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‘Joe the Plumber,’ who famously confronted Obama on the campaign trail, dead at 49

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

By Brian Niemietz | New York Daily News (TNS)Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as political activist “Joe the Plumber,” is dead at 49.Wurzelbacher gained prominence in 2008 when he met then-candidate Barack Obama in Ohio during the future president’s 2008 presidential campaign. The Republican activist told Obama he was interested in opening a plumbing business and asked how the Democratic candidate’s tax plan would impact that venture. Wurzelbacher’s on-camera questions, along with his everyman demeanor, earned him the Joe the Plumber moniker.He built that persona into a brand that netted a book deal and led to a flirtation with the country music business, according to Politico. Wurzelbacher ran for office in 2012 but was soundly defeated by Democrat Marcy Kaptur in the race to represent Ohio’s ninth congressional district.One thing he wasn’t was a licensed plumber, according to the Columbia Dispatch, which reported “Joe the Plumber” never completed an apprenticeship, nor was...

Church choir leader suspected of sexually assaulting teen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who was a member of his church choir group, San Diego police said.According to SDPD, on Nov. 6, 2021, the girl, who was 15 years old at the time, attended a baby shower at the home of a member of her church.The teen was a member of the church choir group with the Victory Outreach Church campus in San Ysidro, police said.The teenager's 25-year-old choir group leader drove her to the baby shower, but instead of driving the girl home after the event, he drove her to the 1800 block of Reo Drive in the Paradise Hills neighborhood, Lt. Carmelin Rivera said in a news release. After parking the car, the man sexually assaulted the teenager inside the vehicle, police said. He then drove the girl home. Police investigate SDSU sexual assault report Due to several factors, the girl did not report the assault to police until March 1, authorities said. The SDPD Sex Crimes Unit began investigating th...

US Women's National Team to play Colombia at Snapdragon Stadium

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The United States Women's National Team is coming to San Diego as they prepare for the 2024 Olympics.The USWNT will take on Colombia in a friendly soccer match on Oct. 29 at Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley.Snapdragon Stadium is also the home pitch for the San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Two Wave players, Naomi Girma and Alex Morgan, represented the U.S. during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.Tickets for the friendly match will be available to the public starting on Sep. 12, with presale tickets available for U.S. Soccer Insiders and Visa cardholders. The U.S. was eliminated from the 2023 World Cup after losing to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16, the earliest exit for the USWNT in tournament history. San Diego Loyal soccer club to disband after 2023 season On the other side of the field, Colombia is coming off their best World Cup finish ever. Colombia beat Germany to win Group H, then beat Jamaica in the knockout rounds to reach...

Mark Meadows takes the stand at hearing over request to move Georgia election case to federal court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Mark Meadows took the witness stand Monday at a hearing in Atlanta over whether the Trump White House chief of staff should be allowed to fight the Georgia indictment accusing him of participating in an illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 election in federal court rather than in a state court.Meadows, who was charged earlier this month along with former President Donald Trump and 17 other people, was questioned by both his lawyers and prosecutors, with cross-examination set to continue after a lunch break.For an hour and 20 minutes Monday, Meadows’ attorney George J. Terwilliger III asked him about his duties as Trump’s chief of staff and then walked Meadows through the specific acts accused in the indictment to ask if he had done those as part of his job. For most of the acts listed, Meadows said he had performed them as part of his official duty. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who used Georgia’s racketeering law to bring the case, alleges that Tr...

Joe the Plumber, who questioned Obama’s tax policies during the 2008 campaign, has died at 49

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, who was thrust into the political spotlight as “Joe the Plumber” after questioning Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign, and who later forayed into politics himself, has died, his son said Monday. He was 49.His oldest son, Joey Wurzelbacher, said his father died Sunday in Wisconsin after a long illness. His family announced this year on an online fundraising site that he had pancreatic cancer.“The only thing I have to say is that he was a true patriot,” Joey Wurzelbacher — whose father had the middle name Joseph and went by Joe — said in a telephone interview. “His big thing is that everyone come to God. That’s what he taught me, and that’s a message I hope is heard by a lot of people.”He went from toiling as a plumber in suburban Toledo, Ohio, to life as a media sensation when he asked Obama about his tax plan during a campaign stop. Their exchange and Obama’s response that he wanted to “spread...

