U.S.Associated PressHousekeepers struggle as US hotels ditch daily room cleaning
Like many other hotels across the United States, the Hilton Hawaiian Village has done away with daily housekeeping service, making what was already one of the toughest jobs in the hospitality industry even more grueling. Industry insiders say the move away from daily cleaning, which gained traction during the pandemic, is driven by customer preferences. But others say it has more to do with profit and has allowed hotels to cut the number of housekeepers at a time when many of the mostly immigrant women who take those jobs are still reeling from lost work during coronavirus shutdowns.
U.S.INSIDERSen. Bill Cassidy claims people need AR-15s to defend themselves from 'feral pigs,' inadvertently echoing an old meme about 'feral hogs'
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said people need AR-15 rifles to kill "feral pigs." Cassidy made the comment to a Vice reporter who asked why people would ever need assault weapons. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy this week said that he thought people still needed assault weapons to kill "feral pigs," inadvertently echoing an old meme about gun control.
U.S.QuartzWe ordered the same gun used in Uvalde. Here’s how easy it was.
After Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas left 19 children and two adults dead, we wondered how difficult it was to order a DDM4V7, one of the two rifles the gunman bought a few days after turning 18 years old, according to reports. The AR-15-style weapon, made by Georgia-based Daniel Defense, sells online for $1,870, plus tax. Shipping to a local gun shop is free.
PoliticsReutersBiden administration plans to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower -report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. The White House plan would apply to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly, two of the people told the Post. The current government pause in student interest and payments expires at the end of August.
U.S.INSIDERSwitzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here's why it doesn't have mass shootings
In 2016, the NRA said on its blog that the European country had one of the lowest murder rates in the world while still having millions of privately owned guns and a few hunting weapons that don't even require a permit. Video: Inside a factory that makes untraceable 'ghost guns' But the Swiss have some specific rules and regulations for gun use. Insider took a look at the country's past with guns to see why it has lower rates of gun violence than the US, where gun death rates are now at their highest in more than 20 years, and the leading cause of death for children and adolescents.
U.S.The Hollywood ReporterJohnny Depp Gets Unfavorable Decisions on Jury Instructions
Jurors in the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard will not consider whether Adam Waldman, Depp's former attorney who was kicked off of the case, had free speech protections when he made allegedly defamatory statements against Heard. In a key ruling on jury instructions, the judge overseeing the case sided with Heard's lawyers on Thursday that Waldman does not qualify for privilege, a defense from defamation, because his statements were not in response to anything Heard said or wrote. A ruling the other way could have led to jurors outright denying Heard's $100 million counterclaim against Depp.
HealthAssociated PressDominant coronavirus mutant contains ghost of pandemic past
The coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease. Because it combines properties of both omicron and delta, the nation's dominant variant in the middle of last year. A genetic trait that harkens back to the pandemic's past, known as a “delta mutation," appears to allow the virus "to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave," said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas.
BusinessBusiness InsiderThe wild life of billionaire Twitter founder and 'Block Head' Jack Dorsey, who's officially left the social network's board, eats one meal a day, and takes ice baths
After cofounding Twitter on March 21 2006, he was booted as the company's CEO two years later, but returned in 2015 having set up his second company, Square — which he rebranded as Block in 2021. He led Twitter through the techlash that has engulfed social media companies, testifying before Congress multiple times. Related video: Elon Musk on Twitter fame, loneliness and the future of AI And Dorsey announced on November 29, 2021, he had stepped down as the CEO of Twitter.
U.S.HuffPostJimmy Kimmel Has Some Blunt Advice For 'Stepmom Porn' Fan Ted Cruz
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live! host once again went after Republican lawmakers for blocking action on gun control after this week's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two adults dead. And Kimmel saved some of the harshest comments for longtime nemesis Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who this week urged schools to have just one door in and out.
