Ledger newsletter 11-19-2021
Ledger newsletter 11-19-2021
The Ledger newsletter for Friday
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NEWS
Tamplin sworn in to HUA
By CRAIG HALL
David Tamplin was sworn in as a member of the Heavener Utilities Authority at Thursday’s City Council meeting.
Tamplin is a 1980 graduate of Heavener High School and is employed at the James E. Hamilton Correctional Facility. He takes the place of David Grubbs Sr., who recently resigned.
Present for the meetings were Mayor Max Roberts; Council members Melinda Ballantine; Joey Clubb; Marvin Meredith; and Jim Roll; along with HUA members Jim Carr; and Jason Tiffee. Absent was Billy Adrean.
Both the Council and HUA approved meeting dates and holidays for 2022.
The Council approved giving a $100 bonus for all part-time and volunteer employees. The agenda was for $30 per person, but City Manager Cody Smith said funds were available since there is not as much being paid our for longevity.
The HUA also granted Smith the authority to settle the lawsuit on upcoming mediation with Howard Estruck vs. HUA case which is scheduled for Dec. 14.
The case has been in the works for several year and Smith was approved to spend $89,000 to settle the claim.
Democrats confront need to sell agenda
By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Polls show that a strong majority of Democrats — and a majority of the American public — support the broad priorities of the $1.85 trillion social and environmental spending bill that the House was poised to approve Friday. Democratic lawmakers predict that President Joe Biden's bill, once enacted, will be "transformational" for the country.
Yet it may not be politically transformational for the Democratic Party. At least not immediately.
Both parties know that hard-fought victories in Congress can come before electoral defeat. Democrats saw it in 2010, when they lost their majority months after passing a landmark health care overhaul. Republicans suffered the same fate in 2018, when their House majority was wiped away after enactment of a long-sought tax overhaul that slashed tax rates.
But the political difficulties for Democrats could be especially severe in next year's elections. Republicans are poised to gain seats through redistricting. Biden's poll numbers have slumped. And recovery from the coronavirus crisis has been robust but rocky amid soaring inflation. Democrats have spent months squabbling over the details of the legislation, obscuring the benefits they hope to deliver to the country.
"We do need to turn a corner," says Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, a former chairwoman of House Democrats' campaign arm who decided not to run for re-election next year. "We're not in a good place right now, as far as the perception of what we're doing is different than the reality of what we're doing."
Democrats "have to talk about it in ways that matter to people's lives," Bustos said. "And that's not easy."
Assuming the bill passes the House, it will head to the Senate, where revisions are likely and passage could take several weeks.
In the meantime, to save their already-narrow majority, House Democrats are working to revamp their message, move on from the infighting and emphasize the bill's marquee programs. Among them: Billons of dollars to pay for child care, reduce pollution, expand health care access and curb prescription drug costs for older Americans.
They are also trying to get the word out about the separate, $1 trillion infrastructure bill that Biden signed into law this week. House Democrats said they planned to hold 1,000 public events in the coming weeks — five for every member of their caucus — to tout the upgrades that will be coming to roads, bridges, public transit, internet and more.
Still, Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged Thursday that what Democrats do on the inside "can only get us so far." They will also need Biden's "bully pulpit" and the support of outside grassroots organizers.
The effort to promote the legislation, Pelosi promised, will be "immediate, and it will be intense, and it will be eloquent, and it will make the difference."
There's clearly a steep hill to climb.
October polling from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that fewer than half of Americans approved of how the negotiations over Biden's big bill were being handled. And only about 4 in 10 said they knew a lot or some about what was in it.
At the same time, most Americans supported several elements in the package, with majorities saying that funding for health care and education programs should be high priorities, and close to half saying the same about programs that address climate change. Majorities said that subsidies for child care and paid family leave, also included in the House bill, should at least be moderate priorities.
Like the 2010 health care law, though, it could be years before Americans can take advantage of the programs — and even longer before they become politically popular.
The new program for child care costs, for example, would attempt to guarantee that most Americans don't spend more than 7% of their income on child care. But it would be phased in over three years, meaning some parents won't be able to participate until after the next presidential election in 2024. The programs would have to be set up by the federal government and in many cases by the states — a convoluted process that was near-disastrous for Democrats in 2010 as the website for new health care signups crashed at launch.
