Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, Feb. 24

• February 25, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Friday, Feb. 24

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

FRIDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

PBR LEGACY TOURNAMENT (AZ)

Cypress 4, Bishop Verot (FL) 2

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

TESORO TOURNAMENT

Mater Dei def. Mission Viejo, 25-20, 25-19

REDONDO TOURNAMENT

Servite def. Highland, 2-0

Ser: Hamar 7 kills. Foy 6 kills. Duarte 6 kills.

Note: Servite’s Ethan Bautista tied a school record with 6 aces.

NONLEAGUE

Bellflower def. Whittier Christian, 25-5, 25-5, 25-14

​ Orange County Register 

Many OC families reaching ‘food cliff’ as pandemic assistance with buying food ends

• February 25, 2023

Nearly 300,000 Orange County households will no longer see a pandemic bump in benefits that has been helping with buying food for nearly three years.

In March, federal funds added in response to the declared coronavirus emergency will end, reducing the benefits provided through the state’s CalFresh program by at least $95 – and for many families, the estimated loss will be about $170.

No recipients will lose their CalFresh benefits, only the extra bump that was delivered in a separate payment in the second half of the month. In Orange County, it had been an extra infusion of about $30 million a month.

CalFresh, the food assistance program, is based on income and other factors and is open to families and individuals, including many seniors, who rely on supplemental aid to purchase food. Some older adults could see their benefits falling from $281 to $23.

The pending reduction in benefits has been dubbed a “food cliff” by some, and Orange County agencies and food banks have been preparing to help soften the landing. Though they knew it was coming, officials only learned after December’s congressional vote on its next spending bill that the payments would stop in March.

And then it was go-time to get the word out so county residents know the other help that might be out there for them, said Jamie Cargo, spokesperson for the county’s Social Services Agency, which administers the CalFresh program locally for the state. The agency, along with CalOptima, which provides health insurance to OC residents most in need, and nonprofits fighting hunger in the county have participated in the outreach.

“We can acknowledge this is a tough time for folks especially to lose these benefits,” Cargo said. “It is not the best time for this to be happening. We are all trying to come together and support the best we can with what we have.”

Cargo said SSA is encouraging recipients to call its offices to review their incomes and expenses because people might be eligible for other options for additional benefits – that goes for any residents who might be struggling in the current economy.

“Call us, tell us your situation. Let’s see if you are eligible,” Cargo said. “We see the need, we want to do the best to help folks.”

The reduction in benefits comes amid rising food costs from inflation and lingering impacts on families from the pandemic, officials said.

“The increased costs of groceries, gas and rents, to name a few areas that have seen prices go up, strain the budgets of the average family. For families receiving assistance benefits, those increases cause further struggles,” SSA Director An Tran said. “Our vulnerable populations will feel the loss of the emergency allotments more acutely now.”

At the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, its leaders are hearing from the food pantries they supply that the amount of people looking for food has already been increasing.

“Some are already reporting double the amount of people,” said Claudia Keller, CEO of Second Harvest, which supplies about 300 pantries on a weekly or monthly basis. “We started seeing the need creep up in January.”

Before the pandemic, about 249,000 people countywide were seeking help with getting enough food, Keller said. During the pandemic, the number went up to 650,000. Once impacts from the pandemic began to wane and people were getting jobs back, the numbers dipped down toward 300,000 again.

“What we didn’t plan for was food inflation, increased gas and housing prices,” Keller said, adding that present numbers are up to 371,000 a month looking for food at the pantries. “When these enhanced benefits go away, it will make it worse again.”

With the inflation and food supply chain tightening, Keller said Second Harvest turned to buying 60% of its food. Instead of just buying cases of cans, the food bank is now buying pallets of food. But it has also been able to grow a lot more of its own produce on its farm in Irvine. It is buying milk and eggs from dairies and farms in Chino.

“We’re also stocking up on non-perishable products,” Keller said. “We’re not going to be able to food bank our way out of this, but we’ll be as ready as we can be.”

“We’ll need people to step up – manufacturers and donors,” she said.

Helping people afford fresh, quality food helps improve their health outcomes, said Michael Hunn, CEO of CalOptima, which administers health insurance for about 973,000 county residents. “The food you eat is connected to your health.”

