Author: Eric Mawuli DJIRACKOR

It’s Christmas Eve, and along with the big holiday coming up tomorrow, there’s also another chance to catch some of the 2024 college football bowl schedule kicking off today.
So far on the bowl front, the Mountain West and AAC have performed the best, along with the SEC and Big Ten, while the ACC is just 0-3 after a particularly dismal playoff showing.
It’s two of those conferences in action today, as the Mountain West and Sun Belt are in action for the only bowl game on the schedule as Christmas Eve football kicks off way out west.
More … 2024 college football bowl schedule
Mele Kalikimaka to you and yours on this Christmas as college football kicks off in Hawai’i. Here’s what and how you can watch as College Football Bowl Season marches on.
All times Eastern, and game lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Hawai’i Bowl
USF vs. San Jose State
Tues., Dec. 24 | 8 p.m. | ESPN
Line: San Jose -3
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USF: While the Bulls couldn’t quite keep pace with the rest of the AAC this year, they did just enough to qualify for a bowl game, and we’ll see if this average passing offense can keep pace with what the Spartans can put on the field.
San Jose State: The Spartans rank fifth in FBS with over 325 passing yards per game, but struggle to balance things out, ranking third-worst nationally in rushing output, and don’t score as much as they should, ranking 73rd with just under 28 points per game.
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Most football analytical models project the Spartans will come through against the Bulls.
That includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times and pick winners.
San Jose State is the narrow favorite in the matchup according to the index, coming out ahead in 53.5 percent of the computer’s most recent simulations of the game.
That leaves South Florida as the presumptive winner in the remaining 46.5 percent of sims.
How does that translate into an expected margin of victory in the game?
San Jose State is projected to be 1.5 points better than USF on the same field in both teams’ current composition, according to the model’s latest forecast.
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All times Eastern, and game lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Penn State vs. Boise State
Tues., Dec. 31 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Penn State made a statement in a rout against SMU at home in the first round game, inspired by a defensive effort that returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
Now, the Broncos and Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty await the Nittany Lions in the desert to test PSU’s strong run stop.
Line: Penn State -10.5
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Texas vs. Arizona State
Wed., Jan. 1 | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Quinn Ewers had a hot start and then the Longhorns’ run game took over, fielding two 100-yard rushers in a 38-24 victory against Clemson at home in the first round.
That sets up a quarterfinal meeting with the Big 12 champion Sun Devils and tailback Cam Skattebo, who has 1,568 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground this season.
Line: Texas -13.5
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Oregon vs. Ohio State
Wed., Jan. 1 | 5 p.m. | ESPN
The mood seemed dour in Columbus after the loss to Michigan, and then with news that Tennessee fans were apparently about to take over the Horseshoe, but the Buckeyes made the statement of the weekend by smashing one of the SEC’s best teams.
That sets up a rematch with the Big Ten champion Ducks, who beat OSU by a point back in October, and who boast one of college football’s most efficient and dynamic offenses.
Line: Ohio State -2.5
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Georgia vs. Notre Dame
Wed., Jan. 1 | 8:45 p.m. | ESPN
Notre Dame opened a big lead on Big Ten challenger Indiana in the first round, with Jeremiyah Love scoring a 98-yard touchdown, the longest score in College Football Playoff history, and then leaned on its defense to carry the way.
And that defense could find an angle against a Georgia offense that almost certainly won’t have starting quarterback Carson Beck as he considers surgery for his injured elbow, leaving the inexperienced Gunner Stockton under center to take on the Irish.
Line: Georgia -2.5
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams
Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.
© 2024 ABG-SI LLC – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.

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By Audrey Thibert | Religion News Service
In a May 2023 advisory, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called attention to the “public health crisis of loneliness, isolation and lack of connection in the U.S. today.”
In his plan to address this crisis, he listed faith groups as key players in the solution — “Religious or faith-based groups can be a source for regular social contact, serve as a community of support, provide meaning and purpose, create a sense of belonging around shared values and beliefs, and are associated with reduced risk-taking behaviors.”
