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☆ When Bay Area rent got too expensive, I bought a house in the mountains. Living here is a dream, but I'm uncertain about the future.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I'm the cofounder and CEO of Santa Cruz Fungi. I live in Boulder Creek, California, and my business is headquartered in Santa Cruz. In May 2016, I bought a home for my husband, Paul Lazazzera, and me in Boulder Creek. We married the following year, and Paul started our business in 2021. I had to go over my budget and closed at $535,000 almost a year later on a 740-square-foot house set on half an acre in Boulder Creek.

Persons: —, Katie Sarna, It's, I've, Paul Lazazzera, Paul, Katie, I'd, Shroomsicles, Rida, There's, Lauryn Haas Organizations: Service, Santa Cruz Fungi, Business, lhaas Locations: Santa Cruz, Boulder Creek , California, San Francisco, Boulder Creek, Boulder, Paul, Katie Sarna Boulder, It's, New York City, Francisco

The percentage is even higher among parents of kids and teens, the survey showed. Trip planning can involve an arduous slog through booking websites, star ratings, travel reviews and fine print — first to find what to book, then to find the best available price. Artificial intelligence is set to change this, with ChatGPT already proving that generative AI can provide itineraries and recommendations in a matter of seconds. But Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel told CNBC Travel he wants to "go beyond" that. And using all the data we have, all we know about our customers, what they may want, trying to start that conversation."

Persons: ChatGPT, Glenn Fogel, Fogel, — Organizations: CNBC Travel Locations: Naples, Italy

☆ We're in the era of the permanent campaign. Could Kamala Harris change that?
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Alice Tecotzky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewWhen Vice President Kamala Harris announced that she was running for president on July 21, she changed more than the dynamics of the race — she upended the entire timeline of presidential elections. AdvertisementMichael Sistak, who served as Sen. Mitt Romney's political director in Michigan in 2012, described a presidential campaign as a "long slog through the mud." AdvertisementIn the 1960s, primaries became a fixture of presidential elections and added months to the campaign. The primary system emerged as a decisive force after World War II and solidified its place in the American presidential election process in 1968. "It's a slog from January all the way to the convention," she said about presidential election years.

Persons: —, Kamala Harris, Harris, Donald Trump, Rachael Cobb, Cobb, Joseph Campbell, Tim Hogan, Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, they're, Michael Sistak, Sen, Mitt Romney's, Hogan, Sistak didn't, — Campbell, Eugene McCarthy, Hubert Humphrey, Humphrey, Charles Stewart, Stewart, Sistak, Clinton, Daron Shaw, Shaw, isn't, we've Organizations: Service, Business, White House, Suffolk University, American University, White, Romney's, MIT, Politics, UT Austin, Democratic, Republican Locations: Michigan

☆ New Realtor Rules Will End Casual House Hunting, Change Homebuying
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-19 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

They'll hand 5%, or $25,000, to their agent, who then gives half, or $12,500, to the buyer's agent. They also feared that buyers' agents might "steer" clients away from homes that dared to offer less than the going rate. But in order to keep using the MLS, buyers' agents will have to abide by another rule that will further upend the old way of doing things. In the old days, a seller might have unthinkingly offered a commission of 2% or even 3% to the buyer's agent. The idea that sellers pay both agents' commissions has always been a clever sleight of hand.

Persons: they'll, didn't, Laura Ellis, they'd, Sellers, Tanya Monestier, Monestier, Ellis Organizations: Realtors, Baird & Warner, MLS, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Consumer Federation of America, California Association of Realtors, CFA, University at Buffalo Locations: Chicago, America, California

☆ A comedian has been roasting bad Tinder profiles for a decade. Here are 3 dating app mistakes she sees all the time.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Julia Pugachevsky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lane Moore, a comedian and author, has hosted "Tinder Live" for 10 years, where she swipes on real profiles in front of an audience. AdvertisementLane Moore hosting "Tinder Live." From her decade of hosting "Tinder Live" and experience with editing bios, she's encountered some mistakes over and over again. Being too negative or judgmentalMoore said the amount of negativity on dating app profiles still surprises her. Occasionally, she'll stumble across a genuine profile during "Tinder Live."

