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As petition circulators arrived in Colorado last year, their firm already was under the microscope in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

In February 2022, a group of petition circulators arrived in Colorado to gather signatures for Republican political campaigns.They worked for Grassfire LLC, a Wyoming-based petition and canvassing firm. The circulators’ job: Collect enough signatures for three candidates to make the ballot in their respective races. One targeted an open congressional seat anchored in Jefferson County. The other two concerned a statehouse candidate and a sheriff hopeful, both in Douglas County.Investigators later would charge six of these circulators with forging signatures on two of the campaigns, using dead and out-of-state voters to fill their quotas.That same month, 1,600 miles away, Florida authorities announced a statewide investigation into widespread fraud concerning a constitutional initiative to expand gambling. Election supervisors told the secretary of state they had thousands of invalid signatures streaming into their offices.Now the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is probing...

Improving Investor Behavior: Financial and time independence – what’s your score? 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

My business coach, Dan Sullivan, often speaks of freedoms. It’s his belief that entrepreneurs create and own businesses primarily for the freedom to conduct business in their own way. They often aren’t seeking freedom “from” something per se, but rather freedom “to” something. They may desire to escape from the doldrums of an office or an overbearing boss, but more often they want the freedom to pursue endeavors that invite excitement and challenge in their lives. They want to choose the people with whom they work, the purposes they wish to develop, and how they spend their resources and time.The single freedom that most resonates with entrepreneurs is typically freedom of time — our most valuable resource. Money is renewable; we can always work to make more of it. But time is limited; there are only so many hours in a day, and so many days in a life. For most in the U.S., time is so valuable that it’s often tied directly to our compensation in the form of an hourly wage. Entreprene...

With DACA’s days likely numbered, Colorado advocates urge young immigrants to seek other avenues to keep working

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

In the sterile office of an immigration attorney, 15-year-old Annie Aviles-Zamora tuned out the lawyer’s words as she felt her world crumble.Aviles-Zamora and her mother met with the attorney in 2017 to begin the teen’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, application process. Aviles-Zamora craved a driver’s license and a job like her friends, but being brought from Mexico to the United States when she was 4 years old precluded her from the same opportunities.When Aviles-Zamora’s mother learned about DACA, she thought it could guarantee her hardworking daughter a normal life. The Obama-era program provided two years of renewable protection from deportation and work permits to people who were brought to this country without documentation as children.The mother-daughter duo entered the office buoyant, preparing for celebration. But they were too late, the attorney informed them.“I was gutted,” said Aviles-Zamora, now a 21-year-old studen...

Azerbaijan President gives insight into prospect of peace with Armenia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has held a question-and-answer session with some 200 members of the press from around the world, gathered in the city of Shusha. It was recaptured from Armenia in 2020, during the Second Karabakh War. Since that conflict, a peace agreement has proved elusive, writes Political Editor Nick Powell from the Shusha Global Media Forum.President Ilham Aliyev took questions from journalists for nearly three hours at the Shusha Global Media Forum,.He described the forum as “a remarkable event for our country and for Karabakh”. Shusha, he added, is a symbol of Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War but also of peace; after it was liberated the war stopped.Shusha has been officially declared by presidential decree the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. The government is restoring the city’s monuments after the Armenian occupation when Shusha’s traditional 17 mosques and 17 springs were destroyed. Five of the springs again have water.President Ilham...

A’s fans ask SF Giants crowd to join anti-Fisher protest at Bay Bridge Series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

A’s fans made plenty of noise last month with their “reverse boycott” at the Coliseum, then organized “Sell the team” chants at the All-Star Game in Seattle two weeks ago. Now they are seeking to make their protest tour a trilogy, with eyes on San Francisco.Two A’s fan groups, the Oakland 68s and Last Dive Bar, are joining forces again to stage another set of demonstrations at the first Bay Bridge matchup in 2023. Thousands of Oakland fans are expected to flood Oracle Park Tuesday night and push yet again for John Fisher’s ouster as A’s owner before he can move the team to Las Vegas.More than that, they are hoping their cross-bay rivals join in.Protesting in an opponent’s ballpark could be seen as antagonistic to the host team, especially one as nearby as the Giants. But despite moments of intensity between the two Bay Area ballclubs — including the 1989 World Series — fans of both teams don’t really view this as a rivalry.“I have friends who are Giants fans and I’ve never really ta...

