Category: News
Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills moms, sons form Young Men’s Service League and build bonds along the way
Forming a Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills chapter of the Young Men’s Service League, started earlier this year, has brought about 175 Hinsdale-area high school boys and their moms together for a very worthy cause.
The mission of the group is to assist, serve and support those who are in need in the community, develop leadership skills and promote mother-son relationships.
“There are groups for moms and daughters, dads and daughters, fathers and sons,” said Heather Jashnani, the group’s president. “But there is a lack of opportunities for moms and sons to develop a meaningful bond during their high school years, with all of the demands on their time.”
Jashnani said she did an internet search for “moms and sons volunteering together near me” and was directed to the Naperville chapter of Young Men’s Service League. She loved the group’s mission, but realized that chances of getting into that chapter, via a lottery system that’s used if there are too many applicants, was small.
“I thought I could bring this to Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills instead,” she said. “It is very similar to a mother-daughter organization we participate in, so it seemed manageable.”
Jashnani reached out to some people she knew, who helped and recommended others, and the group was on its way to becoming a reality.
Young Men’s Service League has a “class” for each high school grade level. When starting the local chapter, there was an overwhelming interest from young men and their moms to be part of it. In this inaugural year, there are 92 high school boys, mostly coming from Hinsdale Central, Nazareth Academy and Benet Academy — and 83 moms.
The group serves about 20 local philanthropies, among them People’s Resource Center, Sharing Connections, The Birches Assisted Living, The Ronald McDonald House and Special Olympics.
The young men involved have their own regular meetings at which they practice the league’s values of community, integrity, responsibility and respect, while also learning valuable leadership and life skills, including financial literacy and basic vehicle maintenance.
“I enjoy many parts of the Young Men’s Service League, including helping people in need and making new friends,” said member Teddy Hunley, a high school freshman and the vice president of communications. “I decided to join because I thought it would be a great way to build an even stronger bond with my mom. Volunteering together helps us appreciate the limited time we have together, while serving others inside and outside of our community.”
Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Young Men’s Service League members Nolan Korn, left, and Mason Wolfe participate in a recent cleanup day at Fullersburg Woods in Oak Brook. (Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills YMSL)
Henry O’Hara, president of the Hinsdale league’s Class of 2027, said he became involved after already having volunteered at his church’s food pantry.
“YMSL allowed me to volunteer at other places, and it was all organized in advance, so I did not have to reach out to each organization and set it up,” he said, “So, this summer I completed 20 hours at Sharing Connections, People’s Resource Center, The Hansen Center and with Special Olympics.”
O’Hara said he worked all 20 hours with his mom and with friends from the league at the events.
“Unlike my church’s food pantry, I was working closely with those in need at these other organizations,” he said.
When the moms have their own meetings, they share ideas and welcome local guest speakers.
“I have done a lot of service work throughout my life, and it has always helped me feel good about myself, even if I was having a hard time in other parts of my life,” said mom Michelle Carlevato, who is the groups’ vice president. She has four sons — three in high school and one in fifth grade, and she wanted to share that positive feeling of service work with them.
“There is so much pressure on kids these days with academics, sports and friends, and I think being exposed to volunteer experiences in our greater community can really help put things in perspective,” Carlevato said. “Also, there are so many opportunities for dads and sons to do things together, and moms are often the nagging voice telling them to do their homework. YMSL gives me the opportunity to give back to our community, right alongside my sons. They get to see a side of me they never see at home, and that has strengthened our relationship.” Jashnani has found her involvement with the group very fulfilling.
“I love so many things about this group,” she said. “Like YMSL nationals says, ‘Four years of high school go by fast, how will you and your son make the most of it?’
“This is me making the most of it with my youngest child. I am proud to have brought this to the community, so encouraged by the response from our members and the philanthropies we serve, and so grateful to be able to spend this quality time with my son, opening his eyes to the needs of others.”
Jashnani also has enjoyed seeing other moms and sons enjoying working together for good causes.
“Every member seems to want a similar experience with their son(s) and puts in the work to make it happen,” she said. “I am in awe of each and every mom on our board, who have all brought their amazing skills to every aspect of us starting this club. And volunteering at these organizations, it’s just a good feeling of giving back.”
Jashnani the immediate goal of the Hinsdale group in its inaugural year is to better understand the ins and outs of the organization, “as we are learning as we are going.”
