Le Journal

Cette semaine le Real Madrid s’est incliné en Ligue des champions à domicile face à Manchester City. Absent lors de cette rencontre, Kylian Mbappé a tout de même été au centre du débat. Ancien coéquipier du Français, Valère Germain a tenu à prendre la défense du natif de Bondy. Au centre de toutes...

At the entry shack off Carbon Canyon Road, a man signed me in as a visitor and directed me to follow the car ahead up the gravel road. I was heading, with hesitancy, to the Hill of Hope. This is a sprawling piece of land owned for a half-century by an unusual religious movement. A Catholic woman in Placentia named Frances Klug had gained renown starting in 1967 as she transmitted messages she said came from God, the Virgin Mary and several saints. Hundreds of adherents raised $1.1 million to buy the 440 acres, which straddle San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties. Klug, called “Mother Frances,” envisioned a “City of God” that would include a basilica, a monastery, a convent, a hospital and an amphitheater that could hold up to 20,000 people. Estimated cost: $1.5 billion. This postcard image of St. Joseph’s Hill of Hope in Carbon Canyon dates to the 1970s. The ambitious plans for a religious and medical complex on the hilltop did not materialize. (Courtesy of Paul Spitzzeri) One of the 1970s concept drawings for a “City of God” atop a hill in Carbon Canyon was of an amphitheater that might have held 20,000. “It looks like the Roman Colosseum,” a historian marveled while showing the image at a Chino Hills Historical Society meeting on the topic in October. (Courtesy of Paul Spitzzeri) Frances Marie Klug, known as Mother Frances, transmitted what her adherents believe were revelations from heaven. Klug, who died in 2009, was honored at a Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, event at Hill of Hope, the site where hundreds used to hear her speak. (Photo by David Allen, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 3This postcard image of St. Joseph’s Hill of Hope in Carbon Canyon dates to the 1970s. The ambitious plans for a religious and medical complex on the hilltop did not materialize. (Courtesy of Paul Spitzzeri) Expand San Bernardino County planners in 1976 turned down the proposal on a 3-2 vote, saying the site was far too remote to support such an intensive use. Klug’s movement, St. Joseph’s Hill of Hope, continued but momentum faded, and she died in 2009. All this was the topic at a Chino Hills Historical Society meeting in October. More than 100 of us listened raptly to historian Paul Spitzzeri’s presentation, which had the provocative title “Cult or the True Catholicism?” Rumors have abounded for decades about the property, Spitzzeri said. In the audience at his invitation were Roberta Haag, who is Klug’s daughter, and Haag’s husband, Michael. The friendly couple stood to answer questions. Someone asked why there was security. It’s fire-prone private property, was the reply. Is there a broadcast tower? No. “I heard there were exorcisms,” one young man asserted. Ha! No. Open speculation might have been wilder had the Haags not been present. Denise Cattern, the Historical Society’s president, told me afterward with a laugh: “People have said, ‘I heard the Pope went up there in a motorcade.’” The Pomona Progress-Bulletin did run this memorable headline on June 11, 1973: “Pope informed of ‘biblical city’ plan in Carbon Cyn.” Intrigued, I introduced myself to Roberta Haag and was invited to Hill of Hope’s next event, a memorial for her mother. However, it was canceled due to November’s torrential rains. Last Sunday, though, found me driving up the private road through chapparal and oaks. Unsure if I should really give up a Sunday morning for this, I was now committed. But the day was warm and sunny, and the rugged landscape was lovely. The final stretch of road is paved. At the chapel, housed in a modular building, a member directed me to a parking space. Inside the extremely beige chapel, nearly 50 of us were present for the service known as Holy Hour. Members worship Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, at the Hill of Hope chapel atop a hill in Carbon Canyon. They gather a half dozen times per year for a service called Holy Hour that blends elements of Catholicism with the revelations of Frances Klug, the movement’s founder. (Photo by…