With reduced benefits and rising inflation, people might have to make the decision between paying rent and what food they buy, he said. So the agency has programs offered in various languages and geared toward different cultures on how to choose healthy but economical food items and stretch purchases with recipes and cooking lessons.

The agency is also partnering with the county SSA office to coordinate outreach because they serve many of the same people. Many residents who receive health insurance through CalOptima are also CalFresh beneficiaries – or could be – so the two agencies have created a system for transferring people calling in for services between the two as needed with a “warm handoff” so they reach the right people, Hunn said.

The Laguna Food Pantry in Laguna Beach, which used to serve people in a sort of mom-and-pop general store setting, now hands out food in its parking lot where people drive up to receive boxes full of nutritious items.

“We do anticipate it will be a huge blow to the families we serve,” said Anne Belyea, executive director. “If the reduction is as much as anticipated, it’s a double whammy when people are already hurting from the pandemic and inflation has prices high. When their funds are cut, it’s detrimental. It’s a huge amount of money they’ve grown accustomed to.”

The pantry used to serve about 80-100 families; now, that’s gone up to more than 200 a day.

“Last month we were at 216 families a day; now, it’s up to 234 families,” Belyea said. “We’re seeing a wide range of people from different backgrounds. People who never needed help in their lives.

“We’ll continue to do all we can in looking for donations, purchasing opportunities, or vendors who can give us discounts,” she said.

Belyea also this week submitted her request for grant assistance to the city of Laguna Beach. The pantry leases the land it’s on from the city, and in past years, it was among those groups awarded a community assistance grant. Belyea this year asked for $25,000. Last year, the city gave the pantry $12,000.

“We’ve been very blessed we’ve been so embraced by the community,” she said. “It’s such a basic need to have food.”

Find resources and help at findhelp.org. Reach SSA’s call center at 800-281-9799 or find out more at mybenefitscalwin.org.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Interview: First lady says Biden is ready to run

• February 25, 2023

By Darlene Superville | Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya — U.S. first lady Jill Biden gave one of the clearest indications yet that President Joe Biden will run for a second term, telling The Associated Press in an exclusive interview on Friday that there’s “pretty much” nothing left to do but figure out the time and place for the announcement.

Although Biden has long said that it’s his intention to seek reelection, he has yet to make it official, and he’s struggled to dispel questions about whether he’s too old to continue serving as president. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.

“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” the first lady said in Nairobi, the second and final stop of her five-day trip to Africa.

She added, “He says he’s not done. He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.”

Granddaughter Naomi Biden, who is on the trip, cheered the first lady’s comments after the interview.

“Preach nana,” she said on Twitter.

The president himself was asked about his wife’s comments just hours later in an interview with ABC News, and laughed when told of her remarks, adding, “God love her. Look, I meant what I said, I’ve got other things to finish before I get into a full-blown campaign.”

Biden aides have said an announcement is likely to come in April, after the first fundraising quarter ends, which is around the time that President Barack Obama officially launched his reelection campaign.

The first lady has long been described as a key figure in Biden’s orbit as he plans his future.

“Because I’m his wife,” she laughed.

She brushed off the question about whether she has the deciding vote on whether the president runs for reelection.

“Of course he’ll listen to me, because we’re a married couple,” she said. But, she added later, “he makes up his own mind, believe me.”

The wide-ranging interview took place on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Jill Biden recalled her trip into the country last May to meet the besieged country’s first lady, Olena Zelenska.

They visited a school that was being used to help migrants who fled the fighting. Some of the families, Jill Biden said, had hid underground for weeks before making their escape.

“We thought then, how long can this go on? And here we are, a year later,” she said. “And look at what the Ukrainian people have done. I mean, they are so strong and resilient, and they are fighting for their country.”

“We’re all hoping that this war is over soon, because we see, every day, the damage, the violence, the horror on our televisions,” the first lady added. “And we just can’t believe it.”

Jill Biden also spoke extensively for the first time about her skin cancer diagnosis, which led doctors to remove multiple basal cell lesions in January.

“I thought, oh, it’s just something on my eye, you know,” she said. “But then they said, no, we think it’s basal cell.”