“So far, the interest in YMSL has been so amazing, and our ultimate goal is to be a welcoming organization that provides moms and sons with meaningful opportunities to volunteer together, strengthen the mother/son bond and give back to our community,” she said.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/20/hinsdale-moms-sons-service-league/
Legisladores rusos aprueban ley que aumenta impuestos a los considerados “agentes extranjeros”
Por The Associated Press
Los legisladores rusos aprobaron el jueves un nuevo proyecto de ley que aumenta los impuestos para aquellos etiquetados como agentes extranjeros por el gobierno.
El proyecto de ley, que pasó su tercera y última lectura en la cámara baja del parlamento, establece una tasa de impuesto sobre la renta del 30% para las personas con esta designación y les quita el derecho a exenciones fiscales del gobierno.
El impuesto sobre la renta para la mayoría de los residentes varía entre el 13% y el 22%, dependiendo de sus ingresos. La tasa del 30% anteriormente solo se aplicaba a los no residentes que trabajaban para empresas extranjeras.
El proyecto de ley también prohíbe a las organizaciones etiquetadas como agentes extranjeros solicitar tasas reducidas de impuesto sobre la renta corporativa.
“Aquellos que traicionaron a nuestro país no deberían recibir exenciones fiscales”, expresó el legislador Vyacheslav Volodin en redes sociales anunciando la aprobación del proyecto de ley.
“Pagarán impuestos más altos al presupuesto estatal”, agregó.
La legislación debe ser aprobada por la cámara alta y luego firmada por el presidente Vladímir Putin antes de convertirse en ley.
Los cambios son solo una parte de las modificaciones más amplias al sistema fiscal de Rusia que busca impulsar su economía durante su guerra de casi cuatro años en Ucrania.
Los legisladores rusos también aprobaron un proyecto de ley que aumentará el impuesto al valor agregado del 20% al 22%, una medida que se espera agregue hasta 1 billón de rublos (aproximadamente 12.300 millones de dólares) al presupuesto estatal.
Según la ley rusa, cualquiera que el gobierno considere bajo “influencia extranjera” puede ser considerado un agente extranjero.
La legislación obliga a las organizaciones a identificarse como agentes extranjeros y los medios de comunicación designados como tales deben incluir una declaración extensa al respecto en sus historias.
A los agentes extranjeros también se les prohíbe organizar eventos públicos, enseñar en escuelas estatales y recibir apoyo financiero estatal, entre otras restricciones.
La ley ha sido utilizada contra partidarios de la oposición, medios independientes y activistas de derechos humanos, con críticos describiéndola como una forma de intentar desacreditar a las organizaciones que no siguen la línea del Kremlin.
___________________________________
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Prosecutors seeking joint trial in Bailey slaying; defense argues it’s prejudicial
Prosecutors want a joint trial for Ralph Stokes and Betty Ann Tomlinson, court filings show. Defense lawyers argue it would prejudice his case for a jury.
Stokes, 24, of Gary, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.
He is charged with murder in 25-year-old Jimmijion Bailey’s shooting death on Oct. 5, 2024. The man’s decapitated body was found Oct. 11 on the 2300 block of Clay Street with his arms and knees bound with black tape.
After the slaying, authorities said Stokes had help to dispose of the body.
Tomlinson, the ex-girlfriend’s mother, so far, is the only other person charged. She bought cleaning supplies for Stokes from a Walgreens on Oct. 6, 2024. Then, she bought two bottles of lighter fluid around 3 a.m. Oct. 11 from a Citgo gas station in Gary, charges allege.
A Wednesday court hearing was reset for Nov. 25.
In court filings dated Oct. 1, Deputy Prosecutors Eric Randall and Lindsey Lanham argued a joint trial was justified, because both defendants were in “part of a common scheme or plan.”
The “involvement” of Stokes “friends and/or family” — citing Tomlinson, specifically — proved the killing wasn’t in self-defense as Stokes later claimed to police, they wrote.
In a motion filed Tuesday, Stokes’ defense lawyers Lakeisha Murdaugh and Amishi Sanghvi argued that the defendants’ “inconsistent defenses” — i.e. because they were allegedly involved in different parts of the crime — meant that Tomlinson could “prejudice” Stokes’ case.
The evidence didn’t “overlap” and it wasn’t technically the same crime, they wrote.
“Ralph is not charged with concealing the body, cleaning the apartment, burning the apartment, or participating in the decapitation,” they wrote.
