WorldReutersBelarus foreign minister Makei dies suddenly - Belta
"Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has passed away suddenly," Belta reported without giving further detail. Makei had held his post since 2012. Makei, 64, attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - a military alliance of several post soviet states - in Yerevan earlier this week and was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
BusinessMarketWatch‘We’re headed for a family feud’: My father offered his 3 kids equal monetary gifts. My siblings took cash. I took stock. It’s soared in value — now they’re crying foul
Several years before my father's death, he offered me and my two siblings each an early “cash gift” from his estate in the amount of whatever the maximum non-taxable amount was at the time. My siblings took the cash and I decided to take it in stock valued the same as the cash amount. Fast forward five years: My father just passed away and my siblings bought expensive toys and luxury automobiles with their cash, while my stock is worth many times what it was when it was given to me.
BusinessBusiness InsiderBuckle in for a brutal free-fall in home prices and US housing is in a massive bubble, experts say. Here's how bad Jeremy Siegel, Paul Krugman and 5 others think it could get.
The US housing market is cratering, as the Fed's rapid interest rate hikes send mortgage costs soaring. Here's what Jeremy Siegel, Paul Krugman and 5 other top experts say about how painful things will get. The alarm bell is already ringing for American homeowners, as surging mortgage rates scare away buyers — and the slump in the US housing market is only going to get worse, experts say.
WorldAssociated PressChina sentences Chinese-Canadian star Kris Wu to 13 years
A Chinese court on Friday sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years in prison on charges including rape. Beijing's Chaoyang District Court said Wu was given 11 years and 6 months for a 2020 rape, and 1 year and 10 months for the “crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity” in a 2018 event in which he and others allegedly assaulted two women they had gotten drunk. The court said the three victims in the rape case had also been drunk and were unable to consent.
U.S.Fox NewsColombian judge suspended after appearing on Zoom call half-naked, smoking in bed
A Colombian judge known for sharing racy photos on her Instagram page has been suspended for three months after appearing on a virtual Zoom meeting while half-naked and smoking a cigarette in bed. In a 33-second clip circulating on social media, the 34-year-old judge, Vivian Polanía, can be seen lounging in bed, appearing half-awake while taking a drag from a cigarette. At one point in the hearing, a prosecutor tells Polanía that her camera is on, and she immediately turns it off as the hearing continues, local media reported.
PoliticsHuffPostEx-Prosecutor Says 7 Words Should Disqualify Mike Pence From Holding Office Again
Seven words that Mike Pence said about declining to appear before the House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riot should prohibit the former vice president from ever holding public office again, a former federal prosecutor has argued. In a YouTube video released Thursday, Glenn Kirschner issued a damning critique of Pence's recent claim that “Congress has no right to my testimony” about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Kirschner, who was a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington for more than two decades, said Congress has a legitimate purpose in investigating Donald Trump's attempted overthrow of the 2020 election result, which indicated that rival Joe Biden would be taking his place in the White House.
WorldReutersTaiwan president quits as party head after China threat bet fails to win votes
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday after her strategy to frame local elections as showing defiance to China's rising bellicosity failed to pay off and win public support. The elections for mayors, county chiefs and local councillors are ostensibly about domestic issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and crime, and those elected will not have a direct say on China policy. But Tsai had recast the election as being more than a local vote, saying the world is watching how Taiwan defends its democracy amid military tensions with China, which claims the island as its territory.
BusinessMarketWatchMy wife and I have $750,000 in savings and earn over $144,000 a year. Can we afford to spend $5,000 per month on housing?
In short, I don't feel that we can or should afford to pay 45% of our take home income towards housing when we have a baby on the way. Perhaps I can rent out our current house to cover our current mortgage and tax as well as some cash flow to help with new childcare cost when the baby is due this summer. However, dealing with a new baby coming and our young toddler who is not old enough for school will be a major undertaking.
BusinessMotley FoolSome Social Security Beneficiaries Will Enjoy an Unusual Raise in 2023 -- and It Has Nothing to Do With COLA
Whether you're already retired or just entering the labor force, there's a high likelihood that Social Security will play an important role in helping you pay the bills during your golden years. When national pollster Gallup surveyed retirees and nonretirees earlier this year, 89% of current retirees said they lean on Social Security as a needed source of income (to some varied degree), while 84% of nonretirees expect to rely on Social Security in some capacity during retirement. Given these figures, it's no shock that Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is a much-awaited announcement.
