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Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed Watergate tapes, dies at 99

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alexander Butterfield, the White House aide who inadvertently hastened Richard Nixon’s resignation over the Watergate scandal when he revealed that the president had bugged the Oval Office and Cabinet Room and routinely recorded his conversations, has died. He was 99. His death was confirmed to The Associated Press by his wife, Kim, and John Dean, who served as White House counsel to Nixon during the Watergate scandal and went on to, along with Butterfield, help expose the wrongdoing. “He had the heavy responsibility of revealing something he was sworn to ...

Daughter-in-law is dictating family time

Dear Annie: I never imagined that after raising three children, loving them through every stage and being a hands-on mother, I would end up feeling like a stranger to my own grandchildren. My son married a woman who, at first, seemed organized and devoted. Over time, though, it has become clear that she likes to control every family interaction. Visits must happen only on her terms, at her convenience, and usually with a long list of rules. We are told what we can feed the children, what we can say, how long we can visit and sometimes whether we can visit at all. If we question ...

Oil prices and markets seesaw

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil prices surged and markets slid Monday after hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader, signaling that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel. Oil prices later fell, and the U.S. stock market closed higher, amid hope that the war with Iran may not last that long as world leaders discussed options. U.S. President Donald Trump indicated to a group of lawmakers at his golf club near Miami that the conflict may end soon. “We took a little ...

Long history of dumb, self-inflicted wounds

I hurt my knee taking a step onto a riser in a performance at my kids’ elementary school the other day. I’m not sure yet how serious the injury is, but it’s the kind of incident that makes you feel about 100 years old and like a complete moron. I mean, who gets hurt taking the stairs? So, after it happened, I decided to make myself feel better in a manner passed down through the centuries as a sure-fire method for dispelling shame: Find someone who did something even dumber than you did. With that, I commenced to furious googling, turning up tales of some of the most ...

Riding off into the sunset

At times, you could be forgiven for having thought that Kristi Noem wanted to be a uniformed DHS officer rather than the secretary of the department. Now, the cabinet member most inclined to glamour shots out in the field is going to have to go back to wearing civilian clothes. For all his trademark firings during “The Apprentice” and the rapid turnover of his first term, President Trump has been loathe to oust top officials this time around. Kristi Noem is the exception, and she’s earned the dubious distinction. Incompetent and preposterously self-promoting, Noem took a ...

Goodbye, ICE Barbie

The worst of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s many terrible moments in last week’s congressional hearings on immigration control probably came when she admitted to being unfamiliar with the shockingly appalling case of Marimar Martinez. She is the Chicago woman who managed to survive being shot five times by Border Patrol agents in October, leaving her with nerve damage in her right hand. Yet, as Noem, dubbed “ICE Barbie” by some for her love of posturing in front of media cameras, was pushed by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, to acknowledge ...