Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic on to semifinals due to opponent’s injury

• July 10, 2024

LONDON — Novak Djokovic’s smooth trip through the Wimbledon bracket got even easier on Wednesday, when he moved into his record-tying 13th semifinal at the tournament via a walkover because his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, pulled out with a hip injury.

Djokovic had knee surgery less than a month before the start of play at the All England Club, raising questions about whether he’d even be able to try to earn his eighth championship at the grass-court major and add to his men’s mark of 24 Grand Slam trophies.

But, despite limitations on movement, the 37-year-old Djokovic has dropped only two sets so far, while facing a qualifier in the first round, a wild-card entrant in the second and only one seeded player, No. 15 Holger Rune. Djokovic was supposed to go up against No. 9 de Minaur on Wednesday, but instead will get three full days off before Friday’s semifinals.

More eventful for Djokovic has been his interactions with some spectators at Centre Court. After beating Rune in straight sets on Monday, Djokovic told fans that a group of them showed “disrespect” toward him with the way they were cheering.

In the women’s quarterfinals Wednesday, 2022 champion Elena Rybakina grabbed nine of the last 11 games to defeat No. 21 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2, and No. 31 Barbora Krejcikova eliminated No. 13 Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a matchup between two past champions at the French Open.

Rybakina ended her win with her seventh ace and improved to 19-2 at Wimbledon in four appearances.

“Definitely, I have an aggressive style of game,” Rybakina said. “I have a huge serve, so it’s a big advantage.”

Her match lasted 1 hour, 1 minute — shorter than the second set alone of Krejcikova against Ostapenko, who at one point ordered her coach to leave the stands.

Krejcikova won her first Grand Slam title on the red clay at Roland Garros in 2021, but never had put together a five-match winning streak on grass until now.

“There have been many doubts from the inside, but also from outside — from the outside world,” said Krejcikova, who arrived at the All England Club with a record of just 6-9 in 2024. “But I’m super happy than I never gave up and that I’m standing here right now.”

The other women’s semifinal is No. 7 Jasmine Paolini against unseeded Donna Vekic.

Djokovic’s next match will come against No. 13 Taylor Fritz of the United States or No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy. Fritz and Musetti were scheduled to play their quarterfinal on Wednesday.

No man has made it to as many Grand Slam semifinals as Djokovic’s 49. He and Roger Federer are the only men with 13 appearances in the final four at Wimbledon.

De Minaur’s exit is the latest to come because of injury in Week 2 of the tournament. Players who stopped competing in the middle of fourth-round matches because they were hurt include No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the men’s draw, and No. 12 Madison Keys and No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya in the women’s.

The hip issue for de Minaur, a 25-year-old Australian, arose right near the end of his four-set win against Arthur Fils on Monday. De Minaur said he heard a crack and knew something was wrong.

He underwent medical tests Tuesday that revealed the extent of the problem but tried to practice on Wednesday morning in the hope he would be able to take on Djokovic. This was the first time de Minaur reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

“It’s no secret that, at this stage of my career, this was the biggest match of my career. So wanted to do anything I could to play,” de Minaur said. “I knew what the results were yesterday, but I still wanted to wake up today and feel some sort of miracle and not feel it while I’m walking.”

He was told the hip could get worse if he played Wednesday.

“The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything, can make this injury (recovery) go from three to six weeks to four months,” de Minaur said. “It’s too much to risk.”

​ Orange County Register 

Travel: The Rosarito Beach Hotel turns 100 years old this month

• July 10, 2024

As you walk through double doors into the Rosarito Beach Hotel, the first thing you see is a fan-shaped piece of stained glass over the door with a fetching senorita. Below the glass, an inscription reads in Spanish “Through these doors pass the most beautiful women in the world.”

Those glamorous days of Hollywood beautiful people who swarmed down to Baja to imbibe legal cocktails during Prohibition may be over, but their legacy still lives on in this historic hacienda style landmark that continues to attract Southern Californians in droves.

Before there was a town, there was a beautiful beach and a tiny hotel. Now celebrating its 100 anniversary, the Rosarito Beach Hotel first appeared in 1924, as a 10-room motel on a lonely road.

