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Jennifer Sheahan: Ensure your home's a fab fit for middle ageLuka Doncic returns to Dallas Mavericks' lineup after missing two games with left heel contusionThe saga began with Dembélé's adamant refusal to undergo surgery for a serious injury that would sideline him for several months. Despite strong recommendations from the club's medical staff and management, the French winger stood firm in his decision, opting for alternative treatments and rehabilitation methods. This defiant choice not only sparked debates about the player's responsibility towards his own recovery but also fueled suspicions of hidden agendas and personal motivations behind his actions.By PETER SMITH A social-media tribute to Coptic Christians. A billboard in Amish country. A visit to a revered Jewish gravesite. While Donald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, he and his campaign allies also wooed smaller religious groups, far from the mainstream. As it turned out, Trump won by decisive margins, but his campaign aggressively courted niche communities with the understanding that every vote could be critical, particularly in swing states. Voter surveys such as exit polls, which canvass broad swaths of the electorate, aren’t able to gauge the impact of such microtargeting, but some backers say the effort was worth it. Just one week before the election, Trump directed a post on the social-media platform X to Coptic Christians in the United States —- whose church has ancient roots in Egypt. He saluted their “Steadfast Faith in God, Perseverance through Centuries of Persecution and Love for this Great Country.” “This was the first time seeing a major U.S. presidential candidate address the community in this manner,” said Mariam Wahba, a Coptic Christian and research analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute. “It was really a profound moment.” She said many Copts share the conservative social views of other Christian groups in the Republican constituency, and they may already have been Trump supporters. But the posting reinforced those bonds. Coptic bishops sent the president-elect congratulations after his victory and cited their “shared social and family values.” Some Assyrian Christians — another faith group with Middle Eastern roots — similarly bonded with Trump, whose mispronunciation of “Assyrian” at a rally created a viral video moment and drew attention to their support. Sam Darmo, a Phoenix real estate agent and co-founder of Assyrians for Trump, said many community members cited the economy, illegal immigration and other prominent voter issues. They echoed other conservative Christians’ concerns, he said, on issues such as abortion, gender identity and religious expression in public. But he said Trump supported various Middle Eastern Christians recovering from the Islamic State group’s oppressive rule. Darmo also credited Massad Boulos, father-in-law to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, for mobilizing various Middle Eastern Christian groups, including Chaldean Catholics, and other voters, particularly in Michigan, such as Muslims. “He brought all these minority groups together,” he said. “We’re hoping to continue that relationship.” But members of Middle Eastern-rooted Christian groups, and their politics, are far from monolithic, said Marcus Zacharia, founder of Progressive Copts, a program of Informed Immigrants, an organization that promotes dialogue on sensitive topics among such groups in the United States and Canada. He said many younger community members question Trump’s stances on issues such as immigration, and sense that conservatives sometimes tokenize them by focusing on the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East while neglecting wider issues of repression in countries there that the U.S. supports. He said there needs to be more informed dialogue across the political divide in these communities. “There is no more high time than these next four years to have that way of conducting conversations,” he said. Courting the Amish Republicans also made an aggressive push for Amish voters , particularly in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where they are most numerous at about 92,000 (many below voting age). The GOP has made similar efforts in the past, even though researchers have found that less than 10% of them typically vote, due to their separatism from society. But Republicans used billboards, mailers, ads and door-to-door campaigner to drive turnout in Lancaster County, home base to the nation’s largest Amish settlement. On Election Day, Amish voters Samuel Stoltzfus and his wife Lillian Stoltzfus said they were supporting Trump, citing their anti-abortion beliefs. “We basically look at it as murder,” Stoltzfus, 31, said outside a polling center in the Lancaster County community of New Holland, where dozens of other members of the local Amish community voted. Trump has wavered on the issue, dismaying some abortion opponents, though many have said Republicans still align more closely to their views. Stolzfus added: “Make America great again and keep the moral values,” he said. “Let’s go back to the roots.” Steven Nolt, a history professor at Elizabethtown College in Lancaster College who studies the Amish and their voting patterns, said that while it’s too early to say definitively without further research, he doesn’t see evidence of a larger turnout this year. Lancaster County as a whole — most of which is not Amish — is a GOP stronghold that Trump won handily, though both parties’ votes edged up from 2020, according to unofficial results posted by the Pennsylvania Department of State. Trump’s biggest increases were in urban or suburban areas with few Amish, while some areas with larger Amish populations generally saw a modest increase in the Trump vote, said Nolt, director of the college’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. “Bottom line, percentage-wise, not much change in the parts of Lancaster County where the Amish live,” he said. Paying respects at a Chabad grave Trump directly reached out to members of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism. Related Articles National Politics | Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual National Politics | Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees? National Politics | Trump gave Interior nominee one directive for a half-billion acres of US land: ‘Drill.’ National Politics | Trump’s team is delaying transition agreements. What does it mean for security checks and governing? National Politics | Judge delays Trump hush money sentencing in order to decide where case should go now On Oct. 7, the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Trump made a symbolically resonant visit to the “Ohel,” the burial site of the movement’s revered late leader, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson. Wearing a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish skullcap, Trump, who has Jewish family members, brought a written prayer to the Ohel and laid a small stone at the grave in keeping with tradition. The site in New York City, while particularly central to Chabad adherents, draws an array of Jewish and other visitors, including politicians. About two-thirds of Jewish voters overall supported Trump’s opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. But the Trump campaign has made a particular outreach to Orthodox Jews, citing issues including his policies toward Israel in his first administration. Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowitz of Chabad Lubavitch of Southwest Florida said it was moving for him to see images of Trump’s visit. “The mere fact that he made a huge effort, obviously it was important to him,” he said. Associated Press journalist Luis Henao contributed.