Then doctors checked her chest, she said, and they said “that’s definitely basal cell.”

“So I’m lucky,” the first lady said. “Believe me, I am so lucky that they caught it, they removed it, and I’m healthy.”

Raising awareness about cancer screening has been a cornerstone of her advocacy efforts for years, even before her son, Beau, died from a brain tumor almost a decade ago. She often says the worst three words anyone can hear are “you have cancer.”

When it was her turn to hear a doctor say that, Jill Biden said, “it was a little harder than I thought.”

Now, she said, she’s “extra careful” about sunscreen, especially when she’s at the beach, which she described as “one of my favorite places in the world.”

Jill Biden is the only first lady to continue her career in addition to her ceremonial duties, teaching writing and English to community college students. At 71 years old, she said she’s not ready to think about retirement.

“I know that I will know when it’s enough,” she said. “But it’s not yet.”

She said she left detailed lesson plans for a substitute teacher while she was on her trip, and she’s been texting with students as she was traveling. She plans to be back in the classroom at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning, after arriving home from Africa around 3 a.m. Monday.

Education has been a flashpoint in American politics, especially with conservative activists and politicians trying to limit discussion of race and sexuality in classrooms.

“I don’t believe in banning books,” she said.

She added: “I think the teachers and the parents can work together and decide what the kids should be taught.”

During the interview, Jill Biden reflected on the legacy of former President Jimmy Carter, who recently began home hospice care. The Carter Center, which the former president founded after leaving the White House, was key in helping to eliminate the Guinea worm parasite in African countries.

“That’s the perfect example,” she said. “He’s such a humble man. He didn’t go out and shout, ‘Look what I’ve done.’ He just did the work.”

Jill Biden recalled Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, reaching out on the eve of Joe Biden’s inauguration two years ago.

“They called and said congratulations,” she said. “And it meant so much to me and to Joe.”

She also talked about visiting the Carters at their home in Plains, Georgia, early in Biden’s presidency.

“It’s not just that here are two presidents. It’s here are two friends,” she said. “Actually four friends, who have really supported one another over the years.”

Associated Press writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Darlene Superville has covered the White House and first ladies since 2009 and is co-author, with AP Executive Editor Julie Pace, of a 2022 biography of Jill Biden.

​ Orange County Register 

Here’s who’s supporting and not supporting Ukraine against Russia

• February 25, 2023

It’s been a year since the Russians invaded Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin signaled on Feb. 14 that the Ukraine Defense Contact Group’s 54 member states will continue to support Ukraine in the long run.

A recent Pew Research Center survey shows the percentage who say, when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. is providing too much, about right or not enough support to Ukraine.

A Pew Research Center survey in May found that 59% of Americans were extremely or very concerned about Russia invading other countries in the regions, not just Ukraine.

Total bilateral aid: Government commitments in % of GDP

The IFW-Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s Ukraine Support Tracker lists and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid promised by governments to Ukraine between Jan. 24, 2022, and currently through Nov. 20. It covers 40 countries, specifically the EU member states, other members of the G7, as well as Australia, South Korea, Turkey, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, China, Taiwan and India. The database is intended to support a facts-based discussion about support to Ukraine.

U.S. Aid to Ukraine Far Exceeds That From Other Countries

However, some European governments, such as Latvia and Estonia, are making larger financial contributions to Ukraine relative to the size of their own economies.

When compared with the U.S. military assistance to other top recipients, including Afghanistan and Israel, the extraordinary scale of this aid comes into view.

Some of the military aid the U.S. has given:

8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems

8 NASAM systems

46,000 other anti-armor systems and munitions

4 Avenger air defense systems

1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems

Missiles for HAWK air defense systems

142 155 mm Howitzers and ammunition

1,500 TOW missiles

45 T-72B tanks

200 M113 armored personnel carriers

1,000 Humvees

700 Switchblade drones

20 Mi-17 helicopters

Skirmishes between Russia and Ukraine have been going on for years, but it’s been a year since Russia’s major invasion began in 2022.

Ukraine historical snapshot

Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine achieved a short-lived period of independence (1917-20), but was reconquered and endured a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which more than 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although Ukraine achieved independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform, privatization and civil liberties.