PoliticsAssociated Press'Trump is in the past': Mounting losses show limits of power
Donald Trump opened May by lifting a trailing Senate candidate in Ohio to the Republican nomination, seemingly cementing the former president's kingmaker status before another possible White House run. Trump faced a series of setbacks in Tuesday's primary elections as voters rejected his efforts to unseat two top targets for retribution: Georgia's Republican governor and secretary of state, both of whom rebuffed Trump's extraordinary pressure to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Nearly seven years after the onetime reality television star launched what seemed to be an improbable campaign for the White House, the “Make America Great Again” movement Trump helmed isn't going anywhere.
ScienceBBCAncient DNA reveals secrets of Pompeii victims
Researchers studying human remains from Pompeii have extracted genetic secrets from the bones of a man and a woman who were buried when the Roman city was engulfed in volcanic ash. This first "Pompeian human genome" is an almost complete set of "genetic instructions" from the victims, encoded in DNA extracted from their bones. Ancient DNA was preserved in bodies that were encased in time-hardened ash.
U.S.TheStreet.comElon Musk Chooses Sides on Gun Control Debate
Elon Musk is the most influential CEO in the world. The mogul with 95 million followers on Twitter is determined to use his platform to weigh in on public debates, whatever they may be. In recent months, the CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has thus imposed his voice on subjects such as the Russian war in Ukraine, free speech with the eventful acquisition-in-progress of the social network Twitter for $44 billion, cancel culture and its corollary wokeism.
- PoliticsThe El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke confront Gov. Greg Abbott during Texas shooting update
Beto O'Rourke confront Gov. Greg Abbott during Uvalde, Texas shooting update.
U.S.HuffPostFormer ESPN Journalist's Excuse For Uvalde Police Inaction Shocks Twitter Users
Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is inspiring a debate on what can be done to prevent future tragedies ― as are reports from witnesses that local police were slow to respond to the incident. Law enforcement authorities are facing questions and criticism over how much time elapsed before police put a stop to the rampage by a gunman who killed 19 children and two adults. Jason Whitlock, a former ESPN journalist who now works for conservative outlet The Blaze, shared a take in response to a tweet by right-wing disinformation peddler Jack Posobiec, who wondered why “armed Texans” didn't go after the gunman.
U.S.Fox NewsUvalde, Texas residents react to Beto O'Rourke disrupting Abbott press conference: 'Bull----'
Several residents in Uvalde, Texas, still reeling from the elementary school mass shooting that killed 19 kids and two teachers have spoken out against Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke's attempt to derail Gov. Greg Abbott's press conference Wednesday. Abbott had just finished speaking about mental health resources available for survivors and first responders to Tuesday's shooting when O'Rourke, a pro-gun control gubernatorial candidate, walked up to the stage and accused Abbott of "doing nothing" to prevent these tragedies.
U.S.Associated Press'Horrifying' conspiracy theories swirl around Texas shooting
By now it's as predictable as the calls for thoughts and prayers: A mass shooting leaves many dead, and wild conspiracy theories and misinformation about the carnage soon follow. It happened after Sandy Hook, after Parkland, after the Orlando nightclub shooting and after the deadly rampage earlier this month at a Buffalo grocery store. Within hours of Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, another rash began as internet users spread baseless claims about the man named as the gunman and his possible motives.
U.S.The Daily BeastDaniel Defense, the Maker of the Uvalde Shooter’s ‘Perfect Rifle,’ Abruptly Exits the NRA Convention
On a Memorial Day weekend when we honor those who died in service to our country, the company that manufactured a weapon of war used to kill 19 children and two adults in a Texas elementary school had planned to hawk its wares at the gun industry's annual collective disgrace. But in the aftermath of Tuesday's slaughter in Uvalde, Daniel Defense, is no longer slated to join all the other profiteers of violent death at this weekend's NRA convention in Houston. Up until Wednesday afternoon,the company was to have occupied Booth 4839, conveniently close to the cafe at the George R. Brown Convention Center, amid what the NRA terms “14 acres of guns and gear.
WorldINSIDERThe Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, is so tall that people perceive time differently from the top and bottom floors
Standing at 2,716.5 feet, Dubai's Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. It's so tall that people on the top and bottom of the building have a different read of time. The building "transcends the earth's local temperature and climate," author Stefan Al wrote in his new book, "Supertall."
