haha777 digital Vancouver city council approves 3.9% property tax increaseJoe Childs was born in Weston County, Wyoming, in 1915, and his life was a master class in resilience. During the winter months, Wyoming is a place where, if the wind doesn’t freeze your face off, the snow will. I suspect Grandpa Joe considered the weather less a hardship and more of an old friend — one who occasionally tested his patience, but never defeated him. As a young man, he spent most of his life in the state’s most desolate corners, where winters were long enough to make you wonder if spring had taken a wrong turn. Yet he never lost his ability to endure. In fact, the tougher the situation, the more he seemed to thrive. ADVERTISEMENT There was an almost stubborn insistence on doing things the hard way — what I can only describe as Grandpa Joe’s version of "old school." If a task could be simplified by a newfangled tool, you could count on him to reach for something that required more elbow grease. Take tree trimming, for example. I don’t think I ever saw him use a chainsaw when a hand saw would do. And hauling wood? Well, the pickup was nice, but Grandpa Joe believed in hitching the team. At the time, I thought he was just making work harder than it had to be. But looking back, I see it wasn’t about resisting change — it was about appreciating the process, about finding value in the work itself, no matter how grueling it seemed. He didn’t say much, but when he did, his words had weight. He’d simply say, “This is the best way,” and I’d roll my eyes, half-expecting a lecture on character building as we hauled logs toward my grandparent’s house. Now, I realize he wasn’t trying to make things harder — he wanted me to see the work, feel the effort, and understand the satisfaction of doing something from start to finish. Although I’ve since traded in the hand saw for a chainsaw, I find myself reflecting on this lesson every so often. And as my own children have pointed out, I’m regularly still doing things slower and with more elbow grease than necessary — but sometimes, the journey is worth more than the destination. This brings me to something I’ve been reflecting on lately. In fact, I’ve already keyed a bit on the topic in a previous column. That is, how do we adapt to the world today? More specifically, how do we adapt to technology? This week, I visited one of the coffee groups in town and was part of a conversation with a gentleman who expressed his concern about how much time his grandkids spend on their phones. He lamented that they’re missing out on real experiences because they’re too busy staring at screens. It saddened him. We’ve all noticed the shift, haven’t we? We’re more connected than ever before, but somehow, we’ve never felt further apart. This is captured in Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation . Haidt argues that it’s not technology itself that’s the problem, but how we use it — or let it use us. He explains how social media and constant digital interaction are rewiring the brains of younger generations, creating cycles of anxiety and emotional dependence. The issue isn’t the device in our pocket; it’s how we’re allowing it to dominate our lives. Much like Wyoming’s brutal winters, technology is here to stay. We can’t change that. ADVERTISEMENT But, as Grandpa Joe taught me, how we adapt matters. The easy route is to throw up our hands and complain about “kids these days” being glued to their phones. The hard way — the best way — is to reflect on how we can use technology thoughtfully and teach our students to balance it with real-world experiences. At the Mitchell School District, we’re working on a plan to greatly reduce cellphone use in and around school — not because we reject technology, but because we want to teach students how to use it with purpose. The problem with cellphones and social media is with it becoming a replacement for real life, real experiences, and meaningful interaction. We need to teach our students resilience in a world where distractions are everywhere. This brings me back to the lessons Grandpa Joe passed on to me. Resilience isn’t just about surviving; it’s about doing the hard work, even when the road is rough. I imagine that addressing the chronic use of cellphones and social media won’t be easy. There will certainly be plenty of good reasons students “need” their phones. But here’s the thing: creating real change in this area will take more than lip service. It will require a concerted effort, some elbow grease from all of us. Sure, doing nothing is easier, but I don’t believe it’s the best approach—not by a long shot. In fact, it’d be educational malpractice to know the negative impacts of phones and social media and do nothing about it. In this instance we will need to do things the hard way—the better way. We’ve got to be “old school” on the topic of cellphones.