"The problem Democrats had in their last rough midterm election, in 2010, was that we were passing a blizzard of legislation but people didn't feel the benefits until after 2012," says former Democratic Rep. Steve Israel, who led the party's House campaign arm at the time. "So the strategic imperative for Democrats isn't just getting stuff done, it's getting stuff done that has demonstrable positive impact for voters."
Bustos, who held the same campaign post a few years later, said Democrats have to strike a balance by telling people what the legislation will mean to their lives while also managing expectations. "Rollouts of huge new programs are complicated," she said.
It took a full eight years for Democrats to find electoral success with the health care law. In 2018, after former President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress tried and failed to repeal it, Democratic candidates across the country argued that Republican policies endangered the law's protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Democrats won the majority by a resounding margin.
They hope to employ a similar strategy this time around, but with quicker results.
Headed to their districts for the Thanksgiving holidays, lawmakers were testing different strategies. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he plans to not only tell constituents that the bill would cut costs for families, but also that Democrats plan to pay for the legislation by taxing the the wealthiest Americans. Rep. Jim Himes, also a Connecticut Democrat, said he will point out the contrast between the Democrats' bill and Republicans' main policy achievement when they were in control — tax cuts that benefitted those same wealthy people.
Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running for the Senate, says he'll talk about putting money in people's pockets, but also about improving economic conditions so the United States can better compete with China. "I think that the problem we've always had as Democrats is that there's never any context" to the party's priorities, Ryan said.
Republicans who saw gains in this month's off-year elections are lockstep in opposition to the bill, and have spent months railing against it. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy called the social and environmental spending package "anti-worker, anti-family, anti-jobs, anti-energy, and anti-American."
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Democrats need to stay on message and make it clear to families what the measure will do for them.
"They just need to make the connection that it's the Democrats who did it," she said.
___
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Hannah Fingerhut and Emily Swanson contributed to this report.
How Jones' execution was stopped
By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Julius Jones' execution was halted Thursday, less than four hours before he was scheduled to receive a lethal injection following outcry over doubts about evidence at his murder trial nearly 20 years ago.
The clock was ticking for Jones as Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt weighed whether to spare his life. Shortly after noon Thursday, the Republican governor announced he had granted Jones clemency. Instead of allowing the execution to proceed, Stitt said he was commuting Jones' sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jones, now 41, was convicted and sentenced to die for the 1999 shooting death of Paul Howell, a businessman from an affluent Oklahoma City suburb. Jones has consistently maintained his innocence.
The case has increasingly drawn attention since it was profiled in "The Last Defense," a three-episode documentary produced by actress Viola Davis that aired on ABC in 2018 and outlined some of his defense team's allegations. Since then, reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who visited Jones in prison, and athletes with Oklahoma ties, including NBA stars Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin and Trae Young, have urged Stitt to commute Jones' death sentence and spare his life. This week, Ambassador of the European Union to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis sent a letter to Stitt, urging him to grant Jones clemency.
Following are some of the key arguments made by Jones' attorneys, the response from prosecutors and how the case got here.
EYE-WITNESS DESCRIPTION OF SHOOTER
Paul Howell's sister, Megan Tobey, who was an eyewitness to her brother's killing, testified in court that the gunman was wearing a stocking cap that came down "about a half an inch to an inch" above his ears, and that hair was sticking out from both sides. Jones' attorneys suggest this was a better description of Jones' co-defendant who testified against him, Christopher Jordan, who had corn-row braids at the time, and that the jury was never shown a photo of Jones taken a week before the murder that showed him with short, close-cropped hair. Jones has long said he was framed by Jordan, and that Jordan is the actual killer.
But prosecutors say Tobey testified she never saw braids and that her testimony was referring to how much hair was visible between the top of the ear and the stocking cap, not the hair length. Prosecutors also note that a federal district court addressed this issue, noting "the length of (Jones') hair compared to Mr. Jordan's is not a persuasive showing of actual innocence."
JONES' ALIBI
Jones and his family have maintained that he was at home with them on the night of Howell's murder, eating dinner and playing games with his siblings, and that the jury was never presented this information at trial.
Prosecutors say this is a "blatant falsehood," and that Jones' trial attorney never called the family to the witness stand because Jones repeatedly told his attorneys that he was not at home on the night of the murder. They also note that three people saw Jones with Howell's stolen Suburban shortly after the killing. Even Jones' trial attorney, David McKenzie, wrote in an affidavit that he "personally concluded that the alibi defense was untrue."
JAILHOUSE TESTIMONY
Jones' attorneys say the jury also never heard from several individuals who have testified that Jordan admitted killing Howell and framing Jones. Prosecutors say those individuals, all of whom have lengthy criminal records, were not credible, knew no details of the murder and that their testimonies were not corroborated.
RACIAL BIAS
A juror in Jones' trial wrote in an affidavit after Jones' conviction that during the trial another juror engaged in premature deliberations and used a racial epithet while saying they should take Jones behind the jail and shoot him. Prosecutors argue that when the trial judge asked her about this allegation the day after the alleged incident, she never mentioned the racial epithet. And the judge's bailiff signed an affidavit saying the juror never reported this, as she said she did.
WHAT LED TO CLEMENCY?
Lawyers for Jones filed a last-minute request Thursday morning as they waited for word from Stitt.
Prior to that, Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board had voted 3-1 to recommend to the governor that Jones' death sentence be commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole, each time citing doubts about the evidence in the case.
Stitt appointed two of the three members who voted to recommend clemency: Adam Luck and Kelly Doyle. The third member, Larry Morris, was appointed by the Court of Criminal Appeals.
"Personally, I believe in death penalty cases there should be no doubts. And put simply, I have doubts about this case," Luck said on the day of Jones' clemency hearing.
Stitt has said little publicly about his decision, so his reasoning is unclear.
Instead of going with the parole board's full recommendation, he decided Jones should not have a chance to seek parole and be released from prison.
"After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones' sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole," Stitt said Thursday in a statement.
SPORTS
Poteau to host Blanchard Friday
POTEAU – Poteau and Blanchard will play in the Class 4A quarterfinals 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Costner Stadium.
The winner advances to play the Tuttle and Wagoner winner in a semifinal game next week at a neutral location.
This is the first time Poteau and Blanchard have played since the Pirates defeated the Lions 36-14 in a quarterfinal game in 2018. Poteau lost to Tuttle the following week after the Pirates’ starting quarterback Jett Pitchford was injured against Blanchard.
Poteau is 10-1, ranked second and won District 4A-4. Blanchard is 8-3 and finished third in 4A-2 behind Tuttle and Clinton.
The Pirates average 44.7 points per game and allow only 13.3 Blanchard scores an average of 30.6 points per game and allows 19.6. The two teams did not play a common opponent this season.
Poteau defeated Catoosa in the opening round 56-14 while Blanchard won at Bethel, 24-21.
The Pirates have rushed for over 4,000 yards on the season out of their wing-T, led by running back Todd Mattox, one of the top rushers in the state with over 1,800 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns.
Blanchard has rushed for 1,372 yards and passed for 2,374.
Poteau vs. Blanchard, a closer look.
LeFlore County sports scoreboard 11-18-2021
Basketball
Girls
Indianola 61, Bokoshe 7
Cameron 52, Gans 39
Wright City 72, Talihina 25
Whitesboro 40, Rattan 29
Boys
Bokoshe at Indianola (no score reported)
Cameron 53, Gans 36
Wright City 75, Talihina 56
Rattan 75, Whitesboro 39
To correct or add scores or information, email craig at craig@heavenerledger.com, text (844) 673-0508 or call (918) 653-2425.
OU faces another test in Iowa State
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma's shot at a perfect season is over and its chances of reaching the College Football Playoff are slim.
If the 12th-ranked Sooners aren't careful, things quickly could get much worse. They are coming off a loss to Baylor — their first November loss in five years under coach Lincoln Riley. Now, they face a dangerous Iowa State squad on Saturday.
Iowa State (6-4, 4-3 Big 12) opened the season in the preseason top 10 but has stumbled recently in losses to West Virginia and Texas Tech. Yet, when Riley looks at the film, all he sees is the talent that led to the preseason hype.
He also knows the recent history between the programs. Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1, No. 13 CFP) has won three of the past five meetings, but Iowa State won in Norman in 2017 and last year in the regular season. Oklahoma beat Iowa State 27-21 in the Big 12 title game last year.
