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With his presidency ending in a few weeks, Joe Biden’s legacy is only getting messier. For many Democrats, he’s the man to blame for returning Donald Trump to the White House. If only Biden hadn’t selfishly run for reelection, the story goes, Kamala Harris would have had time to mount a better campaign — or maybe the party could have had a proper primary contest to find somebody, anybody, stronger than Biden or Harris. The trouble with that theory is that Democrats haven’t won a presidential election without Biden on the ticket since 1996. Perhaps Barack Obama didn’t really need Biden as his running mate in 2008 and 2012; yet he needed someone for the No. 2 slot, and he evidently thought Biden the best thing available. Democrats at the time should have pondered what that said about their talent pool. If they’d done so, they might have avoided the mistake that really set them up to lose this year — a mistake named Kamala Harris. Elite Democrats knew perfectly well Biden was already showing his age, then 77, when he won the 2020 nomination, but at the height of COVID lockdowns, his lack of cogency and energy wouldn’t be noticed on the campaign trail — because there wouldn’t be a campaign trail. If Biden was the best the party could field at the ticket’s top, though, what was left below him? By making Biden his veep, Obama had missed the chance to elevate a leader from his own generation. And Hillary Clinton, hell-bent on having the White House for herself, sucked all the air out of the 2016 primaries, leaving only enough oxygen for Bernie Sanders to challenge her from the left — which the then-75-year-old Vermont democratic socialist did surprisingly well. Senior Democrats in effect prevented the next generation of leadership from being born — perhaps a fitting thing for a party so fiercely dedicated to abortion. What they had in lieu of fresh presidential material was identity politics. So, fully aware Biden wasn’t fit to be a two-term president, Democrats accepted Harris as his running mate. Her qualification as Biden’s heir apparent wasn’t that she was popular with voters: On the contrary, she never made it to the first primary in her bid for the 2020 nomination, so pathetic were her polls. Nor did Harris represent, like Sanders, an ideological force within the party; her opportunism was already transparent long before she turned repudiating her own words and past policies into the hallmark of her ’24 campaign. What argued for making her Biden’s running mate was simply her race and sex. After all, the central message of Clinton’s campaign four years earlier had been that a woman deserved to be president. How could a party that ran on that not put any woman on its ticket next time? Yet it was also the year of George Floyd, and the party of Black Lives Matter couldn’t afford not to take color into consideration as well. Harris wasn’t popular, she wasn’t principled, but she was ambitious — and she ticked the right boxes. Yet when a party selects candidates this way, it can’t be surprised that it loses, especially after Clinton had already proved identity politics wouldn’t beat Trump. Elite Democrats may blame Biden now, but the truth is they knew all about his condition and still preferred to have him run again rather than risk the party’s fortunes on Harris. There was no one else: The choice was Biden or Harris, and until his debate meltdown — and for some time afterward, in fact — Democratic insiders saw Biden as obviously the stronger candidate. The party sealed its fate in 2020 when it elevated Harris for reasons having nothing to do with electability. Yet Democrats put their philosophy to the test: If race and gender preferences are needed in higher education and corporate America to right the wrongs of racism and sexism, isn’t it all the more important those wrongs be righted with preferences at the highest level, that of presidential politics? But trying to do that landed Democrats with a substitute for Biden who couldn’t win, even with the media branding her opponent an outright fascist. Harris’ campaign has revealed its internal polling never showed her ahead. Biden, Harris, Clinton and Obama led Democrats to a dead end. To escape, the party will have to rethink its identity politics — but given Trump’s gains with black men and Latinos , Democrats may fear any retreat from affirmative action will unravel their already fraying coalition. By rejecting Harris and electing Trump, however, the nation’s voters — of both sexes and all colors — sent Democrats a clear message. The question is whether they’re willing to hear it.Investing.com stocks of the week
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For the Sphere, $420.5 million is a nice, round number. That’s the total gross the venue has reported for concerts in 2024, according to Billboard’s annual Top Venues list. The published report covers venues with a capacity of 15,001 or higher. Sphere’s $420 million-plus of revenue from 1.3 million tickets sold is by far the top gross for any venue in Billboard Boxcore’s 50-year history. According to Billboard, the Sphere is the first facility to record a year-end gross of more than $300 million. Only four touring artists have posted numbers higher than the Sphere’s one-year numbers: The Rolling Stones in 2006; Ed Sheeran in 2018; Beyonce in 2023; and, based on final reports for “The Eras Tour,” Taylor Swift in 2023 and ‘24. Sphere Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan has said his goal is to present entertainment every day — sometimes multiple events through the day and night — moving