A joint trial would “inevitably force the jury to conflate different events, different mental states, and different alleged actors,” they argued.
Bailey’s relatives said previously he had just started dating the woman a few weeks earlier and Stokes, her child’s father, was jealous.
License plate readers showed Bailey showed up at the apartment on Oct. 5. Later, his Chrysler 200 was driven off, followed by a black Audi toward 9th and Roosevelt, to ditch Bailey’s car, before the black car headed back to the apartment.
Then, the black Audi and Ford Flex headed to the 2300 block of Clay Street, where Bailey’s body was later found. An Infiniti also showed up at the apartment for 20 minutes that night.
Those vehicles were all registered to Stokes’ relatives, records show.
When police executed a search warrant on Oct. 11 in the girlfriend’s apartment on the 500 block of Vermillion Place, they were hit with “an overpowering chemical odor” and saw “several lighter fluid bottles” on the floor.
Some flooring in the hallway was “melted.”
The apartment appeared to be mostly cleared out — aside from a bed, an air mattress and kids clothes in another room. In the main bedroom, cops saw what appeared to be several spots of dried blood, and a large “reddish colored stain” under a blanket on the mattress.
When detectives cut through the mattress, it looked blood-soaked, like someone had tried to torch the apartment by lighting it on fire.
Investigators were tipped off on Oct. 10 that Bailey was shot inside the girlfriend’s apartment. His body was moved to the bathroom for several hours. His car was taken to 9th and Roosevelt to “throw off the investigation.” The girlfriend changed her number after Bailey was killed, the affidavit states.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
5 Plead Guilty In First Antifa Terrorism Case Relating To Texas Detention Center Attack
5 Plead Guilty In First Antifa Terrorism Case Relating To Texas Detention Center Attack
Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,
Five people pleaded guilty on Nov. 19 to terrorism-related charges after facing accusations of supporting Antifa in a July shooting that wounded a police officer outside a Texas immigration detention center.
The Justice Department prosecution followed President Donald Trump’s executive order designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Antifa, short for “anti-fascists,” is a militant group that functioned as the violent arm of the communist party in Germany, giving the modern Antifa movement its nickname and symbols that are still in use today.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the Texas charges as the first time that material support to terrorism has been applied to Antifa. The incident took place on July 4 outside the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas. Prosecutors allege a “North Texas antifa cell” attacked the facility with gunfire and fireworks.
Nathan Baumann, 20; Joy Gibson, 30; Seth Sikes, 22; Lynette Sharp, 57; and John Thomas, 32, each entered guilty pleas to one count of providing material support to terrorists during a hearing in federal court in Fort Worth. They each face up to 15 years in prison.
Erin Kelley, an attorney for Sharp, told The Associated Press the plea was just one “step one in a long process” before the final sentence is determined.
Attorneys for the other defendants couldn’t be reached.
Proceedings against other suspects involved in the shooting remain ongoing. A federal grand jury recently indicted nine additional individuals on charges such as rioting, using explosives, obstruction, and the attempted murder of federal officers.
Those indicted are Cameron Arnold (also known as Autumn Hill), Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris (also known as Meagan Morris), Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada. Their arraignments are scheduled for next month.
Court documents lay out a tumultuous scene at the detention center, a facility used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold individuals awaiting deportation.
Prosecutors allege group members clad in “black bloc” attire—dark clothing and face coverings—arrived late at night. They allegedly vandalized vehicles, a guard shack, and a security camera, as well as launched fireworks at the building.
As an Alvarado Police Department officer responded to a 911 call from correctional staff, one suspect reportedly yelled “get to the rifles” ahead of opening fire, striking the officer in the neck area. The wounded officer fell but shot back. Additional rounds were then shot at the injured officer and an unarmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) correctional officer, who was seeking cover.
Gibson, Baumann, and Sikes were arrested in the near vicinity shortly after the attack. Sharp and Thomas are accused of assisting the main shooter evade capture until July 15.
The group allegedly acquired over 50 firearms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area ahead of the incident and used encrypted messaging apps with auto-delete features to coordinate the operation, including reconnaissance and discussions on supplies, such as medical kits and explosives.
The indictment alleged that Song was a group leader who distributed weapons and recruited members at gun ranges, combat training sessions, and from ideologically similar groups. Some defendants, such as the Sotos and Batten, are allegedly tied to producing “zines”—insurrectionary pamphlets promoting anti-government and anti-ICE ideas.
