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This day in Country Music History

  • Today in 1976, Elvis Presley recorded his last hit record, “Way Down,” at his studio in the Graceland Mansion. The raw, unedited version can be found on the album, “Our Memories of Elvis, Vol. II.”
  • Today in 1981, was a big day for Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. Conway’s “Greatest Hits Volume I” album was certified gold, while Loretta Lynn’s album, “Greatest Hits Volume II,” was certified gold. Plus, the duo’s “Lead Me On” album was also certified gold.
  • Today in 1983, the single, “Islands in the Stream,” by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, became the first country song ever to simultaneously top the country, pop and adult contemporary charts.
  • Today in 1985, the “Five-O” album by Hank Williams Jr. was certified gold.
  • Today in 1990, Vince Gill’s “When I Call Your Name” album was certified gold.
  • Today in 1990, the album, “Killin’ Time,” by Clint Black was certified double platinum.
  • Today in 1993, the “Honky Tonk Angels” album by Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn was released.
  • Today in 1993, Brooks & Dunn hit #1 with “She Used to Be Mine.”
  • Today in 1996, Alan Jackson released the “Everything I Love” album.
  • Today in 2000, Keith Urban performed at the closing ceremonies for the Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
  • Today in 2002, Patty Loveless’ “Bluegrass & White Snow: A Mountain Christmas” album, Jo Dee Messina’s Christmas CD, “A Joyful Noise,” and Lee Ann Womack’s holiday project, “A Season for Romance,” arrived in stores. Kenny Rogers’ CD, “The Gift,” was also re-released.
  • Today in 2003, Randy Travis’ album, “Rise and Shine,” was been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
  • Today in 2009, Taylor Swift’s single, “You Belong With Me,” went gold, platinum and double-platinum.
  • Today in 2011, Blake Shelton began a three-week ride at #1 on the Billboard country singles chart with “God Gave Me You.”
  • Today in 2012, The Band Perry’s single, “Better Dig Two,” was released.
  • Today in 2012, Little Big Town sang “Pontoon,” Big & Rich performed “Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)” and Cowboy Troy does “I Play Chicken With The Train” on ABC’s telecast of “Dancing With The Stars.”
  • Today in 2014, Sara Evans and actor Will Chase sang “Put My Heart Down” during an episode of ABC’s country-music drama, “Nashville.”
  • Today in 2016, Luke Combs performed “Hurricane” and “Tennessee Whiskey” as he made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
  • Today in 2016, Gregg Allman played what proves to be his final concert during the Laid Back Festival at the Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta. It marked his last public performance of “Midnight Rider,” an Allman Brothers Band song that became a country hit when it was remade by Willie Nelson.
  • Today in 2016, Rodney Crowell visited the emergency room for a cardiac issue after sound check for the Celebrity Barn Dance at the Jaeckle Center in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee. Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Ashley Monroe performed, raising $50,000 for the Music Health Alliance…and Crowell reappeared for the final two songs.
  • Today in 2018, Bobby Bones offered up an Argentine tango to “Mister Sandman” during ABC’s Halloween edition of “Dancing With The Stars.” John Schneider performed a paso doble to music from the movie, “Beetlejuice.”
  • Today in 2018, Kix Brooks joined Rascal Flatts for an impromptu version of “Folsom Prison Blues” during a MusiCares fundraiser at the Nashville home of jewelry designer Johnathon Arndt. Flatts played nine songs during the private show, including “Yours If You Want It,” “I Like The Sound Of That” and “Fast Cars And Freedom.”
  • Today in 2019, Keith Urban performed and Carly Pearce spoke during a celebration of life for late producer busbee at City Winery in Nashville. Also in the house were Maren Morris, Ryan Hurd, Thomas Rhett, The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Little Big Town members Jimi Westbrook and Karen Fairchild.
  • Today in 2020, Willie Nelson’s “Rainbow Connection” provided the soundtrack as Kohl’s launched a coronavirus-themed Christmas commercial featuring senior citizens and kids greeting each other with hand-written signs through windows.

NBA starts review of policies after gambling-related arrests of Rozier, Billups

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA, in reaction to the arrests of Miami guard Terry Rozier and Portland coach Chauncey Billups last week for their alleged role in gambling schemes, has started a review of how the league can protect not just the integrity of the game but its players and coaches as well.

