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In August, authorities accused Alexander City, Alabama-based SL Alabama in federal court of violating child labor laws. The action against SL Alabama, which supplies lights and mirrors for Hyundai and Kia assembly plants in the U.S. South, came following a July Reuters article that documented child labor practices at another auto parts supplier in the state, Hyundai-owned SMART Alabama LLC. SL Alabama agreed to implement new monitoring and training programs, the federal regulator said. "Our investigation found SL Alabama engaged in oppressive child labor," said Kenneth Stripling, DOL's Wage and Hours Division Director in Birmingham, Alabama, in the statement. Regulators said plant operators are accountable for child labor violations even when unauthorized employees are brought in by third-party recruiting firms.

☆ Ukraine pushes allies for air defense help in the wake of deadly Russian strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Patrick Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

German Defense Secretary Christine Lambrecht said Monday that her country would send four medium-range air defense systems to Ukraine, the first to be delivered in the next few days. “The renewed rocket fire on Kyiv and the many other cities makes it clear how important it is to deliver air defense systems to Ukraine quickly,” she said in a statement. Analysts said that if Ukraine had that help sooner, it could have saved lives and protected critical infrastructure and public services. We warn and hope that Washington and other Western capitals are aware of the danger of uncontrolled escalation,” he said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underlined this point in his daily press briefing, adding that Western supplies of advanced air defense systems would not change Russia’s goals and would only extend the conflict.

☆ An exclusive look at the 19-slide pitch deck a real-estate-investing startup aimed at millennials and Gen Zers used to raise a total of $9 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fintor raised $6.2 million in October, bringing its total funding to $9 million. The fractional-real-estate firm caters to younger investors by making buy-ins low — as little as $5. Its CEO, Farshad Yousefi, walked Insider through the pitch deck Fintor used to raise the money. Backers including Public.com, Hustle Fund, 500 Global, and Graphene Ventures contributed $6.2 million to Fintor's latest funding round, bringing the total raised since 2021 to $9 million. Yousefi argued that investing in real estate via traditional means — like buying a home, getting a mortgage, and renovating it yourself — can turn off younger investors.

☆ UK's Kwarteng, seeking to calm markets, brings forward budget date
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Kwarteng said the new date for his medium-term fiscal statement would allow the independent Office For Budget Responsibility (OBR) enough time to assess updates to official data and for a full forecast process to take place. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng speaks during Britain's Conservative Party's annual conference in Birmingham, Britain, October 3, 2022. Junior Treasury minister Andrew Griffith said market practitioners he had spoken to received news of the new date for the fiscal statement warmly. HALLOWEENThe new date for the fiscal plan leaves Kwarteng and Truss with little more than two weeks to settle divisions in her cabinet over cuts to government spending. Truss was no longer expected to appoint Antonia Romeo to run the Treasury, the FT said, citing senior government figures.

Mel Stride, a lawmaker who chairs the Treasury Committee in the lower house of parliament and had criticised Scholar's departure, said the appointment would help reassure investors. The moves came as Kwarteng prepared to head to Washington this week with International Monetary Fund criticisms of Britain's new policy direction ringing in his ears. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng speaks during Britain's Conservative Party's annual conference in Birmingham, Britain, October 3, 2022. Kwarteng said the new date for his medium-term fiscal statement would give the independent Office For Budget Responsibility (OBR) enough time to carry out a full forecast. The new date for the fiscal plan leaves Kwarteng and Truss with little more than two weeks to settle divisions in her cabinet over cuts to government spending.

☆ A 55-year-old who never made more than $52,000 a year built a 25-unit real estate portfolio in 5 years and is now financially independent: 'If I can do it as a basic blue-collar worker raising a famil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A former cop who never earned more than $52,000 built a 25-unit real estate portfolio. He spends time managing his investments, including a 25-unit real estate portfolio, which Insider verified. Here's how Mark built a 25-unit real estate portfolio in just five years on a salary that never exceeded $52,000 a year. He agreed, called up a real estate agent he knew in the area, and told her he wanted to invest in real estate. "At that time, I had not read any real estate books, I had not watched any YouTube videos, and I really didn't know anything about buying real estate," said Mark.