While the directive was meant more generally, faith leaders and mental health experts say religious traditions and faith communities can play a key role in helping people get through the winter holidays, when rates of depression and anxiety are proven to increase. From food drives to special services, like “lessons and carols,” to extra events and gatherings (that often include a shared meal), many houses of worship are bustling with activity and opportunities to engage with community in December.
“During the holidays, we are practicing relational spirituality and engaging in our awakened brain,” said Lisa Miller, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. “We are actually showing up for one another to be loving, to be holding, to be guiding and never leave anyone alone.”
For many, the winter holidays are a time of grief, loss or perhaps heightened levels of depression and anxiety. A poll by the American Psychological Association found 41% of adults in the U.S. say their stress increases during the holidays, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that 64% of people living with a mental illness reported their conditions worsen around the holidays. 
Miller, who founded the Spirituality Mind Body Institute, described the winter holiday season as the “Sabbath of the year” and said spirituality is a “clear antidote” to the unprecedented rise in so-called diseases of despair — alcoholism, drug use and suicide — in the United States.
This is the time when all those activities houses of worship engage in can really shine, Miller says: creating space for people to come share their feelings, singing together, participating in a prayer and inviting people to give back to their community through charity.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, both religion and spirituality can have a positive impact on mental health, though often in different ways. In general, religion gives people something to believe in, provides a sense of structure and typically connects people with similar beliefs. Meanwhile, the group describes spirituality as a sense of connection to something bigger, aiding in self reflection and exploration of how one fits into the rest of the world.
While the research has been mixed on the connection between religiosity and overall health, a 2019 Pew Research Study found that more than one-third of “actively religious” adults say they are “very happy” compared to a quarter of religiously inactive and unaffiliated Americans.
The Rev. Sarah Lund, the minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice at the United Church of Christ, echoed that faith communities are considered some of the key places to improve the mental health of Americans.
“We don’t realize what a gift it is to be connected to each other and to have weekly gatherings where we share space, share community, break bread together, have friendships and build relationships through prayer, through Bible study and through worship,” Lund said.
And for people struggling with grief, disability or mental health during the holidays, Lund said support from a community like a congregation can help. She noted that some churches offer “Blue Christmas” services — opportunities to honor people who have lost loved ones and are experiencing grief — and expressed hope that congregations might consider ways to incorporate such acknowledgements all year.
“After the holidays is when people feel that kind of letdown,” Lund said. “As people of faith, there’s an opportunity to continue the intentional work about inclusion and supporting people’s mental health and accommodating the needs of people who have disabilities.”
Ginger Morgan, too, sees that the winter holidays can be difficult for some of the students she works with at Pres House, a Presbyterian church on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. But she also noted the role the holidays can play in providing students — both religious and not religious — time for relaxation after finals season.
For example, Morgan, who is the director of candid and community initiatives at Pres House, also interacts with international students who live at Pres House Apartments — open to all students, not just churchgoers. While these students don’t typically observe the Christian holidays, they still use the time to see friends, share good food and take a break to rest.
“Those are themes of — in the Christian tradition — the Sabbath,” Morgan said, echoing Miller of Columbia.
Morgan added that students use the time before they go home for Christmas break for various types of communal activities — whether through participation in the Pres House’s Christmas choir or decorating cookies with the congregation.
“Students go above and beyond what they’re already doing for school,” Morgan said. “They like doing Christmas cookie decoration because it’s joyful and fun and it brings light and lightness. There’s a lot about holidays that brings joy even when students are facing an exhausting period of time right at the end of the semester.”
Miller said this sort of “direct, loving, transcendent relationship” — whether that’s through religion or spirituality — can have enormous protective benefits.
“A strong spiritual life is more protective against addiction, more protective against depression, more protective even against suicide than anything else known to the social or medical sciences,” Miller said. “When we look at hundreds of peer-reviewed articles, we see that the magnitude of the protective benefits of spiritual life are pointing to a way forward for our country.”
This article was produced as part of the RNS/Interfaith America Religion Journalism Fellowship.

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It’s a Christmas movie so popular that 41 years after it came out in theaters, families across the United States still watch it on repeat every holiday season.