Russia’s occupation of Crimea in March 2014 and ongoing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine have hurt economic growth and prevented it from being eligible to join NATO.

Population

43.7 million (2020)

Languages

Ukrainian (official) 67.5%,

Russian 29.6%, other 2.9%

Economic significance

After Russia, Ukrainian was the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic and it also accounted for more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output.

Until 2014, Ukraine was the main transit route for Russian natural gas sold to Europe, which earned Ukraine about $3 billion a year in transit fees, making it the country’s most lucrative export service.

In 2017, Ukraine redirected trade activity toward the EU, displacing Russia as its largest trading partner.

The invasion

On Feb. 23, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech in Russian in which he appealed to the citizens of Russia to prevent war. A day later, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the objective was to “demilitarize” and “de-nazify” Ukraine. Putin and Kremlin media continue to deny that the Russian invasion is a war, instead describing it as a special military operation.

Refugee situation

The invasion has caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.

In the first week of the invasion, the UN reported more than 1 million refugees had fled Ukraine; this subsequently rose to at least 7,405,590 by Sept. 24, and 8 million by Thursday.

About 2.5 million refugees have fled to Russia and 1.5 million are in Poland.

87% of the refugees are women.

5% indicate children have been separated from parents.

Death toll

There is no exact number and media outlets have conflicting estimates. But according to U.S. Defense Department estimates in November the total deaths were:

100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war.

In January, Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested about 40,000 civilians had died after being caught up in the conflict.

Divided world

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN convened its first emergency session in 25 years. The 193-member assembly has since voted on four special resolutions addressing various concerns with regard to Ukraine.

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution by a large majority in October, calling on countries not to recognize the four regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed.

The countries who voted against were Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria.

A majority of those countries abstaining were African nations, alongside China and India.

Reparations?

In November, nearly 50 nations cosponsored a resolution that calls for Russia to pay war reparations to Ukraine. The UN General Assembly passed the resolution, but not all were in favor.

The countries that voted against were Bahamas, Belarus, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Zimbabwe.

Sources: The Associated Press, Reuters, The United Nations, The Institute for the Study of War, Al Jazeera, BBC, Council on Foreign Relations, IWF Kiel Institute for World Economy, Pew Research Center, Institute for the Study of War

​ Orange County Register 

California economy: Modest growth this year with rebound in 2024

• February 25, 2023

California’s economy will see modest growth this year but a rebound is expected in 2024, according to a newly released forecast from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

The report says the Golden State is moving beyond a pandemic-related recovery and will instead be impacted by global supply chain instability and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, which have created “real concerns that a policy overcorrection may lead the United States into a recession.”

The report says the possibility of “a shallow recession” would create its own problems in terms of business closures, job losses and reductions in household income and tax revenue.

A number of signs indicate California has discovered its “new normal,” the forecast said, with employment indicators near pre-pandemic levels and discussions of consumer spending refocused around cooling demand to temper high inflation.

The state’s economy is expected to see 0.3% growth this year. That falls below 2022’s rate of 0.5%, but the report predicts next year’s GDP — the value of all goods and services produced during the year — will grow by 1.5%.

California’s job growth will slow to 0.8% in 2023, the report said, which lands well below the 5% gain seen last year and a 3.2% uptick in 2021. It should be noted, however, that those two years followed a 7.1% decline in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted temporary business closures and scores of layoffs.

The report predicts California’s manufacturing sector will shed 27,300 jobs over the 2022-2024 period, while trade, transporation and utilities will lose 17,400, and construction and mining payrolls will fall by 13,400 jobs. (iStockphoto)

Employment growth in 2024 is expected to dip to 0.2%.

California’s biggest 2022-2024 job gains are expected to come in educational and health services (142,000 jobs), followed by government (28,500) and leisure and hospitality (24,700).

On the downside, the LAEDC predicts manufacturing will shed 27,300 jobs over that two-year period, while trade, transportation and utilities will lose 17,400 jobs and construction and mining payrolls will be off by 13,400 jobs.

California’s unemployment rate will average 4.9% in 2023 and 5.5% next year as the state’s economy continues to cool, the forecast said. That represents a slight increase from 4.4% last year, but a huge decline from 10.2% in 2020.