☆ Eurovision names Liverpool as host city for its 2023 Song Contest honoring Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, UK will be stepping in to host the festivities at the Eurovision 2023 Song Contest next May, the competition announced Friday. While Eurovision is usually hosted in a city in the prior year’s winning country, this year’s victor Ukraine cannot host the upcoming show due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. Ukraine won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest this past May, amid a flood of goodwill extended toward the country in light of the war. “Liverpool is the ideal place to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine,” said Eurovision Song Contest executive supervisor Martin Österdahl in a statement. “The city is synonymous with music and Liverpool Arena exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows a supermarket on fire in Birmingham, not a Hindu temple
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

According to users who shared the footage on Oct. 5, it shows a “temple burnt by muslim [sic]” during the Hindu festival of Navrati. West Midlands Police said the claims about the video were false. Reuters geolocated the footage to Zeenat Supermarket on Alum Rock Road, Birmingham (goo.gl/maps/E5hcsEzYjVB4iVRR9 ), which was indeed affected by a fire on Sept. 19, according to BBC News (here ). The section of the video showing people fighting outside Zeenat Supermarket is also nothing to do with religious tension, according to West Midlands Police. The video shows an accidental fire at a supermarket on Sept. 19, and a fight believed to be over parking cars.

☆ New research points to health benefits of eating earlier in the day and within a 10-hour window
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

That eating window also improved blood pressure and blood sugar levels among firefighters with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Late eating could 'tip the scale' toward weight gainThe first of the two new studies involved 16 people who were overweight or obese. The researchers measured participants' hormone levels and found that late eating decreased levels of leptin — a hormone that helps people feel full — by 16% on average. Late eating also doubled the odds that people felt hungry (people self-reported their appetite level at 18 times throughout the day). Among firefighters with pre-existing risk factors for heart disease, time-restricted eating decreased blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

☆ Amir Malik is on a drive to make golf more inclusive for Muslims
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Amir Malik is a man in love with golf. Amir Malik (L) is passionate about golf. Malik believes Muslim women in the UK are being held back from participating in more sports because of a lack of all-female facilities and sessions. Muslim Golf Association‘The golf course doesn’t discriminate’To date, MGA events have attracted over 1,300 participants. Muslim Golf AssociationWhile Malik hopes to soon see Muslim players competing on professional tours, he says he did not form the MGA to produce a Muslim Tiger Woods.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday ditched her signature plan to cut taxes for the country's top earners after it triggered market turmoil and a huge domestic outcry. The pound rose after the announcement to around $1.12 — about the value it held before the Sept. 23 budget announcements. The dramatic reversal comes just hours after Truss defiantly defended the tax cut and her broader radical economic agenda, saying it was necessary to solve the country’s long-term economic woes. Faced with a growing political rebellion after days of economic chaos, the government said early Monday it was abandoning the plan. The plan to cut taxes for the wealthy was part of a broader "mini-budget" announced soon after the new administration took office.

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered Regions Financial Corp (RF.N) to pay $191 million in fines and refunds, after the regulator said the Birmingham, Alabama-based bank charged customers illegal overdraft fees for years. From 2018 to 2021 Regions charged roughly $141 million in illegal fees, which will be refunded, the CFPB said in a statement on Wednesday. The bank will also pay a $50 million fine. "Regions Bank raked in tens of millions of dollars in surprise overdraft fees every year, even after its own staff warned that the bank's practices were illegal," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in the statement. "Too often, large financial firms make a calculation that continuing to break the law is more profitable than following it."