The league made those revelations in a memo sent to all 30 teams, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

“Given the spread of legal betting to the majority of U.S. states, the recurrence of integrity issues across sports, and the emergence of novel betting formats and markets, this is an opportune time to carefully reassess how sports betting should be regulated and how sports leagues can best protect themselves, their players, and their fans,” read the memo, sent by the NBA’s legal department.

Meanwhile, the quest for answers has reached lawmakers in Washington with the Senate on Monday following a request from a House committee last week in asking the NBA for information.

Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican chairman of the Commerce Committee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on that panel, want information “about how the NBA investigated and handled these allegations as well as what steps the Association is taking to maintain the public’s trust.”

Their specific questions revolve around why the league’s probe of Rozier and the events surrounding a March 23, 2023 game when he was with the Charlotte Hornets.

“This Committee needs to understand the specifics of the NBA’s investigation and why Rozier was cleared to continue playing basketball,” Cruz and Cantwell wrote. “This is a matter of Congressional concern. The integrity of NBA games must be trustworthy and free from the influence of organized crime or gambling-related activity. Sports betting scandals like this one may lead the American public to assume that all sports are corrupt.”

They asked Commissioner Adam Silver to provide answers by Nov. 10.

Two indictments were unsealed last week and nearly three dozen people — most notably, Billups and Rozier — were arrested by federal officials.

Rozier was arrested because federal officials allege he conspired with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance in that March 2023 game. The charges are similar to what former Toronto player Jontay Porter faced before he was banned from the league by Silver in 2024.

Sportsbooks detected unusual patterns of wagers on the Charlotte game in question — prop bets involving Rozier were flagged and immediately brought to the NBA’s attention — and the league probed the matter but did not find enough evidence to conclude that Rozier broke any rules.

“While the unusual betting on Terry Rozier’s ‘unders’ in the March 2023 game was detected in real time because the bets were placed legally, we believe there is more that can be done from a legal/regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues,” the league told its teams. “In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny.”

Monday’s moves comes on the heels of several developments last week, including the NFL reminding players of its gambling policy, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred saying that baseball is moving “as fast as we can” on a probe of two players in that sport, and a Congressional committee asking Silver for a briefing by the end of this week to discuss topics including how “gaps, if any, in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur.” Silver has said many times he would prefer federal regulation on sports betting instead of the current state-by-state approach.

It was not clear Monday if Silver would appear before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, which requested the briefing in a letter signed by six members of Congress.

Among the things the league said Monday it will take a look at: injury reports. The league publishes an injury report every hour, and teams are required to disclose statuses of players within certain windows of time before their next game. The NBA added the injury report several years ago in the interest of transparency.

The injury statuses can be used by bettors to decide which wagers to make — and if gamblers get that information before the rest of the public, it’s tantamount to insider trading. Former NBA player Damon Jones now faces charges because officials said he tipped off bettors about the health status of two Los Angeles Lakers players. The details in that indictment clearly show that Jones was discussing the availability of LeBron James and former Lakers center Anthony Davis with bettors before their statuses for certain games was known publicly. There is no indication that James or Davis had any knowledge of what Jones was alleged to be doing.

There were other examples of such tipping with other clubs, federal officials said.

“With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches, and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors,” the memo said.

The league also said it is seeking input from teams, if they have any ideas on how to best proceed going forward.

Pheasants flourished after being introduced in Iowa more than 100 years ago

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The 100th pheasant season opened Saturday in Iowa for a sport that Iowa DNR wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz says had a humble start.

The first pheasants were released from William Benton’s wild game farm near Cedar Falls in 1901 when a storm wrecked their pen. The bird population continued to grow to a point where the State Conservation Commission got complaints of crops being damaged and started to take action. “Game wardens at the time we’re asking land owners to pick up wild eggs in the field or trap wild pheasants in1925, with 60,000 eggs and like 7,000 wild birds that were picked up and delivered to other areas of the state without pheasants,” he says.

The state also started the first pheasant hunt the same year.  “Maybe 75,000 people participated in that first season in 1925. It was 13 counties in north-central Iowa,” Bogenschutz says. “It was a three-day season, you could only hunt from 8:00 a.m. to noon, and that was a three rooster bag limit.” Bogenschutz says they didn’t have any survey back then but he guesses around 250,000 birds were taken.

Bogenschutz says there weren’t large mechanized farms with fence row to fence row planting back then, and the landscape was perfect for pheasants to thrive. “Half the ag landscape either being small grains or hay or pasture, and then corn was the major crop,” he says. “The other crops besides the small grains were, you know, people were growing beets and sweet clover for seed, and a lot of things that you don’t see anymore today. But yeah, that combination of small fields and that much grassy cover. obviously grew a lot of pheasants.”

Surveys soon found hunters taking one million or more birds. Bogenschutz says soybeans started becoming really popular in the 60s and more so in the 70s and that led to a big decline in small grains and hay. “Like from the mid 1950s to about 1980. And so now we’re kind of a corn soybean rotation instead of a corn old hay rotation, so that has impacts on the number of birds that we could grow,” he says.

Bird numbers swung back up during the farm crisis of the 1980s that led to the creation of the Conservation Reserve Program that paid farmers to take less desirable land out of production, creating more grassland. “That was a big boon for pheasants and I on our harvest again approached. You know 1.2 to one and a half million birds,” he says.

Weather has been the other factor that has impacted the pheasant season. Bogenschutz bad winters and springs from. 2007 to about 2011 sent bird numbers way down. )”That was a very unique time frame for us there and it really drove our populations down. We’ve kind of been on an upward trend since then and Mother Nature has been relatively cooperative to us,” Bogenschutz says.

The 100th season started Saturday and will run through January.

Two Arrested for Bar Fight in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE – Two men were arrested in Knoxville after a bar fight and they each face charges for the incident.

According to court records, on Friday, October 24, officers with the Knoxville Police Department were dispatched to Bottom’s Up Bar in Knoxville for a reported bar fight involving two men. Upon arrival, officers approached witnesses outside of the bar, who told them that 37-year-old Jon Luran of Chariton and 38-year-old Justin Kanney of Humeston were involved in the fight, which began inside the bar, along with a third, unidentified male.

Witnesses say Luran, Kanney, and the third male were all kicked out of the bar for the incident. While leaving the establishment, Luran and Kanney allegedly approached another male and attempted to start an altercation with him; court documents show that the man walked away with Luran and Kanney.

Police say that Luran was observed to have bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and an odor of alcoholic beverages on his person. He was offered a preliminary breath test multiple times and refused, though he did allegedly admit to drinking “a few shots.”

Both Luran and Kanney were arrested by authorities in Knoxville and transported to the Marion County Jail, where they both face a charge of disorderly conduct – fighting/violent behavior, a simple misdemeanor. Luran is also charged with public intoxication, a simple misdemeanor. Both charges impose a fine of $105.

Ottumwa, Knoxville CSDs Among 28 School Districts, to Receive Grants to Further Advance Reading Proficiency

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Education awarded $3.8 million in competitive subgrants to 28 Iowa school districts and public charter schools to develop and implement local plans for accelerating student reading proficiency.

“Iowa is prioritizing early literacy in classrooms all across our state and supporting the teacher-parent partnerships so critical to helping children become excellent readers,” said Gov. Reynolds. “With these grants, we will continue to support students as they learn to read through proven approaches, so they can spend a lifetime reading to learn.”

Nationally, the Iowa Department of Education was selected to receive over $24 million in a multi-year federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to advance effective evidence-based literacy practices and interventions across the state. The Iowa Department of Education’s grant builds upon comprehensive early literacy legislation championed by Governor Reynolds.

“Over the past two years, Iowa has advanced rigorous academic standards, instructional materials, learning interventions, personalized tutoring and professional development, and our collective work has made a remarkable difference for students across Iowa,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. “Building upon the momentum of Iowa’s incredible early literacy gains, the Department is excited to celebrate and support each of these awardees in realizing their commitment to evidence-based reading instruction that accelerates learning for all students.”

Results from the 2025 Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress show Iowa is making impressive gains in literacy. Proficiency for students who were in third grade during the 2023-24 school year showed outstanding gains as fourth graders in 2024-25—jumping 11 percentage points following implementation of the Literacy Changes Lives Act enacted in 2024.

As a part of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant, the Department will continue to expand its support of schools implementing Science of Reading-aligned instruction, including through continued professional learning, school-based leadership supports, high-quality instructional materials, community and family partnerships, and high-dose tutoring informed by student data.

The following 28 districts and public charter schools were selected for an initial planning subgrant to support costs associated with local literacy plan development, including hiring literacy consultants, providing professional development on the Science of Reading for Literacy Leadership Team members and attending evidence-based professional learning events in partnership with the Department.

  • Belmond-Klemme Community School District
  • Charles City Community School District
  • Clarinda Community School District
  • Council Bluffs Community School District
  • Denison Community School District
  • Des Moines Public Schools
  • Dubuque Community School District
  • Eagle Grove Community School District
  • Essex Community School District
  • Estherville Lincoln Central Community School District
  • Fort Dodge Community School District
  • Graettinger-Terril Community School District
  • Great Oaks High School and Career Center Des Moines
  • Keokuk Community School District
  • Knoxville Community School District
  • Lamoni Community School District
  • Marshalltown Community School District
  • Mormon Trail Community School District
  • Ottumwa Community School District
  • Red Oak Community School District
  • Riverside Community School District
  • River Valley Community School District
  • Ruthven-Ayrshire Community School District
  • Saydel Community School District
  • Seymour Community School District
  • Spencer Community School District
  • South Page Community School District
  • Storm Lake Community School District

The amount awarded to each successful applicant for the initial planning subgrant varies based on the student population served and the details outlined in each respective applicant’s plan. Awardees that demonstrate completion of the planning subgrant expectations will have the opportunity to apply for additional implementation subgrants over four years through 2029.

The Department will also work closely with institutions of higher education to align accredited teacher preparation programs to the Science of Reading, while continuing to support schools implementing evidence-based LETRS® professional learning for educators. The Iowa Department of Education’s grant will focus on improving literacy outcomes for all children and on meeting the needs of children who are reading below grade level and students who need differentiated instruction.

In determining awards, priority was given to competitive applicants that aligned local literacy plans to Iowa’s Comprehensive State Literacy Plan with a focus on improving literacy outcomes for all children and meeting the needs of children who are reading below grade level. Each awardee met the required eligibility criteria based on the population to be served, which includes:

  • Total student enrollment with at least 50% at elementary and middle schools or 40% at high schools from low-income backgrounds;
  • Partnership commitments with one or more early childhood education programs serving children from low-income backgrounds (for plans serving grades K-5);
  • Total student enrollment with less than 70% of students proficient in literacy or English language arts; and
  • Achievement gaps in reading performance between overall student results and those of certain student groups, including children from low-income backgrounds, children with disabilities and children who are English learners.

Additional consideration was given to representation of small, medium and large districts across all nine of Iowa’s geographic AEA and superintendent regions.

The Comprehensive Literacy State Development program is authorized under Sections 2221-2225 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA). The purpose of the discretionary grants is to create a comprehensive literacy program to advance literacy skills, including pre-literacy skills, reading and writing for children from birth through grade 12.

Information on the Iowa’s Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant is available on the Department’s website.

Trisha Yearwood Announced As Host For Second “Band As One Nashville Concert for the Cure”

The second annual “Band As One Nashville Concert for the Cure” has been announced. The first one, headlined by Trisha Yearwood, raised over $700-thousand for those impacted by breast cancer earlier this year. Once again, Yearwood will host, with more performers to be announced before the day of the show. The concert will take place on March 22nd at the Grand Ole Opry House. Tickets will be available this Friday at 10AM local time. Visit the Opry’s website for more information and to purchase tickets.

This day in Country Music History

  • Today in 1939, Bill Monroe joined the Grand Ole Opry.
  • Today in 1969, the “Suspicious Minds” single by Elvis Presley was certified gold.
  • Today in 1991, the album, “Sticks And Stones,” by Tracy Lawrence was released.
  • Today in 1991, “The Best Of The Statler Brothers” album was certified platinum.
  • Today in 1993, Garth Brooks’ “In Pieces” was certified gold, platinum and triple platinum simultaneously
  • Today in 1994, the “Super Hits” album by Johnny Cash was released.
  • Today in 1994, Ronnie Dunn and his wife, Janine, welcomed their daughter, Haley Marie.
  • Today in 1996, Lonestar’s self-titled debut album was certified gold.
  • Today in 1997, Shania Twain’s single, “Love Gets Me Every Time,” was certified gold.
  • Today in 1997, authorities in Monterey County, California said that John Denver had no alcohol or drugs in his system when he was killed in a plane crash the previous October 12th.
  • Today in 1998, Reba McEntire’s “If You See Him” album was certified platinum.
  • Today in 2001, Lonestar’s Richie McDonald ran his first marathon – the 26th annual Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. – raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
  • Today in 2003, Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Essential” album, Billy Ray Cyrus’ “The Other Side,” and “Happy Holidays” from Kelly Willis/Bruce Robison arrived in stores.
  • Today in 2004, Big & Rich received their first gold single for “Save a Horse (Ride A Cowboy).”
  • Today in 2006, Heartland’s “I Loved Her First” made it’s way to #1 in Billboard.
  • Today in 2010, Lady Antebellum sang the national anthem at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, where the Giants beat the Texas Rangers, 9-0, in a World Series game.
  • Today in 2013, Tyler Farr snared a platinum single for “Redneck Crazy.”
  • Today in 2014, Jason Aldean and Bob Seger shot an installment of “CMT Crossroads,” at The Factory in Franklin, Tennessee. They played “Hollywood Nights,” “Against The Wind,” “Night Train” and “Tattoos On This Town.”
  • Today in 2016, it was a big day for albums as Cole Swindell’s “Down Home Sessions III” EP, Jimmy Buffett’s Christmas album, “‘Tis The SeaSon”; Brett Eldredge’s Christmas album, “Glow,” and Kenny Chesney’s album, “Cosmic Hallelujah,” were all released.
  • Today in 2016, “The Very Best Of Dwight Yoakam” was certified platinum by the RIAA.
  • Today in 2017, Kelsea Ballerini donated $20,000 to the choral department when she delivered a homecoming concert at Central High School in Knoxville. The set included “Legends,” “Dibs,” “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Peter Pan.”
  • Today in 2017, Luke Bryan crashed a wedding reception in Savannah, Georgia, where he’d been taping an episode of “American Idol.” Bryan danced with the rest of the partygoers to one of his own songs, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”
  • Today in 2018, Ronnie Dunn and K.T. Oslin were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Music City Center, along with “Boondocks” writer Wayne Kirkpatrick, “Fool Hearted Memory” composer Byron Hill and “Blue Bayou” author Joe Melson. Reba McEntire received the inaugural Career Maker Award.
  • Today in 2019, the Carrie Underwood single, “Drinking Alone,” was released.
  • Today in 2020, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani announced their engagement.

Oskaloosa’s Season Ends with Loss at Clear Creek Amana

By Sam Parsons

A trying season for Oskaloosa Indians football came to an end on Friday night in a 43-0 defeat at Clear Creek Amana.

The game was controlled by the Clippers from the opening drive: they scored on 5 out of their first 6 drives to take a 36-0 lead before halftime (including a fake PAT that resulted in a successful 2-point conversion with the Clippers already up by 34 points). On the other side of the ball, Osky managed -36 yards of offense in the first half before the game entered a running clock scenario.

The second half was played entirely with a running clock and the Clippers got back on the scoreboard one more time with a 100-yard interception returned for a touchdown to make it a 43-0 final score.

The Indians’ season ends with an 0-9 record. The team graduates 13 seniors, including Kayne Boender, Parker Jordan, Samba Cisse, Omar Garcia, Chad McDonald-Playle, Trevin Griffen, Elijah Roy, Iestyn Buchanan, Brock Beerbower, Holden Braundmeier, Landon Van Donselaar, Maddox Maxwell, and Thomas Wiley.

US and China say a trade deal is drawing closer as Trump and Xi ready for a high-stakes meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A trade deal between the United States and China is drawing closer, officials from the world’s two largest economies said Sunday as they reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting.

Any agreement would be a relief to international markets even if it does not address underlying issues involving manufacturing imbalances and access to state-of-the-art computer chips.

Beijing recently limited exports of rare earth elements that are needed for advanced technologies, and Trump responded by threatening additional tariffs on Chinese products. The prospect of a widening conflict risked weakening economic growth worldwide.

China’s top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, told reporters the two sides had reached a “preliminary consensus,” while Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said there was “a very successful framework.”

Trump also expressed confidence that an agreement was at hand, saying the Chinese “want to make a deal and we want to make a deal.” The Republican president is set to meet with Xi on Thursday in South Korea, the final stop of his trip through Asia.

Bessent told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the threat of additional higher tariffs on China was “effectively off the table.” In interviews on several American news shows, he said discussions with China yielded initial agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the U.S., and that Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earths.

When asked how close a deal was, Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said on “Fox News Sunday” that “it’s really going to depend” on the two presidents.

Meanwhile, Trump reiterated that he plans to visit China in the future and suggested that Xi could come to Washington or Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida.

The progress toward a potential agreement came during the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Kuala Lumpur, with Trump seeking to burnish his reputation as an international dealmaker.

Yet his way of pursuing deals has meant serious disruptions at home and abroad. His import taxes have scrambled relationships with trading partners while a U.S. government shutdown has him feuding with Democrats.

Trump attends ceasefire ceremony between Thailand and Cambodia

At the summit, Thailand and Cambodia signed an expanded ceasefire agreement during a ceremony attended by Trump. His threats of economic pressure prodded the two nations to halt skirmishes along their disputed border earlier this year.

Thailand will release Cambodian prisoners and Cambodia will begin withdrawing heavy artillery as part of the first phase of the deal. Regional observers will monitor the situation to ensure fighting doesn’t restart.

“We did something that a lot of people said couldn’t be done,” Trump said. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet called it a “historic day,” and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the agreement creates “the building blocks for a lasting peace.”

The president signed economic frameworks with Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, some of them aimed at increasing trade involving critical minerals. The United States wants to rely less on China, which has used limits on exports of key components in technology manufacturing as a bargaining chip in trade talks.

“It’s very important that we cooperate as willing partners with each other to ensure that we can have smooth supply chains, secure supply chains, for the quality of life, for our people and security,” Greer said.

Trump reengages with a key region of the world

Trump attended this summit only once during his first term, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed unfamiliar with ASEAN during his confirmation hearing in January.

This year’s event was a chance for Trump to reengage with nations that have a combined $3.8 trillion economy and 680 million people.

“The United States is with you 100%, and we intend to be a strong partner and friend for many generations to come,” Trump said. He described his counterparts as “spectacular leaders” and said that “everything you touch turns to gold.”

Trump’s tariff threats were credited with helping spur negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia. Some of the worst modern fighting between the two countries took place over five days in July, killing dozens and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

The president threatened, at the time, to withhold trade agreements unless the fighting stopped. A shaky truce has persisted since then.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised the agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, saying at the summit that “it reminds us that reconciliation is not concession, but an act of courage.”

Tariffs are in focus on Trump’s trip

Trump in Kuala Lumpur met Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was also attending the summit. There has been friction between them over Brazil’s prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, the country’s former president and a close Trump ally. Bolsonaro was convicted last month of attempting to overturn election results in his country.

During their meeting, Trump said he could reduce tariffs on Brazil that he enacted in a push for leniency for Bolsonaro.

“I think we should be able to make some good deals for both countries,” he said.

While Trump was warming to Lula, he avoided Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The president is angry with Canada because of a television advertisement protesting his trade policies, and on his way to the summit announced on social media he would raise tariffs on Canada because of it.

One leader absent from the summit was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although he was close with Trump during Trump’s first term, the relationship has been more tense lately. Trump caused irritation by boasting that he settled a recent conflict between India and Pakistan, and he has increased tariffs on India for its purchase of Russian oil.

It’s all trick and no treat, Iowans need to beware of ‘ghost tapping’ scams

By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

Iowans are being warned about a new type of scam that might sound like Halloween fun, but it’s actually the first step toward having your identity stolen.

Khesha Duncan, with the Better Business Bureau, says what’s known as “ghost tapping” can be frightening — to your personal finances.

“It’s actually a type of scamming that takes advantage of tap-to-pay credit cards and mobile wallets,” Duncan says. “Scammers will purchase a tap machine. If someone doesn’t have an RFID wallet or sleeve for protection, it will allow that person to just bump into you and scan your credit card.”

Duncan says says ghost tap scammers can use these portable machines to steal your credit card information, often in crowded places.

“Like festivals or flea markets or even concerts,” she says. “They want to get in places where they can bump into people, and it’s very, very scary. You’re much more vulnerable, so you need to be very careful about that.”

As technology advances, so do the criminals, and Duncan says Iowans need to be vigilant with their personal financial data.

“If you’re in a high traffic area, even in the store, you might consider just going ahead and inserting your card or using the swipe feature for your card,” she says.

A little caution can go a long way in avoiding a costly scam, Duncan says. She recommends using the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker, a free tool that helps Iowans spot and report suspicious activity.

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