Persons: it's, Lane Moore, Moore, Mindy Tucker Moore, she's, There's Organizations: Service, Business, Tinder

☆ I hiked a mountain in the Andes to celebrate my 40th birthday. The hallucinations and violent vomiting that followed had not been part of the plan.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Elizabeth Lavis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I got altitude psychosis a few hundred meters from high camp as I scaled the frigid face of Huayna Potosi, the ninth-highest mountain in the Bolivian Andes. The geodesic dome was surrounded by snow at Huayna Potosi High Camp. Elizabeth LavisThanks to my excellent guide, I made it to high camp and spent the night in an orange geodesic dome perched on Potosi's precarious eastern side. He rapidly identified the seriousness of the situation, carried my day pack the rest of the way, and helped me ascend slowly to high camp. While I was fairly fit and prepared to climb Huayna Potosi, I didn't consider the mental or extreme physical toll the mountain would take.

Persons: —, hallucinating, crampons skidding, Elizabeth Lavis, I've, it's Organizations: Service, Business, Bolivia's La, El, Huayna, Psychiatry Locations: Huayna Potosi, Bolivian, Caucasus, Potosi, Bolivia's, Bolivia's La Paz, El Alto, Lake Titicaca, Peru, Bolivia, Camp, Svaneti , Georgia

☆ A Race at Warp Speed: For Harris, There Are Advantages in a Late Start
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Adam Nagourney | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The candidates are generally known by late spring. The fall campaign kicks off on Labor Day, at which point the public’s attention turns to the candidates who have spent months preparing for the next eight weeks. The sudden elevation of Kamala Harris to replace President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket has transformed what had been a long slog between Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump into a 100-day sprint to Election Day. Voters will begin casting ballots in Pennsylvania, one of the critical battleground states, as soon as mid-September. Analysts from both parties said that timeline is likely to benefit Ms. Harris.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden, Donald J, Trump, Harris Organizations: Labor, Democratic, Voters Locations: Pennsylvania

That level of intensity in a short period of time necessitated a crew of hardened professionals, several sources with knowledge of Harris' strategy said. Next week, a major campaign swing, then the convention and then it’s the debate,” one person with knowledge of Harris’ strategy said. Mitch Stewart will act as a senior adviser on battleground states, and Palmieri will serve as senior adviser to the second gentleman. “In Wisconsin, we have had more online volunteer sign-ups since July 21st than between January 1st and July 20th,” a Harris campaign aide said. “That’s a game-changer to a ground game in a small state like Nevada,” Molly Forgey, a Nevada Democratic strategist, said.

Persons: Kamala Harris ’, David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s, Stephanie Cutter, Jennifer Palmieri —, Harris, Joe Biden’s, Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Obama, Mitch Stewart, Palmieri, Brian Fallon —, ”, Pete Giangreco, Biden, Trump, “, Cutter, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Julie Rodriguez, “ Harris, Molly Forgey, Forgey, there’s, —, Chris Korge, he's Organizations: Democratic, White, Trump, “, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional, Committee, ”, Nevada Democratic Locations: “, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, “ In Wisconsin, Philadelphia, ” In Nevada

☆ With 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' Ryan Reynolds could finally end Marvel's superhero slump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Deadpool & Wolverine," costarring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, is the only MCU film hitting theaters this year. AdvertisementWhile it might seem risky for the studio conglomerate to put all its eggs into one R-rated basket, Reynolds' Deadpool franchise — and Reynolds himself — are uniquely positioned to revitalize the genre. The 'Deadpool' franchise has been consistently lucrativeRyan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in "Deadpool & Wolverine." Ryan Reynolds' business acumen has helped Deadpool thriveRyan Reynolds has turned the Deadpool character into a shrewd marketing play. His good friend Taylor Swift even wrote a gushing post on her Instagram Stories about "Deadpool & Wolverine" with a link to buy tickets.

Persons: —, Ryan Reynolds, Wade Wilson, Deadpool, Marvel Jesus, Reynolds, costarring Hugh Jackman, It's, Hugh Jackman, Wolverine, Logan, Jay Maidment, Sam Raimi's, Strange, Oscar, Jonathan Majors, Kang the, Marvel, Robert Downey Jr, He'll, Doctor Doom, it's, Nicholas Hunt, He's, who's, Taylor Swift, Paul Mullin Organizations: Service, Marvel, Business, Disney, Fox, Century Studios, Marvel Studios, Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten, Deadpool, Hollywood, Aviation, Mint Mobile, Welsh football, Wrexham AFC —, San Diego Comic, Wrexham AFC, Wrexham, Belgian, Prix Locations: Welshpool

☆ The Kamala Harris Vibe Shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Jess Bidgood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dianne Schwartz, an 80-year-old Chicagoan who listens to political podcasts while she exercises, felt something today. “I realized today, while I was listening to my podcasts, that I spent the last few days without worrying and being depressed,” Schwartz told me. But since President Biden bowed out of his tepid re-election campaign on Sunday, and his party instantaneously coalesced behind Vice President Kamala Harris, Schwartz has found herself feeling strangely, impossibly good about politics. “I haven’t been this excited about an election,” Schwartz said, “since Kennedy.”Call it the Kamala Harris vibe shift. A presidential race that felt to many Democrats like a dispiriting slog toward an all-but-certain defeat by Trump suddenly feels lighter.

Persons: Dianne Schwartz, “, ” Schwartz, Schwartz, Donald Trump, Biden, Kamala Harris, Kennedy, ”, Trump

☆ How Harris is preparing to contrast her record as a prosecutor with Trump’s as a felon
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

CNN —Kamala Harris has spent much more of her life as a prosecutor than as a senator or vice president – and that is exactly how she is now going to run against Donald Trump. The vice president had expected that to be part of her role making the case for Biden. “As a former prosecutor, Vice President Harris has a lot of experience holding convicted felons accountable,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a former primary opponent in the 2020 Democratic race who quickly endorsed Harris after the news of Biden’s decision broke. “The prosecutor approach is really about just deconstructing an issue,” Harris told CNN in an exclusive interview after a campaign stop in Las Vegas in April. He was a for-profit college – literally,” a narrator says, as footage of first Harris and then Trump goes by.

Persons: CNN — Kamala Harris, –, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Harris, Trump, Biden, ”, “ Kamala Harris, It’s, Massachusetts Sen, Elizabeth Warren, ” Warren, Timmaraju, she’s, Roe, Wade, “, ” Harris, Harris ’, “ He’s, Maya, Hillary Clinton, fumed, Tyra Banks, Tony West – who’s, —, “ She’s, Eleni Kounalakis, Josh Shapiro, Roy Cooper, Pete Buttigieg, JD Vance, Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen, Mark Kelly, Shapiro, Beshear, Cooper, Harris wouldn’t, She’s, Kamala, Devi, ” Timmaraju, Jahana Hayes, Hayes, Laphonza Butler, ” Butler, vouching, hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Naval, GOP, Advisers, Democratic, Senate, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Trump, ACLU, Andrews Air Force Base, Air Force, Justice Department, Democratic Party, North Carolina Gov, Transportation, Kentucky Gov, Arizona, Howard University, Democrats, Democrat Locations: New York, Massachusetts, California, Fayetteville , North Carolina, Las Vegas, America, Washington , DC, Provincetown , Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Provincetown, American, Oakland

☆ Opinion | It’s Time for Democrats to Hold Hands and Jump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Ever since President Biden’s calamitous debate last month, many Democrats who’ve lost faith in his candidacy have been frozen, fearing mutually assured destruction. The president has had a few good moments in recent weeks, including a great speech in Michigan. It’s time for Democrats who want a new nominee to hold hands and jump. There is no salvaging this campaign; Biden has lost his party’s confidence. The campaign is in a death spiral that threatens to pull down-ticket Democrats into the vortex.

Persons: Biden’s calamitous, who’ve, Biden, he’ll, Donald Trump, we’ve, —, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi Organizations: Democratic, Wednesday, Associated Press Locations: Michigan

☆ Navajo Nation: As it gets hotter, 13,000 families in this pocket of America live without electricity
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Ashley Killough | Ed Lavandera | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But Benally – like 13,000 families in roughly a third of Navajo Nation households – is still off the electrical grid. But while private companies tapped those resources in the 20th century to help electrify areas around the Southwest, the Navajo Nation reaped few benefits. Linemen work to install power lines to bring electricity to the Navajo Nation. Today, it costs the Navajo Nation $40,000 per family, largely due to the remote, desert land. William Lee Tom Jr. screws in a lightbulb at his Navajo Nation home.

