policy

Topeka, Kan. (AP) – Is the President's day essentially the most confusing vacation within the USA?

States appear to have as many names and concepts about who you’ll be able to honor like president. The federal government doesn’t even recognize as Presidents Day on Monday. It is officially Washington's birthday and honors the primary president and the unique American benchmark for measuring the scale.

The holiday was not celebrated on February twenty second on February twenty second or on the birthday of one other president for greater than 50 years. The President's day became a preferred name after the vacation was set on a Monday.

The result’s a large number that longs for vacation to rejoice Washington again.

“The concept of the President's day is a confusing mix of ideas,” said Hunter Abell, a legislator of the state of Republicans from the state of Washington. “By celebrating all presidents, I believe that we accidentally do not celebrate.”

Abell's interest is greater than academic: he wants his state to rename his holiday holidays to the president and made his comments during a hearing.

The Federal holiday for Washington began in 1879, but the present date was stipulated by law from 1971.

States have after all been left to their very own devices for a long time. Thirty -four still use a type of Washington's names of their laws, while 19 use a type of presidential day. Both use a pair, while California law goes with “the third Monday in February”.

Forty -seven countries rejoice a vacation on Monday. Indiana and Georgia rejoice Washington by releasing state employees the day after Christmas.

Delaware has no vacation. In 2009, legislators began to provide state employees “two floating holidays” as an alternative of honoring individual presidents or having a presidential day, in keeping with the state archives.

Washington Mount Vernon Estate in Virginia desires to return to a federal vacation on his birthday. On the web site it says that Washington's character and achievements shouldn’t be “confused” by a “vague” vacation.

A dozen states that remember Washington by name let him share the day with another person.

In Alabama, Washington shares the highlight with friend Thomas Jefferson's friend, the third president and important writer of the nation of the declaration of independence. In Arkansas it’s Daisy Gaston Bates, a civil rights leader who is thought in 1957 for her work to integrate the Central High School by Little Rock.

Most of the time it’s Abraham Lincoln, the president of the civil war, who sometimes even transfers Washington amongst historians who keep the Union intact.

Fourteen states have a separate vacation just for Lincoln. Most of them have from Ehrlich on February 12 on February twelfth. Indiana honors him the day after the Thanksgiving Festival with a free day for national employees, from which Lincoln is commonly attributed from 1863.

Some states have special days for presidents who were identified with them: Herbert Hoover in Iowa, Dwight Eisenhower in Kansas, Harry Truman in Missouri, Lyndon Johnson in Texas and John F. Kennedy in Massachusetts.

On JFK's birthday of May 29, his home state also honors the preferred sons of John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Calvin Coolidge, who was a farm Boy in Vermont before becoming Massachusetts' governor and later the thirtieth president of the country.

Since 1958 in Kentucky, January 30, the Franklin D. Roosevelt has been Day, although the president, who was leading the country out of the worldwide economic crisis and was many of the Second World War, was a New Yorker.

In Oklahoma, a Senator of the Republican state has proposed a brand new vacation for November 5, the anniversary of last yr's presidential elections to rejoice President Donald J. Trump Day.

A day of the President doesn’t necessarily encourage the general public fanfare.

We take Herbert Hoover, whose work with depression with the white house receives low grades from many historians, although he’s regarded for non -cautious humanitarian work.

Iowa helped him for a day in 1969, however it appears to be little attention outside of Cedar County, the home of his presidential library.

“Most Iowans are not aware that there is a Hoover day,” said Leo Landis, the curator of State Historical Society, who recognized in an e -mail that he was once amongst them, although he was greater than 45 years lived in iowa.

Presidential imitators appear in tons of of places yearly. It shouldn’t be just Lincoln and Washington. The website of the Lincoln Moders' union even lists a representative for Rutherford B. Hayes, the continuously neglected single-term nineteenth president.

But Lincoln stands over the remaining in the case of the presidents who wish to see the audience, and he dominates the list of the club's historical moderators.

John Cooper, the President of the Association and himself a Lincoln IMitator, said that since 2008 only two people had been dissatisfied in quite a few skilled presentations with the meeting of Lincoln. Ehrliche ABE addresses all groups and is the preferred president of many individuals, he said.

