Category: News
One-Party-Rule Failure: Democratic Kings Own Maryland’s Epic Demise
One-Party-Rule Failure: Democratic Kings Own Maryland’s Epic Demise
Maryland is facing severe economic difficulties under long-standing single-party progressive control at the state, city, and even some local levels. Democrats function as the political “kings” of Maryland, and their far-left policies have pushed the state into an epic decline – all while Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is at the helm of the rudderless ship.
Decades of unhinged leftist political dominance in Annapolis and Baltimore City have coincided with a steady deterioration in Maryland’s charm. The state was recently slapped with the first credit-rating downgrade in 50 years, a ballooning budget deficit sparking crisis fears, soaring taxes, and criminal-justice and social-policy reforms that have led to crime and chaos in recent years – all while Democrats in the state prioritized illegal aliens over their constituents.
At the same time, a power bill crisis has emerged after failed green policies collided with the era of data centers. The affordability crisis in the Mid-Atlantic state is one of the main reasons why a large-scale exodus of residents has accelerated under Moore’s absolutely terrible leadership. Many in the state question if Moore serves Soros or other Democratic Party elites rather than actual residents in the state.
And we wonder why people think this way…
A recent 78-page report in the Comptroller’s “State of the Economy” outlined statistics that are optically displeasing, and Democrats hope people never find out, given that Moore is being positioned for a 2028 presidential election run.
And this.
The report’s findings reveal that Maryland has continued to experience net domestic outmigration since 2011.
Between 2010 and 2023, the state lost about 2.3 million residents to other states while only gaining around 2 million from elsewhere, creating a net drain that strains state finances through lost tax revenue.
The largest outflows went to Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Delaware, while the biggest inflows came from Washington, D.C., New York, and New Jersey. Outmigration worsened after the pandemic (2022–2024), with Maryland consistently ranking in the top 10 states for the largest net losses.
The terrible stats show Maryland’s demise:
Maryland experienced net domestic outmigration every year between 2011 and 2023. Overall, the state’s population still grew during this period due to the combination of international migration to Maryland and natural net population growth (birth minus deaths), but outmigration creates a strain on the state’s finances in the form of lost tax revenue
Between 2010 and 2023, Maryland lost a total of 2.3 million residents to other states, while approximately 2 million residents from other states moved into Maryland.
During this time period, Maryland lost the most residents to Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Delaware on a net basis; and gained the most residents from Washington, D.C., New York, and New Jersey on a net basis.
The most severe net domestic outmigration occurred post-pandemic (2022 – 2024). In each of these years, Maryland ranked in the top 10 of all U.S. states for the largest net loss of residents to domestic migration.
Prior to the pandemic, on a net basis, Maryland primarily lost older, higher-income residents (i.e. retirees). Since the pandemic, the net share of younger and lower- and middle-income residents leaving the state has increased. This finding suggests that pre-pandemic, factors like taxes and weather may have been more prominent drivers of migration decisions, while more recently, housing affordability and overall cost of living are having a greater effect
Since the Covid pandemic, outflows have shifted toward younger and lower- to middle-income households, suggesting that progressive policies are backfiring and sparking affordability and cost-of-living pressures.
Single-party rule in Maryland, or “Democrat Kings,” controls the legislature, the governor’s office, and the major city governments. This concentration of far-left toxic power has eroded internal oversight, and as local outlet Fox Baltimore reports:
Frustration is building in Maryland as the Democrat Kings raise taxes, services decline, infrastructure falters, crime remains elevated, business climate deteriorates, housing becomes unaffordable, and power bill costs explode. We’ve seen this exodus story before from Democrat Kings in California, New York, and Illinois, while common-sense red states like Florida and Texas see net population gains.
Public frustration has grown so sharply that Democrats unleashed an informational war against residents, with one of their nonprofits buying up local radio air space to counter dissent as Moore’s polling numbers fell.
🚨 Democrat Maryland Governor Wes Moore is advancing a redistricting plan for the state’s 8 congressional districts
He plans redistrict to make all 8 seats Democrat
Democrats will do anything it takes to win. Republicans continue to do what they always do, absolutely nothing pic.twitter.com/MUinS9B9rw
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) November 12, 2025
Democratic Kings own Maryland’s epic demise.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/19/2025 – 18:50
NASA unveils close-up pictures of the 3I/Atlas comet popping by from another star
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA unveiled close-up pictures on Wednesday of the interstellar comet that’s making a quick one-and-done tour of the solar system.
Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our corner of the cosmos from another star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month.
Three NASA spacecraft on and near the red planet zoomed in on the comet as it passed just 18 million miles away, revealing a fuzzy white blob. The European Space Agency’s two satellites around Mars also made observations.
Other NASA spacecraft will remain on the lookout in the weeks ahead, including the Webb Space Telescope. At the same time, astronomers are aiming their ground telescopes at the approaching comet, which is about 190 million miles from Earth. The Virtual Telescope Project’s Gianluca Masi zoomed in Wednesday from Italy.
The comet is visible from Earth in the predawn sky by using binoculars or a telescope.
“Everyone that is in control of a telescope wants to look at it because it’s a fascinating and rare opportunity,” said NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman.
The closest the comet will come to Earth is 167 million miles in mid-December. Then it will hightail it back into interstellar space, never to return.
ESA’s Juice spacecraft, bound for Jupiter, has been training its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet all month, particularly after it made its closest pass to the sun. But scientists won’t get any of these observations back until February because Juice’s main antenna is serving as a heat shield while it’s near the sun, limiting the flow of data.
Named for the telescope in Chile that first spotted it, the comet is believed to be anywhere from 1,444 feet across to 3.5 miles across. Observations indicate that the exceptionally fast-moving comet may have originated in a star system older than our own — “which gives me goose bumps to think about,” said NASA scientist Tom Statler.
“That means that 3I/Atlas is not just a window into another solar system, it’s a window into the deep past and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our sun,” Statler told reporters.
NASA officials were quick to dispel rumors that this friendly solar system visitor, as they called it, might be an alien ship of some sort. They said that because of the federal government shutdown, they weren’t able to respond to all the theories cropping up in recent weeks.
The space agency is always on the hunt for life beyond Earth, “but 3I/Atlas is a comet,” said NASA’s associate administrator, Amit Kshatriya.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/nasa-atlas-comet-pictures/
Gary man gets over a century in prison for killing neighbor at Willows apartments
A Gary man was sentenced Wednesday to a 105-year split term for killing his neighbor and wounding her fiancé after they returned to the Willows apartments.
A jury convicted Thomas Starks, 22, last month of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and burglary. He occasionally stayed with his mother, who lived upstairs from the couple.
The victim, Kajah Wilson, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Deputy Prosecutor Veronica Gonzalez said Wednesday that Starks ambushed the couple. Lake County coroner’s office forensic pathologist Dr. Zhuo Wang determined Wilson had been shot seven times from above.
Defense lawyer Mike Woods noted that after Starks and his sister Leticia Starks broke into their apartment days before, Starks saw Wilson and her fiancé armed afterwards. After the burglary, Wilson confronted Starks’ mother and sister with a visible weapon.
Judge Natalie Bokota appeared to give Starks essentially a life sentence.
She sentenced Starks to 57 years for murder, 12 years on a gun enhancement and 30 years on attempted murder. On the last charge – for the earlier burglary – she gave him a six-year split term – with three years in prison, two in Lake County Community Corrections and one on probation.
LaTonya Carter, Wilson’s mother, held up photos of her daughter on the stand. She said Wilson would have turned 30 just before Halloween.
It’s a shame she had to sit and hold the photos, but couldn’t hold her daughter, she told the court.
“She deserved to be here,” Carter said. “She was my only daughter.”
In the beginning, she was “so angry at everybody.”
“I’m hurt,” she said. “Nobody deserved to be treated like a dog.”
She asked for a maximum sentence.
Richard Casson, Wilson’s fiancé, said he lived with the shooting every day. Court documents indicate he was shot in the hip, ankle, and two fingers.
“He took away the love of my life, the mother of my kids,” he said. “Not a day that goes by I’m not thinking about her.”
Casson asked for the “harshest sentence possible.”
Detective Roger Escutia testified he spotted a video on Instagram during the trial where a man who looked like Starks appeared to have smoked a marijuana cigarette in a vehicle in the courthouse parking lot. Deputy Prosecutor Jacob Brandewie argued it should be used as character evidence.
Woods questioned the authenticity and pressed Escutia on whether he knew if it was marijuana and noted it was an account with only five posts.
