CNN is offering tips for establishing and enforcing boundaries with encroaching relatives.

The Washington Post is reminding its subscribers that the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends 1 pound of turkey per dinner guest among those celebrating the 400-year-old tradition.

The Bay Area News Group, meantime, is here to explain why cranberries are the only regular Thanksgiving item that went down in price amid this year’s record inflation, provide travelers with last-minute pointers to save money, help you find beverages to elevate and eliminate worry over what goes well with turkey and bring you these holiday-themed political cartoons.

1. Most candidates for top election posts are against hand counts

“The vast majority of candidates running to become their states’ chief election officers oppose hand counting ballots, a laborious and error-prone process that has gained favor among some Republicans embracing conspiracy theories about voting machines.

“An Associated Press survey of major-party secretary of state candidates in the 24 states found broad skepticism about hand counting among election professionals of all ideological stripes. Of 23 Republicans who responded to the survey, 13 clearly said they opposed implementing a statewide hand count of ballots instead of a machine count.” Click the headline to read more by Nicholas Riccardi | Associated Press

2. Threats to US election security grow more complex

“Top U.S. election security officials say protecting the nation’s voting systems has become increasingly challenging since millions of Americans embraced unfounded conspiracy theories and false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential race.

“With the midterm elections just days away, the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, and other officials say they have no evidence that election infrastructure has been altered by hostile actors to prevent voting or vote counting, compromise ballots or affect voter registration accuracy.

“But they’re not lowering their guard. Disinformation is rampant. Foreign rivals are capable of potent cyber mischief. And the insider threat is considered greater than ever. On top of the physical threats and intimidation of elections officials — which is authorities’ overriding concern — security experts are particularly worried about tampering by those who work in local election offices or at polling stations.” Click the headline to read more by Frank Bajak | Associated Press

3. So far, Californians aren’t rushing to vote early

“With just days to go until Tuesday’s election, the state has yet to see a big surge of people voting early — but experts say numbers will pick up as the deadline approaches for Californians to choose a new governor, weigh in on seven ballot measures and cast a vote in multiple congressional races.

“Only 17% of ballots had been returned as of Friday, according to Political Data, Inc., which tracks voter data from every county in California. With little time remaining until Nov. 8, that’s a far cry from the 55-60% overall voter turnout expected in this election. A low turnout could give a bump to Republicans in competitive races, as historically the GOP tends to do better when fewer people vote.

“But the low numbers also could simply reflect voters procrastinating.

“Turnout so far has been higher in some parts of the Bay Area — 23% in San Mateo County, 22% in Santa Clara County, and 20% in Contra Costa County.  San Francisco and Alameda are about average, at 18% and 17% respectively, according to Political Data, Inc.” Click the headline to read more by Marisa Kendall | Bay Area News Group

He also clapped back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) with a taunt about paying for her blue checkmark and pleaded with famed author Stephen King to pay for his checkmark.

The world’s richest man also unveiled a plan to terminate almost 3,700 employees at the social media company — about half of its workforce — “in a bid to drive down costs following his $44 billion acquisition,” Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile third-party estimates from Bot Sentinel suggested that more than 875,000 users deactivated their accounts between Oct. 27 and Nov. 1, while half a million more were suspended, according to MIT Technology Review.

That all followed Musk seizing control at the social network by ousting senior leadership, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and policy head Vijaya Gadde one week earlier. And two days after Musk promised advertisers the platform would not become a “free-for-all hellscape,” he gave credibility to and spread disinformation about the recent attack on Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, in a tweet replying to former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential election popular vote winner Hillary Clinton. Musk later deleted the tweet about Paul Pelosi.

Since then, Musk said the company would not allow “anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks.”

See what cartoonists from around the world are saying about the new Chief Twit:

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  The Earl Warren Building, headquarters of the Supreme Court of California and part of the Ronald M. George State Office Complex, is shown in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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San Francisco: Hundreds rally against anti-Asian American violence

Spurred to action by recent attacks in Atlanta and the Bay Area, hundreds of protesters gathered Friday in San Francisco to rally against violence targeting Asian Americans.

The crowd marched from Union Square to the Embarcadero, shouting “Rise up people, rise up” and “The people united will never be defeated,” while waving signs that demanded “Stop Asian Hate.” The event kicked off a weekend of rallies planned throughout the Bay Area in response to what many say has become a troubling surge.

Boulder shooting suspect’s gun would’ve been illegal under city’s now-void assault-weapon ban

A gun used by a man suspected of shooting and killing 10 people Monday at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, would have been illegal under the city’s assault weapon ban that was recently blocked by a judge, though nobody ever had been cited under the ban while it was active, the Denver Post reported.

The suspect purchased a Ruger AR-556 pistol on March 16, six days before the mass killing, according to his arrest affidavit. The Ruger AR-556 pistol is not technically a rifle, though many features of its design echo a rifle’s set-up.

A gun like the Ruger AR-556 pistol was banned in Boulder until March 12, when a Boulder County District Court judge ruled the city’s ban on assault weapons and magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds was illegal. The city’s definition of prohibited assault weapons included semi-automatic pistols that can accept a magazine outside of the pistol grip.

Biden taps VP Harris to lead border response

President Joe Biden has tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the migration challenge at the U.S. southern border, the Associated Press reported.

Biden made the announcement Wednesday as he and Harris met at the White House with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandra Mayorkas and other immigration advisers to discuss the increase in young migrants arriving at the border since Biden took office.

With the move, Biden hopes to show Americans he’s taking the border situation seriously after facing stiff criticism from Republicans as the flow of migrants has increased since he took office in January.

But the high-profile assignment for Harris, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and is expected to run for the White House again in the future, could be politically fraught.

For more political cartoons, CLICK HERE.

