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Herro leads Heat over Rockets in game marred by fight and ejections in final minuteENGLEWOOD, Colo. — John Elway says any remorse over bypassing Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft is quickly dissipating with rookie Bo Nix's rapid rise, suggesting the Denver Broncos have finally found their next franchise quarterback. Elway said Nix, the sixth passer selected in April's draft, is an ideal fit in Denver with coach Sean Payton navigating his transition to the pros and Vance Joseph's defense serving as a pressure release valve for the former Oregon QB. "We've seen the progression of Bo in continuing to get better and better each week and Sean giving him more each week and trusting him more and more to where last week we saw his best game of the year," Elway said in a nod to Nix's first game with 300 yards and four touchdown throws in a rout of Atlanta. For that performance, Nix earned his second straight NFL Rookie of the Week honor along with the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. "I think the sky's the limit," Elway said, "and that's just going to continue to get better and better." In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Elway also touted former coach Mike Shanahan's Hall of Fame credentials, spoke about the future of University of Colorado star and Heisman favorite Travis Hunter and discussed his ongoing bout with a chronic hand condition. Elway spent the last half of his decade as the Broncos' GM in a futile search for a worthy successor to Peyton Manning, a pursuit that continued as he transitioned into a two-year consultant role that ended after the 2022 season. "You have all these young quarterbacks and you look at the ones that make it and the ones that don't and it's so important to have the right system and a coach that really knows how to tutelage quarterbacks, and Sean's really good at that," Elway said. "I think the combination of Bo's maturity, having started 61 games in college, his athletic ability and his knowledge of the game has been such a tremendous help for him,'" Elway added. "But also Vance Joseph's done a heck of a job on the defensive side to where all that pressure's not being put on Bo and the offense to score all the time." Payton and his staff have methodically expanded Nix's repertoire and incorporated his speed into their blueprints. Elway lauded them for "what they're doing offensively and how they're breaking Bo into the NFL because it's a huge jump and I think patience is something that goes a long way in the NFL when it comes down to quarterbacks." Elway said he hopes to sit down with Nix at some point when things slow down for the rookie. Nix, whose six wins are one more than Elway had as a rookie, said he looks forward to meeting the man who won two Super Bowls during his Hall of Fame playing career and another from the front office. "He's a legend not only here for this organization, but for the entire NFL," Nix said, adding, "most guys, they would love to have a chat with John Elway, just pick his brain. It's just awesome that I'm even in that situation." Orange Crush linebacker Randy Gradishar joined Elway in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, something Elway called "way, way overdue." Elway suggested it's also long past time for the Hall to honor Shanahan, who won back-to-back Super Bowls in Denver with Elway at QB and whose footprint you see every weekend in the NFL because of his expansive coaching tree. Elway called University of Colorado stars Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders "both great athletes." He said he really hopes Sanders gets drafted by a team that will bring him along like the Broncos have done with Nix, and he sees Hunter being able to play both ways in the pros — but not full time. Elway said he thinks Hunter will be primarily a corner in the NFL but with significant contributions on offense: "He's great at both. He's got great instincts, and that's what you need at corner." It's been five years since Elway announced he was dealing with Dupuytren's contracture, a chronic condition that typically appears after age 40 and causes one or more fingers to permanently bend toward the palm. Elway's ring fingers on both hands were originally affected and he said now the middle finger on his right hand is starting to pull forward. So, he'll get another injection of a drug called Xiaflex, which is the only FDA-approved non-surgical treatment, one that he's endorsing in an awareness campaign for the chronic condition that affects 17 million Americans. The condition can make it difficult to do everyday tasks such as shaking hands or picking up a coffee mug. Elway said what bothered him most was "I couldn't pick up a football and I could not imagine not being able to put my hand around a football." Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!None
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As Cuba has grappled with electricity failures and natural disasters, Americans with family on the island and tourists considering visiting have been mobilizing to provide much-needed aid. For both groups, the situation has been cause for worry, extra precautions and planning. In the past few weeks, Cuba has struggled with nationwide blackouts , two major hurricanes and a 6.8 magnitude earthquake — blows to an already weakened infrastructure. Residents have been left without power for hours a day, and access to food, medicine, water and fuel — already scarce — has become even more of a challenge. Now, just about a month after the initial grid collapse, both tourists and family members are channeling their frustration and concern into action — sending supplies from both overseas and in person. Marisa Diaz, a Cuban American content creator , and her husband, Yoel, are a primary provider of aid to their family in Cuba, and during the first round of blackouts weeks ago, their family struggled to preserve food and medicine without any power. “Electricity blackouts are certainly not uncommon in Cuba,” said Diaz, who's based in Phoenix; her family lost power for up to eight hours a day following the power collapse. “It’s just to the degree that it was at this point.” Though the couple regularly pay for cellular data for their family to prevent communication losses during regular, shorter power outages, recent packages to the island have included nonperishables like coffee, instant noodles, dried seasonings, powdered milk, first-aid items like ibuprofen and bandages, and solar-paneled flashlights and phone chargers. “It’s really hard for Americans to try to understand the quality of life in Cuba,” she said. “There’s so much scarcity.” “I think all of that has a negative effect on the tourism sector of Cuba,” added Diaz, who’s critical of the country’s government. “Americans are reminded that, yes, there is a dictatorship in Cuba. Yes, Cuba is a communist country.” Stephanie Herchak, from Orr Lake, Canada and a frequent visitor to Cuba, recently returned from a trip despite travel advisories against going from Canada , the United States and the United Kingdom , citing shortages, the effects of the storms and increased crime. Aware of the increasingly dire conditions, Herchak brought food and sanitary items to hand out to locals, though she didn’t stray far from the resort where she was staying with her partner. “All the houses and things that we’ve driven by are just shambles with no windows or anything, people with no power,” she said. Herchak, who stayed at the Sanctuary by Grand Memories in Santa Maria, said she didn’t experience power outages at the resort while she was there. In a phone call with NBC News, resort staff confirmed they have not had blackouts and use their “own generators.” But Herchak said she heard from many locals and hotel staff she spoke with that power was still out for hours at a time in residential areas. Reddit pages and several Facebook Cuba travel groups have become home to conversations on the situation in Cuba; some share concerns regarding upcoming trips and others share rare glimpses into current conditions, even encouraging visitors to reconsider their vacation. Many ask for advice on which goods are most needed by locals. “Over the last few years, more and more people who are going to Cuba are looking for ways to help,” said Rebecca Shoval, program director for Not Just Tourists New York City, a volunteer effort that has connected underserved countries with hard to find resources for over 30 years. This year, they’ve sent a "record number" of shipments to Cuba, according to the organization. Avi D'Souza, executive director of Not Just Tourists Toronto, said their group alone has sent 475 suitcases of supplies this year — 62% more than in 2023. In bulk, they've sent 298,000 lbs of medical supplies and equipment via container, 24% more than last year, he said. Shoval explained that tourists are given suitcases filled with medical supplies to bring to drop-off locations on the island. Anthony ImBoden, of Ontario, is one of many who expressed concerns and asked questions on a public Reddit forum regarding his upcoming vacation to Cuba. A diabetic whose insulin needs to be refrigerated, ImBoden asked for tips on how to travel with — and preserve — his medication through the power outages. Even though a Canadian travel advisory encourages visitors to “exercise a high degree of caution in Cuba due to shortages of basic necessities including food, medicine and fuel," ImBoden said he’s “taking [the concerns] with a grain of salt.” While some people told him not to go, Imboden said his diabetes is well controlled and it’s a risk he's "willing to take.” The Cuban government has blamed U.S. sanctions as well as the effect of the pandemic on tourism for the tougher economic conditions on the island, while the U.S. has blamed Cuba’s centrally planned, communist economy. Cuba’s lack of hard currency has affected its ability to import basic necessities. Recent travelers like Monica Joseph — who stayed at an Airbnb in Cuba just before the massive outage — noted a feeling of safety in more tourist-centered areas like Havana, the capital. Though she did not experience blackouts herself, she did speak to many residents who described an inability to find goods like soap or sanitary products. Joseph, who lives near Washington, D.C., said she was told “that it was a bit better to be in the city" but would have "issues" outside of Havana. The conditions outside of cities and tourist areas are a source of frustration for Cuban Americans like Mailen Rodríguez, 23, a kindergarten teacher from Houston who emigrated from Cuba when she was seven years old. “It was bad in 2007, but now it’s even worse. ... Back then, I don’t ever remember sleeping without any light. Now, when I went in October, the [blackouts] were four to five hours every single day,” Rodriguez said, asking why tourists aren’t affected. “Why is it only affecting the people in the provinces that are scared to speak up and protest?” The Cuban government didn’t respond to a request for comment on whether tourist areas are being given priority for electricity power and on countries' travel advisories warning of current conditions on the island. When Rodriguez visited Cuba in October, she brought her family basic necessities like toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shampoos, razors, clothing, shoes, and cooking seasonings — emphasizing that this was a luxury not afforded to many Cubans. “The people that have relatives over here, thankfully, they have a source of income, they have money for food, for any necessities,” Rodriguez said. “But if you don’t have family outside of the island, you’re kind of stuck — it’s really hard to get any resources.” Carl Eaton, director of the Orange County California Chapter of Not Just Tourists, has become more aware of the needs in Cuba through his work. “People who live in Cuba love Cuba, and they want to stay there because they love the island. However, a lot of people are reaching the end of the rope,” Eaton said, mentioning that more people are trying to leave; the country has seen record migration out of Cuba. For tourists who want to help, “Cuba is probably one of the easiest countries in the world as far as aid warrants. They need the help, and they’re not going to discourage anybody from bringing supplies into the country,” Eaton said. “The big thing is to get through to the traveler that this is something that they can do, where they can make a difference.”