The defense called Starks’ mother, Mondai Myers, to testify – to illustrate his tough upbringing.
She said the family moved from Springfield, Illinois, to Northwest Indiana around 2011. By August 2012, the Indiana Department of Child Services removed the children from her home because the utilities were off and there wasn’t a lot of food in the home.
Myers won the children back by fall 2013, but lost them again in spring 2014.
She told Woods that Leticia called DCS because she wouldn’t let her bring boys in the home. When pressed for the real answer, she agreed when Woods said her daughter reported her using drugs and there wasn’t a lot of food in the home.
Thomas Starks spent from around age 10 or 11 to 18 in foster care in nearly a dozen different homes, until he “aged out,” Woods said. Later on, he said Leticia Starks, with two young children, participated in the burglary to “get something to sell to feed her children.”
In arguments, Gonzalez, the prosecutor, asked for 118 years.
In court filings, she asked for him not to be sentenced for aggravated battery, to avoid risking it being overturned on appeal for double jeopardy. She wrote he should get a stiffer sentencing for allegedly “lying in wait” for the couple to return to ambush them.
At one point in court, the judge accused him of targeting the couple because they could potentially put Starks in jail for the earlier burglary.
Woods argued for a minimal sentence – under the best circumstances still over a half-century – arguing that Starks shouldn’t have been convicted on attempted murder for Casson’s shooting because it wasn’t intentional. He argued Casson only saw a “shape of a person” firing at him, making it a “peripheral” shooting — i.e., he wasn’t being intentionally targeted.
He said Casson openly carried an “assault rifle” in the two weeks before the murder as a tactic to “instill fear.” Wilson confronted Myers and Leticia Starks after the burglary while carrying a gun with an extended clip.
The lawyer argued the shooting wasn’t an “ambush,” but a “chance encounter” with a “heavily armed couple.”
He asked for “some leniency” so Starks would have the chance to be “rehabilitated.”
Gonzalez retorted several points, saying Wilson was shot at a “downward” trajectory. Casson got some fingers blown off. Only his gun possibly prevented him from being shot in the chest and killed, she said.
Starks spoke briefly, apologizing to Wilson’s family but saying he was innocent. Police got the “wrong person.”
Gary Police were called Aug. 8, 2023, around 11 p.m. to the Willows apartments on the 300 block of Clark Road for a shots-fired call.
Casson told officers they were returning from Buffalo Wild Wings when a gunman ambushed them from above.
The man added he and Wilson both carried guns inside — an AR pistol and Glock 22, respectively — because they had been having problems with their upstairs neighbors.
Days earlier, Starks and his sister Leticia Starks, who was not charged in the shooting, were caught on camera burglarizing the victims’ apartment.
At trial, she declined to say her brother was the person with her stealing from the other apartment. She pleaded her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on cross-examination, before prosecutors later granted her immunity to finish her testimony.
A July 25, 2023, police report noted the victims’ door handle was broken as if the burglars forced their way inside. Items including an iPad, iPhone and Nike gym shoes were missing.
The apartment video appeared to show a man and woman with orange hair rummaging through the unit. The man had a face mask, Nike sweatshirt, and dark pants. He was holding a gun with a purple glove on with his left hand.
The building’s outside camera didn’t pick them up coming inside the building, leaving police to believe they lived there.
On the night of the shooting, the apartment building’s cameras captured the victims going inside, armed with two guns. Then, the female victim’s “silhouette” falls, hitting the front door’s glass.
The alleged shooter — also wearing a glove and holding the gun in his left hand — flees toward the back of the building.
No one appeared to come inside the building for at least two hours before the shooting.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com
Around the Southland: Bridge Thrift opens in Frankfort, dog park permits offered in Will County, more
Bridge Thrift opens in Frankfort
A building that had been abandoned for decades at 21420 S. Harlem Ave. in Frankfort has been transformed into Bridge Thrift Home & Restoration, and staff, volunteers and visitors celebrated with a recent grand-opening ceremony.
All proceeds from items sold at the store will benefit the Bridge Teen Center, a nonprofit organization based in Orland Park that offers free afterschool programs daily and social events Friday nights for teens in seventh to 12th grade. The center has served more than 14,000 students from 128 communities since it opened in 2010. It bought the abandoned building in 2022.
New and gently used items ranging from furniture to home decor, books, clothing, jewelry, antiques and collectibles will be accepted during store hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The store is closed Mondays and Sundays.