When Adam Schiff was sworn in as the junior U.S. senator from California one year ago, he’d already spent 12 terms in the House of Representatives and was arguably best known for leading House impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term. In the 12 months since joining the upper chamber of Congress, Schiff has continued to make a name for himself as a chief antagonist – and a prime target – of Trump, calling out actions by the president that Schiff, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor, considers unconstitutional or unethical. He’s embraced his role as one of the Democratic Party’s most vocal critics of Trump – even if it’s meant drawing the ire of the president. “We have to defend our democracy. We have to stand up to any president – Democrat or Republican – who abuses their power, who tries to silence and intimidate their critics. … We all have to stand up to that or there won’t be much of a rule of law left,” Schiff said during an interview last week. “Yes, I’m high on the president’s enemy list. I’m proud to be there,” he added. At the same time, during a speech on the Senate floor the day before, Schiff spoke of the idea of Democrats and Republicans working together to get more homes built; bring down the cost of groceries, utilities and childcare; provide affordable health care and put forward a “fair and humane immigration system.” “I am a proud Democrat. But I’m also willing to work with anyone to advance those efforts – including that guy at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue who doesn’t care for me very much and who I’m not particularly fond of either,” he said in reference to Trump. Schiff and other Democrats have been the subject of investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged mortgage fraud this past year. Schiff, who hasn’t been charged, has denied the allegations and accused the Trump administration of political retribution. When asked about Schiff’s first year in the Senate, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that the legislator – whom she referred to by a nickname – “clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that clouds his every thought” and accused Schiff of focusing more “on his hatred of the president than … on the issues that matter” to Californians. She suggested that Trump delivered more for Californians in the past year than Schiff, “including by completing the fastest debris removal effort in history to provide much-needed assistance to California communities” following the January wildfires in Southern California. California Democrats have largely credited the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the record pace of cleanup. At the same time, Schiff and other Democrats have suggested that Trump has held up sending additional federal dollars to California for projects like rebuilding infrastructure. In terms of Schiff’s legislative record in the Senate, none of the 19 bills he introduced since January, not including resolutions, has become law or even passed out of the Senate. Although it’s not out of the ordinary for bills to not have passed out of their originating house at this point – the halfway mark of a two-year congressional term – political observers don’t expect Schiff’s bills to gain much traction even next year since Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House. Schiff this year also introduced seven resolutions, of which one – to honor the life of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys legend who died in June, as a rock and roll and pop icon – was agreed to in the Senate. Resolutions generally express an opinion of the legislature, which is different from bills that propose new laws. Schiff also co-sponsored 250 other bills, not counting resolutions. Of those 250 bills, just one, introduced by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, to prohibit the online posting of intimate images of individuals if they…