Persons: New Mexico CNN — Katherine Benally, Benally, “, ”, Bryan English, Dave Lock, Franklin Roosevelt’s, Ashley Killough, Bennett, Deenise Becenti, who’ve, Arlene Henry, Arlene Henry doesn't, Arlene Henry's, CNN “, ” Henry, Henry, ” Henry clutched, William Lee Tom Jr, He’s, Tom, it’s, Joel De La Rosa Organizations: New Mexico CNN, Navajo, Navajo Nation, Trico Electric Cooperative, ”, Canyon, Electric Cooperative Association, US Energy Department, CNN, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, American Public Power Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Workers Locations: New Mexico, United States, American, America, Arizona, Benally’s, West Virginia, Navajo, Crystal , New Mexico, Rock , Arizona

☆ Clippers Cut a Wide Swath Making Political Campaign Videos Go Viral
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Simon J. Levien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Andrew Lawrence begins his night shift, he powers on his monitor to sift through Fox News’ evening programming. “We watch Fox News so you don’t have to,” Mr. Lawrence said. His video posts are often viewed millions of times. Clipping political gaffes was once more of a pastime for amateur political obsessives. Now, professionals have stepped in and supercharged the political discourse, flooding platforms like X and TikTok with cuttingly captioned video snippets, often publishing edited clips within minutes or even seconds.

Persons: Andrew Lawrence, ” Mr, Lawrence Organizations: Fox News, Media Matters, America, Fox

☆ Chipotle's latest marketing campaign shows how restaurants are getting creative to win your lunch break
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at Chipotle's newest pitch in the big business that is winning your lunch break. Market research firm Future Markets Insights pegged the lunch takeout market at $215.3 billion in 2022 . Chipotle's latest marketing campaign shows how creative restaurants are getting to nab your lunch order. Bitcoin's cooldown might be a warning for the stock market. A Stifel strategist predicted a late-summer stock market decline based on bitcoin's 10% sell-off in the past few weeks.

Persons: —, Chelsea Jia Feng, Keith Lee, Alyssa Powell, haven't, Taco Bell, Tim Hortons, Burger King, sarayut Thaneerat, Tyler Le, Ken Griffin, Bitcoin's, isn't, That's, Jensen Huang's, Satya Nadella's, Marc Piasecki, Elon Musk, They're, Alfie, Alfie Health, Donald Trump, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover, Annie Smith, Amanda Yen Organizations: Service, Business, nab, bros, Chipotle, Getty, Brands, KFC, Taco, BI Citadel, Sunshine State, Congressional, Nasdaq, Apple, Apple Intelligence, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Elon Locations: Cava, Illinois, Florida, China, New York, London

☆ Biden leads new drive to cement the West’s Ukraine war effort against Putin – and Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden is leading the world’s richest democracies in sending a beefed-up message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the West will not forsake Ukraine despite political shocks casting doubts over its commitment. A flurry of new Western plans to help UkraineStill, the latest Western plans to help Ukraine send a strong message of intent. The sanctions target foreign financial firms aiding Putin’s war effort, restrict Russian access to some US software and information technology. Russian advances on the battlefieldThese are substantial and credible political, economic and political demonstrations of support for Ukraine. Not surprisingly, Zelensky has always chafed at the self-imposed limits of Western support for his war effort that are a symptom of Biden’s core aim of avoiding a direct NATO confrontation with Russia.

Persons: Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Biden, “, Donald Trump, Trump, lionizes Putin, wobbling, —, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Janet Yellen, ” — Biden, Zelensky, ” Jake Sullivan, Wesley Clark, ” Clark, they’ve, ”, Kamala Harris, Sullivan, John Kirby, Putin Organizations: Washington CNN, Republican Party, Capitol, Republican, CNN, NATO, Big, Union, Ukraine, Trump, Biden, Air Force, Hudson Institute, Kremlin, Kyiv, West, White House National Security Council Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Italy, Normandy, Europe, United States, France, Germany, George H.W ., Russia, Britain, Japan, Canada, NATO, Washington, Kyiv, Cuba, China, Iran, Israel, Ukrainian, Switzerland

☆ We live in New York City but my kids go to summer camp in California. They connect with their cousins and my husband and I get time together.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Alexandra Moss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For the last two years, we've sent our 10-year-old son to sleepaway camp in California — 3,000 miles and a six-hour flight from our home in New York. The East Coast isn't lacking for overnight camps: camp culture here is stronger than in any other part of the country. Our children are lucky to have first cousins the same ages as them — and unlucky to live a continent apart. An entire summer apart? But it's no less true for modern parents fortunate enough to ship their kids off to summer camp or for their kids.

