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☆ Mike Johnson says Biden's election 'must have been God's will' but that he's 'looking forward' to 'regime change' in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewAt the House GOP leadership's weekly press conference on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked whether he believes Joe Biden's presidency was "God's will." Johnson, an evangelical Christian whose religious views have been scrutinized more than prior speakers, greeted the question with some humor: "I know where you're going with this." AdvertisementQ: "Do you believe that Joe Biden's presidency is God's will?" @SpeakerJohnson: "Oh, I know where you're going with this...It must have been God’s will then. The phrase "regime change" is generally understood to refer to the forcible overthrow of an existing government through anti-democratic means.

Persons: —, Mike Johnson, Joe Biden's, Johnson, Christian, Donald Trump's, Trump Organizations: Service, GOP, Business, Louisiana Republican, Biden

☆ Student-loan forgiveness is coming early for some borrowers. Here's what you need to do to qualify.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This benefit will be put into effect ahead of schedule — all provisions of the SAVE plan were set to be implemented by July 1, 2024. Which borrowers qualify for early relief? Borrowers must first be enrolled in the SAVE plan to qualify for this early relief, which they can do at studentaid.gov. Borrowers who automatically qualify for the shortened timeline for relief will begin seeing their balances wiped out in February. The department said it will continue to identify borrowers who qualify for relief on "a regular basis," per the press release.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, Education James Kvaal Organizations: Service, Business, Joe Biden's Education Department, Education, SAVE, Education Department

☆ Steven Soderbergh’s Year in Reading
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every January on his website Extension765.com, the prolific director Steven Soderbergh looks back at the previous year and posts a day-by-day account of every movie and TV series watched, every play attended and every book read. In 2023, Soderbergh tackled more than 80 (!) books, and on this week’s episode, he and the host Gilbert Cruz talk about some of his highlights. Here are the books discussed on this week’s episode:“How to Live: A Life of Montaigne,” by Sarah Bakewell“Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining,’” by Lee Unkrich and J.W. You can send them to books@nytimes.com.

Persons: Steven Soderbergh, Soderbergh, Gilbert Cruz, Montaigne, ”, Sarah Bakewell “ Stanley Kubrick’s, Lee Unkrich, George, Martha, Philip Gefter, Donald E, Westlake “, Chimamanda Ngozi, Randall Jarrell “, Robert M, Sapolsky

☆ Luck is a bigger part of success than you think — but it can only take you so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-19 | by ( Henry Blodget | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewA smart reader asked me to talk about an important element of career success — luck. The paper's conclusion — one I agree with — is that luck plays a much bigger role in success than most people think. But with the help of still more luck — and effort and, I think, some talent — I did manage, eventually, to build a life I wanted. AdvertisementBut we will all be doing ourselves — and our future careers — a big disservice if we imagine that success is all luck. Some of the hardest and most exhausting jobs in the world provide the fewest opportunities for advancement and success — at least financial success.

Persons: —, That's, we've, I've, Paul Conti, Henry Blodget Organizations: Service, Business

Fabric by Gerber Life launched a new investment account for parents to invest on behalf of their kids. Gerber Life's partner brand, Fabric by Gerber Life, offers affordable term life insurance, free wills — and now a new investment account for your child. Fabric by Gerber Life has launched UGMA custodial accounts on their digital platform so you can invest for your child's future. How to open a UGMA account with Fabric by Gerber LifeOpening an account with Fabric by Gerber Life is simple and only takes about five minutes. Flexible spendingA UGMA account is a type of custodial account that permits parents/guardians to invest on behalf of a child/dependent.

Persons: —, Gerber, you'll, grantor, It's Organizations: Gerber Life, Service, Gerber, Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Social, Capital, IRS, Transportation Locations: There's

Meta announced the service for Facebook and Instagram last month. The ad-free service cost 9.99 euros ($10.90) monthly for Web users and 12.99 euros for iOS and Android users. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a 'privacy fee' of up to 250 euros per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection," NOYB data protection lawyer Felix Mikolasch said in a statement. NOYB filed the complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority. The complaint will likely be forwarded to the Irish data protection watchdog which oversees Meta because it has its European headquarters in Ireland.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Meta, Max Schrems, Felix Mikolasch, NOYB, Foo Yun Chee, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Meta, Facebook, EU, Austrian Data Protection, Netflix, YouTube, Google, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Austrian, Europe's, Vienna, Ireland, Brussels