The popular resort town soon grew up around it. Today, the hotel remains an iconic symbol of northern Baja California, with its neo-Spanish Colonial rancho decor, art collected from throughout Mexico, swimming pools, spa and beachfront.

It’s been a turbulent ride, with plenty of ups and downs. Today, the hotel is doing better than ever, with plans to remodel all the rooms, fresh furnishings and paint that retain its rustic charm, and new restaurants to enjoy.

The hotel is officially considering its anniversary as July 27 and hosting a special ticketed bash on July 20 that’s open to all.

Originally built in 1924 by Daisy Moreno and Jay Danzinger as a 10-room lodging with shared baths, the hotel’s original main attraction was a beautiful beachfront with sunset views.

In 1929, it was purchased by prominent Baja businessman Manuel Barbachano, who expanded and renamed it the El Rosarito Beach Resort and Country Club.

During the Prohibition era, when alcohol was banned in the U.S. the resort became a popular refuge for fun-seeking Americans looking to enjoy tippling legally, only a short drive from the border.

In 1937, owner Barbachano married actress Maria Luisa Chabert, and she moved to then-remote Rosarito Beach, her husband promising he would build her a mansion.

Today, Chabert’s flirty image is the first  thing visitors see when they enter the hotel, immortalized in the stained glass atop the entrance doors.

Stained glass over the entrance to the Rosarito Beach Hotel, with the image of the late owner Maria Luisa Chabert. Photo taken iin July 2024.

And her husband made good on his promise to build her a mansion, which today houses the elegant tiled spa and Chabert’s, the fine dining restaurant that recently reopened after a long closure.

Barbacano traveled around Mexico, buying art for his hotel. Four trainloads of hand-painted tiles were brought in from the city of Puebla that can still be seen today.

In 1937, Barbacano commissioned the famed Mexican muralist Matias Santoyo to paint murals around the hotel, most notably as scenic landscapes in the lobby that still greet visitors today.

Hotel general manager Hugo Antonio Torres, who manages the hotel he owns with his four siblings, standing in the historic lobby with murals by Matias Santoyo. (Photo by Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The changes were a hit with vacationers, and the hotel prospered until Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. With the U.S. at war, officials demanded that the hotel institute blackout conditions to keep Japanese bombers from finding the coast. These restrictions virtually shut the hotel down until after the war.

But it reopened with vigor after the war, with a new name in 1945: The Rosarito Beach Hotel.

Maria Luisa Chabert, longtime owner of the Rosarito Beach Hotel. (Courtesy of the Rosarito Beach Hotel)

The resort bounced back during the 1950s, when it entered its most glamorous era, attracting celebrities such as Rita Hayworth, Edward G. Robinson, Orson Welles, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Gene Tierney and more. During this Hollywood period, bandleader Glenn Miller played in the salon, Mexican presidents visited and life was good.

Fun in a beach bar at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, circa 1940. (Courtesy of the Rosarito Beach Hotel)

The era of Hollywood glamour ended with the advent of cheap air travel, when celebrities could jet off to posh resorts in Acapulco whenever they liked. And the British Invasion meant that the appeal of Mexican resorts declined.

As the rich people flew elsewhere, the hotel’s clientele demographic shifted to middle-class people who enjoyed the historic atmosphere and amenities.

Between 1960 and 1970, the hotel had 65 rooms. The resort passed into the hands of Hugo Eduardo Torres in 1983 after the death of his great-uncle and aunt.

Then-owner Torres  took out a bank loan to build 80 new rooms in the three-story Playas Tower, with small kitchenettes. Times were good, and in 1991, Torres added the eight-story 147-room Coronado Tower with ocean views, increasing the capacity to 280 rooms.

But then on Sept. 11, 2001, the terrorist attack in the U.S. ground tourism to a halt.

“People were very afraid at the border,” son Hugo Antonio Torres recalled. “Instead of 100% occupancy in the summer, we had 30%.”

That period lasted for around 1.5 years, he said. Then, in 2007, the hotel opened its upscale condo wing, the Pacifico Towers. This new upgraded tower offers rooms with ocean-view balconies from studios to penthouse suites and two private swimming pools.

Originally, the plan had been to sell half the condos and keep the others as rentals, but ultimately 80% were sold to raise additional capital. Many are still rented out by their owners.