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Science geeks to language experts: Meet our most inspiring senior citizenshe Kansas City Chiefs have not been whole on offense all season, the byproduct of injuries to Marquise Brown on the very first game of the preseason and a season-ending injury to fellow wide receiver Rashee Rice at the end of September. They are close to it now. And it showed on Saturday. Brown made his regular-season debut after recovering from shoulder surgery, and made his presence felt on the first offensive series against Houston. The Chiefs were driving downfield but faced fourth-and-2 at the Texans 30, and Brown came open across the field for a 13-yard reception, resulting in a first down and eventually leading to a Kansas City touchdown. Brown went on to catch five passes for 45 yards in a 27-19 victory that pushed the Chiefs closer to the No. 1 seed in the AFC. "I thought he did a great job," Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. "I missed him here and there on a couple of throws, but I thought he was getting open. He was winning against man coverage, which was huge." In fact, as the Chiefs (14-1) prepare to visit Pittsburgh on Christmas Day, they now have a receiving group that can win against just about any coverage. Brown and first-round pick Xavier Worthy, who had seven catches for 65 yards and a score, have the game-breaking speed to beat man-to-man defenses. And three-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins, along with four-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, have the catch radius and veteran savvy to find the holes in any sort of zone. That makes the Chiefs offense as potent as it's been all season. "Kansas City made the plays. That's why, you know, they're at the top echelon of the NFL," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. "They found ways to win, especially in situational football. they did a really good job on third down, staying on the field." The Chiefs finished 7 of 13 on third down. They were 3 for 5 in the red zone and 2 for 2 in goal-to-go situations. That is the kind of efficiency they have had while winning the past two Super Bowls. "What can we do? The sky's the limit," said Worthy, who has caught at least four passes in each of his past six games. "I feel like we're a hard team to beat. We just have to keep stacking." What's working The Chiefs defense, which had turned opponents over just 10 times in their first 13 games, has now created eight turnovers in the past two. That included two interceptions of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud on Saturday. "They talked about breaking the seal last week," said Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, who had no interceptions in his first 48 games but has now picked off a pass in each of his past two. "You get around defensive backs, they talk about how it will come in bunches. I'm seeing it play out, being in the right place at the right time." What needs help After piling up five sacks last week against Cleveland, the Chiefs struggled to capture Stroud on Saturday. They only managed two sacks, one of which was a cornerback blitz in the closing minutes that forced Houston to punt the ball away; the Chiefs were able to run out the clock on offense without giving the Texans another chance with it. Stock up The Chiefs started All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney at tackle for the second straight week, trying to solve their problem protecting Mahomes' blind side. He played admirably against a good Houston pass rush, and that was even more important when the Chiefs had to juggle the offensive line again following right tackle Jawaan Taylor's knee strain. Stock down Running back Isiah Pacheco carried nine times for just 26 yards, and he was stuffed on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 early in the second half, forcing a turnover on downs. Meanwhile, Kareem Hunt gained 55 yards on 11 carries and caught two passes for 24 yards, showing more versatility and explosiveness out of the backfield. Injuries DT Chris Jones (calf strain) and RT Jawaan Taylor (knee strain) did not finish the game against the Texans. LB Jack Cochrane will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his ankle. Key number 14 - The Chiefs matched the franchise record for regular-season wins, set during the 2020 season and matched two years ago. They have two opportunities to break it with Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Denver in their regular-season finale. What's next The Chiefs visit the Steelers on Christmas Day.