"If we didn't know this team as well as we know them and had the battles, you might worry about a team looking at the record and thinking, you know, maybe that's it's just an average football team coming in here," Riley said. "This is not an average football team coming in."
Iowa State still has quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Breece Hall. Purdy ranks fourth nationally in completion percentage (73.4%). Hall ranks sixth nationally in rushing yards per game (117.2) and is second nationally in both scoring (108 points) and total touchdowns (18).
And the Cyclones will be motivated after Texas Tech's Jonathan Garibay hit a 62-yard field goal as time expired to give the Red Raiders a surprise 41-38 win last Saturday.
Though the Cyclones have fallen short of their expectations, they still are a talented, battle-tested team trying to make this a memorable season despite likely missing the Big 12 title game.
"We really wanted to go there this year, and it looks like it's not going to be that way," Iowa State tight end Chase Allen said. "But so what? We've only gone one time before. So what are we going to do, pack it in just because we're not going to that game? No, we have so much to play for and so much to do, and we want to finish."
TWO QUARTERBACK SYSTEM?
Riley has used both Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler at times this season to provide a spark when the other struggled. He said he remains committed to Williams as his starter:
"Not really at any time have I put a guy in thinking, all right, I'm going to put him in for, like, one series and pop him right back out, anything like that. ... But no, I still strongly believe that I like to have a firm starter and backup."
HAPPY HOMECOMING?
Iowa State tight end Charlie Kolar is one of the nation's best. The redshirt senior from Norman, Oklahoma has 41 catches for 506 yards and four touchdowns. He had eight receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns against Texas Tech last week.
He looks forward to returning to his hometown.
"It's always exciting to go back, but like I said with the Texas Tech loss, we shouldn't need that motivation to go play hard," Kolar said. "If you're implying you can play harder against a (state) that you're from, there's something wrong with me. There's a little more emotion, but how you prepare and play should be the same."
McDONALD's HEALTH
Campbell said Iowa State defensive end Will McDonald was bothered by a lower body strain against Texas Tech, but he has practiced this week and should play. McDonald ranks second in the Big 12 with 10 sacks this season.
LOFTY NUMBERS
Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks has 2,920 yards rushing in his career — 12th on the school's all-time list.
He has 853 yards rushing this season and could become the fourth Oklahoma running back to rush for at least 1,000 yards in three different seasons, joining Samaje Perine, Adrian Peterson and De'Mond Parker.
CALEB KELLY
Oklahoma's linebacker said on social media that his career is now over after he tore an ACL against Baylor. It's the final setback of an injury-riddled career. Kelly began playing at Oklahoma began in 2016. He redshirted in 2019 due to an injury and missed the 2020 season due to injury.
"I just really feel OK with it," he said. "Last year I was really, really sad. And I tried to fight it. This year, I'm not sad. It's just it is what it is."
Oklahoma State visits Texas Tech
By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Ninth-ranked Oklahoma State has been dominant on defense all season, won its last three games by an average margin of nearly 40 points with an offense starting to resemble the Cowboys of old and controls its own fate in getting to its first Big 12 championship game.
Mike Gundy, the Big 12's longest-tenured coach by more than a decade, has plenty of reasons to feel good about the state of his team.
"For us, me personally, I'm comfortable with where we're at because I see more strength in our organization now than in my 17 years as head coach," Gundy said. "We have a team right now that when they go out and play on Saturday, it doesn't make a difference who we play, but that we know ... that if we play well, we can win. I don't care who we play. So, for me, that's a plus."
The Cowboys (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 9 CFP) could clinch a spot in the league title game as early as Saturday night, with a win at Texas Tech (6-4, 3-4) combined with a loss by No. 11 Baylor at Kansas State earlier in the day. Oklahoma State then finishes the regular season with the Bedlam showdown in potentially the first of two meetings in back-to-back weeks against No. 12 Oklahoma, the six-time defending Big 12 champion.
Texas Tech, after a midseason coaching change, is bowl eligible for the first time since 2017 after Jonathan Garibay kicked a 62-yard field goal on the final play for a 41-38 win over Iowa State last week. It was the first home game for the Red Raiders since coach Matt Wells was fired after a 25-24 loss to Kansas State on Oct. 23, when they led 24-10 at halftime.
