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Looking way ahead. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Joe Biden looked out at about 100 big-spending supporters gathered in a donor’s home just two blocks north of Trump Tower last month and insisted there was still plenty he wanted to do with his presidency. “Folks, I just think there’s enormous opportunities. Enormous opportunities!” he told the chummy crowd, which included Robert De Niro and Eric Adams. He was raising cash for the Democratic National Committee, the party’s hub and the organization expected to house the early infrastructure of his reelection campaign after November. “But this isn’t about 2024,” he said. “This is about 2022. Twenty twenty-two!” It was about both. It wasn’t long ago that even many of Biden’s allies saw an entirely different — and far grimmer — proposition reflected in the midterms. As recently as this summer, the president was fighting for his legacy and the ability to get something done in Congress over the next two years as part of … [Read more...] about What Biden Privately Thinks About the Midterms

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia plans record development spending in 2023 despite a proposed smaller national budget Friday that is also laden with the usual cash handouts, tax cuts and other goodies ahead of impending general elections. Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz unveiled in Parliament a budget proposal of 372.3 billion ringgit ($80 billion), down from estimated spending of 385.3 billion ringgit ($85 billion) in the current year. With the economy expected to slow next year amid global uncertainties and an anticipated drop in government revenue, he said the budget aims to balance economic needs with fiscal consolidation. The government’s budget deficit is expected to narrow to 5.5% from 5.8% this year, he said. The government expects growth to ease to 4%-5% in 2023, from 6.5%-7% forecast this year, as the global economy weakens due to inflationary … [Read more...] about Malaysia plans smaller 2023 budget, goodies ahead of polls

1 Schools Superintendent Julie Kukenberger announced the news as frustrations linger about the school district's initial $2.2 million shortfall. Dakota Antelman , Patch Staff Posted | Updated Reply MELROSE, MA — The Melrose Public Schools this week closed out its 2022 fiscal year budget, according to Superintendent Julie Kukenberger, having scrambled to fulfill financial obligations after discovering a $2.2 million budget shortfall back in July. As the district eyes next steps, frustration and some questions are lingering about how the schools ended up in this situation with their budget. The topic will now be back before the School Committee and the City Council for a pair of meetings in the coming weeks. Though learning about the shortfall in July, Kukenberger announced the situation publicly in a presentation to the School Committee last week. She confirmed that the 2022 fiscal year budget, which was initially set … [Read more...] about Melrose Schools Close Out 2022 Budget After Major Shortfall

0 Community Corner Chubby Checker, Kansas and Trace Adkins are the headlining entertainment acts for the Topsfield Fair that runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 10. Scott Souza , Patch Staff Posted | Updated Reply TOPSFIELD, MA — Two years after The Topsfield Fair was canceled for only the third time in two centuries because of the COVID-19 health crisis, and one year removed from more than a half-million people flocked back to the Fairgrounds as lingering protocols were still in place, the hope is that good weather and relaxed restrictions will bring even bigger crowds to the North Shore for the 204th edition starting on Friday. The Fair, which runs through Oct. 10, drew 516,885 attendees last fall — which was more than 100,000 than in 2019 when it drew 412,000. "I think people are really looking forward to getting back out and doing the things they used to do — especially those family traditions," Topsfield Fair spokesman … [Read more...] about North Shore Tradition Returns With Topsfield Fair’s 204th Edition

After being lauded for its success in containing the coronavirus , a spike in cases in Seoul has prompted South Korean officials to tighten social distancing measures so as to curb a second wave of the pandemic. The 79 new cases of COVID-19 reported Thursday was the highest number seen in nearly eight weeks. It comes just weeks after the country eased stringent social distancing policies, which coupled with extensive tracking and tracing , has kept the total number of infections to 11,344 in the country of 51 million. "If we fail to eradicate the spread of the virus in the metropolitan area at an early stage, it will lead to more community infections, eventually undermining school reopenings," Park Neung Hoo, minister for health and welfare, said in a news briefing. On Wednesday, the latest move in a phased reopening of the country allowed more than 2 million children to return to class. The "strengthened" measures now being enforced in major metropolitan areas for … [Read more...] about Spike in South Korea coronavirus cases prompts alarm and a new crackdown