Persons: we've, sleepaway, we're, Alexandra Moss Organizations: Service Locations: California, New York, sweltering, Sierra Nevada, Massachusetts , New Hampshire, Maine, San Diego, Roblox, Vancouver, British Columbia, alimoss.com

☆ Parents are spending hundreds to have other people prep and pack their kids for summer camps that cost upward of $15,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Summer camp costs these days start long before little ones leave home, The Wall Street Journal reported. Some families with disposable income are shelling out for pre-camp packing services. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . But the staggering $15,000 price tag on some elite summer camps doesn't account for the hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars parents are now paying to prep and pack their kids beforehand, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.

Persons: — Organizations: Street Journal, Service, Business

☆ What Donald Trump Didn’t Say After His Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( A.O. Scott | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The way to evaluate a political speech — I mean as a literary critic, not as a pundit or a partisan — is to examine how the rhetoric rises to the occasion. In the case of Donald J. Trump’s 33-minute address in the lobby of Trump Tower on Friday, the occasion was both bizarre and momentous. Mr. Trump has never been an orderly orator or a methodical builder of arguments; he riffs and extemporizes, free-associates and repeats himself, straying from whatever script may be at hand. The matter was also curiously flat: a rehash of the trial, with a few gestures toward the larger political stakes. The persona Mr. Trump presented on Friday was that of an aggrieved New York businessman — a Trump that seemed like a throwback to an earlier, pre-MAGA era.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, MAGA Organizations: Trump Locations: New York

☆ Why Americans Don't Get Enough Sleep: Money Stress, Jobs, Health
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Jeremy Ney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

When we don't get enough sleep, it can influence everything from how much money we make to our likelihood of developing dementia, heart disease, and diabetes. Researchers have found that stress is one of the strongest indicators of poor sleep. On top of that, the county struggles with poor health, another major contributor to poor sleep. In our analysis, we overlaid the CDC's sleep data with a CDC survey on mental health and found a 79% correlation between mental-health problems and poor sleep. In the food-services industry, people juggle inconsistent shifts and low pay that often requires taking on multiple jobs, and 40% of workers don't get enough sleep.

Persons: Tim Cook, Robinhood's Vlad Tenev, Gordon Ramsay, Drake, Michael Phelps, Mingo, It's, Johns Hopkins, isn't Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, South . Residents, CDC, Columbia, Johns Hopkins University, Graduate Medical Locations: South, West Virginia , Kentucky, Alabama, Mingo, West Virginia, Boulder County , Colorado, America, healthiest, Manhattan, San Francisco, Mississippi, . California, Florida

☆ After Libertarians reject RFK Jr., what does success look like for third-party candidates?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the idea of simply placing Kennedy atop the Libertarian Party ticket to marry his momentum with their organization left Kennedy with an embarrassing loss at the Libertarian Party convention in Washington. About half – 51% – said they would support Trump in a two-way matchup, compared with 37% who said they would pick Biden. The last third-party candidate to win a state and get Electoral Votes was George Wallace, who won Southern states in 1968. The only third-party candidate to outperform a major party candidate was former President Teddy Roosevelt, who outpolled Republicans after he failed to get their nomination in 1912 and then ran as a third-party candidate. But rather than focus on the relatively few people who turn out for a third-party candidate, why not look at the large number of people who don’t take part in elections at all?

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Chase Oliver, Kennedy, Trump, Nicole Shanahan, Shanahan, – Kennedy, Biden, CNN’s Harry Enten, –, RFK, Ross Perot, George Wallace, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Oliver, Jo Jorgensen, Gary Johnson’s, CNN’s Aaron Pellish, Pellish, Kennedy don’t, Bob Barr, Bill Weld, Gary Johnson, Barr, Weld, Ron Paul, Paul, Jill Stein, Ralph Nader, Al Gore, George W, Karl Rove, Stein, Hillary Clinton, Rove, Libertarian’s Jorgensen, Johnson Organizations: CNN, Republican, Libertarian Party, Trump, Google, Biden, SSRS, Quinnipiac University, RFK Jr, Electoral, Southern, Democrat, Libertarian, Federal Reserve, GOP, Republican Massachusetts gov, Green Party, Street Journal, Democratic, Pew Research Center Locations: Washington, Republican Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona , Georgia