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ALL it took was three words: “Howay the lads!” for Britain to fall in love with President Jimmy Carter. He was in Newcastle when he won over a crowd of 20,000 with the Toon Army’s most famous chant. But it took the rest of the world many more years to appreciate the greatness of the longest-living US leader ever, who has died aged 100. In the wake of the Watergate scandal which saw Republican President Richard Nixon resign from office in disgrace, Carter the Democrat candidate was expected to narrowly win against Tricky Dicky’s replacement former Vice President Gerald Ford. But in an attempt to portray himself as a Washington outsider and man of the people Carter gave an interview to soft-porn magazine, Playboy, where he admitted that he had “committed adultery in his heart many times.” Carter’s reference to sex became all anyone could talk about. The interview shifted the entire dynamic of the election — and helped get the Republicans back on track. Many evangelical Christians in Carter’s southern heartland turned against him. Despite the setback, Carter won the 1976 election to become 39 th United States President at the age of 52. In his inaugural address the following January he told the American people: “Your strength can compensate for my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes. But his one term in the White House was notorious for fiascos ranging from a self-inflicted 444-day hostage crisis to an incident when he managed to get attacked in a pond by a swimming rabbit. It was seen as not only humiliating for the former peanut farmer, but for the entire United States. However, after losing office, he redefined what it meant to be an ex-President, becoming one of history’s great peacemakers. In fact the Nobel Peace Prize winner became one of the finest presidents in American history — after he left the White House. James Earl Carter Jr was born on October 1, 1924, in the one-street town of Plains, Georgia , in America’s Deep South. He grew up on his father’s peanut farm and worked on it from the time he was able to carry buckets of water. Jimmy set his sights on a career with the US Navy, in order to receive free college education to study engineering. And it was while at the Naval Academy that he fell in love with a former neighbour, Rosalynn, his sister’s best friend. They married on July 7, 1946, when he was 21 and she was 18, and they were together for the next 77 years until Rosalynn’s death last November, age 96. Marking their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021, Carter said: “I love her more now than I did to begin with — which is saying a lot, because I loved her a lot.” He vowed to stay alive so that Rosalynn would never have to live alone. Carter was relishing being part of the Navy’s brand-new nuclear submarine program in New York when his father died in 1953 changing the whole course of his life The 28-year-old felt duty-bound to quit the Navy and return to Plains with Rosalynn and their three sons to take over the family business. As a leading member of the evangelical Baptist Church, he quickly became a pillar of the community — until a ruling by the Supreme Court changed everything. Most spectacularly, he began trying to revive the Middle East peace process — and succeeded In 1954, judges declared racial segregation of schools unconstitutional and the South went into uproar. In Plains a White Citizens’ Council was set up and Carter was the only white man in town who refused to join. There was a boycott of the peanut business, and banishment from the country club. The attendant at the petrol station even refused to fill his car. But Jimmy Carter had not gone into politics — politics had come to him. The following year he joined the county’s school board and gradually became more outspoken on race . Then in 1962 he ran for Georgia’s state senate as a Democrat. After his senate stint, in 1970 he became Governor, declaring in his inaugural speech: “The time of racial discrimination is over.” By late 1974 he had become known for compassion and competency, in a United States despairing over crooked ex-President Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. Still, he did not seem the White House type. Years later Carter recalled: “When I told my mother I was running for president, she said, ‘President of what?’” And when he announced his candidacy for the 1976 election, the reaction was: “Jimmy who?” With the reputation of Washington insiders at an all-time low, the outsider captured the public imagination It turned out to be a gift. With the reputation of Washington insiders at an all-time low, the outsider captured the public imagination. He was sworn as President on January 20, 1977, and things started well. One of his first acts was to declare an amnesty for Vietnam War draft evaders. He also installed solar panels on the White House and established the United States’ first federal Department of Education. Most spectacularly, he began trying to revive the Middle East peace process — and succeeded. Patient negotiations led to a secret summit in September 1978 between the leaders of warring Israel and Egypt at Camp David, the presidential retreat. It was meant to last three days and ended up taking 12. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli PM Menachem Begin started out refusing to even be in the same room. By the end, they were watching movies together and had the framework for a treaty that ended the war. It remains the only meaningful peace in the Middle East. But Carter’s standing tended to be higher abroad than at home. Especially in Newcastle. The President had come to London for a summit in May 1977, and Labour PM Jim Callaghan asked if there was any where he would like to visit. Carter said he would love to see Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, where his favourite poet Dylan Thomas had lived. But wily Callaghan confided that choosing Tyneside instead would be helpful in shoring up Labour support. Air Force One headed north. On the drive to the city centre, Carter noticed a newspaper poster reading “Howay Jimmy”, and another one referring to “the lads”. He asked what all this meant and got a history of Newcastle United’s call to arms. By the time he took to the stage outside the Civic Centre, he had decided on his opening words. The Sun reported that the President’s “Howay the lads!” was greeted with “the sort of roar you get for a five-goal win at Newcastle’s St James’ Park”. Carter would later say: “The expected friendly and polite welcome became a love fest. “This was one of the high points of my first year as president.” That UK visit also had an unlikely impact at Westminster Abbey. Because he could not get to Laugharne, Carter visited the Abbey to see Dylan Thomas’s memorial in Poets’ Corner. But when the President asked an archdeacon to point out the stone, he was told: “We couldn’t have Dylan Thomas commemorated here — you know he was a drunkard.” Carter replied: “Well look, there’s Lord Byron who was gay. There’s Edgar Allan Poe, who was a drug addict.” Still fuming, back home he wrote a letter outlining the poet’s case. In 1982 a memorial was finally unveiled. But in the US, inflation and a petrol shortage were uppermost in voters’ minds. Carter appeared weak, summed up in September 1979, when he collapsed gasping for air into the arms of minders half-way through a six-mile jog. But worse was to come in October that year when in a misguided humanitarian gesture, Carter invited the embattled Shah of Iran to have cancer treatment in the US. Iranians who had been trying to overthrow the royal’s rule and establish a republic were enraged. On November 4, 1979 students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking those inside hostage. Fifty-two Americans would be held for the next 444 days. Carter’s inability to win their release scuppered his reputation for negotiation. A rescue mission also failed, and Carter refused popular calls to simply bomb Tehran. He was awarded 2002’s Nobel Peace Prize – the only US President to ever get the honour after leaving office All this unfolded in the run-up to the November 1980 election, with macho Republican challenger Ronald Reagan branding Carter a “wimp”. The President lost to Reagan in a landslide. Minutes after the new President was sworn in, the hostages in Iran were released. Meanwhile Carter and Rosalynn, along with 13-year-old daughter Amy, moved back to the bungalow in Plains that the family had built in 1961. The political outcast announced that he would not take jobs on corporate boards or pile up money on the lecture circuit. Instead, he went back to teaching Sunday school, and quietly set about changing the world. In 1986 he announced his life goal was to help eradicate Guinea worm disease, which was striking 3.5million people in Africa each year. In 2021, that was down to 14 cases. It is on track to being only the second human disease in history to be eradicated after smallpox. Then in 1994, when it seemed war was about to erupt between North and South Korea , President Bill Clinton remembered Carter’s magical touch with the Middle East. Carter flew in to meet with leader Kim Il Sung, and got on so well they ended up hugging. The intervention helped to seal a nuclear disarmament agreement that lasted nearly a decade. He was awarded 2002’s Nobel Peace Prize – the only US President to ever get the honour after leaving office. Despite his age he carried on building homes for the poor – often working on them himself but the Secret Service banned him from going on the roof because he was at risk of assassination by snipers. And at home in their two-bedroom bungalow, he and Rosalynn read a chapter of the Bible to each other each night, as they had done for more than 40 years. During the day the couple rode around on three-wheeled scooter the former president said "gives you a workout all the way from your ankles up to your shoulders" — for up to 2.5 miles a day. In accordance with his wishes, President Carter will be buried in front of his smallholding worth £150,000 – less than the value of the Secret Service car that always parked outside for his protection. He explained: “Plains is where our hearts have always been.” JIMMY CARTER did not always have the best luck — but it was never worse than one day in April 1979 when he went out fishing on a boat and got attacked by a swimming rabbit. News reports quoted a witness as saying the animal was “hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared, and making straight for the President.” The Washington Post’s front-page headline was “Rabbit attacks President”. The Associated Press went with “Carter Fights ‘Killer Rabbit’ with Paddle on Fishing Trip”. Carter later insisted that what actually happened that day on a pond in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, was that “a rabbit was being chased by hounds and he jumped in the water and swam towards my boat. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle and the rabbit turned.” But his press secretary Jody Powell always swore that the animal was “enraged” and “perhaps beserk” and “intent upon climbing into the presidential boat”. He ((OK, he)) said it was also far larger than normal rabbits so the President was frightened, with good reason. Cartoons and novelty songs followed, and political enemies who wanted to paint Carter as ridiculous and hapless had a field day. For the rest of his time in office, Carter avoided being photographed with the Easter Bunny.