☆ Could the Middle East run out of water? How the UAE gets around the problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Middle East and North Africa are rich in oil and gas, but it's witnessing a shrinking supply of one of earth's most critical resources: water. Twelve of the 17 most water-stressed countries in the world are in the region, according to 2019 findings from the World Resources Institute. The Middle East "has very limited conventional water resources, and some of the groundwater resources are saline," meaning they're often unusable or need to be desalinated using expensive, energy-intensive technology. So how can the Middle East make better use of the limited water it has? CNBC zoomed in on the UAE, which produces the most desalinated water in the world and attracts millions of tourists yearly with its lush green resorts and golf courses — in the middle of the desert.

☆ NFL replaces Pro Bowl with weeklong skills competitions and a flag football game
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Signage for the NFL Pro Bowl is seen at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)The NFL said it is eliminating the Pro Bowl in favor of a week's worth of skill competitions and a flag football game. In what's now called "The Pro Bowl Games," players from both conferences will showcase their football and non-football talents in a weeklong series of competitive events, replacing the full-contact Pro Bowl game that started in 1951. The multiday event will be held in Las Vegas in February, and will culminate with a flag football game to take place at Allegiant Stadium, where the Las Vegas Raiders play. Manning will also take part in the coaching staff for the flag football game.

Videos show the moment two American veterans touched down on U.S. soil and were reunited with their families after being held hostage for three months by Russian forces. The two men were among ten foreign fighters captured by Russian forces in June after they traveled to Ukraine to aid in the war. They were held by Russian proxies in the contested Donbas region that remains at the center of the war. Dianna Shaw and Bunny Drueke, the aunt and mom of Drueke, said they were "thrilled" that he was finally free. The 10 foreign fighters included Drueke and Huynh, five British fighters, and one Moroccan, Swede and Croatian, according to the Saudi Ministry of Media.

☆ 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' star Louise Fletcher dies at 88
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Louise Fletcher, a late-blooming star whose riveting performance as the cruel and calculating Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” set a new standard for screen villains and won her an Academy Award, has died at age 88. Fletcher died in her sleep surrounded by family at her home in Montdurausse, France, her agent David Shaul told The Associated Press on Friday. Fletcher had moved to Los Angeles to launch her acting career soon after graduating from North Carolina State University. Estelle Louise Fletcher was born the second of four children on July 22, 1934, in Birmingham. The Fletcher children were helped by their aunt, with whom they lived in Bryant, Texas, for a year.

☆ Alabama grandfather is charged in hot car death of toddler, drove vehicle 3 times that day, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

An Alabama grandfather charged in connection with his grandson’s hot car death returned to the vehicle three times without realizing the 2-year-old boy was still inside, officials said. Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday for William "Bill" Wiesman, one day after Ian Wiesman's death. She told reporters that Wiesman got in his truck and drove it three times throughout the day on Tuesday. "Upon arrival, Ian's aunt came out to the truck and found Ian deceased in the back-driver's seat of Wiesman's truck," the documents state. There have been at least 26 hot car deaths this year, according to Kids and Car Safety.

☆ Thousands of UK bus drivers plan strikes over pay - union
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Arriva bus makes its way down a narrow street near Wouldham, Britain, December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin CoombsLONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Thousands of bus drivers in London and the neighbouring county of Kent plan to strike in a dispute over pay, the Unite union said, threatening further disruption to a transport system already facing walkouts by railway workers early next month. More than 2,000 drivers at bus operator Arriva will strike from Oct. 4 in London, Unite said on Wednesday, while 600 Kent-based staff employed by the same company will walk out on Sept. 30. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterUnite said the strike by London bus drivers would run continuously until the dispute was resolved. "Arriva has totally failed to address the strength of feeling among our members as they see their rates of pay eroded.