☆ ‘Wish’ review: Disney tries to thaw out its ‘Frozen’ magic with Ariana DeBose
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —More than 70 years after Disney had a cricket sing about wishing upon a star, “Wish” picks up that theme, in an animated movie that desperately wants to thaw out some of the studio’s “Frozen” magic. Hailing from members of that movie’s creative team, “Wish” doesn’t quite reach the stars, but it does shine intermittently while introducing another plucky teenage female heroine, gamely voiced by Ariana DeBose. The movie does however celebrate the power of wishes, and in the process, decades of Disney history. By that measure, “Wish” mostly delivers – a credible addition to Disney’s long filmography, even if it’s not exactly a dream come true. “Wish” will offer early-access screenings on November 18 and open wide in US theaters on November 22.

Persons: ”, gamely, Ariana DeBose, Julia Michaels, Benjamin Rice, Bruno, Asha, –, King Magnifico, Chris Pine, Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn, “ Raya, Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore, “, Alan Tudyk’s, Valentino, it’s, Indiana Jones Organizations: CNN, Disney, “ Locations: Rosas, “, Magnifico

☆ A remote worker explains why she stands by the controversial practice of working from movie theaters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Andrew Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A remote worker shared a video of herself on her laptop while at the movie theater. Williams told Business Insider in an email exchange that she juggled multiple freelance roles, which included writing product reviews and writing for a mobile game. she told Business Insider. "If companies are gonna force people back into the office, they're gonna do it no matter what we do," she told Business Insider. "If I felt like I was bugging someone, the laptop would've gone straight away," she told Business Insider.

Persons: —, Hanna Williams, Williams, they'd, they're Organizations: Service, AMC Theatres, AMC Locations: Los Angeles , California, Sterling Heights , Michigan

☆ Opinion: Bad behavior test isn’t just about George Santos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Michael Ryan | Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

What they do results from neurons firing in assorted regions of the brain, the product of an array of causes they can’t control. Every now and then someone bursts out crying — a member of his family has been killed, or his house destroyed. • Join us on Twitter and FacebookThere was no visible sign of progress on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Writing before the summit, Frida Ghitis noted, “Biden may want Xi to help bring down the temperature on the world’s ongoing wars and help prevent new ones from igniting. “Today’s miseries of flying derive from this choice to deregulate airlines and unleash them into the Hunger Games of ordinary incentives.

Persons: Robert M, Sapolsky, ”, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Douglas Heye, Tim Burchett, Kevin McCarthy, elbowing, McCarthy, Heye, Burchett, tortuously, Mike Johnson, Johnson, George Santos, “, ” Drew Sheneman, Julian Zelizer, Santos, ” “ Santos, Trump, ” Zelizer, John Avlon, Clay Jones, Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley's, Nikki Haley, Haley, she’d, Cupp, Hussein Ibish, ” “, Israel —, Abbas —, Fatma, Khan Younis, there’s, —, Jessica Rosenberg, Joe Biden, ” Biden, Rosenberg, “ Biden, “ Aviva Klompas, speechwriting, Laden, Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen ,, bin, bin Laden, ’, Walt Handelsman, Joan Steinau Lester, Xi Dana Summers, Biden, Xi Jinping, Frida Ghitis, Xi, ” Peter Bergen, Juvenal, Stephen I, Vladeck, they’ll, Stephen Brobeck, ” Trump’s, Donald Trump, Dean Obeidallah, “ I’m, Barack Obama, Peter Bergen, Megan Fox, Mike Coppola, Megan Fox isn’t, Patricia Grisafi, Tupac Shakur, Billy Corgan, Alicia Keys, Mary Lambert, Florence Welch, Halsey, Lana del Rey, Bob Dylan, Grisafi, Ganesh Sitaraman, Sitaraman, ” Don’t, Fareed Zakaria, Jill Filipovic, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Judi Ketteler, Noah Berlatsky, Nicolas, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, Daniel Escale, Holly Thomas, Princess Diana, irresistibly, ” Thomas, Prince Charles ’, Camilla Parker, Bowles, Mohamed Al, Dodi, Spencer, Diana cavorting Organizations: CNN, Teamsters, House Republican, “ Tennessee Republican, Democrats, George Santos of New, Content Agency Santos, Long Island Republicans, GOP, Guinness, World Records, Democrat, CNN Former UN, New Hampshire, Trump, Fox News, West Bank, Gulf States Institute, Fatah, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, “ Aviva, United Nations, Guardian, Agency, Biden, San Francisco Wednesday, China, Twitter, Consumer Federation of America, Democratic, Fox, “, Hunger Games, Liberty ’, Netflix Locations: George Santos of, George Santos of New York, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New, Israel, Gaza, Washington, Gaza City, Minneapolis, Iran, United States, America, al Qaeda, San, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Kansas City , Missouri, New Hampshire, Nazi Germany, Ohio, Al