“Everyone is happy to see Lincoln,” he said. “When I go fair on a County, I usually don't have to hike far before I have people who come to me and they want to talk and they want to take a picture.”

policy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democratic philanthropist George Soros and actor and director Denzel Washington can be presented with the nation's highest civilian honor Saturday on the White House.

President Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 of probably the most celebrated names in politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy and academia.

The White House said the recipients have made “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values ​​or security of the United States, to world peace, or to other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

Four medals can be awarded posthumously. They go to Fannie Lou Hamer, who founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and laid the muse for the Voting Rights Act of 1965; former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; George W. Romney, who served as each governor of Michigan and secretary of housing and concrete development; and Ash Carter, the previous defense secretary.

Kennedy is the daddy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary. Romney is the daddy of former Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney, certainly one of Trump's harshest conservative critics.

Major philanthropists receiving the award include Spanish-American chef José Andrés, whose charity World Central Kitchen has change into certainly one of the world's most recognized food relief organizations, and Bono, the frontman of the rock band U2 and a social justice activist.

Recognized sports and entertainment stars include skilled soccer player Lionel Messi; retired Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend and businessman Earvin “Magic” Johnson; actor Michael J. Fox, a powerful advocate for the research and development of Parkinson's disease; and William Sanford Nye, known to generations of scholars as “Bill Nye the Scientist.”

Other honorees include conservationist Jane Goodall; longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, Anna Wintour; American designer Ralph Lauren; American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr.; entrepreneur and LGBTQ+ activist Tim Gill; and David Rubenstein, co-founder of worldwide investment firm The Carlyle Group.

Last yr, Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 people, including the late Medgar Evers, Speaker Emeritus of the House Nancy Pelosi, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina and actress Michelle Yeoh.

SAN JOSE – Former San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl was a little bit interested in what type of reception he would receive upon his return to SAP Center on Friday night.

While Hertl became considered one of the Sharks' hottest and productive players during his 11 seasons in a teal jersey, he also returned – for the primary time – as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose's once bitter rival.

“I believe the rivalry has died down a bit, but hopefully it is going to be good. I believe it's been a pleasant 11 years,” Hertl said Friday morning when asked how he would be received. “But maybe it’s up to the fans now. (There’s) nothing I can really do about it right now.”

The response should be positive, considering Hertl had 484 points in 712 regular-season games for the Sharks before joining the Golden Knights in March. Team officials plan to recognize Hertl for his time in San Jose with a pregame tribute similar to those they gave long-time Sharks Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns in their first games in San Jose.

But while Hertl's time with the Sharks will not be forgotten, his departure from San Jose may have left a complicated legacy.

Hertl could have elected to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. Instead, he signed an eight-year, $65.1 contract extension with the Sharks, hoping that the team's fortunes would quickly change after – at that point – three years without a free agent playoff appearance.

The Sharks also had not considered trade offers for Hertl this year and were hoping he could be an organizational pillar as they were still in a transition phase.

However, less than four months after the deal, the Sharks hired Mike Grier as their new general manager. Grier knew he had to rebuild the team from the ground up so the Sharks could become Stanley Cup contenders again.

That meant taking a step back for the opportunity to draft future stars with lottery picks. Grier also traded away some high-profile players on long-term contracts like Burns, Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson to acquire prospects, free up capital and free up valuable cap space.

When speaking about Hertl and captain Logan Couture at the start of 2023 training camp, Grier said, “If there ever was a time where they felt like they needed or desired to go someplace else, I might definitely take heed to it.” , and if it made sense to us, I would explore it.”

Some of Tomas Hertl pic.twitter.com/rVUtnj0vxY

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) December 27, 2024

While Couture, who’s injured and out indefinitely, stays a Shark, Hertl, who appeared within the playoffs in five of his first six NHL seasons, knew at that time that it could possibly be years before he could legally compete for a Cup again could fight. He needed to make a call.

Ultimately, Hertl, who had a full release clause for the primary three years of his contract, decided it was best to maneuver on and join a competitor. As of Friday, the Golden Knights were leading the Pacific Division and the Sharks were in eighth and final place.