But that wasn’t the end of hard times for the hotel.

The real estate crash that began in 2008 in the U.S. had dire repercussions for the resort, with occupancy falling as low as 5%. Then, there was the swine flu epidemic in 2011, and increasing fears about drug cartel violence.

In December 2007, Narco terrorists took over the Rosarito Beach police station. tried to assassinate the police chief and killed one officer in an incident that made headlines iaround the world.

Hotel owner Hugo Eduardo Torres was mayor of Rosarito Beach at the time, and cooperated in the disarmaming of the entire city’s police force, which was judged to be corrupt. According to his son, a government investigation later revealed that more than half of the police officers in Rosarito were corrupt and involved with the cartels.

According to the mayor’s son — Hugo Antonio Torres — a new police force was hired, the people involved were convicted and the town is now cleaned up.

The elder Torres retired in 2021 and handed the hotel over to his five children, with oldest son Hugo Antonio as the managing partner.

Hugo Antonio Torres, who continues to manage the hotel today, said he’s worked there on and off since he was a child, including in the warehouse and the kitchen. After studying accounting, he returned to continue the tradition of the family-owned resort.

According to the younger Torres, the hotel business picked up again from 2015 to 2020, but then briefly crashed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Occupancy fell to as low as 10%, he recalls.

However, subsequently, Torres said that the number of visitors skyrocketed, thanks to the pent-up demand to travel. People didn’t feel safe flying, but they would get in their cars and drive to Baja, he said.

The years 2020 and 2021 ended up being the best the hotel has ever had, Torres said. Even today, he’s continuing to pour the profits from that period back into the hotel, with new paint, furniture and even a small museum.

Today, 95% of guests come from Southern California, but it still feels like a Mexican hotel, owned by a Mexican family. It’s not for everyone — people who are looking for five-star luxury and can’t handle the quirks of a historic property should look elsewhere. No one turns down your bed here, and there aren’t any slippers in the closet.

But people who love old-world Mexican style and don’t mind a few hiccups would be happy.

A pier that was built to serve cruise ships but never worked out was destroyed years ago by a storm. The hotel has recently rebuilt parts of it and opened a new restaurant there.

Most guests eat breakfast or other meals at the Azteca Restaurant-Bar, just off the resort lobby that looks out onto one of the resort’s swimming pools. Below, green lawns stretch out to the beach.

In addition to overnight lodging and restaurants, the hotel is now also offering a day pass to use the resort facilities for 500 pesos per day, which at this writing was around $28 U.S.

The hotel also offers a FastLane program, which allows ovenight guests to purchase a “fast pass” enabling them to take a special lane to shorten their time crossing the border back into the U.S. At this writing, the pass cost $12.

Meanwhile, changes continue along the border.

Torres said that a flyover bridge is under construction that will allow people to drive easily to the beaches, avoiding the heavy traffic through Tijuana that has always plagued drivers. A third border crossing is also under construction in Tijuana, he said, that will divert truck traffic away from San Ysidro and Otay Mesa.

As the first major beachfront resort built in Baja, the Rosarito Beach has seen many changes in its first hundred years, and the family hopes it will see 100 more.

Rosarito Beach Hotel

Event: The hotel plans an anniversary celebration on Saturday, July 20 in its gardens. Tiko’s Big Band is scheduled to play memorable music from throughout the resort’s 100 years. A photo and video booth, vintage car show, plus food and beverage vendors will be part of the event, which is for those aged 18 and older. Grounds open at 6 p.m. Semiformal attire is recommended. Presale cost is 500 pesos ($27.83 U.S.) in advance or 700 pesos ($38.96) at the event. VIP admission is $800-1000 pesos ($44.53-$55.66). Advance tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-343-8582 or 1-866-767-2648.

Address: Boulevard Benito Juarez 31 Centro, Playas Rosarito, Baja California, 22710 Mexico

Information: 800-343-8582 or rosaritobeachhotel.com

Related links

Frumpy Mom: Going to the land of cheap Margaritas
Baja’s Espiritu Santo island is a magical place where the life is in the water, not the land
Copper Canyon grandeur in remote Mexico
A tour guide for Baja’s missions
Whale-watching in Baja California

​ Orange County Register 

Here are 5 unique burgers to try during Long Beach Burger Week

• July 10, 2024

Long Beach will be the place to be for burger lovers this month as more than a dozen restaurants take part in the fourth annual Long Beach Burger Week.

