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☆ An explosion of hidden 'junk fees' is making every home more expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The fee goes by many names: an administrative fee, a transaction fee, or even a "regulatory compliance" fee. Despite the controversy, all signs indicate that brokerages large and small have increasingly embraced the admin fee in recent years. The vast majority of real-estate agents are independent contractors who rely on commissions to earn a living. Admin fees may be one of the most polarizing topics among real-estate agents today. "I'm in a place in my business right now where I can justify paying that," the Las Vegas agent told me.

☆ Real estate agents are tacking ludicrous 'junk fees' on to every home purchase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

☆ FDA commissioner praises Eli Lilly Alzheimer's treatment results
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf speaks at an event celebrating hearing aids being available over the counter at a Walgreens in Washington, D.C., Oct. 19, 2022. Food and Drug Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf praised results Eli Lilly announced Wednesday that a clinical trial showed its Alzheimer's treatment donanemab slowed progression of the disease. "We have to look at the data when it comes in before making a judgment, but if the data look as good as the press release — this is really, really exciting," the commissioner said. The antibody treatment also carries risks of brain swelling and bleeding that can be severe and even fatal in rare circumstances. Full-time civil servants who are prohibited from having financial conflicts of interest make those decisions, the commissioner said.

☆ Uganda parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ bill mostly unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The legislation now heads back to President Yoweri Museveni, who can sign it, veto it or return it again to parliament. It was not immediately clear if the new bill satisfied his requests, and his office was not available for comment. Proponents of the bill say broad legislation is needed to counter what they allege, without evidence, are efforts by LGBTQ Ugandans to recruit children into homosexuality. Western governments suspended aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security cooperation in response to another anti-LGBTQ law Museveni signed in 2014. The U.S. government said last week that it was assessing the implications of the looming law for activities in Uganda under its flagship HIV/AIDS programme.

☆ Robert Patrick, Early and Prolific Playwright of Gay Life, Dies at 85
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Penelope Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Patrick, a wildly prolific playwright who rendered gay (and straight) life with caustic wit, an open heart and fizzy camp, and whose 1964 play, “The Haunted Host,” became a touchstone of early gay theater, died on April 23 at his home in Los Angeles. One day in 1961, a 24-year-old Mr. Patrick followed a cute boy with long hair into the place, where the playwrights John Guare, Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson and, soon, Mr. Patrick, all got their starts. The cute boy was John P. Dodd, who went on to be a well-known lighting designer and die of AIDS in 1991. No one was paid, except the cops, because Mr. Cino was not just running an unlicensed cabaret but also a gay hangout, which was illegal in the early 1960s. Its young playwrights, particularly Mr. Patrick, churned out plays, playlets and monologues akin to TikToks, as Don Shewey, the author and theater critic, said in a phone interview.

Michel Gaubert first crossed paths with Karl Lagerfeld when he worked at a record store on the Champs-Élysée. “All his life Karl was obsessed with music,” he recalled. All his life Karl was obsessed with music. Then one day Eric came and asked if I wanted to work with the Karl Lagerfeld brand. Karl said Diane de Beauvau-Craon [a French princess and a pal of Mr. Lagerfeld’s] would call me.

☆ Sales, spins and splits — what are the differences and why do they matter for investors like us?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +20 min

Investors may get one share in the spun-out entity for every share of the parent company they owned. What's left of J & J will be focused on pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, which were responsible for over 84% of the company's total 2022 revenue of $94.94 billion. It underscores that once free of the parent company tethers a divested company can chart its own destiny. Those priorities may not have necessarily been wrong when considering J & J as the overall enterprise. We believe J & J and Danaher are poised to deliver two more examples.

☆ Drag queens and the long, vibrant history of drag in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Barbara Alper/Getty ImagesDrag has become increasingly visible in recent years through mainstream shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and popular public events such as drag brunches, drag bingo and drag queen story hours, in which drag performers read children’s books to young audiences, often at libraries. Some trans drag queens who received hormone injections were “strongly deplored by stage impersonators who (said) that the whole point of female impersonation depends on maleness,” Newton wrote. But “Drag Race” has also skewed viewers’ definition of drag – no drag kings have ever competed on the series, Testa noted, and the judges have long imposed somewhat traditional beauty standards upon contestants. Pickle reads from a book during the Drag Queen Story Hour program at a Los Angeles library in 2019. These lawmakers falsely claim that drag performers “groom” or sexualize children, of which there is also no evidence.