Baseball’s wildest show, Savannah Bananas, descending on San Jose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

Dylan Porter needed to show more than his 95 mph fastball, so in the middle of his pitching windup, he dropped into a squat. His body inches from the ground, one leg extended, he seemed to be performing a yoga pose.Then he burst out of the squat, fired the pitch, and got the job: Pitcher for the Savannah Bananas, the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, or in their own words “The World Famous Baseball Circus.”“The Bananas are looking for something people haven’t seen on a baseball field,” said Porter, 25, who grew up in Oakland and joined the Bananas last year. “They’re looking for uniqueness but also talent. They want a good mix.”Excite Ballpark, home of the San Jose Giants, will be packed Tuesday night for a carefully-timed two-hour game of Banana Ball, a sport that combines baseball with unusual entertainment and strives to make each night unique, a la a Grateful Dead show. Founded in 2016, the Bananas have rapidly become a sensation, with 500,000 fans on a ticket waitlist and 4 mil...

49ers training camp : It’s not Brock-or-bust at QB for Shanahan & Co.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Listen carefully to anyone who tells you which 49ers quarterback will start this season. Then ask them for the lottery numbers while they’re at it.No one definitively knows anything.Brock Purdy’s return date from a surgically repaired elbow won’t be clear for several weeks, at least. His six-month recovery timeline coincides with the regular-season opener at Pittsburgh (Sept. 10), so the 49ers have time to proceed with every option available.Unlike in the NFC Championship Game loss at Philadelphia, they have appealing options behind him.Four quarterbacks enter camp on the roster: Purdy, Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen.Three quarterbacks are eligible to suit up on game days, courtesy of the NFL’s Purdy-inspired bylaw that passed this offseason.Lance and Darnold, who presided over the offseason snaps, will battle it out in camp for the starting role if Purdy isn’t ready. If Purdy is cleared for Week 1, then the Lance-Darnold “competition” is for the QB2 b...

Me & My Car: Replica ’34 Ford roadster a joy ride for its San Ramon owner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

Some have said that the 1933-34 Ford models were some of the prettiest that the compnay ever built.Related ArticlesLocal News | Me & My Car: ’65 Alfa Romeo in East Bay getting better all the time Local News | Me & My Car: ’78 Porsche definitely a keeper for Danville owner Local News | Me & My Car: Martinez man keeping his ’37 Buick in state of ‘arrested decay’ That statement is hard to argue with, but in my view, the 1930s produced some of the most beautiful cars by all manufacturers. This was an exciting time in the auto industry, which was really coming of age and clearly graduating from the horseless carriage era to the modern way people and products were transported.Ford had been extremely successful with the Model T (1908-27) and equally successful with the Model A (1927-31). In 1932 Ford introduced a brand-new model and flathead V8 engine, and it was a good one. This was a major event because, while it was...

French star Leon Marchand breaks Michael Phelps’ 400-meter IM world record

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) — French 22-year-old Leon Marchand has broken Michael Phelps’ world record in the men’s 400-meter individual medley in a time of 4 minutes, 2.50 seconds. Phelps set the old record of 4:03.84 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Marchand set the record on Sunday on the first day of eight in the pool at the World Aquatics Championships.It was the last individual record that Phelps held since retiring for good after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.Marchand swims at Arizona State and is coached by Bob Bowman, the coach of the American team at the world championships. He is a potential hometown superstar going into next year’s Paris Olympics. He will also be the favorite in the 200 IM.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Rain delays start of play on last day of 4th Ashes test

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:37 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Rain prevented play from starting on time on the last day of the fourth Ashes cricket test between England and Australia on Sunday.The weather forecast is bleak and it is possible that play will be washed out for the rest of the day.Only 30 overs were possible on Saturday, with plenty more rain forecast on what could be a frustrating final day at Old Trafford.Australia are more than happy to settle for a draw that would see them retain their 2-1 lead and the urn, meaning England will be forced to make the most of whatever windows of play are possible.They have already been frustrated by a 103-run stand between centurion Marnus Labuschagne and Mitch Marsh, but saw their prospects rise when Joe Root had the former caught behind.There is little margin for error after their 275-run first-innings lead was whittled down to 61 by the tourists, who will resume on 214-5.___AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource