BusinessYahoo FinanceOnly one thing will send gas prices back below $4 a gallon, analyst says
Despite West Texas intermediate crude oil futures dipping below $100 per barrel on Tuesday, serious gas price relief may be unlikely happen until motorists make adjustments by driving less. "I think the only thing that's going to make a dent in gasoline or jet fuel prices is demand destruction," Vectis Energy Partners principal Tamar Essner said on Yahoo Finance Live after being asked when gas prices may drop below $4 a gallon (video above). Consumers are beginning to see some pressure taken off their wallets when making their stop at the local gas pump, with the average price of regular unleaded gasoline dropping for the third straight week last week, but prices remain exorbitant as drivers haven't pulled back aggressively on travel.
WorldThe Daily BeastPutin Pal Drops Menacing Hint: a ‘Cleansing’ Is Coming for Europe
The time has come for the forgetful Europe to give itself a moral cleansing,” Lukashenko said, without going into further detail about what that would entail, according to BelTA. Lukashenko mentioned that efforts to fight Nazis from World War II, or what Russia calls the “Great Patriotic War,” are not over yet—echoing erroneous Russian claims that they are waging war in Ukraine in order to “denazify” or fight Nazis in Ukraine. It is “a war to destroy the Slavic ethnos, cultures and entire nations.
BusinessMoneyWiseBill Gates just won legal approval to buy 2,100 acres of North Dakota farmland worth $13.5M — and people are ‘livid’ about it all across the state
Bill Gates made his fortune in tech, but he's now betting big on something completely different: farmland. Last week, Gates secured the legal approval for purchasing 2,100 acres of farmland from northeastern North Dakota potato growers Campbell Farms. Of course, this isn't first time Gates has invested in the asset class.
WorldReutersU.S. funeral home owner who sold body parts pleads guilty to fraud
A former Colorado funeral home owner pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal charge of defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting their family members' corpses and selling the body parts without permission, a practice exposed in a 2018 Reuters investigative report https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-bodies-funeral. Megan Hess, who operated a funeral home called Sunset Mesa and a human body parts business called Donor Services from the same building, entered the plea to the charge of fraud at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher in Grand Junction, Colorado. Gallagher scheduled Hess, who had previously pleaded not guilty, to be sentenced in January, with the prosecution calling for 12 to 15 years in prison.
WorldFTW OutdoorsCan you spot the mountain lion stalking the elk?
Travel Guide Book on Saturday shared an image showing the hind portion of an elk and, somewhere in the arroyo, a predatory mountain lion. Research reveals that the image was captured by a motion-sensor trail camera in October 2019 as part of an arroyo restoration project in New Mexico's Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge. Rio Mora shared the image as a quiz for its Facebook followers in July 2020.
U.S.INSIDERJustice Clarence Thomas once opposed Highland Park's assault weapons ban, saying that the 'overwhelming majority' of those with the rifles use them lawfully
Highland Park, Illinois, banned assault rifles nearly a decade before Monday's mass shooting. The ban was challenged and the case made its way to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear it. In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that an "overwhelming majority" use such weapons lawfully.
- U.S.Associated Press
San Francisco property owners banned from parking car on it
A San Francisco couple that parked their car for decades on a paved part of their property in front of their home has been banned from doing so unless they want to risk steep fines. KGO-TV reported Monday that city officials sent a letter to Judy and Ed Craine telling them they can't park on the pavement on their property on a hilly street even though they have for 36 years. With the letter came a notice of a $1,542 fine and the threat of a $250-a-day fee for continued parking on their property.
BusinessMarketWatchCar quality is slipping: These are the brands with the most and least complaints, study finds
The study, in its 36th year, asks new car owners to report problems with their vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. The numbers had been trending down in recent years. Last year, the industry average was 162 owner complaints per 100 vehicles.
PoliticsINSIDERAdam Kinzinger and his family are getting so many death threats over his Trump criticism that his office put together a 3-minute audio clip
Rep. Adam Kinzinger says he's been getting threatening calls to his office in Washington, DC. People have also threatened to go after him and his family. Kinzinger is a member of the House committee investigating the insurrection.