☆ ‘Fatal Attraction’ Review: Not Another Potboiler
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson Photo: Paramount+Adrian Lyne ’s steamy, scary, sordid “Fatal Attraction” was an era-defining film, a philanderer’s horror feature, an AIDS allegory and a palliative for those left reeling by campaigns for sexual equality. How were we supposed to read Glenn Close ’s Alex Forrest, after all, other than as the successful single woman as a knife-wielding monster, i.e., the end result of feminism? Fatal Attraction Begins Sunday, Paramount+It was a movie that got a lot more mileage out of controversy than quality, however, and while the new production of “Fatal Attraction” is part of a seemingly desperate effort by Paramount to remake its old theatrical titles for TV (“The Italian Job,” “Flashdance,” “The Parallax View”), co-developer and writer Alexandra Cunningham ’s first-rate reimagining is far more complex, engrossing and adult than the 1987 original. And it shows that there was much more to be mined out of James Dearden ’s Oscar-nominated screenplay than Mr. Lyne probably ever imagined.

I used to love thrifting, but the disabled tax means that's not a viable choice for me due to long COVID. But I'd never heard of the disabled tax, or, as some disabled people have reclaimed it, the "crip tax." The disabled tax affects all disabled people differentlyLike the pink tax, the disabled tax isn't charged by governments, but by society itself. The disabled tax manifests in unique ways for all disabled people. Before long COVID, I'd long prided myself for a frugality that helped my family live well even on just one income.

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). Here's how to use the Chase Gopuff credit and make the most of this perk. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightThere's no registration or activation required to use the Chase Gopuff credit. Chase Freedom cards (Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Chase Freedom® Student credit card, and Chase Freedom® )) Chase Sapphire cards (Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Card, J.P. Morgan Reserve Card)Chase Ink cards (Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, Ink Business Premier Card , Chase Ink Plus Card), Chase Ink Plus Card) Aeroplan® Credit CardAer Lingus Visa Signature® CardBritish Airways cards (British Airways Visa Signature® Card and British Airways Visa Card)Iberia Visa Signature® CardDisney credit cards (Disney ® Premier Visa ® Card and Disney® Visa® Card)Premier Visa Card and Disney® Visa® Card) The World Of Hyatt Credit Card and World of Hyatt Business Credit CardIHG credit cards (IHG® Rewards Premier Credit Card, IHG® Rewards Traveler Credit Card, IHG® Rewards Select Credit Card, IHG® Rewards Classic Credit Card)Marriott credit cards (Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card , Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card , Marriott Bonvoy™ Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy® Business Card, Marriott Bonvoy® Premier Plus Business Card), Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card , Marriott Bonvoy™ Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy™ Premier Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy® Business Card, Marriott Bonvoy® Premier Plus Business Card) The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit CardSouthwest credit cards (Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card, Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Employee Credit Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Classic Credit Card)Starbucks ® Rewards Visa ® CardRewards Visa Card United credit cards (United℠ Explorer Card, United Quest℠ Card, United Gateway℠ Card, United℠ Business Card, United Club℠ Business Card , United Club SM Card, United SM Presidential Plus SM Card, United MileagePlus ® Select Card, United MileagePlus ® Awards Card, and United MileagePlus ® Card, United SM Presidential Plus SM Business Card), United Club Card, United Presidential Plus Card, United MileagePlus Select Card, United MileagePlus Awards Card, and United MileagePlus Card, United Presidential Plus Business Card) Chase Slate Edge℠How to use the Chase Gopuff creditIf you haven't used Gopuff before, start by visiting Gopuff.com to set up your account. Remember, your order must be at least $10 in order to receive the Chase Gopuff credit.