WorldReutersKim Jong Un says North Korea's goal is for world's strongest nuclear force
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country's ultimate goal is to possess the world's most powerful nuclear force, as he promoted dozens of military officers involved in the recent launch of North Korea's largest ballistic missile, state media reported on Sunday. The announcement comes after Kim inspected a test of the country's new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and pledged to counter U.S. nuclear threats with nuclear weapons on Nov. 18. Building the nuclear force is for reliably protecting the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people, and "its ultimate goal is to possess the world's most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century," Kim said in the order promoting the officers.
U.S.The GuardianCompany fires 2,700 workers while they were sleeping days before Thanksgiving
A Mississippi-based furniture company abruptly fired nearly 2,7000 workers in the US just days before Thanksgiving, according to multiple reports. Right before midnight on 21 November, thousands of workers – many of whom were asleep – received a text message from United Furniture Industries (UFI) saying that they were terminated effectively and were no longer allowed to return to work. “At the instruction of the board of directors … we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen business circumstances, the company has been forced to make the difficult decision to terminate the employment of all its employees, effective immediately,” the message, which the New York Post reviewed, said.
U.S.Fox NewsIdaho murders: Was Kaylee Goncalves the killer's main target? Police respond
EXCLUSIVE: Police initially called the shocking stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home an "isolated, targeted" attack, but they've kept most details under wraps as they continue to seek out their suspect. Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found dead at a house just yards off campus, hours after police say someone attacked them in their sleep on Nov. 13. The three women lived there, and Chapin was visiting his girlfriend, Kernodle.
BusinessAssociated PressWhole Foods decision to pull lobster divides enviros, pols
Environmental groups are once again at odds with politicians and fishermen in New England in the wake of a decision by high-end retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster. Whole Foods recently said that it will stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine at hundreds of its stores around the country. The company cited decisions by a pair of sustainability organizations to take away their endorsements of the U.S. lobster fishing industry.
BusinessMoneyWiseThe IRS says its 87,000 new hires could help collect as much as $1 trillion — by forcing tax cheats to pay up. But will more 'fire-breathing dragons' really do the trick?
Get ready, ultra-wealthy Americans: President Joe Biden wants you to start paying your share. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden plans to increase funding for the IRS to help the agency catch sneaky tax evaders — especially those high-earners who love to find loopholes around the law. A Treasury Department report from May 2021 estimates the extra money would allow the agency to hire around 87,000 new employees — which could include revenue agents and customer service and IT staff — by 2031.
PoliticsThe WrapMike Lindell’s Potential Run for RNC Chair Mocked: ‘I Don’t Trust This Idiot to Fix a Cup of Coffee’
After Mike Lindell — the MyPillow CEO and MAGA loyalist — floated the idea of challenging Ronna McDaniel as head of the Republican National Committee, he doubled down on the matter in a discussion with fellow conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon on Real America's Voice, prompting social media users to mock Lindell, the RNC and pro-Trump individuals at large. In a brief clip from the cable network's “The War Room,” Lindell claimed he had been doing his “due diligence the past few days,” meeting with big donors and state leaders to discuss the future of the political committee. The RNC's a mess.
WorldReutersChina sentences Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years for rape
BEIJING (Reuters) -A Beijing court sentenced Canadian singer Kris Wu on Friday to 13 years in jail after finding him guilty of crimes including rape, just over a year after his arrest in China, where he was born and built a lucrative career. The court in the district of Chaoyang said investigation showed that from November to December 2020, the 32-year-old, who is also known as Wu Yifan, had raped three women. "Wu Yifan took advantage of three drunken women ... at his home," the court said on its official WeChat account.
- U.S.The Independent
Judge filmed laying in bed in underwear while smoking during court hearing
A Columbian judge has reportedly been suspended after she was caught on camera smoking in her underwear during a Zoom hearing. This video circulating on social media allegedly shows judge Vivian Polania lying on a bed puffing a cigarette during a virtual debate. Ms Polania has previously been issued warnings about her personal Instagram posts, which also show her in her underwear.
