SAN ANTONIO (AP) — President Donald Trump, facing protesters and a poor political climate, fought to rally Texas voters behind Senate candidate Ken Paxton on Wednesday night in a bid to stave off sweeping Democratic victories in the nation's most populous red state.
But Trump's remarks were not focused solely on Paxton.
Speaking to a packed Freeman Coliseum, Trump also pledged to award retired baseball star Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, restated his support for the death penalty for drug dealers and clarified recent comments in which he talked about the possibility of Iran bombing American cities as part of a recurring riff about how high fuel costs are "a small price to pay" for the war.
"You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles," Trump said. "We're not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country."
The president's message was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, including by one who appeared to be close to the stage. In all, at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted the president. Some were led away by police.

#president #cities #antonio

What is the Taraia Object?
What artifacts were discovered on Nikumaroro Atoll?
How many passengers were on the Winter Haven High School bus?
Full Summary
An expedition began on Oct. 2 as researchers left Purdue University on a mission that hopes to find the lost plane of aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing along with her navigator Fred Noonan in 1937.

#winter

GANDER, Newfoundland (AP) — Standing in the town that sheltered thousands of stranded Americans after the Sept. 11 attacks, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien marked the 25th anniversary Friday with a pointed message for the United States: "Never mistake our generosity for weakness."
The 92-year-old former leader, who was prime minister at the time of the attacks, drew a standing ovation after telling his "American friends" that Canadians may be tolerant and kind but "we bow to no one." U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra rose afterward and hugged him.
"I say that not in anger, but as one friend to another," Chrétien said. "Friends need to be honest with each other."
The unusually blunt remarks came during a solemn ceremony honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93, and remembering Gander's extraordinary response to the attacks.
Gander, Newfoundland opened its arms to nearly 6,600 airline passengers diverted there when the U.S. government shut down airspace during 9/11.

#attacks #former #tien #nearly

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri court has rejected a request to let voters decide in November whether to erect some of the nation's strongest protections for laws and constitutional amendments passed by citizen initiative.
Citizen initiatives are placed on the ballot in Missouri if voters collect enough signatures. The secretary of state can reject measures that he deems violate the constitution.
The ruling Wednesday by a Cole County judge upholds a decision by Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who had blocked the amendment from the November ballot despite thousands of petition signatures for it. Hoskins ***** erted that the measure violated the state constitution by containing multiple subjects and restricting a republican form of government.
The group Respect Missouri Voters, which backed initiative petition, said it will appeal and expects to prevail.
Missouri has been at the center of a national battle over direct democracy. In August, voters overwhelmingly defeated a measure placed on the ballot by lawmakers that would have imposed one of the nation's toughest standards for passing citizen-initiated amendments.

#missouri

A United States Postal Service employee was arrested last week for allegedly stealing a winning Pick 4 Florida lottery ticket that was sent through the mail and claiming the prize, according to the state's lottery.
The Florida Lottery Division of Security and the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General launched a joint investigation after a Florida Lottery player reported that a winning ticket she had sent through the mail never reached its intended destination, the Florida Lottery said in a statement Friday.
Investigators learned the ticket was redeemed on July 19 at a Florida Lottery office in Miami by Lakaysha Lockhart, who was later identified as a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, officials said.
Powerball ticket sales begin Tuesday in the United Kingdom
Lockhart was arrested on July 23 and later admitted to stealing the ticket and redeeming it, according to the Florida Lottery.

#lockhart #office

By Satoshi Sugiyama and Hina Suzuki
TOKYO, July 7 (Reuters) - A shortage of critical minerals is starting to affect the broader ****** anese economy, adding a sense of urgency for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government to find alternatives to exports that China has cut off, according to recent corporate filings.
China dominates the global market for rare ‌earths - which are crucial in making items from electric cars to weapons - and it is using those supplies as a diplomatic cudgel.
Since Takaichi enraged Beijing with comments about ‌defending Taiwan in November, Beijing has choked off shipments of certain key minerals to ****** an.
Recent surges in the Nikkei stock index to successive records and buoyant corporate sentiment in the Bank of ****** an's Tankan survey point to an economy on an upswing. But an unprecedented increase in corporate ****** an's notices about critical minerals is flashing a warning signal for the quarters ahead.

Michele Ragon first used AI with her 11-year-old son to help with school research.
She later found him using Copilot to vibecode his own video game based on a book he read in school.
She said she thinks this is a perfect example of AI not taking away from human creativity.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michele Ragon, a 46-year-old employee communications business partner at LinkedIn, based in the Bay Area. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
My 11-year-old son just finished fifth grade, and earlier this year, he was diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. He has trouble remembering the order of things and organizing his thoughts.

The death toll is still rising in Venezuela with search and rescue crews working around the clock in a race against time. More than 1,400 people have been killed since Wednesday's back-to-back earthquakes near the country's capital and families are reporting nearly 70,000 others are missing.

A Colorado teacher has been fired after an investigation found students were allegedly asked to kiss classmates during classroom skits, with some reporting they felt pressured to participate because the performances counted toward their grades.
CBS News reported Monday that the Denver Public Schools board voted 7-0 on May 20 to terminate French language and culture teacher Jennifer Honka at Northeast Early College for "incompetence and neglect of duty," finding she had at times allegedly suggested that students kiss during in-class skits.
The outlet reported that an April 30 independent review, a copy of which was obtained by CBS Colorado, found that the students who were allegedly encouraged to kiss were always the same **** .
College Course Asks Florida High School Students About Their **** uality In Controversial **** ignment: Report
"One student told an NEC chemistry teacher about the skits in April 2024," CBS News reported. "The student was very uncomfortable and did not know what to do," the report said. "She went ahead and kissed another student at (Honka)'s direction. The student then shared a digital meme with (the chemistry teacher) that included a picture of (Honka) and the caption 'she makes girls kiss.' The meme had circulated among the students."

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — At least 49 people died of thirst after a truck broke down and they were stranded for days in the Sahara Desert in northern Niger, authorities said.
The victims, all Nigeriens, were returning home from a religious festival in Mali when the truck stopped running more than 80 kilometers (49 miles) west of ***** amaka, near the borders with Mali and Algeria, Niger's Agadez region governorate said in an online post late Thursday.
Two men survived after trekking more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) to a water source and then continuing to ***** amaka, where they alerted authorities, the governorate said.
A delegation sent to the scene by the Agadez Region Governor Gen. Ibra Boulama Issa learned the truck had traveled for several days from the Malian town of Talhandek about 300 kilometers (187 miles) from the Nigerien border.
It was not immediately clear what led to the breakdown or how long the passengers waited.