General World News

Here’s how student debt could be redefined by the nation’s first debtors’ union. Democracy might just get rescued in the process.

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Summary List Placement Debt is all-American, Astra Taylor says. And she doesn’t mean that in a good way. Taylor, who founded the Debt Collective, which calls for the cancellation of all forms of debt, namechecks Thomas Jefferson as a founding father of how we understand debt today. In the early 1880s, he wrote in a letter […]

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Aerial photos capture the devastation of the California drought that’s shriveling vegetation and drying up reservoirs

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Summary List Placement Boats sit on dry land. Once-lush palm trees are now brown and shriveled. And waterways that were formerly deep and flowing have been reduced to puddles of toxic residue. This is the landscape in parts of California, which is experiencing a historic mega-drought that is expected to strain the state’s electrical grid […]

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US Falls to Nigeria 90-87 in Pre-Olympic Opener

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This is not how USA Basketball expected to open its Olympic summer.  Nigeria probably didn’t expect it, either.  If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria shocked the U.S. 90-87 on Saturday night.  Nigeria pulled off an international shocker with a roster […]

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Australian Barty Wins Wimbledon Women’s Title 

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Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title in 41 years on Saturday in London. Barty defeated the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to claim the title in the first three-setter in a Wimbledon final since 2012. It’s the second Grand Slam title for Barty, […]

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Bernie Sanders said he’d oppose a $3 trillion Democrat-only infrastructure plan since it’s ‘much too low,’ potentially setting up spending showdown with Manchin

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Summary List Placement Sen. Bernie Sanders indicated that he would oppose a Democrat-only spending bill if its price tag didn’t top $3 trillion, brushing anything lower as too meager. It may set the stage for a confrontation between Sanders and moderate Democrats looking to restrain the size of a follow-up package. In an interview with […]

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Trump warns Senate Republicans that they’re ‘being played’ over ‘fake infrastructure proposals’

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Summary List Placement Former President Donald Trump cautioned Senate Republicans against signing off on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and told GOP legislators to maintain the tax cuts that the party enacted during his tenure. In a statement on Friday, Trump derided Republican members who are working with President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats as RINOs, […]

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Wait until 2022 to buy a house, economists say

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Summary List Placement America is still in a seller’s market when it comes to housing, and could stay there until next year. Prices are climbing at the fastest pace in more than three decades, and homes are frequently selling above their list price, according to the National Association of Realtors. In May, the average listing […]

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Massachusetts school wins court battle to use electric shock therapy on self-harming disabled students

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Summary List Placement A school for developmentally disabled students in Massachusetts has won a controversial appeal to use electric shock therapy on self-harming pupils. In March of last year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of electric shock devices as treatment for individuals engaging in self-injuring or aggressive behaviors. The Judge Rotenberg […]

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Chipotle has started accepting TikTok video resumes to encourage Gen-Z to apply for jobs at the burrito chain

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Summary List Placement Chipotle has started accepting TikTok videos as resumes for job applications, continuing a cultural shift in US retail towards meeting applicants on their own terms. “Given the current hiring climate … it’s essential to find new platforms to directly engage in meaningful career conversations with Gen-Z,” Marissa Andrada, Chipotle’s chief diversity, inclusion, […]

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Biden fired the Trump-appointed Social Security head amid complaints of stimulus check delays and union-busting tactics

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Summary List Placement President Joe Biden fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul and his top deputy on Friday afternoon, sparking a face-off as Saul says he doesn’t intend to step down from his post. Saul, a Trump appointee, had triggered fierce criticism from Democrats and advocates, who said he gummed up the speedy distribution of […]

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Tokyo, Athletes Prepare for Unprecedented Olympics

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In less than two weeks, more than 11,000 of the world’s best athletes will descend on Tokyo to compete at the most unusual Olympic Games in decades.  Athletes will compete in empty stadiums after Olympics organizers reversed course Thursday and barred spectators in response to a major coronavirus resurgence.  The decision came after Japanese Prime […]

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3 ‘mismatches’ that explain the labor shortage

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Summary List Placement Have you heard of this labor shortage? It’s pretty wild, with millions of jobs open, and workers just not filling them. It’s a sign of the remarkable success of the vaccination campaign under President Joe Biden. The economy began reopening in earnest through the spring and is rapidly approaching normality in the […]

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Rick Santorum caught on tape saying Republicans ‘don’t want the people’s will to be done immediately’

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Summary List Placement Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was filmed saying Republicans are opposed to Democrats carrying out the wishes of most voters. The video was posted Friday by Democratic activist Lauren Windsor, several days after posting another one showing a Texas GOP congressman saying he favored “18 months of chaos” until the 2022 […]

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GOP lawmakers caught on video telling activists to thank Manchin and Sinema for not blowing up the filibuster: ‘Without that we would be dead meat’

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Summary List Placement Several Republican lawmakers were secretly filmed imploring conservative activists to flood a pair of centrist Democrats with messages of gratitude for holding firm on the filibuster, a 60-vote threshold that most bills need to clear the Senate. It’s the latest video posted by Democratic activist Lauren Windsor, only days after posting another […]

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Preparing for millions of minority homebuyers

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Since day one of my mortgage career, my main role was to help Hispanic borrowers with responsible lending. For the past 21 years, I have been deeply entrenched in truly understanding the unique needs and cultural nuances of homebuyers with diverse backgrounds. Being an active originator helps me keep a pulse on the market and […]