“A Christmas Story,” the 1983 tale of a boy and his Red Ryder BB gun, had such an influence on American culture that a giant statue of a “leg lamp” has become an annual tourist attraction in the town of Chickasha, Oklahoma.
If you haven’t seen “A Christmas Story” yet, there are several opportunities to stream the film or catch it on TV this holiday season.
Like every Christmas, “A Christmas Story” airs for 24 hours straight on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
“A Christmas Story” is easy to find this Christmas season. The channels TBS and TNT will hold their usual 24-hour broadcast on Christmas Eve, but several streaming services offer it as well.
If you don’t have cable, find “A Christmas Story” streaming on Max, Apple TV, Prime Video and tru TV free for subscribers. The movie leaves Prime at the end of the month.
More:Artist duo open ‘Christmas Story’ themed Airbnb in Chickasha
It’s also available to buy or rent online at Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, Spectrum On Demand and Plex.
More:America’s favorite Christmas movies: Where to watch ‘Elf,’ ‘Die Hard’ and more

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A recent study published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality explored the relationship between belief systems and perceptions of science and religion. It found that individuals with strong religious beliefs tend to see science and religion as compatible, whereas those who strongly believe in science are more likely to perceive conflict. These findings offer new insights into how different meaning systems shape people’s understanding of the relationship between these two domains.
The relationship between science and religion has been a subject of debate for centuries. Some view them as complementary ways of understanding the world, while others see them as fundamentally opposed. Previous studies have often focused on contexts where science and religion are directly compared or juxtaposed, leaving unanswered questions about how belief in one influences perceptions of their compatibility independently of the other.
The researchers aimed to address this gap by examining the extent to which belief in science and religion, as distinct systems of meaning, predicts perceptions of science–religion compatibility or conflict. By recruiting participants from diverse cultural and religious contexts, the researchers sought to provide a broader understanding of how these beliefs interact across different settings.
“My main research interest lies in understanding how people find meaning and make sense of reality,” said study author Natalia Zarzeczna, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Essex. “I see science and religion as meaning systems that can each contribute to finding meaning by answering epistemic (what are the origins of the universe?) and existential (does life have meaning?) questions. I am interested in understanding how people create worldviews based on science and religion to explain reality, to what extent these worldviews have the capacity to provide different types of meaning, and whether they come into conflict.”
The study included 684 participants from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Kazakhstan. These countries were chosen for their varying levels of religiosity and cultural backgrounds: the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are predominantly secular with Christian minorities, while Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority nation.
Participants completed an online survey designed to measure their belief in science and religious belief as independent constructs. Belief in science was assessed through participants’ agreement with statements about the reliability and comprehensiveness of science as a way of understanding reality, without explicitly comparing it to religion. Similarly, religious belief was measured through self-reported religiosity, focusing on participants’ personal faith and spiritual practices without referencing science.
To assess perceptions of science–religion compatibility, participants rated the extent to which they saw the two as harmonious or conflicting, particularly concerning existential and ontological questions, such as the origins of life and the universe.
Across all countries, participants with stronger religious beliefs were more likely to perceive science and religion as compatible. This association persisted regardless of participants’ level of belief in science, suggesting that religious individuals often integrate scientific principles into their worldview without seeing them as a threat to their faith.
In contrast, stronger belief in science was associated with perceptions of conflict between science and religion. Participants who viewed science as the best way of knowing tended to perceive religious beliefs as incompatible with scientific principles. This finding reflects the differing epistemological foundations of the two systems: science relies on empirical evidence and natural laws, while religion often incorporates supernatural explanations.
“Religious people can combine multiple sources of meaning and use both science and religion to find meaning in their lives,” Zarzeczna told PsyPost. “Believers in science seemingly only use science and possibly look for additional sources of meaning elsewhere.”
Interestingly, the association between belief in science and perceived conflict was stronger in more secular countries like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, while religious belief’s association with compatibility was particularly pronounced in the predominantly Muslim context of Kazakhstan.