The new shop expands access for community services opportunities and job readiness for teens in the area, thanks to a Job Readiness & Leadership Training Center. A live plant boutique, called Taking Root, also is available, as well as a rotating pop-up shop featuring local artisans and a creative craft and repurposing section.
Information is at bridgethrift.org or 708-614-6972.
Pathlights seeks donations for matching grant
Pathlights is encouraging people to donate to the nonprofit organization on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 2, to boost a matching grant for $3,000 it hopes to receive from ComEd.
The grant will double every dollar donated to Pathlights, up to $3000. Pathlights serves older adults in Lemont, Orland, Rich, Worth, Palos and Bremen townships.
To donate, call 708-361-0219 or visit pathlights.org.
Dog park permits sold through end of year in Will County
Dog owners are invited to buy 2026 dog park permits for the Forest Preserve District of Will County, which are valid for the rest of 2025 and all of 2026.
The fee, which is $40 for county residents and $80 for nonresidents, includes all six off-leash dog parks, including Messenger Marsh in Homer Glen, Plum Valley Preserve in Crete and Lower Rock Run Preserve at McClintock Road Access in Joliet. Each park has separate enclosures for small dogs weighing 35 pounds or less and larger dogs.
Permits are sold at Plum Creek Nature Center, 27064 S. Dutton Road in Crete Township, and at Isle a la Cache Museum, 501 E. Romeo Road in Romeoville, both open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Online sales include a $2 service fee. Applications also can be mailed to Sugar Creek Administration Center, 17540 W. Laraway Road in Joliet. Details are at www.reconnectwithnature.org/activities/dog-exercising.
Moraine student publishes debut novel
Moraine Valley Community College student Taher “Tyler” Dweydari reads from his first book, “Somewhere Between You & Me,” in the library of the community college in Palos Hills. (Moraine Valley Community College)
Taher “Tyler” Dweydari began January 2025 with a resolution – to write a novel – and he recently made that come true, publishing “Somewhere Between You & Me,” a coming-of-age novel about friendship and the people who are willing to break through the walls their friends build around themselves.
The Calumet Park resident, who attends Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, couldn’t stop thinking about the resolution he’d made and wrote the book from January to July, drawing on his knack for creating fun stories, especially about relatives. “For the most part, no one knew I was writing the book until I finished writing it and had a copy in my hand,” he shared via a news release.
Dweydari also illustrated the book, which is sold on Amazon.
Mobile markets offer free food for Thanksgiving
Families experiencing food insecurity can receive groceries just in time for Thanksgiving, thanks to two mobile markets hosted by Franciscan Health.
The first mobile market is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until supplies last Nov. 25 at Respond Now, 21701 Torrence Ave. in Sauk Village. The second is 2 a.m. to 5 p.m. or while supplies last Nov. 25 at Respond Now, 1439 Emerald Ave. in Chicago Heights.
Families will receive a frozen ham, vegetables, fruits and grains. Volunteers will help line up vehicles for the drive-through events; no attendees can be on foot. Details are at 708-755-4357.
The markets are funded via a partnership with Respond Now and the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, as well as donations to the Franciscan Health Foundation’s Community Health & Wellness Fund. Make a donation by calling 708-852-2430.
Historic golf tournament benefits work at Mercy Circle
Luck was with the Irish recently when the first Irish Classic golf tournament raised $75,000 for Mercy Circle in Chicago, a not-for-profit senior living community in Chicago.
The tournament, Mercy Circle’s largest fundraiser, brought together 88 golfers and an additional 50 dinner guests at Ridge Country Club, as well as sponsors. Another tournament is planned there for next year.
The money will be used to refresh the decor of Baggot Street, Mercy Circle’s community for residents who need memory care support.
Misericordia holiday pop-up set at Smith Village
Fresh-baked goods and Christmas gift items will be sold during the 19th Ward’s seventh annual Misericordia Christmas Pop-Up Shop from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 21 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 22 at Smith Village, 2320 W. 113th Place in Chicago.
Artwork by Misericordia residents on Christmas cards and plates will be featured, as well as wickless candles, unisex hats, golf shirts and vests and golf gear.
Residents will provide popular items such as pretzel trees, peppermint bark, breads, cookies, fudge and brownies, as well as gluten-free treats such as spiced pecans, toffee and flourless chocolate pecan cookies.