That was also their first game since former Baylor associate head coach Joey McGuire was named Tech's new head coach, though he won't take over the on-field duties until after the season.
Interim head coach Sonny Cumbie said the win over the Cyclones was a reminder for the Red Raiders that they are a pretty good team when they play together.
"I think they're starting to believe it a little bit more and hopefully we can continue to stack success," Cumbie said. "That's the greatest challenge, is so many teams and so many people handle success far worse than they handle failure. So we got to be able to handle success."
The Red Raiders, who haven't won consecutive Big 12 games since October 2018, want to do more than just get bowl eligible.
"We came here to finish out the season strong, and Cumbie is always discussing with us staying together and believing in each other," receiver Erik Ezukanma said. "It's finally paying off on the field, and it's bringing us all together."
STIFF DEFENSE
Only two touchdowns have been scored against Oklahoma State in the past three games. Both of those were by TCU, which trailed 49-3 in the fourth quarter last week before a TD run and a fumble return for a score. Oklahoma State held West Virginia to only 133 total yards the previous week.
TECH'S THIRD QB
Redshirt freshman Donovan Smith completed 25 of 32 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns in his first start for Tech against Iowa State. He filled in for Henry Colombi (illness), who had started five games after Tyler Shough broke his collarbone in the fourth game.
"Not bad for a third-string quarterback. I had a lot of confidence in Donovan Smith," Cumbie said.
Cumbie said Smith, the son of Red Raiders running backs coach DeAndre Smith, would start again Saturday night. Cumbie also said there were no setbacks for Shough, but that the transfer quarterback from Oregon wasn't medically cleared to clear.
STEADY SANDERS
Oklahoma State junior quarterback Spencer Sanders has nine TD passes and only two interceptions in the past five games since throwing three picks against Baylor.
"I think he's made good decisions. At times he throws the ball away and other times he tucks it and runs," Gundy said. "He's getting a better feel for that, in my opinion, as this year has progressed."
EXTRA POINTS
Oklahoma State senior running back Jaylen Warren has averaged 124 yards rushing in the last eight games (seven starts). ... The Cowboys could reach 10 wins for the 10th time in program history, and seventh time since 2010. ... Texas Tech is 43-17 (.717 win percentage) in night games at home since 2002.
OTHER STORIES
Cool temperatures and mostly clear skies Friday
Mostly clear skies and cool Friday in LeFlore County.
There is a freeze warning until 9 a.m.
Friday’s high is expected to be 59 degrees, with a low of 40 degrees.
Thursday’s high was 57. The low was 26.
Sunrise for Friday is 6:56 a.m., with sunset at 5:10 p.m.
Average temperatures for Nov. 19 are a high of 62, and a low of 34.
Records for the date were a high of 75 in 1974. The record low was 15 in 1980.
One year ago, on Nov. 19, the high was 74. The low was 53.
County calendar of events
The LeFlore County calendar of events. It lists the upcoming events in the area. This is a free service so if you or your group have an event coming up and would like it added to the calendar, send an email to craig@heavenerledger.com.
Friday
Funeral service for Jesse Fesperman
Funeral services for Racer Stanley
High school basketball: Talihina at Wister.
Benefit planned for Lawrence Urchison
High school football: Blanchard at Poteau 7:30 p.m..
Monday
LeFlore County commissioners meet 9 a.m.
Tuesday
Poteau Evening Lions Club meet 6 p.m. CASC
High school basketball: Cameron at Hackett
Wednesday
Poteau Rotary Club meets noon at EOMC
Thursday
First Baptist Church of Heavener Thanksgiving lunch
Happy Thanksgiving.
Photo of the day 11-18-2021
Our photo of the day for Nov. 18, 2021.
Every day we try, but sometimes fail, to take and post a picture of the people, places and events in LeFlore County.
Yesterday’s picture is of one of the third and fourth grade Monroe Lady Eagles going in for a shot during a game against those Fanshawe Grizzlies.
If you would like to sponsor our daily photo of the day, email craig@heavenerledger.com or call (918) 653-2425.
Shockley Auto Blast from the past 11-19-2021
Today’s Blast from the past is sponsored by Shockley Auto Sales in Poteau.