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The 15 best online courses and certificate programs you can take with a Coursera Plus subscription

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  Summary List Placement Coursera Plus is an annual or monthly membership that gives you access to 90% of the Coursera site, including fun online courses, professional certificates, and more. An annual membership is $399, but Coursera recently introduced a month-to-month payment option of $59 per month. Plus (Annual Subscription) (small) A Coursera Plus subscription […]

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Biden’s administration just canceled $55.6 million in student debt for people who went to 3 for-profit colleges

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Summary List Placement President Joe Biden’s Education Department on Friday made progress in its promise to reform the student-debt system by canceling student debt for three more groups of defrauded borrowers. The Education Department announced on Friday that it had approved borrower defense claims from 1,800 borrowers who attended the for-profits Westwood College, Marinello Schools […]

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The labor shortage is causing havoc in the Hamptons, with understaffed restaurants, beauty salons booked up for weeks, and no one to mow the lawns

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Summary List Placement Hamptons residents and businesses are scrambling to find workers during the growing US labor shortage — and one said he had to take off his $800 sneakers to trim the weeds because a landscaper didn’t show up. “I had to buy a lawnmower and cut my own lawn. I wanted flowers planted […]

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Olympic Flame Arrives In Tokyo

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The Olympic flame arrived Friday in Tokyo, but the public will be kept away at a low-key welcoming ceremony because of coronavirus fears, the day after a “heartbreaking” announcement that spectators would be banned from most games events. On a rainy morning exactly two weeks before the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event since […]

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LinkedIn Learning’s popular online course on working with difficult people taught me how to speak up at work

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 Table of Contents: Masthead StickySummary List Placement Let’s be honest: We’ve all worked with people who seemed hard to get along with, whether they’re micromanaging, rude, or neglectful. One online class aims to unlock the secrets behind dealing with difficult people so they don’t have as big an impact on you. With over 800,000 enrollments […]

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Boomers are only making the 2021 housing crisis worse

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Summary List Placement Baby boomers hold more real-estate wealth than any other generation. The Silent Generation held that distinction until 2001, according to Michael Kolomatsky’s analysis of Federal Reserve Data for The New York Times. As was typical of older generations, many had begun selling their homes to move in with their families or into […]

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Read the letter top conservatives looking to slash IRS funding are sending to McConnell in effort to kill Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal

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Summary List Placement Prominent conservative groups are gearing up to pressure Republicans to oppose President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal, blasting it as a “basic betrayal of conservative values.” The groups leading the effort include FreedomWorks, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, the Conservative Action Project, and the Leadership Institute. They are sending a letter to […]

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8.5 million student-loan borrowers can ‘breathe a sigh of relief’ after major loan company shuts down, says Elizabeth Warren

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Summary List Placement A company that handles 8.5 million Americans’ student loans is shutting down after lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren accused it of misleading borrowers, lying to Congress, and failing to properly issue loan forgiveness. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) notified the Education Department on Thursday that it will not extend its 12-year-old […]

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How much gas costs in different regions of the US

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Summary List Placement It’s summer and Americans are hitting the road and traveling again.  According to the US Energy Information Administration, travel on roads and streets is up 54.6% in April 2021 from the same time a year ago when many states had stay-at-home orders in place.  If you’re planning to take a road trip […]

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States can’t sue the companies that charge you interest on student loans. All 50 states want Biden to change that.

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Summary List Placement All 50 states agree on something: Student-loan servicers, or the companies that charge you interest if you have any debt from higher education, need to be reined in. On Tuesday, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), comprising financial regulators from every state, joined the North American Collection Agency Regulatory Association (NACARA) […]

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America’s cities are crumbling and all politicians can focus on are absurd ‘smart city’ plans. But these dystopian ideas will only make people’s lives worse.

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Summary List Placement Last month, the city of Los Angeles laid out a strategy for its reinvention. By 2028, when the Olympics arrive in LA, the city will lose its status as “car capital of the world,” according to its new, lengthy roadmap. It plans to employ additional policing technologies, digitize public transit and, in […]

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Mortgage rates fall back down to 2.9%

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The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell eight basis points from the week prior to 2.9%, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac‘s PMMS. According to Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, last week’s dip followed the concurrent drop in U.S. Treasury yields earlier this week. “While mortgage rates tend to follow Treasury yields closely, other factors […]

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The number of Americans laid off from their jobs hit a record low in May, as companies cling onto their workers during the crippling labor shortage

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Summary List Placement The number of layoffs in the US hit a record low in May, jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed. It’s a sign that companies are clinging onto their workers during a severe labor shortage. The layoffs and discharge rate dropped to 0.9% in May, according to the BLS […]

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A third of former hospitality workers say they won’t return to the industry because they want higher pay, better benefits, and a new work environment

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Summary List Placement Low pay, bad benefits, and a stressful workplace are putting off former restaurant and hotel staff from returning to the industry, according to a survey by job site Joblist. Massive lay-offs, remote working, and caring responsibilities have forced thousands of Americans to consider switching their careers during the pandemic. Some were forced out […]

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Mr. Cooper exits reverse servicing space with sale to MAM

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Mortgage servicing, origination and transaction-based services company Mr. Cooper Group announced on Tuesday the sale of its reverse mortgage servicing portfolio – operating under the Champion Mortgage brand – to Mortgage Assets Management (MAM). Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but statements from Mr. Cooper company leadership detailed that the transaction will not have […]