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  Mass Shootings and Normal by Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com

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  Latest mass shooting by Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News, NY

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  Signe Wilkinson

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  Getting back to normal by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

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  Numb and numb-er by David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star, Tucson, AZ

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  Michael Ramirez

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Boulder shooting: Suspect bought gun 6 days earlier; 10 victims range from 20 to 65 years old

A 21-year-old man from Arvada, Colorado, was arrested on 10 counts of first-degree murder after opening fire in a Boulder grocery store Monday afternoon, The Denver Post reported.

The suspected gunman, identified Tuesday, surrendered to police after being shot in the leg. He wore a tactical vest and carried a handgun and a long gun — a Ruger AR-556 — that he had purchased six days earlier, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Police publicly identified the 10 victims Tuesday morning:

Denny Stong, 20Neven Stanisic, 23Rikki Olds, 25, who worked as a manager at the storeTralona Bartkowiak, 49Teri Leiker, 51Eric Talley, 51, who was the first Boulder police officer on sceneSuzanne Fountain, 59Kevin Mahoney, 61Lynn Murray, 62Jodi Waters, 65

Biden on gun violence in the US: ‘We have to act’

In brief remarks responding to Monday’s shooting, President Joe Biden urged Congress to move quickly to close the loopholes in the background check system and also to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, the Associated Press reported.

“It should not be a partisan issue,” Biden said Tuesday. “This is an American issue. It will save lives, American lives.”

Colorado attack is the 7th mass shooting in 7 days in the US

The Boulder supermarket shooting “took place less than a week after eight people were killed in a series of attacks on spas in Atlanta,” reported CNN. “They are also among at least seven mass shootings in the past week across the United States — including three incidents on Saturday alone.”

The FBI defines a mass shooting as an incident which results in four or more casualties (dead or wounded) excluding the shooter(s).

For more political cartoons, CLICK HERE.

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  Mike Luckovich

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  Minors crossing US border by Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com

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  Biden’s Immigrant Voters by Gary McCoy, Shiloh, IL

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  Migrant Crisis by Monte Wolverton, Battle Ground, WA

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GOP focuses on immigration as border crossings rise

According to the Pew Research Centers, 18,945 family members and 9,297 unaccompanied children reached the U.S.-Mexico border in February, the Associated Press reported. Those figures represent 168% and 63% increases, respectively, from January.

In a recent interview with ABC President Joe Biden advised migrants hoping to gain entry to the United States not to leave their towns. When asked whether his immigration policies are encouraging migrants, Biden said that the numbers of people encountered at the southern border in the first two months of his administration remain lower than spikes recorded during the Trump administration.

Republicans are now uniting around the issue, a signature of Biden’s predecessor.

“If they don’t control this, it’ll be a huge issue this year, and it’s an issue that gets you into public health, into the issue of defending America and whether there are borders,” said Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a longtime Trump ally.

​In a letter signed by 40 senators, Republicans have criticized the Biden administration’s border policies; among the criticisms are Biden’s kinder tones, his pledge to end family separations at the border, and the administration’s freezing of of Trump’s border wall project.

House OKs immigration bills for Dreamers, farm workers

Following a slew of executive orders centered on rolling back policies ranging from the Muslim travel ban to separating families at the border, Democrats in Congress voted last week to pass a proposal long known as the gateway to citizenship.

Lawmakers approved the bill offering legal status to 2 million people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, known as Dreamers, in a 228-197 vote Thursday. In a separate measure approved 247-174, lawmakers voted to create similar protections for 1 million farm workers who have worked in the U.S. without documentation.

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  Two Turkeys by Jeff Koterba, CagleCartoons.com

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  Michael Ramirez

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  Conspiracy Theories by Kevin Siers, The Charlotte Observer, NC

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  Trump check out by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

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  Thanksgiving Day by Rick McKee, CagleCartoons.com

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  Ken Catalino

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  Trump Lawsuit, Signe Wilkinson

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  Ken Catalino

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  Golfing while COVID burns by John Darkow, Columbia Missourian

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  Mike Luckovich

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  Ken Catalino

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  Ken Catalino

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  Thankful Covid by Bob Englehart, PoliticalCartoons.com

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  Tom Meyer

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  Holiday travel and COVID by Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com

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  Home for the Holidays by Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune, UT

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  Mike Luckovich

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  Michael Ramirez

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Feds agree to help Biden transition after more Trump defeats

General Services Administrator Emily Murphy cleared the way for President-elect Joe Biden to coordinate with federal agencies ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration after President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the vote failed across multiple battleground states. Murphy’s actions followed Michigan certifying Biden’s victory Monday, and a federal judge tossing a Trump campaign lawsuit in Pennsylvania aiming to prevent certification there over the weekend.

Gov. Newsom family quarantines after exposure, all test negative

Three of the governor’s children were exposed to a California Highway Patrol member who later tested positive for the coronavirus. The family will be tested regularly while quarantining at home in Sacramento County throughout the Thanksgiving holiday.

Coronavirus: California shatters daily case record with more than 20,000

“Altogether, there were 20,554 new coronavirus cases reported around California on Monday alone, shattering the previous single-day record of 16,521, which came following the July 4 weekend and included a significant backlog; Monday’s total includes up to three days worth of data for some counties that do not issue updates over the weekend,” according to staff writer Evan Webeck. “A dozen counties, from Siskiyou on the Oregon border to Imperial touching Mexico, reported more cases on Monday than any previous day of the pandemic, and numerous others reported more than any day since August, the tail end of this summer’s surge.”

Fact-checking the Trump campaign’s wild news conference

While sweating an unconfirmed substance that the New York Times reported could not have been hair dye, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani presented an evidence-free case and alleged election fraud that Trump’s legal team would argue and elaborate further in battleground state courts.

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