Personal income growth for California residents is expected to rise 4.1% this year after falling by 0.5% in 2022, and next year is looking better with an expected increase of 4.4%.

The report also shows the state’s housing affordability rate — the percentage of households that can afford to by a median-priced, single-family home — has fallen to 18%.

And renters, which occupy 44.1% of California’s housing units, are spending an “overly large portion of their incomes” on housing. Nearly 55% percent of rental units in California are cost-burdened, the report said, meaning renters are paying 30% or more of their income on rent each month.

Los Angeles County

Deeper challenges are predicted for Los Angeles County, where the economy is expected to contract by 0.2% this year, followed by a 1.3% increase in 2024 as inflation cools and the Fed slows down interest rate hikes.

Job growth is expected to remain static at 0.2% this year and in 2024. That follows the tumultuous swings the county saw over the last couple of years, with an 11.8% plunge in 2021 and a 5.4% gain last year.

L.A. County’s unemployment rate is expected to average 6.4% this year and 6.7% next year — considerably higher than California’s jobless rates of 4.9% and 5.5% for the same period.

County residents will also see slimmer increases in personal income, the study said, with an increase of 0.1% this year and 2.3% in 2024.

L.A. County’s biggest employment growth for 2022-2024, like the state, will be in educational and health services. That industry is expected to add 25,300 jobs over the two-year period, while professional and business services will add 5,700 and construction and mining will add 2,100 jobs.

Manufacturing will weather the biggest decline with a loss of 9,100 jobs, followed by trade, transportation and utilities (down 5,800 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (down 3,100).

​ Orange County Register 

Corky: If talking a list of interesting people, Mike Doyle is on it

• February 25, 2023

Here is Part 3 of my occasional series on people I have known in the surfing world who I have found to be more interesting than the average surf dude or dudette than you might meet.  Today, I want to talk about the late, extremely great, Mike Doyle.

I almost decided to not include Mike in this series due to the fact that I have written about him a lot in the past.  But I just could not leave him out of this conversation because he was really the epitome of a very interesting person.  He had so many facets to his persona.

As a surfer, his accomplishments have been well documented.  He is legendary and generally recognized as one of the all-time greats.

His overall skills sometimes tend to get overlooked, so I am going to point them out.  He was as good as, or the best, big wave surfer of his era (the 1960s).  He was a top-rated competitive surfer, usually in the Top 10.  He was a world class paddleboard racer and also excelled in all the lifeguard water skills.  He could do it all in the water at the highest levels.

He also was a first-class skier and invented the “mono-ski.”  This evolved into the modern snowboard.  Along with that, he innovated many modern flotation devices used in lifesaving even to this day.   And, of course, he was a top surfboard designer and an innovator of the world’s first soft surfboard. His surfboard designs are of the highest quality and are still marketed today right here in Lake Forest.

If that isn’t enough, then there is his art.  Mike was a well-known and fantastic artist.  His paintings sell in the five figure range.  Before he died in 2019, he owned and ran his own gallery in San Jose del Cabo.

I could go on and on about all the cool stuff Mike Doyle was known for, but I don’t have a zillion words to work with here.  I would rather tell you about why I liked him and what influence he had on my life.

The short version:  Mike picked me up hitch hiking home for surfing at Doheny State Park in about 1961.  Shortly after, we began to see each other at surfing events and became friends.  For a short time, he lived with us at our home in Surfside while he attended Long Beach State College, during which time he took me to many surf events and on surfing trips.

He was a great person to have as a mentor, had super good values and had an incredible sense of humor.  It’s the sense of humor part that has always endeared me to people.  I like people who laugh a lot.  Mike was a very funny dude.  He and Mickey Munoz were my main “older guy” influences when I was a young teen and before I could drive.

It was not only with the surfing that Mike had influence on me though.  He was also into art and I was interested in that.  He painted cool stuff.  One time, he had a giant totem pole on the bottom of his board.  In Hawaii, he would paint faces on coconuts and leave them laying around.  He was very good and helped me with some of my early art attempts, a lot of tips which I still use today in my paintings.