☆ Obama Is a Surprise Guest Among Allies at Biden’s State Dinner for Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Katie Rogers | Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

State dinners are best known as bear hugs for overseas allies, and Thursday’s honoree was Kenya. But the sixth state dinner of President Biden’s term was designed to clutch domestic allies — not the least of them Mr. Obama, whose father was Kenyan — even tighter as the president makes the long slog toward November. The list included President William Ruto of Kenya and his wife, Rachel, along with three of his daughters. “We share a strong respect for the history that connects us together,” Mr. Biden said to his guests during a toast. The lineup included elected officials in several battleground states, influential Black political operatives, and powerful philanthropists, like Melinda French Gates.

Persons: Barack Obama, Biden’s, —, Obama, William Ruto, Rachel, James Mwangi, ” Mr, Biden, Jimmy Carter, Melinda French Gates Organizations: White, Equity Group Holdings Locations: Kenya, Kenyan

☆ World Snooker Championship: The near-silent sport which has become the latest focus of Saudi Arabia’s imagination
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —No one dares speak louder than a whisper as nearly 1,000 people respectfully take their seats inside the dimly lit Crucible Theatre. They’ve come to witness the nerve-shredding, silently electric atmosphere of the World Snooker Championship. The World Snooker Tour (WST) – organizers of the World Snooker Championship – say the sport is watched by half-a-billion people around the world. The Crucible Theatre has been the home of the World Snooker Championships since 1977. Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of snooker should not be surprising, but moving the World Snooker Championship would be an emotional decision for many of its fans.

Persons: they’re, They’ve, Shaun Murphy, It’s, ’, they’ve, George Wood, Mike Watterson, Hossein Vafaei, –, it’s, ” Murphy, Young, Murphy, ” Ronnie O'Sullivan, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ronnie O’Sullivan’s, O’Sullivan, ”, “, Steve Dawson Organizations: CNN, Crucible, CNN Sport, Sheffield, Crucible Theatre, ‘, Wembley, Snooker, Wimbledon, ”, Theatre Locations: Sheffield, England, Augusta, Saudi Arabia, “, Saudi, China

☆ A Starry Cast Navigates ‘Uncle Vanya’ and ‘Every Emotion Under the Sun’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Laura Collins-Hughes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Broadway shows usually come with a back story about the yearslong slog it took to get them there. Not so with Heidi Schreck’s new translation of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” which arrived at Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater not even 12 months after its inception. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, it is Schreck’s first Broadway show since “What the Constitution Means to Me,” in 2019, and the ensemble is a starry one. William Jackson Harper, best known for “The Good Place,” plays Astrov, the eco-nerd doctor whom Sonia loves. Anika Noni Rose, a Tony Award winner for “Caroline, or Change,” is the glamorous Elena, Sonia’s stepmother, for whom both Vanya and Astrov yearn.

Persons: Heidi Schreck’s, Uncle Vanya, ”, Vivian Beaumont, Lila Neugebauer, Steve Carell, Vanya, Sonia, Alison Pill, Alfred Molina, William Jackson Harper, Anika Noni Rose, “ Caroline, Elena, Sonia’s, Astrov Organizations: Broadway, Lincoln Center

☆ Russia's military is allergic to the deep reforms it needs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Can the Russian military can be reformed to better achieve Putin's revanchist aims? Yes, but the drastic changes will not be easy, an expert on Russia's military says. AdvertisementWhatever the outcome of the Ukraine war, one thing seems certain: the Russian military needs drastic changes. Indeed, Russia's tendency to seek top-down structural reforms matched with enduring characteristics of the Russian military suggest that a transformation of the Russian military will be difficult." Given that observers so misjudged Russian military capabilities prior to the Ukraine war, how can the West accurately determine whether reforms are occurring?

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Katherine Kjellström Elgin, Putin, Elgin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Center for Strategic, National Guard Service, Nazi, NATO, Elgin, Business, Russo, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Washington ,, Elgin, Moscow, Russia, Crimean, Soviet, Nazi German, Turkish, Forbes

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