Zarzeczna also highlighted “an interesting contradiction.” The researchers discovered that people with strong religious beliefs were more likely to view science and religion as compatible. However, they also found that stronger religious beliefs were linked to weaker belief in science.
“While religious believers, in both Christian and Muslim contexts, strongly believe in compatibility between science and religion, they also show low belief in science as a way of understanding reality,” Zarzeczna explained. “This is counter-intuitive because believing in science-religion compatibility should logically stem from a combination of equally positive (or negative) attitudes toward each. Possibly, being able to combine two meaning sources, science and religion, reduces the perceived usefulness of each as a good way of understanding reality.”
The researchers controlled for age, gender, education level, political orientation, spirituality, religious upbringing, religious orthodoxy, years of formal education, and science literacy. However, like all research, this study has some caveats.
“We looked at only one aspect of attitudes toward science—belief in science as the best way of understanding reality—to examine how it contributes to science-religion compatibility beliefs,” Zarzeczna noted. “Although it is likely that other aspects of science attitudes (e.g., scientific optimism) would be associated with conflict beliefs to the same extent as belief in science, it is important to address this directly in future research.”
“Also, our study doesn’t explain why religious believers and believers in science have conflicting views on the science and religion relationship. It would be interesting to test what psychological needs or motivations, beyond socio-cultural influences, contribute to these perceptions of compatibility and incompatibility.”
Nevertheless, by exploring these dynamics across diverse cultural and religious contexts, the research opens new avenues for understanding how individuals reconcile—or fail to reconcile—different ways of knowing. Future studies can build on this work to investigate the psychological and cultural factors that shape perceptions of compatibility and conflict.
“Using unobtrusive physiological methods measuring arousal, which are free from self-report biases, we are trying to establish whether science-religion compatibility perceptions constitute an important worldview to religious individuals and how motivated religious individuals are to defend the compatibility view when threatened,” Zarzeczna said.
“If readers are interested in learning more about the relationship between science-religion, we review the most recent literature on this topic in a book chapter in the Handbook of the Science of Existential Psychology that will be published in 2025: Zarzeczna, N. & Haimila, R. (2025). Science and Religion: Meaning-Making Tools Competing to Explain the World. K. E. Vail, III, et al. (Eds). Handbook of the Science of Existential Psychology.”
The study, “The Feeling Is Not Mutual: Religious Belief Predicts Compatibility Between Science and Religion, but Scientific Belief Predicts Conflict,” was authored by Natalia Zarzeczna email the author, Jesse L. Preston, Adil Samekin, Carlotta Reinhardt, Aidos Bolatov, Zukhra Mussinova, Urazgali Selteyev, Gulmira Topanova, and Bastiaan T. Rutjens.
Improving appearance—through makeup, hairstyling, or filters—heightens public self-awareness, making people more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors like donating or ethical shopping.
Individuals with heightened narcissistic grandiosity are often more involved in activism, including advocacy for LGBT causes, according to new research. This appears to be influenced by a desire to display moral superiority and gain social recognition rather than purely prosocial goals.
People with antagonistic personality traits, like psychopathy and sadism, are more likely to admire and feel similar to morally ambiguous fictional characters, such as antiheroes and villains.
Digitally mature teens report feeling more socially connected, which is associated with engaging with real-life friends online and prioritizing compassionate goals.
Sexual satisfaction becomes increasingly important to marital happiness as individuals age, with age being a stronger factor than marital duration. Gender differences and religiosity also influence this relationship.
Recent research found that unresponsive advice—unsolicited, generic, and prescriptive—makes women feel less respected, powerful, and listened to. These effects occurred regardless of the advisor’s gender, though advice from men heightened women’s awareness of gender stereotypes.
New research has found that believing political ideologies are unchangeable reduces partisan prejudice, while seeing political groups as fundamentally different increases it.
Men consistently score higher on Machiavellianism than women, but this gap widens in more gender-equal countries because women’s scores decrease, while men’s scores remain stable regardless of societal gender equality levels.

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PEEC News:
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) invites Girl Scouts to join two exciting space-themed programs this January at Los Alamos Nature Center.