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BRAINERD — A proposed 2025 4% levy increase will be presented to Brainerd residents during the City Council’s truth in taxation hearing Dec. 2. This number is a reduction from the preliminary 8% levy increase approved in September and could still change before a final levy is approved. Discussion surrounding funding for the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport and how that would impact the levy continued during the council’s meeting on Monday, Nov. 18 ADVERTISEMENT Council member Gabe Johnson, chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee, told the council of a couple of recent proposed changes to the budget. The committee’s proposal would have reduced the levy increase to 4.75% over 2024. It included a $100,000 reduction in the capital budget and a $100,000 reduction in the Park Board’s facility funding request each year. There was also a $10,000 reduction in funds budgeted for street tree replacement. Monday’s proposal also included $125,000 for an airport levy, which is an increase from the previously approved levy of $1,000. Council member Jeff Czeczok proposed the $1,000 in September as opposed to the airport’s request of $225,000. An earlier issue regarded Brainerd’s request not to have double taxation on Brainerd residents, who paid into both the city and county levies for the airport. A year ago, then Crow Wing County Administrator Tim Houle said the city of Brainerd represents 6% of the total tax base in Crow Wing County. That means that of the $157,000 the county planned to levy for the airport in 2024, $9,420 will come from Brainerd residents. “While we cannot exclude them from our levy, we could agree to increasing our levy by that amount and let the city decrease their levy by that amount and, in essence, we would leave the city residents whole on the issue of being taxed twice,” Houle wrote. In November 2023, the County Board authorized the increase of its 2024 levy by $9,420, while Brainerd reduced its levy by the same amount. The county reported that remedy, once it was set last year, continues going forward. At that time, the County Board also agreed to continue talks with city officials about the long-term ownership of the airport. The county noted there were also other areas for discussion, such as staff support, it was willing to undertake. One option — raised at the time of the double taxation discussion in 2023 at the County Board — was for the county to take full ownership of the airport. Brainerd City Council members at that time said they weren’t necessarily opposed to the idea but were looking for more information . The city approached Crow Wing County earlier this year about having the county take over sole ownership of the airport, but a letter from county staff said it was not an issue they wanted to pursue. In August, Crow Wing County Commissioner Steve Barrows said he did not support the ownership change — neither did Airport Director Steve Wright nor Brainerd City Council member airport liaison Kevin Stunek. ADVERTISEMENT As the airport is jointly owned by the city and the county, there is an ownership agreement between the two entities, though the agreement does not specifically state how much each entity must levy for airport operations each year. In 1947, Brainerd resident Walter Wieland urged the City of Brainerd, in conjunction with Crow Wing County, to develop an Airport Commission in an effort to own and operate an airport. The Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport website notes an application was made and money from local, state and federal sources combined to create the airport, previously known as the Brainerd Crow Wing County Municipal Airport. Reached by phone Wednesday night, Barrows, who is the county liaison to the airport commission, said the county was willing to talk about ownership but it was already late in the game for the 2025 budget process. The county adopted its preliminary tax levy on Sept. 24. A discussion with the Federal Aviation Administration listed an 18-24 month time period to remove Brainerd from the ownership agreement, Barrows said. He said the county didn’t walk away, but said no changes in 2024. He said they are willing to talk about 2026 if the city initiates that conversation. Barrows said it seems Brainerd officials felt it was doable for the county to come up with another $150,000 after they were already deep into staff work for the 2025 budget. “There is a year to work on it,” Barrows said. “Now is the time for them to come back to have these discussions. ... This is not a thing that can happen overnight with the snap of a finger. We know they want out. ... Let’s do a planful approach to their exit.” Barrows said the county has represented itself professionally in this process. ADVERTISEMENT In September, Czeczok said the biggest issue for him is the levy, as the airport is an asset to the entire region — not just Brainerd or even Crow Wing County. The county taking over the entire or at least the majority of the levy, Czeczok said, would give relief to Brainerd taxpayers. The whole point is transferring ownership to the county, he added, was so Brainerd would not have to levy at all for the airport. Council members discussed a $150,000 airport levy at a meeting in September, marginally increasing it from the $146,080 levy in 2024. The motion for the amount failed, though, with Mayor Dave Badeaux breaking the 3-3 tie, with one council member absent. The $125,000 proposed Monday night started at that $150,000 mark but deducted $25,000 to account for the finance and human resources work performed by city staff at the airport each year. Czeczok was not in favor of the increase, saying the $1,000 airport levy was all about fairness to Brainerd taxpayers. The county has the ability to administer the entire levy, he said, and it’s not the city’s responsibility to match what the