“We are looking to bring burger lovers to Long Beach restaurants to enjoy either over-the-top burgers that are made specially for burger week, or to get special deals on burgers,” said Terri Henry, organizer of the event, which will take place from July 21-28 at several restaurants across the city.

Just like the popular restaurant weeks that take place in various cities, Long Beach’s Burger Week means eateries will offer special deals on burgers on their menu, as well as combo meals, or even create new burgers specifically for the week.

Burgers range from hefty meaty offerings to vegan to classic burgers at $5, $10, $15, $20 or $25 price points. While the specific menus are still being ironed out, Henry said the more expensive burgers usually include pairings like a beer or sides.

There’s going to be a lot of burgers to eat, so for burger lovers who want to try something a bit different, here are five of the more unusual and original burgers to try during Long Beach Burger Week.

Garlic Cheese Bread Burger

Available at Parkers Lighthouse, 435 Shoreline Village Drive, 562- 432-6500 or parkerslighthouse.com

This Long Beach seafood staple isn’t known for its burgers, but one of the things it is known for is its garlic cheese bread. For Burger Week that bread will be used to create a ground beef and brisket burger with house-made pickles.

Heavy Metal Burger

Available at: Grill ‘Em All, 5411 E. Ocean Blvd., 562-343-1284 or grillemallburgs.com

Known for making unique burgers and the motto “death to false burgers,” this heavy metal-inspired spot will be offering deals on their popular burgers like the Ozzy Osbourne. This hefty burger comes with a house made chimichurri sauce, plus garlic aioli, blue cheese, onion frizzle and is served on a black bun.

Mahalo Madness Burger

Available at ISM Brewing, 210 E. Third St., 562-436-0497 or ism.beer

This island-inspired burger is made up of a square patty covered in strips of pork belly and topped with grilled oyster mushrooms, onions, pineapple and a house-made teriyaki sauce.

The Pastrami Monster

Available at The Nook, 1798 E. Willow St., 562-426-6006 or nookbkfspot.com

The Nook is a well known breakfast spot that serves eggs, omelets, pancakes and other dishes meant to help you start your day. But it also serves burgers. So for the special food event it’ll offer The Pastrami Monster Burger, which is made with a beef patty topped with pastrami, a house secret sauce, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut on a brioche bun. It comes with a side of fries and soda.

Burger Hand Pie

Available at Polly’s Pies, 3490 Atlantic Ave., 562-595-5651 or pollyspies.com

Polly’s Pies is getting into the Burger Week spirit by creating a seasoned beef patty with cheese and wrapping it in their flaky pie crust. So yes, this is pretty much a burger pie.

For more information go to hburgerweeklb.com

​ Orange County Register 

Power up on these electric bike safety tips

• July 10, 2024

By Dr. Theodore Heyming

Contributing Columnist

Concussions. Broken arms and legs. Skull fractures. Facial contusions.

Riding an electric bike, or e-bike, can result in injuries far worse than scraped knees and elbows.

In fact, over the last five years (July 2019 to June 2024), a total of 160 e-bike riders required treatment at the Julia and George Argyros Emergency Department at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County for traumatic injuries.

That’s an average of more than three a month.

Fourteen of these riders ended up in the intensive care unit, and nine underwent surgery.

Safety first

Sales of e-bikes began exploding during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the rising number of injuries, calls are growing for stronger age requirements for riders, as well as more rigorous state-level advocacy and policy. In this context, safety has become even more important.

Let’s start with the obvious: helmets. An alarming 45% of CHOC patients reported they were not wearing a helmet when they got hurt. So, make sure your e-bike rider wears a helmet with the chin strap fastened (the same goes for manual bikes, scooters, etc.)

When it comes to the ages of e-bike riders, it’s no surprise to learn that teens in the pre-driving stage account, by far, for most of those who get hurt. Of the 160 traumatic injuries reported at CHOC, 60% involved riders ages 13 to 15. Fourteen-year-olds dominated the list, at 49.

