Latinos are expected to make up 13 percent of eligible voters in November—edging out black voters for the first time—Pew Research Center found, and a key target in Democrats’ election plans. But unemployment and CDC data show that the virus has disproportionately affected Hispanics both financially and in terms of infections and death rates due to the crisis. In California’s 25th district special election, where Republican Mike Garcia pulled off an upset over state assembly member Christy Smith, the Political Data Inc....

Newsom purchased airtime in Florida over the long weekend, urging Americans to move from DeSantis’ Florida to California, “where we still believe in freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate and the freedom to love.” “Why aren’t more Democrats doing stuff like this? Newsom is on a roll right now…” MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan wrote about the ad. “We need more Democrats to go on the offensive like this,” progressive political podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen tweeted....

The SALT provision allows taxpayers to deduct certain taxes paid to state and local governments from their federal taxes. The $10,000 cap on these deductions was instituted as part of the 2017 Trump tax act. Before the cap was introduced, the top 10 counties that claimed deductions were concentrated to California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, the Tax Foundation reported. The Foundation writes that the deduction generally benefitted taxpayers in places like these four high-tax states, as it allowed these areas to raise their taxes without necessarily making their residents pay more taxes as a whole....

A week before the election, Representative Vicente Gonzalez was alarmed when he saw a stream of cars in a caravan for Trump in his McAllen, Texas, border district composed almost entirely of Latinos, he told a friend. And after Texas came in comfortably for Trump on Election Day, Julian Castro and Representative Joaquin Castro scheduled a call with Biden pollster Matt Barreto to begin trying to understand what happened along the heavily Hispanic border counties where Trump did well, effectively sealing off yet again the Democratic dream of a blue Texas....

Jim Messina, who worked on Obama’s campaign in 2012, told Fox News in an interview Wednesday morning that a large portion of Democratic women voters were driven to the polls out of “anger” in states that had reproductive rights on the ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn federal abortion protections this summer. “Abortion is becoming the issue that is driving turnout,” Messina told Fox. He added that based on several exit polls, Democrats won over independent voters as well, which “no poll saw coming....

Whether she’s delivering farce or marital wisdom, Shapiro–whose first novel was the well-received “After Moondog”– is as absurdist as Jeanette Winterson and as acerbic as Lorrie Moore. To our narrator, a witty and agonizingly self-conscious photographer who’s more comfortable recording life than living it, marriage is a performance. “I encouraged in myself, and began to rehearse, the attitude of the wise wife: implacable detached amusement commingled with dogged acceptance.”...

He was so sure of it, he wished for it on his seventh birthday. He wanted to win it on Feb. 17, 1998, in a car that looked just like Bill Elliott’s. He even penned a letter about it in the second grade. MORE: Best photos from Daytona | Hamlin happy teammate’s not pissed When Hamlin’s dream finally came true on Sunday, his mother, Mary Lou Hamlin, tweeted out a photo of her son’s second-grade letter....

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic and published in the journal Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry, analyzed the records of 11,734 adults who had diabetes, coronary artery disease, or both. These participants were also enrolled in a commercial health plan in Arkansas that provided preventive dental care coverage. The researchers analyzed patients who had four and five years of continuous enrollment in the health plan (between 2014 and 2018) and compared healthcare costs of people who had at least one preventive dental visit for each year they were enrolled, compared to those who didn’t get dental care at all....

What Kind of Dental Problems Lead to Stroke? Research studies from countries as diverse as Germany, France, Sweden, India, and Korea show that varying degrees of periodontal disease (gum disease) are associated with strokes. Mild gum disease, which causes inflammation of the gums, is called gingivitis, while more serious gum disease that causes the actual destruction of the gums is called periodontitis. Severe periodontitis can lead to tooth decay and eventually even tooth loss....

Patient A, as the woman is referred to on a report from the U.K.’s General Dental Council (GDC), bled to death hours after having five of her teeth removed on July 18, 2017 in London, England. According to the report, Patient A collapsed shortly after the second of two appointments scheduled within a week of each other to extract her upper teeth and replace them with dentures. Five teeth were extracted during each session....

Tempers flared during the heavyweight pair’s head-to-head meeting when Wilder poked Fury in the face, with the British fighter then taking his jacket and shirt off after a scuffle broke out behind him. MORE: Join DAZN and watch Canelo Alvarez vs. Rocky Fielding on Dec. 15 The pair, who also had to be separated during a news conference in October, were then kept apart by the sizeable entourages on stage at the end of a question-and-answer session in which Fury had branded Wilder “a fraud....

Sherman, who is the No. 2 U.S. diplomat at the State Department, spoke to journalists in the South Korean capital of Seoul on Friday, following a meeting with the country’s officials. North Korea has publicly acknowledged it is facing food shortages while also dealing with COVID. Vaccines to fight the disease have yet to arrive in the isolated nation. Sherman said on Friday: “We all feel for the people of the DPRK, who are indeed facing all the most difficult circumstances given the pandemic, and what it means as well for their food security....

Undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Fury ended his short-lived retirement after beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April, with a trilogy bout against Chisora - who he comfortably beat in 2011 and 2014 - first mooted in August. After another retirement and another reversal, Fury then called out Anthony Joshua following his fellow Briton’s second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, the WBA, WBO and IBF champion. Despite Hearn’s Matchroom, on behalf of Joshua, and Queensbury Promotions, who represent Fury, enjoying productive talks, the fight was shelved after Fury twice set deadlines for Joshua to sign a contract which were not practical to meet....

That pretty much sums up Derek Jeter’s day Tuesday. Not only did the Yankees legend have to do a painful CNBC interview with former teammate (and still-frenemy) Alex Rodriguez as part of a charity event in New York; he also learned his plans to become a minority owner of the Marlins had taken a slight hit. MORE: Derek Jeter’s career in photos SI.com summed up the interview in two words: “nightmare” and “trainwreck....

Rose made the denial in a statement to USA Today. MORE: Derrick Rose’s career in photos | Most heinous crimes connected to athletes “I am just focusing on staying healthy and getting ready for the season,” Rose said in the statement. “I am not going to comment other than to say — I know the truth, and am confident I will be proven innocent.” The woman, who was identified only as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in California alleging Rose, Randall Hampton and Ryan Allen broke into her apartment and raped her after she had been drugged during an earlier visit to Rose’s house in Beverly Hills....

Messi is enjoying another stellar campaign with the La Liga giants, scoring 27 goals in 34 games in all competitions. Coutinho, a €160million arrival at the Camp Nou from Liverpool in January, said it was amazing to see Messi, 30, still improving. “It seems incredible, but every day Messi gets better, and as a team-mate I can only take advantage of my moments with him,” the Brazil international told 8TV ....

Despite being ineligible for Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Chelsea following his arrival from fellow last-16 participants Liverpool, Coutinho was dropped for Barca’s 2-0 win . Coutinho – a €160 million signing last month – started the goalless draw against Getafe but made way for Andres Iniesta as goals from Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba saw Barca equal a club record of 31 games unbeaten in La Liga. Explaining his decision to drop Coutinho, Valverde told reporters: “I think it was best for my team to try to win....

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of independent experts advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has recommended that people living in long-term care facilities, as well as those age 65 and older, be included in Phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination program. The ACIP met on Dec 1 ahead of the FDA’s decisions to grant an emergency use authorizations to the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna....