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Biden is launching a Hollywood fundraising blitz to tap into star power with strikes over

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Biden is launching a Hollywood fundraising blitz to tap into star power with strikes over

WASHINGTON (AP) — Here’s a Hollywood ending that President Joe Biden wants to bring to life: an incumbent facing tough polling numbers and questions about his advanced age overcomes a brash opponent to win a second term at the White House.

With strikes by writers and actors now over, Biden is beginning to make that pitch to the Southern California set in person. He and first lady Jill Biden plan to attend six fundraising events and meetings between them this weekend in the Los Angeles area, asking some of the glitziest names in town to open their checkbooks for his reelection campaign.

Some of the events will be public and others private over roughly 36 hours in California. But organizers say Biden should raise more this weekend than in any similar time frame since announcing his campaign in April. He may also potentially take in more than any presidential candidate has in greater Los Angeles this far out from Election Day.

“The pent-up excitement, enthusiasm is really unprecedented,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, a co-founder of DreamWorks Pictures and longtime Democratic presidential fundraiser in Los Angeles, who is one of the Biden campaign’s national co-chairs. “People are excited. They’re mobilized. And they’ve been waiting months to show their support for him.”

This weekend’s events are aimed at helping Biden reach a fundraising target of roughly $67 million for the fourth quarter of the year, according to a source close to the president’s campaign who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal numbers.

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Biden will attend a Friday night fundraiser in Santa Monica organized by luminaries like Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand, comedy director Rob Reiner, recording industry mogul David Geffen and Shonda Rhimes, the showrunner of “Scandal” and executive producer of “Bridgerton.”

Rocker Lenny Kravitz is performing and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will address the crowd, as will Biden, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press. Another fundraising meeting will be held at Katzenberg’s home on Saturday.

Biden, who frequently calls himself the “most pro-union” president in U.S. history, stayed away from raising money in Los Angeles during the monthslong writers and actors work stoppages. Now, though, he’s free to court Hollywood — a traditional source of large-dollar donations for Democrats — without political blowback.

Katzenberg said this weekend should kick off more frequent fundraising travel out West by Biden.

Biden has also been collecting cash on the East Coast. He flew to Boston on Tuesday for a trio of gatherings to raise money, including one that featured singer-songwriter James Taylor, and attended a high-dollar event on Wednesday at a hotel near the White House.

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Biden has another fundraiser scheduled Monday in Philadelphia expected to feature Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has been mentioned as a potential post-2024 presidential candidate, and is also planning an upcoming Maryland reception with Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, 45, a key voice for Biden’s campaign with young voters.

Raising money on both coasts could quiet some donors who have privately grumbled that the president hasn’t done enough to stock his campaign coffers ahead of a 2024 race that is likely to be hard-fought and close.

Some in the broad coalition of voters that helped Biden defeat Donald Trump in 2020 are wary about Biden’s low approval ratings and there are questions, even among reliable Democrats, about whether the 81-year-old president’s age could be an issue in 2024. Others, though, have watched Trump build a commanding early lead in the Republican presidential primary and are now even more anxious to back Biden given that a rematch with Trump seems likely.

“Whether the enthusiasm is because of the exceptional accomplishments of President Biden, or because of the extreme alternative of someone who is declaring themselves to be an autocrat, either way, you get to the same place,” Katzenberg said. “Which is, Joe Biden’s your person.”

James Costos, a former HBO executive who was President Barack Obama’s ambassador to Spain, is hosting Friday’s event at his home. Costos’ partner, Michael Smith, is a celebrity interior designer who helped redesign the Oval Office during the Obama administration.

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“It’s time everyone mobilizes themselves and their communities and networks,” Costos said.

Other co-hosts for Friday’s event include Jim Gianopulos, former chairman of Paramount Pictures, and Wendy Schmidt, wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another possible presidential candidate after next year’s election, is also set to attend.

Ticket prices range from $1,000 for general admission to $500,000 to attend at “chairman” level.

Also listed as cohosts are Bob Tuttle, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom under Republican President George W. Bush, and his wife, Maria Hummer Tuttle.

Biden has held just one campaign rally so far, addressing a summer event in Philadelphia with large unions who jointly endorsed his reelection. Instead, he’s focused on governing and raising money. The campaign has also coordinated with the Democratic National Committee to help defray advertising costs and build out staffing in key states around the country — trying to keep spending low until the race heats up next year.

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The president and the DNC reported raising more than $71 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30. Biden’s joint fundraising agreement with the DNC and state parties allows him to receive a check from a single donor that is in the range of $1 million.

His third-quarter haul exceeded the roughly $70 million that Obama and his affiliated committees raised in the same quarter in 2011, without adjusting for inflation. But it fell short of Trump, who reported raising $125 million with the Republican National Committee during the third quarter when he was seeking reelection in 2019.

The Biden campaign also noted, however, that its third-quarter total outpaced the $45.5 million Trump’s campaign reported taking in during the same period this year, and said that the president had $91 million cash on hand at the end of September, which it said was the highest total by a Democrat at that point in an election cycle.

Brian Goldsmith, a Democratic consultant based in California who plans to attend Biden’s event on Friday, said, “It’s great he’s coming,” but, “I don’t know how often he’s gonna come back, nor do think he should come back that much.”

“I think donors understand that, between Israel, Ukraine, another potential government shutdown, he’s got a big job to do,” said Goldsmith. “The best thing he can do to get reelected is continue to do a good job being president.”