The war is approaching the end of its second year, and Ukraine’s military needs more manpower to sustain a bloody war of attrition against Russia, a country with more than three times the population of Ukraine. In a recent essay, Ukraine’s top military commander, Valery Zaluzhny acknowledged that training and recruiting troops was becoming a serious challenge. The essay acknowledged a bleak reality: Ukraine needs more people in uniform, and it needs them now. Ukraine fills its ranks with volunteers but also has a system of conscription that allows the state to draft men of military age. If the war continues with the same intensity as it is today, there is no way to avoid conscription.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Valery Zaluzhny, ”, Andriy Demchenko, it’s, Maj, Viktor Kysil, won’t, Mark Holovei, I’m, I’ve, we’re, Maria Zaika, Maria Zaika “, ’, “ I’ve, “, Oleksandr Dyadyushkin, Vlad, Dmytro Kostyuk Organizations: CNN, Russia, State Border Service of, It’s, 5th Assault Brigade, Foreigners Locations: Ukrainian, Washington, Ukraine, Kyiv, State Border Service of Ukraine, Moscow, North Korea, Israel, Gaza, Europe, Russia, Bakhmut

☆ Parasitic worms highjack their hosts' free will, and scientists finally think they know how
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Emily Hein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Horsehair worms can control a host's brain and steer it to water, where it drowns. These parasitic worms, which resemble dark and stringy horse hair, take control of their host's brain and drive it to suicide. Hairworms' magic copy-cat trickHairworms need water to reproduce, so when they're ready they force their host to water, where ultimately the host drowns. Horsehair worms make their hosts more active in the middle of the day , when it's easier to find light reflecting off water. So the Chordodes worms can only control mantises and can't puppeteer other insects or mammals, according to the study.

Persons: what's, —, they're, it's, hairworms, Tappei Mishina, Hairworms, Rather, Mishina Organizations: Service, University of California's, Pest Management

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried tried to pin his fraud scheme on his closest friends. Then they turned on him for it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A jury found Sam Bankman-Fried guilty in his fraud trial over the collapse of FTX. One by one, his friends flipped to work with the prosecution and threw Bankman-Fried under a much bigger bus. That's how a jury found him guilty of seven counts in his federal fraud trial in downtown Manhattan on Thursday evening. AdvertisementAdvertisementSingh, for example, testified he was "blindsided and horrified" when he found out in November that Alameda had used FTX customer money. The sentencing schedule may depend on a second criminal trial Bankman-Fried faces for alleged illegal campaign contributions.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Fried, SBF, —, FTX, –, Nicolas Roos, Jim Angel, Angel, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, Bankman, Singh, blindsided, Ellison, Sam, Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Wang, Singh —, Mark Cohen, Cohen, who'd, Adam Yedidia, Sun, deflating, they're, Chelsea Jia Feng, Danielle Sassoon, Roos Organizations: Service, Prosecutors, MIT, Georgetown, Financial Markets, Alameda, Bankman Locations: FTX, Alameda, Manhattan, Bankman

☆ How this 77-year-old widow lost $661,000 in a common tech scam: 'I realized I had been defrauded of everything'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

Older adults, many of whom have saved their entire careers for retirement, can have the most to lose. The Covid pandemic was a disproportionate threat to older adults, keeping Americans indoors and quickly pushing them online. Outcomes hinge on a complex web of federal and state rules that govern banking and elder financial fraud. Such "heightened procedures" to protect older adults are part of the bank's duty of care relative to older customers, the lawsuit said. Scammers had her wire funds from her PNC bank account to an account at the now-defunct Signature Bank in New York.

Persons: Marjorie Bloom, she'd, Bloom, Roth, Ester, Ester Bloom, Rebecca Keithley, —, they'd, I'm, Kathy Stokes, Keithley, General Merrick Garland, she'll, Marjorie Bloom Bloom, trekked, Mount, Kriangkrai, I've, There's, Sergio Flores, scammers —, Carla Sanchez, Adams, Sanchez, Banks, Marve Ann Alaimo, Porter Wright Morris, Arthur, Alaimo, Cryptocurrency, Scammers, scammers, it's, Patrick Wyman, Wyman, Al Drago Organizations: PNC Bank, Finance, CNBC, Federal Bureau of Investigation, PNC, FBI, Social, Department of Justice's, Vanguard Group, Federal, Consumer Finances, AARP, Microsoft, Department of Energy, Guaranty Corporation, U.S, North Dakota ., Everest Base, Social Security, North Bethesda Camera, PNC Bank —, District of Columbia, Bloomberg, Getty, National Consumer Law, Signature Bank, Asset Unit Locations: Chevy Chase , Maryland, U.S, Vietnam, Mount Everest, North Dakota, liquidating, Nepal, Marjorie Bloom Maryland, District, —, Maryland, PNC, New York, Cayman Islands, Washington ,

☆ One-third of the world's captive orcas are in the US, and no one can agree on what to do with them
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Erin Heger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

There are 18 captive orcas in the US. Captive orcas can also show signs of chronic stress. Captive orcas can suffer a number of health problems including severe tooth damage. The history of releasing captive orcas in the USOnly one captive orca in the US has ever been released back into the ocean — Keiko, the orca who starred in the 1993 film "Free Willy." Captive orcas can't thrive in small tanks but may not thrive in the wild, either.

Persons: Naomi Rose, Rose, Marcos del Mazo, Monika Wieland Shields, Tilikum, Shields, aren't, Chris Dold, Dold, Keiko, Willy, Colin Davey, Keiko wasn't, Mark Palmer, Palmer, Little Grey, White, Aaron Chown, Lori Marino, Marino, Paul Harris, we've, Serge MELESAN, orcas Organizations: SeaWorld, Animal, Service, Animal Welfare Institute, Orca Behavior, Magnolia Pictures, Miami Seaquarium, Miami Herald, Tribune, Getty, Mammal, PETA Locations: SeaWorld, SeaWorld Orlando, Florida, Mexico City, Oregon, Iceland, Norway, Washington, Caribbean, Nova Scotia

☆ Factbox-Travis King: What Happened to Other US Soldiers Who Defected to North Korea?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

(Reuters) - Private Travis King, the U.S. soldier who ran into North Korea in July, is in U.S. custody after North Korea expelled him into China, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, following rare diplomatic cooperation between the U.S., North Korea and China. A U.S. military spokesman later said an investigation indicated that White crossed into North Korea of his own free will. In a video released by the North, White denounced the United States and praised North Korea and its then leader Kim Il-Sung. - Charles Robert Jenkins walked into North Korea when on patrol on the DMZ in 1965. - James Joseph Dresnok was a 21-year old U.S. army private stationed in South Korea in 1962 when he fled to the North.

Persons: Travis King, Joseph T, White, Kim Il, Charles Robert Jenkins, Jenkins, Hitomi Soga, Soga, James Joseph Dresnok, Dresnok, Jerry Wayne Parrish, Larry Allen Abshier, Kim Jong, Dresnok's, Josh Smith, David Brunnstrom, Phil Stewart, Chizu Nomiyama Organizations: Reuters, U.S, North, Korea Times, United Nations Command, Washington Post Locations: U.S, North Korea, China, China . U.S, South Korea, Pyongyang, United States, Vietnam, Japan, Korean

☆ Travis King: What happened to other US soldiers who defected to North Korea?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sarah Leslie/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 27 (Reuters) - Private Travis King, the U.S. soldier who ran into North Korea in July, is in U.S. custody after North Korea expelled him into China, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, following rare diplomatic cooperation between the U.S., North Korea and China. A U.S. military spokesman later said an investigation indicated that White crossed into North Korea of his own free will. In a video released by the North, White denounced the United States and praised North Korea and its then leader Kim Il-Sung. - Charles Robert Jenkins walked into North Korea when on patrol on the DMZ in 1965. - James Joseph Dresnok was a 21-year old U.S. army private stationed in South Korea in 1962 when he fled to the North.