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NEW YORK — Eager to preserve President-elect Donald Trump's hush money conviction even as he returns to office, prosecutors suggested various ways forward — including one based on how some courts handle criminal cases when defendants die. In court papers made public Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney's office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books. The proposals include freezing the case until Trump is out of office, or agreeing that any future sentence wouldn't include jail time. Another idea: closing the case with a notation that acknowledges his conviction but says that he was never sentenced and his appeal wasn't resolved because of presidential immunity. Former President Donald Trump appears in Manhattan criminal court May 30 during jury deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York. The last is adopted from what some states do when a criminal defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether that option is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Judge Juan M. Merchan could innovate in what's already a unique case. "This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding," prosecutors wrote. But at the same time, it wouldn't "precipitously discard" the "meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers." Expanding on a position they laid out last month, prosecutors acknowledged that "presidential immunity requires accommodation during a president's time in office," but they were adamant that the conviction should stand. They argued that Trump's impending return to the White House should not upend a jury's finding. Trump wants the case to be thrown out in light of his election. His communications director, Steven Cheung, called prosecutors' filing "a pathetic attempt to salvage the remains of an unconstitutional and politically motivated hoax." Trump has fought for months to reverse his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom May 30 at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. He claims they didn’t and denies wrongdoing. Trump portrays the case as a political attack ginned up by District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other Democrats. Trump's legal team argues that letting the case continue would present unconstitutional "disruptions" to his upcoming presidential term. Trump's attorneys also cited President Joe Biden's recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of tax and gun charges. Biden complained that his son was unfairly prosecuted for political reasons — and Trump's lawyers say he was, too. Trump's lawyers argued that the possibility of a jail sentence — even if it's after he leaves office — would affect his presidency. Prosecutors suggested Merchan could address that concern by agreeing not to put him behind bars. It's unclear how soon Merchan could decide what to do next with the case. He could grant Trump's request for dismissal, go with one of the suggestions from prosecutors, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump's parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. Former President Donald Trump gestures May 31 as he leaves a news conference at Trump Tower in New York. He was scheduled for sentencing late last month. After Trump's Nov. 5 election win, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president's sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump's prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump's conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. The hush money case was the only one of Trump's four criminal indictments to go to trial. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith ended his two federal cases, which pertained to Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in each case. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russian attack with hypersonic missile

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Sambhal: Three people were killed and scores of others, including around 20 security personnel and four personnel of the administration, were injured as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque here clashed with police on Sunday.In court papers made public Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney's office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books. The proposals include freezing the case until Trump is out of office, or agreeing that any future sentence wouldn't include jail time. Another idea: closing the case with a notation that acknowledges his conviction but says that he was never sentenced and his appeal wasn't resolved because of presidential immunity. The last is adopted from what some states do when a criminal defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether that option is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Judge Juan M. Merchan could innovate in what's already a unique case. "This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding," prosecutors wrote. But at the same time, it wouldn't "precipitously discard" the "meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers." Expanding on a position they laid out last month, prosecutors acknowledged that "presidential immunity requires accommodation during a president's time in office," but they were adamant that the conviction should stand. They argued that Trump's impending return to the White House should not upend a jury's finding. Trump wants the case to be thrown out in light of his election. His communications director, Steven Cheung, called prosecutors' filing "a pathetic attempt to salvage the remains of an unconstitutional and politically motivated hoax." Trump has fought for months to reverse his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. He claims they didn’t and denies wrongdoing. Trump portrays the case as a political attack ginned up by District Attorney Alvin Bragg and other Democrats. Trump's legal team argues that letting the case continue would present unconstitutional "disruptions" to his upcoming presidential term. Trump's attorneys also cited President Joe Biden's recent pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of tax and gun charges. Biden complained that his son was unfairly prosecuted for political reasons — and Trump's lawyers say he was, too. Trump's lawyers argued that the possibility of a jail sentence — even if it's after he leaves office — would affect his presidency. Prosecutors suggested Merchan could address that concern by agreeing not to put him behind bars. It's unclear how soon Merchan could decide what to do next with the case. He could grant Trump's request for dismissal, go with one of the suggestions from prosecutors, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump's parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. He was scheduled for sentencing late last month. After Trump's Nov. 5 election win, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president's sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump's prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump's conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. The hush money case was the only one of Trump's four criminal indictments to go to trial. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith ended his two federal cases, which pertained to Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in each case.Microsoft announces quarterly dividend

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