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.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 Daily BeastLee Greenwood, After Canceling NRA Appearance, Drops Bomb on Fox News: ‘That Weapon Killed Kids!’
Lee Greenwood, the staple of Trump rallies and the most prominent musician to pull out the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Texas, told Fox News on Friday that his conscience would not allow him to perform at the event in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting. Greenwood directly cited the massacre that left 19 children and two adults dead as the cause of his last-minute pang of conscience. During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Friday, Greenwood added: “For me to go and play at the NRA just days after the shooting would be an endorsement, and people would then deem that as [me saying] 'I like this weapon.
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."
- 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.
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.
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.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.
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.
PoliticsReutersWhite House says no decision made on student loan forgiveness
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The administration of President Joe Biden has not made a final decision on student loan cancellation, a White House spokesperson said on Friday, after a news report said it was planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower. Two of them said the $10,000 debt forgiveness would apply to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly. White House spokesman Vedant Patel said the report was inaccurate.
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.
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.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.
WorldINSIDERA man developed sudden amnesia after having sex with his wife, completely forgetting his own wedding anniversary party the day before
A man visited hospital after getting amnesia 10 minutes after having sex with his wife. A man got amnesia 10 minutes after having afternoon sex with his wife, temporarily wiping his memory of the previous day and rendering him unable to retain new information, doctors have said. The 66-year-old man became "distressed" after he looked at his phone after sex one afternoon, saw the date and thought that he'd forgotten his wedding anniversary — when in fact he'd celebrated it with his wife and family the day before, doctors from Limerick, Ireland said in a case report published in the Official Journal of the Irish Medical Organisation on Wednesday.
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.
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.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.
WorldRaleigh News and ObserverAfrican pythons dumped in NC forest before mushroom hunter discovers cage, group says
Two “incredibly lucky” ball pythons dumped in a North Carolina forest are getting a second chance at life thanks to a mindful mushroom hunter, a reptile rescue group says. The snakes, dubbed Chanterelle and Morel, were rescued after someone abandoned them near the Duke Forest area in Durham this week, according to BeWild Reptile Rescue. Forager Reid Stansell was hunting for mushrooms on Thursday, May 26, when his search turned up two small snakes locked in a Kritter Keeper terrarium not far from the road, the group said on Facebook.
WorldYahoo TVAndy Cohen, Bravo slammed by human rights groups over 'Real Housewives of Dubai': The 'misogynistic and homophobic government' gets 'free publicity'
Ahead of the show's June 1 premiere and days after the first trailer was released, a group of 12 human rights groups called for the network to publicly oppose the violence against women as well as the homophobic laws perpetrated by the rulers of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. The human rights groups — Freedom Forward, Action Corps, Clearinghouse on Women's Issues, CODEPINK, European Centre For Democracy and Human Rights, FairSquare, Health Advocacy International, Human Rights Sentinel, Just Foreign Policy, Last Mile4D, Peace Action and ReThinking Foreign Policy — sent an open letter to Bravo, its parent company NBCUniversal and the production company Truly Original expressing deep concern over the show.
BusinessNextSharkChinese auto company releases electric car with 'Warm Man Mode' feature targeted at 'oriental women'
A Chinese car company is gaining attention for its marketing of a new electric vehicle designed for women. The battery-powered Ora Ballet Cat is made by Great Wall Motors, a Baoding-based automobile manufacturer in Heibei Province, and is loaded with features “specially designed for oriental women,” according to the company. When you look up, the intimate LED super-sized makeup mirror is in front of you, and the light source gear specially designed for oriental women illuminates the skin, and the makeup effect is more perfect,” Great Wall Motors' Ora brand wrote.
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.
BusinessReutersGlobal automakers face electric shock in China
If global automakers think they can extend their dominance in China into the electric era, they may be in for a shock. Kings of the combustion age such as General Motors and Volkswagen are falling behind local players in the booming electric vehicle (EV) market in China, a country that's key to funding and developing their electric and autonomous ambitions. For Beijing office worker Tianna Cheng, the main dilemma when she was buying a 180,000-yuan ($27,000) Xpeng electric crossover was whether she should go for a BYD car instead, or a Nio; she did not seriously consider overseas marques.
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.
- PoliticsAFP Videographics
The West has declared 'total war' on Russia, says Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accuses Western countries of waging a "total war" on Russia, its people and its culture as Moscow pushes on with its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
WorldAssociated PressJapan, US fly fighters after China drill, N. Korean missiles
Japanese and U.S. forces have conducted a joint fighter jet flight over the Sea of Japan, Japan's military said Thursday, in an apparent response to a Russia-China joint bomber flight while U.S. President Joe Biden was in Tokyo. The Japan-U.S. joint flight on Wednesday involved eight warplanes based in Japan, including four U.S. F-16 fighters and four Japanese F-15s, the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces said. The flight occurred hours after North Korea fired three missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, amid concerns about another nuclear test by the North.
“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.”