One injured rider was less than a year old, and five were 4-year-olds – victims of injuries caused by riding on an e-bike with an adult or being struck by an e-bike while walking.

Injury prevention tips

So, besides helmets, what else can you do to reduce the number of e-bike injuries?

First off, don’t ride on an e-bike with someone else. There should be no more than one rider on an e-bike at a time to reduce the risk of falling off of it.

Also, learn how to operate an e-bike. Unfortunately, there is no formalized road safety course required to use one.

Note that there are three different classes of e-bikes, and that there are no current age restrictions for riders of electric bikes in Classes 1 and 2 – bikes that stop providing assistance once the bicycles reach 20 mph.

Class 3 e-bikes, which stop providing assistance when the bicycle reaches 28 mph, require the rider to be a minimum of 16 years old.

Next, stay visible. Some drivers may take a turn in front of riders or come dangerously close to sideswiping them as they ride in the bike lane.

Also, choose a bike with lights to remain visible after dark. And consider purchasing rearview radars (an accessory) for installation on your e-bike. These radars can sense and alert riders of vehicles approaching from behind.

Above all, slow down!

The biggest risk associated with e-bikes is speed. Because e-bikes can travel up to around 30 mph, speed can cause more severe injuries.

Theodore Heyming, M.D., is medical director of emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

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​ Orange County Register 

In swing-state Pennsylvania, a Latino-majority city embraces a chance to sway the 2024 election

• July 10, 2024

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press

READING, Pa. (AP) — Religion and politics frequently overlap in Reading, an old industrial city in one of the most pivotal swing states of this year’s presidential election.

In Pennsylvania, there is early precedent for this kind of thing. The state began as a haven for Quakers and other European religious minorities fleeing persecution. That includes the parents of Daniel Boone, the national folk hero born just miles from Reading, a town where the Latino population is now the majority.

Today, the Catholic mayor is also a migrant — and the first Latino to hold the office in Reading’s 276-year history. Mayor Eddie Moran is keenly aware of the pivotal role Pennsylvania could play in the high-stakes race, when a few thousand votes in communities like his could decide the future of the United States.

“Right now, with the growing Latino population and the influx of Latinos moving into cities such as Reading, it’s definitely an opportunity for the Latino vote to change the outcome of an election,” Moran says. “It’s not a secret anymore.”

A community of spirituality — and Latinos

In Reading, the sky is dotted with crosses atop church steeples, one after the other. Catholic church pews fill up on Sundays and many stand for the services. Elsewhere, often in nondescript buildings, evangelical and Pentecostal congregations gather to sing, pray and sometimes speak in tongues.

Outside, salsa, merengue and reggaeton music (often sung in Spanglish) blast from cars and houses along city streets first mapped out by William Penn’s sons — and that now serve a thriving downtown packed with restaurants proudly owned by Latinos.

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This is a place where, when the mayor is told that his town is 65% Latino, he takes pride in saying: “It’s more like 70%.”

They believe in their political sway. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that eight in 10 Latino registered voters say their vote can make a difference.

On a recent Sunday, Luis Hernandez, 65, born in Puerto Rico, knelt to pray near the altar at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. Later, walking out after Mass, Hernandez said he’ll vote for Trump — even on the very day of the former president’s criminal convictions related to hush money for a porn star.

“Biden is old,” Hernandez says, and then reflects on how Trump is only a few years younger. “Yes, but you look at Trump and you see the difference. … Biden’s a good man. He’s decent. But he’s too old.”

In the weeks after he spoke, many more Americans would join in calls for Biden to withdraw from the race after his debate debacle, which crystallized growing concerns that, at 81, he’s too old.

Immigration is a key topic on people’s lips

It’s not just about Biden’s age or debate performance. It’s also, Hernandez says, about the border crisis. He says too many immigrants are arriving in the United States, including some he considers criminals. And, he adds, so much has changed since his Dominican-born father arrived in the 1960s — when, he says, it was easier to enter and stay in America.

For some, there are other issues as well.

“It’s the economy, immigration and abortion,” says German Vega, 41, a Dominican American who became a U.S. citizen in 2015. Vega, who describes himself as “pro-life,” voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do so again in November.

