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What Is Diwali, And How Is It Celebrated In India?

By DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular. It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks displays, feasts and prayer. Diwali is derived from the word “Deepavali,” which means “a row of lights.” Celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. WHEN IS ...

Note to GOP: This Isn’t Rocket Science ­— Just Figure It Out

Another election, another round of recriminations. I have ZERO confidence that the Republican Party will heed anything I say here, since they don’t listen to the other better-known commentators making similar points. But as proof of the triumph of hope over experience, here goes: n No. 1: Ronna McDaniel has to go. How many embarrassing electoral defeats does the party have to endure before this woman is replaced? It was astonishing that McDaniel was re-elected in January to a fourth term as Republican National Committee chair on the heels of midterm elections that were, if not ...

Ivanka Trump Testifies in Father’s Civil Fraud Case

NEW YORK (AP) — Ivanka Trump didn’t want to testify. But on the the stand Wednesday in her father’s civil fraud trial, she took the opportunity to contend the family business has “overdelivered,” even as she kept her distance from financial documents that New York state says were fraudulent. Former President Donald Trump’s elder daughter capped a major stretch in the lawsuit that could reshape his real estate empire. She followed her father and her brothers Eric and Donald Trump Jr. to the witness stand, and the New York attorney general’s office rested its case after her ...

Democrats See Abortion Wins As A Springboard For 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters threw their support behind abortion rights in Ohio, Virginia and elsewhere as Democrats look to springboard off those wins by using the issue to drive turnout and shape next year’s races for the White House, Congress and other elections. Ohio offered the clearest snapshot on Tuesday of the issue’s salience more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion. Voters in the increasingly Republican-leaning state resoundingly approved an amendment to the state constitution to protect abortion access. Democrats also harnessed ...

Martins Ferry Voters Say No to Income Tax Increase

Martins Ferry residents voted overwhelmingly against increasing the city’s income tax on Tuesday. According to unofficial totals provided by the Belmont County Board of Elections, 992 votes were cast in opposition to the tax, while 301 were cast in favor of the tax hike. The city ...

Ex-Gang Leader Charged In 1996 Killing Of Tupac Shakur Gets June 3 Trial

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada judge set a June 3 date for the murder trial of a former Southern California street gang leader who has become the only person ever charged in the 1996 killing of hip-hop music icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Duane “Keffe D” Davis made a brief court appearance in shackles Tuesday and spoke quietly with two court-appointed attorneys who were named to his case before he pleaded not guilty last Thursday. Davis remains jailed in Las Vegas. His public defenders, Charles Cano and Robert Arroyo, said they intend to file documents seeking his release on bail ...