into 2025. But the high-grossing figures don’t necessarily correlate to overall profitability. The Sphere reported a decline in revenue in the third quarter, despite showing progress overall. The company reported an operating loss of $125.1 million on revenue of $127.1 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. For the two previous quarters, it reported $151.2 million and $170.4 million in revenue. MSG Entertainment, which operates the Sphere in Las Vegas, also runs the Big Dome in Burbank , California, which is a quarter of the Sphere’s size and does not produce ticket revenue. The company uses it to test future productions for the Sphere. In Las Vegas, the Eagles are the bulbous wonder’s current resident headliners , running at least through April, though Dolan has said the band can play as many dates as it likes. Billboard reports the band’s first eight shows scored $42.2 million and sold 131,000 tickets. U2, Phish and Dead and Company are the rock bands that have cycled in and out of the Sphere, and Dead & Co. has re-upped its series from March through May. Afterlife’s “The End Of Genysys,” featuring EDM trailblazer Anyma , plays a half-dozen dates around New Year’s Eve . Whether it’s a short residency or an extended engagement, the production is the first EDM show to play there. The residency headliner lineup draws superstars in the same way PH Live, Dolby Live, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and Resorts World Theatre. But the high capacity, selling 15,000-17,000 per show, puts the Sphere on another planet. And the boffo UFC 306 fight card was staged at the Sphere, though the $22 million gate is not included in Billboard’s tally, which covers music performances. The theatrical productions Darren Aronofsky’s “Postcard From Earth” and “ V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film ” anchor the programming. What’s coming next? Speculation abounds as to future headliners, with Harry Styles resurfacing as a top name. (He’s under entertainment power player Irving Azoff management, and Azoff’s company reps previous Sphere headliners.) A scaled-back, 80-minute version of “ The Wizard of Oz ” is also reportedly being developed, targeting a May launch. Billboard’s numbers behind the Sphere’s resident headliners: — “ U2: UV Achtung Baby ” reported a $244.5 million gross, selling 663,000 tickets, over 40 shows. That is the fourth highest-grossing residency in Boxscore history, despite running for just six months with 40 shows ( Billy Joel’s Madison Square Garden is No. 3 on the all-time list, playing for 10 years and 104 shows). — Phish’s four shows from April 18-21 recorded $13.4 million, selling 66,700 tickets. — Dead and Company played 30 shows between May 16 and Aug. 10. The production landed in the top 10 of Boxscore listings, with $131.8 million and 477,000 tickets. That is the highest gross of any Dead & Co. tour, dating to the band’s creation in 2015. Along with “Wizard of Oz,” expect more Sphere film productions. Dolan said in November’s first-quarter earnings call that he loves the U2 concert movie and wants to extend the live-concert experience for headliners. “You feel like you’re at the concert,” Dolan said of the new U2 concert film. “So, you know, we have some great bands that are coming in over the next year. And so I think we will continue to capture their concerts using our Big Sky technology. How we then bring it to the public and market it, I think we’re still trying to figure out what’s the best way.”DETROIT (AP) — Starting in September of 2027, all new passenger vehicles in the U.S. will have to sound a warning if rear-seat passengers don't buckle up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it finalized the rule, which also requires enhanced warnings when front seat belts aren't fastened. The agency estimates that the new rule will save 50 lives per year and prevent 500 injuries when fully in effect, according to a statement. The new rule will apply to passenger cars, trucks, buses except for school buses, and multipurpose vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds. Before the rule, seat belt warnings were required only for the driver's seat. Under the new rule, outboard front-seat passengers also must get a warning if they don't fasten their belts. Front-center seats will not get a warning because NHTSA found that it wouldn't be cost effective. The agency said most vehicles already have warnings for the outboard passenger seats. The rule also lengthens the duration of audio and visual warnings for the driver's seat. The front-seat rules are effective starting Sept. 1 of 2026. Rear passengers consistently use seat belts at a lower rate than front passengers, the agency says. In 2022, front belt use was just under 92%, while rear use dropped to about 82%. About half of automobile passengers who died in crashes two years ago weren’t wearing belts, according to NHTSA data. The seat belt rule is the second significant regulation to come from NHTSA in the past two months. In November the agency bolstered its five-star auto safety ratings to include driver assistance technologies and pedestrian protection. Safety advocates want the Department of Transportation, which includes NHTSA, to finish several more rules before the end of the Biden administration, because President-elect Donald Trump has said he’s against new government regulations. Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, urged the department to approve automatic emergency braking for heavy trucks and technology to prevent impaired driving.No. 24 Louisville women use 16-0 4th-quarter run to beat Colorado 79-71