Free valet parking will be available at the main entrance.
Send news to communitynews@southtownstar.com.
Heart Attack Risk Halved In Survivors Taking Tailored Vitamin D Doses, Researchers Say
Heart Attack Risk Halved In Survivors Taking Tailored Vitamin D Doses, Researchers Say
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Researchers found that adult heart attack survivors who took specific vitamin D doses reduced their risk of developing another heart attack by more than half, compared with people who did not take the vitamin D dose.
Research done by Utah-based Intermountain Health found that there was a 52 percent lower risk of suffering another heart attack in people who already survived one and who received “personalized dosing of vitamin D supplements” to reach vitamin D levels of 40 nanograms per milliliter for around four years, said a news release from the American Heart Association (AHA).
That was compared to those who did not receive management of their vitamin D levels, the AHA said.
Over 85 percent of the people who enrolled in the study had vitamin D levels below that threshold, while nearly 52 percent in the study group had to take more than 5,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day to reach the blood target levels, the Nov. 9 release said. The 5,000 IU dose is around six times the 800 IU that is recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) per day.
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Yes, we sell Vitamin D which we’d be grateful if you’d try – though whether or not you buy from us, please absorb the information in this article.
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“Previous clinical trial research on vitamin D tested the potential impact of the same vitamin D dose for all participants without checking their blood levels first,” Heidi T. May of Intermountain Health said in an AHA statement.
The researchers also checked the study participants’ vitamin D levels when they started the study, followed up, adjusting the dose as needed to reach a range of between 40 and 80 nanograms per milliliter, the statement said.
The authors of the paper suggested that their findings could allow health care providers to focus more on blood testing for people who had experienced heart attacks and to provide tailored doses for them.
While the AHA did not say what form of vitamin D was administered in the study, a separate news release issued by Intermountain Health said that the researchers used vitamin D3, the most common form used in dietary supplements.
In the statement, May said the researchers “observed no adverse outcomes when giving patients higher doses of vitamin D3 supplementation, and to significantly reduce the risk of another heart attack, which are exciting results.”
The study was presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025 in New Orleans earlier this month. It enrolled 630 adults with acute coronary syndrome who were treated at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City from April 2017 to May 2023 and who had an average follow-up of 4.2 years for their condition.
The AHA said that around 107 major cardiac events, such as a heart attack, stroke, heart failure that required hospitalization, or death, occurred in the study period.
The paper released this month adds to a growing body of research around vitamin D supplementation and heart disease. Last year, a study found that taking vitamin D supplements doesn’t reduce the risk of cardiac arrest in older adults, while one published in the British Medical Journal showed there was an association between the supplements and major cardiac events among people over the age of 60.
Aside from supplements, foods that are considered rich in vitamin D include egg yolks, fatty fish, fish liver oil, and cheese, while some foods like cereal, orange juice, milk, and others are fortified with the vitamin. Vitamin D is also activated in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight.
May added that her organization is encouraging those who have heart disease to speak to health care providers about targeted vitamin D dosing.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/19/2025 – 18:25
Sospechoso chino de narcotráfico que México extraditó a EEUU se declara inocente en NY
Por PHILIP MARCELO
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Un chino sospechoso de narcotráfico que escapó en México mientras era custodiado y fue recapturado en Cuba ha sido entregado a Estados Unidos para enfrentar cargos de introducir grandes cantidades de cocaína y fentanilo a ese país.
Zhi Dong Zhang, también conocido como “Hermano Wang” entre otros alias, se declaró inocente durante su lectura de cargos el miércoles en el tribunal federal de Brooklyn. Su abogado declinó hacer comentarios tras la comparecencia.
Funcionarios federales dicen que Zhang dirigía una vasta operación de tráfico de drogas y lavado de dinero que importaba miles de kilogramos de narcóticos a Estados Unidos y otros países.
“El acusado enfrenta cargos de dirigir una empresa global que introdujo cantidades masivas de cocaína, fentanilo y metanfetamina a nuestras comunidades y lavó millones en ganancias de narcóticos”, declaró en un comunicado el fiscal general adjunto, Todd Blanche. “Su regreso a Estados Unidos es un paso importante para desmantelar una red que ha alimentado la adicción, la violencia y la muerte”.