Probably the biggest reason I found Mike interesting is just the fact that he was almost always smiling when you ran into him and he had such a range of stuff to talk about and share.

There were so many things we did together on top of the ones already mentioned.  We played tennis and music, and told a lot of jokes.

Mike Doyle, a true life surf hero.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

The symbolic significance of President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv cannot be understated

• February 25, 2023

The symbolic significance of President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv cannot be understated: An American president took a substantial risk by entering an active war zone without any U.S. military presence, on the anniversary of the beginning of the deadliest war in Europe since 1945, to demonstrate the United States’ commitment to standing with Ukraine and democracies globally, and against Russia and their autocratic partners.

“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt – none whatsoever – about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said in Kyiv on Monday. “This is so much larger than just Ukraine. It’s about freedom of democracy in Europe, it’s about freedom and democracy at large.”

This trip was perhaps one of the strongest moments of Biden’s presidency. While unprecedented for an American president, it was quintessential Joe Biden, made complete by his ten-hour train ride from Poland – where an Air Force C-32, not the typical presidential plane, landed – to reach Ukraine’s capital city.

Nevertheless, there are two big, unanswered questions coming out of Biden’s trip: First, how substantial will America’s and NATO’s commitment to Ukraine going forward be? Second, what is the end game of the U.S. and NATO beyond simply supporting Ukraine’s justifiable goal of getting back all the territory Russia has occupied between 2014 and present day?

With respect to the first question, Biden has largely been successful over the last year in underscoring to the American people how critical supporting Ukraine is to ensuring the stability of global democracy. But as the conflict rages on with no signs of slowing, public support has softened.

As Biden prepares for a tough reelection campaign where he’ll need to defend his record on an international war that is now tied to his political legacy, the public’s wariness toward this conflict is growing. Roughly one-half (48%) of Americans now say they favor the U.S. providing weapons to Ukraine to counter Russia, down from 60% last May, per recent polling.

Occurring concurrently with the president’s Kyiv visit, Donald Trump, the current frontrunner for the Republican nomination, gave a speech in Ohio criticizing Biden for focusing on Ukraine at the expense of focusing on national and local issues, like the train derailment there two weeks earlier.

Last year, Trump also praised Vladimir Putin as a “genius” for invading Ukraine.

Counterpoint: The tragedy in Ukraine could have been avoided

While the far-right has been most vocal in their opposition to maintaining current levels of U.S. aid for Ukraine, the left-wing of the Democratic Party has also expressed hesitancy, with some progressives painting the ongoing conflict as a byproduct of NATO’s and America’s pro-war policies.

At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said definitively that “Republican leaders are committed to a strong trans-Atlantic alliance” and are “committed to helping Ukraine.” But Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s views are less clear, as he recently indicated that he would no longer support a “blank check” to aid the country, though he has clarified that he does support Ukraine.

The Biden Administration thus far committed nearly $50 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, and the president announced an additional $500 million in new military aid during his visit to Kyiv. Yet, securing additional aid beyond that could prove very challenging going forward, given the power that far-right House Republicans wield over McCarthy, in light of the concessions he made to secure his speakership.

If America wavers, other Western nations will almost certainly follow suit, which would be nothing short of catastrophic. This would embolden Putin to continue his expansionist efforts, perhaps into NATO territory, increasing the risk of a direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

As such, Biden’s Kyiv trip was also intended to reinforce to our NATO allies, who have grown increasingly wary of the cost of defending a non-NATO nation, that the U.S. is committed to supporting Ukraine for, in his words, “as long as it takes.” Biden stopped in Kyiv before heading to a summit in Poland with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine, who often call on the U.S. to do more in repelling Russian aggression.

Adding to the challenges Biden faces vis-à-vis shoring up support for Ukraine, there is lingering ambiguity as to what outcome the U.S. and NATO would consider to be a “victory” against Russia. This question remains unanswered, though will be an important one for President Biden to address in the coming weeks and months.

Notwithstanding these obstacles, Biden has led a strong and unified NATO response since Russian forces rolled into Ukraine one year ago, providing billions of dollars in critical aid, all while keeping American soldiers out of the conflict.