WorldBusiness InsiderA dozen people are missing and one is dead after a landslide swept cars and buildings into the sea on an Italian coast
A landslide on the Italian island of Ischia has reportedly left 1 dead and at least 12 missing. Inclement weather made it difficult for rescuers to get to the island as rescue efforts continue. A landslide on the Italian coast has left about a dozen people missing and at least one dead, authorities said Saturday.
BusinessYahoo News CanadaWhat is BQ1.1.? An emerging and worrisome COVID-19 variant to keep an eye on
As Canadians are urged to receive their COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, many wonder when the pandemic will end. As the colder weather sets in, COVID-19 cases are rising in hospitals around the country. Different COVID-19 variants have reigned supreme at various points during the pandemic.
U.S.BBCAustralia: Python bites and drags five-year-old into pool
A five-year-old Australian boy has survived being bitten, constricted and dragged into a swimming pool by a python about three times his size. Beau Blake was enjoying a swim at home when the 3m long (10ft) reptile struck, his father told a local radio station. The pair - still entangled - were pulled from the pool by Beau's grandfather and the boy was prised free from the animal by his dad Ben.
U.S.Fox NewsFlorida police prevent 'mass casualty' event after stopping woman from driving car through 5K route
Police in Florida stopped a woman who was allegedly about to drive her car through the route of a 5K run on Thanksgiving morning. The St. Petersburg Police Department said 38-year-old Ashlee Lauren Morgan was driving her 2019 Range Rover Velar while going 60 miles per hour on Thursday as she was approaching 21st Avenue NE, near the route for the Coffee Pot Turkey Trot, according to FOX 13. According to an arrest report, Morgan was allegedly driving in a "reckless manner" as she approached the route where around 3,000 people were participating in the 5K.
BusinessReutersVietnam's VinFast ships first electric vehicles to U.S. customers
HAI PHONG, Vietnam (Reuters) -Vietnam's electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Friday it had shipped its first batch of 999 cars to the United States, capping a five-year bid to develop an auto production hub in the Southeast Asian country for markets in North America and Europe. VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said some of the VF 8 electric SUVs being shipped on Friday would be sent to U.S. car subscription service Autonomy but the majority would go to retail buyers who have ordered the car. Thuy said VinFast expected to be able to ship a second batch of cars to the United States, its first export market, around January.
PoliticsINSIDEROutgoing Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says the 'biggest change' he's seen in his congressional career is 'how confrontational Republicans have become'
Steny Hoyer spoke about his time in leadership as he prepares to hand over the reins. Outgoing Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who has long enjoyed strong relationships across the political aisle, said in a recent interview that the "biggest change" he's noticed in the lower chamber is the more "confrontational" nature of Republicans. Hoyer, a Marylander who has served in Congress since 1981, is often one of the first Democrats approached by top Republicans looking to cut deals on various pieces of legislation.
U.S.BuzzFeed"We Quickly Packed Up Our Stuff": People Are Revealing The Strangest Things They've Seen Out In Nature, And Maybe The Metaverse Isn't So Bad After All
He said he didn't like the woods. I offered an explanation for the skulls, and he replied: 'Animal heads don't fall off while the body takes a walk. "My uncle was out on his land planning the next year's feed plots.
WorldAssociated PressRussia steps up missile barrage of recaptured Ukrainian city
Natalia Kristenko's dead body lay covered in a blanket in the doorway of her apartment building for hours overnight. City workers were at first too overwhelmed to retrieve her as they responded to a deadly barrage of attacks that shook Ukraine's southern city of Kherson. “Russians took the two most precious people from me,” their bereft daughter, Lilia Kristenko, 38, said, clutching her cat inside her coat as she watched on in horror Friday as responders finally arrived to transport her mother to the morgue.
“Democrats succeeded again in making the former President a central campaign issue, and Mr. Trump helped them do it.”
“If you work…to install a Supreme Court that will eliminate constitutional rights, prepare to live with the electoral consequences.”
“Trump pretty reliably put his thumb on the scale for the riskiest and most flawed candidates.”
“The Republicans should have done much better on inflation and the economy. They lacked an effective and transparent message.”
“Where does Trump end and the far-right begin?”