La organización criminal de Zhang operaba desde México al menos desde 2016 y lavaba sus ganancias de drogas a través de empresas fantasma, creadas en Estados Unidos por medio de números de seguro social falsos y otros documentos fraudulentos, según fiscales federales.
Los funcionarios identificaron más de 100 compañías fantasma vinculadas a la organización de Zhang que se utilizaron para lavar al menos 77 millones de dólares en ganancias de narcóticos, dijeron.
Las autoridades mexicanas capturaron a Zhang en Ciudad de México en octubre de 2024 a petición de Washington, pero un juez le concedió arresto domiciliario y escapó de la casa a pesar de que estaba bajo custodia militar. Los fiscales dicen en documentos judiciales que finalmente fue recapturado en Cuba, y las autoridades mexicanas lo enviaron a Estados Unidos el 23 de octubre.
Zhang, quien está detenido hasta su próxima fecha de audiencia en enero, también enfrenta en Georgia una serie de cargos federales relacionados.
Documentos gubernamentales presentados en ese caso describen una red de tráfico de cocaína y fentanilo con centros en las áreas metropolitanas de Atlanta y Los Ángeles. Supuestamente, millones de dólares de las ventas de drogas eran recolectados en casas de seguridad en Georgia y California y depositados en cuentas a las que Zhang podía acceder desde México, según los documentos.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Exdeportista olímpico canadiense es acusado en EEUU de planear el asesinato de un testigo
Por ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Un ex snowboarder del equipo olímpico de Canadá, quien es buscado por las autoridades por dirigir una red multinacional de tráfico de drogas, enfrenta cargos adicionales en relación con el asesinato de un testigo federal en enero pasado, informó la secretaria de Justicia Pam Bondi el miércoles.
Otros diez sospechosos han sido arrestados como parte de un acta federal desprecintada en California en la que se acusa a Ryan Wedding de orquestar el asesinato del testigo en Colombia para ayudar a Wedding a evitar la extradición hacia Estados Unidos.
Las autoridades ofrecen hasta 15 millones de dólares por información que conduzca al arresto de Wedding, quien se encuentra en la lista de los 10 más buscados del FBI. Se cree que vive en México bajo la protección del cártel de Sinaloa, con quienes, según las autoridades, trabaja estrechamente para enviar grandes cantidades de drogas hacia Canadá y Estados Unidos.
“Seas un traficante de drogas en las calles… o un capo internacional, iremos tras de ti”, dijo Bondi a los reporteros. “Te encontraremos y rendirás cuentas y serás llevado ante la justicia por tus crímenes”.
Wedding –también conocido como “El Jefe”, “Enemigo Público” y “James Conrad King”– fue acusado en 2024 de dirigir una red de narcotráfico que mueve unas 60 toneladas de cocaína al año utilizando camiones de carga para transportar las drogas entre Colombia, México, el sur de California y Canadá.
Las autoridades aseguran que Wedding y sus cómplices utilizaron un sitio web canadiense llamado “the Dirty News” para publicar una fotografía del testigo para que fuera identificado y asesinado. El testigo fue seguido hasta un restaurante en Medellín en enero pasado, donde recibió un disparo en la cabeza.
“Wedding le puso precio a la cabeza de la víctima, creyendo equivocadamente que la muerte de la víctima resultaría en la desestimación de los cargos criminales en su contra y de su red internacional de tráfico de drogas, y además le garantizaría que no fuera extraditado a Estados Unidos. Estaba equivocado”, aseguró el máximo fiscal federal para el distrito del centro de California, Bill Essayli.
El gobierno de Estados Unidos también está ofreciendo recompensas de hasta 2 millones de dólares por información sobre otros involucrados en el asesinato del testigo.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Randy Jones, primer ganador del Cy Young de los Padres de San Diego, muere a los 75 años
Por GREG BEACHAM
Randy Jones, el lanzador zurdo que ganó el premio Cy Young en 1976 con los Padres de San Diego como parte de su una carrera de diez años en las Grandes Ligas, falleció. Tenía 75 años.
Jones murió el martes, según información que los Padres dieron el miércoles, pero no revelaron el lugar o la causa.
Jones lanzó ocho temporadas para San Diego y dos para los Mets de Nueva York, logrando un récord de 100-123 con una efectividad de 3.42. Aún mantiene los récords de la franquicia de los Padres con 253 aperturas, 71 juegos completos, 18 blanqueadas y 1.766 entradas lanzadas.