county does. Barrows said present and past Brainerd City Councils, not the County Board, decided to contribute financially and at what level in support of the airport that is in shared ownership. “Our negotiation is simple,” Czeczok said. “We say we’re going to give $1,000, and we do that. And the next year, the county said, OK, they’re only going to pay 1,000 bucks. Are we going to have the airport get the operating levy they need to operate, or are we going to sit here and play patty cake and go back and forth because somebody’s got a petty issue? ... Petty politics is all we see happening here, and I’m looking out for our taxpayers.” Council President Kelly Bevans said he agreed with Czeczok. The double taxation of Brainerd taxpayers, he said, is something the city can fix right now. ADVERTISEMENT “The additional tragedy is not only the double taxation but the fact that we made a proposal in writing to the county to discuss this,” Bevans said. “... And it appears they’re not interested in even discussing the administration of the levy.” As much as he said the $125,000 might be necessary to run the airport, Bevans said it should not fall on Brainerd taxpayers. The motion to approve the Personnel and Finance Committee’s proposal, including the $125,000 for the airport, failed 5-2, with Tiffany Stenglein and Kara Terry the only ones in support. A subsequent motion for only the capital and streets portion of the recommendation passed 6-1, with Terry in opposition. The airport levy back at $1,000, Johnson suggested presenting a 4% levy increase to residents during the public hearing in December. He said he did not know what the exact number would be with the $124,000 airport levy reduction from the proposal but figured 4% would allow the council to further reduce the levy if needed. Czeczok said he liked 4%. The motion to present 4% at the public hearing passed 6-1, with Terry opposed. The council’s public hearing on the final levy will take place at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, at City Hall. The council must pass the final levy before the end of the year. ADVERTISEMENT Managing Editor Renee Richardson assisted with this story. THERESA BOURKE may be reached at theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa .
Joe Biden begins final White House holiday season with turkey pardons for 'Peach' and 'Blossom' WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has kicked off his final holiday season at the White House, issuing the traditional reprieve to two turkeys who will bypass the Thanksgiving table to live out their days in Minnesota. The president welcomed 2,500 guests under sunny skies as he cracked jokes about the fates of “Peach” and “Blossom.” He also sounded wistful tones about the last weeks of his presidency. Later Monday, first lady Jill Biden will receive delivery of the official White House Christmas tree. And the Bidens will travel to New York to help serve a holiday meal at a Coast Guard station. Warren Buffett gives away another $1.1B and plans for distributing his $147B fortune after his death OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by announcing plans Monday to hand more than $1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death. Buffett has said previously that his three kids will distribute his remaining $147.4 billion fortune in the 10 years after his death, but now he has also designated successors for them because it’s possible that Buffett’s children could die before giving it all away. Buffett said he has no regrets about his decision to start giving away his fortune in 2006. Bah, humbug! Vandal smashes Ebenezer Scrooge's tombstone used in 'A Christmas Carol' movie LONDON (AP) — If life imitates art, a vandal in the English countryside may be haunted by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Police in the town of Shrewsbury are investigating how a tombstone at the fictional grave of Ebenezer Scrooge was destroyed. The movie prop used in the 1984 adaption of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” had become a tourist attraction. The film starred George C. Scott as the cold-hearted curmudgeon who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who show him what will become of his life if he doesn’t become a better person. West Mercia Police say the stone was vandalized in the past week. At the crossroads of news and opinion, 'Morning Joe' hosts grapple with aftermath of Trump meeting The reaction of those who defended “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for meeting with President-elect Trump sounds almost quaint in the days of opinionated journalism. Doesn't it makes sense, they said, for hosts of a political news show to meet with such an important figure? But given how “Morning Joe” has attacked Trump, its viewers felt insulted. Many reacted quickly by staying away. It all reflects the broader trend of opinion crowding out traditional journalist in today's marketplace, and the expectations that creates among consumers. By mid-week, the show's audience was less than two-thirds what it has typically been this year. Pop star Ed Sheeran apologizes to Man United boss Ruben Amorim for crashing interview MANCHESTER, England (AP) — British pop star Ed Sheeran has apologized to Ruben Amorim after inadvertently interrupting the new Manchester United head coach during a live television interview. Amorim was talking on Sky Sports after United’s 1-1 draw with Ipswich on Sunday when Sheeran walked up to embrace analyst Jamie Redknapp. The interview was paused before Redknapp told the pop star to “come and say hello in a minute.” Sheeran is a lifelong Ipswich fan and holds a minority stake in the club. He was pictured celebrating after Omari Hutchinson’s equalizing goal in the game at Portman Road. A desert oasis outside of Dubai draws a new caravan: A family of rodents from Argentina AL QUDRA LAKES, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A desert oasis hidden away in the dunes in the far reaches of