Brownies can earn their Space Science Adventurer badge Jan 19, exploring the solar system and stargazing indoors.
Jan. 26, Junior Girl Scouts will earn their Space Science Investigator badge, with activities like using a solar telescope and enjoying a planetarium show. Both programs promise hands-on experiences that will inspire young minds to reach for the stars!
Event Details:
For more information, visit peecnature.org/events. Stay connected on social media for updates on each week’s activities.
About PEEC:
PEEC was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening their connections to our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies. PEEC operates the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, holds regular programs and events, and hosts several interest groups, from birding to hiking to butterfly watching. PEEC activities are open to everyone; however, members receive exclusive benefits such as discounts on programs and gift shop merchandise. Annual memberships start at $35. To learn more, visit here.

Copyright © 2012-2024 The Los Alamos Daily Post is the Official Newspaper of Record in Los Alamos County. This Site and all information contained here including, but not limited to news stories, photographs, videos, charts, graphs and graphics is the property of the Los Alamos Daily Post, unless otherwise noted. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the Los Alamos Daily Post and author/photographer are properly cited. Opinions expressed by readers, columnists and other contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Los Alamos Daily Post. The Los Alamos Daily Post newspaper was founded Feb. 7, 2012 by Owner/Publisher Carol A. Clark.

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Dec 24, 2024 | 8:08 AM EST
If FRM and 23XI Racing could not compete as chartered teams, Bob Jenkins said both could lose up to $45 Million. This stat shows what could go wrong in your NASCAR career if you lack finances. Since its inception in 1949, the sport has been based on independent entities willing to invest their money in race cars. This aspect almost pushed Chandler Smith out of a job this season.
And it is not like the Xfinity Series driver lacks talent. Chandler Smith drove the No. 81 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and dazzled his fans in 2024. In addition to 2 victories, he collected 22 top-tens and 17 top-fives. Smith almost cracked the Championship 4. These star-studded facts leave fans scratching their heads about Smith’s reduced fortunes.
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Well, the cracks appeared this year. In 2023, Smith left Toyota to race for Kaulig Racing in a full Xfinity Series season and part-time Cup Series starts. Then, Quick Tie sponsored Smith in every race. In 2024, though, that sponsorship fell to 15 races. Chandler Smith had to step up with partner Mobil 1, and, among other sponsors. His family also stepped up with Smith General Contracting, sponsoring six races. In October though, right before the Martinsville race, Smith declared Toyota would be leaving him and he may be jobless next season.
However, Front Row Motorsports came to his rescue. Soon after it got its chartered seat confirmed for 2025, it secured a place for the 22-year-old driver in its Craftsman Truck Series line-up alongside Layen Riggs. Yet NASCAR Eric Estepp was baffled that a talented racer like Chandler Smith could only afford a Truck seat. “Smith scored more top-five finishes – 17 – than anyone in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last season. He also grabbed two wins in his first year with JGR. I’m surprised the Truck Series turned out to be Chandler Smith’s best option.” Estepp outlined the feathers on Smith’s cap. He “won the Snowball Derby as a teenager, won five Truck races across two full-time years with KBM, won Xfinity races with both Kaulig Racing and JGR, finished 17th in his Cup Series debut two years ago with Kaulig at Richmond.”
via Getty
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE – AUGUST 15: Chandler Smith, driver of the #51 iBUYPOWER Toyota, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 15, 2019 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
And yet, Chandler Smith found himself at the receiving end of NASCAR’s financial structure. Estepp said, “What if I told you that guy was jobless in mid-December and had to settle for a Truck Series ride?” While passing his verdict, Estepp concluded that the only reason was finances. Smith was ready to work for his father’s construction business next year just to make ends meet. “It’s gotta be money, right? Chandler Smith may not have the funding that he used to. Maybe William Sawalich, Taylor Gray, Brandon Jones just have more.”
Although Smith still got a chance in a championship-contending Truck team, fans also sympathized with his fallen stature.
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Is it fair that Chandler Smith's career is dictated by finances rather than his racing prowess?
Debate
Sometimes, things do not fall in place although you expect them to. Chandler Smith had been on a winning streak even before he entered NASCAR’s national levels. He owns 10 wins, 23 top-fives, and 30 top-ten finishes in his ARCA Menards Series career. Most recently, he brought three wins in Xfinity in just two years’ time. So one fan could not help but say that he deserved better: “Crazy trucks was the best he could do. Still a good get for FRM.” Another fan chimed with the same sentiment, highlighting how money got in his way. He had a championship-contending season and yet ended up in a lower rung. “I’m thrilled for @CSmith_Racing but it is a dam shame that a guy who had a championship-winning season in @NASCAR_Xfinity has to take a step back because of $$$”
Chandler Smith’s Truck Series resume is also impeccable. Through his two-year tenure at Kyle Busch Motorsports, Smtih fetched five wins and also a Championship 4 appearance. Clearly, he has already proved his worth in Trucks. So one fan said stepping back down again can mean one thing: “Demoted.” Besides fetching 25 top-fives in 69 starts in Xfinity, Smith also won the 2021 Snowball Derby at 19 years old. Another fan commented accordingly: “He deserves better then this ngl.” Somebody else echoed the same sentiment, albeit admitting FRM holds good promises for him. “Didn’t see this one coming, but I like it.”
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Evidently, Chandler Smith is whipping up a load of sympathy surrounding his racing career. As the 2025 season rolls around, let us see what the Truck series holds in store for him.

Let the world know your perspective.
Debate
Debate
Is it fair that Chandler Smith's career is dictated by finances rather than his racing prowess?
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‘From strength to strength’: BBYO ‘Global Shabbat’ unites Jewish teens  JNS.org
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DES MOINES – Legal experts representing different ends of the political spectrum say the recent lawsuit by President-elect Donald Trump against the Des Moines Register is based on a strained interpretation of Iowa law and is unlikely to find success in court.
Trump filed suit Dec. 16 against the Register, its parent company Gannett and longtime Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, alleging violations of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. The complaint centers on a poll published by the Register in early November that understated Trump’s support, showing Vice President Kamala Harris with a 3-point lead over Trump in Iowa just days before Trump went on to win the state by 13 points.
Trump’s suit alleges the poll was fraudulent and an attempt at election interference. The Register has said it stands by its work.
Several experts who have reviewed Trump’s petition say his legal theory is a stretch. Samantha Barbas, a professor and First Amendment expert with the University of Iowa College of Law, said Iowa’s consumer fraud law is a poor fit for Trump’s complaint.
The Iowa Consumer Fraud Act “is meant to protect people who buy goods or services, not people who consume news and other sorts of information,” Barbas said. “So this is completely far-fetched, in my opinion, and other than Trump’s lawsuit here, and he has a similar case going on in Texas, I’m not aware of parties that have used a consumer fraud statute to punish or sue newspapers for information they don’t like.”
The Texas case in question is one Trump filed in November against CBS News, alleging the network violated Texas’ consumer fraud statute by deceptively editing a “60 Minutes” interview with Harris. That lawsuit remains pending before a Texas federal judge, and CBS has moved to have it dismissed.
Bill Brauch, a retired attorney who served as director of the Iowa attorney general’s consumer protection division from 1995 to 2015, said he also is not familiar with any cases applying Iowa’s law in this manner.
“I practiced law in this area for 30 years, I have never heard of anyone being sued in the media for publishing a story,” said Brauch, who is now chair of the Polk County Democrats.
Brauch further questioned how a news article could fall under the definition of “merchandise” in Iowa’s law, which forbids deception in relation to the sale of “objects, wares, goods, commodities, intangibles, securities, bonds, debentures, stocks, real estate or services,” especially as the complaint does not allege that Trump actually bought a copy of the newspaper.
“It is a real stretch to argue that somehow a story that you don’t like in a newspaper gives you a cause of action for consumer fraud.” he said. “Who is the consumer who’s been defrauded? How would Donald Trump have been defrauded?”