WorldReutersRussia's stated war aims begin catching up with reality
The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament said on Tuesday that Ukraine had become a "terrorist state" and was doing everything to ensure that Russia did not stop its invasion at the borders of the eastern Donbas region as advertised. The remark by Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin marked an escalation of Russian war rhetoric but ignored the fact that Moscow's forces already occupy large parts of southern Ukraine as well. It suggested that Moscow, fresh from seizing the last parts of Ukraine's Luhansk region on Sunday, might be preparing once more to expand its stated war objectives, which it reined back a month into the invasion after an assault on the capital Kyiv and an advance on the second largest city Kharkiv were beaten back.
- WorldWSJ
Highland Park Shooting Planned for Weeks, Police Say
Local police apprehended 21-year-old Robert E. Crimo III as a suspect following a mass shooting during a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb. Crimo planned the attack for several weeks and disguised himself as a woman during the attack, according to police. Photo: Cheney Orr/Reuters
BusinessMoneyWiseHousing correction is 'dead ahead,' warns Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi — here’s how he sees things playing out over the next several months
Don't miss Mitt Romney says a billionaire tax will trigger demand for these two physical assets — get in now before the super-rich swarm Stocks are down, but “cash is not a safe investment,” says Ray Dalio — get creative to find strong returns Warren Buffett likes these 2 investment opportunities outside of the stock market Spiking mortgage rates Mortgage rates continue to climb as interest rates rise further, with some forecasting in the short-term a rise of 3.25%. On a 30-year fixed-rate loan, mortgage rates are now sitting at about 6%. As these rates rise, mortgage payments can be several thousand dollars higher than they were a year ago, Zandi says.
WorldReutersSwiss give cool reply to Ukraine call for seizing Russian assets
Switzerland has given a cool response to calls from Ukraine's prime minister to use frozen assets of ultra-wealthy Russians to help fund his country's $750 billion reconstruction project. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a conference in Lugano that $300-500 billion of Russian assets had been frozen by the United States, European Union and Britain, money he said could help rebuild wrecked schools, hospitals and homes. "We propose to find (a) formula to create national and international legislation for (creating the) possibility of confiscation of frozen assets in case of unprovoked aggression," Shmygal said, referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
U.S.HuffPostRep. Lauren Boebert's Terrible Take On Denmark Shooting Slammed As 'Deadly' Stupid
There was just a mass shooting in Denmark, a country with some of the strictest gun laws in Europe. It's time to admit that gun laws DO NOT stop mass shootings! tweeted the Republican gun fanatic, who once had her children pose for a Christmas picture holding assault rifles.
U.S.INSIDERPhiladelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says he'll be 'happy' to leave office after July 4 shooting: 'I'm waiting for something bad to happen all the time'
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney gave a raw response to Monday night's shooting. Kenney said gun violence has been a constant worry for him while in office. "I'll be happy when I'm not here — when I'm not mayor, and I can enjoy some stuff," Kenney said.
U.S.Associated PressFlags to be lowered in Kentucky after 3 officers killed
Flags at Kentucky state buildings will be lowered to half-staff Tuesday morning in honor of three officers who were killed when a man with a rifle opened fire on police attempting to serve a warrant, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday. Flags will remain at half-staff until sunset Thursday in remembrance of Floyd County sheriff's deputy and Martin City fire Chief William Petry, Prestonsburg police Capt. Ralph Frasure and Prestonsburg police Officer Jacob Chaffins, Beshear said in a news release. The three were killed Thursday night in an hourslong standoff at a home in Allen, a small town in the hills of Appalachia in eastern Kentucky.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastJoe Rogan Reveals He’s Rejected Trump Multiple Times for Interview
Joe Rogan claimed this week that Donald Trump has repeatedly asked to appear on his popular podcast—only for the controversial podcaster to shoot down the offers because he's “not interested in helping” Trump. Just days after backing GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, the charter member of the so-called Intellectual Dark Web also pointed out that he is “not a Trump supporter in any way, shape, or form.” Talking to fellow podcast host Lex Fridman earlier this week, Rogan remarked that the “Trump era is also going to be one of the weirder times” in recent history.
BusinessBarrons.comDid Tesla Lose the EV Crown? Here’s What to Know.
Warren Buffett-Backed BYD sold more cars than Tesla during the first six months of the year, but that doesn't mean it's sold the most battery-only electric vehicles. By comparison, Tesla (TSLA) delivered almost 565,000 vehicles in the first half of the year. In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 254,695 cars, a drop of 18% compared with first-quarter deliveries of 310,048.
PoliticsAssociated PressJan. 6 panel: More turning up with evidence against Trump
More witnesses are coming forward with new details on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot following former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's devastating testimony last week against former President Donald Trump, says a member of a House committee investigating the insurrection. The panel already has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who investigators remain hopeful will appear Wednesday for a deposition, and said it would also welcome follow-up details from Secret Service members with Trump that day. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., cited Hutchinson's testimony that Trump wanted to join an angry mob of his supporters who marched on Jan. 6, 2021, to the Capitol, where they rioted, as particularly valuable in “inspiring” more people to step forward as the committee gets set for at least two public hearings this month.
U.S.Travel Noire'Karen' Passenger Kicked Off Plane For Refusing To Sit Next To A Baby
An unruly female passenger has been kicked off a plane for refusing to sit next to a baby. The incident occurred in February 2018. The plane was about to take off from JFK Airport in New York.
U.S.WFXTWoman attacked by coyote in parking lot of restaurant on North Shore
Police are investigating after a woman said she was attacked by a coyote in the parking lot of a restaurant on the North Shore over the weekend. The woman, a native of Texas who was in town visiting a friend, was walking out of the Bertucci's at 450 Paradise Road in Swampscott around 10 p.m. Saturday when a coyote approached her, according to the Swampscott Police Department. In June, a man smoking a cigarette outside of his truck on Paradise Road reported that he was also attacked by a coyote.
WorldAssociated PressHigh cost of Russian gains in Ukraine may limit new advance
After more than four months of ferocious fighting, Russia claimed a key victory: full control over one of the two provinces in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland. The critical question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength for a new offensive to complete its seizure of the Donbas and make gains elsewhere in Ukraine. “Yes, the Russians have seized the Luhansk region, but at what price?” asked Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst in Ukraine, noting that some Russian units involved in the battle lost up to a half their soldiers.
U.S.INSIDERA Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate in Illinois apologized for asking people to 'move on' hours after the Highland Park mass shooting
Darren Bailey apologized for comments he made less than two hours after the Highland Park shooting. In a live stream, Bailey urged people to "move on and celebrate the independence of this nation." A Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate in Illinois has apologized for telling people to "move on" just hours after Monday's mass shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb.
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverAfter 3 1/2 decades of thrilling crowds, a jet-powered semi-truck meets a tragic end
Three jet engines made it the fastest thing on wheels at most drag racing events, while at air shows it was often the only jet that never left the ground when it barreled down the runway at 300 mph or more. The truck was racing two airplanes at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival in Michigan on Saturday when it crashed. The driver, Chris Darnell, 40, of Springfield, Missouri, was killed.
WorldAssociated Press'Hell on earth': Ukrainian soldiers describe eastern front
Ukrainian soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region — where Russia is waging a fierce offensive — describe life during what has turned into a grueling war of attrition as apocalyptic. In interviews with The Associated Press, some complained of chaotic organization, desertions and mental health problems caused by relentless shelling. Lt. Volodymyr Nazarenko, 30, second-in-command of the Ukrainian National Guard's Svoboda Battalion, was with troops who retreated from Sievierodonetsk under orders from military leaders.
“Left unchecked, if artificial intelligence reaches cognition … it will be fueled by some of the most inhumane impulses of humanity.”
“Now is the time to stop and think — before our technology outstrips us once again.”
“I don't want to talk about sentient robots, because at all ends of the spectrum there are humans harming other humans.”
“Minds can take different forms … We should avoid reducing questions about AIs to ‘Can AIs think and feel like us?’”
“To identify sentience, or consciousness, or even intelligence, we’re going to have to work out what they are.”