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WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Kamala Harris will hold a series of in-person meetings with U.S. allies and partners at the Munich Security Conference next week seeking to deter Russian aggression in Ukraine, a trip that serves as a major diplomatic test of her vice presidency. A senior administration official said Harris will deliver a speech, articulate U.S. policy at a number of public engagements and assert America's commitment to its NATO allies. Leaders of Germany, the EU and NATO will attend and Harris is not expected to meet leaders from Russia and China.

Hopes rose Wednesday that efforts to stop Russia from invading Ukraine may be starting to pay off, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz joining Kyiv and Moscow in a chorus of “positive” voices assessing that diplomatic bids to defuse the crisis could work. In the face of the worst stand-off between Russia and the West since the Cold War, diplomatic action has kicked into high gear, taking French President Emmanuel Macron to Kyiv and Moscow earlier this week. After separate talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron said on Tuesday he glimpsed a way forward towards...

Endangered Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney chose to mingle with reporters and media executives over attending an annual grassroots event last weekend during a rare appearance in her home state. (snip) “I’m not going to convince the crazies and I reject the crazies,” Cheney told the Times Saturday while she gathered with reporters instead of grassroots supporters 230 miles away. “I reject the notion that somehow we don’t have to abide by the rule of law. And the people right now who are in the leadership of our state party, I’m not trying to get their support because they’ve abandoned the...

Prince Harry has urged everyone to “go and get a test” for HIV after revealing hopes of carrying on his mother’s “unfinished” work. The Duke of Sussex and ex-Wales captain Gareth Thomas, who are friends, chatted in depth on a 30-minute video call to mark National HIV Testing Week. The duke described himself as “a typical guy” who just wants to “fix things”, and said he feels an “obligation” to try to continue Diana, Princess of Wales’ bid to remove stigma surrounding the illness. Normalising HIV testing could help achieve the goal of ending new HIV cases in the UK...

The White House wants Americans to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic, despite a flood of Democrat governors announcing plans to lift mandates in their states. “Our guidance has consistently been this: When you are in a high-transmission area, which is everywhere in the country, you should wear a mask in indoor settings, including schools,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday during the daily briefing.

CHICAGO – One question facing nonprofit organizations like Project H.O.O.D. is whether to accept government funding or to raise funds solely through private donors. The danger of relying on government funding is that it puts nonprofits at the mercy of fickle politicians with the power to ax funding as well as the mercy of unforeseeable crises like the 2008 financial collapse. That is part of the reason why Project H.O.O.D. opted to pursue the far more difficult path of raising private funds. If successful, their footing will be stable for the years to come. Another part of the reason why...

We are approaching the second anniversary of when the Democrats forged a strategic partnership with the coronavirus with the goal of wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting and — at that time — great nation. Sadly, the partnership has been thriving. Back in the Cold War days, American Democrats had a thinly veiled admiration for all things Soviet Union. In fact, the Democrats never thought ill of the Russians at all until the 2016 presidential election, when they needed someone to blame for the fact that their precious Granny Maojackets lost to Donald Trump. While the Biden Democrats might dislike the...

Police return fuel to Truckers, found contaminated.

[Photo above: Pages 136 and 137 of the Salinas Union High School District Ethnic Studies Curriculum. Credit: Kelly Schenkoske]. The good news is that California education authorities have agreed to drop part of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) that encouraged public school students to pray to bloodthirsty Aztec deities. The quaint religious practices of Mesoamericans about 700 years ago included slicing out human hearts along with flaying victims and wearing their skin. The ESMC is needed, the devoutest left-wingers insist, to help teach children about the systemic racism that supposedly defines America. “We are reminded daily that racism is...

Thirty-eight Republican lawmakers on Wednesday demanded President Joe Biden take a cognitive test upon fears that he may have Alzheimer’s disease. Noting Biden’s “changes in mood and personality” and “forgetfulness,” the 38 Republican lawmakers sent a demand letter for the president to undergo a transparent cognitive test. Biden took a physical examination in November, but he “either did not have a cognitive test or those results were withheld from the public,” the letter stated:

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism. “I took a pack of Tarot cards. I had found out that they were very superstitious. On arrival at a commune I would ask for their astrological birth signs and tell them mine,” Jillian Becker described her process of investigating the Marxist terrorist Baader-Meinhof Gang. Officially, the Red Army Faction, but popularly known for its two leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, the leftist terrorist group had carried out a string of attacks, including the killings...