skyscraper-studded Dubai has drawn a surprising new set of weary world travelers: a pack of Argentinian rodents. A number of Patagonian mara, a rabbit-like mammal with long legs, big ears and a body like a hoofed animal, now roam the grounds of Al Qudra Lakes, typically home to gazelle and other desert creatures of the United Arab Emirates. How they got there remains a mystery in the UAE, a country where exotic animals have ended up in the private homes and farms of the wealthy. But the pack appears to be thriving there and likely have survived several years already in a network of warrens among the dunes. New Zealanders save more than 30 stranded whales by lifting them on sheets WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand have been safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. New Zealand’s conservation agency said four whales died. New Zealand is a whale stranding hotspot and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders. The agency praised as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod. A Māori cultural ceremony for the three adult whales and one calf that died in the stranding took place Monday. Rainbow-clad revelers hit Copacabana beach for Rio de Janeiro’s pride parade RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Thousands of revelers have gathered alongside Copacabana beach for Rio de Janeiro’s annual gay pride parade, many scantily dressed and covered in glitter. Rainbow-colored flags, towels and fans abounded among the crowd mostly made up of young revelers, who danced and sang along to music blaring from speakers. While the atmosphere was festive, some spoke of the threat of violence LGBTQ+ people face in Brazil. At least 230 LGBTQ+ Brazilians were victims of violent deaths in 2023, according to the umbrella watchdog group Observatory of LGBTQ+ deaths and violence in Brazil. Stolen shoe mystery solved at Japanese kindergarten when security camera catches weasel in the act TOKYO (AP) — Police thought a shoe thief was on the loose at a kindergarten in southwestern Japan, until a security camera caught the furry culprit in action. A weasel with a tiny shoe in its mouth was spotted on the video footage after police installed three cameras in the school in the prefecture of Fukuoka. “It’s great it turned out not to be a human being,” said Deputy Police Chief Hiroaki Inada. Teachers and parents had feared it could be a disturbed person with a shoe fetish. Japanese customarily take their shoes off before entering homes. The vanished shoes were all slip-ons the children wore indoors, stored in cubbyholes near the door. Social media sites call for Australia to delay its ban on children younger than 16 MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An advocate for major social media platforms has told Australia's Parliament that a plan to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed rather than being rushed to approval this week. Sunita Bose is managing director of Digital Industry Group Inc. which is an advocate for the digital industry in Australia including X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. She was answering questions on Monday at a single-day Senate committee hearing into world-first legislation that was introduced into the Parliament last week. Bose said the Parliament should wait until the government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies is completed next year.“You see, it’s easy to give democracy lip service when it delivers the outcomes we want. It’s when we don’t get what we want that our commitment to democracy is tested,” Obama said as he keynoted the third annual Obama Foundation Democracy Forum at a South Loop hotel. “And at this moment in history, when core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack, when too many people around the world have become cynical and disengaged, now is precisely the time to ask ourselves tough questions about how we can build our democracies and make them work in meaningful and practical ways for ordinary people,” he said. During his speech, Obama did not mention Trump by name, his Republican successor in the 2016 election who retook the White House by defeating Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5. And Obama’s talk was a far cry from the partisan attacks he leveled against Trump at the Democratic National Convention, the last time Obama was in Chicago for a public speaking engagement. At the convention in August, Obama ridiculed Trump and warned that his returning to the White House would lead to “four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos.” But on Thursday, it was Obama the lecturer who spoke, echoing the forum’s theme of “pluralism” and calling for people to engage with others from differing viewpoints and backgrounds in order to help maintain democracy. During his speech, Obama acknowledged that in previewing to friends the forum’s planned subject matter he “got more than a few groans and eye rolls” since “as far as they were concerned, the election proved that democracy is pretty far down on people’s priorities.” “But as a citizen and part of a foundation that believes deeply in the promise of democracy — not only to recognize the dignity and the worth of every individual but to produce free and fair and more just societies — I cannot think of a better time to talk about it,” he said. “This idea that each of us has to show a level of forbearance toward those who don’t look or think or pray like us, that’s at the heart of democracy,” he said. “But it’s especially hard in big, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious countries like the United States.” Obama noted that in America in the decades after World War II “democracy seemed to run relatively smoothly with frequent cooperation across party lines and what felt like a broad consensus about how interests were shared (and) differences should be settled.” “The biggest reason that American pluralism seemed to be working so well may have to do with what was