Jones fue uno de los mejores lanzadores de las mayores en 1975 y 1976, siendo elegido dos veces al Juego de Estrellas y convirtiéndose en el primer jugador en ganar el Cy Young con los Padres, que comenzaron a jugar como equipo de expansión en 1969.
Terminó segundo en la votación del Cy Young detrás de Tom Seaver en 1975 después de lograr un récord de 20-12 con una efectividad de 2.24, para liderar la Liga Nacional, con unos Padres que ganaron solo 71 juegos.
Jones ganó el premio un año después, con 22 victorias para un equipo que ganó 73 partidos lanzando 315 entradas y un tercio en 40 aperturas, incluyendo 25 juegos completos, todas estas estadísticas lideraron Las Mayores.
Cada vez que Jones lanzaba, incrementaba la asistencia para los jóvenes Padres. Los fanáticos apreciaban su estatura de hombre común y sus habilidades de lanzamiento ingeniosas, y apareció en la portada de Sports Illustrated.
Obtuvo el salvamento en el Juego de Estrellas de 1975, y consiguió la victoria para la Liga Nacional en 1976. Nunca recuperó su mejor forma después de lesionarse el brazo durante su última apertura de 1976, pero permaneció como abridor hasta 1982 con los Mets.
Jones era un especialista en roletazos que dependían del engaño y el control en lugar de la velocidad, lo que le valió el apodo de “Junkman”. Sus estadísticas de carrera reflejan una era pasada del béisbol: fue abridor en 285 juegos y lanzó 1.933 entradas en su carrera de diez años, pero registró solo 735 ponches, incluyendo solo 93 en su temporada de Cy Young.
“Randy fue una piedra angular de nuestra franquicia durante más de cinco décadas”, dijeron los Padres en un comunicado. “Su impacto y popularidad solo crecieron en su carrera posterior, convirtiéndose en un tremendo embajador para el equipo y un verdadero favorito de los fanáticos. Cruzarse con RJ y hablar de béisbol o de la vida era una alegría para todos los que tuvieron la suerte de pasar tiempo con él. Randy estaba comprometido con San Diego, los Padres y su familia. Fue un gigante en nuestras vidas y en la historia de nuestra franquicia.”
Nacido en el Condado de Orange, Jones regresó a San Diego después de que terminó su carrera como jugador y se convirtió en una de las caras de la franquicia. Un restaurante de barbacoa que lleva su nombre se estableció en el antiguo hogar de los Padres, el Qualcomm Stadium, y luego se trasladó al Petco Park junto con el equipo.
Jones anunció en 2017 que tenía cáncer de garganta, probablemente como resultado de su uso prolongado de tabaco de mascar durante su carrera. Anunció que estaba libre de cáncer en 2018.
El número 35 de Jones fue retirado por los Padres en 1997, y se unió al Salón de la Fama del equipo en 1999.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Panamá rechaza “injerencias” tras supuesta advertencia de China por viaje de legisladores a Taiwán
Associated Press
CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ (AP) — El gobierno de Panamá rechazó el miércoles de manera “categórica cualquier intento de injerencia” en sus asuntos internos, en respuesta a la advertencia que habría hecho la embajada de China a varios diputados panameños que aceptaron una invitación para viajar a Taiwán.
El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del país centroamericano indicó en un comunicado que “como Estado soberano, no acepta condicionamientos ni presiones que pretendan incidir en las decisiones legítimas de sus autoridades”, entre ellas las actuaciones de la Asamblea Nacional.
El comunicado se da luego de versiones publicadas por el diario panameño La Prensa sobre que la embajada de China en Panamá pidió a diez diputados suspender “inmediatamente” el viaje a Taiwán. Un portavoz de la misión, según la versión del rotativo, afirmó que la visita “viola gravemente el principio de una sola China” y constituye “una intervención en los asuntos internos de China”.
La Prensa también informó que varios diputados recibieron un mensaje de WhatsApp, presuntamente enviado por la embajadora Xu Xueyuan, advirtiendo que el viaje tendría “un gran impacto negativo” en las relaciones bilaterales.
The Associated Press solicitó información al vocero de la embajada de China en Panamá, pero la sede diplomática remitió a la versión del diario panameño.
