Mitchell G. Patton

The departure of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could easily have led to a power vacuum in which a host of ambitious lawmakers, old and young, publicly fought for the chance to lead House Democrats. .Instead, a new generation: Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, of New York; Katherine Clark, 59, of Massachusetts; and Pete Aguilar, 43, of California, will almost certainly be elected to the top three leadership positions this week without a challenge or much fanfare.There were a couple of bumps in the road. Some younger members are bitter that Majority Leader Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, 82, chose to remain…

The University of Houston will penalize a member of its football team who slapped a Tulsa team player following their 37-30 loss on Saturday.Houston Cougars head coach Dana Holgorsen and University of Houston vice president of athletics Chris Pezman released a joint statement criticizing the actions of UH wide receiver Samuel Brown, who slapped Tulsa senior defensive back Bryson Powers, after Saturday's game.Video of the incident shows Powers on the field talking with UH senior linebacker Donavan Mutin, who were former high school teammates. Brown approaches the men, points him out, and slaps him before leaving."This type of conduct is…

An 11-month-old baby and a 3-year-old boy died of stab wounds after their mother was taken into custody for observation Saturday night in New York City, police said.The children, both boys, were found in a Bronx apartment with multiple injuries to their necks and torso and did not survive after being transported to a hospital, Patrol Borough Bronx Deputy Chief Louis De Ceglie said at a news conference on Saturday night. Officers and another family member tried to resuscitate them at the scene, he said. De Ceglie said officers had been dispatched to the scene around 7:20 p.m. in response…

This year, I joined nearly 6.5 million people in setting up a reading challenge through Goodreads. I've set a goal of 50 books to finish by the end of 2022 (Goodreads reports that 49 was the average for this year). To be honest, I wasn't sure I could do it. I love to read, but these days at nightfall, the time of day that I have always set aside for reading, I am falling asleep.To my surprise, I finished the challenge just before Thanksgiving, because I found a way to experience the books during other periods of my day, such…