‘She is a financial idiot and partier’: I loaned my sister $4,780 for a lawyer during her divorce. I am still chasing repayments
‘She earns $90,000 to $95,000 a year, but this year’s excuse is that she is in arrears for child-support payments.’
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Investigating ongoing after residents complain of minor damages
NBA star says he deleted Ma’Khia Bryant tweet because it was ‘being used to create more hate’
After another spate of mass shootings in America, Democrats are attempting to tighten gun-control measures
Anthony Thompson Jr., 17, died during a confrontation with police.
Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Thursday that China hoped the upcoming ASEAN summit on member Myanmar would pave the way for a "soft landing". The in-person summit in Jakarta on Saturday is the first concerted international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar, where security forces have killed hundreds of pro-democracy protesters since a Feb. 1 coup. The meeting is also a test for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which traditionally refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of a member state, and operates by consensus.
Woman’s search for biological parents leads police to identify victims
Anas Sarwar has admitted it is a “fair” to call him a hypocrite after he unveiled plans for an attack on private education despite sending his own children to a fee-paying school. Scottish Labour’s manifesto, published Thursday, calls for the charitable status of private schools to be revoked and for any public sector backing for them to end. The document states that such a policy would serve as “a contribution towards achieving a more socially just and inclusive society”. Mr Sarwar, the party leader, sends his own children to Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow, which he also attended, and currently charges annual fees of up to £12,924 per pupil. Asked whether he was a “hypocrite and humbug” for sending his own sons to a private school despite his own party presenting them as a force for social injustice, the father-of-three admitted criticism of him was valid. “I'm open about the fair question and the fair criticism that people make around the decision that my wife and I made for our children,” he said. “I want every child to have opportunity and that's why we put our education comeback plan at the heart of this manifesto. “There are different forms of inequality and prejudice that my children will face that other children won’t face, [but] that still means I accept the criticism around the choice I've made for my children's education.” Mr Sarwar also insisted that his support for the Union was “unequivocal” dispute pledging to “double down” on his attempt to win back support from pro-independence voters in the final fortnight of the Holyrood campaign. The manifesto includes a commitment not to support an independence referendum, warning a repeat vote would cause economic instability and “constitutional turmoil”. Mr Sarwar claimed the “political bubble” was wrong to focus on the constitution and that, despite failing to so far make a breakthrough in opinion polls, his plan to appeal across the constitutional divide was working. He was introduced at the manifesto launch by a business owner from Glasgow who said she was a lifelong SNP voter before switching to Labour. “I'll consider each issue on its merits,” Mr Sarwar said about potentially offering support to Nicola Sturgeon's SNP in the next parliament. “But does that mean I'm equivocating on the constitutional position? Absolutely not. I don't support independence, and I don't support a referendum.” Labour rebranded its manifesto a ‘national recovery plan’ and proposes handing every adult £75 to spend on high streets and offering state subsidised holidays in Scotland to boost the ailing tourism industry. The party did not propose immediate increases to income tax, however. It said if there is a need to raise revenues in the next term, rates should rise for those earning £100,000 or more. The better off could also be hit if Labour gets its way on council tax, which the party said should be scrapped and replaced with “a fairer alternative based on property values and ability to pay”.
From ‘hijacking’ results to ‘micromanaging’ elections, new report reveals how Republicans are trying to strip oversight to gain permanent control
‘Do. Not. Come. For. Stacey. Abrams.’
Climate envoy said US now working to ‘restore America’s credibility’ as Biden announces ambitious emissions targets
India on Friday reported 332,730 new COVID-19 cases from the past 24 hours, beating the grim record it set Thursday, and oxygen supplies in the country are so low that several hospitals in the capital, New Delhi, said they have nearly or completely exhausted their supplies. As hospital put out emergency calls for oxygen on social media, the government is scrambling to ship in reserves from retooled industrial oxygen plants. Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients are dying while their families search for open hospital beds, and crematoriums cannot keep up with demand. India on Friday reported 2,263 new deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total pandemic fatality count of 186,920, but "those who've analyzed the numbers of daily cremations taking place suggest the number is many times higher," Aleem Maqbool reports at BBC News. An analysis Thursday by the Financial Times found that the number of COVID-19 cremations in four Indian states was anywhere from three times the official number of COVID-19 deaths in some districts to 100 times higher in others. "Local news reports for seven districts across the states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar show that while at least 1,833 people are known to have died of COVID-19 in recent days, based mainly on cremations, only 228 have been officially reported," FT says. Health experts blame India's COVID-19 tsunami on more transmissible new variants, especially the B.1.617 strain first detected in the country last month, plus a lack of preparation for a coronavirus resurgence and decisions by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP party to permit mass Hindu religious gatherings and hold packed BJP rallies for upcoming elections in West Bengal state. Vijay Chauthaiwale, a BJP official who heads India's foreign affairs department, told BBC News there's no proof the rallies and Hindu festivals were super-spreader events and blamed the rise in cases on individuals deciding to stop social distancing and mask-wearing, and start using public transportation. But BJP isn't above politicizing the pandemic. India's ruling party insisted on holding huge election rallies throughout this health crisis, but says if they win, they'll vaccinate people for free https://t.co/nXylZFt83L — michael safi (@safimichael) April 23, 2021 "The entire system has broken down," Santosh Kumar, the son of a BJP leader in Lucknow, told FT. "Every other person in the administration here is quarantining. People are finding out from each other what medication to take and doing what they can." More stories from theweek.comCNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta says vaccinated people can generally go maskless outdoors, with some caveats7 cartoons about Derek Chauvin being found guiltyJoe Manchin lives on a boat in Washington — and protesters are reportedly headed there
‘We are not a match,’ woman replies to Robert Chapman
An instrument in the Perseverance rover produces oxygen from the planet's carbon dioxide atmosphere.
REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D-NY): “D.C. residents are Americans and they deserve the equal rights our national ideals promised them.”The House of Representatives on Thursday voted along party lines to make the District of Columbia the 51st U.S. state.By a vote of 216-208, the Democratic-controlled House approved the initiative.But not without some heated debate… as all House Republicans voted against the move.REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): “HR 51 provides no guarantee to the American people that they will not be on the hook for funding the new state for years, if not decades. This bill is nothing more than an attempt to ignore the constitutional process and gain an advantage in the U.S. Senate.”Since the majority of Washington, D.C. residents lean Democratic, as a state, it likely would elect two Democratic senators… altering the balance of power in the Senate.But Democrats argued statehood would right the wrongs of DC’s slogan: “taxation without representation”… Giving the right to vote-in members of Congress to more than 700,000 American citizens.Half of whom - as New York lawmaker Mondaire Jones pointed out - are Black.“One Senate Republican said that D.C. wouldn’t be a ‘well rounded working class state.’ I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word ‘white.’"Jones slammed Republican opposition to statehood for the nation’s capital, suggesting racism was at play:“One of my House Republican colleagues said that DC shouldn’t be a state because the district doesn’t have a landfill. My goodness, with all the racist trash my colleagues have brought to this debate I can see why they're worried about having a place to put it."Republicans quickly objected to Jones’ words. And he was asked to withdraw them."Mr. Speaker, that's fine."But, Jones didn’t end there…“These desperate objections are about fear. Fear that in D.C., their white supremacist politics will no longer play.”Republicans, accusing Democrats of a "power grab" to advance a "far-left" agenda, are expected to block the bill in the Senate, where 60 of 100 members need to agree to advance most legislation.
John Moore/Getty ImagesThe defense intellectual Fred Ikle once wrote that every war must end. Yet the U.S. military’s plans for Afghanistan after President Joe Biden’s announced withdrawal are its latest rebuke to Ikle.In testimony to a skeptical Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday morning, Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) explained that after the withdrawal of American troops, the U.S. will reserve the right to launch airstrikes, typically from drones, into Afghanistan, should it perceive a threat to its interests.“We have a number of ways to get to a ‘fix’ solution,” said McKenzie, using jargon referring to a lethal targeting designation, “ranging from precision strike at very long range, to on-the-ground options, should those prove necessary.” At a different point in the hearing, McKenzie and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) discussed how long it takes to get armed MQ-1 Predator and MQ-4 Reaper drones into the country from offshore bases.“I can, in fact, give the persistent overhead coverage that’s required. It’ll simply require far more platforms, operating at greater range,” McKenzie said, suggesting that the skies above Afghanistan will continue to see U.S. surveillance and strike aircraft. It was a unilateral declaration at a time when Afghanistan’s politics are entirely unsettled and many, including McKenzie, question the post-withdrawal viability of the Afghan military.The Promise and the Tragedy of Biden’s Afghanistan SpeechWithin the context of a Senate hearing, McKenzie’s comments are meant to reassure nervous legislators that the U.S. can prevent a future 9/11 emanating from Afghanistan. But they do so by blurring the line between a war ending and a war persisting at a greater altitude.It’s a familiar refrain from the 2003-2011 incarnation of the Iraq war, when the military attached similar caveats to a pullout that Barack Obama portrayed as a definite end to the war. Ikle should have anticipated that when hegemonic powers are compelled to withdraw from hostilities they can’t control, they don’t seek peace so much as what might be called peace with benefits.Testifying beside McKenzie was his counterpart at U.S. Africa Command, Gen. Stephen Townsend, who provided a glimpse into how it will operate. One of the Trump administration’s final acts was to move forces out of Somalia. But rather than ending the conflict, “we have been commuting to work,” Townsend explained, from nearby bases like the massive Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.“We fly in to conduct training and to advise and assist our partners,” Townsend said. “We’ve done four such operations in the last roughly 90 days, one of which is ongoing right now.”Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), an indispensable Biden ally who chairs the Senate committee, helped blur the distinction between withdrawing from Afghanistan and continuing with the war from a greater distance. Biden’s withdrawal “should be seen as a transition, not closure, and should not mean an end to our counterterrorism efforts,” he said.McKenzie put the bigger picture far more bluntly. “The long-term view from the War on Terror is this: It’s not going to be bloodless,” he said. “The War on Terror is probably not going to end.” Fred Ikle, who died in 2011, was unavailable for comment.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
But their opinions are not shared with those more cynical about the cryptocurrency's impact.
Nestled between Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead in the mountains outside Los Angeles, this cozy A-frame has all the brightness of California with all the action of the wilderness. An expansive deck and a projector above a wide fireplace are welcome respites after daytime hikes, swimming, and climbing excursions a short trip away. Set on 13 private acres with panoramic views of towering trees, this light-filled carriage house in upstate New York epitomizes getting away from it all.
Move will ‘literally save lives’, civil rights group director says
Daunte Wright’s family, as well as local and national leaders, all gathered on Thursday to mourn the 20-year-old who was killed by police