jobs. Koetter went to Arizona State after three seasons and Hawkins to Colorado after five. Then when Petersen became the coach after the 2005 season, he led Boise State to double-digit wins his first seven seasons and made bowls all eight years. He resisted the temptation to leave for a power-conference program until Washington lured him away toward the end of the 2013 season. Then former Boise State quarterback and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin took over and posted five double-digit victory seasons over his first six years. After going 5-2 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he left for Auburn. “They just needed consistency of leadership,” said Koetter, who is back as Boise State's offensive coordinator. “This program had always won at the junior-college level, the Division II level, the I-AA (now FCS) level.” But Koetter referred to “an unfortunate chain of events” that made Boise State a reclamation project when he took over in 1998. Coach Pokey Allen led Boise State to the Division I-AA national championship game in 1994, but was diagnosed with cancer two days later. He died on Dec. 30, 1996, at 53. Allen coached the final two games that season, Boise State's first in Division I-A (now FBS). Houston Nutt became the coach in 1997, went 4-7 and headed to Arkansas. Then Koetter took over. “One coach dies and the other wasn't the right fit for this program,” Koetter said. “Was a really good coach, did a lot of good things, but just wasn't a good fit for here.” But because of Boise State's success at the lower levels, Koetter said the program was set up for success. “As Boise State has risen up the conference food chain, they’ve pretty much always been at the top from a player talent standpoint,” Koetter said. “So it was fairly clear if we got things headed in the right direction and did a good job recruiting, we would be able to win within our conference for sure.” Success didn't take long. He went 6-5 in 1998 and then won 10 games each of the following two seasons. Hawkins built on that winning and Petersen took it to another level. But there is one season, really one game, no really one half that still bugs Petersen. He thought his best team was in 2010, one that entered that late-November game at Nevada ranked No. 3 and had a legitimate chance to play for the national championship. The Colin Kaepernick-led Wolf Pack won 34-31. “I think the best team that I might've been a part of as the head coach was the team that lost one game to Nevada,” Petersen said. "That team, to me, played one poor half of football on offense the entire season. We were winning by a bunch at half (24-7) and we came out and did nothing on offense in the second half and still had a chance to win. “That team would've done some damage.” There aren't any what-ifs with this season's Boise State team. The Broncos are in the field of the first 12-team playoff, representing the Group of Five as its highest-ranked conference champion. That got Boise State a bye into the quarterfinals. Spencer Danielson has restored the championship-level play after taking over as the interim coach late last season during a rare downturn that led to Andy Avalos' dismissal . Danielson received the job full time after leading Boise State to the Mountain West championship . Now the Broncos are 12-1 with their only defeat to top-ranked and No. 1 seed Oregon on a last-second field goal . Running back Ashton Jeanty also was the runner-up to the Heisman Trophy . “Boise State has been built on the backs of years and years of success way before I got here,” Danielson said. "So even this season is not because of me. It’s because the group of young men wanted to leave a legacy, be different. We haven’t been to the Fiesta Bowl in a decade. They said in January, ‘We’re going to get that done.’ They went to work.” As was the case with Danielson, Petersen and Koetter said attracting top talent is the primary reason Boise State has succeeded all these years. Winning, obviously, is the driving force, and with more entry points to the playoffs, the Broncos could make opportunities to keep returning to the postseason a selling point. But there's also something about the blue carpet. Petersen said he didn't get what it was about when he arrived as an assistant coach, and there was some talk about replacing it with more conventional green grass. A poll in the Idaho Statesman was completely against that idea, and Petersen has come to appreciate what that field means to the program. “It's a cumulative period of time where young kids see big-time games when they're in seventh and eighth and ninth and 10th grade and go, ‘Oh, I know that blue turf. I want to go there,’” Petersen said. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Great British Bake Off backlash as fans claim finalist was ‘robbed’ of win'It was a stunt': Rail union boss takes aim at NSW premier after strike plan changes
None
AP Trending SummaryBrief at 4:43 p.m. EST