Blast from the past is a feature we run showing an image of the people, places and events from the past.
If you have a picture to use, email craig@heavenerledger.com with as much information as possible.
This picture is of the crowd lining up before the start of the KCS Holiday Express in Heavener during 2014.
Today in history 11-19-2021
By The Associated Press
Today is Friday, Nov. 19, the 323rd day of 2021. There are 42 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 19, 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean made the second manned landing on the moon.
On this date:
In 1794, the United States and Britain signed Jay's Treaty, which resolved some issues left over from the Revolutionary War.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
In 1919, the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY') by a vote of 55 in favor, 39 against, short of the two-thirds majority needed for ratification.
In 1942, during World War II, Russian forces launched their winter offensive against the Germans along the Don front.
In 1959, Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel.
In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time as they began their summit in Geneva.
In 1995, Polish President Lech Walesa (vah-WEN'-sah) was defeated in his bid for re-election.
In 1997, Iowa seamstress Bobbi McCaughey (mihk-KOY') gave birth to the world's first set of surviving septuplets, four boys and three girls.
In 2004, in one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history, Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson of the Indiana Pacers charged into the stands and fought with Detroit Pistons fans, forcing officials to end the Pacers' 97-82 win with 45.9 seconds left.
In 2010, President Barack Obama, attending a NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, won an agreement to build a missile shield over Europe, a victory that risked further aggravating Russia.
In 2017, Charles Manson, the hippie cult leader behind the gruesome murders of actor Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles in 1969, died in a California hospital at the age of 83 after nearly a half-century in prison.
Ten years ago: Moammar Gadhafi's son and former heir apparent Seif al-Islam was captured by revolutionary fighters in the southern desert just over a month after Gadhafi was killed, setting off joyous celebrations across Libya. (He was released from detention in 2017 and has announced his candidacy for Libya's presidential election in December 2021.)
Five years ago: President-election Donald Trump met with 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Bedminster, New Jersey; both were positive about their sit-down, a marked shift in tone after a year in which Romney attacked Trump as a "con man" and Trump labeled Romney a "loser." The International Space Station gained three new residents, including NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who at 56 was the oldest and most experienced woman to orbit the world.
One year ago: Georgia's top elections official released results of a hand tally of ballots that affirmed Democrat Joe Biden's narrow lead over President Donald Trump in the state. The Wisconsin Elections Commission issued an order to recount more than 800,000 ballots cast in two heavily liberal counties; the order was required by law after Trump paid $3 million for the recount. (The recount added slightly to Biden's 20,600-vote margin in Wisconsin.) California imposed a nighttime curfew as its coronavirus figures soared; sheriffs in some counties said they wouldn't enforce it. With the coronavirus surging out of control, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pleaded with Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the first top American diplomat to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Today's Birthdays: Talk show host Dick Cavett is 85. Broadcasting and sports mogul Ted Turner is 83. Former Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is 82. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson is 80. Fashion designer Calvin Klein is 79. Sportscaster Ahmad Rashad is 72. Actor Robert Beltran is 68. Actor Kathleen Quinlan is 67. Actor Glynnis O'Connor is 66. Broadcast journalist Ann Curry is 65. Former NASA astronaut Eileen Collins is 65. Actor Allison Janney is 62. Rock musician Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver) is 61. Actor Meg Ryan is 60. Actor-director Jodie Foster is 59. Actor Terry Farrell is 58. TV chef Rocco DiSpirito is 55. Actor Jason Scott Lee is 55. Olympic gold medal runner Gail Devers is 55. Actor Erika Alexander is 52. Rock musician Travis McNabb is 52. Singer Tony Rich is 50. Actor Sandrine Holt is 49. Country singer Billy Currington is 48. Dancer-choreographer Savion Glover is 48. R&B singer Tamika Scott (Xscape) is 46. R&B singer Lil' Mo is 44. Olympic gold medal gymnast Kerri Strug is 44. Actor Reid Scott is 44. Movie director Barry Jenkins (Film: "Moonlight") is 42. Actor Katherine Kelly is 42. Actor Adam Driver is 38. Country singer Cam is 37. Actor Samantha Futerman is 34. NHL forward Patrick Kane is 33. Rapper Tyga is 32.