“Right away, I couldn’t say a single bad word about the organization, about my teammates in the locker room, how they welcomed me into the team, even about the fans around the city,” Hertl said. “Of course, when you win a lot of hockey games, everything becomes pretty easy. To be honest, over the last few years I've almost forgotten how much fun it is to win a lot of games.

“The last few years (in San Jose) have been pretty tough. When you're one of the leaders and you're trying to help but victory doesn't happen, it's not easy. So that’s definitely the fun part.”

It seems that Grier and Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon began talking a few Hertl deal before the All-Star break, and on March 7, just minutes before the deadline, the Sharks sent away the No. 1 centerman .1 in addition to third-round picks in 2025 and 2027 to Vegas for center prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick.

“I just heard from my agent, maybe in January before I got hurt, that (Vegas) was thinking about trading for me, but nothing happened,” said Hertl, who previously injured his knee on Jan. 27 was injured in the sport against the Buffalo Sabres.

Hertl attended the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto and a number of days before the deadline, trade talks between the Sharks and Golden Knights resumed.

To make this possible, Hertl then needed to waive his no-trade clause.

“Obviously no one can guarantee you'll win the Stanley Cup, but I thought there was a chance (with Vegas) and I just want to take it and try to fight for it.”

Hertl has several friends throughout the Sharks organization and still cheers for the team.

“After our games, I’ll always be cheering for them because I’ve been here for so long and I want them to obviously do better and turn this team around,” Hertl said. “But at the time I felt like it might be my last chance and I was happy that both sides could figure it out and work it out and I could move.”

Originally published: December 27, 2024 at 2:34 pm PST

policy

CHICAGO (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to Democrats on Monday night, his decision to withdraw his reelection effort unleashing latest energy in his party after Vice President Kamala Harris rose to the highest of the list of candidates.

After 52 years of rising to the highest of his party's influence, Biden, 81, was given a hero's welcome for his move for Harris. Weeks earlier, many in his party had pressured him to offer up his re-election bid. His speech, which had been billed because the highlight of the evening, was postponed until late at night since the convention program was greater than an hour behind schedule.

A month after the unprecedented mid-election switch from Biden to Harris, the Democratic National Convention, which began in Chicago on Monday, is especially vital for the party. The opening night was intended as a handover from the incumbent to his hand-picked successor – albeit 4 years before he had designated her as his successor.

Harris appeared unannounced on stage Monday night because the convention's primetime program began to thank Biden for his leadership ahead of his later speech.

“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifelong commitment to our country and for all that you will continue to do,” she said. “We are forever grateful.”

Democrats hope the week-long event will catapult Harris right into a confrontation with Republican Donald Trump, whose comeback bid for the White House is seen by Democrats as an existential threat. Having taken the ticket only a month ago, Harris must now win over a divided country that’s more positive about her but not yet fully made up its mind concerning the election.

Less than a month ago, Democrats were divided over foreign policy, political strategy and Biden himself, who emerged from a disastrous debate by claiming he had a greater likelihood than another Democrat, including Harris, of beating Trump.

Part of the presentation of Harris and her Vice President Tim Walz will probably be to first give a dignified farewell to the incumbent president, who’s scheduled to deliver the foremost address on Monday.

The Democratic Party would almost actually be in a far worse position if Biden had continued to campaign despite growing concerns about his mental and physical health after he struggled to complete full sentences in the controversy against Trump.

Democrats took turns praising Biden's leadership and his alternative of Harris as his successor. “I have never known a more compassionate human being than Joe Biden,” said his longtime confidant, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who led the gang in a “We love Joe” chant.

They sought to link each Biden and Harris to what the party sees because the governing couple's hottest achievements: leading the country out of the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, driving massive investments within the country's infrastructure, advocating for lower health care costs and promoting clean energy.

“Thanks to Joe and Kamala, we have lowered prescription drug prices, repaired roads and bridges, and replaced lead pipes,” said South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose support in 2020 was crucial to Biden's victory in the first election. He added that considered one of Biden's best decisions was “selecting Kamala Harris as his vice president and supporting her as his successor.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, greeted with sustained applause, paid tribute to Harris and stressed her potential to interrupt the “highest, hardest glass ceiling” and grow to be America's first female president. Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016 but lost that election to Trump.