Persons: Travis T, Sarah Leslie, Handout, Travis King, Joseph T, White, Kim Il, Charles Robert Jenkins, Jenkins, Hitomi Soga, Soga, James Joseph Dresnok, Dresnok, Jerry Wayne Parrish, Larry Allen Abshier, Kim Jong, Dresnok's, Josh Smith, David Brunnstrom, Phil Stewart, Chizu Organizations: Security Area, REUTERS, U.S, North, Korea Times, United Nations Command, Washington Post, Thomson Locations: Panmunjom, South Korea, U.S, North Korea, China, China . U.S, Pyongyang, United States, Vietnam, Japan, Korean

☆ Opinion | When Being Good Is Just a Matter of Being Lucky
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Indeed, one resolution of the “moral luck” paradox is that free will does not truly exist, Kristin Mickelson, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has written. The first drives drunk and kills a person. The second drives drunk and loses control of her car, but by luck doesn’t kill anyone. “Being blameworthy for an event is about being accountable for what you have done in the world,” Hartman wrote. There’s no excluding luck from our calculations, because luck “saturates” who we are, what we do and the consequences of what we do, Hartman wrote.

Persons: Kristin Mickelson, Roger Crisp, ” Robert Hartman, Hartman, ” Hartman, saturates ” Organizations: University of Colorado, The New Statesman, Ohio Northern University Locations: Boulder

☆ DeSantis is taking aim at 'zombie studies' on the campaign trail. It's a real thing
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Her course lessons include chemical zombification, bacterial zombification and fungal zombification. Lauro, the University of Tampa professor, is scheduled to give a talk in Frankfurt, Germany, this month called, "Who's Afraid of Zombie Studies?" "The talk is pretty much entirely about this DeSantis nonsense, as well as what DeSantis is doing to education in Florida," Lauro said. Since DeSantis has taken aim at Black history, I think we can connect the dots on why the idea of 'zombie studies' gets under his skin so much. The first wave of zombie fiction hit the U.S. in the late 1920s, during the time of the Great Depression.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Paul Hennessy, Lightrocket, Eric Smaw, DeSantis, Smaw, automatism, Tatiana Tatum, Tatum, Gino Del Guercio, Del Guercio, Lauro, Sarah Juliet Lauro Organizations: Florida Gov, Rollins College, Rollins College In, Saint Xavier University in, Getty, Harvard Magazine, University of Tampa, Studies, Florida's Department of Education Locations: Florida, Auburndale , Florida, Winter Park , Florida, Canadian, Saint Xavier University in Chicago, tetrodotoxin, pufferfish, Haiti, Frankfurt, Germany, Africa, Caribbean, Hollywood

☆ The Case for Acting on Your Desires and Not Being a Good Person - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jamieson Webster | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I‘m increasingly seeing this in my work as a therapist in New York City. It avoids the deeper question of desire, and desire is a compass. The promised image of goodness skirts pleasures that — for obscure reasons — you aren’t sure you can want. Unsettling desires challenge our perception of who we are and what life might look like. Importantly, you come to see that limits cannot be held or crossed under compulsion.

Persons: —, “, ” Locations: New York City

☆ Factbox: Travis King: What happened to other U.S. soldiers who defected to North Korea?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Aug 16 (Reuters) - North Korea on Wednesday confirmed it is holding U.S. Army Private Travis King after he crossed the border from South Korea last month while on a tour, but did not elaborate on what his future might hold. A U.S. military spokesman later said an investigation indicated that White crossed into North Korea of his own free will. In a video released by the North, White denounced the United States and praised North Korea and its then leader Kim Il-Sung. - Charles Robert Jenkins walked into North Korea when on patrol on the DMZ in 1965. - James Joseph Dresnok was a 21-year old U.S. army private stationed in South Korea in 1962 when he fled to the North.

Persons: Travis King, KCNA, King, Joseph T, White, Kim Il, Charles Robert Jenkins, Jenkins, Hitomi Soga, Soga, James Joseph Dresnok, Dresnok, Jerry Wayne Parrish, Larry Allen Abshier, Kim Jong, Dresnok's, Josh Smith, Chizu Organizations: Wednesday, U.S, Army, North, Korea Times, United Nations Command, Washington Post, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, South Korea, State, U.S, Pyongyang, United States, Vietnam, Japan, Korean

North Korean investigators have also concluded that King crossed deliberately and illegally, with the intent to stay in the North or in a third country, state news agency KCNA said. It did not address whether it had heard more details from North Korea. As an active-duty soldier he might appear to qualify as a POW, given that the United States and North Korea technically remain at war. The 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Factors including King's decision to cross into North Korea of his own free will, in civilian attire, appear to have disqualified him from POW status, U.S. officials have said.

Persons: Travis King, Pyongyang's, King, KCNA, Myron Gates, Soo, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Idrees Ali, Grant McCool, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S . Army, Joint Security Area, Korean People's Army, ABC, Pentagon, United Nations Command, UNC, U.S ., Korean, Force, U.S, South Korean, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, South Korea, ., DPRK, United States, Washington

CNN —The Biden administration is debating whether to designate Travis King, the US Army soldier who crossed into North Korea last month, as a prisoner of war, defense officials told CNN. But VanLandingham said it’s unclear that North Korea would even acknowledge POW status or afford King the protections it bestows. A former senior Air Force lawyer said it’s unlikely King would receive POW status because there was no active fighting when he entered North Korea. In addition, King wasn’t forced into North Korea or captured by their forces, instead entering the country of his own free will. “He chose to go to North Korea,” the lawyer said, pointing out that King’s entry into North Korea was not related to the conflict in any way.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Travis King, King, King “, ”, I’m, Private King, Fort, Rachel VanLandingham, VanLandingham, “, ” VanLandingham, wasn’t, King wasn’t Organizations: CNN, US Army, Geneva Convention, North, Defense, Private, US Forces Korea, Reuters, Southwestern Law School, Korean, Air Force Locations: North Korea, Geneva, South Korea, Fort Bliss , Texas, United States, Korea

As an active-duty soldier he might appear to qualify as a POW, given that the United States and North Korea technically remain at war. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on King's POW status, but said the defense department's priority was to bring him home and it was working to achieve that through all available channels. Washington has conveyed that message in private communications to Pyongyang, the U.S. officials said, adding that those communications have not invoked POW status. PROTECTIONS FOR CAPTIVESPrisoners of war are protected by the Third Geneva Convention, to which North Korea and the U.S. are signatories. After serving time in detention in South Korea, King had been due to face military disciplinary action on his return to Fort Bliss, Texas.

Persons: Travis T, Sarah Leslie, Handout, Travis King, King, Rachel VanLandingham, Geoffrey Corn, we'd, Corn, Fort, Christopher Stone, Andrew Ramirez, Steven Gonzales, Robert Goodman, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Josh Smith, Simon Lewis, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Security Area, REUTERS, United, Reuters, Geneva Convention, U.S, Pentagon, POW, Department, Third Geneva Convention, North, Southwestern Law School, Texas Tech University School of Law, U.S . Army, Cavalry, Korean, Force, NATO, Thomson Locations: Panmunjom, South Korea, REUTERS WASHINGTON, United States, Geneva, North, North Korea, Washington, Pyongyang, U.S, Fort Bliss , Texas, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Syria

☆ Painting With Light: This Garden Shows How It’s Done
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Margaret Roach | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Is it time, gardeners, to really see the light? Navigating the sensory journey that is Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, N.Y., opens our eyes to how powerful a force light can be. And not just in making plants grow, or determining which ones are assigned to areas of sun or shade. Innisfree’s creators knew that light, when carefully considered, is among the most compelling design tools, capable of creating dynamic contrasts and establishing navigational clues. The light at Innisfree will move you through the garden — from bright, open spaces to narrower, darker ones — over and again.

Locations: Millbrook, N.Y

☆ US soldier in North Korea not the first to flee to the secretive state
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ed Davies | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A U.S. military spokesman later said an investigation indicated that White crossed into North Korea of his own free will. In a video released by the North, White denounced the United States and praised North Korea and its then leader Kim Il-Sung. - Charles Robert Jenkins walked into North Korea when on patrol on the DMZ in 1965. He later expressed regret for fleeing and explained at his court marital that his motive was to avoid hazardous duty in South Korea and combat in Vietnam. - James Joseph Dresnok was a 21-year old U.S. army private stationed in South Korea in 1962 when he fled to the North.

Persons: Travis T, King, Joseph T, White, Kim Il, Charles Robert Jenkins, Jenkins, Hitomi Soga, Soga, James Joseph Dresnok, Dresnok, Jerry Wayne Parrish, Larry Allen Abshier, Kim Jong, Dresnok's, Ed Davies, Lincoln Organizations: U.S, North, Korea Times, United Nations Command, Washington Post, Thomson Locations: North Korea, South Korea, U.S, Pyongyang, United States, Vietnam, Japan, Korean, Sydney

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