If nothing else, the President’s time in Kyiv underscored these successes, and sent a broader message to the world about American leadership in these dangerous times, during which autocracy is on the rise – not just in Europe, but globally as well.

Related Articles

Russia, along with Iran, China, and North Korea have effectively created a new ‘axis of evil.’ Biden’s visit to Kyiv sent a powerful message to these nations that America will not stand by as democracy is actively threatened abroad by autocratic rule.

Ultimately, Biden’s trip to Ukraine’s capital was a symbolically important act that reinforced his own leadership role and that of the U.S., but triumphalism would be premature.

If Russian soldiers remain on Ukrainian territory, Putin will bide his time and destabilize the rest of the country, which could prompt renewed fighting in a few years’ time – in other words, a repeat of the low-level conflict in the Donbass between 2014-2022.

In order to defeat Russia, Ukraine needs the means to decisively expel Putin’s soldiers from their country. As the conflict settles into a war of attrition, accomplishing this will require resources on par with the Marshall Plan that followed World War II.

Thus, one year later, there is still much work to be done to ensure a victory for Ukraine. We can only hope that Biden’s visit to Kyiv brought us closer to making that a reality.

Douglas Schoen is a longtime Democratic political consultant.

​ Orange County Register 

California Lottery stands behind $2 billion Powerball winner despite claim ticket was stolen

• February 25, 2023

The California Lottery insists that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the record breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot, despite a lawsuit filed by a man who claims the winning ticket was stolen from him.

Castro became the subject of overnight fame when he was announced as the Powerball winner on Feb.14. He won the largest prize in U.S. lottery history. Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, where the winning ticket was sold, also basked in glory.

However, Pasadena resident Jose Rivera, claims that he purchased the ticket from Joe’s Service Center on or around Nov. 7, 2022, and that it was stolen from him by a man he knows only as “Reggie.”

Rivera filed a lawsuit against Castro, Reggie and the California Lottery on Feb. 22 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. asking the court to declare him as the rightful owner of the lottery ticket and the prize money. Rivera alleges that he tried to get the ticket back from Reggie after the winning number was announced on Nov. 8, 2022, but that Reggie refused to do so and tried to blackmail Rivera into splitting the winnings by threatening to destroy the ticket.

The California Lottery says this is not true and released the following statement in response to the allegations:

“When it comes to the vetting process for big winner, California Lottery has the utmost confidence in its process for doing so. California Lottery remains confident that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the $2.04 billion prize stemming from the Powerball drawing in November of 2022.”

A customer purchases lottery scratcher tickets from Joe Chahayed at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Carolyn Becker, deputy director of communications for the Lottery, told the Pasadena Star-News that the Lottery carries out an extensive investigation to verify winners. This includes having the claimant corroborate facts about how the ticket was purchased, verifying the physical ticket and in some cases reviewing surveillance footage of the store where the winning ticket was purchased.

Related Articles

“We take this (vetting) process very seriously and sometimes it can take weeks or even months,” she said. “That process is incredibly important to the California Lottery, because it ensures the integrity of a winner.”

Becker also said it’s common for people to submit false claims or forged tickets.

“Sadly, we do get bad actors who try to claim winnings that are not theirs,” she said.

The California Lottery does not launch independent investigations into allegations of theft. This responsibility lies with local law enforcement.

City of Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian said Rivera reported the alleged theft to the Pasadena Police Department on Feb. 15. Rivera had no evidence of purchasing the ticket and ultimately no theft report was written up, she added.

Related links

$2 billion Powerball winner who bought ticket in Altadena is revealed
Glow of Powerball jackpot shines on Altadena business
After selling $2 billion lottery ticket, ‘lucky’ Altadena store sees huge demand for Friday Mega Millions drawing

Castro was announced as the winner on Feb. 14 and elected to receive the lump payout of $997.6 million.

According to the lawsuit, Rivera filed his own winning claim form with the lottery on Feb. 17 and did not do so any sooner because of the alleged threat of Reggie destroying the ticket.

Rivera believes he is the rightful winner and entitled to choose between the $997.6 lump payout or the 30 annual payments. His legal representation has submitted a Public Records Act Request to the California Lottery seeking to access a video depicting the purchase of the winning ticket.

​ Orange County Register