“Biden doesn’t know what he’s saying. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, and we have a country divided,” Vega says. Trump is “a person of character. … He looks confident. He never gives up; he’s always fighting for what he believes.”

Of course, there are some here who just don’t favor taking sides — except if it’s for Jesus. Listen to Pastor Alex Lopez, a Puerto Rican who cuts hair in a barber shop on the first floor of his home on Saturdays, and preaches on the second floor on Sundays.

“We’re neutral,” he says. “We just believe in God.”

A city with deep industrial roots resurges

Reading was once synonymous with iron and steel. Those industries cemented the creation of the Reading Railroad (an early stop on the Monopoly gameboard) that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution and became, in the late 19th century, one of the country’s major corporations.

Today, the city of about 95,000 people, 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia, has a fast-increasing population. However, it is one of the state’s poorest cities, with a median household income of about $44,000, compared to about $72,000 in Pennsylvania.

Reading is 67% Latino, according to U.S. Census figures, and home to high concentrations of people of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage — as well as Colombians and Mexicans, who own restaurants and other businesses around town.

Political candidates are taking notice of Reading’s political and economic power. The 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania was decided by about 82,000 votes, and — according to the Pew Research Center — there are more than 600,000 eligible Latino voters in the state.

It’s true that Reading still leans mostly Democratic — Biden crushed Trump in the city by a margin of about 46 percentage points in 2020. However in that election, voting-age turnout in the city (about 35%) was significantly lower than the rest of the state (about 67%).

But the Trump campaign doesn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to turn it around. It recently teamed up with the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP to open a “Latino Americans for Trump” office in a red-brick building near the Democratic mayor’s downtown office.

Moran has made a plea to Biden and other Democrats to take notice and visit Reading before the election. It’s crucial, he says.

“I think that it’s still predominantly Democratic,” he says. “But the candidates need to come out and really explain that to the community.”

One development, Moran says, is that religious leaders are now less hesitant to get involved in politics.

“Things change, even for churches,” he says. Clergy “realize the importance that they hold as faith-based leaders and religious leaders and they’re making a call of action through their congregations.”

The message: Get out and vote

A few blocks from St. Peter’s, a crowd gathers inside First Baptist Church, which dates to the late 19th century.

In a sign of Reading’s changing demographics, the aging and shrinking congregation of white Protestants donated the building to Iglesia Jesucristo es el Rey (Church Jesus Christ is the King), a thriving Latino congregation of some 100 worshippers who have shared the building with First Baptist for nearly a decade.

Pastors Carol Pagan and her husband Jose, both from Puerto Rico, recently led prayer. At the end of the service, microphone in hand, the pastors encourage parishioners to vote in the election — irrespective of who they choose as the president.

“The right to vote is,” Carol Pagan says before her husband chimes in: “a civic responsibility.”

After the service, the congregation descends to the basement, where they share a traditional meal of chicken with rice and beans.

“I believe the principle of human rights have to do with both parties — or any party running,” Carol Pagan says. “I always think of the elderly, of the health system, of health insurance, and how it shouldn’t be so much about capitalism but more rights for all of us to be well.”

Both of the Pagans make clear that they won’t vote for Trump. They’re waiting, like others, for circumstances that might lead Biden to withdraw, so they can support another Democratic candidate.

“It’s our duty to shield that person with prayer — it doesn’t matter if that person is a Democrat or a Republican,” Carol Pagan says. “We owe them that.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

​ Orange County Register 

Political ads on social media rife with misinformation and scams, new research finds

• July 10, 2024

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The online advertisement to Donald Trump supporters was clear enough: Click here, and receive a free Trump 2024 flag and a commemorative coin. All in exchange for taking a quick survey and providing a credit card number for the $5 shipping and handling.

“You’ll get two free gifts just by taking this quick poll in support of Trump,” says the ad’s narrator.

The ad — which has appeared on Facebook, YouTube and other platforms — didn’t mention the $80 charge that would later appear on credit card statements. Those that clicked were scammed.

Political advertisements on social media are one of the best ways for candidates to reach supporters and raise campaign cash. But as a new report from Syracuse University shows, weak regulations governing online ads and haphazard enforcement by tech companies also make ads a prime source for misleading information about elections — and a tantalizingly easy way for con artists to target victims.