U.S.Associated PressCops: 500,000 fentanyl pills found in Arizona traffic stop
Two women were arrested after about 500,000 fentanyl pills were found in an SUV pulled over for speeding on Interstate 10 in Arizona, police said. The pills were found concealed in collagen supplement bottles on Monday during a search that also turned up a handgun and a large amount of cash, police from the small city of Casa Grande south of Phoenix said in a statement. Over a two-month period in Arizona late last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration working with Arizona law enforcement agencies made seizures of more than 3 million fentanyl pills, 45 kilograms (99 pounds) of fentanyl powder and 35 firearms.
U.S.Belleville News-DemocratMan points gun at TV reporter during live segment on gun violence, Illinois station says
Illinois police are looking for a man that was shown on video pointing what appears to be a gun at a news anchor and her crew while she was filming a live segment on gun violence. A FOX32 reporter and her crew on May 25 were filming a segment in Chicago on gun violence, FOX2 reported. While the reporter was speaking on camera, a man walked behind her and quickly pointed a gun in her direction, footage from FOX2 showed.
U.S.LA TimesThey smeared blood on themselves, hid and watched their teachers get shot. These are the survivors' stories
Two days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School here, survivors are recounting stories of the horrifying moments they endured as they were attacked. "It's just really hard to cope with everything that's going on," said Amber Gonzales, whose 8-year-old daughter, Aubree, hid under her desk in another classroom while the shooting occurred. Gonzales said Aubree was still traumatized by what happened.
ScienceReutersBacteria with antibiotic resistant genes discovered in Antarctica, scientists say
Bacteria in Antarctica have been discovered with genes that give them natural antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance and have the potential to spread out of the polar regions, according to scientists in Chile. Andres Marcoleta, a researcher from the University of Chile who headed the study in the Science of the Total Environment journal in March, said that these "superpowers" which evolved to resist extreme conditions are contained in mobile DNA fragments that can easily be transferred to other bacteria. "We know that the soils of the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the polar areas most impacted by melting ice, host a great diversity of bacteria," Marcoleta said.
U.S.HuffPostTucker Carlson Cooks Up Absurd New Scapegoat For Texas School Massacre
Australia hasn't had a mass shooting since 1996, when a gunman opened fire at a tourist resort in Port Arthur, killing 35 people. The government responded by enacting strict gun control legislation, including banning all semi-automatic rifles. In New Zealand, all semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles were banned after a gunman killed 51 people in Christchurch in 2019.
BusinessNextSharkStrippers can apparently better forecast the market than your finance bro
In a tweet that has since gone viral, a netizen who claims to be a stripper declared that we are currently in a recession based on the empty status of strip clubs. The user, @botticellibimo, explained that “the strip club is sadly a leading indicator and i can promise ya'll we r in a recession lmao.” In a series of recent posts related to their original tweet, the user made their case, arguing that “Sex work has survived through every war, recession, decline of empires,” and pointing out that strip clubs have been “an operative tool” for business people, and not just a source of 'sinful' entertainment.
U.S.ReutersU.S. FAA vows 'immediate action' after Capitol security scare
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Congress it has taken "immediate action" to ensure U.S. Capitol Police are aware of unusual aerial events after an April 20 small airplane flight that prompted a security scare. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen said in a letter to Congress that the agency will provide advance notification of special event flights in the Washington-area. Nolen said the agency believes "this will provide all of our interagency partners with the extra time necessary to reduce any potential confusion," the letter dated Friday said.
“It could give millions a chance to finally buy a house or start their business or help their kids get an education, too.”
“You signed a contract…If you don’t want to deal with the financial pressure of debt, don’t take out the loan.”
“Without action from Biden, Black student debt will hinder his agenda with respect to eliminating racial inequities.”
“Blanket relief could end up routing too much relief to those who do not need it and too little to those who do.”
“Unlike a number of other policy issues, student debt relief doesn’t need to be pushed through a narrowly controlled Congress.”