They like the nightlife: ‘Night mayors’ revive cities after dusk

Cooperation Society They like the nightlife: ‘Night mayors’ revive cities after dusk | View caption Hide caption Since the pandemic devastated downtowns, night mayors have relied on the power of persuasion to help cities regrow their nightlife in ways that respect all parties. “There was an agreement that there would be a group text,” says…

Nicolas Sarkozy’s Ukraine comments branded ‘lunatic’ as he defends Putin

The comments made about ‘s illegal invasion of Ukraine by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy were thoroughly welcomed, unsurprisingly, by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. On the other hand, many in , Ukraine and the rest of Europe were baffled by his plea to Kyiv to concede territories to Moscow and accusations the West had…

Jon Tester faces another tough Senate campaign in Montana as the GOP braces for a possible primary

BIG SANDY, Mont. — As Republicans set their sights on recapturing control of the Senate next year, there may be no bigger prize, both figuratively and literally, than Montana. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is seeking a fourth term in a state where former President Donald Trump won by more than 16 percentage points in 2020…

Chinese fans bought 10,000 bottles of NBA star James Harden’s wine in seconds

HONG KONG — NBA star James Harden was left stunned by fans in China after they bought 10,000 bottles of wine from his signature brand in seconds during his appearance on a livestream.  Harden, a guard for the Philadelphia 76ers who is visiting the basketball-obsessed country, was promoting his J-Harden wine on a livestream Tuesday…

What price should the US pay for an Israel-Saudi Arabia peace pact?

Peace of a sort may be at hand between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The Wall Street Journal reported the two longtime antagonists are preparing to normalize relations, with Saudi Arabia finally giving formal recognition to Israel in return for  “concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help.” There are still “long odds,”…

10 things you need to know today: July 29, 2023

1 Congress breaks for August recess without path to avoid shutdown Lawmakers left Congress for their August recess at the end of this week without a clear path forward to avoid a looming government shutdown. Both the House and Senate had entered recess by Saturday, and are not due back in the nation’s Capitol until…

Is Ohio’s Issue 1 blowout a fluke or a sign of things to come?

After months of bombastic (and frequently convoluted) messaging from Ohio conservatives, a mid-summer push to head off a November ballot initiative to enshrine abortion access into the state’s constitution failed dramatically, with voters rejecting a Republican-led proposal to significantly raise the threshold for constitutional amendments by a double-digit margin as of Wednesday morning. Opponents of the measure heralded the…

The United Methodist Church has lost 20% of U.S. congregations in schism over LGBTQ rules

More than 6,180 United Methodist congregations in the U.S. have been granted permission to leave the denomination in a schism that began in 2019 over the role of LGBTQ Methodists in the church and other theological issues, according to an unofficial tally kept by UM News. The bulk of the departures, 4,172, were approved in June, in…