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Associated Press writers Brian Slodysko and Chris Megerian contributed to this report.

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‘Jedi Are Being Hunted’ in Star Wars: The Acolyte Trailer — Watch, Get Disney+ Release Date

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‘Jedi Are Being Hunted’ in Star Wars: The Acolyte Trailer — Watch, Get Disney+ Release Date


‘The Acolyte’: Trailer, Release Date for ‘Star Wars’ Series on Disney Plus



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3 bodies found in search for US and Australian surfers who mysteriously vanished in Mexico

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3 bodies found in search for US and Australian surfers who mysteriously vanished in Mexico

Three bodies have been discovered in a popular Mexican tourist area where an American and two Australians suddenly vanished last week having been on an apparent camping and surfing trip, the local prosecutor’s office said in a statement late on Friday.

American Jack Carter Rhoad, 30, as well as Australian brothers Callum Robinson, 33, and Jake Robinson, 30, were last seen on April 27, the Baja California state prosecutor’s office previously announced. They did not show up at their planned accommodation last weekend.

Investigators discovered three bodies dumped in a pit while searching for the trio on Friday, although officials have not confirmed if the bodies are those of the missing men.

2 AMERICANS FOUND DEAD IN HOTEL ROOM IN MEXICO’S BAJA CALIFORNIA

Australian brothers Callum Robinson and Jake Robinson, top left, and US citizen Jack Carter Rhoad, right, who are missing in Mexico. (Reuters)

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Forensic tests on the remains will be conducted by a state laboratory, which will allow for positive identification of the bodies, the prosecutor’s office said in its statement.

Investigators continue to search the rugged area where the bodies were found for additional evidence, the statement added. 

The bodies were found in a rugged hillside area in Baja California near the popular tourist town of Ensenada, about 90 minutes south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Video from the scene shows rescuers installing ropes to enter the pit where the bodies were discovered. The site is seen cordoned off by police while a navy boat was also visible in the sea nearby.

The site where the bodies were discovered near the township of Santo Tomás was near the remote seaside area where the missing men’s tents and the burned-out Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck were found Thursday on a remote stretch of coast.

Rescue team workers search for missing tourists in Mexico

Members of a rescue team work at a site where three bodies were found in Baja California. The team have been looking for one American and two Australian tourists who have been reported missing. (Reuters)

It is unclear what types of injuries the victims suffered or how they died.

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“There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public,” María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the chief state prosecutor said.

Baja California prosecutors said Friday that three people had been arrested and charged with a crime equivalent to kidnapping. It was unclear if they might face more charges.

Ensenada Mayor Carlos Ibarra Aguiar said in a news release that a 23-year-old woman had been detained with drugs and a cellphone that had a wallpaper photo of one of the missing men, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Officials didn’t specify how the three people were connected to the investigation, saying only that some were directly involved and others indirectly.

LUXURY RESORT SHUTTERS IN MEXICO’S BAJA CALIFORNIA AFTER MYSTERIOUS DEATHS OF 2 AMERICANS

Missing surfers in Mexico poster

A missing persons’ poster of the trio was distributed earlier this week. (Reuters)

Investigators said that a missing persons report was filed 48 hours after the men were last seen, although the prosecutor’s office began investigating as soon as posts began circulating on social media.

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María Elena Andrade Ramírez, the chief state prosecutor, said that while drug cartels are active in the area, she said, “all lines of investigation are open at this time. We cannot rule anything out until we find them.”

The Baja California Attorney General’s Office has said that it has maintained contact with the FBI and relatives of the victims, through consular agencies.

View of hillside area where rescuers search for missing tourists in Mexico

Members of a rescue team work at a site where three bodies were found in the state of Baja California where one American and two Australian tourists were reported missing.

On Wednesday, the missing Australians’ mother, Debra Robinson, posted on a local community Facebook page an appeal for help in finding her sons and noted that Callum is diabetic.

The Australian media reports that Jake is a doctor, while Callum lives in San Diego and is a member of Australia’s national lacrosse team.

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The State Department’s travel advisory lists Baja California under its “reconsider travel” category due to crime and kidnapping.

In 2015, two Australian surfers, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in western Sinaloa state, across the Gulf of California — also known as the Sea of Cortez— from the Baja peninsula. Authorities say they were victims of highway bandits. 

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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German social democrats promise not to join forces with the right

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German social democrats promise not to join forces with the right

German social democrats spoke out against far right violence amid declining support after an attack on Friday night that hospitalised Saxony top candidate for the EU elections Matthias Ecke.

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Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Europe held a democracy congress in Berlin as a show of force against the far right that is gaining traction across Europe. 

SPD has been polling at a historical low following an economically rocky few years, but the party is now ramping up efforts to win back support after violent far-right attacks continue to increase.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged voters not to vote for far-right parties.

“Democracy is threatened by such things, and therefore, accepting them with a shrug of the shoulders is never an option. We must stand together against it,” he said.

Scholz also warned against further right wing attacks, and added, “that this is directed against local politicians and mayors in small towns and cities. Democracy is threatened by such things,” pointing to an attack on a 28-year-old campaigner for the Greens, that appears to be by the same group. 

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Ecke is currently in hospital awaiting surgery for his injuries.

Speeches, lead by European social democratic leader Stefan Loefven and the centre-left candidate to head the European Commission, Nicolas Schmit, saw politicians vow not to collaborate with far-right parties if coalitions needed to be built.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party condemned the attack on Ecke.

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