As U.S. Senator Rob Portman enters his last year of public service in the U.S. Senate, those keeping score would have to agree that his tenure has been remarkably successful by any measure. And his most significant impact may very well be yet to come. Under Portman’s steady leadership, Congress finally appears ready to acknowledge and fix a glaring 35-year-old legislative mistake. The Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act, which overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives, has been championed by Portman in the Senate. The EQUAL Act would end the unjust mandatory minimum sentencing disparity...

Steak Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions and Gruyere Serves 4 Caramelized Onions and Horseradish Sauce 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 large onions (about 1.75 lb. total), thinly sliced 4 sprigs thyme 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped .5 c. finely grated peeled fresh horseradish or prepared horseradish .33 c. mayonnaise .33 c. sour cream Sandwiches 2 10 oz. ribeye steaks 5 tbsp. olive oil Curtis Stone Butcher’s Salt 8 slices multigrain bread 8 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated 4 c. (not packed) baby arugula To caramelize the onions, bring pot to medium-high heat. Add oil, then add onions and thyme; sauté 15 minutes,...

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly 579,000 vehicles in the U.S. because a “Boombox” function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians. It is the fourth Tesla recall made public in the last two weeks as U.S. safety regulators increase scrutiny of the nation’s largest electric vehicle maker. In two of the recalls, Tesla made decisions that violate federal motor vehicle safety standards, while the others are software errors. A message was left Thursday seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department. The company is not aware of any crashes...

CAMP VERDE, Ariz. - Authorities are searching for a suspect after an Arizona police officer was shot Wednesday night north of Phoenix. The Yavapai-Apache Nation says its officers responded to reports of shots fired at around 7:45 p.m. near State Route 260 and Cherry Creek Road in Camp Verde. Once at the scene, a suspect got out of a car, ran away on foot, and began shooting. One officer was shot. He was taken to HonorHealth Hospital in Deer Valley and is in critical, but stable condition. Police are continuing to search for the suspect, who is considered to be...

One of the fundamental issues we face is finding the proper balance between responsible precautions and inappropriate fears, between trust in Hashem and the requirement for human effort. Fear is psychologically and physically harmful. Those who live with chronic fear believe they are protecting themselves, but they are actually doing just the opposite. It is no coincidence that people who are glued to screens for “fear of missing out” are the ones who miss out the most. It is no coincidence that those who fear social disapproval the most are the ones who tend to find themselves isolated. And...

(CNN) The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement across the country that a convoy of truckers protesting Covid-19 vaccine mandates, similar to recent protests in Ottawa, Canada, could soon begin in the US -- with the potential to affect Sunday's Super Bowl in the Los Angeles area and cause other disruptions. A DHS bulletin issued on Tuesday to state and local officials, obtained by CNN, said the agency "has received reports of truck drivers planning to potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities in the United States in protest of, among other things, vaccine mandates for truck drivers."...

@TomCottonAR Good news. Biden's HHS is no longer funding crack pipes. But make no mistake: yesterday's change in policy is because HHS got caught. Statement...

A newly published study by a team of researchers from the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University in Safed, Israel and the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Israel suggests a link between vitamin D deficiency and severity of disease from Covid-19 infection. Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the research looked at vitamin D levels in 1,176 patients hospitalized with a positive PCR test result between April 2020 and February 2021 at the Galilee Medical Center. The vitamin D levels were based on testing that had been conducted prior to the hospitalization “either as part of a routine blood...

Eddie Dobbins proposed marriage over text message, from a Las Vegas intensive care unit where he was being treated for COVID-19. “Can you check and see if there is a way for us to get married long distance,” Dobbins, 74, tapped into his cellphone from his room at MountainView Hospital. “Love you baby.” Patricia Hartmann, 75, accepted in all caps: “YES” On Jan. 24, Dobbins popped the question. On Jan. 25, Hartmann entered room 202 of the MountainView ICU as his sweetheart and left as his wife. Dobbins came to MountainView with a combination of COVID, bacterial pneumonia and cancer....