The Republican Party, also commonly called the GOP (for "Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery activists in 1854, it dominated politics nationally for most of the period from 1860 to 1932. There have been 18 Republican presidents, the first being Abraham Lincoln, serving from 1861 to 1865, and the most recent being Donald Trump who began serving in 2017.

Volunteer hosts went to the airport, picked up assigned students, fed them dinner, took them to the opening lecture at the Clay Center, put them in spare bedrooms for the night, then fed them breakfast this morning and will deliver the outstanding teens to buses that convey them to the mountain retreat where they undergo a month of intensive science training and outdoor fun.

Luckily, this year, enough local families volunteered to host all the brilliant youths. In the past, the number of guest homes sometimes fell short, and some of the visitors slept on cots and sleeping bags at local churches. They're adventurous teens and don't mind this makeshift camp-in but it's better if friendly hosts give them a more personal welcome for their stay.

"Democracy's real test lies in its respect for minority opinions." - Ellery Sedgwick

The Urnero (Leptodactylus latinasus) is a species of frog in the Leptodactylidae family. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrub land, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, rural gardens, and ponds.

The Agricultural Commissioner/Weights & Measures Department routinely conducts price verification inspections at retail locations to confirm that prices charged to consumers are the same as those posted or advertised. On a typical visit to a store, the inspector will select up to 15 items and then take them to the check stand for payment. When the items’ bar codes are scanned at the register, the price showing at the register must match what is posted on the shelf or advertised. If the prices do not match, the store will receive a notice of violation and the case may be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office or local city attorney for prosecution.