Author: Reporter

In early November, Hays Culbreth’s mother sent a poll to a few family members. She said she could only afford to make two sides for their group of 15 this Thanksgiving and asked them each to vote for their favorites. Culbreth guesses green beans and macaroni and cheese will make the cut, but his favorite — sweet potato casserole with a brown sugar crust — will not. “Talk about Thanksgiving being ruined,” joked Culbreth, 27, a financial planner from Knoxville, Tennessee. Americans are bracing for a costly Thanksgiving this year, with double-digit percent increases in the price of turkey,...

Twitter is in chaos. Elon Musk, its new owner, has decimated its staff and this week gave those remaining an ultimatum — work grueling hours and be “extremely hardcore ” or leave. Hundreds chose the latter and headed for the door. There are already signs that the exodus is stressing the system. Some users noticed problems receiving texts to sign in with two-step verification. Test pages are showing up in the wild. Some users are seeing a renewed barrage of spam in direct messages and on their feed, while others complain of receiving new replies to long-deleted tweets and...

Elon Musk reinstated Donald Trump’s account on Twitter on November 20, reversing a ban that has kept the former president off the social media site since a pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress was poised to certify Joe Biden’s election victory. Musk made the announcement in the evening after holding a poll that asked Twitter users to click “yes” or “no” on whether Trump’s account should be restored. The “yes” vote won, with 51.8%. Previously, Musk had said Twitter would establish new procedures and a “content moderation council” before making decisions to restore...

The high winds forecasters warned about are blasting down Wisconsin Avenue, but 15 grandmothers lining up in the street are ready to march. They are dressed for this morning’s parade in wide-brimmed hats held on tight with elastic chin straps. And they have subbed out red pom poms for white ones so the dye will not run in rain that is teasing its return from a leaden November sky. “This is like my calling,” says Kathi Schmeling, a retired human resources assistant, her grin framed by the crimson lipstick that is a signature of the women who call themselves...

A 22-year-old gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and leaving 25 injured before he was subdued by “heroic” patrons and arrested by police who arrived within minutes, authorities said on November 20. At least two firearms, including an AR-15 syle “long rifle” used during the shooting, were found at Club Q after the November 19 attack, police said. On its Facebook page, the club called it a “hate attack.” Investigators were still determining a motive and whether to prosecute it as a hate crime, said El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen....

Heading into this year’s midterms, voting rights groups were concerned that restrictions in Republican-leaning states triggered by false claims surrounding the 2020 election might jeopardize access to the ballot box for many voters. Those worries did not appear to come true. There have been no widespread reports of voters being turned away at the polls, and turnout, while down from the last midterm cycle four years ago, appeared robust in Georgia, a state with hotly competitive contests for governor and U.S. Senate. The lack of broad disenfranchisement is not necessarily a sign that everyone who wanted to vote could;...