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Nancy Jacobson: Democrats and Republicans met to subvert a third-party option. So much for caring about what voters want

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

Last week it was reported that a group of leading Democratic strategists and former officials — including President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff — met recently with anti-Trump Republicans to hatch a plan to “subvert” a third-option for the 2024 presidential race from the group No Labels, which I lead.To be clear, this was not a meeting about how to beat No Labels on the merits (which we would welcome). Rather, it was a meeting about how to find and exploit legal technicalities, silence supporters interested in our approach and raise money for a campaign against us.This collusion between leading members of the two parties is, in truth, not all that surprising. It proves what many of us have been saying for years: that instead of working together to solve actual problems, these leaders and operatives are aligned only when it comes to protecting their duopoly in a bitterly polarized country.But Americans want to see more choices. A record number of vo...

What to know if you’re headed to see Taylor Swift this weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

The biggest pop music tour of the century lands in Minneapolis on Friday when Taylor Swift headlines two sold-out nights at U.S. Bank Stadium.The tour, which kicked off March 17 in Arizona, has broken numerous records and sold more than 2.4 million tickets the day they went on sale in November. More than 100 shows are scheduled on five continents and will keep Swift on the road through next summer.Ross Raihala“There’s nothing in history to compare,” wrote Rob Sheffield in Rolling Stone. “This is her best tour ever, by an absurd margin.”If you’re headed to one of the shows, or are still looking for tickets, here’s what you need to know.TicketsTickets sold so quickly, Ticketmaster’s website crashed. Public outcry has led to multiple congressional inquires, including calls to break up the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly. As of Wednesday, scalper sites had seats starting at $1,000, and that’s for the 300 level in a building notorious for its poor so...

Kamp’s Food Market in St. Paul’s North End is sold to new owner

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

Paul Kamp, whose father’s father’s father’s father opened Kamp’s Food Market in 1887, put the property on the market more than two years ago and announced that he would soon retire.Leaving the family business has taken longer than expected, but the grocery and butcher shop synonymous with the corner of Western and Cook avenues in St. Paul’s North End will continue without him.Paul Kamp, a fifth-generation grocery store owner and butcher, has run Kamp’s Market at Western Avenue and Cook Street in St. Paul for 39 years. His dad, Jerry Kamp, is seen circa 1935-1937 with an unnamed meat cutter. “That’s a lot of unrefrigerated holiday turkey. You know how sick you’d be now?!” says Paul. His great-great grandpa Staubitz opened a grocery in 1887. (Courtesy of Paul Kamp)A new owner plans to run the store under a new name — Lay’s Food Market — while living with his young family in the adjoining home where Kamp grew up and raised his...

Jonathan Bernstein: Senators are undermining their own power

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

The slow decline of the United States Congress continues.The latest example is a practice that has helped individual senators wield disproportionate influence: the “hold.” Once a justifiable way for senators to bring attention to a problem or issue germane to their state, senators are increasingly using the hold as a publicity stunt on matters of national policy.Three senators currently have holds on various executive-branch nominations. Republican Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, upset about what he sees as the military’s support for abortion, is blocking many military promotions; Republican J.D. Vance of Ohio, in a tantrum over former president Donald Trump’s federal indictment, is blocking Justice Department nominations; and Democrat Bernie Sanders of Vermont is blocking all nominees for health-related positions until the administration has a plan for lowering prescription drug prices.A “hold” is simply a request from a senator that the chamber not...

Make Music Day makes its Capital Region debut

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

CAPTIAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The first day of summer is music to many ears and make music day is a worldwide festival every summer solstice, this year is the return from the pandemic with over 4,000 live, free music-making events across the United States. Troy holding events to celebrate Make Music Day At Washington Park in Albany there were many happy people enjoying the free music and weather as the world celebrates the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. From free music concerts, to face painting, to making your own instruments, the fun is here in the Capital Region.Make Music Day is completely different from any other traditional music festival.  Make music day activities are free and open to all. And the annual worldwide event brings people of all ages and skill levels together to make music.“This is a way of healing, learning and connecting with the community,” said Beverly Hickman, Troy Community Outreach Connector.Over in Troy the festivities started at the Te...

Clifton Park volunteer firefighters prepare to go to court over property tax credits

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Clifton Park’s volunteer firefighters have a bone to pick with the town assessor after he denied more than a dozen applications for property tax credits. "I'm disappointed. We put so many hours into serving this community," says Vischer Ferry’s Vice Chairman of the Fire Commission, Marty Schantz. "I don't think Walt is doing this to be mean or because he's against the fire departments. I'm sure he thinks he's right, but I'm disappointed."Town Assessor Walter Smead says he believes he’s on the right side of the law. "If they wrote the legislation that says all you have to be is a volunteer fireman then we’ll give you a 10% exemption, I would be fine with that, but they didn’t," he says, referring to the state law that passed December 2022.Clifton Park was one of the first to adopt the state’s option offering its volunteer firefighters credit on their property taxes as both a thank you and a recruitment incentive. Smead says the applications he deni...

Downtown St. Louis shooting: Search for suspects continues

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The search for suspects and answers continue in last weekend’s mass shooting at a youth party inside a downtown St. Louis office building.Investigators believe someone used a keycard to get inside and then propped a door open, allowing dozens of teens to come inside.On Wednesday, St. Louis police pleaded with the public to help find the suspects.Makao Moore, 17, died in the shooting. Ten other victims, ages 15 to 19, were also wounded or injured.The shooting occurred around 1 a.m. on June 19, on the fifth floor of a building near the intersection of Washington Avenue and 14th Street. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW Police said the teens at the at party could face trespassing charges. Meanwhile, the 17-year-old who was arrested ...

Denver police release videos of officer being ambushed, shooting of second officer later same day

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

Denver police on Wednesday released video footage of the two separate incidents on the same day last week in which officers were shot and injured.Both officers were fired upon by suspects and both officers returned fire, officials said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon at Denver Police Department headquarters.Police Chief Ron Thomas, who has been with the department for 34 years, said he couldn’t recall two officers being shot separately on the same day.“The challenge we face here in Denver is there are too many guns out in our community and we have individuals who feel emboldened to use them,” Thomas said. “It’s a challenge.”Both officers likely survived, in part, because of the protective bulletproof vests they wore. Although not required by the department, “vests are strongly encouraged” and the vast majority of officers wear them, Thomas said.Both videos — one from a surveillance camera, the other from an officer’...

Former Broncos Super Bowl champ Bill Romanowski owes $15 million in back taxes, feds allege

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

Four-time Super Bowl Champion Bill Romanowski and Julie Romanowski attend Time Warner Cable Studios Presents SHOWTIME And Food Network’s Ultimate Tailgate Experience at Highline Stages on January 29, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Time Warner Cable)Former Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski and his wife owe more than $15 million in back taxes and penalties and have been using their nutrition company to pay for family expenses, the U.S. government alleged in a newly filed complaint.“Despite timely notice and demand for payment, the Romanowskis have neglected, refused or failed to fully pay the assessments against them,” prosecutors in the U.S. Department of Justice’s tax division wrote in the 18-page complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.The couple owes $15.33 million in taxes for the period between 1998 and 2007, prosecutors allege.Romanowski’s wife, Julie, and ...

Justice Samuel Alito accepted Alaska resort vacation from GOP donors, report says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:17 GMT

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted a 2008 trip to a luxury fishing lodge in Alaska from two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests before the court, and he did not disclose the trips on his financial disclosure for that year, ProPublica reports. A story published late Tuesday by the nonprofit investigative journalism organization states that in July 2008 Alito flew to a remote corner of Alaska aboard the private plane of businessman and Republican donor, Paul Singer. A hedge fund founded by the billionaire has brought roughly a dozen cases before the court since then, ProPublica reported. Alito did not recuse himself from participating in any of those cases. Alito’s three-day stay at the King Salmon Lodge was paid for by another wealthy donor, Robin Arkley II, the owner of a mortgage company then based in California. Leonard Leo, then a leader of the conservative legal group The Federalist Society, helped make arrangements for the...