☆ 'Out of control' STD situation prompts call for changes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“It is imperative that we ... work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the U.S.,” said Dr. Leandro Mena of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech Monday at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases. Last year the rate of syphilis cases reached its highest since 1991 and the total number of cases hit its highest since 1948. Annual congenital syphilis cases numbered only about 300 a decade ago; they surged to nearly 2,700 last year. But some experts say the government needs to provide more funding for STD work, not divert it. Mena, who last year became director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, called for reducing stigma, broadening screening and treatment services, and supporting the development and accessibility of at-home testing.

LONDON — Even for a country that prides itself on pageantry, it was an occasion of majestic splendor. Yet, the ceremony and solemnity of the state funeral are already giving way to an unavoidable realization: The grandeur that marked Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and was seen by billions across the world is not the reality of the country that most woke up to Tuesday. Britain is facing myriad crises, from spiraling costs for food and fuel to an energy crunch that could cause blackouts this winter. “This has been 10 days of Britain being in suspended animation,” said Scott Lucas, a professor of American studies at England’s University of Birmingham who specializes in British and American politics. “The Brits are going to get an immediate shock and an immediate dose of reality.”

Share this -Link copiedThe full order of service for the funeral at Westminster Abbey The funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II is underway at Westminster Abbey. Police officers patrol outside Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, ahead of the state funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves Westminster Hall for her funeral service in Westminster Abbey. Around 2,300 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle and 1,000 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. Share this -Link copiedBuckingham Palace releases previously unseen portrait of queen Queen Elizabeth II, photographed at Windsor Castle in May 2022.

☆ Queen Elizabeth II funeral live updates: Britain, world say farewell to iconic monarch
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Patrick Smith | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Yuliya-Talmazan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +20 min

“Today I respectfully join leaders from Britain, Ireland & the international community at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II as she is laid to rest,” O’Neill tweeted. “Passengers can use their tickets on Tube and bus services instead,” the Heathrow Airport announced ahead of the queen’s funeral. Around 2,300 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle and 1,000 police officers will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. Share this -Link copiedBuckingham Palace releases previously unseen portrait of queen Queen Elizabeth II, photographed at Windsor Castle in May 2022. Ranald Mackechnie / PA This previously unseen photo of Queen Elizabeth II was released late Sunday by Buckingham Palace.

☆ Britons gather in squares and parks to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People gather to watch the funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth on a large screen in Holyrood Park Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Russell CheyneRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEDINBURGH/WINDSOR, England, Sept 19 (Reuters) - In airport lounges, parks, pubs and city squares, people gathered in front of screens across Britain on Monday to watch the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth. Some kept their heads bowed, others wiped away tears as Britain said goodbye to its longest serving monarch, who died on Sept. 8 aged 96. Gurminder Kaur got up early to drive from Essex in southeast England to Windsor, where the queen will be buried later on Monday. “The (London) queue had a festival atmosphere, and you just had the adrenaline keeping you going," Kaur said.

Bogenschutz and his team specifically set out to test whether or not psilocybin, in addition to sessions of therapy, could cut cravings and help people with alcohol use disorder stay sober. Earlier research from institutions around the world has indicated that psilocybin has the potential to treat a variety of addiction disorders, including alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder and addiction to smoking. Jon KostasWhen he began the psilocybin trial at age 25, he was consuming almost 23 drinks in a single bender. At the beginning of the first dose sessions, participants were given eye masks and headphones that played classical music. Bogenschutz said the rule of thumb with alcohol addiction treatment is that about one-third of patients who seek treatment will get better.

The 26-year-old had been recently removed from his parents' health insurance plan and was about $300 short of the $1,300 he needed to pay for his insulin medication, his mother said. Though drugmakers often offer programs that can lower the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for both insured and uninsured patients, the financial burden can still be devastating for some. Why insulin remains unaffordableBut why does insulin — a medication that’s been around for more than 100 years — remain unaffordable for many people in the U.S.? Meanwhile, state and federal lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would lower the out-of-pocket cost for patients on insulin. She is pushing for more states to adopt the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, which provides an emergency 30-day supply of insulin to patients for $35.

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