“There is very little regulation on the platforms,” said Jennifer Stromer-Galley, the professor who led the research for the ElectionGraph Project at Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship. “It leaves the American public vulnerable to misinformation, disinformation and propaganda.”

Stromer’s research examined more than 2,200 groups on Facebook or Instagram that ran ads between September and May mentioning one of the presidential candidates. Combined, the ads cost nearly $19 million and were seen more than 1 billion times.

Data connected to the ads (and made public by Meta, Facebook’s owner) shows that both right- and left-leaning ads targeted older voters more than younger ones. Right-leaning ads were more likely to target men, progressive ads were more likely to target women.

Overall, conservative-leaning organizations bought more ads than progressive-leaning groups. Immigration was the top issue raised in right-leaning ads while the economy dominated progressive ads.

Many of the ads contained misleading information, or deepfake video and audio of celebrities supposedly crying during a speech by former First Lady Melania Trump. Stromer-Galley noted that falsehoods in ads about urban crime and immigration were especially common.

While most of the groups paying for the ads are legitimate, others seemed more interested in getting a user’s personal financial data than boosting any particular candidate. Using a partnership with the data science firm Neo4j, Stromer-Galley found that some of the pages shared common creators, or ran virtually identical ads. When one page disappeared — perhaps removed by Facebook moderators — another would pop up quickly to take its place.

Many of the pages sold Trump-related merchandise such as flags, hats, banners and coins or advertised fictitious investment schemes. The true motive, apparently, was to get a user’s credit card information.

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The ads promising a free Trump flag were placed by a group called Liberty Defender Group. Emails sent to several addresses listed for the company were not returned, and a phone number for a company representative could not be found. One website associated with the group has moved on from politics, and is now selling devices which claim to improve home energy efficiency.

Meta removed most of the network’s ads and pages earlier this year after researchers noticed their activity, but the ads are still visible on other platforms. The company says it prohibits scams or content that could interfere with the operation of an election and removes ads that violate the rules. In addition, the company urges its users not to click on suspicious links, or to hand over personal information to untrustworthy sources.

“Don’t answer messages asking for your password, social security number, or credit card information,” the company said.

The Trump campaign, which has no known ties to the network, did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The researchers at Syracuse were only able to study ads on Meta platforms because other companies do not make such information public. As a result, Stromer-Galley said the public is in the dark about the true amount of misinformation and scams spreading on social media.

​ Orange County Register 

With lighted Marry Me letters on the beach, a proposal is made at Crystal Cove

• July 10, 2024

Against a dazzling and intentionally timed Crystal Cove sunset, two words lit up like a movie theater marquee. Standing 4 feet tall and surrounded by 120 red roses on a red carpet, seven metal letters spelled: MARRY ME.

Albert Pina wanted things perfect for his Fourth of July beach proposal. It had been five years since he first laid eyes on Claritza Erives, 29, and the couple have “vibed ever since,” he said.

“The first time I saw her, she looked gorgeous,” he said. “And I still find myself staring at her.”

Pina, 39, a sheriff’s deputy in Tucson, Arizona, enlisted the help of his younger sister, Vanessa Pina, to pull it off.

“It turned out to be more complicated than I thought,” said Vanessa, also of Tucson.

After Pina shared his proposal idea, his sister got busy ordering letters online.

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When they arrived from Amazon they were not 4 feet tall like Albert requested. They were a squat 4 inches.

“I was thinking maybe I could stand them on something to make it work,” Vanessa Pina said, “but that’s not what my brother wanted.”

She was literally at a loss for words and running out of time.

“How am I going to pull this off in just two days on a holiday weekend?” she fretted. “I can laugh about it now, but it was very stressful.”

In the meantime, 30 family members, some driving from as far away as Naco, Mexico, were arriving in Orange County to surprise Erives, who thought she was going on a small family vacation.

Running out of time, Vanessa Pina called local retailers, who quoted rental prices as high as several thousand dollars without the required generator to power the lights inside the letters.

Vanessa Pina finally found a reasonably priced vendor from L.A.

But that’s not where the happily ever after begins.

The letters ended up at the wrong beach, as the 7 p.m. deadline loomed.