left out,” he said, noting that even in 2004 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate he was its only Black member. “It’s fair to say that when everyone in Washington looked the same and shared the same experiences ... cutting deals and getting along was a whole lot simpler.” But starting with the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, “historically marginalized Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, women, gays and lesbians, disabled Americans demanded a seat at the table,” Obama said. “Not only did they insist on a fair share of government direct resources, but they brought with them new issues, more than their unique experiences, that could not just be resolved by giving them a bigger slice of the pie.” “In other words,” he said, “politics was not just a fight about tax rates or roads anymore. It was about more fundamental issues that went to the core of our being — how we expected society to structure itself.” Those issues, however, also opened the door to “politicians and party leaders and interest groups (who) take a maximalist position on almost every issue,” Obama said. “Every election becomes an act of mortal combat, which political opponents are enemies to be vanquished. Compromise is viewed as betrayal and total victory is the only acceptable outcome,” he said. “But since total victory is impossible in a country politically split down the middle, the result is a doom loop — gridlock, greater polarization, wilder rhetoric and a deepening conviction among partisans that the other side is breaking the rules and has rigged the game to tip it in their favor.” Obama, a former senior lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, has spoken frequently in his post-presidency of a need to restore civility and the need for compromise despite the nation’s political divisions. His comments Thursday took on an added dimension in the post-election climate given the history of Trump’s first term and the promises the president-elect made throughout the campaign. “I am convinced that if we want democracy, as we understand it, to survive, then we’re all going to have to work toward a renewed commitment to pluralist principles,” he said, adding that “it’s important to look for allies in unlikely places,” not “assume that people on the other side have monolithic views” and believe that they “may share our beliefs about sticking to the rules, observing norms.” The alternative is “an increasing willingness on the part of politicians and their followers to violate democratic norms, to do anything they can to get their way, to use the power of the state to target critics and journalists and political rivals and to even resort to violence in order to gain and hold onto power,” he said. “In those circumstances, pluralism does not call for us to just stand back and save our breath,” Obama said. “In those circumstances, a line has been crossed and we have to stand firm and speak out and organize and mobilize as forcefully as we can.” But, in nodding to the fact that such change can’t happen quickly, he also called a restoration of “habits and practices that so often we’ve lost, learning to trust each other,” is “a generational project.”
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, 94, is making more changes to his philanthropic plans. The iconic investor, who is No. 7 on Bloomberg's billionaire list with around $150 billion as of press time, announced new donations and provided details about how he plans to continue to give away his fortune in a letter to Berkshire shareholders on Monday. Buffett is donating 99.5% of his wealth to a charitable trust that will be overseen by his children (his daughter and two sons) after his death. Buffett continued his Thanksgiving tradition of giving away Berkshire stock with a new donation of $1.14 billion to his four family foundations (Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Susan A. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation). Related: Warren Buffett Just Changed Up His Will and Locked Out the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation "Father time always wins. But he can be fickle – indeed unfair and even cruel – sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit," Buffett wrote. "To date, I've been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me. There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice. The expected life span of my children has materially diminished since the 2006 pledge. They are now 71, 69, and 66." Buffett's children will have about 10 years to give away his remaining wealth after his death. Disbursement requests must be unanimous. "Wealthy friends have been curious about the extraordinary confidence I have in my children and their possible alternates," Buffett notes. "Hence, the 'unanimous decision' provision. That restriction enables an immediate and final reply to grant-seekers: 'It's not something that would ever receive my brother's consent.' And that answer will improve the lives of my children." Related: Why One Prominent Investor, 'Britain's Warren Buffett,' Is Staying Away From Nvidia Stock But due to everyone's ages, Buffett announced that he named three potential successor trustees to oversee the foundations should his children pass away before giving away all the money. "Three potential successor trustees have been designated. Each is well-known to my children and makes sense to all of us. They are also somewhat younger than my children," Buffett wrote. "But these successors are on the waitlist. I hope Susie, Howie, and Peter themselves disburse all of my assets." The successors were not named. In the letter, Buffett also talks about how the world has changed in his almost 100 years on the planet and offers a hopeful outlook for the future. Despite the changes, Buffett did not step down from any work-related responsibilities. Berkshire is a $1 trillion conglomerate. Read the full letter, here .
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