Aunque no menciona directamente a la embajada china, la Cancillería dijo que “reafirma su respeto hacia todas las misiones diplomáticas acreditadas en nuestro país y espera el mismo respeto hacia las instituciones panameñas”.
Panamá estableció lazos diplomáticos con China tras su ruptura de relaciones en 2017 con Taiwán, al que Beijing reclama como parte de su territorio.
Este asunto tiene lugar en medio de las presiones que recibe Panamá por parte del gobierno del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, quien desde que llegó al poder para un segundo periodo ha advirtiendo a Panamá que “debe reducir la influencia china sobre el canal o enfrentará posibles acciones estadounidenses”.
La administración de Trump ha aplicado restricciones de visa a ciudadanos de países de América Central que, según afirma, “trabajen con el Partido Comunista Chino para socavar el estado de derecho” en la región.
En agosto, el embajador estadounidense Kevin Marino Cabrera respaldó públicamente la decisión de un grupo de diputados panameños de sumarse a la Alianza Interparlamentaria sobre China (IPAC), una coalición integrada por cientos de legisladores de varios países que expresan sus inquietudes por la manera en que las democracias interactúan con el país asiático. La embajada china reaccionó de inmediato acusando a Washington de incitar a los legisladores panameños a alinearse con su política contra Beijing.
El presidente José Raúl Mulino aclaró recientemente en la red social X que ante los informes de eventuales viajes de funcionarios del Órgano Legislativo a Taiwán, “tales viajes no gozan del apoyo ni aprobación de mi gobierno”.
Poco después la Cancillería recordó que la política exterior “corresponde, de manera exclusiva, al Órgano Ejecutivo”, y recordó que Panamá mantiene relaciones diplomáticas con Beijing desde el 2017.
Varios de los diputados, que participarán en el viaje previsto para entre el 21 al 30 de noviembre, emitieron comunicados en los que defendieron su decisión de viajar a Taiwán.
La Bancada Seguimos, que agrupa a varios legisladores independientes, indicó que los diputados Ernesto Cedeño y Betserai Richards viajarían a Taiwán para “fortalecer los valores democráticos” y que los gastos “no serán cubiertos con fondos públicos”.
Los legisladores indicaron que la visita a Taiwán busca conocer modelos y experiencias que puedan aportar a la modernización de Panamá y agregaron que “la República de Taiwán destaca por su alto nivel de innovación tecnológica” y por políticas orientadas al bienestar, entre otras cosas.
En un comunicado aparte, el también diputado independiente Eduardo Gaitán confirmó su visita financiada por Taiwán, afirmando que buscará “oportunidades comerciales, de cooperación y de inversión”.
Afirmó que como presidente de la Comisión de Economía y Finanzas del Legislativo, que también atiende los temas marítimos del país, esta visita le permitirá intercambiar experiencias y explorar cooperación con un actor clave del sector marítimo mundial, en alusión a Taiwán.
El embajador Cabrera señaló el miércoles a medios de comunicación que está de acuerdo con el mensaje emitido por la Cancillería panameña, al considerar que la embajada de China “no debería estar involucrada en esos temas”.
Harvest Feast open to the public on Friday night
The annual Harvest Feast, hosted and organized by State Rep. Vernon G. Smith, D-Gary, will be held on 7 p.m. Friday at New Hope Church, located at 2307 Rhode Island St., in Gary.
The event is held each year in memory of Smith’s mother, the Rev. Julia E. Smith, and his aunt Magnolia Allen, according to a news release. The late Julia E. Smith was a former pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.
This year’s performers include gospel soloists, Nate Mason and Stephan Henderson, the West Side Theatre Guild Repertoire Dance Company, Wings of Harmony, and the West Side Drama Club is doing a performance on the creation.
Attendees can enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal, featuring turkey, dressing, roast beef, macaroni and cheese, green beans, greens, mashed potatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes and a variety of desserts. The feast is free to attend and open to all residents of the Greater Gary community.
“There is a seat at the table for everyone,” said Smith in the release. “All are welcome at the feast. If you have plans with your family, bring them. If you don’t have any plans, we’ll be your family. I would especially like to extend the invitation to our veterans and active-duty service members. Their sacrifice and service are one of the reasons we have so many blessings to be grateful for.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/harvest-feast-open-to-the-public-on-friday-night/
