12/18: Cubans Cautiously Optimistic About Change; The Propaganda War In Cuba Fizzles Out

By STEVE PEOPLES and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press) WILMINGTON, N. C. (AP) — This North Carolina voter is nervous. Will Rikard, a 49-year-old father of two, was among several hundred Democrats who stood and cheered for Joe Biden as the first-term president delivered a fiery speech recently about the billions of dollars he has delivered to protect the state’s drinking water. But afterward, the Wilmington resident acknowledged he is worried about Biden’s political standing in the looming rematch with former Republican President Donald Trump. “There’s not enough energy,” Rikard said of Biden’s coalition.

MIAMI — The last time the Miami Heat were done with their season by the first week in May was five years ago, in 2019, the lottery season when Dwyane Wade completed his farewell tour. Even when the Heat previously went out in the first round with their opening-round sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, that was a season when elimination did not come until May 29, due to the pandemic-delayed schedule. So as he wrapped up his team’s season last week, Erik Spoelstra spoke of the emptiest of feelings. “None of us want this to be over at the beginning of May,” the Heat coach said.

By PETER SMITH (Associated Press) CHARLOTTE, N. C. (AP) — It took just a few days for United Methodist delegates to remove a half-century’s worth of denominational bans on gay clergy and same-sex marriages. But when asked at a news conference about the lightning speed of the changes, the Rev. Effie McAvoy took a longer view. “Oh, it didn’t take days, honey,” she said. It took decades of activism for a change that was “so very healing,” said McAvoy, pastor of Shepherd of the Valley United Methodist Church in Hope, Rhode Island.

By REBECCA SANTANA (Associated Press) COLUMBIA, S. C. (AP) — A church volunteer stood at an apartment door, beckoning inside a Congolese family for their first look at where they would live in America. “Your new house!” volunteer Dan Davidson exclaimed as the couple and the woman’s brother stepped into the two-bedroom apartment in South Carolina’s capital, smiling tentatively at what would come next. Inside, church volunteers had made quilts for the beds and set out an orange and yellow plastic dump truck and other toys for the couple’s son.

Dear Amy: I’ve been dating my boyfriend for the past year. I brought my pets and we moved in with him this past December. He’s an amazing guy — the absolute best! The issue arises with his house. He owns a three-bedroom house. Last July his sister and her family moved in with him. This took the total number of people from two adults, three cats and two dogs to four adults, six kids, three cats and two dogs. My cats have reached their limits with the children and avoid them. My dogs love to try to be around the kids but because one is a puppy, they complained and now my dogs regularly have to stay outside or in the garage. I have absolutely HAD IT with this family. I feel like my boyfriend and I have become prisoners in his house because there is constant drama and chaos. When his sister’s family has fights, we basically have to sit in our room, or in the garage (we ended up converting it to a bedroom) while they slam doors and stuff inside the house. And if we even TRY to start to bring stuff up, it’s World War III. How do I tell my boyfriend I’m sick of how they take advantage of him and disrespect his house and belongings? Related Articles Ask Amy: We have talked about marriage, and then he revealed his debt Ask Amy: My son’s fiance blamed the moon for his malicious decision Ask Amy: New neighbors take their battle over parking spots to social media Ask Amy: My financially struggling friends are making mistakes but aren’t asking for advice Ask Amy: She got drunk and told my secret to the very people I was hiding it from I get that they were there when I moved in, but I want them GONE, ASAP, but I don’t want to be the bad guy! — Woman, Standing on the Edge Dear Standing: Even though you maintain that this family has encroached upon your boyfriend — and you, by your own account the family already lived there when you moved in.

By TIA GOLDENBERG and JON GAMBRELL (Associated Press) TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. The extraordinary order, which includes confiscating broadcast equipment, preventing the broadcast of the channel’s reports and blocking its websites, is believed to be the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet. Al Jazeera went off Israel’s main cable and satellite providers in the hours after the order.