“Together, we have broken many cracks in the highest and hardest glass ceiling,” Clinton said, invoking a metaphor she utilized in her speech eight years ago when she lost the election. “On the other side of that glass ceiling, Kamala Harris takes the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States. When a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us.”

Clinton also acknowledged Biden's resignation, saying: “Now we are writing a new chapter in American history.”

Clinton, 76, underscored the party's cross-generational reach. She followed 34-year-old New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Harris and made the primary mention of the war in Gaza on the convention, addressing a difficulty that has divided the party's base for the reason that October 7 Hamas attack and Israel's subsequent offensive.

Outside the world, 1000’s of protesters flocked to Chicago to denounce the Biden-Harris administration's support of Israel's war effort.

Harris is “working tirelessly to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and bring the hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez said to cheers from the gang.

Meanwhile, Democrats tried to shift the main focus to Trump, mocking his criminal convictions and claiming he was fighting just for himself and never “for the people” – the official theme of the evening.

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow lifted an oversized copy of “Project 2025” – a blueprint for a second Trump term created by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation – onto the lectern and quoted from parts of it.

“That's what we read,” McMorrow said. “Whatever you think, it's so much worse.”

Former President Trump has publicly denied any interest within the measures outlined in Project 2025, but he has close ties to its authors, and campaign aides have praised their work previously.

Democrats have continued to make abortion access a central focus of voters' concerns, betting that the problem will help them win, because it has in other key elections for the reason that Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. Among the speakers on Monday were three women whose health care was affected by that ruling. And the convention program included a video during which Trump praised his own role in overturning Roe.

A month after a key union leader spoke on the Republican National Convention, several union leaders took to the ground Monday to appeal to the party's core constituency. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain shouted “Trump is a scab” to the gang and praised Biden and Harris for standing with striking autoworkers last 12 months.

The convention program also paid tribute to the civil rights movement, with an appearance by Reverend Jesse Jackson, founding father of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. There were several references to Fannie Lou Hamer, the late civil rights activist who gave a landmark speech at a Democratic convention in 1964.

Hamer was a former sharecropper and a frontrunner of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, an ethnically integrated group that challenged the inclusion of an all-white Mississippi delegation on the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Hamer delivered her speech on August 22, 1964—exactly 60 years before Harris would accept the Democratic nomination, becoming the primary black woman and first person of South Asian descent to run as a significant party presidential nominee.

The Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a second statue of Kobe Bryant, which can be dedicated to his daughter Gianna.

The statue, unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena on Friday, shows Kobe wearing a beanie and sweatshirt, his arm around a smiling Gianna. The sculpture appears to be based on a photograph of the 2 sitting courtside together at a Lakers game in 2019. They are surrounded by angel wings.

A plaque beneath the statue incorporates a quote from Kobe, who is taken into account the “Most Valuable Girl Dad.”

“Gianna is a beast,” Kobe's quote reads. “She's better than I was at her age. She's got it. Girls are amazing. I would have five more girls if I could. I'm a girl dad.”

8.2.24 – Kobe and Gigi immortalized ceaselessly pic.twitter.com/WxPDMfEaRq

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) 2 August 2024

The date of Friday's unveiling was also significant, because it fell on August 2, 2024 (2.8.24). Kobe's jersey numbers during his illustrious 20-year NBA profession with the Lakers were No. 8 and 24, while Gianna wore No. 2 on her basketball team.

Kobe, Gianna and 7 others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26, 2020, en path to a basketball tournament for Gianna. On board were two of their teammates, three other parents, an assistant coach and the pilot.

The Bryant family. Forever a beacon of affection, strength and hope pic.twitter.com/GU71bNzUK9

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) 2 August 2024

Kobe's widow Vanessa Bryant had previously announced that there can be three Kobe statues outside Crypto.com Arena: one with the number 8, one with the number 24 and one with Gianna. The Lakers unveiled a statue of Kobe wearing the number 8 jersey on February 8.

The team has also honored other legends with a statue in Star Plaza, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, announcer Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Jerry West.

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