California sues district that requires parents be notified if their kids change pronouns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — California’s attorney general sued a Southern California school district Monday over its recently adopted policy that requires schools to notify parents if their children change their gender identification or pronouns.Attorney General Rob Bonta said he filed a lawsuit against the Chino Valley Unified School District over the policy that mandated this notification, calling it a “forced outing” of transgender students that violates their civil rights.“It tramples on students’ rights,” Bonta told reporters. He said he is seeking a court order to immediately halt the policy from taking effect.The move comes after Chino Valley Unified, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, adopted the policy following a shift in leadership on the school board. Other Southern California districts have adopted similar policies and Bonta said he believes they will also be affected by this litigation, though they are not named in the suit.The suit argues the...

New tool will allow college athletes to report gambling suspicions to a sports wagering monitor

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

A digital platform where college athletes can alert their administrations anonymously to improper or illegal conduct by coaches, teammates or others is expanding to allow them to report suspected gambling activity.RealResponse’s partnership with U.S. Integrity, which monitors sports wagering trends in real time to detect irregularities, will come at no additional cost to some 150 athletic departments that are clients.The service builds on a tip hotline U.S. Integrity and RealResponse unveiled in May and will give college athletic administrators a direct line to investigators.A state investigation into illegal sports wagering at Iowa and Iowa State has led to criminal charges being filed against about a dozen athletes. The Alabama baseball coach, Brian Bohannon, was fired in May after being linked to suspicious gambling activity on a Crimson Tide game.Iowa State is a RealResponse client, spokesman Nick Joos said. Iowa is not a client but has a relationship with U.S. Integrity t...

N.W.T. to discuss delaying October election over wildfire safety concerns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — The Northwest Territories legislature is to meet later today to discuss delaying a territorial election set for October because of wildfires.The territory is scheduled to go to the polls on Oct. 3.But because of massive evacuations in several communities and general safety concerns, the N.W.T.’s chief electoral officer has suggested that be pushed until November. Some members of the territory’s legislature say there’s clear support for delay.The territory operates by a consensus system without political parties, in which elected members choose the premier from among themselves. Over the weekend, fire officials said cooler nights, high humidity and favourable winds have helped quiet the fire burning near Yellowknife.But rising temperatures today were expected to increase fire behaviour both in the territorial capital and the community of Hay River, where flames were only a few kilometres from town. This report by The Canadian Press was first published ...

Convicted ex-Ohio House speaker moved to Oklahoma prison to begin his 20-year sentence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Convicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder has been transferred to Oklahoma to begin his time in federal prison.The 64-year-old Republican had been held in the Butler County Jail in southwestern Ohio since he was sentenced June 29 to 20 years for his role in the largest corruption scheme in Ohio history. He was recently moved to the federal transfer center in Oklahoma City, according to Bureau of Prisons records. His attorney, Steven Bradley, said Householder was not granted a request to be released during his appeal. Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, were convicted in March of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering.A jury found Householder masterminded and Borges participated in a $60 million bribery scheme that was secretly funded by Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. to secure Householder’s power, elect his allies — and then to pass and defend ...

Biden and the first lady drop by a DC middle school math class and lunch to welcome back students

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden shook hands with middle schoolers heading to lunch and dropped by an eighth grade math class Monday to welcome students back for the new school year. The Bidens went to Eliot-Hine Middle School, located east of the U.S. Capitol, to mark the District of Columbia’s first day of school for the 2023-24 year. Seventh graders coming down the stairs for their lunch into the cafeteria were giggling as the president and first lady greeted them. Inside Heather Thomas’ eighth grade class, the students were bouncing out of their seats and yelling with glee as the two walked to the front of the room. “I’m shaking hands with the president!” one student exclaimed. Biden said he remembered how it felt to come back to school after a summer away.“You all look so excited to be in math class,” he said to the students. “What’s your hardest subject, by the way?”The students all yelled: “Math!”The Bidens we...