Defense attorney Patrick McLain, representing Evetts, stated there is “no evidence that such an organization [as a North Texas antifa cell] ever existed” and that his client is not affiliated with any such group.
Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson praised the investigation involving the FBI, ICE, ATF, Texas Department of Public Safety, Alvarado Police, and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is the first indictment in the country against a group of violent antifa cell members,” she said in a statement, reaffirming a commitment to safeguarding federal facilities from “organized domestic terrorist cells.”
If convicted on the more severe charges, some defendants face life imprisonment. Others could receive sentences up to 50 years.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/20/2025 – 14:00
Tribunal dominicano prohíbe la discriminación por orientación sexual en la Policía y Fuerzas Armadas
Associated Press
SANTO DOMINGO (AP) — El Tribunal Constitucional de República Dominicana anuló dos artículos de las leyes que reglamentan el funcionamiento de la Policía Nacional y las Fuerzas Armadas que sancionaban, con pena de prisión, las relaciones entre miembros del mismo sexo.
“Es una injerencia indebida y desproporcional en la vida privada y familiar de las personas con orientación sexual, identidad de género y expresión de género diversas, pues no representan un peligro ni riesgo para los valores de la sociedad dominicana”, indicó el tribunal en su sentencia emitida el miércoles.
También consideró que el Estado debe respetar y proteger los derechos humanos de todas las personas por igual, sin distinción de ningún tipo.
Human Rights Watch, que formó parte del caso, argumentó el jueves que la penalización de las relaciones homosexuales violaba las normas internacionales.
Los agentes de policía podían enfrentar hasta dos años de prisión y los miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas un año, según la prohibición que estaba vigente.
“Durante décadas estas disposiciones obligaron a los agentes LGBT a vivir con miedo a ser castigados simplemente por ser quienes son”, dijo Cristian González Cabrera, investigador principal de Human Rights Watch. “Este fallo es una contundente afirmación de que un futuro más inclusivo es posible y necesario según la legislación dominicana”, agregó.
Human Rights Watch señaló que otros países de la región han adoptado medidas similares como Perú, Ecuador y Venezuela.
Manuel Meccariello, director del Observatorio de Derechos Humanos para Grupos Vulnerabilizados, elogió la decisión del tribunal.
“Nadie debe ser discriminado no tan sólo en las filas de la Policía y las Fuerzas Armadas sino de manera general en el Estado dominicano”, dijo Meccariello a The Associated Press.
Pero el Consejo Dominicano de Unidad Evangélica calificó de “preocupante” el fallo del máximo tribunal.
“Es preocupante lo que está viviendo el país en cuanto a la moral y los valores y los principios”, manifestó Feliciano Lacen, vocero de la principal organización evangélica del país.
Hasta ahora ni la Policía Nacional ni el Ministerio de Defensa se han referido al fallo.
Trump says Democrats’ video message to military is ‘seditious behavior’ punishable by death
President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the Constitution and defy “illegal orders.”
The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”
“The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution,” Slotkin wrote in the X post.
Trump on Thursday reposted messages from others about the video, amplifying it with his own words. It marked another flashpoint in the political rhetoric that at times has been thematic in his administrations, as well as among some in his MAGA base. Some Democrats accused him of acting like a king and trying to distract from soon-to-be-released files about disgraced financier and sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
What Democrats said in the video
With pieces of dialogue spliced together from different members, the lawmakers introduce themselves and their background. They go on to say the Trump administration “is pitting our uniformed military against American citizens. They call for service members to “refuse illegal orders” and “stand up for our laws.”
The lawmakers conclude the video by encouraging service members, “Don’t give up the ship,” a War of 1812-era phrase attributed to a U.S. Navy captain’s dying command to his crew.
Although the lawmakers didn’t mention specific circumstances in the video, its release comes as the Trump administration continues attempts at deployment of National Guard troops into U.S. cities for various roles, although some have been pulled back, and others held up in court.
Are U.S. troops allowed to disobey orders?
Troops, especially uniformed commanders, have a specific obligation to reject an order that’s unlawful, if they make that determination.
However, while commanders have military lawyers on their staffs to consult with in helping make such a determination, rank-and-file troops who are tasked with carrying out those orders are rarely in a similar position.
Broad legal precedence holds that just following orders, colloquially known as the “Nuremberg defense” as it was used unsuccessfully by senior Nazi officials to justify their actions under Adolf Hitler, doesn’t absolve troops.
However, the U.S. military legal code, known as the Uniform Code of Military Justice or UCMJ, will punish troops for failing to follow an order should it turn out to be lawful. Troops can be criminally charged with Article 90 of the UCMJ, willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, and Article 92, failure to obey an order.
How Trump, others responded
On Thursday, Trump reposted to social media an article about the video, adding his own commentary that it was “really bad, and Dangerous to our Country.”
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!!” Trump went on. “LOCK THEM UP???” He also called for the lawmakers’ arrest and trial, adding in a separate post that it was “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH.”
Democrats were swift to react to Trump’s words, with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warning in a floor speech that the president was “lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said he did not believe Trump was calling for violence in the social media posts, saying Trump was merely “defining a crime,” and calling the Democrats’ video “wildly inappropriate.”
“Think of the threat that is to our national security and what it means for our institution,” Johnson added.
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Trump’s allies balked at the video. Wednesday on Fox News, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called the messaging “insurrection — plainly, directly, without question” and said it represented “a general call for rebellion from the CIA and the armed services of the United States, by Democrat lawmakers.”
On X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X commented on the video Tuesday as “Stage 4 TDS,” referring to “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — a term used by Trump to describe voters so angry and opposed to him that they are incapable of seeing any good in what he does.
The Steady State, which describes itself as “a network of 300+ national and homeland security experts standing for strong and principled policy, rule of law, and democracy,” wrote in a Substack post on Thursday that the lawmakers’ call was “only a restatement of what every officer and enlisted servicemember already knows: illegal orders can and should be refused. This is not a political opinion. It is doctrine.”
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell challenged the theory that illegal orders were being issued.
“Our military follows orders, and our civilians give legal orders,” Parnell told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We love the Constitution. These politicians are out of their minds.”
Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/20/trump-video-seditious/
TSA to introduce $18 fee for passengers without REAL ID or passport at airport checkpoints
The Transportation Security Administration is moving forward with a new rule under which airplane passengers who do not have a REAL ID or a passport could face an $18 fee.
Travelers who are passing through security with the required identification will have their identity checks with a new kiosk system, with the fee being used to compensate for the cost of the new system.
The new system will be a biometric kiosk that TSA describes as a” modernized alternative identity verification program,” allowing passengers to access TSA checkpoints for up to 10 days after paying the $18 non-refundable fee.
The agency said that this change is meant to streamline the process to get through airport security, replacing the current system. TSA said the use of the kiosk does not guarantee “an individual’s identity will be verified or that the individual will be provided access to the sterile area of the airport.”
It is not clear when the new kiosk will be implemented at airport security checkpoints.
The new rule was to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, with the proposed change then entering a public comment period.
REAL ID enforcement officially kicked off in May after the REAL ID Act became law 20 years ago. REAL ID requirements arose from a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission and set minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.
Those standards apply to those boarding a commercial flight in the U.S.
Enforcement of REAL ID was initially originally scheduled to take place 13 years ago, but has been delayed multiple times. The final delay was granted in late 2022 to allow states additional time to issue REAL IDs in the wake of the pandemic.
In a statement to ABC News, a TSA spokesperson said, “This notice serves as a next step in the process in REAL ID compliance, which was signed into law more than 20 years ago and finally implemented by Secretary Noem as of May 2025. TSA is working with stakeholders and partners to ensure both security and efficiency at our checkpoints. Additional guidance will be announced in the coming days.”
Dick Cheney remembered for transforming national security and standing against Trump
WASHINGTON — An unlikely mix of Republicans and Democrats came together Thursday to pay tribute to former Vice President Dick Cheney, who helped shape the nation’s aggressive response to terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001, and transformed his office into a powerful platform to drive policy.
Led by former President George W. Bush, the mourners who gathered in the grand and cavernous Washington National Cathedral included an array of veterans of their administration as well as a number of Democrats who once despised Cheney but came to admire him late in life for his outspoken opposition to President Donald Trump.
In a sign of how much politics has changed in recent years, Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the stewards of the current Republican administration, were not invited, but Rachel Maddow, the liberal television host who used to skewer Cheney for his support of the Iraq War, was on hand as a guest of the family.
Others in attendance included former President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, and former Vice Presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle. A number of lawmakers from different parts of the political spectrum showed up as well, including former Speakers John Boehner, a reliable Republican ally of the Bush-Cheney White House, and Nancy Pelosi, one of its staunchest Democratic opponents.
A clutch of Republican senators attended, including John Thune of South Dakota, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Barrasso of Wyoming, as did a number of Democrats who served with his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, on the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, including Sen. Adam Schiff of California and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
Dick Cheney, who died earlier this month at 84, was in his time a hero to Republicans for his tough-minded approach to national security and a villain to many Democrats who thought he went too far. But his decision to join Liz Cheney in speaking out against Trump when many other Republicans of his stature did not left him isolated from his own party and reexamined by some of his most vocal critics.
Trump ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff after Cheney’s death, as required by law, but issued no statement and has refrained from commenting publicly. Vance offered words during a Breitbart event Thursday. “My condolences go to Dick Cheney and his family,” Vance said, adding that “obviously there’s some political disagreements there.” But Vance said Cheney “served his country” and he was wishing his family “all the best.”
In a tribute at the cathedral, Bush praised his partner in power for his unstinting devotion to country. “This was a vice president totally devoted to protecting the United States and its interests,” he said. “There was never any agenda or angle beyond that. You did not know Dick Cheney unless you understood his greatest concerns and ambitions were for his country.”
None of the speakers mentioned the absent Trump explicitly but in her tribute, Cheney’s daughter alluded to his decision to break with the Republicans. “He knew the bonds of party must always yield to the single bond we share as Americans,” she said. “For him a choice between defense of the Constitution and defense of your political party was no choice at all.”
Cheney’s passing prompted mixed feelings among many. Some of those in the cathedral said they never would have imagined honoring Cheney but appreciated what they considered his principled stance on Trump. Some liberals in recent days, however, have said that they do not mourn the former vice president. Regardless of his position on the current president, they still hold Cheney responsible for death and destruction in the Middle East, the torture of detained terrorism suspects and the expansion of executive authority that some say led to Trump’s even more aggressive assertions of power.
In addition to Bush and Liz Cheney, three of the former vice president’s grandchildren offered tributes at the cathedral. Also addressing the service was Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Cheney’s longtime cardiologist, and Pete Williams, who worked for Cheney in Congress and at the Pentagon before becoming a correspondent at NBC.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did not attend, although both released respectful statements after Cheney’s death praising his service and patriotism.
Cheney was a towering figure of his time. At 34, he became the youngest White House chief of staff in U.S. history, helping President Gerald Ford steer the country out of the debacles of Vietnam and Watergate in the 1970s. Representing his home state of Wyoming as a member of the House in the 1980s, he vaulted into leadership. As defense secretary for President George H.W. Bush, he oversaw the successful prosecution of two wars: one ousting the drug-running leader of Panama and the other evicting Iraqi invaders from Kuwait.
But it was during his time as the second-in-command to the younger Bush from 2001 to 2009 that he made his most indelible mark on history. Through force of will and mastery of Washington’s curious ways, Cheney turned a second-tier office into a first-tier platform to drive policy at home and abroad.
He was often described as the real mastermind of the administration, an assertion that nettled Bush. But insiders said the puppeteer image was overblown and noted that the two in fact drifted apart on many issues by the end of their time in office.
Cheney overcame five heart attacks and had a heart transplant before writing a book with Reiner about his medical odyssey. Unlike other Republicans who went into opposition against Trump, Cheney remained a staunch conservative through the end of his life but viewed Trump as a betrayal of those values. He saw Trump as a buffoonish figure in a serious job and a danger to the constitutional order, particularly after his effort to overturn the 2020 election by spreading lies about vote fraud.
His daughter, who also represented Wyoming in the House, became perhaps Trump’s most prominent Republican critic after the Jan. 6 attack, and helped lead the resulting House investigation. After she disclosed last year that she would vote for Harris, her father followed suit.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Dick Cheney said. Citing Trump’s “lies and violence,” he said the former president could “never be trusted with power again.”
He added: “We have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Trump fired back on social media, calling Cheney “an irrelevant RINO,” meaning Republican in Name Only. “He’s the King of Endless, Nonsensical Wars, wasting Lives and Trillions of Dollars, just like Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump said then.