“I just want to be honest,” Vanessa Pina recalls the vendor saying, “I don’t think we are going to make it.”

But the vendor hustled to the Crystal Cove parking lot, and family members met her at the shuttle that takes visitors to the beach. Everyone grabbed a letter and scrambled onto the bus. They hurried down the sand, to the amusement of other beachgoers.

Finally, the letters were in place and it looked like smooth sailing from there. But it wasn’t.

The generator failed and the letters lost their magical golden glow.

“I had to come up with a Plan B,” Vanessa Pina said. She was going to offer money to a guest at the adjacent Crystal Cove Cottages for 10 minutes of electricity.

But love was in the air and it was electric. A guest offered free power and delivered it down the wooden bungalow steps and onto the sand via a 20-foot extension cord that they just happened to have.

Finally, Pina and Erives, a hospital auditor wearing a flowing white dress, strolled down the sand while the tide rushed in. As they passed the Beachcomber Cafe, Erives heard people whispering, “There she is! There she is!”

As instructed by his sister, Pina stopped at “E” so he didn’t block the other letters for photo opps. He got down on his left knee – minutes earlier he had Googled: “Which knee should be on the ground when proposing?”

As Pina took Erives’ hand in his, he felt her trembling.

“I blacked out,” she said.

“All I could see was Albert. And then it hit me when I saw everyone,” she said referring to her family.

The country song “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett played over portable speakers while Pina proposed — “Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand. Baby, I could die a happy man.”

When Erives finally said “yes,” the beach erupted in applause.

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​ Orange County Register 

Tour de France: Vingegaard moved by Stage 11 victory over Pogacar

• July 10, 2024

LE LIORAN, France — Just three months ago, Jonas Vingegaard was lying in a hospital bed with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. On Wednesday, he beat his rival Tadej Pogacar in a two-man sprint after a brutal day in the mountains.

Pogacar, the Tour leader, kept the yellow jersey but it was the two-time defending champion who earned a psychological victory at the end of an epic battle in the Massif Central.

The pair left all their rivals in their wake and Vingegaard, after closing a big gap to Pogacar in a brutal climb, outsprinted his rival to finish half a wheel ahead for the stage win.

“It is of course very emotional for me. Coming back from the crash,” Vingegaard said, trying to hold back tears. “It means a lot. All the things I went through in the last three months, it makes you think of that.”

Vingegaard was hospitalized for nearly two weeks in April following a high-speed crash in the Tour of the Basque Country.

He only resumed competitive racing at the Tour and there were many question marks about his form. His tremendous ride Wednesday showed he is more than ready to defend his title.

“I’m just happy to be here and it means so much to win a stage, especially to win it for my family. They were there supporting me the whole time,” Vingegaard said.

True to his habit of attacking every time he gets the chance, Pogacar tried to move away alone about 32 kilometers from the finish with a strong attack. After getting dropped, Vingegaard kept his head cool and proved to be the fastest in the next ascent to catch his rival.

Vingegaard said he thought he would not be able to bridge the gap opened by Pogacar, and was also surprised he could beat him in the sprint.

“I would never have thought this three months ago. I was only thinking about doing my own pace and then the sprint.”

The pair then stayed together to gain time on Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, who crashed near the finish. Evenepoel reached the finish 25 seconds behind, with Roglic 55 seconds off the pace, according to provisional results.

Evenepoel trails 1:06 behind Pogacar overall, with Vingegaard in third place, 1:14 back. Roglic is fourth, 2:45 behind the race leader.

The rollercoaster 211-kilometer (131-mile) Stage 11 featured four brutal ascents in its second half and included more than 4,000 meters of climbing.

The race started at a high pace and the peloton stayed together for some 40 kilometers before riders could break away in humid conditions. A group of 10 men rode at the front but split at the foot of the first major climb, the steep Col de Neronne.

Pogacar’s Team Emirates set a fast tempo but they were caught one by one one as they rode up to the Puy Mary, the hardest climb of the day.

Pogacar, a two-time Tour champion, attacked 600 meters from that summit to drop everyone else then went all in on the downhill, showcasing his great skills in the technical descent to increase his lead and start the next climb with a lead of 35 seconds. But Vingegaard still had the final word.

​ Orange County Register