Month: August 2022

Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear said Saturday she would prioritize investment in public education and mental health care if elected this fall. Speaking at Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair, said Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is starving state systems. DeJear said $1.5 billion in taxpayer dollars is in a state trust fund. “This is Iowa’s rainy day fund, and in our state it rains on mental health care, education, health care and child care,” DeJear said. “We need to have leadership that uses your resources, not shirks the problem.” DeJear said spending more on education…

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A delegation of U.S. lawmakers is visiting Taiwan just 12 days after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit angered China. The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet with senior leaders to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade, investment and other issues, the American Institute said from Taiwan. The institute represents the US government, which has no official ties to Taiwan. China, which claims Taiwan as its self-governing territory, responded to Pelosi’s Aug. 2 visit by sending missiles, warships and warplanes into Taiwan’s seas and skies for several days afterward. The…

It’s August and full of summer. New Yorkers focus on baseball, county fairs, and corn. But those in charge of Albany’s political calendar have graced us with primaries and a special election for next week. Add politics to summer fun. Here’s the latest: • Nick Langworthy, the Republican endorsed in the Aug. 23 primary for the 23rd Congressional District, is drawing crowds as he makes the rounds of the district. A reliable campaign source notes that Langworthy, facing developer Carl Paladino, drew a decent turnout of more than 70 supporters at the Wellsville Country Club last week. His team has…

CAIRO (AP) – A fire tore through a church in a densely populated neighborhood of the Egyptian capital Cairo… CAIRO (AP) — A fire ripped through a church in a densely populated neighborhood of the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday as congregants worshiped, killing at least 41 and injuring 14, the Coptic Church said. It was one of the worst fire tragedies in Egypt in recent years. The cause of the fire, which produced large amounts of smoke at the Abu Sefein Church in the working-class neighborhood of Imbaba, was not immediately known. An initial investigation pointed to an electrical…

CEDAR FALLS — The City Council will again discuss the possibility of building a parking ramp downtown. That conversation is scheduled during a meeting of the finance and business operations committee around 5:45 p.m. Monday at the community center, 528 Main St. The hope is that the city council will decide whether to give the green light to the pursuit of a structure with the “understanding of a total paid parking system” that would be implemented to finance the future cost of operation, according to the documents from the city. If given the go-ahead, council staff will bring proposals detailing…

Al-Sadr has called for early elections, the dissolution of parliament and constitutional amendments. He has given the judiciary a deadline of the end of the week to dissolve the legislature. Its Shiite rivals in the Iran-backed camp have their own conditions. He has been accused of violating the constitution, sparking counter-protests that have sparked fears of bloodshed. Neither faction appears ready to commit to ending the 10-month political crisis, the longest since the 2003 US invasion that restored political order. The caretaker cabinet, unable to pass laws or issue a budget, grows weaker by the day, while citizens protest poor…