More from the article...

... But in 1992, something shifted. While Shays carried every town in his district, the youthful governor of Arkansas, Democrat Bill Clinton, managed to eke out wins in some of the larger cities like Norwalk and Stamford. Even Greenwich, the old bastion of Republicanism that was the childhood home of then-president George H.W. Bush, less than half of voters cast their ballots from the hometown favorite.

...

Connecticut's political realignment has not been entirely bad news for Republicans, who have gained ground in many smaller, more sparsely-populated towns in the eastern half of the state. Those shifts, however, have been less dramatic and involved a smaller number of people to make up for the changes taking place in the more-populated suburbs.

In 2020, President Joe Biden carried every town along Connecticut's Gold Coast en route to a 20-point victory in the state.

In addition to its transformation into a blue state, the weight of Connecticut's electorate has also shrunk in recent decades as the country's population has shifted toward the Sun Belt. The state's sixth congressional district, which covered the northwest corner, was eliminated during reapportionment following the 2000 census -- taking one electoral vote along with it. ...

[the bar chart in the article, "Most CT towns have voted for democratic presidents since 1992" shows a dramatic shift in 1992]

More from the main article...

...Shatterproof glass, panic buttons and armed security: Preparing poll sites

Urban battleground election offices are not the only places that have increased security.

More than 9,000 local jurisdictions administer elections nationwide, ranging from small townships to cities with more than 1 million voters. The 2024 Brennan Center for Justice survey found that 40 percent of respondents had enhanced physical security of election offices or polling places since 2020. ...

Kathy Boockvar, secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the 2020 election, said more jurisdictions nationwide have added panic buttons to contact law enforcement since 2020. Boockvar is a member of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, a group that trains election office workers.

Other steps taken by election offices include adding materials on windows to make them shatterproof and hiring armed security at vote counting sites. Some offices have also added tighter identification requirements before entering a vote tabulation center. ...

Another view...

More from the article...

... These incidents, along with death threats targeting election workers, have led local officials to increase their election security plans through Nov. 5 and, if necessary, beyond.

An overwhelming majority -- 92 percent -- of surveyed local election officials said they had taken steps to increase security for voters, election workers and election infrastructure. ...

More from the article...

... In reality, the cultural and economic might of collections like the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), the all-time bestseller in the US, has declined dramatically in recent years. Purchases have tumbled as streaming replaced CDs and digital purchases as the primary way people consume music. These once-mainstream releases are now viewed primarily as a novelty item -- designed for superfans and their vinyl or CD collections, often with dressy packaging and a price that can top $100.

These records are for "someone who wants to own a product and support an artist in a different way than in streaming," said Michael Kachko, a senior vice president at BMG, whose artists include Mötley Cre and Jelly Roll. "This is your starting point."

For decades, listeners stocked their shelves with greatest hits albums as a cost effective way to acquire the best of an artist's music in one purchase. They became so prevalent that, even today, two of the 10 best-selling albums in the US are greatest hits compilations. In addition to the Eagles' collection, Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II ranks among the most-purchased ever. ...

@#5 ... Trump could appoint Epstein Head of the Dept of Forced Rape Births. ...

I thought it might be the Department of Protecting Women Whether They Like It Or Not.

@#3 ... Who's above the law in right now? ...

Failed deflection attempt.

Fmr Pres Trump is running for President.

... A damning, newly released recording ...

More from the cited article...

... Epstein also shared photos from the "late 90s" of Trump surrounded by "topless young women" at Epstein's home in Palm Beach, Florida, where the disgraced financier victimized dozens of underage girls alongside his friend Ghislaine Maxwell.

"And in some of the pictures, they're sitting in his lap," Wolff said. "I mean, and, and then there's one I especially remember where there's a stain, a telltale stain and on the front of Trump's pants, and the girls are pointing at him and laughing."

Wolff claimed the FBI discovered the photos in Epstein's safe when the agency raided his home in 2019, but never released the images to the public. Wolff described the photographs when discussing how he used Epstein as a main source for his book Fire and Fury, which focused on the Trump White House.

Wolff said that Epstein was afraid of Trump, believing that he was "capable of doing anything." ...

More from the article...

... What they're saying: "It is likely that payroll employment estimates in some industries were affected by the hurricanes," the government said in a release.

- - - The government also noted that employment fell in manufacturing " the sector lost 46,000 jobs in October, nearly all in transportation " due to strike activity. The culprit was likely Boeing. ...

More from the article...

... That topped the prior record high of 13.31 million bpd in December 2023, the data showed.

In top oil-producing states, output in Texas rose 1.7% in August to a record 5.82 million bpd, while New Mexico's output increased 2.8% to a record 2.09 million bpd.