In addition to Liz Cheney, Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne Cheney, and daughter, Mary Cheney. The family has not disclosed details about burial, but the former vice president wrote in his 2013 book with Reiner that when he came close to death in 2010, he instructed his relatives to have his body cremated and the ashes returned to Wyoming.
He said he did not fear death. “I was pain free and at peace,” he wrote, “and I had led a remarkable life.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Connor Wong y los Medias Rojas de Boston acuerdan contrato de uno año por 1.375.000 dólares
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — El receptor Connor Wong y los Medias Rojas de Boston acordaron el jueves un contrato de un año por 1.375.000, un día antes de la fecha límite para que los equipos ofrezcan contratos para 2026 a jugadores no firmados en sus listas de 40 hombres.
Wong puede ganar 75.000 adicionales en bonos por rendimiento basados en apariciones al bate: 25.000 cada uno por 250, 300 y 350 apariciones.
Wong, de 29 años, quien ha hecho apariciones ocasionales en primera, segunda, tercera base y en los jardines, bateó para .190 con ocho dobles y siete carreras impulsadas en 63 juegos la temporada pasada, que incluyeron 52 como receptor titular.
Obtenido de los Dodgers de Los Ángeles, Wong tiene un promedio de carrera de .245 con 23 jonrones y 103 carreras impulsadas en 348 juegos a lo largo de cinco temporadas en las Grandes Ligas. Estaba en camino de ser elegible para el arbitraje salarial por primera vez si se le ofrecía un contrato.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
BitMine Sits On $3.7B Loss As DAT ‘Hotel California’ Meets BlackRock’s Staked ETH ETF
BitMine Sits On $3.7B Loss As DAT ‘Hotel California’ Meets BlackRock’s Staked ETH ETF
Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,
Concerns are mounting over the sustainability of corporate crypto-treasury firms as BlackRock moves forward with a staked Ether fund that analysts say could compete directly with existing digital-asset treasuries.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, the world’s largest corporate Ether holder, is currently down $1,000 per purchased ETH, implying a cumulative unrealized loss of $3.7 billion on its total holdings, according to a Thursday research report from crypto insights company 10x Research.
The decline in net asset value (NAV) across these firms is making it difficult to attract new retail investors while leaving many existing shareholders effectively “trapped” unless they sell at a steep loss, 10x Research founder Markus Thielen wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“When the premium inevitably shrinks to zero, as it is doing now, investors find themselves trapped in the structure, unable to get out without significant damage, a true Hotel California scenario,” he said.
He added that, unlike exchange-traded funds (ETFs), digital-asset treasury companies, or DATs, “layer on complex, opaque, and often hedge-fund-like fee structures that can quietly erode returns.”
BitMine, Ethereum, right-hand side (RHS) price. Source: 10X Research
The mNAV ratio compares a company’s enterprise value to the value of its crypto holdings. An mNAV above 1 allows a company to raise funds by issuing new shares to accumulate digital assets. Values below 1 make it much harder to expand capital and holdings.
BitMine’s basic mNAV stood at 0.77 while its diluted mNAV stood at 0.92, according to data from Bitminetracker.
BitMine overview, holdings, share metrics. Bitminetracker.io
BitMine holds about 3.56 million ETH valued at roughly $10.7 billion, representing 2.94% of the total Ether supply. The firm’s average cost basis is $4,051 per ETH.
Other DATs also suffered a sharp decrease in their mNAVs, including Strategy, Bitmine, Metaplanet, Sharplink Gaming, Upexi and DeFi Development Corp.
BlackRock steps in with lower-cost competition
BlackRock has registered a new staked Ether ETF offering in Delaware, marking the first step for the $13.5 trillion asset management giant’s diversification into Ethereum-based products, Cointelegraph reported earlier on Thursday.
Source: Eric Balchunas
BlackRock’s proposed Ether staking ETF could offer another low-cost, yield-generating fund, without the hidden costs associated with traditional treasury firms.
This development may threaten the economics of DATs, according to 10x Research.
“With BlackRock now seeking approval to stake ETH in its ETF, offering a low-cost source of yield, the economics of DATs are likely to face increasing scrutiny,” the research report states.
More investors may start reallocating toward a potential staked Ether fund from BlackRock when they realize that the 0.25% management fee is far smaller compared to the embedded costs of DATs, according to 10X.
Asset managers REX-Osprey and Grayscale have already launched staked ETH ETF products in September and October.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/20/2025 – 13:20