By TRACEE M. HERBAUGH As shoppers flood stores across the country during the year’s biggest shopping season, retail workers are bracing for what many describe as the most demanding — and often demoralizing — stretch of the job. Related Articles Nordic people know how to beat the winter blues. Here’s how to find light in the darkest months Faith leaders embrace sound baths to connect with spiritual seekers Winter virus season so far is not too bad, but doctors worry about suffering to come If you want that tattoo erased it’s going to hurt and it’s going to cost you The Senate voted down dueling health proposals. Here’s what’s at stake for Americans “It magnifies everything,” said Nick Leighton, host of the podcast “Were You Raised by Wolves?,” which he co-hosts with comedian Leah Bonnema. Together, they dissect etiquette and the subtleties of social behavior. “People are stressed, they’re busy, they’re frazzled,” he said. “When that happens, we tend to forget other people exist.” Whether it’s gridlocked parking lots or shelves picked clean, the holiday retail environment can become a pressure cooker where manners evaporate quickly. November and December have long driven retail sales, prompting companies to hire large numbers of seasonal workers to manage the surge. These workers often absorb the brunt of shoppers’ frustration. Some customers treat employees as extensions of a corporation rather than as people. This year, there might be even fewer employees to handle crowds of holiday shoppers. Companies say they could cut back on seasonal workers because of economic uncertainty, while at the same time, shoppers are expected to spend more than they did last year. “Yelling at a worker isn’t doing anything,” Leighton noted. “Everyone else is busy, too…. Your shopping isn’t more important than the next person’s.” Here are some expert suggestions on how customers can be kinder, more polite and more empathetic toward the people helping to execute all those holiday lists. Manners apply everywhere People who behave courteously generally do so everywhere, while those who are rude in stores often have similar issues in their personal lives, etiquette consultants say. “We do not pay retail workers to be a therapist, a social worker or a punching bag. It’s not appropriate, and it’s not fair,” said Jodi R.R. Smith, president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting in Massachusetts. Long before she advised companies on etiquette, Smith worked several holiday seasons at a Hallmark store. Plan your shopping trip and leave time FILE – Shoppers browse through stores at Mall of America for Black Friday deals, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Bloomington, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher, File) Smith advises shoppers to plan ahead — knowing who is on their list, which stores they need to visit and when they will go. “Set yourself up for success,” she said. “Bring water or a snack. Do not go hungry.” Timing matters as well. “Ask yourself, ‘When is the best time to go?’” she said. “Weekends are busier, lines are longer and parking is tighter. If possible, go on a Wednesday morning when the store opens.” Establish a little rapport Shoppers browse through stores at Mall of America for Black Friday deals, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Bloomington, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher) Smith suggests making friendly eye contact with workers, offering a greeting and using humor to diffuse tense moments. If someone in line becomes irritable, she said, a gentle joke about needing a nap can reset the mood. “We don’t have control over others’ behavior, but we certainly do over ours,” she said. Shoppers can help reduce frustration by asking questions — and recognizing that workers may not have all the answers, said Elizabeth Medeiros, 59, who spent more than 35 years in retail in New York and the Boston area. Some companies are acting preemptively. Delta Airlines is encouraging kindness between customers and employees with a “Centennial Cheer” program. It says it will recognize…

On the night that Mom forgot Hanukkah, she left a message on my voicemail in a halting tone. It said simply, “For some reason I can’t remember the story of Hanukkah.” At 99, my mother’s always good memory had started to slip. She wanted to know if I could write down the story and bring it to her. Granted, it can be a convoluted story, so I boiled it down to the nugget. Bad guys desecrated the Temple. Good guys drove them out and discovered that the sacred lamp oil had been destroyed, except for one night’s supply. But miraculously, that oil lasted for eight nights. So, now we light candles for eight nights of Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle. “That sounds about right,” Mom laughed. With the story out of the way, I wanted to know what she remembered about the holiday when she was growing up in the Bronx. Her mother, a Russian immigrant, was widowed when Mom was three. The youngest child of a family of five brothers and two much older sisters, Mom talked about them all playing the dreidel game with pennies instead of wooden tops like the ones I grew up with. When she won a game, (not so easy, I discovered as I tried spinning a penny), she would head to the candy store down the street from their tiny apartment and buy a chocolate candy shaped like a small pineapple for two cents. So the sweet tooth we have always teased Mom about started at a very young age. She described the wonderful smells that came from her mother’s kosher kitchen, with the two stoves, one gas and one coal, as she fried latkes (potato pancakes). She set platters of them out for the children. served with homemade applesauce and challah bread. And they sat at the crowded kitchen table, next to the steamer trunk full of memories brought from the old country and ate by the light of the Hanukkah candles burning in the menorah. “It sounds so warm and happy, Mom,” I said. “Yes, but I like the way you do it at your house with the stories.” She was referring to “The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah” by Isaac Bashevis Singer. She loved the way George read the stories with deep feeling. The Hanukkah after Mom passed away George, Sara and I took latkes to her grave and George read from “The Power of Light.” We were going to make it a tradition but George passed away before the next Hanukkah and the night froze into a singular celebration. Now, seven years later, as I look through the book, I can hear George’s voice bringing life to the stories and see the smile of pleasure on my mother’s face as she listened to him read. I think I would tell my mother now that she didn’t forget Hanukkah. It was always in her heart. Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net. Follow her on patriciabunin.com Related Articles Senior Moments: When the need to let go comes full circle Senior Moments: Looking to the moon to find what I’m feeling inside Senior Moments: Mourning the loss of a rabbi, friend and teacher Senior Moments: Sharing stories of the past with a brand-new friend Senior Moments: Getting a very unexpected visitation after breaking my hip