That compared with previous record highs of 5.76 million bpd in June in Texas and 2.04 million bpd in July in New Mexico.

Gross natural gas production in the U.S. Lower 48 states, meanwhile, eased by about 0.6% in August to 115.9 billion cubic feet per day, according to the agency's 914 production report.

That compared with a monthly record high of 118.2 bcfd in December 2023. ...

More from the article...

... Yet some signs of inflation pressures remained. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 2.7% in September from a year earlier for the third straight month. On a monthly basis, core prices rose 0.3% from August to September, up from 0.2% from July to August. The increase in the core rate is higher than the Fed would prefer.

Still, for the past six months, core inflation has declined to a 2.3% annual rate, down from 2.5% in August. And economists still expect the Fed to cut its key rate by a quarter-point when it meets next week.

"It's essentially the soft landing that many of us dreamed of," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at the tax and accounting firm EY, referring to a scenario in which high interest rates manage to tame inflation without causing a recession. "You really have the best of both worlds, with consumer spending growth remaining resilient and inflation moving within striking distance of the Fed's 2% target." ...

More from the article...

... The first-time benefit applications for the week ending Oct. 26 were 12,000 fewer than the revised total of 228,000 from the week before. The filing is a figure watched by the Federal Reserve as a snapshot of the country's workforce stability.

The 216,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance were the lowest since the week ending May 18 when 216,000 also applied for benefits for the first time. On Oct. 5, 260,000 made unemployment claims initially, marking the highest total of 2024.

The four-week moving average for first-time applicants was 236,500, a drop of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 238,750. ...

@#12 ... Interesting take. ...

Yeah, that is an interesting take to get from this thread.

But is it correct?

What's yer current alias got to justify it?

@#25 ... Bezos is a multibillionaire who is still too grotesque to be seen in public. ...

I'm not there yet.

He is a multi-billionaire. I'm on board with that aspect.

But he seems to want to affect public opinion without standing up and defending his reasons. And, yes, I did read his, imo, lame attempt to justify what he has done to the WaPo editorial board.

Shameful.

@#3 ... Basically how to make dinner from grandpa's old army boot. ...

I'm not yet convinced that would be the description I would ascribe to the result of this recipe.

But yeah, the sauerbraten is quite tasty.

@#81 ... And now it has been clarified for you. ..

It hasn't.

For starters, in #76 I noted the plural of members. Your current alias still has not clarified that.

So, at this point, my view is that your current alias is a troll, possibly paid on a per-reply basis.

Not something new in the online world.

Have fun.

@#79 ... think it was quite clear. ...

It wasn't.

Which is why I asked for clarification.

Which your current alias did not seem to provide.

So, ya got nothing?

@#16 ... In this case, their boss did not want his paper presenting a political opinion. There is nothing wrong with that. I like it. ...

Or is it that the billionaire owner did not want his paper to present an opinion in the opinion section that he did not agree with?

Taking a step back, this is not about the news reporting, this is about the opinion section.

Why should not the editors, who are intimately exposed to the news each day, be allowed to express their opinions in the section of the newspaper that is set aside for such opinions?

I mean, what is the fear here?

That people will not be able to understand the difference between the OpEd section and the news section?

Is that the fear here?

An OpEd in the opinion section that does not adulate fmr Pres Trump?

@#77 ... Be honest. ...

I'll be honest.

What "instance" is your current alias referring to?

Please be quite specific with such a request. A message number would be helpful.

thx.

@#9 ... We need one for television. ...

Yeah.

Video streaming seems to be particularly bad in that aspect.

@75 ... What else do you want? I gave you the exact link you requested. Yes, this Democrat elected member of Congress is so damn dumb that he actually thought an island could capsize. This is not in dispute. ...

What else do I want?

A substantiation of your current alias' comment in #69 ...

... Only according to Democrat elected members of Congress. ...

I note the plural "members" in the comment.

So far, your current alias has only provided one Democrat member who has made that assertion.

What other Democratic members of Congress have made that assertion?

thx.

@#10 ... How does the government go about bringing it all "in-house"? ...

Yeah, that is a significant concern that Americans should now be worried about.

A person who seems to routinely talk with the dictator of an adversarial country gets significant from the US government. Some (much, most?) of that money comes from the US Defense Department.

So, how does your current alias propose that problem is solved?

@#14 ... Handwringers getting pissy because a newspaper is directed to be apolitical. ...

While the reporting of a newspaper should be directed to be apolitical. I agree with that view 100%

That aside ... what say ye about the editorial opinion content of the newspaper?

What is the issue with the opinion part of the newspaper expressing opinions?