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.HuffPostDonald Trump's Chant Of Uvalde Victims' Names At NRA Rally Curdles Critics' Blood
Former President Donald Trump's mangled recitation of the names of the 21 Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting victims at the National Rifle Association's convention on Friday made Twitter critics' blood run cold. The names of the 19 children and two teachers, broken up into hardly recognizable syllables in Trump's stumbling pronunciation, were interspersed with the funereal sound of a gong. Despite the tragedy, Trump hailed the NRA in his speech at its convention in Houston and ended his remarks with his trademark clenched fists and “cha-cha-cha” dance move.
U.S.WSB Cox articlesCoweta man sentenced in “worst child molestation case” judge had ever seen
A Coweta County judge has found a man guilty in what he's calling the “worst child molestation case” he had ever seen. Derrol Allen Grant was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences followed by 60 years for four counts of aggravated child molestation, one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, one count of aggravated sexual battery and three counts of child molestation. DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Newnan Police began to investigate Grant in 2018 after a child told a friend -- who then told a school counselor -- that Grant had been abusing the victim for six years.
NewsYahoo News Canada$2M for Texas shooting family: Irma and Joe Garcia’s death in a single week sparks action
"Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers," Debra Austin, Irma's cousin, posted on the GoFundMe page. "I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 25 years was too much to bear." The online fundraiser far exceeded the US$10,000, with several contributors posting message of support for the Garcia family.
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.
U.S.INSIDERThe Uvalde school police chief initially told the public there were 'some deaths' after the shooting. Authorities now say he refused to send cops into the building during the massacre.
The police chief of the Uvalde, Texas, school district initially told the public there were "some deaths" in the wake of the school shooting. Authorities alleged that Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo made a "wrong" call during the massacre. Arredondo delayed cops from breaching the classroom where the gunman carried out the rampage, an official said.
WorldAssociated PressUAE dismantles plane of gunrunner Russia wants for Americans
The emirate of Umm al-Quwain plans a $675 million development on a island just across a lagoon from the deactivated airport where Bout's plane sits. His legacy, however, lives on even as workers disassemble the aircraft's wings — Bout is in the news again as Russia has suggested America trade him for U.S. citizens held by Moscow amid its war on Ukraine. I had not realized that the plane was there to this day," said Stephen Braun, the co-author of a book on the gunrunner called “Merchant of Death."
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 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.
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.
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.
- BusinessReuters Videos
Russia prepares to seize exiting Western firms
STORY: The golden arches are coming down in Russia as McDonald's heads for the exit. It's just one of countless western firms that have decided to quit the country. That's angered Moscow, which now has a response in the works.
BusinessMoneyWise‘Cash is still trash’ — Billionaire Ray Dalio says keeping money in a savings account is not safe. Here’s what he holds instead
Let's take a look at what Dalio's hedge fund holds instead. Sign up for our MoneyWise newsletter to receive a steady flow of actionable ideas from Wall Street's top firms. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) According to Bridgewater's latest 13F filing to the SEC, the fund held 22.72 million shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF at the end of March.
WorldReutersArchaeologists discover ancient Mayan city on construction site
Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of an ancient Mayan city filled with palaces, pyramids and plazas on a construction site of what will become an industrial park near Merida, on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The site, called Xiol, has features of the Mayan Puuc style of architecture, archaeologists said, which is common in the southern Yucatan Peninsula but rare near Merida. "We think more than 4,000 people lived around here," said Carlos Peraza, one of the archaeologists who led the excavation of the city, estimated to have been occupied from 600-900 A.D. "There were people from different social classes...
U.S.PoliticoTwo Professors Found What Creates a Mass Shooter. Will Politicians Pay Attention?
Each time a high-profile mass shooting happens in America, a grieving and incredulous nation scrambles for answers. Three years ago, Jillian Peterson, an associate professor of criminology at Hamline University, and James Densley, a professor of criminal justice at Metro State University, decided to take a different approach. In their view, the failure to gain a more meaningful and evidence-based understanding of why mass shooters do what they do seemed a lost opportunity to stop the next one from happening.
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
Woman gets 15 months in prison for punching flight attendant
A California woman who punched a Southwest Airlines flight attendant in the face during a flight, breaking her teeth, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Vyvianna Quinonez was also ordered Tuesday by the federal judge in San Diego to pay nearly $26,000 in restitution and a $7,500 fine for the assault on a May 23, 2021, Southwest flight between Sacramento and San Diego. Quinonez last year pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, admitting she punched the flight attendant in the face and head with a closed fist and grabbed her hair.
PoliticsThe RootPlans To Forgive $10,000 In Student Debt Per Borrower Announced By Biden Administration
Is student loan forgiveness finally on the way to help the millions of Americans looking for assistance? According to a report by The Washington Post, the Biden administration plans to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower. The move would be consistent with the President's campaign promise in 2020.
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.
WorldReutersU.S. seizes Iranian oil cargo near Greek island - sources
LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) -The United States has confiscated Iranian oil held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said. It was unclear whether the cargo was impounded because it was Iranian oil or due to the sanctions on the tanker over its Russian nexus. Iran and Russia are facing separate U.S. sanctions.
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.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.Associated PressMedicare recipients to see premium cut — but not until 2023
Medicare recipients will get a premium reduction — but not until next year — reflecting what Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Friday was an overestimate in costs of covering an expensive and controversial new Alzheimer's drug. Becerra's statement said the 2022 premium should be adjusted downward but legal and operational hurdles prevented officials from doing that in the middle of the year. Medicare Part B premiums jumped by $22 a month, to $170.10, for 2022, in part because of the cost of the drug Aduhelm, which was approved despite weak evidence that it could slow the progression of Alzheimer's.
U.S.INSIDERCNN reporter calls out Texas police official at school shooting press conference: 'We've been given a lot of bad information'
A CNN reporter called out a Texas official over "bad information" about the Uvalde school shooting. "Why don't you clear all of this up now," CNN's Shimon Prokupecz said during a briefing. The Texas Department of Public Safety has given conflicting accounts about the school shooting.
U.S.Touchdown WireFalcons head coach Arthur Smith fails to understand politics in mass shooting comments
People who work in sports are not obligated to “stick to sports,” even when you disagree with them. Falcons head coach Arthur Smith has no such obligation, though the comments he made after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers showed a nearly complete misunderstanding of modern politics and how they work… and more importantly, how they don't work. I'm not going to get into some political rant,” Smith recently said, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic.
U.S.ReutersForest Service says it started all of New Mexico's largest wildfire
Two blazes that grew into New Mexico's largest ever wildfire were both started by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the agency said on Friday, prompting the state's governor to demand the federal government take full responsibility for the disaster. Forest Service investigators determined the Calf Canyon Fire was caused by a "burn pile" of branches that the agency thought was out but reignited on April 19, the Santa Fe National Forest said in a statement. That blaze on April 22 merged with the Hermits Peak Fire, which the USFS started with a controlled burn that went out of control on April 6, the agency previously reported.
“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.”