☆ 'Hammer to Fall': Freddie Mercury belongings headed for auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some 1,500 items, including handwritten lyrics, art and collectibles from Mercury's London home, Garden Lodge, have been looked after by his close friend Mary Austin since his death from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991. "For many years now, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved. "It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have loved, and there was nothing he loved more than an auction." Sale highlights will go on tour in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong before the main London exhibition begins on August 4. ($1 = 0.8017 pounds)Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taking Keith Haring Seriously
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Robin Pogrebin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

This article is part of our Museums special section about how art institutions are reaching out to new artists and attracting new audiences. Certain images have become so embedded in our culture we forget that they were initially groundbreaking. Keith Haring’s work falls into that category. The ubiquity of the graffiti artist’s colorful, cartoonish, kinetic figures — which continue to adorn T-shirts, posters and coffee mugs — can obscure Haring’s history as a serious artist whose activism around AIDS, L.G.B.T.Q. Now the Broad museum in Los Angeles is shining a light on Haring’s contributions with an ambitious show that opens May 27 and runs through Oct. 8, billed as “the first ever museum in Los Angeles to present Haring’s expansive body of work.”

☆ Mattel introduces first Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Mattel on Tuesday introduced its first-ever version of the Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome. The new doll is part of Mattel Barbie Fashionistas line, which aims to offer kids more diverse representations of beauty and fight the stigma around physical disabilities. Mattel introduced its first Barbie doll representing a person with Down syndrome. The new Barbie is part of Mattel's Barbie Fashionista line of dolls which champions diverse representations of beauty and appearance. We are proud to introduce a Barbie doll with Down syndrome to better reflect the world around us and further our commitment to celebrating inclusion through play,” she said.

☆ Johnson & Johnson's Kenvue spinoff revives hope that the IPO market may be opening
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The news that Johnson & Johnson had finally begun a roadshow for its long-awaited Kenvue spinoff elicited some satisfaction among IPO watchers. "The investor base is very familiar with the products," Matthew Kennedy, IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital told me. In the 10 years from 2013 to 2022, about $55 billion was raised on average each year in the IPO market. But in 2022, the IPO market cratered. "Hopefully this will be a more rational IPO market," Rao told me, noting that IPOs have typically underperformed the market because of high initial prices.

☆ Sleep gummies: Possibly harmful doses of melatonin, CBD found
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Testing of over two dozen melatonin “gummies” sold as sleep aids found some had potentially dangerous amounts of the hormone that helps regulate sleep, according to a new study. “Four of the tested products contained levels of CBD that were between 4% and 18% higher than on the label,” Cohen said. “We choose gummies over other products because we thought parents would chose edibles to give to their children,” Cohen said. Gummies sold as sleep aids had much higher levels of melatonin than stated on the label, as well as CBD, according to the study. “However, that doesn’t mean melatonin products are going to work or they’re a good idea to take.

CNN —Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte, left, plays a school principal in a scene from the film "See How They Run" in 1952. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte poses with the Emmy Award he won in 1960 for the musical special "Tonight With Belafonte." Fred Sabine/NBCU/Getty Images Belafonte and other recipients of Albert Einstein Commemorative Awards display their medallions after being honored in 1972. He is survived by his wife Pamela, his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte, two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank and eight grandchildren.

Jason Connolly/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoApril 25 (Reuters) - Colorado's governor signed the nation's first right to repair legislation into law on Tuesday, giving the state's farmers and ranchers the autonomy to fix their own equipment. With a Case IH red tractor displayed outside the state Capitol in Denver, Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed The Consumer Right to Repair Agriculture Equipment Act. "This is a common-sense bipartisan bill to help people avoid unnecessary delays from equipment repairs." Right to repair legislation is gaining momentum across the country as lawmakers in 16 states have introduced bills, according to a report by the Public Interest Research Group, an advocacy organization. "Creating more fair market access through right to repair is one of the items that we hope will be included," he said.

☆ Harry Belafonte, who mixed music, acting, and activism, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Belafonte was born in New York City's borough of Manhattan but spent his early childhood in his family's native Jamaica. A few weeks before the launch, Belafonte told Rolling Stone magazine that singing was a way for him to express injustices in the world. "We were instructed to never capitulate, to never yield, to always resist oppression," Belafonte told Yes! "The Navy came as a place of relief for me," Belafonte told Yes! Belafonte was the first Black performer to win a major Emmy in 1960 with his appearance on a television variety special.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond Files for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Jordyn Holman | Lauren Hirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bed Bath & Beyond came out of the 2008 downturn a winner. Competitors like Sharper Image and Linens ‘n Things filed for bankruptcy, but Bed Bath & Beyond actually expanded its business by acquiring other retailers. Now, as the U.S. economy experiences another period of uncertainty, Bed Bath & Beyond is no longer on top, the result of an increasingly unwieldy corporate structure and its failure to fully reckon with the ascendance of online shopping. The company’s 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby stores and websites will remain open. To help fund its operations in bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Beyond has raised $240 million from the investment firm Sixth Street Specialty Lending.

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☆ How to exercise when you have a chronic condition or a disability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Melanie Radzicki Mcmanus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Add in a disability, chronic condition or injury, and it can be even more challenging to incorporate exercise into a weekly routine. Regular exercise can also help manage the symptoms associated with some disabilities. Exercises to consider if you have limited mobilityWhich types of exercise are appropriate and helpful will depend upon your specific health situation. Examples of seated workouts include using a hand cycle and performing chair exercises with or without weights. Isometric exercises help maintain muscle strength while preventing further muscle deterioration.

☆ Recreational marijuana use: CNN medical analyst urges caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Katia Hetter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Using marijuana can cause impaired thinking and interfere with someone’s ability to learn, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The trend toward legalizing marijuana must be accompanied by public education of the health risks, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. To be clear, there are many reasons to support policy changes of decriminalizing marijuana, including to rectify the decades-long injustices of disproportionately incarcerating minority individuals for marijuana possession. As many as 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder, according to the CDC. If an adult is using marijuana once in a while, and not while driving, it’s probably not going to have lasting consequences.

☆ Abbott's medical device sales recovery aids quarterly profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Boxes of Abbott's heart stents are pictured inside a store at a hospital in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiApril 19 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) reported quarterly profit above expectations on Wednesday, underpinned by sales of its diabetes care devices and an improved demand for other devices due to a resumption in non-urgent medical procedures. The upbeat sales of Abbott's medical devices mirror a trend seen by rival Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), which also posted better-than-expected sales for the business on Tuesday. Sales of medical devices - Abbott's largest segment - grew 8.5% to $3.90 billion, of which $1.2 billion worth revenue was clocked in by glucose monitoring device Freestyle Libre. Abbott, which witnessed first-quarter sales worth $730 million in global COVID-19 test kits, slashed its annual revenue forecast for these devices to $1.5 billion from $2 billion.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - British pop star Elton John urged U.S. senators on Wednesday not to ease up on the fight against HIV and AIDS, as Congress faces a September deadline for reauthorizing the multi-billion-dollar U.S. program to fight the disease. Congress must reauthorize PEPFAR for another five years before Sept. 30. REUTERS/Anna GordonA set amount has not been set for the reauthorization, but Congress typically has approved $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion for PEPFAR each year. Global AIDS Coordinator John Nkengasong told the committee PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives and created health networks that have helped fight outbreaks of Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic. "I urge my colleagues to join me in working to reauthorize PEPFAR without delay and without new mandates and directives," said Senator Jim Risch, the panel's top Republican.

☆ How Gay Men Saved Us From Monkeypox - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ina Park | Dan Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

We know gay sex has been unfairly blamed for everything from natural disasters to the fall of Rome. But in their efforts to avoid stigmatizing the community, health authorities and the media failed to effectively warn gay and bi men. Ignorant of the threat as the virus spread, gay and bi men couldn’t take steps to protect themselves and their partners. Gay party promoters canceled long-planned events and individual gay men temporarily deleted hookup apps from their phones and reduced their sexual contacts. They acknowledged the realities of gay sexuality and its breadth of expression, using the actual language gay men use when discussing sex with each other.

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