Eugene Volokh, a UCLA professor and fellow with the free market-oriented Hoover Institution, wrote Dec. 18 for the libertarian-leaning publication Reason that “the First Amendment generally bars states from imposing liability for misleading or even outright false political speech, including in commercially distributed newspapers — and especially for predictive and evaluative judgments of the sort inherent in estimating public sentiment about a candidate.”
Volokh cited a 2020 case from Washington state courts, where a group sued Fox News alleging that its statements by its show hosts, including Sean Hannity, dismissing or minimizing the COVID-19 pandemic violated that state’s consumer protection laws. Both the district judge and appellate courts in Washington rejected that claim, finding that statements of opinion on a topic of public concern are core First Amendment-protected speech.
“There are some historically recognized exceptions to First Amendment protection for knowing falsehoods, such as for defamation, fraud, and perjury. But those are deliberately exceptions,” Volokh wrote. “Defamation is limited to knowing (or sometimes negligent) falsehoods that damage a particular person’s reputation. Fraud is limited to statements that themselves request money or other tangibly valuable items. Perjury is limited to lies under oath in governmental proceedings. There is no general government power to punish political falsehoods outside these narrow exceptions.”
Barbas noted that Trump has a history of filing lawsuits against the media, usually raising claims for defamation. That includes a lawsuit against ABC News, accusing anchor George Stephanopoulos of falsely stating Trump had been found liable for rape. ABC settled that suit earlier in December for $15 million.
“Defamation law wouldn’t apply in this situation, because in order for there to be the legal action for defamation, somebody’s reputation has to be harmed. And Trump couldn’t claim that his reputation was harmed by a poll saying that he was behind,” she said. “So his lawyers kind of reached for this unique theory of consumer fraud.”
Whether the new lawsuit, currently pending before an Iowa federal judge, has merit or not, Barbas said subjecting media organizations to the threat of litigation can have a chilling effect.
“Trump and his allies have made a number of threats in recent months against news publications and book publishers, mostly threatening to sue for defamation over critical comments, and the ABC settlement showed that Trump can get news organizations to essentially bow to him,” she said. “I think that has emboldened him, as this Iowa lawsuit seems to suggest, and I’m confident that there will be more, similar suits in the weeks and months to come.”
Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, an attorney representing the Des Moines Register in the case, said the First Amendment guarantee of press freedom, not a state law on consumer fraud, is the central principle involved.“ In Iowa, elections are not consumer goods for sale. President Trump’s attempt to assert his ridiculous theories about election interference via a claim under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act will not stand,” Klinefeldt said. “The Iowa Consumer Fraud Act was intended to protect Iowa consumers and not to become a vehicle to intimidate the press. We have full confidence that President Trump will fail in this attempt.”
The Trump presidential transition team did not respond to a request for comment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Trump fraud lawsuit against Register unlikely to succeed, experts say
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Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore, Don Pettit and Nick Hague were launched into space on 5 June on what was due to be an eight-day test flight mission – but technical issues mean they are still stranded on the International Space Station.
Tuesday 24 December 2024 14:58, UK
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Astronauts stranded on the International Space Station over Christmas have sent a festive message back to Earth.
Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore, Don Pettit and Nick Hague were launched into space on 5 June on what was due to be an eight-day test flight mission.
But the Boeing-made Starliner spacecraft suffered several technical issues, including helium leaks and thruster failures, and has been unable to return since.
In the video message, recorded on 23 December, Mr Hague says: “The holiday season, it’s about spending time with friends and family and loved ones – this year we’re going to be in orbit away from them, so we want to send our heartfelt merry Christmas and we hope you have a wonderful holiday.”
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In the clip, the astronauts pass each other weightless candy canes, with Mr Hague adding: “We’re not the only ones who are going to spend time away from our families.
“There’s a huge team on the ground that’s going to support us with mission controls around the globe over the holidays and I want to thank them for the sacrifices they’re making together.”
Finally Mr Pettit says the holidays are “synonymous with food and feasting” as they show off an air-tight package of canned food.
It isn’t the first Christmas Ms Williams has spent defying gravity – she was in space for the festive season in 2006.
Last month, the crew were given a day off to celebrate Thanksgiving – and also took time out from their duties to cast their votes in the US election on 5 November.

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